Technology Transfer

I write this post from a small cabin on the Thunder Bay River.

My work colleagues and I are up in Michigan to attend an event to present technology we hope to transfer... that is an interesting way of putting it. Wikipedia defines technology transfer as "the process of transferring technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform inventions and scientific outcomes into new products and services that benefit society". I want to make a career in engineering systems that can be effectively transferred. This means that I want to develop useful tools. I am learning how this is done at my job and I hope to have additional experiences in my upcoming graduate studies.

While out in northern Michigan, I visited my great grandmother's grave and Gingell family cemetery. My paternal great grandmother was born a Gingell and married a Yankie. Her daughter was my grandmother Karen Yankie, who married my paternal grandfather, a Miske. Five generations before that, the Miske's were called the Mieschkes? Or something very similar.

The wooden deck at my apartment in Central is in a rough state. The previous tenants and the landlord have not kept it up in maintenance. 

I have harvested the first few green beans from my garden in Cambridge. 

We have stocked our bookshelf and begun hanging art

the piggies were put to pasture recently, they did not spend too much time in the sun though

I installed a new receive antenna at the WMBR station on campus. This summer I am learning more about the tech at the station.

Cambridge held a community dance party a few couple weeks ago. It was a blast, except for when people started doing the Cha Cha Slide on the bus stop by the post office, at that point the DJ turned off the music until they got down.

Around the time of the last post I was going to Michigan, here is a photo of deer in the gulch next to dad's house.

 

Moving Month

 

Packing up my old apartment took a while because I did it in tiny little pieces. I had the time and fortitude to put a handful of items in a box at a time. I moved into my new place in Cambridge with friends two weeks ago and I am haven't opened every box I packed. 

I packed in tiny, unorganized chunks. There were no labels. Every box was 'my stuff' and I had a lot of it. I have been motived to re-evaluate and spend less time on money and things. Instead, I should invest in good experiences, good people, and good investments for my future desires. 

Not that much of what I packed was particularly valuable, it simply is unnecessary for me to have a half-working printer (when I have another fully working one), an old set of electronic parts, or some tarnished cookware I rarely use... 

I'm happy in my new place. I am living with five other friends in the larger half of a duplex near central square of Cambridge, MA. It's a good position for me given the upcoming excitement of graduate school. I will be taking robotic mechanisms and dynamics graduate courses for the fall semester. I will be working part-time at Physical Sciences in the meantime and I am looking forward to being engrossed in a wide range of engineering work that is very interesting to me. 

My guinea pigs Juniper and Bear are sitting next to me in their cage by my desk in the house. They are chomping on hay and a pear while I type away. I think this will become our new routine. They are good buddies to keep me company and you know what they say about working with someone else, it keeps you honest... if I start to slack off and play too many video games they will totally judge me into sticking on my work.

My old living room, right before the big move.

Juniper wearing my glasses

A tiger swallowtail that sat outside my new apartment sipping water from a droplet

The liminal space of my former apartment hallway

My new grill and a beverage

The menu at Riverside pizza, which I will probably begin to frequent as a neighbor

The dirty dining table when we moved in

Myself, Conrad, and Hadrian settling in

My mess of a room immediately after assembling the bed

This past weekend I went up to New Hampshire. I didn't visit the border store, but I almost always notice the signs

I got lost for a minute on a trail near Crawford notch, all good now

View from Harvard bridge a few weeks ago

My brother visited near the end of May

I went to the Boston Robotics Summit

I also went to a Kali Uchis and Raye concert

and got a sunburn

and saw a Red Sox game, which they won over the Mariners

Lastly, an Owl!

Crawling Up a Mountain

 

Yesterday, I endured one of the hardest hikes of my life so far. It was grueling and it really did not need to be that way, if only I had brought the right gear.

I was a bit naïve. I thought that there would be a bit of snow and ice at the top part of Mt Jackson, but instead, half of the hike was on icepack and loose snow. It was brutal and I fell dozens of times, especially on the way down. In this foolishly humorous endeavor, I brought along my brother Tyler and friend Noah. I had told them that we would need boots and warm clothes, but not micro-spikes and poles. Thankfully, nobody got hurt and we all had a good laugh. This experience was a wake-up call that I shouldn't be so cavalier with my hiking decisions and planning carefully can avoid myself some unnecessary bruises.

