Wednesday, February 28, 2007

GD Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of my severance from GD. As part of the terms of my relatively lucrative severance agreement, I was not supposed to say anything bad about General Dynamics, or recruit their staff, or work for some of their competitors for one year.
~
As if a multi-billion dollar defense contractor had anything to fear from me. But now the year is up.
~
I wouldn't worry if I were them. They owe me a pension and I want them to be around when I retire.

Forward Progress

Do you ever have days when everything clicks? From 8:30 this morning to 5:30 tonight, it was all good... a very powerful day.
~
You have to take the time to appreciate a good day like this. Reflect on why things went so well. I'm thinking that when you eliminate the negative environment, and start to think the positive thoughts, you get flooded with the good stuff.
~
I won't be putting up any sand bags to stop this flood.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Thanks to Eric

Eric Rumpf from the Rumpf Design Group dropped by tonight with the plans for the Sundance elevator.
~
Eric is one of the all time good guys..... a real professional with tons of talent, who is not full of himself. He has a great sense of humor and is fun to be around. If he is working for you, then good things are going to happen. I really respect him.

Choices

To the paranoid losers out there. You know who you are.
~
You'll get treated the same way that you treat others..... No better, no worse. So it's up to you if you want to get your ass kicked. I'm from Lynn....
~
Plus I'm Irish....
~
It's been said that the Irish hate to fight... until they get into a fight. Then they love it. I learned a lot at the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 10, when I was a young man. My patience is getting short.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Roman Addiction


All week you look forward to Sunday night to see the next episode of Rome on HBO. Then they show repeats!!!
~
Damn... it's still great.

Personal Improvement

I have to confess that when people tell lies, and try to manipulate me, I tend to overreact.
~
That's just the way I am. It's kind of my pet peeve. Really sets me off. Gets my Irish up.
~
I'll try to be the bigger man, and not be so damn vindictive. Common sense says that vengeance gets you nowhere.
~
It's not easy.

Triple P

I'm pretty sure that I'll look back at this day as being one of the great ones. ....
Pivotal to a Positive Position.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Whatever

Joanne is making me watch Brokeback Mountain with her. And I am definitely grossed out. She says that I have a double standard because watching Lesbians doesn't bother me.
~
OK
~
She's right.

At Rest

I found out today that the graphic that I like so much... of the peaceful Maine Matinicus Double Ender lobster boat... is the work of Christine Knight Coombs from South China, Maine, and entitled "At Rest".
~
If you found solace from that work, I highly recommend that you visit her web site.
http://chriscoombsart.com

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Opening Doors

Interesting opportunities are cropping up. Getting the calls. It's weird how one door opens when another closes, but nonetheless this theorum is valid. I wonder how long it will take before science validates the law of attraction.
~
We have already proven that the universe is composed of various combinations of atoms - all of which have different degrees of attraction to each other. We are truly one with each other and with the universe. How our thoughts and actions affect the interaction of these atoms has not been defined scientifically, but certainly philosophers and religious leaders have filled the void with perceptions of this truth.
~
My own experience tells me that the coincidences of life events are too bizarre to be left to random chance. Something guides the synchronicity of circumstances that affect us daily. Calling it God suits me. You can call it anything you like, but something is pulling the strings.
~
Time for a scotch.

Sure Cure for Stress


Feeling stressed out?
~
I highly recommend a large, pepperoni, garlic and extra cheese pizza from Vesuvius Cafe in Marblehead. Sure cures the hell out of me.
~
Course there are some side effects. Like feeling like a fat shit the next day.

Saturday

Even though Thursday has so much significance as the Nanepashemet Peep of the Week day, I have to admit that Saturday is my favorite day.
~
Sunday is good, but you always have that nagging..."What the hell do I have to do at work tomorrow?" ... feeling. I don't know about you, but that "tick, tick, tick" stopwatch sequence on the Sixty Minutes program on Sunday night always is a downer for me. It means that the fun weekend is over.
~
But Saturday is perfect. You have your Friday night blowout behind you, and a leisurely Sunday morning in front of you... and nothing but Saturday in between. Even when I work on Saturday, it's always an informal, get something done and out of the way day.
~
There's always a chance that Joanne and I will get to see some of the kids on Saturday.
~
Saturday is the best bet to catch some work on the Tender.
~
I usually fish in the summer on Saturday.
~
Saturday night is the best night to have dinner and hang with your friends.
~
It's Saturday. Rock on.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

PEEPS - week 8 - 2007

Today was particularly stressful. While I don't believe in Black and White, today the shades of grey were excessively dark.

