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W.B. McNamara (profile), 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:02am
Irony Watch: CD pricing *after* 1996...
It's amusing that the period being evaluated ends in 1996. Almost five years ago now, my friend George Scriban posted an interesting analysis proposing that "price fixing since 1996 caused CD sales slowdown".
Said George:
from 1992-96, a period that saw cut-throat price competiton from discount retailers like Best Buy and Target, sales of CDs grew 371 million units (from 400 million units to nearly 780 million units). once the labels started to enforce "minimum advertised pricing" (MAP) on the retailers, that sales growth started to slow. the RIAA reports that from 1996 to 2001, annual sales went from 780 million to 880 million units, an increase of only 100 million CDs in five years.
The 1996 price fixing did halt the, ah, "mysterious" downward pressure on CD pricing, but it had some other effects as well. Gee, who could have predicted that?
bigstusexy, 7 Feb 2007 @ 7:02am
Re: Irony Watch: CD pricing *after* 1996...I agree with you but I hate to tell you your math is wrong
its 2007
Which only serves to more underscore your point, this frivilous nonsensical study is nothing but smoke and mirros and hardly a good one at that.
Dirtboy, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:05am
non-rivalrous?Wouldn't that draw the ire of anti-monopoly and anti-collusion groups?
Jonathan, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:05am"A typical music fan who buys a CD might use that CD at home, take that CD in the car, make a tape of that CD, – or using it as part of a compilation, play that CD with friends and for friends, and keep that CD for many years." -riaa.com
Riiiiiight...thats why they lock down the CD with DRM. Ironic?
*sigh* They are never going to learn.
Anonymous, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:17am"Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If these trends continue... ayyyyyy!"
-- Disco Stu ("The Twisted World Of Marge Simpson" 4F08)
ftk, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:19ami read ben's article and had the same thought, even before i read it.
the cost of a computer back in the late 70s was what? $8000? that was for something with like 64k of memory on a what? 3 MHz processor? how much would that cost today? that's like 1/100 of a computer today and since a computer costs 1000 on average, that's a $10 computer then.
but as the article points out, different technolgies/industries.
but there's always a way to plaly with "inflation" you can make it seem more expensive or cheaper. because a "computer" back then would cost 8k and 8k then is worth like 25k now or something, but the 8k was for the top of the line, and now top of the line would come in under 15k (i priced a ugm on alienware)
so yeah, you can make statistics fit your needs
Overcast, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:25amHey - the Amish still use the horse and buggy! By that logic, there should be room for the RIAA for a long time to come!
Nasty Old Geezer, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:35am
To hell with the RIAAGo listen a live local band. If you like their music, buy the CD directly from them.
You get fresh music, the musicians get a fair return, and the RIAA and music companies get nothing.
It's a perfect world.
Whirler, 6 Feb 2007 @ 10:56am
Re: To hell with the RIAAGeez - Amen to that!!! That's how it should be. Bands should be able to promote themselves through their music not money grubbing bastards like the RIAA. Sure it may take longer but whos to say they have to adhere to the norm and seeing the band, meeting them, buying their music directly from them is so much more personable! :)
Nick, 7 Feb 2007 @ 8:47am
Re: To hell with the RIAADon't forget independent bands outside of your local area. Gotta have some variety =]
Anonymous Coward, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:05am
re ftkActually it's about 1/1000 of today's computers, or $1.00.
ktf, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:14amthanks, working wit too many numbers today..
Hag, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:16am
SheeshThe RIAA folks are impossibly stupid. I think it's all part of some clever scheme. I mean mathematically speaking isn't it near impossible that they would not accidentally hire someone that might have a brain cell? It is a fairly large organization isn't it?
I'd pay more for CDs if the money didn't go to the RIAA. All bands should sell their stuff directly.
Doesn't the RIAA read about themselves and think... "man, NO ONE likes us. Maybe we are doing something wrong"
Sometimes you just have to come to terms with the fact that the problem might be yourself.
Xanius, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:23am
Re: SheeshNo, they read about themselves in the paper and say "damn pirates". It's not their fault nobody likes them, it's the pirates fault for making the music free and destroying their business.
Geza, 7 Feb 2007 @ 4:23am
Re: Re: SheeshWell if you really wanted to pirate music, it can always be done. It's just a matter of quality, but then again if you over price the product, someone will always find a work around. RIAA should really take a look at itself. In the end something is better than nothing. Quality and/or RIAA, in the end they become a blurred line. Gee, RIAA is already blurred.
rihahn, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:26am
They dance around the real reason...they're not making as much -profit- as they used to, and that reason is that they've run out of back catalog to milk...
There are no more old albums to turn into CDs, which was pure profit (less the cost of the media/package) as the music was already 'owned' by them and they didn't even have to spring for new art assets.
But, then again, never assume malice for what simple stupidity can explain.
R2P2, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:28am
Tech isn't the only costI know it's fun to bash the RIAA, but they're not *completely* wrong. Yes, the technologies involved in making a CD have gotten cheaper, but I'm pretty sure a large part of the cost of a CD goes towards paying the people involved (producers, music executives, and oh yeah musicians), and their wages have probably risen somewhat in-line with the CPI. Whether that outweighs the decreases in the cost of the tech, I don't know, but there is *some* basis for what the RIAA is claiming.
Tom Zunder, 7 Feb 2007 @ 2:11am
Re: Tech isn't the only costTheir argument is one commonly deployed by marketeers about products with falling rea; costs to show what a bargain you are getting in comparison. It's fun and harmless usually.
It's quite normal. The scary thing about the RIAA is that you have this nagging doubt that they'll run to government and demand a state backed price fixing to restore the old value!
bigstusexy, 7 Feb 2007 @ 7:20am
Re: Tech isn't the only costNo not really, you should read up on how cds are made and the distrobution model. We are talking the difference between production costs of a few dollars a dics to around less than a quater for a few discs now. A huge difference. Also its not like the RIAA themselves fron the money or any money, the RIAA could be considered like a union for the acronym that makes their name. Now first time introduction bands may get an advance on their sales to help pay for things but in no way is it free. Established bands may themselves pay for production of the master smaples that will be produced, it all depends on the lable and deal. You'd think the price of a CD would be set by the band but most times it set by the union that had little fininacial responsability in producing it.
