Peep of the Year in Fine Form

Once again, Tom McMahon, our reigning Nanepashemet Peep of the Year, shows why he is worthy of the title.
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Manhandling a poor Yankee fan at Fenway Park.
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Annoying?
Inspiring?
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Both????
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You be the Judge.
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But it again validates the controversial choice.

In McMahon's own words....

"This one was something special. This jerk off ran from next to the sox dugout after Hinske hit a double on Sunday night. He then gave Hinske a pat on the back, took Robinson Cano’s hat, put it on and headed for the outfield. He didn’t make it too far though because even though I was hungover this guy had nothing when he tried to turn on the jets."

Patriots v. Red Sox

Red Sox v. Yankees are on ESPN and the Patriots v. Chargers are on Network TV.
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Thank goodness for cable TV and the "last" button. The commercials won't have a chance as we switch from game to game.
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It will still be a late night though because both games started after 8:00 PM and I have a huge customer meeting tomorrow morning in downtown Boston.
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I suppose I'll do the responsible thing and go to bed before either game is decided.

Lost Lure

The day went as planned.... got some tiling done, got some rowing in.... the only glitch was that when I brought the Tender out to the mouth of the Harbor, about 100 yds. off of the Marblehead Lighthouse, I lost my only lure on the first cast.
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Didn't really bother me, because I was only out to row anyway. But in the future, I'm going to bring a little extra tackle.
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I rowed about a quarter of the way into the Marblehead Channel and picked up some decent wakes and swells. The Tender really is a stable and seaworthy design. I pulled the oars up and floated aimlessly out there for about a half hour or so. Nothing metaphysical or anything, just enjoying the movement of the water in the Channel under the Tender.
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Anybody passing by thought I was fishing anyway, so it probably didn't look so weird.
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But I was just sitting and breathing. It was kind of like when I go fly fishing in the Saco River with my rubber pants on. Just standing there feeling the water pass by.
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On the way back, I stroked the oars fairly vigorously... a decent workout. It will be interesting to do this around mid-November when all but the working lobster boats will have been hauled out of the Harbor.

Basement Projection

Tiling floors always gets me into rigor mortis if I overdo it. So today I quit after three hours, before I got to the staring blankly at the floor stage. Since it's only the basement, there is no crucial time requirement like happens with most tile jobs. So I'll come back later this week and get a little more done.
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I'd love to have this project done by Thanksgiving when Mike gets home again from DC. There are a lot of miscellaneous details since I will be ripping out the existing cabinets and constructing a built in for the HD TV the we foolishly bought before the new flat screen technology was available.
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Can't let the Dory project get stale either.
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Thanksgiving is probably an attainable goal but I'm not promising anything.

Tile Restart

Today I'm going to set the Dory aside and restart the basement tile project. I told Joanne and Katelyn that I was going to work both simultaneously, and it is time to disprove their skeptical reactions.
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There will be a hard stop at 3:00 PM to row the Tender in Marblehead Harbor during high tide.

Lazy Day

This was the extent of the work completed today. A completely wasted, rainy day, trying to shake off the effects of last night's Dark and Stormies and the loss by the Red Sox to the Yankees in the longest 9 inning game on record.
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Most of the day was spent working the kinks out of Outlook 2007 that I have on my new laptop. It has a nice business information system that I'm interested in using for Nanepashemet Telecom.
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The bottom of the Dory has been cut using a jigsaw, with at least 1/4" margin from the final dimension so that it can be hand planed to the line.
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The epoxy glue has to be scraped off both sides and the whole thing sanded smooth, then I'll start to contruct the oak frames, and fit them on the strongback.
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Add an hour to the total for this work. Cumulative 5 hours.

Dory Bottom

I was hustling to glue up the Dory Bottom in order to get over to the Peabody's house and watch the Red Sox - Yankees game. Linda O'Shea had an interesting week, and I had promised to conjure up some Dark and Stormy's to add a finishing touch. The Dark and Stormy's fit the bill, but the Sox came up short in a disappointing loss.
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The Dory bottom was constructed from four 1x6 select pine, 12 foot boards and a 2 inch 14 foot mahogany board that was glued in the middle to give the appearance of a keel. Dories don't have keels, but the mahogany piece will serve to accent the front and back stems which will be constructed from laminated oak and mahogany strips.
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The template that I made yesterday worked out well, and I biscuit jointed all of the sides of the boards together. In the end, I am happy with the choice of the 1x6's because I was able to alternate the grain and relieve the warping strain, which wouldn't be the case if a single 1x12 was used on each side of the mahogany.
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When the epoxy glue is cured tomorrow morning, I will cut out the bottom, scrape off the excess glue, and start the internal oak frames. I also have to devote some time on the basement tile project, and would love to follow up on Maxfield's tip to find Blues around Thatchers/Milk Island.

Time expensed today on the Dory included 1 hour at Home Depot picking out the pine, 1 hour laying everything out and mapping the template and biscuit joints, and one hour epoxy gluing and clamping. A total of three hours today. Cumulative time is 4 hours for this project. so far.

