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Vital signs are dangerously low in the commercial mortgage-backed securities market. A threefold dilemma of slashed bond prices, weakening mortgage performance and non-existent loan origination has pummeled portfolio values and left borrowers without a critical source of commercial real estate financing. At the same time, fear of further losses has kept investors from administering the proper dose of transactions that would breathe life into the sector again.
"The machinery of CMBS is so broken that no one is interested in buying CMBS bonds," says Clay Sublett, national production manager at KeyBank Real Estate Capital and former CMBS director for the Cleveland-based lender. "Even if new loans were originated at market rates today, there wouldn't be anyone to buy the resulting bonds."
Borrowers will exercise options to extend virtually all of the $33.3 billion in floating-rate CMBS loans due to mature this year, putting off their need for new financing for three to five years, analysts say. More problematic are the $36.6 billion and $48.45 billion in fixed-rate maturities in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Add in non-CMBS loans, and the demand for mortgage financing may exceed $400 billion this year when credit has grown exceedingly scarce.
"We do not have a functioning mortgage market in commercial real estate today," says Wayne Brandt, managing director of lending and equity investment at Newport Beach, Calif.-based Buchanan Street Partners. "Whether it's CMBS or commercial banks or life insurance companies, the traditional sources of mortgage financing are in a dormant state and dealing with their own balance- sheet issues."
A functioning CMBS market, if it can be revived, may head off an approaching wave of defaults and foreclosures. What the industry needs is renewed trading in existing CMBS bonds, which would help to establish realistic pricing and get the sector moving again.
Path to recovery
But buying and selling won't return until investors feel confident that the bonds they purchase will at least retain their value without incurring further loses, according to Bill Collins of Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers.
"It's the falling knife," says Collins, managing director of the capital markets group at the Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate services firm. "People who bought CMBS in 2008 realize in January 2009 that they could have bought cheaper. They don't want to buy too early."
What will it take to restore investor confidence in CMBS? Transparency and data, says Trevor Murray, director of CMBS research at UBS Securities. It will probably take at least 10 months for investors to get a feel for how well loans issued at the height of aggressive lending in 2006 and 2007 will perform in the face of recession-driven real estate fundamentals.
"The only way investors will get comfortable with increasing their allocation to CMBS is by monitoring performance," Murray says. "There is going to be an incredible buying opportunity, but the market will be reluctant to act until it understands what commercial real estate is going to do over the next few months. Several investors were burned in 2008 by moving too early."
Investors watching for the opportune time to jump back into CMBS will gain a clearer understanding by examining the sector's behavior through three different lenses, according to Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial/multifamily research at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Those areas are pricing, performance and issuance.1. Pricing meltdown
Fearful investors have touched off an unprecedented surge in CMBS spreads, essentially the basis points added to a benchmark rate to compensate bond holders for risk. In early November, the spread on AAA-rated CMBS was 549 basis points higher than a year earlier and 650 basis points over swaps, then shot up to an incredible 1,400 basis points in the week before Thanksgiving. Swaps are a premium investors pay when trading floating- for fixed-interest streams, and provide a base rate for some CMBS bonds.
In mid-January, the AAA spread was down to 975 basis points — still a nosebleed level compared with the 83 basis points for the same bonds at the beginning of 2008. Based on those average rates, the price of a bond purchased a year ago offered the buyer a 5.9% annual return.
To sell the same bond today, the seller would have to cut the price in half in order to give the buyer the 12.45% return dictated by current spreads. "A lot of the sellers won't be willing to part with their bonds at the pricing the market seems to be indicating," Woodwell says.
Pricing has pulled potential buyers out of the market as well as sellers. Due to mark-to-market accounting, plummeting CMBS prices have withered portfolio values and soured investors' taste for the securities, says KeyBank's Sublett. "Institutions and groups that have bought bonds over the last two years have been so badly burned by the deterioration in their value that they have no appetite to buy new issuance."
What's more, analysts say spreads overstate the likelihood of investor losses. Super senior CMBS bonds offer 30% credit enhancement, notes Murray of UBS Securities. That means those CMBS deals would have to suffer cumulative losses in excess of 30% from loan failures before AAA bondholders lose principal. Even if CMBS losses reach a more feasible 7% to 8%, which is two to three times the historical average, bonds as junior as AA would emerge unscathed.
"Right now everything is priced to a complete and utter meltdown," Murray says. "Commercial real estate fundamentals are in for a rough time, but at no other time in my career have there been such investment opportunities in CMBS as there are now."2. Performance anxiety
CMBS loans are beginning to falter, and at an accelerating pace. The CMBS delinquency rate climbed to 0.88% in December and is projected to reach 2% by the end of 2009, according to Fitch Ratings. That is sure to fuel investor anxiety that has already paralyzed the market.
Even with December's increase in delinquency, more than 99% of CMBS loans remain current on payments. Unfortunately, current performance isn't the problem. "It's the concern of an impending increase in defaults and losses that creates this fear that overhangs the market right now," Sublett says.
Commercial real estate fundamentals are weakening and will be affected by the depth and length of the recession, according to Edward Padilla, CEO of Bloomington, Minn.-based financial intermediary NorthMarq Capital. For now, it's too early to say how much cash flows and property values will suffer from the decreasing demand for space, or how many CMBS borrowers will default on their mortgages as a result.
That uncertainty makes investors unlikely to buy bonds, which they believe could still lose value before fundamentals improve. "We'll see a deteriorating commercial real estate market over the next year," Padilla says. "That will make it increasingly difficult to float new CMBS."
Investor fears of losses due to poor credit quality in CMBS pools have been heightened by a handful of massive conduit loans that recently moved into special servicing to avoid default. The first, a $225 million loan backed by the Riverton apartment complex in Harlem, N.Y., set off a downward spiral in investor sentiment and widening spreads when the borrower failed to come up with a September loan payment. Originated in 2007 using rent growth projections that didn't materialize, the loan stoked fears that a wave of defaults related to weak underwriting was beginning among CMBS loans.
Then in November, two of the largest loans securitized in 2008 CMBS transactions went to special servicing. Those loans included a $209 million loan for two Westin hotels in Tucson, Ariz. and Hilton Head, S.C.; and a $125.2 million loan for the Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos, a shopping center in Corona, Calif. In both cases, borrowers cited market deterioration as their reason for falling behind on payments.
Investors should expect some delinquencies in a recession, says Woodwell of the MBA, but put that knowledge in perspective. The rate is still well below its peak of 2.72%, set at the end of 2003. "In some ways, that's what the bond structure was designed to deal with," Woodwell says of delinquent loans. "The high-rated tranches [of CMBS], even when we run them through severe recession scenarios, are still looking good."3. Issuance issues
The third problem for the CMBS market is issuance, or the lack thereof. The market is at a seven-month standstill that capped issuance at $12.1 billion in 2008, down more than 90% from the $230 billion that the sector issued in 2007. Don't expect new CMBS transactions in 2009 either, says Sublett of KeyBank. "Probably the earliest we would see any kind of meaningful origination would be in 2011."
That deprives the commercial real estate market of a much-needed source of leverage. CMBS lenders had become the chief source of commercial real estate financing in recent years — accounting for about one-third of all activity — so shutting off that source of leverage creates a severe undersupply of credit.
Other loan providers, including pension funds, life insurers and banks, may be reluctant to take on new borrowers when much of their capital will be required to finance the maturing loans of their existing customers.
The issuance problem won't be resolved before bond prices recover some of their lost ground, analysts say, because today's CMBS spreads virtually preclude the creation of new loans.
Lenders would have to charge interest rates in the teens to support current bond yield requirements, according to Lisa Pendergast, managing director at RBS Real Estate Finance. That wouldn't leave enough loan proceeds for most borrowers to pay off their maturing loans.
Confident strides
The CMBS market can begin to recover when investors believe the commercial real estate sector has reached the bottom of its cycle, experts say. The signals that will bring about new bond purchases will be a general feeling that property values have bottomed out, that tenants have completed any layoffs and downsizing, and that the economy has stopped shrinking.
Confidence will help buyers and sellers reign in risk spreads to a point that is still attractive to investors, yet low enough to draw in borrowers with cost-effective lending rates.
The confidence of lenders and investors will take months, perhaps years, to be restored, however. In the meantime, industry advocates are working to speed things along. Last fall, the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association, the MBA and 10 other trade groups began lobbying for federal assistance to encourage investment in CMBS.
Specifically, the groups want the sector included in the new Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), created in November 2008 and structured to lend up to $200 billion of Federal Reserve money to buyers of AAA-rated securities.
For now, TALF is limited to securities backed by student loans, auto loans, credit card debt and small business loans, and will use $20 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to provide credit protection for the loans.
Commercial real estate industry leaders would like the Treasury to use an additional $20 billion of TARP money to back a separate lending facility just for CMBS buyers, according to Brendan Reilly, senior vice president of government relations at the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association.
With TALF promising to cover up to $20 billion in total losses on the loans, the proposed program would fuel bond purchases and spur CMBS lenders to make new loans. "That would help address the pricing and valuation issues that most of these markets are having as a result of illiquidity," Reilly says.
Pendergast of RBS believes opening TALF lending for commercial real estate securities investments may help revitalize the sector. "We would very much like some form of government support for the CMBS marketplace," she says. "If you can get lending kick-started at some point during 2009, it would alleviate some of the pressures on the commercial real estate sector."
With billions of dollars in commercial mortgages maturing in the next two years and insufficient leverage in the marketplace, the government has good reason to loan money to lenders who are attempting to shore up their balance sheets so they can make new loans, says Brandt of Buchanan Street Partners. "There needs to be government intervention in this process."
While it waits for a response from Washington, the MBA is instructing investors about the market forces weighing on the CMBS sector, and why buying those securities is still a smart choice. According to Jan Sternin, senior vice president of commercial/multifamily research at the association, teaching investors about transparency and the data available on CMBS will ultimately bring about new loan originations and bond trading.
"We do believe education is what will bring the investment community back," Sternin says, "coupled with a little jump-start from TALF."
Matt Hudgins is an Austin-based writer.
CMBS loan extensions are painful, but possible
The credit crunch has put borrowers with maturing conduit loans in a tough spot. Borrowers whose loans aren't securitized may be able to convince their existing lenders to provide new financing if they are unable to obtain a loan from another provider.
That's not an option for the conduit borrower because CMBS deals have a finite term that depends on the ultimate repayment of all loans in the pool, rather than a perpetual series of loan placements.
"CMBS servicers are going to take a much more legalistic approach than a commercial bank or life insurance company and are not going to have the same flexibility on restructuring a loan," says Wayne Brandt, managing director of Buchanan Street Partners, a real estate investment management firm based in Newport Beach, Calif.
That's not to say that a borrower who is unable to find a new loan is doomed to foreclosure. A special servicer, which takes over from the master servicer when a borrower can't keep up with payments, can adjust or extend a mature conduit loan, according to John B. Levy, principal of real estate investment banking firm John B. Levy & Co. "Special servicers are extending and modifying loans depending on the specific circumstances," Levy says. "That is starting to happen."
Bondholders continue to receive regular interest payments when a conduit loan is extended, although the extension delays the return of principal. Alternatively, the special servicer may agree to reduce the amount of principal due on a loan, if doing so will avoid a larger loss to bondholders.
Levy offers the example of a borrower that is unable to pay the $10 million balance of principal owed on a loan at maturity. Depending on the quality of the collateral, the special servicer may agree to take $7 million as a discounted payoff. "If your anchor tenant just went dark, they might be delighted just to get $7 million," Levy says.
It's important for borrowers to make an earnest effort to obtain financing on their own, starting as early as six months before their existing loans mature, says Stacey Berger, executive vice president at Midland Loan Services, a master and special servicer based in Bethesda, Md. A special servicer will be more willing to grant an extension to a borrower who can show a paper trail documenting attempts to secure a new loan.
If the special servicer agrees to extend the loan, the borrower should expect onerous terms such as increased reserve requirements, recourse provisions or a higher interest rate.
Those terms are designed to make the borrower uncomfortable, Berger says. "We want to make sure we are viewed as the lender of last resort for refinancing, and not the borrower's first choice."
— Matt Hudgins


