ROLAS

There is a real problem for Microsoft with the name for the next xbox. Maybe one of the reasons that new one is not yet announced. Small history. XBOX360(XBOX2 branded thing could not come along PS3) came out and if SONY could name its console PS3 and will prbably name next as PS4. There are many code names. XBOX 720 is one of them. But what if You look at the picture below. I suggest XBALL 360 .

Inception is one of my favorite movies. It is beautiful. Features great stars. And it makes You think. Everyone has their dreams. Even if they do not remember. The ending of the movie with that whipping top... But I can see alternative ending or beginning of Inception 2 if that is coming. If You are careful, than You notice that after Di Caprio wakes up in the plane, he is silent. The craziest moment would be if he came back home, saw his kids and then... there was also his wife. Than everything would be his dream on international flight. Those people were strangers to him and so on. And his wife did not jump... Or it can be used as beginning of Inception 2. And the main idea is to find out if Leo was sleeping all the time, or it is still a dream.

I love watching movies about aliens. But they are so unreal. Races which are cycles of technologies ahead of human's civilization, that cross galaxies make some very stupid mistake. The plot is always the same. Huge cities with civilians are attacked. Why? Why writer underestimates aliens? They never played StarCraft or other strategy game? Remove military and compomise stock supply and everyone will give up.

Good job should last longer. I observe that arogant behaviour in so many ports. Let me describe. Gang iis workinng pretty fast. But when there are last containers to be loaded cargo operations suddenly slow down. Same scenario in this articular situation. Why? Because there is always breakdown of the crane when last gearbox is on the pier. Story may vary. Box may hang in the air. Or the crane needs to be moved. But I do not believe in such coincidences. I do not know who is gaining. Half an hour for the gang. But every 3 minutes equal one nautical mile at 20 knots speed.

Apparently short time remains to be spent, In winter we soon will believe. For seven minutes, if possible ten From history us to retrieve. It's fiddle-faddle for us. That Earth's making circles with Sun. But if their story still have a slight chance To reunite and have fun? It's raining in town. It's also pouring in state. It's raining in town. Cold front wasn't long to wait. She won't be there, I know to rescue me, She won't be there Once saying to me Farewell. Apparently little remains to be spent, It's getting chiller each day, More careful now when we're passing the bend.. And harder with changes we play. But there is breeze that bangs through the glass, In sky we have shine from Sun, But if their story still have a slight chance To reunite and have fun? It's raining in town. It's also pouring in state. It's raining in town. Cold front wasn't long to wait. She won't be there, I know to rescue me, She won't be there ...

I am frequently searched person in airport. I carry my consoles, monitor, cables. My bags are always on the limit. It is also a lot of fun to pack all fragile items between clothes. But this time I decided to go light on the ship. Minimum. Frankly, I do not have as much time as I had before. I'll also spend that time with Kindle. My gap in reading increased after I swallowed 7 books of Harry Potter and few novels after that. There is a huge library on the ship. But I like to read from screen. I enjoyed BookReader on my PSP, but Kindle miles ahead in terms of displaying the page. But most of all I like that it is dedicated for that purpose. You have other features, but You must use it for reading. It is my first voyage in several years that I am on board without my own console. But that is fine. There is something more precious left at home, that I am longing to see soon. Of course it is my Family.

So much has happened during past month... I came on duty once. Since Internet was installed for the fleet, I rarely checked ship's mail programme. But I did that early morning. There was message regarding my possible promotion. I had to be signed off earlier. Spent 72 hours at home and leave for next assignement. You have to be an Idiot from the book to deny such offer. Guess what? i agreed. But there are always individuals who don't like smart or successful people. Especially if the person gains it without their approval. I had to stay for several more weeks. And I could see how uncomfortable it was for them to look at me,1st Officer, through that prizm of their hatred and see Chief Officer. There was more dirty staff, which should be left behind the curtain. Like many things which were said behind my back. But there are honest Men and Officer with straight approach for solving problems. I sail with such guys now. You never know all the responsibilities You are gett...

