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Friday, June 5, 2009
Its Been A While...
Its been a while again, But plenty has happened. I will put them in their own individual posting.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Hallelujah
I finally finished school. I have been attending The Fordham Graduate School of Business part time since September 2005. I earned my MBA with a concentration in Finance. I have been going nonstop since then. Fordham had trimesters, so I only had 3 weeks off a year. I feel like I have so much free time now. Not having to worry about when I am going to do my homework or study for tests. My upcoming graduation is May 19th at The Beacon Theater in NYC.
Hopefully now I will be able to post more often than I have.
Hopefully now I will be able to post more often than I have.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Jazzy
Tuesday, March 24, we had to put down our dog, Jasmine. She was a Bull Terrier mix. The proverbial “pit bull”. She was this short muscular, very timid animal. She would run a way when you took out the vacuum.
My brother, Matthew, got her from a kennel in 1999, on Fire Island, when she was about 2 months old. She was this little white thing with black and brown markings. She was just a ball of energy, running everywhere and climbing all over. The following year, my mother and step father moved to a new house, and since the old house was not sold yet, Matt was living in the house by himself with Jasmine. Now, when we got Jasmine, she was always supposed to be Matthews’s dog. It was supposed to be his responsibility. Thanksgiving Eve 2000, Matt and his friends, and I and my friends were going out, for the typical biggest night out bash. While we are out, my mother and step father stop by the house and end up taking Jasmine home with them. That was end of that. Slowly but surely, Jasmine stopped being Matt’s dog and started becoming theirs. Over the years they would complain about her and say that she was Matt’s and that he should take her, but we all knew that they would never give her up.
As Jasmine grew older, she never lost her energy. She was still this hyper thing that never just walked. Granted, she was never properly trained right. When you took here for a walk, she would always pull you, not walk with you. And for her build (short, stocky, all muscle, about 55 lbs), when she pulled, she took you with her.
A couple of years ago, we noticed this growth on one of her front legs. It was always small and never grew bigger. Then last year, it started to grow, and she developed other growths. They were removed at the vet and she was diagnosed with cancer. They said that there was not much they could do and gave her 3 months to live. That was just before Thanksgiving last year. Threw this all she was still active. She slowed down a bit, but that could have been due to age. She was in her 10th year. On Thanksgiving, my mother had a lot of people over and Jasmine was in the middle of everybody. She wanted to be around everybody. She still was playing with everybody. On Monday, my mom called me at work and said that it was time. They were to bring her to the Vet the next day. I decided that I needed to be there. This was going to be harder on my mom than she would think it would be, and my brother lives in Buffalo and could not be there. On Tuesday, I arrived at my mother’s house around 9:45. As I walk in, I hear Jasmine drinking from here bowl. She sees me and walks over to be petted. Then she slowly walks to her bed and lies down. She just lays there and doesn’t move. Normally, when I walk in, she bound over, tail wagging, waiting for you to pet her and play.
As she lay there, I could see how skinny she got. She hadn’t really eaten in a week, and when she did, she wouldn’t hold it down. All she would do is drink. We had no idea what the cancer was doing to her insides. When it was time to take her to the vet, she would not get up off her bed. I had to pick her up and stand her up. We put the leash on and she slowly (unusual for her) walked to the car. At the vet, she casually walked into the building. The Vet is also her kennel, and most of the time she fights going there. They sometimes have to give her a sedative to get here to clam down. They even noticed how different she was acting. She just walked into the exam room and lay down. 10 minutes later, the vet came in to give Jasmine her sedative, to relax her for her final moments. Jasmine did not move while receiving the shot. For the next 20 minutes she goes from slowly moving around to basically almost falling asleep. She did, however, walk over to each of us and for a little bit. You wonder if she knew it was her time and she was saying good bye. She came over and looked up at me. When I started to rub and scratch her head, she would lower here head as she always did. Then she went back to her spot on the floor and laid there for the rest of the time. Then the Vet and her assistant come back in. It was time. I pick up Jasmine and put her on the table. She doesn’t fight or budge. She seems to accept it. She lies on the table and doesn’t move. I stand by her head to keep her still if she does move. The fluid is injected into here right front leg. I bend down to look into her eyes. They are glazed over and do not move. She is gone.
