Look At Me Still Talking When There’s Science To Do
In Grand Rapids… thinking about Barrow (among other things)Archive for Barrow
airplane the movie vietnam injury can’t
February 18, 2009 at 10:43 pm · Filed under Barrow, school, tales, travel and tagged: BASC, befuddled, quotes, rabies, searches
Spoke too soon. Another BASC email today. Barrow is quarantined-
rabies.
WordPress Statistics let me know where my blog’s traffic comes from, including giving me a list of search terms that lead people here. I don’t often look through them because mostly the searcher is interested in the poignant dangerous quotes I put in my titles. I was surprised by this search term however: “Cheese is a person in your neighboorhood.” I SWEAR that that quote was a dumb joke made up by my clever dumb brother, and he doesn’t even know I have a blog, so… what gives?
Anyway, here, with minimal commentary, are some search terms from the past thirty days.
a title that rhymes with science- Shmience?
pictures of what not to do in science- How embarrassing. Don’t tell Bob.
what are some bad things for biomass?- Laughing during the sorting process so that the ickle plants go flying everywhere.
what kind of flowers do ground squirrel- No, don’t tell me, I have this…. snapdragons?!?
why is teaching important to me- Why, indeed.
free essay on “everything happens for a reason” (x2!)- Shame on you, lazy plagiarizers of the world, shame on you.
i am dangerous quotes- Me too!
things to use as sleighs- Cafeteria trays, large pieces of wood, upside-down tables, a giant boot, double-thick bamboo mats, a light-weight bathtub, armchairs with wings, a polar bear. In case you were wondering. I certainly haven’t addressed this issue in the past.
tundra kindergarten- Sounds good to me!
how do caribou get around- Hot air balloons, mostly.
how to not lose the game- Err, not like that.
little dancing things- I don’t know, seems irrelevant, but if you say so, sure.
in what way is an airplane like a seed- A what is like a what now?
I hope none of these people were too too disappointed. For the record, probably the only one that wasn’t disappointed was the one searcher who typed “twoeyedgirl.wordpress.com”.
ps, one more ………….i’m afraid of teaching Ha, ha.
If I ever get out of this prickly bush, I’ll never get in it no more.
August 23, 2008 at 11:33 pm · Filed under Barrow
Things I missed about home:
Pub burgers
pickles
macaroni and cheese
having a decent pair of jeans and more than 5 t-shirts
Lake Michigan
my dog
Cousin Weekend
Family Reunion
Summer Movie Night
Rosie’s graduation party
the people 
Things I miss about Barrow:
science
the sun!
the ocean
the point
KBRW
yellow curry at Arctic Thai
point framing!
Osaka (don’t tell Jean!)
Stauqpak
Crazy Tent
Ernie
owls
shenanigans with Rob
being ridiculed by Papasaurus
Jean Marie’s cooking
hanging out with UTEP
my favorite walk
spaceship toilet
white pickup trucks
the cafeteria… haha
not being hot
science juice
Hiroki san eating all our gummy bears
the huts
airplane rides
catching (but not killing!) lemmings
“Good morning good morning” on the radios
tundra!
the people
Just press ‘2′ for a while.
August 22, 2008 at 3:57 am · Filed under Barrow, Research, atquasuk, travel and tagged: airports, food, lemmings
As usual, I have spent the past few days composing paragraphs in my head. They are usually bloggy paragraphs, using my bloggy voice and my bloggy point of view for reporting the cold hard facts. As UNusual, the past few days have been exceedingly time consuming- and not filled with familiar events (otherwise it would be quite usual; we are always busy). Therefore I have neglected my typing.
It’s moderately surprising that the typing is still possible after the summer that my hands have had. Currently I have approximately six OTC wounds and one chamber base injury. Also my cuticles are quite disappointing, and I’ve duly canceled my watch-modeling appointment for next week. Will I never learn to moisturize?
