Tribute to the M.S. Explorer

I found this link from the National Geographic Site. I thought it was a nice tribute to the M.S. Explorer which sank a month ago in the Antarctic Peninsula.

M.S. Explorer Tribute

National Geographic Article

There was an interesting article in the January 2008 National Geographic. It is about all of the computers, TVs and other high tech devices that are improperly disposed of all over the world. The amount of toxic chemicals that we release into the atmosphere is ridiculous. Not to mention all of the people in third world countries who are exposed to these toxins every day because they are trying to salvage materials from the discarded devices. I have provided the link below. I hope this strikes a chord with everyone because we are all effected by it.

High Tech Trash

iPhone vs. iPod touch

I have been an Apple supporter for a long time now. My relationship with the local Apple store has only gotten stronger over the years, as they have brought out one intriguing product after another. I have even been fortunate enough to be a beta tester for some of their products. Today, I finally opened the iPod touch that has been sitting on my desk for a week. To be honest, I didn't feel that I had the need for it, as my iPhone provides me with everything I need.
Now the box has been opened and what a wonderful surprise the iPod touch turned out to be. It is basically just a slimmer, sleeker version of the iPhone but without the phone and camera. The display is a bit wider. The interface is the same and the design is just as remarkable. I imagine that it will fit nicely into my family of Apple products. The best thing about the "iProducts" is the ability to carry around a portfolio of my work, in my pocket, all the time. I cannot tell you how many times I have been able to turn somebody on to my work at a social gathering by having a portable collection of my photography with me. It is a wonderful marketing tool. I could not be any happier with Apple products.

New York Times Links

Hello everyone,
Yesterday, the NY Times featured a very interesting article about Antarctica. In their article they gave two links pertaining specifically to Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica. I thought I would share them with you as well.

U.S. Geological Survey

NASA

Response to Antarctica posting

Shortly after my last posting, I received this response:

"Mort,
That was an amazing, amazing note. To be reminded of such an adventure, such a place and such a small group of people who were there at the time. It was like climbing Everest without oxygen.
Thanks for sharing this.

Best, John"

Correspondence from Antarctic traveling companion.

I recently received an email from a gentleman who also participated in the historic journey to the South Pole in 1957-58. As you may or may not know, I was part of "Operation Deep Freeze". It was an expedition through Antarctica, to the Pole and back again, ending at Scott Base, where we caught up with Sir Edmund Hillary and the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Here is an excerpt from that email:

"G'day, Morton...

This is a voice from McMurdo Sound, 50 years ago -- I'm Geoffrey Lee Martin. You may remember we flew to the South Pole, Jan 18, 1958, with Rear Admiral George Dufek and Sir Edmund Hillary to meet Vivian Fuchs' party there on Jan 20.

I was attached to Operation Deep Freeze for that summer, representing both The Daily Telegraph, London, and the New Zealand Herald. I had been a field party member of Sir Edmund Hillary's expedition the previous summer, 1956-57, but had switched to USNavy accreditation for the 1957-58 summer to be able to report more freely for my newspapers.

I've just published a heavily illustrated (from 50-year-old Kodachrome transparancies) memoir "Hellbent for the Pole" (Random House in NZ, Allen & Unwin in Australia) which recounts what we were doing at that time. Extracts can be viewed on my website: www.hellbentforthepole.com There are two or three pix of you in the book -- including a rather handsome head-and-shoulders shot in dark glasses! I believe the Polar Times will be reviewing Hellbent in its upcoming issue.

We are all getting on a bit, now, of course (Ed Hillary, who is rather frail himself at 88, reminded me recently that "there are only eight of us left" of our original party that built Scott Base). You, I guess, would be one of the youngest survivors of those years.

Judging from your website, you've had a very interesting career after leaving the Navy. I left journalism early in the '70s to head up a medium-sized public relations firm in Sydney, but became bored and rejoined The Daily Telegraph as a foreign correspondent in the mid '80s, spending time in Italy and the Far East before establishing the Sydney bureau."