Okay, open Forum, off-topic, or whatever (grab a cup and sit)

[Curmudgeon]

No politics, religion, flames or name calling is the "rules" the powers that be posted.
So, here's a good off-topic post:

Link was temporary, no longer functions

These are a series of shots of the SSN711 at the Pier and in drydock.
Nasty.

ET(SS) TOC
COB SS(B) 39 Cobra

[grandpopswalt]

TOC,

Great photos. I've spent a fair amount of time at Electric Boat in Groton, CT. working as a contractor on various crane and automation projects. So I'm used to seeing the boomers and fast boats in dry dock.

The photos of the bird farms brought back memories of my time on the USS America CVA 66 back in the mid 60's. I'm a plank owner and had the honor to attend the decommissioning of the lady in 1996, a proud and sad experience.

Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

Walt
ETR3

[TurboOne]

Now I get the submarine ref in the other thread. Very unique pictures. But seeing a sub go thru water. Way cool. Here in San Diego, we have a huge sub base. Because of the real sub base, that was the line back when we were kids to go watch the submarine races.

Tim

[Curmudgeon]

I did my time on 637 class SSN's. That's the (SS) designator....Qualified in Submarines.
Pretty tight-knit community.
In my "spare" time, I am Chief of the Boat (COB) on SS(B) 39 Cobra on the waterfront in Seattle.
Same class Foxtrot as at the Queen Mary.
Horrible little beasties.
TOC

[powlee]

[:-^]This is off topic but I had to share with you that I have cracked the photo thing. The quality might not be great yet but I am getting there.
This is yours truly taking time off from a work trip last year.
Capt Joe, you might recognise the building behind me.
Tim, thanks for the help.



[:D] All the best Ian P

[Tom The Brat]

I'm about as off-topic as they come[:D]

[vsmith]

Hey TOC you beat me to the punch! Oh Well, lets see how long this one lasts, hehehe

Warm today, been watch Lord of the Onion Rings - Return of the King yet again only now I'm going thru with the cast commentary on, pretty funny, Andy Serkis does comments as himself and as Gollum/Smeagol, real funny, "Done listen to thems, My Precious, theys only blowing smoke up yer ***!"

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by powlee

[:-^]This is off topic but I had to share with you that I have cracked the photo thing. The quality might not be great yet but I am getting there.
This is yours truly taking time off from a work trip last year.
Capt Joe, you might recognise the building behind me.
Tim, thanks for the help.



[:D] All the best Ian P

Is it just me , or does that look like the Alamo in the background?

[Rastun]

TOC,

Much admiration here for all of you that actually done your cruises below the surface. I spent my time on the surface, nothing like a floating city to go to sea on [;)]

Ian,

Congratulations, looks like you've got the idea down perfect. [:D]

I found a Shay sitting in the park in a small town near here recently think I'm going to go take some pictures of it today.

Take care all,

Jack

[grandpopswalt]

Jack,

Have you been to the Alder Gulch Shortline? Runs between Virginia City and Nevada City, MT. We only had one day to visit but got there too late to ride the train. But I got a lot of great photos. They have the only narrow gauge saddle tank porter that I've ever seen.

Walt

[Rastun]

Walt,

No I haven't been there, but now that you mention it maybe I can make it there later this year when the weather is nice.

Jack

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grandpopswalt

TOC,

Great photos. I've spent a fair amount of time at Electric Boat in Groton, CT. working as a contractor on various crane and automation projects. So I'm used to seeing the boomers and fast boats in dry dock.

The photos of the bird farms brought back memories of my time on the USS America CVA 66 back in the mid 60's. I'm a plank owner and had the honor to attend the decommissioning of the lady in 1996, a proud and sad experience.

Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

Walt
ETR3

Can someone translate this for me?

I interpret this as follows:

"Great photos. I used to work at a factory that made electric boats, so I'm used to seeing kangaroos and fast boats in dry dock.

The photos of the chicken farm reminded me of when I was on the USS America. Becaue I own a long piece of timber, I had the honour of seeing that ship decomissioned."

[Rastun]

Misty,

I'll try, we'll see how bad I do.

