Moonshadow Accomplishments

Joanne and I met with Mike Rockett at the new Sundance building and got his buy in. The thing that I like best about Mike is his complete honesty. If he likes something, he is immediately exuberant, and if he doesn't, he is downright insulting. He is a helluva golfer, but probably would suck at poker. He assures us that the renovations can be achieved according to plan and that he is committing his efforts and resources. To us, that is money in the bank.
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Meanwhile, progress on the Herreshoff Tender was slow and steady. The 3/8" Olkume plywood was ripped into three inch strips for the floorboards and fitted to the oak supports. The centerboard case was cut to fit and was initially sanded. I didn't get to epoxy anything, which is a setback because nothing will get done tomorrow due to the Pats-Jets game at the Darwin box.
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Monday, we close on one phase of the school financing and I have to take room measurements to get the plans to Mike. Then we will implement a Microsoft Project analysis of the work and start to get granular on cost and schedule.
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All in all, not a bad Saturday. It will be a hectic holiday season.

Nanepashemet Blog Posting and BC Basketball

Believe it or not, some people have not read this blog.
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I know that sounds shocking... that there are people out there walking around aimlessly with a big gap in their lives... but it's true.
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When these people find out that I blog, they normally ask what I blog about. I answer that I don't know, which is the truth. Years ago, when I was at UMASS, I lived in the same dorm as a bunch of the basketball players. Rick Pitino and Julius Erving were there at that time, but they didn't live in my dorm. Al Skinner, the current coach of the Boston College Men's Basketball team did.
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I didn't know him other than to say hi, but I remember being in the dorm lobby one day, when he was hanging with some of the other players. I overheard one of them ask him if he worried about getting his share of points in a game.
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Skinner said,"I never think about it. I just know that they will come."
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Why is it that random comments like that stick in your memory? I don't know, but this one did. I don't think about what topics to post in the blog, I just know that they will come. Katelyn asks me how I find the time to write these posts. It almost seems that they happen by themselves, and take no time at all.
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One thing blogging has taught me is that there is a tremendous amount of stuff that happens to you daily. If you take the time to capture and analize the random shit that passes through your head, it's impossible to be bored with life. This blog only captures a minute fraction.

Autumn Drink

Recently, an inordinate amount of Peeps have inquired as to my favorite autumn cocktail.
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Realizing that "Dark and Stormies" may have a summer feel to it, these insightful Nanepashemet Peeps bring up a good point. "What is my favorite Fall Drink?"
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Not an easy question. You must remember that any such designation doesn't dethrone Lagavulin as the King of Scotch, with an unapproachable position in my drinking preference.
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This aside, you are missing something if you haven't tried a "Seagrams and Cider". That's half a glass of ice cubes, covered with Seagrams 7 Blended Canadian Whisky, and topped off with Apple Cider with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
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Surprisingly, an upgrade to VO isn't really cost effective or better than the Seagram's 7.
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This drink has been an autumn standard since Joanne and I were first married. I used to be able to pack away a good amount of cider this way in one sitting, but if you get a bad batch of apples, you also might be sitting in the bathroom for an inordinate amount of time, so be careful.

Working Weekend

Definite agenda for this weekend.
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Sat. Morn. - Workout.... get in a 1/2 hr sweat on the stationary bike and shower. Cut and Lay out the floorboards for the Tender. Sand the interior and gunwale rails. Get a coat of Epoxy on everything.
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Sat. Afternoon - measure and prepare renovation plan for the new Sundance School building with Joanne and Mike Rockett.
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Sat. Evening - put a dent in the Lagavulin stock.
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Sun. Morn. - Get another bike workout in. Head to Darwin in Wakefield by 9:00 AM to car pool to Foxboro for the Pats-Jets Game in the Darwin box. The Cingular NY and Cingular NE customers are invited and it should be a chance to embed a subliminal or two for 2007 business. Game start is 1:00 PM. Should be a good time, but a long day.
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Since I'm such an old fart, I actually prefer to watch the Pats at home, but this will be time well spent for my profit making career schemes.

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week

Please note - the dozen or so Nanepashemet Peeps that emailed me asking to be on the "Peeps of the Week" list will not even be considered.
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Peeps of the Week are generally cool dudes. Asking to be on the list is uncool. Hence you see the logical backdrop of the policy decision here. Generally, you have a better chance of making the list if you don't want to be on the list.
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Now that you all understand the protocol, we are free to proceed with the list.

