Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The rest of the house had long since gone to bed, but Thomas W. Boyde Jr. was still working.
Smoke curled from a spent cigarette in the ashtray. A row of graphite pencils lay ready to use. He kept them sharpened to a lethal point not more than five feet of drawing before restoring the point with a heavy desktop sharpener not just because it was his personal preference, but because the job required precision.
Boyde was an architect but also an engineer at heart, and that meant resolving problems with certainty. What candlepower was needed at the level of a school desk for a student to be able to see her work? What nailing patterns were needed for different building materials? What mix of grass seed would best serve in the front or back lawn?