It's been an interesting time at work with another 6 managers resigning in the last 2 weeks. Is our company a bad place to work for or are the competitors just offering that much more?
Best wishes to all that are leaving and I hope they succeed in their new endeavours. It will be a transition to no longer working with them but I am sure there will be others that will rise to the challenge. This has led me ti wonder about what I want from the company and my career.
I will take some time to investigate.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
facebook addiction
wow... it's so viral.... i'm finding people i haven't seen in yrs!
u can never feel too alone but as lizel states.... how much of your personal info do u really want on the web? people can track your life!
i know... if nobody know what i did.... then how can they get involved with my life! there's something about peeking into someone's diary that makes it so exciting... we r all voyeurs and exhibitionists... but now we can do it from the comfort of our own home... and no need to stand in long line ups to b the next idol/reality tv freak.
u can never feel too alone but as lizel states.... how much of your personal info do u really want on the web? people can track your life!
i know... if nobody know what i did.... then how can they get involved with my life! there's something about peeking into someone's diary that makes it so exciting... we r all voyeurs and exhibitionists... but now we can do it from the comfort of our own home... and no need to stand in long line ups to b the next idol/reality tv freak.
alcan seeding race
june 2 2006
1st race 1st
2nd race 1st
3rd race 3rd.
not bad... the team is coming to together. I am impressed... but now my expectations r higher... for a fun team, this will b an interesting june 16/17.... hopefully all the endurance work will pay off!
1st race 1st
2nd race 1st
3rd race 3rd.
not bad... the team is coming to together. I am impressed... but now my expectations r higher... for a fun team, this will b an interesting june 16/17.... hopefully all the endurance work will pay off!
another round of hockey pools are over
the ducks have won the cup. i half thought about putting money on the ducks in vegas. well.. to late now. i tried the sportsnet pool cos it was free and there seemed to b more people involved. I didn't have time to check on the scores on nhl.com for their pool. how did i do? well i picked the wrong guys in the second round and that is what cos me. the other thing is that i spread my selections around for the 3 round instead of focusing on 2 teams.
17401 was my final rank.... out of atleast 30 000. the other function i didn't like was to see who was dead last... but i beat ray ferraro and Bill waters.. nick kypros and john garret beat me. was it fun? it was ok.. once my team was out of the playoffs... i wasn't really that excited this yr.
will i use this pool again? sure.... it's free and u can't beat free entertainment!
17401 was my final rank.... out of atleast 30 000. the other function i didn't like was to see who was dead last... but i beat ray ferraro and Bill waters.. nick kypros and john garret beat me. was it fun? it was ok.. once my team was out of the playoffs... i wasn't really that excited this yr.
will i use this pool again? sure.... it's free and u can't beat free entertainment!
moving on up!
at long last i am an home owner. I don't have my own land yet... but i do have some space under my name. As they say... less land will b available as time passes so my 900 sq feet will b all paid off by 2032. I like it, close to skytrain, close to parks, and with more development on marine, a shopping centre will b very close. Well.. i would like to have other investments but that will entail trying to save more money. So i've decieded to take the bus in hopes that the cost of a bus pass will off set the price of gas. yes i will lose time but i will try to read on the bus.
Already i have read prey by micheal crichton. not as good as jurassic park and the characters didn't pull me in as much. but still a decent read.
i will plan to work more on the bus. we'll see how that experiment goes.
have to thank Ed, Sandra, Lev for helping out. and I am super happy to b living with Sue in our own home!
Already i have read prey by micheal crichton. not as good as jurassic park and the characters didn't pull me in as much. but still a decent read.
i will plan to work more on the bus. we'll see how that experiment goes.
have to thank Ed, Sandra, Lev for helping out. and I am super happy to b living with Sue in our own home!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
virtual banks
i'm very old fashioned... and i like to deal with people face to face so when i get achance to deal with ING Direct, i was hesitant... but i thought i'd give it a try... man... my rep is just not very good.... he's rude and not very specific... i wished he had called earlier so i can deal with everything. i didn't feel very personal and since everything is over the phone... well things take a lot longer to happen.
