Banned

Can't access the Nanepashemet Blog on the Darwin Server because of its strong sexual content.
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Sorry, I've been accused of a lot of stuff in my career, but never strong sexual content. You can be the judge of the validity of that determination.
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Nonetheless, I do feel a bit flattered.

Worth the Lagavulin

Remember how I told you that Jay and Katelyn owed me a bottle of Lagavulin? I have a deal with them to remove her IM Pei Pyramid pic, and they will pony up the Scotch at the Thanksgiving Eve bash. Seems like a suitable risk.
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If they come up short, I have a ton of pics to choose from... I got a great one tonight from one of the Peeps of the Week.
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My guess is that I'll be happily sipping the King this weekend sometime.

Nanepashemet POTW

It's Thursday, which is "Peeps of the Week" day.
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Unfortunately, the selection criteria has to be clarified again due to the confusion yesterday.
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To be named a Nanepashemet POTW, you must have been annoying, stupid or inspiring, and you can't be an animal or dead.
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That stated..... the NANEPASHEMET PEEPS OF THE WEEK are...

• Nathaniel Clarke
• Jose, the Ticket Agent at Airtran in Chicago
• Mike Rockett
• Stacy Millett
• Emmit Smith
• Laurel DiMatteo

If you are a loser this week, just keep acting in according with our selection criteria, and you may yet reach the pinnacle that these Peeps have achieved.

Dancing with the Stars

I suppose that everybody is going to start in calling me Gay because I like to watch "Dancing with the Stars."
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As experienced Nanepashemet Peeps know, I am confident enough in my manhood to admit that I hope that Emmit Smith walks away as the winner.

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Pretty interesting that Smith can retire as the leading rusher in the NFL, and still have the fluidity to move like he does.

Dissapointing

My flight to Dallas had a layover in Chicago. We landed at 8:00 AM and were supposed to take off 25 min. later, but the segment was cancelled due to wind in Dallas. The next flight was 1:00 PM which coincided with my lunch appointment so I came back to Boston. First aborted business meeting in my 10 years in telecom.
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But that wasn't the only dissapointment!
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I get back at my desk in Wakefield at 2:00 PM, check the blog for "Peep of the Week" Nominations, and found only two. Two paltry nominations out of the thousands of peeps who hit this blog everyday! WTF! What a downer.
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But it doesn't end here.
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The two nominations were for my cat, Ronick, and the guy who invented Lagavulin 200 years ago.
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Let me make a point here that I kind of think should have been self-explanatory.
ANIMALS AND DEAD GUYS CAN'T BE PEEPS OF THE WEEK!!!
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Man... am I worked up. I have to cool down now.

Off Line - A Panic Situation

Since I'll be in the air about 8 hrs. tomorrow, I won't really have a chance to post to the blog.
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Please do not panic. Take deep breaths.
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That's right..... Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale.
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See? You were obviously overreacting.
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Now that you've composed yourselves, I have a suggestion for you to fill the deep void that tomorrow will bring.
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Place a comment on the Nomination Button at the bottom of this posting detailing your choice for Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week. The nominees can be of any religion or political persuasion, but there must be a cool reason for you to place them in nomination. It could be that they were particularly annoying or stupid or inspiring this week. We don't even have to know the reason, the honor system rules here.
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All comments will be published as soon has I get back on line Thursday morning.
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Make your comments on your Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week nominations starting.......................................................................................................................................................................

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Nomination Button

Texas Bound

Up at 4:30 AM for a 6:25 flight out of Logan to Dallas to see T-Mobile. Back in Boston by 11:00 PM. Looking forward to it.
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It means that I have to get to Mike Rockett with the Sundance plans tonight.
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Also, I won't be able to get on the stationary bike tomorrow.
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It feels so good on days that you get a burn, that you wonder why you don't do it every day. But sometimes you have to go to Texas. Then I'll be screwed up from lack of sleep by Thursday, so that I will come up with some lame excuse not to get the exercise in.
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By Friday, I'll blow it off and not even think about it. I hate to think that I will be lacking buffness for the rest of this Earth ride. Something has to change.

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Exercise and working out used to be something that you did to look good. Now I have to do it to keep from feeling shitty. Interesting what the next stage in this progression might be.

Computer Aided Design

CAD programs have really gotten user friendly. It's not like the original AutoCAD which was hard as a bastard to learn. The new CAD programs have you laying out a floor plan, turning it into 3D and rotating it all over the place in no time.
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Took the measurements at the new school building today and dumped them into CAD. It's great to be able to manipulate the plan easily and see different options. Now I have to commit the whole Operation Moonshadow affair to Microsoft Project and jam this thing together before the end of the Holiday break.
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It will happen... but not without some serious nailbiting. I may need some moving help from the Peeps before this thing is over.

Ronick is no Help

There I am, killing myself to get the Herreshoff Yacht Tender done by Thanksgiving, and our cat Ronick just sits there... doing nothing.

