Wednesday night – island

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I just realized that I got in to work at 8:45.. and did not walk outside of my office until 6:30.. I didn’t go out to eat, I didn’t get anything to drink.. even go to the restroom. .. I ate a handful of peanuts… and the last half a handful of wasabi coated peas I found.. but nothing else..  I do remember opening  the door once when my friend Steve knocked.. I must have looked a little deranged.. a hermit in his cave.. I think I was on the phone the entire day. I know I had 15 min free.. and that’s when I found the peanuts.

The funny thing is.. I think I enjoyed my day.. I think i got things done.. and I think i learned some stuff.. i think.. or at least I think i think..

One thing that I did spend time thinking about today was how out of touch I sometimes get when I’m busy .. I had been emailing back and forth with friends in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami last week.. My Japanese friends are stoic and strong.. the picture they painted did not alarm me too much.. but I must confess until Diane started showing me pictures, I had little idea of the magnitude of the destruction and suffering. I spent some time today looking through the pictures and stories and it breaks my heart.

I have said here before that I have chosen to disconnect from the world a little. Even though I live a very public life..i try to disconnect from the news of the world.  I rarely  watch news, read newspapers, listen to radio news or look at news websites. I started doing this after Sam died.. I had enough of my own emotional trauma that I felt I didn’t need more from  otuside.. Even as I’v ebecome stronger these past years, I’ve never gotten back in the habit of plugging in..

Now when a tragedy of this magnitude strikes a place I know and care deeply about.. I don’t know if I’m making the right choice.  I feel selfish for unintentionally shutting out the magnitude of whats just happened in Japan..

Now.. what can I do to help ? Is there anything I/we can do ?

night all. nite sam

-me

Tuesday night – ides

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Happy ides of march….. And I gather by reading Wikipedia that the Ides of March used to be a festive day dedicated to the god Mars which was celebrated by military parades.   It got the bad rap it has today when Shakespeare pointed out that Julius Caesar  was assassinated on this day .  So far it’s been a good Ides of March for me.. but as the seer that Cesar saw on the way to the theater of Pompeii said.. “Ay, they have come, but they are not gone.”

I should also point out that yesterday was pi day.. I set my alarm for 3.14.15 Thursday is St. patricks day. It seems like we have a run of special days..

Let’s see what tomorrow brings..

nite.all, nite sam

-me

Monday night – lapsed vegan

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OK.. so I fell off the wagon today… .and I fell hard. As of January 1st, Diane, Deb and I all decided to go vegan for a couple of months. I’ve been a vegetarian since 1976.. well.. actually a pescatarian.. somewhere in the past 30 years I started eating fish occasionally..  but for the most part I’m veggie.. Every year for the past 3 I’ve spent a month or so as a vegan.. that means no meat… no fish, no eggs, no dairy.. I love doing it because it makes me more mindful of what I’m eating.. .. i’m not militant about it.. I eat sushi in Japan because it would have been hard not to.. and I did accidentally eat a piece of mozzarella at a fancy dinner in NYC 5 weeks ago. I practice..’don’t ask don’t small’.. if I don’t know it’s not vegan.. I can assume it is.. .. Also.. I ate a piece of pizza at a meeting 2 weeks ago ..

For the most part i love eating vegan.. I feel lighter and healthy.. Diane’s a wonderful cook.. so there’s no trouble with variety.. …though I do recall eating my weight in hummus every week  ..

As Spring started to come on. though. I started to crave more portien.. I started eating soy stuff again.. but secretly.. desperately… I was craving cheese… there.. I said it.. I missed cheese. I never ate much of it.. but I mss it.. I miss feta on slads.. parmesian on pasta…

so.. today.. I decided to go back to my more relaxed veggie waves.. I shopped aroudn for a way to break my fast.. Paul. Eduardo and I stopped in Hartford on the way back to NY to have dinner with Paul’s friend Pavan..   We went to a restaurant across from pavan’s.. and there… I confess.. I ordered home made macaroni and cheese…

and it was delicious… (forgive me father for I have sinned)…

nite all.. nite sam

-me

Sunday night – smart grid

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Blissfully boring day.. did not much of anything.. cleaned up a bookshelf.. took a nice run with diane, took gabe to stowe, worked on a media sculpture project I just started.. it was wonderful doing almost nothing and hanging around the house

Around 4, ny freind Paul, a Prof at UVM, and his student Eduardo picked me up at home and we drove down to Mt. Kisco NY. Paul and Eduardo work  in the area of Smart electric Grids.. We’re going to a series of meetings tomorrow around that topic. On the way we managed to

meet up with my friend Jeff in Hartford who also does smart grid work. It was a fun, total geek-out evening… great getting to spend time wit these guys.

We did a bunch of talking about high voltage.. I asked the guys if they’d ever seen the attached video.. None had.. so I post it here for their.. and your.. viewing pleasure..

Well.. that’s all I have to report.. hope your day was peaceful too…

Please send some love to the folks in Japan that were hit in the earthquake tsunami the other day

nite all, nite sam

-me