MISSED THE BOAT...

In January I was given a gift. It came in the form of two words = Baillie Gifford

Their share price was touted around in early 2013 as one to watch or, if you had the balls/foresight, to invest in. At the time it was 150p per share.

Baillie Gifford Japan Trust plc are a securities house that invest funds across a range of Japanese companies, property and other investments to make other people money and themselves a good cut of the profit. Despite my interest in Japan and things Japanese (and I don't just mean the japanese girls comments I've made in the past!) I didn't do anything about it.

Lately though, the news has been full of the turnaround in the Japanese economy that has been made in the last 5 months, mainly being attributed to the new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - last weeks' Economist magazine even hailed him a Superman!

The Nikkei Index, Tokyo's main stock tracker index has gone up in value by 55% in the last 5 months.

So, I checked the stock price for Baillie Gifford again today. Rightly enough it has gone up. But I wasn't quite ready for the magnitude of the gain.

Currently priced at 312p per share, a gain had I had the balls (?) of 108%, dwarfing the 55% general index increase...

Sat here in May those two words have turned into one.

Balls...
 

GRAND THEFT AUTO...

I had to share this with you as it is a piece of genius data analysis. A comparison of car theft crime rates with sales of a video game purported to be one of the factors behind a rise in crime over the same period...

Shoots (pun intended) down those who say video games promote crime.

It comes from an interesting infographic that looks at car crime rates, unfortunately in the US rather than anywhere else, though there is a small section on international rates of car crime. This includes the alarming statistic that 9.7% of all car theft in the world occurs in Britain.

By any measure this is quite a surprise given that Britain's 62.2 million people account for barely 0.1% of the world's entire population. However, our car stock is going to be higher given much of the world doesn't even own one.. leaves the blog to go and find statistics on global car pool..

HOCKEY & MOZZARELLA..

HOCKEY..
A slightly disappointing start to round 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs for New York Rangers. Down 2 games in the first 2 games to Boston Bruins..

Current standings are (21 May):

Boston really are the surprise at this stage being 2 straight games up. Pittsburgh and LA are my personal favourites and I would have thought would be 2 or 3 games straight up but both have conceded a game.

Detroit, Mrs P's team (for different reasons to judging hockey skills and more to do with likeable players!) are looking a bit scrappy in their games but have been helped by Chicago's similar performance. Who knows which of those two teams is going through to the semi-final..

New York being down 2 games is in fact a good thing. As each game they lose goes by my yearning to be in New York later in the month to soak up the atmosphere of a game and some great Brooklyn beer and freshly smoked mozzarella pizza is slipping away.

MOZARELLA..
On that, I have just found out that Joe's Dairy, a family run cheese shop in SoHo that used to make the best smoked mozzarella I have ever tasted closed last week (11 May 2013).

Unbelievably, the shop was suffering from not enough walk in sales for their home made cheese.

I went in 2007 and witnessed the steam being blown across the road as the vats were being opened one morning. Bought some smoked, sliced by Anthony Campanelli at that very counter below and he wrapped it for me in a paper wrapper. I had it in my backpack, visited Bleeker St record store and then found a great Brooklyn Brewery real ale style pub close by at lunchtime and really enjoyed it for my lunch. One very memorable morning spent. Seems that won't be happening again. Shame. Real shame. Here's the official report.

In fact, it deserves two links it was that great a place - here's a really good review on a blog called Vanishing New York. Joe's reminded me of the types of store I used to see on Starsky & Hutch or other US TV programmes when I was a kid. Still a lot around, but not too many in Manhattan it seems. These days you have to venture out to Brooklyn, Long Island (not a bad thing - I am a fan of the New York Islanders after all!) or up to the Bronx.

Happy hunting.

MAN v CITY..

Let's take a look at the evidence..

Click the video.



This game is, yet again, about a world where things are falling apart.

This game is, yet again, taking the genre further.

This game is, yet again, looking incredible.

This game is, yet again, being developed by Ubisoft.

Watch Dogs.

I rest my case. Ubisoft, by far the most imaginative games designers out there!

A TALE OF 3 CITIES..

Trams... Not many places have the benefit of them in the UK.