Mortal Kombat 9. Or reboot of the series. The perfect remastered version for year 2011. Familiar movements. Favorite characters. Modern graphics and new features. Revised story covering Klassic games MK1, MK2, MK3, UMK3 and Movies. Krazy challenges and interesting battle modes. Online component featuring battles and DLC. The game is so KOOL! I wanted to write review about MK, but I wanted to complete Story Mode and Challenge Tower first. The last challenge sucked so many hours of my life, so by the time I could write review with honor, it became completely irrelevant for people who were about to get that game or had played it already. But if You haven't got Your copy, go and GET IT NOW!

My experience with Mortal Kombat began with MK2. There were several arcade like machines, which were basically TV screens inserted in to cabinets and connected to SEGA Genesis consoles. They were always occupied and joysticks were hot from button mashing. That game was unbelievable. Real looking fighters. Insane Finishes. Blood. You haven't seen that in games. I played few times in that place, but later my friends and I gathered to play on our own consoles. We knew all special moves and Fatalities by heart. And because I've played MK2 before original MK I saw no point in spending to much time with first installment. The difference between fighters in both MK were more mostly visuals. Basic moves were the same. And each character had two or three special moves. That changed in MK3 a lot. Run button and combos made the game faster and my favourite in the series before MK9 came out. Then UMK3 came out. I played it as well, but the roster became to big. I prefered playing with old...

It is really easy to lose something in that swamp. Can any diver help in that case? I caught myself, that I've never seen prospects of great Chineese resorts with nice sandy beaches and beautiful clear sea for diving. Well. It would be the same as offering to get in and slide through the sewage pipe and thinking that You are in Aqua Park. There is a Yellow River. Huang-He. The sea isn't blue either. I am wondering. Why? Why did nature give eyes to the fish in that area? It is impossible to see through several centimeters of muddy water. How does that fish gets oxygen? Muddy water is like dusty air. So it is probably salvation to get caught by enormous amount of fishermen. It's interesting. Was it always like that? Or some impact from huge amount of factories exists too?

So why golf is ranked as sport? Pure commercial move. The word sport carries "activity" and "health". It encourages people with money to invest in expensive Clubs and equipment. Then it is a good excuse for Your family that You go out for "sport". Golf is "cool". But many non-proffesional matches are arranged for chatting and business meetings. Several guys are following the ball they throw to themselves, in the park. But it is a nice thing to show on TV. The scenery is beautiful. Perfect chance for in-game commercials. Some golfers are preparing their shoot for eternity . I think that they are like models, instructed to present clothes they wear. I just do not understand why the prizes for those Championships are so ridiculusly high. Basically the guys could not succed in other sport, so they became golfers. Some say it is precision in their hands. So, then. B ecome a surgeon and save lives. Or be a jewelle r . Be helpful to society with ...

So if Golf is small part of Hockey. I wonder if football was stripped to free kick only? And the game was called "Freeck". Same course as for the golf, but with bigger hole in the ground. Ball from mini-football. It is not bouncing much. And instead of running entire season, David Beckham would only have to perform several free kicks. No need to run for entire match. The car will bring kicker to the ball. Instead of different clubs, You have a boot for every shotout. You do not even need pair. Just one for Your strong foot. That would solve the problem for many players who can not use their second leg. Here it will be used for "walking" only. The advantages in that game is that You can play in urban environment. Also the game can be more vertical. The game where the ricochets are used. Where several players are engaged to perform one touch passes without letting ball to land. Many modifications can be done to the real sport Football. And make fun game....

My quick answer is - NO! It is a good activity. Expensive game to play. I would personally play it on the real golf course. I've tried one of those small artificial carpet s with hole. It is fun. For half an hour maybe. But I can not call it The S port. There are several issues with golf that do not meet my term "Sport". Availibility. It is the most expensive "sport". And that makes it unaffordable to many minors. It is not even the price of equipment. It is the field of grass. You simply cannot go out and start playing that game on an unprepaired lawn. Especially the part which is called "green". That should be carpet quality surface. Non-Active. Even though there is a team of golfer, advisor, club carrier and electric cab driver, only one person is actually playing. And that person is not able to carry clubs and cover the distance from the place he hits the ball to the place it lands? How about running? The sports I play require You to sweat fr...

