About Tom Stortz

Enjoying my last few responsibility free years left.

NVAX Drops 80%!

Today is not a good day for NVAX owners. If you’ve read my previous posts and had money in this trainwreck, I apologize. The results regarding their RSV vaccine were not positive and investors jumped ship. I’ve never seen an 80% plunge before.

This is why you don’t have all your eggs in one basket. I immediately think about Harry from Boiler Room except he was scammed into losing his money and I actively lost my money. Once again a recommendation I made has lost money. This is becoming a common theme and I’d advocate going against anything I say. Life is hard.

By |2016-09-16T10:18:00-04:00September 16th, 2016|My Brain|2 Comments

On the Road Again

A photo of an Ikea

A photo of an Ikea and irrelevant to this entire post

Stortz Tools printed a new catalog and one of my jobs is distributing it. I spent the last 3 days on the road and you may, but more likely may not, find this worth reading.

 

 

Day 1

I woke up at 5:30am on Monday and ran, literally ran, to the shop to get my car which had about 5k worth of inventory in it. I drove the car to the gas station to fill up the front right tire with air because a brand new tire not installed correct had a small leak. This gave me anxiety throughout the entire 3 day trip.

2for-3-33sizzli_pc_xl_v2_akI showered and put on slacks and a button down which I’ll comment on later and set off. My first stop was in Trenton. I drove the 45 minutes North on 95 and got a 20 oz coffee and 2 Sizzli’s from a nearby Wawa. I won’t bore you with my sales pitch or how people reacted because it’s truly not that exciting.

I ended up making 18 stops on the day which is pretty damn good. It shows that good planning and mapping out your location ahead of time pays off. I essentially went from Trenton, NJ to Scotia, NY, making stops along the way, all in one day.

I ran through here.

I ran through here.

I stayed in Saratoga Springs, NY because I know the Pres had been there. I got a room at a Best Western for $115 and went for a run around the area. I felt really good after the run and ate at a local brewery called Druthers. I drank 4 beers, watched the NFL, and talked to this one bro who claimed that the Space X explosion was caused by aliens. Maybe?

I fell asleep at 10 pm after losing 4 units on the Redskins and not betting the Rams (thankfully).

 

 

Day 2

20160913_151742

This is what a slab of slate looks like.

I got up at 6am and got the Best Western’s continental breakfast. The coffee was horrible and the best part of the meal was the Frosted Flakes.

I headed out around 7 and listened to Howard on my way to the next trip in Poultney, Vermont. If you aren’t familar with Poultney, or Granville for that matter, it is where all of the slate comes from in the USA. I made a few more visits to people we sell to and then met up with the people who were the reason for my trip at 10am.

Once again without boring you with details about my work, I partook in an instructional class in slate roofing. We viewed the mill process of slate and even had dinner at the Slate Museum in Granville. I went to sleep around 10pm but once again was exhausted from the day.

 

 

Day 3

20160914_062922I awoke to an awesome sunrise at the Panarama Hotel in Hampton, NY. I then did a little presentation on slate and metal tools and made my first mistake of my trip. Instead of getting footage of the instructional class, I left to make more sales calls but I didn’t realize they were too far away.

vermont

This is exactly what driving through Vermont looks like.

I left Vermont and traveled 3.5 hours to Somerville, MA. I hit some traffic on the way and by the time I had made 4 stops in Boston and Brockton, it was already 2:30 pm and I was an hour and a half away from any stop to make that I knew of. I trekked the 6 hours home through GW bridge traffic and nearly peed myself. I had a 32 oz Gatorade bottle but was pretty sure I’d fill it up. I was lights out when I got home.

 

Final Thoughts

  • I can't take anymore sales trips.

    I can’t take anymore sales trips.

    It was odd when I’d walk into a store with my nice clothes on because the people would immediately get intimidated. The 3rd day when I was making stops I was dressed in a polo and jeans and it felt much more comfortable to all parties involved. I’ve read before that you should be dressed a little bit better than the person you are selling to and when your customers are 9-5 customer service people, the nicer is not better.

