Occupy Antarctica

I'm a little behind the curve here, but I just found out that a photo of John with some of his mates has gone viral. Google "Occupy Antarctica" and you'll see what I mean. That's John in the sunglasses (but you probably knew that already).


This photo even made it to a Washington Post blog, where the author describes it as "a photograph that claims to be shot in Antarctica." Dear Washington Post - trust me, it was shot in Antarctica.

I always knew he was destined for fame.

The Penguin has landed!

Got up this morning at around 7 and as is my habit, grabbed my iPad to check email and Facebook. Lo and behold, John has changed his profile photo to this:

It was about midnight there but I noticed him on Google Talk and had a quick chat session with him. They landed at McMurdo around 4 PM (local time). He reports the flight was good, other than the fact that one of his new suitcases got cracked.

We didn't chat for a long time; he starts work tomorrow at 10 AM, and it sounds like they have fairly long work days. His travel day was long -- their shuttle to the airport picked them up at 3:15 AM. I'm hoping for a long email once he's got his bearings.

I suspect the next couple of days will be jarringly weird.

Good luck, John!

Polar Fashion

John continues to vacation on the company nickel in Christchurch, NZ. Unfortunately he's got to be ready for the shuttle bus at 3:15 AM each morning; the go/no-go decision is communicated to them at 2:45 AM. This obviously cramps exploring then nightlife of Christchurch.

When he does finally get the call to go, he'll be ready: he's been issued his official red parka and other Extreme Cold Weather gear.

Why John on the Ice?

Copied and expanded on from my original post on the Ralph Art Blog.

My eldest son, John, is about to embark on a six month gig at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Among those in the know, this is referred to as being "on the ice." I set this blog up so I could send out occasional updates to friends and family on his life down under. I'll put up the odd fact or two I run across about McMurdo and/or Antarctica, too.

While there, he'll be part of the support crew, working in food service (he's worked in catering for several years while a student). He's a writer, so my guess is he'll also be gathering experiences for some future Epic Novel.

His first stop is Denver, where he has a couple of days of training. From there, after a brief layover in Los Angeles, he'll fly to New Zealand. The final leg of his journey, from Christchurch, NZ, to McMurdo, Antarctica, will be aboard a military transport plane.



McMurdo Station, on Ross Island (on the southwest corner of Ross Sea), is the operational hub and logistics center for the United States Antarctic Program, which in turn is part of the National Science Foundation. McMurdo is the largest installation on the continent and is the gateway to all other US bases.

During the active (summer) season, around 1,200 people are based there. They are just entering the spring season down there; average highs for September are -5 F, and average lows are -20 F. December is the warmest time of the year - average highs are around 30 F, with lows down to 21 F.

Curious about the weather? Check the McMurdo webcam.

Today was the first day McMurdo had a sunrise since April. The sun was visible for 45 minutes before setting. Around mid-October the sun will cease to set until late February. He'll be there until March of 2012.

It should be a great adventure!