Jason The Saj, 7 Feb 2007 @ 9:33am
Recording costs don't matterThose are all billed back to the artist and taken from the artist's profits. Thus often enabling the record company to be the only one to make a dime.
malhombre, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:38am
The real reason...@rihahn: really good point - what, like 30+ years of reselling stuff we bought on 8 trk, cass, LP, or reel to reel? And by now, most everyone has filled out their "classic" collections and there is almost no current, commercial music out there that is worth a crap (IMHO).
I said almost...not all. But not enough to continue the windfall profits of reharvesting the (already bought and paid for) 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. and so on.
TeesMyBody.com T-Shirts, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:41am
wow...It's almost like they want you to pirate music.
franticindustries, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:44am
Tech isn't the only costThe wages have risen in other industries, too, but I don't see car makers claiming that cars should be more expensive today than 10 years ago.
From a consumer's perspective I can say that I expect CD's to be selling next to nothing since two new tech generations have arrived - the DVD and now the Blu-Ray.
VinylRules, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:47amIn a TV interview that 60 Minutes or Dateline conducted several years ago with a record industry spokesperson/exec, the interviewer broke down the costs associated with creating and selling a CD (cost to manufacture the disc, recording costs, marketing, etc.) and compared the total with the average purchase price of the final product.
When she noted that the difference amounted to a 400% or 500% (or higher) margin of profit for the industry, the interviewee responded only with a slowly widening smile that eventually reached out to his ears (think of The Grinch as he realized how to stop Christmas down in Whoville).
Of course, the interviewee was dead on: if the consumer is/was willing to pay the price, then he certainly wasn't going to stop us.
RIAA's continuing problems is a 'market correction' I'm happy to witness.
Andy Angelos, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:48am
Alternative paths to successThis recent article in Fast Company (http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/112/open_features-waybehindthemusic.html) discusses the importance of merchandising to compensate lackluster CD sales. Jon Legend's use of Musictoday displays rising starpower without the use of traditional record label tactics.
person, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:49am
economicsNow, I'm not the smartest person in the room, but I have always thought that it pretty much comes down to this: if you offer a product that people want, at a price they're willing to pay, you will make sales. So, increase the price, and offer higher volumes of lower quality music...
There are plenty of options for those who want get music, legal and otherwise. It's up to the music industry to remain competative. It seems like they are trying to keep the industry from evolving to protect their way of business.
And if you follow the music industry, artists make very little off of CD sales (via recording companies), it's the recording companies that make their money from CD sales.
So like it has been said, go to a concert or buy directly from the artist to support the music.
Demize99, 6 Feb 2007 @ 8:55am
Not really cheaper over time....Its true the production cost of the CD will decrease over time due to the the effects of economies of scale (mass production). However, the author of the commentary article asserts that this should lower the price of the music on the CD. I suggest that the actual cost of the piece of plastic and metal that contains the information you are buying barely factored into the pricing.
And if the cost of the cd manufacturing is really such a factor in the cost of a CD i doubt you could sell just the information digitally and do so for arguably the same price.
bigstusexy, 7 Feb 2007 @ 7:26am
Re: Not really cheaper over time....The RIAA also has a hand in the price of digitaly sold music.
Also this argument wouldn't hold up to the price of most cds especially after the sale period ends (usually the first week or two) There is no need for a sale on goods like this except to bolster sale numbers for charts, if you can afford to decrease the price to make the number of sales look good then you must still be making a profit.
Rakuen, 7 Feb 2007 @ 11:31am
Re: Not really cheaper over time....For the production cost of a CD, it used to cost about $5 just to buy a blank CD. If we scaled that cost up to 2007 levels, we'd get around $15 per CD. Guess what? Blank CDs cost about a nickle today. Which means that the RIAAs argument is effectively moot, since if we subtract $15 in production costs from their proposed 'price-tag', we still end up with $15 to buy a music CD.
As for why they sell the music digitally at the same price, it has nothing to do AT ALL with production costs for the music CD. Prices are roughly equivalent so that no competition takes place. If the digital or physical sides of the music industry decided to lower prices, the other side would have to match or beat that price. Pretty soon we end up with a price war, in which both sides lose out on billions of dollars in profit. Ergo, neither side lowers the price, because it's against their best interest to do so.
Erv Server, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:00ammusic cds are a ripoff really, usualy there are only a couple sngs per cd that are anygood ( some exceptions ) and once opened you can't take them back if you don't like it unless it doesn't play and then you can only exchange it. No more cds for me, will download songs from online and pay per song...per song I really like.
ScytheNoire, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:01am
actual sales costI work with a company that deals with paperwork and Canada Customs, so i get to look at internal paperwork and see what things actually cost.
recently I saw paperwork from a manufacturer, a company who makes the CD's themselves, and what Sony EMI in Canada was paying for them. it even had the abulm names listed.
the cost of a CD, from the manufacturer, in USD:
so the music industry gets to pocket a lot of that $10+ per CD.
scott gjerdingen, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:10amWhere is Wierd Al on this? sung to the tune of the Ramones "The KKK took my baby away"...maybe something like this ....
"The RIAA Took My Music Away"
The RIAA took my music away
They took it away, Away from me
The RIAA took my music away
They took it away, Away from me
Now I don't know Where my music can be
They took it from me
They took it from me
I don't know Where my music can be
They took it from me
They took it from me
Ring me, ring me, ring me Up the President
And find out Where my music went
Ring me, ring me, ring me Up the FBI
And find out if My music's alive
Yeah, yeah, yeah
o o o o o o
o o o o o o
Andrew Pam, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:55pm
Weird AlWhat do you mean "where is Weird Al?" He's already released a satirical song "Don't Download This Song", complete with wonderful Bill Plympton animation. And of course he made the song available for download:
Gus, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:14amWho needs to know or debate economics?
