Training the new guy
Today, my main task was to train the new guy (John Kelley, from UW-Madison) on the software and hardware that we use in controlling the freeze process in the tanks. I think I did a good job, but we have a few more days of overlap, so I’ll be able to make sure. The tanks are still freezing. It has taken longer than we had hoped/expected, but the ice is looking good, and that’s my main concern.
I was hoping to help John hookup the DOMs in the tanks to the DAQ (Data AcQuisition) system. However, we found out today, that the DAQ is still in Christchurch, New Zealand. So, He’s not quite sure when it’s going to be here.
Jeff also taught John how to shutdown the whole SPASE system, so I paid attention, and now I know how to do that too. I already knew most of it, but it was good to hear from someone else.
Looking out the window at lunch today, I saw a couple tends next to sleds, and a bunch of people out at The Pole. I hear a group of skiers were dropped off at the 89th parallel, and they skied here from there. Like I saw on a t-shirt someone was wearing around here; “2 inches of powder, 2 miles of base.”
This evening (4:30am, morning?) I helped Ethan (the other winterover for AMANDA/IceCube) with a strange harddrive problem. It’s not related, but computers can act strangely down here, because of static electricity. There is so little moisture in the air, that the natural conductivity of things that you usually rely on to ground you, just isn’t there. So you can build up a considerable charge, and then shock a computer enough to get it to crash, or lock up. Not to mention giving you a bit of a jolt.
Being at the pole today means that I’m missing another holidays tradition, New Year’s Eve at the Morgan and Michal’s house. I’ll try to get a game of charades going, but it just won’t be the same.
Oh yeah, I didn’t get my picture taken at The Pole yet, but I will soon…. really… I will…
Off to bed (at 8:46am, local time)
-Jonathan
December 31st, 2003 at 8:08 am
So I was looking at your pictures and I have a question. How cold is it there?
I quess I’m thinking - South pole - Ice - high temp of like -59483545 degrees.
December 31st, 2003 at 8:10 am
That’s below zero.
December 31st, 2003 at 3:51 pm
Hi Jon,
Happy New Year (x24)! Enjoy beginning the new year in such a wild winterland. Dad and I watched Shackelton tonight, what those men went through!
Love, mom
December 31st, 2003 at 6:38 pm
Jon,
I hope you’re able to connect to the UWRF computers again - perhaps it’s just that they changed the addresses during the break (Jim mentioned this in his email). As for New Year’s some have wondered about planting the pole marker. They plant a new one each new year, leaving the old ones all where they were, so a good picture is off all of the poles that are still above the snow going off into the distance, showing the path of the ice as it moves about an inch per day over the surface below. The craftsmanship of the pole marker is always great to look at, with a new design each year, and replicas of recent ones are available in pewter in the south pole store, so you might want to pick on up.
I think in only a few more hours you’ll be celebrating, though i’ll have to wait about 22 more hours.
I hope you can convince them to stay a couple more days (or just hope for bad weather). If not, take advantage of extra days in McMurdo by seeing the sights and trying to hook up with someone who will offer you a spare seat on a helicopter ride to the dry valleys or meteorite hunting or a snowmobile ride to a penguin colony or something.
Cheers,
Glenn
January 1st, 2004 at 2:20 pm
Jon–Happy 2004…what a way to begin the year–at the pole!!! Hope you get that extended stay as it sounds like a terrific opportunity for you. I suspect that you are adding a lot to the group: yo yo talents, charades, and a ton of technical skills.
Russ is doing better even took a very short walk from the front door to the garage…of course, it was not a bizillion below zero here. Marg Coker-Nelson
January 2nd, 2004 at 6:48 am
Hi Marg,
Thanks for the update on Russ. I hope his improvement continues steadily. I really hope to see him in church when I’m home on the 18th (hopefully I’ll be home by then). I really appreciate your comments and your support.
-Jonathan