Friday, May 31, 2013

Welcome Carlos

My New GrandDog, Carlos!
I'm so Proud.

Retirement Plan

Peeps....
Sometime towards the end of next week, we'll be heading down to Washington, DC to make a sales pitch to a major tier one wireless carrier.
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Those of you who have seen the MOAM in Sales Mode know that I can make a powerful, persuasive, and some say "irresistable" presentation.  Naturally it takes the right vibe, but I'm mighty motivated for this one.
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Suffice it to say that the MOAM Charm Meter will be set on HIGH.
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Because that's what the stakes are.
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If we land this account, Nanepashemet Telecom will be laying paving stones to the future comfortable retirement of yours truly.
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Course... you know me.... I'm not one to count my chickens before they hatch.  But on this one, I have them hatched, grown, butchered, fried and topped with Franks Louisiana Hot Sauce.
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Retirement will be nice.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Rat Race Re-Entry

The lapse in posts this week has a good excuse as I was flat on my back in bed for two days with some flu-like virus.
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Normally, when a Mountain of a Man like myself gets sick, the average person can't see any difference, but a sequence of extreme shivering chills followed by hot sweats gave it away for me this week.
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Joanne wanted me to see the Doctor, but I'm not sure if I'd be covered under Obamacare and didn't want to take the chance.
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No matter.  I'm back and ready to re-enter the rat race to catch up with anything that I missed.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Staring at Infinity

It's time to contemplate the concept of infinity.
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The Ancient Seers tell us that we are one with the Universe and that time does not exist..... everything that ever happened, and everything to come is all here in the present moment.
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The time thing is a bit hard to comprehend, but the unity of the Universe is fairly easy.   We are all composed of various combinations of charged particles, that interact with all that exists in a humming carcophany.  The universe, and infinity is found wherever we look.   No matter how small a particle is, it can be split in two. 
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There is never an instance where the division of a particle would yield nothing.  So we stare into infinity wherever we look.

Memorial Day Observance

I think I must have munched on a bad Sushi Roll at one of those Las Vegas cocktail parties, because it's been unsettling since then.
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Not that I'm complaining.... it's hard to bitch about stuff on Memorial Day... when we observe the sacrifices made by our veterans so that Blogs like this can be written freely.
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We are lucky to have the freedoms that we have in this country... the Nazi's would have enslaved us, and the Commies would have subjugated us, but these challenges to our way of life were met by common people who were asked to stand at the front and defeat these aggressions.
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Course, the challenges to our freedom never goes away, both from within and without the country.  We have to continually guard... and remember those who stood at the post for us in the past.
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So today, as I deal with intestinal distress, while getting the pram ready for launch, I will keep a little mental vigil intact.... for those who sacrificed so much so that we could endure our daily foibles in an environment of freedom.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Las Vegas Reaction

Memorial Day weekend is here but it is 50 degrees and clammy now in Boston.  That's ok because I am really bushed from my Las Vegas convention trip.  Flying is exhausting, and so is excessive boozing with concomitant carousing.... especially if you are out of shape for it.
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Which I am.  I could hardly walk after trekking from hotel to hotel on the Vegas Strip... seeking out relevant cocktail parties sponsored by wireless equipment suppliers.  Sometimes it's hard maintaining my status as an industry leader, but I certainly played with pain. 
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Before I left for the airport on Thursday, I did my part in supporting the Nevada economy by dropping $100 quick in the Black Jack tables.  A two hour layover in Philadelphia and the loss of my luggage in Boston led to a 4:30AM arrival back in Marblehead.
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Then I had a full day of work on Friday because of end of the month billing and a proposal deadline that had to be met.
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But, in typical MOAM style, all tasks were met, errands were run, and lawns were mowed.   So now I'm ready to kick back on the couch with Henry the Cat and watch  girly movies as Joanne hogs the remote.
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I'm too tired to battle for my cable TV rights anyway.

Friday, May 24, 2013

POTW Week 21 of 2013

I've been criticized as of late for neglecting the Peep of the Week feature of this pathetic Blog.
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A valid point.
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I used to be extremely punctual in making these momentous choices and it was a singular reason for some of you persevering Peeps to keep coming back for judicious helpings of Nanepashemet advice and wisdom.
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But for some reason, the fundamentals have been left on the sidelines.... until now.