If it's expensive, I stop buying it.
Max-Ray, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:19am
recording technologyI don't think recording costs have really risen dramatacally. I'm no expert, but has there really been any big change in how an album is created in the studio in the last 10 years?
Look at computers. The die size has changed several times in the last 10 years. That's a really dramatic change in how the CPU's are made. And yet, we see prices drop and more bang for the buck.
I don't ever want to hear about compensation for artists in the price of CD's. The big headliners get about 5 cents per CD, everyone else gets about 3 cents. And that is usually eaten up by what the artist owes label for studio time/producer/equipment.
bigstusexy, 7 Feb 2007 @ 7:31am
Re: recording technologyThe biggest thing I belive to happen in the recording industry is of course the general changing of equipment with bigger and better features but one of them is that with that change it also ushered in the age of computers. There is no more tape, you don't have to limit the number of takes you use because it isn't eating up anything, messed up? Erase the last session and start over again, backups can be done at the end of a session to a portable medium for the cost of next to nothing. I'm seen the adition of recording booths in my libaries (Herold Washington Library, downtown chicago) where anyone can go in and record. It may not be as professional as something you buy on amazon but close. What you apy for now in production is the skill of the artist and the time it takes you to do it, materiel cost is substantially lower.
Max-Ray, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:20am
recording technologyI don't think recording costs have really risen dramatacally. I'm no expert, but has there really been any big change in how an album is created in the studio in the last 10 years?
Look at computers. The die size has changed several times in the last 10 years. That's a really dramatic change in how the CPU's are made. And yet, we see prices drop and more bang for the buck.
I don't ever want to hear about compensation for artists in the price of CD's. The big headliners get about 5 cents per CD, everyone else gets about 3 cents. And that is usually eaten up by what the artist owes label for studio time/producer/equipment.
Sanguine Dream, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:28am
Of course, the interviewee was dead on: if the consumer is/was willing to pay the price, then he certainly wasn't going to stop us.
The trick now is that cusumers are now smart enough to realize there are other ways of getting the musice therefore they are not willing to pay the price anymore. Add that to the fact that indie lables and artists have figured out that they can get the music to fans cheaper than what some RIAA contract (that pays next to nothing to the artist) can, and you have the reciepe for the RIAA crying about "lost revenues."
Lots of people whine about free market. They should be able to charge what they can get away with and all that. Well not that the labels can no longer get away with charging as much as they used to they have to pay the government to keep music listeners in line.
Steak, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:41am
Well... if you look at it this way...Think about it this way.... the price of CDs has actually been decreasing if you look at it in Price of CDs per channel you get on cable.
ehrichweiss, 6 Feb 2007 @ 9:44am
OLDthe RIAA page in question says " Copyright ©2003 Recording Industry Association of America".
I'm no *AA sympathizer but that page is 3+ years old. This would be far more interesting if "Now" was actually now.
bigstusexy, 7 Feb 2007 @ 7:39am
Re: OLDOk, please furnish us with the link to the "current" study?
Buzz, 6 Feb 2007 @ 10:18am
CDs? What are those?How often do people even buy CDs anymore? Don't get me wrong: I work at Best Buy, and we obviously have a large CD section for a reason. However, I'm just thinking in terms of people I know. My brother used to be a CD-collecting fanatic. However, I visit him and see that his collection is essentially the same as it was 10 years ago. He even told me he is in the process of digitizing it all onto his computer.
To me, CDs are just a waste of plastic/metal/whatever nowadays. SAVE THE EARTH! BUY MP3s!
Jeff, 6 Feb 2007 @ 10:20am
.I remember when I was 9 or 10 and I first started buying CDs. CDs were still pretty new at the time, and I remember guys in suits on MTV talking about how CDs would be 4 bucks per disc some day. They're still 20 bucks. But the Trivium album I'm downloading will cost me nothing. Piracy wouldn't be a problem if record companies would just fucking keep up with their own bullshit.
Anonymous Coward, 6 Feb 2007 @ 10:25amTHERE ARE F'n 10 dollar or less DVD's WHY THE HELL ARE CD'S SO F'N EXPENSIVE YOU FUCKERS!
Die in a fire RIAA.
BillDivX, 6 Feb 2007 @ 10:32am
Cost of mixing...I would say that if anything, cost of mixing has gone down. Ironically, it follows the same model that everybody here is saying CD's should follow; as technology gets better understood and more efficient to produce, it becomes more widespread, it can be sold for a lower price point while still making profit, and generally this starts price wars in the industries that use that technology as well. But actually, because of the RIAA's tactics, major studio houses generally run at a loss, and many great ones are going out of business.
Part of the reason is that computers have become fast enough to handle extremely complex mixes. Mixes that even 5 years ago required thousands upon thousands in dedicated hardware. Most studio mixes use a ton of tracks, even for a 4 piece rock band. look at what I use:
7 tracks for the drums
3 tracks for bass
4 tracks for rhythm guitar
2 tracks for lead guitar
2 tracks for lead vocals
2 tracks for chorus vocals
plus a track for stick counts and a track for white noise
that's 22 tracks, just for your standard rock band. Imagine a large band, or a DJ with all sorts of sound effect tracks. Mixing 20-30 tracks together takes some serious horsepower all by itself, but it doesn't stop there. consider that all those tracks require at least a little reverb, compression, and EQ.
Until recently, such a mix required a large variety of effects which cost hundreds or thousands each, plus at least a 24 track mixing board, or a 16 track and a couple 4 tracks. then hooking it together required about a thousand dollars in cable. Alternately, you could have a computer mixing environment. Until recently, that required a whole bank of computers, and still required lots of external equipment, plus custom software. Then, even if you can afford all that, where you gonna put it?
Because all that stuff will fill a whole room. Oh, and you needed $2000 mixing monitors as well. And guess what? all that crap gets HOT, so you need great air conditioning...but your trying to HEAR in this room, so the AC has to be dead quiet.
