Proud History

Marblehead was once the 15th largest town in the colonies. It always looked outward, to the sea and was not a Puritanical community.
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It's people were independent minded, fishermen, who rallied to the cause of American independence, and fought with Washingon in many instances, including the famous crossing of the Delaware during the mini ice age of 1775..

Stupid Name

Seems I caused a great deal of controversy with my assertion that Kate and Mike were messing with me about the Magic Hat Circus Boy brew.
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So I was wrong.... it really does exist.
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Who ever names a beer "Circus Boy" anyway!!!!
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I'd never drink it.

Business Development

"The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."
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Another Bible quote that always confounded me.
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But it seems to describe the way our Nanepashemet Telecom is progressing.
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The deals that I thought would be the first in the door are lagging, and most of our work is coming from customers that we didn't initially anticipate.

Productive Delay

I know you were wondering how the sailing launch went. After rigging up the sprit sail to the mast, and getting all of the lines in place. I pretty much lost the high tide. The sprit sail rig took a little time to figure out, but now that all of the mystery is gone, it looks rather forthright. It will be interesting to see how it sails.

So I devoted the afternoon to finishing the deck railing cap., and decided to catch the tide tomorrow morning. A good decision in that all of the rough sanding and shaping was fininshed, a final sanding at 180 grit and then the penetrating coat of West System 207 clear coat epoxy was applied. The wood will drink up this initial coat.
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A coat tomorrow morning before the sail launch should see the cap coming to life. It actually looks pretty good. Pictures to follow.

Not So Secret

A nice evening at the Oakley Country Club in Watertown with Joe Collins and Michelle. Joe shot a 73 yesterday in preparation for the Club Championship this weekend. Pretty impressive. I carefully protected my secret that I suck at golf.
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We promised to get them on the WhaleEye in Marblehead before the end of September.

Tight Schedule

This weekend the Tender Sail launch is rolled out. I have to get it done in the morning while the tide is right. After that it is do or die on the tax submissions that I have on extensions. I also really need to get a Bluefish run in, and sand the deck cap.
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Theoretically, it could all happen, .....but no way this will all get done. Monday morning will show up real soon with a 4:00 AM wake up call to get to our job on Cape Cod.
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BTW... Has anyone ever heard of a Magic Hat brew called "Circus Boy"? I think Kate and Mike are setting me up on this one.

POTW - Week 32

Don't you think that the year is going by fast? Those late summer crickets are humming away giving a nice rhythm to warm afternoons.
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This has been one of the more eventful years for me in some time, and I'm certain that the action will not be slowing down. On the business side especially, things are in a kick ass mode.
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I hope your year is shaping up too.
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Announcing.....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week of the 32nd week of 2007.

• Joe Collins
• Tom DiMatteo
• Bill Hillegas
• Maura LeClair
• Joachim Phoenix
• Kathy Peabody

So let's enjoy the rest of the summer and gear up for some real progress.

Gearing Up

I have a bunch of nice blues and striper fishing lures that have rusty, treble hooks. I don't know if the fish can tell the difference, but psychologically you should fish with equipment that you think will catch fish, so I'm replacing the hooks.
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At the Kittery Trading Post yesterday I bough some #4 stainless split rings and some, 1/0 Mustad treble hooks, as well as a special tool to spread the rings. Now the hooks on the rebel and popper plugs can be replaced.
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All that's left is to find some Bluefish Blitzes.

POTW Later

Remember..... you are not paranoid if they are really out to get you.
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Even you could be a Nanepashemet Peep of the Week.
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The crucial selections shall be unveiled this evening.
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Bon Cbance!

Why Fishing is a Sport

Collins of Oakley

Joe Collins, my old UMASS college buddy and Michael's godfather, called me out of the blue today and invited Joanne and I to the Oakley Country Club in Watertown for dinner this Friday.
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I used to be able to beat Joe in most sports while in college.... which I'm sure he wouldn't admit to then and definitely not now.... but I can't come close to his golf game. Lucky we are not playing.
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Dinner will be something to look forward to.

