Photo Journal – Thursday 10 May 2012

It’s a rainy day today… but the temperature should be alright my weather channel app tells me.. Today I have lunch plans with my friend Ang… another DUSPer… I also have a lot to do as it’s all about final projects and assignments now.. Yikes!

Yup! It’s rainy!

After getting to school I got started on my work, then left to meet Ang. We would be having lunch at MIT Sloan (School of Management) today.. I have never had lunch there as I usually bring my lunch. I am looking forward to it!

Riding along Memorial Drive… See how cloudy it is? Ominous…

Along Memorial Drive…

Arrived at MIT Sloan for lunch… People are outside because the temperature has risen, sun is peeking through the clouds… Deep breath.. Ahhhhh.. just beautiful!

Some shots of the building…

Noice!

I sit and take it all in while I wait for Ang to arrive…

She’s here so I head in to the building…

The lunch options in Sloan are unbelieveable! You guys know I love food.. the food is really good here! So many options! Ang and I got different things to eat and shared it all… This is an Italian panini I think.. The potato chips I could have done without.. They weren’t too good..

Ang had a kinda of stir-fried, medley of color, deliciousness and everything! Because that’s how she rolls.. LOL.. The mango salsa was really good… everything was! By the time we talked and laughed.. we had leftovers and dessert for later..

I have found in life that sometimes you (or me) meet someone who you know, but you know you don’t really know them.. then there are others I don’t know but I feel like I have known forever. Ang is the latter, I feel like I have known her forever! We had a good laugh about animals and our surprising shared love of something strange. I cannot remember how the discussion got there, but turns out we have a shared loved of Super Grover.. and a desire to be him if we were super-heroes! LMAO!!! How strange?!!! I think we like that he was just a normal person, trying to help where he could.. I must say though he irritated me at times.. but I loved him. My very first doggie was named Grover.

We also laugh about my plan and desire (not yet realized) to fight a monkey… Before moving to India in 2008, that was my plan… but it never worked out.. Why do I want to fight a monkey? Because I think they’re cute, and though I may get the worst beating of my life, I think a monkey is the only animal that would have as much fun as I would in this fight.. Strange but true… One of them entered my apartment in Ahmedabad… went into the pantry and stole some nuts and channa (garbanzo beans).. but I wasn’t at home to plan for that duel.. LOL… He missed out! LOL..

After our lunch we head back to Main Campus… Ang is working on her thesis, me on several final projects simultaneously…

Getting cloudy and dark again…

MIT Sloan School of Management

Back in our SMArchS room.. working on my ruled surface experiment for my New Textiles class…

Ruled surface…

Today was a great day!Three cheers for Super Grover and monkeys!

Much Love friends!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Sunday 06 May 2012

The MOOOOOOOON…..

Tonight/ today begins a little after midnight (late Saturday night). I went to see Avengers last night (Friday night). I know Tony Stark is fictional, but he makes me soooooooo proud to be at MIT.. LOL… Hulk and Stark were my favorite characters… After the movie I went back to school and worked until 6am Saturday morning… When I woke up I did the usual chores, laundry, etc… did some work, cooked, then ate…  I was supposed to go out with my friends tonight but fell asleep… I was still tired I think. My friend messaged me close to midnight to confirm whether I would be meeting them.. “Oops! I fell asleep” was my reply. After doing the time calculations I figured I wouldn’t be ready in time, but I just felt like getting out.. She also told me about the moon being extremely large tonight… I peeked outside my window but didn’t see anything… I decided I would jump on my bicycle with my camera and enjoy the night… Take it all in…

Beast of the blur.. I decide I would take a ride in the direction of Harvard Square…

So, tonight was a great experience for me. I have to get much practice with night photography… and boy do I need a tripod!

Sitting on my bicycle… holding my breath as I try to take still photos at Lafayette Square… yeesh!

What I love about these shots are how movement is captured… I love it!

I think the cops were just doing some crowd control or something on Mass Ave.

Long line for a club…

I didn’t know Harvard Square was this blurry! lol..

I love to see places at night…

Beautiful isn’t it?!

At the Harvard Square Metro.. Fire and ambulance were bringing someone out from the station.. Nothing serious though..

Nicely lit street furniture…

I continue to ride along and stop and hold my breath for photos… I definitely!!! need a tripod.

The firetruck passing on the left looks cool…

“I see dead people….” Harvard Square is full of ghostly people who blur and fade away in photos…

Look at that! Motion captured at night.. I LOVE!

I stopped here and took numerous photos… trying to get this shot.. the moon, the clouds, the building, the light… It was a perfect photo op… but it was almost impossible to stay perfectly still. This is the best shot I got.. Don’t those clouds look beautiful?!..

