a sea ice talk...sorry

I get these emails detailing the latest news and information on certain topics that i am interested in. I am such a dull person that these are not about the television or sci-fi news (which is what you would expect). There are on sea ice, Antarctica, polynyas etc. The other morning i was reading through them when a one piece of information got my attention. It talked about sea ice being higher in Antarctica than ever before. There is so much wrong with that statement (which i will detail momentarily). What really annoyed me was that some journalist (and i use the term loosely) would most likely pick that up and run with it. I usually don't worry about what other people and their opinion s (of me or anything else really). This got me really annoyed.

I felt that the statement itself was incorrect unless it was a particular term being used to identify a particular property of sea ice (or such). It wasn’t. I think the person writing it was trying to say that the sea ice around Antarctica this winter was wider in extent than it has ever been. When the term extent is used it refers to the northern edge of the sea ice (as a pack). It doesn’t deal with thickness distribution or ice types rather it is a statement of the boundary for ocean/sea ice.
The sea ice extent is relatively easy to define using remote sensing data of some kind and a methodology for ascertaining the sea ice/ocean delineation. It is much more difficult to say that a certain year is “wider” in extent that another and even more so to identify a trend. There is a limited amount of information to base that on. You can get around this by saying “for as long as records have been kept” or something.

Antarctic sea ice is interesting in that it is sea ice surrounding a continent (as opposed to the generalisation that the Arctic region surrounds the sea ice). The northward advance of sea ice is abated by oceanic and atmospheric properties (and land mass in west Antarctic). To talk about things like width is difficult as sea ice is not a homogeneous entity. Nor does is “sit still” to be measured. You need to find the ice edge to talk about extent. This is tricky. I will try to explain why.

When you talk about sea ice you say thickness (of the ice itself), pack width or extent. I have never heard it referred to as having a height. You can have very thick sea ice compacted to the shore and then the ice breaks up and becomes wider in extent. You are then comparing two different properties of the ice pack. Which was more important? The extent (or ice edge) or the pack density.

The following is an SSM/I image (east Antarctic) from the winter of 1999. The ice edge is where the sea ice meets the ocean. To determine the ice edge is complex. Way more than i want to get into but your more than welcome to look it up.

SSM/I product info: http://www.ssmi.com/

The following plot of ice edge (for the same general area as the map) is the weekly sea ice edge as calculated from the SSM/I data. As you can probably tell there is a lot of variation for a winter. It fluctuates from week to week. Even looking at in time series you get fluctuations and variance. Naturally. What you do get is a general idea of the sea ice extent. You would need many years of data and then work out some averages, means, limits (etc.) to be able to ascertain any definitive changes in behaviour.

Operational products: http://saf.met.no/p/ice/

That is why when you read statements such as the one stated in the opening paragraph you need to realise that the data and any analysis needs to be examined. Thoroughly. You need to know what science is behind it. In general this is a good approach to take in all matters. There is often not a right or wrong answer to a question. Rather there is a “point of view”. You just need to understand it.

BTW this has not been a science lesson. If i wanted to be a teacher i would have become one! I am rubbish at explaining things. This is because my brain runs ahead of my mouth all the time. Also, i have my own short hand. One of the reasons i couldn’t get somebody else to type my notes up. I know that not many people on the planet care about sea ice (and even less about polynyas). However as political people start to use it as a for/against in the great climate debate i think more people should take an interest.

Oh yeah. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

what i am attempting to start writing about this week...

I sat down to write a simple little science piece tonight. Turns out that the fact i am not a natural writer is never more self evident than when i have something simple to explain. And a saw thumb. Two of them actually. The right thumb injury from a (still unexplainable) sticky tape dispenser incident at work. This is fine because i never use it to type. Ever. The left one however it turns out of DO use. A lot. And it hurts. This injury occurred today as i was preparing food platters for the Christmas party. I was trying to remove one of this plastic lids from a dip. I think it was Hommus. Not that the type of dip is important. Just know that it is taking me ages to type....and i make a hash of spelling at the best of times.

Now to the science bit. Actually, sorry, a bit of background first.

One of the most fascinating aspects of my research has been the breadth of knowledge needed to understand polynyas. This is highlighted in a paper published in Annals of Glaciology (33) called “Effects of Regional Fast-Ice and Iceberg Distributions on the Behaviour of the Mertz Glacier Polynya, East Antarctica” [massom et al]. This paper highlighted some of the many factors that come into play which determine a polynya and its associated measurable parameters (size, width, shape, duration, open mechanism, closing mechanisms etc).

One of the mechanisms is the strong katabatic drainage (sweeping off the ice sheet). These strong winds drive ice away from the coastline (or fast ice, an ice bridge etc). The polynya forms by initially sea ice being driven away from the coast, which leaves an area of open water within which new ice is formed [This new ice is then herded down wind (by ocean, winds etc)].
If you want precise information then try the International Antarctic Weather Forecasting Handbook at:

http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/momu/International_Antarctic_Weather_Forecasting_Handbook/index.php
Or read the excellent paper (Chapter 2 details the wind stuff [i know. I amaze even me with how little i sound like a scientist too]):

Bromwich, D. H., 1989, Satellite analysis of Antarctic katabatic wind behaviour. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 70, 738–749.

The thing about these strong winds (Commonwealth Bay is known as one of the windiest places on earth) is that they dissipate not far from land. Given this information what i want to highlight is the difference between having meteorological data from a location n the polynya and from a land based station near the polynya. They do differ and that is why every bit of information helps.

These two images represent meteorological data presented in “wind rose” form. That is the wind speed and direction from a fixed point (the centre of the rose). The first is data collected at the D’umont Durville station (over a 6 week period in winter). This compares to a fixed station further seaward. You can see where the strong winds come from the same direction (in general) however weaker wind systems can be recorded from any direction. This is less likely at the station where there is generally speaking strong katabatic flow. The roses were recorded at the same time.

As the fixed stations have more reliable and longer term data they are what is used most often for other research activities. The difference between the images highlights the natural variability for measuring a phenomenon even (relatively) closely. Say between at station and a ship (in polynya). Also, why drones over a polynya are necessary. And cool:

http://www.disclose.tv/forum/scientific-drones-take-flight-at-earth-s-icy-poles-t13264.html

Another interesting little thing i have been re-reading about (which has nothing to do with my PhD at all) is sastrugi. More pointedly the remote sensing analysis of them (i did this AGES ago so this is all from memory). Now sastrugi (which is the plural form) are sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion and deposition, and found in polar and temperate snow regions. They differ from sand dunes in that the ridges are parallel to the prevailing winds. That means that if you have remotely sensed data you can determine the prevailing wind directions. Cool yeah? Now you just know it is all more complicated than that. It always is.

Anyway my injured digits need to go have a rest. So do i. Also big Bang theory is on the telly.
I might not get a chance to blog before Xmas (unless the weather is really bad and i have to stay inside all week) so let me wish you a happy and safe holiday. XX

[BTW the xmas party was alright. I got to sit on the floor as there weren’t enough chairs. Some might think this not so good but it did mean i didn’t have to talk to people sitting next to me (even though i like them). I am just a bit socially impaired and suck at parties unless everyone else is drunk in which case i don’t feel less shy. I also scored an excellent secret santa gift (this year).]

My Ten Christmas Wishes (for today)

1. I wish that i had more opinions...everyone else seems to have loads.
2. I wish i studied something that people have never heard of and cared about even less. But then what would be the point?
3. I wish i understood politics. But those type of people always put me off. They always seemed to be talking and not listening. Now they run the world....and i worry about who they listen to. I
4. I wish i understood EMT (emission trading scheme) and why some people want it and others are hating on it.
5. I wish i knew why people have to be so mean to each other.
6. I wish people weren’t so short sighted...only thinking of their comfort when we have so much (but who am i to judge - i want lots of useless crap too)
7. I wish i had more ambition. The problem is that i tend to think about doing a good job (with what ever job i am doing) rather than think of a better job to do! but i would like to be someone who is “going places, kicking arse”.
8. I wish i had no regrets.
9. I wish all my favourite tv shows didn’t keep gettin’ cancelled.
10. I wish i could find love. It is not that i am unlucky but i make all the wrong choices for all the wrong reasons (thinking that they are the right ones). I cling to stupid dreams and romantic fiction even when experience has shown me that they are quite unrealistic...and yet still i hope.

