Q & A

Q: Does it get dark enough down there to see any stars?
A: No it does not. Even during the middle of the night, the sun is out and shining. The only time it "darkens" is when clouds or storms move through and block the sun. But even then, the light level is only that of early evening before sunset.

Q: Or will it get dark enough by the time you leave to see stars?
A: It will not. McMurdo's next sunset is expected to occur on February 21, 2012, a couple weeks after I am scheduled to leave.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Darth Maul Hikes Hut Point

Some folks will recognize our protagonist in these next pictures.  Shortly after starting my "real" job (how I refer to the job I am currently on a leave of absence from to purse this adventure), I was given a Star Wars bobblehead for my desk by a coworker.  A few others had one and the bobblehead was supposed to be somewhat symbolic of our personality.  Originally, I was given a Tusken Raider ("easily startled, but soon they'll be back and in greater numbers" - yeah, not really me), but after being particularly devious one day, I was upgraded to Darth Maul (I was amused and proud, but did follow it with "Hey, wait a minute...").

As I was cleanup my cubicle prior to leaving, I wasn't sure if I should give him back or leave him to guard the cubicle while I was gone.  After some discussion with coworkers, the traveling gnome idea was thrown out.  Here are pictures from his first excursion, which was with me on the Hut Point hike.





Finally, here's a short video of him out and about.  There was a slight breeze that was strong enough to make his head bob slightly.  Initially, there is nothing to hear.  No need to turn up your speakers, that's the silence I talked about in the Hut Point Hike post.  The video is about 50MB, so those on slower connections will want to wait and watch it when a faster connection is available.

The voice cut off at the very end was Travis yelling "Put on a hat, Darth!"

2 comments:

  1. Borderline creepy... Darth Maul taking a breather before laying waste to our own Hoth-like habitat.

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