Kidd Creek Mining Expedition

My first sampling trip with the new lab was to an alien environment for me - a deep sub-surface mine. Specifically, I spent a week in Timmins, Ontario where the Kidd Creek mine managed by the Xstrata mining company is located. I got to go "underground" on two days - Wednesday and Thursday. This was a very unusual experience for me since most of our sampling is done not on land as this was, but at sea. But it all boils down to the same tubing and carboy and filtering problems no matter where you are.

I have to credit our guide, Alex, a geologist at Kidd Creek with making this trip seem normal and not dangerous. She was just matter-of-fact about everything. "Stay with me at all times." "No, you can not go to the bathroom unless we all go." "Can I see you there? Then don't go there." This gives you some idea of the safety info we got before hand - the answers to literally 7 of the 8 questions on the safety quiz were some variation of "do not leave your guide".

You wouldn't want to leave your guide because the mine is very much like a giant rabbit warren with no light, water, and the constant danger of rock "burst" or rock explosions from the releasing of pressure/stress built up in some portion of the mine. I'm pretty sure I would have gotten lost in 2 minutes down there without Alex. It all looks the same - dark, rocks, dust, metal scraps, re-bar rock nets, and the occasionally grime covered human in a large vehicle.

We were able to use a truck each day instead of riding the cages down. This was a lot like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Each day starts with the opening of two steel garage doors leading to a dark tunnel coated in some type of cement with pipes running along the ceiling, some of them dripping water, with the only light coming from a truck's headlights. We would follow this ramp that slopes and spirals downward at about a 17degree incline until we reached the levels we would sample from. Every hundred feet deeper marked a new level. The first day I was down we sampled on the 7850 ft and 9000ft levels - so 9000 feet underground. The second day we went to the deepest portion of the current large-scale mining operation - 9200ft and got to sample on a working drilling platform. I believe this is one of the three deepest mines in the world. It was amazing to see the drilling equipment, like giant iron oxen with lots of pneumatic pistons. The mine currently is doing mostly copper and zinc work, but I think other parts of the mine (it has 4 shafts) mine other things. After about 6 hours of work, we'd have to make the drive back up the ramp - an hour of roller-coaster like turns in a speeding 4x4. Definitely worth it.

We were sampling the water and gases that filled some of the exploration boreholes that the company used to map the location of its ore veins. This wasn't too physically difficult - the truck meant that we did not have to carry our gear very far and the ventilation shaft was actually windy, so it didn't get very hot (heat and pressure increase underground). But it did smell (imagine a little rotten eggs, lots of stinky gym socks), and the water was acidic (so your skin would feel soapy as the acid dissolved away your dead skin cells). My lab manager and I had prepared for the heat with steam room visits for the two weeks before the trip, but it was never worse than a Florida summer afternoon.

Yeah, so it was pretty amazing. Just completely different from anywhere else I have ever been. I could regale you with stories I heard from the other researchers from mines in Africa and from Alex about being a woman in this environment... It really seemed like visiting a different planet.

The real mafia

First, I apologize for not writing more and more often. My only excuse is that I am now addicted to WoW.

Hedgehog Guy and I went to a Belgian beer and scotch tasting this Monday night at Liberty Wine Merchants in Point Gray. A co-worker had invited me, and we had a really great time. We got to taste 5 expensive scotches (>$100 bottle) with an expert there to walk us through the tasting process. I learned that scotch can be worth the price! After the initial shock of the alcohol burn (I only coughed once), scotches actually have different tastes from rich, buttery, & chocolaty to smoky & peaty. I liked the 12 year-old blend with light peat notes while Hedgehog Guy liked a less peaty and more buttery one. But the surprising things were that they were all good, I could taste the difference between them, and they have aftertastes that are better and longer-lasting than wine. So now we know what Hedgehog Guy likes, and can find a more in-our-price-range variety. The Belgian beers were okay - I only really liked one.

So this was pretty mafioso for us - high class scotch and beer tasting. But then it got even more gang-like on the way home. Our bus was re-routed right by our home due to a police blockade. Someone (a person already known to police) was shot and killed at the gas station a block and a half from our house about the time we were leaving the tasting across town. Poor Hedgehog Dog probably heard the shots. Vancouver has been hit hard this year by both random and targeted violence (31 to date in the area, 19 in Vancouver proper), and this is the latest incident. It is really disturbing that it happened so near us, and they haven't arrested anyone. Yet it happened at a busy intersection and convenience store? They didn't even canvass our street - like they could have easily driven the get-away car or run down it. Even more disturbing is that the crime scene is still blocked off, but the major road nearby is open while at an older crime scene for the murder of a white female near UBC the major road is still completely blockade with more cops working the case. It seems as if one life is worth more than another?