Oh, and I've completely left out the rest of the studio, the actual performance room. The acoustics control of a pro studio is critical to the mix quality, and it requires the work of an experienced engineer. An engineer whose work runs $300,000 to $500,000 for a small to medium studio. That rooms also needs quiet AC, humidity control, and probably modification to the actual building structure. Don't forget a wide selection of microphones, mic stands, and oh, more cable.
So that's almost a million dollars in setup, plus rent on a large space.
Now you need acoustics engineers, mixing engineers, receptionists, managers, and maintenance people to run the place. You've got to keep the studio full just to keep the bills paid. forget recouping your construction costs!
So now that we all understand that a studio costs about a million to build, and millions annually to operate, don't assume that the industry tactics only get applied to consumers. They're constantly applying pressure for lower studio costs as well. It's driving the studios out of business. They're doing the same thing to the artists, and it makes the artists not want to work with the labels.
Enter technology.
Last year, I moved into a place with an extra large walk in closet. I immediately hopped on the internet and researched studio setups. I acoustically treated the closest, bought a couple industry standard mics, and a top of the line dual-core computer with a gig of ram. I bought software off the internet for less than $300 total, and most of the once thousands in effects, have been replicated in code for about $50 a pop. Some are even freeware.
Now, I have spent less than $2000, and while I can't get quite the quality of a professional recording, it's more than good enough for demos of local bands. I could easily get a larger room, spend another grand, take a local college class, and produce pro quality mixes.
Since most bands need acoustically treated practice space anyway, the space rent, while expensive, is already necessary anyway. Everything else is well within price. A band will spend that much on studio time in a single year. So the studio has actually been made nearly obsolete. More and more musicians are simply learning to do it themselves, taking more control of the creative process, and cutting out ALL the middle men. Suddenly, computers have made such a tactic affordable. It was unrealistic even 5 years ago.
So now you have Studios needing to charge more, cause they aren't making enough recordings to stay afloat, you've got consumers getting pissed off at industry pricing and copyright tactics, and you've got artists slowly starting to walk away from the organized industry all together. Technology is conspiring to accelerate all these forces at the same time.
consumers now know they have the technology to have their music anytime, anywhere, and they are getting pissed that the industry is trying to withhold it. Artists now know that they, and their fans, are getting screwed at every turn, and they know they can record and promote themselves nearly as effectively now. And you have recording engineers realizing it's better to work freelance, going under contract directly for the artist, in the artists own studio. The artist pays less and the engineer keeps almost all of it.
Anybody still wondering why the labels are so worried about their bottom line? When you hear that an album sells a million copies, at $18 a pop (probably $14 after retail takes it's cut), and you know the studio time probably cost $100,000, advertising $500,000 and the artist only gets 1-2% of what's left, you gotta wonder where all that extra cash is going. Cause that's 14 million, minus about $900,000 in expenses, there's still 13.1 million dollars left. Where'd it go? Yep, into the pockets of agents and executives, and lately, it's safe to assume, lawyers.
lkjhlkj, 6 Feb 2007 @ 12:09pm
#32he's right. how can a multi-million dollar movie be available for less than 11 bucks while a cd is anywhere between 13 and 23 bucks? i don't get that.
and i think it costs a bit more to make a movie than a cd
keithh, 6 Feb 2007 @ 12:12pm
Quality of MusicAm I the only one that feels quality of music is important? By quality I mean sound and content.
More often than not the sound quality of a downloaded .mp3 is crap and they put restrictions on what and where you can play them from. So I don't download music.
If I like the music I go buy the CD..... I haven't bought any CD's lately because... well... quite frankly the content of the music is horrible.
Instead of a 12 page insert with pictures on a CD put advertisements on it. Let the advertisors pay for the cost of the CD and give the product to your customers for next to nothing. The music shouldn't be the main product. It should be the vehicle in which advertisements are delivered through. You can tell a lot about what a person will and will not buy if you know the type of music they listen to. To take it a step further give the record company / artist a cut of the profits made from ancillary sales made from those advertisements... good god... how hard is it really?
Tashi, 6 Feb 2007 @ 12:16pmHaven't bought a CD in 7 years and counting.
um...no, 6 Feb 2007 @ 1:12pm
cd's with adsad artwork. ok, sure. who's gonna buy a cd with a tampax lable on it?
and what's next? the cd's 11 traks take up 43 minutes? give the other 37 for audio ads? or make the first 37 minutes the ads Which you can't skip through? or have each track have ads that you have to listen to before the song starts.
great. our music gets even better...
BlackRaven, 6 Feb 2007 @ 4:31pm
HehIt's simple: If I like a band, I'll buy merchandise, see their concerts, and buy their CDs. Now, many of the bands I like have way too many albums I love... so I support them by buying $70 worth of tickets for their concerts or buying their merch.
|333173|3|_||3, 6 Feb 2007 @ 6:04pm
Ads not so badIf you got a double CD, 1/2 ads, then with a copy of Wave Studio or equivalent (free with your sound card) and a CD-R (
Bernard Swiss, 6 Feb 2007 @ 7:16pm
Re: Sheesh"I mean mathematically speaking isn't it near impossible that they would not accidentally hire someone that might have a brain cell?"
Probably. But in my workplace experience, that leads to the question "How long do these inevitable, accidental, brighter new employees last before the employer recognises their error and fires them?"
LOL, 6 Feb 2007 @ 10:26pmthese RIAA @holes are running out of money to pay their lawyers
Bung Hole, 6 Feb 2007 @ 11:04pm
The CostsI was into CDs when the local Tower store only had 14 of them. I owned them all. They were $14.99 each. That was when an album was around $5.00 and a cassette was a buck more. Sales were prolific. They kept saying the cost of CD pressing equipment was really high and everyone bought into it. Thirteen years later you could buy a CD burner and blanks were about a buck and CD's were still $14.99 and in many places they had inched up to $15.99. Copying CD's was worthwhile. At first it was small potatoes but soon the masses joined in. Now the cat is out of the bag and you are never putting it back. Consumers have been lied to for a long time about the costs and records companies look like thieves.
