a reply to a differnt chapter

I got two emails today from a guy who is, apparently, still doing what I did for several years. Traveling around the world, starting up new, small but quick (relatively) to construct power plants that use a Land based versoin of an aircraft gas turbine engine.  The first email was chain letter, with some pretty hot naked ladies. Obviously my former colleauge  is concerned about the curse should he have not sent it along to five friends. I usually don't mind getting the occassional one, like this one, as long as I don't get a bunch a day, everyday.  Anyway in his search of email addresses he came across mine, and decided to send it to me. Thanks Kurt, I will risk the curse, but that doesn't mean you cant send me one of those every few years. I think naked women look good. the Greeks and the Romans got it.  Thank you more for the second email asking if my email was still active, It shows I'm remembered.  Anyway I started writing a reply, and it started turning into one of my long posts or stories.  I think it paints a picture.  Someone in the NASA press center, early today, told me that I have done a lot, for someone my age. I guess when I compare to some people that's true. but like my friend Kurt, there's more of us out there.  Here's my reply to him.  (I'll fix the link if it didn't survive the cut and past:





Rich Yaeger to Kurt


show details 9:34 PM (1 hour ago)





Yep I'm working for Madison Gas & Electric, in Madison WI. I work at two LM-6000 site (dual fuel but other than that, no options. The hot gas goes to two HRSGs with no stack diverters. The steam goes both (or either) to a GE steamer, and/or the University, which is the host, and part owner of the plant. To them, we also provide 20,000# capacity for chilled water, that's done with four York Titan chillers. We also have a 2 MW black start, Devicenet controlled MCCs (no hardwired) and two smaller chillers to provide inlet cooling. I've been there for about almost 6 years now. Man, time flies. It's gravy, mostly! Leaves me free to have a life, and boy do I. Who's still in the game.

I just sent stome m6b files to a guy named Inch Loon, who's apparently a new Randy Castro. He seemed cool.



Eventually I searched out excitement. I joined a local motorcycle club. All sorts of excitement there. I also started volunteering at a local, community radio station as an engineer (board operator) Branching out a little from that, last year, I interviewed an astronaut for a show I help with. The experience of dealing (very easily) with the NASA press people made me decide to try and get press credentials for a space shuttle launch. So I did it. That's why I'm in Florida, instead of Wisconsin. I drove down here in my new car. I just watched, as a member of the accredited press, the launch of the space shuttle. I was right there. I even have (it's still mine) a desk in the press center.The main one, not the annex. Boy, does it pay to be nice, and simply ask for what you want. I even took a few photos (although my time lapse of th whole launch was no good), but one of them ( that I thought was out of focus(the orbiter is)) a new colleague asked if she could use it, and she did, at , and I'm happy she did. Check it out. She links to my blog in there, so check that out too. I don't think my life in startups has gotten in there yet. Although after reading her's mine should be written out with crayolas. I feel like a clodding dufus, but it's the ideas that I think are good, the wrirting and formatting will come with practice, maybe. In fact, I think I'm going to post this entire email to my blog. I'll take out your contact info (and change your names, If you tell me to, let me know), so check it out.





Get this, I shit you not, within a couple daysI told a story about Tom Xxxxxxx, to a interesting journallist/executive  from National Geographic. THE National Geographic. It was about Equator. It was about the time I was playing blackjack in the hotel Oro Verde, in Guayaquil. ln their basement casino (in the original email to Kurt I fogot to finish this little story, I'll finish it here, because it's funny. (I'm thinking I may have told it to somone else, not Ms NatGeo, who I kind of dig, and hope to say goodby to tomorrow before I leave)  So, there I am, playing blackjack in this nice litte casino, enjoying myslef for a day or two while an aricraft is chartered to take me into the jungls, where a oil company is in need of electricity.  It's way, way out there in the wild. Anyway all of a sudden I hear a voice say, in an indignant voice "Whadya mean your out o' beer". Without another thought I identified the voice as my former colleague Tom, immediately, and went to help out.   You see, Tom can really drink him some beer. In hindsight it's easy to see that he could run this moderately sized  hotel (but in an area where the indiginous people don't often drink beer.  I guess my unconcious mind worked it's magic there.

You see, getting out of the field was not a death leap into boredom like everyone is afraid of. I just don't get paid as much. But I do good. For instance, right now I am keyboarding this email to you from a plastic picnic table, in spot, OF3 of the Cape Canaveral KOA campground near the Kennedy space center. I'm doing it on a little netbook that wouldn't even function as a decent paperweight during start ups. But at 300 bucks and an air card (which luckily has a 15 day cancellation period. Good thing, it's acting funny ;]


What are you and Tom up to. Startups for the meatball still? I do miss it.


Singapore huh? Cool? Where at In a still earlier chapter of my life, my ship pulled into ?Singapore. As a matter of fact, my second tattoo is from there. Some Chinese characters that were supposed to be my name. I never knew until Ron Blouu's (sp) wife, read them off of my arm, while we were out skiing on Ron's boat. They said my name phonetically. something like "Lee Chard" She read it, unprompted by me. (this netbook bugs me that it doesn't have a [end] key, and either the table (most likely) or the netbook is warped. Oh well. Someone should write a program that plays that nice "ding" my Manual typewriter makes when it's time to reset the carriage. The people in the f.)


Hope you have time to read this all. Sorry for the long reply. It's mostly to get some good stuff onto my blog, and when writing this reply, I liked the way if felt to write it.



Rich



P.S. be carefull of them Singapore girls. ( didn't think you'd ever leave Brasil)

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On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 7:07 PM, Kurt xxxxxxx wrote:



Rich,

Is this still a good address for you? I am in Singapore working with Tom Xxxxxxxx and just ran across the address.



Kurt



Ok that was his second email, to me, and my reply to him.