According to SPOT tracker Will and Mike arrived in Key West today. Follow them here.
Author: paultmorrison
SUP the Coast website
Breaking News: Man vs Food
Oh the humanity, I saw the whole thing. Not to give it all away at once but,
The cow ate some bad grass early:
and that was only round three. It went …
Yes, she is covering up nicely the fact that is the sign for round six upside down because no one one could have thought this event could go nine rounds. Did Joey lose his voice, did Big Lar nail it again? Installments of the details coming.
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no post from me this week
I’m in San Antonio and someone in my lab said I looked like a bum while I was taking a break to read GMG on my iPhone in front of the Alamo.
“I remember, the Alamo”, said Pee-Wee Herman. Tonight I get a GMG represents next to the steer on the rotisserie.
Hope to make it back for the Food Challenge as Ed is always amusing while he fertilizes the shrubbery.
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Fenway Park getting ready for the Yankees on Friday April 8th
The new Center Field scoreboard is the most obvious new feature to Fenway Park. This morning they lowered the last black panel of screen into place. It’s hard to see what it is made of because it is so black it sucks the light out of your eyeballs.
This thing is massive. 100 feet wide and 38 feet high. 65 brazillion high intensity LED lights imbedded and IBM Watson will be used to run the HD video on this screen.
OK, I don’t know how many lights and the computer will be slightly smaller than Watson. Now to figure out how to get tickets for Opening Day.
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Red Sox Truck Day Today!
Wally the Green Monster will be down on Yawkey Way to see the Red Sox truck off today at noon. Another GMG reporter will have to be assigned as I got dragged up to Sunday River skiing and might not be back until Wednesday. (They almost have as much snow as Gloucester!)
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Plant your Alpine Strawberries Today!
Plant your Alpine Strawberries Today! How do I know that? Because I follow Goose Cove Gardens on Facebook and that is what they are doing today. On this dreary day it is a good time to start thinking about spring. Last May 10th this is what Goose Cove Gardens looked like:
I’m so ready for spring.
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Fenway Park: Wally a [not a] No Show
[Breaking News Edit] Wally is not a no show. I just don’t know how to read. Wally is scheduled for the truck sendoff next Tuesday Feb 8. I will be there to interview the green thing then. I’ll leave the rest of the story as is.
Wally the Green Monster was supposed to wave the Red Sox truck off at noon today for its trip to Florida to signal the start of preparation for Spring training. But crack meteorologist Dylan Dryer (seen here) updated the Channel 7 weather forecast:
A magnified view shows Fenway Park currently buried under the
“ga” of “Shit Load Again.” Wally decided to kick back at the Cask and Flagon to down a few Irish Coffees while your GMG Cub reporter flashed his Press Pass to the guard and made his way into Fenway Park:
As you can see, even if the green one had risked freezing his kibbles and bits there would be no way that Wally would have seen his shadow. That means that in twelve days the Red Sox pitchers and catchers report.
A last shot of Fenway. In a very short time Carl Crawford will be in this left field to ensure that no opponent hits will reach the turf while on the other side of the inning he sprays homeruns to all fields.
Warms me right up just thinking of it. Adrian Gonzalez at first. Youk at third, Pedroia at second, and since it is an odd year a scorching year for Beckett.
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Revels comes to Cape Ann Museum this Saturday 11AM
If you have never heard the Revels and you and your children are a little snowbound crazy you must go to Cape Ann Museum this Saturday at 11AM. It’s free and the Revels has to be experienced. Audience participation becomes necessary. Do not be surprised if your family is dragged on stage to clog or something.
Details:
Join Revels Rep as they perform “A Celebration of the Sea,” an exuberant program exploring the lives of whalers during the great age of sail and their families who remained on shore. Beginning on the docks of New Bedford, the program includes packing for a journey; farewell to friends and family; shipboard work and entertainment; a whale hunt; a storm at sea, and a celebration of the sailors’ safe return.
Saturday January 29 at 11 AM.
27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester.
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Comments about a Kingfisher
Just a GMG notification: If you do not read the comments at GMG you are really missing out. The photo of a bird needing identification received twelve comments below. Some of them more than just a little amusing. When you read a post here at GMG make sure to click the comments and say a few words. Or just click it to read the comments. You won’t be disappointed.
[edit] I just added some more new comments. Besides these comments Joey has received 15 emails. Those are people who are obviously oblivious of the ability to comment or are too shy. Don’t be shy, spread the info, make a joke. Is my post about comments dumb? Make a comment in the comments.
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John Fulton says:
It’s either a ruby throated, split tail, double breasted mattress thrasher or one of the Belted Kingfishers.
