Audi Endorsement

As I keep looking at the pictures in my post below, I can't help but think... Wow. That car still looks like a car! I mean, the vehicle is totaled in every possible way, yet the frame retained it's basic shape even after a hard swerve and a flip, crashing into a mailbox, and rolling 4 times. And that well-built frame has a lot to do with why I'm still here.

So I say:  If you are in the market for a car, you can't go wrong with choosing a used Audi like we did. Even one thats 12 years old (like Minnie was) can keep you safe in a major situation. I'm living proof.

Taking It Easy

Our lives have been a little too "eventful" these past few months...

(If you read the past few blog entries, you'll see what I mean, and that's only the half of it...)

I think it's time we Take It Easy for a bit...

Very Happy To Be Alive

Here's what's left of good old Minnie. 

She saved my life on Monday. I'm gonna miss her. 

And lastly, check out the wheel displacement in the photo below. I guess that's what happens when you flip over a bunch of times. Your wheels get a little misaligned on the landing, to say the least.

Poor new tires. Boo...

What Does David Do?

Since the disaster in the Gulf, David and I have been besieged with questions, mostly regarding:
a) his personal safety
b) the nature of his work, and
c) whether or not his job security is at stake

So I wanted to try to clarify things a bit.

The man, the myth, the ROV Pilot.

David is working in safer conditions than he has in the past, but contrary to the comical picture above (taken by an old colleague back while he was still at Oceaneering) he cannot do the job "with his eyes closed..." As an ROV Pilot & Supervisor, his job is all about Robotics & Hydraulics - flying and operating large robots underwater, and that is some specialized stuff for the scientific mind.

David has been doing this for the better part of a decade. And his job security is not at stake due to all the new rumblings about offshore drilling. (*see P.S. below) What most people don't realize is that his type of work is NOT limited to oil rigs.

We've actually been feeling pretty blessed lately.  Because less than 2 years ago, David was still drilling for oil in the Gulf every month with Oceaneering. But when he left that company to started his new & improved position with Chouest (C-Innovations) last year, he pretty much left the oil rigs and offshore drilling behind. He is still an ROV Pilot & Supervisor, but he is no longer spending each day maneuvering said ROV into the heart of a big angry oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, which at this point in time, makes both of us very happy.

Since starting with Chouest a year ago, he has bounced back and forth from the Gulf to the North Sea, doing some very interesting ROV projects. Right now, the main thrust of David's work involves construction, deconstruction, and repair of offshore installations. Last year, when he started with Chouest  he & his team were responsible for constructing a WIND FARM off the coast of Germany. (Hey, isn't a wind farm the karmic opposite of an oil well?) And currently, he's working on deconstructing a 30-year-old Norwegian offshore oil platform.  And as you can see by this video, ROV's (Remotely Operated Vehicles) can be used to do a million different useful things offshore! See?

We expect him home from the North Sea this week!

*P.S. - An interesting update - we've just learned that David's old company, Oceaneering, is in fact currently laying off tons of employees due to the disaster in the gulf. We are so grateful that he is now member of the the C-Innovation team instead!