With a third Nor’easter forecasted to dump a foot or more of snow on Concord today, my plans for a quick travel adventure could not have been better timed. I left this afternoon for a 9-day visit to Nicaragua, flying by way of Miami (pictured above). I arrived in Managua after dark and managed to clear customs, gather my rental car, and secure local currency in record time. Driving here is like the rest of Central and South America, not for the faint-hearted. I took it extra slow as I adapted to the new car, local traffic “customs,” and nighttime navigation. I arrived at my hotel without incident, if not thoroughly exhausted and soggy from the 97-degree temperature. Meanwhile, Kyle is headed to Minneapolis for a visit with his cousin Rory leaving Jeanine alone with Nala to cope with the snow. I know this sounds bad but neither of us could have anticipated the storm and I did offer to take Jeanine to Hawaii instead but her work obligations and the duration of travel made that impractical.
When Maya left for college, Jeanine and I started to think about downsizing. Our current home of 15 years has served us extremely well while there were five of us under the same roof. Now that we are empty nesters, we are starting to think about a next home that is better sized for this new phase of our lives. We had talked about putting the house up for sale this spring but decided to postpone by a year when I failed at retirement and found myself in the fast lane again. All this was until Jeanine learned of a potentially interested buyer who came to look at the house today. They appear interested and it certainly would be convenient to sell the house after one showing and without a realtor commission. It remains to be seen if we will be able to agree on a price or if their interest wanes but it has us seriously thinking about the possibility.
This evening I enjoyed watching the US Paralympic Sled Hockey team as they racked up an impressive 10-0 win over Japan. The youngest member of the team, Noah Grove (22), is also a member of the US National Amputee Soccer Team. A truly wonderful young man and incredible athlete, I was thrilled to watch as he scored his first Paralympic goal late in the first period. I was tempted to call Nico to see if he was watching the game but thought the better of it given the late hour. I think team USA has a good chance of medalling and have set the DVR to record all of their matches.
Today riders of the Copenhagen Wheel surpassed an aggregate total of one million kilometers. For our very young company, it was a momentous milestone and cause for celebration. With spring weather around the corner, I am gearing up to add to this total on my own CW bike.
We received about 6 inches of heavy wet snow last night. The weight of it brought down tree limbs all over town. The Audi was spared damage by a matter of a few feet. I cleared the driveway before sunrise so I could capture first light. Many roads were completely blocked by fallen trees or downed power lines which prevented me from reaching my favorite winterscapes.
I did manage to launch my drone over Walden Pond, a panoramic view of which is shown below.
As I continued to witness huge limbs falling left and right, I wisely opted to curtail my photography before the law of averages caught up with me. My final image is of the Concord Country Club.
At the suggestion of a colleague, I have started to photograph the many test fixtures we use at Superpedestrian to validate our designs. This one applies forward and then reverse torque to the wheel so we can determine if the spoke pattern we will be using on a future product will stand up to the rigors of heavy acceleration and braking. In this case, we saw no issues after 50,000 cycles.
Jeanine and I set aside some time this evening to organize our bedroom and walk-in closet. Ready to throw away a plaster cast of her hands she made at age four (1967), I felt compelled to capture an image of it for posterity. It was a gift to her mother which she delivered in block printed gift wrap that she made herself in nursery school.
I have previously published turkey sightings in Cambridge. Today, however, these seemingly fearless birds were responsible for a traffic jam as they confronted cars in pursuit of an apple. The one pictured below would not give ground even though the car kept inching forward with its horn blaring. The video of this standoff is very funny and I hope to add it to this post at some point.
I pass this scene every day on my way to work. This morning the cloud-diffused dawn light and slight dusting of snow just added to the serenity. As much as I hate my commute, I must admit that portions of it are quite beautiful.
After dropping off a small package at the Lincoln post office, I noticed that I had left a nice set of tracks in the virgin snow. I liked the pattern as well as the single-lit window and decided it was worth pausing for a quick photograph.
I was just contacted by a gentleman in Germany who noticed my retired collection of quick release clamps in a posting I made late last year. He was interested in purchasing a set which makes this the first time I have made a sale as a direct result of a posting on this blog.
I took the time today to write a letter to the CEO and members of the Board of Directors of Dick’s Sporting Goods regarding their decision to no longer sell assault style rifles, high capacity magazines or firearms to anyone under 21 years of age.
As leaders within your organization, I am sure the decision to change your policy on gun sales was a difficult one. No doubt you struggled with the potential negative impact on your business as a result of those who would seek financial retaliation as a means to intimidate others from following in your footsteps. I for one will go out of my way to shop at your stores as a way of showing solidarity with your brave and common sense decision to help limit the carnage caused by assault-style weapons. No one can say with certainty whether your decision will save a single life. I believe it will and I am writing to thank you on behalf of the parents who will never have to grieve over the death of a child at the hands of another.
When your own time on Earth comes to an end, despite all other success you may have enjoyed, I believe you will be most proud of this moment in your careers. Thank you for standing up. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your true leadership.
Inspired by another sunny start to the day, I decided to swing by the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge on my way into work. According to the Concord Journal, a juvenile Bald Eagle was spotted there last week. A rare sighting to be sure, I was not overly disappointed to find only swans, geese, ducks and red-winged black birds on this morning. I had only planned for a brief visit but when attempting to exit the parking area, I found the only way out blocked by a utility truck that did not finish its work for a good hour.
