I currently own two DJI drones. The smaller, a Mavic Air has a 12MP camera and is about half the weight of his big brother, The Mavic 2 Pro which features a 20MP camera. Ever since I purchased the latter it is the only one I have flown. As is my habit, when I do not regularly use a piece of technology it gets put up for sale. Such is the case for the drone that got me hooked on aerial photography. Feature here are two photos that appear in my Craig’s List listing.

Last night after the Open Table Chopped for Charity event, volunteers, including Jeanine, stayed until midnight to load up the organization’s new truck with all the cooking equipment, dishes, tableware, utensils, linens, and other paraphernalia used for the affair. This morning, Jeanine asked if I would drive it from Camp Thoreau to the Open Table facility in Maynard and help unload it. Never one to forgo an opportunity to drive an industrial-sized vehicle, I was happy to oblige.  Forward visibility is amazing with the cab-over-engine design.  Rear visibility, not so much. Even so, I was able to back it up into the Open Table driveway with the aid of a spotter.  The truck is pictured above.  I took the photo for last year’s annual fundraising campaign.

For the last several weeks, Jeanine and her team have been preparing for Open Table’s 30th anniversary.  To mark the milestone, they organized a Chopped for Charity event to celebrate their history and to raise funds. We attended this evening and it proved to be both a tremendous success and near disaster.

Jeanine’s opening remarks were both humorous and poignant as she discussed the many challenges the organization faced and how they had to constantly adapt to unexpected circumstances. It was as if she knew what lie ahead. Government dignitaries included State Senator Jamie Eldridge and State Representatives Kate Hogan and Tami Gouveia. Open Table received honorary citations from both the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives.

Music was provided by The Acton Music Project.

The competition, inspired by the popular TV show, featured a cooking competition and a gingerbread cookie decorating competition.  The cooks included teams representing the Concord Police Department (“Culinary Operations Unit”),  the Minute Man Arc (“MMAwesome”), and Gaining Ground (“Popcorn Sandwich”). 

The decorating teams included entrants from the Maynard Cookbook Club (“Tough Cookies”), the Concord Fire Department (“Fire and Icing”), the Fenn School (Fenn Foodies”), and the Rotary Club of Concord (“Cookie Monsters”).

The event was held at the Thoreau Club Camp Thoreau facility where tables were set up at the front of the venue, each equipped with an electric induction burner,  food processor, and other necessary appliances and cooking tools.  Two minutes into the 30 minute competition the power to all three cooking stations went dead.  I investigated immediately and found all the electrical equipment plugged into a single circuit, the breaker for which was located in a locked equipment room and no one immediately available with a key. I dispatched a volunteer to find someone with a key while I identified nearby outlets on a different circuit.  Thankfully, the extension cords in use allowed for connection to other circuits and power was restored briefly until those circuits overloaded, taking out power for the band, video lighting and AV system.  I estimated the total load for all three stations to be about 50 amps.  We would need three 20 amp circuits to keep all three teams in business and would need to restrict teams to use of either their induction stove or toaster oven but not both at the same time.  Once we gained access to the breaker panel, I enlisted the help of a facilities guy to keep resetting the circuit breakers every time they tripped while I worked with others to identify which outlets belonged to which circuits and splitting the load accordingly.  It took at least a half an hour to resolve the power situation with the band being rebooted more than half a dozen times.  I felt sorry for the cooks who had to deal with on and off again stoves and appliances as well as a group of us reconfiguring power cords right under foot.  Despite the chaos, everyone adapted and the show went on.  The team from Gaining Ground took first place in the cooking competition and the Concord Fire Department won the decorating competition with a house on fire concept.  I took photos through most of the evening when I was not working on the electrical issues.  A complete set can be found here.

On Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s lunch is catered at work.  On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s I have to head out for food. Today, while on that mission, I passed by this sign which I found disturbing for reasons you might not expect.  I eat chicken all the time.  Those chickens must first be rendered lifeless.  The more recently dispatched the less need for preservation.  So far so good.  What bothered me was the grammar and design of the sign.  “Live Poultry” seems redundant.  Is there a need, in this case, to distinguish between “Dead Poultry” given the premise of the business?  Why “Fresh Killed” rather than “Freshly Killed.”  Why the need for 4 different fonts, one of which features knife like elements.  As I passed the establishment, I was fully expecting to see and hear live caged chickens and a pool of blood beneath a nearby chopping block.  Instead, I found traditionally packaged chicken in a supermarket style refrigerated display case.  Apparently these chickens were Fresh Killed elsewhere.

Last week I was asked to participate in an upcoming feature story on Formlabs for builtinboston.com.  Today I got access to some of the photographs they took.  Rest assured this is not how I spend my time at work. Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots first came to market in 1964, when I was 6 years old. Suffice it to say, I am very skilled in the game and easily found my muscle memory as my “Red Rocker” repeatedly clobbered my opponent’s “Blue Bomber.”  I will post a link to the story when it is published.

I discovered this photo, probably taken by my sister-in-law last fall, while Maya was visiting with their family in Minnesota.  Reminds my I have not been out to see them since they moved into their new house.

My construction-detoured commute takes me through Inman Square where you will find a very wonderful mural painted on the second story of the Inman Square Firehouse.  The mural was painted in 1976 by Ellary Eddy to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial and includes George Washington and Benjamin Franklin among the Cambridge firefighters of the day.  Washington and Franklin both served as volunteer firemen in their spare time. The apparatus shown is the 1960 Pirsch 1,000 gallons per minute pump which was Engine 5’s pump at the time. Is it me or is Ben wearing a pair of Converse.

This morning my soccer team held our first outdoor practice with our season opener only two weeks away.  Unfortunately, one of my teammates caught an errant elbow (not mine) which broke his nose.  I took him to the hospital where they fixed him up.  I am guessing he is going to have two black eyes in the morning and a wife standing in the way of his taking the field with us for our first match.  He was bleeding profusely after the injury but it was only a small fraction of the blood I saw later in the day.  Jeanine and I took a 3.5-mile walk on the Lexington section of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway.  There we encountered several police vehicles, firetrucks, and a taped-off section of the trail.  Apparently, two bikes traveling in the opposite direction collided at very high speed.  There was a VERY large pool of blood on the bike path, two mangled bicycles, and one helmet on the ground.  One of the riders died and the other sustained serious injuries.

Local media coverage of our recent trip to Argentina.

With Nala no longer here to patrol the perimeter of our yard every day, we have noticed an increase in the number of critters that are visiting.  The geese and the presents they leave are not very welcome.  This coyote, however, is quite beautiful and I am hoping for a better shot of him one day.  I took this photo with less-than-optimal settings in dreary light.

Thanks to a former colleague (N.M.) and follower of this blog the significance of the mystery medal (posted two days ago) has been solved.  I could not be more thankful for his discovery and Jeanine is thrilled with the result.  My assumption that it was a military medal had me searching in all the wrong places.

The French Academic Palms recognizes those who have rendered eminent service to French education and have contributed actively to the prestige of French culture.  For those who are named and promoted in the Order of the French Academic Palms (l’Ordre des Palmes académiques), this esteemed distinction acknowledges their merits, talents, and exemplary activities.

Napoleon I first created the palmes académiques as an honorary title to recognize members of the University in 1808.  The academic palms became a decoration in 1866, under Napoléon III, at which time the honor was also extended to non-teaching persons who had rendered illustrious service to French education. Thus, the academic palms is the oldest non-military French decoration.

By decree of Président René Coty, the Order of the Academic Palms was instituted in 1955 as the first of ministerial orders recognized by the French Republic and was defined by three ranks: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), and Commandeur (Commander).  Jeanine’s grandfather’s medal corresponds to the rank of Officier.

