To Anna: Questions from Hither and Yon
Submit Your Thoughts and Questions to Anna!
1/14/02 Dear Anna: In dumping all that iron, are you messing with the earth's magnetism? Sincerely, Concerned in Carolina.
1/16/02 Dear Barbara: As you know the core of the earth is mostly iron and the magnetic poles switch every many thousands of years. A little irony is appropriate this time of year.
1/15/02 Dear Anna: do you miss me? Your Friend Bryanna
1/16/02 Dear Brianna, Sometimes. My nails are starting to need polishing!
1/16/02 Too Kewel, I have just discovered Brian's great page from Tom Kirmeyer and you are an added benefit for a southern boy who gets home sick in Oregon...I will stay tuned to both pages...you go girl! Byron Boyer
2/2/02 Dear Byron, Just talking about you the other day. Some folks here from your ship but they didn't know you. You are the king of RV voyaging!
1/17/02 Hi, Tom here(drummer from the Unknown Tongues)
: Which way do the toilets whirl down there? Thanks, Tom Parker
2/2/02 Dear Tom Parker, Just came back from a quick whirl and, my goodness, it's not clockwise or counterclockwise as you might think. And it's not a bidet.
1/17/02 Dear Anna,is there a top and bottom to the earth? Very concerned.in N.C
2/2/02 Dear Barbara, (editors note: wrong guess, missy!) Americans think what they want. They make planar maps showing a flat earth with America in the middle. There is no Mexico or Canada on the Weather Channel and have you ever seen a globe with Antarctica on top?
1/17/02 Dear Anna,Do you really want me to visit your babies,i will if you want me toLOVE SIDNEY
2/2/02 Sidney, my dear, Yes, I would love you to visit my babies. And more importantly, they want you to visit them. Love, Anna
1/19/02 Dear Anna: I have two questions. Will your research tell us anything about El Nino? And, did you bring the earrings you borrowed from me to Antarctic? Thanks, Barbara
2/2/02 Barbara, A busy research deck is no place for earrings. They could get caught up in the CTD line and goodness knows I don't want to be pulled from the ship by my ears. It took me several days to get a ring off my pinkie. It ended up being a very accurate way of measure body fat gain over several years. The indentation is still there. Oh, how I miss those thin digit days! Your earrings are hanging in my kitchen with a note saying "For Barbara". I will not tell you about El Nino today.
1/19/02 Anna, I wonder in all that sunshine is it possible to tell the difference between iron pellets and styrofoam at mid day. Have you seen any antartic cold water Manatees? What do the Polar Bears eat there? Do you have any pictures of ladies in bikinis? Tom in Marshallberg
I2/2/02 Icebergs abound. We dissolve our iron. Saw the blow of a fin whale today. They have a hot tub on the ship.
1/19/02 Dear Anna, A wise and maturing adult might suggest a solution for the problems of excruciating ear pain suffered while flying. Are you open to reading about my solution even though it could mean your being ridiculed by traveling companions? Medicine Woman
2/2/02 Dear Mom, I refuse to be ridiculed.
1/19/02 Dear Ms. H., Did you leave the country and leave the responsibility for celebrating a mature adult's birthday with some newlyweds? If so, thanks alot...we are enjoying Norwegian salmon, asparagus, baked potatoes and salad with some glasses of Merlot. Do you wish you were here? Mr. and Mrs. N.
2/2/02 Dear Mr & Mrs N. Ask Barbara to put your wedding pictures on the website! You always did love salmon the best. Happy Birthday, Mom! Barbara, Why not put out a general call for pictures from all my readers? That could be fun!
1/27/02 I look at your website every other day and enjoy reading of your adventure. You are having a little fan club here already, like me, my sister Martina, both our Michaels and Norbert. I would not mind three meter seas if I could be where you are now. We love you. Ingrid in Germany
2/2/02 Dear Ingrid, Martina, Micheal, Michael, Norbert and Clam, I don't feel so adventurous. Perhaps when I get caught up with the work! Calm seas today. I don't mind the rough seas at all except it's harder to work.I brought a few pictures from home and I look at them once and a while. I have a picture of me, you and Norbert together with our devil fingers. Love to all of you in Germany!
1/28/02 I'm enjoying your reports on your adventure. I'm excited for you, having this opportunity. Be sure to report on iceberg sightings. I'll be at the Rydges Hotel in Christchurch; arriving on March 1, from Wellington. Be sure to update your website on your eta. Love, Dad
2/2/02 Looking forward to seeing you! Seeing several icebergs. Best and closest one today. Love, Anna
1/29/02 What a challenge! What a WOMAN !!! Party on! Love, Catherine and Van
2/2/02, Dear Catherine and Van, A challenge yes, a party, no. Remember this is serious work! Love, Anna
1/29/02 Anna, mental minute update here. We missed you last night, and voted on several issues including the fact that we all want to go to Kabuto's soon, and fly to the Bahamas next winter (via fundraiser calender). Acting Pres Anita established a phone tree system for us. The theme was "get crocked" and we had several delicious crock pot dishes. The rest of the evening was spent in an impromptu arm wrestling tournament; I felt like it was my duty as an officer to make everyone feel strong and secure by losing to all, even Pru. Next meeting will be at Anita's as it's her birthday and she has a hot tub. Love, Keeper of the Mental Minutes
2/2/02 Dear Keeper, Thanks for the report, but I'm very disappointed you've lowered yourself to written, not mental, minutes. The ship has a hot tub.