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It turns out gators are not the only wild things you can swim with in the Bay area.
The most popular attraction at Dade City's Wild Things weighs in at eight pounds and loves to make his voice heard. Tony the tiger is still a cub. He pounces around his enclosure playing with his toys and he loves his bottle.
Tony also likes to take a dip in his pool and anyone willing to pay a fee can swim with him.
"If you come and encounter little Tony now when he's a baby, you can come back in a few years when he is full grown and tell people, 'I swam with that guy,'" said Randy Stearns, an animal handler at Dade City's Wild Things.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says cubs like Tony can have full contact with visitors until they reach 25 pounds.
"It's about 30 minutes and what you get to do is come out and play with the tiger cub," Stearns said. "You get to spend some time on the land playing with them and running around. Sometimes, he'll take his bottle so, you get to feed him. And, you actually get to get in the water with him."
Tony is not the only one who cools off in the pool. There is also Ally the alligator who hosts her own pool parties. Guests get to swim with Ally while her mouth is taped shut.
The experience is similar to the pool parties offered by Alligator Attraction in Johns Pass. In both instances, a handler is present.
"We make sure all of the things are in line, plus a keeper is always present within reach at all times," said Kathy Stearns, who owns Dade City's Wild Things. "So, it's perfectly safe and perfectly legal."
The FWC says it is investigating the gator swim at Dade City's Wild Things just like it did at Alligator Attraction.
As for Tony the tiger, when he reaches 25 pounds he will have to be restrained when interacting with visitors according to FWC guidelines.
Dade City's Wild Things charges $200 for a 30 minute tiger cub swim. Gator swims are a $100 for 20 minutes.

subset: commoncrawl


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Looks Like Fun
This compact hatchback comes with a ton of personality.
Auto Headlights
The Fit can automatically activate your headlights when it's dark and turn them off when it's not.
Fog Lights
Light your way during low visibility (EX, EX-L).
Loaded with Luxuries
The Fit has a spacious cabin that hardly feels compact, and is available with a leather-trimmed interior (EX-L).
Utility Mode
Fold down the 2nd Row Magic Seat®, and you've got enough space for a bike or even a small couch1.
Long Mode
Fit long items like surfboards and skis by folding down the passenger-side rear and front seats1.
Tall Mode
If you've got a tall plant or a piece of art, fold the 2nd Row Magic Seat® up to create nearly 4 feet of vertical space1.
Refresh Mode
With the headrests removed and the front seats folded back, you're ready to kick back and recline2.
Touch, pinch and swipe through music, podcasts and more. All you need is a compatible smartphone (EX, EX-L Navi)3.
Access your favorite music, podcasts and more (EX, EX-L).
Honda LaneWatch
Signal right to display live video from a camera on your passenger-side mirror (EX, EX-L)9.
Power Moonroof
Stargaze with a one-touch power moonroof (EX, EX-L).
Push Button Start
Start your Fit with the push of a button (EX, EX-L).
Smart Entry
Unlock the doors without fishing for your keys (EX, EX-L).
Connect calls without taking your hands off the wheel.
With your phone paired over Bluetooth®, the Fit can read your text messages aloud.
Perfect for long highway drives.
Multi-Angle Rearview Camera
Get a better view of what's behind you with three different angles: normal, top-down and wide11.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Alerts you when pressure in any of the four tires is significantly low12.
Running Lights
Enhance your visibility to other drivers.
Helps increase occupant protection by distributing frontal crash energy more evenly.
Helps adjust brake pressure and engine power in the event of oversteer or understeer13.
Eco Assist
Colored coaching bars on either side of the speedometer let you know how efficiently you're driving.
ECON Button
Push to adjust fuel-consuming systems for more efficiency14 (CVT models).
A 130-horsepower direct-injection engine15 helped the Fit earn an impressive 41-mpg highway rating14.
All new Honda vehicles are covered by a 3-Year/36,000-Mile Limited Warranty, plus a 5-Year/60,000-Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty.
Vehicles less than 3 years old and with fewer than 36,000 miles are eligible for Honda Care® VSC Plans. Vehicles less than 1 year old and with fewer than 12,000 miles are eligible for Honda Care Maintenance™.
24-hour emergency road service available in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada; valid during the 3-Year/36,000-Mile Limited Warranty term for model-year 2015 and later vehicles. Services include jump-starting, flat tire and lockout assistance, towing, and more; limitations apply. Call (866) 864-5211 for assistance or details.


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Ocean HD v1.5 Apk| 6 MB | Mediafire
Requires Android:2.2 and up
Explore exotic sealife at the depths of the ocean – in true 3D.
App Review:
Dive down and immerse yourself in your own underwater world every time you use your device.
Explore the pristine waters of a deep ocean environment teeming with exotic sea life. Discover a sunken ship, coral reef, and more as sunlight glints off hidden treasure. Schools of fish swim past you while a manta ray glides overhead. Or, dive into shallow seas and drift in azure blue waters – it's all up to you. Watch closely and you may even see a shark in the distance!
Interact with the fish that swim nearby and the hidden treasure. Customize your dive experience with hundreds of combinations – hide the ship, change the treasure to a diving helmet, choose from 'Shallow Seas' or 'Coral Life' themes, and much more!
This wallpaper is true 3D with hand-crafted artwork. Our wallpapers feature silky-smooth animations while conserving your battery life.
Works great with phones, tablets, or any device that supports live wallpapers.
What's New
- * The 'Shark Pack' is now available for purchase!
- The Shark Pack features Great White, Tiger, and Hammerhead sharks, new themes, and a shark cage and diver.
- * Added 6 new types of fish!
- * More realistic fish animations and textures
- * Swaying coral and sea fans
- * Locket with custom image can now be left open
- * Added toggle for background fish and background shark
- * Improved sun distortion and depth fog
- * Art optimizations
- * Many other fixes and improvements
Click Here to Download via Mediafire
Click here to Download via Multiple Mirrors


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It's all spring vibes and blue skies with our light and airy collection Kate Hudson tops. From solid colors and detailed prints, to florals, stripes, ruffles, delicate pintucking and lace, discover the lightweight comfort and soft sophistication of our boho natural shirts, tops, tees and sweatshirts:
- Blouses and Tops. From workdays to weekend getaways, the Kate Hudson collection features a stunning array of options, including our sleeveless ruffle and dot tops, select organic tops, printed flutter styles, cropped and smocked bow blouses and ultra-chic, tie-front kimonos, too.
- Tees and Tanks. Explore our can't-live-without natural cotton tees, tanks and halters. From cropped styles, linen and side-tie t-shirts, to roomy, low-arm-hole tank tops, the easy-fit styles and soft, natural feel make these an everyday favorite.
- That Extra Touch. Pair any of our blouses, tees and tops with your favorite jeans, sun bleached Bermuda shorts, lightweight leggings, skirts and so much more. Add a summertime sandal or flats for great style that ushers in warmer weather, or complete your look with the subtle flair of a boho hat, stylish jacket, and your favorite jewelry for a look that's perfectly, naturally you.
Our boho tops deliver a carefree feel that's easy to make all your own, so you can craft light and airy fashions that enhance your unique style. Browse all the latest boho tops, dresses and denim in the Kate Hudson Clothing Collection and discover fashion with a passion.


