I spent a portion of the day at an organizational design meeting with folks from my Systems Engineering, Integration, and Test Department. We recently expanded the scope of the organization and nearly doubled its size by integrating members of our quality, configuration management, and mechanical engineering teams. I have experienced great restructuring outcomes when employees are invited to participate in the design of the new organization and to self-select into the framework. I was pleased to see this approach adopted by one of my direct reports who met offsite today for this purpose. I made brief introductory remarks, attended much of the morning session, and joined the team for lunch.

Nicolai, Maya and I treated Jeanine to her immediate family birthday celebration this evening. We dined at 80 Thoreau, arguably Concord’s best restaurant. By count this makes Jeanine’s 4th birthday celebration with at least 2 more to go.

A day that began with celebrations honoring the patriots who began the fight for our nation has ended in sorrow over the act of cowards who seek to tear it apart. I left early for work so I could observe a portion of the annual reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. I found a good perch near the Old North Bridge and made the best of my 30 minutes before needing to leave for work. On the remainder of my commute, I started thinking about ways to adjust my calendar so I could take a half day off to see the finish of the Boston Marathon, something I have never witnessed in the ten years since we have lived here. My calendar, however, was jam packed with meetings I could not afford to miss or defer. In retrospect, I feel very lucky that I was unable to get away. Had I taken the time off, my photographic sensibilities would have no doubt placed me near the finish line. While I count my blessings, I am filled with grief for all who have suffered this day.

I am also filled with sadness knowing that my children are experiencing a world that is very different from the one I grew up in. A world in which innocent children are slaughtered at school and families cheering on their loved ones are blown to pieces. I am sorry that I have not done more to make the world a better place and hope I can do more with the years I have left.

What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday I had a rather lackluster performance on the soccer pitch. This morning I was on fire, producing two very fine goals. The first was a header off a nice cross to the top of the 6 yard box giving us a quick lead at the 10 minute mark. A better goalie would have caught the ball in the air and probably cleaned my clock in the process. Fortunately, he hesitated and gave me the split second I needed for a quick flick on into the net. The second came late in the second half again off a nice cross that I finished with a left-footed half volley. It was one of the prettier goals I have scored in recent memory.

Later in the day after watching The Goblet of Fire with Maya we went out so that she could purchase a birthday present for her mother. We concluded the trip with a brief excursion to the heron rookery that I have been frequenting lately. Maya was first to spot a GBH male coming in for a nest landing. Pictured here are a pair of Northern Flickers which I photographed at the same location earlier in the week. Later in the evening Jeanine, Maya, her friend Lydia, and I went to see the movie 42. I can highly recommend this inspirational story about Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play professional major league baseball.

Maya is playing Division One soccer this season and returned to action in fine form. She played predominately at wing back where she looked strong both physically and technically. During the second half, she got some time at wing midfield, a position I ultimately believe is best suited to her skills and stature (and not coincidentally, the position I play). The match ended in disappointment with their opponent scoring in the final seconds of the match to pull ahead 2-1. Spirits were lifted on the sidelines as players enjoyed the lemon squares Jeanine prepared for the after-game snack.

Jeanine celebrates her (actual) 50th birthday today. At her request, we have postponed the official family party for a few days so that we could attend a casual gathering with friends this evening. I experimented with a little macro photography. Can you guess what the subject is? Timing these shots is something of a hit-or-miss affair and I am not entirely pleased with the lighting but I don’t think the final image is too bad for a first attempt.

I have finally located a pair of nesting Great Blue Herons and they are not too far from the house. At this time of year, the male is responsible for gathering sticks with which the female carefully constructs their nest. She can be very selective about the size and shape of the stick. When he returns with a particularly good choice he is rewarded with sex (or at least this is my take on the apparent quid pro quo). Herons can be very naughty, shamelessly stealing sticks from unoccupied adjacent nests. I will be very interested to see what happens when a returning heron discovers a neighbor pilfering from his nest. Stay tuned.

I have obtained some pretty great deals on Craig’s List over the years but today I got more than I bargained for. I picked up two studio strobes with soft boxes which are virtually new, a pair of light stands, and a 10’x12′ backdrop with stands. The items were in pristine condition and I got a phenomenal price. This, however, is not the story. The seller lives in Medfield and I made arrangements to meet for the transaction at 8AM. To avoid traffic and because I thought I might do a little photography en route, I left at 6AM. As I was passing through Westwood I saw something that I simply had to stop and videotape. As you watch the very short clip embedded below please keep your eyes glued to the house in the background.