After getting some fresh air, photos, quiet, and happiness.. I head back to my neighborhood…

I literally tried to stay still for what felt like 30 seconds before the camera took this shot! I almost passed out and still the photo looks like crap.

I’m back in my neighborhood.. and trying to get this moon…

I have now placed the camera on my bicycle seat and trying to stay still… ONE…

TWO….

THREE…..

As soon as I get inside I buy a tripod for my camera…

It’s now Sunday afternoon and I am heading to school… We have to laser cut the parts of our curved pavilion to assemble the entire thing tomorrow (Monday)…

Mik and Linlin cutting on the Epilog 60W… I will go on the Universal and continue cutting the main structure..

Our cut sheets with pieces laid out on them…

Bru is on the Epilog 120W cutting the floor for the pavilion..

The pieces of our structure… cutting is gong nicely and the number of pieces cut continues to grow…. After I was finished cutting I went to my office to work on my other project… So much to do so little time..

Back at my desk… I cut these sheets last night into Saturday morning to be used in my New Textiles Final project…

PC ready, and food ready!

My cup of mauby… My loving brother gave me when I went to NY… And I cooked Chicken and vegetables in a red curry with coconut milk (I love Thai food).. and baked a macaroni pie.. Talk about meals from worlds apart! As long as I have food… I am happy!

I salute you for taking a few minutes to escape from your world into mine…

Have a great weekend!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Monday 30th April 2012

Leadership, Loyalty, Papers & Projects

I have been inundated with work the past few days… so I’ve been unable to post.. It’s down to crunch time with final papers, and projects.. It’s a great week though… my renewed approach is working out nicely.. I need to keep reminding myself..

It’s sunny today… I love the patterns light on the ground as it passes through the trees…

It’s been a busy morning thus far… In my HIE class this morning we discussed a paper by György Gergely – “What should a robot learn from an infant? Mechanisms of action interpretation and observational learning in infancy.”
Apart from the papers, for me it’s the other discussions that make Patrick Winston’s class priceless.. We spoke of some of the things at MIT to reduce the stress on students.. such as the fact that there are no degrees with Honors here.. very egalitarian… Being here is all the Honors you need.. I agree.. Churchill wasn’t even given one…

We also discussed the qualities that makes one a good leader.. and an organization a good one.. Patrick told us about his tour of a Marine base some time ago.. The bus driver (I think) knew so much about what was happening there, that Winston asked.. “Are you an ex-Marine?” The driver replied, “Sir, there are live marines and dead marines, there are no ex-marines.” This loyalty to the organization intrigued Winston and so he asked one of the Corporals I guess, how they make their people so loyal?! His answer was “because we never leave our wounded behind.” This principle and philosophy was the same from the very top to the very bottom.. Their people are well fed, well rested, career development, etc.. they take care of their people.. This trickles down to and through the organization..

He mentioned that everyone in an organization has to feel the following for it to be a good one:

1. They have to feel that their work is valued

2. That their work makes a difference, and

3. That THEY are valued..

If you don’t have and practice the above.. you will have pissed off people around you.. So how do you convey the above? TELL THEM in unambiguous terms…

After class, and lunch we were heading to the Woodshop for our guest critics, Tim Elliassen and Jeff Anderson of TriPyramid. They will be visiting to provide feedback on our section mockup before we move on the laser cut model of the entire thing.

On my way to the shop I see the board for this project up on the now empty site along Mass Ave.. Novartis Cambridge Campus… Architects are Maya Lin Studio, Toshiko Mori, Single Speed Design, and Cannon Design

We are using a few clamps to aid in securing our mockup for its erection…

Tim Elliasen and Jeff Anderson of TriPyramid

Dr. Larry Sass (left)…

It’s up! The feeling I have is quite a surprising one of absolute pride.. This is a great feeling! Larry was right about this… Definitely seeing the physical result of digital work is quite rewarding.. such a feeling of accomplishment! Everyone high-fives! Chris the shop manager is also happy!

My team partner (Linlin) and I are responsible for the interiors… Our final concept for the interiors is a ruled surface..

Bru taking photos too..

Moi…

Foundations team presenting their molds and design concepts and approach.. Foundation team did a real good job on the foundation I thought… Well done George and My!!

Beautiful…

Tim.. pensive as he analyzes…

After class was finished it was time to head to a Fabrication meeting.. My friend Amit Zoran and Sean Follmer will be presenting their work and research this evening… I really like Amit’s work and his continued sensitivity to craft and its place in digital fabrication. His focus is on hybrid object design, merging traditional crafted element with digital technologies Great job Amit! There was a lot of great snacks in the meeting..