So there are my wishes for today. It was quite good to think of what i wish for off the top of my head. Give it a try.

i wandered lonely as an iceberg

I was going to write about how the scientific publishing system works. I was also thinking of maybe doing something about “climate change” versus “global warming” and how they are not interchangeable as terms of reference. Then something cool happened on the news last night. They had a story about this big iceberg B17B that is floating of the Australian coastline (admittedly a long way off...but still).

This news piece showed an interview with Neil Young. It totally freaked me out for two reasons. The first being that the berg itself originated in one of my research study areas and secondly because he was my first boss! Like proper boss. Serious boss. He use to scare the crap outta me to tell the truth.

http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=37230

That job was awesome though. I forgot how much i liked it. It was with the glaciology department. Glaciers are what icebergs are calved from. They are totally interesting. My very first project was using computers to analyse satellite data to auto identify (and later track) icebergs. There are a LOT of icebergs and they move in mysterious ways.

One of the things you can do is use them as free buoys. I have an image here which shows the path that individual buoys took that were deployed at the mertz polynya. They cost a lot of money and are hard to deploy (well, tricky). The buoys showed the behaviour of the sea ice (which is what we were interested in) In a similar fashion you can use the bergs to track ocean currents, find grounding zones etc. Like i said cool. Well, i think it is cool.

I loved the research that the glaciology department did (still does). Floating ice shelves. Drilling ice holes to find out what was underneath the floating ice shelves. Accumulation versus loss for given glaciers. In fact studying every little inch of them. That’s what was great about being the computer programmer/scientist. I got to see a little bit of interesting research over a lot of fields.
Until last night i had totally forgotten about that. About all the fun i use to have. I think i am going to make that my new years resolution. To get back some of the wonder and fun i use to have.

If you want to know more about icebergs etc. Feel free to ask. I am in quite a chipper mood.

Tradies have rhythm and soul

At this moment all is quiet. It is late afternoon. I am enjoying the quiet. It won’ last long. I work in a kindergarten which is pretty noisy. For the last couple of weeks at has been quite a bit louder as i have a construction site right next door (1 metre away to be precise). They are madly building a couple of new classrooms. This is all thanks to our fearless leader who gave out LOADS of cash for school works. It helps with the economy because you spread the money around (rather than have it sitting some where) and also employ people (who spread the money around more). It is fantastic. Except we had a lot of rain over autumn so now phase one of building has caught up with phase two....and everyone is very, very busy.

I don’t normally talk about construction (although my dad is a carpenter so i am use to it). In this case i am bringing it up because it is the musical component that has got me intrigued. That’s right. Music. Imagine i work in a school. You have quiet times and noisy times but lately we also have rockin’ times. The workmen (and they are all men on this site) have a stereo blasting out rock tunes all day. Now i am not complaining ‘cause it is quite a good thing while i am on duty at lunch/recess to have something to drown out the sounds of little voices yelling for me (or more often at each other, but more annoyingly AT me).

Now this is not an isolated instance. This music thing. My dad always has music when he works. He has some portable generator thingy to make sure that he can have (a) a cup of coffee and (b) music all the time while working. The painter who does our work likes VERY old vintage crap and the electrician likes soft rock. When they arrive to get a job going it is one of the first things they do – get their music on.

My dad is the worst though. He likes country music *pause* not that there is anything wrong with that. Just he is a bit deaf (all that heavy machinery i’m guessin’) so it tends to be loud. Now i know that he could use an ipod (he has one) but apparently that is a health and safety thing. You need to be able to hear someone yelling at you at all times. Apparently. Safety thing (probably more important reasons but i think yelling “stop that is going to fall and kill you” is right up there – i just need to be able to tell ‘em that coffee is ready).

[BTW he uses his ipod while he watches tv. Just watches it. No tele-text or anything. I am often amazed he even knows what goes on with some programs. Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe the shows are better that way? Anyway. It’s his thing. Yes. He does have a hearing aid but he just prefers it this way. *sigh*]

I only bring this up because my neighbour is doing a reno at the moment. Every night when he gets home he starts work. With a musical accompaniment (and lots of sanding). So this two hour window before he gets home is my only quiet time. I like to fill it by locking myself away in the study and writing a little (rough drafting) before it all gets too much. Actually it is starting to get on my pip really. Can you tell?

Anyway. Only got another half an hour. I think it is going to start raining again tomorrow....and he has to work inside. But then so do it.

Later, K.tsl

Note: What is a tradie? If you don’t know it is an Australian term for a person who works in a trade such as a carpenter, electrician, plumber etc. More specifically to this story it involves those who do manual work, with an open air feel to their working life.

My mum wants a Wii for Xmas

What to do when your mother wants tech for Christmas? I say buy it for her but be aware that you may spend your Christmas day (a) setting it up (b) explaining how the controller works (c) explaining how the game works, (d) yelling how the game works and finally (e) going to bed still crying.

Seriously the woman wants a Wii for xmas so she can “keep fit”. I have mentioned maybe it would be easier and cheaper to get a dog and just go for a walk but she is having none of it. All i know is how much grief i have had ever since my parents decided (each of them) to have a dvd player and set-top-box attached to their individual entertainment units. If it is not re-doing to surround sound system it is trying to put plugs back in that somehow “Accidentally” fell out [usually it is the cat’s fault – but really, why would the cat care?]

I can only imagine the trouble some of those Wii controllers are going to have.
Any way i say she should get one. I mean my grandma was like in her 80’s before she got a microwave and she loved it. Not that my mum is old by a long shot i just mean that you are never too old to have access to the latest tech. Ever.

What i have issues with is my mum making me play games WITH her. I am still scarred from what is now know as the “Pictionary Game Episode”. It is well known in my family that i am only allowed to have computer based opponents although my friend Steve and i use to have awesome fun playing “spite and malice” during our lunch breaks. I have attempted to kill him. Not even once. Not saying i have attempted such a thing on other people. All i AM saying is that i have been known to get quite upset when people take too long for their turn. In any game. At anytime. I may have even raised my voice at quite small children when they began to get distracted.....

...

I know this is “suppose” to be a sci (ish) blog...or at the least about my failures. This entry is so not that. In my defence let me say that i have been working quite hard and sometimes i just need a laugh (or a break). I will say that i was disappointed with the coverage of the email hack of a UK climate research facility – i would just like to reiterate that you should never put anything in an email you would not like to be made public. I KNOW some of the guys who are your admin people...and your boss (no matter where or what you do) usually owns your email account anyway. This of course is not true of personal accounts. In which case be aware that you could still be hacked or punked.

I will not say what my opinion is on the resulting back lash or even why it was done. Not do i have a “position” about climate change for/against people or opinion on the topic. Just let me say that do not confuse people who do climate research with policy makers, bureaucrats, politicians, journalists or anyone else (with their own agenda). Be alert not alarmed people!! Also, i think i might rename my research focus – i will in future say that i study “Antarctic Systems”. It is pleasantly vague. Might also help me pick up? No. thought not. *sigh*

In which I rant like an idiot about nothing

Be warned. This is a little rant that i have to get off my chest before i explode. Seriously it started last Sunday night and has just kept on building. It is about television and the choices that the tv executives make the (a) seem quite incomprehensible and (b) shit me right off.

I have the show i really like to watch, called Castle. It is on a Sunday night and stars Nathan Fillion. For those that know me (even those who only slightly know me) you would know how much i adore Fillion. I mean i even watched an episode of Desperate Housewives because he was in it. I am single, work with computers, am in my thirties, don't you judge me!