It happens faster than I thought. I don’t say anything at that point. My mom asks if Jasmine will feel anything, if she will have any reactions, like start to shake. The Vet tells her that Jasmine is already deceased. At that point, my mom starts to cry again; with the finality that Jasmine is gone.
I do wonder how my son will handle it. I just showed him some pictures of Jasmine, and he said, excitedly, “That’s Jasmine”. When my son Cameron would go over to their house, we kept Jasmine away because of how hyper she was. She would run into him and knock him over. Jasmine would be outside. Cameron would stare at him through the window and laugh. He would put his face up against the window at Jasmine. When he goes over he asks where Jasmine is. I don’t know what is going to happen the next time my mother takes him to stay over and he asks where Jasmine is. How do you explain it to a three year old? I don’t think it will affect him too much because he doesn’t live with Jasmine and he seems him rarely. But you never know.
My brother, Matthew, got her from a kennel in 1999, on Fire Island, when she was about 2 months old. She was this little white thing with black and brown markings. She was just a ball of energy, running everywhere and climbing all over. The following year, my mother and step father moved to a new house, and since the old house was not sold yet, Matt was living in the house by himself with Jasmine. Now, when we got Jasmine, she was always supposed to be Matthews’s dog. It was supposed to be his responsibility. Thanksgiving Eve 2000, Matt and his friends, and I and my friends were going out, for the typical biggest night out bash. While we are out, my mother and step father stop by the house and end up taking Jasmine home with them. That was end of that. Slowly but surely, Jasmine stopped being Matt’s dog and started becoming theirs. Over the years they would complain about her and say that she was Matt’s and that he should take her, but we all knew that they would never give her up.
As Jasmine grew older, she never lost her energy. She was still this hyper thing that never just walked. Granted, she was never properly trained right. When you took here for a walk, she would always pull you, not walk with you. And for her build (short, stocky, all muscle, about 55 lbs), when she pulled, she took you with her.
A couple of years ago, we noticed this growth on one of her front legs. It was always small and never grew bigger. Then last year, it started to grow, and she developed other growths. They were removed at the vet and she was diagnosed with cancer. They said that there was not much they could do and gave her 3 months to live. That was just before Thanksgiving last year. Threw this all she was still active. She slowed down a bit, but that could have been due to age. She was in her 10th year. On Thanksgiving, my mother had a lot of people over and Jasmine was in the middle of everybody. She wanted to be around everybody. She still was playing with everybody. On Monday, my mom called me at work and said that it was time. They were to bring her to the Vet the next day. I decided that I needed to be there. This was going to be harder on my mom than she would think it would be, and my brother lives in Buffalo and could not be there. On Tuesday, I arrived at my mother’s house around 9:45. As I walk in, I hear Jasmine drinking from here bowl. She sees me and walks over to be petted. Then she slowly walks to her bed and lies down. She just lays there and doesn’t move. Normally, when I walk in, she bound over, tail wagging, waiting for you to pet her and play.
As she lay there, I could see how skinny she got. She hadn’t really eaten in a week, and when she did, she wouldn’t hold it down. All she would do is drink. We had no idea what the cancer was doing to her insides. When it was time to take her to the vet, she would not get up off her bed. I had to pick her up and stand her up. We put the leash on and she slowly (unusual for her) walked to the car. At the vet, she casually walked into the building. The Vet is also her kennel, and most of the time she fights going there. They sometimes have to give her a sedative to get here to clam down. They even noticed how different she was acting. She just walked into the exam room and lay down. 10 minutes later, the vet came in to give Jasmine her sedative, to relax her for her final moments. Jasmine did not move while receiving the shot. For the next 20 minutes she goes from slowly moving around to basically almost falling asleep. She did, however, walk over to each of us and for a little bit. You wonder if she knew it was her time and she was saying good bye. She came over and looked up at me. When I started to rub and scratch her head, she would lower here head as she always did. Then she went back to her spot on the floor and laid there for the rest of the time. Then the Vet and her assistant come back in. It was time. I pick up Jasmine and put her on the table. She doesn’t fight or budge. She seems to accept it. She lies on the table and doesn’t move. I stand by her head to keep her still if she does move. The fluid is injected into here right front leg. I bend down to look into her eyes. They are glazed over and do not move. She is gone.
It happens faster than I thought. I don’t say anything at that point. My mom asks if Jasmine will feel anything, if she will have any reactions, like start to shake. The Vet tells her that Jasmine is already deceased. At that point, my mom starts to cry again; with the finality that Jasmine is gone.
