July 30th, 2017

We had a minor mishap in our kitchen. The end result required purchasing a new stove top. Naturally the new one was slightly a different size. The resident chef did his thing and researched options to cut the 1/4 inch of our granite tile. While studying up he came across a horror story of a family who did $34,000 worth of damage to their house by cutting granite and sucking the silica dust into the heating ducts. We wisely decided to hire a professional. We also built a tent to control the dust.

"The Martian" is one of the rare times when I liked the movie as much as the book. You remember the scene when Matt Damon built an ecosystem out of plastic and duct tape? He did better than us.

I briefly considered trying to recall my college calculus and geometry and figure out the correct way to proceed. It was easier to wing it and add more tape.

I just fisnished reading "Hidden Figures" about the black women mathmeticians who where instrumental in NASA's early days. The movie was fun, full of emotionally high charged moments and Hollywood inspiration. The truth portrayed in book was different. The changes came slowly through determination and plodding effort. The character of the women ran deep. The book was about relationships, about volunteering with Girl Scouts and Sunday School, about climbing the ladder so people behind you could follow. It was about brilliance, math and science and new frontiers. I was impressed by the grace with which these ladies faced racism. They prevailed through hard work and self control. The book was not as flashy as the Hollywood version but the strength was impressive.

Sometimes its ok to go with the easy add more tape method in life. But if you want to build something which lasts I would recommend the hard work version.