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The Fluid Druid's Cataclysm Feral DPS Guide
Edit: Hey, there's a 5.0/Mists of Pandaria guide now! Go check that one out!
Hello, and welcome to The Fluid Druid's feral DPS guide! Want to rip some face, but don't know how? You're in the right spot. I'll cover everything you need to top the DPS charts and win awesome loot. (Which you'll never see, since you're always in cat form. Sadly, some sacrifices must be made.)
Notes: This guide is written on the intermediate level, and assumes you are familiar with basic WOW skills and mechanics, such as movement, targeting, and cooldowns, and basic WOW terminology (DPS, aggro, threat, etc.) Much of the content is intended for max-level players who are raiding, but it's mostly applicable to 5-man content as well.
Now updated to 4.3. Also check out Mihir's guide at MMO-Champion, which is somewhat more comprehensive.
If you like this guide, donations are appreciated.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Talent Tree Analysis
- Talent Specs
- Glyphs
- Stats
- Gemming/Reforging
- Enchants/Consumables
- Resource Management
- Abilities
- Rotation
- Addons
- FAQ's
- Appendix
What do we do? Mostly, we kill things, fast and stylishly. We can go bear or caster for emergency tankage or heals if things go bad. We have a few CC options (somewhat limited), a good group buff, and we bring people back to life! Mostly, we're awesome. (Oh, and we can turn into birds and fly away if things look bad. Everyone else can have sparkleponies; give me instant Swift Flight Form any day.)
- Speed. With Feral Swiftness, Feral Charge, Dash, and Stampeding Roar, cats are the most mobile role in the game, bar none. As raid encounters continue to get more complex and require more movement, the ability of cats to open and close range quickly becomes essential.
- Durability. While this advantage is not as pronounced as it used to be, a feral druid can easily talent into Nurturing Instincts, one of the best (and most under-appreciated) +healing talents in the game. With one of the key limiting factors in new raid content being healer mana, anything you can do to reduce the amount of healing you need is essential.
- Best off-tanking potential. If a tank goes down, a cat druid is quite possibly the best emergency tank in the game. While a fully-specialized cat druid will not have the talents or damage mitigation to stand up for long, the agility used to buff our damage also buffs our avoidance. With a little luck and some cooldowns, a cat druid can go bear and finish most fights.
- Some off-healing potential. Again, with NI, we can heal a bit, but we won't have the mana or talents to put out any sustained heals. A NI'ed Tranquility, though, can easily save a tank/raid.
- Complicated rotation. The feral druid rotation is commonly cited as the most difficult DPS rotation in the game to learn. While recent fixes has helped in this regard, we're still not a hunter or mage who can simply press a few buttons in sequence and do well. Personally, I enjoy the complexity of the rotation, but I understand why many may not.
- Off-role potential makes specialization difficult. This was a large problem back in BC, and may return with the revamped talent trees. Essentially, because druids are the class that changes roles best/easiest, they're typically the ones which raid leaders will ask to change. You might like this, or you might not. (For cats, it's not so bad, but bears really get screwed by this. Since bears' DPS in cat form was so much better than other tanks, bears were generally always forced into the off-tank role.)
- Slow damage ramp-up. A large portion of our damage comes from our two bleeds, Rip and Rake (which is a large change from WOTLK, when ArPen stacking and Shred spam was king). Unfortunately, those bleeds take some time to put up. On an add-heavy fight, we do well if adds die quickly (due to our mobility) but not so well if they die slowly. On movement-heavy fights, this hurts us as well, though our inherent speed often lets us stay on a target just a split-second longer before disengaging.
Talent Tree Analysis
Here, I'll quickly run down the talents and their applicability for cats. I'll only cover the talent with full points invested, unless otherwise noted.
Feral Tree
Tier 1
- Feral Swiftness (2 points): Increases your movement speed by 30%. Mandatory, IMHO.
- Furor (3 Points): Gives you 100 energy when you shift into cat form. Meh. Good for hybrid specs (it sucks to shift to Bear and not have any rage to do anything) but not a great talent.
- Predatory Strikes(2 points): Increases Ravage crit chance by 50% with target above 80%; Nature spells can be instant-cast for free after a 5CP finisher. Great talent for leveling or questing, good for PvP, great for add fights. Generally worth taking before Furor, but somewhat worthless for DPS without Stampede. With Nurturing Instincts, you can throw out some decent insta-Healing Touches with this.
Tier 2
- Infected Wounds (2 points): 20% attack speed slow (all)/50% movement speed reduction(non-bosses). Bear/PvP talent. Tanks will have this, so you don't need it except in very specific situations where adds need to be slowed. Good for a hybrid build.
- Fury Swipes (3 points): 15% chance of proccing another attack. 3 sec ICD. Boring talent; you'll take it, since it is a DPS boost, but not a large one. About 1% DPS per point.
- Primal Fury (2 points): CP generating attacks that crit give 2 CPs. Mandatory.
- Feral Aggression (2 points): Applies 3 stacks of Faerie Fire with one application. Increases FB damage by 10%. If you're the only class in your raid that can apply the 12% armor reduction debuff, or for add fights, mandatory. Otherwise, semi-optional. About 0.5% DPS per point.
Tier 3
- King of the Jungle (3 points): Your Tiger's Fury also restores 60 energy. Mandatory.
- Feral Charge (1 point): Allows Feral Charge. Mandatory.
- Stampede (2 points): Your next Ravage after a Feral Charge (within 10 sec) may be performed while unstealthed and with a 50%/100% energy reduction. Very good talent for fights that involve movement. Mandatory.
- Thick Hide (3 points): Bear talent. Skip it unless you're going Hybrid.
Tier 4
- Leader of the Pack (1 point): 5% crit buff to the raid, plus your crits heal yourself for 4%. Mandatory.
- Brutal Impact (2 points): Decrease Skull Bash CD to 10s, Increase Pounce stun duration by 1s. Helpful for 5-mans, not so much for raiding. Talk with your raid leader to see if you'll be on interrupt duties.
- Nurturing Instinct (2 points): Increases your healing by 100% of your Agility, and increases healing done to you by 20% in cat form. Mandatory for the +20% healing increase on you, which is HUGE for raids.
Tier 5
- Primal Madness (2 points plus 3/3 in King of the Jungle): Berserk/TF temporarily increases your energy cap by 10. Horrible talent; only take if you have no other options. Hard to quantify, but I'd say 0.1% DPS increase per point. Beginners, however, may find it useful as it makes employing Tiger's Fury significantly easier.
- Survival Instincts (1 point): Allows the use of Survival Instincts. Arguably mandatory. I'd recommend it for a point, but it's the same logic as NI above.
- Endless Carnage (2 points): Increases the duration of Rake by 6s and Savage Roar by 8s. Mandatory for raiding.
- Natural Reaction (2 points): Bear talent. Skip it unless you're going Hybrid.
Tier 6
- Blood in the Water (2 points):A Ferocious Bite on a target below 25% health refreshes your Rip. Mandatory.
- Rend and Tear (3 points): On bleeding targets, increases Shred damage by 20% and FB crit chance by 25%. Mandatory.
- Pulverize (1 point, plus 3/3 in Rend and Tear): Bear talent. Skip it unless you're going Hybrid.
Tier 7
- Berserk (1 point): Learn Berserk. Mandatory.
Resto Tree
Tier 1
- Heart of the Wild (3 points): Increases Cat Form Attack Power by 10%. Mandatory.
- Natural Shapeshifter (2 points): Reduces shapeshifting costs. Horrible talent, but you need it to get to the next tier.
Tier 2
- Master Shapeshifter (1 point): Increases crit chance by 4%. You're essentially paying 3 points for 4% crit. Bleh, but necessary.
- Perseverance (3 points, not reachable at 80): Reduces spell damage by 6%. Situationally useful.
Talent Specs
Note: You really can't mess up talents that much anymore, with the revamp. By all means, pick what you like if you don't want to follow a guide. Also, wowhead's glyph listings have been glitchy lately in the talent profiles, so just look below for glyph selection. For a Cataclysm leveling spec, see my leveling guide.
Cat Spec 0/32/6, three points free. (wowhead talent link)
Ferals have a LOT of flexibility in their talent trees, and it shows. The linked spec gets everything you need, and leaves three points for one of the recommended following choices:
- Primal Madness, for every last scrap of damage.
- Perseverance, to reduce incoming spell damage by 6%.
- Infected Wounds, for specific fights in which adds need to be slowed.
CatBear Spec 0/32/6, three points free. (wowhead talent link)
If you desire, you can use your flexibility to create a cat/bear hybrid spec. You lose quite a bit of utility, but it is a very viable spec that will work for 5-man content and possibly raiding. (For more discussion about viability of hybrid specs, see my posts here and here.) Your free points can be used for the recommended following options:
- Perseverance, to reduce incoming spell damage by 6%.
- Feral Aggression, for faster stacking of the Armor debuff granted by Feral Faerie Fire and a bit more Cat DPS.
- Brutal Impact, for more usable interrupts.
Prime Glyphs The glyphs of Rip, Berserk, and Bloodletting are the best options. Substitute the Mangle glyph for Bloodletting for fights where you can't attack from behind (such as Ultraxion). The Tiger's Fury glyph is also an acceptable choice with 4pT13 to replace Bloodletting; theorycrafting indicates that it's slightly better, but I generally think that real-world TF usage is nowhere near the sims, devaluing the glyph's value somewhat.
Major Glyphs Only one I'll say is mandatory is Faerie Fire; after that, take your pick.
- Feral Charge – More charges is always a good thing. Recommended.
- Rebirth – Not wasting that Rebirth is a REALLY good idea. Recommended.
- Ferocious Bite – Bit of healing never hurt.
- Maul – For hybrid specs.
Minor Glyphs Take your pick, though I'd definitely recommend Dash.
Primary Stats:
- Weapon DPS. Unlike WOTLK, which featured an ugly hack for ferals (weapons in the hands of a feral granted "feral attack power," which was used to calculate every stat), weapon DPS is now incorporated in every ability we have. The fastest way to increase your DPS is to, well, get a better weapon with better Weapon DPS. (See the FAQ for the boring details.)
- Agility. Everything comes from Agility. Agility grants you 2 Attack Power per point (up from 1 in WOTLK) and also increases your crit. (As in WOTLK, the dodge this grants is very helpful for emergency tanking as well.) Agility affects 100% of our damage, and is our best stat by far.
Secondary Stats:
- Mastery. Mastery increases the power of our bleeds significantly (1% of mastery increases bleed damage by 3.1%). Since the adjustment to bleed damage, mastery is no longer the best choice, but still a competitive one.
- Hit/Expertise. Hit/Expertise prevents our attacks from missing or being dodged. At level 85, hit AND expertise rating cap for heroics (lvl 87 mobs) is 721/6%; for raids (lvl 88 mobs) hit rating cap is 961/8%; expertise rating cap is 781/6.5%. (Confused? See the FAQ.) For ease of rotation, I recommend capping hit/expertise.
- Crit Rating. Crit is fun. More crit means more critical strikes, which hit for double the damage of a normal attack. Crit is a key part of our rotation via Primal Fury. Crit benefits all your attacks, and is the preferred reforging option for burst-type fights.
- Haste Rating. Unfortunately, haste isn't a very strong stat for us, compared to other classes. Haste has only two benefits for us; it speeds up our melee attacks, and slightly increases our energy regeneration.
- Attack Power. Most items with +attack power are gone, but a few enchants and things still boost it. 2 AP is worth slightly less than 1 Strength.
- For specific RSV (relative stat value) numbers, see the Appendix.
The introduction of Reforging into the game has made optimal character tuning more complex. (Before, you could simply gem your best stat and be done with it; now, not so much.) If you're not familiar, reforging allows you to convert 40% of any secondary stat on your gear into another secondary stat. There are two approaches to this: Hit/Exp capping or Mastery maximization. With either approach, you're looking to reforge away from hit/exp, haste, or crit (in that order) to mastery, currently our best secondary stat.
Gemming/Reforging Strategy:
I'm not going to recommend epic gems; the amount you gain for the cost is very very small. If you can afford to use them, feel free.
- Gem Agile Shadowspirit Diamond, or Relentless Earthsiege Diamond if you're cheap, in your meta slot. (Yes, the level 80 gem is the second best option.)
- The only socket bonuses worth activating are +20 agility and up, and only if you can get it by changing a single red. For yellow sockets, get the Adept Ember Topaz. For blue sockets, get an Etched Demonseye or a Shifting Demonseye. (Alternatively, if you only have a single yellow or blue socket on your gear and you need to activate a meta, use a Sensei's Dream Emerald.) Obviously, do what you need to do to activate your meta.
- Fill the rest of your sockets with Delicate Inferno Rubies.
- Reforge to…whatever you'd like, really, all the secondary stats are very well balanced. My general preference is capped hit/expertise, then mastery.
- Weapon: Mighty Agility (+130 agi) — Much better than the proc enchants.
- Head: Arcanum of the Ramkahen (+60 agi/+35 haste)
- Shoulders: Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal (+50 agi/+25 mastery)
- Cloak: Major Agility (+22 agi) — Yes, this LK version is better than the new +65 crit enchant, by a bit.
- Chest: Peerless Stats (+20 all primary stats)
- Bracers: Agility (+50 agi)
- Gloves: Greater Mastery (+65 mastery)
- Belt: Ebonsteel Belt Buckle with a Delicate Inferno Ruby.
- Legs: Dragonscale Leg Armor (+190 AP/+55 crit)
- Boots: Major Agility (+35 agi)
- Flask/Elixir: Flask of the Winds (+300 agi) Buff can also be received from a guild Flask of Battle; just don't drink it in bear form.
- Food: Skewered Eel (+90 agi) Can also be received from the Seafood Magnifique Feast or Fortune Cookie.
- Potion: Potion of the Tol'Vir (+1200 agi/25s) — Buy/make as many of these as you can, they're wonderful.
Resource Management
In any fight, a cat druid has two distinct resources that must be managed: energy and combo points. I'll discuss each in detail.
Energy Energy is the primary resource for the cat druid. All of our attacks are powered by energy, and increasing our energy generation directly impacts the amount of attacks we can use during a fight. Unlike a warrior's rage, we start any fight with max energy (100/100) and our energy constantly regenerates, at a rate of 10pts/sec. (0.1pt/sec increase for each 1% of haste.) The cardinal sin of a feral druid is allowing your energy to cap, as this stops your energy regeneration. Conversely, another sin (though not as big) is energy starvation; if you constantly launch attacks on lower-priority abilities as soon as you regenerate enough to do so, you may not have enough for higher-abilities when they're available. (More on this later.) A good flow for a feral druid is to use high-priority attacks (Rip/Rake/SR) as soon as possible, and save low-priority attacks until energy regenerates to 70-80 or so. If this was all we had to worry about, things would be easy; pick the attack with the highest DPE (damage-per-energy). However, we also have to consider another resource.
