jay | More remoteness?

In other work news... one of the Mars-analog drilling projects is planning a 2-week field season on Ellesmere Island in Canada, at the fijord near the Eureka weather station with a stop on Axel Heiberg on the way back. I had tapped a student intern SD to go and run her drill data-acquisition hardware and software, but the field dates have slipped due to Polar Shelf opening late this year (in turn, due to funding cuts in Natural Resources Canada under the new Martin government). Therefore it has slipped to the first two weeks of June, and now conflicts with finals week for the student. The project lead wants me in SD's place, both as her supervisor and because I'm familiar with Arctic conditions and hazards. (My theory is that Geoff wants me there to hold the shotgun... the software needs little intervention, once running.) So I may make two polar-region trips this summer... 81N would be my highest latitude yet.