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I'm fascinated by herb lore and its relationship with modern medicine. So I'm going to do a series of posts on herbal remedies that have valid usage in modern medicine and make cameos in literature as well.
Willow bark has abundant amounts of salicylic acid, the precursor to modern day aspirin. It's been used for thousands of years, in cultures as varying as ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Americas.
In the Medicine Cabinet
The modern day aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, which I made in chem lab in college without lighting the lab on fire, was first synthesized in 1853 and later marketed by Bayer in 1897. It was considered to be easier on the stomach, which makes me laugh, because every doctor knows that taking aspirin is a major risk factor for causing bleeding in the stomach.
Nowadays, we use it for headaches, reducing fever, pain, and it's well known to be helpful for prevention of strokes and heart attacks.
In Books
I just finished reading Ash by Malinda Lo, and in it, the greenwitches use willow bark tea medicinally. Also, in the Clan of the Cave Bear books by Jean M. Auel, Ayla used willow bark tea for aches and pains as well.
In English folklore, the willow tree is somewhat sinister, and that seems to be reflected in the characters of Old Man Willow in the LOTR trilogy and the Whomping Willow in Harry Potter. There are also references to willow in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Othello.
So, got a headache? Have a cup of willow-bark tea, but beware. The tree may smack you in return, and give you a stomach-ache to boot.
Please keep in mind this post is for writing purposes only and is not to be construed as medical advice!
All I ask in return is that you become a follower of my blog and post a link on your blog when I post. Easy peasy.
Also, don't forget to check out Mental Health Mondays at Laura's Blog!


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Apparently, Gnomer had a bit of a hectic weekend, and was unable to get a "monday" post under his belt. But never fear! Krizzlybear is here! I actually promised him via twitter that I would fill in for one of his posts.
Just a stipulation though. I am unable to talk about anything frost. That's quite a tall order, since I am in love with the tree.
If you're a fan of this blog, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Gnomeaggedon, Larísa, and I have a very civil, yet quite exciting rivalry going on between gnomish mages. A battle of the specs, if you will. And with every new patch, and every new change that comes to our class, the battle ebbs back and forth like the tides on a beach. With patch 3.3, all three specs received some pretty awesome changes and buffs, in both PvE and PvP. If at all, I look forward to the ensuing battle.
But let's leave that for another day. Gnomer was busy this weekend, and as a diplomatic frostie, I will perform an act of kindness and bail him out today by writing this post. And what else could be more adequate to talk about than the new LFG system?
Looking For Awesome
The other day, my mage, Bashertin not only received the title of "the Patient" but also the perky pug pet. The achievement associated with these rewards are called [Looking For Many] and [Looking For Multitudes], respectively. To get both, you would have to use the LFG system to match yourself with 50 and 100 random people. Sounds like a monumental task, especially with the dreaded prospect of running into that failpug.
But if you really want the title and the pet enough, it isn't as difficult as it is. There are several things that you should know that can help.
1. You do not necessarily have to group with 4 people each time.
If you're the type who ends up in failpugs fairly often, it would definitely help if you had more control over the success of your group. If you enter LFG alone, it will take 25 pugs to get the pet. If you enter LFG with a guildie each time, it will take 34. If you go with two guildies, it will take 50 pugs. If you're a tank or healer, running with someone of the opposite role that you know well will work wonders for the success of your pugs. It will take a little bit longer to reach that title, but you are less likely to fail.
2. Make yourself available as a role that's in-demand.
If you're capable of performing two or more between tank, healer, and dps, you queue much faster if you can also perform a role that's in demand. If you make yourself available for multiple roles, you will be slotted in faster than if you only selected one particular job for the sole reason that you're too lazy to do so otherwise. As a skilled tank or healer, you have arguably more control over the success of the group than you would as a a DPS.
3. Be Patient.
The title is named 'the Patient' for reasons other than having to put up with 100 potential noobs. Even though 100 random members sounds like a lot, it isn't so bad if you stretch it out over the course of a longer duration. If you only use the LFG tool once a day, it will only take 25 days for you to get the title. People who already got the title early run the risk of forgetting to do a random heroic for a particular day. If you stuck to a once-a-day schedule to get your achievement, you have extra motivation to use LFG than you would if you were simply in it for the frost emblems. By letting your achievement run go longer, you have a more sustained enthusiasm for the PuG system, and will encounter fail pugs less frequently.
Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200
That said, I am quite glad that I was able to make a post for Gnomer. Perhaps one of these days, if Frost is the New Black ever shuts down for good, I may sell myself out to the fire mage and do fill-in posts should I ever feel like it. But that's not gonna happen any time soon. Either way, I'm honored to be able to post here, and I look forward to hearing from Gnomer again this week.
Until then, see you on the other side of the internether!


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Economic Views
Schroders Quickview: Draghi adds more stimulus, but disappoints markets
Economic Views
Schroders Quickview: Draghi adds more stimulus, but disappoints markets
Draghi underwhelms investors
So much hype, and yet so much disappointment. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi's reputation for always over-delivering stimulus against market expectations is now over.
After spending the last two months strongly suggesting a significant increase in monetary policy stimulus measures, the President has under-delivered.
Five policy changes have been announced:
- The deposit rate has been cut from -0.20% to -0.30%, however, the main refinancing rate and marginal lending rates have been left unchanged (0.05% and 0.30% respectively)
- Quantitative easing (QE) of €60 billion per month is now to be extended until March 2017 (previously due to end in September 2016)
- The ECB will now re-invest the principle payments of maturing assets under QE, for as long as necessary.
- Regional and local government debt has been added to the list of eligible assets for QE.
- Main refinancing operations (MROs) and 3-month long-term refinancing operations (LTROs) are to be used until at least the end of 2017.
Markets suffer QE disappointment
Against the menu of policy changes announced, markets were expecting at least a 20 basis points cut in the deposit rate, along with at least €20 billion added to the monthly QE purchases.
Given the disappointment, the euro has risen by about 2.2% against the US dollar, while European bourses have fallen sharply. Clearly Draghi needs to re-examine his communication strategy.
Seeming to always better what the market was anticipating was bound to lead to unrealistic expectations eventually, and therefore to disappointment.
Compared to our own forecast (published in the December Economic and Strategy Viewpoint), we were not expecting an increase in monthly purchases, but were expecting an extension, albeit only until the end of 2016.
The further cut in the deposit rate was also not factored in to our forecast, but we do not expect it to have much of an impact on growth or inflation.
The other measures are designed to reduce the risk of technical difficulties hampering the implementation and the withdrawal of QE.
Purchasing worries
The difficulty for Draghi in his push for further stimulus is that the outlook for the eurozone did not necessarily warrant additional stimulus.
Recent activity indicators have continued to improve despite the weaker external environment and concerns about security.
Low inflation has boosted the disposable income of households in real terms, while the resumption of credit flows is boosting domestic demand, aided by low interest rates.
Also, the euro had depreciated sharply from around 1.14 against the US dollar since October to just over 1.05 (up to 1.08 since the ECB decision announcement).
The ECB's decision not to increase the amount of monthly purchases leaves some powder dry in case additional stimulus is needed next year.
The Bank is clearly concerned about the capacity for purchases given the limited supply of eligible assets and its own purchase limits – hence the inclusion of regional and local debt as eligible assets.
Euro outlook depends on Fed
Overall, the additional stimulus announced today may have a marginally positive impact on the outlook for the monetary union.
Investors caught out will have to learn to look more closely at data and not expect the ECB to always look to appease them.
We now look forward to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policy decision this month.
Assuming Janet Yellen follows through this time and raises interest rates as expected, we could see the euro resume its recent depreciating trend.
The views and opinions contained herein are those of Schroders' investment teams and/or Economics Group, and do not necessarily represent Schroder Investment Management North America Inc.'s house views. These views are subject to change. This information is intended to be for information purposes only and it is not intended as promotional material in any respect.


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West Des Moines, IAHome Menu
Boards & Commissions Overview
The City of West Des Moines has established a variety of boards and commissions which give residents an opportunity to use their skills to benefit our community. Service on a board or commission allows dedicated individuals to provide input on the policies that shape their government and their city. There are currently 11 boards and commissions that advise the Mayor and City Council on a variety of issues. Most are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council.
Membership on a board or commission is beneficial to those who serve as well. Members meet other West Des Moines residents with parallel interests, learn about the City and its processes, and help mold the future West Des Moines. Being on a board or commission entails a significant commitment of time and energy.
To find out more about a specific board or commission, click on the appropriate title below. Potential applicants or simply interested residents can sit in on board and commission meetings as they are open to the public. Meeting dates, times and locations vary.
Many issues discussed at the board or commission level also go to City Council subcommittees for review. Read a description of the related subcommittees in the City of West Des Moines City Council Subcommittee Policy.
If you are interested in serving on a board or commission, please submit an application to the City Clerk's Office. Applicants will be asked to indicate which board or commission interests them.
Board & Commissions List
Bicycle Advisory Commission
This commission consists of seven members, 5 of whom must reside within the City of West Des Moines. This commission is charged with advising the City on implementation of the City's Bicycle Master Plan.
Board of Adjustment
This 5-member board is able, by State Code, to make special exceptions from the Zoning Ordinance.
Civil Service Commission
This 3-member commission is a special tribunal created under the Code of Iowa charged to provide a harmonious and efficient public service which will protect the interests of the City of West Des Moines and its employees.
Human Rights Commission
This 7-member commission promotes education against discriminatory actions in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations or services, education, and credit.
Human Services Board
This 15-member board establishes regulations, procedures and policies designed to effectively carry out the department's mission of "providing opportunities for individuals to improve and enhance the quality of life through the programs and services available with the goal of self-sufficiency."
Library Board of Trustees
This 7-member board supervises several components of library operations including library purchases, making and adopting rules and regulations, and accepting gifts.
Parks & Recreation Advisory Board
This 5-member board makes recommendations on park development, park property, park maintenance, fees and charges, and grant applications. It provides input on budget preparation and marketing efforts.
Plan & Zoning Commission
This 7-member commission's main task is to conduct thorough reviews of development proposals to ensure consistency with the community's established land use patterns and development standards.
Public Arts Advisory Commission
This 7-member commission is to review and make recommendations to the City Council regarding the selection and installation of public art throughout the city.
Sister Cities Commission
This 7-member commission promotes educational and cultural exchanges between institutions, businesses, and citizens of West Des Moines and their counterparts in other similar cities in foreign nations.
Water Works Board of Trustees
This 5-member board has the ability to exercise all powers of a City in relation to the water utility excluding taxes, ordinances, bonds, and title to property.
View agendas & minutes for the boards and commissions.


