.

Burger Bar...

2008-08-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

As the season comes to an end, so does the activities that comes along with it. As one of my services to the community, aside from playing music, I work at Burger bar. From what i have been told they are some tasty burgers that i have been making.

In honor of the last burger bar the person who sends out the weekly recreation schedule made this poster and sent it out. I thought it was rather humerous so i decided to share it with everyone.

The Moon at noon

2008-08-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

A few pics to show the moon on the horizon at noon. The sun returns and the moon gets to take a vacation for a short while.

Return of the sun....

2008-08-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

As the sun begins to return here at Mcmurdo station, we all know that our quiet world is coming to an end as we begin to prepare for winfly. The sky share it's beautiful colors and clouds (Nacerous) with us. Some people travel out to the pegasus airfield to get the full effects of the returning sun as well as to get away from town for a bit to break the monotony of being in town all winter.

Article from The Antarctic sun..

2008-08-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

McMurdo prepares for summer season all winter long
By Cathy Morrell, McMurdo correspondent
Posted August 15, 2008

In Antarctica, the short summer season from October to February takes advantage of those long summer days of eternal sunshine by accomplishing as much work as possible. However, after the sun goes down for winter and McMurdo Station grows quiet, the work does not cease.

Dropping from the summer’s high population of about 1,200 people to a mere 125, the small crew must work steadily throughout the longer winter season, both to maintain a station normally run by many, and to plan and prepare for the next summer season as it rapidly approaches.
Many responsibilities on station do not change regardless of the population, and there is much we need to do to maintain facilities over the long winter. The power plant continues to run 24/7, and the water plant must continue water production. Staff in the wastewater treatment plant, as well as the solid and hazardous waste departments, carry on cleaning up after us, packaging and discarding solid waste for shipment off the continent.

While not all the buildings at McMurdo remain up and running, the staff of the Facilities, Engineering, Maintenance and Construction (FEMC) department keep busy maintaining all facilities — from plumbing and construction issues, to the upkeep of furnaces, boilers and other equipment necessary to keep the station humming.

Roads must remain clear for vehicles to pass, and those in fleet operations face the never-ending task of removing snow and maintaining roadways that would otherwise disappear during winter storms. The mechanics must keep the active vehicles on the roads while also running full diagnostic checks on every vehicle for the upcoming summer field season.

Of course, nothing would probably get done on an empty stomach. The seven-member team in the kitchen provides three meals a day, seven days a week for the rest of us. Providing a variety of meals that are both healthy and appealing is no easy task, especially with limited supplies and ingredients, and a now depleted ration of fresh produce.

However, one man works throughout the winter to help in this situation. Jason Solis, the winter greenhouse technician, manages to keep freshies in the kitchen and on the plates of the winter-over crew. Working with a hydroponic system requiring no dirt, Jason manages to cultivate a large variety of fresh vegetables and herbs, which keep people from going into total withdrawal.

The greenhouse currently produces about 275 pounds of harvested produce each month. This allows for salad, consisting primarily of lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, to be served two to three times a week, as well as the occasional lettuce and tomato offerings in the deli line. The chefs freshen up soups and other dishes using the remaining harvest, mostly herbs such as basil, dill, cilantro, parsley and chives. This is one support service that is invaluable to the smooth operation of the station during the winter.

Our other major focus is the endless prep work required to hit the ground running for the summer field season. Staff in all departments work to clean and organize work centers, repair and replace equipment, and tackle other tasks that cannot be undertaken when the station is going at the hectic summertime pace.

In Science Support, a small crew works tirelessly to repair and organize all materials used for field camps, science research and laboratory work. This includes inspecting every tent, sleeping bag and camp stove by hand, and making necessary repairs to these items for re-issue to science groups at the start of summer. Laboratory equipment undergoes a similar process, along with snowmobiles, portable heaters, drills and generators.

The Supply team dedicates the winter to receiving and inventorying the vast amount of materials that the annual resupply vessel delivers at the end of summer, restocking shelves and placing items in storage for future use. And, throughout the winter, one lone woman, Talie Morrison, undertook the daunting task of laundering every sheet, blanket, pillowcase and sleeping bag on station, getting everything ready for issue to a soon-to-be-expanding staff.

