Publishing a second sunrise in as many weeks risks boring regular visitors to this blog. From my perspective, however, each one is entirely unique and I can’t help but run for my camera when I see the light show starting up. Jeanine openly questions my sanity as I leave the house in my bathrobe and slippers to stand in the freezing cold snow to capture such moments. Perhaps it is the sheer brevity of the event that compels me to create a permanent record. From start to finish, this morning’s color lasted for less than 2 minutes. I took dozens of photos revealing that the peak color lasted for only ten seconds.
Dinner conversation this evening centered on the future of education and different learning styles. Joining us from Minnesota was my sister-in-law, Marie, in town for the day on business, and Nicolai’s friend, Karuna, who arrived bearing baked gifts. Despite our current dieting efforts both Jeanine and I had to sample the yummy chocolate chip cookies which were well worth the caloric setback. Maya is in the middle of mid-year tests with both Math and World Cultures scheduled for tomorrow. She seems confident and well prepared although this has come at the expense of robotics club attendance. I am hoping she returns once her exams are behind her.
FirstLook is a 5-pound throwable robot used to provide immediate situational awareness, perform persistent observation and to investigate confined spaces. Equally tough and cute it is one of my favorite robots. iRobot engineers have now added an infrared camera payload option which enables night vision. Here the software engineer who enabled the new functionality demonstrates for the business unit leadership team.
Maya produces this work of art in her 3D graphics class. She created a 3D model of the snowman and then rendered it with lighting to match the photograph of clouds into which she composited it. Equally impressive is her design for a retractable screen phone of the future. Her grandmother will be proud of her artistic flare and ingenuity.
The art of sharpening a knife on a wet stone is no longer widely practiced in this day and age of specialized gadgets. It remains, however, the most versatile method for putting an edge on any tool made of steel. For my woodworking chisels and planes, I refine edges to a degree called “scary” sharp. When tuning up Jeanine’s cutlery, I aim for something a little less dangerous, knowing she is prone to using these utensils to trim parts of her own body. Normally this project would take me 30 minutes for a half dozen knives but when I entered my shop, I discovered a leak in the furnace condensate pump drain line which required immediate attention and an hour of my morning. The problem was the result of an improper connection between a plastic hose and the copper drain line made by a lazy installer.
A traditional Native American Vision Quest consists of a person spending one to four days and nights secluded in nature. This provides time for deep communion with the fundamental forces and spiritual energies of creation and self-identity. As part of her Coming of Age journey to develop a personal religious credo, Maya spent a good portion of the day alone in the woods of New Hampshire. Her strategy for staying warm in the sub-freezing conditions included the use of a hammock to keep her off the ground, a sleeping bag to trap her body heat and a tarp to keep the snow off the suspended cocoon. This is the scene encountered by her mentor when he went back to retrieve her. The Coming of Age program concludes when each of the 14 year old participants shares their personal credo in front of the entire congregation of our church. It is invariably the most moving service of the year.
Closer to home, my date for the iRobot Holiday Party was a vision of beauty. Held at the swank Royale in downtown Boston we were treated to fine food, an exceptional band and more dancing than we have done in the last year.
Once in a blue moon we are thrilled to receive photographic evidence that Kyle is alive and well in California. Pictured here with his date at a sorority formal last night, he reports that he is going to spend the weekend in Big Sur. I believe this is his second outing with Into the Wild, Santa Clara University’s outdoor adventure club. I have lived in California on two occasions, once as a graduate student attending Stanford and the other with Jeanine when Kyle was a toddler. In each case, I/we took full advantage of all that California has to offer in the way of natural wonder. At a minimum, I hope that Kyle will find his way to Yosemite before he completes his degree.
On the home front, my nephew Johnie celebrates his 21st birthday today. He is staying with us for a few weeks until his new apartment in Somerville is ready for occupancy. Jeanine and I offered to take him out for dinner but his only request was that I make photo copies of a few sketches he made during grade school.
I start each calendar year with a departmental meeting during which we briefly review prior year accomplishments and present plans for the new one. This year the audience was expanded to include our newly merged engineering and technology teams (~250). Speakers included the General Managers of our three business units and our Chief Technical Officer (my new boss) who laid out our product and technology road maps respectively. Also featured was our first-place finishing Robot in Three Days team and their robot, El Toro. I took the photo above from the podium during my opening remarks. Those smiling are familiar with this blog, the remainder now have one more reason to think me strange.
The winter storm forecasted for today produced up to a foot and a half of snow in parts of the state but left others, including Concord, with little more than a couple of inches. I was not at all disappointed to miss another workout with the snow blower, especially in light of the arctic cold air that has temperatures in the single digits. Maya and I enjoyed some father-daughter time this evening as we prepared her for the vision quest she will undertake this weekend as part of her Coming of Age program at church. She will be spending several hours alone in the wilderness and our preparations have ensured she will do so in warmth and style.