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Merriam-Webster defines a sports car as "a low small usually two-passenger automobile designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high speed driving." That seems fairly curt and dry to me. So why is it that so many cars are labeled as sports cars these days when the vast majority of them are really just russet potatoes wearing a pair of neon running shoes?
Although I've bought and sold four different cars in the time that's elapsed since our ways parted, it still wasn't all that long ago that I owned a brand-new Dodge Challenger. And you'd be surprised at the number of people who took the time out their day to ask me about my car that almost always started the conversation with, "That's a nice sports car you have there" before they tried to stick their hands in my checkbook to see how much I spent on insurance or how much gasoline I'd have to purchase to make a run to town for what McDonald's passes off as a cheeseburger. It irked me to ends of the Earth — not so much they were trying to figure out how I spent my hard-earned money, but the fact they were asking me about my "sports car" when there plainly wasn't one around.
Now, before someone out in Alabama starts breathing through their mouth and fires up their keyboard to try and convince me how the Challenger is a sports car, let's just judge it using the parameters set by the definition the good old dictionary gave us. You'll start to see what I'm going on about.
For starters, the Challenger could seat two people too many, too comfortably. In fact, I could've probably helped conceive an entire first-world military in the backseat. Show me the backseat in a Chevrolet Corvette or a Nissan 370Z, and I'll show you the pair of double-d's I have hidden up my shirt. Granted, some sports cars, like the Porsche 911 or even the Scion FR-S, do occasionally have backseats, but they're unusable to any living person over the age of ten with shins and a head. They're only there to give someone the illusion they bought something practical; they're best ignored.
Moving on, it had reflexes about as quick as Rob Ford on a weekend bender and it was about as fast as a nun in a chastity belt. It certainly wasn't nimble or quick, nor was it purposely built for driving at high speed. At speeds above 85 mph, it felt like a Broyhill convert-a-bed sofa with a 500 watt stereo built into the seat cushions; you had no sense of how fast you were actually going.
Sure, it drew more attention than setting your nipples on fire in a shopping mall, and everywhere you went it felt like you were driving Led Zeppelin's first record around, but those two qualities are inherent to a show car, not a sports car. A sports car usually has something of substance to back up its show. While I loved my Challenger, it sadly didn't have much of anything underneath the throwback bodywork.
It isn't just the Challenger that's saddled down with this baggage. It extends to, among many others, the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and the Hyundai Veloster. Three of those are performance cars on a good day when the weather in Kentucky is cooperating and really pretty coupes when it's not, and the other is what happens when you pile everything on the menu at a fast food restaurant into a black plastic bowl and top it off with shredded cheddar cheese. None of them are sports cars.
Then there's my favorite example of a sports car that isn't a sports car, which comes from a trusted buyer's resource on the Internet. Next time you have a free moment that's not being spent watching cats doing Christopher Walken impressions on YouTube, wander on over to Cars.com and ask them to recommend a sports car for you to buy. Out of the 38 different models they'll suggest, the top ten includes not only the Camaro and Mustang but the Nissan Juke. I'll repeat that: Cars.com thinks the Nissan Juke is a damned sports car. If a Nissan Juke is a sports car, then I'm Hannah Ferguson and you can all watch me take a shower with Rashida Jones on webcam tonight.
Speaking of Nissan, certainly they can bare some of the guilt for helping spread all of this stupidity. Anyone remember the third-generation Maxima of the late 1980s? Nissan so desperately wanted buyers to think of it as something other than a brick of Ivory soap they labeled it a "four-door sports car." They even put "4DSC" stickers on the rear quarter windows to try and convince owners that little white lie was real.
I'd like to believe someone at the ad agency that was tasked with designing and writing up the print and television ads spoke up and said, "A sedan is now a 'four-door sports car,' huh? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'm sorry, but I don't think we can market something to buyers so dishonestly." But I doubt it. I'm sure they were all kicking themselves for not thinking of it sooner.
I think I have the answer now to the question I started out with. Greedy peons at ad firms and the very automakers that hire them are to blame for making the term "sports car" about as sacred as spoiled milk and the value of the US dollar. And, if the Mazda RX-8 was any indication, I can fully expect things to continue to devolve in the future.
Whatever. I don't want to think about that. Call me old fashioned, but I'll just continue to abide by the old Greek rule that went something like "let's call a sports car a sports car."
Follow @ignitionist on Twitter, here on Kinja, and send all your hate mail and tips to firstname.lastname@example.com. Thanks for reading!


text: Catseye's sponsored racer, Jay Corbin; unleashed. By CaddieMascotfacebooktwittergoogleplusyoutubepinterestCaddie is the pest-fighting feline at Catseye Pest Control. With more than 25 years experience fighting bugs, rodents and nuisance wildlife at residential and commercial properties, he knows the best ways to customize pest control methods to fix your pest problems and prevent future occurrences. When not battling bugs, Caddie can be found at many community events helping raise spirits and funds for local non-profits.


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Judge seems unmoved in San Jose's bid to get A's
Recommended Video:
The A's owners' hopes of moving their team from its longtime home in Oakland to a spiffy new ballpark in San Jose ran into trouble Friday in federal court, where a lawyer for the South Bay community struggled to convince a judge that Major League Baseball is illegally blocking the relocation.
"The Oakland A's ... would like to move, but they can't get the three-quarters vote" of club owners that MLB requires to relocate within the San Francisco Giants' designated territory, the city's lead attorney, Joseph Cotchett, said at a hearing in San Jose.
That requirement, he argued, is monopolistic and anticompetitive, in violation of antitrust laws. Although the U.S. Supreme Court declared baseball exempt from antitrust restrictions in 1922, Cotchett said, the exemption has been narrowed by later rulings and congressional action and no longer applies to franchise relocations.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte, who presided over the nearly two-hour hearing, seemed unconvinced.
Noting that the high court has applied the antitrust exemption to "the business of baseball," Whyte asked, "What is the business of baseball if it doesn't include the location of teams?"
"The business of baseball is to compete on the field," Cotchett said. He argued that the Supreme Court had largely repudiated its 1922 ruling and added that the court "is changing the antitrust laws every session they sit."
"That's up to them, not to me," Whyte replied.
The judge did not issue an immediate ruling but appeared to be leaning toward dismissing San Jose's claim that the major leagues would be violating federal law if they continued to thwart the A's move. He promised a decision soon.
A's owners Lew Wolff and John Fisher have been trying for years to move the team out of their aging Oakland ballpark, and signed an option in November 2011 to buy land for a stadium near San Jose's downtown Diridon train station. The A's are not a party to the lawsuit, which San Jose filed in June.
Antitrust rules
The main obstacle to the move is the Giants' right to the territory under provisions of the MLB Constitution that are grounded in baseball's exemption - unique among professional sports - from antitrust laws.
Antitrust laws limit the power of monopolies and allow a would-be competitor to challenge unreasonable restraints of trade, as Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis did when he sued the National Football League and won the right to move to Los Angeles in 1982.
In its 1922 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an antitrust suit by the owner of a team in the disbanded Federal League, saying the major leagues were not engaged in interstate commerce and therefore were not subject to antitrust laws. Rulings in 1953 and 1972 disavowed the rationale of that decision but upheld its conclusion on the grounds that Congress had not acted to change the law.
"Baseball has grown and prospered under this regime," John Keker, MLB's lawyer in the case, told Whyte.
"Baseball is different from every other sport," Keker asserted, with a structure that the courts have expressly preserved. Under its rules, he said, "competition is limited to the field," and in other areas, "cooperation is the rule."
In addition to its claim under antitrust law, San Jose's suit argues that the major leagues have violated California law by interfering with the contract between the city and the A's. Phil Gregory, another lawyer for San Jose, said baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had asked the city to put its plans for a stadium on hold until the teams voted on the relocation, but has never scheduled a vote and shows no signs of doing so.
"It's a disruption" of the contract, Gregory argued.
No proof of harm
Keker replied that San Jose's option with the A's was based on speculation about future events and that the city couldn't show it was being harmed, since the proposed stadium site could be sold on the real estate market for more than four times the amount of the A's $7 million option.
Whyte suggested that he may leave the contract issue to state courts if he dismisses the antitrust claim.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: email@example.com


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Howdee all,
When I go looking for Morel Mushrooms, one of the trees I look under are the Tulip Poplar trees..
The trees have these beautiful flowers
Most people don't see them because they are high up in the trees.
Sometimes wind will take a few down to the ground
…and then I can enjoy how beautiful they are.
Morel near a Tulip Poplar
Today is our Bittersweet departure from dear Sicksta and Craigys..
We are on our way to West Virginia
New River Birding and Nature Festival
May not have internet,or much time to blog..
…So if not…See you after the festival!


