Today started out very cold… About 5°. It was a perfect time to spend the day working with Mason on my lab Retrofit.… Mason has been helping us install Some leftover bamboo flooring as countertops for my lab work surfaces. I’ve learned a lot from watching him work… We really appreciate his time and skill. Can’t wait to get my shop back in order
nite all, nite sam
-me
This is been a busy week… It was the anniversary of ‘Diane’s moms death… And my aunt sis’s funeral…But I want to go back And remember one more creature this week. Our sweet Satori would’ve been 14 years old on Wednesday. I still miss her and her sister chai every day.… Satori was the most loving creature human or otherwise that I’ve ever met. We miss you girl
nite all, nite sam
-me
Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching one of my old friends give a talk at Beta… I met Val Kagan back in 1992. My friend Paul introduced us because Val Was an amazing jazz pianist… He was that so much more. Val came to this country is part of a Jewish resettlement program for Russian scientist. Val and his family had been living and teaching in Novosibirsk in Siberia USSR. He came to this country not speaking a whole lot of English. He started working at hazelett Strip casting as a technician… He retired from there as their chief scientist. He’s the most rigorous engineer I’ve ever met. He starts everything for mathematical theory. I wants helped him a little to get a chance to teach at the University of Vermont… He was teaching a class on mathematical modeling. I found out that he had written six books on the mathematics of MecaTronics design.
I just recently reconnected with Val after more than 15 years. We lost touch after sam died. val whose 85 has had an interesting history. his wife Tatiana died about five years ago… I’ll always remember her for the hot pepper and garlic vodka that she would make your drink as medicine. I remember the worst hangover of my life was on that stuff.
val and I got reconnected in a funny way… I was talking to our CEO and my friend Kyle about an amazing demo that I had once seen Val give of a magneto hydrodynamic braking system for liquid metal. Kyle it turns out was a huge fan and former business partner of ours… They have a very deep mutual admiration. Val has said that ‘Kyle was his favorite student ever
val’s talk was an interesting mixed bag. He had a lot of philosophy and some math… And his main point was that he had come up with an interesting way of reconciling Maxwell’s equations and the lorentz force. He showed us an incredible demo of the ideas involving a rotating magnetic desk separated by a small gap from a rotating copper Disk. If you turn the magnetic disc the copper one rotated if you turn the two in opposite directions it produced a small negative current if you taped the two discs together and turn them it created a small positive or negative current depending on direction… It blew my mind… Nothing in Maxwell’s equations alone with predict that.
I’m still scratching my head.
It was such an honor to see him again… I’m looking forward to seeing him more often now
nite all, nite sam
-jc
Today was my Aunt Sis’s interment. With Covid still raging… The family didn’t feel it was safe to get everyone together physically… So today there was a short service by zoom at the cemetery where Sis is cremated remains were buried. It’s right next to her mom and dad… at a cemetery in Dayton Ohio.I’ve been there. We’re all going to get together to celebrate Sis’s life in spring when things are safer
The online format actually worked pretty well… They were about 80 people mostly family and friends gathered. The rabbi , my Uncle Phil and my aunts kids Jim and Judy and their wives were there… I think my cousin Judy had to stay home because she tested positive for Covid. It was a short traditional service the rabbi said the traditional prayers of death and did something I’ve never seen… She had people tear ribbons of cloth… As part of the ritual where observant Jews tear their clothing when a loved one dies and wear it for a year.… I thought this was kind of cool adaptationIt was a short traditional service the rabbi said the traditional prayers of death and did something I’ve never seen… She had people tear ribbons of cloth… As part of the ritual where observant Jews tear their clothing when a loved one dies and wear it for a year.… I thought this was a f cool adaptation.
After the prayers each other family members were able to throw some flowers and a small amount of dirt into the grave… The whole thing lasted only 20 minutes. I was at work at Beto… Which was a strange place to be crying… But it worked for me
This was really a fun and loving person… we will really miss her. I’m looking forward to getting together with family in the spring to swap stories about her.
זכרונה לברכה .. may her name be a blessing
nite all, nite sam
-me