I can't. I've been back in the US for just over 2 weeks now, and in CO for nearly that. I've put out feelers for jobs, and thrown out a few applications. I've been told "everywhere's hurting, you'll be sure to get snapped up." But silence.And you know why - everyone is busy, and while... Continue Reading →
COVID-19 Journal Project
The COVID-19 Journal Project is put on by the Wisconsin Historical Society, and aims to collect history as it is occurring.
This place has too much atmosphere
I've been at the South Pole for just over a month now, and I think I'm more or less acclimated (though my typing accuracy would indicate otherwise). While it's physically something like 9300 feet, some quirk of the temperature/humidity/something makes it feel like it's a variable above-10k-feet. Today it's around 10100. Cool. My pulse ox... Continue Reading →
Going Back
It's May and roughly my seventh month here, and it's time to start thinking about redeployment. August is only three months away, and weather permitting the end of it will find me somewhere, possibly on a beach, picking up a lot of long-missed sun. Guys, it's really dark outside. But end-of-contract means thinking about what's... Continue Reading →
Workwear
I've been a firefighter for about a decade at this point (when did that happen?), and having worked shifts from two hours long to two+ days long (The Hotdog Blizzard Incident*) I'm pretty comfortable with how to pack and how to dress for pretty much anything you could throw at me. Here's what I wear... Continue Reading →
My Antarctic Fingerprints
Even in summer, Antarctica is breathtakingly dry. Friends that have gone to the Pole* describe it as "ten times drier than McMurdo", which is a little hard to grasp - while the winter has gotten drier than it was over the summer, it's always really dry. Weird things happen. I understand the purpose of body... Continue Reading →
Letters: Winter has started
Winter here has started and it's finally actually gotten cold. It's 1°F today with -14 °F windchill, which has been par the past few days. It's snowing very lightly but sideways. This is also normal. It doesn't feel super cold though. I dress a lot more warmly than home (long johns, all the time), but... Continue Reading →
First Winter Snowstorm
Despite the fact that the final flight was moved from February 23rd to (very late) on February 22nd, and despite the fact we were told "weather is coming" several times, the weather only finally cooperated a couple days ago, dumping several inches of snow on us at once. Being that it's so dry, most of... Continue Reading →
Photo of the Day, 03/01/2019
Sunset over McMurdo Station, March 1st, 2019.
My Antarctican Autumn
It snuck up on me sometime over the last couple of weeks: the sun went from overhead with not much variation to a change in color across the sky. It's sort of a relief, mostly - I've always had a really good sense of what time it was (in the same way that some people... Continue Reading →
Book and Ladder 