The Battle of Umbagog

The confrontation with Small Mouth Bass and Brook Trout didtn't materialize on Lake Umbegog today.
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Five Yellow Perch fell victim to my deceptive and highly effective angler techniques..... but no small mouth or trout.
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I did catch an ambitious pickeral as well - the smallest fish that I've ever landed on a lure.







Other events of the day are worthy of note.
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I saw two bald eagles, three loons, two otters, and a dead bull moose at the side of the road. The moose took with it a Dodge Ram Pickup front end, and the three mountain men standing on the highway looked pretty perplexed.
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I was going to stop and take pictures, but then thought the wiser of it since I had my NY Jets T-Shirt on that Rich Berliner gave me.
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Umbegog is a nice lake. More motor traffic than I would have thought, and the wind that was written about, definitely came up after the noon hour, which made rowing back to the ramp a workout.

Confrontation with Small Mouth

By the time I finished three meetings today and returned to Marblehead to clean up a little, it was 5:30 PM. So I hitched up the Tender and headed to North Conway. This is the first time that I trailered the Tender on the highway, and there were no issues. I think this could be a regular occurence.
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Tomorrow morning, I hope to head to Lake Umbegog in Errol, NH first thing in the morning. Mike says that he say a TV news item that says that the Bald Eagle is making a comeback, and specifically mentioned Umbegog. I've seen one before, down in Naples, Florida where it flew right in front of my car like it was a common pigeon. It would be cool to see one again.
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The last time that Joanne and I were in the Umbegog region in Northern NH, a Moose crossed the road in front of us.
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Hope to have a violent encounter with some small mouth bass and brook trout sometime tomorrow morning. I will bring a camera, because no one will believe me otherwise.

Shaping up the Weekend

Tomorrow...
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A visit to our corporate counsel in Boston, first thing in the morning to take care of some organizational details, then on to lunch in Southeaster Mass with a customer.
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By 3:00 PM, I should be back in Marblehead, and will hitch up the Tender to take it to NH and test it in Lake Umbegog and Conway Lake for some trout and small mouth fishing this weekend.
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A fitting end to a fitting week.

POTW - Week 33

• 

My day ended exactly as I wanted. We nailed the big meeting and it is full speed ahead from here.
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With Joanne in North Conway, I was looking for a celebratory dinner, but didn't have her finesse in preparation.
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So I went with the old standby, my famous buffalo wings which I supplemented with some canned oysters that I fried with the wings. The accompanying vegetable was two slices of swiss cheese. Combined with a couple or three Dark and Stormies, and the rest was pig out heaven.
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Now for the real matter at hand.
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ANNOUNCING....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 33rd week of 2007.

• Jay Turner
• Tom DiMatteo
• Isam Halwani
• Joanne Nestor
• Craig Murray
• Stacy Butler

Now on to glory and prosperity.

Morning Action

Feeder visitors of note were this Chickadee and a few of his flock, two young Cardinals - a male and female - as well as a House Finch and the Downy Woodpecker.
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I couldn't catch the woodpecker on camera.
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Other than that, the Sparrows are pigging out and a couple of Mourning Doves have shown up.

Today is the Day

Today is the Day.
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Everything is going to go right today.
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Just to make sure, I'm going to shower and change into some fresh underwear.
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I'll be brushing my teeth, even though I already did that once this week.
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Might even give the nose hair a little trim.... and shave my back as far as I can reach.
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Personal hygiene is a part of business success that shouldn't be overlooked.
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No detail will be left unturned.
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Today is the Day.

Approaching the Launchpad

With any luck, tomorrow will be a power day.
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The events and strivings of the past six months culminate in a crucial meeting that has the potential of launching this juggernaut firmly into a stable orbit.
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It would be nice if the meeting was definitive, but business rarely works that way. The suspense will probably play out a bit more.