POTW Week 37

Mid-September.

There is a theory that time passes quicker, the older you get. Not sure how this would be validated, but it sure seems on the mark.

Lots of great stuff happened this week. Weddings, Births, Purchase Orders, the Debut of Dory Construction. Some things still irk the hell out of me, but you have to love the good stuff.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 37th week of 2007

• Bob Wojcik
• Mike Rockett
• Lauren Crawford
• Doug Maxfield
• Jaime Andrews
• Tina Rhodes

Now if I could run into a Bluefish blitz this weekend - it would be total satisfaction.

Broke the Ice

Today, I officially started the Dory by cutting out a template for 1/4 of the boat floor out of luan plywood. Since the Dory is a double ender, the 1/4 template can be traced on the two sides of the front 12 foot floor, and the two sides of the back for perfect symmetry.
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Tomorrow I'll be in Portsmouth, NH for a bid walk, and I can stop at the Moynihan lumber yard on the way home for two 14' 1x12's which I will join in the middle with a strip of mahogany using biscuit joints. These will be glued with epoxy resin, then I will lay out the pattern from the template.
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The template layout and cutting with the bandsaw only took 1.5 hrs. But at least we quit talking and started this thing.

Feeder Frenzy

On the birdfeeder this morning was this female Downy Woodpecker.
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Are you as breathless as I am?
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I've seen the male previously, but was unable to capture on film.
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BTW, please disregard the rampant bird turds surrounding this beautiful specimen. I keep asking Joanne to clean the deck railing.

Nice Outcome

For all of you Peeps who were wondering how my big telecom meeting went today, I have to say that it was far better than expected. Today fully qualifies as a power day in the grand scheme of things. Now I have to harness the power.

Quality, Comfort, and Embarrassment

I buy my furniture at Bernie and Phyl's in Saugus, MA.
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They have a good selection, competitive prices, and are convenient to our house in Marblehead.
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But , Man! They have the worse TV ads ever. They have their two sons sitting on a couch like fifth graders telling you what their Mom and Dad says. It is so degrading to those two thirty somethings that you have to think that they are either half wits, or hopelessly dependent upon the family money.
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It's painful to watch. You feel like just telling them to cut it out, because they seem like nice people.

Osama Bin Stupid

Six years after 9/11.... we still haven't found that mongrel Bin Ladin. I hope he is enjoying the hole he is living in. With our system of justice, death would be too good for him and prison would be a big step up in his standard of living. So maybe he can stay in his dirt hole.
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What did Al Queda accomplish by their suicide mission??? Unless your actions can capture hearts and minds, it is merely self destruction. A lot of people carry deep prejudice toward Islamic people now, who really shouldn't.
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In the immortal words of New York Firefighter, Michael Moran, more than five years ago, Osama bin Laden can "kiss my royal Irish ass."
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Nice job Osama. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. You've engendered deep anger towards your people for decades to come.
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I had a good chance to be on the United flight to LA that crashed into one of the Towers. There was a trade show in LA that I was scheduled to attend that day, and my normal procedure traveling to the West Coast was to take that 7:30 flight from Logan landing in LA at 11:00 AM Pacific time. But then we had a major screw up in Pittsburgh, so I canceled the trade show plans. Screw ups can be beneficial.
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It wasn't my time.
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I plan to use these bonus years teaching my grandkids to blog and build boats among other things.

Little Will

I was just about ready to shut the Blog down for the night and watch the last innings of the Red Sox - Tampa game, when Aunt Sarah Crawford sent me these great photos of little Will Crawford in his first week of life on Earth.
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He's a keeper and will merit the family discount at Sundance Pre-School in a few short years.

Getting Started

For the record, no construction today. But I have been thinking about the flat dory bottom that will be the foundation of this boat, since the garage has been cleaned and the strongback is ready for a new mold.
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Unlike the tender, the dory does not have rabbeted keel... it has a flat bottom that is rockered and 12 feet long.
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The plans call for a lamination of two 3/8 pieces of marine plywood with a maximum width amidship of 21 inches. I'm thinking of using two 1x12 pine boards, joined in the middle with a strip of meranti mahogany, since it will be ecapsulated in epoxy/fiberglass anyway. The meranti will add a nice design element.
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Maybe I'll toughen up the bottom by fastening 1/4" thick strips of aluminum.
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Regardless of what material I choose, the absolute first step will be to construct a template of one quarter of the bottom from 1/4 inch luan plywood. This will be used to trace a perfect relica of the bottom curve at both ends of the bottom piece.
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Thinking about building the Dory probably doesn't count in the actual construction process. I intend to keep a record of the time, methods and materials. If you factored in thinking, it would be way past budget.

Preparing for Take Off

Tomorrow we have a customer meeting that I have been working on since April. If you had told me then that it would be September when we pulled this off, I would have dismissed you as unrealistically pessimistic.
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Does that make me unrealistically optimistic?
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Maybe, but at least I have the freaking meeting tomorrow. I'm thinking that our telecom business could really take off, but I'm afraid to see if all of the anticipation has been unfounded.
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No Matter.
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If it doesn't take off tomorrow, it will take off another day.

