At 4:30 AM Jeanine and I were jolted from sleep by the sounds of tires screeching under heavy acceleration. The driver of this vehicle had swerved off the road and run over a large rock which became lodged underneath his right rear wheel. We watched for several minutes as he tried to extricate his car and then called the police when it became apparent he was drunk. A total of three Concord Police cruisers arrived on the scene within minutes. The driver was taken away in one car, a second gave pursuit to a car that passed the scene without slowing down, and the third waited until a wrecker arrived to lift the vehicle off the rock and then towed it away. Quite a bit of commotion in our otherwise very sleepy neighborhood.
Kyle creates the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner sandwich. Construction details (from the bottom up): 1 slice of sourdough bread, a layer of mashed potatoes spread evenly and covered in gravy, 6 slices of turkey breast covered in gravy, 1 layer of stuffing topped with cranberry sauce and gravy, 1 slice of sourdough bread. The two minutes it took to grab my camera and snap this photo placed me in grave jeopardy as I was standing between Kyle and his first bite into his masterpiece.
With much to be thankful for this year the immediate family gathered for a casual celebration of the holiday. My mother had planned to join us but was not feeling up to the travel. Jeanine prepared a spectacular meal which we will enjoy in the form of leftovers many times over. Maya made her first cheese cake from scratch which was simply wonderful.
I extended an invitation to Thanksgiving orphans (those spending the holiday alone) at iRobot to join our family this year but did not get any takers. I hope this was because they were all spending the day surrounded by loved ones.
While Nico and I were in Telluride for the Mountainfilm Festival last Memorial Day, we were interviewed by Outside Television prior to the screening of Nico’s Challenge. Today I discovered that interview for the first time and have embedded it here.
I am experimenting today with a new feature which allows me to embed a photo book I published from my first visit to Wyoming. By clicking on the book you will be able to flip through its pages. If you click on the Full Screen icon (towards the right hand side of the menu bar in the book window) you will be able to get a much better view.
On Friday, Jeanine and the other members of a book group to which she belongs were guests of the Oprah Winfrey show. Although none were called on for questions during the show the group had a grand old time in the Windy City. I believe this shot was taken during a shopping excursion. Jeanine also met up with her sister Lauren and they enjoyed a visit with their aunt Karen.
Jeanine is still in Chicago with her book group as guests of the Oprah Winfrey Show. The show was taped yesterday and she then connected with her sister Lauren who drove up from Indianapolis. Kyle spent the day working and then took Hannah out to the Cheesecake Factory for a birthday celebration. Nico and Holly spent the day together, first watching the CCHS Men’s Varsity Soccer team capture their second straight state title, and then painting her bedroom. Maya went to see the new Harry Potter film with her friend Lydia after spending the better part of the day together. I was left entirely free to enjoy my new Audi Q5 which I picked up this morning. I had planned to get another A3 but in the end, decided I needed a change of pace and a little more room for the kids.
Chief Operation Officer of Avid, Kirk Arnold, was gracious enough to allow me to borrow the Emmy Award I accepted years ago to share with students during my presentation yesterday. In addition to actors and directors, Emmy Awards are given to companies for technical achievement. I was honored to accept this one for pioneering work in computer video on behalf of Pinnacle Systems (which was subsequently acquired by Avid). I took advantage of the 16-hour loan to make this self-portrait which is far better than the snapshot taken on the night of the award ceremony.
A couple of slides from my presentation. Many of the parents in attendance resonated with my message and thanked me for sharing it. What impact my advice will have on the students remains to be seen.
Embracing Your Inner Nerd; Wild Adventures in Technology was the title of my presentation to students (and some parents and teachers) at the Concord Carlisle High School this evening. To promote careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), I shared my career journey, dispensed advice, demonstrated a couple of robots, and showed off the Emmy Award I accepted for early work in computer-based video. I was quite pleased that Nicolai, who was among the audience, enjoyed the talk and did not feel that I had embarrassed him.
For the last few days, I have been traveling down memory lane as I prepare materials for a talk I am giving tomorrow at the high school. I am to speak on my career journey in the field of engineering and technology to students considering a similar path. Pictured here are some of my earliest hand-wired designs. The first circuit was for a project I completed while at Stanford, the second was my earliest design for a video capture system which ultimately dictated the course of my career.
Concord has the perfect live Christmas tree located in the center of town. Four utility workers, each operating their own bucket truck worked in perfect synchronization to hang decorative lighting on the tree. I have often wondered how this task was accomplished and can now count that mystery solved. I will follow up with a photo of the illuminated tree in a future posting.
Reunited after two days apart, mother and daughter prepare for the end-of-the-season soccer game between the two groups. I officiated the match which resulted in a 5-5 tie amidst widespread disparaging comments about my abilities as a referee from the girls. I do not believe that my occasional shots on their goal, headers in favor of the parent’s team, or questionable calls in the box were inconsistent with my responsibilities as an unpaid referee who shares a bed with one of the parents on the field.
A second evening of Mountainfilm on Tour took us to the Clay Brook Resort on Sugarbush Mountain where we also spent the evening. The setting here was more intimate and required two screens to accommodate the full audience of more than 300. Nico and I were introduced to a standing ovation. During the intermission Nicolai was sought out by several attractive young ladies for celebrity photo ops, a perk, it should be noted, which did not extend to the other star of the film.