My hands have good reason to be looking abused. We have worked hard this week. It was not apparent to me just how hyperactively we were working during the marathon Atqasuk weekend until we attempted to accomplish the same tasks in Barrow and it took twice as long. The scampering just wasn’t there, maybe in part because we weren’t trying to catch a plane, but also in part because site-teardown and thaw-depth measurements are kind of rough. Rougher the second time around. I managed to bang my knees all up as well, slithering over the boardwalk and remarking the site labels with a beautiful giant chisel-tipped Sharpie.
Tearing down the site (the chambers and the Crazy Tent) seemed an awful lot like putting the summer in rewind. Other efforts in removing evidence of the summer included shaving for Papasaurus (who we dearly hope will enjoy middle school this coming fall) and cleaning out the huts and lab. Some members of ITEX (not the vegetarian or the… English major) chose to further eradicate the lemming population, as if the ermine , owls, and the jaegers weren’t doing a perfectly adequate job. We are bringing five (or six?) frozen (and DROWNED, at the hands of MEAN JOBBY) lemmings back to Michigan. You know. For science.
Papasaurus is famously a non-violent vegetarian, and he nobly vowed to have no part in the slaughter. So noble were his efforts that he held his head high as he stepped his first step onto the tundra on that last fateful field day. So high was his head that he could never have noticed the adolescent lemming that scuttled right underneath his powerfully waterproof tundra boot. Lemmings, upon having their skulls smashed, twitch in a most unsightly fashion.
Readers-in-the-know were aware that my flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis is going on… now. There may not be many readers-in-the-know, so I’ll clue you in: Anchorage to Minneapolis from 9:30 pm to 6 am, and then in Grand Rapids by 9:22! In the morning! Nextly, our NWA flight is not sophisticated enough for weblog-updates. Result: ta-da! Not on the plane. Overbooking struck again, and in the spirit of community service, I volunteered when they asked for… volunteers. To stay until tomorrow. I figure I can put my new domestic flight voucher to good use somehow.
This wasn’t exactly what I intended when I annoyed my coworkers with my wishes that the summer adventure were not at an end, but, in the spirit of adventure, I am quite enjoying my solo detour. It is nothing more than a re-booking, a shuttle ride and a check-in at the Puffin Inn, but it is an adventure nonetheless. I’ve hopped onto the wireless from the neighboring Wendy’s, and this Inn bed is more of a bed than anything I’ve slept on lately. I am both comfortable and disoriented. (Air mattresses actually aren’t that bad.)
One of the events of the week that most seemed to put the summer in reverse was Wednesday’s dinner at Northern Lights. Our first night in Barrow included dinner at Northern Lights, with many of the same people. Only a different (and decidedly pleasanter) dynamic between the groups distinguished the two nights. That, and the nostalgia- we were saying goodbye to UTEP that night and some people are disgustingly sentimental in that way. (Me.)
Despite the fact that her presence was due to some botched and frustrating travel plans, the members of ITEX were exceedingly happy to reconnect with Gilda in Anchorage today. We enjoyed some seafood, beer, and bookstores. Yay Alaska.
I’m going to leave off writing and go to sleep now. Show of hands for who is worried that Jenny will not make it to the airport in time in the morning…
I was just sippin on something sweet.
August 15, 2008 at 3:42 pm · Filed under Barrow, Research, atquasuk and tagged: papasaurus, science juice, total season
Presently I feel that I lack the mental fortitude to craft a pretentious blog post in the manner to which I am accustomed. Maybe I merely lack focus.
This can be attributed to:
1. The presence of Bob. Yes, he majestically descended into town last night with all the accompanying pomp*. We took him out to Arctic Thai for an excruciatingly long welcome dinner. We ought to have known better than to take fifteen people to Arctic Thai.
2. The lack of sleep. I can honestly say that I do not feel a) tired or b) sleepy, but I went to bed around 4 last night and that has to catch up with me sometime, right?
3. Yesterday. The excruciatingly long welcome dinner morphed into a pleasantly long welcome party, to which ITEX donated the Science Juice. Some people appreciated the fine craftsmanship of the Science Juice more than others.
