We went on the Marine Science Institute‘s cruise today, which was in part to celebrate World Oceans Day 2010. Part of the cruise involved sampling the bay floor and a short trawl with a net. (All animals caught are returned to the bay later in the day.) Ben got to hold a juvenile leopard shark.

They assembled this machine this week, but haven’t fired it up. The pipeline runs right behind our property, so I expect we’ll hear the crunching of treads and a large motor (or more than one) fire up early in the morning soon.

When you’re digging a miles-long trench, there’s a clear axis of work. And it looks like they’ll be removing the road surface soon.

There are a couple of major construction projects in Redwood City. On El Camino Real, the block between Broadway and Brewster is being updated, as part of the multi-county Grand Boulevard project. This excavator was standing sentry on the Broadway end. Closer to our house, a new high-pressure water line–part of the Hetch Hetchy system that supplies San Francisco–is being installed, which requires its own host of excavators of all sizes.

Benjamin, who’s recently become an enthusiastic chess player, got to face off against the chess playing robot:
Ben attempted a Scholar’s Mate, was stymied, and then had to go on defense; I suspect he’s been winning at school with that one.

Nathaniel and I were pressed against the barriers to see the lightning demonstration:
Cool.

At an event where most exhibitors have made or built something physical, I must comment that a purely virtual or computational exhibit underwhelms.