Required Summer Reading

Peeps -
Haven't finished editing the proofs, but I have given my approval to the publisher for the above book cover.
You won't be able to order this on Amazon for a couple of weeks.  After that, copies will be in every beach bag and lakefront cottage.  
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Required summer reading!

7 Years of College said...

That beach on the cover brings to mind the feminine hygiene commercial where the cool TV mom advises her woman child on how to fight that 'not so fresh' feeling.

Tuna Lips said...
I did some purusin' on the back cover of yer publication and, though never a Peep of the year or any such escalade, the aknowingment is apprecified, and a long time comin; like molasses out the jug in wintertime. I might take a copy or three gratis of course, and hold me a book signing cum bar-b-q, do me some whiskey preachin' and sell us a few books. I got a nack for ingeniusness. Hell, I can get my hand on some smoke damaged goods recently rescued from rig abandoned just outside the Pechanga Injun reservation. Something for everyone!

Something Stinks

They caught Whitey Bulger.
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As bad of a sociopathic criminal as he is, there is a lot to peal back here.
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I feel bad for his brother, former Senate President William "Billy" Bulger and his family.  A lifetime of public service is tainted by this, and the burden lies heavily and unfairly with them. 
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Also, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a great deal of blame in the criminal career of Whitey Bulger; using him as an informant, and tipping him off on the actions of the Massachusetts State Police.  I generally am not a big advocate of conspiracy theories, but it's incredulous that Bulger could live in Santa Monica for 16 years, on the FBI's Most Wanted List.... and the FBI just happens to capture him now.
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Something stinks....  Actually, alot of this Bullshit stinks.  As time goes by, I have lost a great deal of respect for the FBI.
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Bulger should fry for crimes.... and so should the FBI.

Power Day

Peeps.
Suffice to say that today was a power day.
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• Nanepashemet Telecom bumped into three nice opportunities that could mold our future business.
• The lumber for the Sundance Deck was delivered.
• And the Greatest Grandkids in the world came to spend the night.

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Those things alone would be enough for a lesser man.... but a Mountain of a Man demands more... and gets it.
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Today, Amazon.com agreed to publish the entire year of the Nanepashemet Blog 2007 in print.  A real paperback book with a fancy cover and full color photos and illustrations that you can buy.
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Do you know what this means????
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Now you can review the highs and lows of the entire year of 2007 while doing more important things... like sitting on the john, or standing in your backyard waiting for your asparagus spears to get fat enough to harvest.
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Now the Pathetic Blog that you are so addicted to can sit smack in the middle of your coffee table, doing quality time as a drink coaster.
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Now we can send the Blog directly from Amazon to FreshAyer, where Ryan can demonstate to all of his new friends why being a middle class white kid is not as easy as it is cracked up to be.
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I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  And did I mention Royalties????  The money will be pouring in faster than B. Obama can take a vacation.
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Powerful stuff for a Power Day.

Strong Tie Excuse

It dawned on me when I was complaining about some of the cost of the deck hardware, that many of you Peeps don't have a clue what I'm talking about.
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Building Inspectors like these contraptions on wood framing because they add stability and lessen the risk of a poorly nailed joint causing some type of structural failure.
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They are called Simpson Stong Ties and are made of galvanized steel, coming in all sorts of wood joint configurations.

So naturally, being a compliant sort of guy who doesn't like to make waves, I bought a supply of these things for the Sundance deck framing.  The only problem is that I have all of the framing lumber, posts and decking material sitting in my yard, waiting for these suckers to arrive, since I bought them on-line from Amazon. 

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Best case scenario is that they get here by Friday, which is probably ok in the long run, because I have to keep focused on the production at Nanepashemet Telecom for the rest of the workweek.

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Looks like there will be no good excuses this weekend, not to get this deck off of the ground.

Decking Sticker Shock

Took a break from grinding out paypoints at Nanepashemet Telecom this afternoon and headed over to Moynihan Lumber in Beverly to put the order in for the Sundance deck framing and decking.  Went with 2x10 pressure treated Joists when 2x8's would do, and 6x6 pressure treated posts when I could have used 4x4's.   The extra size framing materials will make for a much stronger platform.
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The decking is Latitudes Intrepid Composite Decking, whch is an engineered product designed for long wear and low maintenance.  It's nice, but freaking expensive.  A 5/4" 6"x 16' board comes in at $40.00 each, and I needed 30 of them.  You do the math.
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This is a plain vanilla deck... a little reposition of some hot water heating baseboards, breaking though a living room wall for a six foot wide sliding glass door, then constructing a 16' x 14' rectangular deck about five feet from ground level.  Shouldn't pose any challenges, even for a slightly overweight, midde aged guy like me.
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But I was shocked at some of the prices of the components.... $4.95 for a Simpson Strong Tie Joist Hanger (need 15).... $71.00 for a box of 350 stainless steel colored deck screws (and I need 3 boxes of these).  The job will be run as a business project, with meticulous record keeping and charging of all activity in order to get an accurate cost at completion.
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Will keep you informed.

Tuna Lips said...

It's been a spell since we had one of yer vitree all infused vague premonishuns about what the future hold for thems that does you wrong. I so enjoys them.

Pass the Torch

It seems like the torch is passed.   A new golfing superstar has arisen to claim the seat vacated by the foolishly horny Tiger Woods.

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Rory McIlroy, a 22 year old, grounded young man from Northern Ireland, with a beautiful golf swing, broke 70 four days in a row to take the US Open Championship yesterday, winning by 8 strokes.

