Tuesday Link Dump

I think I am going to start posting interesting links from the previous weeks on Tuesdays.  These are some of the articles that I come across in my daily internet surfing (its not all blogging on ATerrificLife and ThinkActProsper) and I would like you to check out too!

Giuseppe is hosting his 4th bi-annual Top Shelf Flea Market at Somerville's Davis Square VFW.  There are a number of small vendors all specializing in those of us who like to dress well, but affordably.  I am a huge fan of this blog, please check it out.

For those of us who are feeling overworked and/or underpaid, do not lose faith.  Here are some tips on how to ask for a raise. I believe its important to make yourself indispensable, so specialize in something you are good at, and learn it better than anyone else.  This will add value to your team.

Zero Hedge is one of my favorite blogs, talking all things financial, as this is my industry, it is quite relevant.  They are obviously a little harsh and overly pessimistic, but they dig up tons of good tidbits. This clip from a European trader on BBC claims "Goldman owns us all".

Bill Simmon's Grantland has been pretty solid so far, tons of good writing and media.  With the NBA lockout looming, which incidentally might not be so bad to my Celtics, here is an article related to the business of basketball owners.  Commissioner Stern claims that Ratner lost several hundred million on his sale of the New Jersey Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, but fails to mention the potential $1,000,000,000 in profits for his company on sales of apartments as well as the new Brooklyn stadium. The moral of the story is that no one should feel bad for the owners.

JD Drew is one of my favorite personal finance writers.  He writes on either saving money or making more of it to increase your wealth.  His writing on personal debts and banking is some of my favorites.  Not to mention his garden project.  Here he comments on a familiar problem, grocery shopping when you are hungry.

Monday Night Football + Bonus MLB pick

Google Docs Spreadsheet: 2011 NFL Plays

I am down a little overall this season in NFL bets, but I still feel confident in my picking, although this past weekend, I regret my Jets pick, and considered taking the other side, and just paying the juice.  I am somewhat steamed, but I am going to go ahead and take the Washington Redskins tonight at +3.5 (with a little extra juice) rather than +3 at the lower juice, because I truly believe Washington is better than Dallas (with injuries) and a lot of people are going to be playing the chalk on the favorite tonight.

Also, I am a Boston guy, and have obviously been lamenting the Red Sox's September.  I think they will beat the Orioles tonight, and if they don't I assume their season is done.  I am paying a pretty high juice at -185, but I think they win this game 4 out of 5 times. 

Patriots Week 3: Disappointing Loss to the Bills

 

Final 2 minutes were a slow and painful end to the worst Tom Brady game (statswise) in recent memory

Bills covered though

Berkshire Brewing - Franklin Land Trust Preservation Ale

I enjoyed this beer while at my wife's college, Mt. Holyoke, in the Pioneer Valley of a Western Massachussetts, a fine craft beer destination.  I stopped at Table & Vine in West Springfield, looking to pick up some local beers to share with my uncle, visiting from Detroit, but also wanted to enjoy a beer that night.  For $4.50, it is certainly a fair price for a bomber of beer, and it was advertised as a "classic IPA" which would taste like the IPAs of yore.  I am a sucker for hoppy beers, and a big fan of Berkshire Brewing, so I decided to take the plunge, even with only one Beeradvocate review.

The beer has a spicey aftertaste, and is pretty grassy.  It is not a standard American hopped IPA, and is more closely related to our English brethren's rendition of the IPA.  Like all BBC beers, it is incredibly drinkable, and tasty. I am a big fan of the artwork on BBC bottles too, check out a close up below.

Part of the money will go to conserving the Franklin Land Trust, which keeps Western Mass's Franklin County bucolic and beautiful.  I apologize for the messy background and Lubriderm lotion bottle!

