Curious: Are you near Boston / Cambridge?

favalora · Post by **favalora** » Thu May 26, 2011 1:36 pm

Hi -

I was just curious if any of you (lurkers included!) live or work in the vicinity of Boston or Cambridge, MA. I get the feeling that many of the posters on Holoforum are from California or Europe, but just checking to be sure.

Maybe one day it would be fun to meet up, maybe over an informal picnic lunch at a park, or a restaurant. Regardless of whether you currently make holograms, we optics-folk should really know each other.

-Gregg Favalora (Arlington, MA)

rzeheb · Post by **rzeheb** » Thu May 26, 2011 2:35 pm

Hi Gregg,

Yes, we are practically neighbors. We met, briefly, about two years ago when I was JUST starting out in this hobby and did not yet have a good appreciation of the value of many of the components required to build a suitable optical bench. Oh well, with age comes wisdom....... I hope! Anyway, I would certainly want to get together with you and other local holographers at some mutually convenient time and place. Ron

favalora · Post by **favalora** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:09 am

Hi Ron -

Isn't it surprising that only two of us on this Forum live around here? Think there's anyone else?

g

rzeheb · Post by **rzeheb** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:34 am

I'm pretty sure there are others, some may be "semi-retired" from holography however. Anyway, the forum has been so quiet lately you can practically hear the crickets.

Jem · Post by **Jem** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:51 am

Hmmm... When I read this I thought it was Boston & Cambridge in the UK

, ah well, i'm only a few thousand miles away in the UK if you want to drop by

I guess the forum's always busier in the winter months when there's no garden to look after.

Cheers

Jem

favalora · Post by **favalora** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:53 am

Hah! I have a similar confusion when an old friend says she's in Taunton. I always assume she means Taunton, Mass., not Taunton, Somerset, UK.

g

rzeheb · Post by **rzeheb** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:58 am

Jem, I have very fond memories of punting on the Cam. It was years ago while I was a highschool student doing a summer stint abroad. There were about 5 of us in the boat, 4 girls and me!!! I was in the front doing all the work but when my pole got stuck in the mud I ended up getting swept back and landing in all of their laps. Gotta love the real Cambridge! Ron

favalora · Post by **favalora** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:17 pm

Unrelatedly (except spatially), HOLY COW IT IS RAINING REALLY HARD TONIGHT. I don't know if "tornadoes in Massachusetts" made US news, but if it did, whatever they're saying is totally true. I kind of wish I had tied-down my house with anchors or something.

Whew! I have never experienced this much rain and lightning before, ever.

g

rzeheb · Post by **rzeheb** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:40 am

Gregg, My house has skylights (4 of them). For the first time in the 14 years that I've lived in this house I was seriously worried that the skylights would be broken by the intensity of the hail that was falling! Fortunately, that didn't happen. Not sure how I could reasonably protect the skylights from such an event in the future, but hopefully, I won't have to. I assume you're O.K. and no damage done? Ron

Dinesh · Post by **Dinesh** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:37 pm

rzeheb wrote:Jem, I have very fond memories of punting on the Cam. It was years ago while I was a highschool student doing a summer stint abroad. There were about 5 of us in the boat, 4 girls and me!!! I was in the front doing all the work but when my pole got stuck in the mud I ended up getting swept back and landing in all of their laps. Gotta love the real Cambridge! Ron

Funny you should say this. I was just yesterday relating a similar story. Many moons ago I took a new girlfriend to Cambridge. She had never heard of punting, so, wishing to show her my prowess at something I'd never actually done before, I bravely rented a boat. Same thing: the row got stuck in the water and I fell off the boat. Trying desperately to swim with shoes on (not easy!) I noticed her on the boat laughing her head off!

favalora wrote:I don't know if "tornadoes in Massachusetts" made US news

It made the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/search/dispatche ... dv_article