Author: paultmorrison

Seaward Inn Bed And Breakfast Opens this Weekend

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The season is opening. The tulips have gone by. Soon we’ll be hunting down that friend with the boat and go catch a striper. Best time of year. TheĀ beginningĀ of theĀ beginning.

So as a local who cares that a Bed and Breakfast is opening up? Because you can make it up to mom for forgetting to get something for Mother’s Day and take her to Mother’s Day Brunch at the Seaward Inn on May 13th. Patti DeRosa will be the artist performing 11AM to 2PM, call 978-546-3471 for reservations.

44 Marmion Way, Rockport.

Click for the menu:Ā MothersDayBrunch-2012

Super Moon II Sunday Night

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The exact time of the full moon last night was very close to midnight. That means that tonight’s moonrise will be almost as big as yesterday. Some of you got some amazing shots with the fog. I got a super dud in Rockport.

Tonight, same spot on the horizon but:

Moonrise: 8:52PM

Sunset: 7:48PM

Nautical Twilight: 8:59PM (cannot navigate by the horizon)

Astronomical Twilight 9:42PM (stars are out)

So it will be darker but your camera should still be able to pick up the horizon when the moon appears.

Twin Lights Half Marathon needs Volunteers on Saturday, May 12

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Volunteer for helping out at the Marathon and get a nice T-Shirt and a lot of fun watching sweaty skinny people run by. Just click this link to get all the info on volunteering for the Race on Saturday, May 12. In the comments section make sure you say you heard about it on Good Morning Gloucester and if ten volunteers do that then Cait Cedarstrom, co-director of the race will give Rubber Duck a blue ribbon!

76 Summer Days Until the Big Race

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(Sung to the tune of 76 Trombones)
Seventy six summer days until the big parade,
with at least a hundred and ten dory rowers motoring away.
They were followed by rows and rows of the finest kayaks;
the cream of the Cape Ann waterways!

I’ll quit with one verse …

Blackburn Challenge: Saturday July 14. Ā There will be a kayak pod of “not the extremely swift” led byĀ Wendie Demuth.

Click map for more Ā links and info.

There is also a short 5 mile race in the Essex River on Saturday, May 19th. Just go to the Cape Ann Rowing Club Web Site and you can sign up for both right now! Go ahead. It’s easy. You are probably an SK-male or SK-female boat length say 18 feet beam 25 inches. They take MasterCard and you get a cool T-Shirt you can wear to the GMG Mug-Ups to prove you did it. (SK means sea kayak which is what you have unless you are the Lance Armstrong of kayakers. Check your kibbles and bits to see if you are male or female.)

Rubber Duck signed up for both! ( I have got to hide the credit card.)

Rubber Duck Kayak Quick Tips: If you are thinking of going out to get in shape the water Ā temp at AO1 buoy today is 46F:

1) Do not kayak alone. 2) Wear and buckle up a PFD. Ā 3) Dress for the water temp, not the sunny air temp. 4) Stick to the shore like glue. 5) A hand pump, a paddle float, a waterproof handheld radio tuned to VHS 16 are all good things to strap on your boat but only if you know how and when to use them.

Dandelions and Tulips in your front yard

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In your rocking chair on your front porch last week you were bummed about the dandelions in the lawn but enjoying the tulips. I pulled out 523 dandelions and I now have dandelion thumb so I have changed my mind. Dandelions now look pretty and I’ll leave the rest alone.

So now I just enjoy both of them and for two plants that don’t move around much (rumors that dandelions walk across streets and into your lawn are unfounded) they sure open and close a lot.

Tulips seem to open up each day because it warms up. I guess evolution has told them that the pollinators are going to be more active in the afternoon. Then they close back up. Dandelions seem to be smarter. If it gets cold they close. But even if it gets cloudy they seem to close up before the rain beats them up unlike tulips.

So I have to go find a paper and sure enough, the Journal of Experimental Botany has a paper that explains it all and they mention tulips and dandelions a lot. Duration of darkness, osmotic pressure, all that good stuff about how and when a flower opens.

Or you can enjoy your morning coffee this weekend and watch your tulips and dandelions open up again.

This animation is from Tulip Test Gardens which has a lot of good info about your tulips. (Click to animate again.)