NANEPASHEMET PEEPS OF THE WEEK

• Mark Ferrante
• Vanessa, the honest bartender in Atlanta with the boob job.
• Steve Lewis
• Bill Bulger
• Brian Butler
• Lisa Chruzzzzzz

Congratulations. You are now eligible for the coveted PEEP of the YEAR competition that will be televised on Youtube.com later on when I get around to it.
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To all of the other losers this week, there is nothing you can do differently to be chosen, so stop trying.

Titmouse Sighting

To those of you who have often wondered if a "tufted titmouse" ever visited my birdfeeders, the answer is a resounding - YES! Three or four of them this morning.
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Yesterday a nice red cardinal made a visit.

So the Birder list is....

• Crow
• Seagull
• Common Sparrow
• Morning Dove
• Blue Jay
• Cardinal
• Chickadee
• Gold Finch
• House Finch
• Tufted Titmouse

So far, no Bald Eagles or Vultures, but the Night Before Thanksgiving Nestor Bash is coming up soon.

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All this, and I never contributed to the Sierra Club.

Darwin Rocks On

Many of my Nanepashemet Peeps have been asking me about Darwin lately.
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I touched base with a lot of my wireless colleagues at the launch meeting of the New England Wireless Association, and I truly felt that I was a Darwin guy rather than "ex-GD". As much as I was dedicated and loyal to General Dynamics, it feels good to be with a group that is vibrant, business-minded and ready to make a real industry mark again.
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I don't like to talk freely about the specifics because of business security, but I am really psyched about the forward view that I am seeing. Today gave some particularly good signs of things to come.
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Indications are that Darwin is on course to pinch the industry in the ass. We will get some attention in 2007. Inspire some people, piss off more.

Herreshoff Columbia Tender Launch Prospect

It's feasible to launch the tender now by Thanksgiving. But I think I'll give myself leeway and launch over the holidays. Not the time to take shortcuts or rush things after so long.
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With the seat support planks in place, and the flooring supports down, everything else should measure fairly easily.... theorizing of techniques is no longer required. Now the process is "do it", not figuring out how it should be done.

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By the way, this Peapod and shop on the right is not mine. (I wish!). I'll probably build a double ender like this for my next project. Also, the guy in the Dory below is not me. (Thank God).
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Tomorrow I'll take the afternoon off, get Mark my tax and deposit information for the the Sundance School acquisition, and get a couple of things done on the tender, hopefully ending with a coating of epoxy. A mild November day is forecast and I'd like to take advantage of the higher temperatures for epoxy and varnish curing as much as possible.
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Once I finish the tender, I'm going to find time to row around the harbor on weekends and at least one or two weekdays every week. I will utilize it to find my buff inner self. I like building boats. It remains to be seen whether I will like rowing or sailing them.

Democrats In, Rumsfeld Out

Dems captured the House and Senate, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is the new Speaker of the House. President Bush countered by replacing the Secretary of Defense lightning rod, Donald Rumsfeld.
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Good conciliatory move by Bush that he is willing to compromise in the face of changing political winds. I read this election wrong. I thought that the overall economic health of the country would sustain the Republicans, despite the war.
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I just hope we pull out of goddamn Iraq. Don't care who does it, or how it is done.

Reaching Back for an Old Friend

"I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."

- Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2

It's been over thirty years since I read these words in a third floor cubby hole among the stacks in the old Goodell Library at UMASS Amherst.

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His pure action of contemplation in a small cabin in the woods outside of daily human interaction continues to be a source of inspiration to many. I was surprised that Ryan and Courtney visited Walden Pond in Concord two weeks ago. Interesting the effect that a human can have - just trying to understand life - on people over two hundred years later.
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Thoreau would have had a killer blog.

Kennedy Mystery Vote Solved

Imlac hit it on the head.
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I voted for Ted Kennedy out of loyalty. I didn't see it before.
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Loyalty to a prior choice and a chosen path. Loyalty to what was, regardless of what is. Loyalty that transcends human frailties and says "No matter what, I'll support you. Even if you and I go down different roads."
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I feel a little better now.

Katelyn Offered to Help Move

I'm not lying!

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She offered to help us move Sundance.

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This is a sign that this move was mean't to be.

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Financing continues to progress due to Mark and Steve. Mike Rockett and I will be doing a work write up on the property improvements this Saturday.

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The announcement of the move went well today. Overwhelming support - a small bit of disidence centered around the fear of change. Time will cure these concerns.