from LASR to NPX, my journey south

Ten days ago (wow, 10 days? really?!!) John Carlstrom (my adviser) and I left Chicago heading for Pole. As an explanation of the title, LASR = Lab for Astronomy and Space Research, the building I work in at the University of Chicago, and NPX is the postal code for the south pole. "NP" for South Pole? Don't ask, I don't know. Between the two of us, we had no less than 8 suitcases, all very close to 70 lbs. This was primarily because I was taking down half of the telescope readout electronics for the new camera we are installing on the telescope this year. This was secondarily because I brought camping and climbing gear plus enough things to keep me comfortable for 2 weeks in India in January. Yeah... John had a < 40 lb suitcase of personal things and I had 2 suitcases... We aren't going to talk about that anymore.

So the taxi that was to take John and I to O'Hare airport showed up at 3pm on time, but it was a tiny suv. We had specifically requested a van, and our amazing secretary Val got on the phone and made sure a real van showed up in 15 minutes. The driver couldn't believe that we had 8 suitcases.

Because John travels a lot, he is some sort of super-duper first-class citizen as far as American Airlines is concerned. By association, I got to live the first-class airline traveler lifestyle, going through the short check-in lines, relaxing in exclusive lounges, getting free drinks. It was great! Except for the fact that I felt like I was living in corporate America - the exclusive clubs contained almost exclusively middle-aged to older white businessmen in suits. Not a fan of that atmosphere.

Flying across the Pacific ocean, I sat next to a very interesting lady who worked with east-asian orphans, helping them get through school and go to college. She was focused on Sri-Lanka at the moment, but had also worked extensively with people in Malaysia and refugees from Tibet. What a meaningful path in life to choose!

We made it to Christchurch in 10 pieces, just as we had left. Christchurch is still deeply scarred by the earthquakes of last year - see my previous blog post for my pictures and impressions of the situation.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We ask for your patience and cooperation on today's flight since you will be traveling with the King of Malaysia." It was 5:30 am, and we were preparing for our flight to McMurdo. A few moments later an entourage of security guards dressed in suits under Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear came in, followed by the King. I guess he wanted to visit Antarctica? No reasons for the visit were given, but I guess you don't get to ask questions about the King. He seemed friendly.

C-130 Taking off from McMurdo, headed for the South Pole

Our flight went smoothly, and we were fortunate enough to have good weather the following day so that we arrived at Pole on November 22. I went up onto the flight deck with the pilots during the middle of the flight. Not nearly as exciting as you might have expected - the 4 pilots all looked half asleep, everything was on auto-pilot, and nobody was touching a singe control.

In the cockpit of the C-130.

Flying to South Pole in the C-130

Ode to Christchurch

Howdy folks! I'm headed back to Antarctica for my third visit, and it

is good to be back bloging. I'm writing this first post to

you from the bowels of a C130 somewhere over the middle of Antarctica.

We are currently flying form the McMurdo Station to the South Pole

station. I am traveling with my advisor, John Carlstrom, and two

engineers who are helping to put a guard-ring on the telescope. This

guard ring will help mitigate reflections from the ground which can

contaminate our measurements. Things have gone smoothly for us, but I

want to tell you about things that have not gone as smoothly for our

friends in Christchurch.

As many of you know, Christchurch was hit by an earthquake last

February. It was not a huge quake, as quakes go, but the epicenter

was shallow and right in the middle of town. This, coupled with a

tradition of stone-masonry architecture, lead to devastating effects.

In fact, I was in New Zealand when the earthquake hit last year. I was

traveling in the south and heard about it while visiting a local

brewery. Upon returning to Christchurch to fly home last year, I

could not go into downtown and thus did not see much of the aftermath.

This year, we traveled to downtown Christchurch from our hotel at the

airport to observe the state of recovery in downtown. I was not

prepared for what we would find. The entire city center - an area of

approximately four by six blocks - is still completely blocked off.

Buildings up to 20+ stories inside that area are in ruins. Many have

missing windows and cracked foundations, some are visibly crooked.

Speaking with locals, many buildings have been completely demolished,

and from the looks of it many more will follow suit.

I walked around the are for four hours taking photographs on my second

day in town, passing by restaurants I had eaten at and stores I had

visited. Both hotels I stayed at previously are severely damaged.

There are signs of rebuilding. Next to the city center, a shopping

area has sprung up from the cracks, completely build out of shipping

containers. Cranes and back-hoes are all around the city (though

nobody was working - it was Sunday).

Here is a photo-essay of downtown Christchurch, and the efforts to

bring the city back to life. The city is struggling to rebuild, and

has a long way to go.

Downtown Christchurch

A brick masonry wall. This type of brick architecture did not survive well.

An old stonework building in partial repair. The classic stonework of downtown Christchurch was hit very hard.

Another stonework building

Destruction and hope - "We are open"

The city clock-tower.

The Crowne Plaza hotel, where I stayed on my first trip. The gravel lot in the foreground used to be filled with restaurants.

The Windsor hotel, where I lost a laptop to the earthquake during my

second trip. Interestingly, the big fancy hotel still looks like it

was bombed, whereas the small ma-and-pa hotel is being actively

rebuilt.

Cracked old masonry on a walkway by the river. The man-made

structeres were damaged, the river, well, the river was completely

unaffected, almost oblivious to the surrounding destruction.

A building used to be there...

A self-portrait, taken through a window. Notice both the inside of

the building and the reflection behind me.

**Re-building**

Pieces of stone being taken down and saved one-by-one, to rebuild this historic building.

The entrance to the "Shipping Container Mall"

Fancy clothes being sold out of a Shipping Container store.

Innovation - turning a gas station into an Punjabi Food restaurant.

The funky little cafe where I ate lunch. I love these places, unique

and full of character. And the vanilla milkshakes are lip-smackin'

good!

Our thoughts and support are with Christchurch, hoping for a quick and healthy recovery.