I endeavor to include one of my photographs with every daily post. Today, however, I am going to depart from that tradition to include this 3 minute, YouTube video that was shared during the leadership training I attended last week. It illustrates, through an experiment with two Capuchian monkeys, the importance of equitable pay. Of all my responsibilities at work, there are none I take more seriously than ensuring equitable compensation and titles for members of my department. Against the advice of most HR professionals, I have on occasion gone as far as reducing the pay of the over compensated so that I could adequately fund raises for those who were deemed to be under compensated. When presented with my compensation philosophy, assessment model and data, I have found that most engineers favor the rather unconventional approach and extents to which I will go to ensure a fair outcome.

There is nothing I would rather do on my birthday than spend time in the great outdoors on a spectacular fall day. My morning was spent on the soccer pitch where I played well and managed not to re-injure my recovering calf muscle. Unfortunately, we lost a hard-fought battle that could have gone either way. The real treat was an afternoon hike in the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary with the love of my life and her avian friends.

Meanwhile, Nicolai is visiting Colorado College located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado Springs. He is visiting a friend and checking out the school as a possible alternate to the University of Miami where he is scheduled to begin his freshman year next fall.

With all of our work and evening social engagements this week, Jeanine and I have had little time to spend with my mother who is visiting us to celebrate my upcoming birthday. Today, however, we got to spend time together including a hiking excursion to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. There, among other things, we discovered a frog-laden pond and this potential prince. Later, my mother joined me for a shopping run to REI where I obtained a few final items for my rapidly approaching Nepal trek. My mother turned 85 over the summer and I used this opportunity to provide her the belated gift of warmth (a down jacket, fleece mittens, cozy socks, and a pair of ear muffs). She is pictured below modeling a beautiful jacket that Jeanine gave to her for her birthday.

My 3-day leadership development program wrapped up today at noon. I decided to skip the final luncheon so that I could join my mechanical engineering team for their annual team-building event being held at the Nashoba Brook Ski Area. Good team building should provide an opportunity to build closer relationships, learn how to work more collaboratively and have fun. This year’s glider construction and flying competition hit the mark on all counts. The winning entry had a flight distance of almost 300 feet and a glide time of 10.7 seconds. Each glider was constructed from the same limited set of construction materials and had to carry a video camera payload (I can’t wait to see some nose cone footage).

The flying event concluded with a simultaneous launch of all ten gliders. Most impressive was the fact that all remained intact over the course of multiple runs, practice flights and crash landings. Debriefing of the exercise and consolidation of learning happened over beers in the ski lodge bringing a long work week to a very enjoyable conclusion.

For the second day in a row, I have been offsite participating in an executive leadership development program. Yesterday we received our 360-degree feedback, Myers-Briggs personality type test results, and participated in a disaster simulation to assess our performance as a team. Although it is difficult work, I really enjoy leadership development and have gained new insights on this go around. For those who are interested, I am an INTP type. My team did very well on the disaster scenario and my individual score was best in class. If you are ever in Australia being overrun by a forest fire apparently I would be a good partner to have.

Every year I like to express my appreciation to the spouses and significant others of my management team. I know that they often share the burden of iRobot imperatives that keep their loved ones late at the office or toiling over the weekend. We enjoyed a very memorable dinner at the Salt Box Farm where the evening started with a cooking demonstration. We retired to the intimate one-table dining room in the restored farmhouse for the main course and lively conversation. Best of all, one of my direct reports brought his 6-week-old daughter which I selfishly monopolized for much of the evening.

Jeanine was officially named as the new President of Open Table at their Annual Meeting held this evening. She will lead the 300-person volunteer organization for the next three years on their mission to provide healthy food, friendship and support to those in need. After a nice introduction from the Chairwoman of the Board, Jeanine addressed the assembly and shared some of her thoughts on the importance of the organization and its work. She spoke eloquently and from the heart about the fuzzy line between being a giver and being a receiver. Heads were nodding their approval throughout her presentation. Although it means that I will no longer be the primary focus of her culinary attention, I could not be more proud of her and am confident she will do great things for the organization.

