kevinnowak.com

31.

Hard to believe that I turn 31 today...but it's true.  Nothing too crazy planned for tonight, just dinner with the Kelly, the folks, Erin, and Matt over in the North End. 

Thanks to all of those who called, sent cards and emailed over some birthday wises.  I really do appreciate it.  I do have to share with you one of the funniest cards I've ever gotten.  Deb has taken to making cards at home and created this masterpiece:

    

My patented dance move folks!

I did get some great news this morning over email that gets me fired up every year.  I had gone over to Dana Farber on Monday for my annual visit which essentially consists of a quick chest x-ray, some blood work and a chat with my doctor.  The blood work came back this morning and everything checked out just fine.  Can't get a much better birthday present than that!

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As many of you know, Kelly isn't a huge fan of pizza.  Never really has been.  Shocking, I know.  Well recently we've started to make pizza at home and she's starting to come around.  Perhaps it's because it's not as greasy as when you buy it somewhere, who knows.  Anyway...this is a shot of last nights final product:  cheese, peperoni, onions and peppers.  Delicious!

  

After our pizza Kel and I decided to have a few bites of our wedding cake.  Apparently you're supposed to eat a piece of frozen wedding cake on your 1-year anniversary.  We forgot.  So we ate some last night.  It was a bit on the dry side since it's been on ice for over 3 years, but a glass of milk washed it right down and it wasn't half bad.

  

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I need to give a quick shout-out to my boy Jo Jo who has had one hell of a week.  On Thursday he helped to deliver a baby on some ladies couch [you can read all about that here] and then last night he popped the question to Jill...and believe it or not, she said YES.  Congratulations guys!

Wanna Get Away?

You know those Southwest Airlines commercials right...they have a scenario where someone makes a boob of themselves and then they play that catchy jingle that says "Wanna Get Away?"  I can imagine that's exactly what this truck driver was thinking this afternoon as he nearly tipped over his trailer in our office parking lot.  There's some sort of food production joint across the way and they get deliveries all day long with these 18 wheelers.  With the large snow banks and slick conditions we've been having this guy didn't stand a chance.  The truck ended up precariously perched for about 3 hours until help finally arrived. 

         

         

         

the rescue crew [or big ass two-truck in layman's terms] was able to slide the rear wheels out and "right the ship".

         

3 hours of this guys day down the drain and probably a few hundred bucks for the two, but at least nobody got hurt and his truck didn't get damaged.

Cape Wind.

I assume that most of you know about the great Cape Wind debate here in our Commonwealth.  It has been a 10+ year long battle between those in favor of renewable wind energy and those who want to preserve their private oceanfront views.  That's the short version I guess.  Let me expand the explanation a bit:  What you have is a group, called Cape Wind, who wants to build an off-shore wind farm [the first in the US] that consists of 130 wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound off the coast of Cape Cod.  The turbines would be pretty far offshore, with the closest ones about 4.7 miles away from the nearest beach. 

The group has run into roadblocks at each and every turn, but over the years they've overcome all of them.  Various government agencies have all begun to sign off on the plan and it's looking more and more like a reality. EPA, Minerals Management Service, Fishing and Wildlife, Seafarers International Union, you name it, they've all okay'd it.  But, and it's a big one,...our Senior Senator, Ted Kennedy, still stands in the way.  He's vehemently opposed the project since day one, claiming it would kill birds and endanger sea life [both claims have been shot down by various government agencies] and that it would destroy the areas tourism by damaging scenic views of the Sound.  What he fails to mention is that his families home compound in Hyannis would have a view of the project and that seems to be his biggest issue. 

I use 3D modeling software all the time at work and at home so I decided to see exactly what those 440' tall turbines would look like from nearly 5 miles away. It wasn't that hard to put together and after about 10 minutes, well...here it is.[click to enlarge, though you still won't be able to see much of the turbine]  They'd barely be a half-inch tall out there on the horizon.  And that would be on a clear day, mind you.  I doubt you'd even see them on a typical hot, hazy, humid, summer day. 