Combo Points The cat druid's toolbox revolves around two types of attacks: combo point generators and combo point users. Combo point generating attacks generate 1 CP, or 2 on a crit (assuming you've talented Primal Fury, which you should). Most combo point using attacks reach maximum effectiveness at 5CP's, so the general flow of combat is to build CP's using CP generators, then release them via a CP using attack, and repeat.
CP Generators
- Shred (40 energy): Your primary CP generator and filler attack. If you don't know what to do, Shred. One note: Only use Shred if the +bleed debuff is up (if not, use Mangle to put it up), and remember that it's only usable from behind an enemy. You may laugh, but for some enemies, it's very difficult to determine what constitutes "behind" (Yogg-Saron) and some enemies won't let you behind them (Kologarn). If in doubt, use a cat Feral Charge, which automatically positions you behind the enemy.
- Mangle (40 energy): Mangle hits for a good amount, and also puts up the +bleed debuff, which boosts the damage of your bleeds (and Shred) by 30%. If you have a bear druid, subtlety rogue, or arms warrior in your raid, they will put the +bleed debuff up as part of their rotation, so you won't have to Mangle at all. (Unless they die, or something.) No positional requirement, so this is your primary attack when solo. You'll have to use this as your primary attack on Ultraxion.
- Rake (40 energy): Your secondary DoT (damage over time) bleed attack. It hits for a small amount on application, then does a good bit of damage every 3s for 15 sec (fully talented). Pretty much, whenever Rake drops, use it again to put it back up, unless Rip or SR is down.
CP Generators (from Stealth)
- Ravage (60 energy): Useful in PvE because of the Stampede talent, which (when talented) procs off of Feral Charge and gives you a reduced cost/free Ravage that can be used (once) without being stealthed. Ideally, try not to use when close to energy cap; use an energy-consuming move first, then the free Ravage while you're regenerating. Some advanced players may insist on running out of melee range and charging back in every time Feral Charge comes off cooldown, to get more free Ravages; the usefulness of this is disputed. With 4pT13, you also get a free Ravage every time you use Tiger's Fury. Make sure you don't TF after a Charge without using your Ravage first; the buff will simply overwrite.
- Pounce (50 energy) 3s stun + minor bleed damage, primarily used for PvP.
CP Consumers
- Rip (30 energy): Your primary DoT bleed attack. It hits very hard, ticks every 2 seconds and lasts quite a long time (up to 22 seconds) with Glyph of Shred. It should not be used with less than 5 CP's; however, getting to 5 CP's to use it is your first priority. Will be about 20% of your damage on any given fight.
- Savage Roar (25 energy): Grants a buff that increases your white damage by 50% (55% glyphed), which lasts longer as you invest more CP's into it. While it's most efficient at 5 CP's, you'll want to use it whenever it drops to keep it up. It was much more important in WOTLK, when it buffed all damage by 30%; our white damage is (comparatively) much smaller now. Note that any CP's "left" on a dead enemy can still be used to power Savage Roar…as far as I can tell, they stay on the corpse until it disappears.
- Ferocious Bite (35 energy + up to 35 energy): Ferocious Bite is your "dump;" it converts a minimum of 35 and maximum of 70 energy into a hard-hitting attack on the target. (The DPE scales exactly, so don't worry what energy level you use it at.) If there's plenty of time left on Rip and SR (+10s or so), go ahead and Bite once you get 5cp. When an enemy's health is below 25%, the Blood in the Water talent will cause your FB to refresh Rip; at this point, you should be solely using FB at this point to keep your current Rip rolling. With 2pT13, this threshold is raised to 60%, which will cause you to bite quite a bit more.
- Maim (35 energy): Long stun and small bleed; primarily used for PvP.
Other Combat Abilities
- Tiger's Fury (free, off GCD, 30s CD): TF is another essential ability; it gives you an immediate 60 energy (talented), and gives you a 15% damage buff for 6sec. Some people argue that holding Rip/Rake back to stack with TF is an overall dps boost, but I haven't seen any concrete evidence of that. In any event, leaving TF off cooldown is essentially like energy capping, so if it's available, immediately use Shred/FB to dump energy and hit TF to refill. (It's off-GCD, which means it can be used independently of your other abilities.)
- Omen of Clarity (passive ability) : Frequently referred to as OOC, an Omen proc makes your next ability cost 0 energy. You don't really need to adjust your rotation for Omen at all; just make sure you use your next ability immediately when you get an Omen proc, as a second proc will get wasted if there's one already up.
- Faerie Fire Feral (free, 6s CD): For cats, FFF is primarily used to put the -12% armor debuff up on the enemy. Warriors and Rogues can also do this, but they lose DPS to do so; cats can apply FFF from range, which should be your first action upon entering combat.
- Swipe (45 energy): Our AOE (area-of-effect) attack, hits all enemies in a cone in front of you.
- Thorns: This previously useless ability has been buffed to be somewhat useful for ferals, now that it scales off AP or SP. It was (temporarily) overpowered in 4.0.1, doing about 2.5x the damage it does now. Still, if you're in a movement phase of a boss fight and you can't DPS, or your tank is struggling with AOE threat, this can help. Note that it does shift you out of form.
- Cower (20 energy): Previously the most useless ability in the game at 80, this has been changed to reduce threat by 10%, making it much more useful. If you see yourself creeping up on the tank's threat, hit Cower.
- Wild Mushroom (free, .5s cast time): This currently scales only with SP, so I don't see this being useful for cats…but I'm listing it here in case someone comes up with something.
Survivability Cooldowns
- Dash (free): Increases your movement speed by 70% for 15s. More a PvP thing, but it's saved me countless times.
- Barkskin (free, off GCD, 1m CD): 20% incoming damage reduction for 12 sec. Know Barkskin. Love Barkskin. Use Barkskin anytime you have raid damage incoming. Make your healers happy.
- Stampeding Roar (30 energy, 2m CD): Increases all players within 10yards movement speed by 40% for 6s. I'm pretty sure this will be mostly useless, except for one or two fights where it's overpowered. Therefore, it's "balanced."
- Survival Instincts (5m CD): 60% incoming damage reduction for 12 sec. Supercharged Barkskin. SI + Barkskin together is about as close as you can get to invincibility. Obviously, if there's a period of huge raid damage, save it for that.)
- Tranquility (8m CD): More for others than you, Tranquility (especially if you have NI) can bail your healers out (especially in a 5-man heroic). Just get ready to go bear since you'll generate a lot of threat.
- Skull Bash (25 energy) : Interrupts enemy casts. Essential in some fights. If you will be asked to interrupt, make sure you pick up the Brutal Impact talent.
- Soothe: Dispels enemy enrage effects; as with interrupts, essential for some fights. This spell is new for 4.0; I believe this shifts you out of Cat, so it's best left to the moonkin/trees. (of course, if you don't have any of those, then…)
- Entangling Roots/Nature's Grasp: Roots…roots an enemy, stopping it from moving, while NG auto-roots an enemy that hits you. More of a PvP spell, but Cataclysm instances may require you to use roots to keep an enemy locked down. Hint: Rooted (melee) enemies ignore threat and will attack anything in range, so try not to root one near a healer; rooting ranged enemies is pointless unless you can run out of range or break line-of-sight.
- Hibernate: Good but limited CC option.
- Cyclone: More of a PvP spell, but great for stopping (and protecting) a mind-controlled raid member.
Raid Buffs
- Rebirth (30m CD!): Better known as battle rez or brez, this lets you bring somebody back to life in combat. Essential spell; a timely rebirth on a tank or healer has turned many wipes into kills. Extremely long cooldown, so it's not as useful as it used to be.
- Innervate (3m CD): Was once a useful raid buff we could give out; now useless for ferals since it uses our mana pool (previously used target's mana pool). At level 80, gives the recipient about as much mana as a level 41 potion.
- Mark of the Wild: 5% buff to all stats, automatically hits everyone in your party/raid. Easy to do, make sure to keep it up.
- Revive: Well, not technically a "buff," but it's a lot better than leaving someone dead.
(The term "rotation" is a misnomer, but is typically understood to represent the proper order in which to use your abilities to maximize your DPS.) The feral druid rotation is considered one of the hardest in the game; let's just get that out of the way now. I'll do my best to present it to you, but understand that it may take some practice to master.
Opening/On Target Switch:
- Let the tank pull, if needed. If double potting, use a potion immediately before the tank pulls.
- Use Feral Faerie Fire to put the -armor debuff up.
- Feral Charge to proc Stampede, close the distance quickly and position yourself behind the target. (Many tanks like to run past the boss while pulling to immediately turn him away from the raid; if your tank does this, don't charge early or you'll end up in front.)
- Mangle to put the +bleed debuff up.
- Shred to burn some energy so you can use TF. (Use your free Ravage now if you have 4pT13).
- Tiger's Fury, then Rake. (Tiger's Fury is off GCD so you can hit it at the same time as you hit another ability. Try to practice this. You do want to hit it slightly before your initial Rake so that the first Rake gets buffed.)
- Berserk.
- Ravage (burn your Stampede buff).
- Rip (if you don't have 5 cp, Shred first).
- Transition to regular priority rotation.
Regular Priority Rotation:
- Keep -armor debuff (from FFF) up.
- Keep -bleed debuff (from Mangle) up.
- Use TF on cooldown (make sure you're below 40 energy).
- Use Berserk on cooldown, unless you need to save it for a burn phase. (Don't use it if TF will come off CD during Berserk; it's best to use Berserk immediately following TF for stacking purposes but that can cause energy capping, so be careful.) If using a DPS potion, stack it with Berserk.
- 5CP Ferocious Bite to keep Rip up during Blood in the Water phase (boss sub-25%) If Rip is about to drop, use FB at any CPs to refresh it.
- 5CP Rip whenever it drops (don't put Rip up with less than 5, except for situations where you have to move away from the boss).
- Rake whenever it drops.
- Savage Roar whenever it drops (best used with 5 CP's, but put it back up with whatever you have).
- 5CP Ferocious Bite (if you have 10+ seconds left on SR/Rip). Don't expect to be able to do this in Cataclysm for a while.
- Shred to generate CP's.
Swipe Swipe Swipe…hard to say more than that. Use when there is 3 or more adds that can be hit by it.
Obviously, our rotation revolves around energy, combo points, buffs, and debuffs. You need to track this information closely, and the default Blizzard UI is simply not up to the job. I've recommended a few addons below (and yes, there's TONS more, just a few that I know will work).
Buffs/Debuffs/Cooldown Trackers:
NeedtoKnow (my favorite)
OmniCC (great supplement to the others)
Unit Frames (energy/CP's):
Shadowed Unit Frames (using currently)
Druid-specific (implements elements from both):
HearKitty (audible combo point sounds! Love it!)
Ability Suggesters:
These semi-controversial addons take a list of rules (like the ones displayed above) and suggest the best ability to use next. The most well-known one during WOTLK was FeralByNight (broken now), but I've been heavily involved in the development of scripts for Ovale. Slavishly following Ovale's recommendations is not optimal, but it's an excellent learning tool/brain focuser. Give the scripts below a try, and see what you think.
(EDIT: Ovale script links go out-of-date quickly, just check the forum for the latest).
Out-of-Game Tools:
Other Resources:
Mihir's Cat Guide on mmo-champion
WoW Insider's Shifting Perspective druid columns
Elitist Jerks Druid Forums
Cataclysm raid buff/debuff list
(Somewhat based on Kalon's excellent 4.0.1 Bear FAQ)
Q: TL;DR. Can you sum this guide up in a paragraph?
A: Spec this. (wowhead talent link) Reforge hit/exp/haste/crit to mastery. In combat, keep FFF, Mangle, Rip, and Rake debuffs up, keep Savage Roar up, and spam Shred. Regem to Delicate Inferno Rubies. Come back later and read the whole thing. Donate. :)
Q: Wouldn't charging in bear form to proc the bear Stampede buff (30% haste/10s) and then shifting to Cat be awesome?
A: Yes, the ursine cannonball is always fun, but it's not optimal for DPS. It doesn't work anymore (you lose Stampede when you shift) and the free Ravage was better anyway.
Q: When are strength items (jewelry/trinkets) better then agility items?
A: For an exact answer, use a simulator. For a rough answer, I'd say about three tiers of difference, with tier meaning either 13 ilvl points or a change in quality (rare->epic, for instance). This means that the Tol Barad strength trinket, for example (ilvl 359 epic) would be pretty close to a ilvl 333 blue agility trinket (normal 85 dungeon).
Q: What's this Mastery thing?
A: At level 80, you can learn Mastery from your trainer. While in cat form, our Mastery, Razor Claws, increases our bleed damage by 25.04%. For each point of Mastery (30 Mastery rating), this increases by 3.1%.
Q: Any other new bonuses?
A: Leather Specialization, which gives us +5% agility for wearing all leather. (Not sure why you'd wear anything else…but we'll take it.)
Q: WTF where's my Feral Attack Power on my weapon?
A: Gone. You use the damage range of the weapon now, like everyone else. From EJ: "Both the minimum and maximum damage from the weapon are divided by its attack speed. These values are multiplied by the base swing speed of the form you're in (1 for cats, 2.5 for bears), and those values are then added to your minimum and maximum damage without a weapon equipped." In other words, don't worry about the weapon's swing speed.
Q: Why are feral druids so awesome?
A: It's the fur.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this guide, please subscribe to my blog. If you REALLY liked my guide, feel free to hit the donation button at the top. :P If you have comments, let me know in the forums. Thanks!
Relative Stat Values (generated by Mew, 85 values still fluid): (EDIT: These are vastly out of date; that said, the basic rule of Agility being worth 3x secondary stats and secondary stats being roughly equal is still correct.)
|Lvl 85, blues
|Lvl 80, ICC25
|Weapon DPS
|Attack Power
If you don't know what this means, each "point" of Agility, or Mastery, or whatever, is worth X DPS. Due to scaling effects from gear and raid buffs, numbers get bigger, but their relative order stays the same. (This is a welcome contrast from WOTLK where ArPen's value dramatically fluctuated.)