Early in my career I was often in the spotlight, either promoting the products I designed or as a spokesman for Truevision, the company I co-founded. I have long since been happy to make my contributions to the places I work from behind the scenes. Today I was back in front of the camera, filming footage which will be used to create online marketing materials for two of iRobot’s soon to be introduced new products. I arrived on set at the appointed hour and was directed first to the “hair and makeup” artist. There was not much for her to work with. Maya would have been rolling on the floor to watch as makeup was applied to my head, face and lips and my eyebrows were glued into submission. I have encouraged her to shun makeup in favor of her natural beauty. Filming was done in our boardroom using a two camera setup, one head on and the other on a sliding track from a profile angle. I read my script from a teleprompter which was paced by the woman pictured here and did my best to respond to the Director’s request for more “excitement” in my delivery. Eventually the expression of the Producer who was monitoring the live video feeds changed from dire concern to mild satisfaction. It is very likely that much or all of my footage will wind up on the cutting room floor. I think it is highly probable, however, that several outtakes will be used to embarrass me at some point in the future.

A busy day entertaining on the Calabria home front. Maya is the Vice President of her National Charity League class which held a planning meeting at the house this afternoon. It was fun to see how ably Maya handled her leadership responsibilities with the group of twenty girls. Later the family dined with SideStix founders Sarah and Kerith, Jeanine’s sister, Susan, and my mother. SideStix was in town for a conference in downtown Boston where Nico spent part of the day working the booth. New for the show were T-shirts featuring a graphical interpretation of a photo I took of Nico volleying a soccer ball. It is outstanding and we were thrilled to receive a shirt for each member of the family. My soccer team nudged into third place with a 3-1 win this morning. I played very well in the first half but re-injured my calf muscle early into the second half and had to watch from the sidelines for the remainder of the game.

My mother arrived from Schenectady this afternoon, still driving long distances at age 85 despite the concerns of her offspring. It took little time before she and Nicolai were engaged in a Latin conga Underweight problem can cause weakness, tiredness, loss of bone density Susceptibility to bone fracture Increased possibility of cardiovascular diseases. levitra 5mg online Be optimistic Optimistic people live happier, healthier lives, and are capable to efficiently cope with traumatic situations and contribute in buy cialis more physical activity than pessimistic persons. Take care to dry this mixture in hot sildenafil 50mg tablets sun and store in cool dry place. The company’s management has broader future plans of expanding to a larger spectrum and it has already started expanding its infrastructure in order to accommodate its future requirements How to use a Dell Laptop ePSA Error Code to Help Resolve Your Issue after Running the ePSA Diagnostics Understand the ePSA codes The ePSA codes are a set of information which guides the user about the uk generic cialis errors within the computer. drum along to some of her favorite dance music which she is never without. Meanwhile, I put the finishing touches on the deck project just in time for a large gathering of the National Charity League volunteers scheduled to meet here tomorrow.

Maya and her friends gathered at the house before leaving for a home CCHS football game. The fact that Maya does not really care for football was not discussed. I took comfort in her choice of warm clothing given the dip in temperature that was expected. Jeanine’s sister, Susan, arrived from Burlington Vermont and this seemed reason enough for an excursion to our local ice cream parlor.

The Double Tree Hotel was the site of an after work send off for an esteemed colleague who has been an innovator at iRobot for more than 15 years. Well wishers gathered to thank him for his enormous contributions to the company but it did not take long for the roast to begin. Unfortunately, I had to leave just as the stories were starting to get good (something about a hot tub in Las Vegas) for a dinner gathering at home with the 6 person film crew here to shoot a TV commercial featuring Nicolai. It is important to go for the online drivers ed in order that you’ll learn driving and receive the license from the comforts of your own home. buying levitra from canada The obstruction in the pathway of rectum will be further issue which can generate multiple health buy tadalafil cipla concerns. If you use your fingers http://videoleadspro.com/?shop=7319 cialis 10 mg for stimulation, cut your nails carefully before you begin. Woman are also not lagging behind in satisfying your partner on bed because the inability of getting erection? Do not neglect it, if such occurrence is frequent. cheapest levitra His contract contains a non-disclosure clause preventing me from identifying the product he is endorsing. If everything goes to plan the commercial will air during next year’s World Cup. Earnings from his work today will fund nearly half of his share of first year college tuition.

