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15 Oct 1995
All of the components in a personal computer are coordinated by a system clock. The clock generates a regular alternating signal of high and low voltages. It coordinates the various computer chips like a metronome coordinating the players in a grade school band.
The clock speed is measured in Megahertz. One Megahertz (1 MHz) is a signal that alternates between high and low values one million times a second. A 33Mh PC has a clock which "ticks" and "tocks" 33 million times each second. Each tick-tock is called a cycle.
The mainboard generates a master clock pulse that coordinates the CPU, memory, local bus, and support chips. Originally all the components ran at the same speed. Starting with the 486DX2 family, the CPU chip internally ran at twice the speed of the master clock. Today there are so many parts of the computer each running at a different clock speed that it may be obsolete to talk about any single master clock.
It costs extra money to build a computer chip that supports higher clock speed. Yet a higher mainboard speed will not effect the performance of memory, or ports for the keyboard, mouse, printer, and modem. In the early days of the 486, vendors briefly increased mainboard speed up to 50 MHz. When Intel started delivering CPU chips that could internally run at 2 or 3 times the mainboard clock speed, then everyone backed off to a simpler 33 MHz clock with a CPU running at 66 or 100 MHz internally.
The 33 MHz clock speed became the standard through most of the 486 period. As vendors became use to this speed for chip design, Intel selected 33 MHz as the clock speed of its new PCI I/O bus.
The Pentium design allows the CPU to run at 1, 1.5, or 2 times the speed of the external clocks. This produces a rather strange selection of speeds. Pentium chips have been produced that run at 60, 66, 75, 90, 100, 120, and 133 MHz internal clock speeds. The external clock speeds are normally 60 (for the 60 and 90, and 120 MHz models) or 66 (for the 66, 100, and 133 MHz models). Ok, so there is a 50 MHz clock to run the 75 MHz chip.
As the clock speed increases, the precision of chip fabrication must also go up. The width of circuits and wires in the chip is measured in microns (a really small size). Billions of dollars have been spent on factories that drive chip design below a micron, and more is being spent to go below a half micron. What is unclear at this point, however, is how much capacity will be devoted to the new Pentium Pro chip and how much will be available to increase speed for ordinary Pentiums.
To add up a column of numbers with a pocket calculator, you simply type each number in and press the "+" key (or the "=" key at the end). Most users probably think that a PC spreadsheet program does the same thing. However, the human brain has actually been doing the hard part of the operation, moving down one row in the column, focusing on the number, and recognizing it. Each PC instruction carries with it a number of additional operations that would not be obvious to the casual user.
First, the computer must locate the next instruction in memory and move it to the CPU. This instruction is coded as a number. The computer must decode the number to determine the operation (say ADD), and the size of the data (say 16-bits). Additional information is then moved and decoded to determine the location in memory (the row and column of the spreadsheet). Finally, the number is added to the running total. Although a human might take some time to add two eight digit numbers together, the addition is the simplest part of the operation for a computer chip. Decoding the instruction and locating the data take the most time.
Each generation of Intel CPU chip has performed this operation in fewer clock cycles than the previous generation.
To make a car go faster, one steps on the accelerator. Extra gas makes the engine rotate faster. When RPM gets high enough, it is better to shift to a higher gear. The PC system clock (measured in MHz) is like the engine speed (measured in RPM). The CPU model selects the gear. The original 86 processor was like first gear, and the 486 is like fourth gear. So it is a mistake to compare clock speed across changes in the architecture. A 60 MHz Pentium actually runs faster than a 100 MHz 486.
The first Intel CPU chip handled 4 bit numbers. The next model handled 8 bit numbers, and also 4 bit numbers like its predecessor. By the time the IBM PC was built, a later version 16 bit numbers (but also 8 bit and 4 bit numbers to be compatible). Today's 486 and Pentium systems handle 32 bit numbers (but also support the old 16 bit, 8 bit, and 4 bit instructions).
The original Intel design had instructions that came in different sizes. The most frequently executed instructions could be stored as a single byte. This made programs smaller, but it complicated the CPU's job of decoding instruction formats.
In your Sunday paper, right next to the CompUSA insert there is probably something from Sears. Look at the last few pages of the ad, where they show the tools. There will almost certainly be a picture of the traditional "190 Piece Socket Wrench Set." If you purchased this item, you would always have the right tool for any job. In reality, it is almost impossible to keep all the pieces organized, and you will spends minutes searching through all the attachments to find one of the right size.
Go to a tire store. They lift your car off the floor, remove the hubcaps, and then pick up a gun shaped device connected to a hose. "Zuuurp" and each bolt comes off the wheel. You could do the same thing with the 190 Piece Socket Wrench Set, but every garage knows that automotive wheel bolts come in only one size. So they don't have to spend time searching for the right size tool, and they can optimize the one size that they really need.
When computer designers realized the same thing, it was called Reduced Instruction Set Computers or RISC. Make all the instructions the same size. Use only one size of data. Simplify the instructions and therefore the operation decode. Then use all the room on the chip to optimize what is left, rather than filling the chip with support for instructions that are seldom executed.
IBM, Apple, and Motorola have the PowerPC. DEC has the Alpha. Sun has the SPARC. RISC chips are often smaller, cheaper, and faster than comparable 486 chips. However, most of the software in the world has been written for the Intel instruction set and the PC architecture. RISC chips run Unix well enough, and the PowerPC and Alpha systems can run Windows NT. Even then, a Windows NT system based on a RISC chip cannot run the new programs designed for Windows 95. Those programs use the 32 bit version of the Intel instruction set, and RISC systems do not support such programs.
Although a tire store may be fast at changing tires, when you really need speed look at how they do things in Indianapolis. A race car pulls into the pit for service. They jack it off the ground, and then four teams of mechanics go to work on all four wheels simultaneously. The car is back in the race in a matter of seconds. In ordinary life, such service would be prohibitively expensive. But in the world of microelectronics, transistors are cheap.
Every CPU has to decode instructions, fetch the data, perform the operation, and store the result back. On the original IBM PC, each stage was performed in turn, and then a new instruction was started. What made the 286 and 386 chips run faster was the beginning of a pipeline.
With pipeline architecture, each phase of the instruction execution is processed by a different part of the chip. At each clock tick, the partially processed instruction moves on to the next processing step and a new instruction takes its place. In one clock cycle, the CPU might be saving the results of instruction 1, performing the operation of instruction 2, assembling data for instruction 3, and decoding the operation of instruction 4.
The next step was to design computer chips with duplicate versions of each processing station. Such chips are called superscalar. Commonly they are described as executing two or more instructions in a single clock tick. More precisely, a superscalar chip can perform the same stage of processing for two instructions in parallel.
Superscalar designs started in RISC architectures, where the instruction set made processing simpler. However, Intel was able to apply superscalar design to its processors as well. The Pentium chip handles two instructions at a time, and the Pentium Pro handles three instructions in parallel.
When a computer chip design starts to move beyond simple pipeline or superscalar designs, the number of operations in the original instruction set become less and less important. Combining pipeline and superscalar features, a Pentium Pro can be processing some part of 20 or 30 instructions at any given clock tick. Checking for interactions and dependencies becomes the biggest problem. Intel's enormous volume of sales gives it the technological and financial resources to address problems of design and fabrication. It may start with a harder problem than RISC systems, but it has the resources to overcome this handicap.
All the ads and specifications quote clock speed in Megahertz. However, the more important number is the length of time between clock ticks (the cycle time). Such periods are usually measured in nanoseconds (billionths of a second) abbreviated "nsec."
Electricity travels through a copper wire just a bit slower than the speed of light. Normally, we can just regard the speed of light as "very fast." It becomes important when the distances are very long (astronomy) or when the times are very short (computers). A nanosecond is the amount of time that it takes light (or an electric signal) to travel about one foot.
PC clock speeds appear at first to be a strange collection of numbers. However, the corresponding cycle types display a much more regular pattern:
Clock Cycle 25Mh 40 nsec 33Mh 30 nsec 50Mh 20 nsec 66Mh 15 nsec 100Mh 10 nsec
A processor with a 100 MHz clock must perform operations in less time than it takes for electricity to travel 10 feet. The chip is very small, but it has millions of circuits. All must be manufactured to a very high level of precision.
However, it is much simpler to apply quality control to a chip the size of a fingernail than to the entire mainboard. This by itself show the problems of a higher speed main clock, and the benefit of capping the mainboard design at 25 or 33 MHz (40 to 30 light-feet of signal distance).
A computer chip receives and transfers data through the "pins" that run along each side. A memory chip receives part of the memory address on one set of pins, then after a period of time it responds with the data at that memory location. The delay between address and data is the response time of the chip. The type of memory chips most widely used on personal computers either return one bit of data on one pin or else 4 bits of data on 4 pins at a time. More advanced memory chips (currently used on more expensive computers) can deliver even larger data units per request.
Ordinary PC memory uses Dynamic Random Access Memory or DRAM. Typically, such memory is rated to respond in 80 to 70 nanoseconds. A smaller amount of memory may be added to the system as an "external" or "second level" cache. This is made of faster Static RAM or SRAM.
DRAM is typically packaged on small boards called SIMMs. Each memory location holds 8 bits of data (a byte), but the memory also maintains an extra bit to serve as a parity error check. Memory does not fail often, but when there is a problem it generally affects all the data in a chip. The parity check detects the error. The system will crash, but the diagnostic error at power up indicates which SIMM needs to be replaced.
