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Consumer confidence in the economy and personal finances, which are key economic indicators, worsened in June to the lowest levels since January 2012. The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor, a 5-year-old daily poll tracking economic confidence and spending intentions of nearly 8,200 consumers throughout the month, declined 4.8 points to 90.7 in June.
The percentage of respondents who view the U.S. economy as improving dropped 4 percentage points to 29 percent in June.
At the same time, 53 percent of consumers now rate the U.S. economy as poor, which is an increase of 3 percentage points from the prior month and the highest level since January 2012.
Half of women now expect the economy to get worse, up 4 percentage points from last month; only 48 percent of men expect the same economic trend, and this remains unchanged from the prior month.
The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., the global multi-brand and multi-platform media and direct marketing company, today announced the sale of substantially all of its Lifestyle and Entertainment Direct business to Mosaic Media Investment Partners LLC.
The sale will better enable RDA to focus on its stated strategy of simplifying the organization's structure to drive greater profitability and growth in the Company's two core media and direct marketing businesses.
The sale includes Direct Holdings Americas, Saguaro Road Records and many of the assets of Direct Entertainment Media Group. The sale proceeds were not material.
Golfsmith International Holdings, Inc. today announced preliminary sales results for the second quarter of fiscal 2012.
Net revenues for the thirteen-week period ended June 30, 2012, increased approximately 12 percent to $146.0 million as compared to net revenues of $130.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Net revenues reflect a 4.7 percent increase in comparable store sales and a 4.8 percent decrease in net revenues from the direct-to-consumer channel. The sales decline in the direct-to-consumer business reflects a 27.1 percent decrease in our catalog business associated with the declines in the clubmaker catalog channel, partially offset by an 8.3 percent increase in the web channel. The Company has opened 10 new stores and has not closed any stores since the second quarter of last year.
Net revenues for the twenty-six-week period ended June 30, 2012, increased approximately 12 percent to $237.0 million as compared to net revenues of $211.7 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Net revenues reflect a 6.2 percent increase in comparable store sales and a 5.7 percent decrease in net revenues from the direct-to-consumer channel. The sales decline in the direct-to-consumer business reflects a 27.5 percent decrease in our catalog business associated with the declines in the clubmaker catalog channel, partially offset by an 8.0 percent increase in the web channel.
UPS Freight, the nation's fourth largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, today announced a general rate increase averaging 5.9 percent covering non-contractual shipments in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The rate adjustment takes effect on July 16, 2012, and applies to minimum charge, LTL rates and accessorial charges. Customers will be able to view and download the new rates at www.ltl.upsfreight.com.
UPS Freight's portfolio of services includes UPS WorldShip and Quantum View Manage technology, allowing both small package and LTL freight customers the capability to create bills of lading, schedule freight pickups, receive rate quotes and easily track shipments.
Sun Chemical, the world's leading manufacturer of printing inks and pigments, is today launching the Streamline ESL HPQ and the Streamline Ultima HPQ, to meet the stringent demands of the latest wide format printing equipment.
The Streamline range is designed specifically for use in wide and super-wide format printers which are using high-quality solvent based inks. With the ever increasing pressure and developments of the print market, Sun Chemical is continuously making improvements to product performance ensuring that they are of the highest quality and meet the needs of this expanding market.
The Streamline ESL HPQ and Ultima HPQ ranges have been developed following extensive feedback of customer needs. The new products provide high print reliability and print quality.
Nick Goodall, The Colour Crew General Manager, participated in the beta testing scheme for Sun Chemical's Streamline Ultima HPQ and commented: "We've had a very positive experience with Ultima HPQ - no problems at all! We had an issue with blocked ink heads with our previous ink system which increased the amount of down time. Cleaning and replacing them was a significant cost to the business. Essentially, with Sun Chemical's Streamline ink system, we're getting the highest quality ink product and performance at half the price of OEM."
DS Smith Plc is pleased to announce that completion of the Acquisition of the packaging division of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA excluding the kraftliner assets occurred on 30 June 2012 as planned.
The consideration paid on Completion was €1,582 million (£1,280 million) net of cash and external debt, €1,606 million gross. This is subject to customary post Completion price adjustments.
SCA Packaging is the second largest packaging business in Europe and the Acquisition represents a significant opportunity for DS Smith to achieve its stated strategic aim of becoming the leading supplier of recycled packaging for consumer goods in Europe.
Bloomsbury announces that it has today completed the purchase of Applied Visual Arts Publishing ("AVA"), creative publishers for the applied digital arts, from Applied Visual Arts Publishing SA and AVA Publishing (UK) Limited for a total consideration of CHF 2,578,930 (approximately £1,730,000). The consideration will be paid in cash from existing cash balances in three equal annual instalments, commencing on the date of completion.
AVA, established in 2001 in Switzerland, with its English language editorial support office in Worthing, publishes between 20 and 30 books per annum for students and professionals in the applied visual arts and had a turnover of £1,820,000 for the year ended 31 December 2011. The books are written by leading academic authorities, and have been adopted by many hundreds of universities, colleges and higher education bodies around the world. AVA has a strong following within the design community. Their books are renowned for being design-led and have a particular appeal for visual learners.
Oil declined in New York as euro-area unemployment reached the highest level on record, prompting speculation that crude's surge last week, its biggest in three years, may have been excessive.
The jobless rate in the 17-nation area rose to 11.1 percent in May from 11 percent in April, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That's the highest since the data series started in 1995. China's manufacturing activity slowed in June, according to HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics. An EU embargo on Iranian oil started yesterday.
"Crude's strong movement last week was a bit too much too fast probably, so today we're seeing it a bit lower again," said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Vienna, who correctly predicted Brent crude would rebound at the end of last month. "Headwinds from the euro zone" may delay oil's recovery, he said.
Crude for August delivery dropped as much as $1.44 to $83.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $83.65 at 10:11 a.m. London time. The contract gained $7.27 on June 29 to $84.96, the highest close since June 7.
The Financial Times has rolled out a print and digital ad campaign in the U.S. The budget was not disclosed, but the newspaper said it will be a multimillion-dollar program.
The campaign, from agency DDB London, includes ads placed in print and online editions of Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN Money, The Economist, Fast Company, Fortune and New Scientist throughout the summer.
Campaign creative focuses on the American flag. One ad features an image thousands of red, white and blue cars forming the flag to emphasize U.S. manufacturing power. Another depicts an oil-drilling rig against rock strata, again represented by the American flag, to portray the country's energy challenges.
It takes the average reader just seven hours to read the final book in Suzanne Collins's "Hunger Games" trilogy on the Kobo e-reader—about 57 pages an hour. Nearly 18,000 Kindle readers have highlighted the same line from the second book in the series: "Because sometimes things happen to people and they're not equipped to deal with them." And on Barnes & Noble's Nook, the first thing that most readers do upon finishing the first "Hunger Games" book is to download the next one.
In the past, publishers and authors had no way of knowing what happens when a reader sits down with a book. Does the reader quit after three pages, or finish it in a single sitting? Do most readers skip over the introduction, or read it closely, underlining passages and scrawling notes in the margins? Now, e-books are providing a glimpse into the story behind the sales figures, revealing not only how many people buy particular books, but how intensely they read them.
For centuries, reading has largely been a solitary and private act, an intimate exchange between the reader and the words on the page. But the rise of digital books has prompted a profound shift in the way we read, transforming the activity into something measurable and quasi-public.
The major new players in e-book publishing—Amazon, Apple and Google—can easily track how far readers are getting in books, how long they spend reading them and which search terms they use to find books. Book apps for tablets like the iPad, Kindle Fire and Nook record how many times readers open the app and how much time they spend reading. Retailers and some publishers are beginning to sift through the data, gaining unprecedented insight into how people engage with books.
All pulp and paper operations are now back up and running at Cloquet. Our entire Cloquet team rallied to get us fully back to business without any serious injury or environmental impact. Their quick response to record breaking flood levels allowed us to avoid any permanent damage to the mill infrastructure. Even most WIP and finished goods inventory was protected from water damage – with shipping activity out of the mill starting last Saturday.
Meanwhile, as Cloquet continues to work on flood clean-up, our customer service and supply chain teams remain in full gear, contacting you with any delays, rescheduling deliveries, and fulfilling orders from inventory. As a result of this teamwork, most customer orders have been unaffected by the regional flood. For those of you who have experienced a delay, we do thank you for your patience and understanding. We continue to work hard to minimize any further service disruptions.
We stand ready to meet your needs, with full inventories and flexible machine schedules at both Somerset and Cloquet. McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo are fully stocked and readily available – as is our dedicated sales team. Please call your Sappi sales representative with any questions on how we can serve you better, and to place your orders.
Verso Paper Corp. (NYSE:VRS) today launched the Verso Forest Certification Grant Program, an initiative aimed at increasing certified fiber and certified acreage on lands near the company's four paper mills. The program will provide start-up funding to encourage and assist landowners, consulting foresters and other stakeholders in developing innovative new projects that will help expand and maintain certification in Verso's wood procurement zones.
"Verso's Forest Certification Grant Program helps us meet two important sustainability commitments," says Verso Senior Vice President for Manufacturing and Energy Lyle Fellows. "By encouraging expanded forest certification, we're advancing responsible management practices that keep U.S. forests vibrant and healthy. We're also helping to increase the available supply of certified fiber which, in turn, allows us to keep our pledge to provide paper products that help our customers meet their own sustainability objectives," he says.
"Verso already uses a high percentage of fiber that's certified to credible forest management certification standards — about 70 percent, but the availability of certified fiber in the United States remains limited with only about 28 percent of privately owned U.S. land certified," explains Verso Senior Vice President for Sales, Marketing and Product Development Mike Weinhold. "With customer demand for certified paper products increasing significantly, it's vital that we do all we can to make sure the supply of certified fiber keeps pace."
