It is true that I have a large collection of high performance flashlights. I will not say how many to protect the innocent. Three of these take the form of headlamps to which I added a fourth today. Although the headlamps I own are exceptional, none of them provide in situ charging. Our upcoming trip to New Zealand and Australia will last for 5 weeks and a single battery charge will not suffice for the full duration. I could use my much loved ZebraLight (pictured below) and bring an external charger, or purchase a flat-top 18650 type battery with a built in charge port, or pack a couple of extra batteries. When I did the weight, bulk and cost analysis, I decided that the best option would be to purchase a new headlamp with a built-in charger (pictured above). One of the challenges of international air travel is that you have to limit your carry-on weight to the most restrictive airline and nothing with a lithium battery can be placed in checked baggage. In my case, that includes the following 18 batteries/devices and I also prefer to carry my lenses with me rather than risk them to the baggage handlers. This is why weight and bulk are so important.
Kyle has moved on from Cartagena to Santa Marta for the remainder of his stay in Columbia. He sent this picture of his friend and her dog during an evening stroll on the beach. Maya is worried that Kyle may not be returning to the US. I am beginning to share that concern.
On the home front, we enjoyed a visit from my sister, Alissa, this evening. She was in Boston to attend a presentation at MIT on cancer research. For the first time in our marriage, I was entrusted with (or, rather, assigned) meal preparation for a guest. We had steamed salmon and rice, which turned out rather well. I do not count the salad, which came from a kit. Jeanine was full of advice on seasoning that I was satisfied to ignore, but I did take note when she pointed out that the rice cooker was not actually running ten minutes after I thought I had started it.
For several years, Nicolai has been the Assistant Wrestling Coach at Concord Academy. This afternoon, he invited us to attend a quad meet with Portsmouth Abbey School and Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall. Concord needed a win against Abbey to secure a first-place finish in their division. Jeanine had a prior commitment, but I was able to attend and enjoyed watching the team win 55-24 with many exciting matches that could have gone either way. My muscles are now quite sore from all the virtual moves I made from my seat in the bleachers. Anyone who has ever wrestled knows what I am talking about.
Our good friend and neighbor Dave DeLong just published his fourth book. Hidden Talent: How to Employ Refugees, the Formerly Incarcerated & People With Disabilitiesis based on 10 case studies of businesses committed to hiring people from typically overlooked talent pools. It also has short stories of workers who have overcome major obstacles to successful employment.
Here is a link to a sample chapter and more info on the book: ReadHiddenTalent.com
Dave is a nationally recognized expert on addressing chronic workforce shortages by recruiting and employing traditionally marginalized workers. We are fortunate to live in a community with so many talented and interesting people.
Late this morning, we experienced a magnitude 3.8 earthquake. The epicenter was SE of York, Maine, near Boon Island, roughly 66 miles from here as the crow flies. At first, I thought it was a slab of snow sliding off the roof, but I could not see any evidence of that. Then I thought it might be a mis-balanced load of laundry in the washing machine. Not until I checked my e-mail to see that neighbors had already identified the event as an earthquake did I make the connection. To be fair, this was a very tiny quake the size of which occurs 500,000 times a year. Even so, it is quite a rare thing to experience living in our neck of the woods.
Kyle shared this photo of the haircut he received today. I think it reflects the emergence of his inner Ecuadorian. Also shared was a video of a flaming dinner entry served to the table he was sharing with a new friend. We are all starting to worry that he may never come back.
A friend of ours was not feeling well, and when Jeanine offered to help out, we got a chance to take her dog Mingo, for an extended walk. Mingo was very well-behaved and kept close as we traversed a path through Concord Conservation land. Our friend continued to feel worse and eventually went to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and had an immediate appendectomy.
Jeanine was invited to speak at the grand opening of Open Table’s new annex (warehouse) this morning. During her tenure as the Executive Director, she was instrumental in securing the property and building. The space has been fully renovated and connected by a loading dock/breezeway to the main Open Table facility. Other speakers at the event included State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Kate Hogan. She delivered her comments to a standing-room-only crowd before helping with the ribbon cutting.
I have heard about lap dogs, but this is my first exposure to a laptop cat. Maya’s friend and flatmate Fiona recently adopted it, and Maya has secured some form of co-parenting rights. Although the feline prevented Maya from using her computer, it did not stop her from a scheduled meeting at work with her canine friends.
While we are experiencing the coldest winter day so far, Kyle is basking in the sun of Cartagena. Meanwhile, Nicolai has returned from Costa Rica with sunburn over his entire face.
I am happy to report that the house is warm and toasty. Our geothermal system is virtually unaffected by the outside air temperature since we are drawing heat from deep in the ground where the temperature remains between 45–54°F.
Jeanine spotted 5 coyotes walking on the frozen Sudbury River this morning. I managed to capture this photo of four of them. They were very far away and I was shooting through triple-pane glass which explains the poor photo quality. If not for the 2°F outdoor temperature and the fact that I was in my bathrobe, I would have ventured out for a better image.
After snow blowing 4″ of new snow from our driveway before sunrise, I drove to the Old North Bridge to get some early morning photos before visitors could add their footprints to the scene. I launched my drone for an overhead aerial view but curtailed the flight when I got a low battery temperature warning. When I returned home, I made another short flight to capture a snowscape of our house as seen from the river.
While we were dealing with the snow and cold, Kyle moved further south from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia. I wish this “Digital Nomad” lifestyle was a thing when I was his age. I am thrilled that he is availing himself of the opportunity to travel so much. I am also glad he has moved on from Panama, given our new President’s desire to “take it back,” referring to the Panama Canal.
Jeanine and I just watched the movie “Unstoppable,” the story of 2011 NCAA 125-pound wrestling champion Anthony Robles based on his book of the same title. It was an excellent movie that we can highly recommend. Nicolai is pictured here with Anthony in 2010 after attending a wrestling clinic that he conducted. Anthony stuck around after the clinic to give Nicolai some one-on-one coaching, and we wound up giving him a ride to the airport. What is not apparent from the movie is that Anthony is a genuinely wonderful human being. We are all thrilled with the success he has earned for himself.
After receiving a quote for $2,600 to fabricate and install a stainless steel handrail for our front steps, I decided to do the job myself. The components cost $164, and it took me less than 2 hours. The design may not be quite as elegant as the custom one I originally envisioned, but it is super sturdy, and I can think of many better things to spend the savings on.
Yesterday’s game between the national amputee soccer teams for the US and Costa Rica ended in a 0-0 tie. Jeanine and I were hoping to watch the second match today between the US and Guatemala, but the live stream does not seem to be working once again. I will report on the scores once we learn of them. Final score US 4; Guatemala 0.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
