A Tad Resentful

I paid my taxes last week. An obscene amount of cash money because I didn't have withholding for the entire year of 2008.
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The whole withholding process dulls you to the immense amount of taxes that we pay. It is only when you have to pay out a lump sum when you realize the bite that the government takes out of you.
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Imagine that your gross pay is what you actually have to spend. You would be far better off, wouldn't you?
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It didn't bother me as much in the old days, when the Russians were pointing missiles at us. I figured as long as I didn't have to speak Russian, the taxes were worth it. But as I get older, and more savvy in business, and see the incredibly wasteful processes and spending in the public sector, I tend to get a tad resentful.

POTW Week 15

Today was a great driveway day. Made the measured tenon cuts for Mike's coffee table with my new Grizzly Tablesaw Tenon jig. It's not the best piece of equipment that I've ever bought, but I eventually figured it out and got the job done.
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Mike's coffee table top was refinished and I like the bottom side a little better. All in all, I'm dissapointed in the fir slab and actually considered another top. But it should fit well in Mike's new condo in South Boston, which is in a renovated foundry building with exposed brick walls and high concrete ceilings.
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The fir slab has the mass to fit the surroundings.
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I'm using the same base design for both Mike's coffee table and my Workbench.... mortised and tenoned, glued up 4x4 mahogany legs and 2x4 mahogany stretchers.
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Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 15th week of 2009

Martha Stewart
Patrick Piscatelli
Courtney Jellison Nestor
Perry Dinatale
Tommy O'Shea
Danny Ainge

Tomorrow, I use the new Jet mortising machine to cut the mortises.

Apology

Sorry Peeps.
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I know that the last post was a bit harsh, a bit terse, a bit grouchy.
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Even a Mountain of a Man like me can let his guard down once in awhile.
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But if you don't forgive me, I really don't give a shit.
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So..... Maybe it's too early to apologize.

Big Freaking Deal

Peeps.
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So you noticed that I haven't posted for almost the whole week.
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Big Freaking Deal.
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What do you want.... a medal or something????
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I was damn busy with my own shit. And I couldn't care less how much you bitch and howl.
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I'm not even going to choose the POTW until tomorrow.
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How do you like them apples????

Coffee Table Redo

After two coats of West System Special Coating Clear Epoxy on Mike's coffee table, I've come to a conclusion. It is not acceptable.
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The sanding job is just too sub par. So I'm going to refinish the bottom of the tabletop and get the sanding done right.
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The problem is a penetrating stain and swirl marks that have shown up through the finish.
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I'm sure that the vast number of you unsophisticated Peeps would find no problem in it, and would give your usual annoying "oohs" and "ahs". But my standing as a Mountain of a Man cannot compromise on this.
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It must be redone.

Tuna Lips said...

Looks like my shorts after a few days on the road and a tad too much fiber, what with that big racin' stripe down the middle.

Happy Easter

Easter is a nice holiday. You don't get any days off, and it doesn't get controversial in church and state debates, so the PC police have yet to infiltrate it. There are no big expectations for rituals, so the family pressures are generally low.
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Maybe it's because the day fluctuates - never falls on the same day.
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Anyway, some of my best memories revolve around the Easter Egg hunts that Joanne used to stage for the kids.... and just the family getting together and horsing around.
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Now it's even better with the grandkids in the picture.
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I'm sure that my grandkids probably aren't the cutest in the world, but they are until you can beat this.

Masters in Augusta

I'm totally into the Masters this year... and I haven't a clue why. Those of you who know better understand just how bad I am at golf. I make Charles Barkley's swing seem sweet.
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But the Masters definitely caught my attention.
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My friend Bill Hillegas is a buddy with Jim Furyk and he is in the race after the first day. I like Furyk, and also like Mike Wier, and Phil Mikelson, because they are lefties.
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My favorite is a little known African Filipino American named Tiger Woods. Keep your eye on him... he's a comer.

POTW Week 14

Since I've been fairly out straight with Nanepashemet Telecom this week, it was nice for Tuna Lips to make an appearance. He is one funny sonofabitch, and really takes the pressure off of me from having to come up with pithy remarks on a consistent basis.
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And I haven't been feeling too pithy lately anyway.
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Today would have been a great day to put in some time on the Workbench and Mike's Coffee Table, but I had to spend the whole freaking day trying to make money. How Lame is That!!!! It's about time that somebody offered me one of those paid sabbaticals that the college professors get, so that they can allow their creative juices to rejuvenate.
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Need to get one of those gigs.
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Announcing....
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Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 14th week of 2009.

Dale Johnson
Dustin Padroia
Sarah Crawford
Jessica Rincon
Terrence Swhwab
Kevin Calnan
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Don't worry.... If I had a sabbatical, I'd still keep posting to this pathetic blog.

Paypoint Pain Killer

Made the drive to Old Lyme, New London and Groton, Connecticut this morning with a modicum of success. But a 2 3/4 hr. one way drive always takes it out of you.
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Anything over two hours in a car is physically taxing, but it helps if you make a paypoint. This trip brought Nanepashemet Telecom closer to two of them that should be realized by the end of the week.
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That definitely dulls the pain.

Tuna Lips said...

You might consider stopping in at them injun gamblin' parlors along the seaboard there. Dens of iniquity they is, pour a mean glass of free fire water. Them redskin's slaked they thirst on Pappy's 'shine til we could rob 'em of what they had in their satchels! I got me an on-again-off-again gal down there, I calls her Lil' Spread Eagle to protect the innocent. She gets a little ornery about my breathin' on her, but otherwise, I'd recommneds her to the Spirit in the Sky - that's injun parlance for the Almighty, 'cept they heathens. Cheap enuff too, at a sawbuck per table dance.

Coffee Table Surge

Didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked on the workbench today in a sunny afternoon in the driveway.
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Figuring out how the tail vise was going to work turned out to be problematic.
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But Mike's coffee table is another matter.
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I never thought that I would get it all sanded with a sealer coat of clear epoxy applied so soon.
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Maybe it will even get done in time for his move in date.

The pictures detail the glued up panels prior to sanding, the completed sanding and the first coat of epoxy.
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The base will be constructed of 2 in. thick, glued up meranti mahogany stock.
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One more coat of epoxy to the top and then about 4 coats of sprayed marine varnish over the entire table to follow.
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Double click on the pictures to zoom in.

Forging On

When the sun made an appearance this Saturday morning, I decided to take advantage and move forward with the workbench and coffee table projects. Gluing panels always takes a lot of room and I had to move the operation into the driveway. But I got both the tops for my workbench and Mike's coffee table glued and ready for sanding and finishing.
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I know that a I owe you pictures.
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I also set up the Jet mortising machine, the Grizzly tenon tablesaw jig and the Leigh dovetail jig upgrade.
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So it was a very productive day in the garage and driveway.
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Tomorrow, if the weather is right, I'm going to trim out the dovetailed aprons of the workbench and see if I can install the tail vise.
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Then we will concentrate on the bases for both the Coffee table and the Workbench.

Check Please

We had a nice dinner last night with Will and Lynda Murray at the Boston Yacht Club.
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I just bought an industrial condo from Will in Peabody to use for Nanepashemet Telecom, and it was Joanne's birthday, so he picked up the check.
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A class move.
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Generally, I like to pick up the check. Not because I am overly generous, but because I always get embarrassed splitting the check for some reason. Don't know why. So usually I reach for the check to avoid what is, to me, an awkward situation.
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But it's nice when someone beats me to it.