The summer season will soon be here, with a week of early flights scheduled to begin Sept. 4, before the main body of personnel and scientists start arriving in early October. The approaching flights require us to prepare the ice runway and airfield for traffic. The pace will quicken as the station moves into a flurry of action, battling against the short summer months to try to accomplish as much research as possible.

As these fresh crews take on their summer tasking, most of the winter staff will move on, leaving McMurdo for home, family and travels to warm and sunny places.

However, as the tide of the seasons shifts, it should be remembered that the work and research of the many during the summer were made possible by the ceaseless efforts of we few during the winter.

Nacreous Clouds...

2008-08-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

As the sun begins to return the colors in the sky are amazing. They are so beautiful and the clouds flow so smoothly. Sometimes you can stand outside and stare at the sky and just watch as the clouds break from one formation to another and almost forget that you are standing outside in -20 degrees weather.

some new auroras

2008-08-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of some new auroras floating around town lately. The sun is beginning to return and for most of us, that is a big relief.

As the sun begins to return....

2008-07-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent images of the skyline as the sun begins to reappear in our small little world here at Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica.

More Mid-winter...

2008-06-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos from mid-winter dinner. These ice sculptures were done by the guys working in the carpenter shop, jim and jeremy.

Mid-Winter dinner...

2008-06-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from our mid-winter dinner...More to come.

After the blackout...

2008-06-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

This is a small video taken a few days ago after a small power outage. The blackout lasted about 45 minutes. There was no damage done and power was restored in less than an hour. However, it reminded us of where we are and how fast things can change.

Weather report

2008-06-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of a windy and snowy storm. We just regained power after a black out that lasted for 45 minutes. more to come...

Morning at the VMF...

2008-05-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a small time-lapse video that one of the guys from the heavy shop put together and shared on our common drive.

Stars and auroras at pegasus

2008-05-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

These are a few pictures from Pegasus Airfield. Since there are no flights coming or leaving the station the airfield is somewhat barren except for the few heavy equipment workers who groom the airfield daily to keep it smooth and ready for the next flight that comes in september.

The Bowling Alley...

2008-05-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

These are a few pics of our bowling alley. This is the oldest bowling alley equipment in the world. The pins must be reset by hand, therefore in order for both lanes to be up and running there must be two pinsetters, otherwise someone is in for a great leg workout.

Today's Weather Forecast

2008-05-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick view of the weather. Lots of blowing snow and low visibility. Winter is really here.

The smurf hut...

2008-05-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier on this week one of the small smurf huts at our airfield (pegasus) somehow cought on fire.

Firefighters were call to the scene but to no avail, the burning flames were too much for the smurf hut to handle.

Hut Point, Start, and Auroras...

2008-05-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

This neat little time lapse was captured by a friend of mine, James. He used a 8mm lens camera that give you a 180 degree view, by 360 degree view. You have to look very closely, but you can see the horizon wrapped around the bottom of the lens and it comes together towards the top of the lens, you then have to look even closer to see Orion's belt at the start of the video, then i'm not sure i'll get the order correct, but i think it's the southern cross in the center, then scorpio around the horizon, then in the center again you should see the milky way. You can also see a few auroras through out the video and a small patch of clouds towards the end. enjoy.

Kitchen and Crew...

2008-05-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

In trying to answer questions and requests, i have taken a few pictures of the galley crew 2008 for my friend Ian who ask me for some pictures of myself and my co-workers.

More Pics from the greenhouse..

2008-05-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

These are more pictures from the greenhouse. First are close up pics of some tomatoes, then some pics of the inside of the tomato rows, then an outside pic of the tomatoes and some lettuce then some pics of some of the swiss chards.

Flowers and tomatoes...

2008-05-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

These are a few recent pictures that i took from the greenhouse. First one is some Nasturtium flowers, then we have some cherry tomatoes, then some lovely basil, and last but not least some zanias flowers.

..And yet even more...

2008-04-30T23:23:00.000-07:00

I know that i've been posting lots of pictures of sunsets, I just feel like each one is different and because of the shades of lights that the sky is illuminated with, makes each one almost more beautiful than the other. Now, with that out the way...