A Good Start

Something about this T-Shirt that makes me think that it might work as the POTW version.
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A Damn good T.
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Kudos to a special Peep for the nice research.

Party On

Seen at the feeder this morning....

• Common Grackle
• Downy Woodpecker
• House Finch
• 2 Blue Jays
• Chickadees
• Tufted Titmouse
• a flock of about 50 Sparrows (no exaggeration)
• Mourning Dove
• ....and the freaking squirrel.

It's like a Homecoming celebration.

Cool Bird

I shouldn't pick favorites, but it's hard not to especially like the chickadees.
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They are bold and will land on the feeder despite a flock of aggressive sparrows.
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They don't sit on the feeder and hog seeds, but fly to it, pick up one or two seeds, and quickly fly to a nearby tree branch.
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Their calls are distinctive, like their names..."Chickadee, dee, dee."
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Researchers claim that the number of "dees" indicate an alarm of a threat in the area to other chickadees in the flock. The more "dees", the bigger the threat.
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They hang out with other cool birds like the tufted titmouse.
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Some of the many reasons to like the Chickadee.
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What??? You don't have a favorite bird??? Why don't you get a life!

T-Shirt Phenomonon

I ordered some T-shirts for Nanepashemet Project Management today.
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It always amazes me how effective shirts can be as customer or vendor giveaways. Grown professionals, who sport varied accomplishments and command substantial salaries, get all excited when you give them a free shirt. I know I do.
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If business keeps up at the current rate, we'll be handing out plenty of Nanepashemet T-Shirts.
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Which gives me an idea.....
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How much do you think people would pay for a POTW shirt??? The demand would probably be so high that I'd have to go to Asian manufacturers to handle the volume. Peeps would be hanging around my house worse than a Harry Potter book release.
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It probably wouldn't be worth the pandemonium and hysteria.

Deck Views

With the deck substantially completed, I reinstated the bird feeder and the birds returned in force. This morning Tufted Titmouses, Chickadees, and a flock of Sparrows were the guests for a breakfast of bird seed. It's neat to see the different and distinct characteristics of the separate species. Each approaches the feeder and acts differently.
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I'm pretty happy with the way that the deck railing and cap came out. It's how I originally visualized that it would look, but took a long time to materialize it. Now I'm going to stain the pressure treated deck planking with a dark, water resistant stain.
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I had envisioned a laminated and curved stair railing, but the mahogany 2x4 that I bought from Moynihan Lumber, for a totally different purpose, fit the bill nicely. It still has to be epoxy coated and varnished.

Onward and Upward

I politely declined an invite to Falls Church. Now is a time to remain positive and focused.

Milestone Burgers

So I'm headed back from Hartford when Joanne calls and tells me that she's on her way to North Conway. I'm stuck in Marblehead this week, at least until after Wed. with business obligations. The first challenge was dinner tonight.
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Sure I could get a pizza at Vesuvius, but I was feeling a little lazy from driving to and from Connecticut. When I checked out the freezer, there was a fresh box of Bubba Burgers and we also had some sesame rolls. Dilemma solved.
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Fired up the gas grill, threw on two Bubba's, took out cheddar cheese, pepperoni slices and peach mango salsa. All this on the sesame rolls and a little salt an pepper produced some of the best burgers consumed in my slightly overweight, middle aged life.
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I bet my dinner was way better than Joanne's.
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Frozen Bubba Burgers are something that you should check into.

Smart Business

Down in Hartford, Ct. this morning after setting up a small project. Panera Bread has the right idea - free internet. It makes you want to stop when ordinarily you would be dead heading to your final destination.
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I'll be checking my email, after having an asiago cheese bagel and a hot chocolate, then back to Marblehead to work on the business plan.

The End is the Beginning

Finished the deck rail today. I even built the banister on the deck stair. Then the decking and painted railings were power washed. It all came out pretty good, but now the window and house trim look crappy in comparison. They have to be painted.
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And the area below the deck has to be completely overhauled.
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It never ends... but I guess it's not supposed to.