I do wonder how my son will handle it. I just showed him some pictures of Jasmine, and he said, excitedly, “That’s Jasmine”. When my son Cameron would go over to their house, we kept Jasmine away because of how hyper she was. She would run into him and knock him over. Jasmine would be outside. Cameron would stare at him through the window and laugh. He would put his face up against the window at Jasmine. When he goes over he asks where Jasmine is. I don’t know what is going to happen the next time my mother takes him to stay over and he asks where Jasmine is. How do you explain it to a three year old? I don’t think it will affect him too much because he doesn’t live with Jasmine and he seems him rarely. But you never know.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Haven't been in touch lately
I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been pretty busy finishing up school. I am done with classes in about 4 weeks and have my graduation in May. Then I am FINALLY done with school for good. Its been a long time. Since September 2005. No more school for me after this. No way am I going back to get a PhD.
I should have something new posted within a week.
Till then...
I should have something new posted within a week.
Till then...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
michaelfleece.com
I decided to create a website.
www.michaelfleece.com
As of right now, all I have uploaded to it is a page with my resume and downloads to my resume in different formats, a copy of my resume in a visual format, and a list of classes taken at The Fordham Graduate School of Business. I also have links to this blog and my LinkedIn profile.
Check it out and give me some comments.
www.michaelfleece.com
As of right now, all I have uploaded to it is a page with my resume and downloads to my resume in different formats, a copy of my resume in a visual format, and a list of classes taken at The Fordham Graduate School of Business. I also have links to this blog and my LinkedIn profile.
Check it out and give me some comments.
Friday, February 6, 2009
NY Mets and Citi Field Naming Rights Hubbub
I do not understand the short sightedness of these politicians that say Citigroup and the New York Mets must dissolve their 20 year, $400M naming rights agreement or Citigroup should have to return the $45B Citi received from the TARP money.
To arbitrarily say that they should cancel the agreement is preposterous. First, find out if any of the taxpayer money is going to the Mets. Any company, regardless if they received gov’t help, has a right, a necessity, to advertise. Having its name on a stadium in the largest market in the country gives them a great deal of exposure. Especially in the first year of the new stadium. It will be all over TV. Its signs are all over the stadium. And I guarantee that with the agreement, Citibank is now the official bank of the New York Mets, and they have exclusive rights to install ATM’s within the stadium. (Why would they NOT put that into the contract).
Having the agreement dissolved would, in my opinion, make Citigroup look even worse off. It shows that they can’t even advertise nor have the money to spend on advertising. The Gov’t is not telling them to stop other advertising, so why should the Gov’t pick and choose which advertising strategies to kill. Historically, banks have been one of the few industries where naming rights make sense. Banks are pretty much all the same. Naming rights help differentiate banks. Giving them the TARP money and saying that they can’t market themselves does not make sense.
Also, the agreement is a legally binding contract. The Mets and Citigroup signed the contract in 2006. If it was voided, there is no way, in this market, that the Mets can find another partner who would pay close to the same amount. So, besides punishing Citi for there past deeds, you in turn punish the New York Mets. If Citi is forced to break the contract, or looks to get out of it by itself, the Mets are sure to sue for damages. Say, in the current economy, the Mets can only negotiate a $250M, 20 yr agreement with another partner, they would probably sue for the other $150M in damages. Now what would make sense, Citi paying $400M for naming rights and advertising for 20 years, or $150M for nothing.
And why is the conversation only about Citigroup and the New York Mets. If Citi is forced out of the contract by the Gov’t, they HAVE to also force any company that receives Gov’t bailout money out of their naming agreements: Bank of America recived $45B and has their name on teh Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, and are negotiating a major sponsorship rights agreemnet with the NY Yankees (though not for the name of the stadium): JP Morgan Chase, recipiant of $25B has Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ; Wells Fargo also received $25B and has various arena's named for them around the west coast, as well as The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, arising from its purchase of Wachovia. They are sure to change the name to Wells Fargo Center, or something similar.
On a lighter note, if the Mets do lose the sponsorship and name of Citified (which is a perfect name, doesn’t sound commercial for NYC), another PERFECT sponsorship would be with Met Life, for Met Life Park.
