Our son Kevin was accepted in the Carnegie Mellon University Graduate program and will start in the fall. Kevin will be working towards a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Kevin and I are planning a trip to Pittsburg at the end of April to visit the University and to try and find an apartment for Kevin. Kevin was recently featured on the front page of the local Watertown paper the Watertown Tab for his new play and his Theater Company called FlatEarth Theatre. Kevin wrote “On This Moon” which just opened at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown.

One of our two Jack Russell terriers became very sick and almost died. Molly developed pancreatitis and diabetes and was in the hospital for a week. She could not hold down water and became extremely dehydrated and did not turn a corner until the vet realized that she was a diabetic. Once we put her on insulin and started watching her blood sugar, she really came back to life. Now she is back to normal, chasing her brother Rocky around the house.

I went on a reading/listening spree finishing 3 books in the last 4 weeks thanks to iTunes and Audible.com. The books that I read were The Big Short by Michael Lewis, 13 Bankers by Simon Johnson and James Kwak and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown.

• The Big Short explained how the Financial Securities Industry and bond traders created and sold unsecured bonds based on CDO’s and then started betting against those securities by taking a large position against the same securities. They were selling these securities to Municipal Offices and folks like you and me, while at the same time all the insiders were betting against those securities. Then when it all came tumbling down the a handful of individuals and companies made billions while many others when out of business.
• 13 Bankers was slow and dry and if I had to read and not listen to this book, I would have stopped half way thru. However, it was more about the history of banking and the politics and lack of regulation that led to the financial crisis. This book drew a line between the largest banks, their contributions to many high level government officials and their efforts to lobby for deregulation of their industry which enabled the securities industry to create questionable securities like CDO’s (collateralized debt obligations) and fed the bond market with unsecured bonds that eventually failed.
• The Lost Symbol was good but not Dan Browns best. After reading the book my impression was that he was trying to make up with the Catholic Church by writing a book about God. This book started slow, got really good throughout most of the book and then fizzled at the end.

After reading both The Big Short and 13 Bankers I was really glad to read about “Goldman Sachs Sued by SEC for Fraud Tied to CDO’s” because from my perspective the Obama Administration appeared to be favoring Goldman Sachs. Time will tell if something comes from this like people going to jail, however it may just be a warning shot for all securities firms to not cross the fraud line or risk prosecution. 

Finally, I was recently accepted into the MBA program at the University of Phoenix where I will be taking classes online and hope to graduate with an MBA in 3 years. My motivation for this came from conversations with four different individuals all over the age of 50 who went back to school and got an advanced degree. I chose the University of Phoenix because their program waived the GMAT requirement and I wanted the  flexibility of taking classes online. I also considered Babson and Northeastern but the flexibility and price really convinced me to apply to the University of Phoenix.

Kevin’s Photo Credits go to Kate Flock and the Wicked Local staff photo

Living on a remote moon, Dr. Paulson seeks a better life for his daughter, Mary. To that end, he tasks his android servant, Ariel, with sabotaging a passing ship containing a potential suitor for Mary, Freddy–who later reveals that he is gay. Ariel, who desires freedom above all, performs Paulson’s bidding in the hopes that he will release her. Events are complicated by Mary’s secret relationship with Caden, an alien also living on the moon. Caden, meanwhile, wants only to remove Paulson from the moon which he feels is rightfully his. Drawing inspiration from The Tempest, On This Moon blends the conventions of a Shakespearean comedy with a contemporary tale of greed and betrayal, love and acceptance, posing the question: what does it really mean to be human?

Performances are to be held April 16th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th at 8 PM with matinées presented April 18th and 24th at 2 PM. All shows will be performed at the The Arsenal Center for the Arts Black Box, conveniently located on the MBTA 70 and 70A bus routes at 321 Arsenal Street in Watertown. Tickets are priced at $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Students and seniors receive a $5 discount.

Recent Flat Earth productions have been selling out so it is recommend that you purchase tickets in advance via Brown Paper Tickets

Bill Vacca, Kevin Torpey and I got together on a weekly basis and watched many of the Patriots games. We all came together for a special service for John Tucker’s Dad who passed away earlier this month and although it was a sad day for the Tucker family it was a nice day for all of us old friends.

