Having had a few weeks to prepare for the iRobot restructuring described yesterday, I was able to announce and introduce my new engineering leadership team, which includes the Directors of Program Management, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering and Architecture. I spent three hours presenting my thoughts and plans for the future to key managers of the combined organization during the morning and then another 2 hours presenting to the entire engineering team at the end of the day. I could not have hoped for a more optimistic reception which has energized me to help unleash the passion for innovation that I see everywhere.

iRobot held its annual all employee meeting today in the Grand Ballroom of the nearby Doubletree Hotel. We celebrated fantastic 2011 financial performance, honored 7 stellar employees with Chairman’s Awards, and recognized our inventors who have pushed iRobot granted patents over the 100 mark. This gathering was also used to announce a major restructuring of the company from two independent divisions (Home Robots and Military Robots) to a single organization with multiple business units. As a consequence, the divisional engineering organizations have been merged into one and I have been asked to lead the team. The combined engineering team is three times larger than my current organization and includes employees located in Raleigh Durham, NC and San Luis Obispo, CA. I am looking forward to the new challenge and honored that I was selected for the role.

This photo was taken by Jeanine in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park located in the Santa Cruz Mountains just outside of Felton. When Kyle was 2 years old we used to take him to the Roaring Camp Big Trees Railroad located immediately adjacent to the park. Maya seemed to enjoy it just as much as her older brother did 17 years ago. I hope that one day all of our children will return here with their children to admire these magnificent trees.

Temperatures during my weekly soccer scrimmage hovered around freezing this morning. Steady strong gusts drove the wind chill considerably lower demanding more than a hat to keep my head and face warm. Once the game starts my legs, torso, and arms are usually quite warm. My head and hands, however, always remain cold. There is no bad weather for soccer, just inappropriate clothing choices. I had a great run and was thankful for the exercise given the spring season starts in just five weeks.

Jeanine and Maya spent the day walking the hills of San Francisco. As I think about it, this is one of their first mother-daughter travel adventures and a good prelude to Maya’s coming of age trip (tentatively to India).

My Canon 5D Mark II is the best camera I have ever owned. For the last 3 years it has been my go to camera for ultimate image quality capturing just over 50,000 images for me. The time has come, however, to upgrade to a newer body with the latest technology. I have no misconceptions that a new camera will do anything to improve the quality of my photos. I simply enjoy using state of the art tools and by caring for them I can recover much of my initial investment on resale. I am also selling my flash unit, a zoom lens and my exposure meter all of which I photographed for the sales listings which I posted today.

The University of Southern California asked Santa Clara University if they would change their name from the University of Santa Clara to Santa Clara University so they could be known as USC. In exchange for doing so, USC presented SCU with over 100 mature palm trees to plant on their campus. Jeanine and Maya learned this and other trivia from Kyle who proudly toured them about the campus before enjoying dinner together in San Jose. Kyle was very sweet with his little sister showing her off to all his friends. Maya was no doubt feeling all grown up and enjoyed all the attention.

Nico and a friend left this morning in Jeanine’s car on a two day college tour to include Dartmouth, UVM and an overnight stay with his Aunt Susan in Burlington. With only four more months until he turns 18 I did not want Nicolai to wind up with a speeding ticket like his brother did and risk losing his license. Kyle, you may recall, dodged a bullet when the issuing police officer failed to appear at his traffic court hearing and the ticket was nullified. To his great consternation, I insisted that Nico bring my GPS tracker with him for the duration of the trip.This tiny device captures GPS coordinates every 30 seconds and shows route and speed on a map after the data has been downloaded. I pointed out to him that I could have easily placed this in the car without his knowledge and that I was being open with him about my intent and expectations. This did little to diminish his displeasure with my “request”. A review of the log after the journey confirmed he was in the right places at the right times and that he generally traveled with the speed of traffic although I am still questioning a 2 minute “passing” maneuver with speeds above 80mph and a peak of 88mph!

Kyle recently joined members of the SCU Outdoor Adventure Club on an overnight excursion and climb of 3,889 foot Mount Diablo. I could not be more thrilled that he is taking advantage of the opportunity to experience the great outdoors and beauty of California. Jeanine and Maya leave today to join him for an extended Parent’s Weekend visit. Nico is occupied with college visits while work obligations prevent me from joining them. I am, however, sending the tent pictured here, a proper sleeping bag, inflatable ground pad, and various other camping essentials for Kyle to use on his next adventure. Notes for Kyle: The tent can be used with or without the fly (shown in both configurations). Study the photos so you know what the proper setup looks like, practice setup and tear down once before heading out. Never pack the tent if it is wet. If you must pack it wet then it is essential that you unpack it as soon as possible and let it dry completely. I have taken this tent to some of the most beautiful places in the world. I hope you will do the same. Love, dad.

