bigblueglobe

43 Years

2009-11-08T16:18:00.000+13:00

I'm not a huge follower of football of any
kind, but if I am going to pay attention to
any college team, it would be Purdue. Yesterday,
Purdue beat Michigan at Ann Arbor for the first
time since 1966. I was a one year old at the
time! I was able to go to a Purdue-Michigan
game in Ann Arbor a couple of years after I
graduated so I can appreciate the magnitude of
such a win. The stadium at Michigan is huge,
seating over 100,000 people (the most people
I've ever been around at one time in my life).
Granted, it's not that Purdue's team is that
good this year...it's that Michigan is that
bad, but it's fun to beat Ohio State AND
Michigan in the same year.

Push

2009-11-07T20:36:00.000+13:00

Because this isn't my first year here, I get to
avoid shovels like these. Ok...Let me explain.
When you are here for the first time and there's
a chance you're going out to a camp or something,
you attend Happy Camper Class, where you basically
learn how to survive in the Antarctic wilderness.
For some reason, this involves a lot of shoveling.
When you come down for a second year and beyond,
you attend something called a "Push" course, which
is essentially a refresher course on how to survive.
It also involves no shoveling. Today, I attended
the Push course, which took place in a fairly warm,
cozy building. I don't think my lungs in the cold
outside could survive shoveling right now.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-11-06T22:56:00.005+13:00

Ten years ago, I did the smartest thing I could
have ever done in my life. I married my wife,
Lynn. Although we are apart this year, I am
finding that the phrase, absence makes the heart
grow fonder, is dead on and I love her more every
day. Happy Anniversary Lynn. I love you more
than anything in the whole wide world!

Roommate-Go-Round

2009-11-05T22:19:00.000+13:00

When I came home from work tonight, my new roommate,
Dave was packing. Oh no, I thought. My coughing and
snoring has driven him away. No, thankfully, but
nevertheless, Dave was moving to one of the 203 dorms
because he was told he didn't have enough housing
points to stay in Dorm 208. If so, he probably
should have been told that in the first place before
he was able to settle in for over a week. So now, I
am roommate-less for a couple of days. Good thing,
bad thing, I don't know. I guess I'll just play the
waiting game.

Back to Work

2009-11-04T11:54:00.002+13:00

I'm back at work today. Not that I'm really
feeling any better, but being home and sick
really isn't that much different than being
at work and sick. I'm grateful every day,
knowing that I don't have to work outside with
this nasty crud. There are people who
do and I have a lot of sympathy for them. It's
hard enough to have this malady, working in an
office, but to work in zero degree weather, with
the wind blowing in your face all day...ugh.

Dreary Dorm Days

2009-11-03T14:38:00.001+13:00

It's difficult to write about anything very
interesting when one doesn't even leave "the
house" for two days. In most parts of the world
that's really not that hard to do, but here, it
seems you have to go outside to do almost
everything, and being outside is not really
what's best for me right now. So, here you
go...a lovely view of my dorm...Dorm 208.
Yes, I'm bored by this as well.

Sick

2009-11-02T20:02:00.002+13:00

I'm sick...and am especially sick of being sick!
Coughing, Sore Throat, headaches, listlessness...
you name it. At least I'm not at work, which helps
a lot. Tomorrow, I will have had this crud for
one week. I hope it's the last day.

My Birthday!

2009-11-01T21:30:00.001+13:00

It's never fun to be sick...especially on your birthday!
But, I was invited over to Carrie and Tony's to play
Euchre with Kaska as my Lynn-surrogate partner.
When I walked in the door, I was greeted with a cool
looking Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting (my fav)
and this very fun cut out of Lynn in a showgirl outfit
popping out of the cake! Being a Hamann, I was early
and was the first one there instead of the last one so
the "surprise" was out of the bag. I did have a great
time though and it took my mind off a being sick for
a few hours. Most of my closest Ice Friends were there
including many from our favorite winter of 2007. It was
a great time and I've very grateful to everyone who
attended to make it a special birthday I will remember
for many years to come.

