Alternate Sys Admin

[will]

Hello everybody…

I’ve been lurking on this board for quite a while and have found it very helpful.

I have been offered the alternate system administrator position at McMurdo. Any information/tips about working in IT at McMurdo would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance and hope to see you soon.

Neil

[MightyAtlas]

You like gladiator movies?

[will]

Nope. Not that there’ anything wrong with that…

[thepooles98]

Atlas is the IT guy. Send him a note.
From what I glean from the rules that trickle down to the common folk, there are a huge host of issues dealing with regulations about government systems. Add to that all the weirdos whose joy in life is to hack the systems. Add to that the fact that the main operation program MAPCON is a dinosaur DOS program left over from the 80″s. Everything is run over satlinks over great distances. An interesting systems environment

[Sciencetech]

Last time I was there they all seemed like a fun group… Except for that one character, what was his name? Started with an A… Hmmm. Atlas, that was it. I’d stay away from him.
😛

[thepooles98]

If you were a systems admin, would that make you one of A’s bosses? If I remember right A told me that system admins primary responsibility is to provide coffee and humor to the techs. Run errands etc. Oh yeah and if there is any time left over, you might have some hardware and software thingys to deal with.
M

[will]

I’m good at running errands. I’ve been married for a long time…

By the way, my status was just changed from alternate to primary, so I just need to finish the PQ process and the rest of the paper work.

See you in October!

Neil

[thepooles98]

Neil, get busy right away on the PQ. Don’t delay a minute. I started in Mid May and just 2 weeks ago got PQ’d. It can take forever if something is a little out of whack.
 
You get an appt in a couple of weeks. Take the physical. Mail it to denver. 3 weeks later you get the word that you need a cat scan or something. Those sometimes take a month to schedule if it isn’t an emergency. Do the same for the dental and you may be close to missing the deadline. By now I’m sure there are winfly people dropping out because they didn’t get everything done in time.
Mike

[wiczster]

     I’m new to this message board. How does it work?
 
                                  Rick

[wiczster]

    I just checked out your 2000 pictures of Anarctica Supply. Sounds like alot of fun down there. I worked for Carquest for 7 years and NAPA Auto parts for 2 years and have been with an Auto Value store for the last 3 years. I am ASE certified in Automotive aftermarket parts and currently the assistant manager of a auto parts store within a chain of 36 stores. My applicacation is on file with Raytheon. Been picking away at them for the last 3 years. What else can I do to get down to the the “Big Dead Continent?”
 
                       Rick

[LittleChipper]

Hello,

Yes… THANK YOU for sharing your story. I will be a new Shuttle driver this year – and had to go through a few extra tests myself. (They didn’t like my 307 Cholesterol  – I got it down to 150 WHEW) It’s good to know that you could request the waiver and receive it.
 
I enjoy watching the banter on here…. and look forward to driving you around maybe?
(I think you will be safer INSIDE the vehicle than being a pedestrian….muuuhhaaaaahaaaaa)
I’m KIDDING…..!!!!  “I’m an excellent driver”…. etc. etc.
 
Congrats on your results.
Jo

From: ostkaka1@aol.com
To: antarcticmemories@groups.msn.com
Subject: Re: Alternate Sys Admin
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 10:43:34 -0700

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Find a local pizza place, movie theater, and more….then map the best route! Find it!

[skua77]

Neil,
Here’s another perspective on physicals…I was offered a Pole w/o job in November (2004, for 2005) and I was working far away from home and my primary care physician. Fortunately I was in Pittsburgh and the U of Pittsburgh Medical Center has an “executive health clinic” which specialized (among other things) in giving physicals on short notice to people who need them for overseas postings. Anyway, I was able to get an appointment within a week for everything except the pancreatic ultrasound (something that w/o Polies have to get nowadays) and had to make a separate trip back for that a few days later (well, the appointment for that was at 2 PM and it was one of those “fasting” things. Ugh). Anyway, I’m not recommending putting off the PQ process, but if you get a job offer at the last minute and if you are around a major city I suggest you check out the biggest and bestest medical center or clinic and see if they have a similar operation.

[will]

Hey Neil,
 
Great to hear you flip-flopped and got the job offer. Looks like we may be working together in some manner. I have been hired as a Desktop technician arriving sometime in October for my first season. Still don’t believe I will actually be leaving for the continent in about two months. Right now I am still in denial and probably feel like a dream getting off the plane onto a sea of ice…
 
Allan T.

[MightyAtlas]

Neil and Allan —
 
Looking forward to meeting you both.  October’s a busy month, so you’ll both be thrown in to what will seem like a big mess.  It’s organized chaos, and will settle down once November hits.
 
I’m leaving the ice in three weeks, and won’t return till October 25th.  I’ll miss most of the fun, but will be here in time for my station-wide birthday party (for some reason, they call it a Halloween party). 
 
You’ll both have good Supervisors.  Neil, yours is Joe, and Allan, ours is Rick.  They’ll get you FNGs off on the right foot.
 
Finish your PQ as soon as possible, and get it out of the way.  Believe me, it’s the biggest hurdle you’ll have to go through. 
 
The deployment process is changing a bit this year, but they haven’t told us exactly what it will be.  Sorry I can’t be of more help there.  Once Mike Poole goes through it at Winfly, he’ll be able to post what the changes are.
 
Okay, it’s beddy-bye time here at McMurdo.  Take care, guys.  See you down  here SOON!
 
Oh, and write me if you have any questions.
 
Later.
 
a

[will]

Thanks for all the good advice regarding the PQ process. I’ve completed the pysical / labs part. Still need to do the dental. Of course, from everything that I’ve read here, Raytheon may want more so I’ll try stay on top of it.

Thanks again… Looking forward to meeting you all.

Neil

[Author]

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