The first picture you see there is not just any mountain, that happens to be Mount Erebus, the only active volcano in Antarctica. On clear days you can actually see the entire mountain as it bellows white smoke from it's crater, but on today, it breathes only a small amount. Mount Erebus (elevation: 12,444 feet, 3,794 m) is on Ross Island in the Ross Sea. Erebus is an active volcano with a convecting lava lake within a summit crater. It has been continuously active since 1972. Most eruptions are small and Strombolian in character, tossing bombs onto the crater rim. The volcano is less than one million years old.

A few more beautiful sunsets

2008-04-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the last remaining sunsets for the season, just thought i'd share them with everyone.

It's like the sun going down...

2008-04-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

These are a few pictures of the sunset the last couple days. I truely do love this time of the year just for the sunsets. I think they make the entire place seems like somewhere out of this world.

Small beam of sun...

2008-04-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is a small video that i took yesterday to show the small amount of sun that we are still getting before it all goes away. It's safe to say that in about 2 weeks we will have no natural lights and it will officially be 24 hours of darkness.

For Earth day with love....

2008-04-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

I tried to take some videos of the moon today but because there was an over-cast it didn't come out very well, So instead of posting that as my earth day video, i decided to take a small clip of the greenhouse to not only show how far along some of the plants have come but to honor earth day as well. Happy earth day and enjoy.

Flight to Marbel point from above...

2008-04-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken from a helicopter flying into one of the camps before they closed. It's a look into the dry vallies, as well as some emperor penguins at the ice edge hanging out with a leopard seal.

I'm going to take this time to answer a few questions from blog comments from during the week. I'm not going to go in any particular order but i'll do my best to answer most of them.

The auroras we see down here in this part of the world are Australis. They are not something we see every night. Usually we see them on clear nights when the wind is calm and you can look out and see nothing but stars and what looks like a lime green mist floating across the sky.

I've never read the book "Northern Lights".

Jobs down here in antarctica are available to just about everyone, Yes the town is set up like a military base as far as the housing quarters, which means you live with a roommate unless you have a partner. As far as coming down on a tour and visiting, i'm not sure what that entails or what the cost is, but as far as i'm concerned, I would much rather go somewhere and work and get to know the area and people than to pay to visit and then just leave. To me, getting to know people where you travel is the biggest part of the adventure.

More Auroras...

2008-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was going to wait a bit to post this next aurora video which was taken from the same place as the recently posted one but instead of zooming all the way in, the zoom was actually all the way out, which gives a better view of OB hill. enjoy.

Auroras from OB Hill

2008-04-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of some auroras across the sky here in Mcmurdo station, Antarctica. This video was shot from OB-hill (observation hill) because it is definately the best place to be to catch auroras as well as a beautiful view of the town.

On a clear night...

2008-04-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple photos that were taken on one of our clear nights.

The Accident...

2008-04-09T23:52:00.000-07:00

This week, As our SAR team was out conducting a search in condition one weather at night time, the terrain became very unpredictable and varied. As one of the drivers was driving on a snow bank it gave way and collapse under the passenger side causing the Hagglund to fall over on it's side. The driver and the passengers inside the vehicle excaped without injuries or bruises. They then had to set up camp and wait until the next afternoon when the weather cleared for someone to go back out and get them.

A few Photos of town...

2008-04-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some photos of town as the sun begins to set and night slowly creeps into town. I must admit that although it's going to be dark soon, on clear days the sky is really colorful and the sunsets are beautiful

Playing in the band...

2008-03-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

Last year I began learning how to play bass guitar. After about 4 months of practice, I was able to muster up the courage to get on stage at the 4th of july celebration and play the star spangle banner. This year i decided to join a band and try to play along with other people and see how it goes. This is one of the five songs we played that night. enjoy

Greenhouse--Tomato and Cucumber room..

2008-03-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

This is another video from my greenhouse but this one is the tomato and cucumber room. You can see the cucumbers that have just been placed in the trays from the nursery as well as full grown cucumbers. Last but definately not least are the tomato plants, they have been in their trays for a couple weeks now and have been growing rapidly ever since. enjoy.

My Greenhouse..

