How to Pop Popcorn Department: Engr Author: Sol The Bull Dupler Era: 1998 Date: 07/31/05 All that talk of food reminded me of a guy who used to have his mom send him bags of popcorn. Not microwave popcorn, but actual popcorn. His watch was the HPAC watch in the liquid oxygen/liguid nitrogen plant. They had the best video games in there, so I spent a lot of time in there. One day a pilot came in and said that he was in his F-14 and once he got so far up in the air he had a strong craving for popcorn. Then he noticed that the oxygen comming from his mask smelled like popcorn. Turns out that the guy from the LOX plant was poping his popcorn on the HPAC. The HPAC was taking the smell from the air and "bottling it". I never had to get to inventive. Working in the Steam and Heat shop all I had to do was go to the fuse box for the admirals gally trip a fuse and wait for them to call to fix whatever I sabotaged. They always had a nice choice of chicken wings, pizza, and steaks. They would give me food and treat me as a hero for fixing their stuff. You have to love that.

Sorrento Memories Department: Rx Author: Flounder Era: 1983 Date: 08/02/05 Kevin - Thanks for reminding me of Parrucciano's, they had some of the BEST food I've ever had overseas. A few of us RE Div. derelicts were sitting around in there one day - me, Joe Scullion, Mike Seidler, Tim Putnam and a few others. I think it was Mike who told us the story about his parents at Sea World in Florida. They went there on their honeymoon. Mike's father was looking through the viewfinder of his camera, lining up the perfect shot of Shamu the killer whale. Apparently Shamu had a cold, because out of his blowhole he coughed up a big lunger that caught Mike's father square in the face, smelling of rotten fish. The Sea World people were mortified. When I heard that story I laughed so hard that the staff gently urged us to move along. We wound up some time later at "Rovers Return," a quaint little pub down near the cliffs. There was lots of English football (soccer) memorabilia there. I bought a scarf and hat at the place. Years later when my wife saw the scarf, she had to have it - the place was named after a fictional pub in "Coronation Street," the most popular Brit soap opera. Those hotels in Sorrento, even though the price was right, sucked - no hot water and very little heat, and most of us had to share beds! As if we weren't sleeping close enough to each other in Rx Berthing!! Me, Joe, Mike, Rooster (John...can't remember his last name), and I think Ace (Nelson Acevedo...wonder whatever happened to him?) shared a room with 3 beds one night, in a hotel near the statue with all the fingers except the middle one missing. That was the last time I ever stayed overnight in Sorrento. Everyone else was too drunk to care.

Sorrento Department: Rx Author: Elmo Era: 1983 Date: 08/05/05 One time in Sorrento a bunch of us had 3 hotel rooms together on I think the 3rd floor. We were sitting on the Noodles balcony drinking Asti Spumanti and Baileys Irish Cream because the were cheap in Sorrento. To get to our room we just climbed across the balconys between our room and the Noodles room.

Sorrento 2 Department: Rx Author: Elmo Era: 1983 Date: 08/05/05 Well, while we were drinking on the Noodles balcony someone went into our room(as I recall he was an RE person)thru the door because he was afraid to climb between the balconies. After finishing his business he looked at the bidet and wondered what it did. He turned it on and it shot water out across the room so he ran back to his room. He didn't turn off the bidet though.

Sorrento 3 Department: Rx Author: Elmo Era: 1983 Date: 08/05/05 Well the whole room flooded about 1/2" deep as that is how high the threshold on the door was, and the ran down the stairs in a nice waterfallto the lobby or whatever. Needless to say the people at the hotel were pissed. The people in the room were pissed as we had sat our bags on the floor and we had no dry clothes to wear the next day after our bags had soaked up all of the water on the floor and had to walk around in wet clothes until they dried.

