Requiem for Ted

I listened to President Barack Obama praise Senator Kennedy today in the dedication of the $40M memorial to him paid with public funds.

A lot of good can be said for Ted Kennedy.... and one despicable evil.   He should have faded into obscurity after the manslaughter incident at Chappaquiddick with his criminal and insidious attempt to hide the facts and avoid being implicated, while a person died who could have been saved..... but his pedigree saved him.

And yet he went on to become a stabilizing force in the United States Senate.  Maybe this was his redemption...  But a $40M taxpayer funded tribute.... with accolades by our lightweight President seems to be a bit presumptuous.

Buddy, Can you spare a Dime?

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 30 Mar 2015 at 10:45:17 PM GMT is:

The estimated population of the United States is 320,292,366
so each citizen's share of this debt is $56,696.08.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$2.30 billion per day since September 30, 2012!

How do we reconcile leaving our children with this burden?

Spring Refrain

Its 25 degrees Fahrenheit  here on the North Shore of Boston this Sunday morning.

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The shit stirrer in me wants to post something on Facebook about Obama's settled science global warming..... but I don't want to rub it in to my friends in the Democrat Party sheep herd.  They have enough problems, and there is no need for some MOAM like myself reminding them what a crock of shit they have bought into.
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It would just be too low.
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No, I'm just content to stoke up the fireplace, bundle up, and enjoy the Spring.
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It would be great if I could take a spin on my new Trek Domane 4.1 Road Bike... but it is just too phucking cold this Spring morning.
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So I guess I will turn my attention to installing some crown moulding in the Master Bathroom and then get a weight workout in.    Maybe make a Whey Protein shake afterward to drown my sorrows.

Checking off the Box

Nice Photo of my kids and their significant others.
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I view my greatest and only significant achievement as seeing my offspring mature and build happy and productive  lives for themselves.  The road to reaching this goal has been filled with bumps and surprises, but I am very happy at the result and pleased to check off the box.
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Since this MOAM has no frigging interest in siring another brood, I now  turn my attention to their offspring, and the lessons that I can leave that might be valuable to my grandkids.
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Hope that some of them want to build some boats with me.

Starting the Trek

Chris over at Marblehead Cycle hooked me up with this Trek Domane 4.1 Road Bike, and a pair of Shimano Bike Shoes.

Things have changed in biking since I bought my CCM Ten Speed back in the 70's.   But then again, so have I.

I'll be making the loop from Marblehead, over to Beverly Farms, past Wenham Main Street and back to Sundance regularly this spring.

Hell on Earth

Peeps....
It's a jungle out here in Cyberspace.
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Between adware, spyware, phishing and all sorts of  phoney emailed offers.. everyday is a challenge to keep cybercriminals from stealing your stuff.  All sorts of extensions are constantly automatically downloaded into whichever type of browser that you use, and you have to continually check to remove them.   Some items have clever capabilities to avoid being deleted from your computer.

Finally last week, the adware and spyware held all of my browsers hostage, and prevented me from doing basic work. 

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So I downloaded Norton Security Suite for all of my computers which seems to have me free of the Bullshit and back in control.   As I had the program scan my hard drives for unnecessary files, it freed up multi-megabytes of space.  Norton was available free from my Internet host, Comcast xfinity, but it would have been well worth the investment if I had to pay.
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Things seem to be working again.
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I also got my Foscam IP based security camera up online after a ton of Geek work.   It's a great unit, but in no way is it plug and play.   You really have to get good and Geeky to integrate the camera into your local WiFi network.  Lots of trial and error, but now I can access the camera from all of my computers as well as my iPhone.   It even emails me if motion is detected in the surveillance space.
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And by the time that some scumbag perp trys to dismantle the camera.... his/her image has already been sent to an FTP site, and emails and other alarms have been sent.

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 Cost less than $100 bucks which is short money considering the range of functionality and control that you can achieve in guarding your stuff and making sure that you get the drop on any unwelcome visitors
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So.... much more focus on Security this week than I would have cared to devote.... both from Cyberspace and physical space.
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You have to wonder what goes on in the minds of scumbags who spend so much effort trying to rip you off.... either in person or electronically.   They must live in their own special Hell on Earth.

Property Value

Now that we sold their South Boston Condo, I've been showing houses on the North Shore to Katelyn and Brady.   They have some nice options to choose from and it is a fun process.

But as I analyze these home and check for potential defects and flaws, I am always appalled when I return home to West Shore Drive, and find all sorts of cosmetic stuff that I have to attend to in my own house if it was to pass the same scrutiny that I have applied for Brady and Kate.

Before the weather gets good, and outside projects gain attention... there will be extensive caulking and painting throughout this house.

Time to put attention to the small details that matter in the long run in the determination of property value.

WebCam Defense

It been the coldest and snowyest winter in my memory here on the North Shore of Boston.   And we just set the clocks ahead one hour for Spring Daily Saving Time.

Acute case of cabin fever has been ravaging me.   March is always a tough month, but this one, where you still can't walk outside due to the huge dirt covered snowbanks, is particularly onerous.  So much for Obama lecturing us that Global Warming is "settled science".  The only thing settled is BO's tendency to twist reality to fit his agenda.   But enough about our Lefty POTUS.....

