Slightly Morbid...

OK, so a warning to everyone, this is sooo Off Topic for my blog, and not a cheerful feel good story. I was surfing around, tired of all the "economy talk" and "sports hype"; looking for off beat sort of stuff and came across this article.

Deaths of gamers leave their online lives in limbo

Which, being a gamer, and knowing gamers and knowing tons of folks online, realized considering that folks in the real world often neglect this topic, that it was most likely being neglected in the virtual one as well.

So, here it is....

NEW YORK - When Jerald Spangenberg collapsed and died in the middle of a quest in an online game, his daughter embarked on a quest of her own: to let her father's gaming friends know that he hadn't just decided to desert them.
It wasn't easy, because she didn't have her father's "World of Warcraft" password and the game's publisher couldn't help her. Eventually, Melissa Allen Spangenberg reached her father's friends by asking around online for the "guild" he belonged to.
One of them, Chuck Pagoria in Morgantown, Ky., heard about Spangenberg's death three weeks later. Pagoria had put his absence down to an argument among the gamers that night.
"I figured he probably just needed some time to cool off," Pagoria said. "I was kind of extremely shocked and blown away when I heard the reason that he hadn't been back. Nobody had any way of finding this out."
With online social networks becoming ever more important in our lives, they're also becoming an important element in our deaths. Spangenberg, who died suddenly from an abdominal aneurysm at 57, was unprepared, but others are leaving detailed instructions. There's even a tiny industry that has sprung up to help people wrap up their online contacts after their deaths.
When Robert Bryant's father died last year, he left his son a little black USB flash drive in a drawer in his home office in Lawton, Okla. It was underneath a cup his son had once given him for his birthday. The drive contained a list of contacts for his son to notify, including the administrator of an online group he had been in.
"It was kind of creepy because I was telling all these people that my dad was dead," Bryant said. "It did help me out quite a bit, though, because it allowed me to clear up a lot of that stuff and I had time to help my mom with whatever she needed."
David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, has had plenty of time to think about the issue.
"I work in the world's largest medical center, and what you see here every day is people showing up in ambulances who didn't expect that just five minutes earlier," he said. "If you suddenly die or go into a coma, there can be a lot of things that are only in your head in terms of where things are stored, where your passwords are."
He set up a site called Deathswitch, where people can set up e-mails that will be sent out automatically if they don't check in at intervals they specify, like once a week. For $20 per year, members can create up to 30 e-mails with attachments like video files.
It's not really a profit-making venture, and Eagleman isn't sure about how many members it has — "probably close to a thousand." Nor does he know what's in the e-mails that have been created. Until they're sent out, they're encrypted so that only their creators can read them.
If Deathswitch sounds morbid, there's an alternative site: Slightly Morbid. It also sends e-mail when a member dies, but doesn't rely on them logging in periodically while they're alive. Instead, members have to give trusted friends or family the information needed to log in to the site and start the notification process if something should happen.
The site was created by Mike and Pamela Potter in Colorado Springs, Colo. They also run a business that makes software for online games. Pamela said they realized the need for a service like this when one of their online friends, who had volunteered a lot of time helping their customers on a Web message board, suddenly disappeared.
He wasn't dead: Three months later, he came back from his summer vacation, which he'd spent without Internet access. By then, the Potters had already had Slightlymorbid.com up and running for two weeks.
A third site with a similar concept plans to launch in April. Legacy Locker will charge $30 per year. It will require a copy of a death certificate before releasing information.
Peter Vogel, in Tampa, Fla., was never able to reach all of his stepson Nathan's online friends after the boy died last year at age 13 during an epileptic seizure.
A few years earlier, someone had hacked into one of the boy's accounts, so Vogel, a computer administrator, taught Nathan to choose passwords that couldn't be easily guessed. He also taught the boy not to write passwords down, so Nathan left no trail to follow.
Vogel himself has a trusted friend who knows all his important login information. As he points out, having access to a person's e-mail account is the most important thing, because many Web site passwords can be retrieved through e-mail.
Vogel joked that he hoped the only reason his friend would be called on to use his access within "the next hundred years or so" would be if Vogel forgets his own passwords.
But, he said, "as Nathan has proven, anything can happen any time, even if you're only 13."

Of course, I am a bit old school and go for the "wife knows everything" I do approach. Then again, I kind of like the memory stick in the safe with the 'last will and testament' papers too.

OK, so now I will go and look for something more cheerful to post next time...

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Microphones

OK, so last week my wife and I were watching the TV show Brothers and Sisters.
I am not a big fan of this show and quite frankly sometimes neither is my wife, but for some reason she finds it strangely compelling.

