Looking Inside

Sometimes life can seem hard and unfair.
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That's because it really can be.
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But what makes it worse is when you try to assess the blame for everything that ails you to someone or something.
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Instead of looking within for the basis of our discontent, it is far easier to think that our harsh and unfair situations were caused by other's actions and evil intent.
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This never solves the problem because it diverts the attention from the ultimate true source - ourselves and our own outlooks on life. As long as we project our own feelings on others, we can never actually change our feelings and eliminate the issues.
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How can you know what others think, if you can't even be honest with yourself and understand your own thoughts? People are far more engaged in their own problems and generally have neither the time nor the interest to invest in screwing with you.
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So the blame game exaggerates and perpetuates the problems. If we would look within and forgive ourselves, that's always a good beginning.
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Off Handed

At Murph's Wedding, Jeremy Johnson, an Attorney living in Minnesota, said that he found the Nanepashemet Blog to be surprisingly insightful.
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I'm still trying to understand if that was a compliment.
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Course Murph is a loyal Peep, but I was also intrigued to see all of the people at the wedding who knew the significance of being named a POTW.

Gunning Dorys of the World

A quick Web search found these Gunning Dorys on the West Coast.
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There also seems to be a significant amount of interest from France for some reason.
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One thing is certain - the craft does seem to have a natural attraction to some people.

Starting to Reorganize

Yesterday I started the garage reorganization. I cleaned up the floor and moved a lot of stuff around, but it didn't seem like I gained much space. I'm thinking that I have to clean out under the deck, waterproof some space and move the lumber and miscellaneous stuff there. The garage space has to be left for the stationary tools and the project at hand.
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I can use the panels that were made from strapping and plastic tarpaulin to construct the temporary varnishing shed to provide a stop gap measure. It will be ugly, but it already is, so no additional violalation.
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Neither Joanne, nor Katelyn are buying my idea of finishing the basement simultaneously with the Dory work, but I intend to devote time to each.
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By the way, I'm sure that I am afflicted by that hoarding disorder. I just hate to throw stuff away, especially old files, tools, wood and metal. Living in relatively close quarters, this condition has to be aggressively challenged or the Dory will be far harder to construct.

A Nice Start

Mike and Beth Murphy were joined in holy matrimony today with a beautiful ceremony in Southborough and a fun reception in Stowe, MA.
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Best wishes to a very nice couple.
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Murph always called Joanne, "Mom", which caused some confusion with some guests in the receiving line.

Practice Makes Perfect.

I dragged Greg Bruett up to the Gerry Club last night in order to get into drinking shape for Murph's wedding. If was great practice because I feel like hell this morning. We'll take the drive from Marblehead to Stow, MA a little after noon time.
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No boat work today.

Project Initation

Tomorrow is the first day of September. Time to begin the Chamberlain Marblehead Gunning Dory as drawn by the venerable late John Gardner. There are three constraints that will initially impede the project.
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First is my commitment to the success of Nanepashemet Project Management in developing a financially stable business. That constraint is the fuel that drives all other initiatives. Without this commitment, there will be no way to pay for the cedar and epoxy required to build the dory.
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The second constraint is space, or the lack thereof. The first action item in the construction of the Gunning Dory will be a wholescale reorganization of my garage and the space under the deck in the back of the house. The garage is twenty feet long; the Dory will be eighteen feet long. Efficiency in the use of the garage space is paramount. It I can't move around with ease from machine to machine, I will lose interest in keeping pace with the project requirements.
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The third constraint is the state of my basement. It used to be a fairly decent family room, but now it is filled with crap. The floors have to be tiled, the cabinetry replaced, the trimwork has to be completed, ceiling repaired and everything has to be painted. If I commit whole heartedly to the boat project, and neglect finishing the basement, I will lose the support of Joanne, Mike and Kate for the overall project and be subject to constrant derision and ridicule.
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I'd like to complete the Gunning Dory by next June.
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So there we have our equation for success. The Dory has to be built without compromising my commitment to my business, the garage has to be revamped and the basement project has to progress simultaneously.
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Somehow, I am not daunted.
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Since I spend a lot of time at Nanepashemet Telecom waiting for customers and vendors to call me back, it should be possible to fill in the gaps with focused activity. The Garage can be reorganized with the help of some serious dump runs in the next couple of days. And the basement can be looked at as a welcome diversion from Boatbuilding from time to time.
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Course, there is also social obligations that will bite into project tiime. Tomorrow we have Michael Murphy's wedding in Stow, MA. By Sunday, it may be possible to start the garage reorg work, providing a manageble hangover from the Wedding Reception. Murph deserves nothing less that a full party effort.
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But if it is a great day, we might have to get some striper fishing in... and the dump isn't open on Sunday, or next Monday which is Labor Day.
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So the project launch has some interesting challenges this weekend.

Fair Winds

Since the Bank meeting for Nanepashemet Telecom was so successful, I decided to blow off work in the afternoon and try to sail the Tender in Marblehead Harbor. Either the Tender doesn't sail too well, or I suck at sailing, or a combination of the two, because I soon became bored with trying to make headway sailing and bungeed the sail to the mast in favor of a row around the Harbor.
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Afterwards, I got a chance to see my grandson, Will, who eventually will be riding his bike over to Beverly Ave., hanging around the garage, learning how to build cool looking boats that don't sail too well. Maybe he won't suck at sailing like his grandfather.

No Sweat

Runner's World says that the maximum heart rate formula is 208 - (.7 x age).
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That puts mine at 170. I've been consistently at 150 beats per minute, and have also hit 160 on the Cybex stationary bike recently, so I was interested in finding out where I should back off.
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Anywhere over 140 and I'm getting a good burn based upon my breathing and sweat.
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When I'm rowing in the Tender, I don't really get a burn in because there are two many distractions on the water.

Peep of the Week - Week 34

Peep of the Week day.
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People shouldn't get so worked up about it.
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It's just another day.
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So why all the hubbub???, why all the dither????, why all the rigamarole????
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It's only Thursday, Peep of the Week Day.
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I suppose that if I didn't have the heavy and aching responsibility of selecting the POTW, I would get all hot and bothered too.
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Whatever....

Announcing
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for week 34 of 2007

• Trish Rockett
• Denise Sousa
• Patrick Piscatelli
• Bill Hillegas
• Marion Solomon
• Derek Jeter

So now that's over with. Everyone can take a chill pill until next Thursday when all of the angst and hysteria begins again.

Dark and Stormy Tour.

It was a nice evening with Lynda and Will Murray as we first graced the Corinthian Porch for a drink, then headed to the Boston Yacht Club for dinner. At both stops, I sampled the Dark and Stormies and rated the BYC's far superior.
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Both yacht clubs had better D&S's than the Landing Restaurant however, which advertises a "Best of Boston" for their Dark and Stormies.
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Course, the ones that I make at Beverly Ave. eclipses all of them.

Book Writing Methodology

I'm thinking of writing the Gunning Dory book on this blog, then transferring the text and graphics to Microsoft Word. That means that the many thousands of you who faithfully hit this blog every day will get a free book.
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Maybe it would be worth it.
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After all.... the book should draw millions, and a relatively few "loss leaders" shouldn't greatly diminish it's commercial success. Plus, I'll put a few bonuses in the Word edition which should lure the Blog Peeps to make the purchase.