Microblog

Retreating from the cold wind, I sought refuge in the skyways. Here, I’m walking through the Central Library, a place I rarely visit since I primarily borrow e-books online. My mind drifted to the stunning Mediatheque in Sendai, Japan, designed by Toyo Ito. I enjoyed a Sunday afternoon there, sheltering from an inbound typhoon, experiencing how libraries can be reimagined and be relevant and popular in the future.

Serendipitously, I discovered a novel LEGO machine designed by Hiro Labo, a professor at a university in Osaka, Japan. This conceptually simple machine reliably performs binary addition on two single-bit numbers, without the excessive joint play and gear backlash I’ve experienced in other designs. Naturally, I had to replicate it: the plates on the left stack to form the adder on the right.

Well, that was something new for me today: I attended my first baby shower. Our nephew and his wife, who are expecting a daughter, flew up from Houston, TX, for the event at my sister-in-law’s house. It was a chance to reconnect with family and enjoy some cake.

Rode the LRT to St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood, then walked to get a haircut. Along the way, encountered a loon (our state bird) with an 88-foot wingspan in front of the Minnesota United soccer stadium. This was unexpected. I learned it was designed by an artist from Scotland, a country devoid of loons.

Looked up at these simple truths as I waited this morning for the bus to a school where immigrants, regardless of their legal status, are highly motivated to learn. In my first class, I worked with learners preparing to become certified nursing assistants, addressing a critical need in Minnesota.

A friend and I wandered around the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus, testing doors. Most required a card swipe, but we occasionally found unlocked doors, allowing us to explore further. Two students offered to swipe us through a locked door, but we decided against it, not wanting to contribute to the delinquency of youth. We did discover this lovely seating area in Burton Hall without breaking rules.

The outside temperature this morning was -18°F, meaning another day indoors. Made use of the exercise room and daydreamed about our upcoming six-week trip to a warmer climate. Our large deionized water tank won’t be enough, so I connected a second tank–usually reserved for outdoor plants on the balcony–to our system. A pump transfers water from the smaller tank to the larger one.

It was a day for isolating ourselves from the world: the weather was still too frigid to go outside, plus we declared a no-news day. I prototyped a LEGO pneumatic AND gate that functions significantly better than the gates I built yesterday. However, I won’t be building a pneumatic adder any time soon because I don’t have enough pistons.

All logic functions can be constructed using AND and NOT logic gates. Modern smartphones contain billions of logic gates. However, the LEGO machine I constructed today only has four AND and four NOT gates to perform binary addition on two single-bit binary numbers. As the signal propagates from the inputs on the left to the outputs on the right, the cumulative effect of joint play leads to unreliable output movements. I need to redesign the machine.

Drove from heated garage to heated garage for a Minnesota Orchestra concert of music by Nordic composers. There were nods to hygge, which was fitting with temperatures staying in negative territory for a few days. We’re not leaving our building again until Wednesday.

It was almost balmy weather for January in Minnesota (in the thirties) as I walked to the University for a consultation and medication top-ups (injections). With temperatures expected to drop below zero for the next few days, I’m anticipating a period of hibernation. This appointment was therefore well timed.

Over tonkotsu ramen, Dwight and I compared notes about our day–he in the greenhouse, me in the classroom. I showed him photos of a sad-looking plant in the classroom. He suspected overwatering and advised deionized water would be better than tap. He also suggested the plant needed to climb and might benefit from fertilizer after its dormant period. I’d previously used Google Lens on the plant, and it had led to similar advice.

Walked over to the Guthrie to see The Heart Sellers, a play that plays on the title of the 1965 Hart-Celler Act. This landmark legislation opened up immigration to non-Europeans and gave priority to immigrants with STEM skills. In the bittersweet play, set on Thanksgiving 1973, two immigrant women, one Filipino and the other Korean, yearn for a sense of belonging.

Demolished trays of sushi while catching up with family news.

An email came from our building’s management about an HVAC contractor flooding a unit with 200 gallons of hot diluted glycol. It seems most units have two shutoff valves for baseboard heating, but a few have four. The contractor was unaware of this and shut off two, leaving two open. I didn’t even know we have shutoff valves for heating, so I located them today. And there were four, which I’ve now labeled.

After an afternoon of Nordic chamber music with members of the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall, we crossed the road to Brit’s Pub which we haven’t entered in over five years. After Scotch eggs and  beer, we were ready to head home, me via the loo. I was glad to see the loo artwork has survived and been augmented over the decades.