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- "The home of rock and roll, V-Rock has opened a hotel and casino. It's a very rock and roll way to lose your money. At least they got rid of that dick head who used to be on the radio."
- ―GTA San Andreas Website
The V-Rock Hotel is a hotel based on the V-Rock music station featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The hotel is located on the eastern side of the Roca Escalante district of Las Venturas. The facility is divided on two levels (ground and an upper level), and an oyster and a horseshoe can be found in the guitar shaped swimming pool at the back of the hotel. It is an inaccessible building and it cannot be purchased as a safehouse by CJ. A basketball court can be found in the back of the hotel. The V-Rock Hotel is a parody of the real-life Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The hotel features a giant Gibson Flying V (version of Michael Schenker).
- The terrace apartment textures on the outside of the hotel is also featured on numerous hotels in Vice City.


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Pounding the Table About Abortion
In the three days of "speechifying" that constituted the 2012 Republican National Convention, precious little time or rhetoric was devoted to the topic of abortion. While Messrs Romney and Ryan (along with notable speakers including Condoleezza Rice and Marco Rubio) delivered rousing speeches certain to ignite the conservative base, the American people heard little from Republicans about the death toll of the unborn in America – a staggering number which tops 50 million and continues to climb. Instead, the focus of Republicans this election cycle is on jobs, the economy, and the debt/deficit debacle. It is on these issues that the President is most vulnerable, and these issues that are most pivotal to independents whose support is so critical to Romney's chances come November.
One would guess that the Obama campaign would welcome the GOP's neglect of social issues, but instead it has chosen to place abortion in the spotlight with ads berating Republicans for their stance on the issue. Indeed, the President is showcasing his support for abortion in an unprecedented way. According to an article by Baptist Press, President Obama's is virtually the only presidential campaign to explicitly advertise a pro-abortion stance since the Roe v. Wade decision was issued in 1973. The fact is, no one really likes talking about abortion, even those who are in favor of the practice. You hear plenty of vague references to the profound importance of a woman's "right to choose", but most advocates of this "choice" prefer to maintain a 30,000 foot view of the issue, where pesky moral and ethical questions are easily deflected by grandiose rhetoric designed to appeal to feminists and their sexual consorts who wish to abdicate any responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
So what gives? Is this just a diversionary tactic? A lawyer himself, President Obama is likely aware of the strategy often embraced by attorneys in advocating their cases: "When weak on the facts, pound the law. When weak on the law, pound the facts. When weak on the facts and the law, pound the table." Without much of a record to run on, it's understandable that the Obama campaign is desperate to shift the discussion away from all matters fiscal, but why pound the table about abortion? Why highlight support for a practice that kills one out of every four children conceived in America – one child every 24 seconds? Why tout the embrace of a judicial ruling that has since been discredited as a legal fabrication based not in concrete law but upon subjectively interpreted "emanations" and "penumbras"?
Well, because our President is a hard core pro-abortion ideologue who has exhibited more hostility toward the unborn than almost any other elected official in America. This is a man who voted against a law that would mandate life-saving measures for infants that survive abortion, and who famously stated that he wouldn't want his daughters "punished" with a baby if one of them "made a mistake" and became pregnant out of wedlock.
With these new ads it's clear that Mr. Obama is doubling down on the leftist rhetoric, attempting to fire up his base by appealing to issues that garner the most impassioned, emotional responses. Since he cannot defend his record on jobs and has himself previously suggested that he should not be reelected if he fails to fix the economy in his first term, his only option at this point is to distract and obfuscate as much as possible. Hence his manufactured "war on women" - a tactic based upon the assumption that subsidized birth control and the legal ability to destroy their progeny at will are the single most important issues to American women.
It is a sad state of affairs when the best thing an incumbent President has to commend to the voting public is a reckless disregard for the sanctity of human life and the embrace of a court ruling that has sanctioned the destruction of 50 million unborn children in the last 40 years. What is equally sad, however, is that the Republican Party lacks the integrity and the courage to robustly defend their pro-life platform for fear of negative political consequences.
Right now it may seem like defeating President Obama in November is all that matters, but conservatives may find that the price of that victory comes at the cost of the Grand Old Party's soul.


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Tag: vegan brushes
Vegan makeup is where it's at!
Herbs of Grace is dedicated to providing quality skin care products and cosmetics using the finest natural ingredients that are free of chemicals & preservatives and are cruelty-free & vegan! This is a great place to buy mineral foundations,...
Read more >>


text: Games Archive Top 10 Windows Phone Games January 2015 Author: mark | Jan082015 Categories: Apps, Windows 1 Comment Apps and games in mobile phones are very popular these days and users of laptops and PC and converting to Mobile phone and tablets because Android and other mobile related operating system have become more and more advance. Windows mobiles are also popular these days. Here is this post Continue Reading


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If the display only has a 8-bit LUT, leave both the white point and gamma at their native settings (assuming the monitor enables you to do so) and make the changes in the card ... or just profile it as is. My understanding is that most modern video cards have greater than 8-bit LUTs. The Radeon 9600 in my Mac is 10-bit.[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
While the Matrox board has 10 bit DACs (as do ATIs), this is of course only useful for older analog monitors. Modern digital DVI monitors are not able to take advantage of this.Additionally, the data going into the 10 bit DACs is still 8 bit data from the frame buffer but going through an 8 in x 10 bit out LUT. While having a 10 bit LUT on the video card is a great step forward, it is useless on todays digital monitors since single-link DVI is an 8 bit bottleneck.The ATI Avivo chipset mentioned that features 10 and 16 bit output is currently only really useful for motion video, since the video stream data can be processed (gamma, de-interlacing, color conversion, scaling etc.) within the card at higher than 8 bit depth.However until the core OSs and applications are updated to support frame buffers of >8 bit depth, this is not of much use to all of us using Photoshop etc.FYI - There is a tech paper on the LCD2180WG-LED that explains some of the issues with color bit depths as related to the increased gamut size of the LED display, and why it is not quite such an issue as one individual has suggested it to be. Certainly none of the color professionals worldwide who have been involved with the display throughout it's development have raised it as being a concern.[a href=\"http://www.necdisplay.com/products/LCD2180WGLED_Techpaper.htm]http://www.necdisplay.com/products/LCD2180...D_Techpaper.htm[/url]Will HollingworthManager of OEM Product Design & Development EngineeringNEC Display Solutions of America, Inc.http://www.necdisplay.com
Problem is the OS and most applications can't use that extra data.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67000\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Thanks. I was going on how it used to work. The fact remains that there's no point in twiddling knobs (other than brightness) on displays with 8-bit DACs ... wouldn't you agree?[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67002\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Problem is the OS and most applications can't use that extra data. Note the post to the ColorSync list by Bill of NEC:While having a 10 bit LUT on the video card is a great step forward, it is useless on todays digital monitors since single-link DVI is an 8 bit bottleneck.
If you need to change the color temp of the display simply set the calibration software to the desired temp and let it build the appropriate profile.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67028\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
...This will degrade the image quality as well but not as badly as adjusting the video card LUTs or fiddling with the monitor controls.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67067\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
From what I understand from your post one tag describes the actual output curves (for use by colormanaged applications), the other tag corrects the video output to match those described curves. I don't see where I get to control them though (aside from setting targets), I think it's done automatically...My goal is to correct the non-colormanaged (as well as colormanaged obviously) output to the target white point.
VGA is an analog signal and because of this, an LCD must convert to digital signal before it can display the information. Therefore, you can theoretically adjust the analog signal prior to sampling for the digital signal. If the RGB buttons actually allow you to adjust the pre-amps, then they work akin to setting the correct white-balance prior to shooting JPG.
You really can't equate adjusting a analog signal to setting WB prior to shooting a jpeg.