Although the rates may b a bit better, that's probably cos they skimped on the customer service training. i'm not a big fan of renewing with them. sue is trying to get someone else now. To b honest, is it a tor thing? whatever the case when we tried other banks, they were willing to give us compareable rates which were pretty close.
inother words... unless u don't mind being beside the fax machine all day... you'll probably get better service at the real banks. you'll still get gouged but hey... that's what we get for not being millionaires that can purchase everything on the spot.
Although the rates may b a bit better, that's probably cos they skimped on the customer service training. i'm not a big fan of renewing with them. sue is trying to get someone else now. To b honest, is it a tor thing? whatever the case when we tried other banks, they were willing to give us compareable rates which were pretty close.
inother words... unless u don't mind being beside the fax machine all day... you'll probably get better service at the real banks. you'll still get gouged but hey... that's what we get for not being millionaires that can purchase everything on the spot.
i finally got on blogger and all my friends r on facebook. with the camera i bought from kevin (plus the $50 1 gb mem card and $35 card reader).. i can now make videos and pictures to post. how much do i want to detail my life for my friends to see? does anyone want to see what i do?
the web could b full of weirdos and stalkers and identity theives waiting to get to know about my life and what i do. this is scary. i gotta have some protection. what benefits of being anonymous and off the system net outweigh being in touch with long lost friends and family?
if they were my really good friends, would i call them anyways? or pop them an email? or have dinner with them? i know sometimes it's good to see pics of what happened. i guess Sue and i will have to start building something once we move. i'm not a good record keeping guy but sue is... cos once we're gone... who's gonna know we were ever here if we don't leave a mark or impression? my concern is... first it was one's own webiste and domain name... then came xanga and blogger and last yr was my space and now it's facebook. what about all those inbtween like friendster and lava life ... my point is... get one address and stick to it.... cos it sucks moving all those old posts from one spot to another... unless of coures somebody figures out an easy export program. or will the future b youtube? cos who wants to read when one can watch... to fulfill all the lurking voyeuristic urges out there.
the web could b full of weirdos and stalkers and identity theives waiting to get to know about my life and what i do. this is scary. i gotta have some protection. what benefits of being anonymous and off the system net outweigh being in touch with long lost friends and family?
if they were my really good friends, would i call them anyways? or pop them an email? or have dinner with them? i know sometimes it's good to see pics of what happened. i guess Sue and i will have to start building something once we move. i'm not a good record keeping guy but sue is... cos once we're gone... who's gonna know we were ever here if we don't leave a mark or impression? my concern is... first it was one's own webiste and domain name... then came xanga and blogger and last yr was my space and now it's facebook. what about all those inbtween like friendster and lava life ... my point is... get one address and stick to it.... cos it sucks moving all those old posts from one spot to another... unless of coures somebody figures out an easy export program. or will the future b youtube? cos who wants to read when one can watch... to fulfill all the lurking voyeuristic urges out there.
got my refund back!
i heard last night that revenue canada needs to order 20 million envelopes in a hurry... good thing i got my refund back. i am now inspired to try to save up to a million dollars but at this rate... i'll b 70 yrs.... cos i still have to pay off the house.
i currently save $710 for my rrsps and $100 for my non rrsps every month but that doesn't seem enough. either i have to make more money or save even more and i have to find better investments.
seeing as how i missed out on buying a house in my 20s, i am a little frustrated at myself.... i read enough to truely believe that stocks/mutual funds will appreciate over a 35 yr horizon quicker tahn real estate. but since real estate has taken a huge upswing for the last 5 yrs, it has far outpaced any mutual fund return. i still have a small investment with the team and that too is atleast locked in for 5 yrs. i guess i am too conservative. i will make my million the old old fashion way. saving a little once every 2 weeks. i know i won't have a boat or a rolex unless i get it at a junk yard or garage sale but i fear the water and i don't use a wtach so this works out.
i suppose if i worked hardedeto get a higher paying job, i would be able to achieve my goal sooner. this is something ia m looking into. yes, all the books say get a raise first.... and then switch to another job that u love if that isn't possible.
