Anybody out there between Atlanta and Charleston headed this way this weekend who wants to give a lift to a couple of Labrador Retrievers? They’re coming from a shelter in Alabama and headed to a Lab rescue group based in Georgetown. Looks like their trip up to Atlanta is covered so far, but they still need to get from there to Charleston. If you’re headed this way, have room (they’ll be in crates) and can give them a lift, please think about helping out!
Transports are typically set up in relatively short legs (1-2 hours), so you don’t have to be travelling the entire distance from Atlanta to Charleston (although if you were, that would be really cool too). If you’re somewhere in between and can help out with one of the legs, that would be marvelous.
I may even end up fostering one of the dogs that you transport!
If you’re interested, check out the details.
Want
Why Blog?
Why do you have a blog?
I first started keeping a journal because of Doogie Howser.
Yeah, I hear some of you snickering back there. Laugh if you will, but I always thought the computer journal thing at the end of each episode was pretty neat.
My journal started off as just a simple database using Appleworks on my Apple ][e. Then it changed to a series of notebooks (most of which have since been tossed out by my parents in the Great Cleaning they did a few years ago) during my undergrad and grad school days.
Now I blog.
To me, blogging is just an extension (a very public one at that) of journaling. To others it’s something else, but to me just an online journal. Since I’m just really bad at picking up the phone and calling people (emailing and IM’ing too), I use my blog to let people know what I’m up to, talk about or show off anything interesting I encounter and spill out some of the random things that the voices in my head tell mecross my mind.
That’s why I keep a blog.
Who wants to visit?
Here
(My outdoor thermometer says 3°C)
There
PET Shielding
Ever wonder what goes into shielding for a PET imaging facility?
No? Well, I’m going to show you anyway.
First you need to find a Qualified Medical Physicist (like me) to develop a shielding design for you. The shielding design gets turned into a set of blueprints for the lead contractor to work with.
Then you need lead. Lots and lots of it.
This is a layer of 1/4″ thick lead sheet lining the floor. The strips cover up the seams between the lead sheets so that there are no gaps. Depending on what’s underneath, the floor may require as much as 1″ of lead.
For the walls, you’ll need stacks of 1/4″ or 1/2″ lead sheet attached to 3/4″ plywood, like these
Thinner lead sheets are usually glued to drywall, but that doesn’t quite cut it for the thicknesses required for PET shielding.
The lead/plywood sheets go up like this
The sheets are also interlocking to eliminate the gap between sheets
Depending on what’s on the other side of the wall, you’ll need bricks too. This is a stack of 1″ interlocking bricks. Sometimes your wall might even need up to 2″ thick bricks.
This is what the brick wall ends up looking like
The bricks are screwed into the metal studs for support. Thicker brick walls require additional support and are usually constructed between two sets of studs.