Monday, April 1, 2013
Week 10 Signing Off
We finally made it to week 10 in my Exploring the Internet course. If you ask me the course should change it's name to Building a Web Site! At any rate I entered this class a novice at best with regards to computers, HTML and all the other stuff we learned about. I leave the course with a much greater knowledge about computers and will definitely apply what I have learned throughout the rest of my academic career and my professional career. The Instructor of this course, Jose was extremely helpful to me and always made himself available, even on weekends, if I had an issue or question about a particular assignment and I want to publicly thank him for that. I never would have made it through this course without his help, patience and understanding. Did i mention that I was computer illiterate? With that said this course was surely a challenge for me but I am glad I took the course, it is a requirement for my bachelor's degree. Since this blog was part of the course assignment I do not know if i will continue to submit more posts or not. We will just have to see how it goes. I will probably follow some of my classmates blogs if they continue to keep them. I developed some good classmate camaraderie and friendships with at least two of my classmates and would like to check in on their posts from time to time to see what they are up too. So for now I am signing off maybe for good maybe not who knows... thanks for following my blog if anyone has been.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Here We Go Again...
Just when you think this Celtic team has got things figured out and has decided to make a push for a higher playoff seed they do what they have been doing all year and lose four straight games. I can't count how many times this year this team has gone on a multiple game winning streak only to come crashing down and lose four, five or six in a row. Last week this team was fighting for the fourth or fifth seed in the eastern conference. Four losses later and the Celtics are only two games ahead of Milwaukee for the eighth seed and a first round sweep at the hands of the Miami Heat. If you ask me this team will not even make the playoffs. Now Kevin Garnett, arguably their best player or at least their most aggressive one will be out at least two weeks with an ankle injury. The injury bug has been hitting this team all year and it's miraculous that they are even in position for a eight seed in the playoffs if they started today. This last injury to Garnett unfortunately could spell the end to this Celtic's team's season!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Week 9 JQuery Assignment
After completing the assignment for week 9 using Jquery I have come to the conclusion that I am burnt out with this computer stuff and am only doing what is asked of us and nothing more. This week we were asked to google Jquery, copy and past some url's in order to make our blogs interactive as we did last week with our web sights using JavaScript. I was able to first insert a pop up window which would "say hello" to you from Jquery. I was then able to make anything square shaped in my blog movable, that is anyone visiting the blog could click on the object whether a picture, video or paragraph and move it around the computer screen. Lastly I followed the tutorial for the assignment and made it so the background color of my blog would transition from it's original color to green over a period of ten seconds or so. Every time you refreshed the page the background color would transition to green. Like my classmate Tom said " atleast it turns Celtic green" and it was just St. Patricks day so atleast there were to reasons to make my blog green! Not my personal preference but I did what the instructor asked so I can get credit for the assignment and get this class over with! Overall the things we have been asked to do to make our web pages and blogs look better have been effective yet I still feel like the work has been done for us and all we do more often then not is copy and paste things. This is fine with me because I really do not have the time to really research and then apply most of the lessons learned
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Interactive Web Sight Idea Week 8
I have been racking my brain trying to think of a unique interactive web
sight and I honestly haven't had much success. With that I will ask everyone if
they have ever seen the show The Devil's Ride on the Discovery channel. It's
about two rival outlaw motorcycle clubs out in California. Any way there is an
interactive web page on the Discovery Channel web sight under the Devil's Ride
Page where you can type your name into the tab field and then they spit you out
a biker name! It's pretty funny and relates very well to the JavaScript
assignment this week with regards to interactive web pages. Google Discovery
Channel then click on The Devil's Ride page I think it is under the games
section.
Now, my idea which isn't very original is a vacation destination interactive web page that asks the user to answer some short demographic questions such as age, gender, region of country lived in etc. Then the sight will suggest vacation destinations based on those answers you give. For example if you are between the ages of 21 and 31 and you are a male living in Portsmouth New Hampshire, you probably do not want to go on a vacation to Vermont Skiing. The sight would probably recommend a happening warm weather destination in Florida, California or perhaps Las Vegas. Conversely if you are someone in their forty's or fifty's and live in Florida the sight probably wouldn't suggest a Disney world vacation destination and would be more inclined to suggest perhaps a Colorado, New York or Boston destination. Of course there are always exceptions to rules when dealing with demographics of people but the sight would take into consideration as much input as possible. The sight would also offer to book your vacation, flight and lodging of course like most of the sights out there now like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity. Let me know what you think.