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You would think that I could duct tape a random orbital sander to his ass, and he could be useful with the endless sanding that this project entails, but no. He just sits around, giving me aggravating looks.

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In this way, he is a lot like DiMatteo. I would hesitate to give DiMatteo a sander as well.

Borat Backlash

They are sueing Sasha Baron Cohen. Proof positive that he has become a commercial success.

Mixed Emotions

Pats lost to the Jets yesterday, 17-14. A very dissapointing game. But I had a great time at the Darwin Box in Gillette Stadium! Russ Francis, Steve Nelson and John Hannah dropped by and were really interesting. I'm pretty sure that they never read the Blog, but it was great regardless.
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Francis roomed with Steve Prefontaine at Oregon in the 70's and knew all of the track legends. He was the high school javelin record holder at 256' and held that record for 17 years. He said that he set the record 40 days after he first picked up a javelin and had a track scholarship in college, not football. He was well known to track and field diehard fans like my brother Jamie and I in the old days.
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He said that when the next guy broke his record, 17 years later, he pledged to send he and a friend to Hawaii, but the guy's coach objected, saying that it would violate amateur rules. Russ then waited five years until the kid ended college, then made good on the Hawaii trip. Pretty cool.

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He also said that just before Prefontaine died in that car crash that had a jolting effect on American track and field, that Pre had asked him to invest $25,000 in a business venture that he a Coach Bill Bowerman were starting. That was Nike shoes. Pre would have been an awesome businessman.
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Older Pats fans like myself will remember that Francis was a force at tight end and was a great football player.
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Nelson told me that his Curry College team that he currently coaches is 11-0 and he is waiting for an NCAA berth.
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It also appeared that the Cingular guys enjoyed the game and the Darwin hospitality.
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All in all, a fine way to watch the Pats lose to the Jets.

Golf - Finding your Game

I suck at golf. This is a little surprising to me, because I used to be a pretty good tennis player and was ok in baseball. But I suck at golf. This in itself doesn't bother me that much outside of the fact that everyone knows that I suck at golf. How the hell this has become public knowledge is beyond me.
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It probably bothers Mikc and Ryan that I have a chance to play at great courses all over the US including Pebble. Customer Golf events offer me these great opportunities. But the fact is that if I broke 1oo, I would gladly spring for drinks all around.
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My father was a good golfer, an all around good athelete. My kids,Ryan and Mike, have good games and can compete well. But I have been playing for nine years, and continue to suck. The golf gene skipped a generation.
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I was wearing a golf pullover that I got from the Atlanta event this month when I met Rockett at the new school site. He reminded me that I suck at golf. How the hell did he know??? WTF!!!

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I told you I sucked. Did you think I was kidding?

Moonshadow Accomplishments

Joanne and I met with Mike Rockett at the new Sundance building and got his buy in. The thing that I like best about Mike is his complete honesty. If he likes something, he is immediately exuberant, and if he doesn't, he is downright insulting. He is a helluva golfer, but probably would suck at poker. He assures us that the renovations can be achieved according to plan and that he is committing his efforts and resources. To us, that is money in the bank.
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Meanwhile, progress on the Herreshoff Tender was slow and steady. The 3/8" Olkume plywood was ripped into three inch strips for the floorboards and fitted to the oak supports. The centerboard case was cut to fit and was initially sanded. I didn't get to epoxy anything, which is a setback because nothing will get done tomorrow due to the Pats-Jets game at the Darwin box.
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Monday, we close on one phase of the school financing and I have to take room measurements to get the plans to Mike. Then we will implement a Microsoft Project analysis of the work and start to get granular on cost and schedule.
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All in all, not a bad Saturday. It will be a hectic holiday season.

Nanepashemet Blog Posting and BC Basketball

Believe it or not, some people have not read this blog.
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I know that sounds shocking... that there are people out there walking around aimlessly with a big gap in their lives... but it's true.
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When these people find out that I blog, they normally ask what I blog about. I answer that I don't know, which is the truth. Years ago, when I was at UMASS, I lived in the same dorm as a bunch of the basketball players. Rick Pitino and Julius Erving were there at that time, but they didn't live in my dorm. Al Skinner, the current coach of the Boston College Men's Basketball team did.
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I didn't know him other than to say hi, but I remember being in the dorm lobby one day, when he was hanging with some of the other players. I overheard one of them ask him if he worried about getting his share of points in a game.
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Skinner said,"I never think about it. I just know that they will come."
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Why is it that random comments like that stick in your memory? I don't know, but this one did. I don't think about what topics to post in the blog, I just know that they will come. Katelyn asks me how I find the time to write these posts. It almost seems that they happen by themselves, and take no time at all.
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One thing blogging has taught me is that there is a tremendous amount of stuff that happens to you daily. If you take the time to capture and analize the random shit that passes through your head, it's impossible to be bored with life. This blog only captures a minute fraction.

