Monday 10 June 1974
We had a false fire alarm at 1000 hours. Bill Johnson, whilst working on the engine room ice melter, must have jarred the nearby detector. The fire team reacted smoothly. Bill Johnson has again cleaned out the Caterpillar heat exchangers. Bob Grant is making further attempts to upgrade the toboggans. Mike Wing is repainting and repacking kitchen boxes, otherwise routine work.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 13 knots Temperature -24.8°C
Tuesday 11 June 1974
Chris Wilkins has cleaned out the kitchen diesel-beck heater. This must be done every month. With all diesel burners we struggle with continuous coking problems. Bill Johnson believes this is and unavoidable consequence of using DFA but I am not so sure. A system in which the range firebox must be cleaned every day with a vacuum cleaner is unsatisfactory. The fuel should burn and since it doesn’t I can only guess that the supply of air is inadequate.
This evenings cooking class (filleting and cooking fish) was enlivened by the presence of Dr Mary Alice McWhinney the USARP biologist who brought with her two small freshly caught fish.
Lt Chris Stockwell has asked us to assess our electric power consumption at Arrival Heights with a view to making a case for the erection of a higher capacity supply line next summer.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 14 knots Temperature -26.8°C
Wednesday 12 June 1974
Stuart Clarke spent the afternoon renewing flags on the McMurdo road from Scott Base to the highest point. We have undertaken to do this to help the Americans. Otherwise laboratory and maintenance work was normal. In the evening all Base staff except Bill Johnson and me accepted an invitation to attend pornographic films at the CPO’s Club in McMurdo. Whilst at the show a collection was taken up so when they returned lighter in pocket and wondering what if anything they had got for their money, they had to endure the jeers of the two greybeards.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind South-South-East 15 knots Temperature -20.0°C
Thursday 13 June 1974
Bill Johnson is not satisfied with the frequency stability of our generators and is trying to improve the governor control system. Most of the trouble is in the linkage because whenever the supply is low the frequency is high and vice versa. Garth Cowan has increased the gain on the recorder supply in the photometer. He hopes this will eliminate some rather erratic squiggles which have begun to appear in the charts for no apparent reason.
In the evening we had two USARP scientists to dinner.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 25 knots Temperature -26.6°C
Scott Base
Friday 14 June 1974
Lady seems to be on heat. She is an old (8½ years) bitch and this is probably the last chance to get a litter from her. Shaun is the most suitable mate genetically but seems reluctant to serve her.
The laboratory print dryer has broken down and Tony Atkinson has stripped it down to find a mess of seized bearings and burned wires. It is essential to our work so must be repaired somehow.
We had another dozen of the US Navy (mostly plumbers) to dinner.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind East 14 knots Temperature -12.5°C
Saturday 15 June 1974
I spent the day making up a mount for the borrowed pressure release valve which I am fitting to the heat machine. The laboratory staff has set up small alignment markers (using faint neon bulbs) for the photometer at Arrival Heights. Late in the day it was decided to make an all-night photometer run. As I was acting as early mouse I could not help. Tony Atkinson was late mouse and this left Stuart Clarke and Garth Cowan to run a 20 hour programme between them.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind East 20 knots Temperature -10.8°C
Sunday 16 June 1974
Still mouse and so faced with the problem of cooking. Solution: plenty of wine in the stew, mushroom sauce with the steak, lots of butter in the potatoes and whisky for all before starting.
Conditions at 0900 hours Wind North-East 5 knots Temperature -26.9°C
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