If you ain't got family, you ain't got shit

We buried my Godfather last week.

Outside of my dad, my godfather was the biggest male in my life.

James "Jake" Earley, Chicago Police Department, Badge #10092.

My Uncle Jim was a larger than life figure. He is the only person that I know personally who knew my dad when my dad was younger, like high school. Jake married my dad's big sister Mary, and that is the connection between the Donohue and Earley families. You have no idea how complicated it gets after that!

I have Irish on both sides, Donohue and Tunney. My extended family tree stretches out... and out.. and out. I gave up trying to keep track of everyone a lonnnnng time ago.

The wake and funeral did give me a chance to see my amazing cousins on that side of the family again, and since my branch was the youngest, my cousins have adult kids (2nd cousins) and they are amazing, too! We've since pledged to stay in touch a little better, and with FaceBook, etc, that should be a lot easier... staying in each other's lives. Because; If you ain't got family, you ain't got shit.

"Blood is thicker than water, right Godson?"

How many times did I hear him say that! A thousand? Easily.

Family was #1 in life. Church was #2. At the homily, Father Jim Hyland (whose first Parish was St John Fisher, where my uncle lived,) gave a beautiful eulogy of his own for my uncle. One of the many things he said was that Jake knew all the mass schedules for the area. He knew that if he had to work late, the times of the last mass in the area, or he could always stop by the hospital, or which Parish had the latest mass.

He loved family. He watched out for us when my dad slipped into gambling and his alcoholism got really bad. He worked extra hard, and instead of going out with the 'boys,' he picked up extra duty to pay the bills off early. His gift to his kids upon graduation from college? No college debt.

He adored his grandkids. He loved seeing them as often as he could. He had retired by the time they were getting older, and he went to every game that he could get himself to.

He was a great, big, fun man. He lives as large as he could stand it. When my Aunt Mary passed away, suddenly.... he was heartbroken. His only wish was to join her, but his will to live kept him going for so many years.

Aunt Mary died a little too much inside when her daughter, my cousin Nancy, died from cancer. Nancy was another one who lived as if she colored outside the lines. She had all of her dad's 'live out loud' sense, but she was also the closest to us in age, so we had a special connection. I visited her when she was hospitalized, and she was really weak. Cancer is such a bastard. Anyways, when I got in to her room, she was resting alone. I sat down next to her bed and held her hand, and after a few minutes she opened her eyes, saw my and smiled, and said "Scotty!"

We talked quietly for a few minutes, max, and then she said she was still tired. I told her she needed to rest up, she had herself, her three kids, and her husband Mike she needed to fight for. She nodded off, saying "Love you, cousin," and I said "Love you most!" and she chuckled softly and went back to sleep.

I left after she was back asleep, and went about my day. I called my mom on my way home, and she asked if I had seen my aunt of uncle. I said they had stepped out, but I got to talk to Nancy a little bit so it was fine. My mom called me later laughing. Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary had been down getting a bite to eat, and when they came back up to Nancy's room, she said I had stopped by. They thought she had dreamed that I was there, because nobody else saw me!! We had a great laugh over that.

When Nancy passed, my Aunt Mary passed away a little bit with her. My aunt died a few short year later, and all my Godfather has wanted since then is to be with his wife again.

Uncle Jim is finally where he wanted to be. I am sure he is sitting next to Aunt Mary, and she is telling him what needs to be done, and he is saying "Yes dear," and taking his marching orders and getting the job done. I know he misses his kids and grandkids... jeez, he loved his grandkids. I know how much he misses them because of how much WE miss HIM. But family is #1, and his #1 was my Aunt Mary.

I got to visit him right before his 83rd birthday, and took the 'selfie' of the two of us. I am so grateful to have had him as my Godfather, and to see in real life, in real time, someone who doesn't just mouth the words about the importance of family, but lived it daily, hourly.

He was so much larger than life. So now I'll hoist a beer and repeat after him..."Body of Christ..."

Thanks for everything, Godfather.

Iran and the Bomb

This is going to be a bit of a departure from my usual writing.

I've been reading quite a bit recently on this topic (and a few others,) and after numerous conversations, I realized that not that many people know what is really going on. So, I thought I would write a bit about this.