Details beyond the ones I have already copied here can be found at https://www.frenchacademicpalms.org/information.html

The Ray and Maria Stata Center is a 720,000-square-foot academic complex designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The building opened for initial occupancy on March 16, 2004. In contrast to the MIT custom of referring to buildings by their numbers rather than their official names, the complex is usually referred to as “Stata” or “the Stata Center.”  Above the fourth floor, the building splits into two distinct structures: the Gates Tower and the Dreyfoos Tower, often called “G Tower” and “D Tower” respectively.  I took advantage of the nice spring-like day to visit during my lunch hour.

Jeanine asked me to photograph and research this WWI-era medal that was awarded to her grandfather. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the second part of my assignment.  I used a reverse image search and all conceivable Google search terms and still found nothing that would shed any light on the significance of this medal.

If you want to visit the Boston Museum of Science you need to be very careful to avoid the T-Rex that guards the entrance.  Thankfully, it is contained by the pictured fence which keeps visitors safe. As I continued my morning walk, I found another fence that served as a nice foreground for the Zakim Bridge.  All totaled, I covered 4 miles which is my goal for days I do not go to the gym before work.

Kyle was our photographer this evening and consequently not shown in this photo taken as the entire family dined together for the first time in quite a while.  Even though Nicolai is working at CCHS and house-sitting in Concord, we have not seen him in weeks.  Kyle lives in the Seaport District only 30 minutes away but without a car, it is not easy for him to make the journey home. Maya is on spring break and we hope to hang on to her for about a week.  We dined at Woods Hill Table, among the finest farm to table restaurants in New England and enjoyed their Sunday family style dinner.  Later Jeanine and I mostly spectated as the kids engaged in passionate debate on a number of topics while watching golf on TV with the volume off (one of many sports improved in this manner).  We are very proud of their independent thinking, articulate expression, and willingness to listen to different points of view.

Maya is back in town for spring break and so are her close friends from high school.  They spent the evening chatting about school, dating, the college admission scandal to name a few subjects.  Jeanine prepared a new cauliflower casserole recipe which disappeared quickly as did the girls after dinner on their search for ice cream. Upon returning they seemed determined to burn the guilty calories off in something that I can only describe as a synchronized circle-hopping routine that often ended in one of them jumping on another.  I must be sure to take a video the next time this happens.  It was so nice to have all this youthful energy in the house and we are looking forward to having the boys join us tomorrow.

A recent photograph of my mother and sister. Hope I age as well as these beauties.

The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, an irrational and transcendental number, pi will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern.  The first three significant digits 3.14 correspond to today’s date and hence the holiday.  Increasingly, mathematicians are losing out to bakers as more and more people celebrate the holiday as “pie” day including the fellow above who is feasting on a pizza pie.

I took a 90-minute lunch hour to complete a 5-mile walk to and from the Boston Naval Shipyard where the USS Constitution can be found.  Had time permitted, I would have liked to also take the 30 minute tour but my work calendar dictated otherwise.  Perhaps I will do this again when things are less busy (we have a big product launch coming up). I am signed up for a 10-mile Tough Mudder in June and my spring soccer season is just a few weeks away so I am trying to increase my fitness level.  I should be running, but long walks are far less aggravating to my patellar tendonitis.

It seems like there is new office construction everywhere you look in Somerville, Cambridge, Boston and the Seaport District.  All I see is an ever-increasing challenge for suburban commuters. Where are the roadway and rapid transit improvement projects that will support all this growth?  I am thankful to live in an area where business is thriving but at what point do we decide that more development is actually a net negative?

Bunker Hill is relatively close to the Formlabs office.  A 1-mile walk brought me to within flight distance and I was able to keep my altitude low enough to stay out of Logan Airport’s restricted air space.  The latest update to my drone software imposes strict geo-fenced boundaries that limit where you can fly.  Probably a good thing for the industry but a pain in the ass for anyone who lives near an airport.

