Plymouth County All Stars

Tryouts

2009-07-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

While the tryout wasnt well attended, we sure did have fun. Although the Plymouth County All Stars (PCA) lost 11-2, we did hack, wack, and make sure that the other team knew who we were after the game......

I will be posting the schedule later in the day when I get it......

Looking forward to the full squad playing next week...

Game 6 player of the game goes too....

2009-05-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

Patrice Bergeron. This kid was "unbo" last night at both ends of the ice. I believe he is underrated by the fan base as many do not understand how complete his game is offensively and defensively. Good kid, great player. Good work Bergy.

Bergeron: 2 assists, +2 +/-, beast on the puck

Its a game of inches tonight...

2009-05-12T05:29:00.000-07:00

Hockey is the consummate team sport, five players on the ice at once, one goalie, all responsible for each others well being. Looking back at what happened in game 5 can only reinforce what I think about the greatest game on earth. This Bruins squad is a team, they play for each other, they fight for eachother, and they play for the spoked B on their chest. It's games like tonight that we realize why we love the Bruins, why we love our favorite players, why we love the game of hockey. This series officially started in game five with the Bruins taking the physical game to Carolina, and tonight the Bruins will carry that passion, that courage, that ability to compete for each other into the game. If they bring that intensity to the game tonight, I wouldnt be the least bit surprised, as they have been doing it all season long......

Lets go Bruins...duh duh, duh, duh, duh....Lets go Bruins....duh duh, duh, duh, duh.....

In case you need a little more motivation. Al Pacino sums up what Claude Julien will tell the boys tonight pregame in the locker room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO4tIrjBDkk

Bruins-Hurricane Game 4 Preview

2009-05-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Huge game for the Bruins tonight. As we get ready for the drop of the puck, a few things come to mind:

1) Forecheck is huge in hockey, get in on the defensemen, take the body, and force turnovers. Need more of that tonight.

2)No shot on net is a bad one. Ala Mark Recchi with a goal off the shin pad in Game 3, we need more rubber on net tonight.

3)First pass on a break out is the most critical. Tape to tape passes, not in someones feet.

4)Power Play set up. Throughout the first three games Carolina has pressured the d-to-d passes along the blue line, we need to get the puck deep, in the corners. Let the forwards work the down low triangle, not up at the blue line.

Have a terrific Friday night everyone. Tick Tock, game four is just around the corner......

Go Bruins

Web 2.0: The need for speed!

2008-11-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

Article : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122697440743636123.html

Advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmykFKjNpdY

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) released an advertisement this past weekend for their over the counter pain pill Motrin. According to the Wall Street Journal article, the ad was "geared towards mothers who get back pain from carrying their babies in slings". The problem was that people felt the ad was "an insensitive portrayal of women's pain" according to the article. What did the masses do in response? With lighting speed they hit blogs, You Tube, and Twitter in an attempt to get the word out that this ad needed to be pulled. Not only did they succeed, but it took less than three days for J&J to pull the ad. To J&J's credit, they are up to date with Web 2.0 tools. They have their own health channel on You Tube, and a blog called JNJ BTW (JNJ By The Way). J&J actually issued an apology through their consumer web blog......I was impressed with how fast the social networks were able to get J&J's attention, and ultimately get the ad pulled.

Working for Obama!

2008-11-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122653748039422809.html

I know Prof. Kane had blogged about change.gov, and I wanted to add some additional color after reading today's paper. It looks like there are approximately 7,000 government jobs that open up after each president leaves office. These jobs are referred to as "politically appointed, or non career positions", according to the article. Areas of interest are accounting, communications, law, engineering, technology and education. Unfortunately, there are no finance jobs for those like me. But to be honest, I am very happy where I am currently. You can go and get a description of the jobs available at gpoaccess.gov, or through print editions of the Plum Book. After finding a job that interests you, the application can be filled out and submitted on change.gov, just like Prof. Kane did. The article mentions that if you are serious about applying, make sure you specify what type of job you want, it will improve your chances. There are some factors that will not pass the screening process like poor credit rating, failure to pay income taxes, and child-support delinquency......For those who are looking for jobs, looking for a change of pace, or simply supporters of the next administration, this might be something of interest. Cheers!