  • Driving too far out of the way is not smart. The furthest stop away from each stop should be 30-45 minutes. If places are spread too far, you end up driving more than you want to.
  • b001fbb04i-1Sirius radio is a life saver because it never lose the signal. Google Maps is also essential to traveling to the unknown. I swapped between Howard, Fantasy Football news talk, and music the entire way. Google Maps is also on point with timing and directions. No complaints.
  • Pounding the pavement is an outdated means of salesmanship. It’s too slow. The pro’s are that you actually meet people face to face and see the locations of where your products are being sent which you cannot do from inside a room. The con’s are that it takes a lot of time and you are primarily speaking to people who aren’t that interested. I know that sounds stupid but you try to open up new accounts. It’s not an easy task.
By |2016-09-15T16:27:09-04:00September 15th, 2016|My Life|0 Comments

Week 1 Football Update

SUCCESS! I couldn’t have scripted week 1 any better.

Fantasy

Bum.

Bum.

Wild Turkeys wins if Carlos Hyde goes for less than 24.82. 90%

Big Johnsons win if Matt Jones and the Rams D outscore me by 18.68. Oh yeah, I have Jordan Reed and Chris Bowell going as well. 99%.

Jameis Has Crabs wins if Matt Jones outscores Jordan Reed by 23.7. 99%

Bets

Well done kid.

Well done kid.

I had stated prior that I had the Bucs and the Jags, both of whom covered. What you didn’t know is that I placed a wager on the Patriots +9 which obviously won. Congrats to Rob Kelley on a nice ML parlay hit.

For my own personal record, each unit is $10. I won 5 on the Broncos on Thursday, lost 2 on Syracuse Friday, 3 on Pitt and 1 on a parlay on Saturday. Today I won 5 on the Bucs, 4 on the Jags, and 6 on the Pats. This is a +14 unit tally so far with a combined record of 4-0 on NFL and 0-3 on College. Unfortunately there is this thing called juice and my account, which started at $100, is now at $217 which is +11.7 units.

I have 4 units on the Redskins +3 (-120) tomorrow. If it hits, I’ll take the Rams for some more units. If not, I’ll wait until Thursday.

Draftkings

AeJones, why are you in a 3 man $20 league and how did I beat you?

AeJones, why are you in a 3 man $20 league and how did I beat you?

Easily the most I could write about but I’ll keep it simple. I entered $83 dollars in 6 total tournaments and cashed out $84 for a net profit of $1. My high lineup score was 151.72 and my low was 99.62. I won a 3 man, $20, with the 151 score and cashed in the big tourney which had 113,000 people and I got 30,000. I lost in a 3 man and 10 man $10 leagues where the top scores were 162 & 207 respectively. I also got shit on in a $20 3 man where a top score was 165.74. Not an easy buck.

All that being said, AP being a complete bust taught a lesson not to pick players from low under totals. The idea of targeting the highest scoring games and stacking the players is where the strategy is. I got beat down by a Brees, Snead, and Cooks stack. Lesson learned.  Also shying away from the value of Spencer Ware will not happen again. Paying down for a QB in Wentz was pretty smart for the future.

Eliminator and Pick Em

754835e1-7ea9-4eae-8e4f-3a230d3b31f3-large16x9_dolphins_seahawks_football__vcatalanifisherinteractive-com_4Major sweat in the Seattle game for the elminator pick but they pulled it off. Probably will go after a more contrarian pick next week.

I’m tied with Adam in the Pig Skin Pick em, ATS, for the first place total of the week snagging 10 of 14 games. I’ll add that Adam was sending some chirping texts before the Cardinals game and basically dug his own grave. I’m not trying to rub it in but when you chirp and lose, it’s way worse than never chirping at all. Evan will probably beat you too in the Dynasty for the karma to be delivered in its fullest.

I also have 10 games right in the Softerware pick’em but the leader has 12 which will be out of reach.