Their record industry could easily be saved but the infrastructure greed will be too hard to undo. If CD's sold for $5.00 or $6.00 each it might not be worth someone's time rip them. Someone on the fence about his honesty would certainly spring $5.00. It's still a 500% margin. The could make up lost revenue in volume. Walmart would go that way if the industry would let them.
The movie industry seems to have found a happy medium between first run tickets, CD sales and rentals. The greedy amongst that industry might disagree. But they need to be vigilent because if they teeter the price tipping point, broadband will suck the life out of them. As it is they are nipping at their heels.
WhiteStone, 7 Feb 2007 @ 12:52amOf course cd's should cost more - after all, they now need to pay the bill of their opponent attorneys as well ;-)
Buru, 7 Feb 2007 @ 2:25am
Ha!Remember when CD's came out and they said the prices would eventually go down...and they didn't! I only buy CD's that are $7,00 or less now...and I share music with friends using GigaTribe ( http://www.gigatribe.com ). Spending $15,99 on a CD is a thing in the past for me!!!!
xengineer, 7 Feb 2007 @ 5:00am
Supply and DemandThe RIAA (and record companies) is/are trying to convert itself from the music industry to the legal industry if it increases the cost of CDs. Fewer people will be shell out the $$$$$$ for a CD (or any pre-packaged media) and either go without or use alternative means of obtaining music. The RIAA will cry foul as they are selling fewer CDs and then add more lawyers to sue individuals using less expensive techniques. Eventually they will run out of enough money to produce CDs as they will have to maintain lawyers. This will force the artists to use the internet to release their own music for much less money. The RIAA will eventually go belly up. Supply and demand is a wonderful thing for consumers.
scarecrow, 7 Feb 2007 @ 5:42am
marketingLet's not forget the ridiculous amount of money spent on marketing to sell a hit from an artist who is marginally talented. Listeners aren't stupid. What happens is the labels are now forced to outspend each other in an effort to promote commercial "musicians" who, most often lately, just aren't good enough to warrant that kind of push.
If they don't do it, however, they get lost in the shuffle and don't sell as many discs.
It really hasn't been about music in quite awhile. I look forward to the day the whole system collapses under its own gluttonous weight.
Rick Olano, 7 Feb 2007 @ 8:37am
A Willingness To Pay Requires More Effort From YouAs I grew into my teen years, I was hungry for music. So I joined a "music club". Years later I realized what a fool I was for spending XX dollars for a tape and at least $2 for each tape on shipping????
I spent in my mind more on shipping than the worth of the music itself. And it never seemed to end. No matter how good the club sale was, I was always spending tons on each piece for shipping. It seemed that "The Industry" was making side money on my craving for what I thought were life enriching songs back then. Now it is just an expense, not pertinent to life, and it just makes me angry and sad both.
This really turned me off and today, I rarely listen to music. National Public Radio is my fare including some interesting music shows from time to time. I do NOT own an Ipod or any kind of MP3 device or player except for my movie DVD player with which I might rarely listen to a friend's CD when she says I must.
The whole buying experience and disproportionate add-on costs have jaded me against music in general. Except for the Cincinnati Blues Society (God Bless their staff and participating artists). Suffice to say if it isn't played within the context of a rented movie, then I may not have heard the song!
I know others who feel much the same. You've taken advantage when we were young and now you make such a fuss about it in our adult life. You folks have darkened the doors of artists whom I'm sure deserve to be heard, one way or another. Which ever way someone gets to hear music, increasingly it will be one which is: -very affordable, and -delightful.
When something is -delightful and -very affordable I'm more willing to part with my very hard earned money. But alas these are two things which seem to be glaringly absent in much of the music industry today!
While everything around us seems to be improving and evolving, why can't you? I believe it is because you have the wrong focus on business. Spend some time taking quality courses and you'll quickly realize exactly what I mean.
It could be caused by greed like so many think, or it could be your expenses could be streamlined a lot! This is were understanding all things quality comes in.
The CONSUMER needs to be delighted! Do that and things will change and you'll be very happy too! The road to change can be easy or hard. Up front it will cost you dearly but pay out most handsomely for your commitment to the consumer. In every part of your business there is latent potential that is not producing desired and needed results.
The U.S. is falling behind in this understanding. This applies to all business from the Mom & Pops to national corporations. Do this and then be welcomed into our world and we'll pay you for it!
Marcus Christian, 7 Feb 2007 @ 8:52am
UhmWhere are they finding these $12 CDs? The ones I've seen have been no less than $15. Most commonly $17.99. And I will NOT pay that.
What I did to split the difference is join Sony Connect, so I can download the songs I want at a buck each. Usually I get two songs from a CD and that's it. For that price I can justify paying for it legally.
Since Sony Connect puts limits on what you can do with downloads, I have special software that lets you rip the songs out to regular .MP3, if I want. Or I can just burn a CD from within Sony Connect and then rip out to high quality MP3 using WMP11.
Ultimately I wouldn't even pay $5 for a CD. Not with the quality of CDs today. The musical passion just is not there like it was (begin old man voice) back in my day.
DJolin, 7 Feb 2007 @ 10:31am
PerhapsAny economist knows that if you lower your offer (amount available) and the demand stays the same, prices will go up.
Therefore the RIAA should stop paying crappy "entertainers" and flooding the market with bad music at the same time would reduce the offer (available cds) and make it a less competitive market. That would drive the prices down.
But I guess there is money to be made and if there is room for all this crappy music, the price of cds is exactly where it should be. Stop controlling the price of cds and you will get the real price of cd. If competition drives the price down, then good. Your return should be the higher even if the margin is lower because you will sell more cds.
Another great shot in the foot. A "bullseye" this time.