Shipboard Life Today Department: Supply Author: Peter Era: 2005 Date: 08/05/05 I received this email from Phill and thought folks might like to see what life aboard IKE is like now-a-days: I now do Structural design for a local contracting company. As part of the latest job, I was back out on Ike this past week and will probably be back aboard the week after next. They just came out of Newport News (now Northrop Gumman Newport News) after the refueling RCOH. We're mostly climbing around in the island and the LSO platform - not getting below decks this time. I still get cold sweats every time they ask me if I want to 'ride the boat' for the next round of testing. Ike's changed a bit since our day (I was on from 83-87), but there's a lot that hasn't. I was talking to a 3rd Class who said that, even though Ship's Store #1 has been renamed to "Mini-Mart", they still call it the 7-11. S-9's space at the aft end of hangar 3 has been removed, as have the pay-phones on that bulkhead. Now there are payphones throughout the forward messdecks. The forward Ice Cream bar is now a Node Room for the network. Damn near every compartment has a TV with full satellite and a PC. My old berthing is now the Personnel/Disbursing Complex (though they still run the cash cage up where disbursing used to be). Unlike CVN-75, their soda machines still take cash - there's a push to turn them all over to "NavyCash" smart-cards. According to the Chief who was escorting us last week, they've completely hosed the CPO Mess. It's so small that only about 3/4s of the Ship's Company CPOs can fit in there... Then, of course, there're women onboard now. I still don't know whether that's a blessing or a curse. Cya!

Another bidet story Department: Rx Author: Charlie Era: 1982 Date: 08/06/05 The first bidet I ever saw was in Lisbon. I marvelled at how a "urinal" had hot water for increased sanitation while flushing. Since that was the only plumbing in the room besides a sink, I thought it was a "high tech slop jar." (A slop jar was a jar to piss in overnight to keep from going to the outhouse, which was still common at some of my relatives' houses in the VA mountains in the 60's and 70's.) Being from Boston, a more urbane Pete Ryan straightened me out on the real purpose of the bidet. It still ended up being a high tech slop jar, anyway. In Cannes, I found out the hard way they're not meant to puke in. I stopped up the plumbing at our hotel doing that.

Slapped by Reactor Officer Department: Rx Author: J Rivers Walsh Era: 1983 Date: 08/11/05 My second most poignant memory of serving on the Ike was standing all of those ORSE drills in 1983. We're 11 miles off the Lebanese coast, and we were being evaluated for the third time in a year so that we might be able to raise our scores high enough to be in the running for a Battle E. A submariner Commander was evaluating my performance as Reactor Technician and asked me why I had not corrected the throttleman after a Scram. I asked, "Corrected him for what?" The commander stated firmly that every throttleman should answer a standard bell immediately following a scram regardless of the last speed demand from the bridge. My reply was "Why would we do such a thing?" The commander exasperated explained to me that that maneuver gave the ship the best chance of reaching the surface. Desperately trying not to laugh, I stated "Sir, we are on the surface. Should we submerge, the throttleman will not be able to assist us in resurfacing. The commander gave it some thought, and stated "Of course, now I see your point." grades. The next night as Reactor Operator I had a student under instruction. We had a drill anyway with #2 Reactor scrammed and on two loops. I promptly began to coach the student through the procedure for recovering two loops and then performing a fast recovery startup. After restoring one loop, the student as procedure required verified that Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) amps were in the normal range before starting the second RCP. The reactor officer, shouted at me questioning whether I heard the check valve slamming in the idle loop. I stated I did but we had to wait by procedure. The Reactor Office stepped next to me and slapped my face ordering an immediate start of the last RCP. I waited until amps were normal and started the last pump myself. The XO and a full ORSE team watched the whole ordeal. Three days latter the Reactor Officer was reassigned to a shore billet and immediately removed from the ship.

The day Mamie Department: Air Author: David Wright Era: 1981 Date: 08/12/05 It was Easter Sunday mornning and one of my friends was leave for home on emergency leave,him and 10 othere men where aboard.Mamie left as the sun was riseing,we where off the coast of Sisaly.Because of low cloud cover,the pilot tryed to go under th clouds to find the air field,and went headon into the side of a mountain,All 11 men died in the crash,and I lost a very good friend. That day has been with me and will always be with me till I die.Every Easter I raise my drink and toast all 11 men who died that day,and also to Mamie (C-1/69)I will alway remember her bringing us our mail.

MF-V501s Department: Rx Author: Flounder Era: 1986 Date: 08/15/05 I went to the Carl Vinson after re-enlisting. I know, I know, bad decision, etc., well, I did get out after that, even after being selected for EMC...Anyway, I remembered many fine Rx Electrician watches full of shooting the shit and (as Brother Charlie says) solving the world's problems while sitting around with the guys on FCW. Was looking forward to doing the same as PPWS on the Chuck-boat. My first day aboard in RT, I walk down into #1 RAR and discovered that the handwheels on the 501s were positioned VERTICALLY!! Bad scene! At least there was still a reserve feed manifold on CSW to sit on. And a potable water manifold in the MMR. And the good ol' switchgear rooms...