This is especially surprising since a lot of towns started their adventures into commuting and expanding housing estates with horse drawn, then electric powered tram systems shuttling people backwards and forwards.

Those days are gone. Dead and buried some thought. Then came a resurgence in light rail systems during the 90s - across Europe as well as interest in them in Britain.

Just one or two cities had retained their systems; London obviously (the Underground is classified as a light rail/tram system in the Census), the Newcastle area has benefited from the excellent and very far stretching (47.5 miles of track) Tyne and Wear Metro since 1980 - it was the first modern light rail system to be opened in Britain and is the longest but is not technically a tram system.

GLASGOW SUBWAY
Perhaps more surprising is Glasgow's Subway, opened in - wait for it - December 1896 - powered first by cable pulleys and then by electric.

In fact, Glasgow's subway system is the third oldest metro system in the world (London Underground 1863 or 1890 depending on what you take to be an underground system, Budapest Metro May 1896).

However, technically it is not a light rail system and is classified for UK regulation as an underground railway system. For that reason I shall shut up about it. Nice colours and design to the logo though!

MANCHESTER METROLINK
Manchester was quick out of the blocks and the first part of the Metrolink system running between Manchester Victoria railway station and Bury 9 miles to the north was in fact converted over from standard railway rolling stock (with an electrified third rail) to a new overhead electrified line in the summer of 1991.

At the same time, work was undertaken in the city centre between Manchester Piccadilly station and Victoria and out of the city in a south west direction to another large satellite town Altrincham. The line was opened in April 1992 after some delays but allowed travel from Bury to Altrincham and linked the two main railway stations of Manchester together for the first time (plans for an underground rail tunnel and a monorail system between the two having been discussed and dropped in the 1960s and 1970s).

Manchester's network was expanded further in 1999 and 2000 (Phase 2 to Broadway and then extended to Eccles), and again in Autumn 2010 (Eccles extension to MediaCityUK at Salford Quays), July 2011 (a South Manchester extension to St. Werburgh's Road), June 2012 (Victoria to Oldham, north east of the city) and December 2012 (a further extensnio from Oldham out to the very edge of Manchester's urban area at Shaw). This latter line was extended to its full planned length in February 2013 and now reached as far as Rochdale. Another line running directly east from the city centre, the unconfusingly named East Manchester line, was opened in February 2013.

By the time new lines to East Didsbury (summer 2013), Ashton (winter 2013/14), Oldham and Rochdale town centres (2014), and Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe lines (2016) are complete, the network will cover 95km (59 miles), more than three times the original 30km (18.5 mile) network that opened in 1992.

Recently redesigned and the logo is looking slick. Well, this is Manchester. What did you expect?

SHEFFIELD SUPERTRAM
Sheffield followed suit and started building its own system in 1991 with the first tram running in March 1994  between Fitzalan Square and Meadowhall shopping centre.

The network currently runs out along three lines from Park Square/Pond's Forge on the eastern edge of the city centre. North easterly bound services go past the Don Valley Stadium and onwards to Meadowhall shopping centre, northern services (2 lines) past the University and on to Hillsborough (football ground) and Middlewood where there is a large Park & Ride facility. Southbound services link Sheffield railway station and Sheffield Hallam University into the network and go on past the very suburban Crystal Peaks district to Halfway Park & Ride scheme 7.5 miles out of the city centre.

It was announced in January 2013 that a new line will be built from Meadowhall to Dore south west of the city centre. This line will link into the planned Meadowhall High Speed railway station on its completion. Other planned extensions have been dropped in favour of investments in local bus services.

Dog awful logo. Colours are fine but what idiot picked that font? And why do Stagecoach have to print their authority all over the company?

NOTTINGHAM NET 
Nottingham's system is called NET, standing for Nottingham Express Transit.

It was a relative latecomer to the tram scene of northern(ish) England towns, opening in March 2004.

However, as I will show you later, it has been extremely successful indeed. The original system consisted of just one line running between Nottingham railway station on the southern edge of the city centre north to Hucknall 7.5 miles to the north of the city.

