Daily Journal

February 7, 2005:
All Packed Up and No Place to Go

Hundreds of dolphins swim together and cross the path of the ship.

Today we continue home. Our science gear is getting pretty much packed up and ready to be unloaded… two days from now. Scientists are busy people who are used to twenty projects going on at the same time. Needless to say, while the ability to relax is at first luxurious, by day four it becomes torture. To keep busy and reduce the work needed to do at home, Fred is working on a computer program to compile all the data into one central location, so that anyone of us can look up and locate any bit of information we need.

Meanwhile, for the ship’s crew it’s business as usual. They all still have jobs to do. Captain Manion, chief mate Roger, and 3rd mate Tony all take terns on the bridge, steering a course for home.

Q: When such a large of information has been collected, it becomes important to organize it efficiently, so that when a piece of information is needed it can be accessed easily. Think about the ways organization helps you get through your day more easily. What are different ways of organizing information? (Example: how can you find where the Sea of Cortez is?) What sort of places do you think information about you is stored?