The first widely used SIMM had 30 connectors (called "pins" although they are really flat metal pads on the edge of the board). This type of SIMM could transfer one byte of data in any given memory request. It was designed in the days when the 286 and 386SX computer chips accessed memory in two byte units. The 30 pin SIMM was also used in early 486 computer systems, but by then it had become awkward. Since a 486 chip needs to transfer 4 bytes of data in each memory reference, the 30 pin SIMMs have to be installed in groups of 4. Four 1M SIMMs provide a 4 meg upgrade, while four 4M SIMMs provide a 16 meg upgrade. No new computer systems use 30 pin SIMMs, but some upgrade mainboards are sold that support a mixture of old 30 pin and newer memory technology (so you don't have to throw out all your old memory when you upgrade the board).
Modern PCs are designed for a larger 72 pin SIMM. The additional pins allow each SIMM to deliver four bytes of data (plus parity) in every memory request. Additional pins deliver an ID value that allows the CPU to determine the size and speed of the memory. During power up, the computer can reject SIMMs that fail to fail to meet its minimum standards for speed. Normally the 72 pin SIMMs contain 4, 8, or 16 megabytes of memory. However, some 32 and even 64 meg SIMMs are available.
Pentium systems (and less common RISC computers) are based on a 64 bit (8 byte) data interface. To support this requirement, the 72 pin SIMMs must be installed in matching pairs.
There are two ways to build a 1M SIMM using the older 30 pin technology. The SIMM has to deliver 8 bits of data and one parity bit. The simplest version uses 9 chips, each holding a megabit of data, each delivering one bit of data on demand through one pin. However, as 4M chips became more common, some vendors created a three-chip SIMM by packaging two 4M chips (each delivering 4 bits through 4 pins) and a 1M chip (delivering 1 bit through 1 pin).
The Internet news groups occasionally get reports that a user has had trouble mixing the nine-chip and three-chip 1M SIMMs in some particular clone machine. Although the two should be interchangeable, the three chip SIMM seems to have a different refresh timing and certain third party mainboards are not properly designed to handle them. The general recommendation is to use only one type of SIMM in a system.
Data travels between the CPU and memory on parallel wires called a "bus." These wires contain the clock signal, address bits, data bits, and control signals. One of the control signals is called ready. The CPU is the fastest device on the mainboard of the computer. It has to be slowed down to match the memory and I/O device speed.
Every bus operation begins with a new clock tick. If the CPU needs data from memory, it places the address of the data on the bus. The 386 or 486 bus is not designed to respond in the same cycle that the address is presented. The minimum bus operation takes two cycles. At the end of the second cycle the CPU checks the value of the ready wire. If the data was found in 25 nsec SRAM cache, then ready will be active and the CPU reads the data. Otherwise, ready is inactive and the CPU waits for another clock cycle.
Each clock period that ends with the ready wire inactive is called a wait state. No matter what the vendor says, there is no such thing as a high speed machine with 0 wait states. The processor speed is too fast and DRAM is too slow for that to be possible. Wait states are also introduced by I/O devices as they need more time to process data.
Turn on a shower first thing in the morning. The water comes out cold. The shower has to run for a minute before it gets hot. Just how long the delay is depends on how thick and long the pipe is between the water heater and the bathroom.
The same problem occurs in electricity and is called capacitance. Turn on a radio, and it may take a second before any music comes out. The capacitance of a PC mainboard is tiny compared to a radio, but it is significant when time is measured in nanoseconds.
The Intel CPU chip introduces a minimum 3 nsec delay between the clock tick and the time that the address reliably leaves the CPU. The mainboard adds several nsecs while the address flows through the circuits to the last memory socket. There will be a similar delay when the data value travels back from the memory chip to the CPU. The engineers who design the mainboard take this into account and program wait states to handle the worst case.
The engineers build a mainboard rated for a 33 MHz (30 nsec) clock, 70 nsec memory, and one wait state. Since the are two clock cycles in addition to the wait state, the memory reference operates in 3x30 or 90 nsec. The memory responds in 70 nsec, so there is an additional 20 nsec for the signal delays on the mainboard.
Most mainboards are designed with a specific number of wait states for a specific memory speed. A board designed for 70 nsec memory can be populated with 60 nsec memory instead. It will still wait 70 nsec for the data (plus any overhead for the signals to travel out and back).
Neither the memory nor the CPU know how long the mainboard delays will be. The water heater does not determine how long it will take for the hot water to reach the bathroom. Installing a larger water heater, or turning up the thermostat on the current heater, will not reduce the amount of time it takes to run the cold water out of the pipes. Using better memory does not change the mainboard design. The speed by which the CPU references memory is determined by the clock rate and the number of wait states inserted reading or writing memory.
About thirty years ago, IBM demonstrated that a mainframe computer could run faster if it had "cache memory." The cache is a high speed memory area that keeps a copy of the most recently used data in main memory. Most programs go back and reexecute the same instructions, or update the same numbers, and the cache provides better performance.
A modern PC has two levels of cache. A First Level Cache is contained within the CPU chip itself. The Intel 486 family was designed with 8K of first level cache memory. Subsequent Intel and non-Intel computer designs have 16K or even 32K internal cache. The first level cache is best, because it can be used by the internal pipeline instruction processing components of the CPU. A 486 can add two numbers in two clock ticks, provided that both numbers are held inside the CPU. When one of the numbers is outside the CPU chip, the instruction takes a minimum of 4 clock ticks no matter how fast the external memory might be.
An external or Second Level Cache can be installed with SRAM chips on the mainboard. SRAM responds faster than DRAM. Usually SRAM can deliver data in a single external clock tick. However, the 486 has still been substantially delayed just to set up any type of external memory reference.
Because it is relatively expensive for the CPU to set up an external memory reference, and because there is a high probability that the next number or instruction needed by the program will be the one immediately following the last number or instruction, the 486 is designed to fetch data from memory in a "burst". The internal cache is arranged in units of 16 bytes. Each unit is called a "line" of cache. Whenever an instruction references data that is not in the internal cache, the chip generates a memory reference for the four bytes of needed data, and then fetches the remaining 12 bytes of a 16 byte memory area.
When the data is found in the SRAM second level cache, there is one external memory cycle to set up the transfer, then the four bytes needed for the current instruction come in on the second external clock cycle, and the remaining twelve bytes come in in the next three clock ticks. After five mainboard cycles, all 16 bytes have been moved into the chip. Without the burst, an old 386 would have used eight clock ticks to fetch the same data, since each individual four byte unit would have required one cycle to set up the transfer and one cycle to receive the data.
If the data is not in the SRAM second level cache, then it must be fetched from ordinary DRAM memory. DRAM typically requires at least 70 nsec for each response, and this is two or three external clock cycles. So fetching the data from DRAM involves "wait" states where the CPU has to stop and wait for the memory to respond.
A Pentium Pro CPU is distributed in a subsystem board that contains 256K of Second Level Cache. On earlier systems, the SRAM cache was on the mainboard and was managed by the memory controller of the mainboard chipset. As far as an old Pentium was concerned, Second Level Cache was simply faster DRAM. However, a Pentium Pro chip has an entirely separate 64 bit data bus to its integrated Second Level Cache chip. It can access that chip separately, in parallel to ordinary DRAM references.
DRAM will require a 70 nsec delay to respond. During this period, a traditional CPU would be blocked by wait states, unable to continue. The superscalar and pipeline design allows the Pentium Pro to continue to preprocess instructions that follow the instruction currently blocked waiting for the DRAM data. Because the second level cache has a separate data bus, it can return data to support the preprocessing even while the external DRAM bus is blocked. Once the data arrives from DRAM, these preprocessed instructions can be hustled through the last stages of execution at the maximum speed (up to three instructions per clock tick).
In the same period that processor cycle time has dropped from 100 to 20 nsec, memory speed has only dropped from 100 to 70 nsec. With a 10 nsec processor cycle time possible, memory response becomes a problem. Mainframe designers addressed this problem twenty-five years ago by "interleaving" memory.
A 486 chip has 32 data pins. It references memory four bytes at a time. Most mainboards simply connect the CPU pins directly to the memory sockets. But the mainboard can achieve higher performance if it creates a wider path to memory. Interleaved memory has two sets of sockets and two 32-bit memory bus arrangements running in parallel. The CPU may generate a reference for four bytes of data, but the memory controller on the mainboard fetches eight bytes. Half of the data fetched is used to satisfy the current instruction, the other half is buffered for a cycle.
The design of a 486 with internal cache and a 16-byte burst provides the opportunity for interleaving. Immediately after the CPU fetches the data needed for an instruction, it will continue to fetch the remaining 12-bytes immediately around it. With interleaved memory, the next four bytes have been anticipated and are immediately available. Even better, while the second four bytes are being transferred to the CPU, the memory controller has already started to fetch the second block of eight bytes.
Since the memory cannot be made to run any faster, interleaving doubles the effective speed of the memory by moving twice as many bytes in the same amount of time as an ordinary 32-bit bus. Of course, it adds complexity to the mainboard and forces memory to be installed in pairs of matching SIMM's.