Last week i was watching when a the end the announces, casually, announced "join us next week for a double final episode". I thought to my self well i KNOW it got a 22 ep run and they are showing like, ep 10 or something. BASTARDS. i think i started to get that blood boiling thing going on. this was annoying because i was suppose to go to bed and get a nice peaceful nights sleep.

This just adds to my gripe. I have been unable to buy the book Heat Wave (tie-in) from an Australian bookstore (or even get a release date from anyone - though i think January now). Also i wanted to buy the first season of castle (DVD) for myself as am xmas gift....but no one can tell me when that will also be available.

now i know all this is available in the US. I have money and want to buy those things. In Australia. I can only conclude that there is a some marketing ploy to not selling me these things or that the makes of Castle just don't care about fans outside the US. Sure i KNOW i can buy on line and convert here but i shouldn't have to. As i say i FEEL as if this is a lack of respect thing. I can't help how i feel.

I think free to air television stations and makers of the programs perhaps are forgetting the power of fans. Also that the internet/pay-tv are going to make them obsolete if they are not careful. They seem to forget that they need viewers so that advertisers give them money. My kids play more games/use the internet/watch DVDs more than they watch TV. They are the future and their future doesn't seem to include much TV. [they watch enough tv to still worry me....]

Book publishers are the problem i think. I have come across some lovely shop owners and help me find things to read and locate difficult to find material. I place no blame on them except for those that hire staff who could care less about customers). Publishers seem unaware of sites like lulu which as a model allows you to have any book that you want, printed, and delivered to your door all the while giving more money back to writers and still provide jobs at a local level. Not to forget the prospect of self publishers gaining a stronger foothold.

Anyway. So ends my little rant. All 'cause i can't get what i want. i am acting like a spoilt child. I know there are other, more important things to worry about but gosh, sometimes i just get angry about the darnedest things! I think that if i had tried to verbalise this to any actual, live person i am sure they would have been left wondering what planet i have just arrived from.

But i I DO feel better now. The weight seems lifted. If you ever feel the need to get something petty off your chest. Without repercussions. Please feel free to email me and i will listen. Don't guarantee that i will understand but i will listen.

Ta. xx

Today’s Science Content

Guess what I found today? Well, you will never guess so i will just have to tell you. I found my supervisors’ old voyage diary. This is the hand written stuff (this is like my fav. Technical term BTW) that gets recorded which is not actual data but is important so that you have (a) a frame of reference of other things that happen and (b) written proof that you did something *grin*.

The supervisor in question was the most awesome guy. An excellent scientist and also a really nice guy. I don’t recall him having a bad word to say about anybody (but more importantly me), ever. The diary was from v1-99 (that is voyage 1, 1999). It is actually i photocopy of his actual diary. Bound and everything. It has additional notes and annotations from me. It records events, dates, times, positions and activities/data.

It is a wonderful document. Reading it i can remember the days on board the ship and the scientific activities myself and others carried out. What is also cool is that he drew pictures. Of sea ice conditions. Little sketches if you will. So after a decade i can still make those connections between the satellite data and processed products (which i made myself) and the perspective from the ground. Sure, it is not a scientific document but it is invaluable.

That is why you should always keep a diary. Even if it is just scribbles and little, badly written, notes. Well, i have to really. I have a poor memory for personal details and am the worst photographer. Ever. No, seriously i am shocking. This is where i get my belief that you need to live life and “see” it rather than take a picture of it for later.

I must go and find my own diary. This details all the things i was doing. Well, it would because it was my diary! I seem to remember that my diary had less scientific bits and more personal experiences. I think i wrote about the people i was expedition-ing with more than anything.
All this reminiscing has been fun. I wonder what those people are doing now and if they even remember the voyage (or me). Also makes me wonder about what could have been (personally and professionally).

This is the first page of the diary. It details a “station”. That is what you call it when you stop the ship and everyone gets buys recording/doing things! This page includes:

· Date, time, location
· Weather information
· Who was also working (and what they were doing)
· Diagram of ice (and where people were working)
· Details of ice and snow conditions
· What information collected

and also a large dose of nostalgia.

A Christmas Carol.....again?

I saw an advertisement on the telly for “A Christmas Carol” (Disney, animated) the other night. This got me thinking why are there so many versions of this Dickens classic? More importantly as they are sooooo similar in content why do they even bother to remake it?

This new version stars JimCarey. Well, it is the Disney Animated version of so i am not sure if star is the correct wording. Most (but not all) animated movies these days try to freak you out with how good they are with their animation technique. I think they do this at the expense of or rather than the story. This is a shame because let me I tell you my kids will happily sit through very old, visually crappy, cartoons. They don’t need to go to so much trouble and expense. I mean they will watch really old Scooby Doo or Bugs Bunny and everything!

I will say that The Movie Show (SBS) gave it an excellent review. They said that it was a great version of this tale. They also talked about what a great movie going experience it was. They did see it in 3D which at $15+ a pop is NOT how my kids are going to see it!!

I may not have seen the movie but what i am getting at is why waste time and money re-making a movie? Why not pay someone for writing something new? There is no way that mankind is out of ideas. Surely. Although i think Dickens is an amazing writer who provides a visual experience through the written word which is hard to match (IMHO).

My introduction to the Dickens tale was in the written form. In the media format known as a “book”. I re-read it for many years until i got to see a version on the telly. I think this was the version called Scrooged (1988) with Bill Murray. I love Bill Murray BTW. I also remember a weird Christmas movie that i liked called “Bernard and the Genie” (1991). Come to think of it i like a lot of shite and/or weird movies so i will never make it as a movie reviewer.

When Dickens wrote his story i bet he never imagined what was going to become of it. I wish there were new authors out there getting a chance for their Christmas tale to become so beloved. I wish there were more choices for Christmas night viewing. As much as i LOVE the re-playing of old movies (called classics....but aren’t) and the inevitable ballroom dancing thing. I hope you realise i was being sarcastic there.

What i do is make sure i buy something i know i am going to like and give it to myself as a Christmas present. This year it will be Torchwood series 2. I know i am going to have a lovely time this Christmas night and boxing day that way!

In conclusion i would just like to say that i think that The Muppets Christmas Carol is the best Christmas movie. It gives the essential message AND you get muppets. Never go wrong with muppets. Yep. I think that about sums it up.

[ps. i know there is no science in this blog. had a bad week. also the phrase "can't be arsed" springs readily to mind.]

What does your desktop theme say about you?

I find it is not until you have visitors that your desktop theme becomes an issue. Let me explain. I don’t know if everyone is like me and customises their computers desktop. I change icons and sound effects mostly. I have it set to a retro windows theme (very 10 years ago really). I like that style and never feel really comfortable until a new computer looks just like the old one *grin*

I don’t know what is popular these days. I just know what i like. I never change the desktop display . It is always blue (that light, sky blue). Icons are always on the left (important folders and several apps only). The Taskbar along the bottom and with a VERY tidy start menu. I like things just right. I like things to stay the same. I don't like being surprised by my own computer! I also like science fiction.

I bring this topic up because i keep forgetting about my sound effects. Then i have visitors and they make comments. They range from a total freak out because the computer is “talking” all by itself, laughter at my choices and sometimes just plain confusion [ok mostly confusion]. I will now make my confession. It is a combination of various star trek dialog and sound effects. When i empty the trash it says “take your Vulcan cynicism and bury it” and when there is a real problem it says “please state the nature of the medical emergency”.
Guess what my visitors today said? Well, it wasn’t complimentary. I only have this to say in my defence:

My computer. Bugger off.

I will leave with you with a short but amusing story of some guys i shared on office with YEARS ago. They had a server doing stuff that was usually only accessed late at night (very dodgy stuff...but that was then...not now. now the police might turn up and arrest you) and one day i had some clients come to the office. The clients were just sitting there, looking at my presentation when suddenly the boys server got an inquiry that it loudly declined. Late at night, working away, we use to laugh at the offensive nature of the boys “denial of service” sound effects. Not that day. Not with all the F words. To this day i do not know if those clients just thought they imagined the whole sordid affair.