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Mother's Day is the perfect excuse to curl up on the couch with mom and indulge in a few tear-jerkers you may have watched during your adolescence ("The Sound of Music," "Bambi"), or enjoyed together as adults ("Stepmom," "The Kids Are All Right," "Mamma Mia!").
In reality, though, mothers come in all shapes and demeanors and are not the cookie-cutter versions often peddled by Hollywood.
So if the idea of saccharine celluloid goodness leaves you and mom wanting, why not cozy up with a few mothers you can both rest happy in the knowledge are no relation at all?
Evil moms may not be what you want to come home to after school, or when you need a shoulder to cry on, but played well (Angela Lansbury, Mo'Nique, Sharon Stone), or even when played over-the-top (Faye Dunaway), a mother character from hell can make a great movie a true classic.
Here, 10 mothers you and your mom will have no problem agreeing on. They're mean, cruel and have left a lasting impression on the popular culture. Long may they reign onscreen, and long may they remain absent from around our Thanksgiving tables.
"The Manchurian Candidate" - Eleanor Iselin (1962)
This American Cold War suspense thriller stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Janet Leigh, and features Angela Lansbury in the role of Eleanor Iselin, a ruthless political wife who makes "House of Cards'" Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) look positively genteel and ineffectual.
Iselin drives the political career of her senator husband, pushing his profile to new heights when he claims numerous communists are working within the Department of Defense. However, it's Iselin herself who is the threat. She's turns out to be a communist agent with plans to secure the presidency, even brainwashing her own son to turn him into a political assassin.
Lansbury was nominated for the best supporting actress Academy Award thanks to her malevolent and icy portrayal of a mother who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
"Precious" - Mary (2009)
Directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels ("The Butler"), "Precious" is a film adaptation of the 1996 novel "Push" by Sapphire and stars Gabourey Sidibe. Mo'Nique won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Mary, Precious' mother.
Dysfunctional, abusive and unemployed, Mary spends her time inflicting physical and mental torture on her obese, illiterate 16-year-old daughter Claireece "Precious" (Sidibe).
In a memorably monstrous performance, Mo'Nique as Mary continually subjects Precious and Precious' children to unspeakable cruelty, including deliberately dropping her three-day-old grandchild and informing her daughter that her father has died of AIDS.
Ultimately, Mary must face her actions, and her daughter, when they meet at a social services office. Mary begs the social worker to help her to get Precious to return home with her, but due to the extent of the abuse - dating back to when Precious was 3 years old - the social worker refuses.
"Throw Momma From the Train" - Mrs. Lift (1987)
Anyone who has seen "Throw Momma From the Train" knows who shouts the above name. The overbearing Mrs. Lift (played to the nines by actress Anne Ramsey) takes her resentment of life out on her timid son Owen (Danny DeVito) who still lives with her.
A student at community college, Owen enlists his writing teacher Larry (Billy Crystal) to embark on a plan - based on Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Strangers On A Train" - to murder Larry's ex-wife and his own mother, figuring their lack of connection to each victim will lend them both the perfect alibi.
Ramsey, who earned a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for the role, easily had some of the funniest lines in the film, particularly when insulting or berating the hapless Owen:
"He's trying to kill me! I asked for the salted nuts! He brought me the unsalted nuts! The unsalted nuts make me choke!"
"Your friend had an accident, he's dead! You go bowling and leave a corpse to take care of me!"
"Casino" - Ginger McKenna (1995)
A heartless casino hustler living in Las Vegas in the 1970s, Ginger (Sharon Stone) meets casino manager and mob associate Sam Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) when he catches her stealing poker chips in this Martin Scorsese-directed gangster movie. Sam becomes infatuated with the two-bit crook and eventually convinces her to settle down with him, ignoring her warnings that she is not the kind of woman who will make a good wife and mother.
The pair marry and have a daughter ahead of Ginger's spiral into depression and heavy drug use. In her unhappiness, Ginger seeks attention from other men and has two affairs, one with her ex-boyfriend who was also her pimp from her days as a prostitute.
Sam's patience with his wife is finally pushed to the limit when he discovers Ginger has tied their daughter to a bed so she can spend a night with her lover. Ginger steals money from the family home and leaves, eventually dying, almost penniless, of a drug overdose in Los Angeles.
Stone was nominated for the best actress in a leading role Academy Award for her portrayal of the voracious Ginger, and won a best actress in a drama Golden Globe Award.
"Mad Men" - Betty Draper (2007)
The wife of philandering advertising executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Betty (January Jones) is a housebound 1960s spouse and mother who is barely more mature than her inquisitive daughter Sally.
Though cooly elegant in the manner of Grace Kelly, Betty is insecure and selfish. She struggles with unhappiness as she attempts to summon a shred of maternal instinct. Betty constantly smokes and drinks, diets while pregnant, and avoids bestowing affection on her children whenever possible. At one point, she admonishes her son Bobby, telling him to "Go bang your head against the wall" as a form of punishment.
"I don't care what they do up there, I just like a few hours of quiet," she says of her regular habit of sending her children to their rooms.
In one of her most damning scenes while discussing her absent daughter, she remarks in a tone almost devoid of emotion except contempt that "Sally looks fat."
"Mommie Dearest" - Joan Crawford (1981)
A camp classic starring Faye Dunaway, it's based on the memoir by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of Oscar-winning actress Joan Crawford.
Chronicling the relationship between mother and daughter, the film depicts Crawford as a compulsive and selfish woman who competes with her daughter at any given opportunity.
When Christina is given numerous gifts as a child, her mother allows her to choose only one to keep, then donates the rest to charity. After beating Christina in a swimming-pool race, Crawford openly laughs at the child. Caught imitating her mother, Crawford, in a fit of hysteria, chops off all of Christina's hair.
In what is perhaps the most famous, and most reenacted scene from the movie, Crawford, her face slathered in cold cream, returns a dress to Christina's bedroom in the middle of the night only to discover another garment placed on a wire hanger - a no-no in the carefully controlled Crawford household.
Flying into a fit of rage, Crawford pulls clothing from the closet, screams and strikes Christina with the offending hanger and yells the now much quoted line: "No wire hangers!"
Following her eventual death from cancer, the adopted children learn that Crawford has disinherited them from her will.
"Serial Mom" - Beverly R. Sutphin (1994)
This John Waters-directed dark comedy stars Kathleen Turner as Beverly Sutphin, a sweet suburban mom who hides a bloody secret: she's a serial killer who happily dispatches her Baltimore neighbors over any real or perceived slight.
Beverly's first known victim is her son's high school math teacher. After learning the teacher has criticized her son and questions his mental health and family life, Beverly seizes an opportunity to run him down with her car.
Her killings begin to snowball and eventually Beverly is arrested and her trial becomes a national sensation with the media dubbing her "serial mom."
A savage satire on suburban American life, the film opened to mixed reviews but has gone on to become a cult classic. Though the film states it's based on a true story, it is in fact totally fictional.
"Psycho" - Norma Bates (1960)
Rock-a-bye baby, in the upstairs window.
While Norma Bates meets a not so kind fate at the hands of her son Norman (he poisons her and her boyfriend Joe with strychnine), she was hardly a candidate for mother of the year in this Alfred Hitchcock-directed shock-fest. After the death of her husband, Norma raised Norman with a mixture of cruelty and psychological manipulation, teaching him that sex is evil and all women (except her) are whores.
Norma begins dating Joe when Norman is a teen and soon announces plans to marry her new beau. Believing she is abandoning him, a jealous Norman murders the pair, making it look like suicide.
Unable to bear what he has done, Norman snaps, mummifying Norma's corpse and hiding it in the basement allowing him to visit with mom and speak with her on his terms as if she were still alive. He begins to speak to himself in her voice, dresses in her clothes, and in his mind becomes her. His mother personality soon takes hold and when she becomes aware of Norman's desire for a motel guest (Janet Leigh), murder - dressed as mom - is on the bill.
"Friday the 13th" - Mrs Voorhees (1980)
20 years after two summer camp counselors are murdered when they sneak off to have sex, Camp Crystal Lake is finally reopened and prepares to accept its first warm weather inhabitants.
A slasher classic, "Friday the 13th" methodically kills off the new counselors and associated other victims, all while never revealing the murderer until the very end.
Most audiences believed the killer to be either the reanimated body of the boy, Jason, who drowned in the lake two decades prior, or his ghost returned on a murderous spree.
In fact, the ruthless killer with a thirst for blood is none other than the boy's now middle-aged mother, Mrs. Voorhees (actress Betsy Palmer), who blames her son's drowning on two counselors who were having sex, unaware that Jason was struggling in the lake nearby.
In the time-honored tradition of horror flicks, the deranged Mrs. Voorhees is thought to have finally been killed as the film races toward its climax, only for her to continually come back for another slash and grab.
Eventually meeting her end at the end of a machete, the franchise - one of the most successful ever created in the genre (it was produced on a budget of $550,000 and grossed over $39 million at the box office) - is given new blood when audiences learn that Jason's body was never actually recovered from the lake.
"Carrie" - Margaret White (1976)
Created by novelist Stephen King, Margaret White is the domineering, fanatically religious and abusive mother of book and movie title character Carrie (Sissy Spacek). Portrayed by Piper Laurie in the 1976 film version (and subsequently by Julianne Moore in the 2013 remake), Margaret finds anything to do with sex or the female body to be sinful.
When Carrie raises the notion of a first date, Margaret throws scalding tea in her daughter's face and screams that she is dirty. Upon learning of her daughter's telekinetic abilities, Margaret becomes convinced that Carrie is a witch, the spawn of Satan, and decides to purify Carrie by killing her.
When her daughter returns home after unleashing her murderous powers at the prom, Margaret attacks Carrie, stabbing at her as she recites the Lord's Prayer. But she is no match for her daughters otherworldly abilities.
Directed by Brain De Palma, the film was a hit when released and Laurie earned Golden Globe and Academy Award best supporting actress nominations for her frightening portrayal. Such nominations are still rare for a performance in a horror movie.

