On the Road Again

New Haven is a lot farther from Marblehead than it should be.... a long drive.   But the bonus for getting there and parking at the side of the ocean to get my bearings was the sight of a huge swan cruising along the shore at the Nathan Hale Park.   I've seem a few of these in the last two weeks while driving around New England.  Very Cool. 
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Then I ended up looking at stuff in West Haven, Meriden and Cromwell as well before deadheading home.....back in Marblehead by 5:30 PM.
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Lots of time on the road for one day. 
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I used to deal with driving fatigue by drinking a can or so of Red Bull, but have been avoiding that recently because of the bad publicity and health concern that seems to be following these energy drinks.  Now coffee and Coca Cola with bathroom breaks at McDonald's give me the the road warrior edge. 
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Travel is such a necessary evil.  And it doesn't matter if it is trains, planes or automobiles.    Always tiring and stressful.  I so prefer to stay home.  I've seen swans down at the Rockett Landing in Salem Harbor.  Don't necessarily need to drive to New Haven for that.
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There was an underpinning of excitement down in Connecticut about the UCONN game for the national NCAA Basketball Championship.  I'm happy for their win.

No Plan to Go Public

Big week for Nanepashemet Telecom.
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New Haven, CT today, Springfield, MA tomorrow.  Lots of other venues in between and after.
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Lots of you have asked me when we are going public.   Even if we were, I wouldn't disclose it, but I'm pretty sure we are keeping it all for ourself.

POTW Week 13

So I finally changed the pattern and got a workout on the Cybex this morning.  It's the best that I've felt with this head cold in three weeks, and I broke a nice sweat during the thirty minute session.
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I won't be weighing myself during this regime until my pants get easier to button.  Otherwise, it doesn't matter what the scale says.
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Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 13th Week of 2011

Tom Raiche
Brian Harrington
Denise Kearns
Kate Middleton
John Kerry
Robert Towne

But once I feel comfortable in my trousers, I will be interested in seeing the scale come up short of 200 lbs.  Even though I am rough, tough, hard to bluff and damn good looking right now, a little improvement couldn't hurt.

ReAlignment and ReAjustment

The author's of this book claim that if you read and implement, you will be healthier, your relationships will improve, and you will be financially successful.
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I bought it anyway.
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Had the electronic version downloaded from Amazon to Joanne's Kindle and then synched it to my Ipod and read half yesterday.
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So far, it had been quite an inspirational read.  I especially like the B-ALERT technique.
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B - Make a Blueprint for each day.  Link to your goals.
A - Take Action.
L - Learn - Read about your industry 30 min./day.
E - Exercise - 30 min. per day. 
R - Relax - When fatique hits in the afternoon, Nap if possible for 25 Min.  Take a full day off per week.
T - Think -  Take the time at the end of the day to replect and evaluate what happened, and how to improve.
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Naturally this habit has to be set over a well thought out series of balanced goals which cover your personal, career, financial and other areas of your life.  The goals have to be your honest evaluation of what you desire, and what action you will take to achieve your goals.
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And it all has to be habitual.  There are no magic buttons to push  You have to do this stuff every day until you do it automatically.
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What I like about this program is that it is doable and attainable.  It means that you have to reallign some of your behavior patterns, but not drastically.   The key is in the title... "Focus."
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And even if some things don't improve, at least I'll lose some weight by junping on the Cybex every morning.
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It's the first full week in April.  I'll check back with you on May 2 or so and let you know how this is working out.

