Stijn!!

[Porsche-poor]

I washed the monitor to.

[GH85Carrera]

Once again I had to get up way earlier than normal, to be at the ophthalmologist's office for a 7:15 AM appointment. He gets up early for days he is doing surgery, and and he just got used to getting up really early.

My eyes are still dilated, and I almost want my sunglasses in the office. My prescription is unchanged so no new glasses. He said the retinas both look great, and just a very slight cataract on one eye now and nothing to worry about. It is nice to know my eyes are still working right.

[Porsche-poor]

Good deal. Wait till they want to rotate those tires for you.

[Porsche-poor]

Morning all. Still in the clear I think. I still have allergies which are not helping things at all.

[GH85Carrera]

it sure is nice to have my eyes back to normal. Dilated pupils suck, it was really bright in here.

Back in the old days of working in the photo lab, every single work day I had two "film runs" where I worked in 100% total darkness for as long as 90 minutes, but usually 30 to 40 minutes. I was loading film onto the racks to be run through the film processors. I am talking bottom of a coal mine dark. There is nothing for your eyes to focus on. Just walking out of that darkness through the light trapping double doors into the normal office light was blindingly bright. One a few occasions I immediately had to go outside onto the white concrete parking lot to my car and I know I looked like Mr. Magoo trying to find the lock to unlock the door to my car.

[Porsche-poor]

That I would think is hard on the eyes to get used to.

[GH85Carrera]

We all worked in darkrooms. Usually for just a few minutes at a time. Only the B&W department had a safelight for making prints only.

Working on an enlarger was usually only a few minutes of darkness. Film processing was longer. Evidently it did not hurt me since my vision is pretty darn good for a geezer.

We had one jerk that was convince the ammonia odor behind the paper process was just horrid, and going to destroy him health. He called OSHA, and they came out and swung a meter in the air and dir all sorts of tests. The level of ammonia was so low it did not even come to the level the meter could really detect. Their report was we had a save and clean workplace. That employee was fired on Friday. He was not much of a custom print maker and had a lot of re-dos.

Often people walking in the front door of the business would curl their lips and ask how we could stand the smell. I always replied what smell?

I went to a blueprint place on occasion that was doing the old school blueprints. That was a really strong ammonia smell, yet totally under the limits. Not one employee complained when they went to digital "blueprints" with no chemical, just black and white prints that are used today.

[Porsche-poor]

If the client has enough money we can print blue lines on paper to make them look like old school prints.

Yeah I remember those old blueprint machines. They could really stink up a small space but its was never to a level of harmful.

[GH85Carrera]

I mixed chemicals all the time for the different processors. Most had some stink, but not too bad.

The one chemical that was just over the top, clear the building bad was the "starter" for the chemical bleach for the color negatives. Without out getting into the steps of processing color negatives, the second chemical after the developer was a chemical that was very brownish orange in color, and it stopped the development and then bleached the silver halide and dyes to make the colors. All the chemical would be slowly consumed, so they were replenished with a small dose of fresh replenisher.

If the processor was emptied, and filled with fresh chemicals it had to be seasoned. Kodak sold the stuff to put into a fresh batch of replenisher to make it the proper strength.

The starter for the bleach was some bad super mean stinky stuff. It made a skunk smell like nice expensive perfume. When I started the film processor the first time, I made sure to do it in the evening after everyone left. I put on a rubber apron, thick rubber gloves, face shield, and a paper dust mask which was a waste of time. I then hyperventilated until I was about to pass out, held my breath, opened the bottle and poured in the few oz into a beaker to measure it, and then pour it into the chemical tank. It made the skin on my arms tingle in an unpleasant way, and my eyes watered. I rinsed it real quick, and ran to the front of the building. I threw the rubber apron, mask and other gear on the floor and bolted out of the building. I had turned on all the AC fans to run all night. The next morning it still reeked, and we opened the front and back doors to get some fresh air into the building. I made sure that tank never needed to be dumped and started for the 25+ years we had the place.

[Porsche-poor]

one way to turn blue while working.

[GH85Carrera]

That was better that inhaling that stink up close.

Several years later on OKC PD police officer called me on a weekend. He was the one that ran the photo lab for the police. They had a had a cop killed on duty, and they wanted the evidence photos to be perfect. Their processor had crappy chemicals in it, and needed a full flush and fill with new. So I want down and helped clean out the tanks, and mix up the fresh chemicals. When it came time to add the bleach starter, I told him he got to have that honor, and warned him of the odor.

We turned on the large exhaust fan, and he suited up like a SWAT officer, and used a full police grade gas mask. I stood down the hall and encouraged him. He said in training the are taught the proper use of a gas mask, and they are put into a room full of tear gas and with the mask, it is zero problem. He said the starter was a smell he immediately could smell thorough the mask. We took a lunch break and let the darkroom de-stink some. Of course it is all digital now.

He was an interest friend. He was the local PDs blood splatter expert. He talked about convicting the murderers with the blood splatter evidence making it clear they how they killed someone. We also shot (photographed!) weddings together on really big weddings.

[Porsche-poor]

I have been in a bleach plant and had to get some air after being to close to the bottle line.

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, I photographed a few industrial sites. The coolest both figuratively and literally was the Carrier AC plant. Thet make the AC units, and the entire plant was air conditioned. They brought in rolls of copper tubing of the various diameters, and made all the fittings, and parts needed to make the AC unit from the roll of copper tubing. All the way to final charging, boxing and shipping it out.

One plant was a meat processing plant. That one stunk, except in the deep freeze that was 20 below zero or something insane.

One cool one was the Seagate hard drive plant. I had to go into the clean room and put on the monkey suit, and set up the 4x5 camera equipment to take some photos. I was sweating like a race horse in that clean suit.

One really stinky place was a plant that made utility poles. They injected and coated the poles with creosote. To make it worse, it was next door to a pickle plant, so strong vinegar smell added to the aroma of fresh creosote.

[Porsche-poor]

industrial plants all have their own special stink. Pulp and paper are probably worst.

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, and cotton gins.

There is a dog food making facility a few miles down the road from us. 98% of the time we don't smell it at all. On occasions if they are making some certain step, and the wind is just right it smells like everyone in the neighborhood is cooking toast.

There was a rendering plant in Packing Town that might have closed down, but I don't go that way often. I used to drive past on the way to one errand. Sometimes it smelled like bacon. Sometimes it was a horrid putrid stench. I am glad I don't go by there anymore.

Our favorite autocross site was right next to Mt. Trashmore. Two large landfills and that a bad dumpster stench when the wind was blowing the right way.

[Porsche-poor]

certainly ruin ones desire to eat.

[Porsche-poor]

Morning all. Well the wait is over........................

[GH85Carrera]

What were ya waiting for?

How is the temp up there. I heard that some of the NW was way above normal temps.

[Porsche-poor]

I probably have the crud.

Temp yesterday made it to 95 I think. Supposed to hit 98 on Friday. Local news says we hit a new record high for yesterday.

[GH85Carrera]

Just keep spraying your keyboard with Lysol or some disinfectant. Don't spread it the crud to Pelican!
I do run an antivirus on my computer, so I should be safe.