2008-03-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

This is a Small video of what i would like to call my office but is actually the herb room in the greenhouse here at Mcmurdo station. You can see Mint, Nasturtuims(but not yet flowering),Pansies, Zannias, thyme, chives, cilantro, cherry tomatoes and a few other herbs. It's nice to have the one job on station that is full of live plants, flowers and the smell of fresh herbs.

Yesterday's sunset...

2008-03-18T16:14:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of yesterday's sunset as the light slowly fades away and another dark, cold winter begins in Mcmurdo Station.

The Dry Vallies...

2008-03-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The region includes many interesting geological features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica's longest river. It is also one of the world's most extreme deserts.

Black Island...

2008-03-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Black Island is about 25 miles due south of McMurdo (78°7′S, 166°8′E) and is fairly easy to reach (if you have a helicopter). Otherwise it's a 7 hour drive over treacherous and bumpy frozen ice, travelling over McMurdo Sound. On a clear day, you can just see it as a tiny dot on the horizon from McMurdo. It's one of the most important facilities in the area though. Communications signals from McMurdo bounce off the satellite dish at Black Island and up to space, coming down at Brewster WA. This process is reversed for incoming communications. This includes phone, several types of radio, television, email, internet...the whole works. We are far enough north that we can "see" the correct communications satellites on the horizon, while the South Pole, which is 800 miles farther south, is out of these satellites' range. So when something goes wrong at Black Island, it takes us back to the old days in a hurry.
This article was written and published by my good friend Tom Hamann. For other articles by tom as well as his blog, please visit: www.bigblueglobe.blogspot.com

Whales on the move...

2008-03-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

This is a small video that i took from my room window last year of some orcas swimming in the open water channel while the vessel was docked and we were offloading our annual supply of goods that are bought down on a cargo ship.

Welcome... and land scapes

2008-03-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

These are a couple Pictures of our lovely landscape as well as our welcoming sign.

Last Flight...............

2008-03-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

This is a small video of the last flight out of mcmurdo as the C-17 gives one last fly over the town.

Penguins and orcas...

2008-03-02T03:34:00.000-08:00

These are just a few images that came from our common drive.
Penguins diving into the waters, A penguin and an orca, orca swimming in the open channel, Penguins playing on ice.

More Pics from the runway...

2008-02-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more pictures from the runway. That's me standing on one of our cargo deltas, used to load pallets of food or other items on then bring them into town from the runway. Then there is the convoy of deltas driving to the runway in blowing snow condition, from the back view of the C-17 as it heads down the runway. Two people watching the skies and waiting for their flight.

Welcome back my friends.....

2008-02-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

Hello again everyone, Sorry i've been gone for so long. I'm back on the ice and here we go again with another season of fun pictures, facts and videos straight from Mcmurdo Station Antarctica. These are just some of the pictures from the last flight out of town. The station is now closed for the winter season, but since we are having an extended season There will be yet another flight in April. The pictures here are of people getting on the C-17 AirForce plane as well as people gathering at the Chalet to watch as the last flight fly over the town. The helicopter in the picture was just taking off to drop off some supplies to one of the many field camps that will be kept open this extended season for scientists to do some extra research until the Station officially close in April.

The Plane has landed....

2007-08-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

These are some picutres of the first flight of winfly as it landed. This means that new people are coming in and we are soon on our way out.

You know win-fly is almost here when....

2007-08-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the runway lights. For those of us lucky to leave here in less than a week, seeing those lights definately put a smile on our faces. Those lights mean that the ice runway is almost ready and the planes will be arriving here soon. On those planes will be fresh fruits and some vegetables that we have not had for about 4 months, as well as some fresh new faces and friends that we have not seen since the station closed in late february.

Some really cold temperatures...

2007-08-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is the weather forecast for today, needless to say today is going to be a cold and windy day as will tomorrow.

Beautiful Skies...

2007-08-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

A few beautiful photos of some colorful skies as the sun begin to return to our small little world here in Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica.

As the sun returns...

2007-08-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

These are some photos of the same place taken on different days to show the beautiful colors in the sky as the sun begin to rise again here at Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica. Each day the sky gets brighter and brighter and reveals some of the most amazing and beautiful colors you can ever imagine.

Landscapes, Ice Cracks, and runways......

2007-08-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of some more amazing skies and a burm with buildings out at the pegasus runway.