And, if I may beat a dead horse for a second here:
4. Thursday. More accurately, Wednesday. I don’t want to go home. This has nothing to do with you, family. I will be pleased to see you. This has nothing to do with you, friends. I will be pleased to see you. This has nothing whatever to do with you, dear Lake Michigan; I haven’t given you up for the charmingly flirtatious Arctic Ocean. This has everything to do with what I will miss.
We leave for our last trip to Atqasuk in four or five hours, depending on when the plane decides to leave. We are hoping for sooner rather than later so that we can bust out some serious work this evening. We are actually hoping rather more that somehow we are not able to get off the ground today so that we can stay tonight in Barrow- it’s Friday and some people are leaving Saturday, so there is sure to be some fun that we’d rather not miss. Bob wouldn’t let us change our flight to Saturday morning, even though Team Efficiency** is incredibly cocky in regards to estimating how long it will take to get the work done, with good reason. Team Efficiency has proven itself time and again to be adept at economy of motion and clever with time-saving strategies. We do not fumble our therbligs.
This weekend will be entirely working, sleeping, and maybe eating, depending on how Total Season shapes up. Total Season measurements will fill 17 columns of 192 pages of spreadsheets (fresh from the printer). It involves not only counting grass, but more measuring as well. I would be feeling nostalgic about the last trip to Atqasuk but I am saved from that fate because of the immense amount of work to be done. Oh yeah, and I’d rather be in Barrow.
*Can one use “pomp” without tacking on “circumstance”? I vote yes.
**Jenny and Papasaurus***. We are TOO that efficient.
***Jeremy, naturally. He picked this name out himself. Normally I absolutely do not condone this behavior. Self-nicknaming is cheesy at best, but the name pleased him so much that Jobby and I were willing to humor him. Now “Papasaurus” is a hit!
Is there a Batmobile or sleigh available for us to use? Over.
August 12, 2008 at 6:32 pm · Filed under Barrow and tagged: BASC, hut, truck
“Fishing?” Abel asked us amiably. We were in the gnome truck on the way back from the field. I just smiled because I had no idea what he was saying.
PR Jeremy had the situation under control. “Oh, no, not us, we were on the tundra.”
Abel is one of our BASC drivers when we are without a proper vehicle, say, a truck, Batmobile, or sleigh. “Huh,” he said. “You guys smell like fish.”
We like Abel even when he is being a big meanie face- we did not either smell like fish! I haven’t even seen a fish since… Saturday, when we had sushi delivered from Osaka. The rest of the ride would have been awkward if we hadn’t had other things to talk about, namely that Abel has been absent for the past month. He’s just returned from an exciting internship with Senator Ted Stevens in Washington DC!
Since Abel was gone for a whole month, he didn’t even know that we’d been demoted! By demoted, of course I mean that we are no longer Scientists because we no longer live in the SCIENTISTS building at Dario’s. We now live in Hut 163, which logically says “Max Planck Institute” on the side.
The status of the hut is good; for a week or so we were unsure how all members of the household would take to the situation, but a couple sleeping bags, a portable heater, two new ratty spring mattresses to replace the air mattresses of two of the hutmates, and the ability to make and consume Science Juice in the comfort of our own home helped to create the pleasant atmosphere we now enjoy. We also have our own laundry facilities, though it’s still one bathroom between six people. Actually, the laundry isn’t only ours either. Just the other day while we were in the field a call (not directed to or answered by us) came over the radio that the Shorebird People (cousins to the Loon People, naturally) were in need of a pleasanter place to wash their clothes than the shores of the Chukchi Sea.
Jobby chose to be jaded about this. “Oh yeah?” he said to no one in particular. “I wonder where you’re going to find a washing machine, hmmmmmm?” The menacing jaeger who is never far away had no answer for this. On the way back in from the field that day, another BASC person had an unsurprising message for us: the Shorebird People were going to stop by and do their laundry in our hut, if we don’t mind. Score one for cynicism!
