Delayed gratification?

[jay]

For the sixth year in a row, I will have my birthday (7/22) while I'm up in the Arctic. In some ways, that's one of the best possible places -- in a wilderness, freezing in a tent with a good bottle of Scotch -- but patgreene and the kids usually want to have a cake and a couple of small gifts for me here. But timing is unclear... better to celebrate it early, ignore it, or after I return (two weeks belatedly)? My son Kevin turns seven a few days after I'm scheduled to return, which complicates that option. But I leave in only a few days. What's your opinion?

[Poll #157279]

Comments

i don't know, but

[vokzal.livejournal.com]

Some days I think I should go into the cake decorating business. I'd just have to be careful not to breathe any wheat flour. It would probably freak out all the customers if I were wearing a wacky mask/ventilator...

I'll make you a cake if you take me with you to Antartica. Sounds like you could get some really bitchin photos there. I want your job. How do I get it? What /is/ your job?

Re: i don't know, but

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you're allergic to wheat flour?

I'm headed to the Arctic tomorrow (currently in Edmonton)... the early morning (1-2am) daylight is excellent for photography, with warm tones and high contrast.

My job? I'm a scientist with NASA, at Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. My backgrounds are in engineering, controls, AI, computer science, geophysics and aviation. I've got three graduate degrees and 15 years of experience :-). On this trip, I'll be evaluating the productivity of human geologists in spacesuits, compared to rovers; doing a gravity survey of an impact crater; and getting temperature profiles from some 5-year-old boreholes.