All posts by johncohn

Friday night – loose ends


Today was insane.. I have so many loose ends to tie up before starting my leave. I have been working down to the wire to make sure meetings are covered, projects keep running letters are written, etc. I hardly had time to do the thing most important to me .. which was to say goodbye to folks. One special trip I took was to say goodbye to Vicki from the cafeteria. She’s been one of of my biggest supporters as I thought threough the pros and cons of taking on this special project. I had to go thank her for a special birthday present she and our firends Dixie and Leo ahd given me for my 50th.. a brand new set of lockpicks… hidden inside a box of rice krispies now less ! Now.. those are true friends !!!  Thak you so much you guys !

It REALLy felt wierd walkign out of the buidling today.. and knwoing I wouldnt be back for many weeks.. It felt wierder still when I dorve away and realized I had left my laptop insdie.. *sigh*.. no clean exists. That return gve me the time to go around and sy goodbyte to a few more good freinds , ron chris, todd, mark, matt, mitch, joyce. anita, david, norman, jason.. I was glad I got to see them all

Matt snapped this picture of me leaving my office.. Our offices are goign to move while I’m away. this one has been mine for abotu 3 years.. the toughest 3 years of my life..  I wonder where I’ll sit when I get back ?

I got home jus tabout dusk.. Diane and I took th dogs on a short walk up Catamount trail in the dark and snow. It was beutiful and peaceful

I had a ton of things to do tonight.. but I somehow fell asleep on the couch immediately after dinner. and slept th whole eveing away.. I guess htat’s what I needed. So many things to do in the next few days.. but all I fele liek doing is being wiht my family.

I’m getting very, very excited

And very very sleepy..
so .. That’s it for today.. More tomorrow. Nite folks !.. Nite Sam
-me

ps. Gabe wanted me to post this picture of his talented talent decal work for our good friends at talent.. nice.. huh ?

wednesday night – driving s ow

Folkd… Sorry up front for what will be a short post from my phone. I’m at a rest stop on. I89.. I’ve been driving for about 8 snd s hslf hours with just under an hour more to go go. I’m on $y way back home from poughkeepsie after a couple of days of meetings. A really nice stay with my good friends bruce and mary beth and two good science shows for about 700 middle school kids at SUNY new palz. I’m really tired of driving…I’m also gerring really ezcited by my coming adventure.the snow seems to have let up so I’m going to get driving again. Much more tomorrow. Nite all$ nite sam!

-me

tuesday night – away for awhile

Friends….
      I have soemthing interestign and important to tell all of you… and I’m not quite sure how to say it.. but here goes:
I have been offered a very interesting and unique once in a lifetime opportunity  This opportuunity is going to require me to be away from my family, away from vermont.. and away from my work  for about eight weeks begining next week. It also means being away from computeres and phones. This will be the first break I’ve taken from blogging every day since November 26th, 2006, just five days after Sam’s passing. I’ll be blogging with pen and paper while I’m away.

I don’t know how any of that will feel other than I know that I will miss Diane, Max and Gabe .. I also know that this opportunity is very much aligned with my lifes’ purpose of making science interesting and fun for people.  Even though this is a tough decision.. I know in my heart that this is the right thing for me to do. 
The 2nd hardest part of this opportunty is that I can’t discuss the details until  well after it’s done. You’ll just have to belive me that I’m doign the right thing. I’ll tell you all about it when the timing is right.  For now I’ve got about 5 more days of online blogging before I dissapear..   I told you it was interesting news!
 
I love you all.. I love you Sam
-me

Sunday night – welded

Nice day.. My folks stayed till just about noon. We had a great time with them up here.
Gabe was up at the mountain today.. so he said good bye before he left..

Later in the day. my buddy Bob from the Cape came buy to talk about a project we’re thinking about. My folks enjoyedd speaking with him  .. Bob is a Psychologist with a background in psychopharmacology. He’s interested in creating some computer applications that would exercise certain portions of the brain while a patient was on certain drug therapies.
Evidently, the efficacy of the drugs can be enhanced by doing this type of stimulus. Bob’s interested in incorporating this in some sort of video game to make it more palatable to kids with early onset Aids induced dementia.  It’ a cool project. I’m goign to put him in touch with Ann Demarle at champlain on the game topiuc (Ann Dif you’re reading.. heads up)  and wiht my cousing Sam at Harvard for a pointer to soemone wiht access to  functional MRI . (Martha P,.. if you’re reading this.. can you send me Sam’s cell number ? )

My folks took off around 1 so that they’d be driving in daylight. We said goodbye… It was great having them up here…

Then Diane and I went for a hike up Honey Hollow with the dogs.. We got all the way up to Wootan’s .. It was a beutiful walk..

Around 4::30 my friend Bruce came over to give me a gas welding lesson.. I was boning up oon a few practicla skills thta might come in handy in the next few weeks. I always do MIG welding.. but I’ve never bene very good at gas welding. Bruce got me started.. He got me doign soem simple welds with real rods.. Then I treid welding with a coat hanger.. just to see that it worked..

OK.. maybe not the prettiest wes in the world.. but.. coat hangers are cheap.. !
OK.. I can’t keep my eyes open any more.. so gotta sign off. It’s goign to be a busy and interesting week. Hope it’s good for us all.. Nite folks. Nite Sam !
-me