Our 26 hour journey to Bangkok took us from Boston to San Francisco to Hong Kong before reaching Thailand.  We were originally booked to fly through Chicago but changed our routing when inclement weather in the Windy City caused many flights to be delayed or canceled.  Pictured here is the Continental Divide viewed from 35,000 feet.

A visit to my cardiologist this morning to review the results from my recent nuclear stress test proved a great relief.  Although I have an EKG pattern that is indicative of coronary artery disease, the nuclear test revealed that my high stress arterial circulation is the same as my resting circulation indicating no constrictions.  My cholesterol numbers are higher than they should be and I will need to make some dietary adjustments to bring them down.

In other news related to stress reduction, I have stepped down as the head of engineering and operations at Markforged and will now serve as a management consultant to the company.  My boss and I enjoy the most productive conversations when we are not arguing about schedules.  Less stress for both of us and an amicable outcome all around.

I leave for Thailand early tomorrow morning with a light and happy heart.  I will try to post updates from the road (perhaps temporarily without photos) but it could also be a few weeks before I can catch up.

Why the picture of a horse?  It just makes me smile and I have much to smile about today.

This is an x-ray of my left shoulder.  During a visit to my orthopedist, I learned that my rotator cuff is NOT torn as suspected by my chiropractor.  I have a bone spur that is rubbing on an inflamed tendon which keeps it from healing and the cycle never ends.  The original inflammation was caused when I replaced a bunch of storm windows and overused the joint.  I received my first of three shots of cortisone which will be administered over the course of 12 weeks. If the inflammation can be reduced then the cycle will be broken.  If not, a minor surgery will be needed to remove the bone spur (much less invasive than rotator cuff repair).  All-in-all I am happy with this outcome.  Now I just need to get through my cardiologist appointment tomorrow morning.

I hope the older of my two sisters is keeping up with this blog and taking note of the fine cook her son Johnny has become.  Each week his Sunday dinners just seem to be getting better and better. Jeanine provides a modicum of advice but it will not be too long before the roles will be reversed.

Jeanine and I spent a good part of the day finalizing our travel plans for our upcoming trip to southeast Asia.  We leave Wednesday for Thailand where we will connect with Kyle through the weekend. Our next stop will be Cambodia and then on to Vietnam before returning to the southern part of Thailand.  It speeds things up if you bring passport type photos with you for the various visas that are prepared as you enter each country.  Here are the shots we will be using.

Jeanine and I will be traveling out of the country during the Primary Elections in Massachusetts.  We generally support the same candidates but this year our votes will only serve to cancel each other out.  Had neither one of us voted we could have saved the postage.  Still, there is something about participating in the democratic process that feels empowering and uplifting.

I think we can agree that this cake looks extremely yummy.  Being asked to photograph it by your wife before she takes it away for other people to eat, therefore, would be seen by many as cruel and unusual punishment. Such was the case this evening as Jeanine prepared another recipe from her memoir cookbook for external beta testing. The things I endure for love.

Full disclosure: Jeanine returned from her party hours later having saved a small piece for her photographer.

Timed perfectly for a break in the arctic cold we have been experiencing, Maya and a pair of her friends climbed 3,166 ft. Mount Monadnock today. I still remember, as though it were yesterday, when Maya and I climbed this mountain and camped overnight at its base some five years ago.  I cannot express with words how happy it makes me that all three of our children share their parents love of the great outdoors.

Kyle’s diploma from Santa Clara University arrived in the mail today. We will safeguard it for him until he returns from Thailand where he is having what can only be described as a grand adventure and unique learning experience.  Jeanine and I are very proud of Kyle and can’t wait to see him next week when we travel there to visit with him.

Confident, smart, and beautiful, Maya is the best Valentine’s Day present Jeanine has ever given me. The pair left for upstate New York this morning where Maya will tour Union College, my undergraduate alma mater on Monday.

This shot may or may not be used at work but it is what I envisioned when building the black printer pedestal.  I spent the morning doing more photography for work while Jeanine and Maya had the cracked windshield on the Audi replaced.

I left work a little early to photograph our new Mark Two printer.  The project proved quite challenging because I had to avoid reflections in the plexiglass visor and deal with specular highlights all over the place.  It took several hours but I finally got an image that I liked.

Nicolai was the subject of a post on A Woman’s View, a blog by Lenore Buth, titled Are heroes born or made?

It is a wonderfully written piece and it brings us joy to see that Nico continues to be an inspiration to so many.

The post makes reference to an interview that Nico did with Impressive Magazine.  I was not aware of that article but was able to locate it with a quick search; The Amazing Story of Nico Calabria.

I left work early to buy paint and lay down a first coat on the printer pedestal I am building.  I am starting with a matte black finish but may change to grey or white once I see how it looks with a printer on top.  It is shown here lying on its back.