so do i slowly choose to accumulate weath ( the easiest way) and wait until i am old feeble and grey or take a higher risk now to be even more aggressive (taking out an investment loan).
i 'm gonna have to think about this one. dollar cost averaging fits my risk tolearnce. leveraging will keep me up at night. mind u the mortgage is keeping me up at night. i guess i have to get used to it. i'm gonna have to call vicky one of these days. that or do it myself.
i currently save $710 for my rrsps and $100 for my non rrsps every month but that doesn't seem enough. either i have to make more money or save even more and i have to find better investments.
seeing as how i missed out on buying a house in my 20s, i am a little frustrated at myself.... i read enough to truely believe that stocks/mutual funds will appreciate over a 35 yr horizon quicker tahn real estate. but since real estate has taken a huge upswing for the last 5 yrs, it has far outpaced any mutual fund return. i still have a small investment with the team and that too is atleast locked in for 5 yrs. i guess i am too conservative. i will make my million the old old fashion way. saving a little once every 2 weeks. i know i won't have a boat or a rolex unless i get it at a junk yard or garage sale but i fear the water and i don't use a wtach so this works out.
i suppose if i worked hardedeto get a higher paying job, i would be able to achieve my goal sooner. this is something ia m looking into. yes, all the books say get a raise first.... and then switch to another job that u love if that isn't possible.
so do i slowly choose to accumulate weath ( the easiest way) and wait until i am old feeble and grey or take a higher risk now to be even more aggressive (taking out an investment loan).
i 'm gonna have to think about this one. dollar cost averaging fits my risk tolearnce. leveraging will keep me up at night. mind u the mortgage is keeping me up at night. i guess i have to get used to it. i'm gonna have to call vicky one of these days. that or do it myself.
running up that hill
a kate bush song from the 80s... as a professed 80s music kinda guy.. i only remember songs frpm after 82... now 90s... i think i may know a few more1
i participated in the vancouver marathon relay run this yr. leg 4 from english bay to 4th and alma. 6 km all up hill in the rain. The original plan was to run it for free with teresa but bonnie called last minute for me to sub on her weak in the knees team ( but most of the girls bailed) and i subbed in. we changed to a mens team and i thought running 6 k is better than running 20 k.
seeing as my leg didn't start til 10 am at the lastest, i still woke up at 6 and slowly transitioned my way down to the leg 4 starting site. i got to see the marathoners run past 2nd ave but i didn't see paul or kitka. i did see some of the half marathoners finish and backtracked all the way to beach street where i saw teresa, falcos and stacey go by. I even got to cheer paul on!
as my leg apporached, i tore up the path and passed about 20 marathoners to get to alam. once there, i handed it off to mike and i strolled around the relay station for a bit. figuring that i had no way home other running or taking the bus, i gambled and decided to finish leg 5 (~10k) non stop. boy, was taht in pain... speed walkers blew by me... this is were the conditioning really kicks in... and i pushed myself in the rain far harder than i should have. the hops started to burn after mile 23 and i was not hydrating properly after mile 24. sheer will got me to mile 25 and the energy of the crowd helped me finish. i did enjoy seeing the yale town yuppies being stuck in traffic as they were forced to watch these runners bravely complete their 26.2 miles journeys.
i met up with kitka inside bc place and congratulated her on her stunning run. john had biked with her the whole time. that is sweet.
chung and teresa were long gone but i met up with bonnie and the team n we went to have sushi afterwards. of course being in the rain post run is what made me sick with the cold now.
being stupid and euphoric, i have now signed on to run the victoria marathon with chung. i have 145 days til oct 7th. i have adequate training time to start today... hee hee
i participated in the vancouver marathon relay run this yr. leg 4 from english bay to 4th and alma. 6 km all up hill in the rain. The original plan was to run it for free with teresa but bonnie called last minute for me to sub on her weak in the knees team ( but most of the girls bailed) and i subbed in. we changed to a mens team and i thought running 6 k is better than running 20 k.