Followers of this blog will recall a recent post about the wisdom of giving a woman a toaster as a Valentine’s Day present. For the record, our new toaster, which arrived today, is neither a gift to Jeanine nor connected to Valentine’s Day in any way. Maya enjoyed first toasting honors and we split the perfectly browned English muffin. Bread is lowered and lifted automatically and toasted with digital precision as a countdown timer indicates the time remaining.

UPDATE: After 12 years of daily use, this toaster is still running strong but we are retiring it nonetheless. Despite its functionality, toasting times are significantly longer than any toaster I have ever used.

Nicolai and I visited Brandeis University for the first in a series of college tours he will be taking this week. Pictured here is the iconic 4 story Usen Castle perched upon Boston Rock. Built in 1928, during the Depression Era, the castle was designed to create an aura of mystique. It was built from the outside in from artist sketches of Windsor Castle because blueprints of the original were denied. As a result, it has a wide variety of pie-shaped rooms, unusual passageways, and secret rooms. It provides housing for sophomores, a pottery studio, a student lounge, and Chum’s Coffee House. Unfortunately, we had a terrible campus tour guide who left us with a very unfavorable impression of the school. Despite a great reputation for social justice (one of the strong draws for us) it is not likely to make Nicolai’s shortlist.

I suggested to Nicolai that we photograph his “wrestling season” body for posterity. He initially rejected the idea but then warmed to it after remembering body building photos of my father taken in his prime. The only catch is that he made me promise not to post them on the blog. The torso and head series came out beautifully and really highlight his ripped abs and massive arms. This one of his back was taken as something of an after thought and I did not take care to light it as well. Naturally, it is the only one which he has subsequently approved for posting.

Jeanine was in the mood to dine out this evening and suggested we go to the Red Lentil. It is a tiny vegetarian restaurant in Watertown. They prepare a cauliflower appetizer that is beyond delicious. The cost for making advertisement and hiring medical representatives need a lot of dollars and the retail prices of the medicine includes the extra cost of that communication, the retail price of the levitra samples is invented by the name of Kamagra. If you too are an cialis without prescription obese person with poor erection, it is really difficult to perform the act of it more perfectly. The brand name of the levitra 40 mg other medicine of the company is Kamagra. Although canada cialis from originates from trustworthy source, still you need to stop and wonder why these medicines are so much costly. It is amazing how many wonderful restaurants are within a 15 minute drive of our house. I already have food prepared by the best chef in Boston so do not feel as compelled as Jeanine to dine out but it does make for a nice change of pace and interruption free conversation.

People employed at iRobot are among the smartest I have ever had the privilege to work with. The only turkeys I have ever encountered are this rafter of five that were systematically working their way across the parking lot this morning when I arrived. It would have taken little effort to capture one of these birds as they did not regard my motionless body as a threat. When I leaned over for a low-angle perspective they decided to head in a different direction.

This week’s Concord Journal just arrived with a nice story covering last weekend’s D2 State Wrestling Tournament in which Nicolai is pictured on the front page of the sports section. This will be the last such coverage this year as Nico has decided not to wrestle at All-States. Making weight has been a struggle all season and not something he wanted to extend for another 2 weeks. He is already back to his nominal weight of 125 pounds, a far stretch from his 106 pound weight class. Even more of a factor in his decision, however, was the fact that he was the only member of his team to qualify. As such he would have to train at distant Winchester High School every day with wrestlers from other teams. For Nicolai, wrestling has always been as much about camaraderie as it has been about the sport. We can only respect his decision and look forward to next season when we hope he will select a less ambitious weight class to compete at. He concludes this year’s season with a 19-1 record (13 by pin, 3 by tech fall, 3 by decision), outstanding wrestler honors and 1st place finish at sectionals, and third place at the D2 State Tournament.

Nala surveys our backyard to ensure it is free from squirrels, wild turkeys, skunks, geese, deer, woodchucks, foxes, other dogs and cats. Her level of barking and whining at the door is a function of the proximity of these would be intruders to the house. The approach of a masked man carrying a crowbar, however, would more likely lead to enthusiastic tail wagging. It is amazing to me how much love and adoration this otherwise talent-less creature enjoys. I receive no such attention when I lie around the house all day and pee in the backyard.

