text:
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Great Quarter, Guys!
Well, I was wrong.
Overstock reported, and they missed the Street's operating income number by 50%, coming in at a $6 million loss versus the Street's $4 million-plus forecast.
In true Patrick Byrne fashion, of course, Overstock masked the bad news by including a one-time $4 million gain in the reported number—making no mention of the gain in the press release discussion of income items, as far as I can see.
Rather than include the $4 million one-time gain in the headlines or the introductory paragraph, it is buried at the bottom of Patrick's list of "mud-pies and cream-pies," which never seem to go stale at Overstock.
They just keep baking more.
The CEO's letter is, of course, full of the usual technology-heavy nonsense Byrne likes to employ when he wants to keep attention away from the business itself, which is slowing and losing money.
But if you read carefully you will see that "Project Propeller" has twirled away and the rest of the fanciful dreams and yearnings of the CEO can be summed up in the rather pathetic note that the Teradata implementation was so quick, "I believe we have been invited to speak at a conference on just this theme."
Well, Patrick, you're certainly not being invited to speak at a conference on how to run a great company.
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations.
41 comments:
- Its_strange said...
Patrick tells the listeners that he believes its important the stockholders are well informed and than goes on about this naked shorting stuff...Patrick, how about the "deal of a lifetime" and the sale of 126 diamonds over the weekend that Jeff pointed out ? Please, inform the stockholders
- Chris Fischer said...
I love the mudpie/creampie section.
Inbound freight and MARKETING as 1 time expenses? Come on. The new office will require another million in G&A, so add that right into next quarters loss. Not to mention it sounds like overstock is going to need to do some hiring to support the growth.
Patrick looks like he's just finding out that running a large scale computer operation is extraordinarily expensive. The equipment, software, and people to support it costs lots. Anyone that works for a bank could tell you that. You need a lot of incoming money to support and grow it.
The other thing I don't get about overstock.com - Doesn't anyone remember Onsale.com? Aren't these companies almost exactly the same? Onsale grew it revenues exactly like Overstock is doing - which was great, except that the business model never made any money. Onsale.com tried a whole bunch of schemes to try to make it profitable - I think the last one was to sell everything at cost, and make money of advertising on the site - until it folded.
Can any Overstock bulls (I know there are some that read this board) tell me how these company's business models differ? I'm not being fecitious.
- DaleW said...
Patrick Byrne spend 17% of the conference call (removing the perfunctories from the transcript) talking about naked shorting. That's quite odd.
Also, if his father is going to be chairman, why not just announce it when it's done? What's with the "we're going to ask him and we hope he will serve if elected?" Talk about puffery. I believe it's manipulative to talk about the prospect of a respected businessperson joining your board as chairman when he hasn't even been asked to do so, much less accepted the position. I don't care what the family realtionship is, that is puffery at its worst. I would love to see Jack Byrne tell him no. Methinks PB has a screw loose.
- BelowTheCrowd said...
I've generally stayed away from this discussion as I've no interest in the company in either direction.
However, I am struck between the difference between the CEO of OSTK and one of my early bosses at Morgan Stanley back in the 80s. At the time we were setting up the first global trust and operations businesses, and had hired a pretty senior guy from one of the major commercial banks who dominated the business. Our take on things was that we were going to do it better and cheaper by leveraging our existing technology edge. And we would pull the Europeans and Asians who wanted to do business with us along. Anybody who "wouldn't play ball" technologically, would eventually be left behind. It was a techie's dream: using real technology to revolutionize a business.
But the guy running the business put things in perspective. His statement was simple: "Our customers don't care whether we deliver superior service by using the best technology, or if we just have a room full of a million monkeys in front of a million keyboards. To them it's all the same."
I wrote down his comment the day he made it. As I've moved ahead into more and more senior technology roles, I've often posted it above my desk.
More often than not, I've found that the good leaders and CEOs I've worked with are the ones who are skeptical about technology. They understand its benefits, but also its costs. They focus their attention on what it takes to satisfy the customer and hire strong, capable IT guys (like me???) to figure out the most cost-effective ways to make it happen. They don't go around talking about their technology successes or bragging about vendor conference invitations because they know that in the end that's not what their business is about.
The ones who are enamoured with their organizations' technological capabilities are the ones to watch out for. They're often spending too much money and too much time on "cool" technologies. I've known at least a couple cases where the technology strategy (or lack thereof, usually it's inexperieneced technology managers run amok) has killed the company.
From what I've seen, the OSTK situation resembles the latter type of company fare more than the well-planned strategies of my old MS Global Securities days.
- mfairview said...
On top of which, Xmas season approaches and they are to go profitable next year. I can't make that up and Jeff can't stop it.
Good luck with your shorts (friends and all).
- mfairview said...
BTW- Anyone else notice the Sept 100 calls available on this $42 stock? How odd.
- BelowTheCrowd said...
I must confess, I find this whole debate rather fascinating. In fact, fascinating enough that I actually thought I'd try to see what you people find so compelling to argue about.
So I downloaded the earnings call slides.
First impression: Of an 83 slide presentation, I counted:
34 slides related to shorts/longs, etc. 40.96%
32 slides addressing the business results and analysis: 38.55%
9 slides related to IT matters: 10.84%
3 "bureaucratic" slides (safe harbor, xfer agent, lawyers): 3.61%
2 title slides (front and back): 2.41%
2 slides addressing other financial matters (buyback, acquisition): 2.41%
1 completely irrelevant (literary quote): 1.2%
It would seem that based on the number of talking points in the presentation, OSTK think that the most important thing for their shareholders to know about are various stock machinations, the business itself is the second most important and that IT matters are the third most important thing.
A major acquisition seems to be an afterthought, thrown in after the lengthly discussion of the IT architecture.
As an investor, I have to say that the focus seems to be screwed up.
As a senior IT type, I find the discussion of the IT architecture to be laughable. Presenting this stuff to Wall Street??? I wouldn't normally present this kind of stuff to most C-level execs! The stupider ones would listen and not understand a thing, the smarter ones would wonder why I'm telling them about stuff that is well below the level they're working at, and the smartest ones would recognize that spending lots of time on this usually falls into the category of "trying to bamboozle with..." well, you know with what.
- bsilly said...
Just wanted to throw in a comment or two,
I think it's reasonable to back out the gain on the debt buyback. After you do that, ya, they lost a little more than expected, thats business. However, can any of you guys convince me that the model is doomed? The only rational I can come up with is that you guys think that the bus. won't scale and if they shut down the mrktg spend the sls will fall of a cliff. The repeat number suggests the opposite, that ostk has some of the more finatical customers on the internet. The fact is ostk dominates the industry. The industry is real, not some passing fad, so what makes you think that ostk will lose its leadership position and fail?
- k9thunder said...
You know I love the mudpie from Claim Jumpers (western mining theme restaurants in CA and WA).
I read con call notes from another blog. I think Patrick kind a behaved. Was Bobo O'Brien on the call? Those 2 were like Abbott and Costello on last concall ranting on naked shorts like Don Quixote and his servant rady to charge ap the windmill. LOL
Here are the "holes" I see:
1. Notes that most of the operating loss came from Technology spending.
Really? I like to read the fine details as it certainly sounds like accounting shell game. Defer expense or better yet put expenses into IT bucket.
Heck what about this ridiculous $1 shipping? Huh? LOL
2. Total revenues were $151M | 14.7% gross margins | - operating expense were higher due to technology costs and marketing expenses.
If GM is still in 15% range then why the continuing LOSS? Tech and marketing expenses are cost of doing biz!
3. Asking his father to be the Chairman.
Ah, plot thickens... Hey it's my family biz and we suck the money out to enrich our family at shareholders (longs that is) expense. Brilliant!
4. Ski West - notes that last year their revenue was $30M / income of $1M and this year the plan is for $60M and $2- $2.5M in income. Notes they are growing at faster than 100% pace
Isn't SW private company? Who audited this claim? Sure grows 100% BUT making money yet?
5. Notes Travel is in the high margin areas... and have locked several hundred properties. States they will not take on Orbitz on a full scale travel offering.
Kidding me? Hell, even your pal Motley is frustrated with "travel" site which still says "flight, car, hotel coming soon" FOR MONTHS!
Take on Orbitz? Now this gotta be the FUNNNIEST I've heard all day!
6. Discussed the strategy of shorting puts against the common, and how the company used a structured transaction to purchase stock in for the buyback program.
Sure but didn't OSTK lost boatload of money with their call options last quarter?
STOP GAMBLING with shareholder's money!
More BS CON as usual and the attacks on shorts...
Keep up the good work Jeff!
- Tim Adams said...
the elephant in the room is that this is the 10000000th time we've heard this before from you and patrick. so the shorts get burned... ok. doesn't change the fact that this is a hyper-growth UNPROFITABLE business. At the end of the day, the shorts will get killed and soon after the longs will go down with this heap of a business. Accelerating negative operating margins does not make a good business model.
- Jeff Matthews said...
I have removed more than a few comments that should have been posted on Yahoo, not here.
This particular commentary was about Overstock, the earnings and the press release, not about the shorts or the longs or name-calling.
"belowthecrowd" made a very wise observation about the delusion of heavy technology spending by consumer-driven businesses, and presented a terrific analysis of the Overstock conference call and slide show, and I hope everyone reads them both.
"Bob O'Brien" has been deleted and will be every time. Patrick Byrne may allow on his conference calls a man who divulges women and children's names on message boards; but I will not allow him here.
Does anybody know why Patrick seemed so defensive about his former Treasurer, Kathryn Huang Hadley, leaving the company? After all, Patrick had already announced her departure on a previous call, so it should have been no surprise--and no reason to go into it again.
Informed opinions are welcome. People with knowledge who do not want to post here are welcome to email me at the confidential address listed on the front page.
- mfairview said...
Tim, it's just more then myself, Bob, Patrick, and all OSTK shareholders saying they'll go profitable next year (see the analyst coverage), so unless they blow, I think it's 120M left in cash, in the next year, I just don't see it happenning. In as many times as you and others have accused us of touting this thing, let's at least take "the company is going down in flames" argument off the table. Besides, they've reiterated their guidance for the rest of the year.
And those making a big deal about the $1 shipping thing, you do realize their standard shipping rate is $2.95 right?
- DaleW said...
I really don't know what the full short argument is on this thing, but it's clear these guys are
1. Burning a lot of cash ($70M in H1 2005),
2. Have deployed $51M YTD to reduce capitalization (an indication of management hubris), which is interesting given their FCF,
3. Have invested a further $48M YTD going long their stock ($71M total, given the share buybacks,
4. Have a very rickety operating infrastructure that is costing them lots of money to upgrade,
5. Are poor merchandisers, though that's just the opinion of a retail/consumer analyst (me),
6. Have a poorly-designed, rickety website, though that's just the opion of a guy that worked for a consumer-facing .com for four years (me),
7. Have a management team given to puffery (the Chairman thing yesterday was ridiculous),
8. Have a CEO who spends way more time on conference calls, in planning conference call slides, and probably in his daily dealings tryint to right the wrongs of the equity market than actually talking about or managing the business,
9. Displays an obsession with short sellers, a time-tested indicator of which companies will eventually crash and burn, and
10. Dominates the online segment of a very small slice of retail, so it's basically a big fish in a small pond.
Those are just my observations -- I'm neither long nor short.
- tahoe kid said...
Lehman Brothers change in OSTK estimates: '05 $848mm/(39c) to $841mm/(42c)...'06: $1.215B/+63c to $1.206B/(23c).
- Jeff Matthews said...
One correction to a number tossed out by "mfairview": OSTK did indeed have $120 million in cash at the end of the quarter, but they subsequently bought Ski West for $25 million in cash, bringing gross cash down to $95 million.
But they also have $84 million worth of convertible notes that are far out of the money and not likely to be converted to stock.
So true net cash available for baking more mud pies and cream pies is only $11 million.
- DaleW said...
Yes, but those converts have no put provisions, so why reduce cash available for more pies?
- Its_strange said...
I just listened to the conference call again and with Patrick's record how can anyone believe these revenue and earnings goals he has laid out for 05, 06 ? Does OSTK have the cash to last until 06 without a secondary or some other method ? ....Is anyone talking about that ?
- Its_strange said...
Does anyone know anything about who these Ski West people are ? What kinda business they have. Sales numbers. Anything.
- BelowTheCrowd said...
Ski west sell ski packages to various resorts in the western US and Canada. My impression (as a condo-owner in Utah) is that they're sort of a "close out" operation that puts together packages using properties that don't easily rent out through normal channels. It's not necessarily a bad business, but there's lots of competition, including from the resorts who will often offer such services directly these days.
From their website: "Mountain Reservations provides the largest selection of privately owned ski vacation rentals in locations like Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, Park City, Deer Valley ® Resort and other top Ski Resorts. We have tons of comfortable to luxury vacation rentals for you to search; privately owned homes, cabins, Inn's, hotels, spas and condominiums. For Complete travel packages with access to the Top 20 Ski Resorts as seen in Ski Magazine and unforgettable mountain vacations, call 1-800-754-9378 today! Keep in mind that we can build a custom ski package including everything you will need for a perfect ski vacation getaway, from lodging and lift tickets to airfare, car rentals, skis and snowboards!"
- Its_strange said...
Do we know who the people at SkiWest are ?
- Docuharborisbad said...
Heh, this site (http://longorshort.blogspot.com/2005/08/im-long-mudpies.html)actually advocates putting stock in Mudpies, which I guess is some sort of endorsement of Overstock since they seem to offer a lot of Mudpies. You have that going for you, Byrne, which is nice.
Byrne is a fantastical storyteller and hugely entertaining, but the most clarity he seems to able to provide with respect to his business is that he has no visibility as to what they will actually do. His core business is obsfucation.
