Misc. Blog Entries

I got out to watch the Blue Angels practice at the Portsmouth Airshow again. I work on The Pease Tradeport, so it's amazing when the airshow comes around becuase they litterally practice right over my head. It's also pretty cool when they buzz the office, becuase they set off all the car alarms. Good stuff.

I don't have the best camera (Nikon P100), and it was litterally 95 degress and hazy, so all the pics I got seem blurred out by the heat and moisture. Whatever, it was still incredible to see these guys again!

I drive up the coast nearly every day and saw this. I had to stop and take a picture. It’s crazy what these people can do with sand. Granted, it's not the same sand found at the beach. From what I gather, tons of this “special” sand is imported for these events.

This map came out of the attic of a 19th century farmhouse. I personally found it, under a ton of other crap. It was under an eve, and probably not handled in decades. The quality is obviously not great, but the map itself is super-cool. I'm amazed at the details, and just how much the country has changed. This map still has Texas going up nearly the entire west coast.

I’m driving up the seacoast this morning, listening the The Morning BUZZ as I usually do. They mentioned they had a “street-legal” Indy car in the station parking lot, and it would only be there for a couple of minutes. I drive right past the station on my way to work, so I went to check it out.

Laura (from The BUZZ) got to go for a ride in this thing. It’s unreal. I expected a sports car, sort of beefed up to look like an Indy car… but no.. this is the real deal!

I’ve had some people email me questions about my basement project. Specifically, how I decided to frame walls over a stone wall foundation. Well the project is not complete yet, but I have at least one room that is 95% finished. I wanted to post a couple pictures and explain what I did.  So far, I’m very pleased with the results. It took a long time, but it was primarily me doing all the work (occasional help from friends) when I could find time.

This is super cool. The Blue Angels are performing at an airshow this weekend in New Hampshire. Well, for the last couple of days they have been practicing right over my office. I don’t mean “near” my office – I work a third of a mile from the airstrip – they are directly overhead! I sat in the parking lot for a while and watched them doing all those signature stunts and crazy formations.

Growing up working on one of the oldest farms in America (run by the same family since the 1680s), my interest in local history was definitely the cause of some long-winded conversations with some of the old-timers. The farm was located adjacent to Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. In fact, the park itself used to be part of the farm before it was sold off to the Moseley family (Originally spelled Maudesleigh) around the turn of the century (1900s).

A number of weeks ago I noticed a little lump on my tongue. Actually, I noticed a little lump inside my tongue – on the right side, near the tip. It didn’t seem to give me any pain.  It was just a small, hard lump that I could roll around between my teeth. It felt like a frozen pea, or kernel of corn embedded inside the flesh of my tongue.

I just acquired this from close (and slightly mental) friend of mine. He is dealing with some family estate items and gave it to me because he knew I really liked it. I’ve been a big antique roadshow fan for years, and anyone that has seen that show has heard of the infamous “card table” that turned out being one of the highest valued pieces they had.

Ok, this is just getting crazy now. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m helping a friend of mine deal with his late aunt’s estate. I’ve been friends with the family most of my life. During this process, he has offered me a couple of the items in her collection. Perhaps as a thank you for the help, or just because he knows I like this sort of stuff. Regardless, I’ve acquired a couple of absolutely stunning antiques.

The latest is this: