Just back from a 650 mile roundtrip to ny in 28 hours . I had some meetings in somers and did a mad science show for several hundred kids in the IBM Somers cafeteria. Giving those shows is one of the things I feel most good about doing these days.. When I’m talking to kids about science is when I feel most at peace with myself.. and most … i don’t know.. aligned wiht the cosmos or something… Aside from the show, the trip was pretty good. I stayed with my friends Chandu and Patty in there new carbo nuetral house, It’s an engineering and architectural marvel. Chandu and his late father designed it from scratch. The idea had been for Chandu’s parents to move into the house from india.. Sadly, Chandu’s father passed away early this year. He was a great man,..
Mutual friends of Chandu and Mine.. Prof. Ralph O. and Clara from the Netherlands were also staying at the house. It was a wonderful coincidence.. I got to catch up with both couples. I even smuggled Ralph in to see my show today..
I have a ton of IBM work and hobby work that I should do tonight … but I’m just too exhausted.. I can’t even think straight.. The long drive back and forht to NY is sometime energizing.. and sometimes exhausting.. this time it was the latter. I came hioome feelign sad and worn out.. I hope it will be better in the morning after a good nights sleep.. let’s hope..
Nite all. Nite sam.. thanks for riding with me today..
-me
All posts by johncohn
Sunday night – amazing story
I’m driving tonight.. so this will be short.. but I have to relate an amazing story. A few hours ago we got a call out of the blue from a guy named Bob who told us that he’d received one of Sam’s kidneys. He’d always wanted to reach out to us , but the organ donation agencies wouldn’t give out our contact info. We had sent all of the organ recipients a letter and one of our SamStones ( with no website info on the back) , but the agency had removed all contact info from the letter The stone and the letter were on the wall over this guys TV when he saw me placing that SamStone in the water filter in episode 1.He called and we got to hear how receiving Sam’s kidney had saved his life.. We were able to tell him stuff about Sam.. It was one of those laughing and crying conversations.. Isn’t that cool ?!?!?! Thought you guys would like to hear this story.. I can’t help thinking that Sam is gettign a kick out of this too !.
Love you all.. Nite Sam.
-jc
Friday night – Little Fenway
Beautiful, beautiful day.. low 70’s or high 60’s during the day.. 50’s at night.. My favorite part of summer.. the part that feels like winter.. seriously.. it never needs to get hotter than this for me..
Te last two days at work have been busy and productive.. not much to report there… I did host a lunch for our summer interns. We have about a quarter the amount we usually have. The interns have had a good time.. though they admit it’s been a little quiet and strained this summer. We spent abotu an hour and a half talking about their summer, The colony.. and what they and I wanted to be when they grew up..
Speaking of ‘growing up’ today was Anita N’s last day at work.. at least for a while>She is off to business school at Dartmouth with her new fiancee.. that would be so cool to be heading off to school again..
Everyone brought Anita the perfect going away gift for someone going to grad school.. pasta and Ramen !
After saying hi/bye to Anita, I zoomed home, picked up Diane and headed back to Essex to Pat O’s for the opening of the Travis Roy Wiffle ball tournament. Pat is an old buddy of both Diane and mine from work. I’ve known him for 28 years (gulp !)
Pat has devoted a large part of the past several years building replicas of Fenway and Wriggly fields in his back yard. The fields are exact scaled down replicas of the real thing..
The Fenway field even has a little Citgo sign.. I could see that sign from my dorm room window at MIT.
The event today is an annual fundraiser for the Travis Roy foundation. Travis was paralyzed 11 seconds into his first hockey game in college. He is completely paralized from the waste down. He has focusde his life since the accident on doing motivaitoanl speaking.. and raising money for spinal cord injury research> The wiffle ball tounrnement will raise more than 200,000 dollars for the foundation this year !
Both Ben C and Jerry G. were on hand to through out the first pitch. I;m used to seeign them on the timecycle project.. it was fun seeing them being celebrities. Ben brought peace pops to share with folks which was very generous … Here are B and J with my friend Ron.
Around 5:30 things started to move.. the crowd got seated..
And Pat, marge O and Travis Roy opened the tournament..
Our friend Mike R. was honored as the volunteer of the year.. which was wonderful..
They then invited down a bunch of local ‘celebrities’ to help kick things off. They had Ben, jerry. the head of Jetblue, Ms. Vermont, a retired hall of fame pitcher from the Red Sox, a UVM basketball start a wounded vet from Iraq (got a 10 minute standing ovation) . .. They also unexpectedly asked me to come down because of the show.. whcih was both nice and weird. .. (Johnny V.. this would be the equivalent of the Covina new years parade for me)
Both Ben and Jery through out the first pitches.. we’d shared stories about being last chosen for sports in middle school.. but their aim was pretty good today..
I couldn’t wait to get home and see Gabe.. he’s been gone nearly 3 weeks and I missed him so miuch. All night he’s been tlakign about his trip out west. he had a great time.. Max is here too with friends whcih is also relaly wonderful. Max, Aaron, Lianm and I ran into Home epot tonight to find parts for the time cylce and Dan’s new store.. We then came hoem and had soem of Diane’s killer Gneral Tsao’s Tofu.. all vegan for max.. Everyone headed to sleep so I started workign on the timecycles electronics. I got the LED strips and Laser in the mail today from China.. I just got the LED strips workign.. is this beautiful or what ? !
OK.. I gotta sleep.. lots to do tomorrow.. Night everyone. nite sam !
-me
-me
Thursday night – 10 percent
OK.. I am down to 10 percent on my laptop battery.. I need ot finish blogging in less than 10 minutes. THat’s good.. because didn’t have much to say today.. One thing that was funny is that I managed to get out and walk around at work today.. I didn’t realize it.. but it must have been the first time I’d done so since the show went on the air.. Most of my work collaborators are at other locations, New York, Texas, India, China, Germany.. I rarely if ever have any ‘need’ to interact face to face with anyone in the same location…. I either sit in my office.. or more and more work at home. the phone experience is the same.. That’s pretty strange for a person as social as I am… i think it’s drainign the fun out of work for people. anyway.. I was walking around the site today feelign kinda grumpy… but then.. every person.. not nearly every person.. but every person I saw came up to me and made some funny/good/goofy comment about the show. Several folks mentioned to me that they think the pshow is a bit contrived.. but how could it not be..? All in all.. . I could tell that folks are enjoying it.. and LIKE the fact that I did it..
It was funny that I could go three weeks without casually running into lots of folks that I know… what does that say about my life ? … ahhhh. it says that I need to recharge my bateris.. lierally and fgurativly.. yikes.. seconds of power left.. gnite all.. gnite Sam !
-me