On the Fritz

Things seem to break in waves down here. The last several days we have had an LC-130 aircraft being repaired, which had serious problems upon landing (not sure exactly what happened). In addition to that, I have spent a good amount of time over the last couple days troubleshooting some issues with one of the interferometers I operate at the Atmospheric Research Observatory. The elevated in the Beer Can (“vertical tower” for those using official nomenclature, no matter how redundant) broke down yesterday, and there is no estimate as to when it might be operational again. I think I heard the drilling for the new Rodwell is making little progress, as well. Anyhow, it all is a good reminder of how challenging this environment can be on people and machinery. With all the social distractions a bustling summer season provides, I often think that fact gets forgotten. Winter is a different ballgame.

Like I wrote before, that switch has been flipped, and lots of folks are talking redeployment and travel post-Ice. I look forward to finding out what sort of travel options Lockheed will offer, as a chance to go see some really different parts of the world before heading home is a nice carrot at the end of the long stick of winter. Taking a little longer to get home also lets you get a bit more color to your skin, and allows one to recover some of the wits that have been dulled by the fatigue of 9-13 months on the Ice. I’ll probably start thinking about travel around mid-winter, if it turns out it will still be possible to do so like in the past.

I am getting toward the end of reading “A Game of Thrones”, which is the first volume in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R. R. Martin. It has been a good read thus far, and it is remarkable how much of the book the series on HBO managed to incorporate. With four more long books to read over the coming year, I look forward to whatever lays in store. Of course, as the words of House Stark go: Winter is coming. That saying has a certain resonance down here.

“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
~J.R.R. Tolkien