Master Manipulators

I believe that the Patraeus affair has been manipulated as a smokescreen to refocus our attention from the incredible Obama Administration response to Benghazi.
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A masterful move by Master Manipulators.
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These guys are good.... stay tuned for more manipulation.

Tuna Lips said....

Ta heck with water boarding, let's deploy some of this fit and trim cooze as an advanced interagatin' tekneek. Themses supreme leader Osama had a box full of porn. He liked the well groomed sort, trimmed about the hocks and other points of interest. Boy appreciated ass washing. They is vulnerable like that, I spect. Give me a company of street walkers and ole TL will bring these savages to they knees inside a year, allowing for training, of course.

Utility Movable Shelving

Quite a few of you Peeps have been asking me to design some Utility Movable Shelving that can be built quickly and cheaply.
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Actually, none of you have asked for it, but I designed this anyway using the free Google Sketchup 3D Modeling program.
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It is made from stock 8' length framing lumber and all cuts are 2'.
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24 riser corner frame pieces, 2' pieces - 6 total
12 Shelf stiflfener 8' pieces
4 Riser stiffemer 8' pieces
2 4x8x1/2" PW pieces
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Buy .......
(24) 2x3's
(4) 4x8 PW
Box of 2 1/2" Dry wall Screws
(6) Casters optional for Mobility
Casters fastened by (3) 2x6's
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The left side of the drawing shows a 2x3 stud stiffener that goes the length of the riser frames.  This carries on all four sides, but was left out on the right side for clarity of the construction detail.
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Everything is fastened by 2 1/2" drywall or deck screws.
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At the time of this post, I could buy 2x3 eight foot studs for $1.50 ea and the 1/2" 4x8 Plywood sheets were running about $25 each.  Plus $10 for 2 1/2 box of Drywall or Deck Screws.
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You can get the casters for all prices.   The Movable feature is optional.
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So my stock cost before casters was $136.00. ~ The shelves are designed to hold the RubberMaid Plastic Containers that I store my tools and misc. materials in.   With good quality casters you will probably get the total materials cost up to around $200.00.
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I had Home Depot rip the Plywood sheets to the 2' width.  If you have a chop saw, some Irwin Adjustable Clamps and a decent screw gun, this can be assembled in about four hours.
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I'm building two of these babies.  They should really clean up the clutter in the Peabody Nanepashemet Shop and maybe I will set up the strongback for the Marblehead Gunning Dory.

Saturday Morning Outlook

For most people, this is a long weekend.  And since the banks are closed and I can't get into any town halls to pull permits, Nanepashemet Telecom will probably be taking the speed down a little bit.  We'll be revving things up in New Haven County as next week develops though.
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But this morning, we have a whole weekend to look forward to.  BC is playing undefeated Notre Dame today and the Pats take on the Bills tomorrow, so I have to fit in some quality time in front of the television, and I have a couple of leasing loose ends to take care of on the Nanepashemet front, but outside of these things, my time is free.
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So I'll hit the YMCA sometime this morning.... an hour or so on the pain machines, then some weight work to maintain definition, followed by some wave generation in the pool.  I have these new goggles that let me see everything while I'm swimming... not always a good idea.
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After the Y, I will take advantage of the warm temps to plant the spring bulbs and tend to the flower garden out front.  I know how you Peeps look forward to my floral arrangements, and spring will be spectacular next year.
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Then I'll finish the PVC boat cover for the Herreshoff Columbia Tender, before finding a suitable spot on the couch to watch the BC Football Game.
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I'm pretty sure Joanne has dinner plans, so I'll shower up and be ready with sharp and pithy dinner party wit after a tough day at heavy duty leisure.
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Sometimes, being a Mountain of a Man means that you have to man up to meet life's challenges.  Not today though.  By Sunday night, I'll be ready with a Veteran's Day observation.
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Have a nice weekend.