After that meeting I went to collect my 3d print for my Textiles class… 3D print wasn’t successful.. I was exploring Erwin Hauer‘s work of continuous surfaces… I have to do this again… not enough time to reprint for tomorrow morning though..

Later on that night I began laser cutting my structure for my Final project for New Textiles..

It took me a total of 4 hrs to cut my stuff.. 😐

I ended the night here.. I will spray paint and assemble tomorrow… Tired!

Time to head home and recoup..

Saw this vid that had me cracking up! Animals are too wonderful at times to be called animals..

Today – Plan and Execute!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Sunday 29th April 2012

Friends, Food, Family, & Fervor!

So after going to bed late as usual (4am), I had a lunch date with another friend of mine… We were going to a Brazilian Barbeque restaurant which I saw as I passed along Cambridge many times… and thought to enter.. but never did… Today was going to be the day I guess…

We met up at Central Square and rode to the restaurant…

Prospect Street…

Inside the restaurant… We were there early, because it was empty when we arrived, and filled with patrons by the time we left.. It was a buffet service… you take what you want, and the waiter would eventually come to your table with an assortment of meats for your choosing… I was anxious to get started… my stomach was anxious!

This was my friend’s plate… neat, organized.. seems like thought went into her choices… My plate on the other hand….

A dog show!! like my friend would say…LOL… Yikes! I took everything I saw to taste.. It was like a bad Benetton ad on my plate! Chicken, fish, fries, rice, plantains, beans, okra, I took a little bit of everything! I was disappointed with myself as time went on and decided that the next time I will choose wisely.. come with  a plan.. because my eyes and stomach surely misled me on this one.. I was all over the place!

Buffet..

I love fruit juices and had a passion fruit and pineapple mix.. it was very tasty. My friend had ginger ale.. We had dessert after (red velvet cake) but I forgot to take pics of that… It was really good too!

After such a scrumptious but personally disappointing lunch for me (as I had no plan).. Oh I forgot to mention, it was all you can eat. I never win at all you can eat, because I never eat a lot.. just often.. So I went back home, fell asleep, woke up, did some work.. then got ready to go meet my cousin. He is coming into Boston this evening for his firm’s retreat for a few days.. I was really looking forward to seeing him and “hablarizing” (talking) as my cousins and I would say when we were younger…

Heading on my bicycle to the T Stop to catch the train…

See my shadow?

Bicycle parked, secured… time for the train..

I come out at Government Center to go to the Langham Hotel where he was staying.. I am trying to get my bearings now..

Apparently the circus is in town..

Still trying to get my bearings…

Pay and ride bicycles..

I’m walking…. I’m walking….

Ok, I see a street name I recognize…

Journeying along my route as provided by Google maps..

It looks nice yeh? Did I forget to mention it is still very cold here today?! Steups! When will Boston get warm, and stay warm.. I eh know!

This very narrow street caught my attention..

I love how the sun shone on this building..

Langham Hotel restaurant entrance..

Nice backdrop to the park these buildings…

Heading to my cousin’s room..

Old photos in the hallway…

When my cousin and I meet.. big hugs, big grins, “What going on?!!!” Too happy to think of taking photos… After all that.. time to head out and eat… my cousin was hungry… I wasn’t too too hungry, but I could always eat.. 😉

He was a little unprepared for the weather… “Don’t joke with Boston”.. He’s going to the Red Sox game on Tuesday.. plan to  layer up buddy! All teeth!

We’re walking taking in the sights and figuring out where to have dinner..

As we walk by I show him the location where a bank scene in the movie The Town was shot.. A lovely guy came up and offered to take our pic..

We decide to have dinner here at Ristorante Fiore.. I’ve never been..but it’s nice.. Waiters very helpful and informed about their menu..

The usual bread and olive oil introduction… while we talk, talk, talk, and laugh until our meal comes..

I had something with chicken, mushrooms, and pasta.. It was good.. had a sweet undertone because of the way they cook it… I switched with my cousin because he only eats seafood.. I had a stoli doli with my dinner… As the waiter described it to me.. it’s made with pineapple that has been infused with vodka.. I assumed I was going to get a pineapple drink with a kick… Well the drink had more stoli than doli.. Was vodka with a wonderful hint of pineapple.. Great though!

His dish had lobster, shrimp, and was delish!

After dinner we went to Mike’s pastry for desert (forgot to take photos).. I had a red velvet cupcake… My palate remembered it and wanted more.. so I indulged it.. It was good too.. Mmmm!!! We talk some more, and I got some much needed words of inspiration and encouragement… I needed it! Family is the best thing ever! Positive vibes! We say our goodbyes, and I board my train to head back home…

On my bicycle riding back home… Sunday nights are sure quiet in Cambridge… everyone dreading the Monday blues.. lol..

