Fresh Ayer

Joanne and I took the ride to Ayer this morning.   So many of you are constantly asking how Ryan is doing and we all really appreciate it.
~
The straight answer is that he is doing fine.  He is in a clean, very unregulated and safe environment, reads, works out, jogs, and gets to see his kids... which is what he really lives for.
~
The thing about Ryan, even since he was little kid, is that he knows how to live in the present.  He always makes the most of the card hand that is dealt to him everyday.   That's why he is so much fun to be with.... because he makes the most of the present moment.
~
And the present moment always harbors the joy of life, no matter how the past and future is portrayed.
~
He'll finish this episode, take whatever value that he can from it, and move on to the future creation of a joyful life.

Harvey Rowe said...

The sad part of life is that so many people "wander" through their existence without ever understanding the " secret" set forth in " Fresh Ayer"  ~~                                                                                                                                                          ~ That's true Harv... but you and I aren't one of them.

POTW Week 42

Chris Crawford, his great wife Sarah, and their beautiful twin girls, Pheobe and Charlotte, are taking in some fresh Ayer this weekend.  I know the Boy will be happy and grateful to see them.  We'll be there in the morning. 

 Announcing....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 42nd Week of 2009

Lindsay Lohan

Bill Quirk

Harvey Rowe

Dick Gardner

Eric Johnson

Rich Ellis

Tons of Nanepashemet Telecom paperwork to get done when we get back.

Jill Phillips said...

Lindsay Lohan...really? You're  getting into risky territory Jill.

Lunatic Whackjobs

If you followed this "news" story and think that this whackjob family is anything but publicity scammers, then contact me ASAP.
~
I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn for sale that you may be interested in.
~
They name their kid "Falcon" and sit complacently while he pukes his guts out on national TV.
~
Freaking Lunatics.

A New Outlook

I'm always amazed how business can turn on the drop of a dime.
~
One day's bleakness changes with a brightness ripe with opportunity.
~
Makes me think of that biblical Jesus quote about how a person with faith can move a mountain.
~
"I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."
(Matthew 17:14-21 NKJV)
~
I'm not trying to convert you or anything, nor am I interested in changing the view from my White Mountain condo, but it certainly seems that the landscape of my business outlook has changed for the better.

Pisc said...


The mustard seed is very small, from which something massive grows.

Pisc said...

Well put. One without faith to something greater than himself ofte has no goals and no principle. No loyalty to himself. And thus, none to others. Meet a person who can not tell a story about a pal from their youth and the same friend from their middle age and you know there is something sketchy. It could be a brother or sister, just something that they have from being a person until now. Otherwise, see ya. Jesus is my homeboy.

The Mistral Advantage

We brought our business prospects to Mistral in Boston's Back Bay last night for dinner.
~
I'm not saying that it sealed the deal, but our guests left very happy.
~
So now we have to price this project correctly, but I think we're there.
~
We were recommended by Ryan to order the filet mignon pizza as an appetizer for the table, and the boy knew what he was talking about.
~
I'd go back there, even if a multi-million dollar deal wasn't at stake.

Tuna Lips said...

Bets there was a lot of top dollar hookers hangin' about the place. I likes hookers. They has feelins, too.

Sue Sue Raiche said...

Seeing you're such a "Mountain of a Man", I'm not surprised you were able to make this important dinner with the cold and all. It sounds like the filet pizza apps may have been the clincher! -  Susan

Maria Rowen said...

When you close the deal maybe you can celebrate at Sorelina...a close second to Mistral...Try the truffled French fries...off the hook...but no hookers... *_*

Sniffle Endurance

I'm a little down with a cold that has lasted for a few days.  But you don't see me complaining, do you???
~
Sniffles, coughing, a sneeze or two.... when you're a Mountain of a Man, you can't let these things affect you.  Even if they would shut down a lesser man.

Maria Rowen said.....

Umcka Cold Care......Whole(Paycheck)Foods ...will put the Mountain right back in the Man...

POTW Week 41

 Got a lot of work done today, but nothing that I planned.  I was too impatient to wait, so I finished the Work Breakdown Structure for the big deal that I was telling you about.   It came out even better than expected.
~
Also got two coats of Interior Semi-Gloss MinWax Polyurethane on the top of the Workbench.   That project has to move out of the garage as soon as possible to make space.

Announcing...

Nanepasehemet Peeps of the Week for the 41st Week of 2009

Holly Hunter

Bill Hillegas

Jill Phillips

Michael Murphy

Allison Peabody

Peter Crawford

Tomorrow we will get two more coats on and hopefully get it into the basement.

Happy Columbus Day

Normally, Columbus Day weekend is a great time to kick back and leisurely enjoy the three days.   But this year is different with a ton of obligations that won't let me relax.    Nanepashemet Telecom has a hell of an opportunity that we are pitching next Tuesday.... could be the deal that makes our next two years here in New England.
~
So I'll probably be spending this Saturday taking care of some flapping loose ends at Nanepashmet to clear the decks in anticipation of landing this deal.  Kate is coming to Marblehead to hang with the Grandkids, Will and Ethan.   That will be fun.  We'll take some time for some Fresh Ayer on Sunday morning, and I'd really like to get Kate's Adirondack chair out of the garage and into the finishing stages, but this is not optimistic.
~
Won't be able to relax at all on Monday's day off, what with the presentation due the next day.    So I'll be doing some Work Breakdown Structures, and Organizational Projections for the anticipated project.
~
I'm not a big fan of Columbus anyway... what with the way that he brutalized the Carribean Indians and stuff.

Piscatelli said...

You dizzy Mic, it is your anti-Italian racism that shapes your opinion of our man Cristofero Columbo. You and Skip Gates are too peas in a pod. Viva Italia. ~   ~  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   

J. said....

Whatssamatta Goomba Pat???  

Haven't I shared my macaroni and cheese recipe with all of the Peeps?  Skip never did that!   Proof positive that I love the Itai's.

