Home of the Brave

You had better be damn brave with the IRS and their power to assess charges in view of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Home of the Brave, but land of the free is a stretch.
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Don't tell me that freedom isn't free. We're outlaying our economic privacy to a ruthless, faceless bureaucratic agency who holds us guilty until proven innocent.
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So.... How is your day going?

Better Late Than Never.

I saw a couple of these Catbirds in my driveway last summer. and just identified them now. Never forget a face.

House Pets

We had a nice dinner last night at the Barnicle with Jay and Kate, who came to Marblehead with their dog, Jack.
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Jack Dog, the Pug, was excited to be here and kept running around the house, creating a mountain of concern from Isabelle and Ronick. The cats emanated a little hissing, but thankfully no domestic pet violence.
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Izzy and Ronick both slept with us together last night though. I can't remember the last time that they were both on the bed at the same time, for any continuous period. Jack Dog deserves the Nobel Peace Prize if he can bring those two together.

Rome Again

The HBO series, Rome, is back with season two. This show alone is enough to subscribe to HBO. We can never truly know, but it seems to depict a realistic version of how life might have been in Italy at the time or Julius and Augustus Caesar. The story of Caesar motivated Shakespeare and remains today as the highest form of drama.
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Well done with acting and sets, down to the colors of the buildings and the extensive graphic graffiti on the walls.
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One thing that is perplexing though.... Why is it that the film industry always represents Romans speaking with English accents?

Superbowl Sunday

An unofficial holiday in the United States. With the Patriots not in it, you have to root for the Colts. Manning deserves it. Plus the Patriots annihilated the Bears in the regular season. Sarah Crawford invited us over because it is Chris' birthday.
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No offense to anyone, but I had plans to stay at home and eat Buffalo wings with Joanne. Lay low and stay out of trouble.

Wardrobe Threat

By the way, I'm kicking ass with my weight loss program. 2 1/2 lbs lost since Tues. Course I haven't really eaten much except for when Ryan and Courtney came over, and even then.... no carbs. Plus I've been working out semi hard on the Cybex stationary bike. Joanne cleaned out Mike's room since he moved to DC, and she moved the Bike there.
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The last time that I had a significant weight loss, I got off of the carbs, but never really stopped having a beer or two at night, and certainly didn't get a daily exercise burn in. That time I lost 20 lbs in about a month.
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This time, it's diet, exercise, no weekday evening beverages, and probably a lot more business stress. The deadline is March 21. Plus I have the Peeps to cheer me on this time. Can't miss.
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Hopefully my clothes will still fit, but it would be a pleasure to buy smaller sizes. I do have some really cool clothes though.

Metz a Metz

One of those days. Got a lot done, but didn't feel good doing some of it.
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I can't really explain without compromising business confidentiality.
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On the good side, I settled the Sundance Elevator order, finalized the handicapped Bathroom issues and bought some real nice entry doors that will open to the outside per the wishes of the Marblehead Building Dept. These were special order doors that I got at a real nice price from the Peabody Building Products Outlet. A great referral from Sparky and Mike Rockett. Paid some bills that were due. Always a good feeling when you have the funds.
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I also had a nice conversation about China with a guy whose name I cannot reveal.
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Some really unpleasant shit happened that I can't tell you about. Business is Business. Some things never change.

Week 5 - 2007 Peeps of the Week

Another Thursday. POTW Day.

The elevator issue at Sundance definitely has me frazzled.... because it is going to make me broke. Plus, the Cingular capital freeze is a downer. Two money issues that have been playing havoc with my nervous system. Experience tells me that this too shall pass. But that simple phrase doesn't loosen the knot in my stomach.

At least I can turn to the weekly POTW selection process for solace and consolation.

So....
Announcing the Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for Week 5 or 2007.

• Sarah Jane Freymann
• Dr. Louis Casale
• The Salesguy at Joe Jones who sold me the XC Skis
• Jan Cyr
• Mike Chandler
• Ben PC Wong

Now back to the hand wringing.

Squaw Sachem, Wife of Nanepashemet

The Mark of Squaw Sachem

Terrorism

When I was growing up, we were afraid of being nuked by the Russians. I remember the Cuban Missle Crisis, and the fear that I felt that a nuclear war was pending. We used to have air raid drills in elementary school where we would kneel in the corridor with our head against the walls.
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As much as that sucked, I think that the environment that my grandkids will grow up in is worse, where people from a range of countries wish to bring havoc upon us for reasons that make no sense. How do you defend against an enemy that has no distinct country, and hates with no distinct reason?
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At least fearing the Russians was easy and logical.

Not a Setback

I forgot that Ryan and Courtney were coming over for dinner, so I missed the burn, but it was worth it to see them. They are pretty excited about a bunch of stuff. All good things.

Negative One.

Since yesterday. I'm psyched. With a 1/2 hr. burn in this evening, I should be able to drop another one. Let's see if it's this easy after 15 lbs. or so.

