Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

I will be leaving from Binghamton (my point of departure) on my way to Denver for tonight and tommorow night. Bonnie and I went out for breakfast this morning. I couldn't help but take a couple shots of the farm before we head out. I also went outside last night and looked at the full moon. Starting next week I will not see the night sky for over 4 months, weird. I find it difficult to sleep in sunshine. The good thing is that this will cure me of that and next year I will be able to nap outside in my hammock. There are no trees and almost no life at all on Antarctica. It is 98% covered by ice. There are bacturium and only the simplest of vegetation in very spotty locations. Everything has pretty much gone as clockwork (a fast running clock) over that last couple of months, the leave from my regular job, the doctor and dentist appts, all the way to getting my sunglasses which arrived late, but in time yesterday.

Well, it is less than 24 hours before I get underway. I am meeting Bill Hackos in Denver Sunday night for dinner. We always have some good conversations, He is a astrophysicist that turned technical communicator guru. Bonnie and I are packing tonight. The way things went at work today I didn't get home from work until 6:30 tonight. The folks had a pizza lunch for me today. I am still stuffed. I figured in the next seven days I will have 28 hours of flight time. Not an incredible amount, but certainly a lot more than usual. This picture shows some folks pulling coaxial radio cable Antarctica style. Photograph by: B.K. Grant, National Science Foundation New Southpole Station Webcam! This has just come on line. You can see the new station that is just getting finished.

The following photo is the annual ice runway under construction at McMurdo. Wheeled aircraft use this runway. Runways are somewhat rare in Antarctica. Most landing sites are skiways. The picture was taken September 6, 2006. This is the runway I will be landing on Oct 13th. Photograph by: Eric Hobday, National Science Foundation

Interestingly, I am not very nervous about my trip to the bottom of the world. I had tinge of it when I got PQd. Now I am fine. Bring it on. I am looking forward to being on aircraft and being out in a remote camp. I did get a fur hat yesterday. I heard that I might need a hat in Antarctica. I have a bunch o' packing to do.. two duffle bags. In goes all my jeans and most of my work cloths as well as 1 set of nice clothes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Saturday night I will be in Denver. I am going to try and blog and paper log everyday as I am deployed. They are going to do a virus scan on my machine in Denver. The big question is, "Why are you doing this?" The answer is that, "I am not sure." I can tell for certain that it feels as though it is something I must do. I don't really feel I have a choice. It is important and compelling. I hope to have a better answer after I am on the ice. I will be back.

I knew there was a reason to take my camera with me this morning. I snapped this photo after I did a double take of one of my "neighbors" interesting endevors. Don't ask me. Please leave a caption for this photo in the comments.

I am getting pretty excited at this point. I am sure there will be some let-downs etc., but I am sure going to Antarctica will be a positive event. Four days from now I am headed to Washington DC, Denver, LA, Auckland, Christchurch and then finally to McMurdo. With the staging, orientation and crossing the date line it will take me 6 days (or more) to get to the ice. I was looking at some photos and I ran across this classic. G. Mills (K2LDT) and I were raising a tower on the rover for the Winter VHF/UHF contest. It must have been 1997. Man, it was cold that morning. I guess that Antarctica thing was on my mind. Rover Tower FN13 Baker Hill

I got the word this morning. My tickets are purchased. I leave for Antarctica on October 7th. My Ice flight (Christchurch to McMurdo, Ross Island Antarctica) is planned for October 13th. I have a couple of days in Denver. Ready or not I am hitting the road. I am mostly ready. Am I ready for not seeing the night sky for 4 months? Am I ready for uncertainty in polar weather? Am I ready to meet a whole bunch of new folks? Am I ready to be flying around in Antarctica via Helicopters and ski planes to science camps and remote radio sites? Am I ready for Antarctica? More importantly is Antarctica ready for me? I like some advice I think about in times like this. “Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid.” “Audacity, audacity.... always audacity.” Frederick the Great I truly expect the experience to be a positive one. It is my version of a 21st century Vision Quest. I expect to make new friends. What does one wear to Antarctica? I mean besides something warm. I will