Not Dancing

We were ready to rock and roll this morning, but the music never came on. It's probably a good thing because we needed some quiet time to write a proposal. I also paid some bills which is always a triumph for me. Even when I have the money, paying bills is such a stressful chore.
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I'm tempted to get into the garage and start the template for the Dory bottom, but I really have to finish this proposal.
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Anybody seen Tuna Lips???

Lucky Break

We innocently offered to take Katelyn back to South Boston from Marblehead, but when we arrived it was obvious that her car had been towed. OhBoy!
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Lucky for me that I was in the mood for a heaping "Stress Sandwich". After a relaxing ride around South Boston and Dorchester, with Katelyn cursing and screaming, we found the car and unraveled a plan to get it back in her possession.
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Good thing I was in the mood to miss the Patriots- Jets game. The Patriots managed to beat the 6 point spread by scroing 24 points more than the Jets.
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There was no way that I wanted to sit on the couch in Marblehead and relax this afternoon. Some days you just get lucky.

Work Break

With the telecom work rolling in, the week is starting early. I'm going to hit the Harbor for a row, then work on the Garage reorg. That should leave the afternoon open to crank on the Telecom work.
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Normally the weekends should be reserved for weekend stuff, but today has to be an exception.

A Great Wedding.

The wedding of Tina and Colin Rhodes was easily one of the best that we have attended in years. It was brutally hot, the air conditioning was broken and the windows in the reception hall were painted shut.
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People were sweating in places that they didn't know they had. But the whole group decided that they wouldn't let this disrupt the joy of Tina and Colin. They had wedded bliss welded to their countenances.

The food was great and the dancing was way more vigorous that usual, despite the enormous discomfort. They had real Dark and Stormies - with Baritt's Ginger Beer and Gosling's Black Seal Rum - the closest to perfection other than my own. I've never seen that at a Wedding before, and it was a real nice touch.

There were the MegaPeeps - Brian and Stacey Butler - in attendance as well as Lindsay Kepnes. Jaime Ferrara came as Jaime Andrews, and we met her husband, which brought that whole issue to a good resolution.
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We had a blast. Good Luck - Tina and Colin.

Another Day Off

Needless to say, the boat construction is not proceeding today with Tina's Wedding and all.
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So I took a long row from Riverhead Landing at the end of Marblehead Harbor, all the way out and around Marblehead Rock and then back through the Harbor on the Fort Sewall side.. Once I got out by the Lighthouse, I trolled for stripers and circumnavigated Marblehead Rock, which really stinks close in.
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The only one violating the no-wake zone was the Marblehead Harbormaster. I''m sure he had a good reason.

A New Entry

William Sandison Crawford III was born last night. 7 lbs. 12 oz. Will and Lauren are doing well, but Peter, the new Grandpa is questionable.
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Welcome William. Have a great run.

Dale and Gail Johnson

Dale and Gail came over for a dinner of grilled tuna and mussels. Naturally, Joanne did a great job at dinner and Dale was present for the entire time. Luckily, his alter ego, Buck, did not make an appearance.
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Dale is all worked up because he has to go to London for a presentation to a Venture Capital company regarding his metals recycling company. From my perspective, it is a slam dunk for him because of his talent and business sense, but he is still pensive about the outcome.
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We always have a good time with Dale and Gail, because they laugh at our jokes, and we laugh at theirs. In the end, that is all that is required.

Wedding Hype

Tina James and Colin Rhodes are getting married tomorrow. I know that the Peeps expect me to attend all of their weddings, but I can only do so much.
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Murph last week and Tina this week were special Peeps though, who did a lot of hanging around Beverly Ave. while they were growing up. Just because I am attending these weddings doesn't make me official wedding invitation bait. I would go to their weddings even if they were not POTW alumni.
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I don't know the Rhodes family, but Tina's family is really great, and I'm looking forward to the Saturday nuptials. Plus Katelyn is a bridesmaid, and I have some cool new dance moves to try out on her at the reception.
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Plus the huge rumor is that Lindsay Kepnes is in town for the event. How great is that!!!