1/30/02 Anna we also had a meeting and while we didn't arm wrestle we talked about having a Wesson Oil Party. I visited Gorm and he has really done a job on your kitchen, it looks good. I think your going to like the addition of the beer tapper he has installed throughout the house. One serious question for you, could you send someone to check out the Ross Ice shelf? It's reported here that it is broken off and needs to be reattached, might be a good time to make some big points with us folks in the northern hemisphere. Have fun. Tom Mann
2/2/02 Dear Tom, Gorm's just trying to keep up with the Keelers! Didn't want the word to get out yet but you just hit on our secret mission. What will you do with the oil? Put in the fire truck's pool?
1/30/02 Hello Anna! It sounds like you're having quite an time! It's good to have you in our hemisphere. Hell, you're so close, why don't you borrow the ship's dingy and come by for a visit. Thanks for taking the time to keep your friends up to date on yor big adventure. Mack & Jill Horton Melbourne Australia
Dear Mack & Jill, Thanks for the offer to visit. I wish I had the time. I just have to get back to my honey!! Wish we could talk him into meeting me there! What do you say Gorm? Loved seeing you this winter!
2/3/02 Dear Anna, I have such mixed feelings about your recent reports. Contradictions abound! No time for fun, you claim, while in the same post telling us several times about an alleged hot tub on board. I'll have to bring this up at the next aux. meeting for discussion. We send our condolences re: one glass of wine per week. You might remind that captain that it's Mardi Gras season. What in God's name are the phytoplankton up to? Love, Barbara
Dear Barbara, Today is Valentines Day and the Robin Williams lookalike's birthday. I haven't given much thought to Mardi Gras but I'm on the hunt for some Valentine's chocolate. I don't want just any chocolate like hump day chocolate handed out to the masses but special chocolate saved for only one special Valentine. I've done some scoping and only a few men have chocolate stashed away. Until I broached the subject, most hadn't thought about giving a piece to a special Valentine but I've convinced most of them that it is appropriate. I wait until the end of the day to find out who be those special someone's. I made for the the cooks painted Valentine's Day card 70 ml bottles today. And I made Robin Williams a Birthday card bottle. I filled the bottles with blue colored Southern Ocean.
2/4/02 Anna, great answers, I'm still waiting on the pic of the gals in the bikinis perhaps you could put a streaming video cam in the hot tub room. Have you guys discovered anything new? How much does Antarctica weigh? Is gravity the same there as here? Can you get loons to cook & eat there? Reply earliest, Tom
2/13/02 Dear Early Loony Tom. If it makes you feel any better, the hot tub failed it's first hot test. Apparently it heats seawater a few 10's of degrees. Our seawater is -1. The hot tub temperature only got up to about 50 degrees F. Needless to say, it has not been the most popular spot on the boat.
2/4/02 Do you suppose that Canada and Mexico have their very own weather channel and they may just very well be the culprits in this whole "el Nino" thing? Very unconcerned but love you in N.C.
2/13/02 Dearest Unconcerned. So you beat Barbara arm wrestling! Well done. Have you visited Gorm? Have your children forgotten me?
2/6/02 Happy Hump Day! How do you plan to celebrate ? (I want graphic details) Stranded in Straits
2/13/02 Dear Stranded. Did you know that Strand means beach in Danish? Hump day was actually the point of some confusion, some thought it was the 5th, 6th or 7th. I celebrated by eating the piece of chocolate that was given to me on the 7th. The chocolate was a Cadbury bar with square pieces. Each piece was slightly raised and contained a small tasty lump of a fruity paste. I wanted more.
2/15/02 Dear Anna - a clearer picture emerges, yet contradictions remain. A hot tub suitable for only penguins, YOU ARE ROUGHING IT! Yet chocolates left on your pillow by a MAID!?! I can't help but notice a certain obsession with chocolate that has overtaken your thoughts - completely understandable! But I hope images of Cadbury do not cloud your quest to understand the EFFECTS OF IRON FERTILIZATION!!!!!!!!!! Do not lose sight at this critical point, herr scientessa! p.s. did I tell you we had chocolate fondue at our last aux. meeting? Love and Hersheys Kisses, Barbara
2/23/02 Dear Barbara, The effect of iron fertilization is an overwhelming obsession with chocolate. But don't say anything just yet. It'll be published in NATURE next week!
2/15/02 Dear Anna I am sick so I didn't go to school.Mommy said we will visit your doggy's.My mommy dosn't belive you feed your doggy's orange juse.Will you tell her it's true.i miss you veary mutch,Love SIDNEY JANE
2/23/02 Dear Sidney, I'm sorry you were sick. Thanks for thinking of my babies. I'm looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks! Love, Anna
Dear Prudence, If you don't believe us, go see for yourself. Lucy only partakes when she sees how much Lone likes it so make sure Lone gets some first. Don't give her grapefruit juice, it will confuse her.
2/26/02 Dear Anna-sorry its taken me so long to write, but I've been soooo busy hunting and scrounging--Caryn's keeping her birdfeeder filled, and my days are filled with scoping out my next treat-it's not chocolate, but the feathered variety will have to do. we miss you on Polly Way Lane--hurry home! Love, Kiki
2/23/02 Dear Kiki, I hope you aren't bringing your treats back to Caryn! Glad to hear you made it through the winter.. Looking forward to seeing you in my driveway! Funny how you wrote me three days from now and I got it so quickly. Anna
2/19/02 Anna, I believe that your experiments are starting to take hold. With all that iron pellets your putting out we have started to notice that a rust ring is developing in our toilet bowl. Will you and your team be available to get rid of it when you come home? I never noticed it prior to this reckless experiment. PS do you guys have a map to get home by? C YA Tom
2/23/02 Dear Anna, I went to see Shackelton's Antartic Adventure and I am still cold. How strong is your boat?