Basement Marathon Start

Joanne has the itches to get the basement in order.
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The spirit really doesn't move me today, but I agree that it has to get done.
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I have to set the Nordic Track Treadmill back up down there, for when I migrate from the Cybex Bike and actually start running. But that won't happen for at least another month, when I will have shed another 10 lbs. or so. The treadmill has a lot of bounce and gives my weighted body a better introduction to the pounding of running before I head out onto the streets for serious mileage.
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The key to getting to the Marine Corps Marathon next fall is to remain injury free. That means that I have to get into shape in order to get into shape. Patiently stay on the stationary bike until my weight drops, then migrate onto the low impact treadmill. By May or June, I'll be ready for the jolt of paved roads, and that gives me plenty of time to put the Marathon training mileage in by the end of October.
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I seriously don't plan to beat Towne, but I will annihilate any of you other pretenders who decide to take the challenge. Especially my ArchRival, Joe Collins.
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Mike Nestor is considering making the commitment, and I haven't made the pitch to Katelyn, Ryan and Courtney yet. I fully expect the Crawford Brothers to engage now that they have recovered from their humiliating defeat by the Kenyan at Boston last year.
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I'm thinking that I'll have to order about 50 - 100 Nanepashemet Peeps Marathon Shirts to meet the demand for participants and their significant others.
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I'm not winning the carbs battle though. How the hell do you expect me to give up pasta and bread??? That's worse torture than water boarding.
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The key to getting the basement in order will be to take it in small steps, so that it doesn't appear to be overwhelming and doesn't cut into my other obligations. Katelyn said that she would help me, but the last time I checked the weather report, Hell wasn't freezing over.

Calling Out Towne

Remember my college roommate, Bob Towne?
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He ran in a marathon in Austin, Texas this February, and finished at 3:08:28, 2nd in his age division.
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Would I like a piece of him at the Marine Corps Marathon next October!!!!
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Bob, You're going to have to bear down and sharpen up. Looking for you to confirm your appearance at the epic field of honor this fall.

Repeat Blog Visits

This chart says that 70% of the hits on the Nanepashemet Blog are return hits, and that 30% are first timers.
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Not sure what to make of this. Is this pathetic Blog that addictive????
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I know that I visit it often, but I also recognize that I have serious issues. Which is the first step to recovery.

Linguini with Clam Sauce

There are a ton of steamers left over from last night, so I asked Tommy O if he and Linda wanted to come over for some linguini with clam sauce. Actually, I make mine with thin Barilla spaghetti, which I like better than linguini. Funny how the shape of the pasta makes a difference.
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A little butter (ie - a whole stick), the clams, some Frank's Red Hot Sauce, parsley, chives, dryed garlic, red hot pepper, black pepper, a little salt, the pasta.... then some romano cheese sprinkled on the top... it is the Food of the Gods.
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The trick is to mix all of the ingredients except for the Romano and let them sit in the kettle and meld the flavors into the pasta.
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Tommy deserves it after snowblowing my drive way this morning. He says he'll check with Linda.

A Wise Choice

Benny Martin and Stevie Lewis, along with Craig Murray and others, were stalking me last night. Trying to lure me down to the 3 Cod, with the possibility of picking up their massive bar bill. Ben was psyched because he just landed an assistant football coaching job at Merrimac College. Watch for the Merrimac program to leap forward in improvement.
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Luckily for my wallet and my sobriety, Joanne and I were serving steamed clams that Jim Bob and Kathy Peabody brought over to the house last night. Then we watched "Gone Baby Gone" with Casey Affleck's brother Ben portraying the grittier side of Boston. In the Bonus Features, they emphasized that they grew up in Boston, but they actually grew up in Cambridge which is the other side of the moon from the Dorchester culture that was featured in the movie.
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A great flick though. It's still painful to see actors try to capture Boston accents. You can pick out the foreigners a mile away.
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The lack of throbbing pain in my head this morning is testament to my better judgment last night.

Craig Ferguson

If you haven't woken up late at night and watched the "Craig Ferguson Show", you're really missing something.
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This guy is hilarious. His thick Scottish accent allows him to say all sorts of outlandish stuff with impunity. He is a quick wit like Robin Williams and I guarantee you will get a laugh out of him.
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It will disrupt your good night's sleep, but it's worth it.

Pandering Priorities

I thought that the Navy missile destroying the satellite in space was big news. A huge technological and engineering success. With its load of toxic chemicals, the satellite represented a serious threat.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- "Pentagon officials said they think a Navy missile scored a direct hit on the fuel tank of an errant spy satellite late Wednesday, eliminating a toxic threat to people on Earth."

It was a big story.
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Larger that Roger Clemens and his wife on steroids.
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Larger that Senator McCain having the hots for a lobbyist.
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Larger than Barach Obama plagiarizing Gov. Duval
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Larger than Manny Ramirez in Spring training.
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But the news channels had it as a virtual asterist.... there's no doubt that many of you ill-informed Peeps didn't hear about it at all. But you heard about the other stuff I mentioned, didn't you?
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I suppose that I should moralize here that this society doesn't have it's priorities straight, that it panders to emotional gossip, that it enjoys our weaknesses and frailties more than our accomplishments.
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But I won't.... People don't want to see that shit on the Blog.