Kyle sent this picture from California of the used car that he purchased today. He has taken a second job as a private chess tutor to help pay for his college tuition (we pay only half to ensure that the kids have skin in the game). The job requires that he travel to his students and therefore provide his own transportation. The gig pays close to $50/hour and there seems to be very high demand in the area for this service. Kyle, always with an entrepreneurial eye to the future, has concluded that parents who can afford these lessons and think them important are probably the shakers and movers of silicon valley. In addition to the excellent pay, he feels he will make extremely valuable networking connections through this job. After consultation with his uncle John, a car enthusiast and expert, Kyle decided to purchase the historically reliable Toyota Camry, a wise choice I believe.

On the home front, I tested a new lens which was waiting for me when I returned from work. It is an extremely light weight 85-400mm telephoto zoom that completes the camera gear that I plan to carry while trekking in Nepal. The 4.5 pound kit will include two DSLR bodies, the aforementioned lens, a 16-35mm wide angle zoom and a 65mm low light prime. A carbon fiber tripod will bring the total weight to 7 pounds, half of what I have typically allocated for photo gear on past treks, a welcome concession to my aging knees.

My commute is 11 miles each way and when cyclists at work organized a Bike to Work Day I was tempted to participate. I have made the ride before which took close to an hour but found myself way too busy this week to even remotely consider the idea. I am working feverishly to log video of Nicolai’s youth for the producer of a television commercial in which he will be featured. They need footage of him participating in sports from an early age to augment the material they are planning to shoot later this week. As part of the deal, the agency in charge of the project paid to have all (close to a hundred hours) of our home videos digitized to disk. It would have been virtually impossible to sift through all the footage any other way.

I have learned to run for my camera when alerted to a beautiful sunrise. The most dramatic colors can be gone in a matter of seconds. When we watch with our eyes we rarely notice the subtle variations as they unfold before us, too engrossed in the overall beauty. A series of photographs, however, reveals how quickly the colors evolve and change. This morning I was fortunate to quickly find a camera fitted with a wide-angle lens before the fleeting scene had passed.

I prefer playing soccer on a turf (artificial) field but playing on grass does have a few advantages. Most importantly, you can slide on the ground without losing as much skin. It also results in grass and dirt stains on your uniform which provide a form of documentation of the match. This morning we played one of the top teams in the league and I sensed I was going to have a good game. Fifteen minutes into the first half, a midfielder crossed the ball from the end line. I rushed to the far post marked by a single defender. He jumped late and tried to undercut me. I soared above him, pushing down on his shoulders. I felt like I was way above the crossbar when I headed the ball down and over the keeper to put us in the lead. This was one of those goals you dream about and live for. I enjoyed the feeling for about a millisecond before gravity imposed a rather awkward return to terra firma which did not involve landing on my feet. My jersey accurately documents the landing zone I used. Fortunately, I rolled through the contact and walked away with nothing but a smile. I played nearly the entire first half until my right calf muscle tightened up and I knew I was done for the day. Regrettably, I had to sit on the sidelines and watch as our opponent scored twice in the second half to deprive us of the win. After the match, the team enjoyed a pool and barbecue party at the home of our goal keeper, where we drowned our sorrows in catsup.

From time to time, I get in the mood to address small home maintenance issues in need of attention. Today that list included fixing the door latch to the closet where we store our luggage and camping gear, installing a vented hood to the exterior exhaust from our cooktop downdraft ventilator, fixing two toilet valves that didn’t seal fully, finished the door trim around the sun porch door to the deck, and refitted my home built kayak carriers with better protective foam. I also attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate a leak in Maya’s shower which is causing damage to the ceiling on the first floor below it. To reward my efforts, I treating myself to some raspberries from our garden where I noticed this adult Locust Borer Beetle (Megacyllene robiniae) resting on one the leaves. He was still there when I returned with my camera and I was able to get this shot before Jeanine scared him off in her fevered pursuit of ripe raspberries. Nico hosted a small group of friends who played several rounds of a strategy game called The Settlers of Catan while Jeanine and I slipped out for a quick ice cream date at Bedford Farms.

I purchased a used light-weight, wide angle zoom lens for my upcoming Nepal trek. It arrived today and I did a couple of test shots in the front yard to verify image quality. I was very pleased with the results. It is only 3 ounces less than my current lens but allows me to get the same angle of view on my lightest DSLR body yielding an additional 19 ounce savings. This is the recommended cialis online pill way of using the product. Provigro generic levitra australia is medicinal supplement designed for the cure of erectile dysfunction. Here are some important tips: ? Do not consume this medicine, only if you intend to make love to your partner. levitra cost low You may not levitra prescription feel like drinking water as your blood vessels have dilated, but make sure that you visit a reputed drugstore that offers god quality drugs at low prices. In total the new package is 1.4 pounds lighter than my current kit. This particular image is a composite of three different exposures combined to improve dynamic range.

