Cessation of Hostilities.

Sometimes I think I overdo it with the "Mountain of a Man" stuff.
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But then I have days like today when I realize just what a Mountain of a Man that I really am!
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I had left the house in the F-150 around 7:00AM and headed south through Boston and Providence to the City of Groton, Connecticut...... A trip I have made far too many times over the last year and a half.
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The drama unfolded about 10 o'clock this morning as I advanced into the sanctorum of the enemy.  After a quick stop in the Men's Room, I was fully prepared to engage in mortal combat and win what was legally and rightfully mine.

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When the Building Department Counterclerk saw me, she slowly rose from her chair, picked up some plans and documents that were bound in elastics, handed them to me, and said..... "Here you go."

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Thus ended the epic confrontation after months of struggle.

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I'm sure the trauma and the bad dreams will fade with time.

Glorious Quest

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." [Psalm 23:4]
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Yes Peeps....
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I'm facing my Demons and heading back to the City of Groton, Connecticut tomorrow morning.
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If I were a Norseman, they would probably be writing a Saga about it right now.   Don Quixote has nothing on me.
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Once again, I will be boldly striding into the City Hall, seeking relief for my beleaguered telecom customer.  Whether I emerge victorious, or again be sent in shame with my tail between my legs.... only time will tell.
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But a Mountain of a Man doesn't back down.... no shying away from adversity.... no avoiding conflict or controversy.   Tomorrow, we will again make the Glorious Quest.

Rubber, Road, and Oil

This is where the rubber meets the road for President Barack Obama.  The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is not a hazy 10,000 page piece of legislation like the Health Care Bill.  You can see and touch the oil slicks, and it will take the management and marshalling of specific physical resources to effect the cleanup.

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If he has the management ability, the cleanup will solidify his Presidentcy.....or expose an unfortunate shortcoming.
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A big part of project management is communication of the plan progress to stakeholders.  Not only does the Federal Government need to effectively plan and implement.... it also has to communicate the results effectively.

Making Sense

Thank God that the Celtics are playing tonight.   Between the Obama address and other bullshit that is going on, I really need to focus on something that makes sense.... like a Basketball game.

Stupid and Ackward

If you believe the reports of ABC News, people on the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico are being told that they can't work in the cleanup unless they are part of the official BP cleanup effort.  That's great.  Take individual initiative right out of the mix.  Don't allow people to help themselves.  Have people stand around and let the federal government direct BP what to do.
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Does this sound like liberal ideology to you???  We're from the government.  We know better.  We will take care of you...... deteriorating into regulation, bureaucracy and incompetence.
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I'm officially frustrated. 
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This is a low tech clean up effort that Americans could handle with a little competent action and leadership.  Governor Jindal of Louisiana likes it when President Obama flies down there because he says that is when the pace of the federal effort is picked up.  Nice plan.  Have the President of the United States babysit the federal workers.
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I've been to Louisiana numerous times.  Been in the Bayous and salt marshes of the vast Mississippi River Delta.   It is a beautiful area, and I'm not worried for a second that it will be ruined forever.  The mess will be cleaned, and the oil, which is a natural substance will break down and be absorbed.  Too bad it has to be this stupid and ackward.