Phase 2 is under construction and extends the coverage of the original line southbound from the railway station with two lines - Line 2 to Clifton town centre and a large Park and Ride scheme that will allow a fast commute route in and out of the centre for those living further out, and the second southbound from the station and running past NG2, a large Business Park site, the Queens Medical Centre and University to Toton and another Park and Ride scheme (Line 3).

Logo a bit bland on this network don't you think?

MIDLAND METRO
A System I am not going to cover here is Midland Metro, running 12 miles between Wolverhampton and Birmingham Snow Hill railway station with a very short section 'on street'.

Other street level lines are planned but it is doubtful where the money will come from for construction at this stage. Nice easily recognisable logo though?

So, to measuring success?

Let's just look at the three new systems in place in the north of England (all £ figures in 2013 prices)..

Manchester
opened: 1992
cost: so far... £1.4 billion = Phase 1 £223.7 million, Phase 2 £200.75 million, Phase 3 £994.4 million (Phase 3b in progress will add £124.5 million by 2016)
length of tracks: 43 miles (59 miles by 2016)
frequency: 1 tram every 6-12 mins
network: 65 stops, 5 national rail interchanges
daily use: first full year 11.3 million 1993/94, 21.8 million 2011/12

Nottingham
opened: 2004
cost: Phase 1 £229 million. Phase 2 underway, max cost £570 million.
length of tracks: 9 miles
frequency: 1 tram every 5-6 mins
network: 23 stops, 3 national rail interchanges, 5 Park & Ride sites
daily use: first full year = 8.5 million 2004/05, 9 million 2011/12 (exceeded 10 million in 2007 and 2008)

Sheffield
opened: 1994
cost: £276.2 million
length of tracks: 18 miles
frequency: 1 tram every 5-10 mins
network: 48 stops, 2 national rail interchanges, 4 Park & Ride sites
daily use: first full year = 5.3 million 1995/96, 15 million 2011/12

[due to new lines in Mcr and Nott stats are subject to major revision during 2013]

But, my favourite way of judging things is to use graphics. Maps in particular.

Take a look at this below (click the image for a full size version) which shows the % of population at 2001 Census and then again at 2011 Census that were using light rail/tram systems to commute daily.

There is only one significant shift in behaviour in the three north of England cities. That occurs in Nottingham (bottom right with the place pin in for my non-UK readers) where comparison of the two dates show a much higher proportion of people using trams in 2011. This is a great result given that Nottingham's trams started almost half way through the period 2001-2011 and the other systems were in operation throughout the decade. For that reason, and despite being the smallest at the moment, it for me is the most successful.

Oh wait, Manchester Metrolink have been 100% powered by electricity sourced from a renewable energy company since 2007, and hydropower at that! None of the others get close. That's success of a different, more visionary, kind.

BEARS BEAT RANGERS..

Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup second round started Thursday evening for New York Rangers with a visit to the TD Garden Arena, Boston. An ice hockey venue I have yet to visit - next on my list in actual fact.

I'll keep this one short. ish.

Most of the shots on Lundqvist in the first period hit dead centre of his shirt logo. You are not going to score against "possibly the best netminder in the NHL" doing that.

Just over 12 minutes in though, a scrabble in front of net ended up with the puck in the back of it and Boston taking a lead. Scorer: Zdeno Chara, a Slovak national standing and one of the tallest players in the league at a huge 6 foot 9 inches! Huge! See below:

Last 20 seconds saw Sagan almost even up with a shot on the net that went wide. You couldn't cut it finer. 1.3 seconds to go in second period and NYR evened up. 1-1 as McDonagh fired in a medium strength snapshot from midway to the blue line.

Then, just 14 seconds into the third period the Rangers scored again. Derek Stepan this time (who is currently 2nd in both the regular season and the playoffs for the amount of game winning goals achieved.. strange stat, but clearly a key player for the team). Two goals with 16 seconds of playing time. 2-1 Rangers.

Didn't last long though, newcomer defenseman number 47 Torey Krug got his first NHL goal just before the three minute mark of the period. 2-2. This was his first ever playoff game having only played one game for the Bruins in the regular NHL season following signing from non-league team Indiana Ice. Keep your eyes on him next season - wikipedia page here.

The pressure was kept on by the Bruins for the next few minutes before play settled down into an end to end pattern for the rest of the period. 

