Lottery Winnings

$630M at stake tonight in the Mega Millions National Lottery.
~
That's over $315M in lump sum after taxes.
~
I bought two tickets and am feeling pretty good about it.
~
If I win, I promise I'll do good things with the money.  I mean.. the first $315M goes to fund the government... so that's a good thing right off of the bat.  Right???
~
And if I gave $1M to some random Peep, that poor bastard would owe the government about $500k right away.   Do you see a pattern forming?
~
If I gave it all away to you, the gift tax would reduce it to $160M in your pocket.  And it you went crazy, and gave it to some other pathetic soul, that guy gets $80M after takes.  So going through three sets of hands, $630M would be reduced to $80M to the third receiver, with the government getting $550 Million.
~
That's why, if I win, I'm going to keep the $300 million after taxes.... All of it.
~
With everything over $300M I'll be partying, taking some trips,buying some toys,  and having a good time.  That's when you phoney bastards should stay close, because I'll be dishing out more cash than Michael Jackson in a kiddie park.
~
After that binge, I'll  invest the rest in conservative securities.
~
2% return on $300M is $6 million a year.  Course, I'd be giving $3M back to the government every year, but with the $3M left over,  I'll find a way to get by..... maybe pay your mortgage and give your kids an education trust fund.... but don't be asking, or you get nothing.
~
When I die, the Government will get another chunk in inheritance taxes.
~
Winning the Lottery can be damn depressing.

Redistribution of Wealth.

  This is outrageous.
~
That young girl shouldn't be hogging all of the Legos.
~
You go .. Mr. President.
~
Correct this injustice.

The Competitive Market

It's the last week of the first quarter.

~

Lots of my friends in big corporations are pushing to check boxes that will define their professional performance and drive the worth of their company in the stock market.  I have no problem with it.

~

Our competitive market system benefits us all in the end, even though it's a rat race if you are in the middle of it all.

~

I never priced a competitive project that I felt confident that it was a slam dunk that we would make a profit.  Yet, we usually find a way around the constraints and limitations.  Once in awhile, the customer is too unreasonable, and the squeeze is something that you don't think you will eventually get comfortable with.  I have no trouble bailing when that happens.

~

But usually, the seemingly impossible becomes possible when you attack all of the angles.  That is how the market provides the highest quality at the lowest prices... and why government and government backed time and material industries.... are so incredibly wasteful.   

~

In public bureaucracies and socialist systems, they don't have to work smart, they just have to cover their ass.

From Trow and Holden

WEDGES AND SHIMS
(or plugs and feathers)

Most Stone will split cleanly if the proper breaking technique is used. Wedges and shims have been used for eons in the stone industry, and are still among the most effective tools for splitting stone. Here's how to use them:

1. Drill holes along your split line at least as deep as your wedges are long and about 6" apart. For difficult splits, drill holes deeper and closer together. Your split line may be straight or curved.2. Insert wedges and shims into holes as illustrated. Make sure the "ears" face the direction you want your stone to split. 3. Strike the wedges in sequence, firmly but without forcing. Wait a few minutes. Repeat until stone splits (clear the way!).

I spent the better part of today, doing this wrong.  I didn't drill deep enough and then pounded the hell out of the wedges.  Wish I read this instruction earlier.

Fieldstone wall project.

We are starting the fieldstone wall construction on the side of the Sundance house.

~

Dispite extensive research and the the purchase of several books on the subject matter, it simply gets down to the above graphic.... excavate and level the foundation, establish stakes and lines for the sides and top of the wall, place stones interlocking one over two and two over one, set aside the level cap stones for the top, reinforce large stones with small ones on the inside.

~

We have to split some large stones first, then the wall will be ready to begin.

Waterfront Offerings

Land Offerings

St. Nestor

Hey... I didn't make this up.... I found it on the Web.   That's one good looking Saint though.

Wayne's Words

From my old friend from Eastern Jr. High and Lynn English High School....  Long time Melrose Zoning Board of Appeals Member, Wayne Webster.

~

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited 
readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, 
subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. 

Here are the winners: 

1 Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which 
renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time. 

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole. 

3 Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which 
lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. 

4 Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly. 