Due to the rotation of the Earth, storm systems travel from west to east in the mid-latitudes. A reddish sunrise, caused by particles suspended in the air, often foreshadows an approaching storm, which will be arriving from the West, within the day. Conversely, a reddish sunset often indicates that a storm system is on the west side (same side as the sunset), travelling away from the viewer. Maya alerted me to the notable sunrise this morning and sure enough the weather service has predicted a significant winter storm for this evening.
Welcome to the new look for my website. In addition to the new visual style, the site has been optimized to run on mobile platforms and on computers of different sizes. On smaller screens, access to the archives will be at the very bottom of the page, and on phones you will select titles before images are downloaded to conserve bandwidth. I will be making minor enhancements over the coming days and hope to add an integrated photo gallery in the near future.
It was far too beautiful a day, however, to spend it all doing website redesign and I got out for a few hours to enjoy the fresh snow.
Rarely have I encountered a more cooperative flock of birds. I suspect these pigeons, pictured here on the famous Old North Bridge, have grown accustomed to human presence. Still, it does not explain how they learned to pose in such a nice formation. Jeanine and I saw the movie “Her” last night and I am still thinking about it. It is the first non-malevolent depiction of artificial intelligence I am familiar with and left me wondering about a world where computers “evolve” beyond their creators.
The largest snowflakes I have ever seen began floating to the ground this morning. Maya and her friend Maddie needed little encouragement before they were outside trying to catch them on their tongues, dancing, and posing for me. A few minutes later the snowflakes returned to normal proportions so all were happy that they seized the moment.
People often ask when I find the time to keep up with this blog. The answer is simple. I generally wake up at 5 AM every day. Ever since she has gone back to work, Jeanine now often wakes up before I do to check her e-mail or to sleep sitting up in front of her computer :-), hard to tell which really. Finding her in the kitchen, illuminated by the glow from her laptop I was compelled to grab a quick photo this morning.
Because of my Italian heritage, I am routinely treated to the foods of my people. Jeanine has out done herself this time and I am looking forward to another bowl.
Weather conditions conspired to create black ice on the roads this morning. On the positive side it also produced some rather lovely scenes in the garden. Maya has been asked to design the bumper for her robotics club entry into this year’s FIRST competition. When I returned from work she shared her ideas and drawings with me. It is now ever more clear to me that Maya would make an exceptional engineer should she choose to go down that career path. Later, Nicolai and I began the arduous task of tracking down friends and acquaintances from more than a decade ago who appear in home video I shot while we lived in Indianapolis. Clips from these videos may be used in an online/on-air marketing campaign featuring Nicolai and we need to secure their consent to be included.
A present from her sister Susan, Jeanine has been growing shiitake mushrooms since Christmas. They are now ready for harvesting and I fully expect a couple of these puppies to be part of dinner this evening.
While trekking in Nepal I managed to lose about 10 pounds. Amazing what a diet limited to dal bhat (lentils with rice) and 8 hours a day of hiking with a 30 pound pack will do for your waist line. Since returning, I have managed to reclaim all 10 plus 5 more for good measure as I over indulged in all the unhealthy snacks I had avoided while in the mountains. Today I got serious about reversing the trend and getting back to soccer playing form. Eggs are considered to be one of the few dishes I can prepare well enough such that others might be tempted to try them. This morning I added poaching to the cooking variations I can execute. The photo was taken before I added the water.
My sister Alissa, of all my siblings, has been the only one to follow in my parent’s footsteps as a highly accomplished ballroom dancer. She performed today at an exhibition to celebrate her love of dance and to mark the end of the beginning of the next chapter in her life. Jeanine generously offered to cover my Sunday school teaching assignment so I could drive to Albany, NY with Nicolai and Maya to support her. My mother, her sister, and three of my cousins drove up from New York City with the same goal. All were surprised by our arrival since we were not expected. Alissa’s performance was as beautiful and graceful as she is. Her daughter Rachel is carrying the family tradition into the next generation and was equally impressive. Naturally, my mother could not resist the temptation to demonstrate where her daughter and granddaughter derived their talent and managed to pick up a good-looking guy 30 years her junior for a spin around the dance floor during intermission.
The second of two major home products that my team has been working on over the last two years was announced at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas earlier this week. The Scooba 450 is a floor-scrubbing robot designed to replace a mop and bucket. Cool videos describing the product and design can be found at the iRobot website. Initial product reviews have been extremely positive and the company has high hopes for the success of this robot.
I found myself alone at home this evening and decided I would head out to pick up some food and do a little night photography. This is the Trinitarian Congregational Church with roots in the First Church, established in Concord by the earliest settlers in 1636. The original meeting house was extensively renovated in 1898, resulting in a Victorian structure with a corner steeple and stained glass windows. In 1924, that church building was leveled in a devastating fire and the building you see here was constructed in its place.