He spent a fair amount of time at a place called Electric Boat in Grotton CT, (I'd say they manufacture submarines) Building cranes and mechanical helpers.

The photos of the Aircraft carriers reminded him of when he was on the USS America (an aircraft carrier) Because he's a plank owner (he was on the ship when it was commisioned so in tradition he owns a piece of the ship) He was allowed to go to the decomissioning of the ship (put into mothballs) and that ceremony made him both proud and sad.

Hopefully I got that right so someone from Austrailia or non Navy would understand it [:D]

Later,

Jack

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Misty Bee

QUOTE: Originally posted by grandpopswalt

TOC,

Great photos. I've spent a fair amount of time at Electric Boat in Groton, CT. working as a contractor on various crane and automation projects. So I'm used to seeing the boomers and fast boats in dry dock.

The photos of the bird farms brought back memories of my time on the USS America CVA 66 back in the mid 60's. I'm a plank owner and had the honor to attend the decommissioning of the lady in 1996, a proud and sad experience.

Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

Walt
ETR3

Can someone translate this for me?

I interpret this as follows:

"Great photos. I used to work at a factory that made electric boats, so I'm used to seeing kangaroos and fast boats in dry dock.

The photos of the chicken farm reminded me of when I was on the USS America. Becaue I own a long piece of timber, I had the honour of seeing that ship decomissioned."

Not Quite

Electric Boat is the name of the conpany that build the navies submarines, they have done so since before WW1.

A Boomer is a Nuclear ICBM Missle carrying submarine like the Ohio Class, a Fast Boat is an Attack class sub like the Los Angeles Class...

Remember the Movie "Hunt for Red October"? the ruskie sub was refered to as a Boomer because it carried ICBMs, the USS Dallas was a Fast Boat, no ICBMs but very fast and stealthy underwater.

A "plank owner" is a crew member who part of the ships first crew when originally commisioned...you got me on the "bird farm"..

[tangerine-jack]

Bird farm= aircraft carrier, aka "missle magnets". I guess, I'm a soldier so I don't really know.

Any redlegs out there that can talk to me about normal stuff like the BCU or AFATDS and maybe a hot sticked DPICM with a little shake and bake shot with a lateral spread sheaf from a M109 SP using a Q36 FO?


[oX)]

[vsmith]

Wow I didnt realize in TOC pics but are those the rubber tiles these big buffs are coated with sound absorbtion so accoustical waves are absorbed and not reflected off, its those squares that look like scales where the hull is folded over...or is that part of the sonar array?

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Curmudgeon,
How bout a civvie who still has a HS card for going down in ss410 in 1963? and was invited to go do deep dives in Pogy? (Boy, a long story that last one!) Did a mess of DD, DLG, FFG, LPH, AO, ad infinitem. Never got to do a bird farm though, always figured I'd just stick the bouys under my feet and go!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by powlee

[:-^]This is off topic but I had to share with you that I have cracked the photo thing. The quality might not be great yet but I am getting there.
This is yours truly taking time off from a work trip last year.
Capt Joe, you might recognise the building behind me.
Tim, thanks for the help.



[:D] All the best Ian P

I'm gonna have to look for some pics of me at the Alamo. Did you visit the Ripley's Believe It or Not and Wax mueseum nearby? Next time you are in San Antonio, try once of the mission tours of some of the lesser know missions, it pretty cool if you are into history.

Strange thing about the Alamo, it is probably the most well known battlefields in the world!

[grandpopswalt]

Misty,

I apologize for the navy jargon. The post was addressed to TOC in response to his submarine and aircraft carrier photos.

The name “Electric Boat Co.” is a carryover from the days when submarines were driven by diesel engines that drove DC generators which in-turn drove the DC electric motors for propulsion. When under water, the motors were driven off of huge battery banks. The navy is very big on tradition. Even though today’s subs are nuclear powered, the place where they’re built is still called Electric Boat.