5 Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that 
stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, 
shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. 

6 Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the 
purpose of getting laid 

7 Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high. 

8 Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit 
and the person who doesn't get it. 

9 Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are 
running late. 

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. 
(This one got extra credit.) 

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off 
all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and 
it's like, a serious bummer. 

12. Decafalon (n): The grueling event of getting through the 
day consuming only things that are good for you. 

13. Glibido: All talk and no action. 

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem 
smarter when they come at you rapidly. 

15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just 
after you've accidentally walked through a spider web. 

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that 
gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and 
cannot be cast out. 

17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half 
a worm in the fruit you're eating. 


The Washington Post has also published the winning
submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply 
alternate meanings for common words. 

And the winners are: 

1 Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs. 

2 Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering 
how much weight one has gained. 

3 Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat 
stomach. 

4 Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk. 

5 Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent. 

6 Negligent, adj. Absent mindedly answering the door when 
wearing only a nightgown. 

7 Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp. 

8 Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash. 

9 Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone 
who has been run over by a steamroller. 

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline. 

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam. 

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by 
proctologists. 

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist. 

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with 
Yiddishisms. 

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the 
soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there. 

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts 
worn by Jewish men.

Modes of Behavior

I was talking to my friend, Bill Hillegas, this morning, and he told me that he that only has two operating modes.... an easy going, accomodating, generous and open mode.... and a demanding, take no prisoners, cross me and I will relentlessly drill you mode.
~
And there is no in between for him.
~
One of the reasons Bill and I have remained close is that we have a lot of the same emotions and seem to think alike.
~
I know exactly what he means.
~
It's always tough when people see you in the first mode, decide you are a push over, and wonder why the shit storm has started as they witness the next mode.
~
That can be a problem...

Tuna Lips said...Mar 23, 2012 04:27 PM

I got the same approach with the all too common "I am an entertainer" thinking stripper types.

Sorry in Advance

Peeps....
This is going to come as a total shock to you....
But I have a real weakness.
~
I try to be easy going and accomodating to people, but if I think I am being taken for granted...and then taken advantage of.... I turn into a real prick. 
~
Like a take no prisoners... prick.
~
Like a spare no expense, who gives a shit... prick.
~
Like a tenacious, never give up, balls to the walls... prick.
~
Like a non-stop, full speed til it's done.... prick.
~
Like a whatever name you want to call me, you're probably right , but I could care less ... prick.
~
Plus... like the stupid Irishman that I am... after it's all over, I still carry the grudge... prick.
~
Just ask the folks that I have worked with.   Half of them like me, and the other half thinks  I'm a real prick.

The Path Not Taken

Ran into my old friend. Atty. Tom Egan yesterday.
~
Tom was one of my lawyers skatey-eight years ago when I was the Executive Director of the Lynn Housing Authority.  Our paths have intertwined many times since then, and I'm always amazed at the tremendous memory that Tom has of those days which now seem so long ago.
~
My route has been pretty circuitous since those old Housing Authority days, but Tom seems to have kept the course pretty steady in the property management field, and is really on his game.
~
Sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed in real estate... after the public housing stint, I had a great position as Executive VP of Crowninshield Management....but I set sail out of the safe harbors.
~
You can't look back.  Doesn't do you an ounce of good.

Cut the Bull

Being a Mountain of a Man sometimes means that you have to put up with the Bullshit.   The worse kind of Bullshit is when the assholes who are Bullshitting actually believe their own Bullshit, and expect you to fill your plate with a heaping helpful.
~
Gets really tedious when they think you will buy it, just because they've sold it to themselves.
~
Years ago, the wise man said, "Money Talks, Bullshit Walks."  He was right.
~
As I've explained to you Peeps before... when someone tells you that "My Word is My Bond"... rest assured that you are about to be lied to.   Truthful people have no need to ladle out this kind of Bullshit.
~
So cut the Bullshit.

Yardwork

As the temps soared into the 60's today, Ryan got the hots to do some landscaping so we followed his lead and kicked ass in the yard until 3:30PM when rigormortis set in for me.   Beers on the deck cured any discomfort, and the yard looks freaking great.
~
Brian Stanton dropped by and downed a few with us.   It was a great afternoon.