Saturday, December 27, 2014

Beautiful Day

Busting blue skies, kids in shorts, more runners than dogs.
 #LateDecember #SouthEnd


Open Source Wrench

Did you read that NASA emailed the space station a wrench? Of course not an actual wrench, but the instructions for a 3D printer to make a wrench. More marketing than actual utility, but still it was an interesting proof of concept. When the hardware store is not around the corner, a 3D printer is a nice option.
Here is Commander Barry Wilmore with the resulting wrench.
Well the good guys at NASA uploaded the instructions for the wrench for the world to have on their website. I downloaded and printed the same wrench. It took about an hour to print, and is more like a Fisher Price object than a NASA object. Here is my printer printing a clone of the wrench.
Before leaving the bay, I measured the drain holes of my sailboat with a micrometer, then when back in Boston printed a couple of drains, and recently Francois installed them for me. Thanks Francois! 
Since it seems to fit, I have uploaded the instructions to a web site where other owners of my same sailboat can download the same drain.





Friday, December 26, 2014

Hey Hey Hey

Merry Christmas !

Note to self: Two fried chickens provides ample left overs.
#SmallKitchensRule

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Nemo Cocktail

2 parts bourbon
1 part limoncello
Splash of soda water
Thanks Al for the glasses and decanter!

BBBB

Bologna, Brie, Butter, Bread

Seeing the Invisible

As humans we only see a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum. I am not sure of the evolutionary advantage of this, perhaps too much information would confuse us.Below is a chart showing the known spectrum and what we see.
Just past the visible light region is the Infrared spectrum. Most of the thermal energy radiated by objects near room temperature is in the infrared spectrum. 
Fortunately we can detect infrared and map the heat to colors so that it appears we can see infrared. Economics has brought the price of these cameras down to close to dirt cheap, and now can be found as attachments for you smart phone.
I am a sucker for solutions looking for problems, so I snatched an early release model from Seek Thermal

There of course is an associated app with the camera that does all sorts of interesting stuff.

Here is a picture of an intersection by the big Church down the street. Ok the resolution is not that great, but you can clearly see the outline of a Van and the camera has detected the hottest spot at 194 degrees near the engine. The coolest spot in the image is the street at 48 degrees. Orange is hotter than blue. So you can also see the heat escaping from the windows the church.
Here is the outside of our building with the screen split, left half normal, right half thermal. Again the warmest spot is the windows in the basement.
Here are the thermal footprints on the floor left after walking in my sock feet. Thank goodness Cindy cannot see in the infrared, my visible smudges are bad enough.
So where are we going with all these solutions to non existent problems, not a clue, but it does stir the imagination of the possible.

Thanks for Wikipedia for the first image and some of the wording on the spectrum.





Thursday, December 11, 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Speedo Santa Run

Charity run. 500 runners each raising no less than $400 each, brrrr

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Friday, November 21, 2014

Love At First Sight

My mom before I was old enough to get into trouble.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Tis the Season

The boys are setting up shop to sell Christmas trees around the corner. Should be all ready just after thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Weather on phone by

The weather channel. Calculations of high temps is like nails on a chalkboard.

Must be that new math.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

George Yeoman Pocock

Quote from the book Boys in the Boat

Harmony, balance, and rhythm. They’re the three things that stay with you your whole life. Without them civilization is out of whack. And that’s why an oarsman, when he goes out in life, he can fight it, he can handle life. That’s what he gets from rowing. —George Yeoman Pocock”

I wish I could explain why this book has become my all time favorite, a bit of history, a bit of sport psychology, and a touch of woodworking.

Picture from Boston University Rowing Tanks Room. 




Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Wegmans

Wegmans just opened up a store right around the corner from where I work and directly on my way home. Thanks Danny!

Perhaps just a tad smaller than Pittsford, but with a few new ammenities
  • Covered Parking (yes it does rain and snow here)
  • Integrated Wine/Beer/Liquor store (Interesting to see wine paired with food around the store)
  • A Sports apparel store (pick up all your Boston Team Jerseys)
  • A Special escalator to take your cart to the second floor (not sure what is up there)
  • An outdoor seating area with outdoor fireplace
  • A Round About instead of the stupid 4 way stops entering the compound.
Even with all this suburban lushness,  I still enjoy walking to the vegetable store, fish store and cheese shop near Nemo. Some photos of the escalator, jersey store, and outdoor seating area.
Oh yes, they are already selling Christmas Trees. 



On the Esplanade with Parker

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Good Morning Boston!


Just after sun rise in the Boston Public Garden. Good views of the financial district, the Taj Roof Deck, and the Capitol building. Once again, this is too close to an airport, so the drone limits the altitude to 100 meters.


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Determination Conquers Dispair




















I don't recall a more entertaining read. A confluence of sports, psychology, and history. Nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Saturday, October 18, 2014