subset: commoncrawl


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Moderately busy open for the options markets today, with S&P 500 index futures near flat despite the 8% decline in Oracle (ORCL) shares after disappointing earnings. Bullish flow is noted in several names, suggesting a few traders may be picking their spots for further upside into the spring. While we had some excitement on Wednesday, I would expect things to quiet down into next week's Passover and Good Friday holidays.
Corinthian Colleges (COCO) lifted $0.03 to $2.19 with early trades on the for-profit education company including a sweep of 1,381 May 2 calls for $0.35 when the market was $0.30 to $0.35. These will open a new position and might indicate some 'bottom fishing' on the beat-up educator. August 3 and January 2.50 calls are seeing some interest also.
Hercules Offshore (HERO) was up $0.09 to $7.35 and early trades on the Houston, TX oil and gas company include a sweep of 1,807 May 8 calls across multiple exchanges for $0.35 when the market was $0.25 to $0.35. 2,570 contracts traded. The same contract saw activity yesterday as well, resulting in 3,529 in open interest. So today is possibly a repeat. No headlines on the ticker.
Agricultural chemical company FMC Corp (FMC) is seeing heavy early call volume, with a buyer of 1,000 April 60 calls for $0.60 7mins into the day when shares were near their lows of the day. April 60s are the largest open interest position in the name, and today's flow looks to add to the existing 3,420 contracts.
Metro PCS (PCS) call volume spiked earlier today with about 7,000 May 11 calls bought for $0.56 average price. Looks like it adds to the May 11-12 call stupid bought Tuesday nearly 10,000x when shares were near $10.42. PCS is a merger-arb name with a complicated tender/buyout planned for later this year.
Relatively heavy call volume for semiconductor name KLA Tencor (KLAC) with more than 2,200 calls (and 67 puts) trading in the first hour and nearly all the flow in April 55 calls, currently 6.8% above spot. Shares near the center of their 52-week range but were above that strike earlier this month.
OptionsProfits can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/OptionsProfits.


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Cast-net fisherman, Amazon River, Peru (Iquitos)
A fisherman launches a large cast net into the Amazon River near Iquitos, Peru (1973). Despite the low gradient of only a few mm/km, the main channel of the Amazon River has a high velocity (> 1 m/sec). The fisherman caught a 20-cm armored catfish with barbels perhaps 50 cm long.
Photo: 1973
Photo: 1973
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Wayne Wurtsbaugh
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- Registered:
- January 2000
- Posts:
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If you wanted to see more of Revenge Of The Fallen's new badbot, Soundwave, IDW has your back. New comics series Transformers: Nefarious will give him a spotlight, while also introducing the concept of hijacking Transformer tech for human aims.
Written by TF master Simon Furman and drawn by Carlos Magno, Nefarious follows up on Michael Bay's hyper-successful movie by introducing new human characters who aren't only aware of the Transformers' war on Earth, but plan to retrofit all the robot's hardware and software for their own shady purposes. Editor Andy Schmidt explains:
The latest Transformers movie added several very cool elements to the tapestry — Soundwave and Ravage being my favorites — and we're keen to explore them... Our story tracks a new organization with 'nefarious' designs on the robots in disguise. Their technology gives them a tactical advantage not yet seen in the films.
What kind of tactical advantage? You'll have to wait until early next year, when the series begins, to find out.


