Graduation day

Carolyn graduated from Northeastern University on Friday. Her hard work for 5 years, including 3 co-op positions and one semester overseas, culminates in a well earned degree and a job starting Tuesday.




Congratulations, my dear. I am very proud of this moment!

Home from school, finally

Carolyn had extended her co-op at Northeastern and finally came home this week with a full van load. It wasn't loaded quite so much going there but then things accumulate over time.

It is amazing how much stuff does accumulate. Fortunately, Northeastern provides the grey bins on wheels (laundry carts to some) that make it a little easier to move all that 'stuff' from the dorm room to curb side and thence to the vehicle.

Oh and where does it go when it comes home? Temporaily into the dining room and parlor as a staging zone so it can get sorted out and stored properly somewhere.

Northeastern dorm falling apart; Carolyn's okay

Carolyn woke to some excitement this morning. At first she thought there was an earthquake but nothing in the room was moved. A few minutes later, the knock on the door got them up to evacuate the building. Turns out the front facade had collapsed onto Huntington Ave. Fortunately no one was hurt. She remains displaced for the moment while they determine what the building status is.

Here is the NECN video of the front of the building and some of the examination:

Development 2.0: The Non-Profit Stock Exchange

My daughter Carolyn, a student at Northeastern University sent me this email:

I'm not sure if you've heard, but there's a movement of citizens inspired by the presidential campaign who are now submitting ideas for how they think the Obama administration should change America. It is called “Ideas for Change in America”.

One idea is titled Development 2.0: The Non-Profit Stock Exchange. I thought you might be interested in getting involved and recommend you check it out. You can read more and vote for the idea by clicking the link here

Very interesting concept! Please click through to read more about it and consider casting your support for this initiative.

Northeastern University Symphony Orchestra

Dolores, Allison and I got to the Northeastern University Symphony Orchestra concert at the Fenway Center on the NU Campus last night. Conducted by Prof. Evan Bennett, they performed two works:

• Symphony No. 2 in D, Op.36 by Beethoven
• The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh (Suite) Rimsky-Korsakov

Here Carolyn was intently tuning for the second piece:



Here the "eyes have it" as all are very intent on what they are about to perform:



An enjoyable evening!

Cell Phone Study

WASHINGTON - Researchers secretly tracked the locations of 100,000 people outside the United States through their cell phone use and concluded that most people rarely stray more than a few miles from home.

The first-of-its-kind study by Northeastern University raises privacy and ethical questions for its monitoring methods, which would be illegal in the United States.

It also yielded somewhat surprising results that reveal how little people move around in their daily lives. Nearly three-quarters of those studied mainly stayed within a 20-mile-wide circle for half a year.

The scientists would not disclose where the study was done, only describing the location as an industrialized nation.

Read the full story here

This story caught my eye for a couple of reasons. One my daughter attends Northeastern. Two the privacy concerns are suspected and that is what concerns me.

There seems to be an implied distrust of these researchers. Can't some folks just naturally do what is right?Dealing with the data in an aggregate format should be fine.

Room for improvement on both sides. One; on the researchers to be more explicit about the steps they took to cut off the conspiracy theorists. Two; on the writers part to just present the data without creating hysteria.

Northeastern Univ Concert - Carolyn

Northeastern Univ Concert - Carolyn, originally uploaded by shersteve.

My daughter Carolyn, in the "orange" Santa hat (due to the lighting, it really is red) on stage during the concert provided by the Northeastern University Orchestra at the new Fenway Center on St Stephen's St.

The Fenway Center is formerly St Ann's Church.

The concert was lightly attended but well worth it. If you want to hear some real good musicians, check out when they will play next semester.

Northeastern Univ Concert - before

Northeastern Univ Concert - before, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Rehearsal complete, the instruments rest before the performance begins.

Good experience: College move-in day

We delivered Carolyn to Northeastern University on Sunday to start her sophomore year. For those looking ahead to this experience, make it less stressful with some good packing and loading.

1 - It starts with the student. They do not need everything that is in their room or at home. They need to consider taking the minimum amount. The dorm room they generally get at college is smaller and with less storage than they have at home. If they go to college reasonably close to home, then some of the seasonal clothing can be left off the first trip and taken closer to the time it will be needed.

2 - Pack in carry size items. Sounds simple but I see so many folks struggling to carry an item that is over sized, or a bag that is overloaded. Make it easy for yourself. Keep it simple. Keep it small enough to carry.

3 - Load to unload. Follow the normal guidelines for loading your vehicle. Heavier stuff on the bottom. Light stuff on top. Fragile and delicate items packed with care. This is all well and good but consider how you load the vehicle. Consider the room where you are going. A closet, a bed, a desk and someone else in the room as well. Load the vehicle in the order you want to get started in the room.

3a - While there are other ways to do so, I recommend clothing (especially if it is in a suit case) loaded last, unloaded first. Take it to the room, put it in the closet, close the closet door and leave it for later.

3b - Bedding should be next. Load the vehicle so you can take the bedding in next. You can make the bed (or have the student do so while another load is being fetched). Now with the bed made, you can use the bed as temporary storage.

3c - After these two priorities, you can move whatever else is required as long as you consider the space where it is going and leave yourself room to move around. Especially to allow room for the student to start unpacking and settling in.

Parents, once the vehicle is empty and everything in the room, it is time to leave. You can linger and help settle a little but this is your student's life, get used to letting them get going on their own. It may be hard to make the break but the sooner you give them space to stand on their own, the better off both of you will be.

You've done your part, let them learn the rest on their own.

Northeastern Concert

Carolyn has continued playing her viola at Northeastern by joining with the school orchestra. The Spring performance was held on Sunday. It was anything but spring-like in Boston. The nor'easter was bringing wind and rain to the region. We managed to stay mostly dry as we navigated from the train station to dinner and then to the concert.

The ride home was longer than it should have been as for the first time in all my years of commuting here in Boston and previously in NJ/NY, we got on the wrong train. We remained warm and dry, but it took us awhile to get off at the next stop, and wait for another train to bring us back to a recovery point to catch the proper train home. A learning experience!

The concert was good although the program was shortened due to the weather. The harp accompanist elected not to travel in the wet and raw weather to protect the instrument. A wise decision.

One piece by a student composer did successfully recreate the feelings of openness and wonder that he experienced as he approached Denali via plane. I have not been to Denali but have been out in the wilderness in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mt Katahdin in Maine, and on top of the South Teton in Wyoming. For music to recreate the feeling of standing in one of those places, listening to the gentle wind, and all the life of nature, was truly impressive.