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Improve the Team Leader's abilities.
A PC with webcam or similar device with internet connection for online collaboration.
Scenario: Imagine the world suffered a catastrophic event like a meteor strike, plague or nuclear war, which destroyed most human life and all of the developments of the past century. A mixed group (age, gender, ethnicity, religion) of a few hundred lucky people has survived (it's helpful to agree where - anywhere - because location will influence some aspects of the approach to the question).
Question: If this group is to thrive and develop, what initial leadership structure would you suggest, stating 6-12 key roles? (Optionally and ideally ask delegates to justify their suggestions.)
Optional supplementary questions:


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There are plenty of laptop stands out there, and all of them have their benefits and faults. There aren't many that are perfect, and while this wooden one definitely looks like a nice one, but it has got one big problem: it costs as much as some low-spec laptops.
Read more @ Technabob


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When I ended up using Kubuntu (after trying Mandrake and then Gentoo, and GNOME/Ubuntu), some of the Ubuntu Women members welcomed me onto Freenode. When I found that that freenode was where the Amarok team hung out as well, I added the server to my Konversation server list. Members of both of those teams made me welcome, taught me some of the Freenode quirks, and I learned a bit more about how Linux is made. Lots of teams, loads of projects, each with their own culture and ways of working. Because Ubuntu and KDE both have a Code of Conduct, I felt somewhat safe, although I had heard lots of horror stories about linux channels on freenode and elsewhere. After experiencing some quite frightening attacks in the Linuxchix channels, I learned how resilient a community can be, and how creative security can be -- even fun.
So, codes of conduct. In the wake of the recent controversy following PyCon, one of my friends said that they imply that all men are assholes. This surprised me. Linuxchix has two rules: Be polite. Be helpful. All people are expected to follow them; I see the rules as intentional community. We want polite and helpful resources, so those are the rules for everyone. The Ubuntu CoC has grown a bit through the years, but is still phrased positively: http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu/conduct. I prefer the old shorter one, but both are focused on creating a helpful, respectful community.
I like the KDE CoC a lot. Once I found it, I felt much better about becoming involved. It reminded me very much of the simple Linuxchix rules.
This Code of Conduct presents a summary of the shared values and "common sense" thinking in our community. The basic social ingredients that hold our project together include:In my opinion, there is nothing in any of these codes or rules that blames men, or is negative. They paint a picture of a place where we want to work, and hang out with friends afterwards. I'm an older woman as the name of this blog implies, and I don't want to pretend to be a guy to collaborate without hassle. I want to be myself, and be welcomed for the skills and passion I bring. I also want more women and other minorities to feel welcome. A boy's club is not welcoming, and linux has that reputation. Too often well deserved.
- Be considerate
- Be respectful
- Be collaborative
- Be pragmatic
- Support others in the community
- Get support from others in the community -- quoted from http://www.kde.org/code-of-conduct/
So I ask each of my readers, what do you want? Is your behavior creating what you want? This is not aimed at men, by the way. All of us create our culture together, intentionally or not. I hope we will more consciously make our community the most pleasant, welcoming and creative in all of FOSS.
[Note on PyCon: The entire controversy has left me feeling sick. Congratulations are in order to the conference staff and leadership, who conducted themselves well. Yet they now have this mess connected to their fine conference, rather than good memories. There are no winners here, from what I can see. Since I didn't attend, and am not part of that community, no comments on PyCon itself or the controversy will be published here.]


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This time of year, there are a lot of different celebrations going on for many different reasons. Hanukkah, Ramadan, Christmas, Kwanzaa ... and the Winter Solstice, or Yule. When people say, "The reason for the season!" and point to the birth of Christ, I always scratch my head. The reason for the season is actually, well, the seasons. The rotation of the earth.
On the winter solstice, which usually falls on December 21, the earth's axis tilts away from the sun in the northern hemisphere. This makes the winter solstice the longest night of the year, and after that, the days start getting longer again. It marks the halfway point of the cold part of the year (fall and winter) and is the official start of winter as well.
So, how do you incorporate simple changes in the season into your life, and why is it a holiday? More so, how do you celebrate Yule, especially with kids?
Well first, a little history can help understand the celebrations across the board. The ancient Egyptians celebrated the Sun God Horus during this time, bringing in decorations of palm fronts, and putting up star-like symbols of the sun.
King Louis XVI in
a "Liberty Cap" -- Santa?
King Louis XVI in
Norsemen believed the sun was a great wheel of fire that would roll away from the earth and back, and they'd encourage and celebrate the return of the sun with great bonfires and large logs to burn on home fires (Yule logs). They would decorate with bows of evergreen and put ornaments like the sun (often many-pointed star shaped) out in the trees all around, to attract the sun back to the earth. Many cultures, both modern and historical, celebrated with fire and lights, to both light the longest night and to welcome back the sun. Germanic tribes worshipped Odin, went waissailing (caroling!), put out fruit and candles, even ON trees! Christmas lights, Kwanzaa candles, Menorahs, and Yule logs are still a very common celebration of the sun, fire, and light.
A lot of Pagans and Wiccans have a fun story of the battle between the young Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King, representing the light of the new year, tries each year to usurp the old Holly King, who is the symbol of darkness.
So, why am I telling you all this history? Because I'm explaining why certain practices exist! Common to a lot of popular belief, presents, trees, and "Christmas" lights are much older than the Roman Catholic Church's designation of Christmas on the 25th. So, as Pagans, we do still have a tree, lights, presents, a big dinner (I do sun colors and winter crops ... yum), a Yule log, and lots of magic and joy to our holiday, with good reason. A lot of the practice is symbolic at this point, obviously -- I'm not exactly worried about MY crops, but the fact that the seasons are changing, the night is the longest and the sun is "returning" is MY "reason for the season."
We focus a lot on the changes of the earth. I've taken a ball and a flashlight to explain to my son about the seasons and tilt. We take walks and look at the changes in the earth, the bare trees, any snow. We cut snowflakes out of coffee filters, and decorate our big tree with ornaments and a big star on top. We generally do a Yule ritual, even if it's just short and informal, welcoming back the sun and daylight. The kids go to bed in new jammies and we wake up to presents and a Yule-themed breakfast.
Despite differences in religions or heritage, almost all pieces of celebration of the Winter Solstice (even Christmas) are the same. There are so many more similarities than there are differences that arguing over which you celebrate, which is the "true" belief, is all so silly. I've been told before that I "deprive" my children of childhood by not practicing Christmas ... obviously said by people who don't even understand what I celebrate in the first place. Growing up Pagan, the best part was I got to open my presents days before all my friends! Not deprived at all.
Do you celebrate Yule?
Image via Which Kittin?/Flickr; National Symbols of France; Christie Haskell


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The CMD291 is a wideband GaAs MMIC driver amplifier die which operates from 16 to 24 GHz. The broadband device is ideally suited for applications requiring high dynamic range. The CMD291 delivers 23 dB of gain with a corresponding output 1 dB compression point of +25.5 dBm and output IP3 of 32 dBm at 20 GHz. The amplifier is a 50 ohm matched design which eliminates the need for external DC blocks and RF port matching. The CMD291 offers full passivation for increased reliability and moisture protection.
Released – for new design
|Frequency (GHz)
|16 - 24
|Gain (dB)
|Noise Figure (dB)
|Phase Noise (dBc/Hz)
|Output P1dB (dBm)
|Output Psat (dBm)
|OIP3 (dBm)
|Bias Voltage Vdd/Vgg (V)
|+3 to +5 / -0.5
|Bias Current (mA)
Provide us a few details and we'll keep you posted on new releases and you'll always have easy access to our growing library of design files and tech briefs when you revisit. (Requires cookies to be turned on.)
In addition to offering delivery from stock on our own evaluation boards for nearly all our die and packaged devices, Custom MMIC has also put nearly 30% of our devices into the X-Microwave block system. This drop-in simulation, prototyping, and production system enables efficient and expedient microwave and millimeter-wave circuit development and testing.
Custom MMIC strives to design all of our MMIC devices in a manner such that they can be readily chosen for your space application. We have an extensive history of successfully screening and qualifying our product to space applications per MIL-PRF-38534, MIL-PRF-38535, NASA INST standards and customer specific requirements. We collaborate with our customers to determine the appropriate screening and qualification based on their specific mission. Our space product screening and qualification are performed in-house and with approved partners. Whether you are looking for a space screened die, hermetically sealed packaged product or non-hermetic packaged product, Custom MMIC is prepared to help you address your qualification requirements
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Basic tomato sauce
A good tomato sauce has countless uses. Make a big batch, then use in other dishes throughout the week
Nutrition and extra info
- Freezable
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal103
- fat6g
- saturates1g
- carbs10g
- sugars8g
- fibre3g
- protein3g
- salt0.29g
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Olive oilol-iv oyl
Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…
- 2 onions, finely chopped
Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
The carrot, with its distinctive bright orange colour, is one of the most versatile root…
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
A collection of long, thick, juicy stalks around a central, tender heart, celery ranges in…
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp sugar
Honey and syrups made from concentrated fruit juice were the earliest known sweeteners. Today,…
- 4 x 400g/14oz cans chopped tomatoes
Heat the oil in a pan and add the vegetables and bay leaf. Stir in the sugar with some salt. Gently cook for 10-15 mins until the veg is tender. Stir in the tomatoes and 150ml water. Simmer very gently for 30 mins until the sauce has reduced by two-thirds and is very thick. (If you have doubled or tripled the quantities, this may take up to 1 hr.)
Stir occasionally, particularly towards the end of the cooking time, so that the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom. If you like your sauce a little thinner, add a splash of water. Serve half with pasta and chill or freeze other half in 1-2 batches for later use (see 'Goes well with' for ideas of how to use up your sauce).


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An exciting part of having your function at Nashoba Valley Winery is that you will always have a variety of both delicious wines (traditional and non-traditional) and micro-brewed beers available to enjoy and all of the wines and beers are produced on site. We will ensure the perfect pairings no matter what the occasion. From white wines to blushes to reds, including grape and a variety of farm based fruits, our popular wines are delicious on their own and offer fascinating food and wine adventures. Elegant and dry – to complement any meal, or sweet and fruity – for aperitif or dessert, we invite you to discover the artistry of winemaking. We also consistently produce our own line of handcrafted micro-brewed beers. Offering only NVW award winning wines and hand crafted beers. Charges are based on consumption. Please ask for our current wine and beer offerings.
Upon the signing of our "Request for Use of Facilities Agreement", a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the minimum food guarantee is required to reserve your date.
All non-refundable deposits are forfeited upon cancellation of event.
* All chargeable items, are subject to 19.0% Charge of Service, and 7.0% Sales Tax. Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 149, Section 152A, the Charge of Service represents a 12% tip/service charge to be paid to the wait staff and a 7% house/administrative charge to be paid to other staff members, including chefs and managers that perform services for the event. The allocation of and distribution of the house/administrative charge is in the sole discretion of Nashoba Valley Spirits, Ltd.