The makings of an Ice Runway...

2007-07-29T19:38:00.001-07:00

These are some pictures of the Heavy Equipment operators starting to build our ice runway so that planes can fly in at winfly. Winfly begins late august and ends around the first or second week of october. Yes, that is not a typing error, planes do land on the sea ice down here, therefore the heavy equipment operators are always grooming the runway to make sure there are no bumps or holes in the runway that may cause any damage to the aircrafts.

Different angles of town...

2007-07-25T23:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a beautiful half moon in Mcmurdo, a nice view of town from Scott hut, a view of the cross by scott hut, and a view of town coming in from the runway.

Balloon Launch...

2007-07-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

The winter ozonesonde balloon launches are part of an IPY project called the ORACLE-O3 Campaign which is being coordinated by the Alfred-Wegener Institute in Germany. Nine Antarctic stations are participating in this research.
The goal of the ORACLE-O3 Campaign is to track ozone in specific air parcels within the stratosphere throughout the winter and spring. This campaign is similar to the QUOBI campaign of 2003. These campaigns are sometimes referred to as “Match Campaigns” because of the air parcel tracking methodology used. A computer model is used to predict the movement of the air parcels through which each of the seed sondes were launched and those parcels will now be tracked throughout the winter. Whenever one of air parcels is over any of the nine stations, another sonde will be launched to collect subsequent data on that particular air parcel, i.e. to match the previous data set. Thus data is collected through the season on the change in ozone in each of the air parcels. This technique has been used in the Arctic several times but this is only the second time it has been used in the Antarctic.
The balloons that carry the ozonesondes to approximately 30 km (100,000 ft.) are made of 0.3 mil thick polyethylene plastic and have a maximum volume of 19,000 cubic feet (~ 26 ft high by 37 ft in diameter). The payload consists of the ozonesonde which uses electrochemistry to detect ozone, a radiosonde for measuring temperature, pressure and relative humidity and a gps unit. The radiosonde transmits the data back to the receiving stations at Crary and Cosray for the duration of the balloon’s flight. The payload package weighs about five pounds.

A typical flight lasts about three and a half hours and the balloon will reach an altitude of ~ 30 km before bursting and coming back down. In general, the balloons travel out over the Ross Ice Shelf and can go up to 100 miles before bursting and returning to the ground.

As the sunlight returns, so does amazing skies

2007-07-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the sykline down here in Mcmurdo as the sun begins to rise again. I cannot express how beautiful and colorful they are. If i wasn't here myself, i think i would have a hard time believing that these pictures were real.

More Auroras, and Me...

2007-07-16T02:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Auroras seen coming back from Byrd Island, And Me Playing the star spangle banner on bass guitar for the 4th of july.

Different Views of the sky...

2007-07-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Moon behind ob hill, aurora floating across the sky at Scott Base(New Zealand base), A Bull-dozer carving out a road to the run way, A cloudy sky covers the moon behind ob hill, Moon over the sea Ice.

LandScape Photos...

2007-06-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here are two different photos of Mt. Erebus. Third Picture, if you look closely, you can see Orion. Then we have A Map Drawing of Ross Island.

Veggies and Deserts...

2007-06-21T20:11:00.000-07:00

These are some mid winter deserts that i haven't posted yet, and a large bowl of fresh veggies grown in our own greenhouse.

A three flavor sherbet bowl.

More Mid-Winter Pics...

2007-06-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

A Piture of the Mcmurdo winter 2007 Galley staff, a one pound tomato, and the dining set up.

Mid Winter's Veggies...

2007-06-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of our mid winter's veggies grown right down here in Mcmurdo Station Antarctica.

Mid-Winter Harvest

2007-06-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Click To Play

This is my harvest for mid winter's dinner.

Mid-Winter Weekend

2007-06-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is our mid winter dinner invitation. For those of you who aren't familiar with the phrase "mid-winter", well, that's exactly what it is. It's the middle of our winter, for those of us lucky enough to leave early we only have 9 more weeks left, for those leaving in October, well...you do the math. Just thought i'd share our mid winter greetings along with you all.

Antarctica---Auroras

2007-06-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Click To Play

Randoms....

