Letters
Write a letter to Big Dead Place.
~~~
4 May 2008
I'm writing in response to the letter published on your site suggesting to bring lube. While I'm not judging the wisdom of lube, the author of that letter is mistaken in that McMurdo does indeed possess a sizeable supply of KY Jelly. However, like most valuable materials, it is much more easily accessible if you're a grantee, and need it for "science".
I think the clear lesson to be learned is that the ice ladies should think twice before passing up that geeky beaker.
- Printing the true name of a scientist will incur the wrath of NSF
~~~
9 April 2008
Here's something I'd have added to your What to Bring list. The number one thing I always mention, especially to women:
Lube! Silicone lube, especially. That may seem like TMI (or wishful thinking) but if you get the opportunity to use it, you will wish you had some. Remember that you are living in a desert here. And, unlike almost anything else you find yourself needing in a pinch, you will NOT be able to get a cheap version of this from Gear Issue or the Galley, you can't buy it in the Store (and won't be able to any time soon - [someone] orders it every year; the program refuses to stock it), all the substitutes you CAN get your hands on degrade latex (I'll refrain from listing examples), and you won't conveniently stumble across any in Skua...or if you do, well, just trust me. Bring your own lube.
[R]
~~~
19 Feb 2008
[I'm a] Fucked up former winter person defending the fucked up sailors who service McMurdo & Palmer.
Well, Ice People, I was going to defend the sailors.
When I was down there in 2003-2004 we were warned with mass E-mails about the raping and pillaging that would take place as soon as the ships came in. It was recommended we lock all our doors, hide our booze, women, pets, and gear up for a visit from Satan's minions. I was expecting toothless crackheads stealing our few women and violating our orifices.
Now that I am one of the sailors who frequent your continent, I would have to say unfortunately, this was good advice. Being both a sailor and a former Ice person, I cannot in good conscience defend my fellow crewmates.
While most have their teeth and do not do crack, the meeting of these two groups (sailors and smart people) is a recipe for disaster. Just last week, the captain of the NBP was fired and flown out of McMurdo for taking a punch at a Raytheon employee and breaking the leg of his crewmate.
While this is just another facet of the intricate paths that are crossed in the name of Science, I would be interested in your comments on this incident.
Also, [one of the McMurdo cooks] is a male nurse, and Boozy the Clown is a male figure skater.
AFUIS
A Fucked Up Icebreaker Sailor
Thanks for the letter, AFUIS.
This season I met some of the Navchaps who were waiting to board a plane. We talked for awhile and they were very friendly and curious. They asked how thick the ice shelf was, how far away McMurdo was, what the winters were like, and why were there so many beautiful women here, then after about 10 minutes one of them asked, "Why does everyone here hate us?" I told them that we hate them because of some long forgotten incident committed by the Navchaps which made NSF decide to close the bars whenever the Navchaps are in town. And that since the Navchaps aren't here for the long-term like we are, we see them as loud thieving messy invaders. But I told them not to worry, as winter-overs feel the same way about summer people, and it's probably just a tribal thing.
~~~
[Nick:] ...While you are over there on semi-vacation, dodging bullets and suicidal goat-boys, we are back here doing our best to make sure our DVs have coffee without the dirty rotten staff stealing any of those precious high quality styrofoam cups. Don't you feel a little guilty to not be back here, slugging it out in the trenches with us? [R - See attached...]
From: Den-All Announcements
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:08 AM
To: DEN-ALL
Subject: Coffee & Cups for Distinguished Visitor Meetings
In order to provide our Distinguished Visitors with coffee and water during meetings held at RPSC, we have implemented the following procedure:
Coffee, high quality Styrofoam cups (with lids), small plates and napkins will be stocked in three areas within the building. Access to these supplies will be limited. When you have need of these, please have a single POC, for the meeting, contact the following personnel:
First Floor Meeting Rooms and Auditoriums: [K...]
Main Floor Conference Rooms: [J...]
Second Floor Conference Rooms: [N...]
Please note:
. Cream, sugar, and any other condiments will need to be purchased by departments hosting the meeting,
. Meeting POC's are responsible for all meeting preparations and clean up.
If you have questions, please contact [N...]. "Thank You" to the individual who submitted the Anonymous Suggestion that brought this to our attention.
Sam Feola Program Director
~~~
12 Dec 2006
For the longest time I thought that there were no other people like me (us) on the planet. See, I am a mechanic/chemist on a submarine out in Guam (side note, Guam may just be the tropical parallel to Antarctica ). After reading the stuff on bigdeadplace.com I have come to see some striking similarities among Submariners and Antarcticans. Sure, my 'perspective' may be a little skewed, but I am just calling it how I see it. Remember, this is Submariners in general, not me.
1. Hate the Navy. ( maybe that's just us )
2. Eat possibly the world's worst food. ( nevermind, erase possibly )
3. Low guy to girl ratio ( actually, ours is zero... )
4. Crappy work for little pay ( inport = 96 hours on a good week. underway =
168 hours a week, really )
5. Make underground newspapers ( The Shadow ? ) that everyone except Navy
brass likes, and subsequently gets it taken away for fear of death or
something worse.
6. Get cryptic and strange emails from people asking ridiculous questions
about what we do.
For example :
Can you see outside the boat? ( no. apparently you cant see very well in
Antarctica sometimes... )
How do you breathe on a submarine? ( inhale and exhale )
Where does your poop go? ( the poop goes overboard to the fishies, and the
smell gets vented inboard )
What happens if the boat goes down and can't surface? ( we die )
How do you decompress when the boat surfaces? ( ... )
Does radiation hurt? ( yes )
Do you cross-dress for fun? ( yes, but in a borderline homosexual kind of
way )
Can you drink reactor coolant? ( yes, but it tastes slippery )
Have you ever made a mixed drink using reactor coolant? ( yes.. i suppose it
parallels the ice drinks )
There are so many of them...
7. Constantly wonder why you are doing this for a living. ( ??? )
8. Realize that trying to fix something makes it worse. ( Navy 'quality of
life' programs and surveys )
9. 3 minute showers. ( I wish I had your reverse osmosis units...goddamn
evaporator)
10. Still cant figure out why you are still doing this for a living. ( item
7 )
11. Sometimes look at yourself and are amazed at your : cynicism, idea of
'funny', detachment from normal people and their normal world.