Today is Homie and Rubber Duck’s First Anniversary

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Homie: “You’re not from around here are you? May I show you the cove?”
Solitude of the lonely Homie.
Cold, lonely, rubbery, but Patriotic!
A little stand offish at first.
They’re eyes locked and Homie was in love.
“So how many children should we have?” Homie wasn’t wasting any time.
“I have a lovely nest on Milk Island.”
You’re not listening to a word I’m saying!”
“We could make it work!”
“Do you think it’s safe to come out?”
Your friends are rude Homie.
Rubber Duck out on the Town at another Fred Bodin Christmas party.

I cannot believe it has only been one year since the Rubber Duck met Homie on a blustery day just like today, April 18, 2011. When I posted that first part of the Rubber Duck saga I was only joking about it being a twenty part series. Little did I know that maybe a hundred posts later the story is still not finished. To commemorate their anniversary I repost the first few chapters. Later this week will be an update of how Homie and Rubber Duck spent their day today. Part I posted April 18th, 2011: Ā (This will be a twenty part series.) Part II posted April 19th, 2011: But first, the back story. Two lonely birds: Ā But soon the connection was made and time stopped. ” Ā “I am so out of here!” Ā But Homie came back of course and took Rubber Duck all over. The Rockport Dump, Thacher Island lighthouse, Maine, Florida, meeting Santa when he arrived in Rockport, wine tasting at Passports, Duck Confit at Duckworth’s. Then, just a few months later, things got a little weird: Last sighting of RD was at the Spring Fling two weeks ago with rumors that she was at the Thirsty Golf contest at the DogBar last week when Joey caught her again staring at him.Ā  Flexilis anatidaephobia is the fear that a rubber duck is staring at you and Joey has got it bad.

Breaking: F-16 flyover of Fenway Today

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I think there might be a game today. This is from the roof of my lab. I can see the top of the big screen so it’s easy to see Varitek and Wakefield walk out from under the big flag draping the Wall but the game is tough to see. Back to work.

I Won the F/V Midnight Sun T-Shirt Raffle on Facebook!!

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Who said Facebook wasn’t worth the bother. I now have proof. F/V Midnight Sun raffled off one of their awesome T-Shirts on their Facebook pageĀ and just moments ago I won!

I never win anything. Actually I did win a Stop and Shop raffle for a basketball camp with Larry Bird, McCale and Parrish but the fine print said I had to be 12 or younger. It was a great present to a cousin. I was going to try to act 12 but I think I was 28 at the time and although I sometimes act 12 I was going to have a hard time passing for 12.

Thank you Midnight Sun, you can wrap a nice fish in it. šŸ˜‰ I will post a pic with Rubber Duck wearing the T-Shirt.

Red Sox Opening Day Prediction

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This is one season I am not predicting anything. My sister thinks I am Beaker right now looking at the Red Sox crashing an burning out of the gate. But 162 games later The Sox could end up with that trophy with all the flags.

Rubber Duck predicts the Sox end up somewhere in between those two. Go Sox. But don’t buy those late season games until later in the summer. Good seats may be available …

Posting at first pitch instead of my normal 2PM slot. Verlander first pitch. Oy.

100 days until Blackburn Challenge

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Yikes, according to my Blackburn Challenge Timer there are only 100 days left to prepare for the paddle all the way around Cape Ann starting at Gloucester High School and ending at the new Greasy Pole July 14, 2012.

Ā Click map for details.

Who is going to do it? Rubber Duck had fun last year but this year she is going carbon fiber and a decent time. Rumor has it that there are several people who have never done a 21 mile kayak but are seriously thinking about it. Reply to this post and lets get a pod of you together that will aim for one goal, finish before the keg is empty. Next month once the water temp gets past 50F we can start doing a couple of training runs. Who’s in?

[edit]Ā Essex River Race May 19, 2012. A five mile jaunt from the Essex Ship Building Museum out and around Cross Island and back. Any GMGers want to do that? Iā€™ll loan you a kayak. Sign up here with the Cape Ann Rowing Club.Ā Start your season early this year. Life is too short so make the season long.

Rubber Duck Review: Birding Binoculars

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I’m not a birder with a life list but I wanted to get Sue a pair of decent birding binoculars. So I asked my sister who does have a life list and does go to Panama to crouch behind dumpsters to check out birds. She said to go to birdwatching.com and see what pair scored highest in the mid-priced binocs. There was a pair at the top of the list scored by how they function as birding glasses for $350.00. After going back and forth to Amazon and a bunch of other sites I bought them through birdwatching.com since they had the best price and availability. Showed up three days later. These puppies are awesome.

