White stuff

The Shining Sea Bikeway with fresh snow

Ladies and gentlemen, my world has been covered in white powder. It snowed a good 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) on Cape Cod last night, and the white stuff just keeps falling. I got to ride my bike to WHOI in the snow this morning, and judging by the single tire track I saw on the bike path, I was exactly the second person to do so. The ride was absolutely stunning. Check out the picture at right.

210 settlement plates, all cut and ready to go

Once I got to the lab, there was even more white stuff to be had! I had been waiting on a table saw to be available so I could cut the lexan I ordered into settlement plates, and today was the day! Phil, a delightful WHOI employee who has been connecting me with power tools and training, helped me load the giant sheets into a pick-up and take them over to the machine shop. Originally, the objective was just to transport the sheets, but I ended up cutting them all today. If you've ever tried to handle a 4' x 8' sheet of plastic, you'll realize how grateful I was for Phil's help. Those things can get unwieldy! It took both of us to manage the lexan into the shop.

We used the table saw to cut my sheets into strips, then I switched over to a chop saw to cut the strips into squares. The fast-spinning blades threw plastic shavings all over the shop, covering the bench and me in a layer of white. It looked like indoor snow! After a few hours, though, I had 15 x 15 cm squares - 210 of them, ready to be used in my experiment. It was a very productive day!

And now, to bike home in the snow.