What is the thesis of their imminent profitability? That they have huge operating leverage? It seems if anything that they will encounter problems with scale rather than benefit from it as they soak up all the excess inventory that is out there, or worse, bid up its value, thus increasing their costs. And if they are (if they haven't already in a sereptitious manner) starting to create their own manufactured "overstock" goods, you can throw everything, including their stock, out the window.
None of it adds up.
- BelowTheCrowd said...
From what I understand, SkiWest will continue to be operated by the founders, who get some kind of kickback if they exceed targets. They've been around for a few years, one of several reservation services that have popped up to provide packages of various types. They're based in Park City UT, though I believe the actual call center is in Salt Lake. Tend to focus on mid to lower level properties at the larger resorts. Not necessarily a bad business, but not sure how well it fits in with OSTK's "closeout" business. This is a much more people intensive operation that offers customized as well as pre-packaged deals.
Got a bunch of hits on Google, and the founder was anticipating $100m revenue next year. Still, it's low margin and the competition is heating up as the mom-and-pop travel agencies are backing out of the business in favor of larger national and international operations.
- mfairview said...
As BTC has pointed out, Patrick speaks much on the long/short position during this CC. Anyone care to comment on his analysis? My take away is that Dr. Byrne can account for all but about 300K of stock that are held in possession himself, institutions that he knows of, and friends/family of his. This doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for the 6M+ odd shorts on this stock. Interested in hearing discussion of this situation as it sounds quite volatile.
- Its_strange said...
I think patrick is trying to force a squeeze and i question his numbers and methods . I think the analysts also beleive this and are ignoring it or playing along.
- Jeff Matthews said...
Patrick has nothing but the shorts to bail him out.
No Project Rocket or Project Ocean or Project Propellor...nothing left at all but Project Short-sellers, and he's been working on that one for almost two years now.
The only other company I know of that included short interest in their slides was Sharper Image, when their stock was at $40 a year or two ago.
- BelowTheCrowd said...
It didn't take more than a simple Yahoo Finance lookup to see who the major institutions are who own the stock. Mostly they are various mutual fund companies and managers. O'Byrne may claim to be on a "first-name basis" with all of them, but I suspect that's just misleading use of language. I'd be surprised at any small-company CEO who did not know the fund managers who owned his stock by name. The fact that he knows them -- or has them on speed-dial for that matter -- says nothing about his ability to get them to do what he wants. Morgan Stanley, Pru, Barclays and the others aren't going to suddenly call in their shares and forgo the lucrative stock loan business just to get a short pop in their stock. And of course any of them who are market makers in the name would find it impossible to do so anyway.
I suspect that the smarter shorts are well aware of this.
However, as I've said here before, I wouldn't touch this one with somebody else's ten foot pole. High short interest is quite dangerous for a short unless you have huge staying power (my own discipline prevents this) while the aggressive promotional activities of the CEO and his endless tirade against shorts certainly is a red flag for the business itself. It's a battlefield that I'm happy to allow others to fight and die on. There are easier trades elsewhere.
- mfairview said...
I didn't mean to imply any intimacy between Patrick and the institution that are holding his stocks. I was more focused on the numbers; which seem to match, with arguable statements on the actual shares that friends may possess. However, he picked only the top 8 institution thus leaving, according to yahoo, about 110 institutions left holding "some" shares (yahoo reports that 117 institutions are invested in OSTK) which, by my reckoning, would account for any underflow mistatements he may have made on his friends holdings.
I suppose if it were not for Patrick's background, his fathers, and Macklin's, I may be a bit more cautious about the leadership. It seems to me, they are proven entities thus it doesn't really compute why any corrosive behavior would occur on their part; at least intentionally. I mean, why would multi-millionaires with solid reputations prior to OSTK (2 of which are in their golden years), risk it all (with possible jail time for misleading the shareholders) on this company? Hm... Doesn't really make sense to me.
Maybe, just maybe, he's on to something... He certainly has put his money where his mouth in the purchase of millions of shares on the open market. Works for me.
- BelowTheCrowd said...
According to Yahoo, in July, 44% of the shares outstanding were held by institutions, which comes to about 8.9m shares.
They report 6.5m short.
They report about 51% of the float as short (which is kind of odd, because they say the float is unavailable).
Those numbers are high, which is one of the reasons I wouldn't short this stock (I have many, many others). However they're not so high that I would buy in with the expectation of a stock squeeze.
As to the direct involvement or reputations of anybody involved, you're going well beyond my knowledge of the company. I have only -- largely out of boredom -- taken a look at some of the mechanics being alleged, and commented on the IT-related issues on which I can claim a great deal of expertise. On those two -- and only those two -- issues, I find the company's statments and in fact its focus, to be inappropriate.
- mfairview said...
On your comment regarding technology.. I know a bit myself as I work for a very large company offering online services to millions of users (no it's not OSTK -grin-). On the surface, most everything works. Below the surface... well that's a different story! I suspect many companies look this way. I suppose Patrick needs to account for every 1M (actually every 250k if I'm not mistaken) because it directly impacts their pps due to their small float. I actually find it comical since our company speaks in terms of Billions every quarter so 10's of Million isn't that big of a deal. All relative I suppose.
FYI: some of the members on their BOD.
Dr. Patrick M. Byrne
President and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Patrick Byrne is the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Overstock.com®.
Previously, Byrne was chairman, president and CEO of Centricut, LLC and held the same three positions at Fechheimer Brothers, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway operating company. He is also the general partner of High Plains Investments LLC, an investment company located in Park City, Utah, and considers himself an investor by trade.
Byrne received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, a master's degree from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar, and a doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University.
John J. Byrne
Vice Chairman
John J. Byrne served as a Director of Overstock from October 1999 to October 2002. Mr. Byrne has served as Chairman of the Board of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., a financial services holding company, since 1985 and was its Chief Executive Officer and President from 1985 until his first retirement in 1997, and then served as Chief Executive Officer again from 2000 to December 2002. Prior to that he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GEICO from 1976 to 1985. Earlier in his career, Mr. Byrne spent eight years with the Travelers Insurance Companies, most recently as Executive Vice President. Mr. Byrne has also served a director of American Express Company, Martin Marietta Corporation, Lehman Brothers, Inc., MidOcean Group of Companies, Zurich Re, Terra Nova (Bermuda) Holdings, and OneBeacon Insurance Group. Mr. Byrne currently serves as Chairman of Montpelier Re and as a director of various subsidiaries of White Mountains Insurance Group. Mr. Byrne has served as an Overseer of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration of Dartmouth College and the Rutgers University Foundation and was a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council and the Standard Research Institute Advisory Council. Mr. Byrne has a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University, a graduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and is a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. John J. Byrne is the father of Patrick M. Byrne, who is a Director and President, and the chief executive officer of, the Company.
Gordon S. Macklin
Gordon S. Macklin has served as a director of Overstock.com® since October 1999. Mr. Macklin served as chairman, president and chief executive officer of White River Corporation, an information services company, from October 1993 to July 1998. Mr. Macklin was chairman of Hambrecht and Quist Group, a venture capital and investment banking company, from 1987 until 1992. From 1970 to 1987, Mr. Macklin served as president of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.
Mr. Macklin serves as a director for Martek Biosciences Corporation; MedImmune, Inc.; White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.; and is a director, trustee or managing general partner of 48 of the investment companies in the Franklin Templeton Group of Funds.
Mr. Macklin has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Brown University.
- Jeff Matthews said...
What is this--a blog to reprint the Overstock C.V.s?
Informed observation, please--not cut-and-paste jobs from the Overstock web site.
For example, where did Stormy Simon--Byrne's Gal Friday--really come from?
Anybody know?
- Its_strange said...
Don't tell me she comes from Cheetah's dance hall in Vegas !
- Its_strange said...
Patrick and Simon both seem to have a interest in education. ...I gotta believe there is more to this story . ...
- Its_strange said...
Simon pushing Patrick's agenda
- Its_strange said...
What ??????
She was a exotic dancer. She was hanging around with a guy charged with murdering his wife.....
- mfairview said...
Jeff, any comments?
Overstock.com Files Lawsuit Against Rocker Partners and Gradient Analytics; Company President to Hold Live Webcast Friday, August 12, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Thursday August 11, 1:47 pm ET
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Overstock.com® (Nasdaq: OSTK - News) today announced that it has filed an unfair business practices lawsuit against Gradient Analytics, Inc., Rocker Partners LP, Rocker Management LLC, Rocker Offshore Management Company, Inc., David Rocker, Marc Cohodes, James Carr Bettis, Donn Vickrey, and Matthew Kliber in the Superior Court of California in the county of Marin. The complaint, available for download at http://www.shareholder.com/overstock, alleges that the Defendants have conspired to denigrate Overstock.com's business for personal profit.
Overstock.com President Patrick Byrne will discuss the lawsuit via a webcast and teleconference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, August 12. To attend the live webcast and slide presentation, log on to Overstock.com's investor relations website at http://www.shareholder.com/overstock. To listen via telephone, please dial (800) 811-8830. Participants outside the United States who do not have Internet access should dial +1 (913) 981-4904. The slide presentation will be available for download at the beginning of the call.
A replay of the webcast will be available on the Internet at http://www.shareholder.com/overstock starting 90 minutes after the live call has ended. A transcript will be posted to the website as soon as it is available. An audio replay of the webcast will be available via telephone starting at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on August 12, through midnight Eastern Time on Friday, August 19. To listen to the recorded webcast by phone, please dial (888) 203-1112 (passcode: 4199807). Outside the U.S. please dial +1 (719) 457-0820(passcode: 4199807).
[Copyright stuff snipped]
- hundredyearstorm said...
I'm not a lawyer, but the court filing doesn't put forth a very compelling argument. Poor Mary Helburn, she of NFI and NCANS fame, lost money on 500 shares of stock which she held for all of 7 months. She must have had a whole lot of conviction about the future prospects of the company when she bought at 57 to turn around and sell less than a year later at a loss. Why not buy more stock if the business is actually worth more than what's reflected today in the market? Nah, suing is the American way I suppose.
And the actual claims in the case are petty at best. From what I can tell, plaintiffs are upset that Gradient was negative on the stock, and blame the 58 EQA's for the decline in their price from a massively overvalued 77.18 to its current level(actually, on page 7 of the filing they cite both 77.17 and 77.18 as the all time high, nice lawyering). Their main accusation is that Gradient didn't disclose that it received input from Rocker Partners regarding it's research reports and thus was misleading the public about it's "independence". The filing does not make any representation as to how it knows that Rocker influenced the reports, and basically is full of speculation. I'm not sure anyhow the difference between this and any of the sell side wall street lackeys who put out bullish reports on companies, no doubt having exchanged ideas with money managers on the street. Should we now begin suing any research shop that puts out positive reports if we are short the stock because they are attempting to unfairly manipulate the stock price upwards without disclosing that they have talked to other money managers who are long? I hope the court tosses this out quicker than OSTK's technology decrapitated.
- Its_strange said...
Its nonsense but it and Byrne's purchase got the stock up ! I hope it does go forward because than we might learn about the diamond deal in discovery .....
- Its_strange said...
Now OSTK's lawyer is floating press releases that sound like a movie review....what gives ???
- tom said...
Focus, focus, focus.
Instead of focusing their energies on becoming profitable, they are going focus on shareholders that don't believe the stories that they give.
Apparently the company is extremely undervalued? Their track record of delivering on their results of profitability are not good.
But let's go through some simple arithmetic:
-lets just say they make their estimate of 2B in '07 and generate their estimate of 3%,
- subtract some taxes that brings us two 2% (yeah they might have credits, but to offset plenty of future technology expenses).
- So on $2B * 2%=$40M
- $40M/20M shares = $2/share
- $2 *20 P/E (fair for a 10-15% grower they have stated they would be)= $40
- $40/ share in '07
That is assuming they can deliver... given the many stories and excuses the conference calls and filings bring, what are the probabilities?
So what is the fuss about, a rational valuation is $40. Granted if they blow the socks off and make 5% net, since Amazon, Wal-Mart.com and everyone else will no longer be competing they will be worth more. But the downside is significant that they don't deliver.
Would it not make sense to deliver results first, in other words profits , before trying to complain about your stock being undervalued based upon growing revenues. Yeah sure their net losses since inception (perhaps $200 million) are less then other dotcoms that no longer exist, but that does not mean that they should have a late 1999 valuation. Growing revenues selling things at a loss (books and media) is not rocket science.
The board is asleep at the wheel here, their CEO is bright but can't focus on execution right now, as he is obsessed. Most of the rest of the team is inexperienced, with questionable, if any credentials. It would be in the best interested of long term share holders to sack the whole bunch and bring in a real team. It would be in the best interest of those with a ursine focus to do nothing with staff.
These lawsuits will perhaps generate publicity and perhaps cause those focused on temporary conditions to make counter bets, but the long term is becoming more clear as this distraction could last months.
- mfairview said...
Irrespective of valuation as I'm sure we could argue that all day... If there is something amiss that could be deemed detrimental to the company and it's stock (and thus it's shareholder value), the CEO should step up IMO.
I see very little distinction between this suit and the ones that Spitzer went after regarding brokerage houses who's analysts were giving ratings on companies favorable to those traders from the same house. I suppose the CEO could have waited for Spitzer to come along, but why does that matter?
I would also be interested to hear Dr. Viceroy on the subject as I know he frequents this board (if he is able to comment).
- Rob said...
Hi. Nice work on your blog here. Is it your only one?
business dc health insurance small