Now, my idea which isn't very original is a vacation destination interactive web page that asks the user to answer some short demographic questions such as age, gender, region of country lived in etc. Then the sight will suggest vacation destinations based on those answers you give. For example if you are between the ages of 21 and 31 and you are a male living in Portsmouth New Hampshire, you probably do not want to go on a vacation to Vermont Skiing. The sight would probably recommend a happening warm weather destination in Florida, California or perhaps Las Vegas. Conversely if you are someone in their forty's or fifty's and live in Florida the sight probably wouldn't suggest a Disney world vacation destination and would be more inclined to suggest perhaps a Colorado, New York or Boston destination. Of course there are always exceptions to rules when dealing with demographics of people but the sight would take into consideration as much input as possible. The sight would also offer to book your vacation, flight and lodging of course like most of the sights out there now like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity. Let me know what you think.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Week 8 Javascript
This weeks assignment was to create a interactive web page by using JavaScript and embedding it into your HTML document. JavaScript provides the ability to create and modify HTML documents taking into account the date, time etc. We were able to display the current time and date within our HTML document and made it so whenever the page was looked at by someone else or refreshed by the same user, the current date and time would be displayed. Up until this point our web pages have been "static" meaning whenever someone went onto the page, they would all see the same exact page. JavaScript allowed us to make our pages interactive, in the slightest manner, but interactive nonetheless. We also were able to add a tab on our HTML document and then our web pages that asked the person reading the page to enter their name and then click a "say hello" button. They user would then receive a pop up response on the computer saying hello to them. The assignment itself was interesting and rather easy as our instructor Jose simply allowed us to copy and paste the entire HTML document with the JavaScript code included in it. As long as you followed along with the tutorial the work was done for us. The fun part of this course is that you are able to take the lessons learned from each week and then apply them to your specific web page. My web page for instance has come a long way from where it was on week one. My classmates pages are fun to look at because everyone has put their own unique style into them and most of them look really good. It will be fun to see the finished products of every ones web page on week 10.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Week 7 Forms Assignment
The Jotform assignment went rather smoothly as it walks you through the steps and it is pretty self explanatory. Overall I think I received some positive and helpful feedback as well as pretty
good ratings on my JotForm regarding my web site. I generally received 4's and
5's so I'll take that any day. It was cool to get to take a look at my fellow
classmates web sites and to then rate them. It looks like everyone is trying
real hard to make their sights look good and to give their sites a theme that is
unique to them. Obviously some students have more of a background in computers
and HTML so that gives them a slight advantage. You can see it in the set up of
their web sites as they are able to add a bit more flair in them. I tried to
stay with my motorcycle theme with regards to my page and I believe I pulled it
off rather well. I tried to stay consistent with the background color and text
color but was afraid to get to crazy with the personalization. Time is always a
concern with me as my work and family schedule does not allow me to spend too
much time on my school work. At any rate I have learned a lot in these seven
weeks so far and can definitely say I have learned something in this class.
Something that can not be said for every class that I have taken at UML.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Week 7 Post
Celtics:
Sometimes the best trades are the ones that never take place. Just before the all star break the Celtics were devastated with the news that they lost three key players to season ending injuries. Most people were saying that the season was over at that point and it may be time to clean house and trade Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett arguably two of the greatest players to ever wear a Celtics uniform. Well Pierce and Garnett are still here and don't look now but the Celtics have won 13 out of 17 games since the Rondo injury and find themselves right there in seventh place in the Eastern Conference but only a game and a half out of fourth place. It is any body's guess where this team will end up at seasons end but they sure are making it interesting and have given us a reason to watch. These old guys just might have a little bit left in the tank.
Bruins:
In this shortened season every game counts. The Bruins have to be considered one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference and challenge for the Stanley Cup. They had their chance to make a statement the other night at home against the hated Montreal Canadiens who they trail in the standings. A win would have sent a message not only to the Canadiens but to the rest of the conference as well that the Bruins are a team to be reckoned with. Well, they blew a lead in the game and failed to gain any points by losing the game in regulation falling further behind the hated Canadiens in the standings. So the following game they should be plenty motivated to beat the Washington Capitals right?... Wrong, they blew a three goal lead in that game and lost in overtime. I hope this mini losing streak was a minor hiccup and not a preview of things to come for a Bruins team that only a week or two ago was considered the cream of the crop in the NHL. I'm of the impression that this two game losing streak may be just what the doctor ordered and will show this team that if they don't put in the effort for every game in this short season, then they will lose. They did win last night beating the Toronto Mapleleafs so that's a good start.
Red Sox:
I honestly haven't been paying much attention to the Red Sox spring training so far this year. It sounds like they have had some good games and then some bad ones. Kind of what you would expect in spring training. One name that I have heard being thrown around and it is not because he has been good is Joel Hanrahan. This guy is supposed to be the Red Sox's closer this year but every time I listen to the radio I hear about this guy giving up three runs, four runs, five runs... Doesn't sound like a reliable closer to me. Let's hope for Red Sox fans sake that he picks it up and starts to be much more productive as most closers are. If he doesn't I do not see him making the opening day roster, never mind the closer role!!
Sometimes the best trades are the ones that never take place. Just before the all star break the Celtics were devastated with the news that they lost three key players to season ending injuries. Most people were saying that the season was over at that point and it may be time to clean house and trade Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett arguably two of the greatest players to ever wear a Celtics uniform. Well Pierce and Garnett are still here and don't look now but the Celtics have won 13 out of 17 games since the Rondo injury and find themselves right there in seventh place in the Eastern Conference but only a game and a half out of fourth place. It is any body's guess where this team will end up at seasons end but they sure are making it interesting and have given us a reason to watch. These old guys just might have a little bit left in the tank.
Bruins:
In this shortened season every game counts. The Bruins have to be considered one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference and challenge for the Stanley Cup. They had their chance to make a statement the other night at home against the hated Montreal Canadiens who they trail in the standings. A win would have sent a message not only to the Canadiens but to the rest of the conference as well that the Bruins are a team to be reckoned with. Well, they blew a lead in the game and failed to gain any points by losing the game in regulation falling further behind the hated Canadiens in the standings. So the following game they should be plenty motivated to beat the Washington Capitals right?... Wrong, they blew a three goal lead in that game and lost in overtime. I hope this mini losing streak was a minor hiccup and not a preview of things to come for a Bruins team that only a week or two ago was considered the cream of the crop in the NHL. I'm of the impression that this two game losing streak may be just what the doctor ordered and will show this team that if they don't put in the effort for every game in this short season, then they will lose. They did win last night beating the Toronto Mapleleafs so that's a good start.
