How do penguins stay warm?

The very reason for my being in Antarctica isn't to take helicopter or airplane rides to remote locations. There's more to Antarctica than fixing antiquated machinery and having unique experiences. The reason we're all really here is the pursuit of knowledge. At the very heart of this pursuit is scientific research. Every discipline of science is represented here in one way or another. The ozone hole, the ocean, glaciers, rocks, meteors, ice cores, seals, fish and tiny invisible particles are all studied here with equal fervor. It's easy to forget that our main purpose here isn't to support ourselves, but rather to support this pursuit of knowledge. On the all-star line up of things being studied are penguins. They are an ideal icon for the research being done in Antarctica. They're cute, photogenic and truly representative of this special place. There are many species of penguins in the world but the most well known ones are closely associated with extremely cold environments. Humans can benefit greatly by learning how penguins survive in these extreme conditions.

So how do they do it? How can penguins survive in the brutal conditions that Antarctica dishes out? Here's what scientists have discovered about penguins: First, they have feathers. Feathers are an effective insulator. Penguin feathers aren't like feathers on other birds. Rather than being large and flat, they're short with a fine woolly, downy under-layer. Also, they overlap and give a streamlined effect in the water and have excellent wind shedding capabilities on land. Penguins can fluff their feathers when it gets extremely cold, thereby trapping more warm air and increasing their insulation. The feathers also are very effective at shedding water when the bird emerges from the water.

Feathers are great on land, but penguins spend more time in the water than they do on land so they need additional protection. Mother nature's best internal insulator is fat. Blubber keeps all warm blooded, cold water mammals operational at temperatures as cold as 25.8 degrees F (the freezing temperature of sea water).

Size also plays an important role in heat retention. The larger something is, the less surface area it will have in relation to it volume. Think of a shot glass for example. A shot glass contains a lot of glass for relatively small portion of liquid. A beer glass on the other hand holds much more liquid in relation to the amount of glass. The math goes something like this (using cubes instead of glasses):

A 1 inch cube:

Volume is 1"x1"x1" = 1 cubic inch
and the surface area is equal to 6 faces of 1 inch x 1 inch so 6 x(1x1) = 6 square inches so for every 1 cubic inch of volume, there is 6 square inches of surface area from which to lose heat.

A 3 inch cube:

Volume is 3" x 3" x 3" = 27 cubic inches
the surface area is equal to 6 faces of 3 inches x 3 inches or 6 x(3x3) or 54 square inches which is only twice the volume so that for every inch of volume, there are only 2 square inches of surface area from which to lose heat.

The take home message is that a larger body will retain more heat.

Body design also plays a key role in heat retention. Penguins flippers and feet have a lot of surface area and are subject to great amounts of heat loss, but the muscles that control these appendages are located more closely to the core of the animal. The muscles control the feet and flippers through a complex array of tendons (kind of like a marionette), minimizing blood flow and heat loss to the feet and flippers.

Besides individual mechanisms, penguins also have social mechanisms to aid their survival. They huddle together to stay warm. It's an extension of the larger body idea. Scientific calculations estimate that emperor burn half as much body fat by huddling than they would if they remained solitary. This enables them to survive the entire winter without eating.

Cuteness doesn't generate heat

The Big Red

Nothing knew to post....butt I Phelt the knead to put something hear so this isit. i Have a "big red" Parka

Marsha in her Big Red

that is insulated with goose down. If goose down is such a good insulator, you've gotta wonder why geese fly south for the winter. Made you think didn't I?

Coming soon to a television near you...

The South Pole Project:

In the South Pole, temperatures can drop to more than 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Now, witness as engineers go up against staggering odds to build a 160,000-square-foot, high-tech science facility in this frozen wasteland. Through exclusive access granted by the National Science Foundation, NGC"s cameras give viewers a glimpse of the intense danger & physical challenges of working in one of most inhospitable places on the planet.

source: The National Geographic Channel

Looks like it airs on the evening of September 6th, 12a on the 7th and again at 1pm on the 8th (I'm assuming times are EST..?)