Clams

Doug Maxfield turned us on to Essex Seafood in Essex, MA as the best place to eat fried clams about five years ago.
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Since that time, Joanne and I made the trek to Cape Ann specifically to eat here on numerous occasions. While in Gloucester today, I dropped by to make another contribution to their business.
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Doug was right then, and he is still right.

Hidden Opportunities

There are a ton of economic opportunities out there. Most arise in places that you don't suspect.
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That being the case, you have to stay in motion.
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If you aren't moving, you can't bump into anything...... And the bumps are where the opportunities hide.
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I'm finished with Maine for the time being and heading to Gloucester, Massachusetts this morning.
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Gloucester on Cape Ann is a very interesting place with a gritty middle class work ethic mixed in with exceptional natural beauty. I thought that Sebastian Junger caught the essence of Gloucester well in his best seller "Perfect Storm."

Right and Wrong

Whenever I feel wronged by someone or something, and start to take mental defensive postures, my body starts to feel uncomfortable. Even when I am completely "right".
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But then if I realize that there is really no right or wrong, only the endless rotation of yin and yang, I start to feel pretty good again.
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It's better to let it go and feel good, because the facts and circumstances will change soon enough.
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"Those who know do not say, those who say do not know. " That Taoist phrase confounded me when I was in my early twenties, now I think that I grasp it.

Egg Rock and Katelyn

For years I have stared out at Egg Rock from the Lynn shore and never circled it in a boat until today when we took a boat cruise on the WhaleEye with the Peabody's.
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It is like a mini mountain peak sticking about 30 feet out of the water. The water depth plummets to 60 ft all around the rock, so it's a 90 ft pinnacle rising out of Nahant Bay.
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Also Kate and Stacey used O'Shea's pool while they were away.

Tender Sail Launching

I'm rigging the sprit sail that Joanne bought for me from Doyle Sailmakers to use on the Tender today. The sail was designed for the pram that I built a couple of years ago, it was never set up to use. High tide is at 5:00 PM and we'll be ready for a sailing launch by then, unless we decide to bring the WhaleEye to Brown's Island for the afternoon.
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I bought the kit for a full size sail from Sail Rite to use on the Tender, but it needs to be sewn and I'd rather use the smaller sail to see how the Tender performs
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When I build the Marblehead Gunning Dory, it will be rigged for the use of both sails simultaneously. By then I should actually have learned how to sail.

Looking Back in Time

This is a picture of the Galaxy M81.
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Who knows what it really looks like, because this is what it looked like millenniums ago, since the light just hit the Hubble telescope from 11.6 million light-years away.
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Everything that we see is a reflection of how long it takes the light of that object to reach us. Therefore, everything that we see actually happened in the past.
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Astronomical objects just emphasize that fact because of their extreme distance.

Cootie Free

It's nice to wake up back in Marblehead, in my own bed. I dislike hotels - even real nice ones. You always feel like cooties are everywhere. I don't even like to walk in my bare feet in the rooms. Yes, this does sound phobic, probably because it is.
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Anyway, there's no place like home. At least I know where the cooties come from there.

Vacation Planning

I am embarrassed that I waited this long in my life to experience the beauty of the Down East coast of Maine, when it is a half day drive away from Marblehead.
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And I wasn't even there on vacation. We can fix that.

Tee It Up

I love the smell of a communications tower in the morning.
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It smells like.... Victory.
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Cadillac Mountain

Click on this map to enlarge it and see the indigenous tribes of Maine.
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I'm interested in finding the significance of Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island to the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine and NewBrunswick.

POTW Selections - Week 31 in remote Maine

I know that you think that just because I'm way here up in Maine, that I'll forget to make the Peep of the Week Selections.
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That is so bogus. Forget POTW??? Not on your life!
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The thought of your lack of faith stirs anger and other negative emotions. Lucky I'm up here in friendly Maine on my best behavior, or I'd probably do something to blow off a little steam about now.