Jeanine hosted a dinner party for her friends this evening.  I have learned how to be scarce during such all-female gatherings.  Not so this evening.  I was invited to join in for dinner and conversation afterward.  The balance of my day was spent shoveling snow, doing laundry, paying bills, and organizing camping gear.

Last night on the way home from work, I stated losing pressure from my driver side rear tire.  It was dropping about 2 psi per mile.  When it reached 6 psi I pulled over and used the air compressor and flat sealant provided with my car to re-inflate the tire which carried me another couple of miles. I repeated this three times before reaching home.  This morning I pulled the wheel and tire and took it into the dealership for a replacement.  The flat was caused by a snapped off section of a utility knife blade.  I have little doubt I picked this up at work when I parked near the door where deliveries are made. Lesson learned.

I regard gambling as a form of taxation on the statistically challenged but also feel for those who are afflicted with an addiction to it. Boston’s first casino, Encore Boston Harbor, is scheduled to open in June and I had a chance to photograph it on my morning walk. It includes a 27-story hotel overlooking the Mystic River (decidedly not the Boston Harbor).

Mark, my younger brother, has defied death for the second time in as many years. Yesterday his heart went into ventricular tachycardia (beating at a rate of over 300 times per minute) while he was alone at home watching TV. Within seconds he became unconscious and would have died minutes later. Fortunately, the internal defibrillator that he had implanted after his last episode shocked his heart back into a normal rhythm. He survived with no ill effects. According to the doctors, he has an extremely healthy heart (zero plaque) but the electrical system that regulates his heartbeat is subject to the occasional death-inducing hiccup. Until now he has held on to the hope that he might return to his career as a commercial airline pilot. Now it is clear that will never happen and as if to add insult to injury he will not be able to legally drive a car again for 6 months. Our family is extremely thankful that he survived once again and we are reminded to live each day to its fullest.

Memorial Hall commemorates Harvard classmates who fought on behalf of the United States Army and Navy in the American Civil War.

It houses Sanders Theatre, Annenberg Hall, the Memorial Transept and Loker Commons, home of the Cambridge Queen’s Head pub.

Because of construction at Union Square I now take a detour which takes me past the hall everyday.

Yesterday’s snow storm made for some lovely snowscapes.  Pictured above is one framing the partially frozen Concord River. 

Rest in peace sweet Nala.

This afternoon Jeanine and I attended an operatic recital given by soprano Julia Massicotte at the New England Conservatory of Music.  Julia is the youngest of three daughters of dear friends from our days in Indianapolis. We attended church with the Massicotte’s as well as Bayside summer family camp. We joined members of their extended family for brunch ahead of the concert and Kyle for a robotically prepared dinner at Spyce afterward. Although I am no particular fan of opera, Julia’s performance was magnificent and I have little doubt she will evolve into a future diva. I captured the range of emotions she expressed while singing in an album that can be found here.

Sadly, Nala is nearing her final days. Perhaps the dumbest dog I have ever know, she has been a beloved member of our pack since we moved to Boston. By dumbest, I mean lacking in most attributes normally associated with canines. She would make for a perfectly fine cat; aloof, unmotivated by food, indifferent to affection, can’t be bothered to come when called. Still we love her. For some time now she has had difficulty breathing and there is little doubt that we will have to intervene soon to ease her suffering. Today she spent two hours outside, barking her head off at invisible would be intruders upon her domain. She has taken to laying down in the snow, probably to make breathing easier and to long naps during the day.

This photo of Jeanine was taken by her sister while the two were on vacation together in New Mexico last month. She texted it to me while I was in Argentina with Nico and I made a mental note that I would like to post it when I returned. While we were navigating from natural wonder to natural wonder, Jeanine and Susan seemed to be following a path from restaurant to restaurant and museum to museum.