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Friday, July 19: Wary Eyes on Google, Microsoft
Polya Lesova takes a look at which stocks traders will be watching during market action, including Google, Microsoft, and General Electric. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... three stocks were looking to get earnings from from googling Micra soft yesterday I yes I guess after market close ball although unlike some disappointing a disappointed let's start with will go ... on a profit I and the revenue was below expectations ... and most importantly ... the cost with peanut which isn't he mention that that investors who can't fell six percent in the meat the squatted ... on so that was odd to from the year-ago quarter from here you know what the up and that means the global AIDS is starting to wane ... the move by consumers home of personal computers ... to mobile devices so many many more people ... today used immobile devices rather than PCs ... and now ... I'm cool bowl is still can't figure out how to ... profit from that in a sustainable way no way they can ... echoing that Micra soft meanwhile ... the good news for Google in East is there making investment stood to ... benefit from the most transition ... plan or soft on the other hand is getting pounded by mobile that adds to my piece of shares are down about seven percent in the marketplace today D likely to weigh heavy on the bow and the studios ... so Micra soft ... Micra soft and for that profit and revenue to no expectations ... that they took them nine hundred million dollars write down the key is to say fifth tablet inventory so not so many consumers were excited about going out ... and buying Microsoft Surface tablet ... so that's an issue for them ... in advance and ... I am as I mentioned religious slowing Dumont go for personal computers and the most immobile something Micra soft is that dealing with ... that slightly announced a three D ... Systems axing of their business last week and that they're hoping to ... add to to be able to get to know to build an added that charge for that inventory for those tablets that people are buying peace deal with missed ... earnings guidance by a wide margin so and indexing we of we also had General Electric that to the Imam of Al component and the datapoint that the slight rise ... in quantity Owings idea adjusted earnings beat expectations by penny so might still be there ... at every new disappoint at the height declined it was below expectations ... aam but overall it seems that most of you for thinking that it was pretty well this year said Bob pompous and he might get made ... and also on Gees chief executive said that he expects margin expansion in Kenya ... his Umpqua seems he toward its about to go its industrial businesses in particular the aviation oil and gas ... and it seems like investors aam seemed to like that for its ok ... ok play Lesova for MarketWatch thank so much thinking