Denis Leary Doesn't Suck

In the new house on West Shore Drive, I have my own bathroom.  And Joanne has hers.   She gets pretty pissed off if I use hers, even though hers is bigger and I have to walk past it to get to mine. 
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But in general, I'm pretty happy to be confined to my very own shitter.   I can't be blamed for misses or drips, because I never freaking use her toilet.
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And I'm free to have my own reading material in my own bathroom.  Don't have to put up with Lady's Home Journal or Martha Stewart Living because she sees fit to toss my woodworking or sports mags.
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But the bathroom is small with a small sink and stand up shower sqeezed into it.  Not much room for non-bath related paraphenalia.  I have room for one book at a time to be rested between visits on the window sill.
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Of late, the book has been "Why We Suck" by Denis Leary.   Dave and Meghan Bruett bought the book for Ryan early in his stay at Fort Devins, and he shipped it our way as his collection has grown in his limited bunk space. 
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Leary is an edgy comedian who grew up Irish Catholic in a Worcester, MA working class neighborhood.  He likes Hockey, the Red Sox, and has a kinship with firefighters.  All stuff that I can personally relate to.  He has a no nonsense outlook and doesn't suffer fools easily, which I like as well.
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Plus, you can read a chapter of his book in one sitting.... so to speak.

Getting Older

It was a nice birthday party for Joanne at the BYC with Harvey and Lisa Rowe and Maria Rowen.
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Always good conversation, insight and laughs with this group.
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At our age, birthdays seem to come pretty fast.  We've been cruising through the fifties in record speed.  But screw. it... it is what it is.  You can't do anything about getting older.  I used to think that people in their fifties were old, but now I'm way down that road, and I really don't feel that way.
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Sure.. I can't do some things that I used to do... namely run and play basketball.    But I'm certain that I think and reason better and my short term strength is as good or better than it ever was. 
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So far, no memory loss or anything like that.  And I'm a much better woodworker and boatbuilder  now.

New Haven Bound

Nanepashemet has picked up quite a few work orders for services in the New Haven, CT area.
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Although I am proud to have done my undergrad work at UMASS Amherst, it would have been nice to have gone to Yale.   I remember from my days on the track team, that they had great food there, and the Skull and Bones Club seems pretty cool.
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I could probably hang out there for lunch if I was an Alum.    But I guess I'll be finding a McDonalds.

Sperm Whale Sighting

Got a lot of grief with my Turkey in the Tree sighting yesterday.

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But it doesn't compare to the time I was out rowing and caught a glimpse of that sperm whale.

When I was a kid, we just didn't see too many sperm whales around these parts. 

Now it seems like they're everywhere.

Sure beats the hell out of Dougie's Cod.



http://www.northshorewaterman.com/

Royal Wedding Gaffe

One month until the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

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Joanne and I are still checking the mailbox for our invitation.

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You would think that we would have received it by now.

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We're not bitter people, but will be scaling down the value of our wedding gift based upon this oversight.

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I had originally in mind a nice blender, but now they'll probably get a set of tupperware.

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Even tupperware seems too good for them if this goes on for much longer.

POTW Week 12 of 2011

I've been reminded that I've been lax on selecting the Peep of the Week.  Not sure why I've let this go, because it's obviously crucial to the health and well being of such a wide swath of society.  It's a good thing that you can translate this blog into other languages using Google.  Otherwise, it would be impossible to cover the international demand.

ANNOUNCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 12th Week of 2011

Ethan Nestor
Kerry D'Orio
Phoebe Crawford
Charlotte Crawford
Emily Mountford
Craig LoConte

That should get the program back on the right track.
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BTW, a huge tip of the hat goes out to Superpeeps Chris and Sarah Crawford who brought their beautiful twin girls, Charlotte and Phoebe, out for some FreshAyer this weekend.
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A class act from a class couple, and Ryan really appreciated it.

Talking Turkey

You can click on this Pic for a better look.

Woke up this morning to see two turkeys roosting in the trees across West Shore Drive, about thrity feet up from the ground.   Just yesterday, Joanne was asking me where the turkeys spend the night. 
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Now we know.
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I stopped watching them for a second, and next thing I knew, they were pecking away in the front lawn.  Big huge birds.

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It's incredible that turkeys are found in such abundance in this area.   It's the same instance with Canada Geese.  Neither of these species could be found here when I was a kid.... now they are commonplace.

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In 1950, there were an estimated 300,000 turkeys in the United States... now the number is 5.4 million.  Two of them have been hanging around our house.  Nice comeback.