Samhain Bulbs

2009-10-31T20:05:00.000+13:00

Samhain is festival held on October 31–November 1
in Gaelic cultures. A harvest festival with ancient
roots in Celtic paganism, it was linked to festivals
held around the same time in other Celtic cultures,
and continued to be celebrated in late medieval times.

Lynn went to a Halloween party recently and was given
some bulbs to plant before Samhain. As well as these
"magic" bulbs, she was also nice enough to plant
garlic for me for next season's Salsa Garden. I'm
sure that the bulbs will grow up to be big and strong
since they will have the magical powers of Samhain
associated with them.

Channel 7

2009-10-30T16:59:00.004+13:00

One of our jobs in Air Services is to keep the
community informed of what time flights are
arriving, departing and where they are going
to and coming from. We have a dedicated
computer in our office in which we have to
change the information on a PowerPoint
spreadsheet. This then appears on Channel 7
on the local television network and hopefully
people read it and are informed.

Ben's Leaving Tomorrow

2009-10-29T20:41:00.000+13:00

Ben has been my roommate for most of my time
since I've been here this year and he's leaving
tomorrow. With the high population that we're
experiencing this year, I'm certain that I will
be getting a new roommate soon. In the meantime,
Ben will be off having fun in several Latin
American countries and will probably be stopping
in Grand Junction to see his parents (and Lynn!)
and will be back in January to be my roommate
again!

The Crud

2009-10-28T19:56:00.000+13:00

I'm in the middle of battling the Crud.
The Crud is a cold/flu/noxious waste of
an existance that seems to take down most
folks in McMurdo at one time or another.
I've been planning for this battle since
I've been here, sleeping 9-10 hours per
night, drinking lots of fluids, taking
vitamins, eating semi-right. Now, I'm
hoping that all that will pay off. I
came home last night feeling like garbage,
with a bit of a sore throat and a very
runny noise. Today is my day off and I've
slept all but 5 hours of it. I hope it
pays off because I still have a busy work
week ahead of me.

1038

2009-10-27T21:02:00.000+13:00

Every day we get a spreadsheet sent to
us telling us exactly how many people are
at all of the stations, field camps, etc.
called the Muster. Last night, according
to the Muster, McMurdo went to 1038 people.
This is a huge amount for this time of year,
considering a lot of Dorms 206 and 202 aren't
filled since they are Air Guard dorms and the
majority of their folks aren't here yet.
Unless we can get some people out to Pole,folks
to field camps and the Aussies to Casey, we'll
be bursting!

The Australians Are Here!

2009-10-26T20:28:00.001+13:00

One of my favorite things about working in Air Services,
and with the US Antarctic Program in general, is meeting
people from all over the world. Today, a Airbus operated
by Skytraders landed at the Ice Runway and deposited 50
Australians. Kiwis from New Zealand we see. Aussies from
Australia, we don't. All of their stations are far to the west
of us and we definitely don't share the same airspace.
This group are hitching several rides on our LC-130s
from the Ice Runway to the skiway at Casey Station.

I know this sounds weird, but it was interesting to see all
of their bags labeled "Casey" and "Wilkins". Unlike the US
program, each of the Australian stations have different
colored bag and cargo tags, representing each station.
Of course, I was always interested in Airline luggage tags
before they became bar code-ized and seeing exotic
three letter codes for the cities was the rule and not the
exception.

We're used to seeing the Americans in their Red parkas
and the Kiwis in their Black and Orange parkas, but it
was refreshing to see so many folks in Yellow parkas
running around town. Although it definitely contributes
to a very crowded station. We have 1010 people on
station right now with more to come tomorrow. If we
don't get some flights out to Pole soon, we'll all be
sharing beds!

Urine Nation

2009-10-25T19:38:00.005+13:00

All over town you can see signs reminding you to
do this and do that. Save water...save electricity...
don't be hard on the equipment...wash your hands.
But now there is a new sign. One that on the surface,
seems helpful, but at the same time...disturbing.
This sign greeted me the other day when I was
using the urinal on Highway One in Building 155.
Yes, I know we should drink lots of water and that
it keeps us functioning normally since this is one
of the driest places on earth. But do we have to
get so graphic about it? And what's with the cartoon
of the guy actually using the urinal? The color chart
wasn't enough?