But why SOLAS requires ship's to use STW for collision avoidance? We go back in time, again. It was important to know speed and course of another vessel to assess alteration of own ship. And at that time it was Water speed and heading. Why? Because GPS is much younger than Radar and Water Log. The action was planned. It is easy to monitor slight change of CPA between several targets at same time now. It is all calculated by ARPA once echo is acquired. Nobody calculates the required alteration. The course is changed until needed CPA or BCR is met. What will the difference of true vector be depending on STW or SOG chosen? Based on STW calculations results will give speed of targets in stationery water. The water without current. It is ok in open waters. It will also give some confusing results in confined waters . Such as indication of moving light houses and small islands, which are fixed to the ground. That would be observed if Water Log is not accurate and/or there is a ...

I've never paid attention to the source chosen on the radar to show the true vectors. Two basic settings are commonly in use. Speed Through Water(STW) and Speed Over Ground(SOG). SOLAS requires Radars to have STW feed. But because I worked on the ship where water Log was not accurate, GPS speed was used. So I've got used to that preset. But I had several debates on what exactly should be used for collision avoidance. So. I went down to the root. What Exactly do we need to calculate Closest Point of Approach(CPA), Bow Crossing Range(BCR) and Time of (CPA)? Risk of collision exists if distance is decreasing and bearing to the target stays the same. It means that to determine all the data Radar should get feed from Compass(in that case compass should not be precise, but must be fixed to a certain direction. It original North can be at True 146 degree for example, but it should know that for entire observation). Thnking more and deeper I realize that it shouldn't. Then Radar c...

The country that brought PlayStation in homes of millions. The land that shares the same nuclear tragedy as Ukraine. Maybe it is not the best time, but I am here. The port may seem very similar to any other port. But there are small details which give sense that You are in a nice place. Everything is so clean and tidy. The markings on the ground are bright and clear to read. Though I do understand nothing. People are very polite and know manners. Simple greeting gives impression that person respects You. As far as I can tell, Japanese people approach their task with extreme caution. The work is done properly. The large number of guys makes workplace safe, without making it overcrowded. Everyone performs as instructed. Personal Protective Equipment is on every person and in good condition. Some things I did not expect to see on stevedore. I haven't seen by myself, but I do not think anyone can deny that Japan is centuries ahead in technology they are using. I just wonder. How do th...

Hello, my Dear and Best Friend! I'm Sorry, I am far away. And cannot visit Your event On this important for You day. Today as couple You look great. You're gorgeous, young and smart. Build family on Love and Faith And value it like rarest art. While You live many happy years Guard Inna's hazel eyes from tears. Because she must be stress-less mother, To make You soonest Happy father. I know your parents must be proud Because you fill this room with glitter. Now everyone please SCREAM so loud, That even I can hear “BITTER!”

I was on watch doing some passage planning. My cadet was walking around the bridge learning the bridge equipment. He called me and asked what was located underneath cover of the Radar control panel. That is a place for memory card. So. In my left hand is SD Micro. It is only 2 GB. In my right hand is a 256 KB memory card  powered by a battery. Even this photo can not be stored on that brick.

 I was impressed how precise Move controller was. First game which I tried was Sports Champions. It is a good compilation and fun use of motion controller. It felt extremely accurate. I knew that technology was to good for ship underway. There are many forces which affect ship's position. But we were alongside. So I insered Time Crisis Blazing Storm. It is game when You have to point Move for shooting. And every game of that kind involves advanced calibration. So I started shooting. Than I started to notice that my crosshair was slowly offsetting from its supposed position. I recalibrated again. The same story. Then I realized what the reason was. Even being alongside and not feeling it, vessel of 347 meters long and 42 meters wide is slightly affected by each container placed on it. Wii Motion Plus lost its accuracy during noticable rolling. But it can not stand the comparison in fidelity. And here is also short video showing that the glowing sphere is not fragile.

