Yesterday, I spent a good bit of time online taking advantage of Black Friday sales on all manner of tools and photo gear. Whenever I purchase a new tool as an upgrade to one I already own, it immediately goes to Craig’s List for sale. This morning, I did a bunch of product photography needed for the the various listings. Depending on their condition, I can generally recoup from 60% to 80% of my original investment. This evening Jeanine and I dined with old friends and made some new ones, a great way to spend part of our Thanksgiving weekend.
This evening Jeanine and I joined Kyle for a ten year reunion party of his high school varsity soccer team, winners of the state championship in his senior year. It was amazing to me both how much everyone had changed and how much they had remained the same over the last decade. It was just as much of a reunion for the parents and a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Anticipating the desire for a team photo, I should have thought to bring a flash with me which would have made for a better image than the dim lighting permitted.
Anytime we can gather the entire family is a day to give thanks. Maya flew in this morning on a red-eye from Seattle. Jeanine and I picked her up at the airport and got a full debrief on her exploits as an intern at Blue Origin. Nicolai drove to the Seaport District to retrieve Kyle who is sporting a new hair style. I spent the earlier part of the day taking care of some lingering chores and taking a headshot of myself that matches the one already being used on the Digital Alloys website by other members of the management team.
Formlabs is a company of brilliant and often quirky people. One came up with the idea of creating trading cards for each employee. Cards include two “actions” with optional “flavor text” and other information including team affiliation (ELT=Engineering Leadership Team), start date (Nov 2018), location and other interesting symbols and information. Apparently these cards can be used to play some sort of game in which the cards change hands. Mine arrived today, coincident with my last day in the office and made for a wonderful keepsake. Next Monday, will be my first official day with Digital Alloys and I am now ready to start gearing up for the new challenge.
On my way into the office this morning I paused to take this photo. The sun had just come up and was bathing these cattails (I believe) in golden light. I parked on the shoulder of 117 and climbed on top of a guard rail to get the angle I wanted. At this time of year it is harder to find really photogenic outdoor scenes and I was thankful for this unexpected find.
Voted the best Irish pub in New Hampshire for the past 10 years, the The Holy Grail was the venue for my soccer team’s celebration party yesterday after winning the OTHSL D1 championship. Located in Epping, NH in the same basic structure as the former St. Joseph’s Church built in 1895 it has been transformed into a true Irish pub. The proprietors are David and Maureen Kennedy whose families are from County Tipperary and County Galway, Ireland respectively. We dined in the “Choir Loft” which overlooks the main bar, Irish village mural on the altar wall and offers views of the building’s original stained glass windows. Pictured above is the life-size statue of a monk which greats you as you enter the pub.
My soccer team travelled to Epping, NH this afternoon to compete for the OTHSL, Over-56. Division 1 Championship against arch rival Medfield. The conditions could not have been more miserable. Air temperature in the 30s, sustained winds of 10-15 mph gusting to 20mph, relentless and heavy driving rain, skies so dark they had to turn on the field lights for the second half. The battle on the pitch had as much to do with resistance to hypothermia as it did soccer skills. Indeed, one of our opponent’s best players had to leave the game at half time because he could not tolerate the cold and one of ours missed 30 minutes of the game so he could warm up in his car. It was bad enough when you were on the field playing but even worse when you were on the sidelines waiting for your shift to start, soaked to the bone and shivering uncontrollably. For 80 minutes the match was dead even with neither team able to find the net or any sensations in their toes. Persistence and grit paid off and we finally scored. Doing so broke Medfield’s spirit and we scored two more goals in the remaining 15 minutes. This match concluded a perfect season for my team with 10 wins in regulation and 2 more for the championship. In the last four seasons we have amassed 172 goals, given up only 14 and have not lost a single match.
On the home front, Jeanine is baking up a storm to get a head start on our family Thanksgiving. I believe we are looking at a pecan pie, pumpkin pie and two sheet cakes.