Air Service Reps

2009-10-24T23:04:00.001+13:00

Pictured left to right:
Mia, Amy, Susie, me, Kaska, Billy T, Kristin

Last year, when Lynn was in New Zealand, she sent me
a bottle of champagne that I should share with my
small group of co-workers at the end of the year, in
celebration of a successful season. Well, we never had
time to open it and it sat in a drawer all winter long.
Tonight was the beginning of the season ATO party.
A chance to get everyone in the department together
for one last relaxing time before we go onto 12 hour
shifts and things get really busy. As it turns out, all
of the Air Service Reps are back on station for another
season. Kristin is now working with Science Cargo
and we're joined by Mia this year. Amy will be working
with Mia on the night shift and Kaska and I will be
working on the day shift. Susie is our Supervisor and
Billy T is our Department Manager. It was a good chance
for everyone to get together, and we finally enjoyed our
champagne.

Frothy

2009-10-23T16:44:00.005+13:00

I pride myself on my Barista skills and I
especially like making coffee for everyone
at work. So when one of the flight crew
offered to send down something from
Christchurch, I asked them to send me milk.
I don't drink milk, but I figured people in
the office would like it in their cereal and
coffee, and the rest I would put in the instant
pudding mix I have in my room. We don't get
real milk here...only the powdered variety.
I forgot that I had packed my milk frother
that we bought a few years ago in Krakow and
since the powered milk doesn't froth very
well, it would be the perfect time to use it.
So this morning and afternoon, everyone who
wanted one, got a latte or a mocha...with
real milk!

Liverwurst

2009-10-22T18:40:00.000+13:00

I've been jonesing for Liverwurst lately for
some reason, and today, it was actually brought
up twice by people around me...and not by me!
It must be a Midwestern thing, because I like
it...Susie, who grew up in Iowa likes it and
Lynn who didn't grow up in the Midwest, doesn't
like it. In fact, Lynn calls it Liver-the-worst.
Yes, it is bad for me, but yes, I like it
anyway. The best sandwich ever is liverwurst
and mayonaise on wheat bread! Only 4 more months
til I get to have this again!

Safety Stand-Down

2009-10-21T17:50:00.005+13:00

The weather has been rather odd the past few days.
Yesterday, we were surrounded by pogonip and it
continued through this morning. However, around
lunchtime, the wind started to pick up and it got
really nasty out. One of those days where you don't
know if it's easier to walk with the wind or against it.
Condition 1 (the worst weather category) was called
for everywhere but McMurdo and the weather here was
iffy at best. Visibility was ok, but the gusts were bad.
It was starting to get dangerous for the cargo handlers
to be outside since pieces of wood were flying about
from the waste dump. Since much of our department
does work outside, my boss's boss, Pete, called for
a safety stand-down. Everyone was gathered in the
front of the building and we talked about what to do
during bad weather, what we should and should not
do during this particular storm and what we should
do tomorrow if the storm worsens. Then he sent
us all home. Even those of us that work inside. No
sense taking chances with people's safety when you
don't have to. All of the flights today were cancelled
because of the weather so we had spent most of the
afternoon training and going over expectations for
the upcoming season, so we didn't have any air traffic
to track anyway. As far as I could tell, we were the
only department to be let loose early. That's one of
the things I like about ATO and keeps me coming
back. Not the fact that we got time off. That our
supervisors care enough to say, Hey...it's not so
important that someone gets hurt. Step away from it
and be safe. It's lip service to some, but I feel my
supervisors actually mean it.

Pogonip

2009-10-20T13:18:00.002+13:00

Today has been one of those cold, down to your
bones kind of cold that is very moist and
makes you creak when you walk. It's also
been rather misty and foggy, but not a typical
kind of fog. Some here are mistakenly calling
it Hoarfrost. But according to my friend Grump,
this phenomenon is called Pogonip.
Pogonip is clinging to almost everything and I
think if a person were to stand outside long and
still enough, it would cling to them too!

According to Wikipedia...