Fireside

What is it about sitting around an outside fire into the night that feels so satisfying???
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It must be something primeval in the human psyche.
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Starring into the fire in the deck chimura with a Dark and Stormy or a Lagavulin.... or both in short succession.... makes for a most enjoyable evening.

Tender Under Sail

Tommy O'Shea took these action photos of the Tender under sail.

Note to Self : Sailing is freaking hard.... Especially if you have no idea what the hell you are doing.

Breezy Saturday

It's a bright, cool, breezy late summer Saturday. High tide is around 3:00 PM. A perfect time to really test out the sailing abilities of the Tender.
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I'll use the morning to sand and put a coat of UV vanish on the deck cap. Then I'll fix the damage to the Tender seat that happened when Jim Peabody slipped getting in last week. By that time, it should be time to go sailing.

Threat of Success

I love it when someone doubts that we can succeed in business. It's better than high octane gasoline in the motivation engine.
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Living well is the best revenge.
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I'm thinking we will be very vengeful.
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BTW - it is not the sentiment that we will fail as much as the fearful knowledge that we will succeed that prompts our doubting friend. Success by others while the backbiters plot has to be threatening indeed.

POTW week 32

• We had a fine North End dinner with DiMatteo, Elsier and two very ethical gentlemen at the Piccola Venezia on Hanover St. in Boston tonight.

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I do have a dilemma though.
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Elsier brought me a bottle of Lagavulin in settlement of a wager that I had won from him.
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Does this give him automatic status as a Peep of the Week if I get the Coveted Single Malt as the result of a bet, rather than a gift from a Peep?
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Definitely worth some pondering.
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I have to conclude that the receipt of a bottle of Lagavulin, under any circumstances, is worthy of automatic selection.

Announcing.....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 32nd week of 2007.

• the waiteress at Piccola Venezia with the four daughters.
• Mike "Lec" Elsier
• Tom Lannon
• Len Cameron
• Geoghan Coogan
• Norm Chicoine

Not a bad dilemma.

Pasta Shapes

Why is it that pasta shapes taste differently?
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I like shells, but I dislike bowties. Vermicelli is good but I'm not a fan of fettucini.
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I assume that the shapes have the exact same chemical makeup... but some taste better than others.
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BTW - Macaroni and Cheese is my ultimate comfort food.... even better than Vesuvius Pizza with garlic, pepperoni and extra cheese.

Proud History

Marblehead was once the 15th largest town in the colonies. It always looked outward, to the sea and was not a Puritanical community.
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It's people were independent minded, fishermen, who rallied to the cause of American independence, and fought with Washingon in many instances, including the famous crossing of the Delaware during the mini ice age of 1775..

Stupid Name

Seems I caused a great deal of controversy with my assertion that Kate and Mike were messing with me about the Magic Hat Circus Boy brew.
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So I was wrong.... it really does exist.
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Who ever names a beer "Circus Boy" anyway!!!!
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I'd never drink it.

Business Development

"The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."
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Another Bible quote that always confounded me.
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But it seems to describe the way our Nanepashemet Telecom is progressing.
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The deals that I thought would be the first in the door are lagging, and most of our work is coming from customers that we didn't initially anticipate.

Productive Delay

I know you were wondering how the sailing launch went. After rigging up the sprit sail to the mast, and getting all of the lines in place. I pretty much lost the high tide. The sprit sail rig took a little time to figure out, but now that all of the mystery is gone, it looks rather forthright. It will be interesting to see how it sails.

So I devoted the afternoon to finishing the deck railing cap., and decided to catch the tide tomorrow morning. A good decision in that all of the rough sanding and shaping was fininshed, a final sanding at 180 grit and then the penetrating coat of West System 207 clear coat epoxy was applied. The wood will drink up this initial coat.
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A coat tomorrow morning before the sail launch should see the cap coming to life. It actually looks pretty good. Pictures to follow.

