Bruce's Singing Cyclist Musings

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Happy Hanukkah!

You might get what I say that it is sometimes difficult to appreciate the significance of a place or event when you are in the midst of experiencing it. Such has been the case for me before today. Following what is becoming a morning routine, I have been joining Laura and Paul for a 35-40 minute core/cardio workout up on the Helipad. Today after the workout I had a chance to chat with Conrad Anker, accomplished mountaineer and climate change activist.

I asked him if he thought that the plight of the world’s glaciers, including those that we will encounter on the Antarctic continent, would turn the tide of public opinion to acknowledge climate change and help to bring about changes in government and private sector policies around the world.

He started by pointing out that the westerly wind driven currents that circle the South Pole drive the ocean currents all over the globe. As soon as he said that, the proverbial lightbulb went on in my head and I began to think about South Georgia Island and Antarctica in a global context. Sure, the ocean is a beautiful azure blue, almost tropical in appearance when the angle of the Sun is right. Sure, this remote Island with its steep spine of snow covered mountains and alpine glaciers is visually spectacular. Sure the penguins, fur seals, elephant seals, Albatrosses and other polar birds are cool to see.

I’ll continue to enjoy seeing them, but now they are more than just another photo op. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to stop taking photos of the magnificent places that we are privileged to visit on this trip. But every photo that I take, every awe inspiring vista that I see and every conversation that I have with my companions on this journey is now driven by a mission to help people understand this place and it’s fragile magnificence. The explorers past and present that have come down here have come for different reasons. Some came out of their countries quest for national pride, some to attain personal goals, some for the thrill of adventure and the challenge to the human mind, body and soul and some for Science.

I thank all of them for bringing this place to my attention. Now, my job is to bring it to the attention of you and hope that you too will be inspired to make a difference in the quest to reverse global climate change .

Bruce

P.S. The photos that I am currently unable to share at this time for technical and geographical reasons are going to be worth the wait. Not because of my photographic skills, but because this place is now in my soul and these photos come from my soul as much as my camera equipment. I can’t wait to share them!

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

We reached our mooring place at King Haaken Bay on the south side of the island this morning. This is the place where Ernest Shackleton landed during his attempt to rescue the crew of his ship, the Endurance in 1916 after the ship was crushed by pack ice in Antarctica.

Shackleton is the stuff of much lore in the history of Antarctic exploration during the so called “Heroic Age ” of Antarctic exploration from the late 19th Century to just before WW 1. After he and his crew were forced to abandon the Endurance on October 27, 1915 after nine months of being trapped in the sea ice, Shackleton and five of his crew embarked on a desperate and heroic effort to save the other 22 crew members of the Endurance.

The weather and water conditions here in the bay were a dramatic improvement over the turbulent waters of the Southern Sea yesterday and last night. After watching the second of a two part Discovery Channel documentary on the Expedition of 1914-16, it was a stagger back down two decks of stairs to Room 533. We were rocking and rolling. If our chairs hadn’t been chained to the floor in the Dining Room, we’d have been slip sliding away.

The seas calmed down, but our first Zodiac trip to the solid ground of South Georgia was cold and wet. It was good to get this first trip under our belts as it taught me that:

1. My camera can get wet and still function
2. I need to wear my waterproof gloves and not my non-waterproof mittens.
3. My light weight rain pants didn’t keep the water away from my Fleece pants
4. Keep your distance from angry fur seals (elephant seals too).
5. I will take my entire camera bag with rain covering on our next trip to the island

I did get in a few shots today, nothing of note, but I look to improve on that as the trip goes on! Sharing photos will come when I get home and have the available bandwidth.

Bruce

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

The honeymoon is over. After two gloriously calm days on the water, the Southern Ocean showed it’s true colors. No Sun to be seen today and the winds that had been so graciously at our backs coming out of the east, changed direction and now came at us from the Northwest. What that means is two things. Avoid the port side of the ship (unless you want to get very cold and wet) and the northerly aspect of the wind means that the waves are coming from the side and have caused a side-to-side rocking motion which is the stuff that tends to lead to that delightful little condition known as seasickness.