Worthy Prize

Normally I'd be thrilled to see an American President win the Nobel Peace Prize.
~
But this is perplexing.   11 days after winning the Presidency, Obama is nominated.  Obviously he couldn't have done anything by this time, and shouldn't be expected to.
~
This "Cult of Personality" that seems to surround this guy is quite a bit unsettling.  It leads people to follow what they think should be, and not what is.
~
Obama obviously has made an impact on the five Norwegians that award the peace prize,  But then again, they are the same characters that awarded the honor to Al Gore for his pitiful environmental "documentary", which was clearly political pap.   So the five Norwegians are moonbats.   Who knew?
~
In Obama's defense, he is as startled as everybody else,and has said that he is humbled and undeserving.  It's not his fault that the Norwegian Moonbats run fast and loose with their Peace Prize.
~
Maybe Obama will eventually be worthy of his Prize.....  I hope so.

Snoring

I was uncontrollable with my snoring. Really, really bad. I mean really.
~
So,  I bought this mouthpiece called "SnoreMeds" from Amazon and that has helped quite a bit.
~
It was getting extremely aggravating with my wife, Joanne, when she kicks me and wakes me up when I'm snoring, because you have absolutely no control......  plus you can't even hear it. The only reason that I know that I'm bad is that my throat is dry and sore when I wake up.
~
Plus once when I was on a plane, I woke up and everybody was giving me dirty looks. I asked the guy next to me if I was snoring or anything, and he looked at me incredulously and said "You've got to be kidding."
~
He was an Asshole anyway.

Maria Rowen said...

I take this post very seriously... but I just wonder if a tuna with lips snores...*_*

Tuna Lips said...

Why, I would blush if I was not red in the face already from chickery coffee and White Lightnin'. Missy Rowen, you fancy a dance with old TL, does ye, to test yer hypothesizin about my nocturnal vociferocity? Great Ceasar's ghost, theys kaint resist me!

 

Innocent Until Proven Guilty.

I just can't seem to shake the shock of the Cates Murder in Mont Vernon, NH out of my system.   The "Human Sub Species" Blog post that was entered has been the most heavily hit topic since the beginning of this pathetic Blog.
~
I also was accused of rushing to judgement, assuming that the four miscreants who are now apprehended are guilty as charged.   Maybe it was because Kimberly Cates, a 40 year old Mom and Nurse,  was hacked to death with a machete and her daughter's throat was slashed with the same implement.
~
That type of thing tends to piss me off.  All four of the "innocent until proven guilty" are alleged to have taken a whack with the machete.   They have not pleaded "not guilty", a Mom has been horribly murdered, and her 11 year old daughter is scared for life.  Not to mention the ruined lives of her husband, extended family and friends.

CNN notes....
On Tuesday, the state Department of Justice announced the arrests of the four teenagers accused of taking part in the crimes.
Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19, were charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 17, were charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and armed robbery.

Personally, I don't care what their backgrounds are.... I don't care if they are mentally impaired... I don't care what their philosophy, religion, or state of mind is.   I don't care why they did it.
~
If I were the King of the World, here is how I'd  deal with these Mongrel Bastards.....  I would put each in solitary confinement  and feed them feces and maggots for a month, all the while with the knowledge that they would be hacked to death by a maniac with a machete at any time during the month.   Then I'd pull the most heinous asshole on death row, give him a machete, and tell him that he gets an extra month of life for each time he hacks these mongrels.  Send the Maniac into the cell at an unannouced random time, and send the Mongrels to Hell.   Then I'd wish that these useless sub-humans survived, so that we could repeat it again and again.
~
But that's just me.  Probably a good thing that I'm not King of the World.

Maria Rowen said...

It is hard to shake the mental image of this crime. Harder even to imagine someone will defend these machete-wielding-monsters. But that is our justice system. Perhaps in the 'Kingdom' of New Hampshire where there is a death penalty, justice will be served...

Tuna Lips said...

Youse can learn to prosper offa feces and maggots, been down that path myself. Those West Virginny growers of mary jane did not cotton to Shoo Fly and me takin' an interest in botanically analizin they crop. Looked like slavery and, if things went downhill fast, some Deliverance like buggery was in stoh fo us. Needed to keep our strength up in the mean times. Twasn't my cup o' tea, but neither is buggery. It will gets ye by in a pinch. Find myself a free man this day, on account of feces and maggots. The breakfast of survivors.

Best Buds

Ethan Nestor and Grady Butler have that Best Buds thing going for them.

~

Someday when they are on the same Hockey Line, we can embarrass the hell out of them with these.

Maria Rowen said...

With all the stress and bad news heaped on us daily...isn't it nice to (if only briefly) look into a child's eyes and see the world. Let's have a day where we celebrate life like Ethan and Grady. Power to the pumpkin!

Capping Tuesday

I have decided to celebrate this Tuesday Evening by pouring a shot or so of Lagavulin, the King of Scotch, over four ice cubes in a dedicated Scotch glass that Mikey gave me as a Christmas present.
~
Damn Good Decision.
~
Can't wait until tomorrow night, when I might do the same thing.

President "I"

"I like Gerneral McCrystal, but at the end of the day, I am the Commander in Chief."

- President Barack Obama

Inspirational words from a Harvard guy who gives his major experience as being a community activist for ACORN in Chicago.
~
This guy is really starting to weird me out.
~
Yes, we elected the President, but we also put big money into training the leadership of our armed forces.
~
If you don't trust the General, by all means, fire him.   That is your role as Commander in Chief.   But until you do, he should be making military decisions..... not President First Person Singular.
~
Trust your Peeps, Prez.... It's not all about you.
~
The Krauts lost the Big One because they couldn't do anything without the OK from their Fearless Leader.... the leadership paralysis in the field was ultimately their downfall.  Their American opponents were empowered down to a man.... an Army of One.  This leadership leverage carried the day.  Probably didn't study that stuff at Harvard.  I learned it in an ROTC  class at UMASS where my highest rank obtained was Corporal. 
~
You get the feeling that President "I" is way over his head.