Red Sox:
I honestly haven't been paying much attention to the Red Sox spring training so far this year. It sounds like they have had some good games and then some bad ones. Kind of what you would expect in spring training. One name that I have heard being thrown around and it is not because he has been good is Joel Hanrahan. This guy is supposed to be the Red Sox's closer this year but every time I listen to the radio I hear about this guy giving up three runs, four runs, five runs... Doesn't sound like a reliable closer to me. Let's hope for Red Sox fans sake that he picks it up and starts to be much more productive as most closers are. If he doesn't I do not see him making the opening day roster, never mind the closer role!!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
This weeks assignment in 91113 was to review a web application that you were familiar with or to discover a new one and share it with the class. We were supposed to have a dialog about the applications with our classmates and then write about them in our blog post. Well I chose Go Daddy.com as my web application for this weeks assignment after
watching some of the Daytona 500 last weekend. Unfortunately not one classmate engaged in any dialog with me about my web app so I'm flying solo on this one.
I am not a huge fan of NASCAR or car racing in general but the storyline was compelling with regards to Danica Patrick and the GO Daddy.com race team. Go Daddy.com is the sponsor of Danica Patrick who drives the number 10 car in the Sprint Cup Series for NASCAR. She made headlines last week for being the first female driver to ever win the pole position for the Daytona 500.
According to Wikipedia, Go Daddy.com or Go Daddy Group Inc is a privately held company that is primarily an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company. It was founded in 1997 as Jomax Technologies by Bob Parsons who later changed the name to Go Daddy.com after a brainstorming session with some employees. In April of 2005, Go Daddy became the largest ICANN-accredited registrar on the Internet. The company is well known for their racy, sexy commercials which generally leave the viewer hanging, so much so that they visit the web sight to see what happens next online.
If you would like to start your own web page or get your own .com URL Go Daddy will hook you up for a small fee. Check out their web sight at http://www.godaddy.com
I am not a huge fan of NASCAR or car racing in general but the storyline was compelling with regards to Danica Patrick and the GO Daddy.com race team. Go Daddy.com is the sponsor of Danica Patrick who drives the number 10 car in the Sprint Cup Series for NASCAR. She made headlines last week for being the first female driver to ever win the pole position for the Daytona 500.
According to Wikipedia, Go Daddy.com or Go Daddy Group Inc is a privately held company that is primarily an Internet domain registrar and web hosting company. It was founded in 1997 as Jomax Technologies by Bob Parsons who later changed the name to Go Daddy.com after a brainstorming session with some employees. In April of 2005, Go Daddy became the largest ICANN-accredited registrar on the Internet. The company is well known for their racy, sexy commercials which generally leave the viewer hanging, so much so that they visit the web sight to see what happens next online.
If you would like to start your own web page or get your own .com URL Go Daddy will hook you up for a small fee. Check out their web sight at http://www.godaddy.com
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Are Boston Sports Fans Spoiled?
Is it just my imagination or are Boston's professional sports team's fans spoiled rotten. I remember back in the late 70's and early 80's when there was only one professional sports team from Boston (Massachusetts) that had a legit shot at winning a championship every year and that was the Boston Celtics. The Patriots, Bruins and Red Sox back then were decent teams and won their fair share of games but every year they would phase out and never play for a World Championship. Sure the Red Sox and Patriots both made it to the World series and Superbowl respectively in 1986 but both teams lost. The Patriots got crushed by the Chicago Bears and my stomach still turns when I think about this, the Red Sox lost the world series to the New York Mets after the Sox where one out away from winning the whole damn thing!!
Well all that changed back in 2001 when the New England Patriots shocked everyone and beat the heavily favored St Louis Rams to win the World Championship in the NFL. They went on to win two more Superbowls in 2003 and 2004 and were considered a dynasty by winning 3 championships in 4 years. The Red Sox hadn't won a World Series in 86 years and New York Yankee fans were always making sure that we did not forget that fact. Well in 2004, the Red Sox trailed the Yankees in the American League Championship series 3-0 and all hope appeared lost for Boston fans. But a miracle occurred and the Red Sox won four straight games to beat the hated Yankees and then went on to sweep the St Louis Cardinals for their first World Series Championship in 86 years! It was made all the more sweater because they beat New York and handed them the title of the biggest chokers in MLB playoff history! The Red Sox won the World Series again in 2007. The Boston Celtics won their 17th world Championship in 2008 and still lead the Lakers by one Championship for the most of all time in NBA history. And the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup Championship in 2011 to make it all four major professional sports teams from Boston with at least one championship win in a ten year span and a total of 7 world championship's combined overall. A unthinkable accomplishment back in the early to late 80's but now we as fans have come to expect our teams to be playing for the Championship every year and that is just not possible. It has been a great 10 to 15 years but I am not to sure we can expect the next 10 to be just like the last.