2007-06-11T23:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures i had in my picture folder to send. I've spent the last week trying to understand the video blogging thing and i still can't get it....so i didn't take pictures which lead me to post a few randoms while i continue to work on my video blogging. Pic.-1--Auroras passing behind ob hill. Pic. 2- me playing the synthesizer in the band room, Pic. 3-- A view of the outside of the Science Support Center (SSC) where we practice, Last but definately not least, a picture of a group of whales i took from my room window while we had some open water during the vessel offload in February this year, video to be posted soon.

Around the continent..

2007-06-08T05:28:00.000-07:00

These are a few images from around the continent, the golf ball, Mt. erebus, Black Island...

More Forecast....

2007-06-07T02:14:00.000-07:00

As you can see, We're in the middle of a storm. Basically Condition 2, which means blowing snow and strong winds. Stay in-doors, go outside only if extremely necessary.

And today's forecast is....

2007-06-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

That's the forecast folks, Dress warm, and bundle up!!!

OUR SCIENCE LAB...

2007-06-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

These are a few images from our science lab. Our lab is named Crary lab, the first picture explains about the explorer that the lab is dedicated to. Next is a penguin and it's baby inside a glass enclosure. The next picture is a weather screen showing wind, temperature and other weather activities that are occuring in the area. Next is a picture of an "Phonolite Bomb from Mt. Erebus". Mt. Erebus is the only active volcano in antarctica. This rock fragment was part of a 2m diameter bomb ejected from the volcano during a set of explosive eruptions in oct-nov 1984. The bomb contains visible anorthoclase feldspar phenocrysts (Erebus Crystals). The final picture is a case which holds old diving equipment that were used by many of the first divers here in antarctica.

MT. Erebus and the valleys

2007-05-31T18:09:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures of the Dry snowy continent.

Moonlight and Auroras

2007-05-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

Nothing looks more beautiful than seeing auroras float across the sky during a full moon. The moonlight and the auroras blends together beautifully, making the moment surreal and peaceful.

THANKS TO ALL THE VETERANS....

2007-05-28T02:22:00.000-07:00

A year after graduating high school I joined the United States Marine Corp. I Started out at the Marine corp depot in Parris Island, South Carolina. It was honestly the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. I truely believe that nothing i have Been through or have encountered since joining the Military can stand up to the experience and knowledge i've gain in booth camp and throughout my military career. From My travels to my Experiences there is absolutely nothing i regret about the military. I joined the Marine Corp at the age of 20. I've experienced duty in Norway, Chili, Panama, and have cross-trained with the Canadaian military, and served in 3 different units while in the military. I'm Proud of my military career and wouldn't change it for anything.

To All the veterans, and to All the People serving at this present time, I wish you god's speed and wish you well, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for serving and defending our country.

McMurdo Galley

2007-05-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the Mcmurdo Galley that one of my Friends, Jeff Kalinas, who works in the kitchen during the summer time drew. Jeff has drawn many pictures that are similar to this one, but I like this one best because it looks as real as it can get.

Arrival Heights

2007-05-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of pictures of Arrival Heights. Arrival Heights was Named and used by the first explorers in antarctica to see the ships coming into the Mcmurdo sound. It is the best possible view of the open water as well as the best location to see the ship coming into mcmurdo.

Green Skies

2007-05-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some really Beautiful pictures of Auroras moving across the sky. Wish you were here to see it.

The GREENDAY

2007-05-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me putting away food on monday's food delivery day.
The pictures of the greens are from my latest harvest. The lettuce are crisp and beautiful, the tomatoes are red and juicy. The Cucumbers, thyme, parsley, Basil, Mint, Jalapeno peppers, Cilantro, Arugula, chives and Rosemary all make for tasty herbs for seasoning just about anything. Nothing like fresh garden greens in the land of ice and snow.