Anyway, there was this scene where two women did a skit at a party, forgot to turn off the microphones and proceeded to have an argument about something back stage which ended up being broadcast for everyone to hear.

I made a comment that I bet this happens more often than one might think and really did not give it much more thought until I started looking for a topic for Fun Strip Fridays this week.

My first entry into this topic comes from PCWORLD and Top 10 Tech Embarrassments You'll Want to Avoid

Christopher Buttner, founder of PRThatRocks in Northern California, had just finished a two-hour speaking engagement in front of a large university crowd when he dashed off to the loo for a long-awaited respite. With his wireless microphone still on.
"I had to go so badly that when I made it to the urinal, I let out an incredibly loud moan of pleasure, augmented by the sound of streaming water on water," he writes. "The wireless lavalier mic I was wearing was still broadcasting live through the PA system in the lecture hall. My lecture, and subsequent moment of relief, was also being recorded."
When he returned to the hall, Buttner received a standing ovation. And, apparently, immortality. "I think my moaning sound sample, and various water-on-water audio clips, are used in a sound library somewhere at a major digital recording institute in Northern California," he says.
How to avoid having this happen to you: If you can't remember to unclip the mic, be sure to strap on a Motorman's Friend.


And last but certainly not least, a CNN reporter forgets to turn off her microphone at a press conference as she takes a break.

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Field Goals are for Losers

So, in other words, if you are going to be a winner, or a champion, march down the field and score a F'n TOUCHDOWN.

After all, who has ever heard a cheer for Field Goals?

Rah! Rah!
Here we go!
Lets score a Field Goal!!

Or Coin tosses?

Hey Hey!
We don't want a loss!
Lets win that coin toss!!

Yes, the overtime rule(s) needed to be changed. But, I think they only got it half right.

Of course this topic has generated lots of commentary and hair brain ideas.

Here are a couple that I thought worthy of mention...

As a non-football follower at work said...

If TD's are so important, why not just get rid of Field Goals entirely? After all, what other sport has two different goals for scoring two different systems.

No thank you, but it was interesting to hear...

Conversely, if Field Goals are what makes Football so special, why don't we have a shootout like in hockey? Each team just lines up on the 25 or 30 yard line and first team to miss, loses. (Hockey/Soccer fan)

Again, no.

Me, I take a much more simplistic point of view.

Each team gets at least one offensive series. If both score equal points first time, then first team to score after the first series... wins.

OK, so what happens if the receiving team returns the kick off for a TD?
The other team now gets to kick off and give the other team a chance to return the kick. Though, I could be easily convinced that the game is over because one team screwed up on coverage.

Technical note: The receiving team is the offense and the kicking team is the defense. So another kickoff would satisfy the one offensive series rule.

OK, so what happens if the first defensive unit scores a TD on a fumble recovery or interception? I'm still not 100% sure what the new rule says but I think the game should be over because the first offensive unit screwed up and the team that would be now kicking off would give the screw ups a second offensive series to their 0 offensive series.

And, of course, (here is the half right part) if it is good enough for the playoffs and championship, then it is good enough for the regular season.

Technical note #2: What about the risk of injury due to extra football playing time?

(insert crybaby sound here)

If anybody really was concerned about protecting the players from "extra" football playing time, then do away with the preseason. After all, the players get paid millions of dollars to play and win.

But that is not going to happen because the NFL and Owners make so much money off of these worthless games.

Oh well, at least it is a start. But they need to do more.

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Weekly Tracker

OK, so lately I’ve noticed that I have been posting a lot of “off topic” posts on my blog.

Not that this is necessarily bad, I do like reading and tracking a lot of “local stuff” going on in and around DC , also “gaming” which I wish I had more time to do, and I do have a lot going on with kids and family; but this is supposed to be more about two of my favorite things… sports and stocks.

Maybe I should start up a blog about “everything else”. But then again, I have enough trouble keeping up with just this one blog. Maybe I should make it an open forum where anybody can start a thread about “stuff”. And maybe I am just rambling, not making any sense and shouldn't worry about this.

So, before I completely sabotage this post, and blog, let me try to do the following.
A) Come up with more posts about sports and stocks…
B) Save this post by trying to make it in some ways; more about “a)”…

With that said…
Last week I published my June Watch list.
And my record to date is not all that bad.




So far, I have not invested in any of them. Instead, I had a stock from May Watch lists, UEPS, which was showing a very interesting pattern.


























