thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving!

we will be enjoying our big meal today(saturday).  we worked on thursday so that we may enjoy 2 days off in a row!  the galley does an outstanding job with the food here, so, i expect that today's meal will really be something.  the chef was smoking turkeys the other day, and the other night there was a call for volunteer potato peelers, and vegi prep help, so i am assuming it will be a traditional dinner with all the trimmings(to answer my cousin Kurt's question).  as i've mentioned before the station depends upon community volunteer efforts to function, and today i have signed up to be a wine steward... one of my favorite things to do anyway!!  also, Noah was wondering if one were to take a pot of water and throw it into the air, would it turn to ice before hitting the ground? sadly, no- the temperatures do not warrant that severe of a reaction, it would have to be MUCH colder than it will be here for that to occur.  we have been doing lots of work out at ice cube this week. ice cube is an international collaboration that is searching for neutrinos.  these are the only particles that can make it through the planet, there are actually 2 parts to this experiment, the other part is called ice top.  respectively, the goal is the detection of neutrinos, ice top measures for any neutrinos that may be coming from here at the pole.  ice cube consists of VERY deep holes that DOMS (digital optical modules) are lowered into in order to detect any neutrinos coming from the north pole.  i believe there are about 36 holes with 80 DOMS in each, and accompanying each hole is 2 tanks on the surface with 2 DOMS each inside, the clear ice here is a perfect place to carry out this experiment.  this is a very simple explanation for the complex experiments, but it's good enough for the blogosphere!  in terms of the work my fellow ga's and i have been performing, well, it's lots of digging in the snow and laying these heavy cables to each hole to carry data and power... the good life! it has been warming up, and now i find myself taking my jacket off while working because it's too warm, (-30 w/o windchill).  it's amazing how quickly the human body can acclimate, i am also sleeping lots....i am feeling great, just took a bit for my body to realize and accept i was not at sea level living on an island any longer!  there's a dance party tonight and i am sure it will be a blast since everyone will already have enjoyed the free wine the station is providing during our meal.  i will sign off, so thankful for the opportunity to be here, hoping that you all are enjoying a peaceful holiday weekend!  take care, and feel free to drop a line in the snail mail!  karen grace

photos: top- is just one of the thousands of boxes out at the berms we shovel out from the winter snow drifts,

left- is my pal Leith next to some choice cuts of beef, welcome to the worlds largest freezer

right- is me out at the berms with my trusty shovel

bottom- is where i live,  J-8 room 10.