Please, no more ads!

2008-11-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122637098500816351.html

Facebook has been experimenting with a new version of online ads called "engagement ads". These ads would appear on the main screen when you log into your Facebook account and they would require some interaction. If you reply, in typical Facebook fashion, they let all your friends know that you "liked this trailor", or you "added this event to your calendar". It basically spreads the pain of online ads. ARGHHHH. These ads require you to respond in some fashion, you simply cant ignore the ad. They also are a cheaper version of advertising than banner ads. My question is, do we need more internet ads? Will these ads take away from the Facebook experience? I think in the short term "engagement ads" are not a game changer, but I would really like to avoid having to intentionally respond to an ad when I use Facebook.

The good news is that the growth of the online ad market is slowing from 17% in 2008 to 14.5% in 2009. According to the article, advertising on social networking sites is particularly vulnerable as there is currently no right way to measure the effectiveness of these "engagement ads". Also, ad agencies view Facebook as being a narrow audience, limiting the effectiveness of the ad to reach broader audiences.

The presidential election hinges on Social Networking sites? Maybe.

2008-10-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122456174919853363.html (referenced article is half way down the page)

According to a Wall Street Journal article posted on Tuesday, both candidates McCain and Obama will turn to social networking sites as a place to woo voters. I find this fascinating from a voter perspective. In a (fairly) close election, swaying independent or undecided voters one way or another could represent a dramatic shift in the outcome. Given that many voters feel like their vote doesn't matter, receiving attention through these sites might help change their view on voting.
A company called Rapleaf, did some research on social networking sites, focusing on the sites popularity in certain "swing" states. In Iowa, Facebook and Yearbook.com are most popular and are sure to garner the most attention from the candidates. In Wisconsin, Bebo Inc. is the most popular. Close to home for us, New Hampshire, which has an aged voter population, tends to use Linked In. You have to think that if the WSJ can get some of this information for an article, then McCain and Obama are already working on a plan of attack if one hasn't already started.
This got me thinking. I have seen quite a few people becoming friends with candidates on Facebook. In fact, John McCain has 588,228 friends, and Obama has 2,210,799 friends. There is no doubt in my mind that advertising and promoting themselves on social networks will ultimately garner more votes for each candidate, but it also will get more people out to vote as they realize their vote matters.

Cheers,

Matt

Cloud Computing has me in a cloud!

2008-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122214259441966713.html?mod=hps_us_my_companies

Every morning when I get to work I try to make my way through the WSJ. Some mornings I am so busy tracking my companies as an Equity Analyst that I can't get through it all. This morning I noticed two articles that were of interest to our class. The article I chose to blog about was on Cloud Computing. Last week in our class Prof. Kane explained to us what Clouod Computing was, and he even gave an example in Amazon.com. Well this article mentions Amazon.com but offers up some interesting points on the definition of the phrase.

In the article, Salesforce.com CEO Mark Benioff refers to Cloud Computing as a means by which two companies can share software. This is quite a bit different than sharing spare processing power as with Amazon.com. The article goes on to mention that the term Cloud Computing has taken on all differnt meanings including: Virtualization software, and online software. No company wants to be left behind in trying to leverage the phrase into additional sales of their products.

As a result of so many companies changing the definition of the word, the expression Cloud Computing is essentially meaningless. Dell actually tried to copyright the phrase based on its feeling that cloud computing would not be possible without its products.

For a JV member of the computer world, it is of little surprise to me that yet another phrase in the computer world blows right by me. Fast and furious, thats how the tech world operates. It actually makes me feel like my current job as an equity analyst isnt so fast moving after all!

Batter up!

2008-09-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

How about the stock market at the end of the day today. Buckle your chin straps, this is going to be a crazy finish.

MPL