Howdy Y’all ~ We just celebrated THANKSGIVING on the JOIDES RESOLUTION, an American Research Vessel, in service to the international science community (www.JoidesResolution.org) ~ This year’s Tx-Giving Day was one of the most memorable ones in my life!
Photo credits for the picture of a “Shy Albatross” off the coast of New Zealand are gratefully going to Prof. Simon George (Macquarie University, Sydney Australia). Simon, an organic & inorganic chemist, is also an avid bird-watcher, and took this shot while studying the effects of naturally occurring sea level changes, modified by tectonic processes. Sediment records of this expedition cover a time period of the past 15+ million years within the Canterbury Basin region (South Island of New Zealand).
Getting back to “Thanksgiving”: This Holiday is certainly about “Food”, but offers many people also a sincere opportunity to look inside themselves, and to contemplate about the blessings we receive every day.
To me “Thanksgiving 2009″ was very much related to the fact that we unite about 15 to 20 nationalities on board the ship, working on this particular mission of maritime research off the beautiful coast of New Zealand. And besides the actual (fun!) work & top-professionalism we witness every moment out here, the human aspect of this endeavor is truly remarkable!
Get a glimpse of our life on board of the JR and follow our expedition every week on JR’s IODP Expedition 317 website!
With that we are wishing everyone in this beautiful World a Happy Holidaze!
“Middle Earth” & “The Lord of the Rings” are sure alive ~ however in many good & positive ways…and the journey continues…
Practice Peace in Gratitude ~
Thomas Joerg
PS: Thank you Lara (Miles, IODP’s core curator) for the great picture of the baby crocodile in my hands when visiting a wildlife park in Townsville, Australia. This little creature felt sooo incredible…

PS#2: Talking about “Food” & “Health” - of course, we gotta add one comment here…
Living on the JR is something like experiencing the TRIPLE-COMBO OF SUPER-SIZE-ME, with an overload of excellent food ~ an onslaught that hits you every 3 hours, or so (if you are diligent on your “Super-Size Mission” ~ as I am…)
Everything with this is perfect, except that by now I know, for example, what the effects of lesser-quality H2O on our body are (dehydration, acidification of our body tissue & organs, etc.) On board of the vessel we drink “reverse osmosis” H2O, which draws minerals out of your body (which is not a good thing for anybody…), and in addition by now I also know the difference of drinking water that just sits in your stomach like a balloon ~ versus the smooth and silk-like tasting & feeling Kangen-H2O.
After 3-4 weeks without KANGEN-H2O, I notice again more wrinkles on my face again (…OK, you darn narcissist, you can live with that…), and with lesser smoothness of my skin & hair, I feel more itchy-ness on my scalp again ~ which I normally do not have anymore since I have started drinking my KANGEN-H2O at home.
In addition, I notice more issues with my joints & bones (it is physically challenging out here after all), and it definitely bothers me at times more compared to when I drink my KANGEN-H2O at home (I normally work out also when I am at home…) KANGEN-H2O hydrates & lubricates your joints in a near-perfect way, which helps to reduce joint & bone pain.
So, I can only - gratefully! - refer to more information about KANGEN-H2O, and wish you a good sense & judgment to try it out yourself for a while!
Contact us via email at kangen.thomas@yahoo.com should you have any further questions or comments in that regard, and we are also happy to connect you with other very knowledgeable & experienced “Kangen People”.