Watch the show and see where I'll be spending February through November of '08. I've alluded to it before, but I've signed a 14 month contract. The first half of it is the normal McMurdo contract that I've been doing, the 2nd half I will be the Power Plant Mechanic at the South Pole. I'll be wintering with approximately 54 other people, completely isolated from the world for 8 months (or so)

tape it for me and send it down :)

Travel nightmare

So...after all of the traveling I've done, you'd expect to hear nightmarish tales of explosive diarrhea and trips on nerve-shattering buses of death from other countries, but the fact is, my travel nightmares are usually domestic. Today, I traveled to Denver for deployment to Antarctica. I decided to rent a car rather than deal with the company provided transportation. Freedom of movement is important to me, especially since I will be confined to a fairly small space over the next 14 months (yes, 14 this time...more later). I decided to save a couple dollars and go with the low budget rental company called E-Z car rental....oh..but wait, first I had to get to Denver everything went smooth getting here until during landing I could smell something that was definitely hot or burning. I didn't put a lot of thought into it because it could easily be explained away by paint burning off of the exhaust cowling or hot brakes from landing...but the smell continued to get stronger, everyone on the plane began looking around, eyes started watering and when they opened the cabin door, there was smoke billowing into the cabin. Not being a fan of fire, I didn't hang around to see what was burning but rather got away as fast as I could. So...I went to baggage claim, got my bags and called the rental company to send a shuttle. I waited outside for the shuttle for 20 minutes at which time I thought about bailing on the rental deal. During the time I was looking up the information for the company paid shuttle, the shuttle for the rental car company showed up. I already had 30 minutes invested in it, so against better judgment I boarded the shuttle. It was a 30 minute ride in a non-air conditioned bus that had a pie box with a half-eaten pie on the floor. This wasn't a gum wrapper that somebody overlooked, but a frickin' pie box...oh and the radio was blaring some crap that I'm sure nobody was interested in. The rental lot is also long term airport parking with cars on blocks and glass busted out. The rental office looked like it was a meth lab just last week, stains on the lumpy carpet, furniture that you would normally see on a toothless crack addicts front porch..just not a pleasant atmosphere. At the rental counter there was one girl checking everyone in, now my expectation would be that since I had called for a shuttle, nearly an hour ago by this time, that they would then get the paperwork etc ready for when I show up so that it's as easy as sign a contract, pick up the keys and go. This was not the case. There were two men who were obviously employees of the rental co. seemingly grab-assing while the girl tried to get everyone's paperwork ready. It was a hard decision at this point to bail on the whole deal, but I decided that to give this rinky-dink outfit my business would be giving them my approval to be treated this way as a customer and that thinking, ultimately, drove me to walk out, catch the shuttle back to the airport and go with a name-brand rental company.

Take home message, don't rent from E-Z rental car company. EVER.!

West Texas

Many unique small towns make up the Big Bend region of west Texas. Each of these towns has its own character and unique story and the sum of these towns make up a surprisingly diverse environment that quashed my preconceived notion of what west Texas would be. It's not full of rednecks in pickup-trucks but surprisingly there are a lot of very interesting people and unique culture. This isn't John Wayne's Texas, it's much funkier!

In 1971 an artist by the name of Donald Judd rented a house in Marfa as a way to escape the hustle and bustle of New York city. From this humble beginning grew the Judd foundation which now provides for the training of artists in this unlikely desert town. There is also a wonderful book store in Marfa called the Marfa Book Company. Also of note in Marfa are the Marfa Mystery Lights (more here). And don't forget the movie that put Marfa on the map, Giant was shot here.

Fort Davis is the site of an old Army fort that was originally built to protect the El Paso road from marauding bandits. Today it is a National Historic Site and worth a visit. Also in Fort Davis is the Limpia Creek hat factory. They still make cowboy hats from beaver fur and make a unique line of John Wayne commemorative hats.

Regrettably we didn't make it to Valentine, home of the famous Prada sculpture which was intentionally made to become a ruin in the face of the elements and vandals. No effort will be made to repair it from vandalism and it is a living (dying?) work of art.

