All posts by johncohn

Monday night – unhinged

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Greetings from the boat in Brooklyn.. I drove down here today for a meeting tomorrow. Max and I are sitting here doing our homework at 2:30 in the morning.. just like old times..

Interesting and busy day.. It all started with me waking up before 6 and finding my glasses broken.. I’d slept on them, I suppose. A screw had worked is way loose and one of the lenses was out.  Hmmm.. Without my glasses  I can’t see anything closer than New Hampshire.. Miraculously I was able to feel around and find the very tiny screw.. I managed to grope my way down to the lab and find a jewelers loupe so I could see.. then a micro screwdriver and a set of ultra sharp tweezers.. THankfully I was  able to reassemble them…..

Nice to have my first project for the day done y 7..

I had a busy day at work.. left around 1.. then drove dwon through ice and snow to NY.. I stopped for an hour or so and Ruchir and Rashi’s lovely holdiay party.. then met up with my good freind glehhhhhhhhhn who’s in visiting from australia.. very. good catching up with him.

The roads were really terrible coming down from the north.. so it took me an hour to go the 38 miles to maxes..

Now I’m here  and falling asleep as  type..

THat was my day..

I do have some pictures of the evil snowman that Gabe and I made yesterday.. The thing was bigger than both of us. We needed to use a ramp to get the middle up there.

Gabe’s idea… 🙂

He had this cool idea for making our snowman really different at night.. check this out..

OK.. gotta sleep now.. More tomorrow !

nite all, nite sam

-me

Sunday Afternoon – Please light a candle for Sam tonight -7PM

Friends,

Tonight is Compassionate Friends annual candle lighting. CF  is a worldwide organization dedicated to supporting families who have lost children.  On the second Sunday of December they ask that everyone light a candle to honor all the children who have died over the years and all of their families. Please join us and light a candle at 7PM for our beautiful Sam and for all other kids who have passed before their time.  All those lights burning help us remember all those wonderful smiles…

Thanks so much for joining us///

nite all.. nite sam.. we miss you tonight and every night

-me


Beautiful snow everywhere..   and it’s all probably going to disappear tomorrow. We’re expecting wind, rain and ice..Dianne and I decided to get out and enjoy the snow.. We took our first snow shoe of the season with the dogs.. It was so wonderful getting out in the woods. We forgot that it was still black powder season.. and none of us had on our orange.. so we stayed close and made noise as we tromped through the deep snow.

When we got back, we had a couple of chores to complete the conversion to winter.. More windows sealed, the  storm door on.. and the fan vent covered. On my way to do that, I discovered a small treasure trove on the top of a book case in the hall.. Well.. more like a small shrine.

I found a small TeePee that Sam made in school .. maybe in first or second grade.. It’s a kinda cool idea.. You wrap a flour tortilla around some sticks and  let nature take it’s course. .. here it is.. still unfrash 10 years later..

I stood on my ladder and stared at the thing for a  good long while ..   How do such things make me feel.. happy ? sad ?a mix…. always a mix..

I also found one of Sam’s old dragons.. he liked ‘sparkly things’ when he was little. I think this was a Christmas gift at one time. I remember shopping for such things this time of year..   I’m glad we still have it.

All of the relics weren’t from Sam.. here was one from me.. it’s the cup that my 18 year old class from Waltergasse 4 in Vienna  ,.. I taught English there for a year in 1979-1980 The class gave this  to me when I left.. it says.. ‘Remember us John’ .. and I still do.. I keep in touch with one of my students from them.. Murat.. the middle kid of my Landlady.   I think I’ll call him and check on his family..

These memories remind me.. .. actually , everything reminds me.. that tomorrow is Compassionate friends annual candle lighting. Compassionate Friends is a world wide support organization for families who have lost a a child. On the 2nd Sunday of Decemebr, they ask everyone to light a candle at 7PM local time in memory of all the childreren who have passed on ..  The idea is to circle the earth with light..

Please join us tomorrow at 7 and light a candle for our wonderful Sam and all the other kids who have died..    We really appreciate it !

OK.. feeling a bit low.. I think I’ll got to sleep now..

Nite all, nite Sam,

-me

nit

Friday night Zombie Apocolypse

Ahhh,, winter.. my morning chocolate  belies the fact that it was -5 F this am.. I like it when it’s cold like this.. good weather for making sparks..

Again today was INSANELY busy.. not 5 minutes free the whole day.. though every thing about it was interesting.. and some of it was even fun..

  • 8AM – met with Chris A about the Vermont Academy of Science.. Discussed (among many other things) the   possibility of a regional science festival..
  • 9AM work meeting
  • 9:30 am – work meeting with folks in italy
  • 10 – work meeting
  • 11 – recruiting call (while should have been doing a mentoring meeting)
  • 12 work meeting
  • 1 work meeting with MIT folks on computer rain interface
  • 2 work/mentoring meeting
  • 3 new hire panel discussion
  • 4 photo shoot for Sam M’s school project
  • 6:30 Chris C.s open studio

The thing at Chris’s was really nice.. it was half party, half art  sale…

… and half surprise irthday party for Kim !.. (Happy birthday Kim !!!)

finanly back home and unwinding.. Not much else happening today.. .. Oh.. Hannah E. found a cool piece on Screen Rant.. . Seems I got chosen for a fantasy zombie apocalypse survival team’ .. You can read about it here .    I rememer doing the interview.. My favorite part was when she asked me  how I think I’d do in a zombie apocalypse. My response:

“I feel I’d survive pretty well in the zombie apocalypse. Being the neurotic, liberal nice guy I am, I think I’d first try to reason with the un-dead [and] if that didn’t work, I’d shoot them through with a air powered flaming javelin that was long enough to pin them in place. You don’t want flaming zombies running around and catching your house on fire.”

OK.. now that’s really it for today..

watch out for zombies folks…

gnite all.. gnite sam

-me