NFL Week 3 Plays

This week there are some decent betting opportunities, but I have also decided to play a couple of unders.  Overs were huge in the first two weeks, and I believe the sportsbooks/market will overcompensate for this and set the line a little high, and I decided to pick a couple games that I think could go under.  I am still a little tight about the MNF game that I added an under 44 pick, because due to a couple freak plays, I ended up pushing, but thats the game.  Lets get into the picks.

Buffalo Bills +9.5 NE Patriots

The Bills have been pretty strong, and although the Patriots have looked incredible, I expect a small recession at some point, this game is in Buffalo as well, so 9.5 seems high.

Philadelphia Eagles -3 NY Giants

I am not a believer in the Giants, especially with Eli playing as he has, and the WRs all dinged up.  I do not know if Michael Vick is playing, but their backup looked pretty good, and they still have a good defense, I kind of like the under in this game, now that I think about it.

NO Saints -4 Houston Texans

I made this play early in the week, but I think I am regretting it, as the Texans are looking hot.  However, I have some faith in the Saints and Brees, and hope they will take this down.  My least favorite bet of the week.

NY Jets -3.5 Oakland Raiders

I think Rex Ryan and the Jets should take care of the Raiders, whose offense is going to struggle against the usually strong Jets defense, I also predict this will be a low scoring affair.

Houston Texans/NO Saints under 53.5

Not a ton of value in this pick, since both teams have strong offense, but I figure the public will be on the over, and I want to be contrarian here.

Miami Dolphins Cleveland Browns over 41

Chad Henne has looked pretty good, and I expect big numbers again in this game.  The number seems too low, but I wont be surprised if this game ends up as a 20-17 win for the Browns.

Atlanta Falcons Tampa Bay Bucs under 46

I expect Tampa Bay to win this game and it to be fairly close.  I think both teams will run the ball a lot, with Lagarette Blount having a big game. 

Fall Staples

Boy, it was a great summer, cookouts, hiking, and a big move.  With football starting and the weather getting chilly, New England autumn is creeping up on us.  I may take a trip up to Vermont in October to do some leaf peeping and get some Heady Topper cans at The Alchemist.  Here are some of my wardrobe staples for the upcoming season.

Barbour Bedale

Waxed cotton is always a favorite of mine, especially on dreary, foggy, cool days.  Made in England, the capital of dreary, foggy, cool days.


Patagonia Snap-T Fleece

Warm, affordable, available in a ton of great colors.  An old stand-by.


Crewneck Sweaters

Some older vintage shetland wool sweaters are in my rotation, along with more recent J.Crew lambswool joints.  Hopefully a J.Press Shaggy Dog is in my future for my birthday!


Oxford Cloth Button Down Shirts

Really these are a year-round staple, although I call on them much less during the summer.  I will often throw an aforementioned crewneck sweater on top of the shirt, especially when November rolls around.  Good options are Mercer and Sons, J.Press, Brooks Brothers, Land's End & LL Bean.

Red Wing Boots

I personally wear the classic 875s, although the Gentleman Travelers above are extremely temting


Raw Denim

Looks great with your Barbour Bedale jacket, this dark unwashed denim fades and fits your body as it gets older.  These are the only jeans I wear.  Check out APC New Standard or anything at Self Edge.


Filson Alaskan Flannel

Flannels are my weekend staple until March and "no one makes them better than Filson."  Great colors and built like a tank.


Any other reccomendations?  Leave a comment!

Paleo Meal: Steak and Salad

Monday Night Football Dinner: Paleo/Primal Steak/Salad

Trader Joe's Boneless Beef Rib Eye, 3/4 lb

cooked in Kerrygold butter, with chopped up onions, 5 minutes per side 

 medium rare, delicious

side salad, with organic lettuce, bell pepper, and green heirloom tomatos (monotone swag) with home made vinaigrette 

Hike: Mount Talcott - Avon/Simsbury CT

Mountain Wanderings on a Saturday morning at Talcott State Park in lovely Avon/Simsbury/Bloomfield CT

 Hartford, CT

 South

 North (Mt. Tom in the rear)

NFL Week 2 Plays

I watched the beginning of the Bears/Saints game, before it got out of hand, and then a number of the other games. During the 4pm window, I watched a great performance by Tom Brady and the Patriots. Finally, I was engrossed by the Sunday Night Football matchup of the Falcons vs. Eagles. Looking to do better than my NFL Week 1 performance.