On our way back, we stopped at the Tilton House of Pizza and got a couple slices and brews. The cold beer and warm cheese made up for the sore wounds and small cuts. I am looking forward to a good summer season of adventures and excitement. I browsed a couple sites last night for good equipment and I'll put out a review on this blog later when I inevitably break all of it through excessively loving usage. 

With Tyler in town, we have been going out on the town. We took the T to get downtown and I noticed the transit maps have changed with the addition of the green line extension. It's cool to have been in the area long enough to witness the city changing with the times. I feel like a Bostoner, a transplant for sure, but a resident of the city for sure. We went to Bova's bakery last night and got some pastries. We sat in the park and heard the revelers yelling into the night. Life is good.

Today is EC day on campus. I noticed that the Fire Proof Warehouse on the edge of campus was gutted, it's surprising to see this landmark change so drastically and furthermore shows how the area evolves as the time passes me on by.

My next purchase will probably be a grill for my rental house near Central Square. Got any recommendations?

My garden has started with tomatoes and peppers. Beans and peas to come along next. Then herbs, berries, and flowers.

Here are some more photos from the hike. It was very impressive to see Mt Washington looming over us while we sat on the summit of Mt Jackson. These mountains are intimidating and breathtaking at the same time. It is a good reminder of the smallness of an individual in nature.

Be careful holding out a nut in your hand, a bird might try and steal it.

Whirlwind of Thought

I feel like I have jamming at life a bit lately. I'm not singing one song, but improvising somewhat as I tumble along. I have made one big decision that is not part of this jamming. I placed my enrollment deposit to start my PhD at Northeastern University this coming fall, I have accepted that offer, and I have to think a lot about how much work with PSI and other obligations I should be carrying. There are a lot of daily, weekly, monthly, and potentially years long engagements that I have decisions to make for. I don't mind this decisional jamming, in fact I am probably doing better off playing around with all these opportunities than picking something for the sake of having stability. I have been thinking about stability as well. Do I say 'yes' to too many people for the stability it brings? Saying 'no' can bring stability as well, stability in the emptiness of one's schedule. The opportunity cost of saying 'yes' is freedom. That freedom, which leaves one's mind to wander and fill the moments with reflection. Too much of that reflection can actually turn into a bad thing though. 

That's what I mean about jamming, I've got a lot of thoughts rolling about up there.

I have had a great year so far and I think it will only continue to be well. I am practicing songs to play at an informal event in Somerville in a month. I have been engaged with activities of the WMBR radio station. And I have been trying a few new meals, activities, and social engagements. Life is good. 

Finally back at the station.

In one of these social engagements, there was someone in allergic distress. I had the privilege of helping them to the emergency room on a Sunday night. In the waiting room, I happened to have time for a chat with another friend who was there for supporting the person under distress. It was a good chat. We went over the struggles of our interpersonal relationships and it's funny how those great conversations hit you at the oddest of places and times.

I ran along the Merrimack last week. I found this flower's fleeting bloom.

I want to run a half or full marathon in the fall. I did some stadiums at Harvard two weeks ago.

I went skiing for the first time a few days after my last blog post. I will go again. It was a blast.

Plans for the Coming Year

 

In my last blog post I wrote "I have the potential to start March in a suddenly different place in life.". This turned out to be true. I have accepted a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Northeastern University and I will be moving into a new apartment with some friends near Central Square in Cambridge, MA. In addition to this, I have kept up a gym habit, started swing dancing at a VFW nearby on Wednesday nights, and I have also been doing a bit of music on the side. While I have good plans laid out for the next year or two, I do wonder as much as the next person about what life has in plan for me. What is going to come my way that I cannot foresee? What things beyond my control will shake my stability or worldview? If I knew, I would certainly have a better staked financial portfolio and I would tell my friends about where to place their bets, but psychics and fortune tellers are not perfect and neither can I see entirely what is coming my way. 

Last week, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) with a friend I met at the Wednesday night swing dancing event. It was a good time at the MFA, I was reminded of many forms of art and aesthetic tastes I have. I should get and make more art.  

Last month, when I visited Northeastern University, they treated the prospective applicants very well. We got nice tours and fancy meals. I randomly met up with two students who were transferring from University of Washington. I did not realize until later that their doctoral advisor is the same guy that I will be working under at Northeastern, what a coincidence. 

Here is some photos of art at the MFA that I thought was neat.