ANNOUCING....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 21st Week of 2013.

Maria Rowen (Automatic Lagavulin Rule)
Emily Buttorff
Bobby Brown
Craig Theiman
Mark Cuban
Jude Martinez

Man... it feels good to get back to basics.... especially since Maria revved up the automatic Lagavulin 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Rule with a most thoughtful gift of the King of Scotch at our dinner tonight.

Posting Pause

Peeps -
If you were wondering what happened to the Blog this week, it's fairly simple... I went to Las Vegas.  Met up with some old telecom buddies at the CTIA convention and kicked the gong around pretty hard.
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But I'm back now.... none the worse for the wear.   And no... I'm not going to tell you any of the juicy details. but suffice it to say that this MOAM met up with the only other legitimate Mountain of a Man in circulation these days, Bobby Brown, and the moments of collision were momentous.
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It was nice to be out there among friends, but the traveling part was horrendous.  I would take the New Haven commute anyday.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Harry Truman Rolling Over

Then Buck Stops Here..... at Lower Level Employees.



What would Harry Truman say?

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Facebook Lull

Maybe it's just my perception, but it seems like Facebook has lost it's edge.   The people who post are generally new to FB, and nobody gets too revved up over political exchanges or other stuff.
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Basically, I lost it when I couldn't goad people into defending our Indian Senator Warren's claim for her conveniently manufactured Native American heritage,  and the Obamanistas overtures into IRS thuggery, Benghazi lies, and AP email snooping have got the Libs on the run, and they are not really forthcoming to engage.
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I don't blame them.
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So the result is that Facebook has been taking a step back.
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Even though the Lefty Slogan,  "It takes a village" (i.e.   you should depend on the government and not yourself) is particularly loathsome to me, it does seem that Facebook and social media has brought people together in the fashion that village life used to be... with a lot more interaction.
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But village life was often fraught with shunning, cliques, and small town gossip... and could get old quick.
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Facebook was fun while it lasted... now there is a definite lull in the action.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Saturday Ambitions

Went for Fried Clams at Essex Seafood, the Official Nanepashemet Clamshack last night  with the O'Shea's and the Peabody's.  Got a little chilly outside while we were eating, but the seafood didn't dissapoint.
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This Saturday morning, I am out straight with a big run at finishing the rough cut work on the Grandkid's bunkbeds, then getting under the deck and cleaning out all of the crap that has accumulated there, culminating in a dump run.
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If everything works right, the day will end up with the pram on sawhorses in the driveway, ready for fit out work and remediating that disgusting weather proofing that never cured on the gunwales.
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By 4:00 PM, when rigor mortis sets in, I hope to thoroughly enjoy kicking back on the deck with a Sam Adams or three.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Radial Arm Saw

I forget when I bought my Sears Craftsman Radial Arm Saw.   Easily over 25 years ago.  I had lent my DeWalt Radial Arm out to some contractor and missed having one, so I bought what was a state of the art model at the time.
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For some reason, Radial Arm Saws have fallen from popularity.   The rap on them is that they are dangerous, but every power tool, and especially stationary saws are dangerous.   As experienced as I am, I am always a little fearful when I switch on the power and the blade starts spinning, and I'm sure that this is a healthy emotion.
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The other frequent criticism is that the RAS is notorious for slop and inaccurate cuts.  I never had this problem.... until today

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The Radial Arm is the best option for making dado cuts in my opinion and as I was setting up the dado blades today in gearing up for the grandkids bunk beds, I noticed a lot of slop in the swivel of the power head.
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So I downloaded a manual for the Sears Model off of the web and quickly found out how to make the adjustment to eliminate the problem.   How cool is it that the Internet was not even invented when I bought this saw, and now I can instanteously get any information that I need to fix the tool.!!! 
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The radial arm is unsurpassed for making accurate repetitive crosscuts, when it is aligned correctly, while the table saw is my tool of choice for making accurate and safe rip and panel cuts.  The luxury of having each of these tools in my shop is a blessing that I should be more thankful for.
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The radial arm saw should be good for another 25 or so.



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