Brutal Blog Background

For some psychological or perhaps metaphysical reason, I remain fascinated by the history of this Blog's namesake... the Great Sachem Nanepashemet of the Naumkeag band and ruling over the Massachusetts and Pawtucket native people of New England.
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It is a little known fact that throughout the 1600's, Massachsetts was the scene of war and pestilence, the likes of which this nation has never experienced again.... not in the Civil War, WWI or WWII.
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The Tarratine war, which occurred between 1607 and 1630 and the concurrent plague and smallpox epidemics took a thriving Native American population of thirty thousand Massachusetts coastal inhabitants and reduced it by 90%.... or three thousand survivors.  This paved the way for the English settlers to move into the highly cultivated agricultural lands of the Massachusetts tribes with minimal cost and resistance.
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The Tarratines of Nova Scotia and Northern Maine established contact with the French and became emissaries of a emerging industry of providing North American furs to a European fashion market.  Disagreements in trade negotiations between tribes caused violence and indignities which were escalated into invasion and war raids by the Tarratines into Massachusetts tribal lands.  They were aided by a technological advantage.... gunpowder and firearms supplied by their French benefactors.
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The invaders indisciminiately killed women, children, and even infants.  Prisoners were rarely taken and if they were, they were tortured and usually burned at the stake.  Most raids were conducted at night. It was a terrifying and horrific period.  There frequently were not enough tribespeople left alive to bury the dead.
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Nanepashemet had sent a war party to aid the Penobscots of Maine and they had success in their skirmishes with the Tarratines in mid-Coast Maine.  But the vengeful Tarratines sent wave after wave of raiders against Nanepashemet in Salem, Marblehead, and Ipswich and he moved to a fortified position in a stockade fort located in a hill in Medford, MA north of the Mystic River.
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There the Tarratines laid siege to him and he was killed in battle in 1619.  Hostilities lessened after that but still continued as two of Nanepashemet's sons were wounded in a raid on the Agawam village in present day Ipswich a few years later.   His daughter-in-law was captured and brought back to Maine, but she was returned by an English settler on the Pemaquid peninsula who paid a ransom and brought her back to the Naumkeags.
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Before the century ended, King Phillips War again decimated the New England Indians as well as the Puritan settlers in a war that had the highest percentage of casualties that this nation has ever experienced.  I would tell you more, but I'm kind of running out of gas on this post.   Plus you are probably so bored that you are contemplating opening your veins and bleeding to death.
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Sorry.....I told you at the beginning that my fascination with this was a bit over the top.  But I bet you never realized that our quaint little New England region was the site of such anquish and carnage within the armreach of our modern historical record.

To find out more, see Remembering the Tarratines and Nanepashemet  by John V.Goff

Thrills and Angst

Celtics are up 3 games to 2 over the Lakers with the final two games to be played in Los Angeles.  It's been a hard fought series and any doubt that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the game has got to be dispelled.  His ability to make contested shots is incredible.
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But the Celtics counter with a team of solid professionals, each of whom have the ability to break open the game.

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Its been a great series to watch.  The only downside is when the camera pans to shots of John Havlicek in the stands.  He really looks older and it seems like yesterday when he, Dave Cowens, and a different Celtics team was providing the same thrills, hope and angst.
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Tempus Fugit.

Broken Plan

Sometimes a plan falls apart through lethargy.   That's what happened yesterday.  After I got back from the WhaleEye test run, I hit the couch and didn't emerge until it was time to take a shower before the company came at 5:00PM.
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The plan went to Hell.  A lesser person may have sunk to the depths of self-loathing.
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But that doesn't make me a bad person.   Even a Mountain of a Man can run out of gas once in awhile.   And it was overcast and rainy anyway, so my landscaping chores would have been even more miserable.
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So I forgive myself and will try to get some productivity in today.   We're taking a break from a visit to FreshAyer this weekend, and I thought that I could get some stuff done, but maybe we just needed a rest.

Tuna Lips said...
au contrary mi amigo, it makes you a fine feller, in keepin' with the times. Lethargizin' is the wave of the future, me and Shoo been pre- science about that, true to the best practicatin' of Pappy. Sell some hooch and skunk bud on the side to make fer a special festivizin', and plain folk like us appreciates ye just fine.

Big Day

Big day in store for this Saturday.
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I'm first heading down to the Pram at Village Wharf and will be taking that out to check on the WhaleEye.  We'll fire up the engine and christen the season with a litle spin around Salem Harbor.
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But it's not a great boat day today, so I'm going to get to the Town Dump and load up the pick up truck with some loam to landscape the backyard with.
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If I'm still ambitious, I'll try to finish the work on the Pram Centerboard and epoxy repair the Tender, although the odds are that rigor mortis will have set in after the landscape work.
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4:00 PM is a big deadline to stop all activity and clean up because Buck Johnson and his Trophy Wife, Gail, are going over for dinner, with drinks starting at 5:00PM.  It's Gail's birthday weekend, so I'm sure that Joanne will rev up her culinary skills.

POTW Week 23

This weekend, we'll be dropping some lobster pots and reving up for the season on the water.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 23rd Week of 2010.

The Counter Clerk at the Groton Building Department.
Gail Johnson
Brady Boyle
Mark Rowe
Jai Singh Khalsa
Oprah Winfrey

Right now, there are some happy lobsters crawling around the bottom of Salem Sound, who have no idea how close they are to being dispatched to lobster heaven via a kettle of boiling water in my kitchen.

Orda Fo Nesta

We ordered Chinese take out from Fen Wang House in Marblehead this week..... but we got a white, suburban, nice young Anerican born girl who was the order taker on the phone.
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It just wasn't the same.

Pisc said...
I like the Fresh Ayer Clock.