It is a busy time at Open Table as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. Jeanine has been working evenings and weekends along side the dedicated volunteers to ensure that all is ready for the one holiday that is really focused on food. Pictured above is a picture taken by Jeanine of ready to eat meals being prepared, assembly line style.
Normally when I repair something in the house I am content with having saved the money for a service visit. Today, I tackled the dryer which has been making some very abnormal sounds while running. In this case, I actually pocketed $2.59 plus 50 cents in Euros which I found lodged in various parts of the machine as I took it apart. The actual problem was a massive accumulation of hair wrapped around the bushing shafts of the five rollers that support the drum (which I had to remove to access the rollers). All five rollers came out for a thorough cleaning and re-greasing before the jig saw puzzle went back together. While I had everything apart, I also pulled the motor and checked its bearings which were just fine.
My sister is an extraordinary ballroom dancer and shared this photo with the family after a recent performance. I would hazard a guess that she spends as much on dance outfits as I do on camera gear which is not a number either of us are likely to share with our respective spouses. Incidentally, my 91 year old mother, who recently survived a brush with death, has returned to the dance floor as we all predicted she would.
After 15 years of reliable operation, my Honda snowblower refused to start this weekend as I was trying to move it from its summer home in our shed to its winter residence in our garage. I became very frustrated trying to work on it in the freezing cold and sought Jeanine’s assistance to muscle it into my shop so I would not get frost bite from the maintenance work. This morning at 5am, I set about removing and thoroughly cleaning the carburetor. Earlier, I had ruled out problems with the ignition system. An hour later, it was reassembled and I had it roaring like a lion. Carbon monoxide emissions dictated that I turn it off rather immediately. After work, I filled it up with fresh gas and drove it into the garage where it now stands ready to do battle with our first snow storm.
Normally, I am not one to advocate for lengthy meetings. Today, I attended a half day meeting including roughly 10% of the company (~50 mostly managers representing all of the various departments). I found this one to be quite interesting and productive. We reviewed our 2019 performance with a look forward to 2020 and talked about new approaches to building a great team and leadership principles we would like to embrace. I did a presentation on Consensus Ranking, a tool I created to help with salary management, which was received very well. A team dinner including many of the attendees followed at the Puritan & Company which proved to be a very enjoyable dining experience and time for team bonding.
While returning from my soccer match this morning, I passed an entire field of abandoned pumpkins (hundreds and hundreds). It was sad to see so much potential food having gone to waste, grown simply for their decorative use on Halloween.
Today we played Peabody in the semi-finals of our division championship and came away with a definitive 8-0 win. I scored the opening goal on a header from inside the 6 yard box. I have not done much scoring this season so it was nice to chalk one up. I played one of my better games of the season despite the 24F temperature at kickoff. Temp with windchill was reportedly 18F. Next week my team travels to New Hampshire for the finals.
I drove past this house yesterday on a new commute route that took me close to Tufts University. The porch was covered in blue bottles topped with blue egg shaped objects. The porch roof features all manner of horse or rhinoceros topped with action figures, dinosaurs, or other horses. I am guessing it is a frat house.
When the temperature drops substantially, so does the air pressure in your tires. This morning I topped off my tires before heading to the office. Several months ago I purchased a nifty DeWalt product that is perfect for the task. You just dial in the desired pressure, connect to the tire and hit the start button. It is small, lightweight and cordless which makes it all the more convenient.
I use my drone almost exclusively for aerial photography. Occasionally, it gets pressed into service for more mundane tasks such as checking the gutters for leaves. A quick flight and sequence of photographs shows me exactly where the leaves are and saves a great deal of unnecessary and dangerous ladder work. Another such use is checking our slate roof for broken or missing tiles.
When I arrived at my desk this morning I found a number of presents waiting for me. Pictured above is the back of a framed canvas photograph of the Form3 printer which is one of three big programs I have been involved with since I started working full-time at Formlabs one year ago. The company makes a big deal of employment anniversaries (call Formiversaries) with increasingly desirable gifts for each year of service. I also received a pair of logo socks and a Cliff Bar (to remind me that my first year stock options are now vested). Of all these things, it is the signatures that I will cherish the most.
