LAN parties are not so common anymore in the hyper connected world of 2024 but at South Pole, when the satellites are down, it might as well be 1997 all over again.
Whenever I'm in Japan I'm on a mission to find the strangest/coolest gashapon (capsule toys). So far this Mazak CNC one is at the top of the leaderboard.
Every Jan 1st at the South Pole the summer season crew unveils the new geographic pole marker which is designed and fabricated on-site by the previous winterover team. I had the privilege of machining the 2025 marker with my buddy Luke and I can finally show it off.
After fixing a mailing address snafu I finally received my Antarctic Service medal. It's one of the few DoD medals that civilians are eligible for. Pretty neat.
"One chute"
Ten years ago this morning we heard those words come over the radio on the flight line in Mojave and everything changed.
Rest in peace, Scat 23.