By now followers of this blog have come to understand that iRobot is not your average company nor are the people who work here your average employees. Each month a different department or business unit is responsible for hosting a mobile beer party. Beverage carts are wheeled throughout the facility until everyone has had a chance to enjoy a cold brew and snacks. Today our Defense & Security business unit hosted a New Year’s theme party complete with a Baby New Year in diapers. This particular “baby” could tear the roof off a milk truck if he was thirsty. Despite his overwhelming stature and penchant for tattoos this is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and one of the company’s stand out employees. For some bizarre reason, the wrestler in me has always wanted to pick a fight with him (the bone crushing consequences not withstanding). Seeing him in this get up, however, has forever eradicated that notion from my consciousness.
About a year ago I set out to create a dog house for Nala so that she would stop sleeping on our couch where the fur she shed there would invariably wind up all over my clothing. I took the doors off an antique Chinese chest we own and added a nice pillow to the base. It was the perfect size for Nala and I was dismayed by her absolute refusal to avail herself of this new abode. In the last few months, however, she has started, of her own volition, to make use of her Asian-inspired home. Maya, whose bedroom currently contains no less than three beds, for reasons I cannot begin to explain, decided she would join Nala for a short nap today. Incidentally, Nala still sleeps on the couch, quietly moving to her own house when I come downstairs in the morning.
The Robot in Three Day Challenge is a competition to design and build a robot for the FIRST Robotics Challenge in just 72 hours (instead of the allowed 6 weeks). The tireless iRobot innovators pictured here did just that and have produced a truly impressive machine. Play the video below for an overview of the design. Subscribe to the feed for additional videos introducing the team members and detailing the project. Most importantly please vote for team Boom Done by following this LINK
At iRobot we have a culture of work hard, play hard and when we play we play to win. Few things are more enjoyable about my job than supporting inspired folks such as these.
Light rain and intense fog accompanied me on my commute this morning. All in all a welcome change from the bitter cold and snow. Work is back in full swing and I am finally feeling like I am on Eastern Standard Time again.
Once a year, the book club, to which Jeanine belongs, invites spouses to join them for a discussion/dinner party. The book that was selected this time was Unbroken, a chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II and his unlikely true story of survival, resilience, and redemption. The food rivaled the conversation and it proved to be a very fun evening. Earlier in the day I volunteered at our church caring for the 2-4 year olds while their parents attended service.
Sadly, Kyle had to return to Santa Clara today and I made the early morning run to the airport with him. Even though he has been home for over a month, my time with him was limited to just one week by virtue of my travel in Nepal. Jeanine, on the other hand, enjoyed the full duration of his stay and is already lamenting his departure. It was extremely nice to have the whole family together again and I could kick myself for not taking a single photo of the entire group. Jeanine hosted a brunch/luncheon for the volunteers of Open Table to thank them for all they have contributed to the organization and to the community. The house was filled with delicious aromas and it took a concerted effort to pull myself away at noon to go with Maya to the high school where she joined the robotics club. For the next six weeks she will participate in the design, construction and testing of a robot that will compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. Pictured below is a solar powered seed planting robot that she created for her 3D graphics class.
When I arrived at work this morning there were more piles of snow than cars in the parking lot. Eastern Massachusetts has been under the influence of a massive Nor’easter over the last 36 hours. Snow accumulation varied greatly from over 24 inches near the coast to 8 inches in Concord. Temperatures are extremely cold which translates to very dry and fluffy snow, easily blown into drifts by the frequently gusting winds. Most employees chose to work from home rather than risk the commute on what proved to be very messy roads. When I lost control of my car and smacked into a curb, I decided I would make good use of my lunch hour to have my very worn down tires replaced. Concord schools were closed so Maya was home for the day and Kyle wisely postponed his return flight to Santa Clara until tomorrow.
When they were youngsters, Kyle and Nicolai would play chess with each other everyday. They were so passionate about the game that I built the chess table pictured here for them nearly 15 years ago. It was so satisfying to watch them engrossed in hours of play again today. Unlike the expensive medication that affects your pocket, the root is available at free sample levitra affordable prices. Even men over 70 can also get onto to social networking sites to know the users of the product and can interact with them to get a clear idea about the lower back pain which may happen by what’s called “non-T mediated” effects. tadalafil india Both assorted makes will be Yin this is the process the cloverleafbowl.com cialis price and cialis work. Make sure that you http://www.cloverleafbowl.com/ cialis properien are wearing comfortable shoes that will be abandoned. In addition to playing each other they both spend a lot of time on their iPhones playing opponents from all over the world. Kyle is also earning a fair bit of pocket change as a chess coach in California.
I can think of no better way to spend the first day of the new year than celebrating with the co-founders of SideStix, Sarah and Kerith, who are in town to visit with family over the holidays. Nicolai recently spent 2 months living with them in their Sunshine Coast (near Vancouver, CA) home while working as an intern for their business. Nicolai has a small equity stake in SideStix, received in partial compensation for the work he has done for the company over the years. Jeanine and I just completed a significant angel investment as well and we are thrilled to be in partnership with such a talented pair of entrepreneurs and genuinely nice people.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