12. Too many acronyms.
13. Have a hard time figuring out how Raytheon became an umbrella
corporation and is probably breeding a zombie army to be unleashed on
humanity, since it is part of the contract they are under with the U.S.
government and ironically enough a submarine and Antarctica are the two
safest places to be in such a situation ( when, not if, it happens ).
14. Birds attack you ( topside )
15. Don't call it depression, it's 'disappointment'
16. Massive amounts of drinking ( we have to hide it underway though, thank
god for sake, rice wine I mean: can't smell it on your breath.. then again,
operating a nuclear reactor or a submarine at all for that matter whilst
being a little drunk is probably a bad idea, then again maybe it's not.)
17. Stark realization that New Zealand and Australia are fucking awesome.
18. When our guys go nuts, they either kill themselves or catch a flight to
god knows where ( or sometimes fake their death ). Maybe Antarticans don't go
crazy like that, but being underwater and super quiet for like 3
months will make you a little nutty.
Thats just a few. Anyhoo, I thought I would tell you guys ( and girls ) that you are not alone. Well, maybe we aren't EXACTLY the same, but I gotta say, it seems damn close. By the way, I am looking forward to working down there and changing my hat from 'Submariner' to 'Antarctican'.
Regards,
[C.L.P.]
~~~
Hello,
I'm a teacher at Yale University's School of Art, in the department of graphic design. My graduate students this semester have designed and implemented instant messenger programs: programs which enable two people to conduct a conversation over the internet.
Would you, or someone you know, be interested in joining us from Antartica tomorrow (Friday Dec 8) to test one or two of the programs for a half hour? I realize you may not have the fastest internet connection where you are, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem for some of the programs. Students have made quite exciting and fun things, and it can be a very diverting half hour.
By the way, "The Thing" happens to be a favorite movie around here.
Our "final critique" is from 1:30pm-7:00pm New York time, Friday December 8. I'm hoping that all continents might be represented.
Thanks for your interest; if not this year then perhaps next year.
Best wishes,
Dan Michaelson
Lecturer
Yale University School of Art
Dept Graphic Design
If anyone on the ice wants to do this, contact Dan here: dmichaelson AT linkedbyair.net
~~~
1 Dec 2006
Dear Cold Persons,
I wish I could email you a bit of sunshine but it won't fit into an attachment. Perhaps the Antartic wouldn't be so harsh if you planted a few flowers, maybe grew a few indoor plants, and hung pictures of sunny places like Florida. Painting your walls yellow and green would be a pleasant offset to the white of the snow.
What do you do for entertainment, besides go quietly depressed and isolative? Do you have the materials to make hand puppets? I find hand puppets to be quiet entertaining and once several of them are constructed and dressed in period costume, I will put them in an elegant setting, such as an 18th C ballroom drawn with gold scrapbooking pens. They seem to come alive and are heartwarming company with their little voices and their anst-ridden lives. Perhaps you might concider hand puppets to keep you company?
But my best suggestion for making your lives more bearable in the Antartic is Blogs. Yes, blogging opens up a whole world of interaction with people everywhere. They have changed my life. I like the political blogs best, a forum that equals that of the old time gladiators who expend much blood and pain and effort with little effect to show for it. I really let the politicians have it, showing them exactly where they go wrong and how to fix it. You can too! Just a thought for you to concider as you lay face up on your bunk, staring at the ceiling of your future, listening to your roommate snore.
May Providence shine on you, even when the sun doesn't.
Camryn Hall, a buxom 18 year old of the Sunshine State.
Oops, typo! What I meant was a boxed-in 81 year old of the Sunshine State Home.
Yes, hand puppets. Thanks Camryn.
Nick
~~~
8 Sep 2006
Raytheon is in a bit of a desperate situation as they are losing control of things within Raytheon Polar Services, which can be noted by their loss of 1/3 of their Denver Headquarters personnel in the last year and the 70% turnover rate for returning contract employees this summer season.
They've replaced Tom [Yelvington] with Sam Feola, who worked for the last 4 contract company's down on the Ice, all of whom lost the rebid, and he gave a grand teleconference to McMurdo talking about how RPSC planned to rebid the contract and all the glorious things they planned to do.
Specifically he talked about the need for ethics and then, in nearly the same breath, he talked about how the company planned to have the food service subcontractor that Raytheon hired, NANA, report their own independent injury rates... seems that their high injury rates are bringing down RPSC's numbers and makes them look bad so better to juggle the numbers again and see if the NSF doesn't notice. He also noted that they would be looking to hire more Kiwis to work for NANA and he had a clever word for that, but I can't quite remember what it was.
Sam also spoke on loyalty and acknowledged that while he understood that a lot of people were loyal to the Program, they needed to be loyal to Raytheon too.
[P]
Here's the results of the January '06 RPSC investigation (Word .doc) into why experienced people leave The Program.
~~~
24 Nov 2005
I just started reading Big Dead Place, it brings back many memories. I was with the Navy Antarctic Development Squadron 6 (VX-6) from 1968-1969. We deployed to a place called Williams Field. It was the air station just a little bit South of McMurdo. Don’t know if you ever talked to people who were on the Ice back in those days but some of what you describe was going on, of course a lot of it involved military folks rather than civilians. Also we had zero women. In fact the first civilian flight to land in Antarctica occurred during the summer season of 1968. I was a Navy Corpsman (medic) and the two other Corpsman and myself flipped a coin to see which of us would meet the plane with the Ambulance. We assumed there would be a female flight attendant. I won the coin toss, but there was only male flight attendants and the only women on the flight were a few elderly women. Very disappointing.
I was on the Parachute Rescue Team. If we did a jump after 6 pm, we counted it as a night jump even though the sun was shining.
Ken Stein
~~~
19 Aug 2005
I just finished your book, and it was great. I presume Raytheon will no longer hire you.
I worked for Holmes & Narver for three summers, 1975 - 1978, and went to McMurdo and Pole the first two and Palmer the third, so got a pretty good view. Did general work and heavy equipment operation. Some of the acronyms have changed (USARP vs. USAP and GFA vs. GA), but otherwise it sounds the same. The names and incidents are different, but otherwise the absurdity is parallel. After a while back at McMurdo on the second trip, one of the seasoned guys said it felt like we had never left, just sent our red parkas out for dry cleaning.
I kept a disaster list the first year, and had 13 items on it by the end of the season. NSF found out about it but didn't complain because it was all true. It included two deaths (one of them the electrocution of the sailor that you mentioned), a fire, an airplane crash and the usual self-destructive acts some people use as an excuse to get out early and try to save a marriage.
