Hard day… It started out cold.. I think it was 7 below when I woke up.. Here’s where it was when I finally found my camera.

Perhaps my blood was frozen. Despite my efforts to stay on task I struggled to do anything today. I idin’t really feel .. I don’t know.. maybe sane ?   I’m not sure what’s up.. but I need to  shake it..   I could’t wait till 6 when I could take off. Tonight was our annual ‘fathers shoping night’ I’ve been getting together with these same guys since my kids were all young.. must be 15 years or so. Traditionally we start at the Daily Planet.. Eat and Drink.. then do herd shoping through Burlington. Over th e years there’s been more eating and drinking.. and less shoping.
It was good getting together and talking, though.. here’s the group .

We Sat and talked tile about 8 then walked around town for a feeble attempt at buying stuff.  I used to love this night of impulse buying.. tonight I didn’t buy a thing… I don’t know if anyone did. In fact.. Church street was nearly completely empty.. maybe it was the  economy.. or maybe it was the cold..

The Mall was a ghost town too.. we ended up having a paper airplane fight in one of the empty stores.. and no one was there to mind !

Pretty quiet… Now it’s about 11PM.. and  I need to sleep.. Hope my frame of reference is better tomorrow.. We’ll see…

OK.. night everyone.. Night Sam.. I love you !
-me

Quiet day today.. Gabe was up at Bolton. Diane and I took a run.. then.. not sure I did anything else (did I ? )..   It’s kind of a pattern this time of year. I don’t seem to have much energy or inspiration these past few weeks. I get that makes sense. The holiday season is coming up and I’m trying to find the mood. Tomorrow night is our annnaul shopping night out with the guys.. Maybe that will jump start my holiday spirit…

One thing this slow time of year is helping me do is think. Even with the downturn in the economy I am actually feeling pretty optimistic about the coming change in the government.  I’m trying to find a way that my interest in getting kids interested in science and technology might fit into all of this change. As I put into my paper.. I really believe that technology can be a huge help to our troubled society as we look for ways to manage environmental disruption, energy generation, clean water supplies, etc. The trouble is,   that’s not the message kids usually hear about engineering and technology. We need to start changing that message… If we do,  we can use that to engage a whole new set of kids that might not have otherwise considered careers in engineering or science.   I’d like to help change that conversation..and promote the idea of using technological innovating for the good of the planet…  I know what I’m doing in classrooms is a way to start. but I’d like to find ways of helping push this further…I’m just not sure where to start… So why am I saying this here ?

Sometimes when you don’t know where to start.. the first step is just ‘putting it out there’.. for the cosmos to suggest something…

Hey cosmos.. I’m listening….any ideas appreciated….
and that goes for ideas from any of you reading this 🙂

OK.. enough for this weekend.. have a good week everybody.. Gnite Sam
-me

ps. here are the backs of the videos the kids showed last night.. I just saw the samstone on the back of Angus’s ‘Get Some ____’ movie.. and Gabe made the front of Sam and Garret’s ‘It’s Geometry’ vid.. he’s the one that’s beeing held in the air..

OK.. it’s official.. our septic system is failing.. after more than 30 years of great service it just isn’t going to take it anymore.   It lets us know by backing up into our basement from time to time.. not pleasant. We’re going to have to dig it up and out in a new system as soon as we can get a permit. For the time being, however.. we have to live with it.. If we’re careful  (e.g short showers and using the laundromat) we might be able to make it until the spring. I decided to see if I could make a way of monitoring  how close to the edge we were running the system. First I made a set of corrosion resistant electrodes, then I hooked them to a  long wire with simple resistance measuring circuit and a bright LED.

Then I open the septic tank inspection port and mounted the electrodes so they could sense when the water level went over the drain to the leach field.. When it does that.. it’s about to spill over. Then I put the sensing circuit and light inside our back door so we can see what’s up. It looks like this..

That is until someone took a shower… and this happens.. the bad thing is that the shower water still haven’t drained when we came home 3 hours later.. looks like we’re going to have to be very, very careful…

On the cool side.. it’s nice to have a light that goes on when you flush the toilet.. not many folks have those !

We also took down the trampoline today .. which makes it officially winter. It now has my permission to start snowing and not stop until may.. Diane and I used this hooky thing that Sam made to remove the springs. I like using things he touched…

.. and he touched many folks tonight. Tonight was the movie night at the Jericho Community Center.   Angus and his family and friends had arraigned the whole thing. The place was packed !.. First they showed Angus’s movie ‘Get Some _____’ with Chis F, Max E, Luke H. and friends.. It was great.. they had scenes from their trip to whistler, sugarbush, mad river and, of course, Bolton..

The event and the movie had many fine sponsors.. including Liberty Skis., The Sunken Ship and the Juice Bar on Nantucket. Bolton. John’s Shoe Shop, Botecelli and Phl.. and our good frinds at Talent..

The movie was dedicated to Sam !.. and all profits from the event are goign to the Sam Cohn Foundation… That’s just so wonderful that these kids would do this for Sam and for a good cause…
It really warms our hearts !  I could feel him there tonight…

I wasn’t quick enough to get pics of the 2nd film.. which was ‘It’s Geometry by Sam R. and Garrett. It was awesome too. There were soem great scenes of the Townsends and even a few of Gabe doign some spectacular wipe outs..  I loved the photography in these movies..

Speaking of Talent.. Our beutiful friends Hannah and Dave were there witht Adah and Senyah.. It was Hannah’s brithday !

In honor of that, Diane, Gabe and I went over to Hannah and Daves after the moview to play games.. It was cool walkign in and seeing the Twonsends big old dining room table there..

You can even see where Sam scratched hos name into it.. Bod boy.. but I’mso  glad that you did !

OK.. time to go recheck the watre level.. Sleep well folks.. we love you Sam..
-me

Ugh… just finished my ISSCC paper.. and I’m too tired to write anymore. I’m hoping that the paper and the presentation I’m putting around it  will get some of the folks who  see it interested in helping me get kids more interested in science and technology.  . Here’s an ugly low-res screen version of it using a ‘free’ program that puts a huge watermark on each page.  (If you really want to read the paper and give me comments on content or form.. send me a note and I’ll send you a copy)

I’m going to sleep now.. nite all. nite Sam !
-me