Maya has been offered a summer internship at the prestigious Brookhaven National Labs located in Upton, NY on Long Island. She will be working for physicist Dr. Lijuan Ruan who is studying the fundamental properties of the Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP) using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The RHIC, one of two in the world, has accelerated gold ions to 99.995% the speed of light and achieved temperatures of 7 trillion degrees Fahrenheit when they are crashed into each other. Ryan has built a new detector to measure muons, heavier counterparts of electrons. By comparing muon-muon to electron-muon pairs, she is hoping to separate the production of different kinds of quarks (known by the whimsical names of “charm” and “beauty”) from the “shine” of this early-universe matter, known as Quark Gluon Plasma.

Maya will be assisting with analysis of the experimental data.  The trick now will be to find her a place to live over the summer within commuting distance of the lab.

Our local great blue herons have established a new rookery near the Old North Bridge.  I spotted about a dozen nests and it appears that at least three are active.  Unfortunately, I do not think I will be able to get any closer than I did for the shot above which means image quality is not going to be optimal. Still, I will probably visit often to see if I can capture some pictures of the babies when they hatch.

My sister-in-law, Marie, and Jeanine left this afternoon for a yoga workshop in the Berkshires. Jeanine seemed very excited about the getaway until she learned that guests are encouraged not to talk during their visit.  Can’t wait to hear the report when they return on Sunday.

While the boys attended the Orchard School in Indianapolis they became totally absorbed in the game of chess and were members of the school’s nationally ranked chess team.  Many of the trophies that I photographed yesterday were from chess tournaments.  Kyle was the Indiana state champion as a third grader and Nico placed second in the nation amoung kindergardeners (he is pictured below with the ninth place trophy from Super Nationals).  Maya never developed an interest in the game but was happy to collect hardware on behalf of her brothers.

What does one do with a lifetime accumulation of family trophies when preparing to downsize?  We could dole them out to each of the kids and I could hang on to the few I earned but where would we store all this hardware? Simply throwing them out seems criminal given that each one represent a tremendous effort and significant accomplishment (none of these are participation trophies).  I decided to photograph each and every one so that they can be shared digitally into the indefinite future with no need for packing and storage.  I then arranged the nicer ones on a table and took this “group” photo. I jumped into the final photo to lend a sense of scale. I may save one or two for each kid but will disassemble the rest and donate to a trophy recycler (yes, there is such a thing).

Jeanine and I tackled our walk in closet today as part of our spring cleaning week. I occupy about 1/5th of the available space. Pictured above is the top half of my area.  Jeanine stood over me as I reviewed my collection of clothing providing stern guidance as to which articles needed to go into the donation pile.  In the end, I parted with half my wardrobe and footwear.  I then consolidated all of the family camping gear into the upper shelving areas. 3 sleeping bags, 3 tents, 7 backpacks, 7 ground pads/mattresses, 3 pairs of trekking poles, 2 stoves, and a number of other camping items.

I also continued to add to my Craig’s List postings with a kayak deck bag and youth sized PFD.

Today was the beginning of what will likely be an entire week of spring cleaning.  Jeanine and I are systematically going through the house and selling off or donating items which we no longer use.  When Maya leaves for college in the fall of 2017 we are planning to downsize and are giving ourselves a big head start.  Furniture and electronics get photographed for posting on Craig’s List.  Clothing and smaller items will be donated.  Ideally nothing winds up in the trash.

Getting together with my teammates for a post match barbecue is always more enjoyable when we win.  Despite giving up a goal in the final minute of our game, we secured a decisive 2-1 win this morning. I have lost my starting position to our new recruits (mere 50 year olds) but still play about 45 minutes each match.  Our host this afternoon had an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven which we put to good use.

It has been 13 years since we moved to our home in Concord. While it can be seen in many photos I have taken over the years, the field which is an extension of our back yard has never been the sole subject of one of my photographs until this evening.  Jeanine and I went for a late afternoon walk during which we enjoyed all the early signs of spring.  I spent the bulk of the day doing household repairs including the replacement of our garbage disposal which finally bit the dust.

A few additional photos from the trip Maya and I made to California.

Maya and I arrived in Boston at 1:30AM this morning.  As such I am deeming photos made during this trip eligible for posting today even though they were actually taken yesterday.

After another incredible breakfast, Maya and I started making our way to the airport for our return flight to Boston.  We did so by way of Highway 1 with frequent stops along the coast including the lighthouse station at Pigeon Point and the beaches of Half Moon Bay.

Maya’s attempt to kill me today almost proved successful. First, she set a grueling 3.7mph (as measured by my very accurate GPS watch) hiking pace as we covered a total of ten miles in Pinnacles National Park this morning. For reference, I generally shoot for 2mph over such terrain.  I am convinced she is part Billy goat. Second, she picked up a huge boulder (pictured above) and tried to throw it at me.

Our first hike was on the Old Pinnacles Trail to the Balconies Cliffs and then the Balconies Cave for just under 7 miles. Traversing the cave required some scrambling and tight maneuvering (see entrance below).

