My team at Formlabs has been very busy over the last few weeks as shipments of our third generation printer, the Form 3, have commenced. Essential at this stage of the program is to closely monitor feedback from both the field and the factory, jumping on any issues which may arise. We are all very excited about the product and if initial orders are any indication, we have another hit on our hands. Our biggest challenge now is making them fast enough while holding our quality standards.
For only the second time during the year I have been with Formlabs, the senior management team went offsite for the day to work on strategic planning. The meeting was held in the Canopy Room of the Bow Market near Inman Square, a very eccentric event space that set the perfect tone for our meeting. Participants were more than happy to pose for a casual photo at the end of the day. Dinner with the team followed putting a nice finish on a productive and enjoyable day.
Lot’s of rain and sunshine have brought out the best in summer flowers. I found this nice grouping on a walk and used my cell phone for the capture. The large depth of field which is a characteristic of all cell phones is an advantage over my full frame camera when it comes to shots like this.
Artists from around the world carved works of art from sand for the 16th annual Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival held this weekend. Last year Jeanine and I were among the 1 million visitors to the festival and decided to go again this year.
After our visit we decided to explore nearby Nahant where we discovered beautiful beaches, homes, and ocean views.
Egg Rock, sometimes called Elephant Rock, pictured below is located in Nahant Bay about a mile off shore. The three acre island once had a lighthouse but is now an uninhabited bird sanctuary.
Jeanine and I took it easy today with a relatively short trip out to the French King Bridge. We paused in Millers Falls where we spent quite some time observing this butterfly which was both photogenic and seemingly happy to pose for portraits. We had lunch at the Great Falls Harvest in Turners Falls before pausing at Cabot’s Camp on the Connecticut River from where I launched the drone for a full span photograph of the French King Bridge.
When I attempted to start up our automated sprinkler system earlier this summer, I discovered that two zones were stuck in a permanently on position rendering the entire system unusable. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the valves for these particular zones were fully encapsulated in a large yellow jacket nest. Because yellow jackets mostly eat other insects and do very little pollination (their bodies are not fuzzy) and because I could see no other option to service the valves, I sprayed the nest last night with a product designed to neutralize the colony. I investigated this morning and detected no activity. I am not looking forward to the next step which is a careful dissection and removal of the hive. I am guessing that any survivors are going to be pretty angry so will approach the task with great caution.
Today I would like to feature another project from the Formlabs hackathon held last weekend. It is important to remember that this project was completed in three days, in this case by our team located in North Carolina. A link to the full story as posted by the projects leader can be found here. Stories like this back up my assertions that Formlabs has some of the most talented engineers in the world.
Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Formlabs held a company wide hackathon. Employees were encouraged to work on any project that was of interest to them, be it work related or otherwise. Historically this event has produced much of the artwork that graces our campus and the occasional concept for a new product offering or refinement. This year my hands down favorite project was created by one of our talented mechanical engineers. It is a device which displays a red signal when a bathroom stall door is locked (occupied) and a green signal when it is available. This avoids the need to awkwardly peer under the privacy walls to look for feet. For reasons that make no sense, our men’s bathrooms are not equipped with urinals, only stalls. A mechanism attached to the door latch conveys status to the indicator located at the top of the door by way of a stiff wire. A clever and much appreciated innovation.
From our weekend visit to the Providence WaterFire festival, I used a slow shutter speed to capture this fire performer as he whirled a pair of poi (torch at the end of a cable) around his body.
Now that our family dog, Nala, has passed on, the deer that frequent our back yard have little disincentive to dine close to the house. This pair of youngsters were on alert when I stepped out onto the deck to photograph them. Also venturing in closer lately is a gorgeous fox which I have yet to capture in a photo.
Yesterday Kyle was invited by a friend to fly with him from Hanscom Air Force base to JFK to Nantucket and back. His friend pilots chartered flights and thought Kyle would enjoy tagging along as he picked up clients in New York and shuttled them to the island.
Jeanine and I travelled to Providence, RI to join friends Alex and Louanne McKenzie for a wonderful afternoon and evening. We started with a visit to see the Museum of the Moon, a 23ft diameter scale model of the moon featuring detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface.
Next we dined at Los Andes, a Peruvian restaurant where we enjoyed a truly epic meal. I find myself more often than not disappointed when dining at “fine” restaurants because Jeanine sets such a high bar with the food we eat everyday. Such was not the case this evening. The food was really spectacular. We made our way to the state capitol building where we found free parking and my first opportunity for an aerial photograph.
We walked from here down to the river where we secured seats for the evenings WaterFire performance which included ballet dancers, fire performance artists and numerous exhibits celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I got to touch a meteorite fragment which landed on Earth after being ejected from the moon when it was struck by an asteroid.
When we put our house on the market it will be important to have nice photos for marketing. This evening, as the sun was setting I did some experimentation with the drone to find the best angle from which to shoot. I am favoring the one shown above but I think it needs to be taken from a slightly lower altitude and earlier in the day to avoid some of the shadows. The actual work of prepping the house for sale has been very slow and I hope to spend some time this weekend taking care of a number of issues.
Nicolai has just been named the New England Revolution Community MVP. With this honor, Major League Soccer will donate $1,000 to the charity of his choice (the American Amputee Soccer Association) and will fly him and a companion to the MLS All-Star game in Orlando, Florida where the National MVP will be announced. Should he win that honor they will donate an additional $25,000 to the AASA. This would have a transformative impact on the organization and allow the US National Amputee Soccer Team to compete and train more frequently in preparation for the next World Cup.
PLEA
Voting for the winner begins today and will end on July 31st at 2PM. Anyone interested in voting for the National MVP may cast three votes per day through the end of the contest.
Every single vote will count and each individual can contribute up to 42 votes. I would be most thankful if you could support Nico and the AASA by voting as often as possible and by spreading this message through your social networks.