Antarctica Tax Petition

2007-05-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of a petition that has been sent out for many years now in our program with the hopes of convincing the united states government/ united states IRS that people working in Antarctica should be exempt from taxes because they are not living in the united states while they are working in antarctica. While this is still an active case in court, i thought i'd post it here on my blog and help to bring it to more people's attention.

http://petitionspot.com/petitions/AntarcticaTax

Petition Statement: We are Taxpayers involved in a case against an IRS audit dealing with the earned income exclusion for persons working in Antarctica.
IRC Â§ 911 provides an exclusion for persons working in a "foreign country." While the IRS website has changed to now include the "Antarctic region", this was not always so. Older case law in the United States Tax Court had established that Antarctica was not a foreign country for the purpose of this statute.
However, in recent years, the United States Supreme Court and the District Court in Massachusetts decided under other federal states, including the Federal Tort Claims Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, that Antarctica was a foreign country. David Smith, et al.
v. Raytheon Co., 297 F. Supp. 2d 399 (D. Mass. 2004); Smith v. U.S., 507 U.S. 197 (1993). The net effect of those opinions was to deny persons living and working in Antarctica any protection under these federal laws.
In the United States Tax Court, one of the taxpayers, David Arnett, Appellate Court No. 06-1934, who claimed the exclusion, was the lead case. The Tax Court ruled that Antarctica was not a foreign country for the purpose of the exclusion. This case was affirmed on appeal in the Seventh Circuit. The net effect of these cases is whereas while one is not entitled to any of the protections under federal law for employment related injuries or labor abuses, one is also not provided any tax relief; taxes that presumably help pay for benefits such as these. The courts took a technical approach to the question of whether or not the exclusion was available and avoided the underlying fairness issue and equities that are involved. The technical issues could have gone either way and credible legal arguments were made to support a position that Antarctica was a foreign country, thus allowing the exclusion. However, these arguments did not prevail, so the incongruity continues with the workers who are in Antarctica. Apparently, only legislative efforts will rectify the situation. All we ask for is fairness. If one is not entitled to any of the protections under federal law for employment related injuries or labor abuses, then one should be provided relief from the taxes that presumably help pay for benefits such as these protections. We ask for this relief.

It is for a good cause, so please take the time to visit the petition and support it by signing it.
Thank you.
Petition Spot Webmaster

You can promote this petition by doing as said below Gmail user please copy the code from PetitionSpot.Com
(http://petitionspot.com/petitions/AntarcticaTax?source=gmail)

Up late another saturday night........

2007-05-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

These are some Random pictures I took after band practice saturday night around 2:30am. Getting up this morning was a bit hard but i made it. Brunch was tasty and very fulfilling. I do wish the YANKEES would get it together. Losing to the Mets is just not acceptable. The last picture, obviously a "far side" cartoon, I found on the wall. I just had to throw that one in, i thought it was funny.

2007-05-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

2007-05-18T13:35:00.001-07:00

This is today's weather forecast: Basically, blowing wind, drifting snow.

Hurray for Safety

2007-05-18T12:51:00.001-07:00

Today is safety awareness day. Basically, everyone sits through a series of safety lectures and then go back to their work stations and try and fix any safety issues that they might find.
For those of you Who are not here in MCMurdo, this might not mean anything, but to us down here we believe in "SAFETY FIRST". With that being said, I must now go to my work center (a.k.a, the greenhouse) and fix any safety issues i might find.

Be safe out there kids, and remember--SAFETY FIRST.

JAYBIRD

no blogging on company time!

2007-05-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

I know that RPSC has a very strict policy about using 'their' network to do personal computing. As i'm certain you can't access this blog from the kiosk, and i imagine the help desk is sick of your ass, where do you blog from and how do you stay under the radar?

hehehehe, you're missing a helluva spring here up north Jaybird

2007-05-17T23:26:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures from here in Mcmurdo. This is what our days look like right now. Basically, it's going to stay this way until early august. I like to think of it as "our little ghost town".

More Greens from the land of white....

2007-05-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Nasturtium in blue bucket (far left). Green cherry tomatoes.
Lettuce bed (below left)

More Greens

2007-05-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the Nasturtium that i am growing, the flowers haven't bloomed on them yet, but i thought the leaves were neat looking.

HELLO FROM MY WORLD

2007-05-17T00:29:00.000-07:00

Today i'm trying to post my first blog.

i hope it comes out the way i hope.

i'm going to try and put more interesting blogs from now on, but this being my first, i'm going to try and make it short. This is a pic of some of my tomatoes that i grow in the greenhouse at Mcmurdo station, Antarctica.