There will be a little math (Oh, noes!! Horrors!) But I promise it will be mostly painless. There are some big words, too.

Why it is so important that Iran not be allowed to continue their nuclear program.

Heavy Stuff!
There are many aspects to this, many questions that come into play. What is 'enrichment?' Why should we care about their nuclear power program? They are trying to provide power for civilian purposes. So what if they have 'The Bomb." Israel and Pakistan have the bomb, as well as North Korea. They just want it, like so many other countries do.

There are differences in civilian nuclear programs, and military programs (obviously.) Not to mention, the country that is involved is important; this does not all happen in a vacuum. If Burkino Faso intended to work towards a civilian program, I would not be nearly as leery as I am with Iran's program.

First of all, Iran.

This is a country that... since 1979 has made it a tradition to end Friday prayers with "Death to America." I don't know why our current President does not seem to get this. When someone... especially a political entity that is trying to gain a toehold in the nuclear weapon world, believes the only good you is a dead you, you should take them at face value. If you know for a fact that they are trying to make that concept a reality, take them at face value, and consider yourself at war. As it has been said, "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."  This would be like meeting a stranger in a dark abandoned street. The stranger comes up to you and says to "Give me all your money, any jewelry you have, and I might not kill you." Then when you take the time to explain that you work with violence prevention groups, and you believe in nonviolence as the answer to any question, they knife you. As the person takes your money, and your life spills out of you, you realize 'oh, I might not be interested in violence, but violence might be interested in me.'

"Death to America." For over 30 years.

Also, according to our own State Department, Iran has been the leading exporter of terror for the last 3 decades. Iran is an accomplice in the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Africa, and in the 9/11 attacks.

Need more?

The deal that the President (and the UN) is trying to make, will lift sanctions as long as Iran promises to slow down their nuclear programs. For 10 years.

OF course, why should they? Can anyone fill me in on a single treaty or sanction that they have complied with? Here is a great list of sanctions thatthey have violated, and it is only current to 2011. International Atomic Energy Agency Sanctions, UN violations... the list goes on and on. Why would anyone believe they will follow through on anything that they already intend to violate? They have with impunity, and they will continue with their goals.

President Obama is willing (and so are many of the UN Countries, and shame on them) to let Iran become a 'Threshold" Nuclear State. So they will have the capabilities of enriching uranium to military grade, but they will not be in the process of enriching it. Yeah, right, who believes that crap? (Other than the President... and the usual cast of fools at the UN.)

So, what does it mean to be 'Threshold?' Why is this so big a deal?

Here is some nuke info, on enrichment, refinement, and how to make The Bomb.

There are 2 kinds of naturally occurring Uranium. U238 and U235. The number refers to the total of neutrons and protons in the nucleus, or center of the atom of uranium. So, U235 has 235 protons(92) and neutrons(143), and U238 has 238 protons(92) and neutrons(146.) I know, all kinds of science-y.

Now I am sure we all remember Science from 7th grade. The Atom is composed of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and it is surrounded by rings of electrons. The protons are held together by the Strong Nuclear Force. I am sure everyone remembers that like repels like, and all those protons are there, all with their positive charges. Why don't the fly apart? THAT is the Strong Nuclear Force, holding all those like charges extremely close together. That is the force that is unleashed in an atom bomb... literally, the energy released when you break that bond, and get the nucleus of the atom to fly apart.

It is very complicated, it only works over short distances, and the neutrons help the whole thing along.

A good rule of thumb, is that elements that have an even number, are generally more stable than elements that have odd numbers (oxygen [8], platinum [78], v. phosphorus [15] potassium [19.]) Those additional neutrons (146 instead of 143) make U238 very stable (At least in relation to its lighter brother, U235.)

99% or the naturally occurring uranium is U238... of course!! It is more stable! I would hope so!
1% is U235, and U235 is what we want if we want to use it for energy (for good or ill.)

The normal process is called 'enrichment.' In a centrifuge, if you spin say... blood, it will break down by weight, and the different components of blood will separate into plasma, which is light, then a little bit of white blood cells and platelets, and then the red blood cells (heaviest.)

So, you put the uranium into the centrifuge, and spin it away.

A small problem-- uranium is a solid. Liquids separate, gasses separate, but you can spin a solid bar, and all you'll get is dizzy.

