Monday, September 24, 2012

Photons flowing freely


NOTE: This was written to have gone up here on our local Sunday, but this site was acting bizarrely.  It's now clear again on Tuesday after an overcast Monday.

The sun allegedly rose yesterday here at Pole, but it was mostly shrouded by clouds all day.  That seems to be the standard meteorological condition for this time of year, so no surprise there.  It cleared up today, and it is indeed quite bright outside with that big ball of fusion now visibly above the horizon. The delay of a day was not really that big a deal, because what is another day or so when you have not seen the sun for six months already?

We had some nice winds for a couple days late this week that kicked around a fair amount of drifting ice crystals.  It is about time we got some wind, since this has been such a tempest-free winter.  Trust us here at Ethan’s Vivifying Adventures to report the truth and don’t let other sensationalist blogs or posts to social media sites fool you.  It was not that bad a storm.  You could still see ARO from the station and vice versa.  Actual bad weather is not being able to see the next flag 10-12 feet away and having to navigate to it with hearing while keeping the same heading with respect to wind direction like when sailing.

I got word from NASA that my physical exam done by the doctor here at Pole is acceptable, which was a nice bit of news to receive.  It still is not an invitation to interview in Houston, but it just is not yet time for those invites to be sent.  That my availability (or immediate lack thereof) is not really an issue with this particular job application is a welcome change of pace.  So many times that is a big deal breaker for folks trying to line up future employment from down here during the winter.  Still in the mix!
“It is the opening of day in the sky-fields.”
Ghan-buri-Ghan, Lord of the Rings

3 comments:

Teacher said...

Your description of the "storm" reminded me of an experience in a sandstorm in North Africa.... I would imagine that blowing ice crystals have the same stinging and disorienting effect. I wonder if the sounds are similar.....?

Charles Nehlig said...

Soon on your way to NASA heading for the ISS +- after the long hands on training, you are going to enjoy it all...

EthanG said...

Well, you try to expose as little flesh as possible in the wind, but it does hurt (for a while) if you do.

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Yes, with luck, a very large amount of new education and experience is coming my way. I'm still feeling pretty confident I'll be headed to Houston for interviews and such.