Vanguard Endeavor ED 8×42 Read the review here.Ā  So why 8×42 and why this particular pair? At 8×42 you get the best fit for a pair of binocs you don’t mind hanging around your neck all day. See a bird and instantly have it in view and focused. Higher mag and all that gets a little more difficult. This pair gathers so much light with great eye relief (your eye can move around a bit behind the pair without the image going black) that they are just a lot more fun to use than the old pair we had been using.

They are also perfect for checking out the moons of Jupiter or the Orion Nebula. Can’t wait for those warm evenings laying on my back out on Halibut Point checking out the stars. With these binocs it is as Carl Sagan said, there are billions and billionsĀ of stars. More than the estimated 2.6 billion birds in the United States.

April Fools Sunrise after Spring Fling

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This morning’s April Fool’s Day sunrise was at 6:23 AM. The Rockport Breakwater is entirely out of the picture since the sun has moved further north when viewed from Chapin’s Gully.

Click to embiggen: You might think, “hey Paul, time to clean your camera sensor.” But to the left is a lobster boat on the horizon and directly above are two seagulls. To the right is the green can denoting the end of the breakwater (but the breakwater is underwater for quite a distance on the north end), and a stray lobster pot in the foreground streak of light water. No dust motes on me.

Now That’s a Rubber Duck

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Click photo to go to Florentjin Hofman’s project page for a rubber duck that would look awesome in Gloucester’s Inner Harbor staring into the window of Joey’s office. Just the right height.

Passports Wine Tasting Diner Tomorrow! Thursday March 29

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Rubber Duck checked out the Passports Wine Dinner last month and she is still flapping her rubber wings about it. Ā Passports does it again tomorrow and you may still have time to get a reservation. Well worth it, 978-281-3680. Tell them Rubber Duck sent you.

Last month:

Chili Sullivan leads you through the courses and the wine pairings. I know what you’re thinking, some hoity-toity dude to tell you how to breathe and snort when you taste the wine. That’s not Chili. He tells you where the wine came from, describes the environment so you can imagine the fog rolling over the hills cooling the GrĆ¼ner Veltliner as it grows to a crisp, tasty grape. He also throws in a little history. Don’t worry, it’s short, painless and you don’t have to put your fork down. And speaking of GrĆ¼nerĀ Veltliner, which was paired with the Cajun fluke last month, it’s the reason why I’m late with this review. I wanted to add where you can get some in Gloucester but I keep forgetting to check out the white wines when I’m in Sea Breeze picking up my Knockabout Gin. The GrĆ¼nerĀ Veltiner that Chili served was from Sepp Moser, Austria. Tasty. Rubber Duck wants some more.

What to do at the GMG Party on Saturday night?

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Guess which one I caught and ate?

The big one of course. The small one I would have had to throw back but since I caught that one at Fred Bodin’s Historic Photo she is still hanging on the wall and does not smell at all since she is ceramic.

She hangs above another find from Fred’s which is an 1888 map of our neighborhood. Is the significant other still glaring at you because you bought a fishing rod for her Valentine’s gift? Just buy something off the wall for her on Saturday and you’ll be able to use that pole if you know what I mean.

GMG Spring Fling this Saturday 6PM

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The real kickoff to the entire season is upon us this Saturday, 6PM at Fred Bodin’s Historic Photo right here in our historic West End. All FOBs (friend of blog) and FORDs (friends of Rubber Duck) are invited.

RD has been thinking long and hard about what to bring. A bottle of Ryan & Wood Knockabout Gin (she loves the licorice accents) is a must but what else?

OK, to steal some photos from EJ, here is RD’s Vaseline Glass and Geiger Counter.RD will bring a piece of Vaseline Glass and demonstrate the radioactivity using her geiger counter. Perfectly harmless although maybe I wouldn’t microwave popcorn in it.

Also a contest. Pretty easy. Correctly guess where RD is in the next photo.

Ā All winners will be given the honor of showering Rubber Duck with gifts. As a good example RD will be wearing the necklace given to her by Beth Williams. Ā Beth could also bring a piece of her antique Vaseline glass she has in the window that I am betting pegs the geiger counter. If you have a piece of Vaseline glass just bring it to the hoedown at Fred’s and we’ll see if it’s hot.

But back to the gifts. Rubber Duck is a little bit bigger than you think so if you are going to make her a little Red Sox baseball cap her head is about the size of a lime. Hmm, limes also make great gifts as RD will never turn down a Gin and Tonic.

Cape Ann Seasonal Openings: 2012 Part I

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Today on March 23 the seawater temperature is a balmy 48F and not the nippy 42F from a year ago. Summer is here and with it the openings of restaurants on Cape Ann.