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Hear from a NASA scientist and a NASA engineer as they describe their roles in the design and development of one aspect of the James Webb Space Telescope. The video reveals the importance of collaboration in continually moving exploration forward.... (View More) NASA eClips™ Launchpad video segments, designed for grades 9-12, support project-based and problem-based learning experiences in science, mathematics, and career and technical education classrooms. (View Less)
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The Fern offers a great breakfast selection, but on the flipside - have some awesome lunch dishes too. Since we were on the brunch cusp, a burger for "breakfast" is not frowned upon here at the empty fridge. Legends have it that it's how Chuck Norris starts his day anyway.. Demos didnt consider anything else on the menu as soon as he saw this name - "The Thundercat Burger"($16) with a beef patty, pickled capsicum, cheese and a special tangy sauce.
The Fern is open for dinner and drinks every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6-10pm and for Tuesday to sunday brunch conveniently from 9am to 3pm. And yes, pancakes are served til 3.
The Fern, Redfern - www.thefern.com.au
Bloodwood, Newtown - http://www.bloodwoodnewtown.com


text:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Projects to do
30 comments:
- Jocelyne said...
I so know what you mean! I really have the bug. I took down my Christmas and put it all away. I've been reorganizing and decluttering my craftroom and then had to go back to work. The bug is really bad...I can't concentrate at work I just want to come home and sew, and glue, and glitter!
- January 9, 2013 at 4:07 PM
- Holly Browning said...
That fence board wood is perfectly worn!!!
- January 9, 2013 at 4:16 PM
- Anne said...
That is a cool piece! I wonder if you sprayed a clear sealer/varnish on top first before you paint.Something with a high gloss?If you just use the paint on the piece now it will just soak into the wood.Can't wait to see how it turns out!
- January 9, 2013 at 4:55 PM
- Lady of the Woods said...
you don't need any luck, you will outdo yourself as always lol. I too fell in love with the fabric shaded lamp, the long one, so pretty!
- January 9, 2013 at 5:05 PM
- sissie said...
Hi Sandy,
I've got both the decorating bug and the organizing bug and it looks like I'll be getting some of this done while preparing to move again. The creating and crafting bug will have to be on hold.
I can't wait to see what you come up with. Love the wooden box and runner.
- January 9, 2013 at 5:10 PM
- Junkchiccottage said...
Hi Sandy,
Ohhhh I love that wood. I can't wait to see how that turns out. I want to try my hand at the chippy milk paint too so I will be curious to see how this works for you. I too saw those cute lamp shades at Ikea. They are really adorable so I think your floor lamp will get a nice look with that cute shade. I can't waitto see your final projects.
- January 9, 2013 at 5:48 PM
- Marissa said...
Sandy, love the dining chandelier just the way it is it's just so crisp and clean! I have been decoranging and organizing too... love January
- January 9, 2013 at 6:06 PM
- Amy Jo said...
I have been busy working away on several pieces of furniture and I have probably 10 more things I want to make over.... So I am bitten by the creativity bug too. Your centerpiece turned out awesome.... And the kitty condo is adorable just for the reason that they were so creative.
Amy Jo
- January 9, 2013 at 6:10 PM
- Deb said...
I love your chandelier and that is one swanky cat-condo. I'll bet they love it. :)
- January 9, 2013 at 6:26 PM
- Cynthia said...
Guess it's just me, but I love the rustic wooden box as it is right now, and wouldn't change it. About two years ago, our neighbors tore down their cedar fence post fence, and were going to burn it, but I convinced Carl to cut the finial posts off, and we put them all over our garden. . .they're so beautiful in their natural aged state. But, I can also see this with a "wash" of white. So, just my opinion. And, I LOVE the kitty condo! My two "girls" would play in this all day.
- January 9, 2013 at 6:27 PM
- Burlap Luxe said...
O, Sandy thank you dearly for making it over so soon into my latest posting. Thank you for leaving a comment that joys my heart.
Love your idea with the fence boards kind of like a wood charger to place a setting on, and I too love those Ikea shades. A while back long before Ikea had there shades I covered one in a muslin and made a rosette to pin to it. I did not care if it were perfect or not, I wanted the shade to feel as if it had been hanging around in an attic of sorts for years, a discovery that would charm.
It is in a much older posting of mine.
You have me thinking about that wood fence runner/Charger of sorts, I want to try my hand at something along the lines of what you inspired here :)
See you soon and all the beauty you grace.
Tell that hubby I love his DIY cat/kitty condo you have quite the carfting buddy hanging out with you :)
- January 9, 2013 at 10:58 PM
- jeanetteann said...
Me too,had to get back to it this past week. Looks like you have some interesting things to get into. Can't wait to see the box and tray and lamp. Had to have a laugh at the recycle play station for the kitties. xx
- January 9, 2013 at 11:47 PM
- Diane said...
I know how you feel. January is a good month to reorganize and donate items you no longer use or need. I need more room for my craft stuff after all! Looking forward to your finished fence board project.
- January 9, 2013 at 11:48 PM
- Janae said...
I can't wait to see the box I bet it's going to to turn out great as well as your chandelier covers. Fez & phoebe's condo looks like fun!!
- January 10, 2013 at 12:10 AM
- ShantyGirl said...
love the wood table runner!! from my experience the milk paint will adhere very well without very much chipping to this surface ask Marion she will have an idea!! Loving the cat house reminds me of when my son took cardboard and built a raceway that took up whole living room, you will miss things like that don't be too quick to clean it up it has been fifteen years and that son is grown and I would give anything to have him still making cardboard raceways!! Have a wonderful day!
- January 10, 2013 at 3:38 AM
- Grandma Carolee said...
That kitty condo makes me smile...I can just picture Jerry, Wyatt, & Chantel creating it and then having fun watching the cats explore & play in it.
The table runner & box that Jerry made will give all kinds of creative possibilities that you will have fun doing. I love being able to watch the progress.
- January 10, 2013 at 4:57 AM
- My Shabby Bungalow said...
Sandy, I LOVE the runner and box your husband made! I have been wanting a box like that for awhile. Your ideas sound sooo cute, cantwait to see them! Love the lampshade too. I will be anxious to see all of your projects finished :)
I had to laugh at the little kitty playhouse because my kids do the same thing, lol. And they think it is so cool so I have to humor them for a little bit! Too cute!
Big hugs,
- January 10, 2013 at 8:50 AM
- Pam said...
The fence board table runner is genius. Great idea. I haven't used her paint yet, so I'll wait for your opinion before I order some. I don't know why you don't like the kitty condo. They used white boxes with blue towels to match your decor.
- January 10, 2013 at 12:28 PM
- The Old Dairy said...
I love the wooden table runner...There is something about the new year that inspires us? I have been adding a little colour to my house in the form of new coushions. I have made 16 so far, I have got the sewing bug bad but need to move on to something else.
Looking forward to seeing the box done in the milk paint.
- January 10, 2013 at 12:31 PM
Can't wait to see the transformation of your, already gorgeous, chandelier!
- January 10, 2013 at 2:52 PM
- Susan said...
I think the creative bug officially hits hard in January - there's not much else to do in the winter. You've got some great ideas started.
- January 10, 2013 at 3:52 PM
- The Polka Dot Closet said...
The cat house is so cute!! I love the wooden box,I think you and Janea would be a great hit as vendors!!
- January 10, 2013 at 9:00 PM
- Ivy and Elephants said...
I love all your project, I'm especially anxious to see the lamp. I just know it's going to be adorable!
Now come on, I bet you could make the kitty's condo fabulously chic!!
- January 10, 2013 at 9:30 PM
- Bella said...
Hi Sandy,
Love the wooden box, and I am eager to see if vaseline works, clever idea, maybe wax? We have the same chandy and I never thought to add little shades, how darling!! You sound busy!!
- January 10, 2013 at 11:43 PM
- laura said...
Can't wait to see how the box turns out! I'm in the same boat,I've got all the Christmas Stuff all organized in boxes in the living I'm waiting on the new garage shelving.
Got myself a ruffler for my sewing machine, hope to be coping some of your past projects.
Take care- Laura
- January 11, 2013 at 12:43 AM
- Amy @MaisonDecor said...
yes I do have the bug. I just want to do my own thing, painting and decoupage and all that kind of stuff...and while the kitty condo is fun that kind of stuff drove me bonkers a while back. Now anything goes as I am never home keeping it all looking pretty like your house does. Have fun with the milk paint!
- January 11, 2013 at 4:45 AM
- Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...
You've got some great plans for projects, Sandy. Can't wait to see the lampshades. I'd like to see if I can't change out the glass shades on our dining fixture to shades. I'm going to have to take an afternoon and climb up on the stepladder to see if it can be done. So far, a lot of what I've been making has been for my Etsy.
- January 11, 2013 at 6:41 AM
- Sweet Melanie said...
I think you have some really neat "to do's" to do and I can't wait to see them when you get them done. I am excited about the lampshade and I think I may have to try that one too. I have a pink shade similar to your red one and kind of want to go white. I really love the box too! Have fun doing them and like I said, can't wait to see them all finished up!
- January 11, 2013 at 11:58 AM
- Karen Mary Butterfly said...
Ah ha ha. I love the kitty condo for Phoebe and Fez. It's funny, because I have had the bug to create!! Not enough time lately, but anxious like you!! We don't have cats, so I am thinking just a Valentine's Day banner! :)
- January 11, 2013 at 9:07 PM
- Maria Dolores Lopez Godoy said...
I love your blog and your style, congratulations. Kisses from Spain.
- January 12, 2013 at 10:12 AM