From Tuna Lips

This one was too good to be hidden in the comments....

t was October 1, 1949. That Chink Mao was declaring the world was red, Frankie Laine released the album "Mule Train", which made me snuffle for ole Sal, and Dick Button won the men's figure skating championships. He sure could glide, that Dick. I was making my way to do some logging as I was a lumberjack, hoboing on Sardis & Delta Railroad near Sardis, Mississippi. What once was an honorable craft, hoboing around for work, was becoming a boiling cauldron of theivin', gamblin', and whorin', with the not infrequent enough encounter with buggery preverts. It was fall, and there was plenty of wood to chop and send down the river, and I was plenty hungry, having only eaten a red capped woodpecker and some cow corn in the past week. My body smelled, my teeth hurt, and my droppings were as hard as a cow's turd in winter. It was a tryin' time for this pilgrim, leading this life that was not at one with nature, as I had a great fondness for things of the woods, but was chopping down trees, which was where my friends, the birds of the sky, resided, and I had nothing to eat. Momma had learnt us not to steal, but poppa would steal a hot stove if it was available, and he was no worse, though now paralyzed due to being hit on the head with a sledge hammer by an angry Chinese feller in pajamas who was working the railroad, and did not like poppa stealing his poppy paste that made the town folk drool. No good rice eatin heathen! It was at this time that the local orchard was pulling in the apples, and the town folk was pressing cider and curing hams, and boy o boy did I like cider and ham. So, I took the road into town, and decided to look around for an entreprenuer's opportunity, the kind of thing that made this fine country great, and the kind of thing that would stop me from molesting mother nature and get me some cider and ham. As I ambled into town, tape worm dangling, in need of a bath and a mule, it dawned on me. I was to . . . .

Synchronicity

Depending upon how the noon time customer call goes, I might be down in NY early next week, and we have a bunch of other stuff hitting next week.
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Why do diverse things seem to come to a head at the same time? Does it happen to you? It seems too coincidental that stuff that you have been pursuing with different people and different activities would culminate at the same focal point.
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I suppose there is a metaphysical explanation, and we'll have to wait until we are dead when we look and say "A Ha! That is how that was connected!" Either that, or we fade into oblivion, which doesn't seem logical either.

POTW Week 35

The ride back from Albany was torture.

We had barbeque with the customer, and whatever I ate decided to have an immediate party in my intestines.

A lesser man would have pulled over to the side of the road and called it quits, but I gamely hit my own bathroom in Marblehead at 11:30 PM last night with no messy incidents.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 35th week of 2007

• Michael Murphy
• Beth Murphy
• Lauren Rathbone
• Ryan Nestor
• Jeremy Johnson
• Keith DiMatteo

I'm eating light today.

Emotional Response

Peeps -

Enough of the congrats on the Blog anniversary!!!
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I would never have mentioned it if I thought that everyone was going to get so sappy and emotional.
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It's just a blog....
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You've got to find more substance in your lives.

Speaking of which, the POTW selections may be delayed this evening because I have to attend a business dinner in Albany, NY.... then drive all the way back to Marblehead. Not to panic though, because this weeks nominations are not too difficult. As aways, I am open to your suggestions for selection, and will continue to ignore most of them.

Moving into the Cycle

September is shaping up as busier than August for Nanepashemet Telecom. And August was close to a show stopper.
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The shift from business development to operations is in full swing. We'll be able to implement the easiest type of business development - repeat business through great service. That's a nice cycle to get into.

A Year of the Blog

This is the first anniversary of the Nanepashemet Blog. On September 5 of last year, I posted an entry regarding the Herreshoff Columbia Yacht Tender, and pretty much posted every day since then.
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The Blog has caused both joy and pain, and I'm amazed at the impact that words can have, and the interest that they can engender. I'll have to admit that the Blog was originally intended as notes to myself, with the added implication that it can't be too frank because of business and confidential situations. The fact that a bunch of other people started to constantly look over my shoulder is both flattering and confusing.
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At times I've gone over the line, which I regret, but in general it has been a fun mode of expression that adds a dimension to my relationship with some of you that I couldn't achieve just by regular discourse.
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People ask where I find the time, but it seems that this Blog gets written by itself sometimes, and I am just a bystander. I've always found it easy to write, and most of this stuff gets done between sips of Dark and Stormies at night or coffee in the morning.
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If you don't like the Blog, then why are you reading this? Life is too short to be preoccupied with getting pissed off at these ramblings. If you do like it, I can't see where I'll be stopping soon.... so RockOn Peeps.
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Keep on Keeping it Real.

Busy Outlook

Today...., a quick jaunt over to the Salem Waterfront Hotel to check out a work item for Mike Rockett, then lunch with a customer in Central MA, then dinner at the UMASS Club in downtown Boston with Keith DiMatteo who is going to revamp the Nanepashemet Telecom Website.
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Plus, the day starts off bad because Katelyn used all of the towels and brushed her teeth with my toothbrush during her 23 showers this weekend.
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Work on the Dory looks unlikely.

Getting Closer

No boat work today.
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It was such a beautiful Labor Day that I offered to take Tom O' Shea out for a spin on Bluefish Alley behind Baker's Island. No strikes but a real comforable ride. I hardly ever get skunked out there between Halfway Rock and the Middle Ledges, but today was won by the fish.
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I did get a little more cleaning and organizing done in the Garage though. The fact that I'm talking about building a boat rather that wholescale redoing the basement is causing more consternation with Joanne and Katelyn, but they will have to get their priorities straight.

