Kyle and Nico will both travel to Vancouver, British Columbia on June 10th to compete in a Spartan Race for SideStix-sponsored, Team Defy Convention. The grueling obstacle course will be a test of strength, stamina, and mental toughness. I would love to support my sons and witness the event in person but will be in Ecuador with Maya at the time. Jeanine has expressed interest in going and I hope to share the experience through her eyes. Nicolai was an early adopter of the high-performance forearm crutches manufactured by SideStix. He has served as a field tester, brand ambassador, sponsored athlete, and summer intern for the company. When asked by Nico to join the team, Kyle was quick to step up and lend his support, something he has always done since they were small boys. We could not be prouder of both of them.
Maya was honored with three awards at the high school this evening. Oddly, she choose to celebrate afterwards by covering her face in green mud. Had there been an award for frog like appearance she would have won that one as well. She was nominated by both her soccer and cross country skiing coaches to receive the Rotary Club’s Class Act Award, one of only two students to do so in two sports. She also received an award for Excellence in Community Service based on her volunteer work throughout the year.
I attended the ceremony in my soccer gear so I could leave for practice immediately afterward. My hamstring felt strong and I expect to be back on the pitch for my match this weekend.
Ever since we moved into our house, the 1″ main supply valve for our irrigation system pictured above has leaked. An annoying drip every hour, enough to fill a small bucket in 6 months. I decided to replace it today which required shutting off the water supply to the entire house and completely draining the pipes. Installing the new valve took all of 15 minutes, a small fraction of the time needed to drain the water and then bleed the air once service was restored. Next I painted all the window sills on the first floor, a total of ten windows. Finally, I improved the wiring to the charger for my BMW. I ran all the wires through metal conduit bringing the installation up to code, added a 50 amp outlet to the supply line and wired the charger with a matching plug. Now when it comes time to power the tiny house on wheels that Maya plans to build over the summer we will have a convenient place to connect.
I started shooting digital in 1999 with the Sony DSC-F505 pictured above. It was a revolutionary camera in its day offering a whopping 2.1 Mpixel sensor! I eventually moved from Sony to Canon’s line of DSLRs maxing out with the 50 Mpixel 5Ds and now am down to just the 30 Mpixel 5D Mark IV. Recently, I started moving back towards Sony and currently have a pair of a6300s and an RX10 Mark III. My only Nikon is the inexpensive AW120 which I use for underwater photography.
In order to keep up with the state of the art, I have bought and sold nearly 50 cameras over the last 18 years (see a partial list of the ones I remember below, in some cases I owned multiple copies). Needless to say, I have become something of an expert at buying and selling cameras and have generally recovered more than 80% of my purchase price on new cameras and closer to 100% on the ones I purchased used. This list of lenses I have owned is even longer and may be the subject of a future post.
Canon: 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 70D, SL1, 5D, 5D M2, 5D M3, 5D M4, 5Ds, 6D, 7D, 7D M2, 1D M3, M5, G7X, S5 IS, S90, S100, SX10 IS, SX100 IS, SX110 IS
I enjoyed this trip down memory lane while waiting for the rain to subside this morning so I could tackle the replacement of another pair of window sills.
Water and wood are best separated by a well-applied layer of quality paint if a window sill (or any other wood component exposed to the elements) is expected to last. The previous owner of our house did not kept up with painting, allowing several to deteriorate beyond the point of patching. Today I spent the better part of the day replacing two of four. Weather permitting I will tackle the remaining pair tomorrow. Not particularly the kind of woodworking I enjoy but a long overdue repair that simply needed to be done.
I was unable to play soccer this morning due to an injured hamstring (fortunately not badly and I should be back in action next week). Jeanine was ready for a distraction from her never-ending work so we spent a few hours house hunting. We are still a year away from selling our house but it never hurts to be on the lookout for that perfect property. Amazing what you come across when driving about the suburbs of Boston.
The verdict is back. Our Audi Q5 needs a new engine. It is suspected that the timing belt slipped causing massive internal damage. Fortunately, the folks at Audi agreed with my strongly worded letter on the subject that a properly maintained engine should not fail catastrophically after 77K miles.They have agreed to cover the full cost of the $12,000+ repair. We hope to have the car back in 3 weeks. In the mean time, Maya will be without a car and I will be providing Uber service.
After weeks of suspense, Maya announced her decision to attend Olin College today. We could not be more thrilled with her choice. Of the eight schools to which she was accepted, I believe it has the strongest engineering program and the one best aligned with her learning style; very hands on, project oriented and collaborative. They have a reciprocal class arrangement with Wellesley, Babson, MIT, and Brandies which will give her access to virtually any subjects beyond those offered on campus. The fact that she will be remaining in the area is a bonus and we have promised not to encroach on her college experience. When I heard the news, I immediately drove to the campus, paid the deposit, and picked up some Olin gear to celebrate the occasion.
Each year there comes a day when it feels like spring has finally arrived. Today was that day. I enjoyed a brief tour of the yard and could have easily spent hours capturing the many signs of renewed life.
Maya and her co-counsel, Millie, argued in moot court this evening in front of a three “judge” panel and a courtroom of spectators which included Jeanine, John and I. They have reached the semi-finals of the 16 team moot court competition. The winning side, which will be announced tomorrow after the judges have had a chance to deliberate, will proceed to the finals. They were assigned to defend California’s “Three Strikes” law, a response to the Polly Klaas abduction and murder which despite good intentions has led to some Draconian outcomes. The “lawyers” in moot court are evaluated based on a complex rubric with significant weight attached to their responses to intense questioning from the justices. Win or lose, Maya and Millie did a phenomenal job, both in preparation and in court. Not sure what it says about their parents, but all of our children seem to be highly proficient at arguing.
UPDATE: Maya and Millie will advance to the finals.
As the renovation of Open Table’s new facility nears completion, Jeanine asked me to take this photograph which will be used in conjunction with their fundraising efforts. The organization’s goal is to raise just over a million dollars to cover the cost of their new space. Jeanine has never been so busy as she leads the all-volunteer organization through the biggest and most exciting transition in its nearly 30-year history. Donations can be made at Open Table.
While on the Boston Common yesterday I spotted this lovely white squirrel. It is a very rare genetic variation of the grey squirrel (not an albino, which would have red eyes). In the “wild” this squirrel’s lack of camouflage would certainly contribute to an early demise. Not so in an urban park absent its normal predators.In fact, I would predict, based on natural selection, that we will see a rise in the number of white squirrels over time. They are such a novelty that visitors to the park tend to feed them more than their grey cousins. I have read reports that Massachusetts General Hospital is home to a few as well.
The Boston Rally for Science, a satellite of the March for Science being held today in Washington, D.C. was organized to celebrate the discovery, understanding, and sharing of scientific knowledge as crucial to the success, health, and safety of the human race. Jeanine, good friend Carolyn Hardy and I joined tens of thousands gathered on the Common to champion not only science itself, but also publicly funded and publicly communicated scientific knowledge as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. The intermittent rain was of little consequence and did not dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm. Arriving early we secured a great position from which to observe the stage.
Jeanine and I returned to Boston again later in the evening to attend a performance by comedian Rita Rudner at the Wilbur Theater. Her insights into the differences between men and women were hysterically spot on. Highly recommended if you ever get a chance to catch her act.
Today’s photos are courtesy of Maya who is on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. It is the only remaining school on her short list which she has not visited. With just over a week remaining before her college choice must be made, it is a very exciting time. I am confident she will get a great education and enjoy any of the schools she is considering. My advice to her is to pick the school where she will find the most joy and make the happiest memories.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
