Maya and her friend, Lydia are getting ready for a Halloween party at school. Photo by Nicolai.

Couldn’t resist this shot on the drive home from the train station. Still no great fall color this year so I am having to turn my attention elsewhere.

I returned from NYC by train and grabbed this shot through the window. Fantastic cloud formations formed by the remnants of hurricane Wilma.

My brother Mark had a baby today! Well, technically, Marie did most of the work. Sophia (6 pounds, 2 ounces, 19″) was delivered by emergency C section a couple of weeks early. Mother and daughter are doing magnificently. Maya, who to the best of my knowledge has never written anything before, composed a 4 page letter to Sophia. I videotaped her reading the letter and I must remember to play it for her cousin in a couple of years. We are thrilled that they got a little girl. We love our boys so much, but I can’t imagine our lives having been complete without Maya.

I traveled to NYC today to participate in a press conference announcing the shipment of a new Avid product which my team and I were responsible for developing. It is a massive storage system (64 terabytes pictured) which is used by broadcasters and post production houses to store massive amounts of video and audio. ISIS stands for Infinitely Scalable Intelligent Storage. It was a very high-pressure setting and I was quite relieved to pull off my presentations without any mistakes. Can’t remember being so completely spent after a day of work in a long, long time.

Maya and I went on a photo date today (we both take our cameras and head out in search of beauty). Here, she is taking a picture of White Pond. Kyle had another soccer match today and scored a powerful left-footed goal from the 18 to help his team to a 3-0 win.

It has not been a stellar year for fall color, but there are still some very nice pockets to be found.

Nico had an assist on his team’s only goal against a much stronger team. Nico was in fine form and did a magnificent job of distribution from his center midfielder position. Kyle also had an assist helping his team to a 3-1 victory.

Maya’s team won 6-4 and she scored one goal on this break away. She was knocked to the ground on three different occasions but bounced right back due, no doubt, to the extensive “training” provided by her brothers.

Maya and friends huddled together against the cold at her soccer game this morning.

It is starting to turn cold here, and the flies are getting very slow. I was able to sneak up on this guy for a quick portrait. I don’t particularly care for flies and have killed more than my fair share, but it is hard not to admire the way these critters are engineered.

I have enjoyed my Mercedes immensely, but it was time for a new car. I picked up this Audi A3 yesterday and just love it. I wanted something that was fun to drive, could hold the entire family, was able to haul a lot of cargo, and got excellent gas mileage. This 5-seater sports wagon fit the bill. It has a turbo-charged 2L engine, 0-60 in 6.2s, a dual-clutch automatic that shifts faster than a manual (steering wheel mounted paddle shifters) and I averaged 31mpg on the way home from work yesterday (almost double my SUV). Kyle has figured out that if I stay on my new car every 4 year pattern that he will inherit this “pocket rocket” when he is ready to drive and has given his enthusiastic approval to the new purchase.

A touch of Japan in the heart of Massachusetts.

The weather this fall has been very unusual, and the leaves have not turned yet. I was in the mood for some fall color and found it in Jeanine’s garden.