Not So Secret

A nice evening at the Oakley Country Club in Watertown with Joe Collins and Michelle. Joe shot a 73 yesterday in preparation for the Club Championship this weekend. Pretty impressive. I carefully protected my secret that I suck at golf.
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We promised to get them on the WhaleEye in Marblehead before the end of September.

Tight Schedule

This weekend the Tender Sail launch is rolled out. I have to get it done in the morning while the tide is right. After that it is do or die on the tax submissions that I have on extensions. I also really need to get a Bluefish run in, and sand the deck cap.
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Theoretically, it could all happen, .....but no way this will all get done. Monday morning will show up real soon with a 4:00 AM wake up call to get to our job on Cape Cod.
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BTW... Has anyone ever heard of a Magic Hat brew called "Circus Boy"? I think Kate and Mike are setting me up on this one.

POTW - Week 32

Don't you think that the year is going by fast? Those late summer crickets are humming away giving a nice rhythm to warm afternoons.
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This has been one of the more eventful years for me in some time, and I'm certain that the action will not be slowing down. On the business side especially, things are in a kick ass mode.
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I hope your year is shaping up too.
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Announcing.....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week of the 32nd week of 2007.

• Joe Collins
• Tom DiMatteo
• Bill Hillegas
• Maura LeClair
• Joachim Phoenix
• Kathy Peabody

So let's enjoy the rest of the summer and gear up for some real progress.

Gearing Up

I have a bunch of nice blues and striper fishing lures that have rusty, treble hooks. I don't know if the fish can tell the difference, but psychologically you should fish with equipment that you think will catch fish, so I'm replacing the hooks.
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At the Kittery Trading Post yesterday I bough some #4 stainless split rings and some, 1/0 Mustad treble hooks, as well as a special tool to spread the rings. Now the hooks on the rebel and popper plugs can be replaced.
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All that's left is to find some Bluefish Blitzes.

POTW Later

Remember..... you are not paranoid if they are really out to get you.
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Even you could be a Nanepashemet Peep of the Week.
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The crucial selections shall be unveiled this evening.
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Bon Cbance!

Why Fishing is a Sport

Collins of Oakley

Joe Collins, my old UMASS college buddy and Michael's godfather, called me out of the blue today and invited Joanne and I to the Oakley Country Club in Watertown for dinner this Friday.
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I used to be able to beat Joe in most sports while in college.... which I'm sure he wouldn't admit to then and definitely not now.... but I can't come close to his golf game. Lucky we are not playing.
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Dinner will be something to look forward to.

Clams

Doug Maxfield turned us on to Essex Seafood in Essex, MA as the best place to eat fried clams about five years ago.
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Since that time, Joanne and I made the trek to Cape Ann specifically to eat here on numerous occasions. While in Gloucester today, I dropped by to make another contribution to their business.
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Doug was right then, and he is still right.

Hidden Opportunities

There are a ton of economic opportunities out there. Most arise in places that you don't suspect.
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That being the case, you have to stay in motion.
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If you aren't moving, you can't bump into anything...... And the bumps are where the opportunities hide.
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I'm finished with Maine for the time being and heading to Gloucester, Massachusetts this morning.
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Gloucester on Cape Ann is a very interesting place with a gritty middle class work ethic mixed in with exceptional natural beauty. I thought that Sebastian Junger caught the essence of Gloucester well in his best seller "Perfect Storm."

Right and Wrong

Whenever I feel wronged by someone or something, and start to take mental defensive postures, my body starts to feel uncomfortable. Even when I am completely "right".
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But then if I realize that there is really no right or wrong, only the endless rotation of yin and yang, I start to feel pretty good again.
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It's better to let it go and feel good, because the facts and circumstances will change soon enough.
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"Those who know do not say, those who say do not know. " That Taoist phrase confounded me when I was in my early twenties, now I think that I grasp it.