Human Sub Species

Mont Vernon, NH was the scene of a brutal, senseless serial murder of a mother at home yesterday by four remorseless bastards.

The Nashua Telegraph reported..... 

Four youths - two from Brookline, NH, two from Amherst,NH - were arraigned in Milford District Court on charges stemming fr o m murder of Kimberly Cates and the attempted murder of her 11-year-old daughter in their home on a dirt road in Mont Vernon.

Senior Asst Attorney General Will Delker said the four young men “entered this home knowing the participants (and) intended to kill the occupants of the home if anyone was present.”

"They targeted this home essentially randomly because it was on an isolated road”, Delker said.

Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19, of Brookline, and William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glover, 18, of Amherst were charged. 
~
They entered the home at 4:00AM to carry out their murderous plot.  
~
It is beyond comprehension to ask why, because no answer could ever be acceptable or understandable.
~
We just have to recognize and protect against such mongrels of the human species.   It's hard to conceptualize that we are still subject to random attacks within our evolved society.   Take care.

Flu Season

Remember the Bird Flu last year?  We were all afraid of Chickens.   Now we have the Swine Flu, aka H1N1 Flu.
~
My prediction is that it will play out like the Bird Flu did.  Not a pandemic, but something to prepare against.
~
We used to just get the Flu every year.  Now we get a special one named after animals.  I think the Flu has always been pretty much the same.....  we just know more about it now and go into a lot more detail and paranoia.
~
Twice in my life, I've spent a week in the hospital with the flu with IV's and the whole nine yards... miserable episodes...., so I don't make light of it, but there is no reason to freak out either.

Tuna Lips said...


I agreeify. Folks start whisperin' about my proclivity with the portly gals, and suggestin' I is a prime candidate for this so called hog flu. I remain undetterant. Nothin' gonna stop TL from spreadin' the good word and my seed upon this here green earth. Hog flu be damned! I cast thee to part unknown, Satan and your swine flu!

Steve and Jill Lewis Got Married

Struggling to recuperate from the Lewis-Tufts Wedding this morning.   Dana and Merry Tufts had the Moraine Farm in Beverly rocking for about 300 close friends. 
~
Mikey was a Best Man of Stevie and Jill looked fantastic. 
~
(Maybe that last statement was a little Gay, but she really looked good.)
~
It was a rainy, humid night in a tent, and even in my portly, middle aged manner of Shaking my Booty, I was riddled with sweat. 
~
Now I'm a little sore from the intensive boogying.
~
Have to take the ride to Ayer now, but when we return, pictures will be posted.

Objective Review

Will I buy and read this book?
~
You bet your sweet ass I will.
~
Sarah Palin has been screwed by the Liberal Elite more than anybody I know of in my increasingly long lifetime.  I'll take her over that self important manipulator, Katie Couric, any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
~
Plus, she is sizzling HOTTTT!!!

POTW Week 40

Well... At least I scared the shit out of him.
~
In fhe first hole I shot a Par 4, despite an errand tee shot that required a pitch out.
~
Archrival Joe Collins for a moment felt that he might have been snookered.  But then my real game emerged, and the Sinister Joe gained his composure.  Yes, he was as good as the Club Champion Plaques indicated, and proceeded to demonstrate his despicable 5 handicap in shot after shot.
~
There clearly is no God.
~

ANNOUNCING...

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 40th Week of 2008

Joe Collins

Abby Bruett

Katelyn Nestor

Jill Tufts

Steve Apostolides

Bobby Brown

I will have my revenge.

Karma for Letterman

My heart goes out to David Letterman. 
~
The self-righteous, Bush/Palin hating, funnyman getting caught in a sex scandal just doesn't seem fair. 
~
But the Law of Karma is the ultimate judge.
~
Sorry Dave, but you are one of the top ten Assholes in my book.

Tsunami Precaution

The Tsunami in Samoa is unsettling to say the least.   With the body count cresting over 100 victims, it had to be a horrific situation.  So far, the tsunami's have occurred in far away places - the Indian and South Pacific Oceans.  But an earthquake off of the Eastern Seaboard is just as likely.
~
I've actually seen what happens when the ocean washes into a home over on Marblehead Neck during one of the October storms that have hit the New England Area in the last twenty years.  In that case, about $100K worth of antiques were ruined.  But that was just a storm surge... A tsunami is a whole other wave, with its own energy.
~

I suppose that it is only a matter of time when any coastal area gets hit.  Maybe I'll keep the Herreshoff Columbia Tender loose on the trailer in the driveway for now on.  Just in case.

Maria Rowen said...

It seems in the aftermath of a tsunami, scientists flood us with tidal waves of predictions. And though ‘they’ are unable to forecast a specific date, an article “Atlantic Tsunamis” written in 2005 (grandchronicles.com) outlines what we can expect when the big one hits. The Atlantic Ridge, will be devastated. The good news is there will be many events leading to the main event so we have a good chance of enough advance notice to be ready. I prefer to see the glass half full and all that good stuff. I know absolutely nothing about boats or ships or sloops but I would opt for the driveway.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ~

Maria -

If you can tell us when the Tsunami is going to hit, we'll save you a seat in the Tender.

- J.

Tuna Lips said...


I had me a tsunami of sorts in the rest room of the Route 55 Big Boy burger joint. Had a bad crawdad po' boy and nearly blew out the bottom of my colonoscopy. They had to post warning signs, some of the yellow murder scene tape was afixed to the scene of the great storm. The locals that knows of it call to mind the Chickesaw River floodin' of '55.