   

[Some other great views that Cape Wind has created can be found here]

Now tell me...is seeing a 1/2" tall wind turbine out on the horizon really all that bad?  Is it going to destroy these pristine views that Kennedy talks so much about?  Come on...I don't think so. This is an important project for the state, one that can provide over half the power for the entire Cape as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.  That's a lot of energy folks, and all with no effect on the enviroment.  It really does seem like a no-brainer, well unless your someone like Kennedy.  [and for the record, I agree with Kennedy on many issues out there, but on Cape Wind, he just doesn't get it] 

I read an opinion piece in one of the papers the other day that hit the nail right on the head. It said that until Kennedy, and others who have massive homes and compounds along the coast, tear them down to preserve theses pristine views, they don't have much ground to stand on.  It seems that he's much more interested in preserving the views of the wealthy and not so much the public interest.   

In any event, it's shaping up to be a big show-down because not only does our governor support the project, but so does our new president!  I think Teddy K will finally lose the battle here and that will be some welcome news. 

So...there you have it, my stance on Cape Wind, which I guess could carry over to most wind farm projects.  I'm all for it.  I'd like to know your thoughts though...leave a comment or two.  Time for me to hunker down for another 8"-10" of snow tomorrow!  Tis the season.

Community Rowing.

Late last Fall I made my way down to the Charles River to have a look, and snap a few photographs, of the newly opened Community Rowing Boathouse. The opening was timed to coincide with the legendary Head of the Charles Regattathat was taking place that same weekend.  The building had been receiving a lot of press leading up to the opening, most notably for the steep price tag, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Community Rowing was designed by a local firm here in Cambridge, Anmahian Winton Architects, and they did an excellent job.  The client is entirely volunteer based so I'm sure it was difficult to pin down ideas and arrive at a final solution with them, but as I just said, the outcome was exceptional.  The project consists of two drastically different buildings; the main boat house, which can store 150+ boats,and the smaller glass boathouse.  The main building has offices, classrooms and of course locker rooms for the rowers to use.  It has massive doors that open up on both ends for easy in and out of the boats.  The same is true for the glass structure; getting boats in and out quickly was an important element.  On the main building the use of composite wood helps to add texture as well as let some natural light into locker rooms and mechanical spaces.  Around the back side are three cantilevered lookouts where folks can relax and watch their friends come in from a day on the river.  All around this is a great building, and while it may have cost a few more dollars than folks thought appropriate, it will be an icon along the river banks for many years to come.

Below are a few shots I took [you know the drill...click to enlarge]:

         

        

         

         

        

Jackie and Vince + Baby.

We were down in NJ a few weeks back and Jackie [and Vince] asked me to take a few photos. [Well Jackie actually asked Kelly who in turn relayed the inquiry to me, but you know what I mean].  We were there so Kelly could attend the baby shower that was being put on in Jackie's honor, hence the maternity photos you'll eventually see below.  Jackie is about 8 or so months along so time was starting to run short to get these photos done.  We went down to a place called Scotland Run Park on a very cold Sunday morning...so time was of the essence.  I'm no expert, but I hear you never want to keep a baby out in the cold like that...so we made sure Vince didn't have to stay outside too long!  

I just sent down the entire set on DVD to Jackie and Vince, but they did say it would be okay to post a few here, so I of course wanted to share with you all.   As always, click to enlarge!     

         

         

         

      

   

     

I of course need to give a special thanks to my 1st assistant Kelly and my 2nd assitant Captain Chaos who were both big helps during the outing.  Kel was in charge of keeping Jackie's hair at bay while I turned Chaos into a roving tripod to hold my remote flash.  Here's a great shot of them in action.

    

Thanks guys!

Big Day.

Certainly a big day for our nation today as Barak Obama gets sworn in as the 44th president.  I don't think it matters what political persuasion you associate yourself with, there is a definite excitement all around the country and definitely in Washington, DC. 