As I sit here writing this at 4:00 p.m., a group of Humpback Whales was spotted on the port side. The viewing isn’t great given the current conditions of the water surface, but I did see a number of spouts among the whitecaps. Speaking of Science, a hardy group of Birders gathered aft for Day 3 of one of the ship’s Citizen Science Projects. The birds don’t seem to mind the miserable (for humans) conditions of three meter seas and 30-40 knot winds. It was actually quite exhilarating and after eating so royally, the experience of being outside in harsh weather working on a service project did my heart good!

There were two more lectures today. One on Glaciation by Conrad Anker and one by Tim Jarvis on the 1911-13 expedition of Sir Douglas Mawson, a journey also recreated by Scott. We are scheduled to pass by two spikes of rock protruding from the Southern Ocean called “The Shag Rocks” within the next hour. We will arrive at South Georgia Island tomorrow morning if all goes to plan. We also had a mandatory all hands on board meeting to learn about South Georgia and to prepare our outer wear by cleaning off any unwanted biological matter that could potentially get introduced to the island. I was called a “Vacuum Party.” We also got an introduction to riding on a Zodiac including how to dress for it and how to get in and out of one.

Oh, and by the way, the entire ship’s human population tested Negative for COVID so today the bright spot has been that we won’t have to wear masks again on this voyage unless a Positive pops up in our final test as required for our visit to South Georgia.

That is a Positive! The Polar Latitudes Staff is a positive, the ship’s crew are a positive, the people I have met are a positive and the Lecturers have been a positive. Whether or not we get to see a full solar eclipse on December 3 is still an unknown. But the word of the day is Positive…or was it Negative? Or was it both?

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

The temperatures have dropped a bit, but the midday conditions have been extraordinarily mild. The temperature today was listed at 8 degrees C and the swells have been no higher than 3.5 meters (you can figure it out!). You see small whitecaps, but the ship’s side-to-side motion has been limited to a gentle swaying.

Starting to establish a bit of a routine. I got up this morning for a 0630 workout on the Heliport pad up on the top deck (7) with Anne, Laura and Paul. Anne, Laura and their husbands met Paul on a Safari trip to Botswana and enjoyed each so much that they decided to try it again. It was the kind of temperature that made you want to keep moving. Perfect for what we were attempting to do. It had been over four days since I’d had any significant or even marginal exercise, so the workout felt great.

Alex Fillipenko did a talk on Eclipses at 0915. It was informative and entertaining. Then came a general lecture by Michael Jackson, a retired high school Science teacher. It was very good. Sandwiched in between those, our Gentoo group got our COVID tests. Everyone is thinking “Negative” thoughts!

It was Day 2 of Citizen Science Birding this afternoon. Getting to know the several different types of Albatross and petrols that tag along behind in our wake. It was another good sized group as discerning the subtle differences in these two species continues to evolve.

Once again, the food was excellent for Breakfast and Lunch and I expect that there will be a special something on the menu for Thanksgiving. By the end of the passenger day tomorrow, we should be in the vicinity of South Georgia Island. I’m getting to know my photography equipment as I hang around with people who really know what they are doing. In addition to the staff Photographer, there are several very accomplished Photographic folks on board including Lisa the Ornithologist. I’m starting to get more comfortable with the gear and it’s a good thing because South Georgia Island is approaching.

The rooms are cozy, but comfortable and the staff has been “helpful, friendly, courteous and kind.” This evening is the Captain’s Dinner and we will get a chance to meet the crew. We conclude the day with a program on Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and a documentary by Aussie Tim Jarvis who recreated Shackleton’s journey.

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Wow, what a busy, beautiful first day on board ship! Our tour leader told us that the weather and sea conditions have been extraordinarily calm for this time of year. The forecast is for another day like this tomorrow. I’m writing today’s entry from the ship’s Library which is next to the ship’s lounge and live music. That and the gentle rolling of the ship are keeping me energized and motivated to complete this after a busy, full day.

We have another full day of sailing tomorrow before we get to South Georgia Island. From everything that I’m learning, South Georgia is a wildlife Mecca. We also have what is hopefully our last COVID test tomorrow. If every test comes back Negative, the rest of the trip will be Masks optional. We are the first cruise to Antarctica in over 1.5 years. All the protocols are new. Polar Latitudes, the folks operating the tour, hired on an extra doctor just to develop the protocols. It’s all pretty exciting to be in a position to prove that the safety measures that we have all had to practice over the past 19 months really do work. We are a control group for a larger institutional experiment! Good stuff.