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelfth_Man http://www.myspace.com/the12thmanbillybirmingham ]

In conclusion i would just like to say that sure, have a theme. Just remember that you might not be the only one who hears/sees it....and first impressions will say a lot about you!

It is all so cloudy ...

People often wonder why i get so worked up about clouds. Why they are the bane of my life.

I like them, don’t get me wrong. Most of my research time has been spent on clouds. I don’t mean i a way that will tell you (or the world) anything about clouds they don’t already know either. I mean that i spend a lot of my time trying to write programs that identify/remove clouds from my satellite data. Not such a problem surely?

Well let me tell you something about polar clouds. Imagine your looking down on the Antarctic from high above. You can see land ice (the continent), fast ice, sea ice and clouds....imagine what colour they are? Sure after a bit of training a human can usually figure out which bits are what. A computer is not so lucky. A human brain is amazing. The way we can make assumptions, gather information and make decisions on the fly is astounding.

I have trained computer code to do the same thing and let me tell you they really aren’t that bright. So literal. Yes. I am being facetious. I have good programs now but they are not 100% and it took a long time to move past that and concentrate on the end goals. The thing is that i have thousands and thousands of satellite images and using a computer to do most of the work is the only way to do it. It also removes the human element. I know what i said previously but humans tend to make mistakes and have bias. Besides i once had to look through a lot of imagery for a book i wrote with my supervisor and it wasn’t as much fun as you think. Not even a little bit.

Now this is not as much of a problem really. Eventually i figure out that i was only really interested in the open water areas with the sea ice, mostly along the coast. I know where the coastline is and fortunately water is significantly different. Besides it was about looking for one variable rather than trying to identify multiple variables. But that is how you learn. Sometimes you take a few wrong turns. But you always learn something in the end.

Now take a look at the following sat image (AVHRR thermal band 4) and see if you can spot the cloudy bits without using the map!

pink and orange are cloud, blues are ice/water and green is land [yes. i know that land in Antarctica is not green. in anyway. it is my little attempt at humour.]

A girl and her first movie...

This is a story about children and letting them have dreams. Big dreams at that.

My little Maree (AKA Ree) has decided she wants to make a movie. I have no idea why exactly but i do know that she has been making animated shorts at school (THIS they teach in her 5/6 class...but apparently it doesn’t matter that she spells like a 2nd grader!). I have not seen the animated “thing” but she insists on telling me all about it. At great length. Even though i look and sound COMPLETLY uninterested.

I know parents/carers that always look interested in everything their little one does. I am not one of those people. I think children do to much talking these days....not enough listening. I know you have to ask questions so that you can learn things but i REALLY think that some listening first would not go astray. Seriously. They just don’t listen any more.

Back to this film business. I have no idea about anything to do with creative artistic endeavours. I FAILED drama at college. Really. I know some of you might find it hard to believe that i failed anything in my life but i did. I am not proud of it. I can’t help thinking that if i had turned up to the written exam i might have actually passed...but maybe not. I just don’t have it in me to act or write or direct etc. I may have been good at memorising all those lines but i am pretty sure my delivery left a lot to be desired.

I will tell you i quick story. At lower-primary i was in the school play. It was Aladdin. Every child got a part. I got to be the person in the shop who sold Aladdin a lamp. I wore all black and had no speaking lines at all. I did have the entire script memorised however so i was the prompt. That is always my lot in life – doing all the hard/important work and never getting to be out front in the pretty dress. *Sigh* But to be fair no one wants to see me in a dress...anymore than i want to wear one.

So i have no idea where Ree gets all this from. She is naturally bossy and talkative so this might be her thing. I myself see her as a future member of the federal police (a gun, in charge and a little bit intimidating). What i do know is that she is in “script development” and will be soon “story boarding”. I know. Crap. I have no idea where she got all this information from. I blame her school. One of those teachers must have told her about all this or gave her a book (bet they gave her a book, a long boring one that they thought she wouldn’t read).
Anyway i was not actually worried until breakfast the other morning when she asked if she could have stunt doubles. I replied that:

(a) She has no money for stunt doubles (or anything else for that matter) and
(b) That she was NOT going to be doing anything that required stunt doubles!!!!!

Needless to say this is probably going to be a long, tiresome process. But i am going to let her do it and will probably end up making all the costumes.

BTW the movie has time travel, war scenes and her brother gets to be the butler (which i am assured is a pivotal but non-speaking role, she really hates her brother THAT much).

I give your science content:

One of you WANTED science content?

So in answer to the aforementioned question i have randomly opened one of my old diaries and decided to write about the first thing i read.

This turned out to be about Sea Ice Deformation Features and Processes.

Sorry. Unless like me your LOVE talking about sea ice. Man i like have HOURS of tape of different sea ice conditions – from ship, helicopter etc. I am a bit weird about it i know.

So to start by giving you a little sea ice lessonology:


Sea ice is a complex material in itself - it is fresh water crystals interlaced with inclusions of brine, air and salt which have formed between the crystals and crystal plates (Weeks and Ackley, 1986).


Since component parts of sea ice are never in equilibrium the physical properties of sea ice are not constant. This manifests depending on the scale of the region of interest. What applies on a small scale does not apply on a large scale (and so is true the reverse of this statement). Near land the sea ice behave as an extension of the land. Offshore sea ice is continually moving. Twisting, turning, breaking and compacting. This occurs primarily from wind and ocean stress (though there are other forces and reasons).

I have been at sea and watched in the sea ice around us which up close seemed solid and level change as my eyes refocused to see the greater landscape – it was undulating slowly. It was like one of those magic eye pictures. You know the kind that it you stare at it long enough turns out to be about something else entirely.

Basic deformation comes in the forms:

· buckling ( folding deformation)
· rafting (one floe overriding another or more complex finger rafting)
· ridging (pressure causing accumulation of ice above and below ice floe proper)
· fracturing (breaking up or simply forming openings - not polynyas though)

I have many, many pictures



This picture shows ridging, rafting and fracturing!

So THAT ends the lesson. I am not sure if i will ever do this again as it is a little bit like actual work! Not as much fun to write about and something right off the top of my head. I have about 12 diaries. And that was just one page. They were the idea of my first supervisor and i have never not written down every thought, idea or bit of information since.

unless this is what you want to read about i might do something a little easier on my sanity next time!

This entry needs a title: h2g2 ??

first of all a link to a blog entry from Thorsten Markus (Icebridge and Antarctic sea ice) http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/icebridge.blog/posts/post_1255623781994.html

now on to the thing i wanted to talk about today...

I love reading. It is like my favourite thing. You may recall a previous blog to that effect. The other day i confirmed that i am the biggest nerd. Like ever. I was nearly finished my Unseen Academicals (Pratchett) when i popped into town to pick up my 5 season complete set of Andromeda. See. Nerd. Right there. I parked the car so i could walk through the book shop to get to the dvd store. I always do this because you just never know what books might be waiting to catch your eye.

As luck would have it (i say you have to make your own luck) i found a book called “And another thing” - the sixth (of three) Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy book. When i first heard about this i was upset and vowed to never buy it (i also said i would never watch stargate atlantis when it came out...but i love it now...*sigh*....now i have to learn to love universe....)

I love the writing of Douglas Adams. I love the jokes. The comments. The pace. Everything. I own various copies of his works. I have the dvd’s and cd’s and also have the original radio series on vinyl. That’s right. ON VINYL. Sadly i threw away my record player (as i like to call ‘em) some years ago...when it really started to shit me off. This was a mistake because even though i KNOW that cd’s sound better and are easier to play in the car (which lets face i is virtually impossible with record players) we now have mp3 players which are even better. But i love listening to real records. My dad has a large collection of country music on vinyl when the local radio station chucked them out when they went digital...that is right...they just gave them to him. Lucky bastard.

