I have a crazy wounded on my lower stomach that wont heal. It started as a couple of blisters from my pants rubbing on my stomach while driving (I drove over 600 miles last week). Then it transformed into open wounds, skin ulcers you could say. I've kept the wounds clean and put anti-puritic creams on them (anti-itch). I think they are *slowly* healing. They itch extremely bad. So for some reason, its causing a histamine response. Oh well.

I took some steel plates to a welding shop today to have some flaws welded into them. I am preparing myself for the American Petroleum Institute's Qualified Ultrasonic Technician Examination. http://www.api.org/certifications/icp/programs/api-qute.cfm

I've been going by the philosophy that failing to prepare is preparing to fail. This time last year, I was studying for the National Association of Corrosion Engineers "Basic Corrosion" test. All my hard work payed off, I rocked that test.

But my ultrasonic test will be harder. Sound, like light, can be focused. I basically shoot a cone of sound into metal, and when it hits something perpendicular to the angle I am using, I get a reflection on my screen. I then have to determine if that signal is a naturally occurring geometric reflector (a corner, a normal weld root, a normal weld cap), a non-relevant signal (mode conversion- the sound waves converting from one form to another, irregular metal surface, or excess couplant), or if it is truly a weld flaw. If it is a weld flaw, I then have to determine what it is- porosity (air bubbles trapped in the weld), slag ( a welding byproduct that is weak and brittle), a crack (actual metal seperation), lack of fusion (where the welder did not fully melt the weld, and thusly causing another metal seperation), or lack of penetration (where the weld root, the most critical part of the weld, is not fully formed).

Some weld flaws are automatically rejectable, such as cracks, and lack of fusion. Others are acceptable if they are only under a certain length. There are a few different methods for measuring the size of the flaws in the welds, and all have their problems. I actually have to draw a cross-section of the weld, then take measurements of the flaw, and draw the flaw on paper. Its a very complicated process. Then I run into even more problems. If the flaw is smaller than the cone of sound (known as beam spread) I am shooting into the weld, then the flaw will appear to be the size of my beam spread at that point. This could lead me (or any other technician) to rejecting a good weld.

But anyways, its an art, science, and skill. And since so few people do it competently, it makes me very valuable to my company. I hope to take my test this spring.

Year in Review:

Aced my NACE Corrosion test.

Went to the largest aquarium in the world and saw a whale shark.

Worked for months on a pipeline stretching through forests and farm land.

Got really sick and thought I was going to die.

Spent several weekends at Rough River Lake with some good friends fishing and driving my dad's boat.

Met a really cool woman whom I'm in a relationship with.

Toxins
I keep hearing people talk about toxins. "Oh I'm going to clear my body of toxins, blah blah blah". What toxins? I assume these people are talking about heavy metals, PCBs, and other chemicals. But in years of hearing people talk about toxins, I've never heard them mention those terms. Is there any scientific evidence that the body even retains such chemicals? I know that the liver has mechanisms for getting rid of mercury, and that the kidneys are very non-selective in which chemicals are excreted. So if it is dissolveable in water, it doesn't get stored. A woman once gave herself mercury poisoning by eating tuna fish three times a day for several weeks. But once she stopped eating it, the symptoms went away. So that means only fat-soluble "toxins" could potentially cause a problem. I've heard it claimed that the body supposedly uses adipose (fat) cells as dumping grounds for unknown chemicals. But coincidentally enough, no mechanism of action was mentioned.

Genetically modified foods
Why are people so against genetically modified foods? For some unknown reason, they think genetically modified crops are dangerous. What crop scientists are doing now is not much different (in principle) from what ancient people did 5000 years ago. Corn comes from a grassy plant that looks nothing like a corn plant. Indians changed the genetic makeup of that plant to the extreme by selecting and replanting the individuals that produced the most seeds and grew the tallest. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and a few others all came from the same plant. Certain traits were picked out as desirable and over thousands of years of replanting, different versions emerged. And thankfully so, red cabbage is the most potent cancer-fighting vegetable out there, with its polyphenols and anthocyanins. There is a scientist, I don't know his name off hand (though I need to find it), that began genetic manipulation of plants in the 60s. He is credited with saving over a billion lives by creating food crops that could grow in conditions that otherwise would kill normal plants. In effect, he has prevented famines. Parts of Asia are extremely defficient in Vitamin A. A genetically modified version of rice has been created which contains beta carotene (which the body thusly turns into Vitamin A as needed). This rice has been distributed over the poorest parts of the Pacific to combat Vitamin A defficiency. The two biggest GM foods I am excited about are Purple Tomatoes, which contain massive amounts of phytochemicals to combat cancer, and soybeans that can produce long-chain omega 3 fatty acids. Modern Western diets are lacking in both of these.

I had a dream that I went to an island off the coast of Africa with a female tour guide. When we arrived, it was a third world country where whites were the minority and a type of people called Moguls were dominant. They appeared to be half Chimpanzee and half human. I asked someone if they were, but he told me they were descendants of the Mongals.