In other news, tomorrow we can’t go out to the field because some new people are coming in and BASC said that they could use our coats and boots.
OK, so that is a lie, but we are mentally preparing ourselves for the day it becomes a reality.
I just want to eat some butter.
August 11, 2008 at 4:16 am · Filed under Barrow and tagged: biomass, food, science juice, wet site
One team member is throwing up, one team member gets dizzy when looking too hard at something, one team member is getting a virtual haircut, and one team member is not sleeping more than six hours a night on average because there are too many things to like about Barrow.
There are still 16 plots of point framing left, along with Total Season measurements, the mere mention of which made our veteran team members twitch and make weird noises. I don’t think we’re going crazy, exactly, but there have been saner times.
The science juice turned out to be as delicious as everyone expected (because we are so great at science). It was a perfect compliment to the science cheese and science midnight-veggie-burgers that some people so enjoy around here.
No, I don’t eat veggie burgers, how absurd! I don’t really eat breakfast, either, because I have better things to do and I really love it when Jobby pounds on my door in the morning because he has some ants in his pants that seem to be encouraging him to go out to the field.
Who would want to eat anything, really, with such amounts of dirt underneath the fingernails? The Barrow wet site biomass proved to be especially dirty and obnoxious- just like some bloggers I could mention!
What you need is a nice burglar friend to show you the ropes.
August 8, 2008 at 3:01 am · Filed under Barrow and tagged: truck
Today was the day. Jeremy and I had to walk all the way back from the field because there was no truck for us to drive and no BASC driver to give us a ride. We toiled down the long dusty road with dozens of pounds of water-logged mosses on our backs and dozens of angry thoughts in our hearts.
Our dear UTEP friends were kind enough to take us into town for dinner at Osaka. This, and the fact that I love Barrow no matter what, saved the day.
I know all the games you play because I play them, too.
August 7, 2008 at 5:50 am · Filed under Barrow and tagged: airplanes, fire, truck, weather
So…. we’re out of a truck again. UTEP was given specific directions to guard the keys to our truck with all their might while we were in Atqasuk this weekend. UTEP has ten people right now, after all, so we graciously suggested that they use it during our absence.
Then we get off the airplane. (This airplane wasn’t meant to get us back to Barrow. Our regularly scheduled airplane was weather delayed because of the treacherous rain and/or fog, but the charter plane full of Atqasuk-bound high school students was clearly immune to these dangers, and therefore able to traverse the skies with ease. It would have been empty on the way back to Barrow, so the pilot agreed to take us back. He ought to know us by sight, at least, if not by name, since he’s flown us at least a half a dozen times this summer, through rain and snow and dark of fog.)
Anyway we landed, it was really foggy, Jeremy was so scared, blah blah blah, and on our ride back to BASC we were informed that our beloved blue truck was donated to the truck pool, and of course we should feel free to sign it out whenever we please!
Guess how often the truck is actually available.
Since UTEP betrayed us, we now will have to smite them in some way, but we don’t know quite how. However, tonight at the beach Rob proved that he is a capable fire starter. Fire should work. Classic smiting tool.
The point of the fire was to watch the sunset, or rather the sun-ricochet, as it doesn’t stay put for long. We were invited by SDSU, but a Michigan/Minnesota Fire Team was assembled to orchestrate the actual burning of things. Tonight it turned out that the break in the clouds was at the wrong part of the horizon for sun watching. It was worth a shot, though, since this was the first day in a week that any kind of actual sky was visible. The fog is out in full force, but today it left us some fogbows for our nature-appreciating pleasure.
I really like fires, but this one was s’more free, since, reportedly, Hiroki already ate all the marshmallows in Barrow.
I really
really
really
like fires.
There’s some dangerous quote book stuff going on.
August 2, 2008 at 2:38 am · Filed under Barrow, atquasuk and tagged: birthdays, food, the kids, weather
Evidently, being in the lab all day instead of the field makes it harder to find time and material to post. The weather that boded-not-well earlier this week caused us to miss three field days in a row, and therefore we were to sit in the lab and enter data.
