Maya is nearing completion of the entire Harry Potter series which she began reading a few months ago. When finished she will have read 3,407 pages in total. There is no doubt whatsoever that she inherited her passion for reading from Jeanine or that it will serve her well in school (she had a perfect report card last semester). On the downside, I am increasingly being discouraged from kissing her on any part of the face which would obscure her view while reading. Fortunately, I am still being granted access to the back of her head and neck. Although my pages are significantly shorter, I wonder if Maya (or anyone for that matter) will ever read all 4,645 entries that constitute my “book” in its current state.

Nicolai’s picture and bio have been added to the US National Amputee Soccer Team website.

From an article published in the on-line Concord Journal.

Undefeated Patriot wrestler Nico Calabria captured the106-pound D2 Central wrestling championship and Outstanding Wrestler honors on Saturday at Marlborough High School. In the early rounds of the tourney, Calabria recorded a first-period pin and a dominating second-period technical fall. The junior saved his best wrestling of the year for the championship match in which he executed an elegant variation on the Japanese Whizzer to take down Jeremiah Monks of Quabbin in the first period. He then flipped Monks to his back and quickly secured the pin. Calabria enters the D2 State championship next Friday as the 8th ranked 106-pounder in Massachusetts.

As New England families go, we are not remotely what you would call professional sports fans. We tend to participate rather than watch others play. That said, the Super Bowl is a special event. One to be appreciated as much for the over the top coverage as the inventive commercials. Nicolai took advantage of the occasion to have a party in the basement where his friends enjoyed watching the game on the 12 foot screen in our home theater. I captured the group when they came up to enjoy Jeanine’s freshly baked brownies during halftime.

Nicolai extended his undefeated wrestling season record to 14-0 with two pins and a technical fall. In so doing he became Sectional champion and was awarded the tournament’s top award, Outstanding Wrestler. Thirteen division two schools from the central Massachusetts section competed during the 1- hour tournament. The top four finishers advance to the division two state tournament next weekend and Nicolai’s first-place result should give him a favorable seeding.

Nicolai was featured on the front page of the Concord Journal sports section for his first-place finish at the DCL tournament last week.  Click on the image to read the article. Tomorrow he is in action again at the DCL Sectionals tournament which is the gateway to the State tournament.  On the next page of the Journal, you will find my photo of Maya (who appeared last week on the blog) and her indoor soccer team in recognition of their league championship last week.

What I appreciated most about the coverage in the Journal, and this is the first time it has happened in any of his media coverage, is that no mention was made of Nicolai’s unique morphology.  He was just a wrestler who won a tournament.  Bravo!

Jeanine was otherwise occupied this morning and unable to take Maya to Concord Tea Cakes for their weekly breakfast ritual. I was the benefactor of this circumstance even if only Maya’s reluctant second choice. She enjoyed an almond pastry and hot chocolate while I enjoyed watching and photographing her as she devoured the latest Harry Potter book.

My Stanford roommate, Ken Zabriskie (far right) and his daughter Kate joined us for dinner this evening. He flew out from Indianapolis and will be driving back with her as she relocates from Boston to take on a new job. This photo is from a vacation we took together in Kauai where we chartered a helicopter to drop us off at the far end of the Kalalau trail on the Napali coast. We then spent three days hiking out enjoying the awesome beauty and forging some of my fondest memories from my college years. This trip was my first hiking/camping experience independent of my parents and I believe it is what inspired my life long interest in adventure travel. Kyle has recently indicated that he is considering joining the Santa Clara Outdoor Adventure Club. I plan to send him a full set of top drawer camping gear so that he may comfortably enjoy his excursions into nature. I hope he will develop and one day share my passion for the great outdoors which has been a great source of joy in my life. Ken presented me with the negative of this image taken of me at the far end of the trail as I photographed the surf pounding against the cliffs. My version was good, his, by virtue of the included human silhouette in the foreground, was exceptional. I credit Ken with having kindled my interest in serious photography and it was an truly meaningful gift.

Featured in this photo, taken in my office, is the product development leadership team that I have the pleasure of working with every day. I make a pretty big deal about hiring only the best people (“A players”). Assembled here is the Olympic gold medal team for mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, quality, and program management.

Finally, it was my turn to be included in an iRobot photograph. Pictured here is the SLT (Senior Leadership Team) including my peers and boss (seated left). I have taken all photos in this series from the top of a ladder to create a more balanced perspective of everyone in the picture. Using the ten-second timer on my camera I would trip the shutter, descend the ladder, and take my place. As much as I have enjoyed taking these images, I am looking forward to completing this project. Each photo takes 30 minutes out of my day (set up lighting, get the ladder, balance exposure, pose the group, take the photo, tear down the lighting, return the ladder, and process the images) which is starting to eat into the demands of my day job.

Jeanine and I teamed up today at our church, where we are volunteering in the 3 to 4-year-old nursery. I enjoy being around kids of this age. They see the world in such simple and pure terms. I take great joy in finding a way to relate to each child on their level. Most adults want to teach children how to be more like them. I believe kids have far more to teach us. After completing the activities in our lesson plan, we enjoyed some unstructured time. Jeanine read aloud to some while I assisted a few with the construction of a lake, which was eventually spanned by three bridges.

Nicolai faced his toughest competition of the season in the finals of the Dual County League Wrestling Tournament held today at Waltham High School. He breezed to the finals securing two first period pins bringing his streak to 10 in a row. There he faced Ben Defranzo, a former wrestling club teammate and sparing partner, who is currently ranked sixth in the state of Massachusetts. The match was extremely close and hard fought. Defranzo secured a lead in the second period after a scoreless first. He remained ahead by one point late into the third period when Nicolai with 2 seconds remaining on the clock scored a takedown to win the match 4-3. The crowd roared with approval for the come from behind, never say die effort. Nicolai was moved with emotion and I predict he will remember this match for the rest of his life. I could not have been more proud, less so for the win than for the heart of a lion that Nico displayed. Several of Nico’s close friends came to watch him in the finals and I credit them with providing the incremental motivation to win that was unquestionably a factor in a match this close. A dejected Defranzo leaves the mat and will no doubt be working out that much harder to defeat Nico the next time they meet. Nicolai will need to match and surpass that effort if he wants to compete at the state level this season.

My nephew John William, who is a freshman at Babson, celebrated his 19th birthday with us this evening. Jeanine cooked up a Mexican dinner which John seemed to enjoy immensely. For dessert, she prepared a chocolate pecan pie instead of a birthday cake. As skinny as a rail, it is not entirely clear where all the food goes into this recently minted adult.

Nicolai joined us at the table but was unable to eat anything as he is cutting weight for a major wrestling tournament tomorrow. He enters seeded second and is feeling very strong. Maya was joined by her friend Sarrinagh who made the fourth in the after-meal Euchre card game.

Nicolai invited several friends over this evening for an impromptu gathering/party. Jeanine and I really enjoy this group of kids and are happy they feel comfortable hanging out chez Calabria. They are preparing a batch of popcorn as I type explaining the brevity of this entry.

The largest group in my department is the Mechanical Engineering team. It was a tight squeeze but everyone managed to fit in our machine shop for the next group portrait in the series I have been shooting over the past week. See if you can tell which vacationing employee was PhotoShopped into the image after the fact.