Maya spent the weekend in Camden, Maine with friends from Olin participating in the National Toboggan Championships. Her team managed a 12.38-second run which was not good enough to advance but more than enough to have a great time. Apparently, she also took a hot lap around a frozen lake on a motorcycle with a “very handsome guy”. The motorcycle was equipped with spiked tires and her father was not pleased to learn of this risky behavior. He did, however, approve of the pond hockey match which was also part of the weekend activities.

Plans for our River House are coming along nicely and have remained stable for the last few months. Over the last few days, however, I have been playing with different options for a room we have been calling the Aviary. The original intent was for a 4-season screened-in porch above the main floor (five-window upper section in the lower image). In an unusually long post, I am sharing the thought process behind considering a change in direction for that single room.

What is the problem we are trying to solve?

(1) We are missing a cozy place for Jeanine to read, meditate, and enjoy quiet time or coffee with a friend. This space would have cozy dimensions, ample space for a big comfy chair (or two) and side table, great natural light, great views, and convenient access. No spaces on the first floor currently satisfy these requirements.

(2) The original goals for the Aviary (screened-in porch, “place to entertain small groups”) are not really being met with the current design. 12” thick walls with operable triple-pane glass will never “feel” like a screened-in porch and a lot of work will be required to open and close windows (9 in total) with each use. Unlike our old sunporch this will be a conditioned space which means: (a) when occupied with the windows open, the door should be closed (unlikely to happen in real life) and (b) when unoccupied, the windows should be closed after each use (otherwise we are pumping conditioned air into the outdoors all the time unless we zone separately). It is 90 feet and 22 stairs away from the kitchen and thus will never lend itself to entertaining with food being served. The high glass-to-volume ratio makes it one of the least energy efficient rooms and it will also be one of the least used.

What will be different about living in a home with a fresh air ventilation system (ERV)?

Our house will include a ventilation system that constantly brings fresh air from the outdoors into the house replacing an equal volume of stale air (carbon monoxide build-up, odors). The system will replace 1/3 of the air in every room every hour while preserving a very large percentage of the energy used to heat or cool that air.
During the summer, the humidity will be removed from incoming air and in the winter, it will be added. The incoming air will be filtered for dust/pollen. With this type of system, the only reason to open a window is for ambient sounds or egress. Opening a window will result in more dust in the house, loss of conditioned air, and bigger swings in humidity. If not for building codes requiring egress windows for all bedrooms, I would make every window non-operable.

With all of this in mind, I created a new plan, shown in the top image, which slopes the roof over the Aviary in the opposite direction. It does not present as dramatic an elevation view but solves many of the problems and has a feature that will make for a really nice cozy space for Jeanine. Time will tell if we opt for the change or stick with the current plan or some new variation emerges.

Perhaps the least fun I have had working on the River House is the removal of this pipe and another one just like it. The pipe is principally made of cement but also contains asbestos. Before demolition can begin, all asbestos must be removed from the structure and properly disposed of. Step one, completed last Saturday was to remove the stone tiles and cut through the 4″ concrete slab covering the pipe (3 hours). Step two, completed yesterday was to break up and remove the concrete covering the pipe (2 hours). Step three was to cut out the subflooring covering the remainder of the pipe (10 minutes). Step four, completed today while wearing a respirator, gloves, and a Tyvek hazmat suit, involved breaking the pipe into manageable-sized chunks and double bagging them in 10 mil plastic bags. Next weekend the bags will be picked up by a certified hazardous waste disposal company for a total cost of $300, a tiny fraction of the price had I hired a company to do this job.

Today, my plans to meet with a new colleague over lunch in West Concord had to be changed when we arrived to find the fire department on scene and the establishment closed. We decided to head to the Main Street Cafe where I was thrilled to find breakfast fare on the all-day menu.

Last fall, I was approached by the principals of a group working within Meta (formerly Facebook) with a consulting opportunity. The team is building a robot that installs fiber optic cable over existing power line infrastructure. It is a very cool project and I am excited to be joining the team. It has taken many months, however, to complete the onboarding process which involved joining the Launch Consulting Group which provides Facebook, Google, and others with contract employees and/or contract services. Today, I completed the process which included hours of mandatory training videos, paperwork, and setting up a dedicated computer for the project.

Taken in June of 2014, I just received this photo of me with my nieces Sophia and Rose. Since I am usually behind the camera, I really appreciate getting photos where I am in front of it; even if they take 8 years to reach me 🙂

Despite using two vacuum cleaners at the same time, it was impossible to capture all of the dust created by a 14″ concrete saw that Kyle and I used today to help remove a slab of concrete in his basement. There were times when you could not see into the next room it was so thick. Before I get scolded by my mother and/or Jeanine, I should clarify that we were both wearing high-performance respirators. We sliced the 4-inch slab every two inches or so and then used a sledgehammer to break it into pieces. Some additional excavation with a demolition hammer followed by a diamond grinder and we were very pleased with the outcome. We also removed a massive cast iron standing sink which involved a little more plumbing work than we initially anticipated. I think it is safe to say that we are both pleased to have these two tasks in our rearview mirror.

Jeanine referred me to an article on Wicked Local today about “Doc” Furey, a teacher and coach at the Concord Carlisle High School for the past 40 years. Last month he stepped down as the Head Coach of the Women’s Varsity Tennis Team, a position he had held for 18 years. Before that, he was the Assistant Head Coach and JV Head coach for 17 years. During his tenure, the team won 11 state titles. He was also the Head Coach of the combined Alpine and Nordic Ski Teams for 20 years and the Head Coach of the Alpine Ski team for another 20 years when the programs split. As if that was not enough, he was also the Head Coach of the Boy’s Ninth Grade Soccer team for 40 years. Why was he called “Doc”? Because he holds four graduate degrees. And now for the amazing part and the reason the phrase “illustrious career” was invented. In forty years of coaching three sports, his teams never had a losing season!

While reading the article on the Wicked Local site, I noticed an included video documentary (linked above) about the CCHS Nordic Ski Team produced while Maya was a member. It features her boyfriend at the time as well as brief shots of her.

The students at the Fenn School are preparing for their winter food drive. They have been partnering with Open Table for over three decades and will help this year by collecting food for recently resettled Afghan people and for Open Table’s Fuel for School program. The latter prepares “Kids Bags” which provide a weekend’s worth of wholesome, calorie-dense, nutritious food and snacks that supplement a child’s access to food and can help alleviate hunger. Open Table is also partnering with local organizations to support the 2000+ Afghan refugees resettling in Massachusetts this year. They are hoping to make these families feel welcome and respected by providing familiar and culturally important foods. Pictured above are two slides from a deck being presented at Fenn to explain the programs, the second feature food photos that Jeanine asked me to take for the project.

We were fortunate this evening to have all three kids over for dinner. Usually, such occasions are limited to the weekends. It made for a terrific end to an already great day. Earlier, I had an important presentation to the Board of Directors of one of my clients. I was challenged to design a polypeptide printer that can operate 100 times faster than their existing machine. My work was well received and I have a green light to move on to early prototyping. The presentation was recorded for posterity and to share with other employees. When I played it back, I was shocked to hear how many times I used the word “essentially” to explain the work. I really need to break that habit.