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Assessment |
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Cognitive Psychology: Attention · Decision making · Learning · Judgement · Memory · Motivation · Perception · Reasoning · Thinking - Cognitive processes Cognition - Outline Index
In optics and heat transfer, reflectivity is the fraction of incident radiation reflected by a surface. In full generality it must be treated as a directional property that is a function of the reflected direction, the incident direction, and the incident wavelength. However it is also common averaged over the reflected hemisphere as follows
$ \rho(\lambda) = \frac{G_{refl}(\lambda)}{G_{incid}(\lambda)} $
where $ G_{refl}(\lambda) $ and $ G_{incid}(\lambda) $ are reflected and incident spectral intensities, respectively.
Note: The above equation is actually a ratio rather than an average. This should be fixed.
This can be further averaged over all wavelengths to give the total hemispherical reflectivity,
$ \rho = \frac{G_{refl}}{G_{incid}} $
Going back to the fact that reflectivity is a directional property, it should be noted that most surfaces can be divided into those that are specular and those that are diffuse.
For specular surfaces, such as glass or polished metal, reflectivity will be nearly zero at all angles except at the appropriate reflected angle.
For diffuse surfaces, such as matt white paint, reflectivity is uniform; radiation is reflected in all angles equally or near-equally. Such surfaces are said to be Lambertian.
Most real objects have some mixture of diffuse and specular reflective properties.
See also Specular reflection and Diffuse reflection.
In depth Edit
In certain fields, reflectivity is distinguished from reflectance by the fact that reflectivity is a value that applies to thick reflecting objects. When reflection occurs from thin layers of material, internal reflection effects can cause the reflectance to vary with surface thickness. Reflectivity is the limit value of reflectance as the surface becomes thick; it is the intrinsic reflectance of the surface, hence irrespective of other parameters such as the reflectance of the rear surface.
Fresnel reflection Edit
Fresnel reflection occurs when light moves from a medium with one index of refraction into a second medium with a different index of refraction.
Water reflectivity Edit
That part of incident light that is reflected from a body of water is specular and is calculated by the Fresnel equations. Fresnel reflection is directional and therefore does not contribute significantly to albedo which is primarily diffuse reflection.
A real water surface may be wavy. Reflectivity assuming a flat surface as given by the Fresnel equations can be adjusted to account for waviness. A formula and graph for correction for waviness for two different wave energy spectrum definitions exists. [1]
Metal reflectance Edit
See also Edit
- Photometry (optics) Main Photometry/Radiometry article
- Transmissivity
- Absorptivity
- Emissivity
- Federal Standard 1037C (clarification required)
External linksEdit
- Reflectance Data Painted surfaces etc.
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).


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It's one of those stories that make you think that sometimes things work out the way they should. In 1967, some lowlife stole Donald DeVault's 1953 Triumph Tiger 100. Last week, DeVault, who is 73, was told that federal law enforcement agents discovered his stolen bike on the docks in Los Angeles as it was about to be shipped to Japan, according to this AP story. They're sending it back to his home in Omaha, Neb.
Which reminds me….. as a longtime biker, I've often thought about how to keep the beast (there have been about 20 of them, over the years) tethered to home base. It's not easy. The best way is to keep it inside a locked garage. My paranoia now has me putting a lock on the front brake disk and a cable lock around the rear wheel and through an eye-bolt driven into the garage foundation. That may seem extreme, but, then again, I don't want the hassle that comes with having the bike stolen.
So… try not to park it overnight on the street. Do put a bunch of high-strength cable or chain locks around it. And read more about how to keep your bike yours in this piece from Motorcycle Cruiser.


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Bank of America said in early September that wealth-management head Sallie Krawcheck was leaving the company as part of a major reorganization of the bank and its operations. It also announced plans to cut some 30,000 jobs over the next several years and $5 billion a year by 2014, though it says it continues to hire financial advisors.
On September 6, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan went public with plans to reorganize the bank's management and operating units around its three core customer groups: individuals, companies and institutional investors. He appointed David Darnell and Tom Montag to the new posts of co-chief operating officers and made them immediately accountable for all operations. Darnell is now in charge of the "individual customer" track, including the 16,240-strong Merrill Lynch advisor force, Merrill Edge advisors and reps with U.S. Trust.
Roughly two years ago, Bank of America selected Krawcheck, a veteran of both Sanford Bernstein and Citigroup, as the head of its global wealth and investment management group, which had just come to include Merrill Lynch. "I am pleased with the work the team has done, in particular the strong performance of the business," Krawcheck said in a statement. "It has been an honor to lead Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management during a challenging time."
Time to Streamline
"Sallie has led the wealth management businesses through an important integration with the broader franchise," said Moynihan. "Delayering and simplifying at the scale in which we operate requires difficult decisions."
Given the need for further streamlining of staff and management at BofA, "Moynihan is doing the right thing," said Chip Roame, head of the consultancy Tiburon Strategic Advisors in a phone interview. "The super focus on clients and the other associated changes are all good things."
BofA had to do more delayering in order to boost profits, Roame says. "This means making it smaller throughout the organization — not just at the lower levels but at higher levels, where it's top heavy, too," he explained. "And Moynihan really made this organization have some clean lines."
Darnell joined BofA as a credit analyst in 1979 and most recently has served as head of Global Commercial Banking. He also led the Middle Market Banking Group and the bank's consumer and commercial banking operations in the central region of the U.S., based in St. Louis.
"Bank of America's Project New BAC is key to the company's strategy of focusing all of its resources on serving individuals, companies, and institutional investors," BofA explained in a recent statement. "The first result of New BAC was the recently announced management reorganization, removing a layer of management and streamlining the company by aligning its businesses with the customer groups."
"As the decisions are implemented, employment levels in the areas under review during Phase I are expected to be reduced by approximately 30,000 jobs over the next few years," BofA added. "The company expects that attrition and the elimination of appropriate unfilled roles will be a significant part of the anticipated decrease in jobs."
BofA says it expects the first stage of its cost-cutting efforts to "lead to net expense reductions of $5 billion per year by 2014, on a baseline of $27 billion in annual expenses for the areas the company reviewed."
Krawcheck's dismissal, says analyst Nancy Bush of SNL Financial, appears to be a circumstance that was tied to the loss of the job within BofA itself, rather than any specific shortfall in her performance. "The reporting structure changed, and that position was folded into the new organization under Darnell," Bush explained. "At the same time, it gave BofA the chance to move someone out who was in a high-earning position."
Wealth Management
Meanwhile, the number of Merrill Lynch advisors has been rising. It totaled 16,241 in the second quarter of 2010, up from 15,299 last year and 15,695 in the first quarter. Sales (or fees and commissions) per advisor on a trailing-12-month basis totaled $894,000 in Q2 vs. $843,000 last year and $931,000 in Q1.
In late August, Merrill hired 38 Merrill Edge advisors serving mass-affluent clients in and around Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. The hiring is part of BofA-Merrill's plan to nearly double the number of Financial Solutions Advisors to 1,000-plus by year-end.
"This is not a clamp down on wealth management," said Bush. "It's aimed at the branch network and the loans, credit cards and other products that go with this network."
BofA has added some 200,000 employees over the past five years through six acquisitions, Bush explains. "This is the first time in two decades that the company has stopped, looked around and decided that it doesn't need all this. I really believe it's a rationalization that primarily focused on the branches. They are reassuring [investors] that they will continue to add financial advisors as part of [improving the] potential of the wealth-management group."
Some recruiters, however, are expressing concerns that the negative news surrounding BofA could hurt its "thundering herd" of advisors. "Many Merrill advisors we speak with are acknowledging that they may need to leave soon," said Mindy Diamond of Diamond Consultants in a phone interview. "Advisors were surprised by her departure and are now really concerned. It's been a tumultuous time for them … and with so much going on, it reminds them of 2008."
In late August, for instance, three Merrill advisors moved to UBS, which is now led by former Merrill executive Bob McCann. The advisors have combined yearly production of $2.85 million and $450 million in assets under management, according to UBS.
Over the past year and half, some Merrill advisors have been complaining about the hierarchy and other aspects of the firm's bank culture, the tremendous volatility of BofA stock (BAC) and issues surrounding Countrywide, the troubled mortgage firm it bought in 2008, says Diamond, who does recruiting for rival Morgan Stanley and other clients.
In late August, the bank sold about half its interest in a Chinese financial organization for $8.3 billion, and Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, invested some $5 billion in BofA.
"I've heard for a while, that the bank mandates are not meshing well with the entrepreneurial spirit of the advisors and their desire to offer the best service possible to clients," she explained. "Now, they'll be reporting to bankers everywhere they look, and bankers aren't known to get the advisor mentality …. They are concerned that [Krawcheck's] departure comes on the heels of other developments that have a negative impact on advisors."
In late April, Krawcheck tapped John Thiel, who was in charge of the private bank and investment group for Merrill at the time, to lead the "thundering herd." Thiel joined Merrill as an advisor in Tampa, Fla., in 1989.
"John Thiel is very highly regarded by advisors," said Mark Elzweig of the executive-search consultancy Elzweig & Co in an interview. "As a general rule, most advisors are primarily focused on their own practices and take changes in senior management at 20,000 feet above them in stride."
Changes to compensation, such as moving from a traditional broker fee-and-commission plan to a salary-and-bonus configuration would "be a death knell," Diamond adds. But Darnell has told his fellow executives that there will be no changes to compensation plans, according to a company spokesperson, and he is said to be keenly aware of the talk on the Street (including rumors) about advisor pay.
For some big producers, says Diamond, "January 2012 is a significant inflection point … when they will receive the last part of their retention bonus," and that could be a time when some will consider leaving more seriously. "They are white knuckling it at present," she added.
Advisors are used to management changes, explains compensation consultant Andy Tasnady. "There's ample other management and senior staff in place below Krawcheck," he shared in an interview, noting that the attitude of the new leader will be the crucial determinant in how Merrill's "thundering herd" responds to the BofA reorganization.


