Laurel’s Comments (group member since Aug 06, 2013)

Laurel’s comments from the I Read Therefore I Am group.

Saturday, June 10
The impending blizzard has come; the wind came with a burst at 9.30 this morning.

Simpson spent the night turning over a theory to account for the phenomenon, and delivered himself of it this morning. It seems a good basis for the reference of future observations. He imagines the atmosphere A C in potential equilibrium with large margin of stability, i.e. the difference of temperature between A and C being much less than the adiabatic gradient.

In this condition there is a tendency to cool by radiation until some critical layer, B, reaches its due point. A stratus cloud is thus formed at B; from this moment A B continues to cool, but B C is protected from radiating, whilst heated by radiation from snow and possibly by release of latent heat due to cloud formation.

The condition now rapidly approaches unstable equilibrium, B C tending to rise, A B to descend.

Owing to lack of sun heat the effect will be more rapid in south than north and therefore the upset will commence first in the south. After the first start the upset will rapidly spread north, bringing the blizzard. The facts supporting the theory are the actual formation of a stratus cloud before a blizzard, the snow and warm temperature of the blizzard and its gusty nature.

It is a pretty starting-point, but, of course, there are weak spots.

Atkinson has found a trypanosome in the fish--it has been stained, photographed and drawn--an interesting discovery having regard to the few species that have been found. A trypanosome is the cause of 'sleeping sickness.'

The blizzard has continued all day with a good deal of drift. I went for a walk, but the conditions were not inviting.

We have begun to consider details of next season's travelling equipment. The crampons, repair of finnesko with sealskin, and an idea for a double tent have been discussed to-day. P.O. Evans and Lashly are delightfully intelligent in carrying out instructions.

16.11.39

Some rain last night & almost continuous light rain all today. Impossible to do much out of doors. Limed another strip (lime now running short), transplanted a couple of currant bushes. Most of the trees are now completely bare. A few leaves still on the elms. Of the deciduous trees the ashes seem the last to go.

4 eggs.

Sunday 21 July 1661
(Lord’s day). At home all the morning, putting my papers in order against my going to-morrow and doing many things else to that end. Had a good dinner, and Stankes and his wife with us. To my business again in the afternoon, and in the evening came the two Trices, Mr. Greene, and Mr. Philips, and so we began to argue. At last it came to some agreement that for our giving of my aunt 10l. she is to quit the house, and for other matters they are to be left to the law, which do please us all, and so we broke up, pretty well satisfyed.

Then came Mr. Barnwell and J. Bowles and supped with us, and after supper away, and so I having taken leave of them and put things in the best order I could against to-morrow I went to bed.

Old William Luffe having been here this afternoon and paid up his bond of 20l., and I did give him into his hand my uncle’s surrender of Sturtlow to me before Mr. Philips, R. Barnwell, and Mr. Pigott, which he did acknowledge to them my uncle did in his lifetime deliver to him.

We totally don't use this thread enough! Here's something to cheer everyone up - I'm going to see these guys in a few weeks :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7IA7L...

Apologies for posting the diaries late guys - was working hard then partying harder ;)

Hope everyone is enjoying this fine monday morning, it's absolutely beautiful here so as soon as I can motivate my slightly hungover self I'm moving out to the garden!

I love double yokers! ;)

15.11.39

Last night a little rain, today fine, still & mild. Dug 2 more trenches. Cut down some of the herbaceous plants. Some of the phloxes will have to be split up. Another double egg. By the look of them all the double eggs I have seen recently come from the same bird, tho’ it is always said locally that a double egg means the beginning or ending of a clutch.

9 eggs. Sold 1 score @ 4/4.

Thursday, June 8
Did not turn out till 1 P.M., then with a bad head, an inevitable sequel to a night of vigil. Walked out to and around the bergs, bright moonlight, but clouds rapidly spreading up from south.

Tried the snow knife, which is developing. Debenham and Gran went off to Hut Point this morning; they should return to-morrow.