Truth is relative, but you cross the line when you get to half truths. My problem is that I am just too nice of a guy..... then people get caught off guard when they see what a crazy prick I can be. I should be more of a prick all of the time to lessen the shock.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week

Tom DiMatteo (automatic Lagavulin rule)
Jennifer the Atlanta Delta passenger
Rose Nyguen
Eric Johnson
the Puerto Rican Porsche Driver
Bill Hillegas

Screw it. I can't shake the Mr. Sunshine image overnight.

Fortitude

Between San Juan and Atlanta, we had some very revealing meetings with the carriers for Darwin. The projects we are pursuing take a good deal of incubation before they hatch, but Eric Johnson and Jay Ohanian are definitely up for the task. Not everybody has the intestinal fortitude, patience and insight to make money in this industry and market.
~
Today is POTW day. Those unfortunate/lucky individuals will have their glory/disgrace by 8:00PM this evening. Have a nice day.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Panera Bread

In Atlanta with Jay Ohanian at a Panera Bread accessing the net for free. This chain could be my office away from home. Good food, healthy selections, free internet... a good find.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Lapse

Sorry for the lapse in posts. I had to go to Puerto Rico Sunday morning for two business meetings and got home at 3:00 AM this morning after a huge screw up where the connecting flight crew didn't show up in Charlotte, delaying a 9:00 PM departure to 12:00 midnight. Plus, there was never an opportunity to log on. I know this is boring and of no interest to you, but it must be entered for the record.
~
After all, this blog is destined to be a side bar in the Akashic Records of man's existence on earth.
~
As for this blog getting sluggish, I agree. There actually are some extremely exciting and stressful things going on which I can't reveal at this time for a number of confidential reasons. Hang in there, things will pick up when the coast is clear.... probably in the next few days.
~
BTW, Puerto Rico on business is the pits! I'm sure that if you are on the tourist trail, you can find nice places, but the Marriott Courtyard in downtown San Juan is as painful as anywhere, and the area creeps you out with the bars on all the windows and barbed wire in great abundance. I get a kick out of Joanne who was semi-disappointed that I didn't take her.
~
I took out some frustration by trying to race a Porsche with my rented Nissan Altima. The guy didn't even realize that I was trying to make the challenge.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Dinner Party

Had a nice visit with the DiMatteo's tonight. Joanne did her magic in the kitchen and created an unbelieveable pasta with lemon, asparagus and red peppers - along with her usual superb pork loin roast. Tom and Laurel are great company.
~
Tom also brought me a bottle of Lagavulin... you know what that means! He is the first automatic Peep of the Week for 2007.

Tax Time

Time for our government to keep the money that they've taken from you all year, and ask for more. Strike that.... Take more.
~
It's enough to make you lose your sense of humor.
~
Regardless.... the latest undetectable by radar fighter jet that the Air Force is developing costs $28M each... and we are making over 300 0f them.
~
It costs money to kick the shit out of anything that enters our air space.
~
So let's pony up. It's tax time.

Rejection

After about two months of correspondence, I was rejected by the last two book agents that I was dealing with. What's up with that? Don't they realize the huge opportunity that they have passed up? Not to mention the money, prestige and honor???
~
Obviously fate has picked another as yet unknown agent to represent the "Nanepashemet Boatbuilding" book. I'm sure that the worthy agent will appear as soon as I conduct the next email blitz.
~
All of the book publishing pundits say to expect a lot of rejection, but this book has too much to give to humanity to go unpublished for long.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Loss Update

5 lbs. in two weeks. At this rate, I'll be at my desired weight in 20 weeks. That's four months.... July!!!
~
They'll be some awesome topless cookouts this summer.
~
Now I have to figure out what to do with the hair on my back.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Thursday POTW

Once again.... the burden of responsibility. Peeps of the Week must be chosen despite the cold and icy weather. After all, it's Thursday. The burden cannot be taken lightly.
~
Let's see...
~
Who was inspiring? Who was annoying? Who deserves the ultimate honor and/or embarrassment?

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the seventh week of 2007
  • Dave Fortier
  • Magnus Ojert
  • Jill Peabody
  • Thomas Peabody
  • Mike Lane
  • Emily Engardia
Now let's move on.

Oracle

I've never seen a robin in the snow, in Feb.... until today. Seemed weird. Lately I've been seeing birds in places that don't seem right - the Mallard in the woodland brook, and the robin.
~
If I was an ancient Greek, I'd probably consult the oracle at Delphi to see what these omens were about.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Law of Attraction

It's not bullshit. More to Follow.

One More and We'll All Leave Together

"I love Scotch. Scotchy, Scotchy, Scotch." - Will Ferrell

Happy Valentine's Day

Nice pictures of the Peabody Twins and beautiful Pheobe Piscatelli made it to us in time for Valentine's Day. There is hope for humanity.
~
They will be contemporaries for the Nestor boy who is supposed to make an appearance in June.