By |2016-09-12T05:30:43-04:00September 12th, 2016|Sports|0 Comments

The First Football Post…For Real

step-brothers-film-images-f08fa610-700f-4864-be1e-e2b7d9df69eJohn Bonham’s playing Moby Dick for real!

Note to self, combining Step Brothers and Football is a recipe for success.

 

Fantasy Football

I’m in 3 leagues this year. Only 3 you ask? Yes, one of the leagues went defunct because the commissioner had a child and the members weren’t fully committed. If the league is going to go soft, it’s better to not have it anyhow but I’ve learned people are irrational when it comes to running leagues. How hard is it to draft and  set a line up every week? It’s only time consuming if you want to make it time consuming. This is like when Justin ends the baseball league 4 weeks early because he doesn’t want to intermingle with football.

All that being said I’m doing Evan’s league, “The Dynasty”, where I’ve had previous success, Steve’s League, “Philadelphia Soul Defending Champs”, where I’ve been the bridesmaid but never the bride, and Baker’s ,”We’re Grown Men Playing for $30 dollars and Everyone Cares More Than They Should League”. Without further ado let’s peep the squads.

teams

 

 

wildturkeys-300x300Wild Turkeys – Eli will have a strong passing attack all year to O’dell. Alshon will be a target monster with no one else on the team to throw to. Tate is extremely underrated with 90+ catches the last two years WITH Calvin on the team. Johnson and McCoy are probably the strongest running duo in the league with probably the strongest backups in the league with Ryan Mathews and Rashad Jennings. Willie Snead has break out potential and Steve Smith is a long shot to produce.

Big Johnsons – I’ll write more on Jameis in a minute. Johnson and Freeman will be top RB’s this year. Landry is under appreciated and I have hopes for Maclin but my expectations are curbed. Jordan Reed is the steal of the draft going in the 3rd round. Jennings will be a 3 down workhorse. This bench is fairly weak with John Brown having concussions, Corey Coleman who may be useless by week 4, Riddick has a lot of PPR potential, and I like Snead to produce. High expectations.

Jameis Has Crabs – Jameis info below. Freeman and McCoy were taken with 12 and 13 so I can’t complain. Crabtree and Shepard are not my favorite WR’s to start but I have to make due. Reed will be big and Forte is going to have a stronger year than people think. The Matthews pick was made before Wentz was named the starter which I regret. I have high hopes for Foster but need to wait a few weeks to re-evaluate. Sharpe and Coleman are wait and see and TyGod will be a good backup.

 

DraftKings

The more research you do, the harder it is to make a lineup. At some point it feels like everyone is recommended. This week I’ll be entering the $3 Millionaire, the $20 Sunday Special, and 2 $20 3 man’s, and a $10 5 man. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a profitable DK player. I enjoy the action though and this is hardly a major investment. If I can get the ball rolling a little bit with some early wins, I’ll up the ante.

*These can and probably will change as Sunday approaches. News always comes out.

dklineup

The obvious choice in RB this week is Spencer Ware who I believe will be owned all over the place. I’d imagine you’d have to fade him in big tourney’s to make a splash. Marvin Jones will be a popular pick as Luck and Stafford are going to be slinging it with Vontae Davis out and the Colts D being laughable early on. James White is sneaky cheap but also has a low floor if the Patriots go to some wild game plan with Garrapolo. Some longshot picks are Sterling Shepard (no one has seen him play and Odell draws the attention), Stefon Diggs (Hill has to throw the ball to someone), and Jarvis Landry (everyone is scared to go up against Seattle but remember Markus Wheaton torched them for  9-201).

 

Bets

After starting 1-0 with a $50 win on the Broncos, I lost $20 last night on a blind stab at Syracuse. Watching Syracuse was one of the worst tackling displays I’ve ever seen and once again proves I should stay away from college at all costs. On to the NFL where I spend far more time.

Throwing them all off.

Throwing them all off.

Bucs +3 – Read more on Jameis below. Currently -125 which is not that appealing but I’ve been reading that Matt Ryan has been regressing from what I believe is already a regressed state. Devontae and Julio are obviously strong weapons but the Falcons aren’t a great football team. They finished last season losing 6 of their last 8 games and lost to the Bucs twice last year both in close games. I wouldn’t say this is a mortal lock but I think the Bucs win the game outright and the points are just a topping. I’ll probably include this in a teaser.