So you need to turn it into a liquid or a gas. (warning-- big words coming, but don't be scared!)

The standard/universal method is to take your uranium, mix it with fluorine, and then you have Uranium Hexafluoride gas (Uranium bonded to 6 Fluorides.) This is then spun in the centrifuge, and the lighter U235 'floats' near the top, and the heavier U238 gloms to the bottom. Part of that U235 is scooped off the top, and then the process is repeated.

(note-- Uranium Hexafluoride gas (UH6, or 'Hex,') is radioactive, toxic, and corrosive. Trifecta!!-- in the words of John Walker.)

The numbers to reach are pretty staggering. Let us say you start with 10,000 lbs of Uranium. Simple math will tell you that you have 9,900 lbs of U238, and 100 lbs of U235. Pure U235 is nearly impossible to work with, so you want a ration of U238 to U235 (the stability of U238 tampens down the reactivity of the U235, but only up to a point. Kind of like adding butter to your cooking oil in the pan. Saturated fats in the butter protect the poly unsaturated fats in the cooking oil from breaking down at higher temps.)

So, what kind of mix are we looking for?

Your first SIXTEEN passes through the centrifuges will produce a uranium that is about 95% U238 and 5% U235. This takes a long time, and a great deal of effort. That 10,000 lbs is now around 1,000 lbs, and it is only 5% U235. This is what is called 'Reactor Grade" Uranium. This is what reactors prefer to burn. The U235 undergoes the radioactive decay, there is enough U238 to stop reactions from going out of control. All we need to do is separate the Fluorine from the uranium, and we have "Yellow cake." (mmm... like a Bundt?)

(The leftover uranium is called Depleted Uranium. It has many uses. It was used in counterbalances in aircraft, in the keel of 1 particular sailboat, radiation shielding in medical uses, etc...)( Also, for the military minded, this is where the A-10 gets depleted uranium canon rounds.)

There is exactly zero benefit in civilian use for making uranium 'richer.' Reactors are designed to run on this combination. In fact, a number of countries (Spain, South Africa,) simply don't bother with enriching, and order their reactor uranium from the IAEA. Probably arrives in the mail in discreet unmarked paper bags.

However, let's say that you decide to continue the process, Now, you are starting with 2,000 lbs of uranium as you continue.

At around 20% ratio of U235 to 80% U238, you are at Naval propulsion and medical isotope research uranium (and you have about 400 lbs.) If you don't have nuclear subs, and you are building a massive medical research facility, there are really no practical uses for this metal. This level of uranium is also supplied by the IAEA to countries that purchase it.

You also need fewer and smaller centrifuge cascades at this point. (You can hide them underground much easier.) The time contingent is also here... it takes considerable less time to enrich from this point. So, from 1% to 5%, it takes 25 times the work as it does from 5% to 20%.

Now we run the 20% enriched uranium through a centrifuge cascade that is 25 TIMES smaller than the one we started with, and 5 times smaller than the previous step. At this point, we have 80% U235 to 20% U238, and we are at Weapons Grade Uranium. From your 400 lbs of medical uranium, you now have about 80 lbs of the Bomb. (BTW, this would, at normal densities, fit into a ball about 6" across. Yes, INCHES. So about the size of a cantaloupe. An 80 lb, explosive cantaloupe.)

btw, the depleted uranium can be used to fuel Mil Grade Breeder reactors, to wring even more out of the original 10klbs.It can also be used to create plutonium, which will give them access to fusion weapons, not just fission.

As you can see as the uranium gets more 'enriched,' the time to enrich it further and the size of the equipment both shrink. This is literally the turn of an adjustment screwdriver on the centrifuge hardware to accomplish, and it takes 1/25th the volume of equipment.

By allowing Iran to even be able to enrich, at any given time the are the turn of a screw from going nuclear.

When they 'light up,' they are not going to simply blow off the bomb that they have created; they are going to have 1,000 of them waiting the results of the test explosion. Once they are enriching in the final stages, they can make as much as they want, any time they want.

