On shift today. I'm riding engine one.
At breakfast this morning i unknowingly sat next to a lady called Ann Curry who is the presenter on the US today news show. Fancy that, here I am chatting away about vegemite or something to a lady who is known by millions! Brilliant. It was only when she headed off to get a coffee that I was enlightened on her status.
So out came the camera. Someone famous and myself in Antarctica
This morning at work we did some ARFF rescue training, preparing ourselves for any future in-flight emergencies.
After lunch we headed over to the 15 million dollar science lab for a familiarisation tour. What a great building and much used facility. I was even fortunate enough to visit the aquarium. The seawater temperature here is around -2.c. Divers have reported seeing distances of 200-300 feet, since the water is so clear. The fish are incredible. I took some video of them swimming around their tank. They surface the water and make bubbles; I couldn't believe how long they kept their heads out of the water. I was also fortunate to see some core samples from a depth of 300 feet, to which they have found organism and readings from up to 10 million years ago. It takes so long to drill here. First they have to drill through the frozen ice layer, then through the depths of the ocean to reach the floor bedding.
The afternoon brought some blasting. This is the most efficient way of moving the thick solid volcanic rock base here. Apparently they're making way for a new fuel tank.
Dinner was amusing. I picked up a piece of what I thought was like a caramel cake for desert. It turned out to be pumpkin! Much to my amusement I learnt that this is how americans eat their pumpkin. In a pie for desert with ice cream and whipped cream. I politely took a bite and muttered "mmmmm yummy" then slid it over the table for my friend to eat. You gotta try everything once right. The guys thought it highly funny that we eat it with our dinner "you know meat and two veg" I explained.
At midnight we had a firecall to the boldering (rock climbing) cave. The chalk dust used in climbing had activated the smoke detector. I was fast asleep and once at the call I got a rude awakening by trying to get some tools out of the truck then realising I had no gloves on. No gloves on in Antarctica is bad news.
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