September 4, 1975: Thursday

In the morning we go up to the lab and wait for Calvin to arrive on the plane. I found a couple of O.K. astronomy books. I take my camera and set it up on a tripod. Some New Zealander comes and talks about our traverse. Cal comes up to the lab. We talk a bit and go eat. Steak. I’ve gained seven pounds.

After lunch we go up to the lab. I write a letter to Kay. Cal writes home, too. We walk down to the Post Office, $2.60 for air mail stamps. We go get Cal’s luggage and go square away his room.

He brought along a tape player for the lab. He’s got Layla and Abraxas and some Simon and Garfunkle and some classical.

We walk up to the lab. Dr. Treves has gone to check into the traverse with Dave and Emmett at the Chalet (NSF HQ).

I go out and take some panoramic pictures of McMurdo, Bowers Piedmont Glacier, the Royal Society Range, and Mount Discovery.

At 2:30 we go down to Jim’s and get the key to the security locker, plus two able bodies, and Dr. Treves. We have to move seven skidoos to get to the door. Inside are six microscopes, a copier machine, a 1500 pound x-ray diffractometer, a roll away accessory attachment, and four boxes of parts. We wiggle (with great effort) the machine onto the back of a lift-truck. (Careful, can’t tip it ‘cause it’s full of oil.)

Driving up the hill is scary and jiggling the machine into the cold room and down the hall is hard work.

We get everything into the proper rooms, check out the microscopes (good ones), and try out the copier. It doesn’t quite work right because the rollers won’t roll the paper on out. After much unscrewing, poking around, and lifting so the funny noise goes away (but comes back when you let go), Dr. Treves pounds on it with two screwdrivers. A metal tap slips into its niche and it works.

We go eat.

After lunch Cal and I go up to the lab. We decide to have our own offices, the two rooms in the back, next to the thin section saws. Mine is on the left. We both get electric typewriters. He gets an electronic pencil sharpener. Tomorrow I’m going to get out another battery clock for mine. One clock is over the door to the hall in the front room. If there was a descent bathroom, I wouldn’t mind living up there. I think I’ll bring up the desk stuff tomorrow. It’ll look official. Took a lot of cleaning to get things in order after the last guy left in a hurry. Hope I didn’t throw anything out that was valuable.

On the way back we stop by the Bio-Lab.

I talked to Bio-Mike. (Bio-Bob’s gone home. He was an O.U. man.) He’ll let me use the darkroom. We have to develop some prints off an ERTS satellite transparency for Ross Island and the Dry Valleys.

All my pictures developed, except for a couple of shots in the middle of the first roll. They’ll print O.K. The transparency was a bit thick. Besides that, it’s a negative print.

I think I spotted the Magellenic Clouds. If I did, they’re huge.

Dirk has some tapes, including Chicago Transit Authority and Son of Schmillson.

Days Expenditures:
$2.60....Stamps, air mail