Sam Wilson, 7 Feb 2007 @ 11:42am
Market economicsEven ignoring their greed and predatory tactics, I truly believe the RIAA has failed to sufficiently examine a fundamental principle of economics. There's been a lot of talk here how technology and economies of scale have dropped many of their costs to a relative zero, based on when the CD industry was new, yet their price point ever increases, clearly in an effort to wring every possible dollar out of properties of often questionable quality.
What they've apparently failed to realize or remember is that, for every dollar you raise the price point of something, you lose a certain percentage of willing customers who now can't afford to buy your product. By the same token, cut that price, and your prospective audience increases. It seems clear from their pricing that they (however misguidedly) intended to reduce their number of customers, yet complain because they've lost customers.
I won't buy any apples for $10 each, but at 50¢ each, I'll happily buy a bag of 20 for $10, and so would a LOT of other people.
Add to all of the above all the publicity RIAA has gotten for suing single mothers and people without computers, and you begin to build a population that will conscientiously refuse to be your customer, even for *needed* articles of value at a reasonable price. I can't imagine how a vendor could better cut his own throat than what RIAA actually does.
Michael, 7 Feb 2007 @ 12:45pm
buy usedbuy used -> rip -> sell back to used music store
This is my method, and every CD I buy costs exactly what I believe it's worth: about $3.
As a bonus, I support a local business while not supporting the RIAA or the colluding musicians.
I only pay full price for local bands, or bands that sell online without major label interference.
On a side note, when I managed a record store, major labels bent over backwards to give me and my employees free CDs. Thousands of them every year -- more than we even had storage space for. Guess CDs aren't that expensive after all. We made a small fortune selling these promo CDs to the used music stores.
justanobody, 7 Feb 2007 @ 6:22pm
download, download, download!!!!the RIAA is secrectly saying it is okay to download music of the internet than it ever was!! aka download, download, download!!!!
nik, 7 Feb 2007 @ 11:05pmObviously the cocaine running from the hot and cold taps of the RIAA bathrooms is getting a bit expensive if they are complainging about the 'low' price of CD's.
Euthanasia, 9 Feb 2007 @ 1:01pm
riaaSo essentially, you're saying that the RIAA might also control the prices of tampons, cold medications, and soda pop (which has almost doubled in price).
Hans Bezemer, 12 Feb 2007 @ 2:30am
Time for a new business modelRecord companies have very little to do with recording. As a matter of fact, they are a kind of specialized bankers, giving loans to recording artists, which they have to pay back later. Most artists are ripped off, seeing no money at all before their third album, when their best work has already been recorded. These "recording contracts" rip most of the rights of their work from the artists leaving them with few other sources of income.
No, the RIAA does not fight for the rights of artists. They fight for their own wallets. With current technology, I think artists should abandon the current model and start distributing their work themselves. That is the only way to break the power of these recording sharks. A simple example: an artist gets may be 5-10% of the price of a CD. Producing a CD is 1 dollar. Add another dollar for leaflet and box, another for transport, another dollar for the sales and we're at 5 dollar. Where do you think the other 28 dollar goes??
Digital songs are even cheaper, say 20 - 30 cents a piece. There are dutch artists (Hans Dulfer) that have begun to distribute their work like that. Unprotected, on a memory stick. I hope more will follow.
guitarpunk2512, 16 Feb 2008 @ 6:54pm
RIAA sucksthey cant afford to pay for their 3rd masion or 25th millioon dollar sports car, or their big vacations. their standard of living is too high...we middle class people are being squeezed of money in taxes, gas, bills, morgages, everything and the wages arent following them. we cant afford the $15.99-$18.99 cds anymore. i can personally say, im my 16 years of existance, i nly brought about 15 cds...most by blink 182 cuz theyre my favorite band, i liek many other bands but only like 2 -3 songs form them .. not worth buying whole cd's for 1 song when theyre $15.99. we wonder why america is having an economic recession...its big corporationg demanding more money from people who dont have any more money to give.
DFMichael, 22 Dec 2008 @ 8:40am
You have no respect for music artistsFirst, if you think all CDs are created equal, like bananas, then you should listen to bananas. CDs are produced with different budgets, and we artists are not all Mariah Carey. If you are a big name and sell million of copies, you can sell for even $5 and still make a lot of money.
Second: much less known artists that sells at most a few thousand copies (and are supposed to live on that misery) should be allowed to price CDs much higher. Even $50. Tell me why otherwise you are willing to pay different amounts of money for books? Why are books different than CDs? ou are saying basically that CDs are like bananas. Just sell them by the pound then. Who cares about the time, effort and money put into it by the artists and musicians.
No thanks to the people like you that are willing to pay very high prices for books, magazines, DVDs, but pretend that music is free as some kind of natural law.
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Forms Jobs
Biographical Information
Age: 50
Tour of Duty: 27 years
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Fatally wounded
Incident Description
Sergeant Hutchens was shot outside a local restaurant after he responded to a call reporting a disturbance there. The restaurant's manager reported that her ex-husband, who had outstanding warrants for his arrest, was at the restaurant and would not leave. The suspect fled from officers and then opened fire at close range when confronted. The suspect shot Sgt. Hutchens in the head, and shot Officer Daniel Clark in the head and the chest, before being fatally wounded. Both officers were transported to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Officer Clark survived his injuries and was released from the hospital. Days later, despite all efforts by medical staff, Sgt. Hutchens died from his injuries.
Sergeant Mickey Hutchens was a 27-year veteran of the Winston-Salem Police Department. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Joe and Chris Miller, owners of a 600-acre farm near Denver, Colorado, decided to open it up to the public for a weekend of "gleaning" - the practice of letting neighbors help themselves to vegetables that remain in your field after harvest. Because their farm is so large, they expected a crowd of 5-10 thousand people, but they were shocked when 40,000 people showed up, waiting for hours in a long line of cars to reach the farm. The couple decided to open their farm to the public for gleaning after hearing people were stealing food from local churches. But they had no idea that the response would be so huge. They had to convert dozens of acres of their farm to parking for the 11,000 cars that people drove to get free potatoes, carrots and leeks. Chris Miller told the Washington Post, " 'Overwhelmed' is putting it mildly. People obviously need food." You know the food riots aren't far away when you hear stories like this. [via Washington Post]
40,000 Hungry People Descend on Colorado Farm Seeking Free Food


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Up in Cumberland, more early records of the family were found. "The township lies between the river Ehen on the east, and the Irish Sea on the west, and contains the venerable remains of Egremont Castle, built soon after the Conquest by William de Meschines, the first Baron of Copeland, and still exhibiting traces of strength and grandeur." [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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Frankly, I blame it on my iPad.