Looking Inside

Sometimes life can seem hard and unfair.
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That's because it really can be.
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But what makes it worse is when you try to assess the blame for everything that ails you to someone or something.
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Instead of looking within for the basis of our discontent, it is far easier to think that our harsh and unfair situations were caused by other's actions and evil intent.
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This never solves the problem because it diverts the attention from the ultimate true source - ourselves and our own outlooks on life. As long as we project our own feelings on others, we can never actually change our feelings and eliminate the issues.
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How can you know what others think, if you can't even be honest with yourself and understand your own thoughts? People are far more engaged in their own problems and generally have neither the time nor the interest to invest in screwing with you.
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So the blame game exaggerates and perpetuates the problems. If we would look within and forgive ourselves, that's always a good beginning.
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Off Handed

At Murph's Wedding, Jeremy Johnson, an Attorney living in Minnesota, said that he found the Nanepashemet Blog to be surprisingly insightful.
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I'm still trying to understand if that was a compliment.
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Course Murph is a loyal Peep, but I was also intrigued to see all of the people at the wedding who knew the significance of being named a POTW.

Gunning Dorys of the World

A quick Web search found these Gunning Dorys on the West Coast.
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There also seems to be a significant amount of interest from France for some reason.
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One thing is certain - the craft does seem to have a natural attraction to some people.

Starting to Reorganize

Yesterday I started the garage reorganization. I cleaned up the floor and moved a lot of stuff around, but it didn't seem like I gained much space. I'm thinking that I have to clean out under the deck, waterproof some space and move the lumber and miscellaneous stuff there. The garage space has to be left for the stationary tools and the project at hand.
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I can use the panels that were made from strapping and plastic tarpaulin to construct the temporary varnishing shed to provide a stop gap measure. It will be ugly, but it already is, so no additional violalation.
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Neither Joanne, nor Katelyn are buying my idea of finishing the basement simultaneously with the Dory work, but I intend to devote time to each.
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By the way, I'm sure that I am afflicted by that hoarding disorder. I just hate to throw stuff away, especially old files, tools, wood and metal. Living in relatively close quarters, this condition has to be aggressively challenged or the Dory will be far harder to construct.

A Nice Start

Mike and Beth Murphy were joined in holy matrimony today with a beautiful ceremony in Southborough and a fun reception in Stowe, MA.
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Best wishes to a very nice couple.
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Murph always called Joanne, "Mom", which caused some confusion with some guests in the receiving line.

Practice Makes Perfect.

I dragged Greg Bruett up to the Gerry Club last night in order to get into drinking shape for Murph's wedding. If was great practice because I feel like hell this morning. We'll take the drive from Marblehead to Stow, MA a little after noon time.
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No boat work today.

Project Initation

Tomorrow is the first day of September. Time to begin the Chamberlain Marblehead Gunning Dory as drawn by the venerable late John Gardner. There are three constraints that will initially impede the project.
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First is my commitment to the success of Nanepashemet Project Management in developing a financially stable business. That constraint is the fuel that drives all other initiatives. Without this commitment, there will be no way to pay for the cedar and epoxy required to build the dory.
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The second constraint is space, or the lack thereof. The first action item in the construction of the Gunning Dory will be a wholescale reorganization of my garage and the space under the deck in the back of the house. The garage is twenty feet long; the Dory will be eighteen feet long. Efficiency in the use of the garage space is paramount. It I can't move around with ease from machine to machine, I will lose interest in keeping pace with the project requirements.
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The third constraint is the state of my basement. It used to be a fairly decent family room, but now it is filled with crap. The floors have to be tiled, the cabinetry replaced, the trimwork has to be completed, ceiling repaired and everything has to be painted. If I commit whole heartedly to the boat project, and neglect finishing the basement, I will lose the support of Joanne, Mike and Kate for the overall project and be subject to constrant derision and ridicule.
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I'd like to complete the Gunning Dory by next June.
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So there we have our equation for success. The Dory has to be built without compromising my commitment to my business, the garage has to be revamped and the basement project has to progress simultaneously.
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Somehow, I am not daunted.
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Since I spend a lot of time at Nanepashemet Telecom waiting for customers and vendors to call me back, it should be possible to fill in the gaps with focused activity. The Garage can be reorganized with the help of some serious dump runs in the next couple of days. And the basement can be looked at as a welcome diversion from Boatbuilding from time to time.
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Course, there is also social obligations that will bite into project tiime. Tomorrow we have Michael Murphy's wedding in Stow, MA. By Sunday, it may be possible to start the garage reorg work, providing a manageble hangover from the Wedding Reception. Murph deserves nothing less that a full party effort.
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But if it is a great day, we might have to get some striper fishing in... and the dump isn't open on Sunday, or next Monday which is Labor Day.
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So the project launch has some interesting challenges this weekend.

Fair Winds

Since the Bank meeting for Nanepashemet Telecom was so successful, I decided to blow off work in the afternoon and try to sail the Tender in Marblehead Harbor. Either the Tender doesn't sail too well, or I suck at sailing, or a combination of the two, because I soon became bored with trying to make headway sailing and bungeed the sail to the mast in favor of a row around the Harbor.
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Afterwards, I got a chance to see my grandson, Will, who eventually will be riding his bike over to Beverly Ave., hanging around the garage, learning how to build cool looking boats that don't sail too well. Maybe he won't suck at sailing like his grandfather.

