Two months ago I picked up a used Sony a9 mirrorless camera body. It is their top-of-the-line offering for shooting sports. I used it exclusively to photograph the Amputee Soccer World Cup tournament. It performed flawlessly and was a joy to use. It is now for sale on Craig’s List because I prefer my Sony a7r3 model for all other types of photography and won’t be shooting sports again until the next World Cup in two years. By then a new model will have emerged so it makes sense to sell this one now.
I left for the office this morning at 5:30 am and arrived shortly after 6 am. The next 15 hours passed by in a millisecond. I attended meetings, prepared a report based on feedback I had solicited from the engineering team, met with many new colleagues and generally set about the work required of my new job. When I left the office, shortly after 9 pm, I was expecting a quick commute with little traffic. Instead, I faced an arduous journey through the season’s first snowfall. The unplowed roads were strewn with cars that had slid off or crashed. It was a white-knuckled drive that lasted over an hour and a half. My car is not very good in the snow and I only wish that my new Audi arrives before the winter driving season is over.
I had a chance this morning to join three other Formlabs new hires (AKA Formlings) on a guided tour of the entire three-building Formlabs campus. The most recently developed facility features several employee-generated art installations. Above, an array of our first-generation printers adorns an entire wall. Below, hundreds of individually 3D printed butterflies in different colors have been assembled into a collage that is really quite spectacular when viewed up close.
I found the pictured welcome box on my desk yesterday when I reported for my first day of work at Formlabs. In addition to my security key card and parking pass it contained a Formlabs tee shirt, fancy chocolate bar, and Formlabs stickers. A very nice touch that mirrored the warm welcome I have received from everyone here. My second 13-hour day in what is likely to be a week of the same. Getting up to speed is always the biggest challenge and I suspect things will taper off to something approaching normal by the end of the month.
Little doubt I will be struggling to avoid weight gain at Formlabs where I started my new job as Head of Engineering today. Lunch is provided on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Today we enjoyed quiche, corned beef hash, and fresh fruit. Instead of the one-mile round trips I had to walk for breakfast and lunch at Superpedestrian, I only have to walk about 30 feet here. This is not a good combination and is going to require that I find a way to get exercise as a part of my work routine which began today at 5:45 am. Leaving at that hour allowed me to reach the office by 6:30 am leaving plenty of time for a workout at a nearby gym, something I will need to sign up for ASAP.
Heavy rain during the past few days has the Concord River overflowing its banks. The Old North Bridge pictured above looks more like a causeway than a bridge at the moment. Fortunately, the well-drained CCHS turf soccer fields were in perfect playing condition for our semi-final play-off match against the Northshore Seadogs. My team advanced to the finals with a 1-0 win against a highly disciplined and defensively focused team. For the first time ever, the Concord United franchise will advance to the Division 1 finals in the over-56, over-50, and over-40 divisions. We have an over 30 team in the hunt as well but results were not in at the time of this posting. I played well and most importantly avoided any new injuries. The finals will be held in Lancaster on grass, which is not a surface we traditionally play well on. After a celebration barbecue with the team, I paused on the way home to capture an image to celebrate Veteran’s Day.
Jeanine and I joined our good friends Tom and Karen for dinner in Boston this evening. We dined at Whaling in Oklahoma, a modern American brasserie located in the South End in the legendary space formerly known as Tremont 647. We enjoyed a memorable meal with exceptional friends. Tom was my wrestling partner in high school and outside of my family, the person I have known for the longest time.
Each year, timed to coincide with Giving Tuesday (Nov 27), Open Table launches its annual appeal campaign. This year’s flyer includes two photographs that I took for the project at Jeanine’s request.
She provided me with three very photogenic kids, access to the new Open Table truck and laid out the general “Fill the Truck” theme for this year’s campaign. It was a fun project and I hope that it proves to be a successful fundraiser.,
Sushi and Thai food (outside the frame) were on the menu this afternoon for the farewell lunch at Superpedestrian to thank me for my contributions to the company over the last year. Kind words were spoken and I felt genuinely appreciated. I also had an opportunity to thank my colleagues for making my time with the company so enjoyable and productive. I am pictured below with my direct reports and with the COO. Assaf, the CEO, has been in Spain for the entire week and I hope to catch him briefly tomorrow evening to say goodbye in person.
As much as I enjoyed my time in Mexico last week, the timing of the Amputee Soccer World Cup meant that I entirely missed Halloween in the US. Fortunately, I encountered several reminders of the holiday on my walkto breakfast this morning. I must say, innovation in pumpkin carving tools has led to much more intricate designs than were possible during my youth when the main objective was not to stab yourself with a pairing knife that could only cut in straight lines at best.
Formlabs has many ways of introducing new employees to the rest of the company. Throughout the facilities are a number of large flat-screen TVs which are used to run a looping slideshow with one slide for each new hire. There is a general template to be followed but much latitude for personalization. I decided to create a new headshot for the project this evening. As you might gather, the work culture features a heavy component of fun.
Two months ago I accepted a position as the Head of Engineering for Formlabs, a pioneer in desktop photolithography 3D printing based in Somerville. Pictured above is their Form 2 printer. I offered the CEO of Superpedestrian a two-month notice period which he accepted and asked me to keep news of my departure under wraps during that period. Today, the embargo was lifted and I was finally able to disclose my transition to members of my team. My last day will be this Thursday and I will start with Formlabs on Monday of next week. I am quite familiar with the company having served as an engineering management consultant to them for over a year now. I was actually days away from accepting an offer from an Australia based public company in the sports tech field when the CEO of Formlabs and I began to explore the idea of a permanent role with the company. As excited as I am about the new opportunity, I am going to truly miss Superpedestrian where I enjoyed working on a product that was guaranteed to put a big smile on customer’s faces, a terrific boss, and a fantastic set of colleagues.
Nicolai was not able to make my 60th birthday celebration due to work commitments. Spending the week with him at the World Cup has been the best belated present I could have asked for.
Here is a summary of the US results and of links to photos and videos from the World Cup.
Results
USA v Liberia (won by forfeit)
USA v Kenya (1-2)
USA v Turkey (1-5)
USA v Costa Rica (2-1)
USA v El Salvador (1-0)
USA v Nigeria (2-1)
While I spent the entire day traveling from San Juan de los Lagos to Boston, Team USA took care of business winning 2-1 against Nigeria in their final match of the tournament. Nico had assists on both goals. Yesterday I took some time to create a proper team portrait which turned out pretty well considering I did not have any of my lighting gear or the appropriate lens on my camera at the time.
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