The Forest Certification Grant Program builds on Verso's track record of successful forest certification expansion initiatives. In 2011, the company completed a two-year group certification project in partnership with several of its customers and other stakeholders that resulted in an additional 1.4 million certified acres in Maine. In 2009 and 2010, a Verso grant to the Trust to Conserve Northeast Forestlands resulted in 160,000 additional certified acres across six Northeast states. Verso regularly encourages certification through collaboration with state forestry associations and certification organizations, and through its relationships with private landowners.
RockTenn today released its inaugural Corporate Sustainability Report, which affirms the company's long-standing commitment to sustainability and outlines its 2020 sustainability goals.
"RockTenn has been producing paper-based packaging from recycled materials since our founding in 1936," said Jim Rubright, Chairman and CEO of RockTenn. "Our core business activities were founded on recycling products that create economic value by reusing materials otherwise bound for waste streams.
"Our belief is that our operations can be more than consistent with an environmentally sustainable planet. We can be part of the solution and have a net positive impact on the environment," Rubright continued. "These formal sustainability goals are further evidence of our ongoing commitment to our environment, our people and our performance."
RockTenn's 2020 Sustainability Goals Reduce energy use by 10 percent Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent Reduce water use by 12 percent Reduce solid waste by 15 percent Achieve chain-of-custody certifications for 100 percent of facilities Improve employee safety by 30 percent
Despite steadying mail volume and revenue, the U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $2.1 million for the month of May, the eighth month of its fiscal year. The Postal Service has lost $10.1 billion year-to-date.
Total mail volume increased in May by 1.1% over the year-earlier period, to 13.1 billion pieces, with monthly revenue up 3.1%, to $5.3 billion. One other bright spot was shipping services, which saw volume double, to 274.8 million pieces, and a 40% boost in revenue, to $1.1 billion for the month.
Standard mail, used most often for commercial mailings, experienced a slight increase in volume. However, first-class mail continued to fall both in volume and revenue. Also, the Postal Service was obliged to pay $1.7 billion to prefund retiree health benefits and workers compensation for the month. Operating expenses rose 13.4%, driven by higher worker compensation costs and benefits.
Today, with the launch of magazines on Google Play, American Media, Inc. (AMI) is making 11 of its most popular titles available for purchase and reading on Android smartphones and tablets. Readers can buy single issues or subscribe to save on their favorite magazines, and enjoy digital magazines in full-color with interactive features, multimedia, reflowable text and a clickable table of contents. In the Google Play store, you can browse and buy from a wide selection of magazines including AMI's health, wellness, beauty, lifestyle and celebrity titles such as SHAPE, Men's Fitness, OK!, Star, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health, Muscle & Fitness, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Flex, Soap Opera Digest and Country Weekly. We're making single issues of those titles available for 99-cents for a limited time to celebrate the launch of our magazines on Google Play.
"We're very excited to offer our dedicated readers an easy and interactive way to enjoy our publications," said David J. Pecker, AMI's Chairman, President and CEO. "In the fast paced and ever evolving world of media it is paramount for AMI to provide our audience with the most innovative, easily accessible and up-to-date information platform as possible."
Readers can buy new issues or back issues, subscribe and get free 14-day trial, and customize their reading experiences on their Android tablets or phones.
A first-half 2012 media M&A report was released today by investment bankers The Jordan, Edmiston Group Inc. and sales activity and values jumped significantly over the same period last year. Overall, the number of deals was up 52 percent to 652 while value rose 49 percent to $32 billion for the period. Marketing services-related transactions continue to drive the market.
This growth in M&A comes in the midst of very challenging macro economic issues, JEGI points out. Unemployment is still high in the U.S., Europe is challenged and big IPOs are lackluster. Nevertheless, market forces are proceeding at a rapid pace with digital engagement, social media and, especially, mobile having a huge impact on media. Consequently, companies are scrambling to get up to speed to build out and/or acquire marketing services operations to keep up with the consumer transition to digital and mobile.
All of this is to say the Marketing Services category has once again led the way in both number of transactions and overall value, according to JEGI. By itself, Marketing and Interactive Services accounted for 40 percent of the first-half transactions and 27 percent of the value. Combine that with three other related categories—B-to-B and B-to-C Online Media and Technology and Mobile Media and Technology—and you have 79 percent of the deals and 75 percent of the value.
NewPoint Media Group, LLC, a new company formed by two senior managers at Network Communications Inc., has acquired six of NCI's major real estate brands as well as that company's printing facilities.
The new company, with NCI executives Scott Dixon and Stuart Christian as CEO and president, respectively, partnered with the private-equity firm Lion Equity Partners in the transaction. NCI is based in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Included in the deal are the Real Estate Book, Mature Living Choices, Senior Living Choices, New Home Finder, New Homes & Ideas, and New Homes Journal brands, along with NCI's publication printing division and facilities.
NCI, controlled by Beachpoint Partners, retains the assets associated with Apartment Finder, Unique Homes, ByDesign Publishing, along with home design titles and Digital Sherpa division.
NCI and NewPoint will continue to have an ongoing business relationship. NCI will provide distribution services to NewPoint while NewPoint provides printing services to NCI.
Domtar Corporation today released its 2011 Sustainable Growth Report, unveiling 35 key performance indicators that will shape the company's sustainability efforts out to 2020. This sustainability framework builds on years of industry leadership in forestry certification, mill-level environmental performance and longstanding ENGO collaborations.
This year also marks the first time Domtar is issuing a level-checked "B" Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report, as well as the first time that outside perspective from sustainability experts in the private sector and civil society is being featured.
"The release of a key performance indicator framework is an important milestone in our long-term sustainability strategy," noted John D. Williams, Domtar President and Chief Executive Officer. "By addressing sustainability in a systematic way we are making this company more resilient, better able to seize opportunities for innovation and growth, as well as more open to constructive input from our shareholders, customers, suppliers, and environmental partners. All of this supports our evolution from papermaker to fiber innovator that positions us for success over the long term."
For more information please visit the Sustainability section of www.domtar.com
Bonnier Corp.'s most popular brands, including Popular Science, Saveur, Parenting and Islands, are now available for purchase with the launch of magazines on Google Play. Google Play is a digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite music, movies, books, apps … and now magazines.
The agreement between Bonnier and Google allows readers using their Android smartphones and tablets to purchase single issues or subscribe to more than 35 Bonnier brands.
To celebrate the launch of its top magazines on Google Play, readers can purchase an issue of some of their favorite Bonnier titles for only 99 cents. Titles available for this limited-time offer include: Popular Science, Saveur, Parenting, Islands, Popular Photography, Flying, Sport Fishing, TransWorld SKATEboarding, TransWorld Ride BMX, TransWorld Surf and TransWorld Motocross.
"This new partnership with Google expands our commitment to giving our customers access to our brands anytime, any place and anywhere. We're thrilled that they now can enjoy their favorite Bonnier magazines on Google Play on Android smartphones and tablets," said Terry Snow, CEO of Bonnier Crop.
AAA's Fuel Gage Report as of 6/29/12National Unleaded Regular:Current Average - $3.353/gallonMonth Ago Average - $3.626/gallonYear Ago Average - $3.543/gallonHighest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08Diesel:Current Average - $3.670/gallonMonth Ago Average - $3.934/gallonYear Ago Average - $3.911/gallonHighest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08
Current Exchange Rates as of 6/28/12American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.972895 (120 day high - 1.01905 on April 26, 2012; low 0.961252 on June 5, 2012)American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.157272 (120 day high – 0.159363 on May 2, 2012; low 0.156858 on June 8, 2012)American Dollar to Euro = 1.2418 (120 day high - 1.3454 on February 28, 2012; low 1.2322 on June 1, 2012)American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.0125943 (120 day high – 0.0131387 on February 2, 2012; low 0.0119026 on March 21, 2012)American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.0733891 (120 day high – 0.0793808 on March 14, 2012; low 0.0691788 on June 1, 2012)
Oil rebounded from the lowest close in almost nine months in New York on speculation that European measures aimed at fighting the region's debt crisis will spur demand for fuel.
Crude increased as much as 3.2 percent, trimming the biggest quarterly decline since the final three months of 2008. Oil gained after euro-area leaders agreed to relax conditions on emergency loans for Spanish banks and possible help for Italy. Prices may advance after the European Union's ban on the purchase, transport, financing and insurance of Iranian crude starts on July 1, a Bloomberg survey showed. Norway's first industrywide energy strike since 2004 is in its sixth day.
"Eased liquidity is good for the oil price and that is the key influence right now," Torbjoern Kjus, an oil analyst at DnB ASA (DNB), said by phone from Oslo. Tightening sanctions on Iran are a "wildcard," he said.
Oil for August delivery increased as much as $2.48 to $80.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $80.15 at 11:50 a.m. London time. The contract yesterday plunged $2.52, or 3.1 percent, to $77.69, the lowest close since Oct. 4.
American Greetings Corporation today announced its results for the first fiscal quarter ended May 25, 2012.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2013, the Company reported total revenue of $393.1 million, pre-tax income of $10.4 million and net income of $7.3 million or 20 cents per share (all per-share amounts assume dilution). Revenue was reduced by $1.4 million as a result of scan-based trading conversions that occurred during the quarter. The pre-tax income impact of the scan-based trading conversions was $1.0 million (after-tax $0.6 million, reducing earnings per share by about 2 cents). The Company also incurred pre-tax costs of $2.1 million (after-tax $1.3 million, reducing earnings per share by about 4 cents) associated with the termination of a contract within the Company's intellectual property licensing group.