I have to make the selections now..... I can't waste too much time while I'm out in the field.

Announcing
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week - 31st week of 2007

• Doug Maxfield
• Tina James
• Michael Murphy
• Peter Crawford
• Tom Egan
• Tim Wakefield

Tomorrow we survey two more sites in on the coast, then deadhead the 4+ hours back to Marblehead. Mike is home from DC and Katelyn will be coming in from Boston. Looking forward to the weekend.

Bridge Phobia

That bridge collapse in Minneapolis is creepy.
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I never conceptualize when I get on a bridge that it may fall down while I'm on it. There are so many things to be afraid of in life.... I hate to add this to the list.

A Tough Day

I spent the day, trying to get stuff done and make a living, but I kept getting distracted by these pesky views.
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It's hard enough dragging yourself through these boring assignments.... now I'm being forced to be surrounded by the incredibly beautiful scenery of the Maine DownEast coastline.
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From the Town of Lubec, the easternmost point in the US on the Nova Scotia border, to Bar Harbor on Mt. Desert Island, it was just another boring workday for Nanepashemet Telecom.
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BTW - Take the time to visit Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island. I had never been and it is spectacular. Definitely worth the 4+ hour drive from Boston.

DownEast

Headed to Maine.
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Don't worry.... I can get on line in Ellsworth near the Acadia National Seashore, so no need to panic. You'll get your Blog fix.
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I won't let you down.

Only Human

Peeps....
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You're starting to make me nervous.
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This Blog is not religious dogma, it is not from the United States Code of Federal Regulations, it is not a tablet from Mount Sinai.... it is only the Nanepashemet Blog.
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That means it is the ramblings of a middle aged, slightly overweight, Irish American white guy who has been known to be loud and obnoxious in public and doesn't dress particularly well.
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Sure, I'm rough, tough, hard to bluff and damn good looking, but that is beside the point.
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Even with my wireless, tech savvy PMP professional status, and my expertise in cedar strip boatbuilding.... I'm just a man who is not that much better that you.
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So.... please do not send me anymore money in the mail and stop emailing me with your anguished pleas for advice with your personal and professional life. (I will, however, continue to accept bottles of Lagavulin with appropriate gratitude.)
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There is only so much responsibility that I can bear in trying to eliminate evil from this earthly dimension.
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I'm trying the best that I can, but you really have to try and learn to get along without my intercession.

Fast Week

I have to cram a lot of administrative details, plus a couple of Rockett meetings into the next day and 1/2 before I leave for the Maine Coast Guard surveys on Tuesday afternoon.

When I return on Friday night, Mike will be home from DC and Kate will be in Marblehead on Saturday. Should be a fast week and a great weekend. July is already over.

Striped Bass Anyway

So I resolve that I'm going to stick to Bluefishing, and what do we catch????
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A nice stripped bass for Tom O'Shea's 49th birthday.
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It is the only striper that was ever caught on my boat while trolling in Bluefish Alley
behind Baker's and near the Breakers.

Go figure.

More Deck

Not a newsworthy day. Nothing of note nationally or internationally as of this morning. Nothing crazy, irrational, or shocking.
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So I guess I'll have to tell you more about my deck project.
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The rain yesterday was a setback, but I plan to glue the rest of the oak accent blocks, go bluefishing, then cut and shape the railing before it is Dark and Stormy time at 5:00PM. There will be pictures to follow.
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I'm feeling lucky.

Contingency

Now its pouring outside. A thunderstorm cell is passing though and wreaking havoc with the deck railing project schedule. As a professional project manager, I know that contingencies must be part of the plan.... but my plan is screwed.

