Monday, August 14, 2006

News from MN, 8/14/2006

Greets,

Summer is almost fully cooked here. Proud to say I survived another set
of record temps without an air conditioner. Nick and Zack are not proud
to say this, and they almost did not survive.

IBM Rochester celebrated a 50 year anniversary. We all sat in chairs in
a parking lot in 100 degree sunlight. Nick and I discovered by pointing
your head down in a meditation like fashion, you can keep your face
fully shaded. While I was meditating and listened to our IBM CEO and
Minnesota governor tell us we are good people, I realized I have been at
the Rochester lab for 1/2 of its life. I'll be avoiding the standard
IBM 25 year party next year.

Mom and Dad, that hand ball gyroscope exerciser you guys got me for my
birthday is a lot of fun. Surprisingly good exercise. With enough
rpm, can do 30 lbs of force. We pass it around, trying to top each
other's top rpm ... I am the current 1 handed champion at 11,000 rpm,
faster even than the 10,000 rpm my car can do!

Laurie took off last week for a 6 month house and pet sitting job down
in Ashvile, North Carolina. Before she left, Nick used her car to
practice driving, since her automatic is a bit easier than my stick. So
the morning before she left, he sat down at the driving place for 3
hours waiting for a driving examiner, then finally found one and ran him
over enough times till they passed him. Now that he has a drivers
license, he proudly proclaims he will never have to drive another car again.

Nick flew Emily up from her summer job in Florida for a 3 day weekend
visit last week. Many happy smiles were had, a few captured in the 2nd
photo.

Other random photos:

- Nick with the IBM lunch spider. He grows daily. The spider.
Nick's hair grows daily.

- Nick pondering a superman flying maneuver from the ledge of a
downtown skyscraper. Not saying which ledge, as that would spoil the
illusion.

- Helen admiring daughter Aya's skills on William Mayo's personal home
organ at the Mayo foundation house.

- Aya as an usher at a local production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

- Aya yet again, this time, creating a sand man down at a beach we
went swimming at. Technically, I guess we swam in the water part.

- Helen, Bruce, and Toosie swimming at another local lake. Helen is a
swimmer. Toosie is not.

Next week I'm going to get to sample a bit of New Hampshire as we fly
back with Aya to Boston. Aya is heading back to her 2nd year at Rhode
Island school of design (I'm told it is on Rhode Island). Nick flys
back to Oberlin the week after we get back (that one I know is Ohio).
Then we are sadly almost childless. Happily I'll still have Zach,
Jessy, and all the other young-uns that wonder about with them. Oh
yeah, and I'll also have Nick's hole, as he decided not to take that
back to school. We hit a rock last week, so I think we have reached
maximium depth, about 22 feet.

B