a MacGyver moment...

I bought these nice comfy boots before I came out here (the issue boots felt like crap), but the other day one of the metal vent things broke off one boot, it's like a rivet with a quarter-inch size hole through it and a fine wire screen on the outside to ventilate the boot...

When it broke off (I think I snagged the outside part of the vent with part of my pistol belt), the inside part basically looked like a flat brass washer, and the outside part looked like it could be "snapped" back through the "washer" part...

(see the pics)

 The vent part would sort of snap into the hole in the boot, and it stayed, but it wasn't really secure, and fell out the next day.

 

So yesterday, I had a great MacGyver (or MacGruber) moment, it went something like this (and yes, I was talking to myself)...

Hand me that angled mounting bracket I found in a drawer,

and that scotch tape - so I can tape the "washer" piece of the rivet over the hole in the bracket that's just bigger than the hole in the washer...

Now hand me that blue Sharpie, so I can mark the center of the hole on the tape to be able to see it through the hole in the boot,

Hand me that 12" crescent wrench, and the tape again, so I can tape the mounting bracket to the head of the wrench which is just big enough to fit inside the boot and span the distance across the inside of the boot...

Now, with the washer, on the bracket, on the wrench, inside the boot, positioned so I can see the blue dot through the hole in the boot, and so that the wrench goes across the width of the boot laying on it's side, on the desk...  hand me the outside part of the rivet vent so I can push it through the hole in the boot, lined up right over the hole in the washer piece of the rivet...

And hand me that 10 pound sledge hammer (our emergency destruction tool in case I have to smash up classified equipment) so I can smack the rivet and force it to snap through the washer...

Three good whacks and it's in!

Hand me that phillips head screwdriver - that's just a little bigger than the hole through the rivet - so I can put it inside the boot, into the hole through the rivet, and smack it with the sledge hammer to bend the metal of the outside part over the washer part on the inside to lock it in place.

Done!  Better than new!

(see pic)

Now if I can just figure out out how to get some cool water in the bathrooms...

Before I left on R&R last month (when the highs were around 100), we had hot and cool running water, seemed pretty normal.  

Now (with the highs in the 130's) we have scalding hot, and just hot running water.

The fresh water is stored in big plastic tanks that sit outside next to the bathrooms and showers, and they have normal water heaters inside those buildings - but obviously no water "chillers"...  

now you can call me from any phone!

let's see if this works...
click this, enter your phone number, and Google will call you and connect to me!

Happy Independence Day to everyone!

My 4th of July celebration out here consisted of a normal workday, with the added security and nonsense that goes along with a visit from VP Biden.  USF-I held a naturalization ceremony to give US citizenship to 156 soldiers from almost 60 different countries.  If you didn't already know, you don't have to be a US citizen to serve in the military, and this crowd raised their hands, recited the oath, and became citizens in a nice ceremony with the VP as guest speaker. 
I 'almost' got to meet the VP at lunch after the ceremony.  He was working his way through the DFAC (dining facility), was almost in front of me, then his folks had him take a different route.  I gave up on that and went back to work.
It generally sucks being out here away from home, but I can tell you that it definitely stinks to be away from my wife, and home, and friends, on days like this.  I hope everyone back home (and I'm thinking of Allentown and San Diego) had a great weekend enjoying family and friends - and I can't wait to get back to spend times like this with all of you!
I'll keep taking some pics, and posting some here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bultar/PicsFromVictoryBaseComplex#
Work is kind of slow frankly, as I continue to try to find new things I can do and new missions for my Det - to keep us busy now, and maybe provide meaningful support/service down the road. 
If you use Skype, look for me online and give me a call sometime!  "Bultar2020" 
Take care!  B