Big Dead Place

To make up for all that Mac-tech-cultish sort of stuff I posted recently, here I proudly present some down-to-earth facts. Actually, this is as down-to-earth as you get ;-) I found it on a genuinely hilarious, alas expired, website which now has become an archive (thanks, for the link, pete!) of a guy who had been working for extended periods on the US McMurdo Base at the Ross Sea. He has compiled a quite extensive site over the years, including a "handbook" part with introductions to some vital aspects of life in the Program, short for United States Antarctic Program (or USAP). Noteworthy is the fact that the handbook comes in two versions, though, one for hopeful newbie employees (="brunts") at the bases, and one for "Distinguished Congressional Visitors".

Here are some excerpts which are meant as appetizers and seemed to be most fitting for this blog - "brunt" version first:


From Big Dead Place:


History ("brunt" version):


"Many of the early explorers who came to Antarctica died miserably of starvation while freezing to death. This unique frozen heritage is visible just across the bay from McMurdo Station at historic Discovery Hut, built by Robert Scott in 1902. In that noble wooden hut, several men once spent four months, clothes awash with gore from their endless seal slaughtering, ..."

History (Distinguished Congressional Visitors version):


"Many of the early explorers who came to Antarctica were underfunded buffoons who did not first consult Appropriations Subcommittees before facing the unique and exciting challenges that Antarctica offered for the future. As a result, they lacked innovative leadership, and died miserably of starvation while freezing to death. This unique frozen heritage is visible just across the bay from McMurdo Station at historic Discovery Hut, built by Robert Scott in 1902. In that noble wooden hut, several men once spent four months, clothes awash with gore from their endless seal slaughtering, ..."

Science (again "brunt" version)

"Science is the process of describing the universe through physical observation. Here are some things that are not science: distributing money to scientists, dispersing press releases to the media, ..."

"Science, as an intellectual process, is not owned or orchestrated by any particular person or agency, nor is the funding of science a scientific act. The National Science Foundation is the manager of American Antarctica much like your department manager is the manager of your department..."

"In Antarctica, science is a parking permit, and those who want to stand in the parking spaces must first be able to afford the permit to stand there..."

Workers ("Distinguished Congressional Visitors" version)

"Workers are intimidating. They wear dirty clothes, they operate loud and greasy machines, and they often bear menacing scowls. They seem to look at you as if you don't belong. This is because you don't...."