No Sweat

Runner's World says that the maximum heart rate formula is 208 - (.7 x age).
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That puts mine at 170. I've been consistently at 150 beats per minute, and have also hit 160 on the Cybex stationary bike recently, so I was interested in finding out where I should back off.
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Anywhere over 140 and I'm getting a good burn based upon my breathing and sweat.
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When I'm rowing in the Tender, I don't really get a burn in because there are two many distractions on the water.

Peep of the Week - Week 34

Peep of the Week day.
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People shouldn't get so worked up about it.
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It's just another day.
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So why all the hubbub???, why all the dither????, why all the rigamarole????
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It's only Thursday, Peep of the Week Day.
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I suppose that if I didn't have the heavy and aching responsibility of selecting the POTW, I would get all hot and bothered too.
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Whatever....

Announcing
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for week 34 of 2007

• Trish Rockett
• Denise Sousa
• Patrick Piscatelli
• Bill Hillegas
• Marion Solomon
• Derek Jeter

So now that's over with. Everyone can take a chill pill until next Thursday when all of the angst and hysteria begins again.

Dark and Stormy Tour.

It was a nice evening with Lynda and Will Murray as we first graced the Corinthian Porch for a drink, then headed to the Boston Yacht Club for dinner. At both stops, I sampled the Dark and Stormies and rated the BYC's far superior.
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Both yacht clubs had better D&S's than the Landing Restaurant however, which advertises a "Best of Boston" for their Dark and Stormies.
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Course, the ones that I make at Beverly Ave. eclipses all of them.

Book Writing Methodology

I'm thinking of writing the Gunning Dory book on this blog, then transferring the text and graphics to Microsoft Word. That means that the many thousands of you who faithfully hit this blog every day will get a free book.
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Maybe it would be worth it.
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After all.... the book should draw millions, and a relatively few "loss leaders" shouldn't greatly diminish it's commercial success. Plus, I'll put a few bonuses in the Word edition which should lure the Blog Peeps to make the purchase.

Burdensome Free Speech

Have any of you Peeps noticed the comments made by "the Topper" and "Tuna Lips"???? They are bogging down the Blog, nasty to Nanepashemet, piercing to the Peeps. What can we do about these sinister influences???
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Even though I believe in a free exchange of ideas, and cherish our civil liberties.... I am troubled by the hapless comments made by these ill advised individuals.
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As always, I am open to suggestions from the Peeps in dealing with this unpalateable dilemma. Despite the fact that I hardly ever do what you suggest, I am still open.

Nice Bridge

Millau, the highest bridge in the world

The construction of the Millau viaduct in the southeast of France was a colossal engineering effort. The piers rise 803 feet from ground level, and the bridge weighs 400,000 tons. The bridge is supported by seven huge pillars. When the thickness of the platform (14 feet) and the height of the pillars are included, the total height reaches 1102 feet. That is about 50 feet higher than the famous Eiffel Tower. Construction of this bridge required more than 350,000 tons of concrete and 40,000 tons of steel. Assembled with the precision of a Swiss watch, this giant was designed to resist winds of up to 130 miles per hour and has cost almost 300 million euros (US$523 million). Built across the mountainous terrain of the Tarn river valley, the 8071-foot long bridge is part of the A-75 freeway that connects the cities of Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers. It will shorten by more than 60 miles the route connecting Paris with the Mediterranean.

New Beginnings

Last week of the summer before Labor Day. Even though the calendar year starts in January, September is always the month for new beginnings. We have Murph's wedding next weekend with Tina's the following weekend. It will be a nice beginning for them.
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In many ways, Nanepashemet Telecom will begin anew as we roll out some major contracts.
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I've also consciously decided to begin my book on building the Marblehead Gunning Dory, which means that I'll have to actually begin building the boat. This book won't be presold, which means that I will have a final manuscript to send to publishers.
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A nice byproduct will be that I 'll also have completed the Marblehead Gunning Dory as drawn by John Gardner after the prototype developed by William Chamberlain of Marblehead in the early 1900's. The boat will be developed using the cedar strip method similar to the process for the Tender construction. Improvements on the Tender will be a larger size - 18 ft. - to accomomdate two rowers or fishermen. It will be equipped to sail - with two sprit sail masts - but will also have an internal motor well to handle a 12HP outboard and fuel.
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A little something for everybody.
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The book will detail the construction process including not only the boat itself, but all of the distractions and issues that impede its completion. In many ways, the boatbuilding theme will be the note of resolve in a free flowing jam.
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I will entertain suggestions from the Peeps for a book title.
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As always, upfront cash for the reserve of signed, first run copies is perfectly acceptable.