Six years ago, the understanding was "A nuclear Iran? NEVER!" But now we are playing this game of "A nuclear Iran? <kicks the can down the road> Not soon." The reality is, we cannot afford, for safety's sake that they even continue their own enrichment program (for which they have never given IAEA or UN inspectors complete access, to ensure they are complying with the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation that they signed in 1957 and then IAEA Safeguards that they signed in 1973.)

Iran has yet to abide by a single treaty they have signed. Why on Earth does the President think that they will abide by this? They are just buying time... time to build, time to hide, and time to present to the world the fait accompli of being a nuclear weapon state.

And the world will be a very different place, indeed.

Uberiffic!

Ah, what to do, what to do.

So back in December, I injured my shoulder. Nothing big, I was flying the next day, all was right with the universe. It hurt swimming, so I cut back on that, but otherwise, I was quite well.

I had my FAA Medical (Airline Captains have a medical every 6 months) on Feb 17^th, and I go to a pretty thorough doctor. As we were having the exam (various vision tests, heart, BP, etc…) he manipulated my arm and saw me wince. He asked me

“So, what is this all about?”

I told him that I had hurt my shoulder (most likely a small tear in the rotator cuff, which is all the connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, etc, that join at the shoulder. ) but I had no issues doing my job, etc. I showed him that I had full range of motion by moving my arm around, and he said “Let me check something.” So he had me hold my arms straight out to my sides, thumbs up, and he pressed down on my arms just outside my elbows. I winced as he pushed down, and he said “Scott, I hate to say this, but that is a disqualifier. You can’t have pain with resistence. I will have to defer your medical.”

What????

So he called in to the DuPage FAA Medical Standards office, and they confirmed it. He told me that the FAA expects us to be pulling bodies out of the burning airplane, and I told him “You do know that my actual job is to get out and watch everyone burn to death, right?” He said he knows that, but the FAA doesn’t see it that way.

“So, we’ll defer your medical for 3 weeks so that you can heal properly, and then you’ll be good to go.”

So I told him that it is a good thing I don’t abuse my sick time!! 3 weeks more of vacation, here I come! (We had just gotten back from Cabo and visiting friends in San Diego. Thomas is 5 and ½ years old, and my job is to be away. I don’t mind being home at all!)

So I scheduled a visit with a good friend of mine who is a PT, and we got an RX for Therapy so that I could work on building up my shoulder a bit more aggressively.

In the meanwhile, what to do?

Got oil changes for the cars, got brake work done, organized the garage a bit, cleaned a bunch of crap off the table, organized the closets… wow, lots to be done.

But for a little extra money? (I’ve got the time, after all, and even a little money is more than we had yesterday…) I’m not really qualified to do anything. Well, I move people around. What can I do that moves people around?

So, I became an Uber driver.

We have a car that meets the specifications (4 doors, late model, in good condition,) and I have time. Why not?

If you don’t know what Uber is, it is a ‘ride sharing’ service. You register and download the app onto you phone, and then when you need a lift, instead of hailing a cab you see if there is a car in the area, and you pay by distance driven. Everything is run off of credit cards and GPS. No money changes hands. I think it is fantastic, especially for women traveling singly in the cities. You just jump in, most likely you have already entered your destination (which does not show up to the partner/drive until they pick you up) and away you go. Most of the time, except in “Surge” times, it is far cheaper than a cab, and the cars are kept in much better condition, because they are personal vehicles.

So I went on the website, clicked ‘join as a partner,’ and we were off and running.

You have to submit all of your information to them. They do 5 different checks; a criminal background check, a sexual predator check, a credit check, and 2 others that I can’t think of off the top of my head. This takes a few days. In the meanwhile, you watch the video on “How to be a 5 star Partner.” It is crazy how simple it is. Not in a bad way. but really, the start-up costs are nil, if you already have the car.

Once you are accepted into the system and are able to ‘go online,’ you simply open up the Partner App on your phone, click “Go Online,” and the app uses GPS to find you and look for riders.

The reality is the riders look for you. On the Partner App, there is no way to see riders or other drivers; You drive around, or park, or whatever, and then when someone is looking for a ride, they can click on your car, and you will be ‘hailed.’ Then you drive to the GPS pin or address they put in, and take them on their way.