Well all that changed back in 2001 when the New England Patriots shocked everyone and beat the heavily favored St Louis Rams to win the World Championship in the NFL. They went on to win two more Superbowls in 2003 and 2004 and were considered a dynasty by winning 3 championships in 4 years. The Red Sox hadn't won a World Series in 86 years and New York Yankee fans were always making sure that we did not forget that fact. Well in 2004, the Red Sox trailed the Yankees in the American League Championship series 3-0 and all hope appeared lost for Boston fans. But a miracle occurred and the Red Sox won four straight games to beat the hated Yankees and then went on to sweep the St Louis Cardinals for their first World Series Championship in 86 years! It was made all the more sweater because they beat New York and handed them the title of the biggest chokers in MLB playoff history! The Red Sox won the World Series again in 2007. The Boston Celtics won their 17th world Championship in 2008 and still lead the Lakers by one Championship for the most of all time in NBA history. And the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup Championship in 2011 to make it all four major professional sports teams from Boston with at least one championship win in a ten year span and a total of 7 world championship's combined overall. A unthinkable accomplishment back in the early to late 80's but now we as fans have come to expect our teams to be playing for the Championship every year and that is just not possible. It has been a great 10 to 15 years but I am not to sure we can expect the next 10 to be just like the last.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Week 6 Blog Post
PATRIOTS:
New England Patriots three time SuperBowl Champion Quarterback Tom Brady recently agreed to a three year contract extension which will essentially ensure that he will retire a Patriot. The contract extension runs through the 2017 season when Brady will turn 40 years old. Amazingly, according to a source, the deal is for an eye-poppingly conservative $27 million, which is less than half his worth by any measure. The extension will pay Brady a $3 million signing bonus immediately, in addition to salaries of $7 million in 2015, $8 million in 2016 and $9 million in 2017. A real bargain if you look at the current salaries for NFL Quarterbacks, never mind a perennial All Pro like Brady. Brady appears to be signing this deal to help out the Patriots with salary cap relief to hopefully ensure that they remain competitive and in the hunt for the Championship for as long as he is with the team. Before you feel sorry for Brady just know that he will receive 30 million dollars as a "signing bonus" which is money that does not count against the salary cap. I think he will be able to survive on that salary. If not he has a rich wife so I think they will be just fine.
CELTICS:
The trade deadline has come and gone and the Celtics still have Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce on their roster. My previous blog discussed the potential deals that were being tossed around regarding the trades of Garnett and Pierce. Apparently the Celtic's GM Danny Ainge ( a former player for the Celtics) decided to give it one last go with this Celtic's team. The lack of a move did surprise me because the Celtic's have been decimated with season ending injuries to Rondo, Sullinger and Barbosa and they do not appear to have the depth that they once had to make a serious run at a NBA Championship. I thought this was the perfect time to make those trades discussed previously, to get younger and more athletic in the hopes that this team could once again be rebuilt into a contender. Obviously Ainge knows more about basketball then I will ever know so I will trust that he has a plan not only for this year but for the years to come as well.
BRUINS:
The Boston Bruins are riding a four game win streak into the TD Garden tonight when they return home to face the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins currently are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points just 3 points behind Montreal who have played four more games. But
after playing their first 16 games over 40 days, the Bruins will now face an end of February-March stretch in which they will play 18 games over 33 days, and a total of 32 games over the final 58 days of the regular season. For a team that has played back-to-back games only one time this season. That is in dramatic contrast to the rest of their conference opponents. So the second half of this shortened season will be the true test of whether or not this team has what it takes to win another championship
New England Patriots three time SuperBowl Champion Quarterback Tom Brady recently agreed to a three year contract extension which will essentially ensure that he will retire a Patriot. The contract extension runs through the 2017 season when Brady will turn 40 years old. Amazingly, according to a source, the deal is for an eye-poppingly conservative $27 million, which is less than half his worth by any measure. The extension will pay Brady a $3 million signing bonus immediately, in addition to salaries of $7 million in 2015, $8 million in 2016 and $9 million in 2017. A real bargain if you look at the current salaries for NFL Quarterbacks, never mind a perennial All Pro like Brady. Brady appears to be signing this deal to help out the Patriots with salary cap relief to hopefully ensure that they remain competitive and in the hunt for the Championship for as long as he is with the team. Before you feel sorry for Brady just know that he will receive 30 million dollars as a "signing bonus" which is money that does not count against the salary cap. I think he will be able to survive on that salary. If not he has a rich wife so I think they will be just fine.
CELTICS:
The trade deadline has come and gone and the Celtics still have Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce on their roster. My previous blog discussed the potential deals that were being tossed around regarding the trades of Garnett and Pierce. Apparently the Celtic's GM Danny Ainge ( a former player for the Celtics) decided to give it one last go with this Celtic's team. The lack of a move did surprise me because the Celtic's have been decimated with season ending injuries to Rondo, Sullinger and Barbosa and they do not appear to have the depth that they once had to make a serious run at a NBA Championship. I thought this was the perfect time to make those trades discussed previously, to get younger and more athletic in the hopes that this team could once again be rebuilt into a contender. Obviously Ainge knows more about basketball then I will ever know so I will trust that he has a plan not only for this year but for the years to come as well.
BRUINS:
The Boston Bruins are riding a four game win streak into the TD Garden tonight when they return home to face the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins currently are in second place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points just 3 points behind Montreal who have played four more games. But
after playing their first 16 games over 40 days, the Bruins will now face an end of February-March stretch in which they will play 18 games over 33 days, and a total of 32 games over the final 58 days of the regular season. For a team that has played back-to-back games only one time this season. That is in dramatic contrast to the rest of their conference opponents. So the second half of this shortened season will be the true test of whether or not this team has what it takes to win another championship
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Something Completely Off Blog Topic Week 5
Renegade Pigs National Convention 2013
The National Convention of 2013 for the Renegade Pigs Motorcycle Club was held this weekend at the Westin Hotel in South Boston. I chose to write about this because I am a member of this motorcycle club and my chapter, Boston hosted the event. The following are excerpts from the RPMC International web sight which I encourage you to go and check out if you desire.
The RPMC is a non-profit organization that hosts and attends numerous charity events in support of public safety officers and their families. The membership is comprised of law enforcement and fire service personnel who share the common love of riding their American made motorcycles, and who believe that loyalty and camaraderie are core values for public safety personnel...