It was a great experience for me ("Crazy Outdoorsie"), even though at that time there were so few women that only the helo pilots got any (they were at the top of THAT food chain), and even though the seamy underside that you talk about certainly did exist, even with a different NSF contractor.
David Gaffaney
Minnesota
~~~
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 1:51 AM
Subject: FW: Joe Ferraro on SPSM interior color scheme
Interior Color Selection:
The original concept for the SP Station’s design was, to distinctly represent the human presence on the pristine polar plateau. In developing the color pallet for the interior habitat, common areas were given a neutral background similar to the exterior polar environment with vibrant colors and pattern applied to distinct areas representing the seven chakras. These vibrant colors add energy to the habitat which helps to invigorate the occupants in this remote and isolated environment.
The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. The chakras correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, and body functions.
Joe Ferraro, AIA, LEED AP
Ferraro Choi And Associates, Ltd.
[Honolulu, Hawaii]
Your guess is as good as mine why a bunch of new age weirdos from Hawaii were commissioned to design the new South Pole Station, but I bet it's a good story. All I'm certain of is that the bar at the end of the galley creates a weird social atmosphere, that the interior color scheme made me want to drool on myself and eat crayons, and that, because there's not enough food storage, the cooks have to store food in the laundry room downstairs. Omm.
~~~
In response to my request for a blurb (quote by esteemed professional for publicity purposes) for the Big Dead Place book, Larry Palinkas, renowned polar psychologist and certified good sport, responds to my published criticisms...
16 May 05
Nick: I did read your book and really enjoyed it. I thought you did a really good job of capturing a year on the ice in McMurdo. It certainly makes for more entertaining reading than I am usually forced to write for the academic journals.
As far as taking digs at me, I really don't mind. I think you pretty much had it right in your criticisms. The issue of the severity of the environment is one which was cited in earlier research on crews of stations in more remote locations like Siple, Plateau, and South Pole, than at McMurdo. I, too, have never heard anyone at McMurdo say they would never return because the environment was too harsh. However, I have heard people at Pole complaining of the darkness and how changes in the atmospheric pressure bugged them. I think the effects of the environment are more physiological in nature than they are conscious elements of the Antarctic experience.
The values placed on certain types of characteristics like self-sufficiency, the ability to work alone, etc, pertain more to social interaction than they do to being rewarded by supervisors. I would stand by my statement that crewmembers give regard to their fellow crewmembers who are not demanding, needy, and generally a pain in the ass because their inability or unwillingness to do their jobs creates more work for everyone else. However, you are absolutely correct in stating that perhaps the main challenge (certainly at McMurdo) has been trying to fit a model of bureaucratic culture into a physical environment that is ill-suited to it. Complaining about NSF and RPSC and (in the old days) the Navy was one of the primary modes of coping with both the bureaucracy and the limited modes of face-to-face communication in the past. Some of it could be attributed to displacement (projecting your anger onto an external source), and some of it reflects the difficulty in interacting with people you can't see. Studies I did at South Pole in the 90s generally showed that the more "bureaucratic" a station manager was, the less he was perceived as a leader, and the more social conflicts and psychological problems among the crew. I wrote about this tension in an earlier paper that appeared in 1992, but it wasn't as eloquent as your book. One of my students, Julia Offen, also wrote about this in her 1992 Masters Thesis. The absence of that emphasis in the paper you cite was not, as you suggest, because my research was funded by NSF. While I may be sensitive to the feelings of others, I generally call em as I see em.
Lawrence A. Palinkas, Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego
~~~
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 11:05 AM
Subject: Arrival of Russian Team
McMurdo Community:
I hope you all enjoyed a relaxed and meaningful Holiday weekend.
New for this week.....
A team of Russian aircraft mechanics just left Christchurch for McMurdo. They will arrive at Pegasus about 3:30 pm today. A team of 12 experts, their tools and aircraft parts will immediately head on to South Pole where the "night" shift half of the team will begin directly to work on the AN-3. The team have targeted completing repairs in an ambitious week of work, with a test flight occurring on 4 January. Provided the AN-3 is determined to be airworthy, it will fly to McMurdo on 5 January for disassembly that day and exit from the continent the morning of 6 January.
A contingent of 11 of the Russian team will reside in McMurdo for the duration of the repairs and flight. They are principally specialists who may rotate into the group at South Pole, and media staff. The documentation of the repair and flight are very important to the Russian state. The aircraft repair has been approved by NSF as an official Russian Antarctic Program activity and thereby will be given the support afforded any other National program. The media element of the visit is a bit different, and has been provided with guidelines by NSF as negotiated with the Russian Antarctic Program.
I encourage you to welcome this Russian team to McMurdo as our guests. However, be aware that our interactions have the potential to become international news rather swiftly. While I have every confidence that the USAP communities in McMurdo, South Pole and Christchurch will demonstrate good will and diplomacy, I expect that all staff will be as circumspect in their comments and interactions as they would to any other media organization or distinguished visitors.
I am looking forward to working with the team to see that they re-patriate the AN-3 that flew to South Pole. I will keep you up to date on their progress.
NSF Representative, Antarctica
McMurdo Station
~~~
14 Dec 04
I noticed in your Review wish list that you are looking for someone to review the Artists and Writers Program. I am not qualified. However, I've been wondering what BDP thinks about the program, and the people therein. Are they seen as alien beings? Are they infringing and overprivileged, or are they sympathetic cohorts? Or are they all hacks? Does BDP think it should get some literary accolades?
Affectionately,
E
Hi E,
Our ongoing request for reviews is intended as an invitation to people from all the little side-alleys and cul-de-sacs of The Program to share their perspectives. I don't know much about the Artists and Writers Program, but there are people who do, and I'm interested in what they have to say. Regarding their status in the primary community, WOOs are generally considered to be privileged DVs as they receive exceptional travel opportunities and don't have to work graveyard shifts. Reception to them is generally ambivalent, though if they make an effort are more readily accepted in daily conversations than Congressmen.
