Holy Shit. It happened.
I received tickets to and from Binghamton NY and McMurdo Station Antarctica. (Actually from BGM to CHC, through Washington, DC, Denver, Los Angeles, Auckland NZ.) and then on Military aircraft to Mactown (McMurdo Station). The itinerary is almost as thick as the USAP Participant's Guide.
I believe it. But then again I don't. It feels like it is going to get surreal after this point. I worked to get here. I will continue to work where (geophysical or otherwise) I need to go. But given a good grounding, I will believe it when get off the plane and see what I expect to see, much like my first (of many) trip to Japan (starting) in 1985.
It happened. I first started talking about this in 1997.
Accomplishment is sweet, but lends itself only to what is yet undone.
Duplexer Drive?
This new microwave drive unit seems a little too simple to be real.
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/mg19125681.400;jsessionid=NMGHKBGMCGMMI mailed in everything (hopefully) to be PQ'd. I should be hearing something soon about exact dates, plane tickets etc. I purchased my mandatory sunglasses (Ouch$). I get reimbursed for about half from my employer. The place I purchased the sunglasses from specialize in extreme and mountaineering eyewear. http://www.heavyglare.com
I still have a lot to get and do. Working on creating/using check lists is an important step at this point.
I am already getting booked for a business trip to Las Vegas in late February just after I get back from the Ice. In some ways this adventure to the ice will be brief. In other ways it will be long. I suspect depending on the day it will be one of the two, not the grey in between.
The following list is used without permission from: http://huey.colorado.edu/77DegreesSouth/maps.html
Size: 5.5 million square miles (14M sq. km). Fifth largest continent in the world. As large as the US and Mexico combined.
Government: Antarctica has been administered by the Antarctic Treaty since 1961. No country has any definitive sovereignty over any part of it, in spite of claims.
Highest Point: Vinson Massif 16,062' (4897m)
Precipitation: Antarctica receives less than 5 cm of precipitation a year, which is similar to the amount the driest part of the Sahara Desert receives.
Temperature: Record low of -128°F (-89.6° C).
Health Risks: Hypothermia, frostbite, snow-blindness, dehydration, sunburn.
I am in Philadelphia airport right now. Bonnie just called to let me know that Resses didn't make it this time. We had that cat for at least 18 years. Over those 18 years she used up a whole lot more than 9 lives. I remember when she was missing for week one time. I suspect she took a ride in the back of my truck and it took her a while to get home.
She had a good life with caring owners. She could just about do anything she wanted, whenever. She lived with us in 5 different places. It was getting hard for her to adjust to different places to live. I feel good that we let her die at home, quietly.
Rest in Peace Resses.
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