The club has 38 active chapters in 16 states. Individual chapters, like ours in Boston, organize and conduct fundraising events throughout the year. Portions of the proceeds of these events go to support various police and fire charities and the families of public safety officers in need. Some examples being police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty and those disabled by catastrophic injury or illness. The club also has a long-standing tradition of community support, especially seeing to the needs of small children and their families.
RPMC members pride ourselves on being a very exclusive, tight brotherhood. Membership must be earned and is not freely given. The red, white and blue in our colors symbolize the patriotism that each member holds true. The flaming boar's skull symbolizes dogged determination to overcome difficulty and to protect the brotherhood. Members of our club have no concern or time for those who choose to stereotype us based on our clothing or method of transportation. Even if those voices come from within the public safety community. We do concern ourselves with the oaths we took as public safety officials and the idea that the brotherhood is paramount. We are not afraid to be who we are... We will continue to persevere through the generalizations and we will press on in our fight to better America and her communities.
It was good to see the more than 250 RPMC brother's during this event. It was a great showing in a not so warm of a location. I am proud to consider myself a brother of all of these professionals who give so much to the communities they serve. I can not wait for riding season to start so that I can take some road trips and visit some of the other chapters and my brothers from other states.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Week 5
Celtics:
The All Star break is over and the second half of the Celtics season starts tonight in Denver against the Nuggets. The trade deadline for the NBA is this Thursday and local and national media outlets have been reporting all week that the Celtics could be involved in multiple trade deals. One potential trade that I have seen proposed by numerous media outlets is Kevin Garnett to the L.A. Clippers for Deandre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe. Two young and up and coming players in the NBA for one of the oldest yet best players to ever play in Garnett. The Clippers feel they are one superstar away from making a run at the Championship. The Celtics however do not necessarily want to part ways with Garnett but they could benefit in the long run from getting younger and more athletic. Garnett would have to waive the no trade clause in his contract in order for any trade deal involving him to be made.
Another potential trade that I have heard rumored is Rajon Rondo to the L.A. Lakers for Dwight Howard. It's interesting that Rondo's name is being thrown out there in trade rumors considering that he just recently tore his ACL and is out for the season. It is no secret that Dwight Howard has struggled in L.A. for whatever reason and doesn't seem that he wants to be a Laker for much longer. The Celtics are in desperate need of a top notch center as Howard is and I feel would be willing to pull the trigger on this deal if the Lakers would agree to it. The Celtics have won all but one of their games with Rondo out of the lineup and seem to be playing a more team oriented game without their starting point guard.
The only other big potential trade that I have heard being tossed around is Paul Pierce to Atlanta for Josh Smith. Smith is a taller more athletic player than is Pierce but does not have quite the resume or body of work with regard to consistent all star caliber play. His age and athletic ability are clearly attractive attributes that the Celtics would surely welcome. I'm just not too sure they are willing to part ways with Pierce after all he has done to resurrect this franchise from the dead to a perennial Championship contender. Some talk radio personalities had Pierce in their top five Celtic players of all time category and I think they may be right. The next couple of days should be rather interesting to see if Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM does any of these deals or a different deal not yet mentioned.
The All Star break is over and the second half of the Celtics season starts tonight in Denver against the Nuggets. The trade deadline for the NBA is this Thursday and local and national media outlets have been reporting all week that the Celtics could be involved in multiple trade deals. One potential trade that I have seen proposed by numerous media outlets is Kevin Garnett to the L.A. Clippers for Deandre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe. Two young and up and coming players in the NBA for one of the oldest yet best players to ever play in Garnett. The Clippers feel they are one superstar away from making a run at the Championship. The Celtics however do not necessarily want to part ways with Garnett but they could benefit in the long run from getting younger and more athletic. Garnett would have to waive the no trade clause in his contract in order for any trade deal involving him to be made.
Another potential trade that I have heard rumored is Rajon Rondo to the L.A. Lakers for Dwight Howard. It's interesting that Rondo's name is being thrown out there in trade rumors considering that he just recently tore his ACL and is out for the season. It is no secret that Dwight Howard has struggled in L.A. for whatever reason and doesn't seem that he wants to be a Laker for much longer. The Celtics are in desperate need of a top notch center as Howard is and I feel would be willing to pull the trigger on this deal if the Lakers would agree to it. The Celtics have won all but one of their games with Rondo out of the lineup and seem to be playing a more team oriented game without their starting point guard.
The only other big potential trade that I have heard being tossed around is Paul Pierce to Atlanta for Josh Smith. Smith is a taller more athletic player than is Pierce but does not have quite the resume or body of work with regard to consistent all star caliber play. His age and athletic ability are clearly attractive attributes that the Celtics would surely welcome. I'm just not too sure they are willing to part ways with Pierce after all he has done to resurrect this franchise from the dead to a perennial Championship contender. Some talk radio personalities had Pierce in their top five Celtic players of all time category and I think they may be right. The next couple of days should be rather interesting to see if Danny Ainge, the Celtics GM does any of these deals or a different deal not yet mentioned.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Long and Time Consuming
I have found the experience of designing my own web page to be long and time consuming and it still looks like a seven year old did it! I have certainly found out some things about my proficiency or lack there of with computers. HTML might as well be in Mandarin Chinese because it is like learning a new language. You can tell the students in this class that have experience in this type of system. I am definitely not one of those students. I am learning many things obviously that I did not know previously but there is so much to absorb that my mind is scrambled. I try to remember what to do and I follow along the best I can with the video examples and written directions but I always seem to miss a step or < or }. I have needed and received one on one instruction with Jose and that has helped a lot. (Thanks Jose) My goal is to make my web page look as good or maybe just half as good as some that I have seen. Looking at other students web pages has been fun but it has also been demoralizing in some ways because I feel inferior when it comes to this stuff. I know everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and my weaknesses have definitely been exposed. Sometimes I feel like if I had more time to attempt some of the tricks so to speak of designing an attractive web page I think I could potentially be able to do it. Maybe the timing wasn't the greatest for me to take this class. I am finding this out the hard way...
