December 9, 1994
Hello,
I have completed yet another trip down to Antarctica. This trip to the Ice lasted only a little over a month this time, though. I worked for a few days in Christchurch on the way down and on the way back. I also spent a little bit of vacation time there on the way down. It was relaxing and enjoyable. I had a good time during my short stay on the Ice, but I am very glad to be back. I will get to experience my first Denver winter in the almost three years that I have "lived" here. It has snowed here only sparingly, and none of it has lasted. It was in the 60's last week, but this week is much cooler. I will also get to have a Christmas with the relatives. I will be flying to Southern California for a vacation from December 19th through the 29th.
This season on the Ice was quite an experience. We had more bad weather in the first three weeks I was there than we had all of last year. Five big nasty storms rolled through town, one right after the other. Each one lasted a couple of days or more. Fortunately I work indoors, so it was not too bad for me. To measure how bad the weather is we use a system that breaks it down into three categories: Condition I, II and III. Condition I is the worst and Condition III is the best. It was Condition II, borderline Condition I during those storms. During Condition I you are not allowed to go outside at all. You have to stay put where ever you are. A few times the criteria for Condition I was met, but we stayed in Condition II. Most people think it is because the NSF wants us all to keep working. They really want us to get our 54 hours per week in.
This year I got to go out to the Ice Caves. They were not real good this year, but they were still pretty spectacular. What they are and how they come to be is a pretty interesting phenomena. There is an ice peninsula that sticks out from Ross island into the sea. It is about a couple of miles long, a couple hundred yards wide and a couple hundred feet high. It is large enough to have a name: The Erebus Ice Tongue. In the summer all of the ice around it melts away and it is fully exposed to the sea. The sea melts some of it away at the waterline. Also, the Tongue gets cracks in it due to the movements caused by the sea. During the winter the sea gets covered with ice, which surrounds the Ice Tongue. This new ice becomes the floor of the ice caves formed by the cracks and melted areas in the Tongue. I hope my pictures of the trip turn out well. I plan on getting them developed sometime soon. I have definitely procrastinated with them long enough.
On PBS this month and next there will be a series of shows called "Live from Antarctica" and they will be just like the name says. They are to be an educational series about Antarctica that will have live interaction between Antarctica and here in the States. It is billed as "An electronic field trip via interactive television and on-line networks into America's classrooms." The different episodes will be from different locations. One will be in McMurdo, one at South Pole and one from out in the Dry Valleys. The Dry Valleys are one of the most spectacular places in all of Antarctica. The shows are supposed to air on December 13th at 2pm EST, December 15th at 2pm EST, January 10th at 5:30pm EST and January 19th 1pm EST. The January 10th broadcast is from South Pole and they have a contingency date of January 12th at 5:30pm if they have problems. If it succeeds on the first day, then they will re-broadcast on the second day. I will be taping them so if you want I can make copies. Videotapes will also be available from NASA at (216)774-1051. It should be a good show. My company is doing much of the work on the Antarctica end to get this whole project to work.
When I got home my house was just the way I left it. Speaking of my new house here is a picture of it. It is a one storey townhouse that shares the garage wall with the other townhouse. In the picture you can see part of my car in front of the garage. It has two bedrooms, one of which is my study/computer room. I really like having the extra room. It is painted dark grey with a light bluish grey trim.
I did not get the job I was trying for when I wrote last. I am currently applying for another position (Computer Engineer) which I had been looking at for a while before I applied for that last position. It finally became available, so it works out better that I did not get that other position. I have been given a verbal offer for the position and should get the written one sometime soon. The reason I am changing to the new position is not because I dislike my current one, but because I need a change, I am interested in what the new one does and it pays a bit more. The new position will give me lots of new experience. Very career enhancing.
Well, that is about all for this edition of my mass-letter to all my friends and family. I hope it has lived up to the standard my previous ones have set. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that I will hear from you soon. Bye for now.
