Journalist's Report
March 17, 2008
Sean Blackman

Oh, St. Patty's Day (unless you counted Saturday) and we are so far
away from Ireland. That is abundantly obvious here by the complete and
utter lack of the color green in the landscape. But just cause' we're
in a bubble doesn't mean we can't make trouble! Lilting Irish tunes
played continuously from our HAB speakers, and no meal was complete
without some form of green food coloring. While the Irish have yet to
get as far as Mars, Irish blessings came down in scores today as the
snow melted away, the skies cleared, and sun shown warm on our faces
all the day.

But good luck is never accompanied without some imps causing some
mischief first. Within 15 minutes of waking up, pretty much all the
essentials went kaput. Our generator died during breakfast and our
toilet wouldn’t fill with water. Here is a tip to pretty much everyone
who tries to fix things – it’s usually the simple stuff that’s wrong.
How many Aerospace Engineers does it take to figure out the generator
ran out of gas? Apparently more than three, but in our defense the gas
is supposed to refill automatically. And the toilet was a blown fuse.
It took Don to point out both these problems (much to our
embarrassment). But hey, live and learn, right?

In any case, we fixed these “problems” by noon, and we decided it was
time to put on our explorer hats and set off into the Martian
wilderness. We tested our GPS location devices and, after a quick
lunch, set off to the South.

This is truly a strange planet. And what a change from yesterday! Snow
turned to mud, but looked like rock. Rock turned out to be compacted
dirt, and therefore mud. This made for a rather slippery experience. I
dare say slimy, yet satisfying. But we braved the dangers and came out
on top… literally. If there was a hill, we climbed it; a puddle of mud,
we stepped in it; a sight to be seen, we saw it. In short, we breathed
in the air, dared to venture, and soaked in the experience like bread
soaks up melted butter. Today, the Irish smiled upon us….

Back to the HAB, and just in time, as the air became cooler. The rest
of the night was spent being purely Irish. Shepherd’s Pie set the mood
(thanks to Dan), and we watched the Boondock Saints (very Irish). The
only thing missing? You guessed it – Guinness. Apparently, booze and
Mars don’t mix. Oh well, out spirits are high enough that we need to
help from spirits. Overall, it was an amazing day, and one any Irishman
would be jealous of. Well, maybe if he had a pint.

Crew 69 out!