Nov 23rd, 2012 by Nick
“We all know that Centrix makes dentistry easier, but does that mean that we have to travel to the South Pole to do so? [Dr. Bob] from Colorado says YES! He’s shown here holding a box of Encore® A/F, our self-cure composite core buildup material, and a Centrix E/Z™ syringe.”
[...]
“…and of course, Centrix was eager to help his mission. Centrix has always been dedicated to improving the dental health of the world population.”
Oct 5th, 2012 by Nick
Sep 3rd, 2012 by Nick
NSF’s Antarctic Support Contract Reading Room is a collection of workaday documents, including payments and terms of service with subcontractors such as Best Recycling, the University of Arizona (for the South Pole Food Growth Chamber), the US Postal Service, and the Pacific Regional Veterinary Command (for sanitation inspection services).
Within these documents one can learn that Otter Pop sales at the South Pole declined over the course of Winter ’08 while sales of Ballistic Berry Bubble Yum increased, that in FY09 RPSC spent $98,000 on criminal background checks, and that the costs associated with “Performance Excellence” have been redacted.
The Reading Room also includes various station guides and the USAP Photo Library.
Also, the Antarctic Treaty Information Exchange lists NGO expeditions.
Just like the Constitution, there’s a lot of talk about the Antarctic Support Contract but it’s not high on most reading lists. For one thing, it’s unclear exactly how the information therein applies to daily life. For another, it’s presented in a dry technical format less inviting than cartoons. But nothing perks up a narrative like money so, at the very least, the Antarctic Support Contract starts with a bang:
Q: How much is the award for the Antarctic Support Contract?
A: $1,882,295,283
To see roughly how that money is supposed to trickle down, there’s the Centennial/Arapahoe Wage Determination Information.
Why should you care when are the “Award Fee Periods”? Because that’s when NSF spits out a chunk of money to the contractor. Just before that happens, you may find the atmosphere on the ice particularly uptight and jumpy.
Particularly informative are the Q&A sessions, where NSF gives the bidding contractors rare answers to touchy questions, such as:
Q: Will contracts awarded to private companies for the Antarctic Support Contract be subject to the Defense Base Act?
A: No, the contract will not be subject to the Defense Base Act.
Not a life-or-death question, exactly. Unless you have a life-or-death injury while working in Antarctica. Or any injury, really. But there’s no point quibbling over details.
Aside from determining who will get which nickels and what dimes, the Antarctic Support Contract also has some concise, informative overviews of the USAP, including logistics and operations.
As from all federal documents, there’s a sort of poetry that can’t help but emerge from the rigid milieu of euphemism and unreal tidiness. For example, in the aptly-titled “McMurdo Operations”, we learn that the products born of the waste water treatment plant are “benign cakes”.
For all this and much more, the Antarctic Support Contract is good reading on a snow day.
Sep 2nd, 2012 by Nick
Figure 1. is from More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness (pdf 10MB), NSF’s “Report of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel” July 2012
Sep 2nd, 2012 by Nick
Who goes there? Science, fiction, and belonging in Antarctica by Elena Glasberg is, in part, an ice-pertinent and comprehensive review of John Carpenter’s “The Thing”:
Tracing this story of the threatening alien ‘thing’ through its two filmic iterations – The Thing From Another World (1951) and The Thing (1982) – this article examines the implicit contention of contemporary governance in Antarctica: that enlightened science under national programs is the best way to secure Antarctica’s global future as a place of value. The article therefore concerns itself in part with the ATS as governance structure and specifically with US national science, arguing that national presence in Antarctica is not benign, natural, or necessary. It also challenges the consensus celebration of the resiliency of the ATS, and instead questions the forms of human activity and inhabitation it has allowed, and considers the possibilities of governance it has defended against or even permanently forestalled. Antarctica is thus a place more complex and layered than its popular namings of ‘white desert,’ ‘continent for peace,’ or ‘frozen laboratory’ suggest.
A signatory of a commemorative Antarctic Treaty, 2009 (photo: atsummit50.org)
Aug 30th, 2012 by Nick
From the essay “America Dreams” by Connie Samaras:
Although only about 10,000 people have been to the South Pole since it was first explored, per capita it may be more photographed than Disney World. I did not encounter one person, support personnel or researchers, who did not have a camera. Once my identity was established (“it’s the photographer”), many people with whom I talked had definite ideas of what I should be photographing. When not being schooled, I would stand in fascination sipping tea, looking out the galley windows, watching others photograph: NSF visitors with only a few days on site, National Geographic/Discovery Channel film crews with only a week’s time, struggling against the (unseasonably cold) -78°F, trying to negotiate the rickety surface of the ice while simultaneously vacuuming the landscape with video cams and digital SLRs for recognizable icons and dramatic narratives.
Samaras’ piece is from the webjournal “Gender on Ice“, a compilation of art and essays that examine “polar narratives promoting imperial masculinities”. Anne Noble’s gallery is a series of graphic depictions of the Antarctic continent from various museums, tourist attractions, and consumer objects, including an Antarctic board game produced by Shell Oil.
Aug 29th, 2012 by Nick
(from “Antarctic Deployment Information” pamphlet, U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica, no date)
PRE-DEPLOYMENT
Anticipation of Loss (1-6 weeks)
Detachment and Withdrawal (7 days)
DEPLOYMENT
Emotional Disorganization (first month)
Recovery and Stabilization (4-8 weeks)
Anticipation of Homecoming (last month)
POST-DEPLOYMENT
Renegotiation of the Marriage (first 6 weeks)
Reintegration and Stabilization (6-12 weeks)
Aug 29th, 2012 by Nick
dead place
big dead bear
big muscle bear
big people in antarctica
sex with dead people
hoedown jello
new denver
new discoveries in antarctica
drywall asbestos
bureaucratic responsibility
expired birth control pills
sleeping when fucked
interviews with nature photographer
information on seal slaughtering
garlic mustard getting from place to place
can i ski if i suspect pregnancy
menstrual cycle wisdom teeth
fucking the dead
safety slogans
safe place to live away from nuclear strike
massage parlor in cleveland
most remote place on earth
south pole sex close quarters
life in antarctica
life on base in antarctica
guys whacking off
overtime lawsuits
Aug 29th, 2012 by Nick
Why have you, now or in the past, returned to work in Antarctica for more than one season? Contribute to the survey to help researchers understand this perplexing question.
“I am returning to Antarctica because I am afraid to think for myself anymore.” —LW (McMurdo)
“Not necessarily in any order: MAAG, Polar Plunge, Boondoggles (which usually involves kissing someones ass, fucking them, or giving them a blowjob.)—E (Mactown/Pole)
“I want to live in the big people’s dorm.” —C (McMurdo)
“It’s where the ridiculous and the truth intersect.” —S (multiple winters at McMurdo/Pole)
“I don’t know.” —J (multiple winters at Pole)
“At home you have 25 different demands. Here, you only have to do your job.” —L (Pole)
“It’s easy here.” —D (Pole)
“Skua.” —K (McMurdo/Pole)
“For the uncomplicated sex.” —A. (Female/Pole)
“Because it doesn’t get any better than this.” —F. Scott Robert (McMurdo/Pole)
Aug 29th, 2012 by Nick
