Gearing Up the Gunning Dory

I have the itch to get moving on the Marblehead Gunning dory.  Ryan took a video of one riding out Hurricane Sandy in Marblehead Harbor, and it skipped over the waves without any effort.   The Dory style is reputed to be extremely seaworthy, and the video validated that for me.  
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The below photo was found on the web some time ago and ilustrates the type of fit out that I've been thinking of.  I would fill the space under the decks at the bow and stern with polyurethane expanding foam to make the craft unsinkable.  You could stand at the bow or the stern and cast a fly very nicely.
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And I also plan to install a motor well in the back quarter of the boat where a 10HP Honda Fourstroke would be added.
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Naturally we will fit this out to row, but it would be nice to motor this thing close into the rocks to cast for stripers.  Or get some speed to chase a blitz.
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All of the interior fit out will have to be with marine grade, olkume plywood which is expensive, but both light and water resistant.  Boulter Plywood in Somerville is a good local suppler.
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Unlike traditional Marblehead Gunning Dories which were planked and hard chined, I plan on easing the curves on the frames and planking with 1/4" cedar strips sheathed in fiber glass cloth inside and out, then clear epoxy coated.
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The frames and bottom have been done for a few years now and are stored in the Nanepashemet Telecom warehouse in Peabody.    Maybe I'll start spending a little more time at the warehouse.

Tuna Lips8:58 PM

Speaking' of sheaths, be sure to wrap yer rascal, there's danger at every turn.

Hurricane Sandy Update

Lots of wind and rain, the trees are swaying and Ryan sent us a video of some waves in Marblehead Harbor.  Our lights flickered twice and I had to shut down the main computer system.
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Outside of that, it doesn't feel exactly like a state of emergency.  I guess if windows were being smashed in, doors unfastened, downed electrical wires were whipping around sparking and hissing, and the shingles were being ripped off of the roof, it would seem a bit worse.
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But none of that shit is happening.... at least around my neighborhood.  What really would be an emergency is if my Romney and Scott signs blew off the front lawn... but they're holding up pretty well for now.
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Reporters are standing in puddles in Scituate and Revere, interviewing anyone who wanders close by.... there are 10,000 beds available in security shelters, with a half dozen occupied.
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I pray to God that we make it through this.

Tuna Lips6:19 PM

Stop by TL's for a good seshun between fightin' this gale. Take a rest, "have a blow" as they says on Friday Night Lights.

Bracing for the Storm

Politicians and the news media love hurricanes.  It makes people pay attention to them and they are happy to comply with  extensive exxageration.
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I'm sure that Hurricane Sandy will impact some people.  But, Gov. Deval Patrick, as he has been prone to do in the past, has already declared a state of emergency two days before the first cloud has showed up. 
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Plus, this gives politicians like Patrick and Mayor Mennino, the chance to advise us to do stuff that we never would have thought of by ourself, such as stockpile batteries and take care of our pets.   If  I didn't hear this for real, I wouldn't have included it in this pathetic post.
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I was in the Blizzard of 78,  the Perfect Storm of 1991 and El Nino while I was in California in in 97-98 and saw plenty of damage.  But the disasters that these politicians make proclamations of.... always seem to come up short.  Even those storms seemed to actually impact a very small amount of people.
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Lots of snow, wind or rain, some high tides and flooding, but quite a bit short of Armageddon.
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So we'll batten down the hatches and live though another of Governor Deval's State of Emergency storms.

Window 8 Evolution

Now that Windows 8 is here, we will all be working on IPad style Tablets  within the next two or three years.
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That is .... if the Mayans are wrong about things regarding the world ending before Christmas.
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I'm betting against the Central Americans on this one, and plan to be happily doing my work on a tablet this time in the next two years.
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Before this MOAM retires, I will bet you that we will be computing on 3D Hologram machines... then after that , who knows.

Tuna Lips

1. I aims ta digitize me a fire team of virtual hookers. PayPal laundries my money, no one is the wiser.
2. Hard rain is ginna fall, stop by TL's Place for some per-storm stickin up on what ye needs.

Fifty-Fifty

Today I was on Facebook taking a break from the Nanepashemet Telecom salt mines, when this guy that I don't know decided to tell me how bad Scott Brown is......   Not how good Elizabeth Warren is.
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So I told the goober to vote for Warren and it she wins, then people like him deserve her.  
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I have no patience with anyone who supports the phoney Indian for any reason.
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Stupid people have a right to live too.... and this guy was exercising his right.
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Sometimes it's hard to be tolerant, but this country is split right down the middle........ 50-50 for the right or the left.  And it's not going to change, so we have to learn to put up with goofy bastards.