I went out in Hong Kong. I was not alone. There were some mates from my ship as well. Our intention was to buy movies for ship's library. And maybe game or two for PS3. It is hard decision to pick up one game for PS3 in early 2011. I've got several latest game on my own and because PS3 is not used that much by others, I picked up Gran Turismo 5. But then I saw that there was also copy of Portal 2. I have to mentionn that there was one guy who owns PS3 and he wanted to get few games and PS Move. I had no cash with me, but that guy saw my excitment about the game and the price tag. 40$ on the second week of release is a good price. So he bought it. He said that he might keep it after seeing it and trying. I finished the game in two days. Nature of work. I have to work and sleep. I was finishing Portal 2 in front of others. And I realized how confusing the game may look to others. Especialy if they do not know the rules of the world which they are looking at. That guy w...

I didn't like the Wii from the very beginning. The only thing I was excited about was WiiFit. I liked the board and gameplaya was funny. So I bought the console bundled with Wii Motion Plus. And WiiFit. I enjoeyd "Silent Hill Shattered Dreams". But WiiFit iis the only thing holding me from getting rid of Nintendo Wii. I am not Mario fan. Or any other character from Nintendo Universe. Though I appreciate their contribution to the gaming industry. But I simply cannot use, limited abilities of the Nintendo console in my place. All online features are locked for my region. I can only update the games and consloe firmware. There are noo original games to buy in my place. But at the same time I believe that it will be the first console my baby daughter will use.

Duty Officer is in charge of ensuring that all cargo is secured. It means physical check of lashing by climbing ladders to lashing bridges. Longer ship equals more bays. More bays to climb. I knew that when I accepted offer to go on E-Type. I wanted proof that people among us are operating very sophisticated machines. Bridge disappointed me. I expected new equipment. But everything was the same since 20 th century. It is huge inside and I could jog from starboard to port. 56 meters is a long distance. On every vessel, from every bridge regardless of ship's length, view was almost the same. It is because. The longer hull, the higher navigating bridge. Same happens on E-Type. Except. When You look astern, You observe that there is also big part behind Your back. Vessel of more than 50 meters long should exhibit two navigating lights. One on the forward must. But there is no fixed position for the second light. So it is placed on the Accommodation mast. Which is middle of E-Boat. O...

There is always something advanced. Something You think You will never be able to experience. It is distant, but You can see. At the same time You do not even realize how people even get there. The fastest, the biggest, the strongest... List is endless. But there should also be the best professionals My first vessel as Second Officer was a proper ship, but small comparing to the ones I sail on now. She sailed in Northern Europe. North and Baltic Sea. I came out on deck being in Aarhus. In front of us was enormous piece of steel. I knew about that type of vessel from magazine. But for the first time I saw that ship with my own eyes. There was also Chief Mate who complained about his life, family, not being promoted and that he was tired of small ships. That he belonged there. One board of one of those floating terminals. He took his camera and started walking along the pier towards “Ebba Maersk”. Worth to mention that it took only a glance for me to know that she was just out from Oden...

I love everything about my PS3. It is such solid piece of technology. So many things that can be done using this console and XMB menu. I do not think people explored everything SONY offers. It is great Media Player and I view my pictures only through PS3. Blu-Ray. Online gaming is free. Huge library of games. Built-in batteries whether it is DualShock 3 or PS Move. PSN Plus is a great feature, but is not available for my region. The list is endless. It simply does everything as advertised. Most of the games this year I am getting for PS3. I only hope the problem with PSN and rumours about accounts will not become huge.

Each Consloe has its bright side and downside. And each of them I bought with intention to support developers by buying Original copies of the games. I purchased XBOX 360, because it was much cheaper that PS3 and there were many games. It was bundled with "Gears of War". I bought many games later. I enjoy XBOX Live. It is very easy. But You have to pay. And I am fine paying while playing. But being at sea for many months amd being able to stop subscription only from Germany. That is not an option. Though it is just few clicks from subscribing to Gold Membership. The piracy is a disasterous thing. XBOX 360 was quickly modified after its launch. No need to mention that if majority of people are paying 5-10$ per pirated copy, no one is importing games which are 60$ just to satisfy my needs. So I had to order games from internet or when I am in Europe. The only reliable site I know, that delivers things to Ukraine is Play-Asia.com. But the other stupid thing is Region protection...

