Pausing on an after-dinner stroll to admire the architecture of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church at the corner of Read and Cathedral.


- mike lee - baltimore

My manager and I decided that today would be a mutually convenient end to my four years at the firm. I'm voluntarily turning in my card key and parking pass (will miss those), but keeping my e-mail. I'll continue working on a few projects on a consulting basis, but I am excitedly moving on to the next chapters of my career and life.

Surveying the Baltimore Harbor under today's beautiful weather reminds me that the physical world cares nothing about our little human meanderings. Nature carries on in its own grand way.

- mike lee -

I e-mailed these photos of this afternoon's shapely clouds to wife and got these descriptions (in order):

"A choo-choo and a really overweight crab. Hmmm ... a hard one. I see a flea jumping away from me and a surfer girl riding on the back of a massive wide-mouth bass. Yes. I know I'm weird. It's part of my charm."

- mike lee - baltimore

P.S. Bustagroove: I took photos off the monitor behind the tech. I snapped away until she ordered me to stop. I'll have much better than these photos and the cheesy dye sub prints we got as I almost have wife talked into a trip to Baby Insight or Fetal Photo ...

Our third ultrasound today captured our Wascaly Wabbit at 21 weeks. The black and white screen snaps here are of biometric overlays measuring the cranium, femur and heartbeat. Lord, the dotted line around our baby princess girl's head even looks like a crown.

- mike lee - baltimore

Victor and I started and ended the week together on the NY Waterway commuter ferry. The last frame is the view I have right now of Baltimore Harbor as I reflect on the week's blur of meetings and social gatherings.

- mike lee - baltimore

As Amy and I were leaving Artbots, we ran into May and her friends Taylor and Robyn. We had already had our historic first meeting Thursday night, but it was cool to meet again. I told her she will love the show.

- mike lee @ artbots

The Fotron 2000 is tomorrow's answer to today's mall photo booth. At the heart is a robotic sketch artist whose medium is LED light and whose canvas is long exposed Polaroid film. The robot draws quickly, rendering a line drawing of its subject which he or she gets to keep. The Fotron2000 "brings good things to light."

- mike lee @ artbots

50 drones:

50 drones consists of 50 individual aluminum and PVC units, which vibrate and interact with each other. This interaction creates spastic, unpredictable behavior and a persistent buzzing noise. Each unit is tethered by a 120 inch cord that supplies it with power and limits the unit's movement to a confined area. The piece is on a timer that allows it to run continuously for five minutes every hour.

- mike lee @ artbots

Robot directed building design:

The robot sculpts a block of ice into an organic form using water (the water is stored and recycled by the robot). Every 8 minutes the sculpting stops and the model is presented for "client review". During the review period, visitors can influence the outcome of the sculpted model by making adjustments to a large control knob. They can choose between "Palatial Home", "Discreet Home", "Company Branch Office", or "Company Headquarters." The robot will do its best to create the home/office of their dreams.

- mike lee @ artbots

One for the home team: Stephen Turbek is an information architect at Razorfish NY. He also makes furniture. From the wall card: Happy Feet is an installation of 5 pairs of elegant footwear and floor sensors. The shoes are mechanically articulated to tap, create chorus line patterns, and dance with the audience.

- mike lee - @ artbots