Meet the Form 3B (Biocompatible) a version of the Formlabs From 3 designed specifically for the dental industry. Announced today along with the formation of a new Dental Business Unit within the company, this printer supports a variety of biocompatible resins used for printing surgical guides, dentures, orthodontic appliances and crown and bridge models.
Today I announced to my Formlabs colleagues that I have accepted a position with Digital Alloys as their Chief Technical Officer. The metal 3D printing company is an early stage startup with very promising technology. The video below gives an excellent overview of the product, market and company. Located in Burlington, my commute will be cut by two-thirds, addressing my only real issue with Formlabs. As followers of this blog will know, Jeanine and I have been doing much to prepare our home for sale with the intention of moving closer to Boston. The significantly shorter commute to my new job will allow us to stay in Concord, the center of our social and community circles, until we are ready to retire. I will finish the month with Formlabs and start at Digital Alloys on December 2.
Occasionally Jeanine asks me to help out with photography for Open Table. Today’s assignment was for their upcoming annual fundraising campaign. I don’t know if any of the images I captured are going to work but “boy meets kale” and “boy meets chicken” are two of my favorites. In addition to the photos for Open Table, I shot several portraits for the family that was kind enough to model for us. They are Crimean refugees and have made use of Open Table to help get back on their feet.
Earlier in the day the regulation portion of my fall soccer season came to an end. We defeated Lexington summarily by a score of 8-0 bringing Concord United’s undefeated streak to 40 games. I managed 3 assists and to avoid injury despite playing far more minutes than normal. Next week we face Peabody in the post season semi-finals and will do so without one of our top defenders who was red carded during today’s match and one of our top wing midfielders who re-injured his calf muscle during practice earlier this week. Hopefully our opponent is also succumbing to the late season loss of numbers that is quite common in our over-56 age group.
This squirrel thought it would enjoy a banana which was set out to attract local tocanets to a restaurant where I enjoyed lunch while traveling in Costa Rica. The tocanet dealt with the interloper in a very effective, if undignified manner.
I photographed both of these birds in captivity which is less satisfying than doing so in the wild. None the less they are quite beautiful and I thought I would share them.
I encountered this tarantula while walking in the Juan Castro Blanco National Park the week before last. It was slightly larger than my outstretched hand. I would have liked to photograph this fellow at a lower angle but I remembered that they are quite quick and have serious fangs. Their bite is said to be similar to that of a wasp. I thought best not to conduct any experiments.
I had an occasion to speak with a colleague last week about our mutual appreciation for the Indianapolis 500. I recalled getting my hands on a press pass one year (2003 to be precise) and the opportunity to photograph the Eddie Cheever Red Bull racing team when they won the pit stop competition that year. Since I did not start my blog until 2005, I thought I would add this entry for future reference.
Back to the present, my soccer team won our match today against a team of Russians by a margin of 5-0. I had one nice shot from distance that I lofted over the goalie who was way too far off his line but it sailed an inch or two over the crossbar. I also managed a nice defensive play that deprived their wing midfielder of a very dangerous shot on our goal.
The Japanese Maple we planted when we first moved to Concord some 16 years ago has grown to be a spectacular addition to our backyard. It is also the last tree to turn color and shed its leaves each year. When I think back on all the improvements we have made to our home, few are as satisfying and important as the trees we have planted. You can renovate a house or find a new one in short order but only time can provide you with the splendor of a magnificent tree.
This brings to mind an old Chinese proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
For years, students from the Fenn School have volunteered at Open Table. Today, Jeanine spoke at an assembly about the value of this work and thanking the school and students for their participation. Some parts of her job are not very satisfying and can put a strain on her but speaking to young people about the realities of food insecurity and the importance of the Open Table mission makes up for all of that.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
