Happy 4th!

South Pole Station in the moonlight

Happy 4th of July to everyone. Here at the Pole we didn't actually get to celebrate until yesterday, when most folks had a half day. Those who were awake (a.k.a. not me, or the handful of other people working nights) had a party hosted by the heavy shop. From what I hear, there was horse shoes, and corn hole, a roast pig, and lots of other food. Jared was kind enough to make me up a plate, so I didn't completely miss out on the festivities.

Other than that, it has been a long week in cryo. It looks like our compressor contaminated some of our vented helium that we were pumping into storage tanks, and then recondensing back into liquid helium. So, we ended up with an ice block and a very slow transfer during the weekly delivery. It took 3 hours, instead of the usual 1.5 hrs. We did get the ice block cleared afterwards, but still had work to do on the condensation line, like pump it down to vacuum again to make sure that we got any air and water vapor out of it. That involved draining the cold trap, and then waiting for the line to warm up enough that we could pull it out. Even with waiting for that, we still ended up damaging the line. So, I learned how to install aeroquip fittings on a high pressure line, which was actually kind of fun. After that we got everything put back together. We're waiting on starting to condense into the LHe dewars until we need to, though.

I also started doing maintenance on the compressor, only to find out that the spares we are supposed to have down here don't actually exist. So, no parts, no maintenance.

Good news, I think I have finally figured out the exact right gear to wear during deliveries. Generally when I'm outside I just wear my Carhartts, but deliveries require more gear since I am usually out for longer, and riding around on Buzz can get pretty chilly, especially on the hands.

So here's what I've found works best. Long underwear under regular clothes. Then my long sleeve with thumb holes (so I don't end up with gaps at the wrist). Then the overalls. NEOs on my feet. Liners and ski gloves on my hands. A buff, two hats, another buff, another hat, goggles, and a head lamp with a red light. Then to top it all off, my USAP parka with bear paw mitts. I also put hand warmers in the mitts, one in the main part of the mitt for my fingers, and one stuffed in the thumb. I've been using this combination for the last couple of weeks, and my fingers can get a little cold, as can my face if I have to put the goggles up because of fogging issues, but the rest of me stays warm, and no frostbite on my face or finger tips, like I was getting earlier in the season.

Beyond that, not much has been going on here. We are into the third quarter of our stay down here, which means that people, including me, are starting to feel the effects of the "third quarter phenomenon". This is generally characterized by boredom, fatigue, irritability, and a general low in moral and mood. And I've certainly been feeling a bit bored and run down lately. Other people have been feeling the same way. This is actually a pretty common occurrence for people in any isolated environment, and occurs for pretty much any length contract. For example, here in the winter, we've got "Cry in July" and "Angry August".  In the summer, third quarter is called "Summer Toast". So far, things haven't been too bad, just a matter of keeping myself engaged and not doing anything overly stupid. We'll see what the next couple of months bring though...

The moon through the smoke trail from the power plant.