Off Schedule

The West System Epoxy Resin at West Marine, Marblehead, was $94 per gallon, but they didn't have any West 207 Clear Coating Hardener, so I went to Nautical Traders on Bridge Street in Salem to see if they had any.
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Glad I did.
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The resin at Nautical Traders was $74 a gallon and the harderer was 10% cheaper too. But they didn't have the 207 clear. The nice lady there said that she would order it and it would be in by Tuesday, which I agreed to, but I won't be back in town until Saturday, so she said she would put it aside.
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From now on, I'm a Nautical Traders customer for all of my epoxy needs.
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I'll get everything done on the cap so that the finishing can start next weekend. So the schedule is off.

Time for Action

It's 8:15 on Saturday morning.
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I've just finished the three hard boiled eggs that Joanne made for me and had a cup of coffee. I haven't taken my blood pressure pill, aspirin and fish oil capsule yet though.
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I guess it's time to start the deck cap schedule.
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Obviously, I'm stalling, but pretty soon, this lazy lethargy will lift and I will be in a dervish of productive project activity.
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Any time now.....

Time Crunch

August is coming quickly. Mike is due back from DC a week from today.
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I had hoped to have made a dent in the deck and basement tile projects by the time he came back. The deck cap has a chance to be finished, but it looks like I have to hit the road from Tues to Fri. next week, driving up the Maine coast all the way to the Nova Scotia border to survey Coast Guard tower sites.
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That tightens up the deck cap schedule.

Saturday Morning

• Jigsaw Cut curves in mahogany cap.
• Epoxy glue oak bottom backing to mahogany top.
• Go Fishing while epoxy cures
  

Saturday Afternoon

• Fair Edges and top with belt sander
• Rout channel for oak accent strip
• Cut and epoxy accent Strip
• 1st Coat Epoxy coating
  

Sunday Morning

• 2nd Coat Epoxy

Monday Morning

• 1st Coat Marine Varnish

Tuesday Morning

• 2nd Coat Marine Varnish
• Leave for Maine
  

3rd Coat Marine Varnish when I return at the end of the week

That's the best I can do.

I still have to fabricate the deck stair railing.

Sore Losers

Lots of fallout on the Peep Logo selection. A real Donnybrooke. Bitter feelings and Harsh words.
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Bobby Brown in particular has been a bit of a sore loser.
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Bob, you came this close.... at least that's Vice President Chaney's opinion....but, your logo just wasn't as good as Emily's.
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Take it like a man. Your threats have no effect upon me.


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Although.... a bottle of Lagavulin just might be enough for a reconsideration.

Corporate Jets

A day of interesting meetings.... for financing, architectural design, and permitting. In between, we set up some communication and management processes for the upcoming General Dynamics Coast Guard work. I like to be busy, but it is starting to take a good deal of time management.
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Looks like a bank is interested in tying into the cash flow requirements of Nanepashemet Telecom. I've tried to keep things small, but it looks like the company is busting out, and we might as well share the wealth. Even bankers have to eat.
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We'll be putting together a formal business plan, which I have avoided, but it is inevitable. As I described the business to the bank, even I wanted to invest in it, and I already own it!
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There is a compelling story when you look at our potential customers, our industry contacts, professional knowledge and the fact that we have already done this before.... highly successfully for the General Dynamics Wireless business area. That effort bought our boss, Mike Chandler, a Gulf Stream Corporate Jet, and decent bonuses for us.
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We won't be buying a jet, but everything else is a go.

Week 30 - Peeps of the Week

It's official.
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The Nanepashemet POTW logo is established for the ages.
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I suppose that I should give some credit to Emily Ingardia, even though there is a cloud of suspicion regarding the source of this submittal. I really don't care. Emily had the fortitude to propose the best, regardless of where she stole it from.
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So Emily is the winner, basking in the sultry glory of her victory. She gets a ride in the Tender on Marblehead Harbor over the holidays, and fifteen minutes alone with Roenick the Cat.
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I know these prizes seem too generous, but to the victor goes the spoils.
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Now.... to the all important business at hand.