seeing as my leg didn't start til 10 am at the lastest, i still woke up at 6 and slowly transitioned my way down to the leg 4 starting site. i got to see the marathoners run past 2nd ave but i didn't see paul or kitka. i did see some of the half marathoners finish and backtracked all the way to beach street where i saw teresa, falcos and stacey go by. I even got to cheer paul on!
as my leg apporached, i tore up the path and passed about 20 marathoners to get to alam. once there, i handed it off to mike and i strolled around the relay station for a bit. figuring that i had no way home other running or taking the bus, i gambled and decided to finish leg 5 (~10k) non stop. boy, was taht in pain... speed walkers blew by me... this is were the conditioning really kicks in... and i pushed myself in the rain far harder than i should have. the hops started to burn after mile 23 and i was not hydrating properly after mile 24. sheer will got me to mile 25 and the energy of the crowd helped me finish. i did enjoy seeing the yale town yuppies being stuck in traffic as they were forced to watch these runners bravely complete their 26.2 miles journeys.
i met up with kitka inside bc place and congratulated her on her stunning run. john had biked with her the whole time. that is sweet.
chung and teresa were long gone but i met up with bonnie and the team n we went to have sushi afterwards. of course being in the rain post run is what made me sick with the cold now.
being stupid and euphoric, i have now signed on to run the victoria marathon with chung. i have 145 days til oct 7th. i have adequate training time to start today... hee hee
done like dinner
Canucks are done for another yr my friends. The beard is gone. If i can figure out how to post the picture, it's gonna b up here... suffice it to say... it didn't look very good. just the old ladies liked it and none of the young ones. Sue is happy it's gone... but for me... i gto to see a touch of grey and i quite enjoyed having some extra sensors but not as strong as cat wiskers.
well round 2 and game 5... that is way better than last yr's missing payoffs by 2 points.
as for the moose... they got ousted by hamilton and the giants lost in game 7 double OT even though they were up 3 games to 2. I would rather they lose the back to back bid as now they have even more hunger to win the memorial cup.
kudos to team canada for winning the gold in russia! we have a nice young nucleus this yr and that bodes well for hockey canada. I won't talk about the shane doan incident... other than that was the last hurrah for the bloc. once the party disintegrates, perhaps a realignment of party seats will allow for decent representation by population out in the ever growing west and shift more power over here. if not, then justin trudeau will have a lot of work leading the liberals back to greatness.
well round 2 and game 5... that is way better than last yr's missing payoffs by 2 points.
as for the moose... they got ousted by hamilton and the giants lost in game 7 double OT even though they were up 3 games to 2. I would rather they lose the back to back bid as now they have even more hunger to win the memorial cup.
kudos to team canada for winning the gold in russia! we have a nice young nucleus this yr and that bodes well for hockey canada. I won't talk about the shane doan incident... other than that was the last hurrah for the bloc. once the party disintegrates, perhaps a realignment of party seats will allow for decent representation by population out in the ever growing west and shift more power over here. if not, then justin trudeau will have a lot of work leading the liberals back to greatness.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Tax time
I survived another tax yr! hopefully i will get a refund.... the question is, should i invest the refund or treat myself to a holiday? or pay off my debt... what debt u say? i'm finally free of debt... i'm trying to not incurr more debt once the mortgage starts.
I am divided though as the perosn i've been getting to do my taxes the last 5 yrs was let go from their previous job for abusing the payroll responsibilities. so do i stay with the person? or trust that my personal information will b safe? That sensitive info can b abused by anyone who has access. i have a access to personal info as well and i don't use it.
I've worked hard to make my credit rating score high and it would just suck if it gets messed up. I guess sometimes one can b the good citizen for society and the ones that benefit are those who cheat bend the rules of the system.
well, i paid my taxes and i won't go to jail. i can sleep at night... unless some bloody car alarm goes off. as they say, it's life and u can only control the things u can control....
I am divided though as the perosn i've been getting to do my taxes the last 5 yrs was let go from their previous job for abusing the payroll responsibilities. so do i stay with the person? or trust that my personal information will b safe? That sensitive info can b abused by anyone who has access. i have a access to personal info as well and i don't use it.
