JPP Here

[JPP]

I've already posted on the PBC thread so I guess this comes a bit late... I stumbled across this site because I've always enjoyed barbecue and was envious of those with the know how, patience, and ability to make good BBQ. I was looking for an electric smoker and man am I glad I found this place! The reason I refer to myself as an armchair enthusiast... I didnt think i had the skill or patience needed to do it right. Finding this place on the web helped me finally take the plunge. I'm a software engineer these days, working for a large internationally known company now but I used to work in cosmic ray astrophysics. I grew up in Connecticut, college in Boston, grad school at Indiana, lived in Italy for a year as well as Delaware and Utah. I now live in Massachusetts where the weather stinks but its near family. I've been to the south pole on three occasions while working for the University of Delaware... I've seen people do BBQ there too!

[Jon Solberg]

Hi there JPP!

[JPP]

That's a nice looking pizza... did you do that in a PBC?

[Jon Solberg]

No on a weber. I played with pizza and bread alot a few years back.

[Huskee]

Welcome aboard JPP!

[David Parrish]

Wow yet another physicist. The PBC really seems to attract them (physics undergrad here). Welcome to The Pit JPP! Where's the sig? When you have a chance take a few minutes to read my welcome letter as well as tips on how to use The Pit. They can be found in the Welcome and Announcements Channel. In particular, check out my tip #1 on signature creation and tip #4 on pic uploading. Tip #4 will help display your pics in a larger format that's viewable in the thread itself. As you can see we're a small but growing community. The more information and love you put in the more interest we'll get from fellow Pit members. Before you know it we'll have a BBQ wiki bounty of information for everyone to review, improve, share, and use. I look forward to your input!

You'll have to tell us more about those South Pole trips. Any chance a C-130 got you there?

[JPP]

I've noticed that there are a lot of physics folk here! I had planned on an academic track originally in my life but found that I hate to write... at least depending on what I'm writing about. In any case yes indeed I've been on C-130s... however on my first trip to the antarctic, I was on a C-141 starlifter for the flight from New Zealand to McMurdo base. The C-130 was far more uncomfortable and far far longer a flight (8 hrs for the '130 vs. 4 for the 141!) but the 141 is far, far noisier! There is no insulation on those planes! The back is meant for cargo and that's just superfluous weight!

And to tell the truth this is the first social media (or related) place I've given my time to since the days of usenet. I don't do twitter or facebook (everyone else in my family does)... but I've decided that's not for me. But THIS place is an exception. Everyone here so far has been so helpful and so supportive that I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be here.

[JPP]

FWIW, ( bragging rights I guess... and at the risk of seeming a bit ego-maniacle) this shows a far younger me in the Scott/Amundsen Station dining facility in Micheal Palin's "Pole to Pole"

Keep an eye out for the guy in the red shirt with grey suspenders...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctUrYeYn6eI&t=0m50s

[David Parrish]

That's pretty cool. Are you the guy about 52 seconds in?

[JPP]

Yup, that's me! A heck of a lot younger. That was in January, 1991. Met Mr. Palin... On my third trip down (my last) i met Sir David Attenborough... I can tell you that the food was good, but its a really tough place to work. The effective altitude is ten thousand feet above sea level and you're mind does slow down a bit under those conditions.

[David Parrish]

...and you're mind does slow down a bit under those conditions.

No doubt! I don't blame you for not liking the ride in the C-130. It was never designed for passenger comfort. You should try being one of 60 fully loaded paratroopers in the back. Those guys looked miserable.

[JPP]

I can imagine... the flight crew always looked well rested though! And I wish I had a set of the headphones they used... instead of the miserable yellow earplugs they'd give us... although that saved my hearing for sure!