Poliedaemmerung!

Twilight of the Polies...isn't that the truth. I think we've moved into another phase of twilight today, as it seemed much darker outside. My UV monitoring project also transitioned into a new, scaled-back mode of data gathering since the sun is now just over 3 degrees below the level of the horizon. It will only do one scan per day for how much ultraviolet radiation is bouncing around outside until the sun gets back higher in the sky than it is currently. That will probably be sometime in late September. It's not pitch black, by any means outside, and we probably won't hit what I believe is referred to as "astronomical twilight" for another week or so. It probably doesn't look all that dark to you, but that I could go outside without wearing goggles or sunglasses is a major difference from how it is here during the blindingly bright summer.


Our rock band had its first major practice session for about 3 hours last night. It was definitely a whole lot of fun, and marked my first real act of singing in public since 8th grade back at good ol' Florence Middle School. Of course, back then I wasn't trying to sing like Freddie Mercury, so this is a little bit more exciting/challenging. I'm definitely going to wear ear plugs next time, as that was a lot of acoustic energy reflecting around not all that big a room.

Yesterday we also had a radio drill for the entire station's emergency response apparatus. My fire brigade, having done one under my tutelage earlier in the winter, did a really bang-up job. It was also nice to have it be a drill inside the station, so we didn't have to worry about freezing ourselves and our fairly temperature-sensitive gear outside.

I'm skipping a wine tasting event tonight in the galley. Stuff like that down here on the Ice just seems a little too soft and out of place for my taste. I guess I just don't feel the necessity to be pampered and pretend like I'm all high-class and cultured or something. Supper was leftover brats and taters and a World War II novel for me, and now some more guitar practice before I present this evening's installment of "From the Earth to the Moon". That is, if anybody opts to abandon their pinot noir and finger food. Undoubtedly, my experience as a DA last year biased me against this sort of social event. After all, somebody has to clean the dishes.