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week - 8

Great News Sports fans.
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Bob Brown, that Meandering Mass of Molten Manhood, has stepped forth and entered the Arena of Glory. He has declared his willingness to put it all on the line at the Marine Corps Marathon. Damn impressive.
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That brings the list to five who will make the trek to our nation's capital in the fall.

• ME
• Archrival Joe Collins
• Insidious Advisor Bob Wojcik
• Peep of the Year 2006 Tommy McMahon
• Meandering Mass of Molten Manhood, Bob Brown
  

This is gaining momentum.... getting larger than life. I'm really intrigued to see who will be the next to take the pledge. If this gets out of hand, I'll need to stage a fundraiser just to buy the Peep shirts.
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But I have even more important news to address.
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ANNOUNCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for Week 8 of 2oo8.

• Joanne Nestor - Automatic Lagavulin Rule
• Mike McLellan
• Bob Brown
• Bob Wojcik
• Tom McMahon
• Dave Bruett

I can't believe that it took eight weeks for the Lagavulin Rule to kick in. The year is starting out lean.

Hump Day Visualization

Wednesday is Hump Day.
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By the end of the day, I'll have my customer billing up to date, my business accounting into the accountant, and a tower construction bid completed.
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Plus I'll have logged some miles on the Cybex Bike to keep pace with my Archrival, Joe Collins.

Murph said...

Jay,
When you are POTY does every major newspaper want a piece of you? How does one obtain anonymity? I might have to speak with either Tuna Lips or McMahon for some advice.....
http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/lifestyle/celebrations/x1971619227

Tuna Lips said...

Heh heh, every ding dong day is hump day for ole TL! Positive visualization is a practice I employ on regular like. It does not pay to reflect on your current situation when you are surrounded my a gang of illegal aliens with bicycle chains and razors (it was her that gave me them crabs, and all 300 pounds of her will not get me to admit otherwise!). But as I was expounding, you have to visualize the things that you want, like world peace or an unatended Hostess delivery truck, in order to actuate that premonition. Only then can the things that others claim I am taking without right truly become mine by virtue of my self actualized majesty.

It was like those teenagers I was holding in my cabin out by the creek.

Cable

The channels that I like most on Cable are...

History Channel
International History Channel
Military Channel
National Geographic Channel
Discovery Channel
HBO

.... though not necessarily in that order.

I've been waiting for Comcast Cable to come by for a week now to set me up with HD. What a pain in the ass they are for service. But their product is addictive.

Pisc said...

Dude, give Comcast a call and take this opportunity to drive your rates down. I got my bill last Saturday and noticed that all the "deals" that I had signed up for had now expired and they were ringing the cash register on me. With much aplomb and ice water running throuh my veins, I parried with the two pack a day voice on the other end of the phone, and took $42 off my cable bill. This weekend, I am call the digital phone people to see what I can do there. The Insidious Doctor taught me this technique, no less.

Just ask nicely.

Piscabo

Gaining Momentum

Tom McMahon, POTY 2006, has risen to the challenge.
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I knew he would.
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McMahon said...

I might just have to step in on this J. and beat each on of you by at least an HOUR. I'm aiming for Lance Armstrong in this year's Boston and have kept good pace on it so far. My time is looking to improve from last year's 3:08:12 (with a blown out knee in the last 3 or 4 miles) to an estimated 2:45:00. I'm up to 17 miles already in my training and I'm thinking of breaking the 20 mile marker this Sunday.

You challenged the Peeps and now I'm here to represent. 2 marathons in one year, no biggie.

See you in D.C.

Now that is another reason why Tom is Peep of the Year material.

This brings the list to....

• ME
• Archrival Joe Collins
• Insidious Advisor Bob Wojcik
• Peep of the Year 2006 Tommy McMahon

Annoying, yet inspirational. This is getting better and better. With any luck, Tom will tackle the first drunken idiot he sees with a Red Sox shirt on.

Another Future Marathon Victim

Wojcik is in!!!
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After baiting Collins to accept the challenge, I now have Bob Wojcik agreeing to meet me on the field of honor in Washington DC this October.
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Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
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The only problem is.... now I really have to get in shape for the Marine Corps Marathon. That means dropping at least 50 lbs., keeping injury free, yet maintaining the business pace at Nanepashemet Telecom.... and keeping Joanne happy on top of all of it.
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A Herculean Task.
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But there is no turning back now. No going back to a sedentary lifestyle complete with double cheese pepperoni pizza, nightly Sam Adams, fried dough, potato chips, and pasta binges.
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Maybe I should think this through.
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I can live without these things, but it would be great if I could take some more Peeps down with me... like that wussy old roommate, Bob Towne, who let his body go all to hell. Bob, get your ass to Washington DC in the fall.
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In the meantime, if any of you Peeps are up for the challenge, I'd be happy to put you on the list of those destined for humiliating defeat on October 26, 2008.
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So far, the list is....

• ME
• Archrival Joe Collins
• Insidious Advisor Bob Wojcik

If you want to be on the list, you're going to have to take a bit of verbal and written abuse between now and next autumn. But I'd be happy to supply the "Nanepashemet POTW T-Shirts" so that you can be picked out amongst the legitimate contenders.