Anyway i have started the book (rocky begining at the start and i still haven’t made up my mind). I will have to read a few more chapters before i decide....

I do love the way publishing will be in the future. The whole publish on demand (i.e. lulu.com ). I am going to buy Wil wheaton’s new book this way to see how it goes... http://stores.lulu.com/wilwheaton

I say this because of the difficulty of getting Richard Castle’s ( http://twitter.com/WriteRCastle) book called Heat Wave in australia (i KNOW i could just buy it online but i am trying to support local industry....which is why things like hulu are awesome).

Today i am going to start trawling so i can purchase a new record player....then i can listen to my original HHGTTG albums as a god intended...with purpose and difficulty....and without earphones of any kind.

Goodnight.

I am not sure what Tarot is but it wasn’t what i expected

My mother gave me an unusual gift. It was a Tarot reading. I was not sure what this was, exactly. I had only the vaguest idea. I also was a little worried as i am a firm advocate in not enabling non-scientific pursuits. I am trying to put this so i don’t offend those who believe in such things or antagonise those who don’t. Not because i am a fence sitter but because i believe that people have the right to their own belief system. As long as they don’t harm others. Or burn books. I am pretty strong on both counts.

I don’t really understand the “lingo” of these things. So please excuse my poor analysis. I can only hear it the way i hear things and explain it with my own words and experiences. Apparently this is exactly that i am supposed to do (at such things). Talking to my mum and aunt after it seems that we all had very different experiences (and reactions). To me it goes like this:

Say you have something on your mind. The Tarot reading is like a waking dream. Where a dream is the processing of activities/worries/thoughts/feelings. Except this last a lot longer. And you’re awake. Then when the card reader tells you the story of the cards they speak to you in so much as you are talking to yourself.

The lady didn’t do that psychic thing of telling me about myself or my future. I think it was just a way for my unconscious thoughts to be expressed. The cards tell a story that i wanted to hear. I didn’t ask direct questions. She said she would try to answer me if i did. But i didn’t want to.

IT TOTALLY FREAKED ME OUT

Seriously . I cried. It was like i was being asked to express my greatest fears. Suddenly. To a stranger. When i should have been having afternoon tea. I hadn’t even realised that i had such deep seated worries! Especially when she said:

“Your perfectionism will destroy you. Much like a heroin addict you will crawl across broken glass, ignore other people and their needs and live only for that perfection until you get what you want.”

Seriously, this totally freaked me out. She wasn’t saying not to do the best i can. Rather she was reminding me that i shouldn’t harm myself or others in the process. There was a lot of stuff that was too personal for me to share with anyone (apparently that is also something i have to work on).

She did say i am in for a bit of romance though. I think this was mostly to cheer me up *grin*.

Anyway. I am pretty sure i will never do anything like that again. It was an experience though. I could do with a bit of romance though ...

updated news item - global warming and penguins

Feds Will Face Lawsuit for Denying Penguins Endangered Species Protections

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/06-0

Not sure about this at all....but interesting

Being a programmer is fun

I have been a programmer for a lot of years (a lot). I don’t know why i enjoy it so much. I think it is partly because i have a talent for it and partly because it means i get to solve problems. I like to solve problems. I do it all the time. I can sit for hours and work something. Just me and the computer. I always have music as well. I actually prefer to be in a busy office/room with head phones on working away.

The thing is that it is also like playing games. I use to do a lot of RPG stuff many years ago. I don’t anymore cause everyone else grew up and got a real life. I know i could again (now that they are divorced, or their kids grew up) but it is about finding people you’re comfortable with. I also play card games and boxed games. I don’t really like spending my time playing computer/playstation/xbox etc. Games. I LIKE being with people.

Having said i prefer people i sometimes prefer computer to people because they HURRAY UP AND HAVE THEIR TURN. Sorry about the shouting but that is the one thing that shits me right off about playing games with people. When they take time with their turn. Really gets to me. Not in a pleasant way at all. Just ask my sister about the monopoly games of the 80’s and 90’s. One of the reasons that no family member will play ANY games with me. Now that is not entirely true. On holiday i can usually get someone to play card games with me....because they are so bored out of their skull they forget to say no.

I think not everyone likes me when i am coding though. I can get mean if they try asking me really stupid questions like “would you like a cup of tea?”. The answer is of course yes. So you should just put one next to me just in case. Which i can then ignore. ..let go cold and then microwave half an hour later and then complain because it tastes terrible. And that i am hungry and why did no one call me down for dinner?

Anyway. I like programming. Sorry that other people don’t love me doing it too. I wish my PhD could be submitted as code and analysis without all the "words"!

Why attack Climatologists all the time?

I have been (loosely) associated with the “climate change” sciences for a very long time. I am as confused and disinclined to form a public opinion today as i was when i started. I do have personal opinion [not always backed up by readily understood or easily accessible facts]. What i don’t get is that if i have so much trouble how come everybody else doesn’t? When i talk about “everybody” i mean people who write journalistic articles, politicians, my dad. Well to be frank here everybody is anyone who cares in the slightest [Not my mum in any way. She doesn’t give a rats]

I am not bashing people having an opinion. I really appreciate and am thankful for the freedoms we have to challenge scientific theory and also that everyone is included in discussions on every topic. What i would like is for people to stop hassling me! I have no answers for you. I am working on things. One of many people working on things. Not all of us have finished yet!

To be in the public arena these days a scientist has to be like a politician. You have to talk well, look the part and have a glib (but intelligent and slightly condescending) answer always at hand. I have met a lot of people like this. I am always slightly jealous and in awe. I have not got the skill at all. I am too plain talkin’ and inclined to call someone a “moron” as my closing argument. Plus i like to change what i think of as “answers” as the available data changes. I don’t want to get locked into any solution too soon. I like being able to change my opinion as new data becomes available.

This comes up for the simple reason that I was reading an article about climate change. The article was fine. Nothing terribly new or interesting, really. It was the comments left by other people that were intriguing. How everyone has an opinion (and they all sound a bit like those people who write letters to the editor in the paper). It always degenerates into “everyone knows” and lots of “the fact is that”. After that comes the name calling...nasty names too.

[Does anyone else get frustrated journalists do not have to supply a bibliography? I only complain because i have to (all the time) and it is really difficult. It is especially annoying when some knob-end asks my for “facts and figures” when i am at a cafe, enjoying some down time.....like i memorise that stuff or something! OK. I know a guy or two who actually DO memorise this stuff...have a handy reference or two about their person at all times]

Let me say this. The climate is always changing. It is what it does. I find it fascinating. To be fare the list of things i find fascinating is quite extensive. I one day hope to learn a little about everything on that list

I also try to stay away from people who want to “have an argument” rather than discuss. I like to discuss. Always fun at exam time. Always had trouble knowing when to stop though.
Sometimes i wonder if some of those journalists are like a friend of mine who we shall call “M”. He use to create online personalities so he could have arguments with himself in internet chat rooms. The ultimate aim was to set up massive flame wars and see how many people he could recruit to each side. Well, a man has got to have a hobby. You should see what he can do with a good climate change discussion *grin*

ANYWAY this is an excellent article about current sea ice trends (from my old department). The scientist mentioned is Dr Ian Allison who is the best of men. He was the voyager leader when when i went to Antarctica too. He is awesome.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25348657-401,00.html

passive microwave data can be used to overlay onto (say) avhrr data to get approximate ice edge and some extra information on concentraion. the avhhr is centered around the dibble ice tongue. I LOVE ice tongues - they say so much.

I once met a man who didn't read

If you don't like to read books (without pictures or drawings of any kind) then please do not be offended by the following blog. I appreciate that not everyone likes to spend their free time reading. But i do. This is my blog. My stories.

so on we go....

I once met a guy who asked me why i bothered to waste my time by reading. To say i was lost for words is the understatement. I love to read. I read all the time. I ALWAYS carry a book in my handbag. I will read in queues, at the doctors, lunch time. I even took a book to a wedding once (in my defense let me just say that i just knew how the night was going to go so wanted to be prepared. i was).