New Motivation

I have to admit that during this snowless winter in Boston, I'm starting to really miss being out on the water. The Sundance Pre-School new site build and Darwin has pulled all of my time away from finishing the Tender, but I have to find a way to get it done in the next few months.
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My appointment with Dr. Casale is in Mid-March, and he wants me on fish oil, aspirin and the HBP med. I'm also supposed to exercise for at least 30 min per day. As much as the Cybex stationary bike is great, I think it would be cool to get that half hour in rowing around the harbor.
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That means I have to get the trailer assembled, registered and finish the damn Tender. Probably a good motivation. I'll be honest. I'd like to lose 20 lbs. in the next 50 days before my appointment. That's 3 lbs. a week for the next seven weeks.
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Really, How hard can it be??? Go low on carbs, cut down on portions, no cookies, lay off the scotch (weekdays anyway). Get the 30 Min. in everyday, and gut it out for 7 weeks.
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Time for a gut check.... literally.
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I'll let you know how I'm doing, +/- , when I publish the Peeps of the Week each Thurs. for the next seven weeks.

Vertical Lift

Choosing the elevator for Sundance has been fairly stressful. Probably because it will be very expensive, and is only needed to meet regulartory requirements.
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I don't even mind the matching handicapped "his" and "her" bathrooms on the bottom level, because I know that they will at least be used, but the elevator requirement is silly and bureaucratic, based upon the amount of times that it will be operated for the use intended.
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I have to bite the bullet and make the order, because there is a four to five week factory lead time.

Melt Down

With all good intentions today, I was home from No. Conway by 12:30PM. Ryan came over and told us about his trip to Arizona. By then it was 2:00 and rigor mortis set in. I was really paralized, and couldn't get to any action items. Took a power nap, but never rallied.
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I did manage to read up a little on high blood pressure on the internet. Apparently one in three adults has HBP. Looks like I have to get serious and attend to this. Means losing weight and working out. How bad is that? I have another check up with Dr. Casale in mid March, and hope to make a push to change things between now and then.
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Tomorrow, I'll be up at 5:30 AM, heading for the ariport to fly to LaGuardia for my Paramus Meeting with Cingular. I hope the lethargy has left by then. There is too much to do for this couch potato bullshit to be in the mix.

Sunday Anticipation

I have 19 hours of sanding to go with these 60 grit hook and loop beauties on the Herreshoff Columbia Yacht Tender interior work.
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I'll leave North Conway by 9:00 AM after a quick try out of the new XC Skis. Home by noon, and hopefully I can fit in 2 hours of sanding then. Leaving 17 eventful hours. I don't care. The Tender will rock when it is done. And I'm not taking any shortcuts.
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More basement clean up in the late afternoon, then get ready for the Paramus trip. No more Patriots games tying up productive Sundays.
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I still haven't heard from my book agent. Looks like I have to toss the passive waiting mode and start barking. Nobody said it would be easy.

Time for the Time

I broke down today and bought a pair of Rossignol XC Touring skis at Joe Jones Sports in North Conway. The ones that Joanne and I bought when we were out at UMASS in the seventies are virtual antiques. I'm not kidding. I've seen the same model nailed to a wall in a restaurant.
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My walk today convinced me that I should get out in the cold and solitude more often. Very cleansing, both physically and spiritually. So I figure that with skis, all that good stuff can get done quicker. Just kidding. But I think that physical exercise in solitude can get rid of a lot of demons. The key is to find the enablers to do it... XC skis, rowing the tender, jogging (ouch).
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It's time to find the time.

Winter Stroll

OK, so I didn't go skiing afterall, but at least I got out for a walk around the North Conway cross country ski trails; eventually coming out to Route 16 at the Scenic Vista in Intervale.
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Probably a three mile loop. I brought my camera, but didn't see any wildlife or birds, however, heard some chickadees. They obviously were mocking me.
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BTW, the Scenic Vista is the sight of an annual Abenaki Tribe summer camp, whereby the Indians made a trek down from Quebec to fish and trade. The last encampment was in 1964.
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It was pretty cold... under 10 degrees.

BC-BU Hockey

Watching the BC - BU hockey game. BC is winning 3-2 in the second period.
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Maybe I should root for BU where I went to grad school, but my son, Mike, played with the the BC goalie, Cory Schneider, in Youth Hockey and on the Marblehead Hockey Team. Then Cory went on to glory at Phillips Andover and BC. Cory is a great kid. It's kind of neat to see him excel at BC, and move on to the pro ranks next year.
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Brings big time hockey to a personal, manageable level. I'm happy, though, that I'm not slepping to rinks every weekend now, like Cory's parents are still doing.

Skiing

I'm up in North Conway and thinking of going skiiing tomorrow.
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I know what you're thinking..... He's old, he's out shape, he's going to hurt himself.
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Yeah, I think I will go skiing...... Screw you.