Let's go aboard the USS Alabama!

The USS Alabama (BB-60) is a decommissioned US Navy warship that is now on display at the Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, AL. The park also includes the USS Drum (SSN-228),a WWII era submarine.

The Alabama served proudly during her short naval career. She served in the US Navy from 1942 to 1947 first in the North Atlantic, then in the Pacific campaign. Her kills and awards are below.




Let's take a tour of the USS Alabama.






























The ship's bell.




The US Naval Jack on the jack staff at the bow of the ship. This jack is not currently used by the US Navy. They are currently using the First US Navy Jack during the Global War on Terror.

The First US Naval Jack onboard the USS Texas (BB-35)


Let's look at some of the weapon systems on board the Alabama.















20mm anti-air gun


This shows the 1st and 2nd 16 inch 45 caliber turrets.



This is the inside of the #2 turret.



5 inch guns.



This is the 5 inch radar director which controlled the 5 inch guns.

Let's go below.

First, let's take a look at sleeping quarters.

Here we have officer quarters. This stateroom is set up as LT W. T. Door's stateroom. During wartime, the staterooms would hold two officers and served as their office.





















Next we will take a look at some crew berthing.



Cramped would hardly describe this place!

Next we will take a look at the Skipper's sea cabin up by the bridge. This is where the captain lived while at sea.




Now, we will move to the most important part of the ship, the galley. Sailors don't work on empty stomachs!

First, the crew's galley.



This galley was were the officer's mess was prepared. The officers would have typically eaten in the wardroom.



Now we will look at some of the workstations on board the Alabama.

First, the supply officer



The sign on the right was in this office, just above the typewriter on the left.


This next office was of the Chief Master at Arms. Jimmy Legs served at the chief of the police for the ship. As the sign on the ship said, he did not win many popularity contests.



Is that a billy club on the rack? Note the various chief rating patches on the bulkhead.

The Alabama carried a detachment of Marines. Here is the landing force equipment office.




Next we have the radio room. This was Radio Central.



Next, the combat information center. Information was analyzed and disseminated here. The ship could also be navigated by radar from this compartment. One guy touring the ship said when passing this compartment, "They need to let me take this puppy for a spin!" I hope they don't.



Here is central station, which was the Executive Officer's battle station. The ship could be controlled from here. Note the master gyro-compass in the foreground.



Finally the power house of the ship, the engine room. The wheels would control the steam flow, one for forward, one for reverse. The generator is the high pressure steam turbine.



Fair winds and following seas.

Let's go aboard the USS Drum!

The USS Drum (SS-228) is a decommissioned US Navy submarine that is now on display at the Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, AL. She served in the Pacific Ocean from 1941 to 1946, sinking 15 ships. The park also includes the USS Alabama (BB-60), a decommissioned battleship.

Let's take a tour of the USS Drum.



As we make our way fore, we pass the ship's bell.



Continuing to the bow, we look back and see the sub's sail.



Looks like there is a place we can enter the sub. Let's go!

Climbing down the ladder well, we find the forward torpedo room.



Looks like Seaman Smuchatelli is still down here working. He looks pretty good for having been working for the last 65 years.

This guy is kind of stiff and not very friendly, so lets continue aft of the torpedo room.

We next come across a shower.



How odd.

Next we have officer quarters and the wardroom. The wardroom is where the officers of the ship have their meals.



The wardroom was on the port side of the ship.

Across the passageway was the officer quarters. They included two rooms which held two officers. She would carry a compliment of six officers.



There are two bunks in this room.

Aft of the officer quarters was the Skipper's quarter.



It appears the only different is that the captain has his own rack.

Continuing back, we find the Chief quarters, which consisted of five racks for the chief's of the boat. Chiefs, E-7 through E-9 in the Navy, serve as Non-Commissioned Officers.




Next we find the crew's mess, where they ate.



Note the game boards built into the table. I'm sure these worked real well when the sub was rolling in a storm!

Next we find enlisted quarter's. The ship would carry 54 enlisted personnel.



Next we have the control room.




These would be used to control the speed of the ship.


Next we have the engine room. The sub could run at 21 knots on the surface, or 9 knots when submerged.



Finally, we reach the stern of the ship and find the rear torpedo tubes.



We also find a ladder well to get us out of here. Let's take it above.



We made it back top side!

It's Friday, so let's listen to a song!

This week, we will listen to Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines perform "I Found The Lions." The song is also called, "Mean People Suck." The chorus is

Dont mess with the mighty mighty jungle
Swim through the ocean
Eat the fish in the sea
Dont mess with the mighty mighty jungle
Because where you find the lions
You will find me

Rest of the lyrics can be found here.

I have no idea what the song means.

Saving Money

Today in class, I continued a unit about computer networking. It made me realize how much I use my computer.

I use my computer a lot. I use it for storing and editing photos; creating, editing, and storing documents; email; internet access; VoIP; chat; budgeting; and various other applications.

These applications could be done without the computer, but think of how expensive it would be!

Mail
I write about 5 emails a day. 1 of which is international. If I was to send these first class and airmail, it would cost me 4*$0.44 + $0.94 = $2.70/day

Chat and VoIP
I use chat a lot. I'd estimate that the amount I use chat would be comparable to 1 hour on the phone. Based on my cell phone plan, I spend roughly $0.06/min. So based on this rate, I spend 60*$0.06 = $3.60/day

I also use Skype about once a month for an international call that lasts about an hour. Without skype, that would cost me $0.12/min. So that is another 60*$0.12=$7.20/month

File Storage
My computer holds tons of files. Articles I have found on the internet, reports I've received, papers I've written, instructions, all can be found on my computer. These would easily fill a large file cabinet. That would cost $150.