The first recipient of the Artist and Writers Program grant was a fellow named Charles Neider who, judging by his descriptions of whip-cream frost smothering ice-cave crevices and mounds and his abominable ass-obsessed book The Grotto Berg, was quite possibly insane. However, the Artist and Writers Program has fostered some invaluable work, most notably Stephen Pyne's "The Ice" which, in the sad event that all but one tome from the Antarctic Library were to be burned forever, would get my vote for rescue. Sara Wheeler's book is pretty good, David Rosenthal's paintings are pleasant, and, though he's not my cup of tea, Barry Lopez is fucking pro. One of the Artists and Writers came down as a photographer and is now an almost universally-respected upper tier manager at Pole. Excepting the latter, I haven't met any of these people. It seems like most of the WOOs (Sara Wheeler's term) I've met have been schoolteachers and/or children's book authors, which I suspect is useful to NSF in the way that Happy Meals are useful to McDonald's in establishing pleasant impressions for the life of the customer/taxpayer. In short, the Artists and Writers are certainly not all hacks, but nor is their selection without agenda.
Regarding literary accolades, the most treasured compliments I've received are those from new hires who say their bosses told them to read Big Dead Place to prepare for the job.
F. Scott
~~~
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 5:24 PM
To: POL-SouthPoleAll
Subject: "Disembowel"
This is this first word that came to mind when
thinking of the person who vandalized the Arch Gym.
You know who you are.
I don't.
Perhaps your parents allow you to finger-paint on the walls at home
but a large number of Polies would appreciate you not
using our gymnasium for your personal splatter-fest.
Being responsible for splattered paint on the walls and floor,
toxic fumes in the air, and a blatant disregard of all others
who use the gym will not garner anyone a citizenship award.
There is a reason a rather full schedule is posted
for all the activities that take place in the Arch Gym.
Think of why.
When you are finished returning the Arch Gym to
it's prior state, which you will undertake and complete
while others are not scheduled to use the gym,
consider your privilege to use the gym over.
Recreator
South Pole Station
~~~
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 2:03 PM
Subject: FW: Sir Edmund Hillary visit
All,
As a follow-up to the earlier email we are going to limit this request to books and other appropriate memorabilia items. I realize many of you would like to get New Zealand Five Dollar notes signed but we simply can not deal with the large number of items this would generate and we can not deal with the large amount of cash. Sorry.
Please keep in mind "appropriate memorabilia". Items that are deemed "inappropriate" will be returned. If you have a question in your mind if your item is or is not "appropriate", you should consider another item. I will be the final authority on what is "appropriate". Please bring your items to the Chalet before the 4:00 PM Thursday.
NSF Representative, Antarctica
McMurdo Station
An earlier email invited McMurdoites to present memorabilia to be signed by Sir Hillary. The concern for "appropriate" memorabilia is notable in that a previous time Sir Hillary went to Pole someone, not having any other memorabilia, asked him to sign her jeans. His press escort interrupted the encounter, but not before a photo was snapped of Hillary reaching out with his pen to sign a woman's ass, which promptly made it to the New Zealand press and was followed by public outrage over American disrespect of a New Zealand national hero.
~~~
Please, FSR, tell me more about Boozy the Clown.
[MM]
Rather than telling you more about Boozy, this seems a perfect time to launch our new "Ask Boozy the Antarctic Clown" section.
~~~
In response to a McMurdo-All announcing an All-Hands meeting in "the Galley", so-and-so responded with this McM-All:
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004
To: [MCM-RPSC All]
Subject: RE: All Hands Meeting
That's a Dining Hall, not a Galley!
[Project Manager, Fire Protection, RPSC]
Thank god for those who stand up for what's important. If not for such parrots squawking out each season's new pet words and power phrases from Orientation, we might never charge boldly into the new era of ahistorical and milquetoast vocabulary, where Cargo Lines become "Outside Storage Areas" (or OSAs), where the Beer Can becomes "the Vertical Tower", and where the Galley becomes...Hey, wait just a minute! That's a Dining "Facility", not a Dining Hall! Squawk! Polly wanna baked and salted wheat-ration! Squawk!
~~~
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 11:13 AM
To: DEN-ALL
Subject: Remember...
Remember! Remember!
Ice Cream in September
Today
Big Sundae
at 1:30pm
Don't delay
In the main break room it will stay
until we eat it all
Hooray!
See you there
Don't forget we are collecting for school supplies
The school really needs help
The items will be delivered next week, Tuesday.
[President, Polar Morale Committee]
[Editor's Note: The Polar Morale Committee is based in a Denver office park, is named from the "Polar" in Raytheon Polar Services, and does not necessarily condone polar morale.]
~~~
15 Sep 04
I was sitting in my relatively new office, which is very similar to a dorm room at McMurdo, and I live in the other room. I was daydreaming a little bit and punched in "McMurdo" at Yahoo. I poked through a couple sites and then I opened up your site. After a few minutes I was stunned by what I read. It was the real history of my experience in Antartica. I worked there on and off from 1990 to 2000 and finally got disgusted with the entire program. Today I have read almost the entire site’s contents and have gotten caught up on all that has happened since I left, here in my living container at Camp Warhorse, Baqubah, Iraq.
My first job in Antarctica was to show up at the last minute and winter-over at South Pole as the H.E.M., and completed 9 contracts all together at S.P. and McMurdo. I probably know you and you probably know me. It’s true you never stop thinking about Antarctica—it changes you for the rest of your life. The other day someone here asked me if I would ever go back. I said “No, the bullshit there is probably deeper than the snow,” and after reading Frontierwatch I know that’s true. Now I’ve taken a job that’s every bit as extreme as wintering at Pole. It gets to 128 degrees in the daytime, we're locked up in an area about the same size as the South Pole’s site, and you can’t go outside without your Kevlar vest and helmet on. Most of the people here, I mean civilian people and most military, have never had such an experience. We are surrounded by 15-foot berms and dirt-filled Hesco bags to protect us from exploding mortars and rockets, and there are plenty of bunkers.
A few of them complain constantly about running out of water, slow mail service, and rough working conditions. I tell them this is nothing—it could be a lot worse. I say “You can just quit and they will send you home; if you were at South Pole you would not get mail for 8 months; and you can take a shower almost every day. Trust me it could be worse."
Antarctica prepared me for this place. It did not prepare me for war shit, rocket attacks, or vehicles blown up by IEDs, but every job has its drawbacks. However, it does remind me of working in the program in the early days when getting something done meant something—there were traditions and purpose. So keep up the good work—I like reading about reality and the circus called the program.
Thanks.
—Once Toasted Now a Roasted Noncombatant
~~~
12 Sep 04
Thanks for printing the John Q Public letter [9 Sep 04] about ATS. Enjoyment was definitely the right word. I'm taking a few seasons off and that guy reminded me of some things that I don't miss about working for ATS.