A type of fog consisting of fine ice crystals
suspended in the air. It can happen only in
cold areas of the world since water can remain
liquid down to -40 °C (-40 °F). It should
be distingued from diamond dust, a precipitation
of sparse ice crystal falling from clear sky.

In western United States ice fog is commonly
known as pogonip. It occurs very rarely during
cold winter spells, usually in deep mountain
valleys. Ice fog can be quite common in Alaska,
since the temperature frequently drops below
34 °C (-30 °F) in the winter months.

Pogonip only forms under the right conditions,
the humidity has to be near 100% as the air
temperature drops to well below 0 °C (32 °F),
allowing ice crystals to form in the air. The
ice crystals will then settle onto surfaces.

The name pogonip is an English adaptation of
the Shoshone word meaning "cloud" (payinappih).
The English-speaking settlers who encountered
this unpleasant and sometimes scary phenomenon
when they went out West in the 1800s needed a
word for it and they borrowed it from local
populations.[2]

A folk etymology says that pogonip means "white
death" because the pogonip fog is so thick you
can't even see your hand. Go out in it and you'll
be lost in seconds. If it lingers you'll die of
starvation or exposure. Breathing pogonip can
damage your lungs thus the term white death.

In The Old Farmer's Almanac, in the calendar
for December, the phrase "Beware the Pogonip"
regularly appears. In Smoke Bellew Jack London
described Pogonip which happened to main
characters, killing one of them.

Chunk of Ice

2009-10-19T19:53:00.000+13:00

Fleet Ops (The guys and gals that run the
heavy equipment) drug this large Ice Boulder
into town and placed it in the Galley Pad.
Their equipment was coming across chunks
of ice this big while creating the Sea Ice
Runway this year. I've seen some bigger
pieces of ice out there, but they were ones
that had been churned up by an icebreaker.
Nonetheless, it was no small feat just to
get this big icecube into town.

Chick Flicks

2009-10-18T17:48:00.002+13:00

Since I won't be in touch with anyone else's feminine side
until I see Lynn again in just over four months, I might as
well be in touch with my own feminine side! I've been
invited to show up every Sunday afternoon by several
friends (who happen to be women) to watch a "chick flick"
with them in the Dorm 208 2nd floor lounge, which happens
to be next door to my room. Lynn would have been invited
if she were here, but since she's not, I'm the only Hamann
they can invite. Today we watched "My Fair Lady", starring
Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. I'm not a huge fan of
musicals, but I had never seen the whole thing and three
hours later, I had. It won't go down as one of my all time
favorites, but I didn't run screaming from the room either.
I probably never would have lived it down if I had since
there were seven women in the room and I was the only
guy.

Not So Big

2009-10-17T19:20:00.001+13:00

All week I've been going on and on about how big the
C-17 is. However, my friend Dave proved that it really
isn't that big as he can hold it in the palm of his hand!

McChord Air Force Base

2009-10-16T19:18:00.004+13:00

The folks from McChord Air Force Base provide
the C-17 service to and from McMurdo. McChord
is located in Tacoma Washington and the flight
crews typically rotate through every few weeks.
I didn't take this photo but it's one of my
favorites I've seen of the C-17 on the Ice.

This is the sticker that the flight crew was
selling on the plane headed south from
Christchurch.

I like that they have a small drawing of Mount
Rainier on their tail.

Crew Tour

2009-10-15T16:31:00.003+13:00

After yesterday's crew tour no-go, another
C-17 arrived today and my new co-worker, Mia
and I went out in a van to meet the crew.
There were only four crew members taking the
crew, but we had less than an hour to show
them McMurdo. The place most people like to
go to is the store in Building 155. All four
of them bought lots of fun things to take
back home. Ironically, crewmember Kathy
(in this photo, shopping) spends part of her
time working at Altus, AFB in Oklahoma, where
my brother in law, Greg works. She told me
she's going to look him up when she gets back
to work in Altus!

All four of the crew members posed for me
outside of the store in B-155, carry their
purchases

Our last stop of the tour was the McMurdo
Station sign where many people take their
"Hero Shots", proving that they were here.
They were a fun group and it was a pleasure
showing them around.