I don't much get on the desktop anymore and I find writing with the iPad to be a challenge. The keyboard is frustrating and then the words that I meant to type, but misspelled, get changed into words or phrases that make little sense, so I go on typing without proofing. And then I go back and re-read and it makes such poor sense that I don't really know what I really meant.....and so I give it all up.
But occasionally, I keep thinking about all the things I have up in my brain and I need a place to spill it....so here I am.
What's been happening? Here is the last 2 months in 10 points
1. Still running. I have done a half marathon here in my hometown and was really pleased with my time. I am planning on doing the Victoria marathon in October. And the Tucson one in December. Might be biting off more than I can chew. We'll see.
2. I have not yet learned that no is a complete sentence, as I have somehow found myself on not one, but 2 boards. This could be a busy couple of years.
3. Our baby girl came home from her second year in university. But not for long. She is headed for Spain in July. And then again in September. And not home until February. I already miss her.
4. The oldest boy needs to get a job. And soon. I cannot afford him for much longer. Too bad 13 year olds are not allowed to work. HE'S very keen to make money.
5. School year
6. Calgary weather continues to suck. Big time. And on June 9, it was snowing in Banff. Technically not Calgary, but considering I was there and not in Calgary, it still counts.
7. I went to Vancouver for a quick trip. I spent too much money. What else is new? Oh yeah - the weather sucked there too. No snow, but cold and rainy/overcast.
8. I fell off the wagon and bought both yarn and books. Not part of the plan for this year, wherein I was going to knit what was in the bin and read what's behind the door. The books were "Let's pretend this never happened" by Jenny Lawson (drop dead funny - if you don't mind a little profanity) and "The art of fielding" by Chad Harbach.
As for the yarn - just a little Rowan's Felted Tweed. In ginger. And some Americo cotton. In raspberry. And two skeins of sock yarn. And I am not counting the kit yarn that I get every 2 months. That's different. Sort of.
9. The Flames fell just short of the playoffs. And the coach resigned. His brother coached the L.A. Kings to the Cup. Calgary has a new coach. We'll see what happens. But I will be pissed if Brent Sutter (old coach) goes to a place like Edmonton and they....win.
10. Finally? Still knitting. I have made a sweater, a scarf shawl thingy, a pair of socks and am working on another shawl. Still not that much closer to knitting a marathon. Good thing my running pace is a little faster.


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Print Student Documents in the Classroom with Printopia
AirPrint on iPads allows students to print wirelessly to AirPrint-enabled printers. Printopia turns a Mac into an Airprint server, enabling students to print to any of its shared printers, whether or not they are AirPrint-enabled.
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Printopia turns your computer into an AirPrint server, allowing you to share any or all of the shared or networked printers on your network. Whether you have an inkjet printer, a laser printer plugged into your router, or a network printer whatever type of printer you have if your Mac can print to it, Printopia will share it with your iOS devices.
Once Printopia is installed on your computer, go to any iOS app that supports printing and tap the Print button, and all of a sudden, all the printers connected to your computer will show up as options whether they support AirPrint or not!
To get started, follow these steps:
Download and install the Printopia software on your Mac computer.
It's available from the publisher's website.
Double-click Install Printopia.
After installation, the Printopia dialog displays the list of printers connected to your computer. All of your available printers and the Printopia virtual printers are automatically enabled for sharing via AirPrint.
You can setup virtual printers that allow you to print (send files) directly to your Dropbox or Evernote among other things.
Select the printers you want to make available for sharing by clicking the check box to the left of the printer name.
Close the dialog when you're done.
Checked printers will appear as available printing options for iPads on the network.
Select the Print option in an app on your iPad.
The printers you shared in Printopia appear as print options. Easy.


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Andrew Kidd necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 58 diseños de 21 diseñadores freelance.
First Point Change Programs
First Point Change Programs Pty Ltd specializes in developing business transformation and continuous improvement initiatives for large corporations. Types of programs include:
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Large corporations particularly in the financial services and energy sectors.
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The departments are normally in organisational development, HR or Operations.
A logo for use on printed material and electronic media. It should be suitable for Black and White and Colour reproduction.
Rational and emotional element keywords: Integrity, quality, professional, a slight edge on the competition, differentiate from competition, clean
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Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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See our website dedicated to Litigation Response Plan at www.LitigationResponsePlan.com
Watch for upcoming revised book, Electronic Discovery Technologies, a comprehensive book full of legal information, practical tips and software tools to help lawyers, their support staff, corporate counsel and IT departments gain control over electronically stored information and satisfy rapidly evolving legal requirements for e-discovery. Topics include:
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I was thinking about one of these after my backside was left in a truly pitiful state by my recent Lejog (ridden on an Arione, which has always seemed perfectly comfy to me before). But I just can't bring myself to shell out nearly £120 on something that might not prove as comfortable as the saddle I've already got. Doesn't one of the big saddle makers offer a 30 day trial? They all should if you ask me...
Selle Italia's Turbomatic Gel Flow Team Edition maintains the basic original shape of the original Turbo but incorporates pretty much every conceivable technological refinement to satisfy the most discerning and demanding of pro, elite and amateur cycling bottoms.
It could be argued with some conviction that I am missing the point, but at this end of the market I expect to find a more tailored approach to sizing. While the relatively broad base was perfect for my Univega's more upright stance and similarly for off-road duties generally, long, steady miles on the road and TT bikes encouraged uncomfortable chafing and even set to the recommended tolerances, our test sample had a disconcerting tendency to squeak over rougher roads and singletrack.