Another correction on his facts: Serco hasn't had the ATS contract for years. Glad to know he's so quick to defend an organization about which he has no current information. Maybe he'd like to defend my ticket in traffic court next week? I'm a veteran so apparently I can do no wrong.
Thanks for keeping up the site, too. It's brilliant.
[S]
~~~
10 Sep 04
re: comments about pissing in the interview with jon johanson
i think it is demented that people piss all over the place that is supposed to be kept as free from human influence and destruction as possible. dumping shit in the ocean? into the ice at south pole? can you tell me that it is scientific fact that doing these things does not change or destroy the antarctic environment or ocean life? maybe i am wrong, and i hope so. i don't know...but i found the careless attitude and seeming disrespect for that environment by the author of that interview to be disturbing.
signed,
not a waste expert, but one who respects the planet earth
One Who Respects the Planet Earth,
In your first email to Big Dead Place you asked whether, once you got a job here as a dishwasher, you'd be able to have some "adventure time" in Antarctica, and whether you'd have a chance to fly to Pole. Now you write that Antarctica is "the place that is supposed to be kept as free from human influence and destruction as possible." Which is it?
Don't you want to come down here and fly to Pole in a JP-8-burning aircraft that melts the ice away with its exhaust fumes? Don't you want to take a giant diesel-burning Delta out to the fantastically beautiful ice caves? Don't you want to work for the Raytheon Corporation? If you come down are you going to shit in your own duffel bag and take it back home with you? Well, are you? Or is it just that you prefer a pristine image to an unpleasant reality, and it's fine that for so many years NSF dumped shit in the ocean, so long as you didn't have to hear about it? "...the place that is supposed to be..."? According to whom? Newspapers? National Geographic? The National Science Foundation? You believed those jokers?
Moved by all the romantic imagery from National Geographic, you want to come here and experience it for yourself, then you turn around and get snippy over my disrespect of the romantic image that threatens to bring you here: to a place where those who don't become fond of the smell of diesel usually don't last more than one season. If you don't want your image tarnished, avoid this website. If you want Antarctica to be free of human influence, stay home.
F. Scott
Antarctic recycling program expert
~~~
10 Sep 04
Hi Honey,
I shipped a dead bat yesterday to Colorado. My customer found it in her dining room and she assumed one of her cats killed it. Getting it checked for rabies. . . .
[F. Scott Robert's Mom]
~~~
9 Sep 04
Hello-
I've just finished reading one of the comments [Letters: 7 Feb 03] about SPAWAR's Aviation Technical Services or ATS and the horrible "leading from the rear" type of management style portrayed in the letter.
First of all let me say that I was in Antarctica as a contractor under the leadership of ATS as an employee of SRC or Scientific Research Corporation for a few years. I spent a summer/winter back to back, then returned a year later, during the fateful "evacuate the doctor incident". To set the record straight ATS was designated as the name for the SPAWAR detachment because SPAWAR stands for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. The United States Antarctic Program as I understand it didn't want SPAWAR to be a negative perception to anyone in Antarctica. (Probably because of all the conspiracy nuts out there giving all the hardworking organizations a bad name as it is.) So they came up with Aviation Technical Services which is just that. They provide weather, air traffic control and air traffic control ground electronics maintenance personnel in support of the United States Antarctic Program. We all know that USAP is the parenting body that provides government oversight for the United States in Antarctica. Well from an air traffic control standpoint the U.S Government doesn't allow privatization of any air traffic control services without government oversight. The national airspace or NAS as it's called is maintained by the government. The government trying to be as efficient as possible outsourced to an already established government agency, SPAWAR, that could provide the technical services needed to provide safe and orderly conduct of flights to and from Antarctica.
This nonsense I read in your article that ATS only provides support for the military is balony. Ask Al Borecks (forgive me if I spelled his name wrong) Twin Otter group or PHI Petroleun Helicopters Inc. of which both operate out of McMurdo. It just so happens that the military does most of the flying because it is difficult if not impossible for an airline to make a profit or even get insurance to run airlifts in such a hostile environment. You should be grateful for those brave men and women of the military for operating down there. Anyway SPAWAR's ATS detachment deploys down there every year with a contigent of contractors from currently 2 different companies. SRC provides the weather observers, weather forcasters and ground electronics maintenance and SERCO provides air traffic controllers. They both merge to form ATS. I wasn't involved in the contract negotiations and do not know the intricacies of why two different companies provide the services to ATS but I know it works.
I personally agree with some of your reasons why so many people, particularly air traffic controllers quit ATS. Hell, an air traffic controller is one of the highest paid positions in the federal government but only at certain high volume traffic locations. In Antarctica the traffic volume isn't nearly as high as Chicago Center but it is just as important. I do want you to understand this. ATS is up front from the beginning with their employees and they know beforehand what they're getting into (to a degree). Hey if we knew all the answers to everything life would be perfect. I believe because of the operational tempo set by USAP (they want round the clock air traffic control services so flight ops can provide supplies around the continent in the short summer they have and also because of the hostile weather patterns that can ground planes for days and even weeks on end) that SPAWAR's ATS did what they did to get the job done, which was the reason for the 8 on, 8 off, 8 on and 32 off. As you well stated most of these men and women are former military.
Well I got news for you, be glad we have such mission oriented people trained that way in the service. If we didn't we would all be speaking Russian/German/Japanese/Korean/Arabic or any of a hundred other languages that come to mind in this crazy hostile world. The very reason you are even allowed to have this web site and the freedom to express yourself is because of the sacrifices of those brave people. I don't believe the SPAWAR community is a poorly led incompetant group of invividuals who lead from the rear. I believe they are a bunch of folks handed a mission and trying to do the best they can under the circumstances. Forgive me because I didn't completely read all of your web site. I don't know what your background is or if you've ever stepped foot on that harsh continent but I would say this. Before you fill people's heads with half truths and conjecture about anyone, try getting all the facts together. Don't trust my words either. I suggest you join the service for at least 4 years. Serve you country well. Then join ATS and serve a winter or two. Once that's done make your own conclusions. That's what I did. I don't belong to the USAP, SPAWAR and am not a contractor anymore either. I've moved on with my life for my own reasons. I really feel that all this conspiracy hype and negativity is a bunch of crap. We've got brave men and women, military and civilian all over the world doing their best to serve this great nation. If some of them have a bad experience, well that's life. I would hope they wouldn't generalize and say their branch of the service, their company, their country or hell even their race is at fault. It's probably an individual or two that are the root of their frustration. Let's try not to be part of the problem and start being part of the solution.
