I get up very early in the morning to prepare for the markets’ open. The usual routine involves checking my inbox for important emails from friends or respected professionals, quickly poring over all the news, running through my RSS feeds, tracking my investment ideas through Google (GOOG) Alerts and some proprietary software that automatically populate my database of companies to investigate further. I find that having a discipline or process helps me to keep my mind focused, sharp, and ready to generate new ideas.
Early tomorrow morning, I’m changing my routine …

Closers in sales are valuable. Closers in baseball are not so valuable.
Jonathan Papelbon, the closer for the Boston Red Sox pitching staff is pulling the “I’ve got to do what’s best for my family so I’m asking for a humongous raise” routine. Admittedly, he is one of the best young arms in baseball regardless of pitching role. He is also a unique talent in the world of dance. He joined the Red Sox a couple of years ago and, through unforeseen circumstances, found himself entrenched in …

Spring training has arrived – hard to believe that I’ll get to watch my Red Sox play for games that count in a couple months. The team has a good chance to improve on last year’s championship season because of the infusion of youth that Theo Epstein and his Ivy League staff are ushering in. Of course, old superstars like Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz will continue to carry the team. But, with Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, and Clay Buchholz projected to play major roles, the team seems …

As a Boston Red Sox fan (a long-suffering, loyal fan I might add), I’ve watched nervously Gary Sheffield‘s at-bats against my favorite team. Ever since moving over from the National League, he’s been a threatening presence at the plate against my boys from Boston, especially when he played for the hated New York Yankees. Only after John Henry, a wealthy hedge fund manager, bought the Red Sox and instilled a philosophy of scientific management based on sabermetrics did the Fenway Faithful enjoy the team’s recent dominance over the …

“What would you do if you only had a few months left to live?”
My good friend SA, the structural engineer, shrugs and says, “I don’t know, but I don’t like some of the messages in the movie.”
“I loved the movie! It was poignant and thought-provoking,” counters TJ, the beautiful Googler we’re trying to set up with SA.
I’m clinging to a thin strand of hope that opposites indeed attract, but it’s not looking good for my already dismal matchmaking record.
We are coming out of a last minute Sundance Film Festival screening …

The best Super Bowl commercial for me was the National Football League’s “Super Ad: Who Wants it More?” spot titled Mr. Oboe. The advert features a story about NFL offensive lineman Ephraim Salaam convincing a young, oboe-playing grocery bagger named Chester Pitts to give football a try. Pitts ends up joining the San Diego State football team, getting selected in the second round of the NFL draft, and playing right alongside Salaam for the Houston Texans.
What an inspiring story! It reminds me of a line from Disney’s (DIS) Pixar-produced Ratatouille. …