Miscellany

Nothing in particular happened yesterday. However, I don’t think that is responsible for my declining number of pictures. Rather, I’ve decided that my enthusiasm for photography is proportional to the amount of sleep I get. So is my verbosity.

Mirror Alignment, Cookies

Yesterday work proceeded as usual, except Laura was around too! I must be getting tired of taking bajillions of photographs every day, as I don’t have very many. The primary operation pictured is laser alignment of the primary and secondary mirrors. The highpoint of the day was fresh delicious cookies that the kitchen staff put […]

The Tube, Mylar, and Cryogen Transfer

Yesterday after work I finally went to The Tube (along with Juan and Matt), and it did not disappoint. Sometimes people see seals and large creatures down there, and so, upon returning, I was asked if I saw anything cool. While I didn’t see a seal, and I knew what they meant, I couldn’t say […]

Ob Hill, Fisheye Lens (and Mirror lift)

Yesterday evening Matt, Juan, Mark, and I walked up Ob(servation) Hill. Like the undersea observation tube, which I plan to visit tonight, Ob Hill was high on the list of things I must do while here.

Back at the highbay, Mark had brought in his camera and small collection of lenses—including a very wide angle […]

Cryostat Closing

Yesterday was the big push to get the cryostat closed and pumping out before we left for the night. We missed the usual shuttle back to McMurdo, but still finished in time to make it for dinner. During closing, it’s important to take hundreds of pictures, and I did.

In other news, the secondary mirror […]

HWPR Day

Yesterday was Mark’s first day here (after arriving very late the night before). He sees to aligning the optics before close-up can proceed. Then the rest of the day is spent with the half-wave plate rotator (HWPR). HWPR is pronounced “hooper” or “whipper” (in the southern H-before-W manner) depending who you ask. Juan and I […]

Camera Fail!

Update: O frabjous day! After spending my break time yesterday learning about data recovery, I have resurrected some of the lost pictures. I also learned that the camera doesn’t wear-level its memory, which is probably why the card failed. Some of the pictures are corrupted, and some corrupted in amusing ways (like partial translation and […]

Optics Box, Blinkenlights

Yesterday was the first day that the second wave was in the highbay. The second wave consists of Matt. He was supposed to be closely followed by Mark, but the weather hasn’t been favourable (and if he doesn’t arrive late today, he will be delayed again tomorrow due to a Hilary Clinton visit).

Elio opened […]

Cryostat Opening, Miscellany

Yesterday Nick was pretty keen to get the cryostat opened, so that when Matt arrived he could quickly get to all the post-shipping operations (change out optics box legs, inspect for loose screws, etc). Otherwise, odd jobs progressed here and there. I had a few periods of waiting for slow computer operations, so took a […]

Organizing The Highbay

Yesterday was mostly spent organizing the highbay. We opened a ton of cardboard boxes, stashed some stuff outside, and set up the work areas.

There was also some McMurdo-style fun: Ivan broke down on the way to LDB in the morning. We were perched right on top of Scott Base Hill, in about the most […]