Tuesday, September 12, 2006

King of Scotch - A test of Patience and Tolerance

As you know, Lagavulin is the King of Scotch. It is not always in good supply in the US, so it is important to maintain attention to your inventory. I only have one bottle on hand at the present time.

However....

Katelyn and Jay owe me a bottle for drinking my supply in North Conway.

Tom D. owes me a bottle for losing a wager.

To date, neither bottle has appeared. This is shocking and dissapointing. Naturally, my patience is being stretched to the limit as the nights take on a tinge of fall chill - a chill that only can be comforted by the King. Regardless, it's important to take the high road.

I'm sure that my attitude toward Kate, Jay and Tom will not be altered by this gross oversight on their part. I will not think less of them, no matter how long the insidious situation persists.

LAGAVULIN™ TASTING NOTES

Food suggestion: Delightful with a fine Roquefort cheese and biscuits.

Taste style: Complex. Dry and smoky with a big body. Sweetness at first turning to darker smoke (coal) at the close. Perhaps some saltiness too.

Tuna Rocks



Mark Vona brought over a big piece of fresh bluefin tuna that Mike grilled. Absolutely great. Hard to believe that food can taste that good.

Tuna is the ultimate catch, not only for the fight and sport of landing one, but for the quality of the tablefare. Worth the cost of gear and gas.

So far, Ryan is the only one in the family to boat one, both last year and this year. Mike and I won't be skunked for long.



Looks like Fri. and Sat. will show some promise for finally nailing a big blues blitz.

Location Based Services - LBS

LBS is virgin territory. What will you pay to know exactly where people are at any given time? Is there more economic potential than "Never Lost" GPS's? I think so.

Will Macdonald's pay to know that you are traveling past their restaurant, and have bought 25 McChicken sandwiches in the past 6 months?

What type of network management services will be required to operate this type of a system? Could there be a business opportunity here?

Middle East

There is no political solution to this vortex of human emotions because the issue is based upon the convergence of irrational religious belief.

The economic oil issues, the political land issues, the cultural issues all swirl in a massively tangled mass. The semblance of order - brute force exhibited by the West and Israel - is the short term solution to a problem that is beyond solution at this time.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Tyco, Motorola - Darwin must evolve.

9/11 - Fve Years Later - the disgraceful state of Public Safety Wireless Communications.

This country still does not have interoperability among its law enforcement and security agencies... and is not scheduled to have an Integrated Wireless Network for the next five years at least.

If the private sector worked this way, there is no way that I would have the capability of this blog today. Taking away the competition and profit motive causes a grinding, bloated, silly bureaucracy to fill the vacuum.

10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS



Investor's Business Daily has spent years analyzing leaders and suc­cessful people in all walks of life. Most have 10 traits that, when com­bined, can turn dreams into reality.


HOW YOU THINK IS EVERYTHING
Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS
Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

TAKE ACTION
Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started. Just do it.

NEVER STOP LEARNING
Go back to school or read books. Get ` training and acquire skills.

BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS
Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY
Don't let other people or things distract you.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE; BE DIFFERENT
Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

DEAL AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY
No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
Otherwise, Nos. 1-9 won't matter.

Real Estate Market is Settling


A quick review of the market in the North Shore of Boston over the weekend showed that prices are being realistically reduced, while sales are continuing at an acceptable pace. Mortgage rates have increased - but not dramatically, and foreclosures are not drastically trending upward.

Looks like a market correction is in process without the wild swings of the past. It's probably safe to invest now if you can negotiate a good deal.

Patriots - Jets at Foxboro - Nov.12


Sun 11/12/2006
1:00 PM
vs
Jets
WBZ / CBS
804

Darwin will be inviting our NY and NE telecom friends to its box. - Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, Berliner, Industrial Comm, etc. Should be a great afternoon of classic New York - Boston bashing.

A Little Respite from the stress of work and and fear of economic failure.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? . . . And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" – Matthew 6:26-30

Pats Win, Tender Gets Glassed

Patriots squeak out opener, 19-17
Details It probably wasn't the type of game many predicted but the Patriots were able to shake off some first half cobwebs to scratch and claw their way to a 19-17 win over the Buffalo Bills.

In other news, the Herreshoff Columbia Yacht tender at the Nestor garage had 1/2 of its interior fiberglassed.

What a weekend.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Sharapova won the US Open. A great Tennis Player, A great Athelete. Think I'll have a Lagavulin in her honor.

Dark and Stormy

A Most Satisfying Drink.

You need Goslings Black Seal Rum from Bermuda and Ginger BEER. Not ginger ale.

I buy A. J Stephans Ginger Beer at the Community Store in Marblehead.
www.ajstephans.com

Put 5 0r 6 cubes in a 6 oz glass. Cover with Black Seal. Add a touch of Lemon Juice if desiired. Fill to the brim with Ginger Beer. One 12 oz bottle of Ginger Beer should make three drinks. I know... I've opened two bottles and I'm now on my sixth cocktail.

A Most Satisfying Drink.

Not much progress on the Yacht Tender today. I had hoped to glass the interior, but opted to clean out the garage instead in the hope of getting a better work environment. Not much success.

It seems that I should make the garage a work environment only, and not a storage facility. The stock and portable tools should be housed in a storage facility under the deck or in the back yard.

I'm going to start planning that conversion.
Watching the US Open. Gladys Knight sings a mean"America the Beautiful".

As Maria Sharapova came out onto the court, she was interviewed by an American reporter and gave responses in perfect English. I am so envious of people who have mastered an additional language. It seems so difficult to me, yet I suppose in a "must learn" situation, I probably could manage. I wonder if the brain needs to sift languages into different areas to be "fluent".

Fishing is Always Good.






Coming back into the Salem Harbor , I noticed this traditional Swampscott sailing dory. Very nice. Probably built by the Lowell Boat Shop in Amesbury.

No fish today, but there were birds diving ourside of Devereaux Beach. I saw some blues hit the surface and had one strike. Didn't see anyone with a bent rod, which generally makes me feel adequate. I'll try again tomorrow. Chris and Gill left at 4:30AM for Stellwagen to try for tuna. Hope they got lucky.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Nokia is doing deployment services on a national basis for T-Mobile UMTS. It will be interesting to see their competence in the service environment.

Many OEM's have tried. No successes in my opinion.

Blue Blitz afternoon

Trying to get some takers to leave work and go fishing. No luck. And it's a beautiful eighty degree windless day! The Blues must be blitzing everywhere. But I'm sitting here, doing my weekly sales funnel report. AAAAARRRR!!!

Thursday, September 07, 2006