Fish 1, Me 0

Today (as in most days) the fish won. But it was an interesting fight. Rowing across Conway Lake, I had two strong strikes, but saw no rising fish. Dead heading back to the put in, the trolling rod went down hard, and as soon as I picked it up, a large mouth bass leaped out of the water with a head shake that he must have learned in Tarpon school.
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I was pumped, and felt that the day was vindicated. While keeping the line tight, I was reeling in when the fish made another twisted jump clear of the water. I figured that if he didn't throw the hook on those two attempts, that I would boat him for sure.
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When I got him to the boat he came out of the water yet again, and rid his mouth of the lure. I lost him. He was by far the better competitor.
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I didn't mind losing him.

Another Day, Another Fish

Conway Lake will be the field of battle tomorrow.
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We'll see if any one other than the stout Yellow Perch will have the fortitude to mount a challenge.

Yellow Perch Recollection

The Yellow Perch is a feisty little fish.

Many years ago, I fished with my Grandfather, Adelbert Crosby, in Little Lake Ossipee and we caught a mess of these and took them home to fry. They were great to eat, but small.
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I thought of him today, catching these fish in Lake Umbegog.

The Battle of Umbagog

The confrontation with Small Mouth Bass and Brook Trout didtn't materialize on Lake Umbegog today.
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Five Yellow Perch fell victim to my deceptive and highly effective angler techniques..... but no small mouth or trout.
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I did catch an ambitious pickeral as well - the smallest fish that I've ever landed on a lure.







Other events of the day are worthy of note.
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I saw two bald eagles, three loons, two otters, and a dead bull moose at the side of the road. The moose took with it a Dodge Ram Pickup front end, and the three mountain men standing on the highway looked pretty perplexed.
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I was going to stop and take pictures, but then thought the wiser of it since I had my NY Jets T-Shirt on that Rich Berliner gave me.
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Umbegog is a nice lake. More motor traffic than I would have thought, and the wind that was written about, definitely came up after the noon hour, which made rowing back to the ramp a workout.

Confrontation with Small Mouth

By the time I finished three meetings today and returned to Marblehead to clean up a little, it was 5:30 PM. So I hitched up the Tender and headed to North Conway. This is the first time that I trailered the Tender on the highway, and there were no issues. I think this could be a regular occurence.
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Tomorrow morning, I hope to head to Lake Umbegog in Errol, NH first thing in the morning. Mike says that he say a TV news item that says that the Bald Eagle is making a comeback, and specifically mentioned Umbegog. I've seen one before, down in Naples, Florida where it flew right in front of my car like it was a common pigeon. It would be cool to see one again.
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The last time that Joanne and I were in the Umbegog region in Northern NH, a Moose crossed the road in front of us.
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Hope to have a violent encounter with some small mouth bass and brook trout sometime tomorrow morning. I will bring a camera, because no one will believe me otherwise.

Shaping up the Weekend

Tomorrow...
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A visit to our corporate counsel in Boston, first thing in the morning to take care of some organizational details, then on to lunch in Southeaster Mass with a customer.
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By 3:00 PM, I should be back in Marblehead, and will hitch up the Tender to take it to NH and test it in Lake Umbegog and Conway Lake for some trout and small mouth fishing this weekend.
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A fitting end to a fitting week.

POTW - Week 33

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My day ended exactly as I wanted. We nailed the big meeting and it is full speed ahead from here.
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With Joanne in North Conway, I was looking for a celebratory dinner, but didn't have her finesse in preparation.
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So I went with the old standby, my famous buffalo wings which I supplemented with some canned oysters that I fried with the wings. The accompanying vegetable was two slices of swiss cheese. Combined with a couple or three Dark and Stormies, and the rest was pig out heaven.
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Now for the real matter at hand.
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ANNOUNCING....

Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 33rd week of 2007.

• Jay Turner
• Tom DiMatteo
• Isam Halwani
• Joanne Nestor
• Craig Murray
• Stacy Butler

Now on to glory and prosperity.

Morning Action

Feeder visitors of note were this Chickadee and a few of his flock, two young Cardinals - a male and female - as well as a House Finch and the Downy Woodpecker.
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I couldn't catch the woodpecker on camera.
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Other than that, the Sparrows are pigging out and a couple of Mourning Doves have shown up.

Today is the Day

Today is the Day.
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Everything is going to go right today.
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Just to make sure, I'm going to shower and change into some fresh underwear.
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I'll be brushing my teeth, even though I already did that once this week.
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Might even give the nose hair a little trim.... and shave my back as far as I can reach.
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Personal hygiene is a part of business success that shouldn't be overlooked.
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No detail will be left unturned.
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Today is the Day.

Approaching the Launchpad

With any luck, tomorrow will be a power day.
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The events and strivings of the past six months culminate in a crucial meeting that has the potential of launching this juggernaut firmly into a stable orbit.
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It would be nice if the meeting was definitive, but business rarely works that way. The suspense will probably play out a bit more.

A Good Start

Something about this T-Shirt that makes me think that it might work as the POTW version.
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A Damn good T.
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Kudos to a special Peep for the nice research.

Party On

Seen at the feeder this morning....