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Patriots
New England Patriot superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski was spotted and photographed in Orlando Florida wearing a tank top which reads "sorry for partying". This appears to be Gronk's response to the media blitz that ensued after he was caught on video dancing around and wrestling on a stage in a Las Vegas nightclub. (See my previous blog Gronk is at it again...) I have changed my opinion of the incident after thinking about it for a week or two. I think it's pretty funny actually. This kid is only 23 years old maybe 24 he should be enjoying himself, the season is over!!!!
In an unrelated story the Patriots have some decisions to make this off season. None more important than what to do with Wes Welker? They can use the franchise tag on Welker and have to pay him around nine or ten million dollars for one year. Or they could attempt to sign him to a long term contract extension. Lastly they could choose to part ways with him and let him sign with another team. I personally believe Welker is far to valuable to the Patriots offensive scheme and think Tom Brady is a much better quarterback when Welker is on the field. It will be interesting to see how this Welker thing pans out over the next few weeks and perhaps months... Stay Tuned!
In an unrelated story the Patriots have some decisions to make this off season. None more important than what to do with Wes Welker? They can use the franchise tag on Welker and have to pay him around nine or ten million dollars for one year. Or they could attempt to sign him to a long term contract extension. Lastly they could choose to part ways with him and let him sign with another team. I personally believe Welker is far to valuable to the Patriots offensive scheme and think Tom Brady is a much better quarterback when Welker is on the field. It will be interesting to see how this Welker thing pans out over the next few weeks and perhaps months... Stay Tuned!
Week 4 Blog Post
Celtics:
Well The Celtics just lost to the Charlotte Bobcats last night 2/11/13 ending an impressive seven game win streak which finds the green team 6 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bobcats are believed to be the worst team in the NBA but the Celtics just played a triple overtime game against the Denver Nuggets ( in which they won) and you could tell that the team, especially the older veterans like Garnett and Pierce had tired legs in the second half of that game. Despite the loss the Celtics continued to impress without two key players ruled out for the year in Rondo and Sullinger. It appeared that reserve guard Barbosa also was injured late in the Bobcat game so the injury bug really seems to be biting this team right now, making the last seven game win streak even more impressive. The NBA heads into the All Star break so hopefully this team gets some needed rest and gets rejuvenated for the second half of the season.
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to be a nice surprise and just defeated the Buffalo Sabres the other night to avenge one of only two loses so far this season! They stand in second place in the whole Eastern Conference with 17 points behind the New Jersey Devils who have a total of 19 points but have played two more games then the Bruins have. The Bruins have been getting great goal tending this season which apparently has given management enough confidence to trade Tim Thomas, the hero of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, to the New York Islanders. It is still unclear if Thomas will play this year for New York, but if he does the Bruins will receive two second round draft picks from the Islanders in return for Thomas.
Red Sox:
The disappointing season of last year is in the rear view mirror now, along with terrible manager Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox. Pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers Florida for spring training this week. Lucky for them as we all got pounded by Nemo the blizzard of 2013! There are a lot of new faces on the Sox this year. The question in my mind is whether or not they will change the attitude in the clubhouse as well as have a positive effect on the field to help this team win games. It was obvious with last years team that there was some kind of fundamental breakdown in team morale which resulted in a horrendous product on the field. Many Red Sox apologists would tell you that injuries were the reason that Sox team underperformed last year. I believe their inability to win games stemmed from their manager not being able to keep a disciplined clubhouse which then allowed the "inmates to run the asylum". Yet here we go with another season almost upon us. Lets hope many things are different from last year with this team!
Well The Celtics just lost to the Charlotte Bobcats last night 2/11/13 ending an impressive seven game win streak which finds the green team 6 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bobcats are believed to be the worst team in the NBA but the Celtics just played a triple overtime game against the Denver Nuggets ( in which they won) and you could tell that the team, especially the older veterans like Garnett and Pierce had tired legs in the second half of that game. Despite the loss the Celtics continued to impress without two key players ruled out for the year in Rondo and Sullinger. It appeared that reserve guard Barbosa also was injured late in the Bobcat game so the injury bug really seems to be biting this team right now, making the last seven game win streak even more impressive. The NBA heads into the All Star break so hopefully this team gets some needed rest and gets rejuvenated for the second half of the season.
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to be a nice surprise and just defeated the Buffalo Sabres the other night to avenge one of only two loses so far this season! They stand in second place in the whole Eastern Conference with 17 points behind the New Jersey Devils who have a total of 19 points but have played two more games then the Bruins have. The Bruins have been getting great goal tending this season which apparently has given management enough confidence to trade Tim Thomas, the hero of the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, to the New York Islanders. It is still unclear if Thomas will play this year for New York, but if he does the Bruins will receive two second round draft picks from the Islanders in return for Thomas.