They do have software that runs an algorithm that is called the ‘surge.’ If there are few drivers in an area and many riders, they ride share ‘fare’ will increase (shown as 1.2X, or 1.5X, etc) and that will bring more drivers into an area (supply and demand—no drivers and lots of riders, higher rider fares are charged. Biggest I ever saw was in Lincoln Park when a Bulls game was letting out. All the drivers go to the Stadium because they know there will be a lot of riders and fewer drivers, so they are searching for that 2.0X. Those of us who stayed away from the madness saw a few moments of a massive 5.0X in Lincoln Park (because all the drivers were at the United Center!!))

I had a great time. Really. It is a hoot. Having never been a cab driver, I don’t know if there is much of a comparison, but while drivers get rated, drivers can rate the passengers, too, so if you regularly get low rating, drivers will turn you down or you may be removed from the system. Makes people be on their toes a bit more!!

Some of the people that I met and gave rides to—

On my very first day, I had a pickup in Rogers Park that I had to drop off near UIC. From there I had a rider at 17^th and State (At a restaurant that Nicole, Thomas, and I went to dinner at a few weeks ago) who needed to be taken to 44^th and Western. From there I got pinged, and the rider was at 7700 S Green. (ruh roh.)

When I pulled onto the block (This was in a nice little snowstorm on Wednesday night, Feb 25^th,) the first 4 buildings on my left had boarded up windows and doors. This is where being part of Uber helps – if someone thought they were going to ‘roll’ me, all of their information is already in the Uber system.. Uber knows who called me for the ride, and has their credit card info, etc…etc… lends an extra level of safety to the scene. Plus, I grew up in Chicago, I’m a city boy. I know the ‘hood.

I picked up a younger black man in a baseball cap and with a backpack. He had a big grin on his face, and as he walked up he said “Scott?” (The driver’s names are known before you get picked up.) and I said “Yes!” He told me he was sure glad to see me, he didn’t’ think he would be able to catch a ride so late (it was a little after midnight, and… well… 7700 south Green is pretty much the ghetto.)

His destination was in Hyde Park. So we started chatting. Here is his story.

“T” grew up poor in New Orleans. They didn’t think they were poor, they were just not wealthy. He is in pre-med at University of Chicago, and plans on going to dental school. His little sister has been accepted to their pre-med program, too. He told me that his father died when he was younger, and his mom was a ‘washer-woman, a laundress.’ She does laundry for rich folk, like table linens, etc. He said if he came home and had less than 2 hours of homework, his mama would beat him with a wooden spoon, saying “There has to be something you need to read or study, now get cracking!” She taught him that the only way his family was ever going to get out of the ‘poor folk ghetto’ is if he and his sister got a proper education and got them family out of there.

It was like having a time life story in my back seat. I hope he succeeds, and he said his little sister wants to go for it all, be a surgeon. I wished them both luck when I dropped him off.

“B” was having a terrible time. Something bad was going on, and she didn’t want to talk. I asked her if she wanted the radio off, too, but she didn’t mind that, she just didn’t want to think too much.  When we got to her stop, she was very contemplative, and was hesitant to get out. She kind of steeled herself, and then went on into a private residence. I didn’t get more than 10 words out of her, really. Everyone has something going on.

“T” is a younger woman who is working on a pair of master’s degrees. She grew up in Brazzaville, Congo. Her family moved here when she was 12. She speaks 6 or 7 languages fluently, and there are a few dialects of Congalese that she knows well enough, and that are different enough, that they are really different languages. She was fascinating to talk to. She had some choice words, btw, for Americans who call themselves “…African-American when they have never been to Africa and probably can’t find Africa on a map.” (This is a pretty common theme amongst immigrants from Africa that I have met (Ethiopia, Congo, Ghana, Senegal, and Namibia.) An Ethiopian-born co-worker of mine said “African-American?? African-American my ass. I’m African-American; YOU’RE black.”

I had an evening when I seemed to be taking chefs and cooks all around the town. The following night it was directors and producers from Second City and a few other theaters. One was a pair of couples, best friends, who had children about the same age, and it was their first night out again since the babies were born.

People going hither and yon. One Friday I seemed to spend all my time heading up to Glenview.

It was a lot of fun. I met a number of really interesting people. One of my riders jumped in, and after a minute said “Ok, there are TWO kinds of Uber drivers; Cabbies, and people like YOU. What do you do in real life?”