text:
Poor Amy Winehouse has got a lot on her mind. She has that filthy husband in the clink and that whole sobriety thing to deal with. But she's also got a lot on her face.
The hot mess of a singer is still battling her latest demon -- a bad case of impetigo, a contagious skin infection that has exploded all over her face.
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So I'm sitting here watching CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. This evening, the entirety of the hour was focused on Newtown, CT. There were the interviews with the children's parents. I cannot, in any possible way, grasp the depth of their pain. I can empathize. But neither I as a parent, nor any other human who has never lost a child, can be conscious of the loss they have suffered. At the conclusion of the program, Anderson Cooper was talking about one little murdered girl, who really like the music of Kenny Chesney. So, at the conclusion, Kenny Chesney did a version of the song "Amazing Grace" dedicated to the child, and the people of Newtown.
Now, I understand the graciousness of Kenny Chesney dedicating this song, and have no problem with him. Nor, is this necessarily a criticism of CNN and Anderson Cooper for broadcasting it (though admittedly, the program was interspersed with digs at the NRA and a call for gun control – but that's another post). I had no problem with any of this. What struck me is just how virulent and disgusting the song "Amazing Grace" really is.
♫Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound♫
Don't know about anyone else, but I've never heard the sound of 'grace.' I'd like to know what it sounds like. Something resembling a harp, a string quartet, or a raccoon fart on a muggy night? Not really sure. However, putting aside the sound of this stuff, exactly what the heck is 'grace?' According to Merriam-Webster it is, "unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification; or, a virtue coming from God." Well, considering it's divine assistance or virtue, isn't labeling it 'amazing' a bit redundant? As ridiculous as this is, it was the next line in the song that got all three hairs on my bald head standing on end.
♫That saved a wretch like me♫
As they played this song, and especially this line, they flashed photos of the dead children on the screen. A dead child referred to as a 'wretch!' How absolutely fucking disgusting is this? This is the nature of probably the most revered hymnal in the English language. Everyone who has ever been born is a 'wretch.' Those who have sacrificed their life for advancement of human freedom – soldiers fighting Hitler, Civil Rights workers, working men and women who strove for a better life for their families and their families' families – are 'wretches.' I suppose this also applies to the innocent victims of 9/11, Srebrenica, Auschwitz, and the 'collateral damage' of warfare. And now, innocent children who died at the hands of a madman. 'Wretches' one and all. And all of these 'wretches' who had the impudence and impertinence to be born, need 'unmerited divine assistance' for the crime of simply being alive. For the heinous offense of drawing breath while in kindergarten, you don't even deserve regeneration for something you have never done.
♫I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see. ♫
This part can, admittedly, be true. ♫I once was lost♫ in the superstitious, self-loathing, boot licking, and abject slavery which is religion, ♫but now am found♫ once I raised up my head and learned to think for myself. ♫Was blind♫ to the sick bigotry, intolerance and hatred which faith fosters, ♫but now I see♫ what unmitigated evil it really is.
Referring to a six year old murder victim as 'wretch' says everything that needs to be said about this insidious world view.
Views: 811
The song relies on the maudlin sound of its harmonies to raise emotions in susceptible humans. The words are so sick they match the music perfectly. It's like Wagner played in a Nazi rally, or "take me out to the ballgame" played during a 7th inning stretch.
You are right - It 's a horrid song and I hate it.
Interestingly, the tune for the poem Amazing Grace, which is actually the tone poem Hephzibah by John Jenkins Husband, was not added to the poem Amazing Grace until many years later. Now folk think the tune is actually Amazing Grace, though it is one of the earliest recorded incidences of musical plagiarism.
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BigFUN needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 23 designs submitted by 17 freelance designers.
BowKU.com is a small, real estate community where people talk about all things related to property.
Pronounced "bow-coo" (the French would write this as 'beacoup'), the site will have a white background,
The target audience is professional real estate people
The name is:
so the use of the color deep blue and green is a must for the name.
Arranging the brand name and/or Adding a visually suggestive house and/or city building within the letters of - or the entire word - "BowKU.com" is essential.
See examples of how companies have done the same with their logos
The colors to use are either blue and green, or blue and orange.
Have fun with it!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Category: Super Mario Series
Model: NES
Updated: 2013-06-30
Version: 1.1
Size: 2269 KB
Language: ENGLISH
In the 2D games of the Super Mario series, gameplay primarily involves jumping on enemies and avoiding enemy attacks. In later 3D games, close quarters fights were incorporated. Intense emphasis on reaching various goals permeates the series; such goals include defeating enemies, reaching specific points, or solving puzzles. Throughout the series, collecting power-ups has been an integral part of the gameplay.
Mail: happy...@...mobi © 2012-2013 HappyBay


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New Zealand Radio Station Wrecking Ball Parody
Christopher Jones | October 7, 2013
OK-OK. I know you're probably getting as sick of these parodies as we are, but with this one, we just couldn't help ourselves! Jay-Jay, Mike & Dom from New Zealand's radio station, The Edge, have created our favorite "Wrecking Ball" parody to date.
(Source: TheEdgeNz)
danny Tate phillips
trees cressvdecker