Sheep...can...be...cool?

Okay, I want to be a Baa-Chick.
If Hedgehog Guy ever asked to buy that many LEDs for some crazy idea with the Beefpile Clan, I would certainly raise an eyebrow until he brought me home the Mona Lisa in sheep.

Rodent update

A fair number of people remarked on the notice that I have a mouse co-habitant, so I thought an update was in order. I think the mouse is smarter than me.

While I admit that this doesn't take much, it is a bit disturbing. First, it successfully avoided the "live" traps while grabbing the goodies. Second, it hasn't even touched the "kill" traps, in like 4 weeks. I have only been sure it has been back once since setting the kill traps, and they are hair spring triggers that will take your finger off in an eye-blink. So I think it is too smart for me. Or else it doesn't like peanut butter and raisins.

Wohoo!

Hedgehog Guy got a post-doc at UBC!  He starts in May.

Hedgehog Guy's Defense

So I realized that have not written about Hedgehog Guy's big day.

Wednesday, February 18th started off cold and rainy with snow flurries mixed in (a bit like last night here!). Fortunately, it was not a bad omen for the defense! We lunched at a new restaurant on Main Street with Hedgehog Mom and Pop and then dropped off Hedgehog Guy at the lab while the rest of us grabbed the last few yummies for the audience to munch on while Hedgehog Guy gave his presentation.


Then it was time for the big presentation. Hedgehog Guy had really stressed about it, but he had a full room of listeners and did a great job. Only one "uhm" that I counted!


The next step was for Hedgehog Guy's committee to question him in a closed session, so Jason's closest friends who had driven in for the event along with Hedgehog parents and I waited in the hall outside the room, nervously awaiting the outcome. I think I was most nervous when he came out for a few minutes and said it had been really hard and had to go back in. But it turned out fine! He says he definately felt like he defended his dissertation and earned his PhD!


Then it was all fun and games - Hedgehog Guy got to pop the traditional bottle of champagne and serve a fabulous cake that one of his labmates made. We also got treated to some wine and cheese in the lab by Hedgehog Guy's boss - it was a big day for him too! Afterwards we all headed to a local tavern, Deer Park, for some nachos and beer. But half of everyone left before the nachos got there, and we all ended up with more heartburn! Almost seems fitting... We are all so proud of him. Thank you to Chris, Richard, Damien, and Kurt. You guys are an inspiration to us and made this process look too easy!

Moving update

Hooray! All our stuff is here - it feels like home!

The moving company called on Monday morning and "our" van had arrived late Sunday night. Hedgehog Guy and I drove down to the border that afternoon and got the shipment cleared through customs. We learned in this process that as temporary workers, we didn't need the big long, itemized inventory that we had labored over. It took a lot of restraint not to slap my hand to my forehead and only mutter "oh, really..." when we heard that. But the van was cleared, and our stuff only 30 miles or so from the house.

Tuesday was nerve-wracking as we tried to hire some semi-professional moving help because we knew we couldn't get the couch and dressers in without assistance. Our dilemma was that we only knew that the truck was coming in a 2 hour window on Wednesday morning. But we didn't want to either pay people to sit and wait for the truck or have the truck arrive without anyone to help us (because we would only have an hour to unload everything). Hedgehog Guy finally arranged for 2 paid helpers and 3 of my lady labmates to come at about 10:30am in hopes that the truck wouldn't come before then, but very soon afterwards. Neither of us slept Tuesday night as we were constantly worried that the noises we were hearing were the moving van arriving early!

Wednesday came and our help arrived promptly at 10:30 as did the truck! We got it all unloaded in about 45 minutes, to the delight of the truck driver and my friends. None of the stuff was broken, only a few dents in the kitchen island/butcher block, and one scoff on the front of my dresser (nothing a another layer of varnish later in life won't fix). We lost a fair bit of finish off the top of the good ole' IKEA entertainment center, but nothing a nice runner doesn't cover. No broken pictures or glasses (yet), and only a couple small tears in the boxspring and on one piece of the couch. No missing boxes, nothing appears to have really moved much on the trip, just "settled". I feel like all our stuff is really ours now, it isn't new and can't claim to look unused anymore!

The computers work, as does the microwave and coffee maker. I even made bread right away in the bread maker. What a great way to christen a home - with fresh bread. The house feels really different with stuff in all the space now. I'm actually looking forward to going home and relaxing tonight.