Jeanine, Nico and I spent the day with Susan in Burlington while Kyle supervised the care of Maya back in Concord. I spent a large part of the day on my computer taking care of some lose ends from work and researching an imminent new car purchase. Later in the day I scampered to the top of 1000 foot Mount Philo to enjoy a spectacular view of Lake Champlain.
After work, Jeanine, Nico and I drove to Burlington, Vermont to attend Mountainfilm on Tour on the UVM campus. Select entries from the Telluride Mountainfilm Festival go on tour around the country. Nico and I were introduced after the screening of Nico’s Challenge (the film about our ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro and fundraising for the Free Wheelchair Mission) and responded to questions from the audience of ~400 which included Jeanine’s sister, Susan, and several of her friends. Nicolai did a great job and has become quite comfortable addressing large groups. We enjoyed a late night breakfast before spending the night at Susan’s home.
Massachusetts Senator, Scott Brown, visited iRobot today to meet with executives of the company. Afterward, he addressed the staff and responded to questions from employees.
No where else would you find a Northern Indian dinner which included adding raw pureed kale and collard greens to the Chipatis and quinoa flour to the Parathas. “This is my unique touch”, says Prerena Mital, the lead cook for Jeanine’s Collaborative Cooking evening. “I wanted to start eating more greens and less gluten. This is a simple way.” Simple? Most of the participants were shaking their heads as they stared in amazement at all the homemade ingredients Prerena had brought for the evening: homemade yogurt and ghee, ground and toasted fresh cumin seeds and chilis, mint grown in her back yard. The menu: Toor Daal, Carrots with Edame and Potatoes, Cucmber Raita, Chipatis and Parathas-absolutely delectable. As the group gathered, everyone was handed an apron, knife, cutting board and rolling pin. Learning how to heat the chipatis just right over the flame was trickier than it looked. Prerena has had years of experience and as the youngest participant marveled, “your chipatis are perfect circles every time, mine are sort of morphed”. Next Wednesday there will be a repeat performance from 11:30-1:30 if you’d like to join. Recipes for the evening can be found at Cookandcleanse.com
Nicolai and his girlfriend Holly celebrate her birthday this afternoon while Jeanine prepares the house for a major cooking party and dinner. I took advantage of the iRobot holiday to shop for a car. Nico will have his license by January and will be anxious to have unfettered access to the SmartCar.
Maya photographed my injured ankle this morning and I used PhotoShop to adjust the hue and saturation in such a way as to reveal where blood has pooled. This is NOT what my foot looks like but it does give a pretty good indication of what it feels like. Now that the soccer season is over I am going to give my various joints some time to heal and then challenge Kyle to a workout regime designed to get us both back in prime shape.
All work stopped briefly today as the Home Robots Division gathered to receive the iRobot Cup, enjoy a slide show of our paintball exploits, and bask in the glory of our weekend tournament victory. The trophy will be mounted prominently in our “town hall” for all to admire. During a Board of Director’s meeting later in the day our President and GM rubbed salt in the wound as he opened his presentation with a photo of our winning team. To understand all the fuss one must know that historically our division has been the smaller and underperforming division within our company. Recently, however, we have been knocking the cover off the ball and are now the larger and more profitable. Despite this accomplishment, however, winning the iRobot Cup was the one remaining challenge needed to earn the full respect of the rest of the organization.
The book group to which Jeanine belongs has been invited to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show later this month. I was enlisted to take a group portrait for use in the local media and the show. It took some time to get everyone situated in a pleasing arrangement but once we got the right grouping it was easy to capture a great shot of these dynamic and beautiful women.
I have not played soccer since my dad died. As I was driving to the field for our last match of the season , I decided to dedicate this game to his memory. I rolled my ankle badly in the opening minutes of play but decided after icing it into total numbness that I would continue even though lateral motion on that foot was all but impossible. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, I scored our only goal equalizing the score at 1-1 and earning a jar of Number 9 Salsa (awarded by our manager for each goal). Settling for a tie was not what I had hoped for but I think my father was smiling down on us as the boys and I devoured the entire jar.
Mission Accomplished: Each year iRobot sponsors a paintball competition. Divisions compete against each other and corporate. As I understand the history, my division (Home Robots) has never won. This year, my boss assigned a colleague and I the task of putting together a winning team and delivering the iRobot Cup to our division. Through good planning, preparation, and gutsy execution that goal was achieved this day on the field of battle. From the top:
My boss, in our mobile Command & Control Center (I rented a U-Haul truck for $40 bucks).
The Blue Team, composed of our first time and less experienced players.
iRobot CEO congratulating, our Red Team captain for an undefeated 5-0 winning record.
The victorious Red Team, composed of our most experienced warriors.
Later this month, I have been invited by the Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Academy to give a presentation at Concord Carlisle High School. I will be presenting my career journey to students with the hope of inspiring them to consider a future in the field of science and technology. This poster, created by one of the students, was placed around the school to publicize the event today. Both boys reminded me how embarrassing I am to them and how stupid my chosen title was. I must be doing something right.
Halloween may have passed but apparently Nico and Maya felt that Nala should be given an opportunity to get in on dressing up. I never know what to expect when I walk in the door after returning from work.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
