Local Posting Day and Time- 1-6-08 8:30PM
Central Standard Posting Day and Time- 1-6-08 1:30AM
McMurdo Weather Temperature- 34F Wind Direction- variable Wind Speed- 6MPH Wind Chill- 28F
Answer to Yesterday's WATIZIT
Congratulations Mike!!!! You again win the prize. The station had not been transmitting any wind data. If you look at yesterday's picture you can see that the impeller is missing (George just told me that is the technical term), for most of us it would be called "the propeller looking thing". George also said he thinks one of the penguins climbed up the tower and stole it. (He of course was kidding.) If you go to this website you can see when we repaired the station.
Today's WATIZIT Picture
What seems to be out of place in this picture?
Today is Sunday and so it makes for a slow day since a lot of people are off here at McMurdo. There are a lot of different jobs here at McMurdo. It is not really a town, but you find many of the same jobs here that you would find in a small town. Cooks, janitors, truck drivers, firefighters (Barney, I have not forgotten your student's questions.), and doctors.
This is such a remote place and many of the employees cannot leave "town" and many of them may be here for months at a time away from friends and family. So there is a team of employees who plan recreational activities, to keep everyone else from getting bored and going crazy. So today an 8K (about 5 miles) race/run was scheduled, called the Scott's Hut Race. Jonathan and I both ran in the race.
Start of Scott's Hut Race
Start of Scott's Hut Race
First we ran from downtown towards Scott's Hut , we then turned around, an back through town between the two hills and then around and up the side of the hill on the left side of the picture, we then turned around when we got close to Scott Base, back to Scott's Hut into the cold wind, and back to town. So who was Scott anyway, and what was his full name?
Scott's Hut Race
McMurdo- Race course- run towards the camera, then away from it, up over the hill, back towards the camera and then back to town.
While visiting the aquarium lab here in the Crary Science Building. Which has a small touch tank with really cool marine animals and really cold water which is continuously being pumped out of the Sound, I was bale to handle some of the animals.
Cold water aquarium, yes my hand was cold.
Sea anemone
While I was there I visited with a young lady who is a pilot on one of the C130s. She flies the C130's to really remote places including the South Pole and into the center of Greenland. You can see pictures and learn about the C130 Hercules that she flies at this website.
This afternoon I caught a shuttle over to the New Zealand Antarctic base, Scott Base on the other side of the peninsula of Ross Island. Every Sunday they have an "open house" for Americans.
New Zealand's Scott Base
New Zealand's Scott Base
It is a long way from anywhere.
So how many miles is that?
Like I said it was a pretty slow day, kind of like my time in the race.