Nicolai invited several friends to the house this evening to watch the USA vs. Ghana World Cup match. The improbable outcome can only be attributed to the level of fan support in the room. It was fun seeing so many of Nico’s high school friends all gathered together and cheering wildly for the US. There is hope for the future of American soccer.
The Concord United Over 50 team I play for finished our spring season this morning in second place with a strong 7-0 victory. This result qualifies us for the Division 1 playoffs (top two teams from the North and South regions compete tournament style for top honors) which begin next weekend. I suffered a slight groin muscle strain 15 minutes into the match and was forced to sit out the remainder of the game. Nearly one third of the team is currently injured and our chances against Stoneham next week do not look good. Their team includes three former professional players from Brazil and they finished their season with a +33 goal differential compared to our +11. It is doubtful that I will have recovered sufficiently in time to play but I am not without hope.
Jeanine prepared a wonderful Father’s Day dinner which the family plus Karuna enjoyed while watching the Argentina versus Bosnia and Herzegovina World Cup Match.
Jeanine and I surprised Maya this evening with an early birthday cake delivered to a graduation party she was attending. Her friends paused their water volleyball match to sing happy birthday and later to enjoy the ice cream cake that Jeanine made. Maya turns 15 on the 19th. Jeanine and I spent the balance of the evening volunteering at the high schools, All Night Live seniors celebration. We worked the 9pm to midnight shift, Jeanine in the kitchen and I as a bouncer on the main door.
Nicolai is training with the US National Amputee Soccer Team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this weekend. From his reports, it sounds like the team is starting to take shape nicely. Several new players have emerged and according to a four-time World Cup veteran, it is the strongest team the US has ever fielded. The Amputee World Cup starts in late November and will be held in Culiacán, Mexico.
Ken Schwaber (center) is one of the leaders of the agile software development movement, an initial signer of the Agile Manifesto, and co-author of the definitive Scrum Guide. He is a founder of the Agile Alliance, and the Scrum Alliance, and creator of the Certified Scrum Master program. In the geeky world of software development, he is a rock star. Scrum is an iterative and incremental agile software development framework that facilitates faster product development. At iRobot we have been training with his organization all week to learn these methods.
Maya was blessed with beautiful hair which assumes its most dramatic volume after a shower. One of these days I really must take the time to do a properly lit portrait rather than a quick snap.
Nicolai is off to Myrtle Beach for his Amputee World Cup training camp. The team will spend four days working on strategy, technique, and conditioning. I had hoped to join him but work obligations and an important soccer match this weekend will keep me in Massachusetts.
The railroad underpass on Main and Wood St. in Concord traps or decapitates about one truck every three months. My morning commute was delayed by this wedged truck. As encounters with this bridge go, this one was relatively benign. I suspect that deflation of the tires will be all that is required for a smooth extrication. It is not uncommon to have the entire roof line sheared off. Such was the recent experience of a volunteer driver for Open Table who was transporting donated food items in a rental truck. What amazes me is that no one has thought to install a height gauge of the type you find when entering a parking garage.
We received the final paperwork from Coca Cola today so that we may file our Brazilian visa applications at the Boston Consulate. A special World Cup visa is available for free but requires a good bit of documentation to prove that you will be attending the games. I did a new set of head shots this evening for the required passport photos. Nico is looking rather scruffy but plans to return to his clean shaven look before we depart.
Maya was in action this afternoon on what proved to be a very warm day. Despite playing with only 9 players (versus 11), her team looked very strong. The 3-5 loss did not reflect how close the game was. Concord must have had a dozen shots which either hit the post or were just outside the frame. Pictured below is Fiona, one of Maya’s best friends, who scored a very pretty goal late in the game on this powerful shot.
My team had an away game against Medfield, currently the first-place team in Division 1. We played with intensity and looked strong as we secured an upset 2-1 victory which may put us into contention for the playoffs depending on the results of the final games of the season next Sunday.
Maya sat for her Biology SATs this morning at Lexington High School. While waiting for her to complete the exam, I made a tour of the historic Lexington Battle Green (Lexington Common) where the first American lives were lost with the start of the Revolutionary War. Pictured above is the Minuteman Statue and below the First Parish Church in Lexington.
I spent a good part of the afternoon completing repairs to the sills of our bedroom windows. When we received a $1400 quote for the job, I decided to do the work myself and used the savings to buy a newly released wide angle lens (which I hope will arrive before my travel to Brazil).
This juvenile robin was quietly perched on one of our porch chairs and seemed happy enough posing for this portrait. Nala did not even notice the bird when I let her out after dinner. The woodchuck in our field, however, was a different matter. Nala has little tolerance for other mammals within her domain and made short work of chasing this varmit back into the woods.
Endicott was founded as an all-women’s college in 1939 by Dr. Eleanor Tupper and her husband, Dr. George O. Bierkoe in Beverly, MA. Today the Endicott campus consists of 235 acres with 53 buildings and 28 residences for a student body of 2,500. I stopped in for a brief tour before returning to Concord after the second day of our strategic offsite came to a close.
After an extremely productive day-long executive session devoted entirely to organizational health, we were invited to dine at the home of Colin Angle, iRobot’s CEO. The rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy some time on the mansion’s patio which overlooks the North Atlantic. The real fun started after diner. Colin challenged me to a “sumo wrestling” match after learning I was a former wrestler. He wrestled at Niskayuna High School. I wrestled at cross-town rival Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady, New York. We are about the same weight but never met at the time because he is 9 years my junior. Colin recently purchased the home adjacent to his and its empty great room was the perfect venue for our match. After setting out the mat and donning our highly padded suits, we began the epic 5 round battle. With most of the executive leadership team looking on, I was humbled when he (red belt) skillfully pushed me out of the circle to end the first round. Once adjusted to the padded sumo style, I proceeded to win the next four rounds including one with a rather impressive head-and-arm throw (not easily executed in a fat suit and pumpkin helmet). By any measure this was not your average touchy-feely team building affair but without a doubt the highlight of the day. It has been 35 years since my last wrestling match and this may well be my last. I am pleased to remain undefeated against Niskayuna wrestlers and as I walked back to the inn found myself remembering with great fondness, Larry Mulvaney, my wrestling coach. I am eternally grateful to him for what he taught me about being a warrior, a gentleman, and a leader.
The Wylie Inn and Conference Center in Beverly is a favorite iRobot executive retreat as it is within walking distance from the home of our CEO. Given the prospects of a 90-minute commute through morning traffic and an early start time tomorrow for our offsite strategy session, I opted to spend this evening at the Inn. Pictured here is Tuper Manor, where meals are served, one of three buildings on the 10 acre property . The Inn itself is rather nondescript but quite comfortable.
