Locomotoring

Dear P,

She continues to be vibrant for us. While we knew that the vibrancy was highly punctuated for her, she reserved the highs for us. As a result, the circuits she built in our memories are full of her vibrant self. A box will arrive at your doorstep today. It contains some old memories, our way of celebrating her. It also contains some nudges for the times ahead, to help build some new circuits that lie adjacent to the older ones.

I didn’t know what a lithophane was. It is an old process of engraving a thin translucent plaque. The material surface appears opaque in ambient light. However, the surface glows like a digital image when held in front of any light source. The uneven thickness of the plaque causes the light to pass through varying depth and as a result, thinner region appear brighter and thicker regions appear darker. Now, with 3D printing, one can generate lithophanes based on photos.

I wanted her to continue lighting your world. So the few photos I have of her, and with you, are now molded with a 3D printer into a lithophane lightbox. The kind gentleman, William of Shut Your Traps, who made the lightbox, gave us six extra lithophane panes. They are swappable – you will need a 2mm hex wrench to take the top off. The E12 LED candelabra bulb should last, but if not, you will have to find a LED replacement. A regular bulb is too hot for the plastic. William sources the lampbox from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2721545. And since it is you, I thought I would share this lithophane study with you – “Data for all: Tactile graphics that light up with picture-perfect resolution“. It is a story of using lithophanes to level the visual playing between blind and sighted scientists.

I am also sending you some chocolates, the kind I think she might have liked because they tell a story. The chocolates (link) are not only made in India, the cacao grows in the Cauvery basin of southern India. When I was growing up in India, the only chocolate I had access to was “Cadbury 5 Star” and I can’t be gladder than in recent years, India has been producing a number of award winning chocolates. I seem to like Bon Fiction above all others. I am partial to the art on the cover, and she too would have liked the ethical chocolates. I have since learned that the cacao pulp is edible (link) – still waiting for the pulp to make it to the grocer’s shelf.

She also loved baked goods. I am sending you some baked goods in formats that don’t induce guilt, bisotti and taralli. We will visit Italy someday, but in the meantime, Italy has to come to us. The biscotti is from from a local Italian bakey, La Biscotteria. The shop has an unassuming front, and it is indulgent on the inside. The shelves are decorated with Italian handmade ceramics and rows of biscotti. They also serve products that call for moderation like fill-to-order cannoli and year-around panettoni. The savory taralli (link) are from Italy’s Puglia region and Sigona’s has been carrying them. Puglia is famous for its olive oil and durum wheat. Taralli is made with durum wheat flour, olive oil and wine, they are shaped like mini bagels, boiled briefly and then finished to breadstick like crispness in the oven. They are perfect with a glass of white wine or a cup of tea.

The Anne and Mao trees appear to be thriving amidst a floor of violet blooms. The irises had a comparatively subdued spring this year after their explosive bloom last year. The english lavenders seem to be crowding out the french ones. I also planted seeds of Dipterostemon capitatus, no luck so far. I wondered why they are commonly called Blue Dicks! Are they hard to grow in a suburban yard?

And finally, the books, what I am referring to as nudges. I am glad that the two of you shared your fondness for wild things in Galapagos. Amy Tan’s illustrated book Backyard Bird Chronicles suggests that wild things can also come to us. Now that your garden is growing, you will see more birds in your backyard. There are a number of fantastic apps that can help identify birds visually or using their calls. I have been told by people walking by my garden that they see some rare birds foraging for mulberries. I have not yet started my bird catalog. I know that my hummingbirds are Ana’s hummingbirds. They are supposed to be very territorial. I see them fight at times. Yet at other times I see them gather in a group. My feeder has a rim and they prefer sitting to hovering. They are so very tiny when they sit and they seem to shrink even further when wet. I got a small metal umbrella to cover the feeder, so they wouldn’t get wet in the rain. I recently learned that the feeders have changed hummingbird beak morphology and have expanded their reach in California – Bird feeders have caused a dramatic evolution of California hummingbirds. I also learned that birds use quantum entanglement to migrate (link). Some species of hummingbirds, not our Ana, migrate over 3,000 miles from Mexico and Central America to Alaska, twice a year—flying as many as 500 miles per day. Imagine these tiny little birds using quantum entanglement!

Octavia Butler, in the Wild Seed of the Patternist Series, imagines the protagonist, Anyanwu, shape-shifting into animal life forms. I do the next best thing. When I meditate, I imagine myself as my spirit animals – the elephant (land), the humpback (ocean) and the bald eagle (wind). When I am an eagle, I glide along the pacific coast, watching over the giant redwoods as well as the small tide pools that our Anne was fond of.

With love.