Powerplay Boston and a dangerous try 22 seconds to go in the third. Then they hit the goalpost as the clock ticked to 0.0 seconds. New York Rangers thrown a lifeline at the very sound of the horn...

Overtime. Powerplay and, to be honest, Boston looked dangerous throughout.

4:20 left in OT and Boston took game one 3-2 with Marchand's first goal in the playoffs.

Shots on goal: Boston 48, New York 35.

One up for the bear. Let's hope the park Rangers get him at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon (3PM ET).

The other game last night was San Jose Sharks v LA Kings. End score: 4-3 to LA. A very very close game with LA only just evening up to 3-3 with 1:43 left in the third period and then, amazingly, 4-3 with 1:21 left. You can tell these two teams are going to come to major blows very soon.

And in other news, non hockey readers of this blog will be happy to know that I am going to post a non-hockey post later today. Mind you, if you think trains, trams and subways are boring....

TO THE MADHOUSE..

We have to wait until this evening for the first face off between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. It's going to be a rough, tough fight between those two old time rival teams.

Last night, Wednesday evening, saw the first of the second round games for the NHL Stanley Cup involving the other two of the four 'Original 6' teams - Chicago Blackhawks v Detroit Redwings. In Chicago. Welcome to the Madhouse..

Detroit didn't show much promise it must be said! Chicago went 1-0 up within 10 minutes of the game start as the Czech $63.3 million signing Marian Hossa (read "star player, major power shooter") made sure his slapshot went straight into and nearly through the back of the net.

Detroit managed to even up two minutes later but that was one of the only high points in their forwards game all night to be honest. Their saviour - if you can call it that given the end score - was Jimmy Howard, their 6 foot netminder who seemed to fill every space possible to stop more pucks going in the net.

The second period didn't happen. Still 1-1 by the end of it. Enough said.

Then Chicago turned it on and dominated the Redwings throughout the third period, two more goals coming at 8:02 and 11:20 minutes in. Oduya snapping up a rebound and then Kruger with a cheeky backhand shot.

3-1 into the final minutes and in a move of desperation Detroit pulled their Jimmy out of the net and played 6 men up front. That didn't work out though as Pat Sharp found an opening and outskated Detroit's Franzen to put himself in front of the net with nobody there to save the last shot. In the net. 4-1. Game over.

Best of seven though. Early days yet.

The 'Shots on Goal' stats show very clearly the uneven nature of this game:

ROUND 1 OVER..

So, Islanders out - see my last blog - but some surprises at the end of the first round of the Stanley Cup this year.

Mini-me supports New York Rangers (think he does it to wind me up as a New York Islanders fan!) and so we've been head to head in round 1 NYI playing Pittsburgh Penguins and NYR playing Washington Capitals. Both tough match ups.

The Rangers managed to hang on in there to game 7 of their first round and the last game of round 1 for them was undoubtedly their best yet. A real treat for anyone watching (except Caps fans of course) which ended in a 5-0 shut out by the Rangers and their progression to round 2 winning 4 games against 3. Lundqvist again proving himself to be, "probably the best netminder in the League."

Round 2 has started - some amazing match-ups top come.

New York will play the Boston Bruins, close rivals and both teams quite hard hitting. It will be a great round to watch from game 1 on.

Detroit Redwings will play Chicago Blackhawks, again close rivals and another source of family rivalries in this house as Mrs P has adopted Detroit as her favourite team. Largely due to the presence of one Henrik Zetterberg it must be said. She knows nothing about hockey! lol

Detroit v Chicago is the first of these Original 6 games facing off tonight in Chicago at 8:00PM ET (1:00AM here in the UK).

All four of those are 'Original 6' teams, a term used to recognise the group of six teams that composed the NHL for 25 seasons up to 1967 when the League was expanded.

The remaining match-ups feature non Original 6 teams and are Pittsburgh Pengiuns v Ottawa Senators (Pittsburgh are up one game already), LA Kings v San Jose Sharks (LA up one game with a 2-0 win on Tuesday night).

My money is on Pittsburgh v LA in the final but anything can happen in the Stanley Cup...

 

NOT NEW YORK..