A Beautiful Heads Up.

And while we're on the subject of cool peeps, Brian Butler tells me that there is a liquor store in Peabody that sells Lagavulin for under $60.00 per bottle.
~
Knucks to Brian.

Old Age

Hryhory Nestor, at 115, living in the Ukraine is believed to be the oldest living human in the world.
~
No relation.

Snow Day

We live in New England. Ice and Snow is not a phenomenon.
~
So why does the TV news coverage treat a snow day as a major reporting event? On Boston Channel 5, WCVB, reporter Shiba Russell is demonstrating how to scrape your windshield.
~
Give me a break! If you can't think of any news, put some music on or something.... Don't treat the New England audience like they were born yesterday.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Business Confidential


There is a ton going on now, but most of it can't be let out because of business confidentiality. Maybe I'll disclose some of it in the book, when the heat is off. Probably not
~
BTW, when the book is published, the loyal Nanepashemet Peeps will get complimentary signed copies. I know who you are.

A True Professional

Have I mentioned to you lately what a great mortgage broker Steve Lewis is?
~
Well, he is freaking awesome, and a tremendous asset to VIP Mortgage. Thanks Steve. It takes a lot for the Crusher to be so impressed.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Raiders of the Northeast Kingdom


The quiet and tranquility of Vermont was grossly disturbed by these unabashed thrillseekers this weekend. While I was silently gliding in North Conway on my XC Skis, Katelyn, Jay, Stacy and Brian were adding carbon dioxide to our overburdened environment while screaming along in their God forsaken snowmobiles.
~
Looks like they had fun.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Chinese Food for Thought

It's always interesting to see where the hits to this blog come from. Of course, there are the loyal Peeps who show up regularly, and if if wasn't for their involvement, I probably wouldn't be posting on this hideous site every day.
~
But curiously, a great deal of the international hits come from China. Not sure why this is.

Almost There

I've got a feeling about this week. Something is going to pop. Lots of wheels have been turning on a big, complex machine for some time now.
~
Hopefully, it will crank out a product that helps everyone. A win-win machine producing the greatest good for all concerned.
~

A Nice Resource

The woods in North Conway have great groomed trails, and I can ski right from NorthBrook.
~
Saw two small red squirrels, a chickadee and a mallard duck. I was pretty surprized to see the duck in the middle of the woods in a stream. Don't ducks fly south for the winter?
~
This one didn't.
~
The trails had about three inches of snow that was packed and grandular - no ice. Good conditions. It would be nice to get a couple more days like this in before the season ends. I'm not optimistic. Taxes and Sundance have to get done first.

Steamy and Scary

Would you get into a hot tub with this guy?
~
Me Neither.
~
Then there was the issue of having a deadly icicle thrust at us while we were innocently sitting on the couch.


~
We were looking for a quiet evening, but then were forced to fend off these challenges!
~
Other than that, we had a great time with Lynda and Will Murray at their condo in No. Conway

Friday, February 09, 2007

Weather Report

Really cold... the longest cold snap that I can remember... and no snow. Meanwhile, Al Gore and the Virgin Airlines guy are beating the global warming drum. A weird winter.
~
BTW, you know the commercials about skiing at Wachusett Mountain with the fortyish two brothers and sister? Do they irritate you? Me too. WA WA Chusett. I will never ski there.
~
This is the last weekend that I can kick back. With taxes and Sundance revving up, as well as a host of other ventures, there won't be anymore leisurely weekends until the spring. So, I'm going to get some XC skiing in up in No. Conway, do some serious couch potating, and gather strength for a big push.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Under Full Sail


Seems like a fair wind was blowing today.
~
Lots of stuff falling in place. Sometimes when you listen to the voice in your head - your random thought - and follow it without judgement, things naturally seem to come together.
~
I know this sounds New Age, but today it eerily had some relevance. I'll utimately disclose a lot of the details behind this stuff in my book, but I have to be discreet for the time being...

Week 6 - Peep of the Week

This was an easy week for POTW Selections. It was pretty obvious who should get the nod for a host of unambiguous reasons. Regardless.... that doesn't lessen the prestige or disgrace that a selection brings to a chosen Peep of the Week.

These peeps have the right to be proud, or embarrassed as the case my be.

Announcing.....
The Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the sixth week of 2007.
  • Ben Martin
  • Brian Butler
  • Drew Jellison
  • Steve Lewis
  • Tommy Kallopoulos
  • Lynda Murray
That felt good. Now back to more of the mundane and insignificant daily grind.

Thursday Again

That means that by the end of the day, there will be POTW thrills and disappointments.
~
Who knew that Thursday could be such an important weekday???