In simple cases, interleaving matches the speed of the memory to the speed of the CPU. A 33 Mh processor operates on a 30 nsec cycle. RAM operating at 70 nsec takes slightly more than two cycles to respond. However, a device that processes four bytes every 30 nsec is approximately matched by a device that delivers eight bytes every 70 nsec. Interleaving therefore speeds up the memory subsystem without actually speeding up the memory.
A Pentium process (and, for that matter, a DEC Alpha or a Power PC) has a 64-bit data path. It requires a 64-bit memory bus and SIMM's installed in pairs. However, it is not quite correct to call this arrangement "interleaved" any more. Generally, memory is interleaved only if the bus to memory is twice as wide as the CPU's native memory reference. DEC does interleave memory on its Alpha systems, but to accomplish this it must build a 128-bit memory bus and install memory in groups of four matched SIMM's.
The chip suffix letters were once meaningful. They have now degenerated under an avalanche of marketing pressure. What does GT or LTD really mean on a car? Well, a 486 SLC means about the same thing.
There are three considerations in an Intel-compatible CPU chip:
There is also the question of how much internal cache does the chip support, but that depends more on the vendor than on the suffix of the chip.
The whole SX/DX mess got started when Intel introduced the 386 SX chip. It has a 16-bit path to the memory and supported only 24 address bits (allowing a maximum of 16 megabytes). In current use, the IBM 486 SLC and SLC2 chips have the same data and address restrictions. The original SLC family may no longer be part of the IBM product line, but it appears in certain IBM-made mainboard upgrade kits that can be purchased to convert an old 386 machine to some type of 486 machine.
All other chips in current use (SX, DX, DX2, SL, DLC, etc.) all support a 32-bit path to memory and a 32-bit address. In the true Intel 486 family, a DX, DX2, or DX4 chip has an internal math coprocessor (a Floating Point Unit or FPU). This is important for scientific, statistical, or mathematical calculations. It does nothing for ordinary word processing, spreadsheets, or even graphics packages. A program must be written to use the instructions supplied by the FPU. Since most machines don't have it, most vendors do not use these instructions.
Since ordinary business applications (word processing, spreadsheets, database) do not use floating point instructions, it used to be possible to save a few hundred dollars and buy the less expensive Intel 486 SX chips. Unlike the 386 SX, where "SX" meant a 16-bit path to memory, a 486 SX chip has a full 32-bit path to memory, but no floating point unit.
Over the last year, Intel has increased its production of Pentium processors and dropped prices on its 486 DX chips. On a new machine there is little to be saved by taking an SX chip without the floating point capability over a DX chip that has it. Although the floating point may have little effect on the actual performance of the machine, at this point the reduction in resale value would probably outweigh the additional cost (if any).
Intel has confused things by adding an SL family of chips with low power requirements. These are used in laptops and "Green" desktop units. It appears that some SL chips have a floating point unit, and some do not. It is necessary to read the fine print to know what an SL system provides.
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Copyright 1995 PCLT -- Introduction to PC Hardware -- H. Gilbert
This document generated by SpHyDir, another fine product of PC Lube and Tune.


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The 2017 Golden Globes: Snubs and Surprises
Victoria Stuewe '20 / Emertainment Monthly Assistant Movies Editor
The 2017 Award Season has officially commenced with the 74th Annual Golden Globes ceremony on January 8. The Hollywood Foreign Press is known to hand out their awards to the underdogs and wild cards of their nominees, and this year seemed to be no different. From the start to finish, there were surprises and snubs throughout. Here are the most unexpected wins and losses of the Golden Globes.
Surprise: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals) for Best Supporting Actor
With a nomination that was already unexpected by itself, winning the whole category was looking to be a feat for Taylor-Johnson. But, against all odds, Taylor-Johnson somehow managed to win Best Supporting Actor. His nomination was completely off the radar for some, so having his be the first win of the night was a shock.
Snub: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) for Best Supporting Actor
As stated earlier, Taylor-Johnson won this category, but Ali's performance is worth mentioning, as he was the frontrunner and, at times, considered the shoe-in win – perhaps only losing to Jeff Bridges for Hell or High Water. His masterful performance was widely praised by critics, but the Hollywood Foreign Press decided to give it to the underdog of the night. If Ali is nominated for an Academy Award, he still has a chance for a win, but Taylor-Johnson put a hinder on Ali's solid chances with his unforeseen victory.
Surprise: Isabelle Huppert (Elle) for Best Actress – Drama
Though it was not a big surprise when Elle took the award for Best Foreign Language film, Huppert's win was not expected. Natalie Portman was looking to be the obvious win for her starring role in Jackie with Amy Adams being the possible winner for Arrival, but Huppert surprised everyone, especially with Elle being such a controversial and brutal film. With the Academy Award nominations coming up, it might be a little harder to predict who will actually win in this category or in Best Supporting Actor due to their unsuspecting wins.
Surprise: Damien Chazelle (La La Land) for Best Screenplay
Though Chazelle's win is not unwelcome, other contenders like Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) seemed to be the frontrunners of the race. This one could have gone to any of the nominees, but the Hollywood Foreign Press seemed to have a massive love for La La Land, as they gave the film a clean sweep for the night for a total of seven wins for its seven nominations.
Snub: Jóhan Jóhannsson (Arrival) for Best Original Score
Justin Hurwitz won for this category for his work on La La Land, which was well-deserved, but it seemed too obvious to give Best Score to La La Land with it being a musical. So, it would have been nice to see Jóhannsson take the award for Best Score for his futuristic and dramatic music for Arrival. He also seemed to have more of a chance of winning due to his previous work on The Theory of Everything and Sicario, both of which had great scores.
Surprise: Moonlight for Best Motion Picture – Drama
Yes, Moonlight had been a frontrunner for the award overall, but during the ceremony, it seemed like all odds were against it, as it had lost each one if its other five nominations. Due to this, Manchester by the Sea was looking to win the award, especially due to Casey Affleck's win for Best Actor in a Drama. What's most surprising is actually that Moonlight's only win was this award, as it was such a big success with the critics. Even one of the producers said that she was not expecting the win, but, at the end of it all, Moonlight did walk away with the big prize.

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By Natalie Huet and Benjamin Mallet
PARIS (Reuters) - Shares of Alstom (ALO.PA) jumped 10.9 percent on Thursday after a report that U.S. conglomerate General Electric (GE) was in talks to buy the struggling French turbine and train maker for about $13 billion.
The companies may announce the deal as early as next week, Bloomberg cited people with knowledge of the matter as saying late on Wednesday.
If confirmed, a takeover offer from a foreign company would raise concern among politicians and unions in France, where Alstom employs around 18,000 people, or 20 percent of its global workforce.
While Alstom is well known for both its transport and power turbine business, the latter is likely to be of most interest to GE, one person familiar with the industry said. A report in the French Le Figaro newspaper also said the power division was GE's main target.
GE has bet heavily on its "power and water" segment, which is one of the conglomerate's top revenue generators along with jet engines. GE shares rose 0.2 percent on Thursday.
Such a power-focused deal could leave Alstom's transport business as a separate publicly listed company in Paris, the person said.
Acquiring Alstom's assets could propel GE toward its goal of increasing the earnings contribution from its core industrial manufacturing business to 70 percent from 55 percent last year, as it reduces its finance exposure.
"Alstom is levered to those themes in which GE believes," Sanford Bernstein analyst Steve Winoker said in a research note. "GE would essentially be 'doubling down' on power generation, transmission, distribution and transportation."
Alstom, which has put its transport division up for sale in an attempt to fill a hole in its balance sheet, said on Thursday it was "not informed of any potential public tender offer for the shares of the company" and promised an update on its options when it releases annual results on May 7.
A deal for the whole company could hand GE control of Alstom's high-speed TGV trains and rail-signal technology. GE has the support of Bouygues (EN.PA), Alstom's biggest shareholder with a 29 percent stake, the Bloomberg report said.
Bouygues would not comment beyond saying that it supported Alstom's strategy. A GE spokesman declined to comment.
Alstom was bailed out by the French state a decade ago and has strongly relied on orders from national rail operator SNCF and utility EDF (EDF.PA).
Before the takeover bid report, Alstom shares had slumped 20 percent in the past 12 months on concerns over its cash flow. Those concerns prompted Bouygues to take a $1.9 billion writedown on its Alstom stake in February.
Analysts at Espirito Santo investment bank said that at an enterprise value to forecast 2015 EBITDA multiple of 9.6 and a premium of 27 percent to Wednesday's close, the reported price GE was offering still represented a 14 percent discount to the rest of the European capital goods sector.
Alstom shares leaped in early trade and closed up 10.9 percent at 27 euros compared with the potential offer price that works out at around 30.5 euros per share.
Alstom has been hit hard by Europe's economic weakness and a drop in orders for power equipment from utilities, which in turn are suffering from low electricity prices. Its train business has held up better and secured record orders.
The group announced 1,300 job cuts last year and put assets up for sale to raise cash, including a stake in its transport business, which makes France's prized high-speed TGV trains. [ID:nL5N0IR0GH]. An IPO of the business is also a possibility. [ID:nL5N0LB2HY]
Analysts see sense in a tie-up. GE has the cash Alstom needs and a deal could help the U.S. group get infrastructure assets cheaply and make cost savings in power generation. For instance, GE is looking to expand in smart grid technology, where Alstom is a strong player.