I've worked hard to make my credit rating score high and it would just suck if it gets messed up. I guess sometimes one can b the good citizen for society and the ones that benefit are those who cheat bend the rules of the system.
well, i paid my taxes and i won't go to jail. i can sleep at night... unless some bloody car alarm goes off. as they say, it's life and u can only control the things u can control....
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
the sun is out
I'm looking forward to being on the water tonight... hopefully it'll be warm and nice
pool update
ok, my first kick at the can and i must admit that either i got lucky or i am getting better. I think it's luck, anyways sportsnet.ca round one is over and i am tied for 735 (out of 50000) which is pretty respectable. 69 points (hahaha) top guy had 81 points and i beat all the analysts.
i didn't win the plasma tv though.
i didn't win the plasma tv though.
my head hurts
i've had some really weird dreams in the last few weeks. The ones that stick out the most are as follows
- i'm trying to apply for a universtiy course but i can't find the room. this is a change from the usual being in high school taking a final i didn't study for cos i wasn't in class all yr or trying to explain why at 30 i am still in high shcool
- my skin had these boils on them and other parts of my skin becomes scale-like and then finally into something u find on a roast pig from a chinese butcher shop
- i was trapped in a flood
- i was in twilight and something was following me
what am i afraid of?
who knows... i worry about stuff all the time. That is the reason i keep my life simple so i have less to worry about.
run k run
am i a natural runner? i run naturally when i suspect danger will occur.
my fight vs flight systems is so out of shape that should a real emergency occur, i probably would not be able to out run it. But with the sun run... i ran 10 k on pure adreanline. Ed and I were suppose to meet up but he left me behind... so when i arrived, i snuck into the back wave of the decent runners and managed to finish at a respectable 57mins. I blame not breaking 56mins on the fact that i jogged with John from the 2 k - 3 k leg but i thnk that helped me from over pushing myself so i can't really blame him. i only have my self to blame for not training harder. I still beat last yr's time by 12 mins.
I rather like running in groups. I love to talk and harass and comment as i jog along. I have so many inner demons to fight when i am running by myself. Yes i know running is all about breaking personal walls and limits but running with friends is fun!
i haven't told Sue about me running the vancouver 1/2 yet but running wiht Teresa will be fun. I had lots of fun running with Heidi during last yr's scotia half (minimal traning there too).
I tried to get Sue into running but like the amazing race... she doesn't enjoy it. we're gonna try rollerblading this summer though.
as for Paul... 49 mins... very impressive for a guy at 49... and Ed... 50 mins. what atheletes.
so next yr, should i try to break 53 mins (my all time best)? well, the sun run isn't really a run as it is an event. just too many people and too much zigzagging. a smaller event may b a better guage. but hey... as my lazy ass has shown over the yrs.... i probably will won't train unless something really motivates me.
my fight vs flight systems is so out of shape that should a real emergency occur, i probably would not be able to out run it. But with the sun run... i ran 10 k on pure adreanline. Ed and I were suppose to meet up but he left me behind... so when i arrived, i snuck into the back wave of the decent runners and managed to finish at a respectable 57mins. I blame not breaking 56mins on the fact that i jogged with John from the 2 k - 3 k leg but i thnk that helped me from over pushing myself so i can't really blame him. i only have my self to blame for not training harder. I still beat last yr's time by 12 mins.
I rather like running in groups. I love to talk and harass and comment as i jog along. I have so many inner demons to fight when i am running by myself. Yes i know running is all about breaking personal walls and limits but running with friends is fun!
i haven't told Sue about me running the vancouver 1/2 yet but running wiht Teresa will be fun. I had lots of fun running with Heidi during last yr's scotia half (minimal traning there too).
I tried to get Sue into running but like the amazing race... she doesn't enjoy it. we're gonna try rollerblading this summer though.
as for Paul... 49 mins... very impressive for a guy at 49... and Ed... 50 mins. what atheletes.
so next yr, should i try to break 53 mins (my all time best)? well, the sun run isn't really a run as it is an event. just too many people and too much zigzagging. a smaller event may b a better guage. but hey... as my lazy ass has shown over the yrs.... i probably will won't train unless something really motivates me.
hungry?