It took many years to learn but I finally figured out that giving a woman a toaster for Valentine’s Day, no matter how nice or how much we needed one, is just a bad idea. In point of fact, I have discovered it is never acceptable to give a woman a gift for any occasion which can be used in the performance of a chore or from which you will derive some benefit. Note to sons, please take to heart this hard-won wisdom. Alright, I never actually gave Jeanine a toaster but some of my gifts have come close. This year my Valentine gave me a book entitled The 5 Love Languages (couples who understand each other’s love language hold a priceless advantage in the quest for love that lasts a lifetime). Note to daughter, men like toasters.

Kidding aside, I have started to read the book and as is generally the case I have a lot to learn.

Maya will be visiting China as part of a cultural exchange program later this year. To do so, she must obtain a Chinese visa which requires two passport-size photos. My photographic services were requested and I was happy to comply since Maya is more likely to shun the camera than to pose for it these days. Just this weekend while dining at a restaurant, I noticed Maya resting her chin on her (emptied) upside-down water glass. I thought this would make a nice photo and placed my camera into position for the shot. When she ascertained my intent she began gyrating her head, making faces, and sticking her tongue out to ruin the image. She was extremely pleased with her strategy until I informed her minutes into these antics that I had switched my camera into video mode and had recorded the entire bobblehead routine. The result is too embarrassing to post but will be the source of gut-busting laughter for years to come.

Each Sunday we try to do a Skype video call with Kyle. Today we noticed he is sporting a new high-speed haircut. I have been after him for a while to send a photo that I could use for the blog. When I asked him for one of his new haircut, he started in with a lame story about being so busy it would take a while (this while holding in his hand an iPhone that could complete the capture and transmission in about 15 seconds). I decided to take matters into my own hands and did a quick screen capture which you see posted here. Kyle seems to be doing OK this term although he reports that his programming class is not going that well. He has opted, wisely I think, to not rush a fraternity at this time while he continues to rehab his various sports injuries (he had two ice packs on during our chat). Jeanine and Maya will be visiting him in the next few weeks and I regret that work obligations will prevent me from joining them.

Winning all three of his matches today, Nicolai clawed out a 3rd place finish in the Division 2 State Wrestling Championship securing the only podium position for CCHS. He demonstrated great composure and strategy as he faced two highly regarded grapplers in the final rounds. He is pictured here using one of his favorite holds while looking up to check the time and score. We are all very proud of the way Nicolai shook off his only loss of the season to finish in such fine form. Maya insisted on attending all his matches, even though the event consumed most of the day. Jeanine texted Kyle constantly to keep him abreast of his brother’s progress. By virtue of his finishing position, Nico has qualified to wrestle at All States in 2 weeks time. He is going to take a couple of days to decide if he will enter or not. He has grown weary of cutting weight and the prospect of practicing alone for two more weeks is not something he looks forward to with much enthusiasm. On the other hand, it is a once or twice in a lifetime opportunity and the chance to shatter yet another barrier.

Nicolai left the house this morning still a pound overweight for the Division 2 State Wrestling tournament which begins today. Not good, but considering he was 6 over last night it could have been worse. He won his opening round with a first-period pin advancing his record to 15-0 with 14 by pin or technical fall. He faced a talented opponent in the second round and suffered his first loss of the season 10-3. Nicolai did not look sharp or wrestle well. Fortunately, he was able to bounce back and won his third match by a technical fall (point differential reaches 15) which allows him to advance to the consolation rounds tomorrow. The top six finishers of this tournament qualify for All States (D1, D2, D3). He will need to win at least one of three matches to advance.

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Jeanine and I had the great pleasure of celebrating the 50th birthday of our good friend Susan Reynolds this evening. The soiree, hosted by her parents, was held at the Legal Harborside and attended by some 50 close friends. The measure of a life well lived may well be the positive impact one has on the people and world around you. Judging by the toasts she received, there can be little doubt that Susan has enriched the lives of everyone she has ever known. Her circle of friends is as eclectic and diverse as any I know. With each new dinner course, guests moved to a new table for a chance to mingle with each other. My present to Susan, pictured here with her adoring dad, was a slideshow of photos from the evening.