I had 4 young girls jump in; I picked them up from an after hours club. They all had black “X” marks on the backs of their hands; I figure they were under-21 but allowed into the show. I picked them up at Irving and Pulaski, and they wanted to go to basically 6600 N. Sheridan. It was 2am. As we started our way north, all 4 girls were complaining about going to this party. One of them had a crush on a guy who might be there, but none of them liked the crowd that they knew was going. After a mile, I told them “Look, I’m not gonna get all father figure on your guys, but none of you want to go to this party. Why are you going? For a maybe? You guys were having a blast together when you got in. Don’t even bother going to this party, just go to another place, and continue having fun. Believe me, I have been in this spot, and you’re better off just continuing to have fun instead of going half way across the city to NOT have fun. You have your whole lives to not have fun!” One of the girls in the back said “You’re the best Uber driver in the world!” All they wanted was for someone to say ‘Hey, you really really want to go to this place?’

One gal had just found out she was accepted into a PhD English program at Brown; another pair of girls were reuniting after a decade apart from when they were exchange student families together. One was from Berlin, one was from Chicago, they both were chefs (This was on chef night.)

I had a bunch of really fun conversations, albeit short. One rider and I ended up talking about books and literature, after she had quizzed me about what is my top 5 musical artists. I said I need more than top 5, more like top 15. I like everything from Rush to Hoagy Carmichael (to which she replied—Hoagy is sublime. Sheer beauty. Mozart of jazz.) She recommended I read “The Holy or the Broken,” the story of Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the song “Hallelujah.” I am about 10% of the way into it, and it is really an interesting story! I told her she needed to read “Griffin and Sabine.” I hope she does, and she enjoys it.

One guy (late late) and I started talking about the old AND1 basketball series that was on late night cable. He had been a huge fan, same as I was, and he was stoked to find someone who knew what he was talking about. We had a great ride!

And then…. there is always an ‘and then!’ I had Pringles Guy.

I got pinged to pick someone up around Division and I90. The pin drop was the front of a church, so I knew that could not be right at 0130. This guy came out of a gas station and waved to me.

He was bombed.

All I could think of was “Oh, Dear God, please don’t let him puke in the back seat.”

I could have zipped away, but I didn’t. He got in, and it took him a good 2 minutes to be able to spit out the address he needed to go to. He started with “Just go ahead and go right,” But I knew he wouldn’t be able to function much longer.

Oh man…. lol.

So I finally got him to come up with the name of a building, and off we went.  After driving for a bit, I heard a munching sound coming from the back, and he was partially slumped over, mashing Pringles chips into his mouth, and they were spilling all over.

Then he passed out while I watched at a light, dumped the Pringles can onto the seat, and rolled onto the can and chips, crushing everything under him to little Pringally bits on the seat and spilling onto the floor.

I finally poured him out at his destination (as far as I know, it was.) Thankfully, it was right at North and Clark, and there are two 24 hour gas stations there, so I was able to vacuum out the car and clean everything off.

Pringles Guy was the worst of it. I gave him 2 stars.

I think Uber is a great idea. Certainly, the cat is out of the bag, and putting it back in would be impossible. Recently there was a cabbie strike to protest Uber, and the Uber and Lyft Drivers made out like bandits, laughing all the way.

It is good for the public in general, and you can make a little cash on the side. I think you could do it full time, if you wanted, but it is brutal on the cars. I like that they do background checks on their drivers, and how the business is conducted. I know they had some growth pangs a little while ago, but they seem to have weathered the storm.

Since there is no way for the driver to know where you go before you get in, I think it is a bit of a misnomer to say ride sharing. I think a better platform for true ‘ride sharing’ would be a system whereby you enter roughly your start and your destination, and if someone wants to jump in along your route, you accommodate them, and they contribute to the cost. That way, if you were heading from … say… Lincoln Park, to the United Center, Someone could see that you were willing to chip in, and if everyone threw in a couple bucks, it would work. Certainly there is a way to program THAT into a GPS driven system.

So yesterday I started back at work after a circus show trying to get my medical back off of deferral. I love my job, and the people I work with, but Uber certainly provided something to do, a little bit of cash, and a good time.