Waiting for Godot (the C-17)

The past few days in McMurdo have been largely a waiting period, waiting for the next flight out, on Dec. 29th. The 6-day gap between flights is partly because of Christmas, which is a big holiday here, with a party, a festive dinner and two days off work. The days were Friday and Saturday (the 25th and 26th), with Sunday a normal work day. But, Sunday isn't a normal work day for the Air Force. Ergo, a long gap between flights.

Anyway, I'm working on a special guest post on "Christmas in McMurdo" from a long-time resident. In the meantime, here is a picture from "MAAG," McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery, which was also on the 25th. The name is actually a pretty good description of the event; there was a wide variety of art on display, plus some music and a juggler. Longtime IceCubers will recognize P. J. Charpentier on the violin, above. The picture below shows one local organization; more details are available here



Another interesting exhibit was a room sized camera obscura (pinhole camera) a darkened room with a single hole; the outside was bright enough to project an upside down image of most of McMurdo.

Otherwise, we have been collecting data with the station, filling out various forms, including a detailed environmental survey and starting to work on a journal article about the station.

It has been interesting to see how my body has adapted to the cold. Right now, it is 27 degrees (Fahrenheit), and very lightly snowing, and I'm comfortably walking around in a long sleeve shirt and fleece jacket, jeans and sneakers and wool socks. Three weeks ago, I would have been wearing way more clothes.