OFFICIAL HAS-BEEN HOCKEY TEAM of NANEPASHEMET

Peeps....
Just as my blood pressure was starting to ease down after this God Awful political setback to the Mountain of a Man, I get this incredibly annoying Friday afternoon email that has me brimming with consternation and pretty irritated too.

Dear Mr. Nestor-

I apologize for contacting you directly, I would assume that a man of your stature has significant demands on your time; however, I couldn’t located the contact information for the people that manage your public affairs matters.

I realize that Election Day has passed and that it could reasonably be expected that all campaigning has stopped, however, the Beer League hockey season has just begun and our stumping never stops. As I understand you now have two of your progeny on the upstart Nucks team, I wanted to check in with you and ensure that the (original) Brickyard Mooseknuckles will remain the Official Has-Been Hockey team of Nanepashemet. The Nucks may be younger, they may be better and they may be more successful, but I’m not sure that they encapsulate everything people like us have worked so hard to accumulate; age, girth, fatty livers. Those are three things that I can promise you we bring to the rink week-in and week-out. We will never fail to bring our fat asses to the rink, unless of course we go straight to the bar or have fallen asleep on the couch.

I appreciate your continued support.

Sincerely,

Brian Donovan
Vice President
Big Ass Bank in Boston.

Peeps... if you were a Mountain of a Man like myself.... how would you respond to this pathetic plea for a perpetual place in posterity????     Does Mr. "Has Been Marblehead Hockey Great" Brian think that the designation of a Nanepashemet Official Endorsement can ever be lessened or tarnished?  Who does he think the MOAM is ???  Lance Armstrong  or someone????
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I could go off the deep end, but it's time for a little composure....  
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Brian, the Hindus have shown us that the Universe maintains a sacred tome called the Akashic Records.  Once something as important as a Nanepashemet Official Endorsement has been set down, it is engraved in the Akashic Records and can never be erased.
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And by the way, many a Boilermaker was downed at the DiFillipo's Brickyard establishment  that used to be called the 50 Club by the MOAM before you strapped on your first pair of skates, so maintain the proper respect.  We didn't need a freaking hockey game as an excuse to exact  a bit of euphoria in those hallowed halls.
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I'm pretty sure that's hit the Akashic Records too.
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The Mooseknuckles remain the OFFICIAL HAS-BEEN HOCKEY TEAM of NANEPASHEMET.
Now I have to rest.

A New Day?

It's a New Day Peeps.
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I get the feeling from my Lefty friends that they have an attitude like, "Holy Shit... we won.  Now what do we do?"
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You can't say the country is racist, and you can't blame everything on Bush.  That leaves them looking in the mirror, rubbing their eyes.  Liz Warren sure seemed that way in her first press conference as our new Elected US Senator.   Can you say "Deer caught in the Headlights," Mr Rogers?
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And even though the Analysts say that the Republicans are out of touch with the people, they still control the US House of Representatives.   Figure that out!
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The fact is that this country chose a President by a 2% margin and the majority of states favor the Republicans.  The Liberals don't have a mandate, and they had better govern that way.
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So now the Lefties are saying... "We have to compromise."... Something that was woefully deficient in the first Obama administration.
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Let's say that you give Obama a pass on the first go around.... learning curve, state of the economy, on-agoing war in Iraq.... stuff like that.  Now the Dems are sitting in the seat of power with no legacy diversions.  Show us your stuff.  Don't just stand there all mumbly peg like Liz Warren with no rehearsed  sound bites to rely on. Now it is all you. 
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Is it a New Day?   We'll see what they have.

Clean Hands

Peeps -
I told you who to vote for, and you didn't do it.
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So my hands are clean.    Any shit that hits the fan from here on in is all you.
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Not my fault.....  I had nothing to do with it.
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I had some of my Lefty friends today say that it is a new day... that the people have spoken.... that we should all come together for compromise and prosperity... and that I should stand aside and shut the phuck up.
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I mean.... can't a Liberal ever have any fun????   You phucking won.  Enjoy your day you uptight shitheads.  Sing a little "Kumbaya" and snarl a little less.
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I'm not bitter.  The Lord has set a new path for us... for a greater and lasting glory.   This is a temporary detour.
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But don't worry. I'll continue to write this pathetic Blog.... and you will continue to pathetically read it.
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Pathetic.... but my hands are clean.