The Weld Boathouse is home to the heavyweight and lightweight squads of Radcliffe Women’s Crew (representing Harvard University). It is the second of two boathouses created on this spot by George Walker Weld, son of William Weld, a shipping and real estate magnate who lived in the 1800s. The first was built in 1889. The second, grander structure was built in 1906. It is pictured above with Harvard’s Eliot House in the background and below in the distance with the John W. Weeks footbridge in the foreground. Welds was also a founding member of the Boston Athletics Association, organizer of the Boston Marathon.
Warm weather has liberated the Charles from ice and opened the door for crew practice. Given the proximity of Superpedestrian to the river, you are likely to find many future posts dedicated to this sport. I would love to get an overhead shot of a pair of eights side by side but that will take some time and luck to capture.
Few things annoy Nala more than a small herd of deer dining in her backyard. Few things annoy me more than Nala barking at the top of her lungs at said intruders. I am giving serious thought as to which source of annoyance would be easier to shoot.
Steady rain for virtually the entire day had mefocusedd on indoor activities including the installation of two more Nest thermostats bringing the total in the house to four. I also started doing research for my next travel adventure which will be centered around volcanoes.
The Boston Museum of Fine Arts was the destination for mystery date night (afternoon, actually) with Jeanine. We enjoyed special exhibits featuring the work of M. C. Escher and a gallery of some eighty portraits of “(un)expected families” by various American photographers. We also visited my favorite painting in the museum, Renoir’s Dance at Bougival, which has always reminded me of a young Jeanine. Can’t say I care for the fellow she is dancing with.
Dedicated for use in 2000, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Boston Massachusetts Temple had to wait another year until the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled that it would be permitted to add a steeple which violated local zoning height restrictions.
Despite the drudgery of my work commute, it is not without moments of veritable serenity. Such is the case each time I traverse the Cambridge Reservoir which is the source of water when I open the tap at the office. Due to a very shallow basin, small changes in water level dramatically impact the appearance of the reservoir as do the changing seasons making it a photographic subject of constant interest.
This afternoon, the city of Boston hit 71 degrees, smashing the previous high for February 21st of 63 degrees set back in 1906. Concord reached 75 degrees; three years ago we had a record low of -9 degrees on this day! Is anyone still doubting global climate change? If this little guy can survive until tomorrow afternoon he will enjoy a forecasted shower of snow and sleet.
What does Superpedestrian have in common with Waze, Lyft, and AirBus? All four made the top ten list of honorees named by Fast Company Magazine on their 2018 Most Innovative Companies in the World list within the transportation sector. Not too shabby for a 50-person startup. Everyone at the company was ecstatic when we learned of the news.
This street scene near my office really captured my imagination as I strolled past it this afternoon. Compare the color palette to the image of the Old North Bridge I took yesterday. I suspect I will feel differently about it as the seasons change. Today, however, it seemed to fit in perfectly.
A wet snowfall last night and a swollen Concord River made for a beautiful scene at the Old North Bridge this morning.Shooting with my drone from about 30 feet above the water provided a perspective that will not be found in the million other photos taken of this historic landmark. I also captured a flyover video that can be watched at the following link Old North Bridge Flyover
Pictured below is Lee’s Bridge over the Sudbury River. See if you can find the photographer in the image.
Maya has been sick for several days. She requested a decongestant and nasal spray which Jeanine and I were all too happy to hand deliver given the coupled opportunity for a short visit. Illness aside, Maya seems to be enjoying her Olin experience very much. Winds were very high and I was lucky to get this aerial photo without crashing my flying camera.
I decided to have a peek inside a great blue heron nest since they are vacationing in Florida right now. It looks just like you would expect and I found this profile view more photographically interesting. Winds were quite high so I did not risk getting any closer. I was standing about a quarter mile away when I took this drone photo.
I took this photo yesterday on my lunch hour. We finally got some sunshine and I wanted to get a nice aerial shot with my new drone. This perspective was from 64 feet above the Charles River taken in very high winds. I am quite pleased with the image quality and can’t wait for an opportunity to shoot more interesting subjects from the air.
The Copenhagen Wheel that we manufacture at Superpedestrian includes a novel spoke interface to the hub which we call a smiley. This evening I captured a set of smiley photos that will be used for quality control purposes in conjunction with the company that makes these magnesium castings for us.
I was inspired by above-freezing temperatures and a bit of sunshine to extend my usual morning walk by a couple of miles. Little doubt that this was but a brief respite from several more weeks of winter weather. Still, it was nice to walk by the Charles River and to meander back through the MIT campus. Pictured above is the Stata Center, designed by American architect Frank Gehry.
It rained today from dawn till dusk which was just fine by me. A perfect excuse to enjoy the Winter Olympics. Normally, I would never spend time watching the biathlon or curling or snowboarding. Wrap it in an Olympic blanket and I am glued to the couch. I did manage a morning workout with Jeanine, good for 4 miles on the elliptical, so I do not feel entirely guilty about my binge-viewing.
I have photographed the Sudbury River from this bridge many times. For the first time, I was able to include it in the composition using my new drone. Now if I could only get the sun to cooperate. I spent close to an hour flying today and my skills have improved dramatically.
I practiced taking off and landing from the roof of my car which proved to be very easy. I wouldn’t say I could land on a dime but I think I could set one of the legs on a quarter if it were not too windy.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