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Bill O’Connor says:
Nice shot Joe. It’s a Kingfisher, they like to look down on their prey from up high, like at the top of pilings and flagpoles.
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kimsmithdesigns says:
Hey Joe..it is a female Belted Kingfisher. Unlike most species of birds, the female is more brightly colored, with the rufous color on her flanks and belly. Males completely lack rufous feathers. Great capture!
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Jenna says:
Yep, Kingfisher. There was a post on GMG just the other day about them! They hang out here on the Annisquam off Wheeler Point a lot, too.
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David Teele says:
it is a belted kingfisher who is either: very cold or having a bad hair day or just lost an argument with a Van de Graaff generator
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whaletale says:
It is indeed a Kingfisher. reat photo but be careful, the NOAA will want him removed from the area without a proper catch share permit…………………
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Kristen Callahan says:
It’s a female belted kingfisher. She is one of the few females to have the extra stripe on the abdomen. A super photo. They are quick of wing and seldom shot at this quality of photo. Thanks for making a great morning!
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Becky Bernie says:
definitely a belted kingfisher
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Paul Morrison says:
People who don’t read the comments in GMG sure are missing out.
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Joey C says:
PAUL, there has been about 15 emails to the GMG email address about the bird. I wonder if those people realize that there is a comment link below the post or if there is some other reason they email me directly instead of leaving a comment.
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Kim H-P says:
Belted Kingfisher for sure. Looks like an immature male according to the Cornell folks-see website-great shot!
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The trails of Gloucester and Rockport.
Yesterday was a pristine day to go cross-country skiing. With Dogtown and connections infiltrating out from the center of Cape Ann and throwing in Ravenswood there are very few places on Cape Ann that are not a short walk to a trail that goes on and on.
Evvy, hold on, I want to take a picture …
This is one of those trails that links up quarries down to a cove. There were train tracks here before the quarry bust of 1933. I ski along imagining the train Polyphemus as it lugged 40 ton blocks of granite through the woods to become the great granite bowls which sit in front of Union Station in our nation’s capital. Must have been quite a sight.
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South Tower red flash
1/23/11 Sunrise 7:05AM. It took a few shots on burst to catch the south tower flashing red. From Andrews Point. To actually see the light click on the photo to get a better look.
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Analemma Part II, sunrise
I was admiring Joey’s sunrise photo he posted today and started thinking about where exactly the sunrise was this morning and when he would post a sunrise with the sun splitting the twin towers on Thachers.
After screwing around with astronomy tables for an hour I discovered a web calculator that figures it all out. Solar Calculator click here.
1) Go to site and click on the map.
2) Keep double-clicking until the marker is in your backyard.
3) Go to the bottom of the table and click “show on map” both the sunrise and sunset.
Sunrise in Joey’s shot this morning at Good Harbor Beach was way down here:
This position of sunrise is not much different from a month ago at the winter solstice:
That’s because the sun is swinging around the bottom of the analemma (I posted here) and there isn’t much change. But we are gaining two minutes a day in day length now and it won’t be long before sunrise is before 7AM (January 29 to exact).
On June 21 during the summer solstice Joey will have the sun rise right about here on Good Harbor:
Check the solar calculator out. It is really easy to use once you get the hang of jumping around. Save your backyard position or figure out the exact day that a Good Harbor sunrise splits the uprights of the Twin towers. Lazy photographers who want to know exactly where the sun will be rising for their morning shot can figure it all out here.
If you do one thing, get the map centered on your favorite sunrise and sunset spot with the “show sunrise” and show sunset” lines turned on and then move the dates to June 21 and December 21.
Now they just need to make one of these things for the moonrise.
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Paddleboard Insanity Part II: SUP the Coast
Will Rich and Mike Simpson are gearing up with Mimi Whitmarsh trailing in a vehicle to SUP The Coast on March First.
What’s SUP you ask? That would be “Stand Up Paddle” from Key West to Portland Maine. Read Part I here to catch up.
Volunteers: they need people who live close to the east coast to send in the GPS coordinates of their closest beach and a phone number. If the timing is right you can have the pleasure of their company for one night for a trade of a hot shower. Will has his sister in Magnolia and friends on Cape Ann but send in those coordinates. If you have friends retired down south send them a link to this inspiring story.
2,200 miles. Don’t you want to be one of the 110 new friends they acquire on this trip and maybe listen to a story or two?
Barely a month left. Much more to come as they fire this up, get ready to go.
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Too nippy for a swim
Even a duck says “no thanks, I’ll pass.”