What was especially staggering was the exchange between me and said man occured on a long, long ocean voyage. I thought this was precisely the right time and place to be reading. Particularly those long boring books which you can get distracted from easily but read because they are good for you. I probably had, like, a dozen books.

Now this man was intelligent, successful and rich (not to mention more than a little to my liking). That is why i didn't immediately shout him down for casting aspersions upon my books and my habit of reading them willy-nilly! It did make me think about why i read and what i read.

In read for entertainment and/or information. I don't learn terribly well from auditory methods. Nearly everything i learnt i have taught myself. From reading and then application. Call it a disability if you will. Luckily i DO learn from practical experience although from the number of burn marks on my hands, and my age, not all lessons sink in.

[It is also why i don't drive. seriously. i forget that i am the one driving the car or how it works HALF WAY through a journey. Distressing for all concerned *grin*]

I keep pile of books by my bed. The current pile is a mixture:

• I know you got soul, clarkson
• Cover her face, P.D. James
• The Book of Animal Ignorance, Mitchinson & Lloyd
• Edison's Eve, Gaby Wood
• The Raphael Trial, Joanna Pitman
• Almost Perfect (torchwood),James Goss
• psych (novel from TV), william Rabkin
• The Secret Life of words, Henry Hitchings

I can type the titles 'cause i am sitting on my bed to do this blog. To be fair the last entry is the book i read when i really need to get to sleep. I have wide reaching and eclectic tastes. I read fast and re-read at least twice before a book stays in my library of treasured books.

One thing i am not doing, i think, is wasting my time.

Maybe this is why i am still single. Less reading and more boyfriend charming. Screw that. I like to read. Take me as i am (or not)

parting note:

i really wish books weren't so expensive in Australia. I wont say anymore cause i really do not understand the argument for publishing rights at all. The thing is that you usually have to buy the book to find out if you like it (it is not like they offer your money back if your not satisfied!). I know that the authors deserve the money (trust me with my own writing less than stellar i have utter admiration for writers) and without them i would be totally bereft.

and i wish the man had been a reader. he was my dream man otherwise :)

About Katie (and football)

This blog is in honour of the football (AFL) grand final this weekend.

The final is between Geelong and St Kilda. I had to look that up. Twice. Because seriously, i have less than zero interest in sports. However my dad use to play and so i know stuff about the game. Even though i don’t want to. Surprisingly that knowledge comes from my mum, who as far as i know has never played a game in her life. Odd how some women can be fanatical about a game they have never played. My dad can take it or leave it. Like my mum, Katie, Claire...i KNOW about you and Richmond Football club Claire.

Sorry. Got distracted. This story is about Katie. She goes for Geelong.

Last weekend i went shopping for my mother’s birthday. She was turning 60 and i had to find a very nice present indeed. As exciting as tales of me shopping might be this is not what this blog is about. Oh no. It is about Katie. Katie is my sisters’ mother-in-law. She is a little bit mad i think. However I like her and anyway we are all going to be like that when we get old. Well, i will be. This story is about Katie. Who goes for Geelong.

So. We took her shopping with us. She wanted to buy some MORE football decorations. Seriously. One of her grandchildren had hidden her football themed Christmas decorations and lights. It is September. Not even remotely Christmas decorating time. For all none AFL supporters there is a special day every September known as “the one day in September”. The date varies. However it is clearly NOT Christmas time. Katie really, really likes her football. Along with flags, bunting, cushions, posters and streamers she wanted to put up her Christmas decorations. This is because her husband won’t let her put them up at Christmas. Not because it is tacky and a little creepy but because he supports another team.

I bring this up because i think there are a lot of people like Katie. Who own all sorts of paraphernalia to support their team and who also like to dress up. She was talking of getting her fingernails painted blue and white. My sister pointed out that she would probably paint her face if she could find someone to do it for her.

The question i want answered is HOW is this different from say, oh i don’t know, a startrek fan. One who might like a few DVDs and bits and bobs and also likes to dress up? How? Not very much at all me thinks. Yet as far as i can tell it is still socially unacceptable to decorate your house or yourself after your favourite tv show. It would be really hard for me as i don’t have a favourite tv show (or film). Really, i think there is very little difference.

One day i might write a movie or novel about this. No i won’t. We all know i won’t but someone should. To make those football people realise that they are not different from sci-fi fans at all. And please don’t give me crap about it being “sports” and “outside”. It is not like Katie ever played football (she is like 70 or something so is not likely to play now).

Anyway in the end she bought a flag (but complained because the stick part wasn‘t long enough) and a poster. I did not look at the poster.

BTW i got a nice book and porcelain for my mum. Not spectacular but it is always tricky for the woman who has everything. Especially as what she most wants is for my dad to finish her unsuit bathroom. No one can help with that.

www.afl.com.au

Not much of an animal person

I am really not an animal person. I know i have a cat but we really just occupy a similar time and space. I give her food and cuddles...she sheds cat hair all over my bed. Had a gold fish once. It died. I tell you this for dramatic purposes.

As a younger university student I think I was probably one of those people who made fun of “animal studiers”. Trust me there were a lot worse names for the people in offices next to ours that did not study maths/physics/rocks/weather and such. I know that they were nice people just sometimes the science seemed a little flaky to us. But we were young. Easily led. Opinionated for no good reason. Forgive us.

All that changed for me when i worked on a little paper about penguin colonies for my supervisor. I know. For most people it would have been when they saw real, live emperor penguins for the first time. Or a whale. But we have all known for quite some time that i am on a trailing edge of the “normal” spectrum.

He was doing some research related to an Emperor Penguin colony and he asked me to do some supporting work with some satellite images. The task itself wasn’t that complex or even interesting. It just allowed for the distance to the colony from open water to be determined. Simply put it allowed for one to be able to tell how far penguins with full tummies had to waddle back to hungry baby penguins.

Anyway one particular year the fast ice did not break up early enough and the returning birds had too far to go to get back to the colony. The babies died. This didn’t hit me until a long time after i had begun working on this project. The other people knew ‘cause that is what they wanted to find out about. Why so many chicks died. Being a programmer/researcher working with remote data you quite often don’t really think about what you are doing. About what is going on in “real time”.

The type of results which we found at like this sample chart (8 years). You can clearly see that the breeding success decressed the further the colony was to open water.

Wy i bring this up is because there was some internet chatter about more sea ice around the Antarctic. Trust me when i say that it is very difficult to measure such things. You need a big picture approach, great data and some big ones to make such statements. Always brings trouble to your door.

My point is that everything about this type of research has “complex system” written all over it. It is very difficult to predict from trending. I wouldn’t ever try. I work on a tiny, tiny part of the climate system and i am often unsure about what i think i know. Yet somehow everyone i meet, with no training at all, can tell me what is happening. Not that i begrudge them their opinion. I often wish i were so certain about things.

Here is a picture of emperor penguins and not me. I wanted you to appreciate just what great big birds these things are. I mean HUGE. It is quite freaky and really made me think about a time on this planet when a lot of our animals were big. I mean really big. No. Not dinosaurs. Just regular animals. Who were freakishly big.

Why i don’t want a new cell phone

I got some junk mail the other day with all the new phones in it. I so loved looking at them. They were all pretty and could do all sorts of amazing things. I get so dazzled by all the gorgeousness. Time to buy a new phone. Surely it can’t be very long now until mine stops working. Or, more likely, i drop it while trying to do too many things at the same time.

But i like my current phone. Sure it is old. But i like it. This is not a case of not liking change. I don’t care what you say. It isn’t. I get that with plenty of other things but trust me i like new tech. I think it is all kinds of awesome. I am always drooling over other people’s phone.

But i like this phone. Do you know why i like it so much? Well, some of you who know me quite well would only have to think about what my phone looks like and what i like and just guess the answer. For everyone lat me start by saying that it is NOT because it is useful, of good quality or even particularly pretty. It is with some sadness that i say it is because it flips. Like a tri-corder. On StarTrek. See. See. I knew you wouldn’t understand.

