Work's been moving slowly toward getting something evaluated for patentability, and I've been talking with a few potential collaborators and networking in the mean time. I've also started mentoring two people in the design field. That's been fun and interesting.
I've been doing a chunk of traveling.
Most recently I was in Atlanta for the big Computer Human Interface conference. It was interesting in unexpected ways, but I'm not sure it'll be worth going next year. It was nice to see some people from Raleigh at the conference and a few people I know from other places. The conference organized a trip to the CDC, which was kind of interesting.
While in Atlanta I got to walk around a bit and visit the High Museum, the main art museum. I was impressed with the John Portman architecture exhibit. His Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown Atlanta has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it in high school. As I was walking around downtown Atlanta I also noticed some resemblances between buildings and finishes and the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, and found out at the exhibit that he was the architect of that complex, too. It all fell into place. I also was impressed with the Renzo Piano museum building and am looking forward to the local Gardner Museum building under way by him. And the High has a nice collection of american marble figure sculptures -- really quite lovely.
A couple weeks before I drove north of Toronto for a short (three-day) meditation course (that I wanted to get in before summer rowing season). That went well, but felt very short -- I felt like I was finally really arriving and settling in when it was time to pack up and go. I got to visit a few college and work friends along the way, and see a community ice show rehearsal.
Before that was a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona for a pretty mellow bachelor party. We went to a spring training baseball game, which fulfills my baseball quota for at least a year. We also went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin West compound for a tour and visited a friend who lives there for a barbecue and tape ball. Fun weekend.
I took a short trip to New York, largely for work market research (to see what products are sold at electronics retailers there like J&R and B&H and find out what people say about them). While there I saw the new Addams Family musical, visited the MoMA and Cooper Hewitt museums, and spent some time at a friend's 40th birthday party. The week before I made a quick trip to Providence for another friend's 40th birthday party, too.
Around here I saw this year's Hasty Pudding Theatricals production of Commie Dearest!, and the Gold Dust Orphans' Phantom of the Oprah with Varla Jean Merman. Fun! Also went to a couple of orchestra concerts, with highlights being Stravinsky's Rite of Spring by the Boston Philharmonic and the Beethoven Septet Op 20 by the BSO Chamber Players.
With the warmer weather, it's time to get back on the water to row. Before my regular Community Rowing season began, there was an event called the Snow Row, an open water race that some people from the club went to. It was a beautiful, warm, calm early march day -- no jacket required, and a fun event. Rowing at Community Rowing is going strong again, though I've missed a chunk of time on the water with travel and the bad luck of the draw being assigned to row on machines. But this morning we had some fun races, so it feels like we're back on.
Chorus rehearsals have started again for the June Pride concert, titled DIVAS. Yes, it'll be as gay as the name makes it sound. (I was disappointed I missed performing in the winter concert because of rehearsal conflicts and travel. I'm glad to be back.)
So those are the highlights for the last almost two months. Next up a wedding around this weekend with some visiting and two-stepping while out there.
