Wind speed (knots): 11
Sunrise: 0728
Sunset: 1813
Brrrr! -44 is really freaking cold, if you were wondering.
This may be incredibly boring to some of you, but here is the rundown of my actual job and how our IT department works. If you read to the end you'll hear about my cool tour of it all yesterday!
We are comprised of the basically 3 departments:
The computer side of things is made up of :
- network operations (they deal with the internet as well as local area network, computer accounts, email, etc...)
- the help desk (my job for 3 seasons), first line of defense for anyone needing computer help of any kind
- pc techs (which is what I am now, we help out the folks that the help desk can't help, mostly trouble shooting hardware issues, installing software, fixing broken machines, stuff like that for the non-science staff down here)
- scientists pc techs (they do what we do but for the scientists)
- the trainer (which i did for 2 seasons) teaching folks how to use the databases and all the software we use down here to find supplies, check in cargo, do email, etc...
- AREV administrator (which I did for a season) AREV is a suite of databases developed in 1907 that we use to track cargo, supplies, and personnel
*if you are confused about the number of seasons, in the winter i was the help desk, the trainer, and the AREV administrator
Then we have Telco, they deal with the phones
Finally there is the Comms (communications) shop who manages all of the radios (HF, VHF and other Fs I don't really understand), antennas and communications to and from field camps. They have antenna riggers who climb up 100 foot towers all over the place to setup antennas that communicate all over the rest of the places they set up towers. Comms also manages Black Island, which an island is about 30 miles (as the crow flies) from Ross Island where McMurdo is located. Black island is where our satellite dishes are, so all communications off continent go via Black Island. No Black Island, no phone, no internet, no TV. Speaking of TV, TV and radio are part of IT but I'm not sure if it 's Comms or it's own department of 1. We get a few Armed Forces stations (BBC America and a few others), an Australian channel, and then we broadcast our own channels with movies. Anyone can be a DJ and it's super fun. I've done it all of my past seasons but not quite interested in a radio show of my own yet, we shall see.
So yesterday Joe, who runs McMurdo IT, took a group of us all around town and the outlying areas to show us how it all works. It' was fascinating. Joe was a PC tech way back when, then he worked in the network, and he knows his shit, let me tell you! He knows everything about all of it and he's a great teacher, boss, leader, and person to boot.
Below is a picture of some of the antennas at T-site (T for transmitter) where a lot of our comms do the sending and receiving, a picture of Black Island, and finally of the three wind mills that generate like 20% of our power and most of Scott Base (the Kiwi base up the road from us) from just those three windmills!
Sorry if I just bored anyone to tears...but I like learning how different shit works. It's one of the best benefits of being here.
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