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Tonight on Glee, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mr. Schue bonded over their love of being inappropriately sexy in front of children, newlywed Emma revealed she's still a virgin, and Blaine creepily urged Kurt's dad to talk to give him "the talk."
But the most interesting part of the show was Brittany and Santana trying to work out exactly what they are to each other. Their relationship has progressed from offhand jokes about the cheerleaders' secret lesbian tendencies to the acknowledgement that they're regularly making out (and scissoring) though they both date boys too.
When Brittany says she wants to talk about her feelings, Santana snaps, "Let's be clear here. I'm not interested in any labels, unless it's on something I shoplift." Brittany and Santana are unusual TV characters because they're openly attracted to both men and women, and as Lux Alptraum wrote in October, "it's thrilling to see this sort of sexual fluidity represented on one of the most popular shows on television."
Santana has always been quick to clarify that she isn't a lesbian, but in this episode we learned that she's been using the "fluid sexuality" label to downplay the seriousness of her feelings for Brittany. However, after weeping through a performance of "Landslide," Santana acknowledges that she's in love with Brittany, she's just afraid that makes her a real lesbian, not a girl who makes out with her friend sometimes because boys think it's hot.
Brittany, who's always seemed more comfortable with her bisexuality, doesn't want to leave Artie, but she says sweetly that if they break up, "I'm so yours. Proudly so." Sexuality that falls somewhere between gay and straight isn't often portrayed on mainstream TV unless a female character is just having a brief lesbian fling to drive up ratings. Hopefully Glee will continue focusing on Santana and Brittany's relationship, as it's certainly more interesting than Quinn's quest to be prom queen.
Earlier: Gwyneth Sings "Do You Want To Touch Me" To Some Underage Kids
Why Glee's Brittany And Santana Are My Queer Icons


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Javier Colomo (Getty Images)
Javier Colomo from Spain, qualified for this event via his Asian Tour ranking, and produced an amazing -6 under par 64 to lead by one shot at the UBS Hong Kong Open on the Fanling Golf Course in Hong Kong. On the other hand the tournament favorite, World number one, and money winner on the European Tour and the U.S. PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy, also the defending champion here could do no better than a +3 over par 73.
Javier, who had his wife on the bag, was delighted with his play;
'"I'm only here with my wife, the first six months it was very hard for me, and my wife, but now we are more comfortable and more happy, perfect. I played really, really good today from the tee, on the greens, everything, I was very relaxed after the first nine holes, and I had opportunities for birdies and I had luck on the greens.Last year I lost my card on The Challenge Tour and my category in The European Tour, so there's only one way to go to The European Tour. I had luck to get the card at the Q School on the Asian Tour and now I am 33 in the rankings. That's perfect, because next year I will play the co-sanctioned tournaments with The European Tour. It's a very good chance to improve, and why not to win a tournament and go to The European Tour?"
Rory said he felt lethargic;
"I just lacked a bit of energy out there, I felt a bit lethargic and mentally more than physically, if I am being honest. I bogeyed the first, but then just got more frustrated as the round went on. I just felt like I was hitting some decent shots and just not really converting any chances for birdies and I just let it go a little bit. I suppose after last week, and winning the Race to Dubai title, it was always going to be a bit of a letdown, I feel as though I am playing well enough, but I just need to get my head and the golf to match up and I'll be OK."
Rory, playing left-handed from the tree's.
Rory has a lot of work to do tomorrow if he is to make the cut, unbelievable really, thinking that he could miss the cut, after the year he has had. It would be a sad end to the beautiful year.
Miguel Angel Jiménez, another Spaniard, is sitting in second place at -5 under par, he is tied there with Australia's Andrew Dodt. Miguel, with a wry smile on his face, joked about his age;
"I am like a good bottle of Rioja, because I just get better and better with age. I'm putting very well and it's a pity I missed a fairway on the ninth and then on the last got a big flyer. It's an old-fashioned course, not very long, but you need to be very precise."
Miguel was playing with another of those good golfers from Spain, Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal who is in the group at -4 under par after his round of 66, José said he hit three poor shots on the day;
"I hit three poor shots, but apart from those the rest of the game was pretty solid. Obviously I have to consolidate this the next few days, but it's nice to have some signs like this one."
Aussie Andrew Dodt reported he had just fired his round of the year;
"Possibly one of best rounds of the year, solid tee to green and rolled the ball nicely, it was very gusty in places, the wind. You really had to know where you were hitting it. It's kind of similar to back home in Australia, it's just a fun course to play."
Leading Asian player is Lian-wei Zhang from China, who is very handily placed at -4 under par with the popular score of 66. Good Luck to Rory, I hope he plays well tomorrow and makes the cut.


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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A bigger Bean coming now to 147 First Ave.
Last August, we first reported that the Bean would open an outpost on First Avenue at Ninth Street, home once to Anjelica's Herbs. At the time, the Bean planned on just taking the corner location. The smaller space on East Ninth Street remained for rent.
However, the Bean's Ike Escava told us that they ended up leasing the adjacent storefront as well, and they will combine the two. He said that the work will begin next week, with a June opening in mind.
Escava also said that he will commission Jim Power, who created mosaics for the Bean's Second Avenue location, to do more art for the new cafe ... along with other artists, including Nicolina.
Meanwhile, no word yet on when the upstairs will be ready for residential use. And hey — it was just two years ago that workers said they were putting in a motel here.
6 comments:
Wow, I like it! Such a big building with all those boarded up windows always made a little sad. The paint job, windows and storefronts are all so inviting, that building really has been brought back to life.
- April 18, 2012 at 2:05 PM
Pity the bakery across 9th street.
- April 18, 2012 at 4:12 PM
Walked by the Bean on 2nd Ave. this morning. It was jumpin'.
Then I walked by the Starbucks on 1st and there were only two customers. It warmed my heart...
- April 19, 2012 at 4:21 PM
They're the best-ike, Sammy and Guy--The Bean is a neighborhood place, the atmosphere is always warm--I'm dedicating my book to them--afterall, it's the place where they let me sit and write it. Good people keeping the East Village vibe alive.
- April 20, 2012 at 1:52 PM
I just hope they have some really, really good air filters and stuff. I don't drink coffee and I don't want it stinking up my street.
- April 24, 2012 at 12:59 AM
I'll take MUD anyday over the bean...
- June 13, 2012 at 9:15 PM


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Kye is a 7-year-old boy in Arlington, Texas who is suffering from leukemia. Through the Wish with Wings program, he wished for the seemingly impossible — to be Batman. Thanks, however, to wonderful efforts by the Arlington Police and Fire Departments, Kye was able to live his dream and spend a whole day fighting crime as an undercover Bruce Wayne.
You know, us humans are alright sometimes.
Police & Firefighters Grant Wish of 7-Year Old With Leukemia to Be Batman [Krypton Radio]


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Wednesday, November 13, 2013
and the obsessive knitting has begun.
Yeah, it is that time of year again. If you know me at all or have followed this blog for awhile, you know that as soon as the weather cools I retreat to the couch with my yarn. I have been knitting quite a bit lately. I am trying to be good, so I am mostly working on Christmas gifts and knitting from my stash. Here is a little peek of a few of the things I've made lately. All of details are available on my Ravelry page. I might try to blog about each of the projects here if I get a chance, but for now you can read about everything there if you want info.
That purple Lowbrow cowl in that top photo is my most favorite knit right now. I may need to knit another in a neutral color so that I can wear it everyday! The Plucky Knitter traveler aran yarn and the drape in that pattern are just perfect. I took that picture this morning while I was at Tim Hortons and posted it on instagram (@fussycut). I have been doing my Craftsy work there twice a week while Finley is at preschool. It is amazing how much work I can get done there! Working (writing specifically) at home is so hard for me, I just get too distracted. Now I call it my office, and I write and drink lots of coffee while I'm there. Pretty sweet deal I think. If you want to read my Craftsy blog posts, you can find them right here on my author page!
I'll be back soon with that spray basting tutorial you all asked for way back here, I haven't forgotten about it! I also have a finished Briar Rose quilt to share with you. Happy Wednesday! xo Ang
Posted by Angela {fussycut} at Wednesday, November 13, 2013
7 comments:
Looking good but even more so, I simply adore that colour!ReplyDelete
It is definitely knitting season! Those cowls look great, I have yarn stashed for one of my very own.ReplyDelete
I just started knitting again myself. Probably for the same reason... it's chilly. Your gifts look amazing.ReplyDelete
I love it! I love love crocheting in the cool weathered months.ReplyDelete
Amanda Rose
Lovely woolly makes... lucky ducks who receive those gifts! I plan to spend an hour or so this afternoon cosying up with some knitting. BlissReplyDelete
I wish I could knit. These things are lovely!ReplyDelete
All of your knit pieces look lovely. I think you do a better job at picking out yarn than I do because there's a certain sheen to your pieces. nice work.ReplyDelete
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Mall name:
785 Wonderland Road South, London, Ontario N6K 1M6, Canada
Phone number to Westmount Centre mall
519 641 0976
Hours (mall)
Monday - Saturday 9:30 am - 9:00 pm, Sunday Noon - 5:00 pm.
Driving directions
Other stores in Westmount Centre:
Looking for another location of Diamond Cuts store?
Go to Diamond Cuts store locator to see all Diamond Cuts stores