Game 6 of the first round of 2013's Stanley Cup playoffs. New York Islanders fighting to stay in with a chance to go through to the next round against the number 1 seeded team from the east Pittsburgh Penguins.

All excitement. They've done extremely well to get to this point.

And opened well by putting themselves into the lead after only 5 and a half minutes. The Islanders completely dominated Pittsburgh, spending what seemed like 90% of the on-ice time in front of the Pittsburgh net for most of the first period. Rewarded for their effort by scoring their second goal with barely 30 seconds left to play in the first period - a truly amazing split second response by McDonald.

The Penguins though, never let it faze them and matched the Islanders goals first 1-1 by 7:39 into the first period, then 2-2 after 11 minutes of the second period. The 3-1 lead by the Islanders grabbed just into the third period lasted until 14:44 when Martin's slapshot whistled past Nabukov and returned the game to even numbers.

Brooks Orpik put the last goal into the Islanders net, a slapshot from the blue line that hit the left hand post, bounced to the right hand post and bumped inside the net line. It could so easily have bounced the other direction and maybe, just maybe the Islanders could have been in with their 7th game chance this evening.

Here's a link to the highlights video

So. To my blog title. Not quite right as it happens. The New York Rangers managed to hold on to a 1-0 lead on Sunday evening  against the Washington Capitals and with a series tied at 3 games each will now play their 7th game of round 1 this evening at 8pm ET.

Vokoun, the Penguins netminder summed up the NYI-PIT series well, "Give them a lot of credit. They played a great series and they played really hard. They're an up and coming good team."

And the web is full of commendations to a team that is only just getting into its stride. Young players abound. Only two guys with Stanley Cup playoff experience? Tavares already a major star player and he's only 22 years old... There's clearly a lot more to come from this line up.

At least I won't be tempted to stay up late now and catch the playoff games live is over, I'll catch up each morning from now on- until the final final of course! And with the Islanders now out of the running I am not planning to jump on a plane and travel to NY for a final series sometime in June - the sun of Gran Canaria beckons instead.

#PITvsNYI over.

See you next year!

TWO GOAL BREAKAWAY..

Correction, three goal breakaway...

That's what killed NY on Thursday night at the Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders game. Game 5 of a best of 7 Round 1 Stanley Cup playoff match up. Islanders hanging in there and have to win two in a row now to stay in.

Until Thursday the Islanders had done well to come back from a disastrous first game (5-0 loss) by winning the last two games and arriving at 2-2 game stand off.

So, the Penguins first made a two goal lead, then a three goal lead thanks to Sidney Crosby (one of their star players) in the second period.

To add insult to injury they opened it further to 4-0 within the first 6 minutes of he third period.

The Islanders didn't really look like they were communicating most of the game. In my eyes, the real star for them in the series so far has been Nabokov, their netminder. Even he didn't shine on Thursday night and was pulled and replaced by 23 year old Kevin Poulin for the last 15 minutes and 4 shots on goal - none got past him.

Amazingly, some of the best playing of the game by the Islanders came in the dying minutes. They managed top keep the puck out of the net in the last three minutes even when faced with a 5 on 3 players situation  following a whole heap of penalties - Hickey for elbowing at 18 minutes, Hamonic and Cizikas for roughing at 18:39 (matched by 2 Penguins players) and  Strait, Aucoin and Martin 10 minute enalties for misconduct at 19mins 36 (joined by 2 Penguins players for the same).

The Penguins netminder was changed in the last game from Fleury to Vokoun and this seems to have had the desired result for them, Islanders 31 shots on goal during the game being kept out of the net by the 37 year old Czech player from Karlovy Vary.

Pittsburgh: 31 shots on goal - 4 goals
New York: 31 shots on goal - 0 goals

Says it all.

Roll on Saturday night when Pittsburgh play on the Islanders home ice at the Nassau Centre, Long Island. I'm staying up to watch! You gotta be positive.

Note: for US readers, the games that start at 7PM ET air live here in the UK from midnight so we have to stay up and watch late night games - adds to the ambience for me though is a little annoying in the mid-week when work calls the next day!

IN THE NET..

Game 4 last night between New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

A real game of ping pong this one. First one team scores (the Islanders got the first lead as Brian Strait got his first ever NHL goal), then the other evens up 45 seconds later. 1-1 out of the first period.