Also during the first quarter, on May 9, 2012, the Company announced the acquisition for approximately $56.6 million of the senior secured debt of Clinton Cards PLC ("Clinton Cards"), one of the largest specialty retailers of greeting cards in the United Kingdom ("U.K."). Subsequently, Clinton Cards was placed into administration, a procedure similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, which gives the company, under the control of its administrators, an opportunity to restructure its business.
The Company subsequently announced, on June 7, 2012, the acquisition of assets of Clinton Cards, including approximately 400 stores and related overhead as well as the Clinton Cards and related brands. The impacts of this transaction will be reflected in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company reported total revenue of $403.7 million, pre-tax income of $50.8 million, and net income of $32.6 million or 78 cents per share. Revenue was reduced by $1.9 million as a result of scan-based trading conversions that occurred during the quarter.
Meredith Corporation today announced that it is offering digital editions of its most popular magazines, including such well-known titles as Family Circle, EveryDay with Rachael Ray, Ladies' Home Journal, Midwest Living and MORE, as magazines on Google Play.
On Google Play, consumers will be able to purchase a wide selection of magazines covering a variety of lifestyle interests — including fashion, food, travel, health, family and home decor — on Android smartphones and tablets. Single issues of Meredith titles will be available for just 99 cents for a limited time during the launch.
On Google Play, consumers can buy new or back issues of magazines and customize their reading experiences on their Android tablets or phones. Purchased magazines will be stored and accessible using cloud technology, enabling consumers to keep their favorite titles organized and easily browsed in a digital carousel. They will then be able to access these titles using the Google Play Magazines app for Android devices.
News Corporation today announced that it intends to pursue the separation of its publishing and media and entertainment businesses into two distinct publicly traded companies. Upon closing of such a transaction, shareholders would hold interests in a world-class publishing company, consisting of the largest collection of best-in-class publishing assets and a new digital education group, and an unmatched global media and entertainment company, each of which would benefit from enhanced strategic alignment and increased operational flexibility with respect to an unparalleled portfolio of assets, brands and franchises.
News Corporation's Board authorized management to explore this separation after a Board meeting yesterday.
The proposed transaction would create global category leaders in both publishing and entertainment: a publishing company, which would be comprised of News Corporation's newspapers and information businesses in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, the Company's leading book publishing brands, its integrated marketing services company, its digital education group, as well as its other assets in Australia; and a global media and entertainment company, which would encompass News Corporation's broadcast and worldwide cable networks, leading film and television production studios, television stations and highly successful pay-TV businesses in Europe and India.
Magazines have embraced the iPad but generally dissed the Google Android OS. Google wants to change that will the opening of Magazines on Google Play. With scores of titles across many of the major publishing houses on tap for this launch, the section lets the user buy a magazine on the Web and view it on any Android device. The cloud-based approach gives this newsstand certain advantages over the Apple Newsstand, in that users should be able to pick up a magazine where they left off across devices.
The downside of course is that there aren't many credible Android tablets on the market to appreciate the facsimile books at scale. From what we could tell in the early going, most of the titles are unenhanced facsimile editions of print that offer tap and pinch zooming and a reading mode that extracts texts. The design appears optimized for smartphones, which constitute almost all of the Android OS's massive base. The catalog does include an "Interactive" icon on many titles that appears to designate editions that offer more than straight ports of print content.
Publishers were ready to participate. Bonnier is leveraging the new digital store's pricing flexibility to offer 99-cent trials on some titles for a library of 35 they say will be available. Rodale too will be offering select recent issues of its books in Google Play for 99-cents. Hearst announced all 20 titles for the platform and Meredith says most of its portfolio will be here. Conde Nast's Wired is here as is Newsweek, Entrepreneur, Game Informer, Forbes, Atlantic and Maxim. A number of titles were leveraging the 99-issue offer.
With today's launch of magazines on Google Play, Hearst Magazines, one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, announces that all 20 of its popular magazine brands are now available for purchase and reading on Android smartphones and tablets. Readers can buy single issues or annual subscriptions to Hearst titles such as Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire, the newly launched HGTV Magazine and Marie Claire, and enjoy digital magazines in full-color with a clickable table of contents. Hearst will offer single copies of select titles—Esquire, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful and Seventeen—at $0.99 for a limited time to celebrate the launch of its magazines on Google Play. Four Hearst magazines—ELLE DECOR, Harper's Bazaar, House Beautiful and Popular Mechanics—will have interactive editions on Google Play, fully optimized for the tablet experience, with enhanced features such as video, tap-to-view large images and scrolling text. ELLE DECOR, Harper's Bazaar and House Beautiful will make their interactive debuts on Google Play. "We're thrilled to be partnering with Google on the launch of magazines on Google Play and that we'll have every one of our titles available, several of which will offer interactive features that really bring the pages to life," said Chris Wilkes, VP of the Hearst App Lab. "This development dovetails with our philosophy at Hearst to make our magazines available to consumers on every tablet and digital newsstand platform."
Readers can buy new issues, back issues and subscriptions to customize their reading experiences on their Android tablets or phones. Purchased magazines will be stored and accessible in-the-cloud, meaning you can keep your magazine stacks organized and easily browsed in a digital carousel, then pick up and flip through them wherever you are using the Google Play Magazines mobile app for Android devices.
Freedom Communications announced today that the sale of all of its newspaper properties in Florida and North Carolina to Halifax Media Group has closed.
The properties involved in the transaction include Holmes County Times-Advertiser, Bonifay, FL; Times-News, Burlington, NC; Havelock News, Havelock, NC; The Daily News, Jacksonville, NC; Free Press, Kinston, NC; The Star, Port St. Joe, FL; The Walton Sun, Santa Rosa Beach, FL; Washington County News, Chipley, FL; The Crestview News Bulletin, Crestview, FL; The Destin Log, Destin, FL; Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, FL; The Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC; Jones Post, Kinston, NC; Santa Rosa Press Gazette and Santa Rosa Free Press, Milton, FL; Sun Journal and The Shopper, New Bern, NC; The News Herald, Panama City, FL; The Star, Shelby, NC; The Times, Apalachicola, FL and The Topsail Advertiser, Surf City, NC.
"Providing value for our shareholders was a major goal of this transaction and the others we've undertaken," said Mark McEachen, Freedom Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. "At the same time we wanted to make sure current employees would transition to the new owner and that the new owner shared our view of the importance of community journalism."
Oil declined in London for the first time in five days amid speculation that the European Union's economy will fail to grow, as the region's leaders gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit.
Brent crude fell as much as 1.2 percent as the EU continued to battle the financial crisis that claimed Cyprus this week as its fifth victim. The euro reversed an advance against the dollar and European equities declined as Germany reported that unemployment in the euro region's biggest economy rose for a fourth month this year. The U.K. remains in recession after reporting today a 0.3 percent decline in gross domestic product in the last quarter.
"The oil price is a reflection of the market's expectation that there will be no growth in Europe for the next few years," said Michael Hewson, analyst at London-based CMC Markets UK Plc who predicts Brent may fall as low as $76 a barrel in the next six months. "Although Iran could provide potential for prices to move higher in the short term, the overall outlook is down, based on the lack of economic growth."
Brent oil for August settlement fell as much as $1.09 to $92.41 a barrel and was at $92.82 at 10:58 a.m. on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
The international media company Bertelsmann is accelerating its expansion in the world's growth regions: Thomas Rabe, Chairman & CEO of Bertelsmann AG, officially opened the Group's new Corporate Center in the Brazilian city of São Paulo yesterday evening. The Corporate Center will be the contact point for the expansion of Bertelsmann's operations in South America. Earlier this year, in February, the media company had opened a new Corporate Center in India, and Bertelsmann has had one in China since 2006.
Bertelsmann's Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe stated: "Our new office in Brazil will strengthen Bertelsmann's international network. It is crucial to have a central anchor in the three most important future markets for us – China, India and Brazil. The new Corporate Center will help to further develop our existing activities in this region and expand them into new businesses – for example, in the fields of education and digital media."
Bertelsmann has already been active in South America for some time through its divisions. RTL Group's production arm Fremantle Media currently sells a variety of popular formats here such as "Idol" and "The Apprentice." The book-publishing subsidiary Random House Mondadori has operations in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Uruguay. Gruner + Jahr owns three Motor-Presse offshoots in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, and G y J Televisia in Mexico. Arvato operates across South America in fields including distribution services, service centers and print. In total, Bertelsmann employs approximately 3,000 people in South America.
Amcor announces today the purchase of Wayne Richardson Sales. With sales of approximately $50 million and over 2,700 customers the business is one of the largest independently owned packaging distributors in Australia with a network of eight distribution centres across Australia.
The business is a distributor of a broad range of industrial packaging and packaging consumables to small and medium size customers.
The purchase multiple was approximately 6.5 times fiscal year 2012 EBITDA and the acquisition is expected to deliver returns in excess of 20% by year three.
Japan's Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Co Ltd said on Tuesday it will raise its stake scandal-hit rival Daio Paper Corp's to 19.6 percent from 2.86 percent to join forces to weather dwindling paper demand.
Hokuetsu, Japan's No.5 paper products maker, said it plans to buy shares held by Daio's founding family as well as other shareholders. The share purchase will raise Hokuetsu's stake in terms of voting rights to 22.12 percent, making it the top shareholder in Japan's No.4 paper maker.
Daio has been struggling to cut ties with its founding family after it discovered that former Chairman Mototaka Ikawa had gambled away billions of yen he borrowed from Daio Paper group companies.
