New Weapons

Formation this morning was in "full battle rattle," that is helmets, bullet-proof vest, load-bearing equipment, pack, etc. After formation we drew our new weapons and gas masks. We now have M16A4, an improved weapon with additional cooling which makes it heavier than the previous versions. We were also issued scopes. Body armor and equipment are fine on a 50-degree morning, the extra weight keeps you warm. I imagine it will be less comfortable in the summer.

New Review on Books and Culture

My review of the book Atoms and Alchemy in the latest issue of Books and Culture is now available on line. I have worked with Mary Ellen on other projects in the history of chemistry. In our last article we wrote about the history of isooctane and tetra-ethyl lead. She did the early history, I tied in Dale Earnhardt Junior's blown engine in the 2nd NASCAR race of 2007, World War 2 aircraft, and 60s Muscle Cars. We each have our own expertise. That article is part of an exhibit catalogue that has not yet been published.
My next article for B&C (assuming it is accepted) is a review of a book called Nylon and Bombs a book about the DuPont Company. The book was originally published in French and my co-author is Brigitte Van Tiggelen, a visiting scholar at CHF and presidente of the Memoscience, a history of science organization in Belgium. A lot changed when the book we reviewed was translated into English. Brigitte talked to the author so we could write about the many pitfalls of translation, even when the author speaks both languages.

Re-enlistment

I signed up for a year last August. I had planned to sign up for three but the recruiter said if I sign up for one, I can re-enlist for three then get a bonus. I could not get a bonus for enlisting because I had prior service and needed job training. So I wrote a note to the retention specialist (the person in charge of re-enlistment) in our brigade.
Here is her answer to my email:
Your entire email sounds like a test question! I love it...I will do some
research for you and then I will get back to you with an answer.
Have a great day!

And here's the test question:
I was at Aberdeen for training during the last drill, but wanted to contact
you before the next one April 18-20.
I am now an MOSQ 63J10. [Meaning I completed the training.]
My enlistment ends August 15, 2008.
I will be 55 years old on May 2.
At the time of my enlistment on August 16, 2007, I had 11 years, 2 months,
2 days of service including 6 years and 7 months active, three years active
reserve and the rest inactive.
SO
Can I re-enlist for six years just after June 15 getting me over 18 years at
the end of that enlistment at age 61 allowing me to retire because I will
be both over 60 and over 18 years?
Will I have to enlist in an active duty unit to get the retirement?
Let me know.

It does sort of sound like a word problem on a test.
I'll let you know what she says.

First Race. . .I Finished on the Lead Lap

One minute into this race I remembered why I love racing so much. I was at the back of the 40-rider pack hoping just to stay on. Several guys came up and welcomed me back on the start line. It felt strange to be there. But then the whistle blew and the pack rolled out slowly. As we picked up speed I stayed at the back, but I knew where to ride to stay on and as we turned into the wind I was looking for the best place to be, looking up the road to see who was at the front and feeling like I never took a year off. Halfway around the 5.7-mile lap is "The Hill." Halfway up I found myself in a group of guys who were getting dropped. I closed up to the back of the pack and managed to stay with the main pack all the way around the course the "The Hill" on the next lap. At that point I was off the main pack. I rode for a couple of laps with a guy who just turned 50 years old. I stayed ahead of the pack and rode the whole distance without getting lapped. As it turns out my result was no worse than the last two times I did this race. In 2006, I dropped out at the same point. In 2005 I did 32 races and was dropped in only two--Mt. Joy and the Road stage of the Fitchburg MA stage race. I have a Guard weekend next weekend, but the following weekend is the Ephrata Stage Race. The road race and the criterium are flat, so I may be able to hang in until the end. But I will be crawling up the hill in the Sunday morning time trial. It is four miles flat then four miles up--I should finish at the back of that one,

Eleven-Month Crash Anniversary

Today was eleven months exactly since I crashed. On Wednesday, May 9, 2007, I flipped to the road at 51 mph. Today, Wednesday, April 9, 2008, I rode down the hill I crashed on for maybe the 20th time since I got back on the bike and then rode over to the Wednesday night training race for the first time since the accident. I only did two of the seven 3-mile laps then rode toward home. Lisa picked me up about four miles from the training race course. By the time she picked me up I had ridden 44 miles so I was ready to stop.

First Race on Saturday

I just signed up for my first bicycle race since the crash last year--11 months ago today. I don't expect to do very well--my training miles are down by half from previous years--usually I would have close to 2000 miles by now, currently I am just short of 1,000. But it should be fun just to ride in a race pack again and see my teammates. This race is 29 miles on a hard, hilly course so I don't expect to finish in the same zip code as the leaders.

Radiation Training

Over the weekend I completed a long Army course on line about testing and maintaining equipment that uses radiation in its illumimation or operation. In the Army way, each instrument was covered in detail, but the bottom line on every one was: if anything is wrong, double bag the entire instrument, put it in a new box and ship it back to the people who are actually authorized to work on it. The introductory material on sources of radiation was very clear and easy to follow.