A deal would also help Alstom strengthen its finances as it faces an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged bribery and could face a heavy fine.
"GE is a big company with big cash flow. Alstom is under greater pressure than the market appreciates, especially due to the DoJ investigation," said Nomura analyst Daniel Cunliffe.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters the government would keep a close watch on jobs, technology and decision-making. His economy minister, Arnaud Montebourg, has a track record of intervening in big industrial deals.
(Additional reporting by Alexandre Boksenbaum-Granier, Matthieu Protard and Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris, Pamela Barbaglia and Anjuli Davies in London, Lewis Krauskopf in New York, and Aman Shah in Bangalore; Writing by Natalie Huet and Andrew Callus; Editing by Erica Billingham, Elaine Hardcastle and Phil Berlowitz)


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I had the pleasure of viewing this exhibition whilst in London this past September, it was on the amazing textiles & designs of the vintage 40's & 50's label - Horrockses. It was truly fantastic, my favorite piece is the lobster print skirt (I need one, yes) & my favorite part was viewing the fashion sketches - we call these Croquis - of the designs with the swatches on fabrics & ideas for prints alongside. I could take everyone of these dresses home, but more importantly, every one of the swimsuits with matching jackets! Thanks to my ever so lovely friend Brooke for finding this for us! xx.L
Don't ever let anyone try to tell or convince you that you are any less of a person than you know you are. Instead tell the ones that are important to you, who respect & treat you fully with kindness, how much you appreciate them. Anyone else who doesn't belong in that category can get bent! (Simply speaking). xx.L
Because I can't join all of my friends this weekend at The Rhythm Rocker Weekender in Long Beach, I'm having a little dance party of my own while I have been a worker bee in my sewing cave! 40 pairs of briefs await their new future but I have to remind myself to get up, step away and wiggle abit around my studio. Shake it up with me! xx.L
I go through this every couple of months or so - when my actual to-do list starts to get abit too long to handle & my inspiration to-do list gets shoved aside. There are curses that most creative people have when you need to let yourself take a break, step away from the sewing machine & the fabric scissors (in my case), step away from the re-design of the website, backup the last photos from the most recent photo shoot, etc. to breathe and re-group a little, take some personal time, spend extra time with the people that are most important to you, take extra-long bubble baths, go for long walks as the leaves are starting to fall, maybe even visit Paris or your family's beach house....and voila. One day you just wake up & for some unknown reason or another are bouncing with ideas in your head, your fingers are twitching to get started on a new project, visions of great things are basically running races past your eyes. Blessing right? Well, for me yes but not so much. Those inspirations become a total over-whelming & exciting time for me but my downfall is the fact that my daily life still continues....so while there is so much that I am ready to get back to: new sketches drawn, fabric in piles of combinations with trims & bows, patterns made for new garments (yes, I actually sat down and made new damn patterns- must be sick right?...if anyone really knows me they know I am a draper, not a pattern maker), website ideas as well as store research & service guidelines for shop girls after my wonderful holiday, this over-whelming surge of creative energy leaves me stuck standing still like my feet are glued to the floor with bubblegum. I decided when I took a deep breath that I needed to organize a little bit, possibly make a timeline, re-do my goals for the next 3 months...and most importantly, I signed up for 4 business classes today. Can't check those off the list yet, but hopefully soon I will be able to put the foundations beneath me so I can get back to the fun stuff! Making knickers! xx.L
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An Evening with Patrick Rock and Friends
An Evening with Patrick Rock
July 15, 8:30 pm
The Crown @The Carolina Theatre
310 South Greene Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
Join us in The Crown for an evening with Patrick Rock with support by Autopilot.
Patrick Rock is a singer/songwriter whose career playing music in and around the Greensboro area spans well over 20 years. During that time, Patrick has released 4 albums of original songs and is currently working on a 5th album due
out later this year. After years of winning over local crowds with his energetic live shows, it's time to bring the magic back with this full band performance.
On Saturday, July 15 join Patrick and his great friends Alex McKinney (Athenaeum), Joey Barnes (Daughtry), George Westberry (The Deluge, None The Wiser), Joshua Reynolds (Swan Brothers, Ty England) for an evening of music spanning Patrick's past catalog. This is a night to celebrate the fans, friends and music that brought them all together in the first place.
For more information on Patrick Rock, visit patrickrockmusic.com.
Tickets are $10 and include all taxes. The Box Office will be closed the night of the show, but tickets and will call will be available at the door. Advance sales will end Friday, July 14 at 5pm.
Please note: There is an additional $3.50 per ticket web fee for Internet purchases; call 336-333-2605 to avoid those charges.


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By Popular Demand: Novelty Eagle Heads
Due to to the excessive interest in the novelty eagle heads available in Ghetto Baskets, Geekologie loyalist Pew³ managed to track down some relatively inexpensive ($5.68) ones for all your bird head needs. Per the review I just wrote and submitted:
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Wow, I should really write product descriptions. Also, romance novels. So a dinosaur walks into a bar....
Thanks to Pew³, who knows a quality resin eagle head when he sees one.


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Broadcast Journalist Brent Clanton's musings on the day-to-day adventures of the Human Race.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Any Port in a Storm
So now the US Coast Guard is weighing anchor on the proposed acquisition of the Peninsular & Oriental by Dubai Port World and the ramifications on national security at six US ports. The short answer is, they don't know. Not enough info. Can't tell.
I admit to first thinking, "what a goofy idea," allowing an Arab-owned company to be responsible for port operations at New York and five other cities on the Gulf and East Coasts. Then I realized that what we're seeing is an emotional reaction to the news, which is fully understandable, but not wholly rational.
Look at it this way. When you fly to the United States on an air carrier, who checks your baggage? Not Continental Airlines. If you're on a Russian flight, the US Customs Department clears your bags. If you fly to Texas from France, the US Immigration Service scrutinizes your passport, not the French. And were you to fly from Dubai to Dallas, it would be an American government agency that allows you to pass the checkpoint into the country.
So allowing DPW to operate the Port of New Orleans is no different. DPW is pushing the buttons and pulling the levers, but they're not clearing or searching for contraband or bombs. That's still the job of Homeland Security, a.k.a The Coast Guard in this instance.
Could a DPW employee possibly infiltrate security at the Port of Philadelphia, and allow people who do bad things to get into the country? Sure, but so could a swarthy-faced screener at LaGuardia International. Not bloody likely, because now we're looking for that to happen.
A second point of consideration was brought up on my show by Carl Limbacher, the Editor of NewsMax.com, looking at the geopolitical arena, and what the allowance of DPW to operate US ports would mean to American interests in the Middle East.
Take a look at this map, and recall what's going on in this part of the world right now. Iran and Russia are cooking up enriched uranium for the Iranian nuclear program.
The leader of Iran is a sworn enemy of Israel, and would love to wipe that country off the map. The enemy of my friend is my enemy, too.
How convenient might it be for the US to have a friend across the Gulf from Iran? Making nice with the UAE makes a lot more sense when viewed through the prism of these issues.
If you want to pick a bigger nit, ask what the Dubai Port World issue says about the practice of outsourcing, and how might that practice impact national security? If you're bent about Arabs running the Port of Miami, where's the hue and cry against South East Asians having access to banking information for US citizens? Al Qaida operates in both regions of the world.
Draw your own conclusions.
The real problem with the DPW acquisition of P&O and its impact on America is not the operational ramifications, but how the deal was done. Shame on the middle men in the Administration for not snapping to the sensitivities of the American people and the potential for outcry, and for their failure in short-circuiting criticism by being more open about the process.
The White House should not have been caught flat-footed on this issue, nor should the Coast Guard have been put in the position of saying they're not sure about it. The glaring weakness of Government still exists, 4-1/2-years post-9/11—a failure to communicate on an inter-agency basis, and a failure to be forthright with the American people.
Frankly, I worry more about some white-bread moron loading up another Ryder rental truck with fertilizer and diesel to park in front of a target of opportunity, than swarthy subversives sneaking evil doers into a port operated by a US ally.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Rainy Days & Mondays
I spent the entire weekend in bed with a cold.
I knew I was getting sick on Friday—that achy, not-quite-right feeling you get just before your body betrays you. Like the pink-orange calm of a late evening sky, just before a thunderstorm sneaks in from the east.
Saturday was cold and rainy in Houston, and I did venture out to breakfast with an aged aunt and uncle to celebrate their birthdays. Then back to bed.
Do you realize what a blessing it is to have the aged among us? We sometimes get caught up in the argument that seniors are draining Social Security, and are a burden on society. I think that's the kind of wrong-headed thinking that sells short the benefits that this segment of society can still offer.
The historical perspective they can provide is but one facet to be appreciated. My Uncle is part of that "Greatest Generation" that Tom Brokaw wrote about. He served in WW-II. He came back home after the war and raised four kids. He's buried one son and is now a widower, but he still lives a full, active life between golfing and church activities, and visiting his six sisters.
I honestly believe that each of these amazing siblings all keep each other going, all into their 70's and 80's now. That's the power of strong family ties, and their example has always been an inspiration and encouragement to me.
My aunt was a registered nurse. While retired now, she's never been far from tending to the afflictions of others in the family, and was regularly checking on my recovery progress. I sometimes worry that she worries too much about her extended family of in-laws, grandkids, nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and nephews. There's a passel to keep up with. But she wouldn't be who she is without that drive to nurture and heal.