So I just got off of Amazon, where I purchased some Japanese Morning Glory seeds, which will be planted if I ever see the soil around the house someday.    Also bought a webcam security system to install at West Shore Drive.  I'm not sure what motivated this purchase, because I don't feel threatened at this address, yet it seemed to be a prudent thing to do....

One of the applications will be to monitor wildlife at night.   The constant snow cover has identified a lot of animal tracks and I was intrigued to find some large coyote prints checking out my trash bins one morning.   There is a lot more action out there at night then we would normally imagine.

The Webcam system links up to 32GB storage and can be viewed and manipulated remotely via iPhone applications.  We've been burglarized five times in Marblehead since moving here from Lynn over the last thirty years...so I guess this is justified  After the first few hits, we learned to lock the doors at nght... no more leaving the doors wide open because of a misguided notion that there is no crime in upscale Marblehead.

The technology is powerful and affordable so there is no excuse for not adding this to your basic line of defense.  When you leave the house, lock the doors and turn on the WebCams.   They record both video and audio when they sense motion and send you an email or FTP notification, so that you can click an app on your smartphone and see what the hell is going on.... as well as tell the Perp remotely through speakers in the WebCam to get the hell away from your stuff as you call the Marblehead Police to nail the scumbag.

Peeps.... we live in a world where our forebears used to guard against MicMac Indian raiding parties, Pirate attacks, and potential death by panthers or bears.   You would think that these ancient scourges have left, and they have.... replaced by other threats, like addicts who must steal to maintain their drug addiction, and a host of other scummy motivations.  There are people out there who want to take your stuff rather than earn their own.

And that doesn't take into account our Global threats by those who would kill you just because you are an American or a Christian.


My new WebCams won't protect me from this stuff.   It will just let me know who ripped me off.  But that's a big improvement.

Return to Normal.

A serious drop off in Posts.   Sorry about that.

My exercise regimen has been drastically modified by snow shoveling and a chance to ski with my grandkids.    Working the weights with the 5x5 program appears to be producing results although I missed two sessions when I went up north for the ski trip.

I don't feel like I have lost any weight, but have definitely noticed a bounce in my step, and have seen some muscle tone and definition returning.  The weight loss will come and feeling good takes precedence.

In the meantime, this snow period for Boston has been the worse in MOAM memory.  Too much for even the Aiens Compact 24 Snowblower to move.  It was a Godsend that I started my workouts at the beginning of the year, or the snow shoveling would have been close to overwhelming.  As it is, I have pain in areas that I had forgotten about.

Back to work at Nanepashemet Telecom after the week ski vaca and work respite.  Trying to return to Normal.

Lull After the Super Bowl

The Patriots won the Super Bowl in a work of fiction ending that could never be believed unless it actually happened in real life.... which it did.

And we in the Boston area have been pummeled with 50" of snow.

Both of these circumstances have colored the landscape since I last reported to you Peeps.

For four days during this period, I was out in subzero weather shoveling and trying to persuade my Ariens Snowblower to plow through drifts and snowbanks with a great deal of resistance.   On all of these occasions, since my t-sheet was soaked in sweat by the time I got back into the house, I treated it as an aerobic workout.   Outside of that, I filled the gaps on the Cybex and doing three 5x5 Stronglifts workouts.

End result is that I've only lost one lb. during this period and the rapid weight loss has taken a hiatus. I was warned by Christos that this would happen, and that I should soldier on... and that is exactly the tact that I am taking.  At this rate, it looks like February will see a scaled back projection.  If I lose four more lbs. before the end of the month, I will be happy.

I noticed though that other times when I have begun a weight loss regime, I've been stalemated at my current weight..... and that the program fell by the wayside.  Can't see this happening this time though.... what with my soldiering on and all.

The 5x5 StrongLifts program is in an interesting stage.   At the beginning, the weights are so light that I would be fairly embarrassed if anyone saw be benching the bar with a few puny plates on it.   But I'm going to stay the course.... by week 18, which shows up sometime in June.... no one will be laughing, and I may have to supplement the plates that I have on hand.

BTW... Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL .... and he is coached by the greatest coach, Bill Belichick.    DeFlateGate can Kiss My Ass.

January Recap

Peeps....
A Recap of January in this MOAM Quest to shed the label of "Big Guy".

After one month, I have officially lost 13 lbs., kept up a regime of 45min. aerobic sessions on the Cybex, interspersed with a couple 60 min. sessions and days off for stuff like illness, real estate closings and Grandson Births.

I also bought and installed a 300 lb. Olympic Free Weight barbell set, as well an accessory bench and squat rack.  My first experimental workout with the weights was very promising and I intend to start performing the www.stronglifts.com program on Monday.

The experimental workout was followed by a 45 min. session on the Cybex yesterday, and today I am a little sore... especially in my core area.... aka "Fat Gut".  I am psyched to turn a keg into a six pack, which should be a byproduct of this routine come August of this year.

Mentally, I am prepared to ski with my Grandkids, which would have been not feasible as close as last December.  And come the end of February, I plan to invest in a good road bike for April/May when all of this white stuff that the Democrats call "Global Warming" has receded.

Business-wise, it was a productive month as well, so that I can't see why I can't incorporate this program without any financial compromise.

This month was easy as far as motivation... what with reading the "Younger Next Year" book cover to cover twice,... and getting a lot of advice from FB Friends, Christos Laganos, Wayne Webster, and Jim Lundgren.... all Lynn English High School classmates of mine.

Next Month's February recap will tell the real story.