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Top Items:
Tim Mak / Politico:
Santorum: JFK speech 'makes me want to throw up' — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the notion of religion not playing role in politics "makes me want to throw up." — "To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes me want to throw up.
Discussion: Little Green Footballs
Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs: Santorum: JFK's Speech on Separation of Church and State Makes Me Want to Puke
Keach Hagey / Politico:
Mitt Romney's talk-radio blitz — In the past 10 days, Ron Jolly, the morning drive-time host on Traverse City, Michigan's conservative talk radio station, has interviewed Mitt Romney twice and his surrogate, Donald Trump, once. — It's better access than most national media outlets get.
Discussion: Riehl World View and Ballot Box
Keith Laing / Ballot Box: Ann Romney: No more debates for Mitt
Kyle Whitmire / Second Front:
Poll: Santorum comes from behind in Alabama three-way — With Alabama's March 13 primary looking more and more important, Rick Santorum has pulled even with the Republican field in a poll conducted by Alabama State University. While former House Speaker Newt Gingrich maintains a small lead …
Discussion: americanthinker.com, The Political Carnival, BuzzFeed and WSB-TV
Rick Moran / americanthinker.com: Santorum ahead in Alabama and Tennessee
Jimbo Duggins / BuzzFeed: Headline Of The Day Not made up. — Community Contributor posted about a half hour ago
Jan Brewer / CNN:
Arizona governor endorses Romney — (CNN) - Two days before her state's primary, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Sunday endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination. — "I'm going to publicly endorse Mitt Romney. I think he's the man that carried the day," Brewer said on the NBC program "Meet the Press."
Discussion: Politico and Ballot Box
Donovan Slack / Politico: McCain, Graham: Romney will win Tuesday
Jonathan Easley / Ballot Box: Poll: Santorum closes on Romney in Arizona
McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
Mitt Romney's Wife Won't Let Him Debate Anymore
Mitt Romney's Wife Won't Let Him Debate Anymore
Discussion: The Impolitic and The Raw Story
Libby Spencer / The Impolitic: Anne Romney speaks and other oddities
David Ferguson / The Raw Story: Ann Romney announces she will now be Mitt's debate stand-in
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Santorum slashes Romney
Santorum slashes Romney
Discussion: Ballot Box, CNN, Prairie Weather, No More Mister Nice Blog, americanthinker.com and The Other McCain
Keith Laing / Ballot Box: Arizona Gov. Brewer endorses Mitt Romney
Robert Gibbs / CNN: Gibbs: Santorum has 'legitimate chance' at nomination
Rick Moran / americanthinker.com: Santorum sharpening his attacks on Romney
Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Santorum Unloads On "Occupier" Romney
Santorum Unloads On "Occupier" Romney
Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Gateway Pundit, US Politics and Hot Air
Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard: Romney Sips Some Tea
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: It's Come to This... Santorum Unloads on Liberal #Occupy Wall Street Candidate Mitt Romney
John Aravosis / US Politics: Why is the only good Republican a "conservative" Republican?
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Santorum: Romney more of an Occupy Wall Street candidate
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Ghastly Outdated Party — IT'S finally sinking in. — Republicans are getting queasy at the gruesome sight of their party eating itself alive, savaging the brand in ways that will long resonate. — "Republicans being against sex is not good," the G.O.P. strategist Alex Castellanos told me mournfully.
Discussion: The Moderate Voice
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice: Quote of the Day: GOP the "Ghastly Outdated Party"
John Heilemann / New York Magazine:
The Lost Party — The strangest primary season in memory reveals a GOP that's tearing itself apart. — On a biting, brittle mid-February morning 30 miles north of Detroit, Rick Santorum plants his flag in a patch of turf as politically fertile as exists in these United States.
Discussion: Sky Dancing, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and Washington Post
Dakinikat / Sky Dancing: More WTF moments via the GOP
DougJarvus Green-Ellis / Balloon Juice: How long 'til the point of no return?
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post: Jeb Bush finds Republican debates 'a little troubling'
Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
Santorum: 'I Don't Believe In An America Where The Separation Between Church And State Is Absolute' — Rick Santorum took issue with President John F. Kennedy's famous speech on the separation of church and state on Sunday, telling This Week's George Stephanopoulos that he does not believe the separation is absolute:
Discussion: ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The New Civil Rights Movement
Alan Colmes' Liberaland: Rick: "I Don't Believe In An America Where The Separation Between Church And State Is Absolute"
Seven U.S. soldiers wounded after Afghan NATO base attacked — KUNDUZ/KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Seven U.S. military trainers were wounded on Sunday when a grenade was thrown at their base in northern Afghanistan, police said, as anti-Western fury deepened over the burning of the Koran at a NATO base.
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
2 Americans Killed as Afghan Unrest Enters Fifth Day
2 Americans Killed as Afghan Unrest Enters Fifth Day
Discussion: Rod Dreher and Booman Tribune
BooMan / Booman Tribune: Afghan War Still Pointless
Byron Tau / Politico:
Koch brothers fire back at Obama — Oil magnates Charles and David Koch are firing back at President Obama's reelection campaign over a fundraising letter tying Mitt Romney to their business interests. — In an open letter addressed to campaign manager Jim Messina, president …
Discussion: Power Line, Campaign 2012 and KochFacts.com
Scott Johnson / Power Line: A letter to the Obama campaign
Joel Gehrke / Campaign 2012: Obama camp attacks Kochs over high gas prices
The State Column:
Could global warming shrink humanity? New study suggests it's possible — Humans may be much shorter if global warming continues, according to the latest study. — A new study finds that ancient horses shrunk even smaller than their ancestors, a trend scientists say is likely the result of global warming.
Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Ed Driscoll and Jammie Wearing Fools
Nigeria unrest: Suicide bomb targets church in Jos — A suicide car bomber has killed at least three people at a church in the troubled central Nigerian city of Jos, sparking reprisals by Christian youths. — Witnesses said the suicide bomber drove his car into the prominent Church of Christ during morning prayers.
Discussion: Weasel Zippers
Richard Weir / Boston Herald:
Lawyer: Lesbians' assault on gay man can't be hate crime — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio — Three women identified by their lawyers as lesbians were arraigned yesterday on a hate crime charge for allegedly beating a gay man at the Forest Hills T station …
Discussion: Don Surber, Sister Toldjah, Scared Monkeys, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Gateway Pundit
Scared Monkeys: Equal Rights Under the Law ... Three Lesbians Charged With Hate Crime for Assaulting a Gay Man in Boston, MA
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: Hate crimes laws go both ways
ZIP / Weasel Zippers:
Obama Hires Academy Award Winning Filmmaker To Direct A Movie About . . . Barack Obama... Even better: The man Obama hired was the director behind Al Gore's fairytale, "An Inconvenient Truth." — Via Politico:
Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs and nation.foxnews.com
Julianna Goldman / Bloomberg:
Obama Enlists Guggenheim for Campaign Film
Obama Enlists Guggenheim for Campaign Film
Discussion: Randy's Roundtable, Wake up America, The Lonely Conservative and Politico
Randy-g / Randy's Roundtable: Barack The Movie Star?
Susan Duclos / Wake up America: Documenting Failure: Obama Pays $162K+ For Documentary Film To Be Made About Himself
Donovan Slack / Politico: Obama taps Guggenheim for campaign film


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RVIA's 60th Annual California RV Show, kicking off today (Oct. 12) and running through Oct. 21 at the Fairplex in Pomona, will feature increased RV exhibit space and several enhancements to improve the show experience for attendees.
According to a press release, this year's show will cover 572,100 square feet of exhibit space, well over the 467,000 square feet at the 2011 event. More than 925 RVs will be on display, including 150 RVs available for test drives by interested consumers.
The 60th California RV Show will also offer a number of elements and enhancements to inform entertain and engage attendees, including:
New Show Layout: A new floorplan will be unveiled this year that features one attendee entry point rather than four. A new mock campground and exhibitor tent will greet attendees upon entrance before they move onto the main show floor.
Extended Show Hours: Show hours will be extended by two hours on Fridays and Saturdays with the show open from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. The later hours will create a night time camping atmosphere with the RVs being displayed with their lights on. Show hours will continue to be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday.
Buy "N" Drive: Also new this year, guests who purchase an RV at the show will be able to take delivery of their RV the very next afternoon rather than needing to wait for a later delivery date. This also limits additional foot traffic in the RV and allows the consumer to begin RVing sooner.
The RV Factory Showcase: Different RV product types will be showcased in this popular area with RV manufacturer representatives on hand to meet with attendees and present product demonstrations showing how RVs work. There will be 12 product demonstrations in the McMahon's RV Seminar Tent.
California RV Show App: In addition to the show website at www.TheBestRVShow.com, a new app for Apple and Android devices provides a new level of show interactivity. Users can view the RVs that will be on display as well as obtain information on seminars and other show events. The app is available for download at the show website.
Scavenger Hunt: The app will also feature a show scavenger hunt. Users can enjoy taking specific show pictures as directed by their smart phone and win gift cards.
Seminars and Entertainment: The show will once again feature of number of entertainment options to keep attendees amused, including celebrity autograph sessions with off-road racers Jeremy McGrath and Corey Weller at the Eclipse RV display on Saturday, Oct. 13, and appearances by the RV cooking and comedy team of Pat "Mac" Mac and Steve "The Big Cheese" Faverman. RV handyman and author Dave Solberg will offer informative RVing seminars throughout the show.
Affordable Admission Pricing: The daily show admission will remain at $10. Attendees can also purchase a wristband for $15 that provides for admission throughout the 10-day show. Also, military personnel will be admitted at no charge this year.
Daily RV Prizes: Trailer Life, Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. and Temecula RV will be giving away daily prizes inside the exhibitor tent.


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Swimming Pool Blog
by Rob Cox, October 03, 2012
The Most Common Pool Leak
My cousin Joe sent me an email with the subject line: The Pool is Leaking. Knowing his pool the way I do, I immediately emailed him back a response.
"Lay on the deck and lean over to look inside the skimmer. Look for any cracks at the point where the plastic skimmer meets the white plaster. If you see any debris sucked into these cracks or voids, a pool putty repair can be indicated."
I love trying to sound like a doctor! Joe found the cracks and the debris, cleaned it up a bit and made a pool putty repair (described below).
Pool Skimmer Leak Problem: Inground gunite pools can develop a crack where the plastic skimmer meets the concrete pool wall.
There are two ways to install a pool skimmer when a gunite pool is built. The first method is to place the skimmer into the steel frame that makes up the pool wall, and shoot gunite (or shotcrete) around the frame, encapsulating the skimmer in a dense and monolithic quantity of concrete.
The second, more common method is to leave a notch in the wall where the skimmer will go. After the gunite is done, the builder will "peg" the skimmer to the pool wall, by drilling 2-3 holes into the back of the pool wall, on each side of the skimmer.
Rebar is bent from one side of the skimmer around to the other, and forms are constructed around the skimmer. Hydraulic cement is poured around the skimmer, rebar and back of the pool wall, to hold the skimmer to the backside of the pool wall.
Problem with the second method is that ground movement or expansion and contraction from temperature swings will eventually cause this "Cold Joint" between the pool and skimmer to separate. The movement will allow small cracks to develop at the point where the plastic skimmer body meets the concrete pool wall.
Pool Skimmer Leak Inspection: Lay on the deck and look upside down into the skimmer, to locate the area where the plastic skimmer meets the concrete pool, usually at the point where the tile ends. This area is usually parged in with plaster.
Take note of any small cracks or voids - and look for areas where small bits of debris have been sucked into these cracks or voids. You will look on 3 sides; the bottom, and the left and right sides. The problem area may not be underwater, but may be at or above the water level.
If you want to verify the existance of a leak, you can dye test the suspected cracks with food coloring, or our pool leak dye syringes. To do this, shut the pump off and allow the water to become still. Lay on the deck again, with your arms in the water. Clean any debris from the area with your hand, and then slowly squeeze out a bit of dye near the suspect area. If it is leaking you will quickly see the dye being pulled towards and sucked out of the pool.
Pool Skimmer Leak Repair: After the leak is found, spend a few minutes with a flat head screwdriver, cleaning up any loose debris, and opening up the crack a little wider. If you notice previous pool putty repair jobs, it may be best to remove the old putty with your screwdriver, to create a larger, clean joint to push in the new pool putty.
Then, mix equal parts of an underwater pool putty, such as Epoxy-Bond or Leakmaster, together with a bit of water, until the color becomes uniform. Roll sections of the mixed putty in your hands, to make a "snake" of putty, 3-4 inches long. Push your putty snake into the void or crack and press firmly. Smooth out the edges with your fingers and be sure it doesn't interfere with the skimmer weir operation. (that flapper door thingy)
Your leak will be immediately repaired. The putty will harden and will hold fast, perhaps for several years, until more movement is enough that your repair will need to be redone. Why not just replace the skimmer? You might ask. That, my dear reader, is a topic for another day. Pool Putty is a simple 5 minute fix. Replacing a skimmer encased in concrete is a real undertaking!


