It has been ten years now since my father passed away. I wish he could have seen how all his grandchildren have grown up. I am sure he would have been extremely proud of them. He was a man who worked hard but knew how to have fun. I hope to honor his memory by emulating his passion for life.
When Nicolai was honored with the Shane’s Inspiration Award in 2008 for raising over $100,000 to provide free wheelchairs for people with mobility impairments in Tanzania, he received a framed drum cymbal and drum sticks signed by Alex Van Halen, Eddie’s brother and drummer for the band. Now that we are downsizing, we have let the kids know that we will no longer be able to store their stuff for them. Nicolai has a number of awards that he does not have space for in his current apartment including this one. Not clear what we will do with them yet, but I thought I would start by photographing them all for digital posterity.
On the way to Ashland, where I played soccer this morning, I came across this lovely scene in Framingham. The sun was not being very cooperative and I could not wait for it to make an appearance. My soccer match was rather one-sided. We were up by 5-0 at the half and played two-touch for the entire second half to make the game more competitive. I got a lot of minutes, had a nice assist, and sustained no injuries; no better outcome on a perfect fall morning. Beyond the pictured falls is the Sudbury River Reservoir Number One. It should be possible to kayak to this location from our new home with one short portage but it would make for a rather long day of paddling.
For almost 40 years now, I have been dragging around prototypes and circuit boards of some of my earliest design work dating back to my time at Stanford, Bell Laboratories, and Truevision. In addition to circuit design, I also hand-wired and tested my own prototypes, and did most of the mechanical and printed circuit board layout as well. With our household move looming ever closer, I am wondering, who, other than myself, is ever going to look at these artifacts in the future and why I continue to drag them around. I decided to photograph the entire collection to make discarding the physical objects a more approachable option. Letting go of the past can be very difficult, especially when you have the actual objects into which you literally poured blood, sweat, and tears.
This year, fall color has been exceptional and looks like it will peak this weekend. I paused on my commute to capture the splendor just off of Route 2. Normally, I make several trips up into the White Mountains at this time of year in search of great photo opportunities. Between work and the new house, however, I have had little time to even think about such excursions.
I was on my own for dinner this evening and stopped in at Verrill Farm to pick up some food. When I saw all the designer pumpkins on display, I had to grab some photos. The gourd below looks just like some kind of swan or duckling.
In preparation for our upcoming move, we are selling almost every stick of furniture we own. Virtually all of it was purchased to fit in with the English Tutor home we owned in Indianapolis. None of it really makes sense for the mid-century modern style of our new place. Today, it seems, there was a high demand for chairs. The one below has a defect which I disclosed when listing it on Craig’s List. The pneumatic height adjustment cylinder does not work. When you sit on it, it sinks to the lowest position. I priced it accordingly and sure enough, it sold; to someone who was only interested in the casters.
Today, we shipped our very first commercial part. It is probably the most significant milestone in the company’s history thus far. We paused to celebrate with cake and ice cream and to commemorate the occasion with an all-company photo. Two of our employees were working from home today but can be seen on the Zoom screen. I love the message on the cake, “The First Part is the Hardest.” Can’t take credit for thinking it up but you have to admire the triple entendre. We thanked everyone for their phenomenal effort over the summer with a gift designed to keep them warm over the approaching winter.
When I negotiated the sale of our home, I included in the deal many of the larger machines in my woodworking shop. Doing so added value to the property and saved a great deal of work on my part to decommission and prepare the equipment for safe moving. It also affords me the opportunity to buy all new equipment that is right-sized for my new shop which is going to be a little smaller than my current one. With the day off from work, I spent it researching table saws and finally placed an order for a Laguna Fusion F2 which will suit my needs nicely. COVID-19 has created shortages of all things related to the construction industry and the saw will not arrive until mid-December. I also narrowed down options for a new dust collector and will probably pull the trigger on that purchase shortly.
A more perfect fall day I have never enjoyed more. It started as most spring and autumn Sundays do for me with a soccer match. We were at home playing Ashland, a team that was talented but not very fit. After thirty minutes, we started to score and just kept on going as they wore down leading to a final result of 7-0. On the way home, I paused for some aerial photography. Pictured above are the Dugan Brook wetlands that border the west side of our neighborhood and provide the backdrop for the Bruce Freeman Tail Trail that traverses the area. Later, Jeanine and I met with new neighbors in Conantum, where are new home is located. They took as for a walk through the neighborhood introducing us to other residents and sharing invaluable information on the homeowners association, renovation, architecture, landscaping, the Sudbury River, and the animals that frequent the area.
Kyle went car shopping this afternoon and was prepared to make a cash down payment. He has decided to do a little more research before pulling the trigger. When he returned home, Nico was waiting to join him for a golf outing. The moment Nico set his eyes on Kyle’s wad of cash he decided it would be fun to throw it up in the air for a photo. I was allowed in on the action and got a nice fan shot before $20 and $50 bills were floating everywhere.
Between a very busy time at work, preparing to close on the purchase of our new house, and the sale of our current home, there has been very little time for what I enjoy doing most at this time of year. Normally, I would seize any opportunity to get outside to capture the splendor of the autumn foliage. For now, I must settle for easy roadside shots that I encounter on the way to or from the office. Perhaps, between my soccer match and selling off furniture, I will find a few hours to revel in what is shaping up to be the perfect fall weekend.
A violent wind storm last night brought down trees and power lines across the state. After making sure we had not sustained any damage, I headed over to our new house to ensure the same. On the way, I had to turn around and seek a detour to avoid this fallen tree which was blocking the road. Fortunately, the new house was also free of any damage although I did find a woodpecker making a meal of one of the eaves. Whatever stress was induced by the storm was reversed by finalizing the Purchase & Sale Agreement for the sale of our home. Until such a contract is executed, there is very little binding the deal, making all future planning somewhat tenuous. We are very excited about the family that will live here next. They have three children, 6, 4, and 2. Their only daughter is named Maya and my bet is that she will wind up in our Maya’s old bedroom.
Normally, when I use my drone for landscape photography, it is from a rather significant altitude. It is, however, just as useful for taking low angle shots from places it would be hard to get to otherwise, say the middle of a river. I realize the one above appears to be very shallow but it was quite deep on the left side of the photo and I was standing on the left bank.