And for the new stadium being built for the NY Jets and the NY Giants, a perfect sponsorship would be with JetBlue. Makes total sense (for those who don’t know: fits for the Jets and Big Blue)
To arbitrarily say that they should cancel the agreement is preposterous. First, find out if any of the taxpayer money is going to the Mets. Any company, regardless if they received gov’t help, has a right, a necessity, to advertise. Having its name on a stadium in the largest market in the country gives them a great deal of exposure. Especially in the first year of the new stadium. It will be all over TV. Its signs are all over the stadium. And I guarantee that with the agreement, Citibank is now the official bank of the New York Mets, and they have exclusive rights to install ATM’s within the stadium. (Why would they NOT put that into the contract).
Having the agreement dissolved would, in my opinion, make Citigroup look even worse off. It shows that they can’t even advertise nor have the money to spend on advertising. The Gov’t is not telling them to stop other advertising, so why should the Gov’t pick and choose which advertising strategies to kill. Historically, banks have been one of the few industries where naming rights make sense. Banks are pretty much all the same. Naming rights help differentiate banks. Giving them the TARP money and saying that they can’t market themselves does not make sense.
Also, the agreement is a legally binding contract. The Mets and Citigroup signed the contract in 2006. If it was voided, there is no way, in this market, that the Mets can find another partner who would pay close to the same amount. So, besides punishing Citi for there past deeds, you in turn punish the New York Mets. If Citi is forced to break the contract, or looks to get out of it by itself, the Mets are sure to sue for damages. Say, in the current economy, the Mets can only negotiate a $250M, 20 yr agreement with another partner, they would probably sue for the other $150M in damages. Now what would make sense, Citi paying $400M for naming rights and advertising for 20 years, or $150M for nothing.
And why is the conversation only about Citigroup and the New York Mets. If Citi is forced out of the contract by the Gov’t, they HAVE to also force any company that receives Gov’t bailout money out of their naming agreements: Bank of America recived $45B and has their name on teh Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, and are negotiating a major sponsorship rights agreemnet with the NY Yankees (though not for the name of the stadium): JP Morgan Chase, recipiant of $25B has Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ; Wells Fargo also received $25B and has various arena's named for them around the west coast, as well as The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, arising from its purchase of Wachovia. They are sure to change the name to Wells Fargo Center, or something similar.
On a lighter note, if the Mets do lose the sponsorship and name of Citified (which is a perfect name, doesn’t sound commercial for NYC), another PERFECT sponsorship would be with Met Life, for Met Life Park.
And for the new stadium being built for the NY Jets and the NY Giants, a perfect sponsorship would be with JetBlue. Makes total sense (for those who don’t know: fits for the Jets and Big Blue)
Friday, January 16, 2009
New Year, Old Interest
I haven’t had a chance to post anything new in a while. Our holidays have been extended, seeing out of town family the past couple of weekends. I also just started my last semester of school at The Fordham Graduate School of Business. I will finally graduate in April (Hallelujah). I have been attending since September 2005.
I am taking a class called ‘Technical Analysis of Financial Markets”. This is probably the most interesting class I have taken yet. I have always been somewhat interested in the technical aspect of the markets, bust most of my studies have been on the fundamental side. The technical side makes for sense to me. It is pretty much “what you see is what you get”. There is really not that much guess work as with the fundamental side. 10 analysts might each come up with a different conclusion when looking at the fundamentals, while with technical analysis, 8-9 analysts out of 10 would probably be in agreement when they study the charts. It also helps with day trading or swing trading immensely, which is something I would like to do full time.
Well, I will post again soon.
I am taking a class called ‘Technical Analysis of Financial Markets”. This is probably the most interesting class I have taken yet. I have always been somewhat interested in the technical aspect of the markets, bust most of my studies have been on the fundamental side. The technical side makes for sense to me. It is pretty much “what you see is what you get”. There is really not that much guess work as with the fundamental side. 10 analysts might each come up with a different conclusion when looking at the fundamentals, while with technical analysis, 8-9 analysts out of 10 would probably be in agreement when they study the charts. It also helps with day trading or swing trading immensely, which is something I would like to do full time.
Well, I will post again soon.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
New Travel Options for Atlantic City
There are 2 new travel options for getting to Atlantic City that might help make Atlantic City continue its desired transformation into Las Vegas East.