There is no video trickery here. The house really did move. If not for the fact that it got stuck, you would have seen this house move 25 feet across the frame. Had that happened the video would have surely gone viral. Unfortunately, I did not have time to wait around while workers addressed the problem. This building is the Colburn School and is being relocated within the High Street historic district as part of the construction project for Westwood’s new library. When I drove past the scene I realized that workers were all set to initiate the move. I determined that if I positioned my camera in such a way as to obscure the machines and tracks that I could make a very interesting video. Click on the thumbnail to the right to reveal the mechanics involved.

It is not often that Maya asks me to photograph her. Needless to say, when she made that request this evening I was all too happy to oblige. Together with her friend Maddie we did a nice ballet themed series.

I was up and out early this morning for a little photography before work. I am not really a birder but I find they make fascinating photographic subjects. I am always excited when I capture a new species for the first time and that was the case today. Pictured above are a male and female Ring Necked Duck. It is not at all clear to me why they have this name but I checked my ornithology references twice to make sure I made the correct identification. Below you will find a Tree Swallow. They are very common but notoriously difficult to photograph in flight. To get the shot, I set up on this bird house and waited until one came by to visit.

My spring outdoor soccer season began this morning and the team is sporting a new, mostly white uniform. We traveled an hour and a half to Ludlow, MA where we secured a well-earned 4-0 win over a very strong Portuguese team. My game was unremarkable. I did my job and made few if any mistakes but did little to assist with our scoring or forcing turnovers by the defense. For the moment, I have retained a starting position and played on the front line today where we were missing a few players.

The day of Jeanine’s 50th birthday party (for friends) has arrived (additional celebrations will be held with family in the future). I spent the bulk of the day decorating (for future reference, when hanging braided crepe paper, it is easier to twist the paper by hand than using a power drill), hanging new artwork from India, and doing the last bits of cleaning/organizing (my office has never looked so good). I was feeling so relaxed about our state of readiness that I nearly forgot about picking up the food and had to make a high speed run to the Royal India Bistro, returning just as our first guests were arriving. I will leave it for Jeanine to say, but I think the party was a great success. Of our 30 guests (all women), several were still here 5 hours into the event. The evening featured a quiz show about Jeanine. Contestants used their cell phones to register answers as all viewed real time results on our TV screen in the living room (thanks to Joe at work for the link to polleverywhere.com). The first question is shown here with only 5% of respondents able to correctly identify Lebanon, Indiana as Jeanine’s place of birth. Friends from her writer’s group knew many answers that stumped others but missed some of the most basic questions. We had just the right amount of wine and way too much food.

The party occupied the better part of our first floor. The kitchen was the hub of interaction and dining, the living room had a 750 slide show of Jeanine’s life running on the TV, the dining room was laid out with all the food and desserts, and the breakfast nook is where beverages could be found as well as a second slide show featuring photos by Maya and Jeanine from their adventure in India. I did a pretty good job of restocking the bar, photographing the event, and cleaning up throughout the evening. The result was one happy wife.

In preparation for her 50th birthday party celebration tomorrow, I completed this photo montage of Jeanine featuring photos from various stages of her life. I thought this would be a nice way to celebrate the passage of time and to give her friends a glimpse of her they have never seen before.

It has been almost a year since iRobot reorganized from divisions with dedicated engineering into three business units with shared engineering. Last month we hired a new General Manager to run our Home Business unit thereby completing our senior management team. He has lived and worked all over the world and is currently relocating here from Stevensville, MI. He is looking for a home in Concord and this evening we had him and his family over for dinner. Pictured here are his children, ages 11, 9, and 6 who I managed to quickly (and secretly) photograph so that I could make a gift for their portrait.

As did both of her brothers before her, Maya will be traveling to Washington, D.C. with her 8th grade class later this month. Concord middle schoolers have been making this bus trip for the last 22 years and it is a highlight of their last year. This evening Maya and I attended the information session during which parents and students learned all about the trip logistics. This is my third time attending this session and I practically have the content memorized. I relegated all responsibility for taking notes and filling out forms to Maya who was more than up for the task. She was amused as the chaperones discussed safety when crossing streets in our nation’s capitol. After crossing 6 lanes of traffic in Mumbai, D.C. is going to be a piece of cake she quipped. I took this photo of the Lincoln Memorial in 2004 when I escorted Kyle and his friend Seth to a soccer tournament being held in Maryland.