Change in Format

After almost five years of publishing this pathetic blog, I decided to change the presentation template.  Essentially I eliminated that background Lighthouse that had no real significance for me outside the fact that I thought it looked cool and this blog is supposed to be about boatbuilding.
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It's not like the Lighthouse was located in Marblehead or anything.  If you miss it, you can always see it on Harvey's Thoughts, since Harvey Rowe plagiarized it from me along with my Crusher codename a year or so ago.
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So I got a bit minimalist.... closer to the nitty gritty.... at the lowest common denominator.
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I do encourage you Peeps to comment on these demented, dispicable postings as much as you can.  It's hard when me, Tuna Lips and Maria Rowen get stuck carrying the load most of the time.  Not that I don't appreciate TL and Maria.   But I miss comments from the Insidious Bob Wojcik and Archrival Joe Collins.
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Relative Blog newcomers like Sue Sue Raiche and Jim L have helped to pick up the slack.  Plus Pisc can always be counted to sound in from time to time.
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And guys like Tommy O know that this Blog can make you famous.
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Who knows.... if you annoy/inspire, you might even become a POTW.   Irritating/inspirational Blog comments always grab attention when I get down to the weekly selections.  Although, I remain steadfast that anybody who asks me if they can become a Peep of the Week are banned from such designation for eternity.... or at least until I forget that they asked.    Which usually takes about a week or so.



Maria Rowen said...
Cheers to the change! It reminds me of a mission-style chair - clean lines and comfortable. For this appreciated peep...there is still lots more to learn about boats, birds and sometimes bears...

Freaking Bear

The Freaking Bear ate me again today in my favorite New England venue - the City of Groton, Connecticut.
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I have never gone in that City Hall and come back with my objective in probably eight attempts now.   And it's not me.... because I'm wicked good at what I do.... by virtue of the fact that this stuff hardly ever happens to me.
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But in the City of Groton.... I get skunked every time.
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This is not to be confused with the Town of Groton, Connecticut, where I have been my normal, competent, productive self.  Which is even more maddening.
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I came close though, gaining two out of the three approvals that I needed.......but really thought that I could close this project out today.   I'll make another run at it next week.

Bear Meat

Tomorrow I'm going to take another run at the City of Groton, Connecticut.
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You know the saying "Sometimes you eat the Bear, and sometimes the Bear eats you." ???
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Well....  the Bear has eaten me each and every time that I've gone to the City of Groton for the last year and a half.
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But tomorrow, I'm going to eat the freaking Bear.

Bright Outlook

Sometimes you wake up, and it just feels like you are going to have a good day.
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Positive visualization is so important.  I continue to harbor the potentially perverse belief that everything happens for a reason, everything occurs for the greater and ultimate good, and that the normal state of being for human beings is a state of pure joy.
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That philosophy tends to piss off people who perceive their lives as fraught with sadness and difficulties.   But if I made a list of all of the bad shit that has happened to me in this life, I'd probably start each day by crawling into a ball, sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth.
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On the other hand, I can look at all of the bullshit that I have endured and can assign a very positive outcome that is a direct result of the adversity.
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Sure I'm not Donald Trump, which was my goal in my thirties, but I've been exposed to a lot of wealthy people since then, and wouldn't trade my life for theirs for a second.   And there has been some toxic relationships, but without which, some of our greatest relationships wouldn't have materialized.
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If you look at negative situations as the pathway to a greater alliance with your natural state of pure joy, then your outlook can really change.
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Like I said, I have a feeling that today is going to be a really good day.

Sue Sue  Raiche said...

It was a great day 37 years ago and will be today.
Happy Anniversary to you and Joanne.

Jim L. said...
It's probably a good thing your goals changed from 30 years ago. That hair wouldn't look any better on you.

Tuna Lips said...

Soundin' like a gay, no erfence meant to the missus, Man up, boy!