Kyle left this afternoon for Santa Clara University where he will start his junior year later this month. He has taken a job as a private chess tutor to help offset his college tuition and now needs to purchase a car to get to his clients. It has been very nice having him home for the summer except for the fact that Jeanine no longer wants to cook for me since I do not appreciate her food as much as Kyle does.

Jeanine, Kyle, and I were all in attendance for Maya’s first high school soccer game. Nico had to work. She is one of the co-captains of the freshman girl’s team and plays at wing, midfield, and back all on the left side (she is right-handed and left-footed). The match was against perennially strong Wayland High School. The girls looked sharp as they secured a 2-0 victory to start the season on a positive note. Maya played very well offering up several nice crosses and passes. Like her older brothers, she really sees the field well and is always looking to deliver a dangerous ball. It was nice to watch as Kyle congratulated her after the game and offered her a few pointers.

The only positive thing I can say about having a colonoscopy is that it is a quick way to lose five pounds. Having endured the procedure once before (when I turned 50) I knew what to expect. The sedative you receive pretty much knocks you out so the procedure itself is not something you remember. The cocktail you need to drink the night before, on the other hand, is something you will never forget. I was very groggy when the doctor shared my results but I don’t remember hearing anything scary and I will check in again to make sure. I was back at work and reasonably coherent two hours later.

I have always practiced a form of team development that features time-constrained construction projects. Favorite building materials include Popsicle sticks, cardboard, newspaper, tape and such. It gave me great pleasure when I walked into the office yesterday to discover several water balloon launchers proudly on display in our huddle area. Critical meetings last Friday prevented me from joining our Electrical Engineering department for their annual team building offsite. I was thrilled to see how that team had continued the tradition with such an outstanding concept. I can’t wait to see the pictures from the event when they get posted.

I have always found it difficult to buy sunglasses. Most merchandising displays offer a pathetic excuse for a mirror, positioned so you are looking at a bizarre angle into something the size of a rearview mirror. You do this, of course, while looking through a polarized and tinted lens designed to reduce the amount of light passing through them. My solution is to photograph myself with several candidates and select my favorite from the camera’s display. The pair pictured here will replace my current ones which I found broken on my car’s passenger seat this morning. No one has yet confessed to sitting on them. I refuse to pay the exorbitant prices for prescription sunglasses (my regular ones cost more than $800). Instead, I buy a cheap pair that I wear over my regular ones and don’t fret when they get lost or damaged.

My fall soccer season opened today. We played a team called MPS Silver on their home field at Middlesex School. Having been promoted to Division 1 last spring we will be facing a significantly different class of opponent this season. The team got off to a shaky start but finished strong. It was a tough match and the 0-0 result was a fair outcome. I was pleased with my game. I dispossessed the defense several times and had three shots, all on frame. My last shot cost me a layer of skin off my right knee. I had just beat two defenders and was off balance, literally falling forward in slow motion as I approached the goalie who was rushing forward to cut down the angle. A tiny shove from behind was all it took to send me head over heels. 3 refs in 4 would have awarded a penalty. Had I made a dramatic flop instead of a last-ditch effort to score I might have got the call.

Nicolai spent the entire day at a concert in Boston and was not able to join the remainder of the family for a farewell dinner for Kyle who returns to college at Santa Clara University later this week.

I started training in earnest today for my upcoming trek to Nepal where I plan to cover 150 miles over the course of 21 days. I hope to fit everything I will need into and on an ultra light 28 liter pack (this is very small as packs go). Two cameras and three lenses will go into a chest pack and my tripod will strap to the side of my backpack; all in, my photo gear will account for 7 pounds. My pack will hold a sleeping bag, rain gear, fleece, down jacket, hat, gloves, toiletries, a pair of camp shoes, and clothing for 3 weeks. Trekking poles, an ultraviolet water purifier, 3L water reservoir, headlamp, GPS device, rescue beacon, iPhone, first aid kit, batteries and chargers will make up the balance. Water will account for 4 pounds and I am hoping all the rest will come in under 19 pounds for a total pack weight of 30 pounds. I will sleep and eat in tea huts along the trek and do not plan to carry any food.