Sinister Golf Plot

Just as I was starting to get into a good work groove this week, I get an invitation to play in a member guest golf tournament at the Oakley Country Club this Friday.from my Archrival, Joe Collins.  It definitely threw my thought processes off track.
~
Collins knows how much I suck at golf, so I have no choice but to believe that this is a sinister plot designed to throw some indignity my way.   I'm sure that he thought that I would decline, so I called his bluff and accepted his insidious invitation.
~
So we will be scarring the fairway turf and looking for out of bounds balls this Friday afternoon over in Watertown.  Being a Mountain of a Man means having the fortitude to fight through the plots and traps that your Archrivals plant before you.

Murph Birth

In all of the confusion, depression, and egotisical self-absorption, I neglected to inform you that former Peep of the Year, Michael Murphy and his beautiful wife, Beth, brought two new Peeps into the world.

Steven Michael & Justin Thomas Murphy

Born: Sep 17, 2009

At 5:27 PM & 5:37 PM

5 lbs 8 oz & 5 lbs 1 oz

18.5 inches & 18 inches

Delivered by: Dr. Elizabeth Konig

Way to go Beth!  Congratulations.  Can't wait to meet them and tell them stories of their illustrious POTY Dad.

Tuna Lips said...

Now I knows why lions eat they young. Them poor chilluns have not a chance, right out the gate.

Orders Uptake

The 4th Quarter starts this week.   In the corporate Telecom world, that is when the orders start to pile up because carriers want to get their capital budgets allocated, and managers rev up their numbers so that they receive their incentive bonuses.
~
Nanepashemet Telecom will be ready for the uptake, and we intend to open our West Coast office in the midst of it all.  Being a Mountain of a Man means that you can't be intimidated by a little extra work.

Unconditional Relationship

Joanne and I took a nice drive to FMC Devens this morning.  Mike was right.  It seemed like a low end prep school, very clean and green with nice athletic facilities - only with no curriculum and a dorm full of men of all ages wearing the same clothes.
~
Seems to be tolerable with the lack of freedom and constant supervision being the primary factors used for punishment.  If you step out of line, they put you into a "hole" in solitary confinement with terrible food for an indeterminate amount of time.  Our boy spent four days in this environment, under the auspices of seeing the results of a TB test.   But it is really a taste of how hard a time this could be.... and a terrific deterrent.   The threat of this guarantees an overall culture of good behavior.
~
So we'll make this trip for as many times as it takes.... because that is what we do.

POTW - Week 39

So my prayer for a Bluefish Blitz wasn't heeded.
~
But our customer was relaxed with the boat ride and our fishing effort. and really seemed to like dinner at the Boston Yacht Club.
~
The Dockmaster at the BYC graciously let me tie up at the Dock for dinner.   But after a number of the fine Dark and Stormies that the Club serves, I felt it best to leave the WhaleEye tied up for the night and retrieve it in the morning.... which I did at 7:00AM this morning.... despite a sharp wind from the Northeast and cool temperatures.
~
Still no blitzes in sight, even close to dawn.
~

Announcing.... Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 39th Week of 2009

Brian Stanton

Gail Johnson

Joanne Nestor

Rick Breed

Matt DelGaudio

Will Crawford

As yet, I haven't landed a Bluefish this season.   That's not acceptable.

Pisc said...

Dude, what is wrong with you? No bluefish? Boat fisherman, like all fisherman, need to know where the fish are. Then you have to catch them. And bluefish are like sailors in the combat zone, they whack anything. So I figure you are fishing where the fish are not. I think you need some Christ on the Sea of Galilee kind of magic. Get with God, el Jefe.

Democrats in Power

Thank heavens that the emergency is over, and we have two US Senators representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
~
When you are mired in bureaucracy, waitng to get basic health care services, remember the courageous acts of Gov. DP, who came to our rescue in these desperate times.  Just keep forcefeeding that Bullshit.
~
Do you get the feeling that the Democrats just treat us like a herd of Wilderbeest??? Meandering toward a river filled with Crocodiles???
~
I don't know about you, but I am really getting nervous about Obama's international affairs judgements.  He reminds me of Jimmy Carter who was spit upon by crazy assed, Iranian Mullahs.    Some wacky group will be taking a run at us soon.
~
Deja Vu all over again.

Blitz Prayer

I'm taking out some major customers for some fishing in Marblehead Sound tomorow.  If there is a God in Heaven, He will put me into a Bluefish Blitz.  
~
That would insure some major business.

Get Ready

Magic happens when you least expect it.
~
Are you ready????

Harvey Rowe said...


Magic or Miracles.........

Harv -
Full blown miracles would be good.... I was just hoping for a little magic.
- J

New Agendas

Kate and SuperPeep, Emily Engardia are on vacation for the next 10 days in the Dominican Republic.   Not sure what the attraction is to go to a poverty stricken island, but it is their vacation, not mine.  For my money, I'm going to Rome as soon as circumstances permit, but that's not clear in the least bit.
~
I'll have to head out to the Pacific Northwest soon, but that is for Nanepashemet Telecom and will be pure work.
~
In the meantime, while the weather holds, there are projects to complete right here in Marblehead... like Kate's Adirondack chair which is nearing completion, and the Gunning Dory.  Plus I have to fit some end of the year fishing in.

Tuna Lips said...

Does ye have an address on their localized domicile? In keepin' with my spirit of servin folks, I'd like to send over some hombres to watch over they's possessions while on that mission of mercee to that God-forsaken rock.

Traumatic By-Product

The weird by-product of times like these is that you find out who really matters to you and your family.  Your friends come to the surface and the pretenders fall by the wayside.  Very valuable insight.   Too bad something traumatic has to happen for this revelation to surface.
~
I think that true wealth is defined by the quality of your friends and relationships.... and we are so fortunate to be extremely wealthy.
~
This will pass.  We will all emerge from the backside a little older, a bit better and a lot wiser.
~
It's easy to take a hit with friends like you.

Tuna Lips said...


I take this time to recall my pappy's wisdom, said it come from the ancients: thems that don't run you into the bog and smash yer still make yea stronger. In fittin' with yer thinkin' on by-products.