Breakfast was sort of a help yourself except that you had a personal food handler who served you the food as you walked down the line making your choices. The food in general has been wonderful. Fresh, tasty and lovingly prepared and presented. Especially the fruits and vegetables. The fruit plates include pineapple, watermelon, kiwi and cantaloupe and each one of them was impeccably at the peak of ripeness and freshness. I’d have to say that the fruits have been at least as good as I have ever eaten. Lunch was a stir fry prepared right in front of me and Dinner was a delightful little tostada-like dish with beans, corn and other goodies. Tomorrow I’m joining a group for an early morning workout on the Heliport deck at 6:30. I also reserved a slot in the Exercise Room from 12:30-1:00. COVID tests are starting at 12:15 and will be done by our Dinner pods.

Today’s lectures began with an introduction to five Citizen Science opportunities to participate in while we explore. They involve daily bird counts, a Whale project (photo based), water clarity and phytoplankton research using a Secchi disk and cloud observations.

Astronomer Alex Fillipenko gave a talk in his own inimitable enthusiastic way on “Beautiful Atmospheric sights. Our own fellow “Gentoo” and trip Ornithologist, Lisa then did a presentation on “The Birds of Antarctica and South Georgia'” followed in the afternoon with a presentation on Whales sandwiched around our first Citizen Science Bird counting session. Mountaineer Conrad Anker gave a very informative and heartfelt presentation on his 1999 expedition to Mt. Everest in search of the body of the pioneering British climber, George Mallory who died on Mt. Everest on his third and final attempt to climb the world’s highest peak. Anker did successfully summit the mountain.

More of the same tomorrow as we make our way to South Georgia.

Bruce

PS: Sorry, no photos for now. The bandwidth for the ship’s wifi isn’t doing well with music and photos.

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Today started in humid subtropical Buenos Aires and 3.5 hours later we were in subpolar Ushuaia (Ursh-why-ah).  I woke up at 5:05, a few minutes before my alarm to get packed, catch a bite of breakfast and be ready to board the bus for the airport to make it onto our charter flight to Ushuaia to meet out floating home for the next three weeks, the Seaventure.

This is a maiden voyage of sorts for the Seaventure.  The ship that is now called the Seaventure has made numerous trips to the Antarctic and the Arctic, but not as the Seaventure. 

The trip from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia had us experiencing temperatures in the mid 90s to the low 40s.  I’m happy that I brought the warm clothing!  It’s not likely to get any warmer than that. Ushuaia is the southern most city in the world and has a population of 100,000ish people.  It’s name means “Bay to the West” in the tongue of native peoples.

It’s getting a little late (11:15), so my creativity is waning.  So, if I get boring, stop reading and come back tomorrow.

I do have to say before I flake out that. One lecturer that I want to hear is our Astronomy leader, Alex Filipenko is one of UC Berkeley’s most popular teachers and now I know why.

I was up on the Helopad where you can get 365 degree views and Alex appeared after a few minutes and started walking, checking his phone, taking pictures of clouds, walked some more.  A couple others were up there and the subject came up why are you walking around?  I thought it had something to do with Astronomy.  No, it was just Alex trying to keep his 10,000 step streak going.  He started it in March of 2020 and has done it every day since whether on Terra Firma or on a ship headed for Antarctica.

We had a safety presentation and later on an evacuation drill on how to get to the lifeboats before dinner.  And, we got the boots that we will be using for our landings and our very nice (and effective) outer shell jacket from Polar Latitudes.  It was useful today and will be even more useful later in the trip.

We will be sailing to get to our into the Southern Ocean over the next three days and will cross the Antarctic Convergence where cold water flowing northward meet the relatively warmer (it’s not a hot-tub) waters of the sub-Antarctic.  It’s where we will officially enter Antarctic waters.

We will stay in our meal pods for another two days after which we will be COVID tested for the final time (hopefully) at which point we will be cleared to remove our masks and eat with other members of the group.