My Sunday was absolutely wonderful. Food, friends, and family.. THE BEST THING EVER!

I love animals, especially dogs, and I got this photo today from my daily Loldogs subscription… Doggie nosies are another one of the beautiful things in life.. Thought I would share it with you… Mwah!

Much Love!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Wednesday 24th April 2012

FELA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The day starts at 1am Wednesday morning (late Tuesday night) for this post… There are trains that pass by late at night.

I was heading home earlier than usual and heard the horns of the train, so I waited… It’s kind of strange how scary the slow moving headlights of a large monster of a train in the dark, quiet of the night can be.. Eerie..

A “train dude” mounted off the train, and placed these flares along the tracks and stopped any oncoming vehicles…

I found this so cool..

The horns continue to blare as the train passes by… real noise!

Heading to MIT in the light of the morning…

In my HIE class today Patrick Winston spoke to us about the correct way to conduct a panel discussion.. From the seating arrangement (panel geometry) to the way to engage your panel and encourage dialogue.. We talked about Joshua Tenenbaum‘s paper on Bayesian models and probability.  I also found out that every Drop date (last day to drop classes), which would be tomorrow.. a piano is dropped from Baker House at MIT. I hope to see it..

On my way back from class I took this photo because I love this view. I have yet to draw it… maybe when the semester ends I will get the chance to..

It’s lunch time and I am feeling for some food from the food truck. I was late and unable to put my lunch together today. Food trucks lines along the street close to the Media Lab..

I’ll have lunch from here… Asian Bistro..

Long  line.. plenty people, but the line moves very quickly..

Heading back to my office to have lunch..

I bought a pork baguette and Korean Pad Thai I think… I wasn’t sure which one to try so I bought them both..

I am surprised by the look of the pad thai.. it doesn’t look appetizing.. (I am a foodie!).. I taste it, and it’s not any better.. so I decide I will eat the pork baguette.. now that was delicious!!

After lunch I did some work then went to the FabLab to cut some stuff, but again didn’t have much luck… I needed a break and was ready to head to the Pièce de résistance of my day… FELA! I was meeting my friend Mel at the theater.. Time to get going! I jump on my bicycle and head to the station.

Some hurried shots of the Boston Commons as I walk hurriedly to the Theater….

Ok.. I know where I can come take in a movie or two when I want to.. I haven’t been here since November 2010… As it gets warmer.. I will see more of Cambridge and Boston..

There it is ahead!

Inside of the Majestic Theater…

Now inside the auditorium, playbill in hand…

Fela! is a musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan Mclean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary Lagos nightclub The Shrine. (Wikipedia)

This show was soooooooooooooooooooo fantastic, I can’t put it in words… The main character was engaging, funny, athletic, had a great voice, and was a great dancer… a mover… His supporting dancers… OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! The men strong, athletic, singers, dancers… the women… hmmm! athletic, sensual, dance, dance, and more dance!! You have to see this show!!

The costuming was also A+…

Fela’s mother in the show (Melanie Marshall) had the voice of an angel! I love singing, but it doesn’t love me.. She had a voice of pure honey… How do you lower your voice and volume as though it’s the end of a song, then in the same breath pick up again and end on a long, loud note..?!!!! I do not know! but she did it! she did it!! It was amazing! She was amazing!

Costumes… GREAT!!!

Do your thing Fela!

The end of the show.. All performers deserving of standing ovations!!! Thanks for making my night, my week, my time here in Boston.. Awesome band too!!

Close of the show (Fela’s mother in the spotlight).. Those from the cast who I saw and remember seeing were:

Sahr Ngaujah – (Fela Kuti) – A theater director and actor of Sierra Leonean descent, US born, living in Amsterdam

Melanie Marshall – Funmilayo (Fela’s mother) – best voice of the night… British born, of Barbadian (Bajan) descent

Paulette Ivory (Sandra) – has a sweet voice.. LA-based, British born

Rasaan-Elijah Green (Djembe) – great drummer and dancer

Gelan Lambert – (JK) – The tap dancing machine and Fela’s buddy – of Haitian descent, graduate of The Juilliard School

Thanks all for a great night again! After such a visual, musical, artistic, and cultural high, I returned to my office.. did some more work, and headed home… no train will be seeing me tonight..

FELA ROCKS!!!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Photo Journal – Wednesday 11th April 2012

China Day at MIT

It’s almost time for my class this morning and here I am hoping to try to read and write a paper… I know it won’t happen…. but I HOPE..

