Roger McNamee’s ideas for technology investing: the charts.

With a tear in his eye (minute 5:15 in video)! Forever the hometown boy. I admire the segment of the program where the finalists distribute medals to the ball boys and girls.

From an IBM corporate post: “For Opel, the way the company treated people was its most important attribute. “Mutual respect and openness and honesty among people is what makes a company work well over time,” he said.”

Medals awarded on November 2, 2011 at dinner in Washington, DC.

My friend’s father was wounded in Italy fighting with the 442nd. The regiment consisted of Japanese-Americans, a majority of whose families were incarcerated at the start of WWII because of their Japanese ancestry and appearance. The boys wanted to show their patriotism and loyalty, fought hard to get a chance to fight and suffered the highest casualty rate of any regiment in the Army in Europe (13,000 served and awarded 9,000 Purple Hearts). There is only a handful remaining and the memories of their contributions are well faded.

Theirs is the most highly decorated unit in Army history. Their commitment to purpose and contributions to the freedom of our country are inspiring to recall at this moment.

“We also thank the government, which allowed us to serve in the U.S. Army to defend our country and to prove our loyalty to America,” Sakato said.

Especially when a senior executive is sentenced to a prison term or a former Board member passes away or when a icon of the industry passes away.

Our younger son was born tall and hasn’t stop since. He plays on the junior varsity basketball team with a strict regimen of four practice shots per month, maybe less. His preferred sport is lacrosse where he, in true form, is catching a big wave at an opportune moment. Just ask Nike and ESPN. Even though lax is a spring season sport, one can play organized lacrosse year-round: leagues include the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, complete with helmet, pads and crosse. BTW, lacrosse received its name when the visiting team, aka the French Priests, saw the Canadian Indians playing their village to village game and declared that their sticks looked like the ceremonial cross that the bishops carried. OK, so maybe FCA teams are not so ironic after all. And there is Fall Ball and Frosty Ball (winter,’natch) and post winter but before spring ball – not really, but it is kind of an endless season. Which brings me to the concept of traveling teams, those things I scoffed at and derided when other parents told me of their lost weekends driving around the state, region and even to interstate venues. I think some place north of someplace that I have never been to.

Right you are, comeuppance time. Or should I describe it as ‘I know that I cannot afford either a new bbq grill or a new lawn-mower, but how could I not seize the chance(s) to invest $700 for a weekend away in the heat, rain and chill to watch other miserable parents watch their children pretend to be on ESPN.’ Away tournaments are kind of attractive, at least one is not asked to cook-out or to cut the grass. But, on Mondays, I look forward to getting in the car on Friday for a journey to the away tournaments entitled Select or Showcase, cause this is where the scholarships to D-1, D-2 and D-3 schools are awarded. We’re not talking college, we’re talking divisions of college. I cannot tell if being 50th of 100 in D-1 schools is better or equal or worse than being in the top 10 of a D-3 school?! I do know this: athletic scholarships are the dope of college applications = get those 15 year olds thinking about life at 22 as soon as possible, complete with a $600 HD video package of how he performed at the Select Camp so that the other coaches can view junior’s talents on-line asap. I’d offer a sarcastic comment including Harvard or Michigan or other elite institutions, but they are all rushing into lax as fast as possible. Untapped revenue streams have to be tapped and women’s tennis is not the spring draw desired.

I never dreamed that a sport that I never dreamed of when I was young would occupy so much of my attention and disposable income. How about this: I’m a certified high school lacrosse ref. I mean, how else could I learn about this simple and complex game?! Run, shoot, score…with face-offs, creases, warding and slashing. Happily, it all happens in a hurry with lots of scoring. In short, not golf. I plan to use lax as my vantage point for the college application process. Once again indicating that even though most of us will never play a professional sport, there is no harm in making a business out it anyway.