Hokuetsu and Daio would together make Japan's third-biggest paper manufacturing group by sales, after Oji Paper Co and Nippon Paper Group Inc.
The report details Smurfit Kappa's vision and its ongoing activities in the important area of sustainability. The report demonstrates the Group's commitment to the supply of sustainable paper-based packaging solutions and outlines its approach to sustainability in the key areas of Environment, Society and Business.
Gary McGann, Group Chief Executive Officer commented: "We are pleased to announce the publication of our Sustainable Development Report for 2011. Once again, Smurfit Kappa has successfully shown that sustainability is entirely compatible with delivering profitable growth. At a time when economic conditions are challenging, we see sustainability as a key differentiating factor in the market. In particular, we continue to make progress on our Chain of Custody target for 2015, which will guarantee that all the paper and packaging we produce originates from reliable sources. Smurfit Kappa is committed to achieving all of its sustainability objectives in order to continue to build a sustainable and responsible business which serves our customers and builds value for all stakeholders."
He added:"Our 38,000 employees have the experience and expertise necessary to meet and exceed our customers' needs in a sustainable manner. Our employees are passionate about the very real contribution their efforts can make to customer success and to a sustainable product life cycle. We would like to express our appreciation for their hard work and dedication."
Intertape Polymer Group Inc. today announced its intention to close its Richmond, Kentucky facility and transfer the shrink film production business from the Company's Truro, Nova Scotia facility to its Tremonton, Utah plant. The Company believes this will allow it to further optimize its manufacturing footprint and generate significant annual savings. All dollar amounts are US denominated unless otherwise indicated.
The Richmond facility, which manufactures tape products, will be closed in part due to productivity improvements in other production facilities. The majority of production will be transferred to Intertape's Carbondale, Illinois facility. The shrink film business in Truro will be transferred to Tremonton which will create one center of manufacturing excellence in North America for this business. Woven fabric products will continue to be produced at Truro. These changes are expected to be completed in late 2012 and early 2013.
"Considering competitive pressures, market conditions and the volatility of input costs, we are continuously reviewing and analyzing all aspects of our operations. With this plant closure and transfer of production, we expect a positive contribution to Adjusted EBITDA of more than $5 million in 2013 and approximately $6 million in each subsequent year. The process will be seamless to customers and we do not anticipate any significant impact on our revenues," said Intertape's President and CEO, Greg Yull.
As a result of these initiatives and other smaller aspects of our manufacturing rationalization plan, a charge of $14-$16 million is expected to be recorded in the second quarter of 2012 primarily related to property, plant and equipment, and severance. Approximately $1.5 million of this charge relates to cash items and the remainder is non-cash. Additional costs of approximately $3.5 million will also be incurred and paid throughout the second half of 2012 and in early 2013. This initiative will require approximately $5.5 million in capital expenditures, with total Company 2012 capital expenditures expected to be $20-23 million.
The American Catalog Mailers Association wants its members with ties to Republican congressional districts to contact their elected officials and voice their displeasure regarding the annual rate increase for catalogs contained in H.R. 2309. The American Catalog Mailers Association wants to have a portion of a postal reform bill pending in the House of Representatives that would allow a hard-wired annual rate increase for mail the postal regulator deems to be underwater eliminated.
This underwater class, according to the ACMA, is presumed to be standard mail flats – the category affecting most catalog mailerss – and would be assessed by a new congressionally-appointed authority that would oversee the U.S. Postal Service.
H.R. 2309, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), would create a Postal Service Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority that would approve changes in rates and classifications, new products and services, and other matters before the Postal Regulatory Commission.
The ACMA wants its members with ties to Republican congressional districts to contact their elected officials and voice their displeasure regarding the annual rate increase for catalogs contained in the House postal reform bill.
Paul Miller, vice president and deputy director of the ACMA, said the annual hard-wired postal rate increase for standard mail flats translates to 2% in addition to the CPI-capped rate increase. Miller said that means if a rate increase for standard mail flats was accomplished through legislation, it could only be undone by Congress passing subsequent legislation.
One of the oldest names in the digital magazine space and among the top grossing distributors of content into the app ecosystem is exploring a sale or other strategic option. Zinio, owned principally by Fiji Water founder and hotel owner David Gilmour has enlisted investment bank Montgomery & Co. to look for a buyer, according to a report in CNNMoney.com. The report contends the company is looking for a price of $50 to $100 million.
Zinio's global executive vp and cmo Jeanniey Mullen issued a statement to minonline confirming that the company was working with Montgomery & Co on strategic options, although it did not say specifically the company was for sale. According to Zinio, "Committed to growing the company, we have retained Montgomery & Co to facilitate capital raising strategies and discussions. While the company has been engaged in similar discussions in the past, Zinio has never had a stronger vision, strategy and roadmap to engage the right set of potential partners."
Magazines looking to ride the growth engine of media consumption may do well to pick devices over the Internet itself. According to the latest cross-media usage research from TVB Media Corporation, overall daily reach of magazines in the U.S. declined to 24.8% among adults in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 28.6% in the same period two years ago.
While the TVB study is aimed at highlighting TV over all media, it includes a comprehensive portfolio of emerging platforms. While Internet reach increased from 67.5% to 73.1% in the two year span, mobile reach for media content soared from 14.3% to 27.8%, surpassing magazines on any given day. The tablet, which didn't really exist as a media force two years ago and was not measured, is already reaching 11.7% of Americans surveyed. Magazines continue to have a fractional share of media time spent, only .2 hours per day compared to .3 for tablets, .4 for newspapers, and .7 for mobile phones. The Internet gathers 3 hours of our media time each day, but TV still rules with 5.2 hours. Broken down by gender, however, women spend .3 hours per day with magazines compared to only .18 hours by men.
Nevertheless, magazines are still the fourth most influential medium when it comes to purchase decisions, behind TV, newspapers, and Internet. Perhaps even more importantly, 6.8% of respondents said that they were most likely to learn about products from magazines, compared to 8.7% citing Internet, 8% citing newspapers and 39.8% citing TV.
Ennis, Inc., today reported financial results for the first quarter ended May 31, 2012.
Financial OverviewOur consolidated net sales were $142.5 million for the quarter ended May 31, 2012 compared to $143.3 million for the quarter ended May 31, 2011. Print sales for the current quarter were $87.3 million, compared to $67.1 million for the same quarter last year, or an increase of 30.1%. Apparel sales for the current quarter were $55.2 million, compared to $76.1 million for the same quarter last year, or a decrease of 27.5%. Overall our gross profit margins ("margins") decreased from 27.7% to 19.8% for the quarters ended May 31, 2011 and May 31, 2012, respectively. Our print margin decreased slightly from 28.8% to 27.9%, due to the lower margins of our recent acquisitions. Our apparel margin, which continues to be impacted by the higher yarn costs flowing through its cost of sales, decreased from 26.8% to 7.0% for the quarter. As a result, our net earnings decreased from $11.4 million, or 8.0% of sales, for the quarter ended May 31, 2011 to $3.9 million, or 2.7% of sales, for the quarter ended May 31, 2012. Diluted EPS decreased from $0.44 per share to $0.15 per share for the quarters ended May 31, 2011 and May 31, 2012, respectively.
During the quarter, the Company generated $10.0 million in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) compared to $21.9 million for the comparable quarter last year.
Best Buy today announced it is expanding the Best Buy Mobile brand and store-within-a-store (SWAS) concept into select Five Star stores in China. In total, the Best Buy Mobile SWAS format will launch in 14 Five Star locations throughout Nanjing this summer.
The expansion of Best Buy Mobile into the Chinese market is the first evolution of Global Connect, a partnership that was formed in November 2011 between Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse. It also supports Best Buy's commitment to international growth, which is highlighted by the continued success and expansion of the Five Star brand.
"The launch of Best Buy Mobile in China is a true global effort, bringing together the best of Five Star, Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse to create a new shopping experience for consumers in China," said Shari Ballard, President, International for Best Buy. "Access to connectivity solutions has never been more important for human beings around the world. I'm thrilled to see our Global Connect efforts coming to life for customers in our Five Star stores."
This launch follows a similar model that led to the development of Best Buy Mobile in the United States in 2006. Just as Carphone Warehouse did with Best Buy five years ago, the Global Connect team is working closely with its Five Star partners to develop a mobile sales strategy that is designed for the Chinese market.
The American Catalog Mailers Association is criticizing a postal reform bill that, if passed, would legislate rate increases, bypassing the typical process of rate approval via the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Among its many provisions, HR 2309—sponsored by Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Dennis Ross (R-Fla.)—would establish a Postal Service Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority that would "approve changes in rates and classifications, new products and services, and other matters before PRC."
"[The bill] would represent a break in more than 40 years of public policy, during which time Congress has never set postal rates," said Hamilton Davison, ACMA's president-executive director. The ACMA is urging its members to lobby Republican congressmen before the bill is taken up for debate in the House next month. Democrats, in the minority, already oppose the bill, and "Conservatives, tea party and rural Republicans are most helpful right now" as swing votes who may act to modify it, Davison told BtoB.
"No Wonder You Love Paper". Two Sides joins with UK newspaper and magazine publishers to promote the attractiveness and sustainability of print media
The campaign features the attractiveness and sustainability of magazines and newspapers. Research by Two Sides has revealed consumers are surprised to learn that: •Almost 70% of paper across Europe is collected and recycled. In fact it's one of the most recycled materials of all. • Forests in Europe, which provide wood for making into paper and many other widely used materials, are 30% larger than in 1950. In fact they're increasing by 1.5 million football pitches every year! Martyn Eustace, Director of Two Sides, comments, "This is a really important campaign which is urgently needed to correct consumer misunderstandings. Our research tells us that magazine and newspaper readers are unaware of the industry's great record on recycling and that European forests, where the majority of raw material is sourced, are actually growing in size. 80% of UK consumers prefer reading from paper than reading off a screen (*) and we want to let them know the facts about the industry's record on important environmental issues". Barry McIlheney, CEO of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA) states: "We live in a multi-media world and readers now look for a choice of media channels. Print is still vital for magazine publishers and offers a unique reading experience that will live on. We want to make sure that, in choosing a printed magazine, readers fully understand that print media also offers a natural reading experience and can be a sustainable way to read".
