Thursday, November 1, 2007

Inside the ping pong ball

We've been having some high winds that have really lowered the visibility here, so much so that I couldn't see ARO when I set out to do my daily checks there yesterday. The temperatures aren't as cold, but the wind chill makes up for that. I think this is a common phenomenon, that the temperature is higher during a storm. I recall reading that in a lot of the books on the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. The bad weather has delayed flights, so there are still some winterovers stuck here.

The weather has also delayed The Today Show crew in MacTown. I guess they are coming down here for a day trip, and it's not exactly concrete what they want to look at. We, in the B2 science lab, have been warned that they may stop by for a tour. But, I hear that they may be changing their emphasis from exploring what science is going on here to looking at the women of the South Pole. You should check your local listings. I think the word on the street is that the piece might be on next Monday or Tuesday.

So, other than that things are just getting underway here. I'm doing the checks for the Cusp and Aurora Tech positions, and trying to get our training figured out for the fire brigade. Other than that, I'm just taking it easy the few waking hours I'm not working, and doing a lot of reading. It will be nice when I get the rest of my gear and can start working out in the gym and studying Russian in earnest.

My boss, Al, and I went down and had a look in the Dome yesterday. It's now devoid of interior buildings, and only used for food storage. It's quite an impressive space (shown below).

3 comments:

Becky said...

Strange to think of the dome empty-but it's a heck of a lot nicer to go "shopping" for the galley out of the wind. How's the new greenhouse doing?
Bundle up!
becky

The Frozen Desert said...

I can vouch for your over-workedness. I live in the same building and still never see you around!

Neal said...

Being stuck here for the last nine months, what's another day or two?