2-1 to New York 6 minutes into the second with Pittsburgh making it even again within 60 seconds.

Pittsburgh then took a 3-2 lead at the end of the 2nd period and it all started to look more familiar as the Penguins game tightened up.

It took the Islanders a while to get back the 3rd goal in the second period, but guess what? With 1 minute 25 to go they did it. Then the Penguins stuffed another one in to make it 4-3 in the first minute of the 3rd period . No panic though, 15 minutes 30 on the clock to go and the NYI evened up to 4-4.

5-4 lead for the Islanders after some really close in work by Tavares. First one shot with a rebound and then proof that persistence pays as he got another chance to hook it round Fleury's right hand side.

Then the first two goal lead of the game opened up. 6-4 to the Islanders in the last minute and a half as Cizikis simply walked it into the net past the Penguins Fleury.

This was the first time that the Islanders have won a playoff game at home since 2002.

Two games each in this best of seven.. Pittsburgh host the Islanders on Thursday 7th, then it's back to Long Island on Saturday 11th. I wish I was not so busy with work and there to soak up the atmosphere!

Persistence paid in another game too.

Montreal were leading 2-1 into the final few seconds of their game against Ottawa on Tuesday. But they managed to even up with 22 seconds left. The game went into overtime  and Ottawa managed to get the winning goal in the first three minutes of OT. 3 games to Ottawa, 1 to Montreal and it looks like the Canadiens may bow out in round 1 this year..

STANLEY CUP SO FAR..

Spot that break from tradition up there? Usually my blog titles are three words only. Couldn't quickly make up a 3 worder today. Sorry.

Anyway, the Stanley Cup is well into the first round of the playoffs. 16 teams playing for the ultimate cup. 8 teams from the Western Conference, 8 from the Eastern.Each round is best of 7 games - an exhausting haul to mid-late June with teams playing every other day, home or away. They're earning their dollars right now.

All for this..

My teams, New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens are both faring ok - little early to tell but the NYI at the very least are doing incredibly well given they were drawn against the favourites from the East Coast, Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT in chart below). Three games in, won one, lost two - but only just to be honest and the last two games being high scoring - proving the NYI can score against the Penguins. And a lot when they get their act together. 

The first game was a write off as they lost 5-0 but they came back to a 4-3 win and then took the Penguins into overtime in game 3 to win 5-4.

Here's the run down so far (at early evening 7 May). Eastern Conference on the top row, West on the bottom for the uninitiated!

The other team I follow closely, Montreal, are faring a lot worse against Ottawa Senators (OTT in chart above).

The surprise so far has been the New York Rangers, not my team but I like to watch and they are 'mini-me's' favourites. They seem unable to start the playoffs proper against the Washington Capitals (WSH above). 3-1 down in game 1, then a very uneventful game that went all the way into overtime (OT) with a score of 0-0 until the Capitals scored 8 minutes into OT. Then a 4-3 win for them in game 3.

Their school report says "must try harder". Especially when they get Power plays (the other team have a player off ice for a few minutes - again for the uninitiated).

Also watching Detroit Redwings (second on bottom row above) closely as they have failed to ignite their star players so far (lots of late night catching up on my tablet in bed with Gamecenter Live!)

If you want to keep up with progress, the NHL have a great, constantly updated results chart here.

More soon..

BAD START THAT...

Wednesday 1 May 2013

New York Islanders game 1 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.

I'm waiting with anticipation. 

True, the Islanders have drawn the worst possible team to go up against in the first round - Pittsburgh Pengiuns (way ahead on points and games won this year and playing an amazing game). 

True, the Islanders haven't really got a team with any experience of playing in the Stanley Cup - only one team member and their netminder have done so before. 

True, they haven't even made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2007.

But, Sid Crosby - the Penguins all start high scorer - broke his jaw playing against the Islanders in the last regular season game (1 day before on March 30) and is out of play at the moment. That's got to help, right?

Wrong.

News headlines like the NY Daily News site's "NY Islanders get destroyed by Pittsburgh Penguins in first playoff appearance since 2007" don't help!!

Oh well. Onto game 2..