Thomson-Shore, a book manufacturer specializing in short- to medium-run digital and offset book printing, binding and publishing services, has signed a partnership agreement with U.K.-based Clays Ltd. The global print initiative gives each printer access to each other's market, creating value and market opportunity for customers of both Thomson-Shore and Clays.
Under the agreement, Thomson-Shore will print books for Clays' customers seeking distribution in the United States. Clays, the UK's leading print group producing over 170 million books annually, in turn will print Thomson-Shore customers' books for distribution anywhere outside of North America. Both companies will also share marketing and sales resources to promote this new initiative.
"Thomson-Shore customers have come to expect that we'll deliver unparalleled quality, service and innovation," said Kevin Spall, CEO, Thomson-Shore. "Our agreement with Clays is a result of our recognition that this leading global brand shares our commitment to excellence. We are thrilled with the opportunity to offer Thomson-Shore customers a way to produce quality books for distribution in the U.K. and other areas of Europe, ultimately helping them sell more, more efficiently."
Print on paper isn't depleting our forests, overwhelming our landfills, or causing global warming. In fact, just the opposite is true—and companies calling for less print or a no-print day, such as Toshiba's recently abandoned campaign, don't take into account that paper, and print on paper, is a renewable and recyclable resource.
Here are the facts:
Trees and Paper •Replenished: Wood, which comes from trees, is the primary material used to make paper. Trees are continually replenished—like wheat and corn, unlike plastic—to ensure that our forests are sustainable. •Primarily Made in the USA: About 90% of paper and paperboard consumed in the United States is produced in the United States. •High Supplier: 91% of the wood harvested in the United States comes from privately owned forests. State and tribal 6% and federal supply 2%. •More Forests Today: Forest growth in the United States exceeds harvest by 37%. There is now 28% more standing timber volume in the U.S. than in 1952. •A Small User of Forest Resources: Just 11% of the world's forests are used for paper. •Largely Made from "Waste": Overall, 33% of papermaking material comes from recycled paper; 33% comes from wood chips and scrap from sawmills; and 33% comes from virgin trees.
Recycling/Landfills •Recycling: 66.8% of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2010—by volume, more than glass, plastic and aluminum combined. •Landfill: 16.2% of discards into the landfill are paper and paperboard, of which 41% is paperboard containers and packaging and 59% is all other paper. Plastics, by comparison, comprise 17.3% of discards.
Many think that by foregoing print and paper, they are saving trees and making a sound environmental choice. In fact, print and paper give private landowners a financial incentive to grow trees rather than selling off their land for other uses, such as development.
As Dr. Patrick Moore, Co-Founder, Greenpeace/Chair & Chief Scientist, Greenspirit Strategies Inc. said: "To address climate change, we must use more wood, not less. Using wood sends a signal to the marketplace to grow more trees and to produce more wood. That means we can then use less concrete, steel and plastic -- heavy carbon emitters through their production. Trees are the only abundant, biodegradable and renewable global resource."
Media General, Inc. today completed the previously announced sale of 63 daily and weekly newspapers to World Media Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., for $142 million in cash, subject to adjustment for working capital and other items. After transaction fees and the repayment of funds drawn on the revolving credit facility, Media General will use the net proceeds from the newspaper sale to offer to repay on a pro rata basis existing senior secured notes at par and a term loan with no prepayment penalty.
Media General is also in discussions with prospective buyers for its Tampa, Florida, print properties and associated websites.
"Selling our newspapers represents a monumental change for us – we've been in the newspaper business for more than 160 years. However, our model has been shifting more toward Broadcast and Digital in recent years," said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer of Media General. Broadcast television accounted for 77 percent of total Platform Cash Flow for the full year 2011 and for 87 percent in the first quarter of this Political year.
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Friday, April 15, 2011
App: Desktop Ponies (Huge Updates!)
For those of you that have no clue what I'm talking about, someone released a program that makes ponies fly/walk around your screen a few weeks back, but it was limited to just Derpy and Fluttershy.
Below you can find a link to the ponychan thread, which has no only the program itself, but also a kit to build your own pony sprites for it!
Desktop Ponies
105 comments:
Oh my god, someone finally made them.
Best. Night. Ever~ - April 7, 2011 at 11:29 PM
- Old Kentucky Shark said...
<-- MFW Rainbow Dash, Derpy, and Fluttershy are flying around my screen. This is simply amazing.
- April 7, 2011 at 11:33 PM
- FasterThenRainbows said...
4 tabs of Ponies in Internet Explorer, 3 Pony folders open, Ponies open in Photoshop, and now Ponies flying all over everything on the screen!
*ODs on Ponies* - April 7, 2011 at 11:36 PM
- Cereal Velocity said...
People use those desktop backgrounds I made?
I was unaware of this. - April 7, 2011 at 11:38 PM
You could also be watching ponies while doing all of that.
Also, Internet Explorer? What a shame.
~Scratch - April 7, 2011 at 11:46 PM
Eventually there's gonna be a pony-themed internet browser, I just know it.
- April 8, 2011 at 12:01 AM
These things are awesome, I've got Dash flying around my screen. I think I can become slightly less of a closet Brony with this thing. Someone'll see it, be all "What's that?" and I'll be like "Oh, Rainbow Dash." And then I might try to explain it if they ask more about it.
Either way, I really hope they come up with an Earth Pony or Unicorn version of these fairly soon, so I can get mah Pinkie Pie on. Seth, if you get an update telling you they've added them, please bump this blogpost. - April 8, 2011 at 1:01 AM
Alright, I got derpy, dashie, and fluttershy. I really hope the rest of ponyville gets done in due time.
- April 8, 2011 at 1:17 AM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
I'm making Twilight as I type this. :D But Derpy keeps landing on the "save" button. I think she's afraid she's going to get replaced.
- April 8, 2011 at 3:02 AM
I may just have to try this!
Firefox would be perfect for that - just change the animal involved. >_> Firepony! It probably wouldn't be that hard to do a Firepony theme. - April 8, 2011 at 3:16 AM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
Oh... Oh my. These ponies really DO drive me to insomnia. When in the world did it become 6 AM?
Anyway, Twilight is made. :D I don't know how to post a link on that Ponychan site, though. In fact, I don't know how to post there at all. Any help? - April 8, 2011 at 5:08 AM
@Jebin Zedalu, nicely done... I now see a teleporting Twilight on my screen. Next teleporting Rarity and Trixie. Then top it off with Pinkie ballooning. Applejack can just run everywhere.
- April 8, 2011 at 5:36 AM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
I would love nothing more than to have Applejack accompany me as I go websurfing, but there's no way I could manage her hat in sprite form. D: I hope someone comes and gits-er-done.
- April 8, 2011 at 5:51 AM
I have so many Parasprites on my screen... I originally started with 5... But now I think there are MORE...
Nope... Nevermind, still 5...
Also, I wish the ponies would stop huddling in the corners... I THINK THEY ARE KEEPING ME CONFINED TO THIS PAGE O___o
I love this though... So much. - April 8, 2011 at 6:55 AM
- Putuk said...
Oh my, Ditzy would you stop distracting me? I'm trying to work here!
This stuff is awesome!
Just hope nobody combines Desktop Ponies and Stressreducer... - April 8, 2011 at 8:01 AM
The new Twilight is pretty neat. I wish the teleport animation wasn't a little white star though, its hard to see on my white desktop.
- April 8, 2011 at 9:21 AM
- Display Name said...
I don't think Rarity can teleport, she'd probably just strut fashionably around.
Trixie, maybe teleportation, maybe levitation, maybe just having Snips & Snails carry her everywhere. - April 8, 2011 at 9:34 AM
@Anonymous other on RAR files.
Extract to get the files working and make sure that you pull the folder from within the folder. - April 8, 2011 at 11:09 AM
Hey guys. Author here. I'm surprised you guys are so enthralled over a simple app. :)
I posted a new link in the thread to a new version with some bug fixes to some VERY EMBARASSING bugs.
It also now includes the rainbowdash, fluttershy, and twilight others have made (thanks!).
(Have you linux and max guys tried MONO? I might work...)
(p.s. here is the link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CPYO4HA2 - April 8, 2011 at 11:15 AM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
Hehe, neat. I don't suppose it would be possible to put in "behavior chains", where one behavior will always be followed by another? It would be nice to be able to have Twilight stop to use her magic before teleporting, rather than just suddenly bolting across the map. - April 8, 2011 at 11:26 AM
@Jebin Zedalu
Oh my. Maybe. Sounds simple enough.
But I'm afraid if I keep adding stuff I will never stop. I was actually thinking of a "Muffin Mode" were you use the "take control" option and you have to dodge muffins flying at you from everywhere.
...Then I stopped myself and said "WAIT. Ponies. On the desktop. That's it, or you'll go crazy." - April 8, 2011 at 11:38 AM
- Naxts said...
The desktop ponies make luna sad according to OP
I'm not sure if I want to make luna sad =( - April 8, 2011 at 11:47 AM
I think the only reason that the desktop ponies make Luna feel sad is that Luna has been left out, as she oft seems to be. But if we make a Luna addon for this, then she shan't be. She will be there with everyone else, invited to roam on the desktops of the worthy and righteous!