Respectfully
John Q Public
Hi John,
Thanks for the letter. It's long, but I don't think ATS gets enough play on this website, so for their enjoyment, it's printed in its entirety, as-is.
To assist other John Qs with their letters, I've come up with this template:
Dear Big Dead Place,
I've read ____________ on your site and I don't like it. I know what I'm talking about because I was a ____________ in Antarctica for ____________ seasons. Because it's on your website, you must agree with it, therefore I'm here to tell you that ______________ is not bad. _______________ is actually good. _______________ is good because of the brave ________ and _________ who stop the insane ____________, ___________, and commies from taking over and shutting down your website. The U.S. ___________ has not imprisoned you yet, so you should be thankful for your freedom. Freedom is like a fishing permit that should be begged for. Since you must be grateful to the brave _________ and __________ of ___________ for their _________ sacrifices, you should cease all critical or intellectual thought and just do what you're told by your __________ organization, because critical thought is the same as conspiracy. Before you publish perspectives about __________ you should spend _________ years in the military like I did, which is why I know what I'm talking about. Everything is great for everyone, and if there's evidence otherwise, I'll point out the brave ______ and _________ of our great ________, so that whatever response you give will make you a _____________ theorist to people like me. And if, despite my best emotional pleas, anyone still finds their way to a non-promotional perspective or sour remark on your website, my lynchpin argument is, "__ _____, that's the way it is!" Individuals are the problem, not companies, ___________, _____________, or other hard-working salt-of-the-earth organizations, which are our meal-tickets, and should thus be protected from ____________, just as whipped dogs still protect their master. By the way, even if I don't have my easily-verifiable facts together about the K_nn Borek Twin Otter Group, I'll tell you to get your facts together, because your published perspectives are the problem and my slogans are the solution.
Respectfully,
Brave ____ or _______ of our great _________
~~~
7 Sep 04
Dear BDP,
I've 6 invites in my address and 4 in my fiancee's. Keep up the great work on your site. Consistent grammar and spelling are a glorious thing.
Are there any Palestinians in Antarctica? My friend's son Mahomad is asking for his 4th grade class in Bethlehem.
Cheers,
Esther [esassaman@gmail.com]
Hi Esther,
As most of the people at U.S. bases are Americans, I'm not aware that I've ever met a Palestinian. But in January of this year four Palestinians came down here on an expedition called Breaking the Ice.
Thanks for the invites. I'll suggest to Antarcticans who would like Gmail accounts (1000MB of email storage) to write you from their USAP accounts.
F. Scott
~~~
3 Sep 04
I run a small community website in Dartmoor, Devon UK and have just got my monthly stats for August.
Two things stick out - We get nearly as many visits from Ecuador as we do from UK. I have asked UK Foreign Office who have no idea why.
Second - we get NO visits from Antarctica.Why not? You are obviously so bored there in the BDP that I would think you would love to visit
http://www.beacon-villages.co.uk
And, why not send us a photo and a few words to put up on a page for our September Journal?
Just one thing though - leave out all those 'F' words. We are still a little olde worlde here and the only use for that is making sure the cows and sheep do and your daughters don't!
best wishes
pete kilgannon
Hello Pete,
Thanks for the link. Dartmoor looks like a beautiful place I should like to visit sometime.
F. Scott Robert
(P.S. Attached are two photos from South Pole.)
~~~
1 Sep 04
Loved the "fuck a winter over" article but truth be known, winterovers get fucked a lot. Mostly by management in Denver.
I have not wintered since 97 but I do have 6 under my belt and it always seemed we got fucked somehow. One winter, I think it was 94, they needed to get rid of all the old Navy food, they served us such crap that people were hoarding cereal. The food was so rotten that they curried everything, including the ice cream! NO SHIT!! Ask around, story can be verified.
Another way they fuck you is that after the 3rd winter you receive NOTHING at the award ceremony. And then there is the summer bosses that come in and ask what the fuck did the winterover do all winter. HEY! Check it out we built a fucking science building and three fucking dorms.
I don't winter anymore because I was fired for a season, or two, but then as it always is I got a promotion and came back. But it is only a summer gig and still not a high enough position to where I can fuck the winterover. Damn it.
Peace,
And don't print my fucking name.
~~~
31 August 04
. . .Things are going along fine here. No major blowups at the apt this week. Only one on Friday night. The juvenile delinquent in #10 tried to fry an egg in Pine Sol. Thought it was oil. I had four fire and rescue men there taking his pulse and heart rate. He threw up and was then fine. Could never get a hold of the mom who works all the time. They moved out this past weekend and we are all thrilled about it. . . .
(F. Scott Robert's Mom)
~~~
26 August 04
Hello,
I don't know how restricted bandwidth is down there, but if web-based email clients are useful to you, I have some gmail.com invites I could send. I've been beta testing it and find it far more usable than hotmail or yahoo. It is fairly lightweight as webpages go. They are likely to be adding either POP3 or IMAP support to it in the future, which may make it more useful with bandwidth restrictions/high latency networks than a web-based client.
I feel that Antarctic residents deserve access to the beta, and Big Dead Place is deeply amusing and worthy, so let me know if they could be of use and how many you'd want. I think they might require unique email addresses to send out but I'm not aware of any other restrictions.
A random fan,
Gretchen
Gretchen has offered to give five Antarcticans Gmail accounts, which are still in beta and generally unavailable to the public. First-come, first-serve. If you'd like one, write to her (flitterby@gmail.com) from your USAP account.
~~~
23 August 04
Hi there,
I stumbled across your site and enjoyed reading it. It's really fascinating, as this is something that most of the world doesn't ever get to experience or even hear about usually. Also very funny.
Beyond reading enjoyment, I was excited to find your site because for the last few months I've been on a quest given to me by my boss to find someone or some people in Antarctica who would be interested in receiving a free membership to our organization, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).
Even though we say American, we're really international with members on 6 continents. We want to be able to say that we have members on all 7. Can you help point us to someone who would be interested? In addition to training, we offer a lot of information and resources on organizational development, e-learning, and other related topics. Our site is http://www.astd.org/astd.
Right now I'm a little bit in the doghouse and if I could do this, I'd be employee of the year. So I'd be very grateful for any help. :-)
Thanks,
Associate Editor
T+D magazine and
Learning Circuits
24 August 04
I looked over your website for ten minutes or so and for the life of me I can't figure out what it is that you actually do or sell. "E-learning"? "Competency models"? A "fire sale" for a "trainer's library"? It's all Greek to me, but I'm sure you're filling a very timely industrial niche.