So I met them for breakfast at The House of Pies, and we shared stories and laughed, and wished each other well. And I went home to disappear into a bottle of Nyquil for the weekend.
This morning, I got up and showered in water as hot as I could stand, steaming my head open for the day ahead. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be 80, but this morning was a pretty close estimate. I imagine my 80-something uncle may wonder what it would be like to feel 51 again, because I sometimes allow my mind to wander back to how it felt to be 25, the age of my son.
Such mental meanderings are pointless, unless they provide a perspective from which to appreciate where we are, what we have, and how far we've traveled. It also is a good exercise to help keep from taking things for granted…like a family that is a help in everyday survival.
See you in the morning on the Radio.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Gambling on Your Future
The news is all over TV and the papers: eight employees of a Nebraska meat-packing company who parlayed their money to buy Powerball Lottery tickets finally hit the jackpot in last week's $365-million take. Their share, after taxes, works out to a little more than $15.5-million apiece.
No doubt their stroke of luck (the odds of winning were in 146,000,000:1) will inspire more mathematically-challenged members of society to try their luck at the lottery, either individually, or by pooling their money with friends.
Lottery fever has assaulted American society, ever in the rush to achieve success, feeding the get-rich-quick schemers, and appealing to the get-something-for-nothing dullards. In researching this piece, I Googled "lottery," and got pages and pages of results for states' games of chance around the country, a few compilation sites that cover all of these, and more disturbing URL's popped out promising ways to "cheat the lottery" before you sleep tonight.
Now, that's socially-redeeming content.
MSN did a story about who plays and who pays. The heaviest lottery players -- the 20% of players who contribute 82% of lottery revenue -- disproportionately are low-income, minority men who have less than a college education.
According to the MSN piece, close to 50% of American adults spend $45 billion annually on 35,000 lottery games. It's not news when someone earning $7 an hour scrubbing toilets parts with a buck for a ticket -- but it's news if she wins.
Or if eight meatpackers pooled their pay to play.
But the reality is that society also pays when the poor play the lottery, according to the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. What is actually happening is "the government undercutting what government's role should be," which is encouraging people in financial straits to be responsible with their money, not snatching it from those least able to afford to lose it.
Sure, there's an argumentm 'Hey, if people want to spend their entertainment dollars on the lottery, who's to say they shouldn't?'
Well for starters, each dollar paid into the lottery is a dollar taken out of circulation in the economy—plus no sales tax revenues are generated by the purchase of lottery tickets.
The problem is the culture of getting rich quick is supplanting tried and true methods of creating wealth that have been around since Ben Franklin's time. This has resulted in a pessimistic outlook on the chances of building wealth, which gives way to the cheap-thrill expectation of someday just winning wealth. The Opinion Research Corporation recently revealed that while 26% of us believe they could build a $200,000 nest egg in their lifetime, 21% think playing the lottery is the best strategy for feathering their nest.
My friend, Eva Rosenberg, the "Tax Mama," recently dissected the argument for and against dropping money into the lottery after a family in California won $84-million in that state's lottery. Jack pot? Perhaps, but what about the rest of the poor stiffs who played and lost?
Assuming they spent (squandered) $5/week on lottery tickets, what could have been gotten for $260 over a year? Socking it away in an IRA or Roth IRA not only would be a sure-thing with compounding interest, but there are huge tax benefits associated with that strategy, vs banking on lottery winnings. And after the IRS takes it's 50% of the cash, most winners are boosted into the highest tax bracket for that year.
That's a fun surprise the following January.
The politicians who pimp the lottery probably have the most to be ashamed of. In Texas, the state lottery was sold to the public by painting a warm, fuzzy picture of alleged benefits for school children. If lottery sales proceeds are such a boom to school districts, then why are our school systems still scrimping for income, and why have our property taxes to fund public education continued to rise?
Sure there are multiple symptoms of these problems, but the lottery has not been the panacea that the Legislature would have you believe. From the Texas Lottery's own website are these figures:
Since the first ticket was sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $13 billion for the state of Texas. Since 1997, all Texas Lottery proceeds have gone to the Foundation School Fund to support public education in Texas.
The Texas Lottery has contributed more than $8 billion to the Foundation School Fund, and of that total, over $1 billion was contributed in FY '05.
To put things in the proper perspective, the state education budget for the 2006-07 biennium is a few hundred-million dollars north of $36-billion. So, when you realize that the typical slice of the Lottery revenue pie yields only 28-cents for education for every dollar sunk into the Texas Lottery, and the lottery is really only contributing 1/36th of the cost of public education…it sort of takes the patina off the rationalization of gambling as a boom to education funding.
A final coda to this saga is what's going to happen at that meat packing company in Nebraska…where the owner is now facing replacing up to eight of his employees. One thing is probably certain: it'd be pretty tough to go back to making sausage with $15.5-million, regardless of how you came into the money.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Strangers in the Port
Yet, Washington says they've run all the traps on Dubai Ports World, and the transition poses no threats to national security. Somehow, I'm not convinced, and the melody of an old Frank Sinatra song has started to nag at me.
So with appropriate credit--and apologies--to the original creators of the Sinatra classic, we offer this updated version.
Bet you hum it the rest of the day.
Strangers in the port exchanging glances
Wond'ring in the port,
What were the chances
They'd be stealing stuff
Before the night was through.
Something in your cargo container was so inviting,
Something in your bill of lading was so exciting,
Something in my heart,
Told me they might take two…
Strangers in the port, these foreign people
They were dangers in the port
Up to the moment
When they stole their first cargo.
Little did we know
We were just a glance away,
A thermonuclear prance away and -
Ever in the ports, we've been in danger
Terrorists in sight, hate us forever.
It'd turn out so wrong,
With strangers in the port..
Dubai doo be doo…
Dubai be doo doo…
Dubai doo be doo…
Dubai be doo doo…
Writer(s): kaempfert/singleton/snyder/clanton
Monday, February 20, 2006
European Perspective on a Common Problem
Mathias Dapfner, Chief Executive of the huge German publisher Axel Springer AG, wrote a blistering piece in DIE WELT, Germany's largest daily paper, against the timid reaction of Europe in the face of the Islamic threat. This is a must read by all Americans. History will certify its correctness.
(Commentary by Mathias Dapfner CEO, Axel Springer, AG)
A few days ago Henry Broder wrote in Welt am Sonntag, "Europe - your family name is appeasement." It's a phrase you can't get out of your head because it's so terribly true.
Appeasement cost millions of Jews and non-Jews their lives as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated too long before they noticed that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to toothless agreements.
Appeasement legitimized and stabilized Communism in the Soviet Union, then East Germany, then all the rest of Eastern Europe where for decades, inhuman suppressive, murderous governments were glorified as the ideologically correct alternative to all other possibilities.
Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and even though we had absolute proof of ongoing mass-murder, we Europeans debated and debated and debated, and were still debating when finally theAmericans had to come from halfway around the world, into Europe yet again, and do our work for us.
Rather than protecting democracy in the Middle East, European appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word "equidistance,"now countenances suicide bombings in Israel by fundamentalist Palestinians.
Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore nearly 500,000 victims of Saddam's torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace-movement, has the gall to issue bad grades to George Bush... Even as it is uncovered that the loudest critics of the American action in Iraq made illicit billions, no, TENS of billions, in the corrupt U.N. Oil-for-Food program.
And now we are faced with a particularly grotesque form of appeasement. How is Germany reacting to the escalating violence by Islamic fundamentalists in Holland and elsewhere? By suggesting that we really should have a "Muslim Holiday" in Germany?
I wish I were joking, but I am not. A substantial fraction of our (German) Government, and if the polls are to be believed, the German people, actually believe that creating an Official State "Muslim Holiday" will somehow spare us from the wrath of the fanatical Islamists.
One cannot help but recall Britain's Neville Chamberlain waving the laughable treaty signed by Adolph Hitler, and declaring European "Peace in our time". What else has to happen before the European public and its political leadership get it?
There is a sort of crusade underway, an especially perfidious crusade consisting of systematic attacks by fanatic Muslims, focused on civilians, directed against our free, open Western societies, and intent upon Western Civilization's utter destruction. It is a conflict that will most likely last longer than any of the great military conflicts of the last century - a conflict conducted by an enemy that cannot be tamed by "tolerance" and "accommodation" but is actually spurred on by such gestures, which have proven to be, and will always be taken by the Islamists for signs of weakness.
Only two recent American Presidents had the courage needed for anti-appeasement: Reagan and Bush. His American critics may quibble over the details, but we Europeans know the truth. We saw it first hand: Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, freeing half of the German people from nearly 50 years of terror and virtual slavery.
And Bush, supported only by the Social Democrat Blair, acting on moral conviction, recognized the danger in the Islamic War against democracy. His place in history will have to be evaluated after a number of years have passed.
In the meantime, Europe sits back with charismatic self-confidence in the multicultural corner, instead of defending liberal society's values and being an attractive center of power on the same playing field as the true great powers, America and China.
On the contrary - we Europeans present ourselves, in contrast to those arrogant Americans", as the World Champions of "tolerance", which even (Germany's Interior Minister) Otto Schily justifiably criticizes. Why? Because we're so moral?
I fear it's more because we're so materialistic, so devoid of a moral compass.
