This evening, Jeanine and I attended the holiday party for Amide Technologies, one of the companies I am consulting for. Consistent with the frugality that is a hallmark of any good startup, the event was held in a conference room at our new office in Cambridge. What the venue lacked in ambiance, the engaging conversations with colleagues more than made up for. We both had a wonderful time and I enjoyed showing Jeanine around the office and the lab where we are building a first-of-its-kind instrument for the rapid synthesis of arbitrary proteins.

My brother Mark shared this photo taken with his son Mario and the buck he took down with a single arrow. They proceeded to field dress the deer and I have no doubt will save and eat every bit of the harvest. While I have never had an interest in hunting, it occurs to me that the needed skill set is very similar to wildlife photography. It requires an understanding of your subject’s behavior and a great deal of patience.

We received our first snow of the year today, more of a dusting really. Even so, it was enough that our framing crew did not show up to work. The excuse was that the car they share for the commute would not start. Very frustrating for me since each day of delay costs us ~$1500 (the average daily fee for site and project management charged by our builder). On the positive side, the weather forecast for the remainder of the week looks promising. Even more promising; Jeanine and I have found an exterior color for the house and roof that we both really like. We have been wrestling with this decision for months now, spending hours each weekend driving around and looking at houses for ideas and inspiration. With these two choices made, we have an anchor from which all other color choices will follow.

I am getting ready to purchase 3 dozen smart occupancy sensor/dimmer switches for the new house. I have been testing two units in my workshop for some time now. Dimmer switches can buzz with certain types of LED lights and can flicker while ramping up or down the power level. Satisfied that they are compatible with the recessed lighting I have selected, I decided to install them in the Road House so that I could test the motion detection sensitivity and coverage pattern. I also wanted to spend more time than I already have to ensure that they play nice with Apple’s Home Kit which we will be using for the automation of the River House. I decided to place them in the kitchen. This four gang box used to have three dimmers and one outlet. I decided to combine the circuits for the sink lighting and the under cabinet lighting onto one circuit called task lighting which allowed me to add a second much needed outlet. The installation went slowly because I opted to keep the power on so I would not have to work under flashlight illumination. Once installed, I spent hours learning all the nuances of the switch programming and integration with Home Kit. It was time well spent since I discovered a few things that worked differently than I expected and several features that I was unaware of.

Kyle and I took a break from his basement renovation project to watch the Brazil v Morocco World Cup match. Joining me on the couch was Bailey who is my new best friend. Kyle and I returned to our work and were able to finish the last of the plumbing, installation of a bathroom ventilation fan, and hanging of cement backer board within the shower area before leaving for Nico’s apartment where we were joined by Maya and Jeanine to watch the France v England quarterfinal. The day was both productive and enjoyable and to top things off, our framing crew was also working on the River House today.

Framing for the first floor and part of the second floor is now complete. I concatenated my last video with the latest footage for an up-to-date progress report on framing.

Kyle has a new housemate. Meet Bailey. Kyle has been renting out a room in his house and his latest tenant comes as part of a package deal that includes this lovely dog. I suspect that it will not be long before Maya pays him a visit.

My mother, now 94, was released from the hospital today after mostly recuperating from pneumonia. We are fortunate that my brother Mark lives in close proximity and was able to supervise her care with remote support from my sister Alissa. I imagine (and am hoping) she will be back on the dance floor in short order. I was also “released” from the hospital today after having a colonoscopy. The discharge nurse would not let me walk home even though it would take half the time of driving. Instead, Jeanine had to come and spring me from the joint.

The showers in the main and guest bathrooms of the River House will be fitted with the pictured control panel instead of a traditional rotary valve situated below the shower head. Because it is a digital system it offers a number of unique capabilities. Water temperature is set and maintained digitally regardless of variations in supply temperature. Jeanine and I will each have a one-button preset to dial up our preferred temperature and shower head selection (rain head, shower head, or both). The console displays the actual water temperature and the target temperature and can pause the shower once it reaches the desired set point. I did some dry testing of the system today and realized that it really wants to be installed at eye level for ease of operation and viewing. This placement will also prevent unwanted actuation by visiting future grandchildren. Should we be wheelchair bound at some point, the presets can also be activated with voice commands.

Framing on the River House has progressed to the second floor of the west wing where the sub-floor is being glued and screwed in place. Pictured in the foreground is the garage which will have a roof that slants from left to right. Roof joists will be supported in the middle by the gigantic beam. The garage doors are each 10 feet wide to give us plenty of margin as we enter and leave and 8 feet high to clear a roof-mounted kayak. Our kayaks will be stored on the high-side bay using a pulley system to hoist them up to the ceiling much as we did in our last house. The garage floor is temporarily covered with OSB sheathing to protect it from construction activity.

While out driving with Jeanine looking for house siding ideas, we passed Ponyhenge. The last time I was here, the rocking horses were facing inwards. Now they are arranged carousel style which I find much more interesting.

Generally the person behind the camera, I have relatively few pictures of myself and fewer still of me with my siblings. Today Alissa shared the photos taken by the professional who was covering her birthday party. I liked this one of me with my youngest sister, Mayela in particular.

My baby sister Alissa turned 60 today! Jeanine, Maya, and I were thrilled to join her for the celebration at her home in Slingerlands, New York. The food was fantastic, the ambiance festive, and my other sister Mayela and her husband Stephen were among the guests. The highlight of the evening for me, however, was reconnecting with a close friend, Debbie McGuinness, who I have not seen in close to 40 years. We joined Bell Labs at the same time and were participants in the OYOC (One Year on Campus) program. She did her Master’s degree at Berkeley and I did mine at nearby Stanford. We were part of a cohort that spent many weekends together and also did a small group trip to Hawaii to hike the Kalalau Trail on the Napali coast of Kauai. Debbie is a member of the cancer survivors group started by my sister and at some point she became aware of Alissa’s maiden name and made the connection. Talk about a stroll down memory lane, or rather, a drunken stumble during which I was reminded of events and stories I have long since forgotten.

The pictures below are from our Hawaii adventure. Debbie is on the left, I am flanked by my girlfriend at the time and my graduate school roommate, Ken Zabriskie. Resting on the boulder is John Modla, the fifth member of our motley crew. With limited vacation time, we chartered a helicopter to fly us to the far end of the trail and hiked back out.

Pictured here is the rough opening for the largest window in the house. It measures 13 feet wide and offers a nice view of the Sudbury River from the living area. The window assembly includes a sliding section which will provide access to stairs down to a future patio area. The entire back wall of the house, which has yet to be framed, will be two-thirds glass offering views across the river. Mounted on the tree with the ladder leaning on it is the “bird house” which shelters the camera I use to make the time-lapse videos that often appear on this blog. Every night retrieve the camera to transfer the footage to my computer and recharge the battery.