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

KMA

I'm asking you nicely.... Please stop emailing me on a constant basis asking me how much weight I've lost. I don't think that I deserve having my mailbox clogged with hundreds of emails a day requesting that I divulge such private information.
~
Just to stop the hysteria.... I've only lost 2.5 lbs. in the first week of my healthly lifestyle binge.
~
This is a high achievement given the mountain of stress that the universe has steamrolled down on me last week. Usually, I resort to a double cheese, double pepperoni from Vesuvius, or a kettle of Macaroni and cheese when confronted with too many of life's challenges at the same time.
~
Bring it on. Give me your best shot. Regardless of the crap ahead, I'm going to be one buff son of a bitch by March 21.

Home of the Brave

You had better be damn brave with the IRS and their power to assess charges in view of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Home of the Brave, but land of the free is a stretch.
~
Don't tell me that freedom isn't free. We're outlaying our economic privacy to a ruthless, faceless bureaucratic agency who holds us guilty until proven innocent.
~
So.... How is your day going?

Monday, February 05, 2007

Better Late Than Never.

I saw a couple of these Catbirds in my driveway last summer. and just identified them now. Never forget a face.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

House Pets

We had a nice dinner last night at the Barnicle with Jay and Kate, who came to Marblehead with their dog, Jack.
~
Jack Dog, the Pug, was excited to be here and kept running around the house, creating a mountain of concern from Isabelle and Ronick. The cats emanated a little hissing, but thankfully no domestic pet violence.
~
Izzy and Ronick both slept with us together last night though. I can't remember the last time that they were both on the bed at the same time, for any continuous period. Jack Dog deserves the Nobel Peace Prize if he can bring those two together.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Rome Again

The HBO series, Rome, is back with season two. This show alone is enough to subscribe to HBO. We can never truly know, but it seems to depict a realistic version of how life might have been in Italy at the time or Julius and Augustus Caesar. The story of Caesar motivated Shakespeare and remains today as the highest form of drama.
~
Well done with acting and sets, down to the colors of the buildings and the extensive graphic graffiti on the walls.
~
One thing that is perplexing though.... Why is it that the film industry always represents Romans speaking with English accents?

Friday, February 02, 2007

Superbowl Sunday

An unofficial holiday in the United States. With the Patriots not in it, you have to root for the Colts. Manning deserves it. Plus the Patriots annihilated the Bears in the regular season. Sarah Crawford invited us over because it is Chris' birthday.
~
No offense to anyone, but I had plans to stay at home and eat Buffalo wings with Joanne. Lay low and stay out of trouble.

Wardrobe Threat

By the way, I'm kicking ass with my weight loss program. 2 1/2 lbs lost since Tues. Course I haven't really eaten much except for when Ryan and Courtney came over, and even then.... no carbs. Plus I've been working out semi hard on the Cybex stationary bike. Joanne cleaned out Mike's room since he moved to DC, and she moved the Bike there.
~
The last time that I had a significant weight loss, I got off of the carbs, but never really stopped having a beer or two at night, and certainly didn't get a daily exercise burn in. That time I lost 20 lbs in about a month.
~
This time, it's diet, exercise, no weekday evening beverages, and probably a lot more business stress. The deadline is March 21. Plus I have the Peeps to cheer me on this time. Can't miss.
~
Hopefully my clothes will still fit, but it would be a pleasure to buy smaller sizes. I do have some really cool clothes though.

Metz a Metz

One of those days. Got a lot done, but didn't feel good doing some of it.
~
I can't really explain without compromising business confidentiality.
~
On the good side, I settled the Sundance Elevator order, finalized the handicapped Bathroom issues and bought some real nice entry doors that will open to the outside per the wishes of the Marblehead Building Dept. These were special order doors that I got at a real nice price from the Peabody Building Products Outlet. A great referral from Sparky and Mike Rockett. Paid some bills that were due. Always a good feeling when you have the funds.
~
I also had a nice conversation about China with a guy whose name I cannot reveal.
~
Some really unpleasant shit happened that I can't tell you about. Business is Business. Some things never change.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Week 5 - 2007 Peeps of the Week

Another Thursday. POTW Day.

The elevator issue at Sundance definitely has me frazzled.... because it is going to make me broke. Plus, the Cingular capital freeze is a downer. Two money issues that have been playing havoc with my nervous system. Experience tells me that this too shall pass. But that simple phrase doesn't loosen the knot in my stomach.

At least I can turn to the weekly POTW selection process for solace and consolation.

So....
Announcing the Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for Week 5 or 2007.

  • Sarah Jane Freymann
  • Dr. Louis Casale
  • The Salesguy at Joe Jones who sold me the XC Skis
  • Jan Cyr
  • Mike Chandler
  • Ben PC Wong
Now back to the hand wringing.