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For you "30 Days of Night" fans, producer JR Young sits down with Dread Central to talk details of the sequel, "30 Days of Night: Dark Days". Principle photography for the film officially wraps today.
Rushing to capitalize off of the already phenomenal box office sales, the "Paranormal Activity" DVD and Blu-ray have been announced for December 29th. Details on the extras are slim aside from both the theatrical edit of the film and an unrated version with alternate ending.
Gamestudio Undead Labs has announced a zombie MMO. So far, only a console version has been announced.
New murmurings come to light about the proposed "Crow" franchise reboot. There is little available on new reboots except to remind you that this isn't going to be a direct remake of the first film. Look for new makeup and a possible known actor in the title role as well.


text:
GSW Hoops Fan wrote:Also got to remember amnesty of beans would have left us with no Center. Plus his expiring contract may be an asset in a year. Not the smartest move if they really wanted Jordan, but I don't think they wanted him that bad. I think the go for B Lopez this summer or McGee. If not just bring back Kwame and see what you can get out of Tyler.
They wanted him bad enough to sign him to a 42.7 million dollar offer sheet?
Granted, here's hoping the 4-year investment hamstrings the Clippers when it's time to resign Blake and CP3, but I don't see the Warriors floating a +$10 million per for someone they were iffy about. Unless that person is named Elton Brand (thank GOD he didn't sign with us).


text:
I just posted a guest post for my good friend, Angel Lemus, entitled Elbow Exercise in the Form of a Karate Kata.
If you know me, I get excited when I find old Karate photos from the 1920s and 1930s, or a rare old book or weapon. It is very rare for me to be interested in something new.
Angel's "new" kata has really grabbed my attention. (I put "new" in quotes because the formulation may be "new" but the techniques are quite old.)
For one thing, I love elbows. I am only 5 feet, 7 1/2 inches tall. It is to my advantage to be close to the attacker. At that range, elbows and knees are my best defense (or offense). I have always paid special attention to elbow techniques in the kata I practice.
So I am interested in the subject of Angel's kata -- elbows.
But there are so many kata out there. In my school, we practice 18 kata, but really only emphasize 15. I do not like to practice too many kata.
But when was the last time someone you knew developed a new kata and then made it freely available to the public, without asking for anything in return? Angel did not name the kata after himself. He just developed it and was generous with it. By doing so, he subjected himself to fans and critics alike. That takes guts if you ask me.
I am a little older than Angel, but consider him to be my senior in Karate. He is one of a very few people I would call a "Karate genius", particularly of my generation.
He is an artist, in addition to being a gifted martial artist. His film and DVD creation skills are amazing, as was his work with Bugeisha, a great journal.
Angel traces his Karate primarily to the legendary Chotoku Kyan. I'm sure that Kyan Sensei valued elbow techniques as well given his short height and slight stature. Angel has also trained with Sensei Toshihiro Oshiro. As such, his background and mine are intertwined as my early training in Matsubayashi-Ryu was derived, in part, from Kyan Sensei, and my Sensei, Katsuhiko Shinzato, also learned from the same Sensei as Oshiro Sensei. Angel also has practiced Tai Chi in depth. When I started Karate, we also practiced Tai Chi. My Karate teacher taught both arts.
But I am not a fan of Angel's work just because he is my friend and our backgrounds overlap. I am a fan because he truly promotes the art of Karate in a professional, artistic, and humble way -- for love of the art, not money.
Now if I can only remember his kata!
Charles C. Goodin
Elbows! Elbows! Elbows!
I just posted a guest post for my good friend, Angel Lemus, entitled Elbow Exercise in the Form of a Karate Kata.
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Wednesday, August 29, 2007


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Honor Students Encouraged to Exploreby Howard Hewitt • March 21, 2014 Share:
College decisions come down to choices and finding the right fit. Nearly 300 high school seniors from across the nation are trying Wabash on for size during Honor Scholarship Weekend.
Students have navigated the road to Wabash College for 121 years to participate in Honors Weekend. The scholarship competition including testing for scholarship and well-planned get-acquainted sessions is believed to be one of the nation's oldest.
Students enjoyed meeting Wabash students and staff and circulating through the Activities Fair to learn more about how they might become engaged as a future Wabash Man.
The students and parents heard from key Wabash leaders during an 11:30 morning welcome.
President Greg Hess assured parents he understood the stress. Hess has a daughter in college and another who is a high school senior. He challenged the students to seek out Wabash men who've excelled and learn what motivated them to make the most of the Wabash opportunity.
The President also took time to talk about Wabash's unique Immersion Learning Programs. He quoted Mason Zurek '15, a student who studied Rhetoric in Washington D.C. over spring break. And he shared with parents words of appreciation from Jim Morrison, whose son Scott is a Wabash senior and studied over Spring Break in Israel.
"As we continue to expand immersive learning on and off-campus, we are also in various stages of developing interdisciplinary initiatives in global health, democracy and public discourse, business and entrepreneurship, and the digital arts," the President said. "Taken together, the immersion travel program and the interdisciplinary initiatives help us expand the academic footprint of the College. Increasingly, studies show that students benefit almost as much from out-of-class experiences as they do from classroom work. That doesn't mean you'll get a free pass in class — with an average class size of 13, there are no back rows in our Wabash classrooms.
"What it means is that we are putting enormous resources into creating a model of education that exists 24/7, inside the classroom, in living units, on the playing fields and concert halls, out in the community, and around the world."
Student Senate President Zach Boston welcomed Honor Scholar students and urged them to take advantage of every weekend activity. "Wabash isn't for the weak of heart," he warned. "For many of us, high school was easy, Wabash is not."
The weekend is for you, said Independent Men Association President Nick Schenkel '15. He explained that if the visitors asked 50 Wabash students the same question they might get "43.79 different answers. So be sure to ask at least 44."
Grant Klembara '15 represented Wabash fraternities and emphasized finding the right fit. But he told the young men no matter any fraternity choice, Wabash students are Wabash men first and foremost.
The Honor Scholar visitors have a full two days of learning about the school, testing for scholarships, and lots of organized fun.
Students from across the country make up this year's nearly 300 visitors. The testing will result in scholarship awards of approximately $3.5 million.
More News
- Wabash a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students
- The Pitmen Painters Opens Wednesday
- Lenkey '19 Wins Baldwin Oratorical Contest
- Four Seniors Earn Orr Fellowships
Photo Galleries
Honor Scholarship Weekend


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BURLINGTON, VT, Nov. 18, 2011 - Fuse is pleased to announce Adaptive Action Sports (AAS), Inc., as the non-profit recipient of its 2012 Service Grant Program, which includes $25,000 in agency services.
"This grant project is a new addition to Fuse's community engagement program that fosters charitable giving, advocacy, volunteerism and leadership," said Brett Smith, Partner at Fuse. "It was both impressive and humbling to review the 25 applications we received this year. A large group of our staff has been involved in the selection process and we can't be more excited to have chosen Adaptive Action Sports to work with in the coming year."
AAS was co-founded by competitive snowboarders Amy Purdy and Daniel Gale in 2005. Its mission is to create and promote action sports camps, events and programs for youth, young adults, military personnel and veterans living with permanent physical disabilities.
At age 19, Purdy – an avid snowboarder – lost her legs to bacterial meningitis. As she struggled to get back to her sport, she met repeated disappointment and frustration. At that time, snowboarding and other action sports were not considered suitable sports for individuals with disabilities. Eventually, with Gale's encouragement, Purdy regained her snowboarding ability and today is the world's top-ranked adaptive female snowboarder. With Purdy as inspiration, AAS shares her success story to help others find their own abilities through action sports. AAS continues to foster an attitudinal change in both the adaptive and able-bodied communities, where they raise the level of expectation and respect for the abilities and potential of adaptive individuals.
Purdy and Gale's passion and commitment to AAS is evident. Fuse's experience with action sports and youth marketing will assist AAS to broaden awareness and further its mission.
"We are hoping that our work with Fuse will help us popularize action sports for the permanently disabled," said Amy Purdy. "We want both the disabled and able-bodied communities to recognize that action sports are not out-of-bounds for individuals with disabilities. We are confident that Fuse's services will help us broaden our market reach. We look forward to telling the world about our organization."
About Adaptive Action Sports (AAS)
Adaptive Action Sports (AAS) creates skate- and snowboarding opportunities, events and programs for veterans, youth, and young adults living with permanent physical disabilities. AAS believes that these sports encourage individuality and creativity while building independence and self-confidence within the disabled community. AAS has provided nearly 50 action sports events to more than 200 adaptive teens, young adults, and injured military personnel and veterans. The public face of AAS is represented by a group of successful adaptive athletes. They include Evan Strong and Amy Purdy, the world's top‐ranked male and female adaptive snowboarders and Oscar Loreto and Evan Strong, top-performing adaptive skateboarders. AAS additionally draws on X Games, World Cup events and Olympic athletes. To learn more about AAS visit our website at www.adacs.org. To learn more about our Co-Founder Amy Purdy visit: www.amypurdy.com.
About Fuse
Fuse is a youth culture marketing agency founded in 1995. The agency connects brands with teens and young adults through sports, music, fashion, gaming and other relevant cultural interests. Fuse services include brand strategy, public relations, event marketing, design, social media and digital services. The Fuse staff, led by Partners Bill Carter, Issa Sawabini and Brett Smith, is comprised of marketing professionals and cultural experts who have worked for some of the most prominent brands and agencies in the country. Fuse was named one of Outside magazine's "Best Places to Work" in the US, in 2011. As part of the agency's community engagement program Fuse launched its annual Service Grant Program in 2011 which includes a donation of $25,000 in marketing services to a selected charity. The program aims to give back to young people by supporting a worthy cause that involves action sports, music, fashion, gaming, or other teen and young adult cultural interests. For more information, visit: www.fusemarketing.com, http://www.facebook.com/FuseLLC or http://twitter.com/fuse_marketing.