At night, the whites slept in a barracks type bunk-house. In the middle of the night, a Mogul (looking very much like a large Chimpanzee) came in and began attacking and eating people. When I had my chance, I ran up and attempted to strangle the Mogul. But he was too strong. I told my female tour guide to put a plastic pull-tie around its neck, along with some rope and velcro. That subdued the Mogul. I was quickly learning that the Moguls killed whites on a regular basis.

There was a Walmart on the island. I went to the sporting goods section. It was mostly fishing rods. But I found a small shotgun and ammunition. I quickly bought it. Going back to the bunkhouse, I found the Mogul to still be alive. Another woman shot it twice, but that didn't kill it. I shot it in the top of its head, and it finally died.

I learned of the plans of the Moguls to send all the whites to a part of the island where the soil was so poor that no food would grow. It was like they were trying to exterminate us. With a small group, I went rogue and headed to that part of the island on foot, happy to get away from the Moguls. Along the way I came to a large warehouse with female scientists. They were partly responsible for what was going on. The Moguls and scientists attacked me, and I was shooting them with my shotgun as fast as I could. It only held 4 shells, and I had to keep reloading. I finally killed almost all of them and made my escape from the warehouse laboratory. From there I could see the trolley-like trains taking the whites to the other part of the island. I hid in the tree-lines whenever a train would pass. I made my way back to the original town to kill more Moguls, but unfortunately I awoke before I could rescue the others.

What does this dream mean? Nothing, it has to do with:
Watching a violent chimpanzee attack on tv that killed one man and mauled two others
Me researching shotguns and why they arent effective as rifles at long ranges (federal laws it turns out)
Me constantly getting invited to go to foreign countries by my brother

I met an awesome girl last week.  Her name is Freda.  We met at a bar through some friends.  Hit it off right away, wasn't 30 minutes before we were smooching out back.  She is about 15 years older than me, but she is very attractive.  We went out again last night.  Went to a bar for a few drinks, back to her house to watch a movie, made out for about an hour. 

She's a really great woman, I met some of her kids.  One of them ( a girl) is in high school.  The other (a boy) is in middle school.  I can only imagine what they thought about their mom going out with a dude like me lol.

Anyways, I hope to see her again soon.

I had an allergic reaction to my flu shot today.  It was horrible.  For the second time this year, I truly thought I was going to die.  Fortunately, epinepherine, along with prescription strength anti-histamines and some other stuff helped me pull through.  Now I'm running a +1 degree temperature, and I have to drive to Knoxville, TN.  This sucks.

Getting my flu shot tomorrow.  For some reason, I am pretty concerned about the H1N1 virus.  The CDC released a report estimating 90,000 Americans will die from this virus.  For complex reasons*, most of the deaths from H1N1 have been from people 25 years old and younger.  One doctor explained the way it worked.  The virus invades cells in your lungs, reproducing itself with the cellular machinery.  As the cell explodes and spreads many more viruses out, it in essence bores holes in your lungs.  Then your own body tries to attack the virus.  Unfortunately, the immune response is more damaging than the virus.  In what is known as a Cytokine Storm, your own immune cells destroy the cells of your lungs, leading to death.

*It's hypothesized that the deaths relate to the levels of Vitamin D in the body.  Vitamin D is a very important factor in your immune system, especially in the generalized first response.  But if you have moderate levels of Vitamin D, its not enough to stop the virus from invading your body, but its enough to cause the cytokine storm that kills you.

So my brother has acquired himself a full-time position in Canada now.  He's working at the refinery in Fort McMurray.  Three weeks on, three weeks off.  Tons of money.  He wants me to come up and work there too.  I'd have to pass my Canadian certifications tests in order to go to work there.  They are desperately lacking in ultrasonics technicians.  The only allure for me would be the money. 

It will take a lot of studying and hands on practice for me to pass the certification tests.  I passed the GE Inspection School's tests, but the harder part is the hands on practical test.  I do have some extremely good literature on the subject, and my brother told me he'd pay for me to take another ultrasonics class. Might have to take him up on that offer.

Just got back from Springfield, Illinois.  Went there to take a radiation safety test.  It was pretty straight-forward, though my boss and I did find some questions that were completely wrong.  I am sure I passed though.

Heres some things to know about radiation:

-X-rays and Gamma rays do not build up in your body, but they do cause damage.

-Naturally radioactive substances emit alpha, beta particles, and gamma rays.  The alpha and beta particles (which are highly energized protons/neutrons and electrons, respectively) do cause contamination.  They can be stopped by something as thin as a paper suit though.

-You cannot see, hear, feel, or smell radiation.  If there is a major radiation exposure though, you will be able to smell the ionized air.

-Radiation workers, such as myself, wear a rate alarm, film badge, pocket dosimeter, and carry a survey meter.  These instruments are used to detect radiation and measure how much I have been exposed to.

-Standing 1 foot away from a new industrial radiographic source, it would take less than 15 minutes to get a lethal dose of radiation.

All this being said, there are extremely few deaths in the industrial radiography community.  Even though we do have some buffoons working in this field.  Federal law dictates that we work in two man teams, for both our safety and the safety of the public.

To put things in perspective.  Cars kill more Americans each year than the entire Vietnam War did (around 60,000 per year).  I didn't hear of one radiation death last year from an accident.