What became fairly obvious the last time we were up at the farm was the pressing need to put down the finish floor in the kitchen. Typically such projects would be cast aside since they are finish and therefore critical to form–not function. But here the case is a bit different. Since we want the kitchen cabinets […]
Mending Fences
Let me start with a quick question: what is the first thing you see when you pull into a driveway? Yeah, so that was a trick question since the answer, which I assume no one can argue with, would be ‘the driveway’. As such I have taken it as a personal goal to make the […]
The Basement Window Conundrum
We’ve all put in a lot of hours recently over at the house on Fleetwood, and I am happy to say that it’s paying off. Whether it’s the new white picket fence, the landscaping, or even the simple house-washing it received is anyone’s guess, but the results are undeniable. Today I want to share a […]
Kitchen Windows for the Farm
Today we completed one more step on the path to a finished kitchen at the farm. Since kitchens are usually well lit and open places—who wants to cook, clean, and serve food from a shadowy little corner anyway?—we had decided to install two new windows: one behind where the sink will be and the other […]
Harbor to the Bay Charity Ride
Today I woke up a bit sore, quite thirsty, and completely satisfied. Yesterday I successfully rode my bike from Boston, down through the cape, and out to Provincetown and was accompanied by a cohort of fellow riders and a near army of kind-hearted volunteers and organizers. This was the Harbor to the Bay annual charity […]
Geocaching (aka Brother Bonding Time)
At the risk of stealing my own thunder, I’ve titled this article with a spoiler to be sure. So I was trying to find a good idea for an adventure for Ian and I to go on since it was a Sunday and we were both free. After going through the obvious activities such as […]
Volunteering with Wikipedia
This afternoon I finally followed through with a project I’ve been meaning to do for at least the last four years or so. Today I actively and truly added to Wikipedia for the first time. While it wasn’t much–I just started a new page and added an image to another[ref]If you must know I added […]
Networking Jacks
This is a bit less a personal piece as much as an esoteric description of a system I recently discovered that anyone who is going to wiring up AV, telephone and/or ethernet networks should check out. The package is called the Keystone Module System [ref]Checkout the Wikipedia article for more info.[/ref]. It consists of a snap-in […]
Planning Ahead
With all that we have going on at the farm it is easy to lose focus on the larger picture of what possibilities of what this farmhouse actually represents. while dealing with stripping the plaster off the walls inside, shingling the exterior, and wiring in a whole system of new electrical plugs and switches, it […]
Biking around Warwick MA
While my ride yesterday wasn’t my first ride out on the roads by the farm, it was the first with my new Fenix 2 sport watch made by Garmin. My first impressions of the area’s friendliness on the roads were quite positive and I only wish the roads around the cape were so wide and […]
The road to graduate school: Version 2.0
As I allude to elsewhere, my second round of searching for a graduate program has fallen back to my research with Dr Papineau back in the Spring of 2012. During that spring, a new and exciting world was illuminated before me as I learned about the global chemical cycles and how our world has shaped them […]
First run in Warwick
Finally had enough energy while working on the farm the other day to go for a run around Warwick; and I have to admit I’ve been missing out! Ran down Rt 78 from the farm to Hochanam Rd, a nice hilly route perfect for warming up to a long run. From there I made my […]
Winery Adventures: Part 2
All the way back in August I first mentioned my hopes to grow grapes and make wine on the Kelly-Hubbard Farm, and today I have the privilege to update the narrative a bit. Over the past couple months we have been making inquires and picking out the grape varieties that should do well in the […]
Minecraft Mods
Once again I found myself in a roll best categorized under the heading of “parent” as I strove to figure out how to install a mod on my brother’s game, minecraft. While this is certainly not a particularly novel arrangement as I am sure that numerous people have groped their way through such things before–especially […]
Jeep Hard Top Hoist
Today I decided to finally work on a project I’ve been planning for a long time now. For those of you who know me it comes to no surprise that I adore my jeep, and therefore I’m always trying to get the most out of it whether that means adding a tow hitch or customizing […]