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This week past, the Republican National Committee, ably led by its chairman, Wisconsin's Reince Priebus, put into effect reforms of the presidential nominating process that greatly simplify and shorten the primary season and, when combined with the two others reforms that are coming --an early convention in June or early July, and a coherent, purpose-driven debate system and schedule--will greatly enhance the prospects for a November win by the eventual GOP nominee.
The possible GOP field* is large, and it needs information now to plan campaigns then. Geraghty the Indisensable has more commentary, and Zeke Miller has additional details, but the new calendar is likely this:
The Iowa caucuses on Monday, February 1, 2016;
The New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, February 9, 2016;
The South Carolina primary on Tuesday, February 16, 2016;
and the Nevada caucuses on Tuesday, February 23.
Expect a new "Super Tuesday" on Tuesday March 1, as would-be early state players rush to attract all the money and attention left after South Carolina, but note the two week gap between South Carolina's voting and the expected new Super Tuesday. Suddenly the Palmetto State has a a lot of leverage as the winner of its 2016 brawl will have a fortnight of momentum on which to build headed into the day which is expected to be crowded with early primaries, all required by the RNC to divide their delegates proportionally.
Big states that want "winner-take-all"drama and "knock-out" potential (and dollars) should angle for Tuesday, March 15, which is the earliest such a contest can be held, and if Ohio wants clout (and maybe a leg up in the hunt of the convention) its GOP dominated legislature should move the primary to that day. I doubt Governor Kasich would object.
Whatever shakes out, the madness is out of the system, so all hail Reince. If he can pull an eight-to-ten debate schedule out of his hat --say, one the week after New Hampshire, and one the week after South Carolina, and the other six spaced from September of 2015 through January 2016 --with blackout days from Friday December 18 through the end of the year-- he may be carried around the eventual convention site of the convention hall by journalists who spent Christmas 2011 in Iowa and New Hampshire. (Cities wishing to bid for the early GOP 2016 convention must do so by the end of next month with a site selection recommendation coming from this group and a decision in August of this year.) With a rational calendar, the allure of early debates just isn't going to be there for most would-be presidents, but I don't think I'll have much trouble booking the field* when their media teams figure out that 94.5 Conservative Talk covers upstate South Carolina in a blaze of 100,000 wonder, while other affiliates like WJXY-FM 93.9/93.7 in Myrtle Beach cover the coast.
South Carolina is the real winner in all of this, but there is no big loser, which is why the Priebus-led diplomacy pays off big. It is a level playing field. It is a rational one as well, and the candidates who aspire to lead the party and eventually the nation have to nod in agreement that this makes sense.
Now if the selection committee would just hold on to the common sense theme and pick Cleveland with its new convention hall, excellent mass transit from outlying areas, and the expected trifecta of the 2o15 World Series, 2016 Super Bowl, and 2016 NBA Finals appearances of its three major professional franchises providing a tailwind to the convention that summer. (Columbus will counter, of course, that Urban nation will have triumphed in early 2016, and that is most likely right, but it is still 1 versus 3 in the momentum-generating events. And Columbus does not have a beautiful lake or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)
A very good week for the GOP indeed. If there had been such a meeting in January 2010, President Romney might well be clamping down sanctions harder on Iran and markets steadier under a budget accord negotiated by Vice President Ryan.
*The GOP Field (potential candidates who have declared, hinted, or been tipped as candidates, or for whom there is not insignificant acclaim from fervent supporters outside of their families and state): Amb. John Bolton, Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. John Kasich, Rep. Peter King, Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Mike Pence, Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. Sarah Palin, Gov. Rick Perry, Rep. Paul Ryan, Gov. Rick Snyder, Sen. John Thune, Gov. Scott Walker.


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(iChinaStock News) Short-seller Muddy Waters recently dropped another bombshell of a report, recommending a "strong sell" on Focus Media (NASDAQ: FMCN). The stock fell about 40% upon the release of the report.
To address this topic, Xueqiu, iChinaStock's Chinese-language sister-site, conducted a microblog interview today with Paul Gillis, an expert on accounting and the VIE structure in China.
On Short-Sellers like Muddy Waters
Q:Why do you think short-sellers like Muddy Waters always select Chinese stocks?
Gillis:A famous bank robber was once asked why he robbed banks. He said "That is where the money is".
Q:How much of US investor's concerns over financial fraud of Chinese companies are real threats for investment in your opinion?
Gillis:What is the market for U.S. listed Chinese companies down over the last year? 40%? That is a real threat and a lot of that is over fraud, as well as risky structures.
Q:Bloomberg quoted a manager at Catoosa capital who said, "If I see a Muddy Waters report, I first sell and ask questions later. That's how people are doing it." How do you view this phenomenon?
Gillis:A hedge fund manager the other day told me that the only way you can lose money in his business is to go to jail. Reports like Muddy Waters are going to hit a stock, and you can't blame investors for taking advantage of that.
Q:Muddy Waters often issues reports and it seems every one has been on target. Why is MW so successful?
Gillis:They have a better track record than some. I don't know much about the organization, but it appears they spend a lot of time digging before they lob the grenades. I expect they have some big hedge funds behind them.
Q:Do you think that the business model of short-selling research firms such as muddy water is legal?
Gillis:It think it is both legal and ethical, provided you are honest. If these shorts do their research and report facts truthfully, then they help the markets work efficiently. If they make stuff up, they should go to jail.
Q:Focus Media said yesterday they want to sue Muddy Waters. What are the barriers to bringing a lawsuit against a short-seller in the US?
Gillis:Suing is easy. Winning is hard. Most companies do not want to sue shorts because they then become subject to discovery, which means the short can dig all they want in the company's records. The truth is the best defense to a libel claim.
Q:In my point of view regarding Chinese stocks under short sellers attack recently is all about ongoing corporate governance issues. What do you think ?
Gillis:There is a great deal of distrust of crony boards made up of people looking out for their own interests instead of the shareholders. That is more common in Asia than many other markets.
Q:Do you think US regulators may lack of enough regulation or inspection over these short sellers in the market? Simply because of the right to free speech, those short sellers like Muddy Waters could publish or spread whatever brings them profit, though sometimes it's just rumor.
Gillis:I expect there will be some prosecutions of short sellers. The wheels of justice move very slowing, and we will only learn about it a couple of years ago. But if they are just making stuff up to move the market, they will get caught and punished eventually.
Q:How do you now view US-listed Chinese stocks? With the price relatively low, will you consider buying?
Gillis:From a fundamental valuation perspective, there are some screaming deals out there. But the overhang of fraud and regulatory challenges must make one pause.
Q:How far away are domestic Chinese exchanges from accommodating the many companies that list abroad? What do they need to do to support such listings?
Gillis:The markets need reform first. They are not big enough. The entire market cap of ChiNext is $100 billion - Baidu alone is half of that. And the listing process needs to become more transparent and allow these companies to come to market. The better approach is probably to start by allowing some companies like Baidu to have dual listings - NASDAQ and ChiNext.
On Regulatory Oversight
Q:How will all these alleged accounting scandals influence the audit industry in China?
Gillis:I think it really threatens the audit industry. Another big scandal for one of the Big Four might push the PCOAB and SEC over the line - resulting in the China firm being deregistered - banned from auditing public companies in the U.S.
Q:What would it mean if there's one more big scandal and "the China firm is deregistered - banned from auditing public companies in the U.S."? What's the fallout and result?
Gillis:If an auditor is deregistered by the PCAOB, it can no longer audit public companies or play a significant role in the audit of public companies. For a China firm, that means they would have to give up their U.S. listed clients and could not do work on the MNCs from the U.S. It would seriously cripple any firm.
Q:What's the worst scenario if US and Chinese regulators fail to reach any agreements? Would US really take the risk of banning the auditors from China to audit US-listed companies?
Gillis:Worse case scenario is that the PCAOB jerks the registrations of all China based auditors. That leads to delisting of all U.S. listed Chinese stocks and big problems for MNCs. Read Chuck Schumer's letter to the PCOAB yesterday (on my blog www.chinaaccountingblog.com)
Q:What agreements do you expect China and US regulators to reach on joint supervision of financial fraud?
Gillis:I think the U.S. regulators are desperate to make a deal, but China is playing hard to get. I think part of that is because so many of the companies that have listed in the U.S. have ignored Chinese laws to do it. China would prefer they just give up their U.S. listings and come home.
Q:What do you think is the best possible result that US and Chinese regulators may reach?
Gillis:I think the best result will come from them working together. Chinese regulators remain in charge, with the U.S. regulators in a supporting role. Together they can make these companies follow both U.S. and Chinese law, and improve audit quality.
Q:It seems the PCAOB has not been able to establish joint inspections or effective oversight of auditors in China. In our last interview you said, that the 'doomsday scenario' is not at all likely. But are there intermediate measures that you see US regulators taking to try to establish oversight?
Gillis:I think it is getting much more dangerous. Yesterday one of the leading Democratic senators sent a letter to the PCAOB telling them that they were not doing their job and it was time to crack down. The letter is on my website: www.chinaaccountingblog.com
Q:In recent days, New Oriental, Focus Media, and Qihoo have all been questioned by short-sellers. Will this persist? Could even the unassailable like Sina, Baidu be questioned or affected
Gillis:We are moving into audit season. Audits will be mostly done in the first quarter, and that is when more frauds may come out. I expect the next few months will be very active.
Regarding Focus Media (FMCN)
Q:Do you think FMCN's response to Muddy Water last night was believable and sufficient?
Gillis:I think FMCN is eventually going to have to ask an independent board committee to investigate all the acquisitions. They will hire lawyers and accountants and get to the bottom of it. It will be expensive, but necessary.
Q:Muddy Water said FMCN has written at least 21 acquisitions down to zero and then given them away for no consideration. Is the accusation grounded? Can you explain about the normal write down process?
Gillis:It is really hard to assess the accusation. From an accounting standpoint a company must assess whether the carrying value of previous acquisitions can still be justified. They do that using a DCF model. If they cannot justify carrying the balance, they must write off.
Q:Shanda's board of directors recently approved plans to privatize the company again, with the CEO stating the company is undervalued in America? The CEO of GEDU said the same. How do you view this matter?
Gillis:Many Chinese companies are seriously undervalued. CEOs must be very disappointed with how the market is treating them. I expect we see more companies deciding to go private. Some may later re-list in Shenzhen.
Q:If a company is hit by a short-seller report, how should it respond? How could a legitimate company best assure worried investors?
Gillis:Companies have to respond. Unless the allegations are ridiculous, they are pretty much stuck with spending a lot of money to have an investigation done.
Q:Some of the short-sellers reports we've seen have been targeting companies on the operation level. But Muddy Waters is digging up the historical 'wrong-doings' of some of the FMCN officials. How do this kind of historical fact tend to influence the long-term stock price of a company?
Gillis:What Muddy Waters is doing to FMCN is going after the integrity of the insiders. If their allegations prove true, they do serious damage to those people and any company they are associated with.
Q:What is the worst consequence do you think to all US Chinese listed companies, if what Muddy Water's allegation was right?
Gillis:If Muddy Waters is right, this is going to get everyone focused on the promoters and boards of the companies, wondering if they are ripping off shareholders. The whole issue of corporate governance of these companies will be front and center.
Read more posts on iChinaStock »