Beginning on Feb 6 will be weekend train service between New York’s Penn Station and Atlantic City. The service is called ACES, Atlantic City Express Service. It will offer leather seating, a lounge and food and beverage options. Their will also be a first-class section. Upon arrival in Atlantic City, there is complimentary shuttle service to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah's Resort, the three casinos’s underwriting this service. The trip is expected to take 2 and ½ hours. You might say, why pay for the train when it takes the same amount of time to drive down? Well, as long as the schedule fits, you can relax on the way down, or start your party early. If you are going down with the boys or the girls for a weekend party, what better way to get it started? Make friends on the way down, and …hey you never know. On the way back, you don’t have to worry about driving back with that raging hangover. This will definitely bring in the younger, disposable income crowd from NYC that three casinos mentioned would LOVE to come and spend, spend, spend. They party and spend in Vegas, now they might try AC a little more.
If you are in Boston, you can now fly to AC on Sprit Airlines. Starting May 1, Spirit will have one fight a day in each direction. The flight will take 90 minutes. Just in time for the summer peak season.
With AC casino revenues down for the year, they need all available options to bring in new people. What better way than to offer new modes of transportation that will probably be utilized more by the hip, younger crowd, so AC can move away from the Grey Haired day tripper set to a younger free spending, over night tourist.
Beginning on Feb 6 will be weekend train service between New York’s Penn Station and Atlantic City. The service is called ACES, Atlantic City Express Service. It will offer leather seating, a lounge and food and beverage options. Their will also be a first-class section. Upon arrival in Atlantic City, there is complimentary shuttle service to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah's Resort, the three casinos’s underwriting this service. The trip is expected to take 2 and ½ hours. You might say, why pay for the train when it takes the same amount of time to drive down? Well, as long as the schedule fits, you can relax on the way down, or start your party early. If you are going down with the boys or the girls for a weekend party, what better way to get it started? Make friends on the way down, and …hey you never know. On the way back, you don’t have to worry about driving back with that raging hangover. This will definitely bring in the younger, disposable income crowd from NYC that three casinos mentioned would LOVE to come and spend, spend, spend. They party and spend in Vegas, now they might try AC a little more.
If you are in Boston, you can now fly to AC on Sprit Airlines. Starting May 1, Spirit will have one fight a day in each direction. The flight will take 90 minutes. Just in time for the summer peak season.
With AC casino revenues down for the year, they need all available options to bring in new people. What better way than to offer new modes of transportation that will probably be utilized more by the hip, younger crowd, so AC can move away from the Grey Haired day tripper set to a younger free spending, over night tourist.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Blog Surfing
I ran across an article on the DealBook blog on nytimes.com. It was about Joshua Perskey. He made some news during the summer, when out of work for a period of time, decided to take a different approach to his job search. He stood on Park Ave in New York City for a week, handing out resumes while wearing a sandwich board that said “Experienced MIT Grad for Hire”. Well, he landed a job. It seems that this stunt attracted world wide attention, and he created a blog to document his experience. A recruiter showed a contact the blog, and eventually Joshua landed a job doing valuation work.
This just goes to show you that in this environment, do whatever you can to get noticed. He was interviewed by MSNBC and Fox, which lead to requests for updates on his search, thus the creation of his blog and the opportunities it brought his way, namely his new job and new popularity.
While reading his blog, I came across a link for a blog titled I’m on Linkedin, now what. This blog is an invaluable resource to learn about the many options and features available to LinkedIn members. I did not know all that is available to use on your profile. For instance, you can have your blog entries streamed to your profile, and have slide show presentations on there as well. You can use the slide show as another way to advertise yourself, if you are job hunting, or use it to promote your accomplishments.
I know it is simple and common sense, but it is amazing what you can find on the net just reading others blogs, clicking the links or linking to commenter’s web pages.
This just goes to show you that in this environment, do whatever you can to get noticed. He was interviewed by MSNBC and Fox, which lead to requests for updates on his search, thus the creation of his blog and the opportunities it brought his way, namely his new job and new popularity.
While reading his blog, I came across a link for a blog titled I’m on Linkedin, now what. This blog is an invaluable resource to learn about the many options and features available to LinkedIn members. I did not know all that is available to use on your profile. For instance, you can have your blog entries streamed to your profile, and have slide show presentations on there as well. You can use the slide show as another way to advertise yourself, if you are job hunting, or use it to promote your accomplishments.
I know it is simple and common sense, but it is amazing what you can find on the net just reading others blogs, clicking the links or linking to commenter’s web pages.
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