Crisis Control

Now our friendly thought police at ABC News are telling us that there are "not one oil slick, but hundreds of thousands of small slicks."
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That's a good thing.
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An oil slick in the ocean is not a technological challenge to clean up.   You surround it with absorbent booms, then pump it up.  If there are thousands of small instances like this, then the challenge is not a technological one, but purely logistical.
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How do we get the proper amount of vessels with booms and skimmers to the priority slicks???  I would think that even the Obama administration can figure this out.
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And the other tactic that the ABC Shepard's are touting is to point out a floating oil slick and then lament that there are no clean up vessels in the area.   But with a finite amount of vessels available, the prudent thing is to attend to those slicks that are threatening ecologically sensitive areas first.... ie. the Coastal area.
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A slick in the middle of the ocean is no big deal.  If fish are stupid enough to swim through it, or birds dumb enough to land in it, then Darwin's theory will fix those problems.
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So the available resources should be deployed on a triage basis.  Tending to the worse cases first then moving to the rest.   I wonder if the alarmists can handle this approach.  What do you say, Congressman Markey???
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If President Obama needs Nanepashemet Project Management to outline this approach and provide direction, we can fit this into our work schedule.  We will charge the government rate.
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My prediction is that this crisis will have less legs that the Swine Flu pandemic scare.

Good Grooming

Today I've decided to get a haircut.  I know what you're thinking... "How does a Mountain of a Man like J. get the time to fit in something as mundane as a haircut?"
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It's a solid query.
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I always wait until everything is seriously overgrown and well outside the standards of good grooming.  
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But there is never enough time, until I let it go long enough so that it tops the priority list for the day.
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I would like to buzz it all off, but Joanne warns me that that might make my head look big.
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Can't risk that.

Maria Rowen said...

From this female peeps perspective, any and all manscaping maneuvers are mandatory. Furthermore scientists in Germany have discovered people with big heads are smarter...So go get a good grooming guide then go get your buzz on...

Save the Pelicans

If you follow this Blog, you may have noticed that I am a bit partial to birds.  I just love the little critters.... the way they sing and chirp and stuff.

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So it's been a little painful to see the Pelicans soaked in oil as the prime examples of the BP oil leak in the Gulf.
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Seems like they are taking the brunt of the ecological beating.  I'm sure that if the media could find dead fish or ducks or dolphins, they would be mixing them in..... but so far, only Pelicans.
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Never had a Pelican visit the feeder.... but that's not unusual.   It's usually stocked with sunflower seeds and I rarely stuff a herring into it.

Pram Launch

Mike came home to hang with the Grandkids, so I had the second pair of hands needed to get the Pram down at the ring on the Village Wharf.  Naturally a couple of little details became challenges such as the ring size being too small for the theft chain to pass through.
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So I rigged up a temporary arrangement to lock down the Pram, which will require some future modification. 
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I have to admit that the Pram cuts a fine figure next to the store bought fiberglass dinghies and inflatables that are the norm down there.  Maybe I'll take a picture and let you judge for yourself.
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Shortly after we returned, a thunderstorm cell stormed through and dropped sheets of rain, so I went down before the Celts Lakers game got hot with the intention of hauling the boat onto the dock and draining the rainwater.   But a steady breeze was cutting across the harbor, really tossing the pram around and it seemed to be be holding its own with the rainwater that it took on, so I opted for tomorrow morning.
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Plus, I want to row out to the mooring and check to see that everything has been seasonally maintained by Mid-Harbor Marine before I take Ryan Marine to task for failing to put the WhaleEye on the mooring as promised.

Pisc said...

I was telling my old man about Sammy Khairi and Hooters. And explaining how our friend of Jordanian background pounded vendors into submission, wearied by the hammers from Thayer El Samir Khairi, forged over centuries. A salaam alai'kum (and that predates Barry's nonsense).

Crystal Clear

Usually when politicians use the word "clearly", things are not clear at all.  They throw this adjective out there to sway people to their point of view.
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When Congressman Ed Markey says that criminal penalties are necessary because British Petroleum has "clearly violated the laws of nature".... what the hell does that mean?  Does he know of some legal code that our teachers neglected to tell us about?
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He reminds me of a eighth grade debater.   Lots of emotion, with big gaps of logic left out.
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Markey isn't stupid.  So I wonder what his motives are when he spouts stuff like that.  Too often it seems that liberal spokesmen treat us like sheep.  They, as the shepards, herd us by whistling phrases that "clearly" point out the way we are to think.
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Markey seems to be frantically striving to assign blame to this recovery effort.... which has to be frustrating because President Barack Obama has wisely assumed responsibility after some of his party faithful tried to knee jerk the blame onto the Bush Administration.  Obama did the right thing by nipping this strategy in the bud.

Harvey Rowe said.....
Ed Markey was a Malden Catholic Graduate.....I don't know what happened after that......



Pisc said...
Realize they drilled that far off shore because the green folks said anything closer was a hazard. Ironic, not in a smug way. a mile deep is a long way. The idea was to protect the environment.