End of the Republic

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. "
- Benjamin Franklin

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville


$16 Trillon and Counting.
4 more years?

Are we on this Path?

Maria Rowen said....

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.
—AYN RAND... Don't lose heart-Sarah Palin

Don't OverReact

Here's the thing, Peeps.
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Don't Overreact.
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If Romney wins, every day won't be the Balls.
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And if Obama wins, every day won't Suck.
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We will cope either way, and in the end, your happiness and well being is entirely up to you.
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God Bless America.

Tuna Lips said....

I agree. It taint likes either one can uninvent corn likker and road house hookers. Stays the course, come what may.

Voting Advice

It was quite a busy and aggravating day for me Peeps, as I fielded emails and voicemails in a steady neurotic stream of requests asking me who to vote for.
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Naturally, I gave each and every request a nurturing, patient, and concerned response.
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Something like....."What are you asking me for, NumbNuts?  Don't you have a shred of freaking sense in your freaking vacant void of a cranium?"
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It's important to maintain the self esteem of people who can't figure out how many sheets of paper to wipe their shitty asses with.
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I'm there for you Peeps.  Lean on me.
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But for those of you who still can't figure out this choosing a candidate stuff, here is my election eve advice.    If you think Obama will pay your mortgage, keep you on the payroll, issue you foodstamps, pay for your contraceptives, abort your fetuses... all the while honing his golf game and blaming George Bush for every failure he confronts.....then Obama is your choice for President.  
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And if you think that Elizabeth Warren is a victimized Cherokee Indian, who lives in a $1.7Mil. Victorian mansion in Cambridge that she terms a fixerupper, and who represents large corporations then tries to tell the herd of sheep out there that she was really working for the people who opposed her clients.... then color in the little slot next to Elizabeth Warren's name for your next US Senator.
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I've already told you that I'm voting for Romney and Brown.  Not that they are exceedingly charismatic, but I'm betting that they are smart enough to develop policies that won't screw with me and mine, and won't talk down to me and lay a line of constant bullshit.  In the end, they'll cost me the least amount of money, so they have my vote.

Polls and Polarization

The Polls have the Presidential Election locked in a dead heat.  But I have to believe they are basically flawed.  I'm an Independent and nobody has called me, and I wonder if there are a lot more like me.   Independents are the majority political designation here in primarily Democratic Massachusetts.
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The polls were seriously off when Senator Scott Brown defeated Attorney General Martha Coakley last time and it seems like polling institutions like the Boston Globe skewers their questioning to meet the result that they desire rather than the actual political situation.
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Who would vote for someone just because the polls puts that candidate in the lead?    I doubt that the general electorate is that stupid.  If so, skewering the polls is a self defeating proposition, because  if your candidate leads by so much, why bother going to vote?
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If the election is really in a dead heat, then close to 50% of you will be unhappy with the result.  That's why Obama can't bask in the glory of socializing healthcare with his Obamacare Law.  Even though he rammed it through with the votes, the country is too polarized to accept its implementation.
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In a polarized situation, the victor will not be sucessful unless he can bring the country together... not jam an agenda down on the other 50%.   Obama has said voting is the best revenge.   That mentality insures his ultimate downfall, whether he wins the election or not.

TommyO6:44 AM

Keep in mind that 17 of the last 19 Presdential elections can be determined by the Washington Redskins game the Sunday prior to the election.
If the Skins win, the Incumbent triumphs. If the skins lose the contender will get in.
Final Score - Panthers 21 - Redskins 13.
Go Mitt Go..

