ndrosen

On Monday I attended the annual meeting of the Patent and Trademark Office Society (remotely, of course), and listened to the usual business, treasurer’s report, and announcement of the new officers. Then we heard a speech by a notable guest, Scott Parazynski, retired astronaut, physician, inventor, climber of Mount Everest, and author of The Sky Below. He had some interesting stories to tell, such as his trip to space with a hero of his, the seventy-seven year old John Glenn, and also the time he and others made a seven hour and nineteen minute space walk to repair a damaged solar array at the International Space Station. First they had to make “cufflinks” to repair it, since they couldn’t just go to Home Depot to buy the needed parts.

He also described some adventures on Earth, such as measuring the depth of the water in one of the world’s highest lakes, in a volcanic caldera in the Andes. The former method had been to haul up a float, and have a man in a dry suit use a plumb bob to measure depths. He devised a better way, using a remotely guided toy boat and sonar. Also, mountaineers climbing Mt. Everest and carrying water can arrive at the top with a few liters of ice, since it gets very cold up there, but Dr. Parazynski devised a water container that went under his coat, enabling adventurers at the top of the world to remain hydrated.

He didn’t even have time to recount all his adventures and accomplishments.