At first I thought it was yet another “W” pattern that seemed to be so prevalent in my June research that I decided to invest on what I thought could be the second leg of the pattern. Well, that did not happen. What did happen was something that usually sets up over a much longer period of time (weeks or months) called a triple bottom.

This too can be a reversal pattern, so instead of selling UEPS and going with one of my June picks, I decided to hold a little while longer and see what happens.

As you can see by the result so far, it did “pop” back up and this week has been bouncing steadily between 14 and 14.25. I think I will see if this is yet another holding-pull-back “pennant-flag pattern” and is poised to go up again.

But, if it does not do this within the next couple days, I think I will take my 8ish% profit and pick something from my June lists.

Which brings up a point and question that others have asked me lately and that is why I am not holding on to stocks that I buy for the long term? After all isn’t one of the reasons why people invest is to build up “nest eggs”, “cash”, “net worth”, “savings” over a long period of time?

Yes, it is.

- It can also be about investing in ideas, products, companies that you believe are good or well run.
- It can also be strictly about “making money”, regardless of anything else (like ethics)….
- It can also be “fun”.
- It can also be, as the resent economic slide proves all too well, risky, frustrating, and volatile.

I still do invest for the long term.
I have a 401 which I contribute to automatically from each paycheck.

I do invest in the stocks I write about in this blog because:

- It is fun and challenging; and I do want to make at least some money.
- The companies on my watch lists, due to my varied stock screens, are usually well run and span a diverse range of size and sectors.
- I used to invest with the buy and hold strategy, but as this downturn has done with so many portfolios, I ended up loosing quite a bit and, for a while, pulled completely out of the market. That was not fun, nor very challenging…

So, since January, I’ve decided to modify my strategy a bit and play the volatility.

Yes, one does end up paying more in taxes from any short term gains vs long term (greater than 1 year) gains. And it can be quite a bit riskier. But so far I have nearly doubled my investment.

Some might say it is luck. Maybe…?
Some might say it is timing but, I am not necessarily “timing” my investments for the typical “buy low sell high”.

Rather, I try to “time” my investments before they “pop” up as a result of a pattern or event.

I invested upon trends and events; not only a particular stock pattern or event, but also in market trends and events. Some I take advantage of, some, I do not.

Trends and events I have taken advantage of:

- Strong gaming sales, despite the recession, during the holiday months. GME up 22% in less than one month time period.
- Hype in the market about “pandemic” stuff. QDEL up over 25% in less than 5 days.

Trends and events I’ve not taken advantage of:

- Recent run up in oil stocks. TGE (January Watch list member) up 133% YTD – most of it within the last 2 months!
- Other Pandemic Hype: (SVA) A Chinese bio-pharm company from February, up 115% YTD.
- Gun hype: Shares in Smith and Wesson – at one point up 190% this year alone. Now only 86%.

And one trend I still do not completely understand …
ARGN – A consumer auto parts company, a member of the March Bench, up 111%.

I’m sure there are more trends and events out there and there will certainly be more.

So, I will be doing a Weekly Tracker post to help focus on events and trends with my watch lists and the stock market overall.
I also invite anybody who might have an idea regarding or information regarding this topic to chime in with their thoughts.

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Missing the point

Sometimes cosmic forces work in strange ways and hit you over the head and saturate your life events in strange and annoying ways. And then they get people like me to post off topic posts on their blog.

First, PETA had a campaign here in Washington DC where female models clad in chili pepper bikinis were serving veggie hot dogs to locals on Capital Hill.

Provocative? Yes. Attention Getting? Yes. To the point? Maybe not . . .





Then there was the news item of Pamela Anderson’s PETA ad being canceled in Canada, (the Mecca of Prudes) for being too sexy or sexist.

Provocative? Yes. Attention Getting? Yes. To the point? Maybe not. . .





At least when I look at these ads, and campaigns, I am not thinking stop cruelty to animals.

PETA is going for the shock value, but missing the point of getting people, or men, actively supporting or advocating ethical treatment to animals.

PETA and Pamela were saying sexy. Canadian officials were saying Sexist.

Kudos To Canada!

“It is not so much controversial as it goes against all principles public organizations are fighting for in the everlasting battle of equality between men and women.”

Ads and promotions like this annoy me. They are sexist and exploit women. And yes, they are nice to look at but often miss the point of the ad and the purpose of the organization in the first place.



It would have been much more effective if they used a butcher shop as a background to this ad or showed some of the horrible conditions animals are often kept in.







Sex is good. Sexism isn't. Shock is good too. As long as it all serves a purpose.