• Common Grackle
• Downy Woodpecker
• House Finch
• 2 Blue Jays
• Chickadees
• Tufted Titmouse
• a flock of about 50 Sparrows (no exaggeration)
• Mourning Dove
• ....and the freaking squirrel.

It's like a Homecoming celebration.

Cool Bird

I shouldn't pick favorites, but it's hard not to especially like the chickadees.
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They are bold and will land on the feeder despite a flock of aggressive sparrows.
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They don't sit on the feeder and hog seeds, but fly to it, pick up one or two seeds, and quickly fly to a nearby tree branch.
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Their calls are distinctive, like their names..."Chickadee, dee, dee."
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Researchers claim that the number of "dees" indicate an alarm of a threat in the area to other chickadees in the flock. The more "dees", the bigger the threat.
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They hang out with other cool birds like the tufted titmouse.
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Some of the many reasons to like the Chickadee.
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What??? You don't have a favorite bird??? Why don't you get a life!

T-Shirt Phenomonon

I ordered some T-shirts for Nanepashemet Project Management today.
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It always amazes me how effective shirts can be as customer or vendor giveaways. Grown professionals, who sport varied accomplishments and command substantial salaries, get all excited when you give them a free shirt. I know I do.
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If business keeps up at the current rate, we'll be handing out plenty of Nanepashemet T-Shirts.
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Which gives me an idea.....
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How much do you think people would pay for a POTW shirt??? The demand would probably be so high that I'd have to go to Asian manufacturers to handle the volume. Peeps would be hanging around my house worse than a Harry Potter book release.
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It probably wouldn't be worth the pandemonium and hysteria.

Deck Views

With the deck substantially completed, I reinstated the bird feeder and the birds returned in force. This morning Tufted Titmouses, Chickadees, and a flock of Sparrows were the guests for a breakfast of bird seed. It's neat to see the different and distinct characteristics of the separate species. Each approaches the feeder and acts differently.
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I'm pretty happy with the way that the deck railing and cap came out. It's how I originally visualized that it would look, but took a long time to materialize it. Now I'm going to stain the pressure treated deck planking with a dark, water resistant stain.
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I had envisioned a laminated and curved stair railing, but the mahogany 2x4 that I bought from Moynihan Lumber, for a totally different purpose, fit the bill nicely. It still has to be epoxy coated and varnished.

Onward and Upward

I politely declined an invite to Falls Church. Now is a time to remain positive and focused.

Milestone Burgers

So I'm headed back from Hartford when Joanne calls and tells me that she's on her way to North Conway. I'm stuck in Marblehead this week, at least until after Wed. with business obligations. The first challenge was dinner tonight.
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Sure I could get a pizza at Vesuvius, but I was feeling a little lazy from driving to and from Connecticut. When I checked out the freezer, there was a fresh box of Bubba Burgers and we also had some sesame rolls. Dilemma solved.
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Fired up the gas grill, threw on two Bubba's, took out cheddar cheese, pepperoni slices and peach mango salsa. All this on the sesame rolls and a little salt an pepper produced some of the best burgers consumed in my slightly overweight, middle aged life.
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I bet my dinner was way better than Joanne's.
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Frozen Bubba Burgers are something that you should check into.

Smart Business

Down in Hartford, Ct. this morning after setting up a small project. Panera Bread has the right idea - free internet. It makes you want to stop when ordinarily you would be dead heading to your final destination.
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I'll be checking my email, after having an asiago cheese bagel and a hot chocolate, then back to Marblehead to work on the business plan.

The End is the Beginning

Finished the deck rail today. I even built the banister on the deck stair. Then the decking and painted railings were power washed. It all came out pretty good, but now the window and house trim look crappy in comparison. They have to be painted.
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And the area below the deck has to be completely overhauled.
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It never ends... but I guess it's not supposed to.

Fireside

What is it about sitting around an outside fire into the night that feels so satisfying???
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It must be something primeval in the human psyche.
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Starring into the fire in the deck chimura with a Dark and Stormy or a Lagavulin.... or both in short succession.... makes for a most enjoyable evening.

Tender Under Sail

Tommy O'Shea took these action photos of the Tender under sail.

Note to Self : Sailing is freaking hard.... Especially if you have no idea what the hell you are doing.

Breezy Saturday

It's a bright, cool, breezy late summer Saturday. High tide is around 3:00 PM. A perfect time to really test out the sailing abilities of the Tender.
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I'll use the morning to sand and put a coat of UV vanish on the deck cap. Then I'll fix the damage to the Tender seat that happened when Jim Peabody slipped getting in last week. By that time, it should be time to go sailing.

Threat of Success

I love it when someone doubts that we can succeed in business. It's better than high octane gasoline in the motivation engine.
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Living well is the best revenge.
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I'm thinking we will be very vengeful.
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BTW - it is not the sentiment that we will fail as much as the fearful knowledge that we will succeed that prompts our doubting friend. Success by others while the backbiters plot has to be threatening indeed.