The last few months . . .

The last few months have been intense.

First, the unpleasant stuff.

I lost one of my closest friends in late September, my mom in November, and my dad in March. My dad was the first COVID-19 death in the state of Maine. I mention this only so those who read this will know someone touched by COVID-19. It’s real. It kills. Be safe and keep those around you safe. It’s one thing to risk your own life and another thing entirely to risk someone else’s.

Now, the fun stuff.

I moved to Bainbridge Island WA. I love it here.

I became the first Emesent Ambassador. The Emesent Hovermap is the most exciting bit of technology I’ve seen in decades – no kidding. If you want to know more about it just check out my posts on LinkedIn. As impressive as the technology is the people at Emesent, based in Brisbane, Australia are just the best. Humble, genuine, very smart, and excited to know that they have created something unique.

All six episodes of my NatGeo series, Buried Secrets of WWII are FINALLY available via iTunes, Amazon, YouTube TV, etc. For more than a year only 3-4 of the episodes were available here in the USA. No idea why but I’m glad you can see them all now. I loved making this series, the people I made it with, the people and places we encountered along the way – all of it. Life changing.

I did a three week / 3000-mile road trip on which:

I made another documentary film – which I cannot talk about until it airs.

I used the Hovermap, and a lot of other interesting technology, at the Colorado Air & Space Port, a proposed site for a new Westin Hotel, one of Denver’s oldest buildings, and Stewart Stadium the Dee Events Center both at Weber State University.

I made a lot of new friends and got to spend time with old friends – always the best part of my work.

Old friends:
Bobby Valentine with Kimley-Horn and Dave Tyner with Nvidia

New friends:
With RMUS: JT VonLunen, Jon MacBride, Jake Mackey, Jace Nelson, Chad, Ryan, Jeff, & Lance

With Kimley-Horn: Chris Rose, Ryan Thomas, Jon Heiberger, Brent Wardell, and Cutter Shea

This odyssey presented a real ethical dilemma for me. Prior to it I had stayed home. I took this on believing I could keep others and myself safe by driving, washing my hands constantly, wearing a mask, etc. That said every gas station, hotel and restaurant stop was unnerving. At the end of the day, like many others, I was forced to return to work. It had been a long dry spell due to the pandemic. I know I did everything I could possibly do along the way (and then some) to keep others and myself healthy. I was the guy disinfecting gas pump handles from Seattle to Boise to Salt Lake City to Denver and back.

All went well. I learned A LOT and I look forward to heading out again. There are more films in the works, a return trip to a former project site, creating digital twins of an 80 year old bridge, a shopping mall, and maybe even a ghost town.