We Pick Things Up Then Put Them Down

I love Cranes!  There, I said it, are you happy now?

Crawler Crane at the South Pole

Crane Operator: "Hey Safety Guy, how old are you?"

Me: "30?"

Crane Operator: "Good, young enough to pick up that 8x8 beam and follow me!"

Today I spend my afternoon attempting to earn the respect of the crane operator.  Little did he realize, I wasn't afraid of a few hours of (cold) hard work and was willing to not question his every move (not a common trait of safety professionals). Not sure if I pulled it off or not, but now he knows I do understand basic rigging and can at least be helpful.

While I'm not in the field all day, spending 3 hours at -40*F helping someone who has avoided you like the plague for the past three weeks certainly breaks the ice.

When he went to the shop to get some more slings I busted out the camera (I didn't want him to see I was enjoying the experience).  While I was taking some pictures of the block and the crane from different angles I noticed a SunDog!

SunDog Behind The Block

The SunDog is caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere.  Behind the block of the crane is the sun and a 22-degree halo is created.  The picture does not do the experience justice.

JNIII

Edit:

1) Forgot to mention, final grades came in today, I have maintained my 4.0 GPA in Grad School!

2) Part of my Amazon Prime order from 12/1 came in today ( Baby Wipes, Nalgene Flask, Cat Crap Anti-Fog Polish, and Trident Chewing Gum).

3) Double Rations for both Tonight and Friday this week due to the Holiday!  (I'll explain how much alcohol we get per day in a later post).