CapeCodTimes.com – Sarah Outen’s rowboat “Happy Socks” is up on blocks in a boatyard with a fresh coat of red bottom paint. It’s dwarfed by the cabin cruisers and fishing vessels around it, with their powerful motors and sleek, sturdy hulls. But this tiny vessel, with its enclosed bow and stern and open rowing platform, will travel farther, and likely endure more over the next four months than any of her sturdier-looking brethren.

Outen, a native of England, rolled into Chatham a week ago after a fall and winter cycling through record-setting cold and snow from Alaska, across the Canadian prairies, and then into the U.S. She’s had just a month to prepare for the final leg of her 25,000 mile, 4½ year round-the-world journey by rowboat, bicycle and kayak – a 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic.

4 1/2 years?!? 25,000 miles?!? This woman is no joke. I’m not exaggerating when I say I don’t think I’ve ever done anything for 4 1/2 years straight, let alone circle the globe on a rowboat, bicycle and a kayak. Talk about making the rest of us feel bad about ourselves, couldn’t she have at least taken a Greyhound across Canada?

You know what? Sarah Outen just motivated me. I just might put on some pants today. I usually don’t even think about it until Thursday or so, but I think after reading this I am turning over a new leaf. I wonder if touching the people the way she has touched me is what keeps her going. Maybe she’ll read this and knowing that she motivated me to get dressed on a Monday is what will get her through the final 3,000 miles of her journey. You’re welcome for the motivation Sarah.

P.S. Let’s all hope Sarah makes it further than those two jackasses from Australia that left during the worst winter storm we’ve had since the one that wiped out all of our Wooly Mammoths.

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Source – SPIRIT WINTER PERCUSSION (WP), a Cape Cod-based ensemble of 26 members ages 10-22, led by Richard K. Pugsley (Director) and Ian Hale (Percussion Director), scored 97.025 in Finals Competition today, placing FIRST in their division at the WinterGuard International (WGI) World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. At this momentous event that draws over 12,000 participants from all over the world, SPIRIT WP performed in front of thousands of people, in person and via live webcast, with their exquisite, action-packed show exploring love, anger, indifference, and passion through the Argentinian music and dance of the Tango. Spirit congratulates all of the 35 ensembles competing in their division, Percussion Independent Open Class!

Well this is just getting ridiculous. Ho hum, let’s just add it to the list of Cape domination- #1 Billboard hits, Major League pitchers, world champion windsurfers, Westminster Champions, the NFL, the NHL, and now this.

Cape Cod is at the point where we couldn’t stop dominating in everything we do even if we tried. It’s not a big deal, on Cape Cod we explore love, anger, indifference and passion through Argentinian music and dance of the Tango all the time, why? Doesn’t everyone?

Congrats to Spirit Winter Percussion and thank you for bringing another world championship to Cape Cod.

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Quick pick up? Is that some kind of cruel joke. I can bring one daughter by to try on the shoes that have both in the pair fairly quickly, but it probably won’t be very fast when I bring my other daughter to try on the black one. Little Eilene is a wonderful girl, but she isn’t very quick on her foot.

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Good morning BPD FB Nation. In the past week, 14 new guests enjoyed the top class hospitality offered by our friendly…

Posted by Bourne Police Department on Monday, April 13, 2015

Gotta love the Bourne PD Facebook page, the Canal B&B thing is a hilarious angle. If the social media director over there is ever looking to moonlight, we’d hire him or her in a heartbeat. There is just something extra funny when police have a sense of humor and most Cape Cod police departments seem to get that. Some are even self deprecating at times, which is extremely brave for people in their position.

I’ve seen quite a few people murmuring in comments that the police should not be making jokes and that their jobs are no laughing matter. I don’t know if these people have noticed, but there are a ton of people around the country that feel very alienated by their local cops lately. All of these Cape police forces having social media accounts and (god forbid) a sense of humor humanizes the police. These interactions serve as a reminder that they are just people that live in our community as well. Social media breaks down walls.

Isn’t it better for our children to grow up comfortable with the officers in their town instead of with an “us against them” attitude? Humor is like food, it brings people together and puts everyone on the same level. I applaud the Bourne PD and all the other Cape departments that are reaching out to their communities via social media. I’d just like to ask them to be a tiny bit less funny so they don’t end up putting us out of business.

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photo credit: Dapixara

CapeCodTimes.com – According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014 was the warmest year in history, dating back to 1880. And, with the exception of 1998, the 10 warmest years since weather has been recorded by instruments have happened since 2000.

The authors of a newly published research paper say that cool water anomaly is one sign that the current from the massive oceanic conveyor belt, which redistributes heat from the tropics into northern latitudes, giving us our temperate climate, is slowing down. They claim that between 1975 and 1990, their computer model shows the current slowing by an amount unprecedented in the past 1,000 years. Our past winter, they say, could become the norm.

“Any time you start changing the distribution of heat, you start changing weather patterns,” said Scott Rutherford, associate professor of environmental science and earth systems expert at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island.

“This is the kind of thing we’d expect to see,” Rutherford said of this year’s ferocious winter weather.

Yikes. I have no idea what they are talking about, but if there’s a computer model involved then they aren’t messing around. This leaves me in a dilemma that I’m sure many of you are pondering as well. I love Cape Cod, but part of that love is based on our mild winters. Remember when snow only lasted a day or two on the Cape?

So what are those of us that love Cape Cod but hate inclement weather supposed to do? Remember the guy in Brewster’s Millions that pitched the idea of putting engines on the back of an iceberg and driving it to thirsty people in Africa? How about we turn Cape Cod into Brewster’s Berg #1? Break Cape Cod off right at the Canal, throw a couple of diesels back there and start driving her south.

I hear the Gulf of Mexico is nice, and I’m sure the great people of Alabama would welcome us with open arms and loads of that southern charm they are famous for. Just make sure you don’t get too comfortable and start eyeballing your cousins when we get there OK?

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CapeCod.com – People who live in areas where salt is used to clear roads of snow are getting some advice from U.S. safety regulators: Wash the underside of your car.

The message comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closes a five-year investigation into rusting pipes that carry brake fluid in about 5 million older Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC pickups and SUVs without seeking a recall. Instead, the agency blames the problem on rust caused by road salt.

The agency urged people in 20 cold-weather states and Washington, D.C., to get their car and truck undercarriages washed during the winter, and to get brake lines inspected and replace them if necessary. The warning underscores the importance of washing away road salt because it can cause critical parts to rust and fail.

In related news, the EPA is urging residents to make sure they are using soap when they clean behind their ears and the Board of Health is quietly pulling citizens aside and talking with them about the birds and bees.

I guess the divorce rate is so high that our government has decided that we need them to take on the role of parents. Whatever you do don’t get caught driving without your headlights on while using your windshield wipers if you have balloons in the car, you’ll probably get grounded for like two weeks.

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CCT – You’ll want to invite less people to dinner if striped bass is on the menu this season. The state Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) this week announced that they have adopted a reduced recreational bag limit for Atlantic striped bass. Once two fish, the bag limit this season will be one fish.

Well this is just great. Is there any way we can limit how many stripers seals can eat every day instead? Those fat bastards are out there snacking on our fish and attracting Great Whites and there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.

The Plovers own our beaches, turkeys are taking over the streets, and now seals are hogging all of our fish. Pretty soon we just won’t be allowed to leave our houses. Top of the food chain my ass.

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