When I was living in DC during college I went down to the corner of Louisiana and Constitution to see what I could of GW Bush's first inauguration.  That was as close as I could get to the action and I thought that was a lot of people...from the pictures I'm seeing on TV this morning I'm not sure I'd really want to be down there today.  It was a cold Saturday morning back in 2001, but I did get to see Clinton and Bush ride by together on their way to the Capitol that morning.

I do hope that the energy and optimism that is evident in the country today will continue, for at least a while,and hopefully will help to change our humm glumm attitudes and turn us around from this recession.  While you and I know that a president has little to do with economic ups and downs, he can set a tone for the country and a positive outlook is exactly what we need right now.

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[I'm sure that some kn.com faithful are down on the Mall today, so if you are, be sure to send along a few photos once you get home and thaw out.]

Cold.

On day's when the temperature is this cold...

     

it is certainly nice to have a feature like this...

   

to help keep my keester warm! Bundle up folks, it's nippy out there today.

Frank the Tank, Frank the Tank!

I'm willing to bet that half of my readers will get that title and the other half will have no clue.  So be it. 

Anyway...on our drive home from Jersey on Monday we were somewhere on rt 84 in Connecticut when we rolled up alongside this old army tank.  Talk about not something you'd expect to see hurtling down the highway. 

     

Even though the thing has probably been defunct for a number of years it's still unnerving to see the barrel of the cannon pointed right at you!

New Hampshire and the Library.

We were up in NH not too long ago to visit with Kristin and Ryan for a bit.  Ryan was working over the weekend but he was still able to get away from the hospital long enough to grab dinner with us and chill for a bit.  On a whim we made a last minute reservation at a place called The Way We Cook in Manchvegas that Kel and I saw on TV Diner a while back.  [You can watch the actual review they did here]  Since our table wasn't ready until around 8:30p they did run out of a few dishes, but other than that the place was amazing!  We met one of the owners, Jim, and our waiter was a riot.  He even threw in dessert for us since they had run out of those dishes.  What a guy!

       

               

        

         

         

        

After dinner we stopped at this little arcade and laser tag joint that is right around the corner from thier house.  It was a riot and we of course won some awesome prizes playign skee-ball. 

           

         

        

Last time we were up in NH over the summer Kristin and Ryan were thinking about converting this space that the previous owners used as children's playroom into an office on one side and a library/reading room on the other.  A great uncle [or something like that] had been up to visit and did a sketch for them of some built-in's on a napkin so they showed it to me to see what I thought.  It was bad.  No, it was atrocious.  I felt it was my duty to help out and after only a few hours we had a much better solution.  A few weeks later the carpenter came and below is the final product.  It looks just great with the yellow walls and the white shelves.  Nice color choices guys!

    

      

    

Up next is an island for their kitchen...it's certainly big enough for one, but I guess the original owners just didn't have enough money to put it in when they built the place. 

Of course after Kristin and Ryan saw our Team Photo's with Nick and Jules they wanted to get in on the action too...so we put the new library to good use as well as the dining room they have with no furniture on it and bright red walls that the previous owners painted!

    

    

    

Don't you just love Ryan's authentic Indiana Jones hat?  As you can tell...I've been experimenting a bit with some color/B+W photos.  I think they look kind cool.

  

House Party.

Our west-coast boy Murph-Dog was in town recently so we decided to have a little get-together here at the casa to catch up with everyone.  [unfortunately his lovely bride had to stay behind so he had to fly solo, literally]  Most of the crew was over and Kel and I made some of her famous stromboli to feed everyone!   Kel made some tasty sides, Val brought a salad and Jill made the dessert.  It turned out to be a great night just chilling with everyone and keeping it real.  We of course snapped a few shots during the festivities:

Who needs a cooler with ice when you've got a few inches of snow out on the deck to do the job!

         

These two shots are a bit of an inside joke from our wedding.  Murph being the funny man he is decided to steal bambi from our rental house and bring it to the wedding ceremony and take it out mid-way.  It made for a good laugh.  I found him one at a store recently so I gave it to him for a Christmas present.  I know, I know, I'm just so giving.