Rarely these days does Maya seek my fashion advice. Tomorrow, however, her soccer team will be dressing in safari attire as part of a pre-game psych (the logic here is not at all clear to me but I am always delighted when I can spend quality time with Maya). Needless to say, I was in a position to provide virtually everything she needed, if in overly large sizes. She opted against my National Geographic buff and mosquito head net which may well have been over the top but nevertheless valid fashion accessories for the theme.
Maya did not bother to tell me that she had been voted co-captain of the team by her peers earlier in the day. This I had to learn from Jeanine.
Colleagues of mine horsing around at work. Caught up in the spirit of renovation (iRobot’s facility is getting a facelift), Scott decided to secretly “decorate” Marlene’s office. Not shown is the lava lamp providing additional ambiance on the inside of her office. It must be said, for the benefit of non-iRobot employees, that Marlene is not exactly the fru fru type, adding to the improbability and humor of this scene.
Jeanine enjoys dining on our three-season sun porch above all other options (dining room, breakfast area, kitchen island). This preference is rarely influenced by the outside temperature. Maya and I opted for winter coats so that we could enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Kyle on this unseasonably cold evening.
This weekend I completed a matching bench using left over materials from last year’s deck project. I am really pleased with the way it turned out but also with the fact that I put the scraps to good use rather than sending them to a landfill.
My fall soccer season opened with a game in Ludlow (90m drive each way). With a half dozen new additions to our team moving up from the over-40 squad we have not yet found our rhythm and walked away with a 0-2 defeat. The score did not fully reflect action on the pitch (they had three shots on goal and 2 went in – we had a dozen opportunities but could not find the back of the net). I started a right midi and felt I played reasonably well. More importantly, I did not re-injure my back and now will have almost two weeks for a full recovery as I will be traveling to China later this week.
Kyle’s girlfriend, Isabela, has been visiting us for the past week. Her first time in Boston, Kyle has been showing her the sights and I have had little time to get to know her. This evening, Jeanine and I joined them for dinner at Legal Seafoods after attending Maya’s first JV soccer match. Severe thunderstorms and lightning caused the game to be stopped well before halftime. With some time to spare before our reservation time, we returned home for some portraiture. This is my favorite shot of the pair.
The iRobot facility in Bedford has been undergoing a massive physical transformation for the past several month in an effort to modernize both the interior and exterior. Although it has been a massive inconvenience, the results are beginning to take shape and I am enjoying the changes a lot more than I anticipated I would. The common space below features wall high, backlit images of some of our more important patents. Located just off our Boardroom, it is a great place for relaxing.
Dyson announced a robotic vacuum today. They reported that it took 12 years and $46M to develop. At iRobot we have been anticipating this move for years and it comes as no surprise. It appears to be a very capable machine in some regards but also has significant design flaws that are immediately apparent to me. While Dyson is a serious competitor, their entry into robotic floor care only further serves to validate the category and will expand the market. It is said to begin shipping next year and by then we will have a new model of our own. iRobot stock closed up on the day.
We live a stone’s throw from several large fields. The one directly behind our house is currently used to produce hay. The one down the street, a favorite destination for dogs and their owners, is being used to grow sunflowers and one other crop that I do not recognize. The tiny structures on these plants are simply fascinating.
Using left over scraps from last year’s deck project, I built a matching table this morning. Because the deck boards are not a structural material most of the project entailed building the underlying wood frame. Now that I see the photo, I think I will paint the wood edges of the shelves black or white. I have just enough decking material left to construct a 5 foot bench, a project for a future weekend.
The afternoon was spent with Maya’s friends and parents at a Labor Day party. I slipped away for 2 hours to play in a final tune up scrimmage before my soccer season starts next weekend. I was in much need of the cardio workout, but it came at the price of re-injuring my not fully recovered back.
Kyle’s girlfriend, Isabella, arrived yesterday on the redeye from California. The two spent the day touring the area and I hope to get some photos of them in the coming days. Meanwhile, Nico reports that he is having a blast at Colorado College.
I rarely spend an entire day relaxing but came pretty close today. I completed a few small projects (vacuuming my car’s interior, relocating the air compressor we use to inflate tires in the garage and installing a bracket on which to store the hose, and a little shop maintenance). I spent almost an hour at the website 24hoursofhappy.com which I highly recommend. I then decided to search the yard for small subjects to photograph.
I spent the entire day working on the garage with help from Kyle, Maya, her friend Maddie, and Jeanine. At some point, the BMW i3 I have on order will arrive and it will need a place to sleep. The bulk of today’s project involved reducing the size of the landing between the garage and our mudroom by half to make room for more efficient storage of our bicycles. The railing pictured here used to go straight across instead of turning. I was able to recycle all the wood for this project and the girls did a fantastic job of giving it a new coat of paint.
John William Quinn, my nephew, arrived from Albany, NY, and will be staying with us until his fall semester at Babson College begins. We always enjoy his company but it is even nicer with Kyle at home giving the cousins someone their own age to hang out with.
The iRobot 710 Kobra is a powerful, rugged, fast robot that carries multiple heavy payloads without sacrificing mobility over rough terrain and stairs. It can lift in excess of 330 pounds and travel at 8 mph. It is a beast. This evening after work, members of the development team and management celebrated our first customer order. During the celebration we received word of a second order.
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