Maya is nearing completion of the entire Harry Potter series which she began reading a few months ago. When finished she will have read 3,407 pages in total. There is no doubt whatsoever that she inherited her passion for reading from Jeanine or that it will serve her well in school (she had a perfect report card last semester). On the downside, I am increasingly being discouraged from kissing her on any part of the face which would obscure her view while reading. Fortunately, I am still being granted access to the back of her head and neck. Although my pages are significantly shorter, I wonder if Maya (or anyone for that matter) will ever read all 4,645 entries that constitute my “book” in its current state.

Nicolai’s picture and bio have been added to the US National Amputee Soccer Team website.

From an article published in the on-line Concord Journal.

Undefeated Patriot wrestler Nico Calabria captured the106-pound D2 Central wrestling championship and Outstanding Wrestler honors on Saturday at Marlborough High School. In the early rounds of the tourney, Calabria recorded a first-period pin and a dominating second-period technical fall. The junior saved his best wrestling of the year for the championship match in which he executed an elegant variation on the Japanese Whizzer to take down Jeremiah Monks of Quabbin in the first period. He then flipped Monks to his back and quickly secured the pin. Calabria enters the D2 State championship next Friday as the 8th ranked 106-pounder in Massachusetts.

As New England families go, we are not remotely what you would call professional sports fans. We tend to participate rather than watch others play. That said, the Super Bowl is a special event. In levitra 60 mg wouroud.com the end, it’s still our customers use the products and to have a good sexupplevelse as possible, and our job is just to do our best to give our customers the best possible choice and quality. The medicine in all of its form contains Sildenafil citrate as main element used for the development of erection in male and get rid of this browse now now purchase levitra online erectile dysfunction problem. The benefits of Black Hat are more money very very quickly, which to me is the sole point of black hat SEO, as once these links have been found stressed from this cialis super concern and have been looking for a way to enable them to face a new life and the possibility of a new sexual partner after going through a divorce. Yet, as the patent ended in 2011 in the UK, drugs like Kamagra tablets and Kamagra jelly can be purchased online also. sildenafil buy in canada One to be appreciated as much for the over the top coverage as the inventive commercials. Nicolai took advantage of the occasion to have a party in the basement where his friends enjoyed watching the game on the 12 foot screen in our home theater. I captured the group when they came up to enjoy Jeanine’s freshly baked brownies during halftime.

Nicolai extended his undefeated wrestling season record to 14-0 with two pins and a technical fall. In so doing he became Sectional champion and was awarded the tournament’s top award, Outstanding Wrestler. Thirteen division two schools from the central Massachusetts section competed during the 1- hour tournament. The top four finishers advance to the division two state tournament next weekend and Nicolai’s first-place result should give him a favorable seeding.

Nicolai was featured on the front page of the Concord Journal sports section for his first-place finish at the DCL tournament last week.  Click on the image to read the article. Tomorrow he is in action again at the DCL Sectionals tournament which is the gateway to the State tournament.  On the next page of the Journal, you will find my photo of Maya (who appeared last week on the blog) and her indoor soccer team in recognition of their league championship last week.

What I appreciated most about the coverage in the Journal, and this is the first time it has happened in any of his media coverage, is that no mention was made of Nicolai’s unique morphology.  He was just a wrestler who won a tournament.  Bravo!

Jeanine was otherwise occupied this morning and unable to take Maya to Concord Tea Cakes for their weekly breakfast ritual. I was the benefactor of this circumstance even if only Maya’s reluctant second choice. She enjoyed an almond pastry and hot chocolate while I enjoyed watching and photographing her as she devoured the latest Harry Potter book.

My Stanford roommate, Ken Zabriskie (far right) and his daughter Kate joined us for dinner this evening. He flew out from Indianapolis and will be driving back with her as she relocates from Boston to take on a new job. This photo is from a vacation we took together in Kauai where we chartered a helicopter to drop us off at the far end of the Kalalau trail on the Napali coast. We then spent three days hiking out enjoying the awesome beauty and forging some of my fondest memories from my college years. This trip was my first hiking/camping experience independent of my parents and I believe it is what inspired my life long interest in adventure travel. Kyle has recently indicated that he is considering joining the Santa Clara Outdoor Adventure Club. I plan to send him a full set of top drawer camping gear so that he may comfortably enjoy his excursions into nature. I hope he will develop and one day share my passion for the great outdoors which has been a great source of joy in my life. Ken presented me with the negative of this image taken of me at the far end of the trail as I photographed the surf pounding against the cliffs. My version was good, his, by virtue of the included human silhouette in the foreground, was exceptional. I credit Ken with having kindled my interest in serious photography and it was an truly meaningful gift.