The day started early..   I dropped Diane off at the airport at about 4:30 then headed home for a few hours more sleep. Diane is going down to DC  to see our good friends Kate., Mathew Caroline and Anna.. I’m meeting her down there Monday with Shannon and Aaron (rebar) for a work installation . 

I used the day to catch up on some projects in my shop. Mid afternoon I headed up to Colchester to visit some friends.

First visit was to my old friend Val. I first met Val over 30 years ago. He and his  wife and daughter moved to Vermont from Novosibirsk Russia . I met Val through my good friend (and oldest vermont friend) Paul G. Val like Paul is an amazing musician.    I kinda lost track of Val over the years. Val is a gifted engineer who is strong in both theory and hands-on practice.   In Russia he developed a novel architecture for generating 6 access 3 dimensional positioning using just three linear actuators along with an elegant mathematical model  of how to use it. When he moved to the US, Val only spoke a little english. He got a job doing shop cleanup for Hazelett strip casting in Colchester.. by the time he retired, Val was their chief scientist. I’ll never for get some of the demos val built to test out pumping and braking  mechanisms for the molten metals used in the strip casting machines. 
Last year I learned that  our boss Kyle had worked with Val for many years at a company they founded called iTherm doing induction heating . Kyle always talks about Val in such admiration.. Kyles focus on ‘first principles’ engineering was inspired by Val. 

Anyway.. it was so good catching up with Val.. he’s 86 and has had numerous health problems.. but is still sharp as a tack. It was so good catching up . I hadn’t been to Vals hose in more than 30 years. Last time I was there Val and wife Tatiana had fed me and  served me their  home made garlic and hot pepper vodka.   (I still remember the hangover 🙂 ..   Tattiana died quite a few years ago..and Val now lives alone.  It was great catching up on the decades since we’d last talked.. Val fed me .. and gave me a shot glass of that same garlic and hot pepper vodka.. 

We talked for a couple of hours.. talking about mutual friends, tech. vodka and music. He played some piano too. 

It had been such a pleasure catching up. I’m so inspired by Val.

He’s a great man 

nite all, nite sam

-me