Ugh

Going nowhere fast.

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Not summer camp

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Today, I was going to write about McMurdo being like summer camp, only colder.  I've changed my mind. To digress briefly, I had both a sadistic dentist (no novocaine) and a horrible orthodontist as a child.  The consequence--other than that I hate going to the dentist--is that I had dents on my front teeth that were stained and ugly.  About 15 years ago, I decided to get veneers to cover the damage.  Anyone who has had a veneer knows that they first shave down the tooth to a stub of its former self and then add a porcelain front.  If the veneer falls off, you're left looking like the witch in Snow White. A month before I came to McMurdo, one of my two veneers fell off and I lost (swallowed?) it.   In a masterful feat of scheduling, I actually had it replaced with a permanent veneer before I went off to Galveston for training.  While there, I expressed my concern to our dentist, Bob Koff (see post of 8/15), that the other veneer was similarly...
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The Ross Island Yacht Club

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The burgee of the Ross Island Yacht Club, Antarctica (RIYCA). It stars Shackleton's ship (which actually was nowhere near here), and a skua in the upper left corner. Current C onditions: Con3.  Temp -15°F (wind chill -46°F).  Overcast. Population: ≈ 800 Recreation at McMurdo is more limited than what we are used to in Northern California, particularly during this time of year when outdoor recreation is restricted due to the cold.  We planned to climb Observation Hill yesterday but the wind blew us back to the dorm, to the comforts of watching Fox News on AFN (gulp). But there are quite a number of activities.  About two weeks ago, we were invited to attend a meeting of the Ross Island Yacht Club, Antarctica. The club is supposed to be comprised of people who have some yachting interests and, indeed, it seems a good number people leave Antarctica and spend the next months on sailboats harbored in the Marshall Islands before returning to the ice. I'm not sur...
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The Base

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Current conditions:  Con 3, Temp -2F (-19F with wind chill), cloudy.  Population: 277 McMurdo Station is an ugly place.  Watch Werner Herzog's documentary, Encounters at the End of the World , and you'll see what I mean.   The buildings largely date from the 60's and 70's.  Because construction is challenging in this climate, the structures are built for utility, not for beauty.  Powerlines, smokestacks and pipes obstruct views of the mountains and the sea.  Conex boxes litter the grounds.  Most are used for storage but some are cut in half and used as smoking huts.  There are five or six three-story dormitories, at least two of which are boarded up for the winter.  The few wooden buildings (the Chapel and the Chalet--an administrative building) smell like decay when you go inside.  The Chapel The remaining buildings are large and industrial, with aluminum(?) siding, few windows and garage entries for heavy equip...
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