Mark Henderson and I recently spoke about planning some sort of PGMC reunion that would bring us together on a regular basis. I have just started thinking about it and have a couple of different ideas, however I want to make sure that whatever we identify is affordable and I want to make sure that we work in some of the fun, excitement and adventure from our trips and events from our youth. I hope this brings back a few memories ….

We do not have a date or a location and for now I want to start small by getting together for dinner some night to talk about this. I would like to start getting together on a regular basis just for dinner to keep the conversation and the planning moving forward. I am also looking for thoughts and ideas from everyone including those in other states and those who cannot meet for dinner with us.

We have started using email and facebook to connect and I would recommend that anyone that wants to connect with us get on facebook or send me or others in our group a note.  My email address is kevin@kmmm.net and I will create an email distribution list that we all can share.

There are a few folks missing so I want some help getting contact information for the following missing folks …

Jay Hallet – Michael Long – Stephen Valcour

along with anyone else that you would like to pull in from our past.

Besides my email you can find me here on Facebook, here on Linkedin, and here on Twitter.

Check it out …..

Thanks to audible.com, I was able to push thru both books in a week however both Titles were double audio books where Daemon was 16 hour of listening while Freedom was only 11 hour of listening. I started on a Saturday and listened all weekend. I did not watch any television during the weekend and just tried to push thru Daemon. Everyday last week I went for a walk at work so I could listen at lunch time and not be interrupted and when at home I listened the majority of the time.

You do not have to be a techie gamer to enjoy these books. The background is the world today with many real-time events woven into the plot. I would highly recommend both books as I found them very enjoyable.

However you do not get the same access to the internet that you would get from a PC connected to the internet, so I started to consider buying a small PC for my living room and connecting it to my big screen tv. That would give me full access to the internet from my living room PC. 

If you would like to bring the Internet to you your TV but feel that setting up a new PC in your living room is too ambitious, then you could consider one of these options:

• Apple TV
• Xbox 360
• Playstation 3
• Wii
• ROKU
• Vudu
• BlueRay and TV’s with internet access

All of these boxes are either setup boxes for select internet access or gaming or blueray devices that include some sort of internet connection, again with select internet connectivity. From my perspective, internet is moving to your television and it will not be long before someone designs an easy set top box or some sort of integrated capabilities that are easy for everyday users and allow full access to the internet from you television.

Here is a shorter video link which was my walk around the Touchdown Lounge Walk Around

When it comes to going to games, I am on the wait list however I was lucky enough to go to the Patriots Ravens playoff game this past Sunday and I took my new Ultra Flip video camera with me. The football game was disappointing as the Patriots were blown out, however the tailgate party both before and after was great.

Given the fact that this was going to be the last Patriots’ Tailgate for the Touchdown Lounge, John got up to say a few words honoring all the hard work of Tommy and the others. Also, Lou DiMauro and John’s cousin Dan Whalen got up, said a few words and read a great poem. It was very touching and moving for me and I am not one of the regulars however I did capture it on tape so I thought that I would share with you …

So now it is on to next year for the Patriots, and the real work begins for John and Tom as they invest time, money and effort into building out the new Touchdown Lounge II.  We are all grateful for your efforts.

Think Beyond the Politics …

The US Senate Commerce committee recently launched an investigation into the practices employed by Marketing companies Vertrue, Affinion, and Webloyalty and by retailers Priceline, Classmates.com, FTD, Shutterfly, and Orbitz. This was reported by CNET News in their post called “E-tailers snagged in marketing ‘scam’ blame customers” which I urge you all to read.

Folks purchasing products from Classmates.com, FTD and Orbiz would receive a Pop-Up window with a big “YES” button and an offer for a coupon, when really they are signing up for the Loyalty program offered by the marketing companies which results in a $10.00 – $20.00 charge on their credit cards each month.

Most retailers say that they do not share Credit Card numbers with marketing companies and these retailers claim to be innocent, stating that the terms are clearly stated, however the real terms are in small print behind the accept button.

Most Web Retailers are honest and secure, but be very careful when purchasing on the web and be very suspicious if you receive a Pop-Up offer after you have entered your credit card number or made your purchase.