Egg Rock and Katelyn

For years I have stared out at Egg Rock from the Lynn shore and never circled it in a boat until today when we took a boat cruise on the WhaleEye with the Peabody's.
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It is like a mini mountain peak sticking about 30 feet out of the water. The water depth plummets to 60 ft all around the rock, so it's a 90 ft pinnacle rising out of Nahant Bay.
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Also Kate and Stacey used O'Shea's pool while they were away.

Tender Sail Launching

I'm rigging the sprit sail that Joanne bought for me from Doyle Sailmakers to use on the Tender today. The sail was designed for the pram that I built a couple of years ago, it was never set up to use. High tide is at 5:00 PM and we'll be ready for a sailing launch by then, unless we decide to bring the WhaleEye to Brown's Island for the afternoon.
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I bought the kit for a full size sail from Sail Rite to use on the Tender, but it needs to be sewn and I'd rather use the smaller sail to see how the Tender performs
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When I build the Marblehead Gunning Dory, it will be rigged for the use of both sails simultaneously. By then I should actually have learned how to sail.

Looking Back in Time

This is a picture of the Galaxy M81.
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Who knows what it really looks like, because this is what it looked like millenniums ago, since the light just hit the Hubble telescope from 11.6 million light-years away.
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Everything that we see is a reflection of how long it takes the light of that object to reach us. Therefore, everything that we see actually happened in the past.
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Astronomical objects just emphasize that fact because of their extreme distance.

Cootie Free

It's nice to wake up back in Marblehead, in my own bed. I dislike hotels - even real nice ones. You always feel like cooties are everywhere. I don't even like to walk in my bare feet in the rooms. Yes, this does sound phobic, probably because it is.
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Anyway, there's no place like home. At least I know where the cooties come from there.

Vacation Planning

I am embarrassed that I waited this long in my life to experience the beauty of the Down East coast of Maine, when it is a half day drive away from Marblehead.
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And I wasn't even there on vacation. We can fix that.

Tee It Up

I love the smell of a communications tower in the morning.
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It smells like.... Victory.
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Cadillac Mountain

Click on this map to enlarge it and see the indigenous tribes of Maine.
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I'm interested in finding the significance of Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island to the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine and NewBrunswick.

POTW Selections - Week 31 in remote Maine

I know that you think that just because I'm way here up in Maine, that I'll forget to make the Peep of the Week Selections.
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That is so bogus. Forget POTW??? Not on your life!
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The thought of your lack of faith stirs anger and other negative emotions. Lucky I'm up here in friendly Maine on my best behavior, or I'd probably do something to blow off a little steam about now.

I have to make the selections now..... I can't waste too much time while I'm out in the field.

Announcing
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week - 31st week of 2007

• Doug Maxfield
• Tina James
• Michael Murphy
• Peter Crawford
• Tom Egan
• Tim Wakefield

Tomorrow we survey two more sites in on the coast, then deadhead the 4+ hours back to Marblehead. Mike is home from DC and Katelyn will be coming in from Boston. Looking forward to the weekend.

Bridge Phobia

That bridge collapse in Minneapolis is creepy.
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I never conceptualize when I get on a bridge that it may fall down while I'm on it. There are so many things to be afraid of in life.... I hate to add this to the list.

A Tough Day

I spent the day, trying to get stuff done and make a living, but I kept getting distracted by these pesky views.
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It's hard enough dragging yourself through these boring assignments.... now I'm being forced to be surrounded by the incredibly beautiful scenery of the Maine DownEast coastline.
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From the Town of Lubec, the easternmost point in the US on the Nova Scotia border, to Bar Harbor on Mt. Desert Island, it was just another boring workday for Nanepashemet Telecom.
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BTW - Take the time to visit Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island. I had never been and it is spectacular. Definitely worth the 4+ hour drive from Boston.