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Cocktails with Cole Porter
QRS Cat #662065
Just One of Those Things
It's De-Lovely
True Love
Anything Goes
Easy To Love
C'est Magnifique
Night and Day
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Ridin' High
High Society Calypso
What Is This Thing Called Love?
I Love Paris
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
I Happen To Like New York
I've Got You Under My Skin
Looking At You
Always True To You In My Fashion
Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable To Lunch Today)
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
What You Receive: The original audio CD plus a 3-digit access code for this CD. This will access and synchronize the corresponding SyncAlong piano files for this CD, which are contained on the CompactFlash card shipped FREE to first-time SyncAlong CD purchasers. Free Updates to these Piano Files will be issued regularly via this website.
Piano Transcribed & Played by: Michael T. Jones
Cocktails with Cole Porter
QRS Cat #662065


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After I published the post H.A.P.P.Y the other day, someone asked me "What's the secret?". This got me thinking......and well, here's the thing, I don't believe there are any secrets on how to be happy! No magic revelations or rocket science will come out of this post nor will my way of thinking make everyone else happy..... Am I always feeling happy? Noooooo! Am I always in a sunshiny-mood? For sure not!! Happy is hard work and the common misconception is that people seem to believe that being happy, means that everything is perfect.....well it's not, it just means that you have chosen to simply accept the flaws in yourself as well as the flaws in what and who surrounds you. This is not so easy, which is why I am saying, for me, being happy is not just me being lucky or living the perfect life....being happy is hard work and nobody else can do the work for you.
If you are not already happy, here are some things that might help:
- Focus your energy on what you have, not what you don't have!
- Look around you! There is beauty everywhere!!! ...if you are open to it....
- Forget the past rejections or failures! Look forward.....where you still can make a difference!
- Accept yourself and for G's sake, stop comparing yourself to others!!
- Realize that no one else but YOU can make YOU happy!
- Realize that the important and the longest lasting beauty is the one you have within and spend most of your time, energy and money on this instead of spending it all on what is purely superficial.
- Try new things, foods, hobbies, people!
- Be indifferent to other peoples negative opinions and stand up for what you believe is right.
- Stop obsessing over things/people/situations that are not as you wish....if you tried and it didn't work, move on!
- Know that you don't have to prove yourself to anyone but yourself. If you feel good about what you do, it shouldn't matter so much what other people think. If you don't feel good about what you do, change.
- Get yourself out of situations or away from people that weigh you down....
- Keep in mind that doing what you've always done, will give you what you always got....
- Think POSITIVELY and OPTIMISTCALLY about the future! I really believe it does help....
- Smile a lot!
- The rain will come, but it's your choice to see the rain as wet and cold or as refreshing!
Last but not least, make no mistake: Happiness is a mindset.
Everybody measures success, perfection and happiness differently.......the trick is to turn the prisma to put yourself and your life in a better light. Try a different lens....