Voices in me noggin', gots to run . . .

Sendoff

A nice get together last night as Ryan's friends came by to give him a little sendoff.  Tyler Gill brought over his Bags which ultimately resulted in a minor vehicle collision involving Brendt DiOrio and Gail Johnson's cars. 
 ~
Money changed hands over the Bags competition, and songs were sung as appropriate.
~
No other incidents were reported, and neighbors refrained from calling the police to the best of my knowledge.
~
We'll look forward to a grander repeat when Ryan's hiatus is complete.

POTW Week 37

It's been such an emotionally taxing summer.  This weekend will be no different.  One of these days, it will be time to kick back and put it into neutral.... but not for the forseeable future.

ANNOUNCING....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 37th week of 2009.

Jimmy Carter
Maria Rowin
Lauren Rathbone
Parker Sides
Jill Phillips
Chip Clancy

In the meantime, we can pretend to be calm and to cope.

Shameful Politicians

When the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry (ugh!), was running for President against George Bush, and his election seemed on track, the Massachusetts Democrats successfully changed the law so that Republican Governor Mitt Romney could not select a Senate successor to Kerry.  (Kerry ultimately didn't win, and our livelyhoods were temporarily spared.)
~
Back then as now, the Dems had the vote in the Mass Legislature and pulled off this blatantly political move.
~
But....They never figured on Kennedy taking the pipe like he did.
~
So now the Democrats, with the endorsement of the Obama administration is advocating a return to the old law so that our Democratic Governor, Deval Patrick, can make the selection.
~
Does this sound hypocritical to you?   They probably have the votes and will shamelessly pull off this sad, base, maneuver.  They are just so freaking shameful.

Pisc said...

You should read the legislative history from 2004 and the calls from Dems to vote for the principles of democracy and public determination and against political patronage (an actual quote, I used it in a letter to my rep). So, by the logic used in 2004, switching is a vote for political patronage and agaist the principle of democracy. It does little good in the present instance, but they know we will be coming back, like a case of herpes.

Maria Rowen said...

House Republican Leader Bradley Jones said he will try to stall the measure, though he conceded Democrats could ultimately push it through with 81 votes(Washington Post). So with Democrats outnumbering Republicans 35 to 5 in the Senate, looks like a fill-o-bust majority win for the ‘Dums’.

Getting Back to Basics

I know that most of you who follow this Blog for its Boatbuilding theme have been severely dissappointed.  The Boats have taken a clear second position due to the politics of the day and other daily annoyances.
~
While my purpose is not to cater to you, I also feel that it is time for Boatbuilding to come to some sort of center stage.  The Marblehead Gunning Dory has been lying fallow for too long with the frames, stems and bottoms built and the gunnels waiting to be cedar stripped.
~
So I have to get Kate's Adirondack Chair assembled and out of the garage, and put finish polyurethane on the WorkBench, then the stage is set to resume the Dory..... unless I get set out on yet another tangent.

Periodic Tax Rant

Got my 3rd quarter estimated tax payments in on time yesterday.  The Federal government is my biggest creditor by far.  And I don't even get the chance to purchase the services that it provides.  The government spends what it wants, even if it doesn't have the money, and then charges us.  If we refuse to pay, they seize our assets, and we go to prison.
~
Am I missing something?
~
If I am getting this wrong.... let me know.
~
I always get a kick out of our Founding Fathers, who were repulsed by a tea tax, threw it into Boston Harbor and revolted against tyranny.  Those guys never got a load of the income tax that we pathetically wimp under and pay.   They would be extremist crazies if they lived today.
~
Definitely the Home of the Brave.   NOT the Land of the Free.

Self Loathing Paintbrush

Somehow I didn't see it coming.
~
In my relief that this country elected a Black President, I thought that the race issue would finally be passe.... that race as an issue would take a back seat.
~
But it's just the opposite.   Now the liberals are pulling out the race card every time they sneeze.
~
Obama couldn't possibly be unpopular because he can't pull the troops out of the Middle East.   People can't be peeved with him because he wants to convert our health care system to something akin to the United States Postal Service.  It can't be the boondoggle economic stimulus package.
~
No.  None other than Jimmy Carter, the biggest goofball ever to sit in the Oval Office, explains to us that the reason of our discontent with Obama is because we are racists.
~

When will we finally realize that the real racists are the liberals...  the Jimmy Carter types who look at themselves in the mirror and try to disguise their self loathing by painting their racist subdued thoughts on everybody else.
~
To dismiss the discontent with Obama as racist... is in itself racist to the core.  This country elected a Black President by popular majority.  The Liberals cannot deny this, but they can never let issues stand on their own merits.  That would be too truthful.

Planning Board Hearing

Heading down to the City of Groton, Connecticut tonight for a Planning Board meeting.   We have a very worthy petition to install antennas on a Groton Utilities water tank, and I hope that the Planning Board sees the utter reasonableness and goodness of our arguments.
~
It helps to be on the side of the Angels with these things.

Mayan Frenzy

I've been getting dozens of emails from you Peeps who have a great deal of anxiety over the Mayan End of Days Prophecy.  You're going to have to learn to cope with this.
~
Just for the record, it doesn't bother me at all.  If we all go together, then that's fine with me.
~
I won't be heading to the mountains with ammunition and vegetable seeds planning for some survivalist scheme.  It just wouldn't be worth it.  If I lived and the rest of you didn't, who the hell would I write this  Blog for????
~
And as you have found out, the Nanepashemet Blog is central to life as we know it.
~
Plus, I really don't believe some died out Central American Indian Culture has a definite handle on the end of the world.
~
So I'm not in the least bit freaked out over this Mayan countdown.   But I'll keep it on the Blog for the next 1,000 days or so, because that cooincides with a personal date that is important to our family.

Maria Rowen said...