We then made a short drive to Bear Gulch where we added 3 more miles on the Bear Gulch Cave and Rim trails which took us to and from the delightful Bear Creek Reservoir where Maya was unable to convince the local squirrels to attack me.

With no restaurants in the park we decided to lunch in Monterey.  Maya Yelped us a great little breakfast spot where we each had 2 eggs, hash browns and toast for a grand total of $3.25 including tax.  Quite the contrast to our Palo Alto breakfast yesterday which came to $30 with tip. Realizing that Maya had never been to the Pacific Ocean we decided to tour the famous 17 Mile Drive and stopped frequently to enjoy the views, the water, and the Pebbles Beach golf course lodge and 18th hole.

Our final stop for the day before driving to Santa Cruz for the evening was the Basilica of San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission (Carmel Mission) founded by Fr. Junipero Serra in 1770, making it the second of the 21 California missions.

Our college visits today included my alma mater, Stanford University, and Kyle’s, Santa Clara University.  I was amazed by the number of new buildings on campus since I attended.  It was actually hard to find my way around.  When I took Maya to see Lake Lagunita, one of my favorite places to chill out, I was disappointed to discover that it has been dry for a number of years due to environmental concerns.

After we finished with college tours we drove to Pinnacles National Park where we arrived just in time to pitch our tent before night fall. Once reduced to a total population of 27 and near extinction, the California Condor has been successfully bred in captivity and now numbers more than 425.  We were exceptionally fortunate to view 16 of them circling in the night sky and I was able to isolate this pair with the near full moon in the background. They were very far away but with a 10 foot wingspan they are hard to miss.

An early start from our hotel near the San Francisco airport had Maya and I to U.C. Davis by early morning for our first college visit.  The campus was a ghost town.  Yesterday their was their Picnic Day with festivities continuing into the early morning.  It seemed like the entire student body was sleeping in. Our next stop was U.C. Berkeley which lays claim to discovering 16 of the elements on the Periodic Table, 21 Nobel laureates, 32 libraries, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

We were joined for dinner at a Greek restaurant in Palo Alto by Kyle and his girlfriend Corina and longtime friends of Jeanine and I, Ann and Brian Ponty.

Maya’s 2 year old Apple laptop has been behaving erratically lately.  It overheats for no apparent reason and then fails to boot up for some time.  This morning we dropped it off at the Apple store where it is being sent back to the factory for repair under the Apple Care warranty/insurance.  When it is returned we will sell it to offset the cost of a new 12″ MacBook that we picked up while in the store.  At 2 pounds, it is about half the weight of her older 13″ model and has a beautiful high-resolution Retina display.

Maya and I are headed to California this evening to visit with Kyle and make college visits to Stanford, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara, and UC Davis. We will also be camping in Pinnacles National Park for two nights.   Meanwhile Jeanine left yesterday to join her sister for a long weekend in Montreal.

Followers of this blog may recall that I was a mentor in the Gordon Leadership program at MIT.  My mentee, Nora, tadalafil sample Some experts assert that these creams are the safest and easiest way to overcome erectile disorder. Why it’s important to follow the recommended dosagesThe effectiveness of buy cialis pill http://www.cerritosmedicalcenter.com/pid-4058 medications in terms of ercetions is usually extended for up to 4-6 hours. There are many differing methods for gaining rankings in the Search Engines, some cheapest cialis are ethical, and some are not. You have levitra online order to log in to the particular site and place an order for the medicine. has gone on to a very successful career at Microsoft.  Jeanine and I attended her wedding to Simon in August of 2013 and now look what they have created. What a cutie!

Snow storms this past winter brought down one of our big pines and countless branches throughout our yard.  Together with the bushes and vines I removed yesterday they provided fuel for an all day bonfire.  Jeanine helped me for parts of the day and we were joined by Maya late in the afternoon to enjoy our massive “campfire.” There remains at least another full day’s worth of branches that I will deal with tomorrow. Concord has fairly strict regulations around open burning and a permit must be obtained each day. This used to require a drive down to the fire station but is now easily handled online.

See if you can find the devil in the flames.

I can’t remember the last time I put in an 8 hour day of yard work but it has probably been close to 15 years.  I think I will wait another 15 before trying it again based on the unanimous opinion of my aching muscles. There are just a few days in early spring when it makes sense to clear the underbrush and vines from the woods that line one side of our property.  Too early and you freeze your butt off.  Too late and everything has leafed out making the job five times harder.  Normally, I give anything with thorns a wide berth but this year I decided they were getting out of control and took out about twenty bushes.  Each one found a unique way to draw blood in an attempt to dissuade me from the task.

Although her big party was on Sunday, today is Jeanine’s actual birthday. I still see my 27-year-old bride in her beautiful face. We had a nice lunch date to celebrate the occasion and finished it with a scrumptious cheesecake.  Regrettably, Jeanine had to endure my solo acapella rendition of Happy Birthday.