It is a fascinating bunch of people.  I talked to Frank at the airport in Buenos Aires.  He has been a professional violinist.  I had a conversation with Ralf, a retired naval officer and skydiver who showed me some of his helmet-cam photos of fellow skydivers.  Scott was a Physics major who went on to MBA School and had a career with the World Bank.

I suspect that I will meet others with equally fascinating stories.  There’s more, but I need to get some sleep.  I may be a little late with this post because the ship wifi is down.

Bruce

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Don’t get too excited. Today was a pretty routine, quiet, stress free day. At least after 4:00 p.m. when our luggage arrived from American Airlines. If you missed the beginning of this story, yesterday I told you about our baggage having a little personal time without us as it decided to party hardy in lively Miami.

I knew (?) that they would meet up with us in Argentina because American sent me an email that the bags had been unloaded in Buenos Aires at 7:45 a.m. this morning. So, where were they. The Concierge told us that when this happens, the airlines gather up as much lonely baggage as they can before delivering it to the many hotels that dot the downtown skyline.

After lunch (a delicious veggie taco on a blue corn shell, it was pretty, but don’t look for photos. I’m not one to take. pictures of food) I told our tour operator of our issue with the rebellious luggage and they said that they would pursue the little deviants.

About 90 minutes later, guess who appeared at the door of Room 805 at the Alvear Art Hotel in downtown Buenos Aires? Our three little juvenile delinquents. They were unusually quiet. Actually, they haven’t made a beep since they were returned to us. I guess it scared them a little. A little like Home Alone.

But our luggage story was topped by one of our table-mates in our 10 person travel pod (more about that tomorrow). We are known as the “Gentoos. Our table-mate and tour Ornithologist, Lisa, told us that the Gentoo penguin is a humorous creature. That seems to match our table group. Let’s see, there is Andrew, Laura, Lisa, Bob, Peter and I’ll introduce you to the other five when I get a chance to seed their name tags again.

Tomorrow will be a little more eventful. We begin boarding the four buses for the airport starting at 6:00 and are scheduled to leave at 6:15 and be at the airport by 7:30 a.m. to catch our charter flight to Ushuaia. I hope we have 130+ early sunrise worshippers.

We are scheduled to land at 12:30 in Ushuaia and get back on busses to get the the dock to meet our home for the next three weeks, the Seaventure. We’ll have lunch on the boat and are scheduled to set sail (well, maybe not exactly setting sail at 6:00 p.m. We were reminded this evening to start any sea sickness prevention measures tomorrow morning which means that I need to dig back into my suitcase to get out the Dramamine.

At least we had luggage to dig into!

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

The plane trip from Miami to Buenos Aires was surreal. It barely felt like I was on an airplane. Except for take-off and landing, the sounds, the movements, the whole environment felt like I was spending the night in a hotel room with great room service. The 777-300 is so big that it doesn’t seem like you are flying. It’s just another day on Terra Firma.

But, I digress. This is about today.

We landed at 10:40 Buenos Aires time which we have calculated is five hours ahead of our home Pacific Standard Time zone. I say that assuming that Miami is in the Eastern Time Zone with New York. If it’s Central Time, then it is four hours. Something tells me that it might be four hours. I’ll leave that for you to figure out. The Captain warned us that it was hot (37-38 degrees Celsius) and when we stepped out of the climate controlled comfort of the plane, that proved to be an accurate statement.

We got through with Customs in a quick and efficient way with no problems and then made our way over to the Baggage Carousels. Flight 931’s bags began coming off an coming off and coming off. But not ours. Bob and I waited for many a cycle seeing folks gleefully pull their bags off the Carousel. When it became apparent after about a half hour of this (and the fact that the red light went on and the Carousel stopped), we went over to Baggage Claim as suggested by a helpful AA attendent.

After standing in line there for several minutes, the second AA employee had checked the system and told both Bob and I that our bags would be arriving TOMORROW from Miami. It was our good fortune that we will be here all day tomorrow (to get COVID antibody tests) as well as spending the night here before traveling as a group to Ushuaia where we will meet our ship, the “Seaventure.”

