This short blog will be about doing something for no other reason than the joy of doing it. I have tried to put some sort of inspirational or instructional message in many of my blogs but not this time. I enjoy learning new processes and procedures as much as the next guy, but sometimes I just like a good, mind-numbing story.
I was in the middle of a recent late-night survey when I looked at a ship resting at the pier. This ship was being loaded with a few thousand tons of coal. My survey was of the equipment used in the loading process but for no other reason than curiosity; I decided to take an image of the ship.
I viewed the ship from many angles and elevations until I finally decided on the spot that I thought would give me best view of the entire ship. After taking the image of the ship I went on with my inspection of the loading equipment.
After getting back to my computer with the nights’ images, I decided to open the images of the ship. I adjusted the level and span. I viewed the image in many of the different color pallets until I settled on the final image of which you see below.
I studied all the thermal details of the ship that piqued my curiosity. I tried to logic out why I was seeing certain thermal patterns. Was it cargo or ballast? Were there areas of extra reinforcement? Why are there small localized areas of higher temperatures? All these questions could have been answered by simply boarding the ship and asking the chief engineer. But I simply enjoyed letting my mind revel in the list of questions that popped into my brain.
I’m not sure if this will make sense to you or not but, in this case, the unanswered questions are the reward. I do not care what is causing the thermal patterns as much as I care for the mystery.
So, if you were looking for some sort of words of wisdom or some sort of new thermography process you may be disappointed with this blog. But, if you like a good mystery, join me in this one with your thoughts while knowing all the time that the true answer may never be known.
If you have any thermal images you took “Just for the Fun of It” – let us know by posting them here within The Snell Community and we'll enter your name for a Snell Group prize. Look forward to seeing your images!