I like current Generation of game consoles. I own every console from Big Three. I should mention that I am most happy about PS3. I played and completed most of games on XBOX 360 so far. And I still do not know how I ended buying Wii. First console was XBOX 360. I bought it 6 months after PS3 and Wii had been launched. Launched in rush, assembled in China. I had my first problem with hardware in less than a month. I had next breakqown two years later. PS3 was a New Years present from my wife. I received during the night of 2009-2010. So I knew that PS Move would be greater than Wii. But 4 months later I bought the Wii. WiiFit was the reason. I am not playing it much, but I am sure this is first console my baby daughter will have fun with. Both SONY and MicroSoft predicted 10 years life cycle. It looks that they can pull it off. And I am ok with it. Wii was outdated when it was released. It can not compete any more. There is not enough horsepower to the system. It lacks the features and...

I pushed myself Close to the North Racon. I wanted to make this picture from forecastle. There are not so many rules of the road which regulate collision avoidance. And they haven't been changed for many years. Yet, many Officers can not see the full picture when applying rules. Singapore Straight. Eastbound. My vessel is going Slow Ahead. There is a tanker behind.She is an "Overtaking vessel". Should overtake me and be responsible until I am past and clear. She was following me for quite some time with the course showing intentions to overtake me on my straboard side. Instead, the Officer there called me and asked me to slow down, so he could pass ahead of me to jin left part of the channel designated for deep draught vessel. The explanation was that he was Vessel Constrained by her draght. VTS also contacted my ship to advise me about vessel on my starboard side. But they mentiond that the vessel was also a vessel on my starboard side, which according to the rul...

It is a challenge being cadet. You know nothing about the ship's life. Nothing... You come blank. And people on the ship also know that. So there are many ways Your presence on board may start. And that solely depends on the ship's management. I was lucky. C/O was also Ukrainian. Master was German. He was actually the one who protected me from getting in to the deck's life until I have familiarized myself thoroughly. I was frequently on the bridge. That captain enjoyed talking. One more fortune aspect was that the ship was only 6 months old. So there was no hard job. Just covering existing paint with more layers of fresh paint. But that job was to “danger” for me. I was given the task once. I had to cover few inches of the door with white paint. And captain saw me painting. But in his head through his eyes I was a monkey that tried to launch nuclear reactor. He called Chief  immediately  and told him that I have not been ready for handling small brush and jar of paint yet....

Odessa is a big port. It is not developed, but there is huge advantage comparing to modern terminals. I didn't like the life on passanger ship. Mostly the people. Though food was ok. You just have to treat the cargo better then Yourself. And cargo on passaenger vessel is lot of people. You also get plenty of staff from travel agency. And huge amount of personal above You. Even if Your rank is high. As an officer on merchant vessel I prefer sailing period rather than port stay. Less ports the better. But I enjoyed everyday new place on "PALOMA II". I should mention dramatic difference between modern cargo terminals. They are built so far from nice places, that it is impossible to distinguish one from another. Passanger terminals located in the middle of the city. And it was so comfortable to go out in any European port. Port of Odessa was also in our schedule. There were two calls. 4 days between each other. And I had to sign-off on the later one. But I also wanted to go ...

22nd Aprill 2011. 16:00 UTC. It is midnight at approximate position: Lat 06 degrees North; Lat 090 degrees East. It is dark and quiet. Absolutely calm sea. Surface of the ocean can be used for looking at bright sprakling weirdly named constelations formed by stars. Vessel's is on Easterly course. Then on my starboard bow I can see red glowing object. It is erecting from liquid and is visible just above the horizon. It is like seeing sunset or sunrise wearing very dark eye protection. But this You can watch everyday. Then selestial body and our planet's natural satelite slowly rises high in to the sky, bypassing the surface air which blocks intensity of the Sun reflected by Moon. Luna becomes brighter forming moon walk . She is not full and almost half of upper part is missing. She looks like the dimmed oversized bulb which round-shaped end is sticking out of the table lamp. Night becomes brighter and details of the environment become vivid as they are being enlightened. As t...

