Boston

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One If By Land
Two If By Sea
Three If By Delta Flight 188 From Detroit Metro Airport






And we're off!


The view from our hotel on Broad Street in downtown Boston.


The venerable USS Constitution, undefeated in battle. It's in dry dock being fixed up - they do this every 20 years or so. Many of the parts were removed, and the hull was surrounded by scaffolding.


Here are parts of the masts of the USS Constitution.


Next to the USS Constitution is the USS Cassin Young, a World War II-era battleship. It is the last US ship to have been hit by a kamikaze pilot. This is the galley.


The USS Constitution's restoration involves replacing thousands of copper strips that protect the wood on the hull. K is shown here signing a copper strip with a vibrating engraving pen - we all signed it. These strips will be placed on the hull during this round of restorations. Our names will all be on the USS Constitution soon!


I took this picture from our tour trolley - surely this woman knew that she was standing in the right place for a picture. The statue is of Bobby Orr scoring a goal in a Stanley Cup game.


The entrance to the Boston Public Library.


Inside the Boston Public Library - this is the main staircase.


A statue on the outside steps of the library. This woman is amazed at how round the ball is.


A view from the Prudential Building's observation floor. Near the middle of this picture is a red circle I added - it surrounds a yellow stripe that goes across one of the streets. The stripe is the finish line for the Boston Marathon.


In this picture, the domed building is the original Christian Science Church. The green-roofed building up and to the left is the Boston Symphony Hall. Near the top, slightly to the left of center, are the letters "YMCA"; this is the location of the first YMCA.


The New England Aquarium was home to a giant central tank, many amazing and delicious-looking fishes, and these tiny, colorful frogs. Which are all poisonous. Just when you find a cute frog you want to hold in your hand, you discover it can kill you.


The aquarium is well-known for its giant sea turtles.


K watches the penguins frolic during feeding time, and wishes that he, too, could live the carefree life of a flightless waterfowl.


We took a harbor cruise. This picture shows the mix of new and old buildings - the steeple of the Old North Church is visible in the middle.


Speaking of the Old North Church, here is the plaza leading to it, with a statue of Paul Revere himself.


Here's the balcony and organ of the church.


This is Paul Revere's former home. Historians are divided as to whether the late-model Hyundai parked out front belonged to him.


This is Paul Revere's currrent home, the Granary Burying Ground.


This stone marks the final resting place of Mary Goose, better known as Mother Goose.


Some of these old tombstones were very wordy. This one says:

Here lies deposited the remains
of Mr. Thomas Webb
who died very suddenly much
lamented ye 8th July 1769
Aged 33 years
He was born in the city of
Glocester in England
This stone the Hand of Social Friendship rears
Whose generous Griefs supply a Parent's Tears.
Could friendly wishes stay ye transient Breath.
A Kind companion had not tasted Death




The venerable Samuel Adams' gravestone.


This is Faneuil Hall, a famous meeting place during Revolutionary times, as well as modern times.


Steps inside Faneuil Hall list the 13 colonies in the order in which they ratified the Constitution.


Alas, our short but sweet Boston trip has come to a close. This is a building on the Boston Harbor.

Explosive News!

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This looks more dangerous than it actually is.

K and I just finished a project together - it combines a "defusable" timer K built from a kit, combined with some dynamite I made as a sort of stand for it.

The dynamite is a broom stick sawed into pieces, with red construction paper covering. The lettering was created with pencil and stencils.

K ramped up his soldering skills for this one (it's been awhile!) and is already working on another, more advanced electronics project.

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Links
Take a few minutes and visit Paperholm. All the models are made of paper and glue.

I'm currently reading Locks, Safes, and Security. It's really big, so I'm not reading the whole thing. Just the good parts.

I really like Tom Gauld's work. His take on the biblical David and Goliath story (called "Goliath") is thought-provoking.

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Status Report: August, 2015

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Meadowbrook on Friday night - here to see Jim Gaffigan, one of our favorite comedians.


This is my great picture of Jim Gaffigan on stage.

Mouse and Chipmunk News
We've had mice in the basement occasionally for quite a few years, and we even had a chipmunk get into the house a few months ago (he met his untimely demise in one of the mouse traps). After talking with a pest control person about it, I put up some 1/4" wire mesh in some places where we suspected these critters were getting in.


Here is a mesh "curtain" that comes down under the fireplace and goes about 12" underground. There is a 4" section of mesh that extends out from the bottom of that curtain away from the house - that extra mesh stops them from just digging down and under the mesh.


In another area, I put strips of mesh in the corners where the mice can find small gaps to crawl in. I made friends with lots of bugs and spiders while doing this.

In the Garden

From right to left: chives, basil, and parsley.


We've already gotten some good tomatoes this year, and there are a lot more on the plant.

K's Latest Project

Here's the progress so far on K's latest electronics project - he has already completed one, and I am adding something to it. I'll post pictures when it's done.

Pictures Away From Home

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Welcome to Frankfort! The boat on the sign doesn't move, in case you're wondering.


M, K, and I play frisbee on the beach


This is what it looks like when I take a picture of the moon with my phone camera. The grainy picture looks like a painting. The bright dot above the moon is Venus. Also framed in this picture, but not visible because of the poor picture quality, is Jupiter. None of our cameras could capture Jupiter, it was just a bit too dim to show up.



The clouds were unusual during one of the sunsets - here's a panoramic shot.


M's picture of the clouds.


We went mini golfing at our usual place. Because K's birthday was only a few days away, the attendant gave him a shiny silver ball.


K and M relax after their exhausting round of golf.


Down the pier to the lighthouse - picture by M.


The reflection of the sun on the clouds was striking.


K in repose, standing on the pier.


J's picture of our favorite sunset was the best of any of ours, in my opinion

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Ann Arbor Art Fairs, and Some Links

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Art Fairs

Cactus sculptures (cacti sculpti?) at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

J and I went to the art fairs in Ann Arbor yesterday and bought a few things. One was by Russ Erickson, which we put in the living room above the couch. Now it makes us want a new couch. Decorating is like setting up dominoes.

Drivin' a Stick

Here's M driving a 2015 Mustang GT with a 6-speed manual. This car has 435 horsepower and an engine whose displacement is two and a half times the displacement of my Ford Fusion's engine.

In other news, M had the chance to drive an amazingly powerful car, a 2015 Mustang GT. It was also the first time he's driven a car with a manual transmission. I don't think he enjoyed the car as much as he could have since he wasn't good enough with the gears to drive it through town, but he had plenty of fun zooming around the Pioneer High parking lot, as you can see by the picture.

I, on the other hand, did drive it through the streets, and had a great old time.

Some Fun Links
If I drank tea, I would always use this tea infuser, even if I had a tea bag.

Conrad and the Steamplant – a very interesting video.

From now on, all new furniture I buy will be hippo-shaped.

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Out and About in AA

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Farewell to Top of the Park

All of us went to the final night of Top of the Park where George Bedard and the Kingpins played their cool brand of rock and rockabilly.


Rolling Sculpture - Downtown Ann Arbor


The hood ornament on a 1929 Willys Knight

Rolling Sculpture was tonight. I enjoy looking at the styles of cars, but what I think makes a car above average is a great dashboard.


1967 Jaguar 420


1956 Plymouth


1931 Ford Model A


1936 Dodge


1960 Oldsmobile Fiesta Wagon - this picture doesn't do it justice.


This year's runner up for best dashboard was a 1959 Buick Electra. This was a very close second, it's really a work of art.


And this year's winner: 1957 Oldsmobile.


Another view of the 1957 Oldsmobile's dashboard.