The next step was to go out and see if our hosts from Wilderness Travel were still there to deliver us to the Alvear Art Hotel, several miles from the international airpot. As I expected, they had long since gone, but the next wave of hosts was there and one of them took us under his wing. He first tried to see if his friend, a Concierge at the Alvear Art hotel could arrange a ride for us. When that didn’t work, he guided us to a Cab company and for 3000 centavos ($30) we got a ride to the hotel.

Since being here, we’ve started meeting fellow passengers (like Jim), Polar Latitudes staff members and Sarah, the Wilderness Travel rep in Argentina. The first person we met was the Polar Latitudes trip Ornithologist whom we saw again at Dinner this evening. I will learn her name tomorrow when the group gets together. She noticed that I was a photographer, which is a major complement as I still think of myself as a guy with some decent camera equipment.

I wandered up to the 17th Floor Fitness Room and did 25 minutes on the Exercise bike. while being conscious not to work up too much of a sweat as I don’t have any clothes to change into yet (remember that?). Took a shower and now am writing this account of the day. Bob has been resting and reading. Even if there was much to see and do around the hotel, it is hot without clean clothes to change into, I couldn’t convince the natural adventurer in me to go outside. There didn’t seem to be enough upside to working up a sweat today.

Tomorrow is when things officially get started and it starts feeling like this is really going to happen. I guess the anticipation is still going on!

Bruce

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

I suspect that Antarctic Explorer Ernest Shackleton would have found the Business Class accomodations on this American Airlines 777-300 Airliner to be overly extravagant and a waste of precious resources.

Movies, music, TV, news and more on my very own personal screen, food and drink at your beckon call, headphones (even though mine didn’t work), reclining seat, blanket and full-size pillow, my own personal “suite.”  To call it merely a seat would be an understatement of substantial proportions

Mind you that I am not complaining about my treatment on this 8:15 hour flight from Miami to our first staging area at the Alvear Art Hotel in Buenos Aires.  I am a tad bit embarrassed to luxuriate like this while on my way to learn about explorers that, at the turn of the last century chose to go where no one had gone before while undergoing the greatest hardships that just about anyone could imagine.

Ah, but times change, modes of travel change and exploration has changed along with it.  I suppose that I shouldn’t be too hard on myself and my fellow softies for following in the footsteps of Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton and Mawson in relative ease and opulence.  Getting to the Antarctic in a matter of days when it took these explorers 2-3 years by boat to complete the journey/adventure/exploration.

We left San Jose at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 20 and as we leave the Caribbean and enter the Pacific at an altitude of 33,000 feet over Panama and turn southward, it is about 1:30 in the morning by my internal clock.  Yet, I don’t feel the least bit tired…yet.  Where is that energy coming from? 

I think that it is coming from Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton and Mawson.

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Five or so weeks ago, I was invited to hop on a boat in Argentina and cruise to the Antarctic to view a full solar eclipse, see thousands of penguins and other wildlife, learn more about the explorers of this unique, fascinating and endangered continent and see ice, lots and lots and lots of ice.

Preparation and anticipation have been exhilarating. I’ll admit a little stressful at times, given concerns with COVID-19 and the understandably strict protocols of two governments, a tour company and a cruise company to make the trip happen in a safe virus free environment. I cleared the first hurdle with two Negative COVID tests here in San Jose.

I would be remiss if I waited any longer to thank my benefactors and fellow science nerds, Ellen and Bob for giving me this opportunity to see a part of the world that I had previously only dreamed about ever seeing in person. Their generosity and thoughtfulness will always be remembered and payed forward. Thanks you guys.

All the reading about the trip and the destination, all the gathering and shopping for polar clothing, all the preparation and purchasing of photographic equipment, all the coordinating with Denise at Wilderness Travel, all the packing and unpacking, all the subtractions and additions to the luggage, the weight limits, all the anticipation.

The anticipation for the start of the trip will end today. Meredy will drive Bob and I to San Francisco to begin the adventure. From there, we continue on to Miami and then on to Buenos Aires where we’ll go through another round of COVID testing before flying to the southern tip of South America to board the Seaventure. That is, if all goes well in Buenos Aires.

I’ll be recording the trip in writing and photographs. The writing will be here in this space along with a few of the photos.

So, I invite you to share the next three weeks with me. I hope that I can share my experiences in a vivid and entertaining way. Come along for the ride!

Bruce