Day: December 7, 2006

Categories
Life

Taekwondo Kids

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Last Updated on December 7, 2006 by stlplace

I remember there is a movie called “Karate Kids”, but I am not talking about that; I am going to talk about the kids in my Taekwondo classes. Since I joined the local Taekowndo club, I have seen many kids, and what impressed me most is not the kid who got black belt at the age of 8; on the contrary, I remember the promotion testing the most. Every two months the school will have a promotion test, during which the white belt will test for yellow belt, yellow for green, and so on. One of the testing requirements is “breaking the board”, for the kid it’s a very thin and small wood board. But sometimes some kids are scared about this and just could not break it; the instructor would come up with all kinds of encouraging words, and helped the kids. Sometimes I felt even if a kid just touch the board a little, the instructor could fold (and thus break) the board. Although I have not tried it.   

Today I saw a little girl did exactly that. Her kick is “jump side kick”; she would run, and then just stop when she reach the board, in other words she does not have any speed or power when she get there. My instructor, did the usual thing except “fold” the board. Finally the kid made a touch and break it.

I think similar to the “breaking board”, a lot things are not  as hard as they look when we try. Sometimes all it takes is just a “touch”. On the other hand, if we don’t try to “touch”, we don’t have any chances.  

Tae Kwon Do

Categories
Stocks

Heelys IPO Start Tomorrow Dec 8

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on December 7, 2006 by stlplace

Obviously there is already a lot of excitement on this one, partly because of the success of similar plays such as UARM and CROX; partly because of Jim Cramer’s pump last night Dec 6, Jim did make a mistake saying it’s going out today (Dec 7), which is not true. It is going to be priced today and started trading tomorrow Dec 8, see this article from MarketWatch for more details.

(Update) Actually the HYLS was priced above the 16 to 18 range and went to 21, according to Reuters. Considering the 2006 earning of 1.00 (it already made 0.70 in first 9 months in 2006), and a PE ratio of 30 (which is reasonable), the stock could start at 30. This means a 50% jump from the IPO price. While this is not a record (compared to more than 100% jump of NMX), it will still be very nice. We can already see the action from today’s CSWC (it owns 35% of Heelys) stock, it went up 15%. 

Once again the bubble is building…stay tuned.

Categories
Fun

The Controversy of Heelys

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Last Updated on December 7, 2006 by stlplace

According to Wikipedia, here are some of the controversy of Heelys:

As of September 2005, some (US) schools can have Heelys. These shoes are usually allowed but the removable wheels cannot be in place. With the wheels removed, the shoes function just like any other pair of shoes.

Some businesses; especially malls, discount retailers, warehouse stores, and grocery stores; find the shoes to be a problem and a hazard. Some children with the shoes use them in the crowded stores, thus creating a hazard to shoppers, a potential risks for falling and injury, and a problem for insurance in the store, even if they aren’t at fault.

There are also alleged health issues. A few doctors – mostly back, leg, and foot specialists –are concerned about how long-term use of Heelys may affect the developing spine and muscles of children and teens. According to these doctors, the stance that children use to ride the wheels in the back of the shoes makes the spine flex against its natural curve in the lower back. It may also cause pain on the side of the ankle going forward.

In 2006, Heelys were the #1 on the list of “most dangerous toys of 2006”. This is mainly because so many injuries are due to Heelys. However, it has been observed that 97.29% of Heely-induced injuries are caused by people doing one of two things: either attempting a trick they are incapable of, or attempting greater tasks when they are learning to use them. Once you have learned how to use Heelys, and you don’t attempt out-of-reach stunts, you are actually quite safe.