Blake stop putting up with your shit and is finally ready to play some football.

Blake stop putting up with your shit and is finally ready to play some football.

Jags +6 – What do we look for when making selections? Home dogs. Home dogs are bad picks when the other team is far superior and blow them out of the building. This will not be the case in this game. The Packers won their first 6 games last season before losing to both Super Bowl teams in back to back weeks. They closed the season getting blown out by the Cardinals and Vikings in the regular season and then losing to the Cardinals again in the post season. They are good team but not a great team. With Jordy back and Lacy supposedly revived, they have more weapons but I expect some rust. The Jags are up and coming but should be able to move the ball with Allen Robinson and a decent RB duo of Yeldon and Ivory. Once again, I’d feel better teasing this but I think a close game will occur.

Skins +3 – I saw analysts picking the Steelers to win the Super Bowl which surprises me because I don’t think their defense is top notch. Their offense obviously is but with Bryant out for the year and LeVeon suspended, I think it’ll be a few weeks before they are firing on all cylinders. Cousins is a monster at home after a 6-2 record last year and put up 206 total points during those games while throwing 16 TD’s and adding 4 rushing TD’s. Reed with have a monster game and DeSean will be catching deep balls all over the place.

Eliminator – Take Seattle and don’t over think it. It’s the largest point spread, Seattle is home, Miami has Ryan Tannehill.

 

Breakout Player of the Year

jameisFamous Jameis. Perhaps this is too late of a pick considering he threw for over 4,000 yards last year, ran for another 214, and had a 22-15 TD to INT ratio which is solid but not otherworldly.  To the right you can see he had exactly 0 single digit games. His floor was 13.4 against a stout Houston D and ceiling was 30.8 against our shitty Eagles. Mike Evans is a WR serious threat, Doug Martin got back to his 2013 ways and Charles Sims is a PPR machine. Plus Jameis isn’t scared of rifling the ball downfield. Like Odell Beckham before, Jameis is my new prediction of breakout start as he will finish the year as a top 5 QB. Futures Justin would be proud.

 

 

By |2016-09-10T09:26:19-04:00September 10th, 2016|Sports|1 Comment

People Are Spontaneously Combusting

They’re not but they might as well be with how hot it is outside. Bonus points for knowing the album cover the feature image is from.

USA Today – The summer of 2016 recorded hotter nights than any summer since records began in 1895, according to data released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

7251586-3x2-940x627It’s no secret that humans have ruined the o-zone layer and global warming is in full effect. I’m not a scientist but I’m pretty sure that mass extermination is bound to follow.

I was walking down the street thinking how hot it was and my thoughts immediately turned to dinosaurs. Do you think dinosaurs were aware they were going to be wiped out before they were, you know, wiped out? Do you really think we’re that much smarter than dinosaurs? If people start exploding I’ll be the first person to start driving to the North Pole.

By |2016-09-09T13:47:21-04:00September 9th, 2016|My Brain|3 Comments

Football Begins

dfsI purposely didn’t post who I want to draft so snakes wouldn’t steal my picks. I subscribed to ProFootballFocus before the season started which pretty much leaves Rotoworld in the dust. I suppose there are 2 ways to look at paying for information:
1) It’s cheating because everyone should be on the same playing field
2) It’s not cheating because everyone can do it if they want to

Considering the amount of time I spend watching and researching football, I look at paying for a service an investment and if that gives me a leg up, hopefully I’ll see dividends. As such, all of my drafts went swimmingly and I think I’ll be in good shape as the season progresses. If someone reads this and wants to pay me for my login info to see PFF’s info for a discount, I’m willing to talk. Also here are Evan Silva’s week 1 matchups which are a must read if you play DFS.

funny-pictures-backwards-bowler-animated-gifIn other news we’ve been bowling a lot and Sam has been setting the bar with high scores. I myself set a new career high but it’s not a big deal to me because in the near future a 300 game will be thrown and that’s when I’ll get excited. I wrote before that there can be a sense of jealousy in another person performing at a level that you haven’t done yet but I don’t feel that. Being able to practice and hit new highs together is not only how a team improves, but it helps everyone improve as individuals.

