January 22, 2000

Dan "Marilyn Monroe" Lubin sings Happy Birthday to Bob "Mr. President" Farrell, Station Manager.

Last night the wind picked up and we saw gusts of 60 knots! There were a lot of white-capped waves coming across Arthur Harbor and, with a strong northerly most of the ice blew out into the Bismarck Strait. I am glad that Steve and I had not yet dismantled the aeolian, or wind, harp that we installed on the roof of the Bio Lab. The array comprises various lengths of copper wire and steel guitar strings. These are connected to small piezo electric transducers. The transducers are usually employed as buzzers and speakers in video games and in other devices. They are essentially a flat brass disk with a ceramic material. If wired properly they also function as inexpensive contact microphones--capable of amplifying intimate acoustic details in the soundscape. I learned how to use these arrays from the composer and sound artist, Richard Lerman, nearly 20 years ago. I am always amazed at what they can pick up and the ways in which my sonic horizons are ever expanding!

Piezo electric transducer clamped to an antenna guy wire. The small wires soldered to the brass disk vibrate, or "ring," at a higher frequency than the cable to which the transducer is attached--producing a variety of pitched sounds.

I secured a number of the guitar strings and copper runs that had become slack and attached transducers to the various antennae, guy wires and cables that are installed on the roof. A couple of gusts almost bowled me over and I found myself hanging on to anything in sight. But the harp began to sing. In the distance, snow blew off the Marr Ice Piedmont and enveloped the terminus of the glacier in a diffuse, foggy light. The wind continued throughout the day, mixing snow sleet and rain in various horizontal and diagonal patterns across Station. I managed to obtain some wonderful timbres and tones...

In the evening, we celebrated Bob Farrell's birthday--which is tomorrow. U.S. News and World Report correspondent, Charlie Petit, is also celebrating his birthday tomorrow and scientist, Charles "Buck" Wilson, turns 71 in a few days...

Click here to listen to an MP3 sample of the aeolian, or wind, harp on the roof of the Bio Lab.