For his policies, Bush risks the fall of the dollar, huge amounts of additional national debt, and a massive and persistent burden on the American economy - because unlike almost all of Europe, Bush realizes what is at stake - literally everything.
While we criticize the "capitalistic robber barons" of America because they seem too sure of their priorities, we timidly defend our Social Welfare systems. Stay out of it! It could get expensive! We'd rather discuss reducing our 35-hour workweek or our dental coverage, or our 4 weeks of paid vacation... Or listen to TV pastors preach about the need to "reach out to terrorists. To understand and forgive".
These days, Europe reminds me of an old woman who, with shaking hands, frantically hides her last pieces of jewelry when she notices a robber breaking into a neighbor's house.
Europe, thy name is Cowardice.
Ironically, Webster's defines appeasement as "the policy of giving into the demands of a hostile or dangerous power in an attempt to prevent trouble.
Friday, February 17, 2006
You would not believe the junk mail that comes to our mailbox at The Clanton Hacienda. Or maybe you would. A long time ago I made the commitment to conduct as much business electronically as possible, thus making my own contribution to the Green efforts to save trees, decrease alleged global warming, yada yada yada, blah blah blah.
Anyway, I pay as many bills on line as possible.
House payment, gasoline, utilities.
I love it.
A book of stamps can last me at least a half a year.
But there are some drawbacks, when, for example, the online billing doesn't match the e-mail notice you receive from the company.
I speak from recent experience.
Reliant Energy is our electricity provider, and for years we have been on the balanced billing plan. It's pretty nice to know that my electric bill is always going to be the same amount, month after month. That figure is determined by looking at the past 12-months' usage, and figuring the average usage and cost.
This is great in theory…unless the average estimate is mis-calculated. That's what happened to us. You may recall we moved to the present Clanton Hacienda almost a year ago. Since the house is fairly new, with better insulation factors, and fewer rooms, we figured it would be safe to assume our power usage would remain static at best.
It didn't.
The problem is that when you receive electronic billing statements by e-mail, you don't always see the detail that's included in hard copy statements. Reliant Energy does post in small print a very vital piece of information: The difference between the balanced billing amount and what the power we used actually cost.
It's there, alright, but not that easy to see--and even easier to miss when you're paying bills on line. Which is why I was shocked to learn my power bill jumped from a low three-digit figure to an enormous three-digit figure. By the time I got it all straightened out, I ended up dropping a four-digit figure to get back on track.
There's got to be a better way of notifying consumers they're way-underpaying on their utilities…like LARGER TYPE, for starters.
I can throw darts…and pass out bouquets.
Kudos to the Supervisor of Reliant Energy's Web Support Division, Jeff Ceynor, who called me during the day to walk through this issue. While I was not happy with the revelation I owed over $1,000 for electricity, nor was I pleased about being shuffled off to a voice mail box when I first contacted Reliant about this earlier in the week, Jeff's efficiency in calling me back, and his professionalism in walking through the issue were very much appreciated.
Now, about that small-print issue…
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Where's Waldo (Cramer)?
Many of you have written in to ask what happened to Jim Cramer. Some of you have been very understanding…others' language has been somewhat more...colorful. It's always fun to see what new anatomical description can be attributed to our character by some members of our audience.
Here's the skinny on Cramer. The WOR Radio Network, which provided his show to us, came out on the short end of the stick with Mr. Cramer in negotiations to carry his show. Another network, Westwood One, picked up the show for distribution to it's affiliates.
The BizRadioNetwork is an affiliate of Westwood One; they're the ones who provide us with our feeds of CNN News and The Down Jones Money Reports each hour. Westwood One, however, is a division of CBS Radio, which gets first-dibs on Westwood's programming, especially when there's a competitive aspect to be considered in a particular market.
So Cramer was taken away from us, and given to a competitor. We did what any business would do—looked for something better.
Enter Del Walmsley, who is every bit as compelling and evangelical in his delivery…and is now a card-carrying, paying client of The BizRadioNetwork. And he's getting his money's worth being on the station—on his first day, Del tells me he received 82-responses from his show.
Some of our potential advertisers question the credibility of a station that does not subscribe to a ratings service, and cannot provide any listenership metrics. My response is in the results of shows like Del's, where the numbers are not arbitrarily assigned by some dark, secret algorithm. Our proof is in your response to the programming we choose to air based on quality content, entertaining hosts, and information you can literally hear in the morning and put to use in the afternoon.
You miss Cramer?
Archives of his stuff are still available on his website.
Meanwhile, we recommend the real-world alternative now available each afternoon from 2-3pm…and I'll see you in the morning on the Radio.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Things that Make You Go, "Hmmm," Part Deaux
There has been much speculation on what and how much effect Iran's nuclear ambitions may have on the rest of the world. One thing is clear, given the irrational, over-the-top reaction of radical Muslims to a Dannish cartoon panel, it's probably not a good thing for a nation with similar sensitivities to have access to nuclear weapons. Can you imagine how they'd react to a full-column editorial?
And how did a Dannish cartoonist's insensitivity morph into "death to America" chants by irrational rug merchants? Are they that geographically challenged?
Sorry, didn't mean to demean the carpet industry. I'm floored.
A survey recently revealed that moneyed-people in America assign only a small percentage of risk to the likelihood that a wild-card event would upset the economic equilibrium. We're more worried about debt—national as well as personal—than the odds of another 9-eleven.
Is that a trained-response, or is there more than meets the eye?
Goldman Sachs forecast a barrel of oil would exceed $100 last year. It didn't happen…yet. With the U.S. now openly planning contingencies for a nuclear Iran, how much speculative boost do you think that will inject into the price of oil?
A backwards glance to the "Katrina" effect is a clue…but the reality might not be as harsh as imagined. Should Iran pull its oil off the market (or it be blasted off the market), there is ample reserve supply to make up for its 3.92-million barrel-a-day to the global "addiction" to oil, according to the International Energy Agency.
Iran's slice of the oil supply over the next 18-months would be about 2.1 billion barrels of oil. The IEA member nations have in reserve 4.1-billion barrels. But you're not being told that. Instead, the saber-rattling is also rattling nerves, and making me wonder if the real market makers in the oil bidness are those who would incite irrational apathy for supply outlooks, thus hiking prices.
Sort of makes you go, "hmmmm."
Over the weekend I dismantled The Studio at The Clanton Hacienda.
You may recall last week I was forced to drive to the station to do the show when internet service at my home failed. Buddy, Kristina, Justin, Tim and I had such a fun reunion, I decided to see how many days in a row I could hold up, driving to the station.
Made it through the week.
So, Saturday was completely expended reclaiming bedroom real estate, disconnecting cables and wires, and re-boxing and packing equipment. My safety net was furled. While the week was much more tiring than I expected, there was an exhileration from being able to get out and about again.
Things are getting back to normal, with a few minor issues to resolve. I am still unable to get too far away from a facility of convenience, but can at least go to the store and do for myself. Today I am wearing real pants, with belt loops and pockets, with a relative degree of comfort. That's a first.
That's a milestone.
I am cancer-free.
Today I turn 51.
Monday, February 13, 2006
The Dog Days of Valentine's
I now host the world's shortest morning show…at 90-minutes, if you blink, you miss it. 6:00a to 7:30a is not much time, but it's enough to give you enough information for a head start on everyone else. So while the other guys are re-hashing their weekend antics, or discussing their love lives (or lack of it) we'll give you insights from Washington and New York, London and Tokyo, or Austin and Dallas.
Okay—fair warning: Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
Depending upon whom you ask, the average price tag for the day will be $113.00 Not surprisingly, guys spend more than gals this time of year, a ratio of $145:$81. According to a survey by Brand Keys, when you're young and in love, you spend more moolah. The 18-34 age group is the most generous to their objects d'affection. Brand Keys estimates Valentines Day spending is the third-largest retail date on the calendar, behind Christmas and Easter.
For those of you who've been keeping up, we've just had an addition to the family at The Clanton Hacienda. My daughter has been waging an all-out, full-court press to wangle a puppy. I said no, not in a million years. She pouted for six weeks. It got pretty sticky.
Over the weekend, she bought her cousin a one-hour massage for her birthday. And to show her appreciation, my niece presented my daughter with a puppy. A Yorkie Terrier, 2-months old, and just enough dog to know one's around, yet not large enough to intimidate my bride, who has now become the dog's second-biggest fan in the household.
So my daughter didn't defy me…but she didn't say, "no," when the opportunity was presented.
No Valentines for my niece!
Friday, February 10, 2006
Turning 21
My daughter is 21 today.
That's a big deal, turning 21, for parents and their offspring.
It's scary for both halves of the equation, when families are close. Ours is.
Amylynn has always been the organizer, the one in charge, and the ramrod in a group. When she was little, she used to line up her dolls on her bed and conduct "class" in her bedroom. No telling what she taught them, but she was a quick study herself. We learned quickly to watch what we said—or at least how we said it.
I remember during the Clinton vs Bush-41 campaigns, some of the remarks I made in the privacy of our home were picked up by her alert little ears, and made their way into an impromptu stump speech she delivered—to her dolls—on the front porch of a house during a family holiday gathering. The apex of her imitation rant was an exaggerated series of gestures towards a stand-up cut out of George Washington, whom she mistook for George Bush, punctuated by the phrase, "what a crock. WHAT A CROCK!"
