But, while all the excitement was trumped up for the Super Bowl, Indy didn't lose sight of her daily activities that keep us steaming. Today we took on 1.6 million gallons of DFM, conducted general ship's maintenance, aircraft maintenance, and a few hours ago, held general quarters. We call it GQ and it's when we all get called to our battle stations for ship's survival training.

What are they (above) doing? They're holding the USNS Yukon in place. Not really, they're holding a sound-powered-phone line between the two ships with distance markings on it and relaying the information on up. Holding the line here (L to R) is Seaman Apprentice Chris Weber from Denver, CO who was rooting for the Broncos; Seaman Chris Schilliag from Scheller, IL who's a Packers fan; and Seaman Travela Young from Chicago, IL who was rooting for Denver.

I was told once, the distance between our ship and a refueling ship (right) had to stay within two degrees of a set course. All I could think of was how much fun you could have while skurfing behind these two powerhouses.

So, before heading back in, I hung out and soaked up some sun and fresh air with these guys who were checking out the action on the Yukon. On the other side of the Yukon is another ship in our battle group getting a refill and probably a look under the hood.

These are more of the guys (right) who were rooting for their team while topside conducting general maintenance. (R to L) AE1 Thomas Richardson from Columbus, GA; AD3 Daniel Pierce from Greers Ferry, AK; ADAN Jaun Javier from Los Angeles, CA; and AMCS Noel Fajardo from Pensacola, FL. They were a mix, rooting for both teams.

In the Crash & Salvage and GSE Troubleshooters' shop (right), I found this group in an even tie for the two teams. One minute the cheers were for Greenbay, the next for Denver. I think that although everyone had their own opinion on who should win, it was unanimous that receiving the Super Bowl live made everyone feel closer to home. Back in the PR shop, Lauro had said, "Even thought the signal is jumpy at times, it's great, because it could have easily been weeks before a tape would have shown up." I think we all agreed with that.

As you probably guessed, the biggest thing going here today was the Super Bowl, live, via digital feed from space... ain't technology great. Well, I have to admit, I'm not a diehard sports fan, but you couldn't help getting sucked into the excitement of a live football game on a 21-foot projection screen while your in the middle of no-where -on an aircraft carrier. As I made my way around the ship today, through the doors of most shops, you could hear the game on and of course, the hoopla over touchdowns and interceptions.

So, today is really no longer today here. With the number of distractions and alternative tasking today, I'm getting another late start on the Notepad. That's pretty much way life is here. Work is never ending and there is always something for us to do, and yeah, there's all the cleaning to keep up with.

Also today, the temperature here totally changed into a hot, humid, steamy day and as the photos show, the sun was out in all her glory. I decided to throw a few shots in here of sights you'd only see if you got underway with us, like our bow (left) plowing through the deep blue.

A lot of guys take the opportunity to come topside to watch a refueling. I think it's because for the longest time it feels like just us out here, and then you look out and there's someone else.

Checking out the game from their front-row seats in the Black Night's PR Shop (left) was (from L toR) PR1 Henry Cosgayon from San Francisco, CA; PR2 Skip Marquardt from Cedarburg, WI; AMS1 Roberto Lauro from San Diego, CA; and AD1 Ken Walker from San Diego, CA. Walker said he was for the Broncos and Marquardt and Lauro were for the Packers. Cosgayon was refereeing.

Well, half the ship is asleep now, we're steaming along smoothly now with only a few rolls here and there. Here's (left) another one of those "ya-gotta-be-here" shots. That was our wake today around noon. Nothing back there as far as the eye can see. FULL STEAM AHEAD...