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Public Service Announcement
When you lose power call 1-800-465-1212 for National Grid. Put it in your cell phone now and don’t think that your neighbors will call it in because they are thinking the same thing. I am currently in Wayland just west of Boston and the dreaded purple lightbulbs of NationalGrid power outages is creeping towards me from the coast.
My backyard now with wine bottle added for scale:
Those weak ass white pine branches will be snapping this afternoon. Shoot, the lights just flickered … WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!
Oh wait, lunch is ready.
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Mercury and Venus in the morning
If you happen to be up as astronomical twilight begins at 5:30 AM you can catch Mercury rising before the sunrise at 7:14AM. 6:30AM might be a good time to see it. Finding bright Venus is easy. Then go left and down to find Mercury.
Fun Fact: Joey down in St Croix doesn’t have to go as far left. If he was on the equator Mercury would be straight below Venus.
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Fenway: January 7, 2011
On Monday they finished ripping down the old centerfield Monster Screen and scoreboard. Didn’t seem all that long ago it was brand new but it sure was all rusty and rotten coming down. Then they put up a weird set of poles in the right field and I thought they were going to put up the Monstah Screen over there but no.
Today they finished putting up two huge vertical beams which obviously are going to hold the biggest LCD playback screen in New England front and center in centerfield.
The crane lowering the second vertical tower in place is parked on Lansdowne. These things are huge! I have no idea what the right field seven towers are going to be. A menorah? Flags for the seven World Series we win in this century?
Meanwhile, with all that spare time between Patriot’s playoff games check out the Red Sox Depth Chart. Warms the heart on these cold winter days. Carl Crawford in left and Adrian Gonzalez at first. Deep depth on that field.
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Paddleboard Insanity Part I: SUP the Coast
I thought the Blackburn Challenge was, a challenge. I kayaked all the way around Cape Ann, about 20 miles. But what would you call adding ten miles and standing up on a paddleboard? That would be a little crazy right? Then how about doing that for a hundred days straight? That would be absurd. But Alana Horne of Magnolia has just notified GMG that her brother, Will Rich and his friend, Mike Simpson are going to paddleboard from former Gloucester High School hockey coach Dick MacNeil’s house to Portland, Maine on a paddleboard. But wait, didn’t Dick and Carol move to Key West??? That’s right. They did.
Will Rich (grew up in Bayview) and Mike Simpson are going to paddleboard from Key West, Florida, to Portland, Maine to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Project and SUP Cleanup.
This will be an ongoing series of articles of this adventure up the east coast. They start on March 1, 2011 and could be rounding up around Cape Ann before 4th of July. Much more information about this incredible journey in later posts. For more information just click the links below.
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199 Days to the 25th Blackburn Challenge
Saturday, July 23, 2011 is just 199 days away until the 25th running of the Blackburn Challenge. From Gloucester High School up the Annisquam River then all the way around Cape Ann until the turn at the Dogbar Breakwater signals just two more miles until the Greasy Pole finish line. Twenty miles and change total. If you finish under six hours you get nice cold IPA and a pork sandwich.
Last year I was in a 70 pound sea kayak. I made it for the beer. It was an amazing experience seeing the entire shoreline of Cape Ann in one shot. This year I have upgraded to a 28 pound kayak and now all I have to do is use the next 199 days to lose a little winter lard so I can fit in the thing and better my time.
Anyone else want to do it? All you have to do is find a craft one can paddle or row and a bit of stamina. You don’t need as much as Howard Blackburn had, just a morning’s paddle. You swam in Gloucester Harbor on the first day of the year. Here is your next challenge.
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Happy Perihelion and water temps for nuts.
January 3, 2011, Happy Perihelion! The earth is whipping around the sun right now and is at closest approach to the fiery ball than at any time of the year. Pretty much nothing to do with water temps, the tilt of the earth does all of that. But while warming up from the Polar Bear plunge I was wondering when the water would warm up in the spring to the New Year’s Day temperature. That is, what day could I dive in the water and expect the same refreshing tingle I got that day? So I went out to buoy AO1 just 8 miles off Gloucester and grabbed the water temps. To smooth it I took the noon water temp, average for the week, one meter down. Onshore might be a tad warmer but it will show the trend.
The water temp over the past ten years hits the lowest around the first week of February. A Ground Hogs Day Polar Plunge would be chilly but really only around 37 F instead of this New Year’s Day 42 F. The temperature always seems to rebound and match New Year’s Day by April Fool’s Day. Anyone want to dive in then?
Good Morning Gloucester 
That is a great looking bird, not sure what it is…