Saturday, March 31,Ā Top Dog of RockportĀ opens.Ā A clam roll at a picnic table outside. That is my official start of the season. Might be chilly so go for a Hot Chihuahua Dog with Chili Cheese Fries.

Thursday, April 12,Ā Lobsta Land RestaurantĀ opens. Just say “Lobsta Land!” out loud three times. I feel better already. Check out the Lobsta Countdown on their website.

Thursday, April 12,Ā Captain Carloā€™sĀ opens.

Thursday, April 19Ā The RudderĀ opens.Ā The way the weather is going the new heaters on the deck won’t be needed.

Note to Restauratuers of Cape Ann: Do you want patrons when you open your doors this season? Then update your web page!! Update your facebook page!! I got these dates from updated pages. Too many places still had, “We’re closing this week for the winter, come back in the spring.” Not good. Update and make a comment on this post and I will add your restaurant.

What a difference a year makes.

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What a difference a year makes. Last year Fenway was full of snow but Sox were preseason favorites to win the World Series. This year it is sunny almost 70F and they are picked to inhabit the basement of the American League East.

I’ll take the this year, hands down. (This is me trying to pass as an official construction worker boss man so they would let me into the park. I got thrown out about five minutes later. Once I pulled Rubber Duck out of my pocket it was game over.)

Tacos Lupita: One more reason never to leave the island.

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The food. As Joey is fond of saying, Cape Ann is blessed with great restaurants and it keeps on getting better. I have been trying out Tacos Lupita and will have a full review once I make it back up the right side of the menu after already eating my way down the left.

(Click image for menu). From the start I can see why Joey has been ecstatic about this place. The mirror shiny ceramic tables to the open kitchen showing fresh ingredients being chopped up. You can tell just by walking in it’s going to be good.

OK, I have had the Mulita (wow, homemade corn tortillas bursting with cheese and in my case I tried pork sausage), huaraches, burritos, tacos, and the Mexican Bistec Plate. All great I’ll just point out two. The lowly taco and the bistec plate. I’ve been to Mexico five times, once for two months back in 1973. I am always looking for that non-AmericanizedĀ Mexican food without having to go to Mexico. Lupita serves authentic versions of the taco and bistec. The fresh onions and other stuff in the taco and the seasoning of the bistec (a very decent portion of thin grilled steak) are killer. I don’t need to go to Cuernavaca again. I can stay on the island.

Before I write a full review I have to have the fish taco (this being Gloucester and all), as well as the Tortilla soup. The last time I was in Cuernavaca I had tortilla soup every afternoon for ten days straight. It was an addiction. A good one. Post a comment if you have had it because dang, although open 11AM to 9PM daily they are not open on Sunday. I’ll have to wait.

Fun Fact: Lupita is a girl’s name. The shortened form of Guadalupe which refers to the Virgin Mary as she miraculously appeared to a peasant boy in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Since I ate everything before I was able to photograph it, just click on the screaming Homie and Rubber Duck for photos on the Tacos Lupita website.

One last tip: Try the Fanta Orange soda in the bottle. It is made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup. Sodas tasted better when we were kids. They still sell them but you have to read the side of the bottle.

[edit] One more very last tip. The salsa verde. Make sure to get the red and green salsa on the side and that green one, (that would be salsa verde in espaƱol), is the real deal. The red is too but as in Mexico, it is the green one that will sneak up on you.

Friday, February 15, 2013 Asteroid Near Miss

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Remember in November I posted about an asteroid near miss? I used a 24 foot Aquasport as an analogy. Basketball sized earth at the bow, tennis ball moon sitting on the Mercury engine at the stern. The asteroid missed the moon by just four feet but well clear of the bow.

But on Friday February 15, 2013 the Asteroid 2012 DA14 will be much closer to the basketball in the bow. If you lined up three basketballs on the bow the asteroid would hit the outermost one! Ā That is pretty close. And we just found this asteroid this year (hence the name.) This asteroid will be within the orbits of some of our satellites circling the earth.

There will be a lot of hype that day but it won’t get us, at least this time. And this asteroid is only 150 feet across. The impact on earth would only be equivalent to a thermonuclear bomb but shoot, lots of water to hit. They will get better tracking info in 2013 so when it again plays dodgeball with earth in 2020 we will have Bruce Willis ready to go push it out of the way.

Come to think of it, that weekend might be a good time to schedule the next Dodgeball Tournament with an Armageddon theme.