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Seems like a nice kid.  It will be interesting to see if he can avoid the pitfalls that someone this young and talented  is bound to be challenged with.

Tuna lips said...

Like me them freaky yung things, sho nude does I tells ta! grip it and rip it!

Summer Launch

Sorry for the lapse in Blog posts, but it was a nice weekend, filled with friends, family, birthdays, anniversaries and FreshAyer.  Plus I reached into my MOAM reserves and managed to set and pour the concrete conlumns for the Sundance Deck.
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Something had to be left behind, and this pathetic Blog was it.
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This week should be a test for Blogging time as well since the WhaleEye is scheduled to be launched and we'll be sanding and painting the other watercraft.... the Pram and the Columbia Herreshoff Tender.  The Pram gets the priority because it is supposed to be on the ring down at the Rockett Wharf on Village Street.  I've been critical of those who leave their rings vacant before, and now I'm one of them.
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It seems like summer has kicked in bigtime.  Should be busy between fishing for stripers and lobsters, building the deck and keeping up the pace at Nanepashemet Telecom.  We had secretly hoped that FreshAyer would be out of the mix, but it looks like that will be in the picture until early next year.

Digging for the Deck

Yesterday, I took a break from Nanepashemet Telecom to dig the three post holes for the deck foundation in the back of the Sundance House.
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The Marblehead Building Inspector will be by this morning to measure and approve the depth.   Code calls for going 36" below the surface so that the concrete columns don't pitch due to frost.  I went an average of 42"  down, and the surprizing thing is that I didn't hit the ledge that protrudes throughout the property.  Pretty much sandy gravel all the way down.
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It's a fairly good workout to hand dig these holes and I'm feeling it today.  After the inspection, I have to meet Alex in Andover for a Nanepashemet job, but on the way home, I'll stop over at the Home Depot and get eight 80 lb.bags of  concrete mix along with some 5/8" J-bolts to secure Simpson 6x6 Post tie units.  Don't need 6x6 posts, but again I'd rather overengineer this, since I'm saving money on the labor by building the deck myself. 

Like the Beverly Ave deck, you'll be able to land a heliocopter on this baby.  Going with 2x10 pressure treated  boards for the floor joists,  But I won't be getting the pressure treated framing lumber from Home Depot.  For that I'll probably order from Moynihan Lumber in Beverly, and have them deliver. 
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The actual decking material will be Trex and I'll be buying that from Peabody Building Supply which has the best prices by far.   I'll also buy the dining room sliding glass door there.
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For this deck, I won't be getting fancy with curves and stuff.  Got that out of my system on the last deck that I built.  This deck will be a plain rectangle... but some future phases into the surrounding ledge might get kinky.... especially if it includes a Japanese water garden coming off of the rocks.
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Not going to put the pressure on myself and tell you when this project is slated to be complete.  Definitely not by the 4th of July.... maybe by Labor Day.  But I will guarantee that we will be on the deck for the Thanksgiving Day Bash!

Stanley Cup Champions

The Boston Bruins are the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions.

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They defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh game of a best of seven series to clinch the professional hockey championship.
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I'm especially happy for my son, Mike, who has followed this team all year.  Plus Ryan got to see the whole thing out in FreshAyer. Not sure how he pulled that off.


I have to admit that I only really paid attention during the playoffs. 
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It's a nice lift for the City of Boston and a warm feeling for a lot of  Peeps up here in New England.

Consideration for Bachmann

I saw George Stephanopoulos interviewing Michele Bachmann on Good Morning America this morning. 

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 His obvious distaste of her picqued my interest.  A 55 year old three time Congressman from Minnesota who has seen 28 foster children pass through her home.  And a Tea Party leader who origninally broke into politics as a Jimmy Carter supporter.

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No wonder George is annoyed.  Here is another viable candidate who outshines Obama on a cloudy day.  And Stephanopoulos is an Obama Butt Boy without peer.

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A friend of mine suggested that I might enjoy a Michele Bachmann / Sarah Palin sandwich.  Just because I've repeatedly proclaimed Palin to be sizzling hot, I never suggested any impropriety, and I certainly hope that he has not gotten the wrong idea.  He must have been speaking figuratively... or maybe not.  I'll have to leave that thought alone for the time being.
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I'll be watching Bachmann though.  She just might be worth the coveted Nanepashemet Nomination. 
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You never know.

Childhood Memory

It is my Grandson Will's birthday today.  He is four years old.
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Can't say I remember much about my fourth year on earth.  Maybe a fleeting image or so.  All of the doting on Will and the schlepping back and forth to FreshAyer will be lost on him after a few years.
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But it won't be lost on me.  These are memories that I will fall upon in the years to come.  I'll bet he remembers one or two things that will happen in the year to come though.
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Happy Birthday Will Nestor.

The Way and the Light

It's important to respect people's beliefs - religious, political or otherwise.
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Who the hell really has a lock on the truth anyway?   Everybody sees things in their own way... their separate realities.
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So it just stands to reason, that when people proselytize, and tell me what to believe, it tends to be a turn off.  Present your facts, and back off.  Don't be telling me that you have a lock hold on true religious beliefs.
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And while we're at it consider one of my favorite passages in the New Testament, Matthew 6:6 ....."But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
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So shut the fuck up.   The more people tell me the way to paradise, the least I want to spend another second of time with them, let alone freaking eternity.