Keystone 4 & 5

Talk about a strange trip.  Normally the plants are oozing bad ju-ju, but in this case the hotel we were staying at contained the aforementioned bad ju-ju.  I missed last night's post, as Brett and I pulled up stakes and beat feet from the bug-infested hotel, Comfort Inn.  How bad was it?

My forearm

 

I counted a total of 53 bed bug bites on my torso, arms, and right leg.  Some were as small as the tip of a pen, whilst others were the size of quarters.  Brett was also affected, but luckily not as bad.  Kinda difficult to sleep when one's body automatically tries to scratch.  Anyway, Brett and I spent the evening washing everything that is allowed into a washing machine.  After drying, I left everything (laundry, suitcase, toiletry bag, etc.) out in the car so the frigid cold would kill any left over critters.  Thank goodness there is a Hampton Inn right down the street.

That was yesterday evening.  The day entailed the rest of the splicing from the day before, Brett working on the MDC, and the electricians working on the wiring of our product.  Spicing is a rather interesting sequence of events:

Bare fiber:  28 microns (.001 inches!!) at the core.

Completed splice between 28 micron fibers.

Finished product, in protective sleeve.

Kinda crazy getting two fibers that are about a hair length in diameter to join together, in order to transmit our laser energy.  The system tends to bring the nerd in me into the daylight.  The follwoing video also illustrates what the process looks like. Keep in mind that the bright gray on the screen is the 28 micron portion of the fiber.

So that was yesterday.  The weather was still a not-so-balmy 34 degrees and windy.  Wasn't much fun to say the least.  At least I had a heater nearby in order to keep the fibers pliable. 

Today was a day of mechanical work.  Brett continued (and finished!!!) the MDC and the electricians worked on more electrical connections.  Working with cold metal in the elements was not something I was looking forward to.  I bucked up and channeled my inner-Howlett, then set to getting things done.

I put everything into a box and hauled the box o'crap to each location for assembly. 

Leftovers and the tools within the box o'crap.  Had to create my own 10 mm allen tool.

Shiny silver and brass parts, plus the red hose were installed.

Squeezing behind the pipes, hoses, and soot blowers (COLD it all was).

It was a long and physically demanding day in the office.  Everything needed to be tourqued or crimped down as tight as I could make it.  After 27 heads (locations), I was ready for a drink.  The good news:  I am one day closer to being home with my wife and family.  Can't wait.  BTW:  I just saw a picture of her from her office party tonight.  Man, she's a head turner.

Thank you for reading,

Kevin