Peter D had a b-day recently and Sofia organized a surpise party for him. I love seeing my UBC buddies whenever i get a chance. It's great to see how they've all grown and yet still possess those great qualites i admire since i met them in 95. there's something wonderful about seeing the next generation of my friends in baby form. And then there's the food... hmmmmmmm.... yummy food that comes from someone who made it with love and happiness.
which brings me to the topic of magic kitchen,. A sammi movie all about love and the passion for cooking. when u cook for someone u love and cook it joyously... u can taste it. yes, my culinary skills are woefully inept and i am slowly getting better under's Sue's tutorledge. One day, I may be able too cook her a meal that would melt her taste buds (and not permanently damage them).
Going to cooking for survival to cooking for love... i suppose once i have my own kitchen... i can practice practice practice!
which brings me to the topic of magic kitchen,. A sammi movie all about love and the passion for cooking. when u cook for someone u love and cook it joyously... u can taste it. yes, my culinary skills are woefully inept and i am slowly getting better under's Sue's tutorledge. One day, I may be able too cook her a meal that would melt her taste buds (and not permanently damage them).
Going to cooking for survival to cooking for love... i suppose once i have my own kitchen... i can practice practice practice!
the beard stays
whoo hoo!!!!!!!!! the canucks are in round two... against the ducks. Sue was ready to see the beard go but much to my unbelieving eyes... the team came back furiously and took control. I haven't screamed so loudly and wildly in a long time. Even Sue got into it. After all the guilt trips i gave Ed, he called me so that we could share the last min of the game. Dario called too but only after he decided to leave the house to do errands and missed both goals each time. Although that is pure coincidence and statisically improbable... sometimes you can't help but think!
I tried texting Paul but his phone was down and Len ended up going to a birthing class and miss the end as well.
I expect a more physical series against the ducks and yes, i bet $100 USD in vegas for the canucks to go all the way but the ducks r tough. It will be exciting.. defence vs offence... mentor vs student. will sedin mean swedish for punch me in the head and luongo mean italian for run the goalie? we'll find out on wed!
I tried texting Paul but his phone was down and Len ended up going to a birthing class and miss the end as well.
I expect a more physical series against the ducks and yes, i bet $100 USD in vegas for the canucks to go all the way but the ducks r tough. It will be exciting.. defence vs offence... mentor vs student. will sedin mean swedish for punch me in the head and luongo mean italian for run the goalie? we'll find out on wed!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
hockey pools are like monkeys writing on typewriters
My grand experiment in seeing if i can outsmart all other hockey fans continues.
My first pool was at supervalue in 97. The staff there got together and I made some decent picks but it really is random. Some players will get hurt and screw u over and some players will go on a streak and excel beyond all expectations.
Well, this yr I joined in the NHL.com fantasy pool. In this pool; one can trade players like stocks! and combined with a valuation system that gets recailbrated once a day decreased the randomness variable that plagues all pools. Once u enter the pool, one gets 25 trades... but one can get more trades up to a max of 300 trades. That is the key to winning the pool. The rules seem simple; pick 3 centres, 4 wingers, 3 defencemen and 2 goalies. points are generated from various stats specific to the position and valuation for trade is based on game by game performance and frequency of trade of the players. Inessence... the stock market. I realized early on that i wanted to see how i would fare by only using the minimum of 25 trades but i noticed that many people were making 12 trades on a daily basis. The strategy was that one would follow the scores and then trade for the players that performed the best. Since the recailbration of value for the players were done the next day; shrewd poolies would b able to pick up players before they would be worth more. This allowed astute poolies to gain value in their budget over the course of 300 trades and once they get to a certain dollar value, they could buy the hot player of the day and gain even more points. All poolies who follwed this strategy ended up with double the points on avg compared to those that did not trade much. Is it cheating? no, they are using the rules and limitiations of the sytem to maximize their potential gains.
y didn't i do this? again, i wanted to see how well i could do based on 25 trades. In the end I finished 173/700 which is pretty respectible. I participated in another version where i ended up as 46/200 and 113/200. My conclusion is that if i am to join this pool again... I would write in my registration instead of paying $20 USD online. 2 stamps is way better than $20USD. If only i can remember to register early! I guess being in a pool allowed me to get to know more players and to have intrest in other games as well.
