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. 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. 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.