Or how about this. Here is another PETA salad ad and my butcher shop idea.











Which one would you rather eat?

Even SNL had an offbeat but strangely effective parody which could be used.




I don’t know about you, but I still love good bar-b-que I showed this to my woman lovely wife and we both got the same impression. That chicken still looks good.

Sorry PETA.

But getting back to the wonderful banning of the ad because of sexism.


Perhaps PETA should use male models and fig leaves in their ads on a more equal basis. But, of course, they will not. Why? Because the marketers at PETA know it is a Male world and Males dominate sports and business that use animals.

So, exploiting women to get a mans attention fits their modus operandi perfectly.

I just think it will just get men to want more pictures of Pamela, not to be more active advocates for change.

Then I got into thinking that what I, and PETA, really should look for is a picture or ad that would illicit the same reaction from people no matter who they are, man or woman.

The above male model probably does not do that.

So, did a quick search on the Internet. Now, I’m really trying to help PETA out here and get us guys more involved with animal advocacy. Really.

Unfortunately this is the only universal response picture I could come up with.






















This aptly titled “Creepy Guy” picture seems to generate the same "just sick and wrong” response from everyone.

Sorry again, PETA.

I love good advertising ads and campaigns and appreciate out of the box thinking and eye catching to the point ads like the Discovery Channels Shark week headquarters here in DC.

















So, what does all this have to do with sports?

Well, not much. Except tonight my wife and I are going to Charlestown Races and Slots to celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary.

Yes horse racing. It’s my blog so get over it.

And yes PETA is against horse racing too.

They are against slaughter houses. BTW there are none in the US and yes horses are often sold to international buyers who are not bound by US rules and regulations. Retired racers are an issue with any animal, that is why we adopted a greyhound and also foster for local greyhound associations.

But, PETA is also against racing by being an advocate for better treatment of the animals which is something I am all for. They point out that the mortality and injury rate in Canada and the US is significantly higher here than in other parts of the world such as England. There they are much more strict against the use of drugs and the horses race on natural turf. There the rate is less than 1%. Here it is over 2%. The argument, and it does seem to be true, is that dirt tracks are more dangerous and hard on the horses than grass. In fact, when a race track switched, strangely enough, to a synthetic track, there was a 40% decrease in injuries.

So, when it comes to the sexist ads being used out there, I just do not get it. To me it is just another form of exploitation and does not get people involved with what is the true mission of the organization.

Knowing my luck this week, PETA will be exploiting women in scantily clad bikinis at Charlestown Races handing out propaganda. If so, then perhaps there is a cosmic force telling me I’m missing the point.

I’ll let you know . . .

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All Partied Out...

I think that I am going to need some time to recover from two straight birthday party weekends.

Hey, I know I was just complaining about off topic stuff but stay with me on this one... I'll make it have something to do with sports... Promise.

This past weekend was Marks's 9th birthday and the previous one was Williams 3rd birthday. Click on this link for some pics from Wills.

For Marks party, we went to the local bowling alley. It has been a while since any of us has been bowling, so our championship forms were a bit rusty...



I even got in the act. Here is a still of me and my fat butt getting a spare!

















Honestly I did make it... :-)

Afterwards we went back home and continued the family tradition of birthday dinner of choice, and exchanging of family presents.

One of the presents Mark got was his first hockey stick and accessories.














Mark has really been getting into hockey lately. Watching the playoffs, playing NHL09, and street hockey with the kids in the neighborhood.

With that, he has been borrowing sticks and equipment. Now, at least he will not have to borrow a stick anymore.

But first I have to tape it up and cover a blemish it had on the handle.

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What's your name?

Ok, I know this is sooo off-topic for my blog but sometimes things happen (more than once) that it just has too be some sort of cosmic force that needs to be commented on...

So, this week I saw this news blurb about Guitar Hero misspelling Lynyrd Skynyrd...




















Look for the name in the background left of center.


Then, I heard an announcement for Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood appearing at Verizon Center in June. My wife and I usually try to go out to one big or special event a year, usually on or near a birthday or anniversary (ours is in July) - Close enough...

So, I went out to ticketmaster to try and score some tickets and low and behold....













Amazing!

Of course none of this really matters, in the grand cosmic scheme of things, but it is truly unbelievable and I bet both companies are laughing all the way back to the bank.

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Stop Counting

The idea for this post actually started months ago with the release of the movie Avatar and folks making a big stink about it being racist.