We made our home base in Alpine. We stayed at the wonderful Antelope Lodge, where we met Russ. One morning out we went to La Trattoria Coffee & Juice Bar where we were treated to a large helping of local culture by our hosts Jeffro (He and Marsha had a grand time catching up on "the old days" of Austin) and an artist/music teacher in a pith helmet whose name escapes me. We enjoyed some true Texas hospitality at Alexanders Tex-Mex Grill & Cantina, whose head waiter, Matthew, provided excellent service although slightly over-the-top. At Alicia's Burrito Place we enjoyed a great meal and chatted with a group of real-estate developers who were on a horse riding vacation in the area.

The town of Marathon also has its own unique character. The photographer, James Evans, makes his home and gallery in Marathon. He moved there in the 80's with nothing, worked as a waiter in a local hotel and took pictures in his off-time. Now, he is semi-famous and the best known Big Bend photographer. Great story of pursuing your dream and having it pay off. I have a great deal of respect for people who can do that. Marathon is also home to the burnt biscuit bakery where you can find excellent early morning fare for the trip to Big Bend. There is a soda fountain for sale in town that looks like it could be a fun business to own.

One of the draws to the area is, of course, Big Bend National Park. The park lies on the border with Mexico along a bend, which is big, in the Rio Grande river. There are three distinct ecosystems in the park, each with its unique features and a visit isn't complete without exploring the desert, the river and the alpine areas of the park. I found the desert to be the most fascinating. The plants that grow there all seem to have a hostility to them, the animals are all low-slung.

Near the west entrance to the park lies the town of Terlingua and the Terlingua ghost town. The ghost town was a mercury mining camp until near the end of WWII at which time electronics started to be used instead of mercury for fuses in bombs. The mine closed and was left to deteriorate. It was eventually sold to a man who basically bought it for salvage, has changed hands a few times since and is now being restored. Terlingua was home to the world's first ever chili cook-off and is now an annual event. It's also regionally famous for 2-for-1 Monday night burgers at the Starlight Bar & Grill, an establishment whose moniker refers back to the days when it was a roof-less theater.

At the Terlingua store you can pick up a brochure that outlines a walking tour of the town. It gives a brief rundown of the history and proclaims that Terlingua is now populated by "..artists, musicians and free-thinking individuals..." By free thinking individuals I think they mean non-conformists and social dropouts. The character of Terlingua really captivated me. No internet, no cell phones, no cable TV, no instant or text messaging...means that if you with to interact with your fellow human, you have to do it the old-fashioned way, right there in person face-to-face. Every day residents and their mangy dogs gather on the porch at the Terlingua store to share libations and tell stories. I think I want to go back to Terlingua and be a short-term resident, really explore the culture that can happen only in a place 220 miles from the nearest Starbucks, 90 miles from the nearest McDonald's. A place whose sense of community, ownership and environmental stewardship extends for many miles beyond each entrance to the park with adopt-a-highway sections sponsored by the Terlingua store. A place where the locals are easy to pick out (they're the ones with dirty clothes). A place like Terlingua.

And now some pictures:

Europe continued.....

So...from Brasov we caught a train to Bucharest (the capital city of Romania). While it's not fair to make a judgment on a city based on a four hour layover, it is fair to say that the neighborhood around the train station is, in a word, gritty. We saw (several) people huffing bags of paint, bums sprawled in the street, experienced the acrid smell of urine everywhere. I did stop in a little neighborhood bar for a beer. It was poorly lit, many fixtures were in a state of disrepair, the commode in the men's room had been broken off its base but the bartender was exceptionally friendly and warm and the beer cheap and cold. Anyhow...from Bucharest, we caught another train to Sofia Bulgaria.

All roads lead to McDonald's even in Cryllic

Sofia is full of historic churches

We had reserved a hotel in Sofia via hotels.com. The address listed on hotels.com said the hotel was on Biglastr. I wrote the address down on a piece of paper and handed it to a cab driver outside of the train station, the cab driver just scratched his head and told me he didn't know of this "Biglastr"....so, we went back inside the train station, purchased a map, and tried to figure out where the hell our hotel was. I couldn't find Biglastr on the map anywhere but what I did find was...wait for it...Bigla Street. They had abbreviated but not put a space where appropriate. We stepped back out, flagged down a cab and asked to go to 30 Bigla Street and were taken there without delay. Overall, we found the people in Sofia to be very friendly even though I was fined for not having a valid bus pass (the validation machine on the bus is communist era and doesn't work too well) by a guy who was kind of an asshole. Marsha thought he may not have even been legitimate..this is a possibility, but it was a small amount of money and I didn't feel like investing negative energy into the matter, so I let it go. From Sofia, we took yet another overnight train, this one to Istanbul.