Bloomberg Blunder

Mayor Bloomberg cancelling the New York Marathon was a real kick in the ass.   I was so ready to exact revenge on those Skinny Africans that win all the marathons these days.   This year was my year.... at the peak of my conditioning, I was poised to take the pace out fast and finish strong, with those Kenyans and Ugandans left to eat my dust.
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Thanks a lot Mayor.  Just because the subways fill up with water and Staten Island gets flattened, you get all huffy and cancel the one chance I had to make white fat guys proud.
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I wish you were running for Prez, so I could dis the hell out of you... Mr. "I'm endorsing Obama because he is the one man who can save the Polar Bears."  Go back to BillionaireVille and pay your share of taxes, you long distance running spoil sport!!
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I'll never forgive Bloomberg for this.

Vomit and Voting

Peeps....
Won't it be nice when this election is over next Tuesday?  I am really starting to feel nauseous.
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I truly feel that I've heard all of the Warren sound bites.  Don't need to see one more poor Sap say  "She's a Fighta.  She's fa us."  Where do you find these people Liz?  They don't look like they are Cherokees like you.
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Even the Brown ads are starting to get under my skin.   I know you are Independent and are for the Women and stuff like that... and starting to get good and sick of hearing it.
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In the end, my litmus test is "Who has treated me the most like an idiotic, mind-phucked moron who can't see through the bullshit that you are trying to stuff up my orifices."
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Once I determine that, then I vote for the other guy.

Gearing Up the Gunning Dory

I have the itch to get moving on the Marblehead Gunning dory.  Ryan took a video of one riding out Hurricane Sandy in Marblehead Harbor, and it skipped over the waves without any effort.   The Dory style is reputed to be extremely seaworthy, and the video validated that for me.  
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The below photo was found on the web some time ago and ilustrates the type of fit out that I've been thinking of.  I would fill the space under the decks at the bow and stern with polyurethane expanding foam to make the craft unsinkable.  You could stand at the bow or the stern and cast a fly very nicely.
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And I also plan to install a motor well in the back quarter of the boat where a 10HP Honda Fourstroke would be added.
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Naturally we will fit this out to row, but it would be nice to motor this thing close into the rocks to cast for stripers.  Or get some speed to chase a blitz.
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All of the interior fit out will have to be with marine grade, olkume plywood which is expensive, but both light and water resistant.  Boulter Plywood in Somerville is a good local suppler.
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Unlike traditional Marblehead Gunning Dories which were planked and hard chined, I plan on easing the curves on the frames and planking with 1/4" cedar strips sheathed in fiber glass cloth inside and out, then clear epoxy coated.
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The frames and bottom have been done for a few years now and are stored in the Nanepashemet Telecom warehouse in Peabody.    Maybe I'll start spending a little more time at the warehouse.

Tuna Lips8:58 PM

Speaking' of sheaths, be sure to wrap yer rascal, there's danger at every turn.

Hurricane Sandy Update

Lots of wind and rain, the trees are swaying and Ryan sent us a video of some waves in Marblehead Harbor.  Our lights flickered twice and I had to shut down the main computer system.
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Outside of that, it doesn't feel exactly like a state of emergency.  I guess if windows were being smashed in, doors unfastened, downed electrical wires were whipping around sparking and hissing, and the shingles were being ripped off of the roof, it would seem a bit worse.
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But none of that shit is happening.... at least around my neighborhood.  What really would be an emergency is if my Romney and Scott signs blew off the front lawn... but they're holding up pretty well for now.
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Reporters are standing in puddles in Scituate and Revere, interviewing anyone who wanders close by.... there are 10,000 beds available in security shelters, with a half dozen occupied.
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I pray to God that we make it through this.

Tuna Lips6:19 PM

Stop by TL's for a good seshun between fightin' this gale. Take a rest, "have a blow" as they says on Friday Night Lights.