A “bird farm” is navy slang for aircraft carrier. With regard to “plank owner”; there is an old naval tradition that goes back to the days of wooden sailing ships that dictates that a member of the commissioning crew is entitled to a plank from the deck of the ship when she is decommissioned. Since modern naval ships have virtually no wood aboard, we were given a hearty handshake instead.

Is a kangaroo called a boomer?

Now maybe we can both ask Tangerine Jack what the heck he’s talking about.

Walt

[Tom The Brat]

Take it easy on us[4:-)] We have enough trouble keeping up with railroad jargon.

An interesting topic, though. I had a teacher in Junior College who served on a submarine in the early 60's and told good stories. He said they actually got ready to fire a live torpedo at a Russian ship once, but didn't.

[grandpopswalt]

Torby,

I'm going to let you in on one of the navy's best kept secrets; the only difference between a fairytale and a sea story is that the former starts with "once upon a time" and the latter starts with " now this ain't no s_ _ _ ".

Walt

[TurboOne]

Thought you folks might like this

QUOTE: BTW, at the top of every CTT magazine in the heading are the following words:
Operating - Collecting - Fun

Fortunately it doesn't say:
Operating - Collecting - Frustration
or
Operating - Collecting - Making sure you are doing it only one way.

This post has been edited by Buckeye Riveter on Today, 06:04:41

[:D] [:D] [:D] [:D] [:D]

Tim

[Buckeye Riveter]

Yep, that's what it says. [:D][:D][:D][:D]

And today we went outside and had some fun with our Garden RR


Tim, being from Southern California, that white stuff is snow. Don't feel to badly about not knowing. The Chief didn't know either. [:D][:D]

A short video will be posted today of the Garden RR running in the snow on the CTT forum's photo fun post.

[powlee]

Capt Joe
No,I did not visit ant other spots other than the Alamo and a ride on the Riverwalk boat.
Rained through the entire cruise. Watched the Mardi Gras on the river while supping a John Smiths( a British brew).

When I got a phone call asking me to escort a patient from Granada;Spain to San Antonio, one word flashed through my mind. ALAMO. I even stayed a extra night at my own expense in a hotel on the Riverwalk so I could take the tour.

When telling some americans that I was taking timeout to visit the monument, they said I would be disappointed. I wouldn`t be. I knew the history and what was left. When listening to some of the party while the Tour guide spoke, it was obvious that the fictional films had an effect on their interpretation of the battle. Mind you, there is a lot of myth surrounding the battle.

I think we are the same the world over. We don`t visit our own historic buildings but we tour every other countries. When I showed my grown up son photos of my visit, he said `what`s this Alamo then?`
A memorable day. Shame I couldn`t find anything I wanted in the local Hobby /Train shop.

All the best
Ian P

[tangerine-jack]

QUOTE: Bird farm= aircraft carrier, aka "missle magnets". I guess, I'm a soldier so I don't really know.

Any redlegs out there that can talk to me about normal stuff like the BCU or AFATDS and maybe a hot sticked DPICM with a little shake and bake shot with a lateral spread sheaf from a M109 SP using a Q36 FO?

This should clear things up:

Any redlegs (slang for artillery men. Dates back to the days when the Artillery branch was signified by a red stripe on the uniform pants. Red= artillery, Blue= infantry Yellow= cavalry. The same color coding holds true today on unit crests and guidons.) out there that can talk to me about normal stuff like the BCU (Battery Computer Unit- a digital fire direction computer that uses a DOS based operating system. Although somewhat phased out now, it is a rock solid and reliable piece of equipment and nearly indestructible in the hands of a soldier) or AFATDS (Automated Field Artillery Tactical Data System- a windows based replacement for the BCU, it can compute a fire mission for weapon systems that aren’t even in the inventory, but it has cool graphics to impress the General with) and maybe a hot sticked (slang for a fire mission processed with accurized data collected from actual firing of the cannons. In manual gunnery, a “stick” is a type of slide rule graduated for gunnery purposes. A “hot stick” is a slide rule that has the accurized data applied in the form of modified manufacturer hair lines. In automated processing, even though a “stick” is not used, it is still referred to as a “hot stick”, some have been using the term “hot box” but that to me means a fire inside the computer) DPICM (Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions. A very nasty type of artillery round that disperses up to 140 sub-munitions grenades over the target area) with a little shake and bake (A combined munitions targeting method that uses standard high explosives mixed with white phosphorus) shot with a lateral spread sheaf (A “sheaf” describes the shape of a target area, lateral spread means that all rounds fired land in a linear form parallel to the axis of fire, there are many geometric target areas to describe. A good artilleryman can actually write his initials in the impact area with careful computations) from a M109 SP (A M109 is a 155mm howitzer, SP means self propelled. Early models ((A1 through A5)) are very similar in appearance but use different cannon tubes, the M109A6 is known as the “Paladin” and is fully automated.) using a Q36 FO(A Q36 is a fire-finding radar system with all weather capability. An FO is a Forward Observer. This combination of fire support allows 24/7 all weather call for fire and counter battery fire missions.)?