On the night train..

Ottoman paste in front of the Blue Mosque

The "wishing pigeons" of Istanbul

Improvisation at its finest

I had a negative impression of going to Istanbul. It gets a lot of bad press and a few short days before we went there were talks of a coup. Thus, I decided to not tell anyone where I was going...I didn't want anyone to needlessly worry about me, and witnessing a coup seemed like something pretty exciting anyhow! Seeing the number of Senior Citizens' tour groups that we did put any worries of a coup immediately out of mind.

Istanbul turned out to be a wonderful surprise. There are, of course, the well known tourist attractions like the Blue Mosque, The Grand Bazaar, The Golden Horn, St. Sophia, Whirling Dervishes and The Bosphorus. There is also something magical about the city. A mixture of old and new, east and west and absolutely full of the friendliest people I have ever met, anywhere (and if you have been reading this blog, you know I have been a few places). We only stayed a few days in Turkey. I had no idea how much the country had to offer and I fully intend to return to explore the greater part of the Turkey. I learned so much about myself, the world and Turks while here. Istanbul has transformed me, perhaps nearly as much as Kashmir. This is something I should have written about earlier, while it was still fresh in my mind but I was too busy living and exploring to take the time to write about it. C'est la vie.


From Istanbul, another overnight train..this time to Thessaloníki, Greece. I haven't got much to say about Thessaloníki, but in short, do you know why you have never heard of that world famous excellent Greek service? Because it sucks. Horribly. Oh...but you can buy a chipmunk in a cage if you are so inclined. The poor service also extends from the restaurants to the airlines and to top it all off, we were flying out on a day that they decided to call a strike so our plane was delayed by several hours and we were stranded in perhaps the world's most depressing airport. Next stop...Berlin.

Because it was cheap to fly to Berlin, and because we wanted to visit another country, we flew to Berlin. We spent a night in a hotel cum kindergarten (yes, you read that right) luckily, school was out and we weren't disturbed by the goings on of a school directly below our hotel room. What is the one thing you would want to see if you had only a few hours in Berlin? Why...Checkpoint Charlie of course. This historic spot along the former Berlin Wall is perhaps the most famous transfer point between east and west and was iconic of the cold war. Nowadays, you can pay a man dressed in a uniform to stamp your passport with any one of a dozen or so stamps from the communist era. I didn't go for it. Marsha did. Goodbye Berlin, Hello Doesburg, Netherlands.

In Doesburg we were privileged to spend several days/nights with Marsha's friend Julie and her family. It was a treat to spend time in this type of setting after so long living an unconventional lifestyle. We had one of our funnest days during a folk festival in Doesburg. We both went clog dancing! It was a hoot.

The professionals

The "not-so" professionals

No trip to Holland is complete without windmills

From Doesburg, we spent a day in Amsterdam, visited the red-light district and saw a few sights before flying to Edinburgh, Scotland. Scotland is exceptionally expensive but also exceptionally rich in history, natural beauty and culture. We stuck to a pretty traditional tourist itinerary with a ghost tour of Edinburgh and a bus tour of the Highlands including a monster spotting cruise on Loch Ness. Next we flew to London. The idea was to drive to Stone Henge but soon after departing we abandoned this idea due to the horrific holiday weekend traffic and opted for a day in the city. I'm left with a pretty "been there, done that" sort of feeling about London. Granted it's rife with history and culture, but for me, the crowds and the cost are too much to make me want to return. From London, we parted ways. I flew to Denver, Marsha to Houston with plans to see each other in late June or early July.

The Highlands

Edinburgh architechtureNessie revealed

The London Eye

So...that pretty much concludes what I'm going to take the time to write about Europe in this blog. I'd love to talk to you in person about it sometime over a beer!

