Valentine roses for my sweat heart. I am a lucky man and grateful to share my life with such a wonderful partner.

The Copenhagen Wheel that we manufacture at Superpedestrian includes a novel spoke interface to the hub which we call a smiley. This evening I captured a set of smiley photos that will be used for quality control purposes in conjunction with the company that makes these magnesium castings for us.

I was inspired by above-freezing temperatures and a bit of sunshine to extend my usual morning walk by a couple of miles. Little doubt that this was but a brief respite from several more weeks of winter weather. Still, it was nice to walk by the Charles River and to meander back through the MIT campus. Pictured above is the Stata Center, designed by American architect Frank Gehry.

It rained today from dawn till dusk which was just fine by me.  A perfect excuse to enjoy the Winter Olympics.  Normally, I would never spend time watching the biathlon or curling or snowboarding. Wrap it in an Olympic blanket and I am glued to the couch.   I did manage a morning workout with Jeanine, good for 4 miles on the elliptical, so I do not feel entirely guilty about my binge-viewing.

I have photographed the Sudbury River from this bridge many times. For the first time, I was able to include it in the composition using my new drone. Now if I could only get the sun to cooperate. I spent close to an hour flying today and my skills have improved dramatically.  

I practiced taking off and landing from the roof of my car which proved to be very easy.  I wouldn’t say I could land on a dime but I think I could set one of the legs on a quarter if it were not too windy.

For the past week, I have been walking past this old TV on my way to and from Central Square for breakfast and lunch. As I approached it today, I thought it might be on until I got closer and realized it had been turned into an art frame.  It put a smile on my face and led me to wonder how long the TV would remain here before someone collected it or smashed it.  Time will tell.

As the sun was starting to set, I had a chance to take my new flying camera for a test flight.  I started very cautiously until I felt confident with my piloting skills and then took photos of our house and the field behind it.  I can already tell that aerial photography is something I am going to enjoy immensely.  I apologize in advance to regular followers of this blog for the deluge of overhead photos that are likely to appear in the coming weeks.

Jeanine’s lemon tree continues to produce fruit year after year and evokes memories of her father every time a new lemon arrives. Larry was an avid gardener and quite fond of growing lemons.

With Superpedestrian’s CEO on the road, responsibility for hosting visitors from a Japanese company fell to me.  We encourage all of our guests to take a quick ride before getting down to business. Nothing beats working on a product that is guaranteed to generate smiles.  It is the universal reaction to your first ride on a Copenhagen Wheel, an experience that transcends languages and culture.

I opted for a healthy lunch today which took me to the salad bar at Whole Foods rather than on my usual trek to the calorically challenged restaurants of Central Square. On the way back I took a shortcut through Alberico Park where I encountered this unique play structure.

While out shopping for nacho ingredients, I drove past a couple of interesting sights worthy of a quick photo.  The chair on frozen pond is not very strong aesthetically, but I found myself wondering why it was there and trying to determine how long before the ice supporting it melts away. I may have to check up on it every couple of days to find out what happens.

I am not known for my cooking prowess and living with a veritable Top Chef does not add to my courage for experimentation. Today, however, I was determined that we should have nachos while watching the Superbowl.  With a small amount of coaching, I managed an edible, if not tasty result.  I was particularly pleased with the uniformity of the cheese distribution.

Verrill Farms sponsored a pancake breakfast to benefit research for ovarian cancer.  The mother of one of their employees is battling the disease.  One of my sisters is an ovarian cancer survivor and we were happy to support the cause with a donation in her name.

I took a half-day road trip today for the express purpose of photography hoping that the combination of light snow from last night and the forecasted sunshine would provide some good opportunities. Above is Mount Monadnock with Mountain Brook Reservoir in the foreground. Below is Doane’s Falls in Royalston.  There was a better angle to be had closer to the water but in a rare moment of thoughtful risk analysis, I determined that any attempt to traverse the ice-covered stones would end very badly. The last image is of he Cathedral of the Pines, a nationally recognized memorial dedicated to the memory and honor of all Americans who serve the nation in search of peace.

Temperatures this morning were just above freezing which felt like a veritable warm spell and motivated me to get out for a 4-mile walk after breakfast. The sounds of demolition brought me to MIT’s four-story West Garage which is being razed to make room for a new undergraduate residence hall. Not exactly clear to me how you make up for the loss of 370 parking spaces in a part of town where people already guard their parking spots with lawn chairs and traffic cones.