Well. I am not going to buy a new phone. I really don’t care what people think about me when they see me with it. That is why i bought a Sony Walkman (mp3 player) as opposed to an i-pod. It suited my needs more. Also, apparently, is less likely to break. I guess i will always be the unfashionable one. Oh well. Tell me something i don’t know.

BTW the garbo man just drove all the way down my street in reverse. I like his style. One of the reasons (on a long list) why i don’t drive. Better get back to writing and stop with this internet stuff (and looking out the window).

Spot the difference

I have been working for absolutely AGES to do something that on the surface of it seems really easy (and perhaps a little pointless). Look closely at the following two images:

This is an AVHRR image (thermal/infrared) from 1999 (my test year...which just means it is the data i processed first!) The red line is the coastline (land at north). This is the Mertz polynya area (the same area as the false colour SAR/AVHRR shown previously.

Have you spotted the difference yet? I will give you a clue. It is the cloud. OK to be more precise it is the removal from the image of a particular type of cloud - a little bit of cloud over an open water area.

It is important because this little bit of cloud is over a polynya. It was incredibly complicated to remove it. First i had to identify the cloud and then decide if it was cloud over open water (and thin ice) and also if it was a designated polynya area. I am not absolutely sure yet whether it will pay off in the long run to have spent so much time doing it. What it does mean is that for a little extra processing time i can get a cloud mask with the added advantage of a more precise open water definition. Automatically. When you have thousands and thousands of images automatically (and accurately of course) is how you want things to go down.

I have sent a lot of time testing and refining (currently) 18 cloud identification algorithms BEFORE deciding that i didn’t really care that much! I was actually only interested in the open water areas and identifying any cloud over that open water. Took a lot of effort to find out what i didn’t need to know.


Who knew?

Well me. Now.

I learnt so much especially about things i didn’t know i needed to know about. Often people doing research forget that the failures (or seemingly lost research threads) can teach you a lot and be vitally important in order to come close to finding out “truth” or “an understanding”. I learnt a lot about the AVHRR instrument, what it records/measures and about clouds and cloud behaviour in Polar Regions.

if your very lucky next blog may introduce the joys of noise.

Why i am the worst fan. Ever.

As break from all the clouds and coding here is a little blog entry:

My sister thinks that i am the worst fan. Ever. I have no interest in autographs or merchandise. OK i do own a star wars mouse pad. But who doesn’t? Oh. And i have a star trek voyager mug (never used...in a box somewhere.....). But it is true. I have no interest in meeting famous people. My worst nightmare is having some actor i love from the tele right in front of me. I would try to vacate the vicinity ASAP. Let me tell you a simple little story:

My favourite author, Terry Pratchett, once visited the city i was visiting myself and i happened to be passing the bookstore (i like totally didn’t know). I got excited. I could have a signed copy of one of his books! I went into the shop and bought the book. Then i looked over at the line and could see him sitting there (it was the hat that gave him away). I froze. The girl at the counter was staring at me. “I just can’t do it”. I said. She was the nicest lady “It’s ok. Just leave it here and i will get it signed for you”.

That is the closest i have ever got to having something signed. I later gave the book to my sister. I just couldn’t keep it. It freaked me out. I never want to meet any actor or writer that i am a fan of for three simple reasons:

1. I don’t want them to be corrupted from that place of fantasy they live in (i can tell fact from fiction; i like them separate)
2. I really don’t have anything to day above “i love your show/book...whatever”
3. I also don’t want them to think that i am a dick (if you know me you might be surprised that i care what complete strangers think of me)

I have met legends from my research field and it is always a little creepy. You have an idea what type of person they should be. But they are just people. I once presented a little paper at a conference and a few hours before those nice chap came up to me. He started to tell me how much he liked the paper. I asked him how he knew about it ( i had yet to present it). Turns out he reviewed it before it was accepted. We had this lovely talk for maybe 20 minutes about it. He was a really nice guy. He then left. THEN my supervisor came over a bit nervous like and asked what we talked about. Turns out he was ultra respected and famous. It was only daft me who had never been to a conference before who didn’t know who he was. Thank God.

That is why i am quite glad i live at the edge of the world. Almost at rim fall. I will finish with saying that thank god i am not talented in any way that would make me famous. I just wouldn’t be able to cope with that i think.

I wonder how people do it. Must just have a very different psychological make up to me is all.

a little problem i am working on

Today i would like to talk about a little problem i have that most people don't see as a problem...but i sure do. I will start by pointing out the pretty picture to the left. It is a little study area i have designated B5. This is B for Buchanan Bay and 5 for a reason that no doubt made perfect sense years ago but somehow i never really wrote down why. This is is a "sample area" of the East Antarctic land mass that i like to use for testing different algorithms for how well they do a particular job and for how much processing time/power gets use up.

Trust me the bigger the data set the more inclined you are to worry about program efficiency! Plus, you are less likely to piss off other computer users (especially when your using something as valuable as a super computer run by some one else...and don't pay for it...but they do.....OLD story)

At the beginning of my research i use to pick a couple of images and use them for all my testing but the trouble was that i never had enough variability in the images i used and later on all sorts of unforeseen stuff would happen and takes AGES to sort out...and was quite dull. If you consider what i do you can only imagine how dull YOU would find it.


One of the problems i grapple with is that i want the computer to do all the analysis of an area. The thing is i want it to be as close as possible the same area each time. The following image shows the different types of problems you can encounter. The red line is a coastline. The trick is to look at how closely and in what way the image deviates.





What i now want to do is take this little sample of all my images and work on percentage of good data to bad data....with a somewhat less clearly defined "bad data" than one might think. I will do the same for another, more (i was going to say northerly.....but that only works for MY warped version of north) rather a less longitudinal area. I will then get some sort of pattern to when bad data is likely to crop up....


The thing is that it is to do with the satellite viewing angle, problems with various algorithms and sometime instrument problems. There was also the famous 1994 problem when a winter's worth of data was not collected because no at the station (Casey) realised that the tape machine was not writing data to the tapes. Yes. They sent back an entire season of BLANK tapes. Yes. They changed the tapes over every 12 hours for months...for nothing. We all had a good laugh at that one. Oh yes.


It is important when your using any data for your research that you understand the exact nature of that data. You should never except what other people write or say about it. Find out for yourself.


Now, depending on how well this little blog goes done (and how i feel on the day) you will get a blog about a Wiener Filter (which took longer to get working that i care to admit) or another story about me (or my family, or TV or....well, you get the idea).

One of those things about childhood

The other day my mother was talking to my sister about TV and children (or more precisely that her children watch too much TV. I really dislike having parents tell other parents how best to bring up children (which are not their own). Gets on my pip. REALLY gets on my sister’s pip even though you think she would be use to it by now. I was VERY surprised to hear my mum say:

“that is why I never let you children watch TV until you were 15 years old”

I was shocked. That is not the way I remember it. I k now I watched a lot of children’s TV! I remember it all. It started me really thing about it and eventually I had to talk to her about it. Turns out that she really only let me watch one hour of TV a night with the family deciding what we were going to watch (i.e. my dad). I just don’t remember it that way. I mean I just assume I watched a lot of TV like other kids! I never felt that I was different from other kids or felt left out or anything.

Turns out it was TV things like “Dr who” and “The Goodies”. Plus the news and any documentary going. I think this explains a lot about me (seriously. I am weird sometimes). Any children’s programming is from when I was about 15 and watching TV programs while getting myself ready for high school/college (we also use to make bowls of icing to eat ‘cause she wouldn’t let us have lollies.....but that is an entirely different story).

Seriously this has really upset me no end. The things you think about your own life turning out to be different than you remember and all. Turns out I know I got my first TV (just for myself) when I turned 21. I just never thought to buy myself one before that.