I can only speak for myself...but the NBlog along with HThoughts are central to my life...Maybe we could all take a break from the Mayan Frenzy and think about Mercury Madness! The planet Mercury went retrograde on the 6th of September and will continue in it's backward path until the 30th. When Mercury goes retrograde...some unexpected things can happen...so pay attention...sometimes even good things... *_*

Creating Value

I pulled this model to create value from the web.  Not really sure who to credit it to, but I didn't write it.

1. Investigate the attributes valued by the client.
2. Determine the individual weight the client gives to each attribute.
3. Compare our position with that of the competitors on each of these attributes.
4. Propose our own plan for exceeding the proposed value of the competition.

Nanepashemet Telecom delivers plain vanilla services to our customers, and I have been investigating ways to set us apart and make us more desirable vs. our competition.

Pisco said...


Whither the golf shirts? Golf Shirts, T-Shirts, a nice long sleeve denim blue shirt with the logo stitched in is great for the fall season. Christmas is coming. Do not forsake this linchpin to a tradition value model.

Mayan Prophecy

The Mayans believed that time comes to an end in the next couple of years.   Course there are not too many Mayans around to explain this.   They abruptly dissappeared with all traces and their homes were covered with tropical vegetation.  So much for giving us all of this doomsday angst and stuff.

The Official Countdown

The Mayan Calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012, and there are all sorts of doomsday predictions following this date.  I personally don't really get too revved up over this.  If all of us Peeps are going down in a great cataclysmic explosive event together, then there is not much to fear.  A little bit of pain... then off to the next dimension.
~
The preservation of life on earth is such a balancing act anyway.
~
Everything depends on the Earth keeping its exact relationship with the Sun, as it plummets in orbit through space. A quick switch of the magnetic poles.... and the equator could freeze and oceans could shft.    And seven continents float precariously on a molten volcanic mass.  Course, this doesn't even take into account all of the comets and asteroids that could randomly smash into us and alter our climate past our ability to survive.
~
So the odds are definitely against us in the long run.
~
I'm in solid agreement with those who say that God has a hand in our overall well being.  But there are so many ways for Him to nail us if we really pissed Him off.

~
I've got my own reasons for watching the countdown.... and it has nothing to do with some extinct Indian culture.
~
Party on.

Maria Rowen said...


Sylvia Brown predicts the world wlll end in 95 years. (In 2007, she also predicted we would have a black president and not a woman president.) Who knows? It's the myteries of life that make life very interesting... So... If we are all still here on 12/31/2012...let's celebrate!

Who the hell is Sylvia Brown?
~

Maria Rowen said...

Who is Sylvia Browne? Don't you watch Montel? She is the number one psychic in America...I'll bet she knows who you are... (Sorry in the last post I forgot the 'e'on the end of Brown) ~  Isn't Montel that Black Oprah type guy who cries alot?

Jill Phillips said...

what are you trying to do? scare your peeps, because it is working! ~ Jill.... I'm not the freaking Mayans!  I'm not the one who started this thing.

The Point of 9/11

It's the eighth anniversary of 9/11 when Muslim extremists killed over 3,000 Americans.  I wonder what point they were trying to make?  Wouldn't you think that if 3,000 poeple died because some group was pissed off, we would know exactly what they were pissed off about?
~
But we don't.
~
All I know is that we got pissed off, kicked the shit out of the 6th largest army in the world, executed the Iraqi President and occupy the god forsaken countries of Iraq and Afganistan to this day.
~
So if the maniacs who flew into the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania were trying to make a point... they probably came up a little short.  How did they think we were going to react after they attacked a bunch of innocent civilians on a Tuesday work day?  Did they think we were were going to roll over and cower?   Just seems pointless.
~
But then again, I'm not really sure what the point was.
~
I guess you have to be certain that you know who the pointless haters are, and keep your guard up, even if you're not clear on why they hate you.
~
We haven't really mastered our environment in our sophisticated modern culture.   We are still subject to the attack of irrational, wild animals, just like our club dragging ancestors were.

POTW Week 36

Since Thursday is the Peep of the Week Selection Day, and I have been woefully deficient as of late, I decided to shock the hell out of you pathetic, pathological, yet predictable peeps, and give you the selection that you crave on time this week.

ANNOUNCING....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 36th week of 2009.

Kerry DiOrio
Amalia Baretta
Congressman Joe Wilson
The Delivery Driver at Moynihan Lumber
Jim Hormann
Jeff Previte

Sometimes being on time can be boring.

Humping for Enjoyment

Nanepashemet Telecom has been doing a job in Tewksbury, MA for the last two weeks at a water tank installation that requires a stick built 10'x 20' equipment shelter with a pitched roof.   Since we don't get a chance to do this type of framing much in this business, we thought it would be fun to build this ourselves.
~
We were right.
~
It's been a lot of fun and has come out fine.   But all other parts of our business has suffered badly as we have been getting our yucks swinging hammers.
~
I've got to get back to my old adage.... do what you do best.  Leave the hump work to the humpers who can't do what you can do from a business standpoint.  This is best for the humpers, and best for me.
~
Although physical labor can be extremely cathartic.

Increasing the Pace

The day after Labor Day is really the New Year for business.  Things start to get increasingly busy as people see the fourth quarter looming forth, and summer vacations are over.
~
We did seem to see an uptake of activity at Nanepashemet Telecom today.  Not that we couldn't handle it.

POTW Week 35

This week's Peep of the Week Selection is late because of the wedding in New Hampshire.   Joanne and I haven't been away all year, so deal with it.  Don't I deserve some time off once in awhile????  At least I'm getting the job done... even if it is a little late.

ANNOUNCING....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 35th week of 2009.

Nathaniel Clarke

Gordon McBurney

Pat Gallo

Craig Murray

The Guy in the entrance guard shack at the Mount Washington Hotel.

Jill Tufts

Next week we should be back to normal.