However, if I don't understand the dialect of English you're speaking, why would I want to become a member, and how could I explain to anyone else why they might want to become a member? In short, by way of membership, what are you offering the Antarctican who accepts your offer?
Best,
F. Scott Robert
26 August 04
You raise a very good question. It's hard to describe exactly what we do in one sentence or so, but I'll take a shot.
Mainly, we help improve the way employees work and, more specifically, learn, in a company. (learning = working better, smarter, faster, whatever).
Most of our members are corporate trainers who set up training for workers in companies. BUT, my mom, for instance, gets our magazine and finds a lot of useful info in it. We cover a lot of general business topics/trends as well.
Our main (and most popular) product is our magazine, but we also offer conferences, research, other stuff. I don't know how the mail is to Antarctica, but I could send you a few copies of our magazine that you could look at and/or pass around to see if anyone is interested. Members receive the magazine for free every month.
How does that sound?
Thanks,
[Associate Editor]
27 August 04
I've taken another look around your website, and I think I understand it a little better. Much of the tone of ASTD's articles reminds me of the Outward Bound Ropes Course that South Pole Winterovers attended in order to prepare for the long winter together, which reminded me of some sort of Red Chinese indoctrination camp with Corporate Pep to replace Party Pride. After playing duck-duck-goose, which regressed us to primitive childlike states, we engaged in all manner of "learning" exercises that illustrated that the common denominator of all failure was disregard for the mores of the group, and in the end that success follows from adopting a herd mentality.
On your website's Performance Improvement Discussion Board, responding to someone's question of how to get people to show up on time for department meetings, Mr. Willmore, who heads his own performance consulting group suggests: "Ask your HR Director the following question: "if I put a gun to each participant's head and threatened to kill them if they didn't show up on time, would they show up on time?" (or, if that's too macabre, "if everyone who showed up on time won $10,000"). If the answer is "yes" then that shows they have the knowledge and skills necessary to accomplish the task."
Elsewhere on your site, senior director of DiamondCluster International Mark Rosenberg says "E-learning is a corporate business strategy, an infrastructure investment."
You say that ASTD helps improve the way employees "learn" in a company.
Nice euphemism.
Have you actually read my website? Are you sure you want me as a member of your organization? If so, I would be delighted to become a member of the American Society for Training and Development so that I may examine from within the variety of your corporate indoctrination strategies, which fascinate me to no end. In return, you will have a "member" on the seventh continent. Sound good?
F. Scott Robert
1 Sep 04
Thanks for your thoughts. What our members say on our discussion boards is entirely their responsibility. Their opinions don't necessarily represent ours. Similarly, the way they provide training is entirely up to them. We simply provide resources: books, magazine articles, conferences, research, etc.
While we'd like to have a token Antarctican, we still want it to be someone who thinks they might benefit from the resources that we provide. I was hoping that if you wouldn't find this helpful, you could point me to someone who would. But I'll keep looking.
Thanks anyway.
[Associate Editor]
If you're on the ice and you'd like to become a member of the American Society for Training and Development, contact the Associate Editor at ekaplan@astd.org to discuss the matter. It would probably be helpful to her if you contacted her via your USAP account.
~~~
3 August 04
If lava is the blood of Mother Earth and the snow her whitewash, then McMurdo is surely a scabby wound with a bad infection of humanity she is desperately trying to hide. yup. still winter. still drunk.
—A concerned citizen
~~~
Weather for South Pole Station, July 30
Temperature
-68.5 C -91.4 F
Windchill
-90 C -130 F
Wind
9 kts Grid 078
Barometer
661.9 mb (11314. ft)
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 7:45 AM
To: DEN-ALL
Subject: Are you a little cold?
Importance: High
Our Maintenance Engineer is tearing down our boiler currently to determine if we need to replace it. No boiler - no heat.
It was 45 degrees outside this morning at six. It is currently is 55 degrees outside. Main floor area is at 62 degrees. All offices will be cold. This will be going on for a week or so. Who would have guessed it would be this cold in July.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but we need to determine if we're replacing the boiler before it is fall/winter.
[Denver Facilities]
~~~
24 July 04This made me laugh until my stomach hurt. I may have injured myself.
You, sir, are a cockatrice, and fiendish to boot.
My hat is off to you. May you enjoy many winters in the Big Dead Place!
—[SS]
~~~
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004
To: DEN-ALL
Subject: Massage Therapist Update
Unfortunately the massage therapist is unable to make it this morning. He is planning on reschedule for next Tuesday. I will sent out another update when I know further information.
~~~
The following letter was sent by several jolly rogers of the South Pole Bar Club to the official Talk-like-a-Pirate-Day website:
Avast ye matey, we here at the long lost isle of the South Pole Bar Club wish to be recognized as an official port for TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY. Our voyage has lasted for 9 months now and our crew greatly awaits the festive holiday as it brings us that much closer to the end of our ice bound journey. All of our crew is aware of yon holiday and will revel in the bounty of our liquor. There will be no benign cocksuckery except for ye wenches, which are few and far between. The treasure here be slim but aargh before the sun strikes the yard arm it's off to the isle of New Zealand for drunken debauchery. In closing, we the ice locked pirates of the South Pole, wish all ye swabs blue skies, a wind at ye stern, smooth sailing, good rum, and bountiful booty. -- CLUB 90 SOUTH, PRIDE OF ANTARCTICA
~~~
June 19, 2004
On behalf of the U.S. Antarctic Program, I send warmest greetings and personal regards on this Midwinter's Day.
Your labor in the harsh climate of Antarctica shows that each of you is willing to sacrifice comfort for the principles of the Antarctic Treaty and the advancement of scientific research. Like modern-day explorers, each of you thrives on challenge and discovery in a spirit of tolerance and collaboration. The hearty individuals working in Antarctica all make unique contributions to the world community -- making possible the cutting-edge pursuit of scientific knowledge and the cooperative governance of an entire continent. Your perseverance and dedication inspires us all.
As you labor through the long winter's darkness, know that our thoughts are with you. Midwinter's Day moves us to celebrate your service and to wish you a safe and rewarding journey through the coming months and back to your loved ones.
Karl Erb
Director
Office of Polar Programs
National Science Foundation
July 4, 2004
Dear Dr. Erb,
Thank you for your Midwinter’s Day greeting. I wish you the best for July 4th, 2004.
