-

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for the family and friends I have back home. I am thankful for the molecules that bring warmth through combustion. I am thankful for the molecules that make me warm through digestion. I am thankful for water that gives rejuvination. I am thankful for the person that lifted the other side of a load when they saw I was struggling. I am thankful for being there so I could help someone with a load when I saw they were struggling. It is that simple.

I am back at McMurdo Station, (AKA, Mactown, The Rock, Mud Town and others.)

My experience out at Taylor Dome was extreme. It was an experience I shall not easy discard as I make decisions and realize what is important. It was a focusing experience. It was a part of a peak experience.

McMurdo is not Antarctica. Antarctica is out there in the deep field camps.

I slept out in my tent on the polar plateau at -30 degrees. I worked on the roofs at -40 degrees. I got the radios installed, worked on some solar stuff and generally "got 'r dun."

The weather was a little dicey (common saying). But the plane successully landed at Taylor dome and I am back from my awesome twin otter flights to and from 8500 feet elevation on the polar plateau. The attitude effects are amplified due to the rarified air and ambient cold temperatures. I had a bit of a headache and fatigue, but nothing else. Help is along way off at these sites. Basically, if something bad happens to you. You will die. There were 12 people at camp. The cook fed us all in a shelter on skis and a few have to stand while you eat. It is very tight. The flight back to Mactown was going to happen Friday morning or the next weather opportunity was looking like next Tuesday.

I have two days off here at McMurdo now for Thanksgiving.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
MotoSat My friend Pete called yesterday from I 81 near Scranton. He was twisting up the differential on his pickup while trailering his camper. The differential was making a lot of noise and he had just got some work done to it. Luckily, the camper and truck made it to whitney point. I agreed to pull the trailer with my truck to Rochester for him to lighten the load on his truck. It was a large camper, about 28 feet and 8000 lbs. My truck felt it was pulling something that's for sure. It was a different experience. We got home after midnight.
Read more
-
Image
Llama - Llama glama Professor had his surgery today. We removed a hunk of grizzely tissue about the size of a large eyeball from the side of his left foot. He behaved great!. We now have him locked in the llama house with his buddy Aries. The vet used a local in his foot. They had pictures with them to help figure out the foot anatomy of the llama.
Read more
-
Image
It is Thursday night. It is American night over at Scott Base (the New Zealand base). It is a couple miles away. I didn't much feel like going so I didn't. My ankle is a lot better. Today a co-worker and installed a radio with a battery/solar charger in a fuel pump house. Of course that was just a small fraction of what was done today. I received a satellite call from the folks out at Taylor Dome. They said I can slept in a heated module or with some of others who are camping outside. They said it was cold. That means (it takes a while to figure what cold means with all the unspoken context) it is between 25 and 50 below. I told them I will decide when I get there. I have to help them decide whether to dig up an antenna they see 5 feet of. The rest is buried in the snow. I am pretty sure it is a minimum of 35 feet tall which means 30 feet is under snow since 1996 (when it was supposedly installed). It does not snow a lot here but it did today. The snow really gets moved aro
Read more

John McEuen Live in Duluth GA

-
Image
We went to see John McEuen live at our local music venue about a mile from the house. John was a founding member of the Nitty Grity Dirt Band. It was great to hear the music and stories and to be there and experience. Their biggest hit was Mr. Bojangles. But there was a interesting smattering of stringed instruments in strange places over the years in different genres and cultures.
Read more
-
Image
The Weird Site -A classy selection of weird, strange and bizarre web sites and news facts. Today was a strange day. Not that every day is strange, but today I decided to recognize today as strange. I woke up 5:00 am and got the fire going again, surfed the web, drank coffee, made the usual to-do list. Started on the mead process, burned garbage, fed llamas, fed chickens. Started on ebay process, sold three items on ebay, and listed the llama beans. Thought about work and scenarios Got fire going again... needed serious reconfig in firebox. Some of the fingers used to hold fire became disjointed. CAUGHT CAT ON FIRE!... The orange cat (Tioga) came up to me on my computer stinking, looking for affection. He was rubbing on me and me and the monitor, and the desk, meowing... I thought it was outside rolling in the garbage or something, but no he had somehow caught himself on fire... what a dip sh#t. Anyway, he is no worse for the wear. I found the large bit o
Read more