Announcing
The Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 30th week of 2007

• Lou Tarmy
• Will Murray
• Linda O'Shea
• Lindsay Lohan
• Jack Attridge
• Jack Barry

Now that the POTW has a logo, the honor/disgrace is even more intense. That's progress.

Take Care

That brutal home invasion crime in Cheshire, Ct. reminds us that we still have to live defensively. Our ancestors were wary constantly of the threat of wild beasts or vandal attacks. In our "civilized" society, we have let our guard down.
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Be careful.

Anticipation for POTW

Today is a special day for Katelyn Nestor and Roenick the Cat.
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They can't wait for the Peep of the Week Selections this evening.
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I think that Katelyn is more enthusiastic than Roenick.
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The lovely Emily still has the logo contest lead.... even after well over a thousand submittals. There is still time to overtake her, but it will be tough.

Phase Transition

We are rapidly transitioning from the business development phase to the implementation phase at Nanepashemet Telecom. Hopefully this will lead to the making a lot of money phase. That's the phase I'm looking forward to.

I'm thinking that the making a lot of money phase is comprised of excellent quality, service beyond expectations, and high customer satisfaction. Should be no problem.

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BTW, that is not me at the top of the State of New Hampshire Liquor Commission Rohn Tower. It's a guy that we hired. I may be nuts, but I'm not crazy.

Logo Contest Update

This logo, submitted by Emily Ingardia of Lake Tahoe, is clearly the lead of the Peep of the Week logo contest.
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Pristine, don't you think?
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I still have to sort though about nine hundred and fifty additional submittals, but this will be hard to beat.
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Tomorrow, I will have to bite the bullet and make a choice. Whining and complaining by the losers will have no effect.

Physical Evidence

We installed the Broadband equipment today at the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission in two Concord, NH sites.
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I have to say, I was impressed with my partners, and their ability to work hard in a physical situation. I had seen them in office and business development situations, but never in a scenario where they were required to exert themselves into an uncomfortable physical condition, In other words....work up a sweat.
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We also tied into a great Tower Climbing tech firm which will substantially enhance our productivity and service offerings to the wireless industry.

I have pictures, but I'm just too bushed to download them right now.

Hatching

Today was supposed to be a slow day, with only one appointment in the morning, but I was out straight all day. Planning for the New Hampshire installation, handling some real estate transaction issues, setting up a PMO for a construction company, talking to a bank for business finance, were only a few of the things that filled up the hours quick.
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I have a feeling that it is going to get a lot worse as the projects that we have been incubating start to hatch.

Weekend Progress

To my surprise, I got all of the mahogany cut and secured on the deck cap today. Now, I can add the oak accent undersides, and rout in the oak center accents.
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Hopefully, I'll be doing the laminated stair railings by mid week. I'd like to wrap this project up midweek and ambush some Lake Umbegog trout by next weekend.
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It all depends on weather and the Nanepashemet Telecom workload.
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We'll be in New Hampshire on Tues., and Will Murray is lending me a pulley winch to hoist equipment up to the top of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission Headquarters.
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Everything else is classified.

J Boat

I keep telling my friends that when Nanepashemet Telecom starts to hit stride, then I don't want money to change me. They think I'm joking, but I'm really serious.
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The advantage that I have is that I made a lot of money in my thirties with the attendant cars, boats and high end homes. I also attracted quite a few phonies who hung around me as "friends".
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When the real estate bubble of the eighties burst, and we took the financial hits, only a few friends remained. They remain today as my most trusted confidants. It took a disaster to discover them. But now I can spot the phonies a mile away - those pretentious, polite gold diggers who only care about what you can get for them. They wear their disguises well, and can be very convincing, but they don't stand a chance with me as we experience our long awaited financial resurgence.
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I see them around others on the upswing, and I know what the surrounding phonies look like. You want to warn people, but everyone has to experience their own pitfalls I guess.
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I believe that mine made me a better person in the long run, even though you wish others wouldn't have to go through the same pain.
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While my kids were in college, I went the conservative corporate route and didn't take the kind of entrepreneurial chances that can lead to big scores. But now they are out on their own, doing well financially, and it's time for this J Boat to set sail again. There will be no phony crew members, and this boat will steer clear of the rocks because I've already been through these waters.