Not My American Dream

 Peeps -
You already know that I've given the Nanepashemet Nod to Mitt Romney for President.
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And I've tried to tell you why.
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But if a picture says a thousand words, then here's 2000 words why I just don't have the stomach for Barack Obama.
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I don't want my President to prostrate himself to anybody else.... for any freaking reason.
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He may feel that the United States has a tainted history.... and he may have some valid points.
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Only that was yesterday, and pandering to other's culture, which is a lot more stained than ours, is demeaning to every American.   There is no culture that has not sinned or is superior to ours, and yet he lowers himself.
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I want my President to stand up straight.  Obama may be the one bowing, but it will be us who get our Asses Kicked.
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Obama's American Dream is not Mine.

MOAM Mastery

Those of you fortunate/hapless Peeps who find yourself in the Inner Circle of the Mountain of a Man know that I faced the greatest zoning challenge to date last night in New Haven County.
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Many have tried and failed, but your MOAM came home with a unanimous vote in the affirmative after a masterful presentation complete with plans mounted on foamboard.
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I know that some of you are tired of the way that I tout my mastery of the zoning permit science, but I actually never get tired of it.  Last night though, even I was amazed.  Didn't expect to blast a four bagger.  I would have been happy with a continuance.  But I must have wowed the hell out of those zoning commissioners with my expert testimony.
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Like Ali said, "If you can do it, it ain't boasting."
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The good part about winning in a tough jurisdiction is that the adrenalin keeps you alert for the three hour drive home.
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And, BTW.... don't even think about getting into the Inner Circle.

Glue Requirement

BenditPVC. 
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Remember when I told you Peeps about how I bought this gadget to help us bend PVC electical conduit for the Hartford job about a year ago?
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Course you do.
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Well I put this baby to good use yesterday creating a frame for a weather shield on the Herreshoff Columbia Tender.
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After about ten minutes of heating, a 7/8" piece of PVC become as pliable as spaghetti in a colander.  It stiffens up soon to a rigid shape in whatever custom orientation you need.
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Now I have to find a good glue to join blue plastic tarp to the PVC which will create the final shield.   I thought that the PVC glue would do the trick, but it didn't work. 

Latest Poll

 

Everyday the news story is who is ahead on the polls.  And these surveys are notoriously wrong.  Scott Brown showed that we he won against Martha Coakley for the "Kennedy Senate Seat".  In no way could the lefty Media allow us to believe that a Republican was in the lead to secure that family heirloom.

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And the news media shamelessly has a different poll result every day.

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Most of you know that I have given the Nanepashemet Nod to Romney and Brown.   That should be enough ignore these flawed polls.

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The outcomes have been determined in the Akashic Records of Time.



Selling Sex

Time to sound in on this Zumba prostitution scandal up in Kennebunk.
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I'm not really sure why prostitution is illegal.  It's not like drug dealing or anything, and seems like a victimless crime.   Especially now, when you can basically eliminate the health issues if you take appropriate precautions.
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Sure families can get screwed up if some members are cheating on spouses, but you don't need Hookers to do that.  If you cheat on your husband or wife, that basically makes you a scumbag, but being a scumbag isn't illegal.
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So I don't see what the big deal is.
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Seems to have some Puritannical overtones that are outmoded, and now exposing the perpetrators seems to be replete with "holier than thou" voyeurism.
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Sex gets sold by lots of people in lots of situations.  But if money passes, they can lock you up.  Doesn't seem right.

I Swear

I was the subject of a irate email yesterday stating that this Blog contains too many swears and cuss words.
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WTF!
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Here's the deal Peeps.   I don't give a shit if any of you ever read this thing, so why the hell should I care if any of you are offended?
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That said, I probably should cut down on the phucking swearing.  Sometimes it's fun to add a little color to a description, but swearing gets bad when you start to use it instead of a well thought out phrase.
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So KMA.

Historic Evening

It was another night for the history books at Nanepashemet Telecom tonight as the Mountain of a Man was issued seven zoning approvals at a well attended, Essex County municipal public board of appeals hearing.
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That's Right.... You heard it correctly... SEVEN. 
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Each one issued individually with five unanimous approval votes.
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There's good... and then there's Mountain of a Man, Holy Shit, Phucking A... Good.
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Sometimes I think I'd do this for nothing.   But it's nicer to get paid doing it.
And tonight was a payday.