Bracing for the Storm

Politicians and the news media love hurricanes.  It makes people pay attention to them and they are happy to comply with  extensive exxageration.
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I'm sure that Hurricane Sandy will impact some people.  But, Gov. Deval Patrick, as he has been prone to do in the past, has already declared a state of emergency two days before the first cloud has showed up. 
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Plus, this gives politicians like Patrick and Mayor Mennino, the chance to advise us to do stuff that we never would have thought of by ourself, such as stockpile batteries and take care of our pets.   If  I didn't hear this for real, I wouldn't have included it in this pathetic post.
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I was in the Blizzard of 78,  the Perfect Storm of 1991 and El Nino while I was in California in in 97-98 and saw plenty of damage.  But the disasters that these politicians make proclamations of.... always seem to come up short.  Even those storms seemed to actually impact a very small amount of people.
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Lots of snow, wind or rain, some high tides and flooding, but quite a bit short of Armageddon.
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So we'll batten down the hatches and live though another of Governor Deval's State of Emergency storms.

Window 8 Evolution

Now that Windows 8 is here, we will all be working on IPad style Tablets  within the next two or three years.
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That is .... if the Mayans are wrong about things regarding the world ending before Christmas.
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I'm betting against the Central Americans on this one, and plan to be happily doing my work on a tablet this time in the next two years.
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Before this MOAM retires, I will bet you that we will be computing on 3D Hologram machines... then after that , who knows.

Tuna Lips

1. I aims ta digitize me a fire team of virtual hookers. PayPal laundries my money, no one is the wiser.
2. Hard rain is ginna fall, stop by TL's Place for some per-storm stickin up on what ye needs.

Fifty-Fifty

Today I was on Facebook taking a break from the Nanepashemet Telecom salt mines, when this guy that I don't know decided to tell me how bad Scott Brown is......   Not how good Elizabeth Warren is.
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So I told the goober to vote for Warren and it she wins, then people like him deserve her.  
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I have no patience with anyone who supports the phoney Indian for any reason.
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Stupid people have a right to live too.... and this guy was exercising his right.
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Sometimes it's hard to be tolerant, but this country is split right down the middle........ 50-50 for the right or the left.  And it's not going to change, so we have to learn to put up with goofy bastards.

Not My American Dream

 Peeps -
You already know that I've given the Nanepashemet Nod to Mitt Romney for President.
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And I've tried to tell you why.
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But if a picture says a thousand words, then here's 2000 words why I just don't have the stomach for Barack Obama.
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I don't want my President to prostrate himself to anybody else.... for any freaking reason.
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He may feel that the United States has a tainted history.... and he may have some valid points.
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Only that was yesterday, and pandering to other's culture, which is a lot more stained than ours, is demeaning to every American.   There is no culture that has not sinned or is superior to ours, and yet he lowers himself.
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I want my President to stand up straight.  Obama may be the one bowing, but it will be us who get our Asses Kicked.
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Obama's American Dream is not Mine.

MOAM Mastery

Those of you fortunate/hapless Peeps who find yourself in the Inner Circle of the Mountain of a Man know that I faced the greatest zoning challenge to date last night in New Haven County.
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Many have tried and failed, but your MOAM came home with a unanimous vote in the affirmative after a masterful presentation complete with plans mounted on foamboard.
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I know that some of you are tired of the way that I tout my mastery of the zoning permit science, but I actually never get tired of it.  Last night though, even I was amazed.  Didn't expect to blast a four bagger.  I would have been happy with a continuance.  But I must have wowed the hell out of those zoning commissioners with my expert testimony.
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Like Ali said, "If you can do it, it ain't boasting."
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The good part about winning in a tough jurisdiction is that the adrenalin keeps you alert for the three hour drive home.
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And, BTW.... don't even think about getting into the Inner Circle.

Glue Requirement

BenditPVC. 
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Remember when I told you Peeps about how I bought this gadget to help us bend PVC electical conduit for the Hartford job about a year ago?
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Course you do.
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Well I put this baby to good use yesterday creating a frame for a weather shield on the Herreshoff Columbia Tender.
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After about ten minutes of heating, a 7/8" piece of PVC become as pliable as spaghetti in a colander.  It stiffens up soon to a rigid shape in whatever custom orientation you need.
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Now I have to find a good glue to join blue plastic tarp to the PVC which will create the final shield.   I thought that the PVC glue would do the trick, but it didn't work.