April 4, 2008

A quiz:

 

shaft

 

Okay everyone.  I want you to figure out what this picture is.

a)      a scene from The Abyss

b)      the international space station

c)      Eric’s shaft excavation project

d)      something that the life forms in the crisper box of our fridge build last weekend (I think the broccoli got a little out of control).

 

 

April 4, 2008

(I forgot to share this story from last weekend, when we went to the non-company town of Timika.)

 

The Pot Calling the Kettle…”White”?

 

When we go anywhere here, I get stared at.  Down in Timika, the non-company town, I get as much attention as any other circus freak out there.  Little kids from blocks away will walk toward me so they can get a closer look at the white giant that has appeared.  I am somewhat used to it by now.  But what happened last weekend definitely makes the top ten list of the weirdest things that have ever happened to me.  We were standing in line at the grocery store, and an albino Papuan kid, maybe 6 years old, with white skin, blonde curly hair and blue eyes came in with his mom.  When she tried to get him to stand in line behind me to pay for their purchases, he started screaming at the top of his lungs.  SCREAMING.  As if this didn’t bring everyone’s attention to the front of the store anyway, she was telling him that it was okay to stand next to the “buleh” (Indonesian for white person)…really loudly, to no avail, ensuring that everyone in the store was aware that we bulehs were present.  He kept screaming until she let go of his arm and he ran out of the store.  

 

I can’t even come close to figuring out the psychology on this one! 

 

 

April 6, 2008

 

We made another trip to Timika yesterday for some shopping.  This is the souvenir shop where we found some great new artwork.  Apparently, it was also laundry day.

 

 

papuashop

 

 

We found some new pieces that are a bit more contemporary in style.  I picked this one because it is the most like a portrait of myself.  :)

 

my art

 

Eric picked out this one...I think you can see why he identified with it.

 

erics art

 

 

April 11, 2008

 

Philosophical Food

 

One of the girls here at work asked me if I “have ever had the best sandwich in America”.  I told her that was a very good question, because there are so many different kinds to pick from.  Really, every person likes something different than the next, so how can you know if you’ve had the best sandwich?  How do you compare a basic club sandwich to a Philly Cheesesteak, or a PB&J to a Rueben?  She hasn’t ever tasted things like mayonnaise or mustard or salami or rye bread, so it was really hard to explain how sandwiches can be completely different from each other but still be really great unto themselves.  How could I explain the subtle nuances of the condiment? My simple answer to her question was a very intelligent sounding, “I don’t know.”

 

Darn.  Now I’m craving a “North of the Border” sandwich from the Pickle Barrel in Livingston.  All of you in Big Timber, drive there now and send me one through email!

 

 

April 13, 2008

 

Eric in Action at the Shaft Excavation Project

 

eric at work

 

Stepping off of the galloway and onto land. 

 

 

April 18, 2008

 

Another photo of industrial nature. 

 

grinding

 

 

April 23, 2008

 

It’s the final round in the Pyramid Game Show, and Donny Osmond is smiling at you and cheering you on to get this right…just figure out what the clues all have in common.  Now, here are the clues:

 snail

Fresh Papuan fish

Snails

Hot slabs of granite

Montana rednecks

 

I’m sorry.  The answer is not: things that make you say “EEEW”.

For the $100,000 Pyramid Prize, you should have answered:

 

Cherine and Eric’s dinner scene last night.

 

 

BEHOLD....ERIC POSTS!!!!

 

This morning, yesterday, and the day before, and the day before, we woke up to the sound of falling rain.  So begins the rainy season here in Papua.  During the dry season it rains for only 6 hours per day, and usually does not start until the afternoon, and ends sometime during the night.  Now, it rains over 10 hours per day.  Along with the rain comes cold weather.  The temperature has dropped from a balmy 70 degrees (in Tembagapura) to a frosty 66 degrees.  Time to break out the short sleeve shirt and trade in that koteka for a pair of shorts (I traded my koteka in a few months ago….still recovering from an ill-advised koteka-wearing skeleton luge session).

 

Things have been routine, but very busy here.  There are many different projects going on… of which one of them is a shaft sinking project that I am involved in…so, after nearly a month of anticipation the answer to the question posted at the very beginning of the month is…. C …. A shaft sinking Galloway…what?

 

So a quick discussion on shaft sinking…..

 

A shaft is a vertical excavation in a mine.  Large hoists (similar to a winch, but much stronger and faster) are typically at the top of the shaft, and pull or lower containers up or down into the mine (if it is hauling ore, called a skip, if hauling people or materials, a cage).  Before you can have a fancy shaft the lowers people into the mine or raises ore up to the top, you have to sink it….make a hole in the rock, line it with concrete and install guides (the thingies that keep the skips or cages aligned in the shaft while being hoisted, typically made of steel).  So… when sinking the shaft, the men that are busy drilling and blasting the rock (making the hole) and installing the concrete need a place to work from.  Every time they blast, remove the rock (muck) and concrete, they sink the shaft about 10 feet, and the work platform must carry all of their tools (drills, concrete forms etc…), and be able to lower down the shaft as it is advanced.  The work platform (called a Galloway) is hung from large wire ropes, connected to winches on the surface.  The winches can slowly lower and raise the Galloway, allowing the workers to access different areas of the shaft, as well as to lower down as the shaft is being sunk.  So…the picture is of the Galloway hanging in the shaft.

So enough about that…maybe next week we will discuss how this particular shaft is actually a winze….

 

3040 Concrete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pouring concrete in the shaft/station floor (we'll talk about what a station is later)
 

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