Documenting Progress
Over the past couple days as my summer projects are just getting off the ground, I’ve been struggling with how to best document my progress. Should I send out a quick tweet as a start/finish a new step, should I post a picture and status on facebook, or should I write a post here with […]
Exploration into HDR Photography
While not everyone will know what HDR even stands for, many have seen these initials in the Camera settings of their iPhone photo app. For the iPhone, the HDR setting essentially takes three photos and merges them into one photo for the user [*]. While I will leave out the details of the algorithm [*], this intuitively […]
Ginger Beer
Ever since visiting Bermuda five years ago I’ve been in love with ginger beer. Having both a freshness and a heat all its own, this soda stands well apart from any of the typical American drinks. Ginger beer, for those of you who haven’t experienced it, is akin to ginger ale but more complex, and […]
Joe English Trail Challenge
The Start Being both a small race–and this being the first year of the race–the Joe English Trail Challenge was not chip timed. Instead of using a traditional starting gate, which would have unfairly hurt those starting behind the first wave, the race director (RD) decided to do something a bit unorthodox. The RD had […]
Odds & Ends
Over the course of the past couple weeks I have been working on several essays in parallel, and per my usual style none of them are complete yet. Instead, I felt it would be more interesting to write up a quick note based on some random, otherwise pointless writings that I discovered hiding in my […]
Tiny House
Last night I stumbled upon the Tiny House Movement and instantly felt myself drawn in. The Tiny House movement values utility, pragmatism, and simple aesthetics over size; and the goal of most tiny house designs is to minimize the footprint and size of the structure by keeping only the bare minimums. Rather than using a 25 ft3 […]
Peace Corps Update
I value transparency. Anyone who knows me knows that I seldom hide from the difficult questions and respect the pointed response of an honest answer. For the sake of transparency I wanted to share an update on my Peace Corps application and on my future plans in general. I purposely chose a title that was neutral […]
Running on Quotes
“Perhaps the genius of ultrarunning is its supreme lack of utility. It makes no sense in a world of space ships and supercomputers to run vast distances on foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insisted from the […]
The Kelly-Hubbard Farm
This summer my parents and I bought a farm in central-west, or is it west-central mass? Well either way, it’s a plot of land with an old farmhouse, barn, and shed about 10 miles off the scenic Mohawk Trail (Rte 2) in Warwick, MA. There’s 67 acres, most of which is still forested with somewhere […]
Making a Bar
Rather than try to find a bar that not only fits with my expectations for function and quality, but also one which is cheap, I decided to build my own. After growing up in a household of DIY type people who are not afraid to get their hands dirty, I figured a project of my […]
Art, it matters
Art has the sad fate of being the antithesis of science, and therefore also of progress. Art, more so than any other activity, brings about the most human aspects of our society. It is sacred by its own right. Art is not a necessity for survival, but isn’t that why it’s so special? Rather than […]
Why the Peace Corps?
      Although it is senior year, I am often reminded what it was like to be a freshman and meeting new people all the time. Truly, the number of people whom I am being introduced to has not dwindled as might be suspected, rather it’s quite the opposite. It really […]
Pinnacle Ultra – Narrative
And there I am, skipping through the woods on a particularly rocky descent. With each passing moment the bagpipe is getting softer and softer until it’s lost completely in the autumn foliage. I pass through a particularly yellow section, a stark contrast from the bright red oak leaves that just surrounded me. Perhaps this is […]
Information Theory
Imagine you are standing, waiting for the T. Off the side of the tunnel you see that glimmer of not the T’s headlight, but rather the glimmer of the reflection of the T’s headlight as it snakes its way through the labyrinth on underground tunnels. The T dashes into view, and it would be surprising […]
Pinnacle Ultra – Part 1
The Pinnacle Ultra was a trail race I participated in last weekend up in Newport NH. The race itself was a 50k (31 mile) trail through the woods and mountains around the Newport High School. Due to its timing in the season, the foliage all through the area was in a beautiful state of flux. […]