I just happened to be surreptitiously capturing her address on video.
I cherish that snippet of tape today.
I can't wait for her wedding rehearsal dinner.
Amylynn is quite a negotiator. She's persistent, too.
Her latest campaign has lasted several months, hounding me for a dog. When I returned to the office this week, there were photos of Yorkie puppies taped to my door. There's a similar one taped to the refrigerator at home.
It ain't going to happen, though. No dogs in the house.
Not while she's living there rent-free.
I'm not charging my kids rent.
I am proud of her tenacity, though.
You should see her negotiate with used car dealers.
She and her mother discovered a very clean 2001 Olds Alero coupe a couple of years ago. She haggled and haggled with the salesman. At one point, we even walked out of the office and said, "no deal."
The next day, Amy drove back over to the dealership, called the salesman out of his office into the showroom and very clearly—and loudly—told him that "he'd better sell her that car for the price we were willing to pay," because she "really wanted the car and knew that her daddy wasn't going to let her pay a penny more for it, so he might as well just sell it to her."
I got this all from a reliable source—my bride—who was trying to hide behind a floor lamp in the showroom as the scene went down.
She got the car for the asking price. Paid cash.
Amylynn has worked around radio stations, schools, and offices. She always wanted to be a cosmetologist, and recently completed her certification for that goal. She now works part time in the business office of The BizRadioNetwork, and part time for a very nice boutique in our neighborhood, where she is building a clientele.
Funny, they all come out of there looking like dolls.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Trick Ponies and Horse Operas
Description: Comic Book Store owner in Baghdad
Just a random thought this morning…I wonder how many of these homicide bombers would push the plunger if they knew that instead of 72-virgins and immortality they were really going to become cartoon characters after the blast?
Reminds me of a line from "Roger Rabbit," when Jessica Rabbit proclaims, "I'm not really bad, I'm just drawn that way."
There is a circus performing on a plot of land next to our offices in Houston. Cavalia is for all practical purposes, a horse opera.
Exquisitely trained horses and performers have been rehearsing for weeks on the grassy knoll across the street, juggling bowling pins, jumping somersaults, and who knows what else…and what was once a beautiful plot of green is now a horse corral, complete with fencing and…methane sources.
I hear it's a good show…but with my personal saddle sores, I have not been inspired to spur myself to see the show. I also duck punches and wince in fight scenes in movie theaters.
Drives my wife nuts.
I understand they've extended the Cavalia show for a 4th week of performances. What would really be interesting is to hold them over until the Livestock Show and Rodeo hits town…and let'em compete.
Now that's entertainment!
Today is Kristina Ramirez' birthday.
I won't say which one, but she can rent a car today... legally.
While I was working from home for the past few weeks, Kristina kept working away, by herself in the studio, all alone, but kept her great attitude.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Behind Behind the Scenes
I am posting this from a "foreign" computer.
Internet outtages happen.
They're a fact of life.
It matters not who you get your internet service from--mine's Time Warner's impressive RoadRunner service--sooner or later, the modem's going to give you that slow-blink display indicating you've got big problems.
Like the look of a 5-year old who just smashed something...once, twice, three slow blinks on an expressionless face: "What, ME?"
If you lose cable, you can always pop in a DVD for entertainment.
If you depend on cable to do your job...well, that's a horse of a different color.
A tiger of a different stripe.
A problem that goes beyond the pale of normal electronic emergencies.
And if you are dependant upon that connectivity because you can't get out of the house, man you are really in deep.
Welcome to my world.
For the past two months, I have risen at 4am and turned on three computer screens, to get ready for the show. By the time I've gotten my robe on and staggered back from the bathroom, they're all brightly glowing in the darkness of the bedroom, and ready to log-in for the morning's businsess.
Not today.
At 4am, you have few choices.
Mine was to take a quick shower, suit up in something non-binding, and skedaddle to the Radio station studios, 20-minutes from the house.
Hey, at 4am, there are some benefits to take advantage of.
So, un-shaven but showered, and un-fed but frantic, I arrived at the studios around 5:30 to prepare for the day's show. Fortunately, the internet here works.
The ISDN and phone lines have been burpping all morning, though.
That's another call.
For my crack team of technical engineers.
See you in the morning on the Radio.
One way or the other.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Things that Make You Go, "Hmm..."
The Swedish government has gone to the point of issuing travel alerts… characters like Popeye and Olive and the Seven Dwarfs have been advised to stay home.
Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry wants to delay school reform until next year, making property tax cuts the main thrust of his re-election campaign. Did he think this up on his own, or is he just getting bad advice?
The things in the news these days that make you go, "hmmmm…."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is looking for foreign aid help in rebuilding, thanks to funding shortfalls from the US government. Mayor Nagin has hosted a parade of foreign dignitaries through what's left of his town since Hurricane Katrina hit in August. Jordan's King Abdullah was in town last week.
New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718…a delegation of French government and business officials visited on Friday to explore potential business partnerships. The leader of the French delegation, Transport Minister Dominique Perben, said the "catastrophe has deeply upset the French people and the French government."
On the one hand, I'd say about bloody time, since if it weren't for the United States, they'd be speaking German in Paris instead of French. Please pass the pate…and let's see if they put up.
Mayor Nagin already has the assignments made.
According to the Associated Press, Nagin reportedly said, "France can take Treme. The king of Jordan can take the Lower Ninth Ward."
My producer, Buddy, this morning made a vew good suggestion: Why not just sell corporate naming rights, and allow development by Disney or Universal Studios…how about a corporate sponsorship with Hershey's?
Look what Disney did for the Florida swamps—could the Mississippi Delta be any worse?
Mayor Nagin says New Orleans needs Washington's "undivided attention" over the next six months. News-flash, Ray Ray—it's election year. They're going to be looking after their own for the next six months, and the only help you're going to get are from the guys that got you where you are—the esteemed Representatives and Senators from the great state of Louisianna.
Politicians got New Orelans into the mess it is in…and it is in their power to help get the city back on track. I would think that if I were an incumbent, this being an election year, such an issue would be a perfect entrée for glory.
Only no one seems to have the guts.
In September President Bush pledged that the government would do what it takes and stay as long as it takes to rebuild. What the displaced people of New Orleans, and Mayor Nagin, seem to have forgotten is that we/they are the government.
Here's a starting point, Mayor Nagin: put your people to work.
You've got New Orleans transplants living on the government dole in Houston and Dallas and who knows where else, while $15/hour and-up jobs to rebuild your city are going to people from Texas, Arkansas and Mexico.
I've got a bit of a problem in supporting folk who can do nothing but complain about what the government isn't doing for them, who say they cannot find work, when there is plenty of work to be done back home.
I've got a bit of a disagreement with folk who say "why me, Lord, oh why me" instead of asking "why not me" as an answer to the problems in New Orleans.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Start Me Up, baby!
Superbowl-40 just proved the mantra, "you're never too old to rock and roll," as the Rolling Stones (average age = 62+) whipped the crowd in attendance into a frenzy on a Yah-yah tongue-shapped stage at Halftime.
Thankfully, the Superbowl sales team had the presence of mind to sell the sponsorship to Spint instead of heading off into a tasteless direction.
(After all, Boomers still represent the bulk of discretionary spending in our economy.)
Two out of the three songs the Stones performed last night caught the 5-second delay editor's trigger finger. In "Start Me Up," the word referencing a woman's sexual sway over a dead man was killed. And in "Rough Justice," the lyrics' synonym for a rooster also was electronically excised.
The closest thing resembling a "wardrobe malfunction" was Mick Jagger's hip-hugging pants slipping dangerously low as a robot cam followed when he bent over to address fans on the floor of the stadium. Shades of Plumbers' Helper!
The sound of the halftime show was raw and precise…like I like live performances. You could hear what was there. You could hear a couple of wrong notes…you could hear a missed downbeat…but it was real. Actually, there was more passion in their performance Sunday night than you hear on their most recent album, "A Bigger Bang."
Maybe it's worth a listen on the roadshow tour. According to Wilkipedia, since the end of the year (2005), the Stones' A Bigger Bang tour had made $162 million, so a lot of people are liking what they hear…or at least want to catch the band while they can.
By the way, the Stones have broken their own North American touring revenue record, which they set during their 1994 Voodoo Lounge tour, which grossed about $120-million. The North American leg of the A Bigger Bang tour still has fifteen confirmed show dates remaining. Ticket prices are averaging about $200.00 for a single seat.
My favorite Superbowl ads last night were from Ameriquest, (we won't judge you too quickly) Budweiser (cleaning the gutters) and General Motors' Hummer division (Roboto + Godzilla).
So that's where H-3's come from!
Friday, February 03, 2006
Mixed Bag
Winding down to the Superbowl this weekend…and the name calling between the Steelers and the Patriots sounds like a speech by Julian Bond, Chariman of the NAACP…
Bond made some pretty incredible comments Wednesday at a state college in North Carolina, in which he compared the Republican Party with the Nazi Party, saying Republicans would fly the swastika alongside the stars and stripes. The Chairman of the NAACP described Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, as "tokens."
What, no "plantation" mentions, too?
Honestly, Bond's comments this week have done more to reverse race relations in this country than ever than the years of progress initiated by Dr. Martin Luther King.
