Super fun day at CMU. Its carnival so the campus is packed and colorful

We explored Hammershlag and saw the prep for the Hot Ones session later this afternoon. The Hot Ones is a Youtube sensation where the host Sean aasks famous people questions while he and they eat progressivly hotter hot suaces,,   I;d never watched it before now.. Its so fun !.   

Anywy Larry has started his own hot ones version where he or another faculty interviews soemwhat less famous people who are known to the ECEC crowsd and turns up the sauce. I’m the second victim. my good freind Anirduh was victim nuber one.. I love hot sauce.. so this is gonna be fun.. I got to see the sauces.. .. they have fancy names.. but I thin I can eat anythign ! 🙂

after a quick lunch , I attended the ECE Advisors meeting which Diane explored our old stomping grounds. SHe went over to Fipps Conservatory and the Pittsburgh museum of natural history 

The advisory meeting was great… As always, Larry was well prepared. It was great to see the progress that the department was making, including its campuses in Rwanda and Doha. When disturbing thing I saw was the drop off female applicants due to the changes in diversity rules. thats not soemthign I like seeing. 

We then took a tour of some of the laboratories and met some of the undergraduate and graduate students doing projects. Under Larry’s leadership, the department has focused much more on early and openhanded projects. I am so impressed. We saw independent design classes and got to the low-cost semi conductor fab that they’ve built… This is something that was actually pioneer by a high school kid who attended cmu

Then it was time for the hot ones… I walked over to set up. Always funny walking into an empty auditorium.

Larry showed up with his friend Vaiz also a professor in the department. Turns out that Vaiz was goign to be my interviewer.. and would be eatign the hot souce with me. Usually, this is done with chicken wings, but since both vice and I are vegetarians, we had some sort of very delicious cauliflower nuggets. They really were good.

1. Larry did a really funny intro to me for the audience

then Vaiz started asking me questions. Before each question they introduced a new hot sauce that was hotter and hotter on the Scoville scale. I believe they started in the 10,000 range and ended at the 3 million range which technically probably isn’t food anymore. Smile… Doesn’t matter though I love it all.

 

The questions were grea kind of funny questions about my past and advice to students and choices like me and choices. I would make a different way if I had to do it again…Vaiz it was a great interviewer… And the delicious hot sauces made it really fun and easy.… I don’t know if the audience was happy that both of us had high spice tolerance because part of the show is seen people sweat and cry… I think in the end Vaiz was squirming a little, but I tell you I could keep going

…

And that was it… Believe it or not, though I was still starving. I felt like eating some spicy food!

 

We went back to Larry and Leah’s and had a great hang out. It was super nice.. 

Nite all. nite sam
-me

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