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Greetings and Happy Spring! Welcome to our Newsletter! We wanted to share the many photos we have taken of places, people and things throughout the country and beyond. Each month our headline photo will be something new and different. The caption will present a small explanation. We hope you enjoy. Keep in mind, we don't want to waste your time. Articles will contain generally less than 250 words. Please have a look and give us your feedback. By all means, forward to a friend using the link at the bottom of the Newsletter. Thanks. Questions? Send me an email!

Sedona - Before the Fires

Courthouse Butte Rock, pictured here, was just one of the breathtaking sites to be found during my visit to Sedona, Arizona. Oak Creek Canyon on the north side of Sedona is now under siege by fire with more than 20 thousand acres burning. The fire is said to be 45% contained and there is some optimism but the damage has been devastating.

The fire is under investigation, but it is thought to have been man-made. It is easy to imagine how easy a fire would start and spread considering Sedona is extremely dry and has less than 2 inches of rain between April and July. We had that much rain just this past week.

So I was lucky to have visited Oak Creek Canyon and Slide Rock and traveled Highway 89 north before these fires began. The area will certainly have a different look for years to come.

I was able to take thousands of pictures during my visit with hikes at the foot of Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Courthouse Rock and in the valley overlooking Chimney Rock and Airport Mesa. It is hard to describe the feeling when you witness the awesome and breathtaking beauty of these natural monuments of nature especially at sunrise and sunset. It was a powerful and meditative experience. i will repeat.

Google Glass

Well, we just received our pair of Google Glass(es) to allow us to develop Apps for the new device. We haven't yet donned the pair in public, but have certainly tested them in our office. In essence, Google Glass is a computer capable of listening to your voice, respond to your commands, take pictures, record videos, link to your mobile phone or wi-fi hotspot, browse the Internet, share your experiences with FaceBook, Google+ or Twitter in real-time and feel the touch of your finger along the stealth touch-pad just in front of your ear.

With just over 100 Apps available, Google is hungry for developers to create new and wondrous real-world applications. We can see the potential for sensible applications in logistics especially when it comes to the inspection of goods, step by step driving directions, immediate speech translation, hands-free communication. There is even an App for long-haul drivers that will wake you up if Google Glass senses you are falling asleep.

We can imagine an App that provides real-time traffic warnings, surveillance applications or enhanced driver trip logs

Google faces a major hurdle. Price. Google Glass retails for around 7 times what it cost to make - not accounting for research and development costs. Retail price tag $1,500.

We Have Moved

It has been a busy month! After 14 years, we have left the retail plaza in Sterling and moved back to the office space we had used between 1988 and 1997. We are now back at the corner of School Street and Waushacum Avenue just around the corner from the Sterling Fire House at 9 Waushacum Avenue in the downtown historic district of Sterling, Massachusetts.

We have spent the last 10 months renovating the structure from top to bottom. Our new office is larger, brighter, energy efficient and very peaceful.

It gives us large offices, a great conference and meeting room, kitchen with lunch space along with computer room and library.

The building which we purchased in 1988 was originally constructed in 1840 and was showing its age. We used Maynard based ACH Construction to handle the rehab and were delighted with the results. The professionalism, workmanship and attention to detail was beyond our expectations.

With the help of Bogen Electric and Super Mario Plumbing and Heating, our new offices are ready for action. If you have an opportunity, please visit us at our new facility.