Bionic Russ

I'm taking yet another detour from finishing writing about the Europe trip, but this was just too funny and looking back, I should have written about it right after it happened because a lot is going to get missed. Anyhow, Marsha and I are in west Texas. Specifically Alpine. If you've ever seen David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" think Big Tuna, TX. The place is full of characters. First, you have the draw of the Marfa mystery lights (wiki article). We went out to see them last night. On the side of the main highway from Marfa to Alpine, there is a roadside pullout and an official viewing platform. What I saw were headlights, and that is also what the significant crowd was oooooing and awwwwing about. I'm going to have to go with the belief that what I saw wasn't the mystery lights and that the mystery lights are far more....well....mysterious than that. Somehow though, I think my belief is wrong and there actually is a place in Texas where you can pull off the side of the highway to view headlights on a perpendicular highway. I think I'm going to open up the Marfa mystery snack stand and charge $8.00 for hot dogs. Anyhow, the point of this blurb is to write about a story that my new friend Russ told us while he held us hostage in the hotel lobby. When Russ asked where I was from, I answered "Wyoming". Russ had just sold a ranch in Wyoming and figured that we were now kindred spirits. The story of how Russ and his wife decided to sell the ranch and move involved his new titanium knees. See, Russ was out feeding horses one frigid January morning when suddenly he lost his balance, fell off the hay wagon, and had to crawl 1/4 mile through a foot or more of snow back to the house, knocked on the door, only to have his wife come to the door and look right over him. She didn't see him because he was laying on the ground. Russ had to tell her to look down. As he told the story, he was clearly miffed that she hadn't immediately pulled him into the house, but rather wanted an explanation as to why he was laying in the snow. Russ' new titanium knees had, apparently, frozen in the cold and locked straight so that he couldn't walk. Russ went on for what seemed like hours telling stories. I think I'm going to try to remember to carry a notebook with me more often. Some of his stuff was comedy gold! I'm pretty sure that the the hay wagon isn't the only wagon Russ has fallen off of.

Video goodness

I just got flashplayer working on my computer. I don't like windows, never have, so I run an alternative OS called Linux. It's free, it's fun and it supports my technology addiction. Sometimes it's a pain in the ass. Not only do I run Linux, but I run the 64-bit version of it. There is no 64 bit flashplayer for Linux, so I had to find a workaround...and I did! So, now that I can watch YouTube videos...I found one that those of you who haven't been to the ice can get a glimpse of what it can be like (video credit to Antz and Christine Powell):

Oh, by the way, I have decided to return for another season on The Ice. I called KBR the other day and told them I was putting off going to Iraq for at least six months. They didn't seem to mind too much.

Tipping: Just some unorganized thoughts (rant)

Service workers don't deserve 20% just by virtue of being service workers. In fact, they don't deserve anything just because they have taken a job that pays less than minimum wage, this isn't my problem. In fact, I don't think they deserve 20% even if they do their job. I'm only tipping 20% if I leave happy, you've gotta really earn it to get 20%. Mediocre service deserves, at best, 10%. Less than mediocre service deserves squat. Furthermore, if your job is pulling a tap handle, you aren't entitled to $1 each time you pull it. That's not service. Want a tip? Get to know what kind of beer I'm drinking...see, I'm not a pain-in-the-ass type who asserts my individuality by ordering some stupid drink trying to see if I can stump you, I'm there to enjoy a cold beer, I'm not going to cause you any trouble and I don't expect much, but I do expect you to take a second, acknowledge my presence and get what I've asked for. If you do this, and do it consistently and well, I will reward it generously but I won't tip by the drink.....ever.

Mr. Pink approves.

Brasov (my worst post ever)

The most famous building in Transylvania - the Bran castle A.K.A. Dracula's castle

After two nights in Budapest, we boarded another overnight train. This time to Brasov, Romania. Brasov had been on my radar for quite some time since it has Eastern Europe's best known ski resort nearby. I had considered going skiing there but due to a lack of snow this season, I didn't. One of my goals on this trip was to hang out someplace for long enough to really get in to the culture so we decided we would give Brasov a chance and stay here for a greater length of time than any of the other places we had been to or were going. We had booked a home stay with a man named Eugene. Eugene rents out his mother's bedroom for extra income. His mother is still alive and when he has guests, she sleeps in his room. It feels a bit odd, but the price was right and what a better way to get into the culture of a place than to stay with a local, besides if Eugene's mother didn't stay with him in his room, she may have to resort to eating alpo or something. Another generator of income for Eugene is that he offers his services as a guide/driver to tour the world famous Dracula's castle, two other lesser-known castles, and the surrounding countryside. In the interest of Eugeni Mama (that's what she called herself) we took him up on the offer of an 8+ hour tour of the aforementioned sights.