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Beyond Born-Oppenheimer: Electronic Nonadiabatic Coupling Terms and Conical Intersections
Beyond Born-Oppenheimer: Electronic Nonadiabatic Coupling Terms and Conical Intersections
ISBN: 978-0-471-77891-2 April 2006 234 Pages
In Stock
DescriptionINTRODUCING A POWERFUL APPROACH TO DEVELOPING RELIABLE QUANTUM MECHANICAL TREATMENTS OF A LARGE VARIETY OF PROCESSES IN MOLECULAR SYSTEMS.
The Born-Oppenheimer approximation has been fundamental to calculation in molecular spectroscopy and molecular dynamics since the early days of quantum mechanics. This is despite well-established fact that it is often not valid due to conical intersections that give rise to strong nonadiabatic effects caused by singular nonadiabatic coupling terms (NACTs). In Beyond Born-Oppenheimer, Michael Baer, a leading authority on molecular scattering theory and electronic nonadiabatic processes, addresses this deficiency and introduces a rigorous approach--diabatization--for eliminating troublesome NACTs and deriving well-converged equations to treat the interactions within and between molecules.
Concentrating on both the practical and theoretical aspects of electronic nonadiabatic transitions in molecules, Professor Baer uses a simple mathematical language to rigorously eliminate the singular NACTs and enable reliable calculations of spectroscopic and dynamical cross sections. He presents models of varying complexity to illustrate the validity of the theory and explores the significance of the study of NACTs and the relationship between molecular physics and other fields in physics, particularly electrodynamics.
The first book of its king Beyond Born-Oppenheimer:
* Presents a detailed mathematical framework to treat electronic NACTs and their conical intersections
* Describes the Born-Oppenheimer treatment, including the concepts of adiabatic and diabatic frameworks
* Introduces a field-theoretical approach to calculating NACTs, which offers an alternative to time-consuming ab initio procedures
* Discusses various approximations for treating a large system of diabatic Schrödinger equations
* Presents numerous exercises with solutions to further clarify the material being discussed
Beyond Born-Oppenheimer is required reading for physicists, physical chemists, and all researchers involved in the quantum mechanical study of molecular systems.
1. Mathematical Introduction.
I.A. The Hilbert Space.
I.A.1. The Eigenfunction and the Electronic non-Adiabatic Coupling Term.
I.A.2. The Abelian and the non-Abelian Curl Equation.
I.A.3. The Abelian and the non-Abelian Div-Equation.
I.B. The Hilbert Subspace.
I.C. The Vectorial First Order Differential Equation and the Line Integral.
I.C.1. The Vectorial First Order Differential Equation.
I.C.1.1. The Study of the Abelian Case.
I.C.1.2. The Study of the non-Abelian Case.
I.C.1.3. The Orthogonality.
I.C.2. The Integral Equation.
I.C.2.1. The Integral Equation along an Open Contour.
I.C.2.2. The Integral Equation along an Closed Contour.
I.C.3. Solution of the Differential Vector Equation.
I.D. Summary and Conclusions.
I.E. Exercises.
I.F. References.
2. Born-Oppenheimer Approach: Diabatization and Topological Matrix.
II.A. The Time Independent Treatment for Real Eigenfunctions.
II.A.1. The Adiabatic Representation.
II.A.2. The Diabatic Representation.
II.A.3. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation.
II.A.3.1. The Transformation for the Electronic Basis Set.
II.A.3.2. The Transformation for the Nuclear Wave-Functions.
II.A.3.3. Implications due to the Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation.
II.A.3.4. Final Comments.
II.B. Application of Complex Eigenfunctions.
II.B.1. Introducing Time-Independent Phase Factors.
II.B.1.1. The Adiabatic Schrödinger Equation.
II.B.1.2. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation.
II.B.2. Introducing Time-Dependent Phase Factors.
II.C. The Time Dependent Treatment.
II.C.1. The Time-Dependent Perturbative Approach.
II.C.2. The Time-Dependent non-Perturbative Approach.
II.C.2.1. The Adiabatic Time Dependent Electronic Basis set.
II.C.2.2. The Adiabatic Time-Dependent Nuclear Schrödinger Equation.
II.C.2.3. The Time Dependent Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation.
II.C.3. Summary.
II.D. Appendices.
II.D.1. The Dressed Non-Adiabatic Coupling Matrix.
II.D.2. Analyticity of the Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation matrix, Ã, in Space-Time Configuration.
II.E. References.
3. Model Studies.
III.A. Treatment of Analytical Models.
III.A.1 Two-State Systems.
III.A.1.1. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Matrix.
III.A.1.2. The Topological Matrix.
III.A.1.3. The Diabatic Potential Matrix.
III. A.2. Three-State Systems.
III.A.2.1. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Matrix.
III.A.2 2. The Topological Matrix.
III. A.3. Four-State Systems.
III.A.3.1. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Matrix.
III.A.3 2. The Topological Matrix.
III.A.4 Comments Related to the General Case.
III.B. The Study of the 2x2 Diabatic Potential Matrix and Related Topics.
III.B.1. Treatment of the General Case.
III.B.2. The Jahn-Teller Model.
III.B.3. The Elliptic Jahn-Teller Model.
III.B.4. On the Distribution of Conical Intersections and the Diabatic Potential Matrix.
III.C. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Matrix and the Wigner Rotation Matrix.
III.C.1. The Wigner Rotation Matrices.
III.C.2. The Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Matrix and the Wigner dj-Matrix.
III. D. Exercise.
4. Studies of Molecular Systems.
IV.A. Introductory Comments.
IV.B. Theoretical Background.
IV. C. Quantization of the Non-adiabatic Coupling Matrix: Studies of ab-initio Molecular Systems.
IV.C.1. Two-State Quasi-Quantization.
IV.C.1.1. The {H2,H} system.
IV.C.1.2. The {H2,O} system.
IV.C.1.3. The {C2H2) Molecule.
IV.C.2. Multi-State Quasi-Quantization.
IV.C.2.1. The {H2,H} system.
IV.C.2.2. The {C2,H} system.
IV.D. References.
5. Degeneracy Points and Born—Oppenheimer Coupling Terms as Poles.
V.A. On the Relation between the Electronic Non-Adiabatic Coupling Terms and the Degeneracy Points.
V.B. The Construction of Hilbert Subspaces.
V.C. The Sign Flips of the Electronic Eigenfunctions.
V.C.1. Sign-Flips in Case of a Two-State Hilbert Subspace.
V.C.2. Sign-Flips in Case of a Three-State Hilbert Subspace.
V.C.3. Sign-Flips in Case of a General Hilbert Subspace.
V.C.4 Sign-Flips for a case of a Multi-Degeneracy Point.
V.C.4.1 The General Approach.
V.C.4.2 Model Studies.
V.D. The Topological Spin.
V.E. The Extended Euler Matrix as a Model for the Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Matrix.
V.E.1. Introductory Comments.
V.E.2.The Two-State Case.
V.E.3 The Three-State Case.
V.E.4 The Multi-State Case.
V.F. Quantization of the τ-Matrix and its Relation to the Size of Configuration Space: the Mathieu Equation as a Case of Study.
IV.F.1. Derivation of the Eigenfunctions.
IV.F.2. The non-Adiabatic Coupling Matrix and the Topological matrix.
V.G Exercises.
V.H. References.
6. The Molecular Field.
VI.A. Solenoid as a Model for the Seam.
VI.B. Two-State (Abelian) System.
VI.B.1. The Non-Adiabatic Coupling Term as a Vector Potential.
VI.B.2. Two-State Curl Equation.
VI.B.3. The (Extended) Stokes Theorem.
VI.B.4. Application of Stokes Theorem for several Conical Intersections.
VI.B.5. Application of Vector-Algebra to Calculate the Field of a Two-State Hilbert Space.
VI.B.6. A Numerical Example: The Study of the {Na,H2} System.
VI. B.7. A Short Summary.
VI.C. The Multi-State Hilbert Subspace.
VI.C.1. The non-Abelian Stokes Theorem.
VI.C.2. The Curl-Div Equations.
VI.C.2.1. The Three-State Hilbert Subspace.
VI.C.2.2. Derivation of the Poisson Equations.
VI.C.2.3. The Strange Matrix Element and the Gauge Transformation.
VI.D. A Numerical Study of the {H, H2} System.
VI.D.1. Introductory Comments.
VI.D.2. Introducing the Fourier Expansion.
VI.D.3. Imposing Boundary Conditions.
VI.D.4. Numerical Results.
VI.E. The Multi-State Hilbert Subspace: On the Breakup of the Non-Adiabatic Coupling Matrix.
VI.F. The Pseudo-Magnetic Field.
VI.F.1. Quantization of the pseudo magnetic along the seam:.
VI.F.2. The Non-Abelian Magnetic Fields.
VI.G. Exercises:
VI.H. References.
7. Open Phase and the Berry Phase for Molecular Systems.
VII.A. Studies of Ab-initio Systems.
VII.A.1. Introductory Comments.
VII.A.2. The Open Phase and the Berry Phase for Single-valued Eigenfunctions ( Berry's Approach.
VII.A.3. The Open Phase and the Berry Phase for Multi-valued Eigenfunctions ( the Present Approach.
VII.A.3.1. Derivation of the Time-Dependent Equation.
VII.A.3.2. The Treatment of the Adiabatic Case.
VII.A.3.3. The Treatment of the non-Adiabatic (General) Case.
VII.A.3.4. The {H2,H} System as a Case Study.
VII.B. Phase-Modulus Relations for an External Cyclic Time-Dependent Field.
VII.B.1. The Derivation of the Reciprocal Relations.
VII.B.2. The Mathieu equation.
VII.B.2.1. The Time-Dependent Schrödinger Equations.
VII.B.2.2. Numerical Study of the Topological Phase.
VII.B.3. Short Summary.
VII.C. Exercises.
VII.D. References.
8. Extended Born-Oppenheimer Approximations.
VIII.A. Introductory Comments.
VIII.B. The Born-Oppenheimer Approximation as Applied to a Multi-State Model-System.
VIII.B.1. The Extended Approximate Born-Oppenheimer Equation.
VIII.B.2. Gauge Invariance Condition for the Approximate Born-Oppenheimer Equation.
VIII.C. Multi-State Born-Oppenheimer Approximation: Energy Considerations to Reduce the Dimension of the Diabatic Potential Matrix.
VIII.C.1. Introductory Comments.
VIII.C.2. Derivation of the Reduced Diabatic Potential Matrix.
VIII.C.3. Application of the Extended Euler Matrix: Introducing the N-State Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Angle.
VIII.C.3.1. Introductory Comments.
VIII.C.3.2. Derivation of the Adiabatic-to-Diabatic Transformation Angle.
VIII.C.4. Two-State Diabatic Potential Energy Matrix.
VIII.C.4.1 Derivation of the Diabatic Potential Matrix.
VIII.C.4.2 A Numerical Study of the (W-Matrix Elements.
VIII.C.4.3 A Different Approach: The Helmholtz Decomposition.
VIII.D. A Numerical Study of a Reactive Scattering Two-Coordinate Model.
VIII.D.1. The Basic Equations.
VIII.D.2. A Two-Coordinate Reactive (Exchange) Model.
VIII.D.3. Numerical Results and Discussion.
VIII.E. Exercises.
VIII.F. References.
9. Summary.


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Pioneer Hi-Bred announces that it will introduce a new line of elite soybeans boasting yields that are 12% higher than those of conventional varieties. Pioneer is using a new technology called Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT) to develop the soybeans. The company will sell five varieties with AYT next year, and it plans a full-line introduction by 2012. Included among the varieties is a version of Pioneer's brand 94M80, which set a 2006 world record soybean yield of 139 bu./acre.
AYT allows soybean breeders to rapidly scan and identify genes that affect yield. The company is now working on three traits, but the 2008 varieties are from just one trait.
"Our customers are seeing dramatic increases in Pioneer soybean variety yields that have never been seen in such a short period of time," says William Niebur, vice president, DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development. He adds that using AYT doubles the rate of yield improvement compared to the use of traditional breeding methods.
The seed industry has been able to locate and produce only single-gene traits until now. AYT lets breeders simultaneously select multiple genes that affect some traits like yield. Because AYT is not transgenic, new varieties do not need additional regulatory approvals.
"Full implementation of AYT combined with molecular breeding technologies will enable Pioneer to make a new class of soybeans that has unprecedented yield potential," Niebur says. "These technologies allow us to incorporate a complete package of offensive and defensive characteristics that could make 100-plus-bushel soybean yields a common occurrence in the very near future."


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Hot Jeeps, Hot Women From SEMA 2013Posted in Events on February 24, 2014
Every year in the first week of November one of the single largest events in Las Vegas, Nevada, takes place. SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association is without a doubt the best car show in the country. It's basically a meet and greet for a diverse group of distributors, manufacturers, and a gaggle of aftermarket parts vendors to showcase their latest and greatest new products. What better way to get your product noticed then to put it on the most outrageous creations on four wheels and then surround it by beautiful women? Its genius really, they draw you in with the chicks and then wow you with some cool aftermarket parts that you will surely have on your wish list by the end of the show.
Not only were there tons of booth babes at the 2013 SEMA show, but there are always celebrities from all walks of life at the show. Chip Foose, The Duck Dynasty guys, Walker Evans, and many others were milling around, as well as famous models signing posters. However, one celebrity we've not seen at SEMA before was someone every red-blooded American Jeep owner probably knows. The quintessential Marine drill instructor (remember Full Metal Jacket?), R. Lee Ermy, was signing posters for Omix-Ada. Better known simply as "Gunny," he was kind enough to chew the fat with us for a while, pose for a few pictures, and sign a couple of our license plates. The show is closed to the public so our mission is to give you a little taste of what it's all about, so enjoy a peek here and be sure to check our website at jpmagazine.com for lots more SEMA girls and cool products.