And I, for one, would welcome either one or many Lunas to my digital home away from home. So hopefully some incredibly talented sprite artist (you know who you are!) will make this so! - April 8, 2011 at 12:02 PM
@Jebin Zedalu
See, this is what I was afraid of. I couldn't get the "linked behaviors" out of my head, so I went ahead and implemented them. See Derpy's new config file for an example.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T97R0JWU - April 8, 2011 at 2:40 PM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
Mwuahaha, excellent!
I don't quite understand how it works just yet, but I'll figure it out soon enough. Then, properly-animated Twilight!
Though I'll wait to see what Eight Ball does with the teleportation first, to see if it's even necessary. - April 8, 2011 at 3:09 PM
@Jebin Zedalu
..i spoke to soon. There was a bug. This version (1.03) should work. - April 8, 2011 at 3:16 PM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
I seem to be having problems getting it to work despite the fix. D: I may just be doing something wrong on my end, though. Any chance you'd be willing to review the code I have set up and see if you can spot a problem? It looks to me like it should be working, but that's obviously not the case. XD - April 8, 2011 at 4:49 PM
- calamari said...
It works... kinda. The characters are enclosed in windows (with frames) larger than the ponies, having opaque magenta backgrounds. The windows move around or can be dragged, but close is disabled. They don't seem to be animated except every once in a while like if they change direction. Closing the original "give me ponies" window doesn't get rid of the ponies so I just kill the task manually.
Desktop Ponies 1.03
Wine 1.2.2
Mono 2.6.7
Screenshot (what a mess, I need to clean up all that crap on my desktop!):
http://sadpanda.us/images/429264-T1DRTN3.png - April 8, 2011 at 4:52 PM
Quick update: unchecking "Allow the window manager to decorate the windows" (Graphics tab of the Wine Configuration) got rid of the window frames. And also right clicking to Quit (etc) works. - April 8, 2011 at 4:59 PM
If I run straight through Mono (without Wine) it can't find the pony.ini files for some reason.. trying to figure out why.
- April 8, 2011 at 7:16 PM
- calamari said...
Aha, figured it out (thanks for including source). You are assuming a backslash is the path separator. Use Path.DirectorySeparatorChar instead. Changes:
Line 121:
Dim config_file_name = folder & Path.DirectorySeparatorChar & "Pony.ini"
Line 233:
newPony.picture = Image.FromFile(folder & Path.DirectorySeparatorChar & Trim(columns(6))) - April 8, 2011 at 7:42 PM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
The entire main cast is now in the Ponychan topic. A few of them are standalone downloads, though, not included with the program.
There's also Princess Luna. From what I understand, someone is actively working on DJ PON-3 or whatever the name is, and there are some standing sprites for Lyra and Bon-Bon. - April 8, 2011 at 11:47 PM
- Jebin Zedalu said...
Could have sworn I posted a comment here.
Anyway, the entire main cast is available now. Some of them are standalone downloads, not included with the program yet. There's also Princess Luna, as has been linked above, someone is working on DJ PON-3, and some work has been done on Bon-Bon and Lyra sprites. - April 9, 2011 at 12:09 AM
@Jebin Zedalu
Sure, e-mail me:
Path.DirectorySeparatorChar, huh? Thanks for that. I'll see if there are any other bugs and update that in the next version. - April 9, 2011 at 9:21 AM
v1.05 with a bunch of changes. - April 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM
update time: 1.06
1.05 was very buggy... - April 9, 2011 at 4:49 PM
Google doc link instead of me posting every time a new version is out. - April 10, 2011 at 3:59 PM
i made Bon-Bon, DJ Pon-3, and Lyra. :D
currently working on a remake for DJ, and then on to remake lyra. - April 15, 2011 at 6:13 PM
- 2000cookies said...
You know they got a google doc for it. It has the updated version without having to search for it in the thread.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BiJFsPXhGg8Kx1N4uWMhQxocsDDNINAfgiYEpcJnNVo/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIzrj_gI&pli=1# - April 15, 2011 at 6:25 PM
- 2000cookies said...
Whoops, seems blogger failed to show me the comment up there ^ - April 15, 2011 at 6:26 PM
It's cool and all and I don't wanna sound like a douche but the quality is kind of lacking. They just can't compare to the smoothness of Shimeji.
- April 15, 2011 at 6:50 PM
Um, Rainbow Dash isn't Sonic Rainbooming for me, or even leaving behind a rainbow trail when she flies, any reason behind this?
- April 15, 2011 at 7:24 PM
@Rivet the Machinist
some pony NEEDS to make a collision effect for when characters run into eachother, example: Pinkie pie and rainbowdash (kinda obvious what they would do ) I don't know but it's an idea! - April 15, 2011 at 7:55 PM
Just downloaded Zecora. She's animated beautifully, trotting very fluidly and pausing every now and then to stare at me. =3
Only thing is, I think she might be making my computer a tad slower. Can someone fix this? D; - April 15, 2011 at 8:42 PM
- tootaloo said...
There are pixelated ponies on my screen. Life is complete.
- April 16, 2011 at 4:52 AM
Okay, I downloaded this,now how the heck do I get them on my screen?
I downloaded the Java versions and I use a Mac. - April 17, 2011 at 4:54 PM
The readme file said that it was POSSIBLE to write make this using the problem, but it wasn't included yet.
The new version, 1.14, actually has this :) - April 19, 2011 at 6:18 AM
go to that link to find the latest version - April 28, 2011 at 10:46 AM
Just go to the desktopponies.co.cc site and download the latest version.
- May 3, 2011 at 7:26 AM
- Doc Steedly said...
Some of the Individual PONY.INI files are a little messed up. I noticed Zecora, Aloe, and Lotus ( may not be the only ones, i have not used all characters ) refused to speak . . . . so after adding a few lines to Luna and Rainbow i noticed little ticks in front of the words speak in all of their files. Fore example Lotus and Aloe both had
'Speak,"Hi" When it should have been
Speak,"Hi" After messing around, all you have to do to add more messages to them is just keep adding new lines under the old ones.
Like for Lotus and Aloe they both had Speak,"Hi"
so i added Speak,"Welcome to Ponyville Spa"
Restarted the app, now they both say it n.n lol
OH and i dont know if anyone noticed, but if you 'take control' of Twilight Sparkle, she has no animation for moving up and down, she just vanishes. Also does anypony else think its weird that when AJ runs it seems like she is litterally dropping "ROAD APPLES" behind her. Has anyone noticed that Pinkie Pie has and affinity to follow Rainbow dash all the time O.o
PLS PLS PLS, add Applebloom! And younger versions of the mane cast. Young AJ is sooooo adorable n.n - May 12, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Awwww. Zecora Dosen't say "You're Doomed." guess I'll have to make her say it by myself.
AT LEAST she should say it when a parasprite goes near her. - May 15, 2011 at 3:08 AM
more on topic,i have the princesses on my screen right now.
- May 15, 2011 at 3:10 AM
I have itt and its really great and fun!
and you can use the spirtes for paint drawings! :D
or you can draw a background with MS paint and let the ponies play in itt! And iff you put pinkie pie and parasprites together pinkie will make misic and the parasprites will go to her. The only thing it needs is SOUND (and you schould be able to enable/lock itt. - May 15, 2011 at 11:21 AM
I need the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Apple Bloom at least) NAO!!!!!!!!
- May 16, 2011 at 10:26 PM
- Vulcan539 said...
This is jsut fueling the addiction.
where are the rest of the CMC?
Where is Dinkie Hooves?
I can thing of so many things to add to this....
wish I had the knowledge to make it all happen - May 22, 2011 at 9:19 PM
This is amazing. When pinky says "Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail!" things should fall on twilight.
- May 31, 2011 at 2:48 PM
Decided to try this out to see how cute/interesting it is. Currently have Filly Twilight running around me screen.
Pinkamina Pie pony is creepy, so mission accomplished I suppose. - June 24, 2011 at 9:09 PM
Someone told me that DT pony has a keylogger inside it. Anyone know if this is true or not? My anti-virus and anti-spyware checks didn't find anything.
- June 24, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Ooh, I'll have that big apple pie! - July 11, 2011 at 6:39 PM
I already have a few ideas on more ponies/characters. Angel (the bunny), Rarity's cat, the filly versions of the mane cast. That's all I can think for now...
-Jokiu - July 13, 2011 at 5:11 PM
THIS is how my roomate found out I was a Brony. We're both programmers. He judged me more for the fact that I had a desktop pet up than the fact that it was My Little Pony.
- July 19, 2011 at 11:19 AM
How exactly do I make this work? I've extracted all the files, twice aleady to make sure it was done properly. I open the program and the box is blank, except for the buttons on the bottom. If I click the buttons, the while thing closes itself and a window pops up saying it has stopped working. Is there some file I'm missing or something?
- July 31, 2011 at 4:21 PM
- dialgabrite said...
This is awesome! It has so many side characters, I like that. But its missing Granny Smith! :(
And I love how you can create anything for it, even if its not a pony. So technically someone could use this to make desktop pokemon or anything like that. awesome. :D - August 20, 2011 at 8:56 PM
- JTrain said...
Is WindowPonies or DesktopPonies better? DP has Vinyl Scratch, but WP seems less buggy.
- September 12, 2011 at 9:45 PM
- Mem said...
Does anyone who's using the Java version know how to add new ponies to it? The download comes with all of the files but it doesn't show them.
- December 19, 2011 at 9:38 AM
- Unknown said...
For some reason, the website ( http://desktopponies.co.cc/ ) isn't loading at all for me... Can somebody tell me what's going on?