Do you know why my mother did it? She thought it would give my sister and I a good start in life. Now, I know I was a difficult child. I probably would have put myself in front of the TV (just to get a break from the relentless-ness that was me). I really don’t think I noticed not having TV as a child my mother thinks I watch too much TV now....but mothers, what do they know? If I didn’t watch so much TV now she thinks I might have finished my PhD ....damn.....don’t you hate it when your mother might be right?

The thing is that she use to go on and on about us ignoring her when we were reading. That we use to cost her a fortune in book money. Now I know she really didn’t mean it that way. She was really having a laugh at her own expense because she made us that way!
I really wonder what else I think (or think that I remember) about my life that are true/untrue or some where in between.

I really wish she had been into word games like my oldest friend Claire’s mum. And if you read this Claire I meant friend for the longest number or years rather than your old. Sorry about that wording there. I know that I could just delete it and not type this explanation but if you can’t call your oldest friend old who can you? *grin*

So they make a movie about your job

This morning while reading the paper i found out that Michael Shanks is making a movie in my home state (ok, island then!) called arctic blast (www.michaelshanks-online.com/news/index.shtml) and this got me thinking about movies that contain “science”. To further clarify that statement i mean movies where the lead character(s) are science based and/or the problems they face are classed as being about science.

This got me thinking about several things:
· how i feel about movies based in my field (in a general sense)
· how other people must feel when there is a movie based on what they do for a living

To be totally frank i think is highly unlikely there will be a movie based upon what i do for a living as it is hideously complex and quite dull (and i ENJOY doing it!). Also it would be filled with not many “characters” and lots of sitting at computer monitors....so not probable.

But there are all those movies about policeman, soldiers, doctors etc. How do these people feel about it? Not so many about cleaners and telephone call centre operators though. Untapped fields of gold there i think. Maybe.

Looking around the net at various top worst or top ten best science based films i must admit to being confused. i liked watching a LOT of the worst films. I really wasn’t that interested in whether they got things right or wrong. Mind you i laughed myself silly in Jurassic park when there was a slider moving (like from a quicktime movie) as a “live” video was supposedly playing on a monitor.

So what i am trying to say is that even though i would be highly unsettled to be watching a movie about my work and would probably cringe at certain things - if it were entertaining and not misleading WHO CARES???

Specially if it had a cute guy in it. Just call me shallow and be done with it.

o.k. so what i hope is that this movie, about a weather man, is in no way a bad refection upon people who work in meteorological related fields. They have been some of the most interesting, clever, nicest, sharing people i ever worked with.

ALSO i found out that not as many people watch Stargate-SG1 as i thought.

http://www.aad.gov.au/ The site of cool information

looking toward the sky

Before I go on with what I really had to say I have this little whine i want to get off my chest. It is all about how something can just seem so mad you laugh rather than get angry:

So. Today was "national support staff day". I am support staff. You get a special morning tea. It is a lovely idea. Specially as i NEVER EVER get morning tea as i have to work through it. I usually just have a cup of tea while still working (10 mins.). I get a phone call asking me to leave my supporting role (which was doubly hard today for various reasons) and go help make the morning tea. The morning tea for everyone else. Then i had to go back and do the work i didn't do while away making morning tea (while others ate the morning tea). Meaning i didn't even get my own cup of tea in the end.

I think it might be karma telling me to finish my PhD and not be the least important person. Well, that is what my mother would say. She doesn't believe in moaning. You always have the solution right at your finger tips. Reads a lot of psychology books does my Ma.

Now don't think for a moment that i am upset or anything. Just i couldn't believe it happened on top of everything else about this week that has been crazy and crap (like why did this blokes kick over all out bins last night, wreck the neighbours letter box and swear loudly...right when i REALLY needed to be sleeping soundly?)

NOW on to what i really want to say:

What i really wanted to talk about today was something i noticed the other day.

When a plane flies over head i always look up. I don't know why exactly. I look at the plane, notice marking and direction, height etc. I mean i look at it. I think it is a marvelous thing. While outside with a group of kinders the other day i said "look at that plane". None of them did. They could care less! The same thing happened with a rainbow yesterday. They really had no interest in anything that was happening in the sky.

I asked my nearest and dearest little ones about it. They told me that planes were boring. That rainbows are only the sun passing through the rain drops. And then they looked at me like i was taking up too much of their valuable playing time.

For some reason this made me sad. I still find wonder in both these "things up in the sky". I think i always will.

but then i just bought myself a smurfs t-shirt (which i wore to work) so maybe i am not really the person to be passing judgement upon others.....

not only do i look stupid in it but i now OWN a smurfs t-shirt. idiot.

just running my mouth off....

Have I have I not been writing this week? Firstly I would like to say in my defence that sometimes you need “thinking time”. I would like to further add that this can in fact be years.
At some point I may have to actually stop saying that I am writing. But i am not there, yet.

To digress:

I had a lovely conversation with my dad about music this morning. We were driving into the city, I have no idea what the radio was playing, but it was loud. He was saying what a lovely thing it was that he could listen to the same music as his children and not care. Of course this is excepting discussions in which (a) I think country music pre-1990’s is CRAP and (b) he hates ALL dance music. He was telling me that when he was young his parents thought the music he listened to was “the devil” and horrible and hurt their ears. It was a lovely conversation. I think he is right. I don’t pretend to understand it all. I just like it that my dad respects my right to like different things than him. To do different things. To have a different type of life.

To get back on point:

OK. I did a little writing this week. Nothing earth shattering. I am going to start a new list (I like lists) and actually start crossing stuff off it...rather than keep adding to it.
... last night I started writing a fictional story while I was trying to go to sleep. I find that if I just write it down then my mind shuts the F*ck up and I can go to sleep. It was a bit weird. Don’t normally write fiction. Not to worry. As I can’t spell, have poor grammar skills and even worse have no natural ability for writing I will return to normal, i should imagine, very soon. As long as the OCD doesn’t kick in. And when I say I normal....I am talking about normal with a huge amount of natural variability.
Here is a picture of pancake fields...i think it is pretty. I you think that the pictures are dull you should see the HOURS of video tape of sea ice which i took. No one has ever lasted more than ten minutes....

my room with no view

Decided to answer two questions today. These answers come with photos so aren't y'all lucky

1. was your room (sorry, cabin) really that small?
2. what is shuga?

well my room on the ship (Aurora Australis) was very small. But usually your working or asleep so that is just fine. You can have a bunk each and sleep top or bottom or do what you like. Or you can have one side as a bunk and the other as a "lounge"/work area. This photo shows the latter. I always like the port side. This is cabin D12 - my fav.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Australis_(icebreaker)

before the desk (you can see the chair in the fore ground) is the shower/toilet cubicle and apposite that is where all the cold weather gear hangs. It is compact but perfect. A funny and true story involves two friends of mine playing chess on that little table under the port hole. We were at sea. A freak wave then came thru the port hole and drenched them, the chess set, their beds...well you get the picture. It was awesome (because it didn't happen to me)

This is a photo of a shuga "field". Shuga is an early stage of more visible forms of sea ice. It is an accumulation of spongy white lumps, a few centimetres across, just beneath the sea surface. They are formed from grease/slush ice if the freezing takes place in sea water which is considerably agitated. Pancake ice usually forms when the water conditions are calmer

I always thought i was more a shuga girl.

For further sea ice terms: http://tinyurl.com/qfco4z (WMO nomenclature - canada)

FIRE and ICE

For those who asked. Each voyage has a "name". V1-98 was called Fire & Ice standing for:

F*** Its a Real Emergency! & I Can't Email

If you don't believe me then check out the AAD (Australian Antarctic Division) web site!!

http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/voyages/display_voyage.cfm?voyage_id=93


I also have the t-shirt....

Personally i didn't much care that we were in a media blackout. But i swear to god my first thought at 2:30 in the morning when the alarm went off was "now who the F*** has a fire drill at at this time of night". Isn't human nature just amazing?

The voyage study area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mertz_Glacier