Friday, June 9
No wind came with the clouds of yesterday, but the sky has not been clear since they spread over it except for about two hours in the middle of the night when the moonlight was so bright that one might have imagined the day returned.

Otherwise the web of stratus which hangs over us thickens and thins, rises and falls with very bewildering uncertainty. We want theories for these mysterious weather conditions; meanwhile it is annoying to lose the advantages of the moonlight.

This morning had some discussion with Nelson and Wright regarding the action of sea water in melting barrier and sea ice. The discussion was useful to me in drawing attention to the equilibrium of layers of sea water.

In the afternoon I went round the Razor Back Islands on ski, a run of 5 or 6 miles; the surface was good but in places still irregular with the pressures formed when the ice was 'young.'

The snow is astonishingly soft on the south side of both islands. It is clear that in the heaviest blizzard one could escape the wind altogether by camping to windward of the larger island. One sees more and more clearly what shelter is afforded on the weather side of steep-sided objects.

Passed three seals asleep on the ice. Two others were killed near the bergs.

Saturday 20 July 1661
Up to Huntingdon this morning to Sir Robert Bernard, with whom I met Jaspar Trice. So Sir Robert caused us to sit down together and began discourse very fairly between us, so I drew out the Will and show it him, and [he] spoke between us as well as I could desire, but could come to no issue till Tom Trice comes. Then Sir Robert and I fell to talk about the money due to us upon surrender from Piggott, 164l., which he tells me will go with debts to the heir at law, which breaks my heart on the other side.

Here I staid and dined with Sir Robert Bernard and his lady, my Lady Digby, a very good woman.

After dinner I went into the town and spent the afternoon, sometimes with Mr. Phillips, sometimes with Dr. Symcottes, Mr. Vinter, Robert Ethell, and many more friends, and at last Mr. Davenport, Phillips, Jaspar Trice, myself and others at Mother –— over against the Crown we sat and drank ale and were very merry till 9 at night, and so broke up. I walked home, and there found Tom Trice come, and he and my father gone to Goody Gorum’s, where I found them and Jaspar Trice got before me, and Mr. Greene, and there had some calm discourse, but came to no issue, and so parted. So home and to bed, being now pretty well again of my left hand, which lately was stung and very much swelled.

16, 17, 18, 19 July 1661
These four days we spent in putting things in order, letting of the crop upon the ground, agreeing with Stankes to have a care of our business in our absence, and we think ourselves in nothing happy but in lighting upon him to be our bayly; in riding to Offord and Sturtlow, and up and down all our lands, and in the evening walking, my father and I about the fields talking, and had advice from Mr. Moore from London, by my desire, that the three witnesses of the will being all legatees, will not do the will any wrong. To-night Serjeant Bernard, I hear, is come home into the country. To supper and to bed. My aunt continuing in her base, hypocritical tricks, which both Jane Perkin (of whom we make great use), and the maid do tell us every day of.

July 19th

64 - Circus Maximus in Rome catches fire

1692 Salem Witch Trials Sarah Good, Sarah Wildes, Elizabeth Howe, Rebbecca Nourse, and Sussanah Martin are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

1776 Declaration of Independence After receiving word of unanimous approval by all 13 colonies, the Continental Congress orders its engrossing and signing, which began on August 2nd.

1862 Doomsday The Swift-Tuttle Comet is discovered by Horace Tuttle in Massachusetts. It had been independently spotted by Louis Swift in New York three days earlier. It has a 1 in 10,000 chance of colliding with Earth in the year 2126. If this occurs it will probably end civilization.

1903, The first Tour de France cycle race, devised and promoted by journalist Henri Desgranger, saw its first winner as Maurice Garin crossed the finish line.

1961 First regularly scheduled in-flight movie By Love Possessed, shown on a TWA flight.

1985 Challenger disaster New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe is chosen from among 11,000 applicants to ride aboard the space shuttle. It would later explode on lift-off killing all aboard.

