Killer Ap

The Apple iPhone is going to give Nanepashemet Telecom more work that we can dream of. It is the killer application that will cause people to demand more bandwidth from their wireless network providers.
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To provide the level of video and data proposed by the iPhone, you need more antennas, more equipment, more services by Nanepashemet Project Management, Inc.
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Thank you Steve Jobs.

Ebbs and Flows

We had a nice harbor cruise with Lynda and Will Murray this evening. Very relaxing. The Murray's are fun and great company.
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Note to Self: Never ask Lynda Murray to help tie up your boat.
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I took care of a sizable financial obligation today and was treated very fairly. It's weird how making a payment can almost be as satisfying as receiving one, in the right situation. Money itself - how it comes and goes, ebbs and flows - is also mystical at times.
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Although I need to get more of the flow and less of the ebb pretty soon.

Diverse Accomplishments

We got up in North Conway early, cleaned the condo and were back in Marblehead by 9:30AM. The lawn was a mess so I cut it immediately, but by 10:00 AM it was over 80 Degrees and getting hotter. I knew that I had to get a coat of paint on the deck railings, so I went into overdrive while fielding calls from the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission and Sprint.
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By 2:00 PM , the deck railings were painted and I was showered and ready for my pricing call with Tom and MIke. We covered a lot of ground with three potential customers by 5:00 PM and I also got some interesting calls from Wild Bill.
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At 5:30, before dinner, I went down to the Salem Harbor Mooring to check on the WhaleEye electronics, that Ryan had said blew a fuse. They were fine. Don't really understand what happened. I want the WhaleEye ship shape for when Mike Nestor is home with us for the next ten days or so.
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After dinner, I toured Marblehead Harbor in the Tender... a three mile row that basically qualified as a workout.. The leak issue is very minimal, but I have to tune a lot of stuff in the trailering process.
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Got the usual oohs and ahhs from people watching me row from their sailboats. The tender does cut a pretty figure... even with me rowing it.
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Tomorrow, I have meetings with Mike Rockett in the morning. Mike got some great press in the Salem Evening News today for the Salem Waterfront Hotel expansion. His photo, in a very visionary pose, was featured on the front page of the paper, and the Salem Mayor and State Rep went on record with supportive comments for the project.
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Nice Job Mike!!! I'm really proud to be associated with him and this project.
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Time for some Dark and Stormies.

Authorship

So I'm sitting here thinking about writing a series of books.
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At least five, maybe seven.
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The first will be about building boats - specifically, the trials and tribulations of building the Chamberlain Marblehead Gunning Dory.
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The second will be about fishing - documenting a season of chasing stripers and tuna around the the North Shore of Boston.
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The third will be about a fascination with maps and GPS.
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The fourth will be about the experience of running a business.
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The fifth will be a character study on someone who interests me.... like Donald Trump.
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Not sure about the sixth and seventh.
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Don't worry. I won't forget the Peeps who supported me when I was just a Blogger. BTW, if you find me a publisher, I will be sure to mention you in the acknowledgements.

Nice Office

The day in North Conway was a great success, with the sunset capping a fine 24 hours on Earth.
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Joanne and I went to the outlets then had a nice lunch at the Thompson Eatery in Jackson.
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After lunch, we took a ride to Conway Lake and checked out the boat launch ramp and the trailer parking facilities.
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When I got back to the condo, I took a couple of business calls and fired off some emails, which really got me pumped, because it is apparent that this virtual office gig is very feasible.
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I'll take the Tender for its first lake run in Conway, then later make the trek up north to Lake Umbagog.

Afflicted

I know that most of you envision me as a vigorous, mountain of a man, oblivious to the physical frailties that plague the majority of lesser men.
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Not So!!!
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Even I can be stricken by the afflictions that plague common people.
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Today the problem is the freaking Gout in my right foot, specifically the outside joint of my big toe.
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I could feel it coming on up in Burlington at the Wedding, but I viewed it as a byproduct of my aggressive dance moves. Luckily, I packed my Allopurinol and a green pain killer just in case the Gout made an appearance.
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So I'm thinking that the pain will soon fade into light headed euphoria.