I did join another pool with my brother and finsihed near the bottom as injuries piled up. I stopped following that pool 1/3 into the season as there was no way i could catch up. I was stuck with so many injured players.
the playoff pool i joined at sportsnet.ca is divided in to segments. These pools last one round so i get a fresh start every round. I will highly consider this one next yr as it is free online and i can compare myself to professional hockey analysts. currently i am tied at 5059 out of 50 000 poolies. But as they all say.... there's stilla lot of hockey to be played!
My first pool was at supervalue in 97. The staff there got together and I made some decent picks but it really is random. Some players will get hurt and screw u over and some players will go on a streak and excel beyond all expectations.
Well, this yr I joined in the NHL.com fantasy pool. In this pool; one can trade players like stocks! and combined with a valuation system that gets recailbrated once a day decreased the randomness variable that plagues all pools. Once u enter the pool, one gets 25 trades... but one can get more trades up to a max of 300 trades. That is the key to winning the pool. The rules seem simple; pick 3 centres, 4 wingers, 3 defencemen and 2 goalies. points are generated from various stats specific to the position and valuation for trade is based on game by game performance and frequency of trade of the players. Inessence... the stock market. I realized early on that i wanted to see how i would fare by only using the minimum of 25 trades but i noticed that many people were making 12 trades on a daily basis. The strategy was that one would follow the scores and then trade for the players that performed the best. Since the recailbration of value for the players were done the next day; shrewd poolies would b able to pick up players before they would be worth more. This allowed astute poolies to gain value in their budget over the course of 300 trades and once they get to a certain dollar value, they could buy the hot player of the day and gain even more points. All poolies who follwed this strategy ended up with double the points on avg compared to those that did not trade much. Is it cheating? no, they are using the rules and limitiations of the sytem to maximize their potential gains.
y didn't i do this? again, i wanted to see how well i could do based on 25 trades. In the end I finished 173/700 which is pretty respectible. I participated in another version where i ended up as 46/200 and 113/200. My conclusion is that if i am to join this pool again... I would write in my registration instead of paying $20 USD online. 2 stamps is way better than $20USD. If only i can remember to register early! I guess being in a pool allowed me to get to know more players and to have intrest in other games as well.
I did join another pool with my brother and finsihed near the bottom as injuries piled up. I stopped following that pool 1/3 into the season as there was no way i could catch up. I was stuck with so many injured players.
the playoff pool i joined at sportsnet.ca is divided in to segments. These pools last one round so i get a fresh start every round. I will highly consider this one next yr as it is free online and i can compare myself to professional hockey analysts. currently i am tied at 5059 out of 50 000 poolies. But as they all say.... there's stilla lot of hockey to be played!
Monday, April 16, 2007
A private little war
It was friday night and I rushed off to ST Paul's Hospital to help make sandwiches for out company charity program. I mistimed the crossing of the bridge as it was game night. imagine 200 000 people rushing home to watch game 2. The result? I was in my car for a good 90mins. By the time I got to SPH, the crew had gone. So I went home to watch the Canucks.
Sue hadn't gone to volleyball yet but we had a nice chat about how the week went and how the anixety of the last few week had affected us. We still have much to plan on the new townhouse but she wanted to express to me how she wanted us to grow closer and the she was as willing as I was to improve our relationship. I was really happy to hear that she felt the same way I did.
I had always known that it would take a little time for us to really break down our walls and to remove the baggage in our lives. We've both had some challenging personal hurdles and it will take some more time and effort form both of us to help us move past them.
She gives me much strength and hope and I believe I provide the same for her. I know we're going to do great things together. It won't be a smooth journey but I am glad to have her beside me.
She needed to leave to play a v-ball so I settled in to watch the game.