Wednesday, June 7
A very beautiful day. In the afternoon went well out over the floe to the south, looking up Nelson at his icehole and picking up Bowers at his thermometer. The surface was polished and beautifully smooth for ski, the scene brightly illuminated with moonlight, the air still and crisp, and the thermometer at -10°. Perfect conditions for a winter walk.

In the evening I read a paper on 'The Ice Barrier and Inland Ice.' I have strung together a good many new points and the interest taken in the discussion was very genuine--so keen, in fact, that we did not break up till close on midnight. I am keeping this paper, which makes a very good basis for all future work on these subjects. (See Vol. II.)

Shelters to Iceholes

Time out of number one is coming across rediscoveries. Of such a nature is the building of shelters for iceholes. We knew a good deal about it in the Discovery , but unfortunately did not make notes of our experiences. I sketched the above figures for Nelson, and found on going to the hole that the drift accorded with my sketch. The sketches explain themselves. I think wall 'b' should be higher than wall 'a.'

My night on duty. The silent hours passed rapidly and comfortably. To bed 7 A.M.

14.11.39

Rather windy, looked like rain in the middle of the day but actually did not rain. Dug 2 more trenches in the new patch. Cannot get on faster than this owing to chalky stony streak in the middle which is hard to break into. Dug trench for remaining blackcurrants.

6 eggs.

Cool! Have a safe journey and a great time ;)

Oh well - at least it's over now (hate presentations)!

Have fun in Penzance :)

Awww I love that they threw him a surprise birthday party - this entry is really sweet and just makes it even sadder that these guys never made it home :(

Tuesday, June 6
The temperature has been as high as +19° to-day; the south wind persisted until the evening with clear sky except for fine effects of torn cloud round about the mountain. To-night the moon has emerged from behind the mountain and sails across the cloudless northern sky; the wind has fallen and the scene is glorious.

It is my birthday, a fact I might easily have forgotten, but my kind people did not. At lunch an immense birthday cake made its appearance and we were photographed assembled about it. Clissold had decorated its sugared top with various devices in chocolate and crystallised fruit, flags and photographs of myself.

After my walk I discovered that great preparations were in progress for a special dinner, and when the hour for that meal arrived we sat down to a sumptuous spread with our sledge banners hung about us. Clissold's especially excellent seal soup, roast mutton and red currant jelly, fruit salad, asparagus and chocolate--such was our menu. For drink we had cider cup, a mystery not yet fathomed, some sherry and a liqueur.

After this luxurious meal everyone was very festive and amiably argumentative. As I write there is a group in the dark room discussing political progress with discussions--another at one corner of the dinner table airing its views on the origin of matter and the probability of its ultimate discovery, and yet another debating military problems. The scraps that reach me from the various groups sometimes piece together in ludicrous fashion. Perhaps these arguments are practically unprofitable, but they give a great deal of pleasure to the participants. It's delightful to hear the ring of triumph in some voice when the owner imagines he has delivered himself of a well-rounded period or a clinching statement concerning the point under discussion. They are boys, all of them, but such excellent good-natured ones; there has been no sign of sharpness or anger, no jarring note, in all these wordy contests! all end with a laugh.

Nelson has offered Taylor a pair of socks to teach him some geology! This lulls me to sleep!

13.11.39

Beautiful still, sunny day. Last night not at all cold. Cannot make sure whether when shallots spring out of the ground it is of their own accord or partly done by the pigeons. Sometimes they are about 1’ from where they were planted. Dug 2 rows of the new patch, turned the compost heap, limed another patch, added one more sackful of dead leaves. [Total on facing page: 7.]

One hen is definitely broody.

6 eggs.

Those two versions are both very different! I can;t decide which one I like best - will probably need to read a few more times.

I've read the first chapter and like the way it jumps backwards and forwards even though it is a bit confusing. But it is a very effective way of conveying the sense of dislocation the Smales are feeling and highlighting the differences between the past and the present. Looking forward to reading more - who else is reading this one?