14 November

Snowy day today.  Made driving up to Mine 7 very interesting.  Made a lot of progress at the camera site, moving two of the tripods further away from the building.  Cold!

We're taking Saturday off, to give the UNIS people a break.  They're required to stay at the Observatory while we're there, for safety reasons.  Also, they won't let us drive the Hagglund.  That's fine with me!  If we have the predicted clear skies on Sunday, we'll go up in the morning to get some star shots.

Took a walk around town, visiting a couple shops.  I bought some reflective stickers for my parka.  There's no shortage of items like that, for good reason.  The town tour only takes about five minutes, unfortunately.  There are a couple good looking outdoor gear type stores.  I may have to check them out, with my trip to Alaska in January in mind.  You can never have enough winter gear (especially when you live in South Carolina). 

Saw a big, white, long haired dog outside the supermarket.  My first thought was POLAR BEAR!!  Then I realized it was tied up, and a Samoyed.  Phew.  You hear so much about the hazard of polar bears that you get a little "anxious".  We haven't seen one yet and I'm fine if I never do.

I'm signed up for rifle training, on Tuesday.  Today, at KHO, Fred pointed out where the rifle, bullets, and flare gun were located.  He then said "Of course it's important to be able to get inside to get to them".  Well, duh.  My first thought was of the little keypad outside the door that you have to take your gloves off for and shine the flashlight on to see the numbers.  Six numbers and a pound sign.  In order.  My second thought was that I'd have better luck running for the Hagglund.  That only has a door handle.  So, I'm prepared :)

Funny to compare our camera boxes, with the heater and thermostat, to Daiki's setup.  He has cameras on a tripod with a camera duck and hand warmers.  Hmmm, good luck with that.  His English is not so good.  Our usual means of communication is for me to ask him a question, him to look confused, me to say "I'll send you an email".  He then reads the email and understands.  A bit cumbersome, but it works.

"Run, there's a Polar Bear!   Hang on, I'll send you an email once I'm inside."  :)