Autumn Drink

Recently, an inordinate amount of Peeps have inquired as to my favorite autumn cocktail.
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Realizing that "Dark and Stormies" may have a summer feel to it, these insightful Nanepashemet Peeps bring up a good point. "What is my favorite Fall Drink?"
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Not an easy question. You must remember that any such designation doesn't dethrone Lagavulin as the King of Scotch, with an unapproachable position in my drinking preference.
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This aside, you are missing something if you haven't tried a "Seagrams and Cider". That's half a glass of ice cubes, covered with Seagrams 7 Blended Canadian Whisky, and topped off with Apple Cider with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
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Surprisingly, an upgrade to VO isn't really cost effective or better than the Seagram's 7.
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This drink has been an autumn standard since Joanne and I were first married. I used to be able to pack away a good amount of cider this way in one sitting, but if you get a bad batch of apples, you also might be sitting in the bathroom for an inordinate amount of time, so be careful.

Working Weekend

Definite agenda for this weekend.
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Sat. Morn. - Workout.... get in a 1/2 hr sweat on the stationary bike and shower. Cut and Lay out the floorboards for the Tender. Sand the interior and gunwale rails. Get a coat of Epoxy on everything.
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Sat. Afternoon - measure and prepare renovation plan for the new Sundance School building with Joanne and Mike Rockett.
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Sat. Evening - put a dent in the Lagavulin stock.
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Sun. Morn. - Get another bike workout in. Head to Darwin in Wakefield by 9:00 AM to car pool to Foxboro for the Pats-Jets Game in the Darwin box. The Cingular NY and Cingular NE customers are invited and it should be a chance to embed a subliminal or two for 2007 business. Game start is 1:00 PM. Should be a good time, but a long day.
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Since I'm such an old fart, I actually prefer to watch the Pats at home, but this will be time well spent for my profit making career schemes.

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week

Please note - the dozen or so Nanepashemet Peeps that emailed me asking to be on the "Peeps of the Week" list will not even be considered.
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Peeps of the Week are generally cool dudes. Asking to be on the list is uncool. Hence you see the logical backdrop of the policy decision here. Generally, you have a better chance of making the list if you don't want to be on the list.
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Now that you all understand the protocol, we are free to proceed with the list.

NANEPASHEMET PEEPS OF THE WEEK

• Mark Ferrante
• Vanessa, the honest bartender in Atlanta with the boob job.
• Steve Lewis
• Bill Bulger
• Brian Butler
• Lisa Chruzzzzzz

Congratulations. You are now eligible for the coveted PEEP of the YEAR competition that will be televised on Youtube.com later on when I get around to it.
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To all of the other losers this week, there is nothing you can do differently to be chosen, so stop trying.

Titmouse Sighting

To those of you who have often wondered if a "tufted titmouse" ever visited my birdfeeders, the answer is a resounding - YES! Three or four of them this morning.
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Yesterday a nice red cardinal made a visit.

So the Birder list is....

• Crow
• Seagull
• Common Sparrow
• Morning Dove
• Blue Jay
• Cardinal
• Chickadee
• Gold Finch
• House Finch
• Tufted Titmouse

So far, no Bald Eagles or Vultures, but the Night Before Thanksgiving Nestor Bash is coming up soon.

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All this, and I never contributed to the Sierra Club.

Darwin Rocks On

Many of my Nanepashemet Peeps have been asking me about Darwin lately.
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I touched base with a lot of my wireless colleagues at the launch meeting of the New England Wireless Association, and I truly felt that I was a Darwin guy rather than "ex-GD". As much as I was dedicated and loyal to General Dynamics, it feels good to be with a group that is vibrant, business-minded and ready to make a real industry mark again.
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I don't like to talk freely about the specifics because of business security, but I am really psyched about the forward view that I am seeing. Today gave some particularly good signs of things to come.
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Indications are that Darwin is on course to pinch the industry in the ass. We will get some attention in 2007. Inspire some people, piss off more.

Herreshoff Columbia Tender Launch Prospect

It's feasible to launch the tender now by Thanksgiving. But I think I'll give myself leeway and launch over the holidays. Not the time to take shortcuts or rush things after so long.
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With the seat support planks in place, and the flooring supports down, everything else should measure fairly easily.... theorizing of techniques is no longer required. Now the process is "do it", not figuring out how it should be done.

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By the way, this Peapod and shop on the right is not mine. (I wish!). I'll probably build a double ender like this for my next project. Also, the guy in the Dory below is not me. (Thank God).
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Tomorrow I'll take the afternoon off, get Mark my tax and deposit information for the the Sundance School acquisition, and get a couple of things done on the tender, hopefully ending with a coating of epoxy. A mild November day is forecast and I'd like to take advantage of the higher temperatures for epoxy and varnish curing as much as possible.
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Once I finish the tender, I'm going to find time to row around the harbor on weekends and at least one or two weekdays every week. I will utilize it to find my buff inner self. I like building boats. It remains to be seen whether I will like rowing or sailing them.