Great Father in Washington

President Obama has a back to school speech for students tomorrow.
~
Seriously.
~
You are not our Father.  You are the freaking President.  Do your job.  Get our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.... Pull us out of the recession.  That's what you are supposed to do.
~
We can talk to our kids all by ourselves.  That's our job.
~
Don't be telling us how to wash our hands and bullshit like that.  Give the people who voted for you more credit than that.  It's the typical liberal... "leave it all up to government.... the government knows what is best."
~
This whole "it takes a village" concept negates the central tenet that God gave us all the ability to take responsibility for ourselves... and create our own reality.   We don't need the Leftys to tell us that we should wash our hands to avoid flu germs, or that we should study hard and stay in school.
~
If you do, then you deserve to be lectured by Obama.

McBurney

Good luck Scott and Caroline McBurney.  We had fun at your wedding.

Figity Photo

Lisa Rowe, Joanne Nestor, and Maria Rowen all cleaned up really nice for the wedding.   But they had trouble sitting still.

Harvey Rowe said...

Jay...What makes you the "chick magnet"the blog or the man ?

Maria Rowen said...

I think we had a little help from two friends; Kendall-Jackson and Margarita!

Keynesian Economics

It's beautiful weather up here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for the McBurney Wedding.
~
We are staying at the Mount Washington Hotel in the same room occupied by John Maynard Keynes, the legendary economist,  durring the 1944 International Bretton Woods Monetary Conference.  I have no idea if they booked is into that room because they knew of the importance of the Nanepashemet Blog, or not.
~

Probably Not.

~
This is a beautifully restored, turn of the century Victorian hotel.  Lisa Rowe and Maria Rowen are among the invited guests that add to the beauty of the location.

I have to head down to the pool and get some laps in.

Manhood Challenge.

Tomorrow, on the Field of Honor, I challenge Will Murray at the North Conway Country Club for 18 holes  of golfing competion.
~
If Will is like anyone that I have ever played, he'll mercilessly kick my golfing ass.  But I am still gong to challenge his manhood tommorow.
~
BTW,  I continue to suck at golf.   As in brutally freaking bad.

Great Responsibility

I realize that this Blog is powerful.... that it has the ability to completely derail the lives of some of you Peeps.
~
That's why I'm so careful with my Posts.
~
With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility.

Phreaking Plagiarist

So I made the mistake of telling my friend Harvey Rowe, that those who have seen me play golf know me as "the Crusher".  And that frequently, I use this moniker, "Crusher", to sign up for various internet sites.
~
You can imagine what happened next.
~
As Harvey was searching for a name for his fantasy football team that he and Sweet Lou Panakio are collaborating on, the only name he could come up with was "The Crushers".
~
It's a clear cut case of plagiarism.... hands down.
~
And this isn't the first time that I've caught Harvey stealing my intellectual  property.  Just take a look at his Blog, Harvey's Thoughts, and see if you see anything familiar. 
~

Look at his smug, insidious demeanor.  I would sue, but Harvey is one of the best lawyers that I know, and I'm already knee deep in legal fees these days.  So the best I can do is to point my index finger right at him, and call him a Phreaking Plagiarist.
~
No matter what your Phreaking Phantasy Phootball team says.... I'm still the only  "Crusher."

Harvey Rowe said...

Oh......Come on Crusher.........COPYING IS THE BEST FORM OF FLATTERY...AND THEIR IS NEVER ENOUGH OF THAT GOING AROUND......THE FLATTERY IS ALL YOURS.....I WON'T TAKE IT BACK EVEN IF YOU INSIST......

Tuna Lips said...

Ise reckon from that grin on his face, somewheres there is a village missin' its idjut. Amazin to me the number of goobers you comes across.

 ~

Tuna has it right this time.

Tragic Summer

My corporate lawyer, Rick Breed, lost his 30 year old daughter, Lindsay,  to a sudden death this week.   The rumor is that it was a brain aneurysm, but it really doesn't matter.
~
The Breed family are wonderful people, and they've just been beset by the worst tragedy imaginable.
~
Our thoughts and  prayers go out to them.
~
It's been a summer that I am happy to leave this September.  Sometimes the challenges of life come at you a little too fast.  Let's hope for brighter days.
~
Be with God Lindsay.

~

Wedding Party

Trying to cram three days of work into the whole week because on Thurs, we are heading to North Conway for the McBurney wedding and won't be back until the following Tues.  It will be a nice getaway... the only one we've had this summer.
~
Mike is in the wedding party and a lot of super peeps will be there.   We'll take pictures and make a full report. 
 ~
I'd like to get a haircut in before but am not sure how I can pull this off with the schedule the next few days.   Toying with the idea of getting a buzz.   How bad can it be?  It will all grow back if it doesn't look good.  If it grows half as fast as nostril and ear hair, then it will be back in a week or so.

Paper or Plastic

Politics in Massachusetts will be interesting again with the rush to fill Ted's seat.  Whoever gets it will have the Senior Senator John Kerry as a mentor.   So they will have to have a strong stomach.

~

No, I'm not going to run.... Too much baggage.... way too much.   We're not talking paper or plastic here.... these bags are extra mil contractor quality.

~

But you are right to suggest that I'd make a hell of a Senator.  What with my ability to compromise and get along with people of all persuasions, as well as my rapier like tendency to understand the complexity of any issue.   

~

The only problem would be picking my administrative staff.  All of you Peeps would be clamoring for the jobs and it would be a real Donnybrook.  And I'd hate to see you all clawing and scratching  all over each other.

~

My agenda would be the standard Neo-Conservative Taoist Pagan party line.  Nothing out of the mainstream.

Pisc said...

I've already worked for you once. I am still recovering! Keep the pressure on, do not relent in stating your case and position, in line with right thinking or not. Rage against the machine!