I struggled between hope and accepting thereality that Dallas was going to win. the canucks had no jump, and were being outplayed. The canucks were not able to capitalize on power plays as they took themselves right off with offsetting penalties. I became increasing frustrated by the Dallas system as they were able to shut the canucks down.
so I found myself wandering off to the giants game. I was texting Paul but that wouldn't cheer me up. Seeing the Wayan Bros as white chicks only mildly cheered me up. Oggling Jessica Alba in her unispired "honey" role did little to soothe the pain of watching turco stop every shot for his first shut out. the Vancouver giants were more entertaining as they routed the seattle Thunderhawks to clinch the second round. I'm sucha a bandwagon fan. so i struggled to finish watching the beating as any dire fan would.... but i tell ya... i was ready to give up and call the series.
Sue came home and we continued our chat. We both felt much better about where we were headed and I'm very proud of her as she's grown so much. She has also kept me grounded about the important things in life.
Sue hadn't gone to volleyball yet but we had a nice chat about how the week went and how the anixety of the last few week had affected us. We still have much to plan on the new townhouse but she wanted to express to me how she wanted us to grow closer and the she was as willing as I was to improve our relationship. I was really happy to hear that she felt the same way I did.
I had always known that it would take a little time for us to really break down our walls and to remove the baggage in our lives. We've both had some challenging personal hurdles and it will take some more time and effort form both of us to help us move past them.
She gives me much strength and hope and I believe I provide the same for her. I know we're going to do great things together. It won't be a smooth journey but I am glad to have her beside me.
She needed to leave to play a v-ball so I settled in to watch the game.
I struggled between hope and accepting thereality that Dallas was going to win. the canucks had no jump, and were being outplayed. The canucks were not able to capitalize on power plays as they took themselves right off with offsetting penalties. I became increasing frustrated by the Dallas system as they were able to shut the canucks down.
so I found myself wandering off to the giants game. I was texting Paul but that wouldn't cheer me up. Seeing the Wayan Bros as white chicks only mildly cheered me up. Oggling Jessica Alba in her unispired "honey" role did little to soothe the pain of watching turco stop every shot for his first shut out. the Vancouver giants were more entertaining as they routed the seattle Thunderhawks to clinch the second round. I'm sucha a bandwagon fan. so i struggled to finish watching the beating as any dire fan would.... but i tell ya... i was ready to give up and call the series.
Sue came home and we continued our chat. We both felt much better about where we were headed and I'm very proud of her as she's grown so much. She has also kept me grounded about the important things in life.
Friday, April 13, 2007
My playoff beard
My fascination with the vancouver canucks started in 1982. I remember it so clearly as if it was yesterday. The canucks were playing chicago black hawks and stan smyl was in the penalty box. Chicago had intense pressure on the PK team but some how the puck squirted out pas the blue line as smyl got out of the box. He outskated the chicago defensemen and had a break away that led to a goal.
from that moment on, i fell in love with the game, and the team. Such speed and skill on ice; all over a tiny little piece of rubber!
well... i wasn't able to grow a playoff beard in '82 and i wasn't in town for the '94 run; but since '95 I have tried to grow a beard as an homage to the players that struggle through 4 rounds of pain and perserverance to win Lord Stanley's Cup.
Mind u, none of my gfs like my attempts at growing a beard... it turned all of them into canuck haters. But Sue should be ready, i had trial run a few weeks ago and she tolerated it for a week.
I'm hoping for a long run as i've never let the beard last longer than 2 weeks.
Let the fun beign! Game two starts tonight!
from that moment on, i fell in love with the game, and the team. Such speed and skill on ice; all over a tiny little piece of rubber!
well... i wasn't able to grow a playoff beard in '82 and i wasn't in town for the '94 run; but since '95 I have tried to grow a beard as an homage to the players that struggle through 4 rounds of pain and perserverance to win Lord Stanley's Cup.
Mind u, none of my gfs like my attempts at growing a beard... it turned all of them into canuck haters. But Sue should be ready, i had trial run a few weeks ago and she tolerated it for a week.
I'm hoping for a long run as i've never let the beard last longer than 2 weeks.
Let the fun beign! Game two starts tonight!
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