- December 24, 2011 at 1:55 PM
- ponies said...
I hope the maker of this adds more ponies, effects, and also more control features so that you can activate an effect (i.e lyra jumping up and down can be the space bar) all that would be awesome :D
- January 6, 2012 at 2:49 AM
- Fleetwood_Brougham said...
DEFINITELY GONNA PONIFY MYSELF! Cutie mark: Landau Iron, signifies my love of history and classic cars.
- January 17, 2012 at 9:02 AM
- Jakub said...
Help, my ESET antivirus recognize deskopt ponies website as a malware site ;(. I can't download them.
- April 4, 2012 at 12:12 PM
- Samantha Arnold said...
I was able to dowload it, but I can't get it to work... I don't get what I'm supposed to do! It's a zip and if I try to open it it's juz a bunch of folders and PNGs or GIFs.... :( what should I do?!
- April 13, 2012 at 11:41 AM
- MasterKate said...
COMMON! i can't get it down right! i keep getting this different program...
- May 6, 2012 at 10:33 AM
- Bloody Brony said...
agreed most geeks perfer chrome since it has tiny stuff and big actual page, as well as backgrounds for us bronys, anyways about da ponies. its so lol, my grooveshark started to play reddy to die, while the mane 6 where doing the conga, imidietly ranbowdash broke sonic rainboomed and went to the farthest corner of the page and started sneeking XD funniest thing ever - July 29, 2012 at 6:56 PM
- Bloody Brony said...
i love the update that totaly fixed this, luna has not only one but two forms on here now - July 29, 2012 at 6:58 PM
- KilerSan said...
I'm not sure whats going on it just brings me to this yellow page telling me to make a domain or something then when I click on this other link it says 403 forrbiden.............Confused
- September 10, 2012 at 4:22 AM
- Andre said...
Umm.... can you, on your next update add Engineering Spark, see more http://www.facebook.com/EngineeringSpark
- September 18, 2012 at 10:04 AM
- Gameboy152 said...
Was the site taken down? Darn, you got my hopes up... :'c
- September 28, 2012 at 8:10 AM
- Jonathan Chirila said...
@Rivet the Machinist
Actually somebody already made something like this, it had all the characters including including some filly versions of the main characters. - November 11, 2012 at 11:22 PM
- TLR Alpha said...
Dagnabbit, the links be broken!
'Twas Hasbro's copyright cops, I'll betcha. - January 10, 2013 at 7:13 PM
- eqc685 said...
i cnt seem to get the theme i just want the pinkie pie windows theme ;-;
- March 12, 2013 at 3:45 AM


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Do you enjoy exploring with children in the outdoors and helping them to discover and appreciate their natural environment? If you get excited investigating the beach, riding a boat on the Bay, peering under docks and rocks for animal life or bird watching from the pier, the City of Berkeley Marina Volunteer program could be for you! This hands-on training is great for people exploring a career in outdoor education or looking for worthwhile retirement activities. Training covers such topics as the history of the Bay, marine habitats, Bayshore plant and animal life and how to teach children creatively and have fun. The training will take place at the Shorebird Nature Center at the Berkeley Marina. Sessions begin Oct 18th, and classes continue through August. People welcome anytime. $62 fee to cover training materials, nametag, and 2 boat trips. For details and to obtain an application, please call Patty Donald at (510) 981-6720 or check out our website at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/marina
Teaching Kids to Help the Bay
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Each mobile phone or device should:
• Turn on and off (with all buttons working)
• Be fully functional* (cosmetic wear and tear is acceptable)
• Have a working screen (without cracks or pixel damage)
• Have a working touch screen** (without cracks or damage)
• Have a fully working operating system (software)
• Include its battery (you can keep memory card, charger, etc)
• Not be water-damaged (water indicators must not be red)
*All features such as Making calls, Wi-Fi, Camera, Video, etc must work.
**Applies to touch screen phones and devices only.
• Be intact - not crushed or snapped in half
• Not have any missing parts or components
Faulty examples: Water damaged, Broken/bleeding LCD (screen), blank display, no power up, faulty/cracked touch screen, faulty operating system, etc
All phones and devices must be on a UK network or not locked. Phones or devices locked to a foreign network will not be accepted.
Please see our full Terms & Conditions of Supply
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Unfortunately, this handset/device has no reuse value when faulty. We can only accept this model if in working condition.
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Your bank must accept Faster Payments (most do). If not, a BACS transfer will automatically be made.
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Your cheque will be made payable to the name registered in your Mazuma account and can be banked into any UK bank that you hold an account with.
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Spend in any Argos or Homebase store nationwide
For security reasons, your card will need to be activated once received. Once activated, it will take Argos 24hrs to credit the card. Credit cannot be used online.
The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number is a 15 digit serial number unique to each and every phone.
You'll usually find it printed on a sticker on the back of your mobile or on the SIM tray of most Apple iPhones.
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Due to new Royal Mail conditions for posting lithium batteries, all freepost services are now limited to a maximum of 2 phones or devices per parcel.
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When Peggielene Bartels went to bed on a summer night in 2008, she was an ordinary administrative assistant living in a modest one-bedroom condo just outside Washington D.C.
But a few hours later, when a persistent ringing phone woke her up in the dead of the August night, the 55-year-old found out she was much more than simply a secretary.
At the other end of the line was Bartels's cousin, from Otuam, a small fishing village on the coast of Ghana, West Africa. Excited and humble, he congratulated her on being the new king of Otuam.
"I said, 'listen, it's 4 o'clock in the morning in the U.S., I am very tired, let me sleep,'" remembers Bartels. "I thought he was trying to really play games with me."
But this was no time for games.
The previous king of Otuam, who was Bartels's uncle, had just died. The village elders, who remembered Bartels from the times she'd visited with her mother, had decided to anoint her as their new ruler.
After the initial shock, Bartels decided to accept the kingship. Over the course of a few days, she went from being plain old Peggielene Bartels, who had worked for nearly three decades at the Ghanaian Embassy in the United States, to becoming King Peggy -- the first female king of Otuam, reigning over approximately 7,000 people.
"It never ever occurred to me [that I'd be Otuam's king]," says Bartels, who's been living in the United States since her early 20s. "I realized that on this earth, we all have a calling. We have to be ready to accept it because helping my people has really helped me a lot to know that I can really touch their lives," she adds. "I would have really regretted it if I hadn't really accept this calling."
Although she still works at the Ghanaian Embassy, Bartels uses all her holiday every year to spend a month in Otuam.
King is the traditional title of Otuam's ruler, and Bartels says she's happy to be called a king, rather than queen, because it means she can achieve more.


text:
Greed In The Family
In the Philippines, there's a common belief that when something bad happened on the first day of the week, there's a big chance that the whole week will be not good. It did, I did had a bad week. Never in my wildest imagination that I, together with my siblings almost lost our home to our greedy relatives last week. We live in a 3-door apartment owned by my lola (grandmother, my tatay's mother) who passed away 5-6 years ago. For the record, my dad died 10 years ago. We lived in this apartment since I was 2 years old. (We used to lived in the 2nd floor of barber shop owned by my dad.)
Categories: Misc Tags: 6 Years, Apartment, Auntie, Barber Shop, Common Knowledge, Cousins, Eldest Brother, First Day Of The Week, gahaman, ganid, Grandmother, Greed, greedy relatives, Imagination, Kami, Last Monday, Lola, Siblings, Tatay, Tita, Tuition Fees, verbal agreement


text:
Gas Rationing Sees Shorter Lines at Some Stations
Governor's new gas plan and restrictions imposed by station owners results in slightly shorter waits in some places, same story in others.
At noon Saturday, Gov. Chris Christie's even-odd gas rationing mandate went into effect for 12 New Jersey counties, including Bergen, Essex, Morris, Monmouth, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren.
The result, in some cases, was modestly shorter gas lines than have been seen in the days since Sandy hit. Of course, other stations featured the same long lines and interminable waits that have dotted North Jersey in recent days.
What's in a Name?
1:37 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Went to WAWA tonight in Parsippany on New Road, we parked car across the street and walked up to pumps with our containers. Only took 45 minutes compared to the 3.5 hrs we spent in the car Thursday night.
Plus they are open 24hrs and are getting gas shipments in every couple of hours from what I have heard.
1:09 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Your experience bolsters the rationing rationales which were instituted because of panic and hoarding, not desperate gas shortages.
Louis miller
1:30 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
West otange police think they own the gas stations for themselves and their family or friends and left for the last civilians no matter who are in a car or walking with containers
5:08 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
WOW!!! Are you kidding me?! God forbid you need a first responder in an emergency and they have no gas in their vehicle to get to work or they're sitting in a gas line waiting. STOP being so freaking selfish!
8:41 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Your basis for this accusation? Rumor? Frustration? If that's all you have, such inflammatory postings will likely get someone hurt.
3:21 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Wawa. By new road at 1:15 am. Line up 46 by Dunkin donuts, line moved and I got to pump in one hour. Went back home for widest car and waited only half hour. This at 2:30. Not bad
gina s.
5:45 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Wawa last night t 9 pm.......45 minutes.....no limit and very organized. Must enter from rt 46 as Edwards road entrance has been closed. Also just about 9 pm, the 7-11 opened up again on new road. It appears the license plate rationing is definitely helping.
Jude Huang
8:16 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Find out a list of stations have gas at http://placecodes.com/Gas/NJ This list gets updated often.
9:12 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The lines are just as long as ever in West Orange. Not allowing all the gas stations with power and fuel to be open at the same time and the very short city curfew window seems to be contributing to issue.