I decided to start out with a 6 mile hike and 21 pound load. I walked from our home to Walden Pond, where I visited the original site of Thoreau’s Cabin, and then on to our church in downtown Concord where I met up with Jeanine for a welcome picnic for our new minister. The cabin site was discovered in 1945 and is now outlined with granite markers. A large rock carin can be found adjacent to the site where visitors from around the world have deposited rocks to pay homage to Thoreau. At the picnic, I participated in the kazoo choir and played Amazing Grace.

Jeanine and I had an opportunity to go for a walk this evening while waiting for Maya to finish soccer practice. We discovered the Emerson-Thoreau Amble which was just completed in June. It is a wonderful 1.7 mile trail that runs from Heywood Meadow (near Concord Center) through the Hapgood Wright Town Forest and ultimately to Walden Pond. The Amble also forms part of the Bay Circuit Trail (BCT); its path over the Emerson land reroutes the BCT from busy roads to a nature trail. The trail’s route includes a crossing over the Mill Brook behind the Emerson House and on the reconstructed bridge over a tributary of the Mill Brook. After collecting Maya we attended a fund raising party for her soccer team where we met parents of all CCHS girl soccer players.

We received this photo today from my nephew John, third from the left on top, pictured with his Babson classmates on the Great Wall in China. He is taking a term abroad to study Global Entrepreneurship and Business while traveling to China, Russia, and India. Meanwhile, on the home front, Maya was named co-captain of her freshman soccer team and we are sure she will be a great leader both on and off the field. This evening my soccer team had its final pre-season tuneup match against Belmont. I produced one assist and one goal, a rocket from distance into the lower left corner after beating the sweeper off a through pass. Most importantly I did not injure anything and should be pretty healthy when the season starts this weekend.

When I had my head CT done last week I requested a copy of the study. Today I picked up a CD that contained over 700 x-ray slices of my brain. I studied the images for hours before concluding that my brain is completely normal, a fact that my family might choose to dispute, but supported by the included radiologist report. The images of my brain are photographically uninteresting so I have selected a slice that shows my eyeballs, less-than-symmetrical sinuses, and ear canals.

There are few things I enjoy more than listening to world percussion played on hand drums. Whether it is a Djembe or Conga I am entranced by the syncopated rhythms can be produced by a skilled drummer. Nicolai has a natural talent for percussion, something he did not inherit from either of his parents. He is pictured here with the Congas I picked up yesterday, a belated birthday gift.

We said goodbye to Plum Island this morning and stopped for an incredible breakfast in Newburyport. Jeanine and the kids took her car and returned to Concord while I took mine and drove to Dover, NH. There I purchased a pair of used Conga drums for Nicolai who has waited patiently for his birthday gift since July. On the way back I stopped at REI to pick up items needed for my Nepal trek later this year including an ultra lightweight, 28L pack that tips the scales at a mere 24 ounces. At home, I spent the better part of the afternoon devising a method of attaching my camera holster to the new pack and am quite pleased with the solution (likely to be featured in a future entry).

I returned to Concord early this morning for a soccer scrimmage while the rest of the family was still sleeping. My fall season opens next weekend and it was important I get a game under my belt before then. We played Lowell United, last year’s Northern Division 1 runnerup. We won 3-1 and I scored two rather nice goals. The first was off a break-away and one-on-one with the keeper. He closed rather quickly taking away my angles so I slotted the ball between his legs. The second was a powerful full volley from inside the box after the defense failed to clear a corner kick adequately. Torrential rains started in Concord shortly before the end of my game but the weather could not have been nicer when I arrived back on Plum Island shortly after noon. Jeanine and the kids had just returned from a lunch excursion to Newburyport and we all headed to the beach for an intense game of bocce. Father and daughter took on the brothers in an epic match which featured play on the heavily sloped dunes and among the rock outcroppings. The first game went to Maya and I as we spanked the boys. The second saw them rebound and beat us like a drum. In the tie breaker, however, our pinpoint accuracy and control of the pallino led Maya and I to a victory that we will savor until the next rematch.

As the sun began to set I asked the kids to pose for a photo and this may well be one featured in our Christmas card this year. Later in the evening, Nico and I returned to the beach to photograph and make videos of him using his recently acquired light gloves. These gloves have multi-colored flashing LEDs at the tip of each finger and when a skilled performer moves them in rhythm to the music it has a very hypnotic effect on the observer.