I’ll be going away next week on a sales trip so I won’t be posting. As much as I would like to get drunk and watch football this weekend, I have to prep for this trip and it’s consuming much of my time. Combine that with football research and I’m barely able to knock out these blog posts. I started the season 1-0 on bets with a Denver win yesterday so I’m sure I’ll be writing about my picks and players upcoming.

By |2016-09-09T10:28:22-04:00September 9th, 2016|My Life|0 Comments

Donald Makes Hillary Allergic?

Not sure about you, but I don’t think this looks so good.

Hillary Clinton Coughing Attack

Donald Drumpf Can Actually Win?!?

I’m not going to vote for Hilary for a few reasons and the least likely one is her coughing attack. Here’s my thought process, she must be such a poor candidate that she is barely winning over Trump! Donald Trump isn’t a politician. He’s a wheeling and dealing business man and Hilary isn’t able to put him away. In fact he’s gaining ground! Vegas has taken so much action on Trump that they are probably shaking in their boots.

 

donald-trump-hillary-clintonAs bad as Donald is with the wall, his lack of tact with world leaders, his failed University which taught the teachers to up-sell the students into spending more money, his tiny hands, his ridiculous hair, his shenanigans, and the general thought “we can’t have him as our President”, HE’S STILL NOT OUT OF IT. Hilary must be a worse option because she’s barely winning and it keeps getting closer. These debates are going to be electric. There has to be some feeling that Hilary is going to cough through the entire debate. Can’t wait.

By |2016-09-07T09:47:37-04:00September 7th, 2016|My Brain|1 Comment

When a Bird Leaves the Nest

Meet Zippy. I’ve named him (or her) Zippy because he/she must have zipped right into a window. I suppose it’s also possible it fell out of a tree. Either way it’s injured and can’t fly. I found it chilling on the sidewalk and picked it up and put it in a box. As it escaped my first box, I found him wandering in the street again and I moved it to a bigger box. It then escaped my bigger box and I put a lid on his escape attempts. He has about 10% flight so hopefully in the next 10 minutes he makes a full recovery and can once again soar with his friends. I’ll keep his life updated.

 

*The Zipster is no longer with us. It makes me think that he would have been better off without my assistance. Before my hands of death got a hold of him, he was hopping along without a care in the world. You could make the case that he died warm and safe instead of getting run over by a car, but I’m not so certain that was better. He went from viral to petering out in a mere hour. RIP.

By |2016-10-28T15:33:01-04:00September 6th, 2016|My Life|6 Comments

The Peace and Quiet

IMG_1822First and foremost, Sam rolled a 289 which is the best bowling score out of anyone I know. Sometimes there’s a feeling of jealousy when a bowler is doing really well and you think to yourself that you’d like to see them miss. This was not the case when we were rolling on Friday as I was really pulling for a perfect game. They don’t come along very often and when you get the chance at one, you have to root as hard as you can for it to happen. In due time,

Lake-Naomi-Club-Sunset-Poconos-PAIn other news, my parents purchased a mountain home in the Poconos. Believe it or not it is surprisingly affordable. The family went for the first time this weekend and it’s a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the city. When I go for runs, it’s weird to be completely by myself. It doesn’t happen in the city. The lifestyle is a little different too as we’d go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier. The house is still being fixed up and is going to be a nice long term investment for the family.

By |2016-10-29T12:07:16-04:00September 5th, 2016|My Life|0 Comments

And the Winner Is?

Steve's cat.

Steve’s cat.

Steve McGrath with a guess of $201.00. The total amount of change I had was $220.16. Steve won $44.03 which I will Venmo to him.  What a game!

By |2016-09-05T15:38:42-04:00September 5th, 2016|My Brain|1 Comment

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