5/29/2010 Clang Clang

Ever since I came aboard Empire State VI, I have not needed an alarm
clock. This is not because of some incredible biological clock that
always gets me up at the exact same hour, but because of a ship-wide alarm
clock known as the “cadets making noise at 9am.”

Typically, this noise starts off mildly with a hammer beating against
metal, but it slowly mounts until it becomes incessant. Then, when the
workers intuitively realize that the level of noise has not woken me up
yet, they bring out these machines – we can call them miniature
jackhammers since that is what they sound like – to which they proceed to
chip paint off of all surfaces providing for my listening pleasure a
metallic banging echo that pulses through my earplugs to assault the inner
workings of my ear.

It is highly unlikely that any human, unless deaf, can become used to this
kind of noise at that hour in the morning.

So what exactly are they doing? They are doing necessary, busy work,
where they are removing the old paint and rust before applying a new coat..

So last night we passed through the Straits of Bonifucio between Sardinia
and Corsica. It is a shame it wasn’t light out since I really wanted to
see them, but I did catch a glimpse of Sardinia earlier in the day.
Tomorrow we will pass through another strait, this one will be the Strait
of Messina which was considered perilous in ancient times because of its
rocks and whirlpools. According to Encyclopedia Brittanica, “The strait
was greatly feared by sailors in antiquity, mainly because of the rocks
and whirlpools known as Scylla and Charybdis, personified as female
monsters in Greek mythology.” The time we will hit it will be about 1600
which should be around 10am EST.

Amazingly, this morning I walked into the library and it felt *cool* (and
I mean this in a thermometic sense). Apparently they stopped burning fuel
beneath my feet. This doesn’t quite make up for the loss of email,
however, and I’ve noticed that I have had considerably less visitors since
our systems went down the other day, so instead of have 150 cadets per
day, I am doing around 80 to 100. I do have this group of hardcore
library followers who like to come down here for the relative peace and
quiet. Invariably they show up in the evening and stay until I close, so
the chance of me sneaking out early is nil.

Tonight is definitely busy, with lots of students here and using the pubs
and sight reduction charts.

Also, I hate to say this since I might jinx myself but the seas have been
very calm. It is like there is no motion at all. We are also continuing
to do our leisurely cruise, and though I do not know quite how fast we are
going, I would say we are probably doing just about 8 to 10 knots.

That’s it for today!

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Joe