After work Diane and I headed to the airport and headed to Pittsburgh We’re visitong our freinds Larry and Leah and their Daughter hannah and family. Larry and I wen tto grad school together. Now he’s the head of the ECE department that we both graduated from. In addiiton to seeing our freinds, I’m attending a a CMU ECE advisiory committee meeting and doing a ‘hot ones’ event for the students. Should be fun !

It is funny travelign into Pittsburgh.. it was a big part of our lives 30 years ago.. the airport feels a little like home.. They have the cutest robot repair art installation 

We got to Larry and Leahs a little before they did.. Its a beutiful place.. 4 floors high with an elevator. Its full of toys from their granddaughter georgia who lives just aroudn the corner.  She had these two books together.. my kind of gal !

Larry and Leah came home soon after.. it was soooo good seeign them. it’s been too long. We all walked/rode over to a really nice resturant a block from thier house and had a great ‘catching up’ dinner. Cooincidentaly, a mutual freind of Larry and mine , Mike S,, was at the same resturant with soem of his students. Mike had visited us in Vermont several years back. He even had a picture of me holding his kids. from that trip !

very small world..

Speakig of samll. check out Leah’s ultra cure electric Fiat !

Really glad to be seeing our friends !

nite all, nite sam
-me

DIane and I have noticed that one of the two small chimneys at the back of our house are shedding plaster. Pretty often we are finding sall pieces of the plaster down on the ground. I’m sure it could hurt soemoen if they were down below when it fell.. We  also worry that the chimney itself may fall. Only oen of these chinieys is used.. and its only a vent for our boiler. I was tryign to figure out how old the chimney was.. then it occired to me that there are soem old pictures of the house on the wallpaper of the gass station down the street. I stopped in on the way into work and looked at the chimneys.. the pics were from the ealry 70’s based on the cars t that are shown.. and the chimneys are both already there.. so that means it predates the renovations

We’ve called a roofing guy to come take a look.. Getting on our roof is a big job ! .. Hope that replaceing the chinmey is not.. (but it probably is !) 

nte all, nite sam
_me

Today is Diane’s birthday !.. I’m so glad to be with her on these trips around the sun with her.. I m so in love with you DIane 

We celebrated by taking a long hike up preston brook along side the catamount trail; Its a beautiful hike with many gorgeous waterfalls that few folks get to see

from t here we went to have. a yummy sushi lunch at sakuras.. the samstone is till there in the flower pot

 

in the evening we had a april fools / birthday / yoga and potluck.. It was wonderful !

SUper nice day for my super nice girl 

nite all, nite sam
-me

Today was a welcome heads down calm day after this weekend’s busy FIRST event. 

I woke today to the great news that our OnBoard printed circuit board program for high schoolers  gave out it’s 900th grant this morning !!!!

When  we started OnBoard a little  more than a year ago, we committed to give 1000 grants.. and we’re closing in on that goal. I feel very good about that.. and its timely.. with the latest tariff craziness, the PCB’s we’re making just doubled .. a $50 pcb is now going to be $100 !

On my way in to work.. I ran in to my friend Gavin  and his wife and two beautiful kids. Gavin was Sam’s friends.. I’ve known him since he was 5 (I think !).. It’s so great to see him living his best life and workign at BETA !

I usually cant blog about stuff in work.. but this is weird enough to share.  More than a year ago, a group of folks ordered an animatronic copy of our beloved electronics lead, Andrew. The device looks like the Zoltan figure in the movie Big.. but it’s 100 times weirder !b It even talks like Andrew.. and dispenses tickets with BETA’s cultural points

Any day that starts liek this has got to be good…

and it was !

nite all. nioe sam

-me