3:31 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
This morning I watched a tanker refilling the Exxon station at Prospect Avenue, yet the gas station owner decided not to open the station on Sunday. After a long wait dozens of disappointed drivers had to join another line. Police was present to guide traffic, yet nobody was able to persuade the owner to support struggling West Orange citizens.
This is where we would have needed a mayor to reach out to WO businesses. Even Bergen County is open for business on Sunday!
john Fuhr
9:23 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
there are three gas stations in west caldwell all with power and NO GAS where are our mayors demanding delivery, where is the Governor and his new gas GURU. What a disgrace
Scott Ryan
10:09 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Went out in Caldwell and West Caldwell this morning. Not one station open. If you have an " even" plate number and work tomorrow, how are you supposed to get gas for the commute?
Robert King
8:13 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
go to WAWA in parsippany, they are open 24 hours 7 days a week but if you have an even number you have to get there before midnight tonight. they have gas. the wawa is off rt 280 exit 1 or take rt 46 to new rd (shell station on corner not open)
Karen P
10:53 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Thoroughly disgusted here in Madison as many of you most certainly are. Sunoco on Green Village Road has a line stretching all the way back down to Kings Road. Lukoil is closed; Exxon on Park Avenue is closed. Shell on Main Street has a line starting over by Dodge Field. I GIVE UP.
12:44 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Karen FYI,
Lukoil got a delivery last night and pumped until they were out. Its my understanding that they are getting a delivery sometime this afternoon. Exxon also pumped everything and may not be getting a delivery until tomorrow. Not a 100% sure but that's what I heard.
Bill Kingston
11:01 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
I don't know how they can say it's not a supply issue. I know many gas stations that have power and could pump gas but they have no gas. Yes, they get a tank load and pump till it's gone - but then it's gone. They'd be pumping 24/7 if they had the gas. Tank trucks should be coming here from all over if there was a good supply. I blame the leaders for not having this addressed if they continue to say - "it's not a supply issue".
eyes wide shut
11:20 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Living in Northern NJ, got on NJ Parkway headed south. Pulled in service area north of Seaside, Filled up and was back in 90 mins, NO WAITING
Nose Wayne
11:20 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
A lot of gas stations you drive by have power but NO GAS ? Where's the GAS ?
11:39 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
I was 1st in line at corner of Millburn Ave and Springfield Avenue and the police decided to start the line in a different location. I had to leave the line. By the time I arrived at the new location of the line (road blocks) they changed it back to the original side. Needless to say, the line was now 1/2 mile long so I left.
12:28 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
went to costco in wharton saturday night and only waited about 10 minutes
12:43 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Sunoco gas station on Passaic and Clinton has been pumping gas to "special" people since Wednesday - day and night and discriminating against the general public. I asked the West Caldwell Police Officers and Department why he has the station cautioned taped off for all this time and pumping gas (which when I asked the WCP numerous times as I was searching for gas - they told me he does not have gas) and the Police have been out there enabling him to do so. When I asked the WCPD why this was being allowed in a time of crisis and disaster - their answer to me is that the station is privately owned an he could do whatever he wants. I was also told he was pumping for emergency personnel - A word to everyone - Vila Meats was getting gas there when the Police Department claims the station was closed and empty - So if anyone has an emergency - Vila Meats may show up at your door to handle the situation for you. If Sunoco is privately owned - why is our Township Police Department being used to "guard" a private establishment conducting themselves in this fashion. Shame on the Sunoco Owner, WCPD and West Caldwell Township that is encouraging this type of behavior.
12:48 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Patricia maybe the station is paying them to be there. Unfortunately the owner of the gas station has the right to give the gas to anybody he or she wants to.
Scott Ryan
1:36 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Patricia, I hear ya! As I said earlier, seven stations in our Caldwells and noone is open or was open this morning...I DID get mail for the first time ever on a Sunday! LOL I think our town government has dropped the ball with communication. Why not set up a town Info Center at the TJ MAX/Panera parking lots for people to go, ask questions, get info, ask for help, VOLUNTEER to help-----Noticeable absence in my opinion....
12:47 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Been on line at rte 23 butler getty for about 20 minutes not bad line is moving faster. With new storm coming filling up my car and gas containers. Can't see gas price but the delta in kinnelon is finished and the hess in butler has a about 2 hour wait said the butler cop. Keep u posted. And i hope all others will do the same.
2:42 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The BP on Rt. 15 S, right by Jefferson Diner had gas today. Pretty short line limit, though, so you'll have to keep circling until a space clears when you get there. It took me about 30-40 minutes of circling, not bad.
Fire dude
2:44 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Someone needs to tell me why when there is a gas station (Florham Park Gulf) on Columbia turnpike, has full tanks and has had to turn away two fuel deliveries because the town officials refused to let him sell gas yesterday and today. Apparently he pissed someone off in town hall so they decided to let him sit idle while everyone else has lines four miles long. Now is not the time for grudges, people are hurting out there and all he wants to do is sell some gas and help people. I've spoken with some of the police officers and they've stated "it's not them" and that he did make someone angry higher up the food chain. VERY PETTY, if you ask me. Lets grow up people!
4:15 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
I know most of Florham Park has no power so maybe the station is unable to pump the gas.
2:46 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
There is a gas shortage, and it's all because the Newark, Linden and Port Reading refineries were underwater. These 3 refineries are the suppliers of fuel to northern Jersey and other parts of the north east. The refineries are working to get there plants back up to operating conditions, but salt water has taken there toll on the equpment and wiring of the plants.
It may take a couple weeks for one of the three plants to open again. And hopefully the other two will follow shortly. But until then, expect long waits in line at the pump.
8:07 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Stop spreading false information. One of the refineries is already online with the others soon to follow. They were never underwater; they were shut down preemptively to minimize damage during the storm. As soon as power is restored they start coming back. Spreading lies to rile to public is despicable.
4:47 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The management of this situation by west orange police and area gas stations is really poor...funny my last post was never approved...bias by patch editors? Hmmm
Nose Wayne
5:00 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
You have to be NICE rob or you will get DELEATED !!!!!!
5:14 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Not sure if my last comment was deleted. New to this. But I was on line for 12 hours at the DELTA right across the street from THE MONTCLAIR POLICE DEPT. the line went on for miles n miles. We were strung along being told its coming. Then the gas station staff just leaves. Ups n closes. People were pushing their cars because they ran out of gas. How are these owners getting away with this? Taking up town resources , the police patrolling ALL DAY, to have them up and leave? I don't understand. The cops were great, it's not their fault, they don't deliver gas nor own the station. But where is the communication or chain of command? If there is NO GAS then tell us so and let us MOVE ON to find another place that may have gas. People were up in arms over there yesterday. My sister also in Montclair STILL HAS NO POWER and a baby at home n couldn't even get gas for their generator. Thank God I have power. What do people do that DO NOT have family nearby? What's taking so long? It's a shame.
Nose Wayne
5:24 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The ODD/EVEN seems to be working better. Seeing shorter lines at the gas stations.
Fire dude
5:38 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The gulf station in FP on Columbia turnpike has a generator and it was approved by the inspector so he was good to go and then the powers that be said "NO". Just so people know that all the overtime for the police is coming from the federal government, once this was declared an emergency the funding is no longer a municipal burden.
5:44 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
I am in west orange and the lines r getting shorter.I went to pa. Yesterday to fill up. No line at all.even met a few people from jersey. It was great
6:49 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Shell in Madison NJ was very organized. Line went quickly. (an hour for me, which I'll take...) They said they will get gas shipments every night.
Robert King
8:20 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
i went by the lukoil in verona (bloomfield ave) and they have chains and locks around the gas pumps? I was like omg thats sick, people must have been trying to steal the gas.
Carol Pena
8:59 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Exxon in Basking Ridge near the entrance to 78 had gas on Sat and Sun. Waited in the car line on Sat (which started near Starbucks), took an hour to get gas. Not too bad. Today (Sun) I drove past and they were still pumping gas, though the line was much longer. They have a separate walk-up line just for gas cans - people were parking in the Panera lot and walking over. This line was about half an hour wait. I don't know if this is part of the NJ rationing rules, but you could only buy $50 worth of gas. Also the Exxon in Bedminster on 202/206 was open today when I passed it - line didn't look too long.
Tommy Roff
9:50 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
Anti-Romney oil hating Libtards waiting in line for gas....
Annette Oddo Colombo
5:31 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
how are gas lines today in Bloomfield?
6:09 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
This is a joke. It's been a week - somebody needs to be fired. Maybe the gov.
6:56 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Gas Gouging at the gas station on rt 46 east in little falls, right before the rt 3 east split (by the diner). Stopped last night $4.20/gal for premium and refused to give me a receipt! This when supposedly prices are coming down. Patch should have a blog for price gouging reporting. If there's another site, please let me know!
Scott Ryan
7:56 am on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I can top that! I paid $4.39 for REGULAR in Caldwell Monday!
Robert King
1:18 pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012
I only paid $3.70 for premium at the WAWA in parsippany
gina s.
1:33 pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012
The gas rationing was a great idea.....something needed to be done to cut the lines. It definitely helped. Now more gas stations are up and running and most of the gas lines haves disappeared. If nothing else, it helped to calm down the tenseness that we all felt as we tried to power our generators and try to get to work. It was a good idea.


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text: I went to the er because i was having back pains and had not started my period. they ran several test and found out that i was at least 5 weeks pregnant but when they did my ultrasound all they could find was a sac and no baby. does this mean i am actually pregnant? or could the blood test be a false positive test? i could really use some advice.


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Ideal for marginally prepared surfaces, where stain resistance is critical.
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Worried about overspray when painting ceilings and joists? Spray away, then sweep away. Waterborne acrylic dryfall makes it easy.
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