Photos
My computer has tons of photos. Not only ones I have taken, but also ones others have taken. My computer has over 7,000 photos on it. If these were all printed out at $0.20 a piece, it would be 7000*$0.20 = $1400

Now I also need to store those photos. Let's get some photo albums. We will get some that hold 300 photos for $30. So that is 24*$30 = $720

Now I also have a photo website. The only reason I made it is so that I can see my photos wherever I am. So I would need to print another copy of those photos and some photos albums. There are about 1,000 photos on that website, so that is 1000*$0.20 + 4*$30 = $320

That's a total of $1400+$720+$320 = $2440

Internet
I use the internet for news, entertainment, information, and a host of other things. It has replaced my television as I do not own one. I can watch the things I want, such as sports, on the internet. For entertainment, I can watch a DVD or a video on youtube on my computer. For information, the internet and sites like wikipedia have replaced the set of encyclopedias that I had when I was a kid. We'll use a cheaper television at $500, a cheap DVD player $20, and a World Book Encyclopedia $1000. So the internet saves me at least $500 + $20 + $1000 = $1520

Music
I love music. I am always listening to music on my computer. Because I have a computer, I do not have a stereo. So that would be $500. The music is all from CD's or bought on the internet.

Budgeting
I budget on my computer, but would be able to do this with just a piece of paper without the computer.

So on just these few applications, the internet saves me on
Mail - $2.70/day
Phone calls - $3.60/day + $7.20/month
File Storage - $150
Photos - $2440
Entertainment - $520
Encyclopedia - $1,000
Stereo - $500

Or $4610 + $6.30/day + $7.20/month.

Song of the Week

It's Friday, so let's celebrate with some good music!

This song, titled United Breaks Guitars, is by Dave Carroll and is based on a true story. He has promised more songs about this incident.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for your musical pleasure, The Sons of Maxwell and United Breaks Guitars

I Will Go

My job is having me move again next week, my 2nd move this month. I'll then be making two more moves in two and four months, respectively. My move next week is taking me away from my training, which will be completed when I return in two months, and placing me into my job, before I have completed training. The leaving and returning is not part of the normal training plan. I am not really sure what they will do with me when I arrive, I don't even know if they know I am coming. I don't know what I will be doing when I get there and am not even trained to do what I should be doing. I don't have a place to stay yet and my affairs are not in order. But I will go. And I will do.

God calls us this way to do His will. I wouldn't say that I am ready to do God's will, I still have so much more to learn! But He calls us and sends us as we are.

Jonah was certainly not ready for his job, he even tried to escape from it! God decided to not let Jonah flee but instead convinced him to go to Ninevah after being thrown off the ship and swallowed by a whale. Jonah went and did his job, and did it quite well! The message of God was received by the people and they repented of their sins and God did not destroy them.

The disciples were certainly not prepared when they were sent out. They seemed to understand very little of what Jesus taught them at the time. But they were sent out and how powerful they were! The ministry of Jesus that they continued to carry out has perpetuated 2,000 years later because of what they and others following them have done.

Moses was not prepared for his job. He seemed quite happy to be a shepherd when God called him to go and speak to Pharaoh. He tried to reason with God that he wasn't even capable of doing the task because of his speech. Reluctantly, Moses went. He led the Israelites out of Egypt and to through the desert, delivering them to the promise land.

These people were successful not because of something special about them. They were successful because of the Spirit of God working in them. When God sends us places, he doesn't send us alone, but with His Spirit. In Matthew 10, Jesus tells the disciples that he is sending them out and they will be attacked like sheep in the midst of wolves. That they will be arrested and killed. But he tells them to not worry for the Spirit of God will be working in them and leading their speech.

My job may not be leading me into a den of wolves for the sake of God, but I still go with God's Spirit. As a Christian, I am always to be a testament of God's love, a light unto the world. I go with the assurance that God goes with me. In Him do I trust. I will go and God will be with me.

Too Wet

I love going to the beach. It seems I have spent a majority of my life on the beach. I love seeing the wildlife, the dunes, the fishing, the shelling. I could stay at the beach forever and be happy. But that water keeps looking at me.


It keeps looking at me as if it wants me to go swimming. To jump in the waves. To get completely soaked. To get wet. But I don't want to get wet!

I use to enjoy swimming. When I was a kid, I loved swimming in the pool, at the lake, at the beach. But as I got older, I didn't like it as much. Now, I just do not like to swim at all.

I recently tried swimming again in a pool in an apartment complex. I got in, swam a couple of laps, then immediately got out and never got back in again. I didn't like being so wet!

My parents have a dog they rescued who is a border collie mix. Ever since they got her, she hated water. When I was younger, I would play in the sprinkler while the dog watched. She would finally get so frustrated that she couldn't be where I was that she would finally stand in the spray of the sprinkler. She hated it.

When I got older, I started taking the dog to the beach. She loved running off leash, taking in the smells and exploring new places. But that water kept calling her.


She and I would both just stand there looking at it, trying to figure out what it was that we didn't like about being so wet. It isn't that I can't swim, I can. I just don't like being wet! So instead, the dog and I stay on the shore. We are happy here, but we don't understand why the water is calling us.