Red Sox:
The disappointing season of last year is in the rear view mirror now, along with terrible manager Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox. Pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Myers Florida for spring training this week. Lucky for them as we all got pounded by Nemo the blizzard of 2013! There are a lot of new faces on the Sox this year. The question in my mind is whether or not they will change the attitude in the clubhouse as well as have a positive effect on the field to help this team win games. It was obvious with last years team that there was some kind of fundamental breakdown in team morale which resulted in a horrendous product on the field. Many Red Sox apologists would tell you that injuries were the reason that Sox team underperformed last year. I believe their inability to win games stemmed from their manager not being able to keep a disciplined clubhouse which then allowed the "inmates to run the asylum". Yet here we go with another season almost upon us. Lets hope many things are different from last year with this team!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Gronk is at it again ...
Patriots all everything tight end is in the news again and it isn't for his outstanding play on the football field. Rob Gronkowski with broken arm and all, ( two breaks of the same arm in less then two months) was video taped in Las Vegas wrestling on stage in a night club with another unknown man possibly his brother. Gronkowski appears to be wearing a cast on his broken arm yet still engages in this dangerous playing around. Talk radio is going crazy talking about how irresponsible it is for him to be acting in this manner and possibly jeopardizing his football future if he was to be re injured. Surprisingly I heard many talk radio callers backing up or siding with Gronkowski telling the radio show hosts to lighten up, and that it's not that big of a deal. He is after all only 23 or 24 years old and a superstar in the NFL. Here is the video of him at that nightclub in Vegas. Well the video got pulled off You Tube for third party infringement reasons so here is an excerpt from ESPN's 360 show about Gronk's lifestyle...
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Week 3 Blog Post
Celtics:
Here we go again with this Jekyll and Hyde professional basketball team of ours. The home town Celtics beat the very talented L.A. Clippers sunday afternoon to win their fourth game in a row... I believe in my last post titled Just My Opinion they had just ended a five game losing streak by beating the Miami Heat! Well they haven't lost since that game and are winning without Rajon Rondo and their rookie first round pick Jared Sullinger who was also just ruled out for the season and placed on injured reserve because of back issues. Talk radio is buzzing with people saying this team is better off without Rondo, their starting all-star point guard, out on the floor. I find it hard to imagine that this team is actually better without him. Even though they have won more games without him in the lineup then with.
Patriots:
Well the NFL season is over and the the Baltimore Ravens are the world champions. Yes the same Ravens who demolished my beloved Patriots, in Foxboro a few weeks back! I dont feel as bad knowing the team the Patriots lost to did go on to win the whole thing... They are a very talented football team. Oh well, better luck next year.
Red Sox:
I haven't wrote about the Boston Red Sox yet in this blog. Probably because I'm still disgusted in how they played last year! I was truly embarrased to call my self a Red Sox fan. The Sox unloaded some big name players at the end of last year, Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawford and some serious money to go along with them. They signed quite a few free agents during the offseason but nobody you could call a high profile signing. Guys like Shane Victorino, Johnny Gomes and Ryan Dempster don't really strike fear into oppossing teams minds. They were obtained at a relatively cheap rate for MLB standards. Lets see if this new fiscally responsible spending by Red Sox ownership leads to another mediocre if not terrible season. Spring training is just around the corner...
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to impress. They have only lost one game in regulation all season, although it's early. They are right there at the top of the standings and seem pretty motivated to stay there. Lets hope this team stays healthy in this shortened season. If they do they should be there at the end
Here we go again with this Jekyll and Hyde professional basketball team of ours. The home town Celtics beat the very talented L.A. Clippers sunday afternoon to win their fourth game in a row... I believe in my last post titled Just My Opinion they had just ended a five game losing streak by beating the Miami Heat! Well they haven't lost since that game and are winning without Rajon Rondo and their rookie first round pick Jared Sullinger who was also just ruled out for the season and placed on injured reserve because of back issues. Talk radio is buzzing with people saying this team is better off without Rondo, their starting all-star point guard, out on the floor. I find it hard to imagine that this team is actually better without him. Even though they have won more games without him in the lineup then with.
Patriots:
Well the NFL season is over and the the Baltimore Ravens are the world champions. Yes the same Ravens who demolished my beloved Patriots, in Foxboro a few weeks back! I dont feel as bad knowing the team the Patriots lost to did go on to win the whole thing... They are a very talented football team. Oh well, better luck next year.
Red Sox:
I haven't wrote about the Boston Red Sox yet in this blog. Probably because I'm still disgusted in how they played last year! I was truly embarrased to call my self a Red Sox fan. The Sox unloaded some big name players at the end of last year, Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawford and some serious money to go along with them. They signed quite a few free agents during the offseason but nobody you could call a high profile signing. Guys like Shane Victorino, Johnny Gomes and Ryan Dempster don't really strike fear into oppossing teams minds. They were obtained at a relatively cheap rate for MLB standards. Lets see if this new fiscally responsible spending by Red Sox ownership leads to another mediocre if not terrible season. Spring training is just around the corner...
Bruins:
The Bruins continue to impress. They have only lost one game in regulation all season, although it's early. They are right there at the top of the standings and seem pretty motivated to stay there. Lets hope this team stays healthy in this shortened season. If they do they should be there at the end
The Internet and Communication
The Internet has completely changed the way people communicate with each other. Has Anyone seen the television series on HBO called Game of Thrones? Well I love this show it's about old England in medieval times when the kings of the seven kingdoms of England are all fighting for the "Iron Throne" to be the King of Kings. Any way in the show when the Kings want a message delivered to another king in a different section of England, they send a Raven with a message attached to the birds leg. Imagine the time this method of communication took. Well communication has come a long way since those times. Not so long ago, writing letters and sending them through the mail is how people communicated from long distances. Then telephones were invented and revolutionized how people could communicate. Well the Internet has completely blown those methods away as a method of communication. The Internet now allows us to communicate with endless numbers of people in in a blink of an eye with the use of emails or through social media outlets such as Skype, Twitter and Facebook. Smart phones allow people to walk around with all these communication methods in their pockets. Text messages seem to be the wave now with regards to quick communication between family, friends and co-workers.