From sun up till sun down my entire day was consumed with preparing my federal and state income taxes.  Between receiving income from two different companies, exercising various stock options and restricted stock units, and dealing with royalty income, it was an exercise in extreme frustration. The 6-digit incremental tax bill on top of all the withheld taxes was no prize for all the effort.

Jeanine celebrated her 53rd birthday with a party of her own design. She invited twenty or so of her friends to prepare one of the recipes from the memoir cookbook she is writing and bring it to sample with the others.  Each guest was asked to provide feedback on both the quality of the recipe and instructions as well as the taste of the final creation. My contribution was to make images of the various dishes for inclusion in the book. Jeanine reported that it was one of her best birthday parties ever!

Earlier in the day I played in my first game of the spring outdoor soccer season. We travelled to Ludlow, MA, a 90 minute drive to face Lusitano. My lack of conditioning contributed to one of my worst performances ever. I did manage one good play, a long cross which I served right onto the foot of an overlapping fullback. The man marking him tried to clear the ball and wound up putting it in his own net which earned me credit for a goal and helped our team win by a margin of 2-0.

Jeanine and I are starting to think about how we will spend our time when Maya leaves for college.  One idea we both like is the idea of becoming Road Writers. The new Tesla will be able to tow up to 5000 pounds and we are thinking about picking up a touring trailer and hitting the road.  As we travel across the USA, Jeanine will interview people in different parts of the country for a new book about food insecurity while I continue my blog from the road.  Its just an idea at this point but I did spend the better part of the afternoon looking at small Airstreams.

Buckman Tavern, located on the Battle Green in Lexington, MA is a historic American Revolutionary War site associated with the  Battle of Lexington and Concord which began early on April 19, 1775.

Having received word that the regular army had left Boston in force to seize and destroy military supplies in Concord, several dozen militiamen gathered on the Lexington town common, and then eventually went to the tavern to await the arrival of the British troops. Definite word reached them just before sunrise, and Captain Parker’s company of militia left the tavern to assemble in two ranks on the common. Following the arrival of the army, a single shot was fired, by whom, it remains unknown. The British regulars, out numbering the colonial militia three to one,  then opened fire leaving 7 of them dead.  When the British advanced to Concord they met a much larger contingent of Minutemen at the Old North Bridge. There, for the first time, the Americans, acting under orders, fired upon and killed British soldiers. The colonist continued to fire upon and ambush the British as they retreated to Boston killing 73 and wounding 174.

Jeanine and I visited the tavern, now a museum, this afternoon and enjoyed the history lesson.  Of even greater interest was the second floor exhibit dedicated to the Battle after the Battle between Concord and Lexington, each vying to be considered the birthplace of the American revolution.

The Series 7 exam, also known as the General Securities Representative Exam (GSRE), is a test administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that must be passed before stockbrokers are issued a license to trade. One-third of those taking the 6-hour test do not pass on their first attempt. Kyle, whose continued employment was contingent on passing, did so on his first try with a very good score. We are very proud of his achievement and congratulate him on the milestone.

I found myself in the vicinity of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon and decided to walk around the Water’s Edge trail. It was cold and windy and there was not much in the way of wildlife to see. Even so, I enjoyed the fresh air and exercise. In the coming weeks, this place will become alive with a great variety of birds.  I will return with a long lens when things warm up a bit.

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I received a notification from Tesla saying that my Model X will be delivered in the April/early May time frame.  Based on my experience with the company so far, I am setting my own expectations for June/July.  All the reviews I have read so far suggest that my two-year wait will have been worth it. Time will tell.

The opening game of my spring outdoor soccer season was postponed because our home field was covered in 3 inches of snow. Given that my trip to Asia prevented me from training with my team, I can really use the extra week to get my soccer legs back.  The forecast says we are in store for even more snow over the coming days.

My nephew, John William Quinn, pictured above with his sister Rachael, will start working for Nielsen Media Research the week after next as a Product Manager.  Jeanine decided we would celebrate with a dinner at the restaurant of his choice. Live Alive in Cambridge was his selected and the plan was to have Rachael join us there as a surprise.  The problem was that no one bothered to tell me about this plan and I spilled the beans.  It was just as well since Rachael went to the location in Lowell rather than Cambridge.  In the end all worked out and we had a wonderful meal.  Sadly, this probably means that Johnny, who has been living with us since graduating, will be moving to a place closer to his new job.  He has been a great addition to the household and we are going to miss him. Below, Maya decides to pose with her dinner. She remains a very odd but lovable child.

Maya had several friends over this evening including Sarinnagh  who is celebrating her 17th birthday.  With my photo collection fairly well organized now, I was able to quickly put up a slideshow featuring the 400+ pictures I have taken of Sarinnagh over the last 13 years. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane and I have rarely been so proud of my efforts to document the lives of my children and their friends through photography. I believe the girls were equally inspired so it took little persuasion to add some new memories to the collection.