Real Estate Investments

I had a chance to help a good friend with a real estate deal today which was quite gratifying.
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It's nice when people understand and appreciate what you do for them.
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Real estate is great to be involved in as a method to accumulate capital and wealth. If I had maintained the investments that I was involved in during my thirties, I would be happily retired by now, but it was not in the stars.
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Things happen for a reason.

Bluefishing

It just hit me that in my conversation with my son Mike this afternoon, he mentioned that I was a Bluefish fisherman.
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I know that he was intimating that I never have much luck with stripped bass, but I usually catch bluefish.
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He's right. And I have to say that it is a good observation. I think that I will concentrate on what I am good at, and leave the stripped bass to others.
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Blues fight a lot harder anyway. Also, you have a chance to tie into a football tuna if you are bluefishing.... especially out by Halfway Rock.

Years ago, in my old Mako, Joe Collins and I were into Bluefish out there when something hit that stripped Joe's line. In hindsight, it was a tuna, although we didn't know it at the time. Tuna will take the same kind of Rebel lures that we troll for Bluefish with and actually feed on the Blues.
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So, I'm going to key in on the Blues.

Weekend Goals

There's a couple of things that I'm going to try to do this weekend.
~
Tomorrow, I have to test the Broadband equipment that we bought for the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission with Elsier and DiMatteo.
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So don't you think it is appropriate that we taste some fine single malt scotch afterwards? Me too.
~
On Sunday, I really have to devote some time to the deck railing project, but that shouldn't preclude a spin around the Marblehead Harbor on the Tender.
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There's a bunch of other things I'd like to do too, some that I can't, and some that I won't.

Friday Decision

OK Peeps.
~
It's 2:00 PM and I've finished both pricing submittals with DiMatteo and Elsier and heard from Mikey in DC. Time to commence the weekend.
~
I'm going to head down to Silver Shears for a trim and then maybe get some work on the deck railing done. Tomorrow, we are testing some broadband equipment that has to be installed next week, so I don't feel too bad about quitting early.
~
I'll have my cell phone on, just in case.

Courageousness

Just to let you know that I am not afraid of anything, I'm going to reveal the following fact.
~
I'm a big fan of Martha Stewart.
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I don't watch her show or anything, but I admire her determination and steadfastness. She took a stint in prison, got out, dusted herself off, and resumed her career with a lot of class. She is a model of how to handle the setbacks in life.
~
Now....

Give me you best shot.
Attack my manhood.
You gutless wonders.

I think I just wrote a haiku!

Competition Heats Up

Lots of great Peep of the Week logo submittals already. So far, these are the best.
~
I knew that this would be tough.

Week 29 - POTW

Today was a flurry of breakthrough activity.
~
If I didn't realize from my ten years in the business that the telecom business development cycle was so protracted and slow, I would be quite nervous by now. But it always takes a long time for the deals to matriculate.
~
The ironic thing is that the procurement process is so slow, but then the customer wants the implementation by yesterday.
~
I'm going to reward myself by having a large double cheese with garlic, pepperoni and artichokes from Vesuvius in Marblehead. Easily the best Pizza this side of the Coliseum. I might even throw in a Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade. How's that for a celebration dinner!!!

Now for the business at hand.

Announcing.....
The Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 29th week of 2007

• Emily Ingardia
• Rob Wise
• Gail Johnson
• Patrick Piscatelli
• David Letterman
• Mark Vona

Pretty soon, when I am swamped with work, I'm depending upon the Peeps to remind me of my current euphoria.