It didn’t happen… I have to do this paper ..

Crossing Mass. Ave. to get lunch at the Student Center… It is quite a sunny day, but still a bit cold.

China Day?.. ok.. cool!

Writing students’ names in Chinese..

He is writing my name in Chinese… they had to think a little bit to get my name right…

Finished!

If anyone understands this, feel free to let me know if it’s correct.. 😉

Very correct analysis I will say….

Paintings… nice!

Is it going to eat me?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew! Someone is in there.. I almost died for a minute…

Awesome sword!

Perfume bottle.. but the coolest thing ever is that the artwork you see there… is actually ON THE INSIDE OF THE BOTTLE. Great right?!

Wedding gown that is worn by the Chinese bride

Clothing donned by the Chinese groom..

Back to my office…

AHHHHH!!!! more dragons!!!!

What I bought for lunch… Stuffed shells (tasted like manicotti), and meatballs… I didn’t get time to cook.. so….

I didn’t get the opportunity to take much photos today… it is already night time. This is a result of an experiment I tried… using Grasshopper to try programming.. unsuccessful as we see… I will try something else again…

Have a wonderful day!!

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

View across Charles River, Boston, MA.

Above is my sketch of the Charles River, Boston, MA. from the Cambridge side looking over to Boston. I drew this in September, but only got the chance to paint it this weekend… I am glad about that.

DCR’s Charles River Reservation is a linear park stretching from Boston Harbor up the river for 20 miles. The lower half of the reservation, from downtown Boston to the Watertown Dam, is the Charles River Basin, which includes the Esplanade on the Boston side. The basin abuts the campuses of MIT, Boston University and Harvard. The Upper Charles River section of the Reservation begins at Watertown Square and meanders to Riverdale Park in West Roxbury. The Reservation has many recreational opportunities for urban dwellers. Whether your interest is walking or birdwatching, canoeing or in-line skating, the Charles River is a wonderful resource.

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/charlesRiver/

This is also my 300th Post today… Woohoo!!!!

A special thanks to all of you who continue to subscribe, comment, and follow Thinking Insomniac! I look forward to many, many more from you…

Abstract Architecture of the day:

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Visual Journal (1 November 2011) & Leo

I had a very nice day on Monday and thought I would share it with you. The best of the day was meeting Neil (correct name, Leo), one of the cutest little doggies I have ever met!

After the presentation by Lucy Walker on the way back to my building, I saw a lady and a guy calling “Neil!, Neil!”… I thought they were calling for a doggie (googie as Lozdogs says). I could not stop to help but I kept my eyes open and hoped they would find their loved doggie.  I went to the student center to get something to eat and as I walked in, I saw a guy sitting with a puppy. Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot see doggies and not attempt to play with them.  I stopped and asked to play with the little cutie and the guy asked me if I knew the dog. I was like “???” in my mind.. then I remembered the people calling for Neil. Bear in mind… where they were calling for Neil (Stata Center) is a ways from the Student Center.  Something clicked and I said, “Yes! That’s probably Neil!” I told the guy (Daniel) what happened on my way and we went over with little Neil in hand. Neil is a toy poodle I think… he could fit in a purse…

We walked back to Stata Center and found the lady hugging herself to keep herself warm looking for Neil… She was sooooooooo happy when she saw us bringing him.. She was emotional too and I totally understand… I took her contact info because she surely was in no state to remember anything… I emailed her later the night telling her how we wound up bringing Neil back to her, and how happy I was that all was well. Last night that lady (D) and Leo (the dog) surprised me with a wonderful gift of appreciation. She sent me an email which read in part,

“I would like to thank you SO MUCH for your help with finding Leo (his name is Leo not Neil). You have saved his life. Leo takes medications every 8 hours. If we didn’t find him, he would have soon started having breathing problems.”

Thank you so much D for your gift, and again, it was my pleasure! It got my doggie hugs. I will be by to give Leo a big hug soon!

Click here for larger image >>>

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Durgin Park Restaurant, Boston

Weekend lunch at Durgin Park, Boston

This is a quick sketch and painting I did while at one of my favorite restaurants in Boston, Durgin Park. I had dinner there for the first time in November of last year… and it was delicious! I went back last week and it was even better… well the weather made it better. The city was sunny, festive, and alive! I had the clam chowder (one of my faves), and a lobster roll. They were both very hearty and delicious. A wonderful waitress from Long Island served us. She welcomed us to Boston and recommended great items on the menu. I look forward to experiencing the city and I do hope I get some slivers of time to continue sketching and painting… MIT is no joke!

Abstract Architecture of the day:

This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.