Bali Hai

Lunch at Bali Hai in Lynnfield, MA is quickly becoming "de rigeur" for aspiring peeps.
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Get there early to grab a parking spot.
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I highly recommend the "No. 32" combo special.
The chicken fingers are my favorite, with the boneless spareribs a close second.
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Also, the pork fried rice with no onions is a fine epicurious choice.

Blogaphobia

Fear of Blogs, Blogging and Bloggers. The first known victim is Tom DiMatteo of Concord, MA.
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As far as we know, the only reliable treatment is constant mentioning of the Nanepashemet Blog and potential blog topics.
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All of you Catholics out there, say a Rosary for Tom.

Instant Winter

It's cold here in Chicago, 4 degrees, lots of snow on the ground.

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Doesn't matter though. Us Darwin guys are sizzling hot.

Chicago Stop

I'm sitting here at the Courtyard Marriott in Schaumburg, Ill., keeping the faith with the Peeps.
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Don't you wish you were me?
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It just doesn't get any better than this.
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BTW, as I left the office today, I noticed a worried look on Brooke Lutrelle's face. As you must know by now, Brooke is one of our Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week. Normally, I could care less if one of the Peeps seems a little stressed out, but Brooke is a Peep that I actually like, so I am a bit concerned.
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Just so you know Brooke, you were chosen because you met one of the following criteria this week.

You did something Annoying, Stupid or Inspiring, you are not dead, you are not an animal or you gave me the gift of Lagavulin.

I'll give you a hint, it was not annoying or stupid. You can figure out the rest.

Dave and I also met a nice lady at the Manchester, NH Airport who told us stories of her trips to the beach. A prime candidate for POTW next week.

Another Thursday - POTW Time

The Hysteria surrounding the selection of Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week has got to stop.
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It is not the end of life as we know it if you are not chosen.
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Chances are, you'll never be a POTW and you are ruining your pitiful life by your constant whining and complaining. Face it, you just might not be good enough. Accept your station in life as a lesser being, and you'll be better off in the long run.
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Now for this week's selections.....

NANEPASHEMET PEEPS OF THE WEEK 5

• Sparky Spillane
• Kerry Woods
• Brooke Lutrelle
• Geoghan Coogan
• Lou Tarmey
• The Chinese Waitress at Bali Hai

That's it.
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The rest of you can lick your wounds and ponder the consequences of yet another week of unfulfillment.

Moonshadow on Schedule

Mike Rockett and Sparky Spillane are on board to start Dec. 13. No doubt in the world that the Stramski project will be a show piece as well as built on time.

A Happy Birthday

The Darwin group gave me a nice cake for my birthday. A thoughtful gesture. Joanne made me prime rib and lobster for dinner and gave me a paper shredder from Staples. Not sure what she had in mind on the shredder gift. My in-laws gave me a nice Home Depot gift card. All three kids called me as well as my mother, brother and niece. It was the nicest birthday ever.
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I'm 54 today. I used to think that the fifties were old. Not now.
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If I died tomorrow, there would be no regrets. I never feel that there were things that I didn't try. I was not afraid to try stuff, not afraid of failure or mistakes. Making decisions was never a problem for me. This morning on TV, Maria Shriver, a Kennedy and wife of Arnold Schwartzernegger, said that all successful people have been told no, and have had failures in their life.
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The weird thing is that you can fail over and over, but you are ultimately judged by your success. Babe Ruth led the major leagues in strikeouts as well as home runs. Nobody calls him the Strikeout King.
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My family and friends constitute my definition of success. Money and possessions are hollow in comparison to the quality of your family and friends.
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As I look back, there are things that I could have done differently. And my actions by no means produced the intended results in a number of key incidents. There were advances as well as fallout, for me, and other people. But I can sincerely say that anything I did, I did in good faith, with no ill will or underhanded intent. Thus, no regrets, and a thankfulness for the insight that each action taught me.
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But I think that I have a lot more things to do. Telecom and Darwin, Sundance, the Tender and Boats, the Blog, my kids and future grandkids, Joanne, fishing, real estate deals - there are a ton of things left to do - things to experience - things to prove - things to enjoy.
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Trying stuff in good faith is the key. Success or failure just makes it interesting.
I'm not done trying yet.

Indians

American Indians hold a special fascination for me. Hence, the name of this blog, "Nanepashemet", the Sachem of the Naumkeag who was killed by Tarratines in 1619. Once again, like boatbuilding, I have no explanation as to why I would be interested in this.
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What causes people to be interested in particular subjects? Could it be karmic experiences from past reincarnations? Why should I be interested in Indians and boats rather than airplanes and mountain climbing? Why does this type of question even intrigue me? Why do I Blog? Why is my head starting to explode?
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Time to call it a day.

Skipped SF

Back from Jacksonville, Florida. The Hampton Inn seemed eerily like the one in Nashville, TN.
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In all seriousness, the homogenieity of this country, caused by corporate development of the outlying surburban landscape has produced a devastating, monotonous sameness. For all the travel I do, I rarely feel like I see anything new and unique.
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OK, so I just got in and am grumpy and tired. But I have a reason to be.
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Five hours of Dave and Busters in a sterile surburban location. We paid for the customer get together and hung out with them playing arcade games. As you can see, I'll go to any depths to get this Darwin juggernaut in a stable orbit.
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I skipped the LA trip in favor of Kerry and Emily, but still will go with Dave to Chicago by the end of the week. All of which means that the peeps will not be neglected as much as I had originally feared.

Stops this Week

Jacksonville, Florida
San Francisco
Chicago
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Then back to the best place on Earth by next Friday- my couch in Marblehead.
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I will probably neglect the blog until then. If you need a fix, you may have to check back in the Archives. Pretend it is mid-Sept.

Seating Decisions

For the Tender Seats, I'm thinking of fitting the cedar planking as a monolithic piece like these examples, rather that the original floorboard like Olkume plywood slats.

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Nothing to it but to do it.

Christmas Tree

Quite an odd tradition. Putting a pine tree in your living room for a month or so every winter.
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Pats are having a game of it with the lowly Lions. They always seem to play down to the level of the competition. It's the middle of the third qtr. ,13-13, and Brady just tossed a pick. I could be watching the squirrel at my birdfeeder soon if this keeps up.
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Now its 21-21 with 7:50 left.
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Cory Dillon just scored his third rushing touchdown with 2:30 left , 28-21.
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Vrabel intercepted with less than 2 minutes, Patriots take a knee and survive with the win.