I had to join my first real ship in port of Bremerhaven. Her name was "Paloma II". But that was not the first and not the last combination of letters painted on bow and stern of the hull. The joining trip involved bus from Odessa to Kiev. Plane from Kiev to Frankfurt, then Bremen. And taxi to Bremerhaven. We were met with warmth, because vessel was receiving stores and two pair of extra hands is always welcome. My first day ended at 2200. And I had to start the next day at 0700. For the next four and half months it was my regular schedule. In fact I had never a chance to go earlier to my bunk. Later? Of course. The sailing was in Northern Europe. There is no night during June and July. I learned cleaning. All kinds of chemicals and techniques. But the most valueable experience was to learn how the rumour can be spread. If You don't want news to be heard - just shut Your mouth and keep tounge for moisting Your food and swallowing. If You want something to be on everybody...

Merchant vessel is not an amusement park. New generation of ships are built with cost savings in mind. You suppose to work, eat(also not to much) and sleep. That is Ok for several days. Then You are getting bored and You have to entertain Yourself. The choice is rather shortened. Watch movies, read books, play video games or hang out with guys. Some times sing karaoke and drink beer. I play games. I carry my PS3 or XBOX360(sometimes both) from home. I am always thoroughly examined in airports because of many wires in my bags. But I face questions from people who do not like games or have never played them. I understand persons who state their position, but do not fall in discussion of industry he has no clue about. One of the main statements which annoys me the most is that the "Gaming" is for small kids. Maybe it has been. But those kids grew up and games matured with them. Because those guys enjoyed their time, playing with friends. they were smart. They studied hard and m...

I expect: - basic panel with info showing GPS data, wind speed and direction, flight time. - person will be wearing wind-water-proof suit. Inflatable jacket will be embeded in it. - some sort of Hydrostatic Realese Unit for the straps to let person free, if plane falls and dives deep in to the water. I do not expect FlyNano to fly in windy weather. I do not know how this baby behaves in sky, but You have to take off and land on water. And with wind exceeding 10 knots that becomes a challenge. That is why there will be some sort of landing zones which will be guarded by breakwaters. The landing distance for Hydroplane should be shorter than take-off. But it is always harder to land. And the speed for landing is 70km/h, which is 20m/s. But it is just the matter of practise. Once You touch the water she stops fast. To sum everything. I am explicitly excited. I want to see FlyNano in Action. Of course I want to try flying. Probably it will start slow as clubs for FlyNano enthusiasts. It w...

Sci-fiction books and movies events are miracle for normal people. But they are accepted challenges for genius guys. I would not call those books fantastic. I prefer word futuristic. Azimov's "Prelude to Foundation" was written as the last in the series. But still in the era were Floppy disks were main storage. And even in that universe, with robots and space travels, You could be a magician showing up with SDmicro, Solid Hard Drive, Blu-ray or even saying word Terrabite. I like year 2015 in "Back to the Future 2". Kids in old Arcade questioning the game which required taking the gun in the hand. And now we've got XBOX360 Kinect. But I am the most excited about having hover board. Even if technology is not there, will have some fun with FlyNano. Because this summer mass production of affordable hydro plane is coming. 25000EUR-27000EUR for the plane and 5500EUR for trailer. I do not expect it will come with all bells and whistles of modern car. The weight r...

- Can he speak some English? - Oh, Yeah. He even knows some French. - Good. There is a vacant position for Galley Utility(I do not why I started that position with capital letters). That was conversation between crewing manager and my father. My father was looking for new passenger ship to join after he was "let go", because the group of vessels he was in rotation during that time had become one vessel short. So he asked if there was position and if I could get some actual sailing time on the vessel underway(I hadn't received any proffessional knowledge there). The news were sudden and I had to go. I could have joined other company as deck cadet for lower salary, but there was no time to argue. My parents tried to arrange another interview one year later, but I insisted that from that from that moment I will apply for future jobs on my own.

It is disaster when You're sick Its serious and You will die And there's a cure, but also trick The price tag's high and You can't buy Few drops of fluid that will heal And You'll be good to go. And how exactly does it feel? Say – NO, but also know That soon this drug will go to waste. Much faster than ill person That could of life inhale taste, But soon, like pill he'll leave us also. The saviors don't count paper. They rescue lives, what I can tell. And noble was the remedy creator, But there is link that wants to sell. To earn and prosper on the sorrow, On sufferers and who's in pain. Where money rule, there is no moral. They make existence kinda vain. I wish good health to every human, Who keeps the warmth in beating heart. But if You're greedy man or woman Remember quote below by heart. За неспасенную судьбу стоять будете в ответе. В Аду пылать, коль неспасенны были дети. You'll be in Charge for unsaved lives You'll burn hellflame...