Brasov is a pretty Transylvanian town situated at the foot of the Carpathian mountains.








WTF?

Most Romanians under the age of 50 can speak English very well. Most of them over 50 can't. Eugene's mother was no exception, but the conviction with which she spoke to us in Romanian caused me to be scared to let on that I had no idea what she was saying, so I politely nodded and smiled as she spoke to me.

Eugene himself is quite the character. I am a big fan of conspiracy theories, but they have to sound at least somewhat plausible. Eugene thinks that governments have machines that can control the weather. Of course, you usually don't find out someone is whacko until you spend 8 hours in a car with them.


One day we took a pleasant hike to the seven stairs falls. There is a series of waterfalls that come down a canyon and a series of ladders and walkways up the canyon.















It's obvious that the safety inspectors haven't been around in quite a while, or maybe such things are of no concern to the Romanians. Marsha was braver than me and ascended one more ladder than I did - but she does weigh quite a bit less than me. The whole thing reminded me of something out of Indiana Jones.







I also got a haircut while in Brasov. I've never needed a translator for a haircut before. I was very pleased with the results.

More castles:

Budapest

From Prague, we took an overnight train to Budapest. We had our own private sleeper car for the 9ish hour trip. Going to sleep in one country and waking up in another is a pretty neat experience.

There were far fewer tourists in Budapest than there were in Prague. Budapest is the combination of two cities. The city of Buda and the city of Pest. The two are separated by the Danube river. The Pest side, where we stayed, has a reputation for being a bit rough i.e. muggings etc. Granted we didn't go out drinking in the wee hours of the morning, but we saw nothing that even remotely resembled 'rough characters' and felt as safe as we would in Mayberry, USA. Another preconception proven unfounded.

I haven't got too much more to say about Budapest. Here are some pics:

Bridge over the Danube with a Freedom monument in the Background

Danube cruise

Parliament

The Sedlec Ossuary

More commonly known as the Bone Church is probably the neatest and most unique thing I've ever seen. The cliff's notes version of how it came to be: A 15th century Bohemian king sent his holy man on a holy mission. The holy man brought back sacred soil from Golgotha and sprinkled it on the cemetery near what is now the church. Soon, word of this sacred soil spread and people were dying to get in! The black death and the Hussite wars caused even more death in the region and soon thousands of bodies were buried in the cemetery. Over the years, the original church was destroyed and new one(s) were built. The bones were excavated in this process. Something had to be done with the bones so eventually a famous Italian architect was hired and his creation is what you see here:

This chandelier allegedly has at least one bone from every body that was buried here

The other great thing about visiting the bone church was that it was our first of many train journeys. Successfully negotiating this trip independently greatly empowered us and gave us the needed confidence to continue.

You can read the wikipedia version of the bone church by clicking here.

Prague

Prague is a really beautiful city. The architecture is magnificent and the public transport is extraordinarily easy to navigate, despite the fact that the signs aren't in English.

The astronomical clock

Prague Castle

Inside the museum of communism

And, the best part of Prague was meeting Marsha there. We were kicking off a 5-week tour of Europe, mostly concentrating on eastern Europe, but getting a sampling of other parts as well.

Chamonix

After Norway, I flew to Geneva, Switzerland and rode a bus to the famed French ski village of Chamonix where I stayed and skied for about 2 1/2 weeks. The place is really amazing if not a bit intimidating. Everyone who was skiing from the famed Aiguille Du Midi was outfitted with full ski-mountaineering gear, I opted out since I have no experience with such things and didn't want to spend the money on a guide to show me. Instead, I stuck to skiing on the lower part of Les Grandes Montets. It was decent skiing but the snow conditions were deteriorating. On the up side, there weren't too many people skiing so the queues for the lifts were either short or non-existent.

The Mer de glace (sea of ice)

Aiguille du midi

Aiguille du midi

Aiguille du midi