why i chose the other stocks

Since I was determined to pick at least one stock from a Mass. company, I stumbled onto "the Boston 100" put out by the Boston Globe, which gave a plethora of information. I was intrigued by the way they organized the companies into top ten lists: top ten in sales, top ten in stock value over 10 years, IPOs, etc

I finally chose Perini Corp. a multi national Building firm with huge government and a slew of humongous Las Vegas Resorts - but what got me (I admit), was that one of the newest news feeds on them, was that they were able to successfully renegotiate a mortgage deal with a Swiss Bank; This allows them to continue building on a month to month basis on a resort in Vegas. That it made the news that they have the negotiating prowess to do so impressed me. These guys will keep building even if they have to bail out their client!

I also know nothing about the construction field and although most stocks I've looked into nose dived early this year - Perini did less so, so I attribute their dive to general cold feet in general not the company itself - which despite building slow downs in the home building arena has orders lined up for the next few years. I'm worried about putting all of Thom's hard earned money into the mob.......

TER or "Teradyne, Inc. manufactures and sells automatic test equipment worldwide. The company offers semiconductor test systems used for wafer level and device package testing. These chips are used in automotive, communications, consumer, computer, and electronic game applications." From yahoo's profile... High in Boston 100, an industry I don't understand - so good learning opportunity, seems to me that they are selling all the right things. 1 billion in sales, 3600 employees. more later. I realize I'm forgetting the other reasons - must go back and check notes.

I canned these cause I wanted to simplify my portfolio

• Yahoo although I would like to just follow the action, but I don't expect this possible buyout to offer any benefits in the short run here.
• ARTG although it is an upstart from Jan. and they are buying up their own stock because they think it is undervalued!
• BAC cause I wanted it for the same reason I bought Wells Fargo
  
• MFE
• SNE
  

I forgot to note yesterday that the product I bought from Western Digital was a external hardrive for my computer, a sleek, shiny red gadget with a discreet power-on light.

Great Wolf Resorts: As a mom I know how absolutely cool these indoor parks are for kids - You don't need to deal with the weather, don't need to fly to get there, you are all under one roof....I think that the demand for vacations closer to home, where you don't need to pay for airline ticket is going up.....Just to note, I would not like to go there, I like the weather, camping, traveling far....my kids think they would love it - actually if they knew about it, would put a lot of pressure on me (I think they should do tv ads for this reason alone - again: great opportunities)