The big injury of the week was devastating to my fantasy football team. Jamaal Charles is down and out for the season, and this pretty much puts the nail in the coffin for the Kansas City Chiefs, who were completely stomped by Detroit. I will probably avoid betting on/against the Chiefs for the rest of the year, because man they are BAD, and now have major injuries on both sides of the ball. Conversely, Detroit has been the sweetheart of the public, but they are the Lions, come on. I will still be going against them, depending on matchups/price.

Chicago Bears +8 v New Orleans Saints: LOSS
I was really impressed by the Bears effort in week 1, and was expecting their defense to come up big again this week, but it was not the case. Cutler and Forte were very effective in the early going, but Breesus Christ and the Saints were just too much for them. I got this +8 number very early in the week, and it closed at 6.5 or 7, so I think there was value. The Saints are just good.

Tampa Bay Bucs +3 Minnesota Vikings: WIN
Josh Freeman and his Tampa boys lost in game 1 to the Lions, and I figured they would come out firing this game. I am a big fan of this team, and consider them underrated. Also, I am not a believer in the Minnesota, although no one can deny Peterson's skills in RB, and with Mcnabb in QB, will be seeing plenty of action again this year. Tampa Bay won this game outright, and I am pleased with my pick here, straight value play.

Cincinnati Bengals +5.5 Denver Broncos: WINI feel a little lucky about this pick, but I mostly just went with it because the Bengals were coming off a week one win, where they surprised a lot of us, and Denver looked bad in their season opener, which happened to be a 10:30 pm Monday night game, so I figured the Bengals would be a little more fresh and confident. They wound up losing a close game, and I covered.

Seattle Seahawks +15 Pittsburgh Steelers: LOSS

This was my own fault, the number of +15 looked too good, and I should have considered the Steelers would set out to make a point after losing to Baltimore in week one. (who I figured would have a better game, and like in week 3) This was a blowout, and I will probably avoid games like this in the future, or maybe bet a half unit instead of a whole.

Atlanta Falcons +2.5 Philly Eagles: WIN

The public loves Philly, but I could not get on board with them being a favorite in Atlanta. Matty Ice is a pretty good QB, especially at home. Julio Jones made an insane late game catch. I think I got a pretty good number, as the smart money brought this down closer to a point at game time, but that's why I get my bets in early in the week! Who knows if I win if Vick stays in the game though, Philly may be the real deal!


Week Two total: +$8.18

Overall: -$2.49

Feel free to check out the above spreadsheet, at any time on Google Docs, I update my plays when I lock them in.


EDIT: Monday Night - I decided to take a flyer on the NYG under, will update the results after!

Paleo Meal: Bunless Bacon Cheeseburgers

 I do not even miss having a bun with my burger, when I am using vibrant and healthy paleo ingredients.

 Organic Greens, CT grown heriloom tomatos, pickled jalapenos $2

Grass-fed New Zealand cheddar from Trader Joe's (cheap and delicious)  $1

 1 lb of Grass Fed on a "Madness Sale" at Whole Foods market for 4.99$

 1/3rd of a package of Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon End's and pieces $1

Fry up the bacon, keep the bacon grease in the pan (healthy fats!) and put on the side

Put the burgers on the pan, flip after a few minutes, and add the sliced cheese

Cut up a couple pickles and made my plate

 Letting the other two patties cool down for lunches later this week

FOOD PORN!

Total Cost for 3 meals was under $10 dollars, so $3.33 per 1/3 lb grass-fed beef burger with organic ingredients and excellent cheddar cheese.  You can definitely afford to eat like this!