Thinking of You

We're driving back from the Kittery, Maine Outlets, and Joanne asked me the always controversial question.... "What are you thinking about?"
~
In my younger, less experienced days, I might have been sucked into telling the truth... something like " I was thinking of how good a couple of grilled snap dogs with a Sam Adams might taste about now." ......Or....... "I was thinking about getting whether the Bluefish might be blitzing outside of the Harbor this weekend."
~
But now I am older and wiser.
~
Now, my stock answer to this murky question that is often riddled with bobbytraps, is how I responded this afternoon.
~
As in.... "I was just thinking about the richness of our relationship together, and how each passing moment sees my love grow deeper and stronger." Sometimes, I'll hit her with something like... "I was just thinking of you, you, and nothing but my love and appreciation of you."
~
Usually this little exchange results in a retort of "Bullshit" from her, but allows me to think in peace for awhile longer. And that is pretty much how it worked out today.

Rain Day Adjustment

It's a rainy Saturday morning.
~
I had hoped to get Kate's Adirondack Chair in full swing but Joanne wants to go to the shopping outlets at Kittery, Maine to buy some school clothes.
~
So I guess I'm going to Kittery.
~
Even though it has been established that I am the quintessential Mountain of a Man, I still tend to wimp under now and then.
~
That's OK.... as long as it doesn't happen too often.
~
Ryan is working on building some custom fishing rods for his kids before he goes away, and Kate and Mike are on the way to Beverly Ave. to hang with Ethan and Will. We'll chill until they show, then head up to Maine for a couple of hours.
~
Maybe the rain will let up by the time we return.

Spooling

Tomorrow, it is out by 6:45AM, over to the tool rental store in Salem to pick up a trailer, then out to Brimfield, MA to pick up a spool of coax cable, left at the job.
~
From there, I have to be in Burlington at our storage facility to pick up the 7' in diameter, spool of of 1 5/8" coax that is super heavy. This will be transported to the Tewksbury Water Tank job, then I'm hoping to be back in Peabody at the Nanepashemet warehouse to drop off the material by 1:00 in the afternoon.
~
Then I'll deadhead back to Salem, drop off the trailer, get back to Marblehead, check email and the mail, and maybe the weekend can start.
~
My brother, Jim, is up from Florida with a Blues Band that he is managing with gigs in Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York. So maybe I'll get the chance to see him.

POTW Week 34

Last week I missed the Peep of the Week selection.
~
Didn't even think of it.
~
It shouldn't be such a big deal. So why is everyone so freaking irate!
~
If you're expecting me to come up with some momentous reason for neglecting this thing, I suppose that I could.
~
If you think that I might come out with some diatribe about the evil effects of lies and lying and how it will eventually destroy any vestiges of character that you can salvage, I suppose that I could.
~
But I won't because I am conducting a slightly more expensive approach.

ANNOUNCING.....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 34th Week of 2009.

Sarah McCormack
Brian Butler
Phoebe Crawford
Tom Raiche
Charlotte Murphy
Carol Kenner

I'm pretty sure that I won't forget the selection next week, because I don't want to put up with all the whining and lamentation.

"This above all. To thine own self be True" - Shakespeare

Peep of the Year, Lauren Rathbone said....
My guess is Brian Butler was the one to complain that you missed a week.!!

There were many, Lauren, but I'm not inclined to make any specific disclosures.

Voting for Ted Kennedy

The Kennedy tributes continue to flow. You get the feeling that the liberal media has to continue to lay it on thick so that the underbelly never shows.
~
But there is a undeniable resentment to Kennedy that the media is pushing past.
~
I remember years ago, when I was skiing at Attitash in New Hampshire and going up the ski lift with a talkative New York guy. We introduced ourselves after getting on the lift and I told him that I was from Massachusetts. The guy immediately went on a diatribe regarding Ted.... Chappaquidick.... yada, yada, yada.... then asked how we in Massachusetts voted for him over and over again.
~
A lot of what he said was pure logic. But I told him that I had voted for Kennedy on any occasion that I saw him on the ballot.... even though I substantially agreed with the points that this New York skier made.
~
Though I had never examined the reason before, I told him that I voted for Ted Kennedy, not because of him, but because of the promise that the Kennedy's brought. For his brothers John and Bobby, for my Irish Catholic parents who sat at the kitchen table crying as I came home from school in the sixth grade during November and found out that President John Kennedy had been shot that day. For the incredible speech that Ted Kennedy made at St. Patrick's Cathedral at the occasion of Bobby's funeral. These are the reasons I voted for Ted Kennedy.
~
Like a liberal, I voted for Ted because of emotions and feelings of what could have been.... not because of the facts.
~
But despite the dark mistakes, the tragedy that beset this man and his ability to remold, and rebuild, and help people on an individual level has made his life a tough loss.

Dead Ted

Ted Kennedy has passed on.
~
This I know because of the relentless swooning from the media.
~
I'll admit that I'm having a hard time reconciling all of the lamentations and praise with the Chappaquidick incident haunting the back of my mind. If anyone took the time to analize the facts behind this, it is clear that a young girl lost her life while in the company of Kennedy, who took great steps to cover up the accident. Disingenuous, dishonest steps. The kinds of things that you and I would do time for.
~
He got kicked out of Harvard for cheating as well. Tremendous lapses of character that the average Dick would probably never recover from.
~
So the issue is ..... do people who stray, who make bad mistakes, deserve a second chance? I generally think they do. Most wounds heal. But the Kopechne girl can never be brought back to life. And Kennedy left her to drown, when a quick response could have saved her life. Despite the sappy Biden comments, he didn't always think of others first.
~
That said, he was a hell of a legislator. By all accounts, he was a Senator who knew the lay of the land and could get things done. And his constituent service is becoming legendary.
~
I feel bad that Ted is dead. He certainly had a good side to him that probably eclipses his shortcomings and mistakes. But the the effort to canonize him has a phoney edge to it that is a bit unsettling.
~
He was a practicing Catholic, and if his beliefs are true, he's now in front of a much greater judge than you or I.