[oX)]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grandpopswalt

Misty,

I apologize for the navy jargon. The post was addressed to TOC in response to his submarine and aircraft carrier photos.

The name “Electric Boat Co.” is a carryover from the days when submarines were driven by diesel engines that drove DC generators which in-turn drove the DC electric motors for propulsion. When under water, the motors were driven off of huge battery banks. The navy is very big on tradition. Even though today’s subs are nuclear powered, the place where they’re built is still called Electric Boat.

A “bird farm” is navy slang for aircraft carrier. With regard to “plank owner”; there is an old naval tradition that goes back to the days of wooden sailing ships that dictates that a member of the commissioning crew is entitled to a plank from the deck of the ship when she is decommissioned. Since modern naval ships have virtually no wood aboard, we were given a hearty handshake instead.

Is a kangaroo called a boomer?

Now maybe we can both ask Tangerine Jack what the heck he’s talking about.

Walt

No need to apologise about the jargon. I've actually learned something - thanks Walt and others for putting me straight. I have a son in the Royal Australian Navy who has crossed paths (and alcohol) with sailors from the US navy in Singapore and the Gulf. I cop his jargon all the time!

A boomer is slang for a Kangaroo. It is rarely used in common jargon. We simply refer to them as 'Roos'. It is mainly used by 2 section of society: Our national basketball team, following a tradition to use the species as mascots for the national team by Rugby League (Kangaroos) Rugby Union (Wallabies), Soccer (Socceroos) and our olympic Soccer team (Olyroos). The Australian Basketball team call themselves the Boomers.

There is also a Christmas carol by Rolf Harris called "6 white boomers" and talks about Santa's reindeers flaking out in the christmas heat, and 6 'snow white' boomers came to the rescue. Beats singing about dreaming of a white christmas when you are baking in 40C heat!

[Anonymous]

hi guys i used to work at the hunters point navil shipyard one of my jobs was operating stationery dry docks #4 was 1285 feet long 58 feet deep and big enough for a battel shis or any aircraftcarrier... p.s.. the photo of the sub looks like it is in a floating drydock.

[Anonymous]

i once worked at the us naval shipyard at hunters point in san francisco california we had dry docks that held 4 subs. these were the smallest dry docks on the base ; dry dock #4 was 58 foot deep and 1285 foot long.we also had at the time the worlds largest bridge crane it could lift sea going tug boat out of the harbor and put them upright on the dock.

[vsmith]

Cool day here, supposed to rain starting tomorrow all the way till Friday, sheesh! I am getting tired of this winter, I have only managed to do 2 things in the yard this winter, Jack, and, well, you know...Last winter we only got 4 inches of rain this year so far we are at 20 inches downtown and over 30" at my house. Winter is my yard building time and I havent been able to due anything except watch the weeds grow where I'm supposed to building planters...By the time Mudslide season is over and it clears up enough to start work again it will slide straight into Hot-as-Hades Season...well, at least the weeds don't grow when its a 101 in the shade!

[Anonymous]

VSMITH
2-14-05- IT'S RAINNING here today ,i wanted to check my out side tracks , i see i got to put some ballast in and check the little screws in the track , and it will take some time out their before i can run . the weather played a big part of the problems this year.
ben[:(]