Anyone can build something. Engineers build things with constraints (time, money, resources, etc.). I am not an engineer (don't ask me why I'm getting a PhD in engineering). Maybe I'll become one? Thankfully I'm blessed to have good friends.
The first assignment Rachel gave me was to build a tower for collecting blowing snow in Antarctica with a budget of $500. I once played with Lincoln logs and I love snow forts, but that is about the extent of my prior skill set. The very next week, I meet Anthony at a home-brewers meeting who designed such a tower. I had also recently met Ben, who just happened to have returned from installing said tower in Greenland. Sweet!
I read a little more into the grant, and it calls for a webcam system such as the one the Canadians used with their OOTI (Out-On-The-Ice) setup. Well Don sends me up to Barrow, where I just happen to meet those very Canadians with their OOTI sled, sans webcam. To top it off, I also meet LCDR John Woods from the US Naval Academy. For Barrow John and his midshipmen built the IceGoat, a ruggedized solar-powered webcam that also records some meteorology data. After much marveling and non-stop questions by me, John offers to build me a smaller IceGoat... the IceKid for my Antarctic trip.
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| Very first image from the IceKid |
The IceKid saga deserves its own blog entry. However, the cliff notes is I tell John that I have a very limited budget and am leaving the end of September. Through John's heroic efforts, the IceKid is born. Wait! It weighs 110 lbs and now I find out airlines only let you check luggage up to 70 lbs. Since nothing fazes John, he somehow finds a way to split the IceKid into two, with one box weighing 69.25 lbs. As we speak, John's crew is finishing up the IceKid with minutes to spare as I am flying to DC in the morning to pick it up. Since the IceKid flies with me (rather than with my equipment I shipped via boat back in August), it counts against the 150 lbs of personal gear I can take. Alas, this called for some extreme light weight packing tonight, particularly since I am carrying all of my backpacking gear for Australia afterwards.
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| What to take/leave? coconut bra definitely comes |
At some point Rachel will probably start catching on. In fact, I'm already working on trying to get an engineering class to take on one of the challenges for our next grant. But they don't call it collaboration for no reason, right?
It's impossible to thank the countless others who have made this trip possible (and I haven't even left yet!). From right now until Antarctica I have... Bill driving me to Manchester in a few hours and Laura picking me up to take me to the US Naval Academy. Meg is making a goodbye feast in DC and then Nationals game with Ian for his birthday. John then drops off the IceKid in time for my plane to NZ Sunday morning. I crash with Inga Tues near Dunedin for Yom Kippur. Wed night is with John and Allison (who I WWOOFed for in 2007) before I give a talk at Otago University. Then onto visiting the Thompsons (also friends from 2007) before meeting Rachel back in Christchurch on 9/28. On the way back, I think we will even get to crash with Eric in Sydney. Here's to having great friends in the right places at the right time and willing to lend a hand.
In the morning I begin my 4 month, 5 continent, 25 plane ride adventure (including the trips shortly following this Antarctic trip). Bon Voyage!
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