How can an organization, established and dedicated for the advancement of its members, tolerate leadership from such a myopic and inflammatory chairman?
Back to the Superbowl, where at least you know which team to root for, and real men back their name calling with brawn and brains.
I don't have a pick.
If I watch the game at all, it will be to see the amazing TV commercials, which are generally the best of the year. I'm the only guy in my neighborhood with a reverse TIVO, altered to catch just the breaks.
I can always buy the series' Season-boxsets at Best Buy.
Many of you have inquired about my progress following Prostate Cancer surgery in December; thank you for asking.
I am still working from home for the most part, doing the show each day from my studio in The Clanton Hacienda.
I returned to the hospital in January for two quick operations to correct scar tissue blockages, which set me back a couple of weeks.
The good news is that my PSA count was zero.
The challenge is to continue to work through the aches and pains of the recovery process. Meanwhile, I remain, "The Man in The Radio Box." Talk to you Monday morning on the Radio.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Blown Away
One of the themes President George W. Bush's State of the Union message Tuesday night was the need to act in a "spirit of goodwill towards one another." Did you notice how that phrase resurfaced again and again?
President Bush said, "We are measured by who we are, how we treat one another," and he called for a "Revolution of Conscience" in which a life lived with personal responsibility is a life lived with fulfillment.
That was in part his acknowledgment of how the government had mis-served the storm victims on the Gulf Coast…But even in America's darkest moments can be found postitive stories that should provoke and inspire us. I found one of those this week--a wonderful perspective I want to share with you here.
Dennis Germenis has been a friend of mine since Junior High, and recently e-mailed to me a series of photos taken of a group of Texas A&M Students (whoop!) who decided to put their "winter break" time to good use, helping out in New Orleans.
This shatters the mold of the typical college student on break, and these photos are going to blow away the typical image of the rowdy and rebellious undergrad on break in sunny, southern climes.
Dennis is an independent insurance agent in College Station, Texas, but is also quite an accomplished musician. Through his service as Associate Music Minister at the First Baptist Church of College Station, he accompanied a group to New Orleans to lend a helping hand. The Expressions College Ministry has a website chronicling their trip.
Dennis' first e-mail to me simply said, "I walked around this neighborhood in New Orleans recently…" and a subsequent e-mail described the trip as doing "some volunteer hurricane clean up work," which may be as understated as calling Katrina a "heavy rain and high tide." The photo he sent was just dumbfounding.
Dennis joined me on the show today, and shared a few anecdotes about the week and the accomplishments of his group. Since he does not have a blog, I told him I wanted to share his story with you on mine…to which he agreed…and I'll let his words provide the narrative from this point.
We saw thousands of homes that looked like this. The house was 1/2 way underwater, it's empty, without power, and unoccupied. There usually weren't even working traffic lights in the neighborhoods. At night, the entire neighborhood was dark, with an occasional street light. And, there weren't any people!
Most of the week was spent gutting houses. We would take everything out of the flooded house, and put it at the curb. Then we removed the floor (usually carpet or linoleum), the baseboards, door frames, doors, sheet rock, insulation and ceiling. The only thing we would leave is the studs and the exterior wall. At the end of the day, we would have a pile at the street almost as big as the house. Then the city would come by and pick it up with bulldozers and dump trucks.
This was the most dangerous job we did all week. The wind had blown over 2, 35 year old pine trees onto a garage. The garage was leaning. I really thought we were going to have trouble finishing this job. We saved the homeowner about $5,000.00 doing this job by removing the 2 trees.
I accused Dennis of not actually having gone on this adventure, since he is in none of the shots...so far. You'll see him in a minute.
Remember the phrase President Bush repeated over and over in his Union Address about "acting in a spirit of goodwill toward one another?" That spirit is alive and well in the people that went to New Orleans to help...and in the hearts of the people being helped. As Dennis describes this scene...
"The best dinner during the week was not at a restaurant. It was at James and Linda Mason's (couple in front row) house in New Orleans. We met the Mason's at church. They were visiting First Baptist New Orleans just as we were. They weren't even members of the church. They invited all of us over to their home for dinner - we were complete strangers! James cooked a huge pot of Jambalaya and salad. It was so good! James and I had fun listening to his record collection. He even gave me an album. Coincidentally, they lived next door to the house where we removed the 2 pine trees!
And here is proof positive how Dennis Germenis spent his "winter break," 2006. He wrote, "At one point, I had about a tablespoon of sweat in my googles. It would slosh from side to side when I walked."
There is a final, haunting photo from Dennis' travels to New Orleans that really expressed the scale of destruction, and demonstrated the awesome nature of Nature that was unleashed at New Orleans. It wasn't the shot of thousands of blue tarps marking the roofs of damaged houses, dotting the landscape for as far as his camera could see, nor even an image of an upended car resting between two ruined houses. The image that says "Katrina Hits New Orleans" is that of a large, flat barge dwarfing structures near the levee it breached during the storm. Dennis described it simply as the "barge [that] was responsible for breaking one of the levee's."
There are thousands of ways to pupt into practice the principles in the President's address. Thousands of people just like Dennis Germenis and the participants in this trip are but one example. It really shouldn't take a Category Five Storm to motivate us...hopefully these photos help. And if you'd like to help, they could use you. Here's the contact in New Orleans Dennis passed along to me...and I promised I'd pass along to you:
First Baptist Church, New Orleans Contact person: Travis Scruggs @ (504)994-9208


text:
William Jewell College Volleyball strives to create a fun, energetic, and competitive atmosphere during every practice and match. That excitement will help young athletes to learn about the sport of volleyball, and how it is enjoyable to work with other players and make new friends while you are at it!
Camp Director, Coach Raynes, will be entering her fifth season as the William Jewell College Head Volleyball Coach. She has worked with youth club teams during her years as a player, Head High School Coach, and Assistant Division II coach prior to her current position. In her years as a head coach at Jewell, she has coached club volleyball, held clinics, offered private training sessions, assisted with local school camps, and traveled the Midwest to host camps for prospective student-athletes looking to play at the next level. Skill development and training is her passion. Her support staff and Cardinal Volleyball players will help each camper learn something new, and refresh their current volleyball skills.
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18/07/2014 | 20:22
Episode 18 - Devops Mastery Choosing what to automate first, second, and so on.
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What follows are the criteria I use to determine what to script or automate first, second, and so on. It's another of the "it depends" questions that never have an easy answer. I will try to help you make some rational decisions but ultimately it's your world to live and you need to decide. The thing I see everyone want to do first is automate and that takes the longest to do. That task takes the better part of a week to complete because you are constantly getting pulled in a hundred different directions. This is not the first thing you need to automate or should automate. Not that the duration of the task isn't important but the number of times you have to do it, is more important. I may only spend 2-3 minutes compressing some logs on a development web server. If I am doing it on 10-20 various servers every week it's not only annoying but it's sucking a lot more time because of the context switching it's causing. There is also the cost to your company in the time spent by the users of the system trying to troubleshoot the full disk. So how do I figure out what's sucking up all my time? Do I track everything I do all the time? Heck no I don't. I use a simple spreadsheet to track my work for 3-4 weeks at a time. I repeat this every 3 months or so. Then look at what I spent my time on. I track smaller items with just tick marks and an average time to complete the task. I don't worry about what time of day it is. If you want to note the time it takes you for longer tasks it will give you better data but not necessarily better results for this purpose. Remember the time you are spending on individual tasks isn't as important as the number of times you have to repeat it. Now let's flash forward to 3 weeks from now after you have some data collected and answer the following questions. What are the top 10 issues you resolve on a regular basis? Are any of the tasks on the list affecting mission critical parts of your organization? Do you think you should add them to the list? You will likely want to add them and pay close attention to the next item on these tasks. How many steps are there to automate in the top 20 tasks you do to resolve these issues? (Exact numbers are not needed, just a really good guess.) Your top ten list plus the items affecting Mission critical parts of the organization should be your starting point. To further narrow it down start with the items with the least number of steps. When doing this though make sure none of the steps are "Install the OS" or "Install Oracle". Those task steps are not really one step but multi-step tasks on their own. Now that you have your list ask someone else for input. Be sure to provide them with the complete list. I have often described myself and co-workers as being on a mission when they start automating. This is great, shows focus and determination. It also can in some cases cause mission blindness. You want so badly to automate that really hard thing that you miss the quick wins lying at your feet. Asking someone else to look at your lists will hopefully help you keep from being blind. Take your own time if you need too complete the list. As much as the company will benefit from your automation efforts, your work life balance will be the most improved. So spending a little of your time up front will give you more of your back time later. If you can reduce a series of tasks you do daily that takes 30 minutes into a single script that runs in 30 seconds over the course of a month you will have 9 more hours to do new scripts. You will also gain from the lack of typos the script will make on Monday mornings. If you can take that same script and have it run as a scheduled tasks (think cron or at commands), then you can get back the whole 10 hours to put back into scripting the next thing. Remember the goal of automation is to free you from the mundane tasks so that you can work on the more complex and proactive ones. You will never stop feeling like you are spinning your wheels if you can't get out of the daily repetitive mud. Automation is the way to push yourself back out onto the proactive route you have been looking to reach.
18/07/2014 | 20:22
10/07/2014 | 17:50
12/06/2014 | 22:58
07/06/2014 | 18:15
29/05/2014 | 21:52
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