My first vessel was a sailing training ship "Druzhba". She was rebuilt to transport passengers as some luxury yachts do. But the investors didn't work hard enough to bring her incto full operational service. So there she stayed in the port rusting. It is a shame because that ships crossed Oceans in the past. Eventually Academy started to send cadets on so called ship board training. The people were trained to chip of old paint, scratch of dark wood and do the cleaning job. I joined the group of about 30 cadets in mid June and spent two and half months there. Monday til Friday, eight til noon. It was not the best thing You can do in Odessa durinng summer time. But it was just half of the day. Management even told us that ship was scheduled for sailing in mid August to encourage our free of charge work. But it had never happened. There were other groups later. And they went out and spent time in rough Black Sea weather.

Sometimes, but probably most of the times, I do not understand decisions of the top managers. There is a huge Company “American Eagle Tankers”. Logically, they've got ships. And the ships are operated by multinational crews. By multinational it is safe to say Asians. Some people do not know, but Indians also belong to that term. That Company had tradition of raising Officer by sponsoring cadets and sending them to study in Malaysia. I do not know how, but my brother's technical school attracted their attention. Maybe they wanted young guys, without education, but who proved their intention to join life at Sea by studying 3 years in that school. They held interview and some 30 boys including my brother who barely knew English passed. He received lucky ticket to Malaysian Academy. He dramatically improved his English. I saw their Academy's facilities. They surpass by leaps in bounds our National Academy. I heard about low level of corruption in Malaysia and he only co...

My brother's school was not special. It was very regular. There was no English everyday with great teachers. So decision was to send my brother to technical school were he would complete remaining 10 th and 11 th years of school and get “Diploma” of Able Seaman/Motorman. He was not considered as brightest mind. - Wrong. I was not favorite son, but there has never been a slightest doubt in my intellectual abilities. - Right. My progress could only be slowed down by my laziness. He was simply overshadowed. And mother and his father thought that it would be just waste of money and time to send him in Maritime College or Academy. - Wrong again. Since his first day he became one of the top student in the new place. Parents could not believe in that. - That feeling will stay for a while with them. He finished among the best. In first five. That was achievement, but his life as Seafarer had only started. He would have to sail at sea as AB or Motorman. Then save money. Apply for c...

School is probably the latest place in Your youth were You can get something just by being nice person which most people adore. And that helped me to be caught in the crossover of following conditions: I wanted to join Academy the easiest way. There was agreement between my and Only my school for the faculty of Navigation. I was the first who asked head of the school about opportunity to count my school exams as entry exams in Academy. And I was the only person out of 207 students who had neither entry exam nor consultation. I just had to apply and pass Medical examination. And that cost me nothing.

Serious discussions about attending me some sort of maritime related educational building started when I was in the 9 th grade and had 3 years ahead of me before completing High School. My School was probably the best in city and region. But good things cost money. The speech which the head of school held that school's start of the year was implying that parents had to invest money if they wanted their kids to continue education. So back-up plan was developed. I could have finished 9 years and joined college. So there was maritime one. (Many guys have completed that college and started sailing as Officers after 9 years in school and 4 years in college being younger than graduates with Master's Degree after 11 years in school and 6 years in Academy). Although my father's desire was to let me finish high school and join Maritime Academy. It is easy to imagine his joy and happiness when we received news, that there would be no compulsory charge and I can study 3 years m...

It seems now that my career as Navigating Officer was inevitable . Same with my younger brother . We are the last and I sincerely hope that we ARE The Last link in this chain of dynasty . We are from different fathers and consequently from different grandfathers . Who were very respected Captains . Both died and neither me nor my brother have ever had a chance to meet any of them . Our living common grandfather has never had desire to meet any of us . " Grandfatherless " childhood . But we were constantly being reminded that we were part of Legacy and other nonsense parents tell their children to encourage them set goals . And if my way was clearly foreseen as steady approach and required just the Time , my brother's future was more like a leap of faith . And I should say . That during that free-fall the Miracle did not happen . He did...