Somehow, though, three days worth of data did not get entered (though one-and-a-half days did), and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was that I was occupying myself with that was not a). data entry or b.) blogging.
I actually enjoyed the weather, miserable though it was. This morning Rob and I agreed that the light snow and the temperature were quite Thanksgivingish, or week-after-Thanksgivingish. As this applies to mid- and lower-Michigan, I’m not sure how it translates for other states or countries. The snow was much more of a novelty, for example, for our comrades from Texas, Florida, and California. The snow also iced up all the trucks and took out the power in the hut last night.
Lab time equals crazy time, and though there is little that is memorable enough to report, Jobby was frequently pulling out his quote book to document small tastes of the cabin fever that set in fairly quickly. Sandra and Gilda can vouch for some of this, too… they caught Rob and I patrolling a back hallway, “disguised” as velociraptors. They were amused but unsurprised at this turn of events.
Lab time also means lunch in the cafeteria. This gets mixed reviews. The food is passable, even, at times, quite good, but not if consumed at too high a frequency. Plus, we are fairly surprised that Jeremy, the Hippie Vegetarian, has not yet shriveled up and died because of the lack of suitable vegetarian-friendly choices. His meals are usually: shady salad, overcooked vegetables, boring rice, boringer potatoes. And yesterday, Santonu from UTEP found a mysterious wire in his macaroni and cheese, so the health benefits continue to decrease. The cafeteria staff were actually quite proud of him for this find, and declared that if he hadn’t said anything they would never have even NOTICED that their mesh spoon was disintegrating, by golly!
We are in Atqasuk now, which presently is only minimally warmer than Barrow. Only a very few of The Kids came in today, and they helped us celebrate our Jeanie’s birthday- her real birthday- by eating a ton of candy. She said it was her best birthday in the arctic circle ever!
Back to Barrow on Monday, though I hope to post again before then. I have been forced to wrestle with the internet this entire evening (but I was getting work done at the same time!).
Who is this Craig that will save us?
July 29, 2008 at 11:54 pm · Filed under Barrow and tagged: point framing
Despite my determined cheeriness and unwavering goodwill towards lovely Barrow, we have had a few snags, a snarl or two, and at least one conundrum. Though King Jeremy of Scienceland tries his best to keep our little family together, we are more or less orphans without Bob. He has all the sweet hookups- and a killer slow headshake (suitable for belittling and teaching).
Bob won’t be here until our last week, but on Sunday we got Craig, the next best thing. Every time something* has gone awry lately, someone inevitably says sagely, “Ahh, but Craig is coming soon,” and the tension is palpably lifted.
Jean and I, wide-eyed and yet unaquainted with the mythical Craig, lapped up the stories fed to us by the initiated members of the community. Craig is ten feet tall and swift as the wind. Craig can shoot lightning bolts from his fingertips. Craig will eliminate all our problems with a twitch of his pinky finger.
Craig is the UTEP PI and great friend of Bob (equally mythical, if you listen to Jobby). When we met him on Sunday (at his Thai food birthday party), the stories proved to be true, and I count myself lucky that I could be in his presence.
Since Craig will only use his powers for good, not personal gain or frivolity, he did not twitch his pinky finger and take away the frigid winds that brought snow from the ocean today. The Science that goes on all around me had to continue to go on… and go on it did, despite the disagreeable weather. Jeremy and I, Scince Snobs that we are, looked down our noses from our Biomass Tower and pitied the poor souls who were forced to work outdoors today. We feel sorriest for Paulo and Jose, who will be out in the field from 11 am until midnight and midnight to 8 am, respectively, though we spared some pity for the other half of the GVSU team as well. Only those who complete 14 point frames in six hours may have the privilege of pulling lichens from mosses in the lab.
There is more biomass to sort before we call it a night, but now I must go to a talk to learn how to successfully live “green-ish.” Frank’s house in Vermont is off the grid- and solar powered!
