The oil patch is really a small community. If something happens anywhere in the world, there are only a few degrees of separation between yourself and persons involved in the incident. For example, the engineer I am sharing an office with here in Paris knew one of the victims on MH17. They had worked together and lived next door to each other in Malaysia.
If anything happens anywhere in the world there may only be one or two degrees of separation between you and the incident.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Red Dog: Lost and Found Again
You may have seen some of the adventures of Red Dog. The little guy has travelled the world with me. He was given to us by our middle grandson with instructions to take picture of him during our travels. He has been to Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Paris and Vienna as well as Boston, RI and NH. He is a well travelled dog.
Yesterday, my wife and middle grandson took him along on a visit to the Chocolate Museum in Paris. Well, he misbehaved and they had to put him in doggie jail for a time out.
Later that day, we took him out for dinner. He escaped on our way to the restaurant and we thought we'd never see him again. But, as we were crossing Pont Neuf, we saw a homeless man holding Red Dog. We went up to him and offered a reward for Red Dogs return and he was happy to comply. So, Red Dog is now safe with his owners. He has had a bath and is drying on the windowsill.
Yesterday, my wife and middle grandson took him along on a visit to the Chocolate Museum in Paris. Well, he misbehaved and they had to put him in doggie jail for a time out.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Intruder Alert
I stepped outside yesterday to get the mail and heard the familiar sound of a jet taking off from Naval Air Station Belle Chasse. I look up to watch and see an A6 Intruder. WTF, over? I thought they were retired. Any thoughts on why an A6 was flying and where it may have been going?
Friday, July 11, 2014
Cataphiles
Most people have heard about the catacombs of Paris but not many realize that the catacombs make up a tiny portion of a massive quarry complex that exists under the city. The urban explorers that go into these quarries are called cataphiles. The video below was made by one of these cataphiles.
The quarries became a problem as Paris expanded. In 1774 there was a major street collapse that caused the king to organize a special group whose job was to map the underground quarries and shore up the foundations of buildings built over them. You can still see the markings they made when erecting supporting columns under the city.
This is one of a series of videos made by this explorer. Be sure to watch them all.
The quarries became a problem as Paris expanded. In 1774 there was a major street collapse that caused the king to organize a special group whose job was to map the underground quarries and shore up the foundations of buildings built over them. You can still see the markings they made when erecting supporting columns under the city.
This is one of a series of videos made by this explorer. Be sure to watch them all.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Head Count
Saudi Arabia rid the earth of two child rapists last month bringing their year to date head count to an even dozen. It should be quiet on the beheading grounds next month as Ramadan starts.....enshallah.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Getting Home
I should have known that when we got to CDG and discovered that Lufthansa was firing their entire ground staff and that it was their last day of work that there could be problems. But we checked our bags and started the Paris - Munich - Chicago - New Orleans marathon.
We got stopped by bad weather in Chicago. Our flight to the Big Easy was cancelled and they could not offload baggage because of lightening around the airport. So we, and several hundreds of our travelling friends, waited in the baggage claim area to get out stuff and clear customs. Finally, after about 2 hours they started to offload bags. And so we waited and waited only to find that our bags were not on the plane. I suspect that a baggage handler in Paris decided he didn't want to work any more and left our stuff off the cart. Cleared customs without bags and went to the baggage claim guy only to be told that we had to file the claim at our final destination. He would not even tappy tap on his computer to see if knew where they were. It's a good thing that my wife did not have any sharp objects in her hands at that time.
Thank you Lufthansa and United Airlines.
The next day we hit more flight delays but were able to get to Houston and find standby seats to avoid a 5 hour wait for our scheduled, but delayed, flight.
So today I get an email from United Airlines wanting to give me an apology and something for the trouble with our Chicago - New Orleans flight. All I want is my baggage.
We got stopped by bad weather in Chicago. Our flight to the Big Easy was cancelled and they could not offload baggage because of lightening around the airport. So we, and several hundreds of our travelling friends, waited in the baggage claim area to get out stuff and clear customs. Finally, after about 2 hours they started to offload bags. And so we waited and waited only to find that our bags were not on the plane. I suspect that a baggage handler in Paris decided he didn't want to work any more and left our stuff off the cart. Cleared customs without bags and went to the baggage claim guy only to be told that we had to file the claim at our final destination. He would not even tappy tap on his computer to see if knew where they were. It's a good thing that my wife did not have any sharp objects in her hands at that time.
Thank you Lufthansa and United Airlines.
The next day we hit more flight delays but were able to get to Houston and find standby seats to avoid a 5 hour wait for our scheduled, but delayed, flight.
So today I get an email from United Airlines wanting to give me an apology and something for the trouble with our Chicago - New Orleans flight. All I want is my baggage.
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