Take Precautions

I can't believe the sympathy e-mails that I have received due to the insidious prank pulled on me by the devious Jill Phillips.
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Thank you for the kind sentiments.
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Trying to counterfeit a Dark and Stormy is about as low as you can go. At least she didn't try to pass a fake Lagavulin!!!!
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That would have been a capital offense.
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I took a mug shot of the culprit so that you can protect yourself from being victimized like I was.
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The good looking guy, Eric, has been posing as Jill's boyfriend for some time now. I'm not sure of his complicity in this plot.
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Kate and Emily may also have played a role.

Time to Regroup

We haven't been to the Northbrook condominium in North Conway for a while. Building the new Sundance school, the work on the Tender, and not wanting to go far while Will was getting ready to be born were the major reasons.
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In fact, the last time I came, I got some X-C skiing in.
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Everything was fine, except a couple of hornets decided to build a nest in our grill on the deck. Bad choice.
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We'll regroup here for a day or so, then get back to business at Nanepashemet Project Management.

Road Trip News

We left Essex Junction this morning and cut across Vermont to No. Conway. I'd seen dead deer along the highway in California and Pennsylvania, but never once in New England.
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But on this trip, we saw two - one on Route in Vermont and one in NH, both on Route 302.
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During the ride, both Mike and Ryan called. Mike was getting ready for his trip home from DC, and Ryan had just returned from a morning fishing outing at Stellwagen Bank. He said he was out on the Bank by 5:00AM, and ten minutes later, hooked onto a giant Bluefin which stripped the line.
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The fish must have been well over 400lbs. to do that to our Olkume tuna rigs, and Ryan said that he was powerless to halt the line stripping. WOW!!!! I would have loved to have seen that.

A Happy Day

Brian and Stacey's wedding was really fun... until Jill Phillips did the unthinkable.
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It's hard to articulate this, so I'll just blurt it out. She put a lightly tanned liquid in a wine glass in front of me, and told me it was a Dark and Stormy.
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Naturally, my defenses went right up. I could tell that something sinister was in process. I think that Jill felt that she could take advantage of me because of the sweat pouring from my forehead as I tried to regroup for the next dance set.
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She must think that I'm a big, fat, idiot.
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Even in my reduced physical state, I could tell that the mislabeled drink sitting in front of me was Ginger Ale and Myer's Black Rum..... certainly not a Dark and Stormy.
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Nice try Jill. Joanne and I still had a great time, despite your evil plot.

Deck Cap Plan

Last night I got my inspiration for the deck cap design.
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It will be patterned after the breasthook of the yacht tender, which was formed with two pieces of Meranti Mahogany, and a strip of red oak epoxied in the middle. There is a crown on the oak strip that was formed by planing and belt sanding the breasthook. Then fine sanding, a couple or three coats of epoxy and at least five coats of marine varnish.
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1x8 meranti boards will be positioned over the rail curves from post to post, then curves of mahogany will be jigsawed from one side and jointed to the other. All of the angle joints will be expoxy glued and reinforced with biscuits.
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Under all of the edges will be a 3/4 strip of oak, which will form a two toned illusion of a 1 1/2" rail piece.
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I'll set my router edge guard for 7 1/2" inches and run a straight edge bit along the entire rail to insure that the rail curves are parallel.
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Then I'll reset the edge guard to center on 3 1/4" and make the center plough cut which will house the middle oak strip. Then 1/4" oak strips will be cut from a 14 foot oak board that I have been storing for a couple of years. The thin width of the oak should allow it to bend easily into the plough cut, which will be bedded with epoxy.
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When all that dries, I will plan and sand the crown and edges.
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The contrast of the dark Mahogany, enhanced by the oak highlights, with the painted white curved rails should be cool as hell!!!
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I'll definitely take pictures to show you. If all goes according to plan, we should see this masterpiece before the 4th of July when Mike comes home again.

Vermont Wedding

Joanne and I are in Essex Junction, VT to attend the long awaited wedding of Stacey Mallette and Brian Butler. Naturally you recognize their names as former Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week.
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We are staying at "The Inn at Essex" which is a hotel restaurant complex that houses a culinary institute. The food is good.
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Tomorrow, we will drop over to St. Michael's College to pick up a baby sized T-Shirt for Will, then rest up to get down for this happening affair. I'm going to try to be reserved, but I brought my dancing shoes just in case.