By now you all probably know all the arguments both for and against that topic so I will not go into it here. But it did spur a conversation between my wife and I where we both came to the conclusion that we all just need to stop counting. Only then will racism and prejudice end.

So what does this have to do with my blog? Well, life is funny sometimes. Ever since then there have been numerous incidences when I have yet again been reminded of "just stop counting".

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this week has seemed to culminate in a torrent of examples of not only "counting" but also wearing ethnic categories as badges. Not only that, but many of these "examples" have been sports and indirectly finance related.

So, here goes my post.

In perhaps the first example this week, Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post wrote an article titled "Washington Redskins' trade for Donovan McNabb is a perfect fit". It took him all of 3 sentences to bring up the race card. In fact, he does it more than once.

The quarterback fraternity is small, and the black quarterback fraternity is even smaller...

McNabb is not only accustomed to the insanity of being a quarterback in the NFL, and the extra weight of being a black quarterback in the NFL...

Why is this an issue? Is racism that prevalent in sports now-a-days?

Am I just a dumb out of touch white guy?

Yes, he is black, I get it. Duh, but why does he feel compelled to categorize the point he is trying to make in such a way? Does it legitimize his argument? Bring more weight to the point he is trying to make?

Imagine if someone had written "the fraternity of white quarterbacks" in the NFL. "the extra weight or burden of being white"?

I think, unfortunately, that the reaction(s) would have been quite different. In fact, that probably would not have been printed at all.

This reminds me of an article, (Second example this week) in the Huffingtonpost about the need to integrate the race beat in journalism.

Since that is not really sports or finance related, I will just include the link for your review. But the summary is that perhaps we need to use the same measuring stick for all "racial" topics.

My third example of the week, the US Census, is finance and money related.

The census asks a multitude of ethnic questions trying to classify various origins of Hispanics in our society while largely ignoring middle eastern origins and classifying them largely as "white" or "Caucasian".

Now, this is probably the only instance where I actually agree with the counting and categorization so that public governing entities, funds, and programs can adequately accommodate the ever increasing and changing diversity in our society. In fact, I could see the argument that the census does not go nearly far enough with their questions and categories. But that is getting a bit off track to my original discussion to treat fairly here.

But I will say that I heard one group, those of Mideastern decent, complaining that they were lumped into the white/Caucasian category. It's ironic that what many seem to not realize is that previous generations, back in the 50's and 60's, when the equal rights movement was picking up steam; Mideastern representatives lobbied congress to categorize them as white/Caucasian, because they did not want the label and stigma that went along with being a minority.

And of course, even the president is not immune to this topic. People were asking what he put down for race and residency.

The point I am trying to make in all of this is, as the title of my post indicates, "when can we stop counting?"

Counting and the natural subsequent desire to classify or categorize all this is in my mind serving as a constant reminder of racism in our society and does nothing except help keep us divided.

Now before you jump all over me about doing away with ethnic awareness and appreciation, I am not saying that at all. In fact we all, every one of us, should be made aware of all ethnic histories and diversities and realize that this diversity is not a weakness but rather a strength and should be viewed as such.

In fact , my fourth example of the week...

Core Values on WTOP News

Talks about his idea of doing away with Black History Month and Confederate History Month.

Again stop counting, do away with the "badge" mentality, and use the same yard stick for everybody and every topic.

But back to sports and racism.

In my fifth and final example, my cousin who writes, produces and directs for a living (his portfolio includes "The Daily Show", and various skits from Leno's short lived prime time show) sent me this short that he directed.

In this video, topics of race, sports and ethnic diversity are, in a way, treated equally.

Got No Game - Race in Sports

Like I said, this week I was seemingly inundated with examples....

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MVP to MVCT

While I was reflecting back on 2010 and working on my 2011 goals, one topic I came across made me think. Where are they now?

We all know the story of Michael Vick, College Standout, Top Draft Pick, Top tier QB, Dog Fighting Ring Leader, Convict, Reformed Convict, NFL QB, and the latest chapter MVP. No matter what anybody says, for or against, that is a pretty remarkable life.

Well, he is also MVCT.

Most Valuable Chew Toy!










Last year as part of my Mutt Madness Contest the winner got a MVCT (I just realized that it also stands for Michael Vick Chew Toy!) Well, we of course ordered an extra one for our dogs as well.

So, what sort of life has the chew toy had?

I must say, that the hounds have loved him to death!






Greyhounds tend to like soft squishy and squeaky toys better, but both or foster greyhound Lola (above) and Hero teamed up to finally finish him off for good by the end of 2010.


















Maybe for 2011 we can find one that squeaks when you bite him . . .

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