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Wall Street Journal Reports: Home Values Post 12 Straight Months of Increases
National home values rose by 1.1% in October from September, the largest monthly gain in seven years, according to a report released Wednesday by Zillow, the online real-estate information company.
It's the first time housing markets have posted 12 straight monthly gains in the Zillow survey since the housing sector's long slide began in 2006. "We've reached a milestone," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist.
All of the 30 largest metro areas tracked by Zillow posted gains in October from September except for Chicago.
Nationally, home values were up by 4.7% from one year ago, with some 26 of 30 markets seeing rising values, led by Phoenix's gain of 22.3%, San Jose, Calif. (11.4%), Denver (10.4%), San Francisco (9.5%) and Miami (8.8%). The only cities with year-over-year declines included Atlanta (-2.4%), Chicago (-2.1%), New York (-1.2%) and Philadelphia (-0.9%).
Home values have lifted off of their depressed levels of one year ago for a variety of reasons. Homes are more affordable, particularly after considering how far mortgage rates have fallen, though affordability has been high for a couple of years now. Job growth, while modest, has stayed positive.
Of course, those conditions were present through much of 2011, when the housing market was still in a major funk.
So what's changed this year?
Inventories have plunged to their lowest levels in a decade, despite the much-ballyhooed "shadow" inventory of potential foreclosures, as investors moved in to buy up homes for a steal.
And there have been more buyers chasing fewer homes, as rising rents, increased household formation, and improving consumer confidence have kicked demand into higher gear.
At the beginning of the year, Mr. Humphries' forecast called for a modest decline home prices for 2012. Now, he says, "the bottom line is that homes are more affordable than at any time in recent memory, and buyers are seizing this opportunity."
Mr. Humphries says he expects demand to pick up even more next year.
Follow Nick @NickTimiraos


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Patterned Floral Photo
Baptism & Christening Invitations
Patterned Floral Photo, Item# CIPH7581B
Note: Sparkles are simulated and will not light up.
Patterned Floral Photo, Item# CIPH7581B
Note: Sparkles are simulated and will not light up.
Patterned Floral Photo Thank You Card
Driving Directions Card
$0.89 - $1.79
Godparents Insert Card
Your Baby Photo Postage Stamps
Personalized Christening Beverage Napkin 1
Personalized Christening Luncheon Napkin 1
Place Card
Photo Round Sticker Favor Label
Photo Rectangular Sticker Favor Label
Photo Gift Tag Stickers
Our modern photo Baptism Christening invitation, "Patterned Floral Photo" features an elegant floral pattern in the top section of the card, above a horizontal ribbon-like design. These graphics lie behind your photo. Below the ribbon, an echo of the pattern in grey fades into the white background. Choose from many color options to complement your personal style!
*Matching items available upon request.*
You will be able to select the typestyle and ink colors to use for your personalized text during the design process. Start by clicking on the green 'Personalize and Continue' button. We recommend using the default typestyle and ink colors.
|Estimated Postage Required:
|$0.55 stamp - if other items are not added into the Envelope. Click here for additional postage information.
|Item Type:
|Flat Card
|Card Dimensions:
|5.25" x 7.5" (W x H)
|Printing Process:
|Digital Press
|Paper Weight:
|Multiple Stock Options
|Typestyle Shown:
|ModernB and Great Vibes
|Matching Ink Color:
|Charcoal and Sage
|Your choice of White or Cream Envelopes included. Colored envelopes available for an additional cost. Printed return address and/or Calligraphy is available for an additional cost.
|Inner Lined Envelopes:
|Inner Lined Envelopes available for an Additional $.40 each. Choose from 20 different colors.


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1. Open your Mozilla Thunderbird.
2. Go to Tools > Account Settings.
3. Click Create a new account.
4. Choose Skip this and use my existing email.
5. Enter Your name, full Email address and Password , click Continue.
6. At Mail account setup configure screen,choose Manual config .
7. Select the type of incoming server : IMAP.
Enter the name of your Incoming and Outgoing mail server: mail. (enter your domain name) with Port number 143.
8. Username will be your full email such as email@example.com
9. Click on Re-test the configuration and Click Done.
10. Back to your Thunderbird main menu and go to Outgoing Server and confirm your Outgoing SMTP server.
11. Check the Use name and password box and assign your email account to the User Name
and select No for Use secure connection.
12. You may start using Thunderbird by clicking on the top left Get Mail button.


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When MP3s first came on the scene, some industry observers doubted they would ever catch on because, so the argument went, music lovers would not trade the "physical experience" of a record or CD for the empty, unsatisfying experience of a virtual good that could be electronically downloaded. Well, we know how that one turned out for music.
The video download business, on the other hand, has not fully made that transition. Sure, people do download movies, from both legitimate and illegitimate sources, but the vast majority of video distribution (in the broadest sense of the world) outside of cable/satellite is still based on physical goods, whether rented at the supermarket or bought out of the back of a van.
With increasing bandwidth, emerging media home networking standards, and ever-lower storage costs, it would seem that we are on the verge of the "download-to-own" and "download-to-rent" markets taking off, right? Well we've been on the verge for a while now, and I don't think it's a matter of technology. What if that's the wrong model for video content?
In the meantime, streaming has emerged as the distribution model of choice for short-form video, including user-generated content: YouTube serves 1B streams per day. Increasingly, streaming video is also extending to TV programs and feature film, ie professionally-produced, long-form content. In the US, Hulu alone sources roughly 1 billion streams per month. Traditional broadcasters around the world (including the BBC) are also getting in on the action, with TV Everywhere, Catch-up TV and Over-the-top being variations on a common theme.
As more and more consumer electronics devices have built-in Internet access, whether it's a $69 broadband box or a $1,000 Connected TV, we are getting to the point where accessing content in the cloud is not only technically feasible, it is just much more convenient. No longer having to move files around, I can access the content wherever I may roam.
There is still much room for business model innovation. "Paywall" seems to be the buzzword of the month. (Whatever happened to "subscription"?) Time-based access such as rental also lends itself to streaming. But there is also an opportunity to use streaming for content that users have "bought", although not too many people seem to be using this model yet.
Think of it as a permanent right to access the content you've bought, without being burdened by moving files around. I call this the Ownwall. The greatest consumer benefit is that the content is available wherever there is an Internet connection — and these days, in most areas you need to try hard to go somewhere where there isn't one.
A couple of industry initiatives like DECE and KeyChest are promoting the notion of a "rights locker" that keeps track of all the content you've bought. Maybe this is just me, but the term "rights locker" elicits some negative associations — smelly socks and athlete's foot. What did my rights do wrong to get locked up? My reservations with the terminology aside, if successful these initiatives will represent a step in the right direction. (Nyuk, nyuk. Get it? The right direction. I crack myself up sometimes).
Consumers will be able to aggregate the content they purchase from any participating retailer and download it to their devices. DECE goes beyond this by defining their own media format and enabling content downloaded to one device to be side-loaded to another device, as long as it is in the user's "domain" of approved devices. (Full disclosure: I represent Adobe in DECE; however, the description provided here is based on publicly available information.)
Now, if all content lives in the cloud and I can stream it to my notebook/netbook/tablet/smarphone/smartbook/connected TV/[add device not yet invented here], then maybe all of this could be a lot simpler. I could go around buying content, and have instant access to it on any Internet-enabled device. Interoperability is handled in the cloud, which is not as daunting as it sounds, since in practice there really aren't that many complete platforms for video distribution out there.
But wait, there's more: as the technology gets better (more interactivity, higher resolution, 3D, 4D, holodeck), so can my content experience. I don't need to re-download, because I never downloaded in the first place; the next time I go to watch the movie, I am pleasantly surprised by the upgraded experience.
Most of this is possible today — well, maybe not the 4D stuff. There are still some open questions, such as "How can I be sure I can go back 20 years from now and still retrieve my content?" (I would answer that one with another question: do you use Gmail?) Or "What if I'm on a plane or in a submarine and can't access the Internet?" (I say design for the main use case and accommodate the corner case, not the other way around.)
At the end of the day, consumers will provide the answer. As technology/content providers our role is to enable and experiment, and then let the market decide. What do you think will be the predominant model? Is 'own-to-stream' the new 'download-to-own'?
Twitter: @florianatadobe


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Derrick Breidenthal
Derrick Breidenthal has been developing and producing fine art for over twenty-five years. His work has been showcased throughout the US. His art is heavily influenced by rural America. The combination of severe space, light and color in Derrick's work reveal much more than the precise site itself. Vibrant and enthusiastic to traumatized and bare; these are the landscapes that emerge in his work. Some permanent collections include The Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell, IA, H&R Block, Kansas City, MO, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, MMG Worldwide, Kansas City, MO, W Hotel Collection, Detroit, MI, and Viceroy Snowmass, Aspen, CO. Derrick is a Missouri native, moving back to Kansas City in 2004 after 10 years of living in Colorado. His studio is based in the Crossroads Art District in Kansas City, Missouri.
To see smaller work of Derrick's, please visit our other site here: www.enormoustinyart.com/collections/derrick-breidenthal


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Year 7 - Percentage
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Contents: Percentage
Percentages for class 7
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