I very much enjoyed your letter because, though it is a great letter in itself, for years I have been a fan of yours. In the library, poring through transcripts of congressional hearings before the Subcommittee on Basic Research, I often found myself asking, “This shit is fucking boring. Why am I doing this?” But whenever you took the stand before those clueless senators, all my doubts vanished and my enthusiasm returned. Like some Capitol Hill Merlin you would conjure such golden illusions that it would wake from their desks those dozing knights of public representation who, grateful for fresh visions of an American Frontier still red-blooded and sexy, would pour more money into your Office of Polar Programs, and back in the library I began merely to photocopy any documents bearing your name without first reading them, because I knew they would be good.
You are a commissioned artist working in a complex medium that draws the largest of sponsors, and your Midwinter’s Day letter to us is only a recent example of the consistently high-quality of your work. Because there are those who haven’t been exposed to your writings and orations, I trust you won’t mind if I interpret this most recent letter to illustrate the sophistication of your prose.
After the traditional down-to-earth regards of the first brief paragraph, you waste little time launching into the stratosphere. Not only do we learn that Antarctica is harsh, and that it is hard work being here, but that each of us has decided to be here for a Treaty that few have read, and for “the advancement of scientific research”; which is roughly as factual as saying that we are here to uphold the name of our good King Arthur and to breed magic blue dragons. Of course people have different reasons for coming here, but in years of informal lunchtable surveys I have yet to meet someone who has said, “I put all my stuff in a storage unit in Boise and came down here to uphold the principles of the Antarctic Treaty, and to try to rebuild diesel engines without the right parts in order to further the advancement of scientific research.” Maybe someone will say that one day. I wonder if that person will know how to rebuild diesel engines.
After determining our motives, you shower us with praise, likening us to “modern-day explorers” who thrive on “challenge and discovery in a spirit of tolerance and collaboration.” It certainly is a challenge to discover why the right parts for a diesel engine weren’t ordered, it requires much tolerance to explain to NSF that engines require parts, and the spirit of collaboration can be seen as mechanics help each other with their résumés looking elsewhere for jobs with the right parts and more pay. We truly are just like the explorers of old, venturing into the unknown in search of fatter deposits of gold.
After showering us with praise, you appeal to our interest in public duty, asserting that we all make possible “the cooperative governance of an entire continent.” Yes, Dr. Erb, I too hope that other nations cooperate with us as we attempt to govern the continent. I can’t wait for the day when we can remove the fake ceremonial pole (Argentina? Korea? South Africa? Why are these countries’ flags spoiling our show?) and maintain only the real pole, the one precisely at 90 degrees south. It is the real pole that is presently marked solely with an American flag, which the Raytheon Communications Director warned a gentleman here not to distribute photos of, as he writes monthly stories for his hometown paper. Do you know the most encouraging part about this? Do you know how this anecdote illustrates that eventually we will take our prize? The Raytheon Communications Director is not some cold-blooded spook receiving covert orders from Big Brother; no, the Raytheon Communications Director is a friendly soccer-mom type in the suburbs who is just trying to cover her ass. And in this era particularly, that nice multi-colored coalition of ceremonial flags appears much more photogenic than that lone flag of classic conquest. Everyone knows that. But we know what’s what, don’t we, Dr. Erb? Every landgrab in history has had its own brand of “ceremonial pole”, that spot from which our goals seem brightest to hometown papers and soccer moms.
The highlight of your letter lies in the last paragraph, when you acknowledge that Midwinter’s Day moves you to celebrate our “service”. To Antarcticans, Midwinter’s Day is an occasion that all but forces us to reflect on where we are, our decision to be here, our understanding of darkness, and the lost gravity of light. It is also quite simply a holiday, a reprieve from toil and a time to feast and get drunk. Unlike the imported occasions of Thanksgiving and Christmas and the Fourth of July, Midwinter’s Day is perhaps the only truly Antarctic holiday, based on the traditions of the first people who came here, who based their traditions on the particular nature of Antarctic seasons. To link Midwinter’s Day with “service” is the perfect Happy Ending in your circular fairy tale of our motives.
In closing, I again thank you for your fantastic letter, and I would like to return similar regards:
Know on the Fourth of July that some of us will have you in our thoughts, projecting from afar the purpose behind your activities, as you celebrate the birth of P.T. Barnum, the imprisonment of Galileo, and your vanquish of the Blue Dragons in the halls of the Temple of Bolshyt.
Your humble servant,
F. Scott Robert
~~~
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington
June 17, 2004
I send greetings to those celebrating Midwinter’s Day in Antarctica on June 21, 2004.
Scientific research leads to progress in many important areas, and the international community in Antarctica improves our understanding of life, our world, and our universe. Your efforts continue the spirit of peaceful cooperation outlined in the Antarctic Treaty and advance humanity’s legacy of exploration and discovery.
I commend your vision and commitment to excellence in your fields. Your work enhances our quality of life and inspires new generations of innovators and pioneers.
Laura joins me in sending our best wishes on this special occasion.
George W. Bush
***
~~~
22 June 04
To: DEN-ALL
Subject: Parking Spaces
Importance: High
Many people in our building are concerned over the fact that we do not have adequate parking available for everyone at times in our parking lot, and that it appears that several of you are choosing to take 2 parking spaces up to protect your cars. Please be considerate and only use 1 space per car. We are bursting-at-the-seams with everyone in from the Ice and all our TDY/contract employees here. Parking is at a premium.
The City of Centennial does not allow street parking in this area, and please remember that the parking area north of the building does not belong to this property and we cannot park in that lot.
Please help us all.
[J]
Facilities
~~~
11 June 04
I just read your study of Cubee the Aggregate. Puzzling. Considering the
thoroughness of the study, I was surprised that you failed to
notice what stood out to me as the most striking feature of the whole image.
The rays of the sun are from either Navel Orange or Orange Mango Raro; the
mainstay of overworked McMurdo galley staff in search of a mild buzz to get
through the day.
For a full on headrush, mix with expired Mountain Dew from the station store. The last I knew, Pole had yet to discover the joys of Raro, and pallets of the stuff were piling up at the end of Mainbody while the McMurdo supply dwindled. When winterovers got boondoggles to Pole before they began their Raro-less winter at McMurdo, they brought back fifty-one "Mega Packs" as gifts. Not as good as what the Polees brought to McMurdo on their boondoggles, but they both scratched an itch.
[LW]
~~~
~~~
Write us at letters@bigdeadplace.com