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.