Tedium

Today I was about 28 minutes into my 45 minute Cybex workout when the cell phone rang.  Normally I would ignore it, but when I checked it was my business partner, Mike Elsier, and I had a nagging need to respond.   Glad I did, because it was something that needed immediate attention... even in my sweaty and winded condition.
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The crisis was handled in short order and I was still sweating, so I decided to get out and do a three mile running loop, down to Grace Oliver's Beach and back.  This was accomplished with surprizing ease, since I had not intended on pounding the pavement until I lost 20 lbs or so.
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If this is boring to you, don't feel bad because it is actually tedious for me to write it.  But hang in there... I'm sure that the'll be some more exciting shit in the future.

Random or Karma

I was up in North Conway this weekend, and happened to be pedaling my Iron Horse Mountain Bike past the next building when I found my old Boss Ed Calnan standing on the front deck.   Calnan hired me when he was the Community Development Director in Lynn and was my first business mentor. (I have two - he and Peter Lojko).
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When I think of a mentor, I think of people who have become templates for your behavior.  When you confront a situation, you end up asking yourself, "What would Ed or Peter do or say in this predicament?"
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I once had a boss named Dick Scott who announced to me that it was his job to be my mentor.   Dick was an asshole for many reasons and this was just the tip of the iceberg.    Don't tell me that you are my mentor... I do the choosing, and you have nothing frigging to do about it.
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At any rate, it was weird to see that Ed had bought a unit in the same complex as our condo which we bought nineteen years ago.   How random is that?
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On second thought, maybe it is not random at all.  Maybe it is karmic.

Washburn Breakdown

So I was up in North Conway yesterday and stopped into a little store on Route 16 called "Music Shop".  They had a modest selection of guitars, harmonicas, fiddles and one banjo.  Even though I had resolved to save my acoustic purchase for a $1,000 Breedlove, I wanted to see what the action looked like in this store's selections.

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Prices ranged from $1,400 to $99 and I have found that with stringed instruments, you basically get what you pay for.   Buy a cheap guitar, and it will be hard to play plus sound awful.  And you will stop using it.  That's why I've been holding out for the Breedlove.

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But after trying out the Washburn WD10SCE Cutaway Dreadnought Acoustic Electric selling for $249 against the $1400 Takamine, I couldn't believe how good the Washburn felt and sounded.
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So I flashed some plastic and bought the MOFO!
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No buyer's remorse here either.  This guitar looks, feels and sounds the Balls.   Even when I'm playing it.
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Maybe I'll eventually buy the Breedlove... but no rush now.

Summer Slip Away

Labor Day Weekend is the traditional end of summer.   As soon as it's over, it seems like the weather changes.    This summer went by fast with boating and fishing in scarce supply.  No doubt the FreshAyer obligations cut into a lot of summer stuff... and that's ok.   We'll make it up big time in coming years.   Also the deck construction and various Sundance property improvements added to the low level of recreational output.
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A big problem was that the deck work cut into the need to repair the Herreshoff Columbia Tender and the Pram, and I never launched them.  I didn't even get the lobster pots out.   Next year these will hit the water first thing, and should be the catalyst for some better focus to recreation rather than work in the good weather.

Swampscott Dories in Swampscott

Thanks to Wayne Webster for sending us this cool photo of Swampscott dories and other rowing boats on the Lynn Swampscott line ostensibly in the early fifties.

Change in Priorities

I have to install some baseboards around the deck door trim today.  Will try to fit that around all of the Nanepashemet General Contracting activity and also finish some drywall in the hallway before the Labor Day weekend..   But the most important activity... even more important than posting in this Blog.... is getting a workout in.
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My dieting efforts have failed miserably.   Just have no ability to shy away from bread, pizza and pasta.   So an upgraded regimen of exercise on the Cybex, the treadmill and the addition of pushups and pullups has to be added into a daily lifestyle change.
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In the past, exercise has taken second position to the demands of job and career.  But I have to switch this priority and convince myself that losing weight and getting into shape is more important than meeting every job obligation on a timely basis.
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Of course, what you eat is important too.  But I already know that I can't win that battle.  Maybe will be victorious in a skirmish every once in awhile.   Workouts have to lead the charge.

Hot Air from Irene

Hurricane Irene has come and gone bringing an incredible amount of "hot air".
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The wind blew, rain fell, idiot boat owners with a southern exposed mooring who refused to pull their boats had their boats wash on shore. The incredible fact here is not the "power" of the storm. It is the stupidity of the boat owners.
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Streams overflowed their banks and there was a lot of moving video of property owners cleaning up mud. Lots of quotes like "Imagine what it could have been."
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Such a rush to dramatize a wind storm with some flooding and power outages.

Hurricane Hype

The rain stopped and there is a patch of blue sky over West Shore Drive.  We have obeyed Governor Patrick's plea to "stay indoors" and have survived President Obama's "historic hurricane".   And the panic ridden newscasters in their parkas and rain gear did their best to inform us of the terror outside.
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The important thing is that we are alive and safe.   Actually I'm really tired of this bullshit consisting solely of  Politicians hype and newscasters shameful misrepresentation of a little wind and rain.
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One day, the big one will hit.   And this "Boy Who Cried Wolf" routine will backfire on cynics like me who get so irritated by media phonies treating us like assholes.  But I have to believe that we will make our own assessment when that day comes... rather than listening to these buffoons.

Hurricane Irene Report

The wind is blowing. I saw some leaves and branches moving on the trees. This is a disaster! I'm writing my name and ss# on my arm with a magic marker so that my corpse can be identified when this bitch Irene is through.
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It is so freaking crazy out there that George Stepanopoulos had to come in and take the helm from the ABC GoodMorning America weekend crew.  Thanks George for that heroic act.  Maybe there is a little hope after all.
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But.... I just don't know what to do because I haven't had any instructions this morning from President Obama and Governor Patrick.
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The breeze just came in the window and the curtains moved.   OMG!!!!  This is it!

Watch the Storm

Weather Wimps

All Hurricane... All the Time.   Hurricane Irene can kiss my ass.   It's already downgraded to a category 1 storm as it hits land in the Carolinas.
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Technology has turned us into wimps.  Just because you see a bunch of clouds in radar, it becomes freak out time.  Already our Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency and is telling us to make sure we have food and flashlights.  And the President has added his tips on how to survive this Holocaust.
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"Remember to exhale shortly after you inhale, and don't forget to wipe your ass whenever you defecate with a good quality toilet paper". 
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No... neither Barack nor Michelle has said this... yet.  But I won't be freaking surprized when they do.

Tuna lips said...

Plain speakin' especially that part about poopin'.

Weather WhaleEye

For the record, I'm not going to pull the WhaleEye out of the water as Hurricane Irene threatens to hit us square on Sunday.
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From where my mooring is... a mile from the entrance to Salem Harbor on the north side of the Marblehead Peninsula..... it's hard to conceive that the storm coming up from the South could strain the hold of the mooring with its embedded mushroom anchor.
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And I hope to get some serious fishing in on the WhaleEye as the Blues and Stripers migrate south from the Gulf of Maine in September.
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So I'm going to take the risk and weather the storm.  Plus I have insurance.