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.