I think that the Internet has allowed people to stay in touch with each other on a more consistent basis by using the above methods of communication. Unfortunately it has made us more impersonal and less likely to meet someone face to face or call them on the telephone. I would be lying if I said I didn't use email or texts to communicate with others a lot more then I call them. I find it to be a convenient, quick and effective way to relay a message, answer a question or just say hello to someone. I have never been a big talker or letter writer so these new communication methods the Internet now gives us are perfect for me. I have yet to open a Facebook or Twitter account and wasn't planning on doing so for privacy reasons until I saw this weeks activity section for school and found out that this is what the assignment for the week is. I plan on opening up anonymous sights for these assignments.
I think that the Internet has allowed people to stay in touch with each other on a more consistent basis by using the above methods of communication. Unfortunately it has made us more impersonal and less likely to meet someone face to face or call them on the telephone. I would be lying if I said I didn't use email or texts to communicate with others a lot more then I call them. I find it to be a convenient, quick and effective way to relay a message, answer a question or just say hello to someone. I have never been a big talker or letter writer so these new communication methods the Internet now gives us are perfect for me. I have yet to open a Facebook or Twitter account and wasn't planning on doing so for privacy reasons until I saw this weeks activity section for school and found out that this is what the assignment for the week is. I plan on opening up anonymous sights for these assignments.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tom Brady Press Conference After Losing AFC Champioship Game
As you read in my previous blog Just My Opinion, I was very critical of Tom Brady's performance in the AFC champioship game loss two Sunday's ago. I feel that if he had just one of his usual above par games then most likely the Patriots would be playing in the Superbowl this Sunday. Any way here is Tom Brady's press conference after the game courtesy of YouTube:
Just My Opinion
This is just one very obsessed Boston sports fans opinion on the state of Boston's professional sports teams as of today 1/30/13.
Patriots
Unless you are not a professional football fan or have been living under a rock for a couple weeks the New England patriots season ended ubruptly a couple sundays ago. Losing to the Baltimore Ravens at their home field Gillette Stadium as a 8 or 9 point favorite. Who is to blame for the loss? Look no further then Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Brady looked like an average quarterback not the sure bet first ballot hall of famer that he will be. He generally gets a pass for his bad play because of his resume but he's not getting one from me! The head coach Bill Belichick is equally to blame. The patriots had a 3 point lead at halftime and made no adjustments or changes to the game plan, as most coach's do at halftime! He had to have known that the Ravens coaching staff was making adjustments. End result, the Patriots are watching the Superbowl from home and you can blame Bill Belichick and Tom brady for it.
Bruins
The Bruins have jumped out of the gate quickly winning five games and losing just one in an overtime shootout. They have garnered 11 out of a possible 12 points and seem like the team to beat in the eastern conference. This new teenager Dougie Hamilton looks like the real deal and with most of the same players from the Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup two years ago, still on this years team, (minus Tim Thomas) I see no reason why this team can not make another run at the Stanley Cup this year. That is ofcourse if they stay healthy.
Celtics
The Boston Celtics have been a enigma this year so far. Winning big games like the one on Sunday versus the defending Champions Miami Heat. The have also lost many times to sub par teams with losing records. They won five games in a row a couple weeks ago and then inexplicably they go and lose six in a row. This team has no energy, youthful exuberance cohesion... whatever it is they do not look like a contender to even make the playoffs nevermind win a Championship. Couple that with the news that their starting all star point guard Rjon Rondo is out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, I think it's time to start rebuilding for the future if your the Boston Celtic's Management.
Patriots
Unless you are not a professional football fan or have been living under a rock for a couple weeks the New England patriots season ended ubruptly a couple sundays ago. Losing to the Baltimore Ravens at their home field Gillette Stadium as a 8 or 9 point favorite. Who is to blame for the loss? Look no further then Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Brady looked like an average quarterback not the sure bet first ballot hall of famer that he will be. He generally gets a pass for his bad play because of his resume but he's not getting one from me! The head coach Bill Belichick is equally to blame. The patriots had a 3 point lead at halftime and made no adjustments or changes to the game plan, as most coach's do at halftime! He had to have known that the Ravens coaching staff was making adjustments. End result, the Patriots are watching the Superbowl from home and you can blame Bill Belichick and Tom brady for it.
Bruins
The Bruins have jumped out of the gate quickly winning five games and losing just one in an overtime shootout. They have garnered 11 out of a possible 12 points and seem like the team to beat in the eastern conference. This new teenager Dougie Hamilton looks like the real deal and with most of the same players from the Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup two years ago, still on this years team, (minus Tim Thomas) I see no reason why this team can not make another run at the Stanley Cup this year. That is ofcourse if they stay healthy.
Celtics
The Boston Celtics have been a enigma this year so far. Winning big games like the one on Sunday versus the defending Champions Miami Heat. The have also lost many times to sub par teams with losing records. They won five games in a row a couple weeks ago and then inexplicably they go and lose six in a row. This team has no energy, youthful exuberance cohesion... whatever it is they do not look like a contender to even make the playoffs nevermind win a Championship. Couple that with the news that their starting all star point guard Rjon Rondo is out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, I think it's time to start rebuilding for the future if your the Boston Celtic's Management.
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