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Junot Diaz is no stranger to South Florida, having appeared at the Miami Book Fair International and the Key West Literary Seminar on numerous occasions. But his familiarity with Fort Lauderdale, a place he praises with only a touch of good-natured sarcasm, predates his literary celebrity.
"I have, like, five uncles who live in Fort Lauderdale," Diaz says by phone from Boston, where he teaches writing at MIT. "I've spent a lot of time there."
As Diaz talks, it sounds as if he's outside, walking down the street on a late-summer morning. He frequently laughs during the conversation, teasingly challenging most of the questions.
"Everyone has a criteria for what's beautiful," Diaz says with a laugh. "I'm a poor kid from New Jersey. I like Fort Lauderdale fine."
That "poor kid from New Jersey" – or at least a poor kid from New Jersey – figures large in Diaz's new story collection, "This Is How You Lose Her," his first book since winning the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his debut novel, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," in 2008.
In some ways, the new book may be more important than the last, because it will show whether Diaz has been ruined by the praise heaped on "Oscar Wao." He would not be the first. Instead, "This Is How You Lose Her" proves to be the work of a gifted writer as he approaches his mature power.
Although the language in "This Is How You Lose Her" is deceptively straightforward, never self-consciously elevated or literary, the stories have a heft and a force rare in story collections. Individually and together, they convey the narrative weight of a novel.
"I really enjoyed this linked form," says Diaz, who began "This Is How You Lose Her" immediately after completing his first story collection, 1996's "Drown." He sees the new book as a companion piece to the first.
"It's neither a novel, nor yet a short-story collection," he says. "That was definitely part of the plan and why the damned thing took 16 years. I was trying to line these stories up correctly so the reader would feel a circuit completed from beginning to end."
The central character in these stories, though he does not appear in every one, is Yunior de las Casas, the narrator of "Oscar Wao" and also a prominent figure in "Drown," which signaled Diaz as a young writer to watch.
For better or worse, Diaz is closely associated with Yunior, his perceived alter ego. One obvious question, then, is how autobiographical these stories are – especially since the first one, "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars," is a confessional account of how Yunior's fiancee dumps him for chronic cheating.
"Wow, no one's ever asked that question before," Diaz says, but his tone is light, and he seems delighted to answer. "The Yunior stories here are way less autobiographical than in 'Drown.' If you use the stories as a road map of my life, you would wind up in a ditch."
Still, Diaz says, the stories feel "deeply personal" to him. "Yunior's battle with intimacy where he can get into a healthy relationship, a lot of men have undergone that," he says.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Diaz came to the United States as a boy to join his father. Feeling rejected by black and Latino peers alike, he took refuge in reading. Since earning a creative writing degree from Cornell University, he has become one of the strongest voices in immigrant fiction.
But Diaz says he is never writing solely for a Latino audience, even though "This Is How You Lose Her" directly engages things such as Latino machismo and exploitation of women, the immigrant struggle to find work, the shadow of housing discrimination.
"One uses the Latino thing to describe the larger human condition," Diaz says. "It's like Shakespeare and Macbeth. No one would argue that a murderous king is representative of the Scottish character. But something about the Scottish character informs the story."
Reaching to Shakespeare again, Diaz explains that "particularity" is what gives a writer and his work the universality that can appeal to readers outside his group, place or even his time.
"Do you think Shakespeare was writing for a French audience?" Diaz asks, a bit of the professor coming out. "He was writing for a very narrow, very specific and tiny English audience. The rub, as all readers will tell you, what makes it possible for Shakespeare to be read now is that he is particular. The universality rises out of the details.
"Because I understand as a reader that I can read 'Dr. Zhivago' or Tolstoy because they were writing narrowly, I can use the Dominican-New Jersey audience to allow others to come in."
Diaz boasts that he did not throw a party for himself when he won the Pulitzer, or "even take an afternoon off." But he readily concedes that the imprimatur of the Prize puts the book "into the hands of people" who would not otherwise have known about him.
"Not to underplay what an enormous honor it is," Diaz says, "But it doesn't matter for your art, which lives or dies on how good it is."
Now 43, well established in American letters, with a comfortable, if not to say distinguished teaching job, Diaz is no longer the angry young man of color festivalgoers in Miami or Key West may remember from a few years ago.
"I think my students would be alarmed by that characterization," Diaz says. "They'd say, 'He's angry?' What ends up happening is if you have a point of view, that gets confused with anger.
"Besides, I don't know if anyone can keep that kind of fire from changing, anymore than you can keep from aging. As an artist, you have to find new themes. And you have to use whatever fire you have left to execute your art."
Diaz turns to fellow Dominican, baseball pitcher Pedro Martinez for a metaphor. "Early on, he threw this incredible fastball, but later he learned out to get people out with guile," Diaz says. "If I can't go to the heat, I have to figure out a way to be smart."
Not the most productive of writers, Diaz laments the pace of his literary output – 11 years to produce a novel, three books since 1996. Some writers – Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates – might publish as much between Easter and Labor Day. Partly, he says, it's the distraction of teaching, and "part of it is I'm just slow."
Diaz says he's looking forward to his long book tour, including the stop in Miami.
"It's a great honor to have readers, and to be an artist," he says. "I love what I do so much primarily because I love to be around and meet readers. That's a beautiful thing."
Junot Diaz
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22
Where: Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd.
Cost: Free tickets are available at Books and Books bookstores in Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Bal Harbour.
Contact: 305-442-4408 or BooksandBooks.com


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Holden Entertainment SystemThe new iPhone 5 and the Holden Commodore aren't speaking.
But Holden says it is working to fix a communication problem between its Commodore and the latest iPhone, one of the best-selling handsets in Australia.
Hyundai has also received complaints from customers about iPhone connectivity.
Melbourne resident Ashley Hall says he bought an iPhone 5 in November but the handset "failed every time" to connect in his Commodore.
"I am unable to receive calls, everything goes silent when I take a call," Mr Hall said. "The best-selling phone and one of the best-selling cars in Australia … [and the companies] are unable to sort this out."
Mr Hall says his dealer told him it could be 12 months before a fix is found.
The glitch has created heated discussion in various forums online, with users raising the issue on Apple discussion boards as well as the Australian Whirlpool and Mactalk sites.
Owners with various makes of car say they are having problems connecting to the new phone.
Holden says car manufacturers and phone companies have to work together. "When new phones come on to the market they need validation to ensure compatibility with existing in car systems," a Holden spokeswoman said.
"We now need to undertake that validation to see where the iPhone 5 and new operating system are not compatible with the HoldenIQ system.
"This is an area where car companies and phone companies need to work more closely together and something we are focused on."
Holden engineers are examining why the handsets can't talk to its IQ touchscreen infotainment system, she said.
The company says next year's Barina Spark and VF Commodore will work with Siri, the voice-activated assistant in all new iPhones.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the problem, and would say only that "both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S support Bluetooth 4.0".
Manufacturers looking to woo tech-savvy buyers are all too aware that they expect their phones to work flawlessly with in-car entertainment and communication systems.
In all Australian states, using hand-held mobile phones while driving is illegal – but using a hands-free mobile is allowed.
In NSW, loudspeaker features on phones cannot be used unless the phone is in a secure cradle.
Drive tested the hands-free and music functions of an iPhone 5 with the latest software updates this week and found it worked flawlessly with new cars made by Audi, Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Toyota.
Ford says there have been no reported problems between its new electronic Sync system and the iPhone 5.
But a spokesman for Hyundai said that some customers had experienced smartphone connection problems.
Some contributors to online forums say they have solved hands-free problems with the iPhone 5 by upgrading to Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 6.01, but Ashley Hall tried this, with no success. "It definitely won't work," he said.
Apple sold more than 2 million iPhones worldwide each day in the third quarter of 2012. Samsung's Galaxy S III outsold Apple's iPhone 5 globally in the same period, but Apple is expected to retake first place in the sales race by the end of the year.
Analysts have predicted that the iPhone 5 will be the best-selling gadget in history. Follow Drive南京夜网.au on Twitter @Drivecomau Like Drive南京夜网.au on Facebook
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.


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Conserve water with 'pipes and pads' engineering
The term "black gold" has been synonymous with oil, but farmers in the Mississippi Delta have reason to feel that way about their soil, too. Mississippi alluvial silt is very productive—with access to a constant supply of irrigation water, yields can be hard to beat. There's just one problem: The source of that irrigation water, the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, is being depleted at an unsustainable rate.
No one knows more about local water use and what it's doing to the aquifer supply than Buddy Allen. A grain, cotton and rice grower in Tunica County and an officer of the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, he says 80% of 3 million crop acres in the Delta are irrigated.
The pipes and pads system culminates with outflows pouring into a drainage ditch, with intermittent low-grade weirs to trap sediment and nutrient runoff.
"Of those acres, 15% are in rice production. This [rice] uses 60% of the groundwater."
In the Delta—which has a sandy soil profile, large expanses of flat ground and an unpredictable amount and frequency of rainfall—irrigation and soil conservation can be a challenge. Delta farmers have reacted by adopting a simple field engineering technique known as "pipes and pads" to slow field runoff and the resulting erosion and soil nutrient loss.
Robbie Kroger, a farm water-quality specialist with Mississippi State University, champions the use of pipes and pads as well as best management practices such as land leveling, which creates efficiencies in fuel use and irrigation.
In the pipes and pads system, the pad is a raised turn-row all around the field that helps to retain water. Water control pipes called flashboard risers are installed perpendicular to the pad to drain the field overflow and slow the pace of water drainage to retain sediment and the associated high levels of free phosphorus. Drainage water flows from the outflow pipe into a drainage ditch that is intersected periodically with low-grade weirs, which further slow water drainage and retain sediment and nutrients.
Water is retained in a holding pond, or tailwater recovery system, where it can be returned to an on-farm storage pond. "By using a suite of practices, we're controlling runoff and on-farm storage," says Paul Rodrigue, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) area engineer. "We can reduce groundwater use by 75% and runoff by 50%."
Irrigated land outflow can be monitored by an adjustable water control structure to seasonally flood fields for sediment retention while providing waterfowl habitat benefits.
Local NRCS offices have received funding for practices such as pipes and pads through the National Water Quality Initiative, a Mississippi River Basin federal mandate. Unfortunately, "there's more demand for pads and pipes than there are cost-share dollars for the program," Kroger says. "Check with your NRCS office for cost-share opportunities."
Travis Satterfield, a rice and soybean grower from Benoit, Miss., says that since Delta farmers have become totally dependent on irrigation, "we have to be willing to take the steps necessary to conserve our water resources."