What we have here is a Lorica (faux leather) cover which might not breathe quite so well as the genuine hide but requires little more than periodic wiping down with a damp Jey cloth. This will win approval from strict vegetarian/vegans and seems hardy enough despite omission of the ubiquitous Kevlar scuff bumpers, taking regular frisking from foliage and brushes with street furniture in its stride. Lurking beneath is a very clever, variable density memory-foam padding that conforms perfectly to the shape of the rider's sit bones. Speaking of shape, 275mm is plenty for those who like to shuffle about over longer periods too.
Tailored gel inserts and well-configured cutaway provide excellent ventilation, relieving pressure on your soft tissues while remaining very supportive. Several hours seated green laning couldn't induce any numbness or tingling and this is also helped by carbon fibre rails and elastomer damping. These isolate the rider from road and trail buzz while keeping the overall weight competitive with minimalist siblings and extending horizons to competitive cross and possibly mountain bike duties. A great performer then on a bike with a more upright riding position as I found out it's not so comfortable with a more stretched out high performance stance, but as long as you take that in to account this is a really good saddle.
A classic reborn for the modern age that does a really great job on more upright bikes
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Selle Italia Turbomatic Gel Flow Team saddle
Size tested: n/a
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
"The Turbomatic saddle has been a milestone for the last fifteen years and one of the most used saddles by pro riders, together with Flite and SLR. It's main features are the patented shock absorber technology that creates a suspension system ensuring maximum comfort for every cyclist. "
Statements I'd broadly agree with.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
■LORICA: covering in LORICA featuring high abrasion resistance and durability
■GEL FLOW: Inserts in silicone gel with differentiated thickness around cutout
■PF: Self-modelling padding - Perfect Fit
■30%: Shell made from 30% Carbon composite
■top: Lorica
■rails: Carbon
■W 153 x L 275
■weight: 230g
To Selle Italia's usual high standards.
Very competitive (quoted 230g but 257 by my scales) without compromising comfort.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Basically it's the Turbomatic for the modern age, retaining the classic shape and build quality while bristling with state of the art technology. The carbon rails coupled with sophisticated gel padding and supportive cut out deliver a majestic ride over most surfaces and despite some initial reservations is more than hardy enough for the rigours of rough stuff touring.
However, the base is notably wider than my suggested ideal- fine on the tourer with its more upright stance but resulted in chafing on the TT or race bike for rides longer than a couple of hours.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Fantastic build quality, comfort and innovative design.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing but a choice of widths would be welcome at this end of the market.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Quite Possibly
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
About the tester
Age: 36 Height: 1m 81 Weight: 70 kilos
I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,
Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)


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Welcome to 567Broadway!
Click HERE to book a class.
The class is divided into two sections: 1) 25-minute cardio routine that stays the same every week & 2) a choreographed dance combo that changes week by week.
Please note the minimum age requirement is 16 years old.
What to wear/bring: Running shoes, water, and a towel.
Parking: There is a TON of metered street parking just outside The BOD and it's free after 6 PM!
Anything else I should know? This is a safe space for you to dance, sing, wear costumes, and just have fun! We can't wait to see you in class!


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You either have one or you need one.
Minibikes! You either have one or you need one. The same can be said for go-karts, the forerunners of minibikes, which were born in 1956 when fabricator Art Ingles of Frank Kurtis' race shop Kurtis Kraft in Glendale, California, built what's acknowledged to be the first kart–though it wasn't called that at the time. Soon, muffler-shop owner Duffy Livingstone saw that he could bend tubing to build the little race cars powered by lawn-mower engines. Lynn Wineland of Rod & Custom magazine was called in to make an ad, and he named the cars go-karts. Sales of the tiny racers boomed overnight, and Livingstone's Go-Kart Manufacturing Company opened a stand-alone kart plant in Azusa, California. A zillion other companies jumped in the game, and in 1958, Livingstone opened the first kart track, Go-Kart Raceway in Irwindale, California. Magazines like R&C and Car Craft were jammed with kart ads and stories.
Also in 1958, some of the original players started fiddling with hand-built two-wheelers powered by go-kart engines, inspiring Livingstone's company to develop what was probably the first minibike kit–but again, they were not yet known as minibikes. Many of the companies that followed called them mini cycles, and the Go-Kart Manufacturing Company called 'em Go-Kart Cycles when not using a specific model name (Scrambler, Greenhorn Enduro, and so on). Then came Wineland again, whose Nov. '60 R&C cover blurb coined the term minibike. It stuck.
Go-Kart Manufacturing Company had a relationship with John Steen, who sold synthetic oils and, later, go-kart speed parts. Around 1963, he got into building minibike kits, and yet again it was Lynn Wineland to the rescue, developing the Taco name and the signature purple color of the frames. Another R&C contributor, illustrator Donal Jolley (JolleyArt.com), designed the iconic Taco lettering and bean-on-a-bike cartoon.
Throughout the '60s, you couldn't find a car mag without a minibike ad. But the fad faded and probably ended around the time Go-Kart Raceway (where bikes were also raced) folded in the mid '70s.
And now there's now. Minibikes are super-hot as low-buck, high-fun projects for hot rodders. Buildups are getting way more creative than they were in the original days, with drag bikes, choppers, lowriders, and many more styles that follow the lines of custom cars. Pro Touring minibike? You can do it. The easiest way to start a project is with one of the reproduction kits that are once again available from Taco, which was reinvigorated by Joe Rivello, who brought it back to California manufacturing. Check out TacoMinibikes.com and you'll see kits for the classic mid-'60s Model 22, the tiny Frijole, and the new 100B that looks vintage but has suspension front and rear.
Joe Sebergandio of Joe's Minibike Reunion (JoesMinibikeReunion.net) and the Minibike Hall of Fame hooked us up with Joe Rivello at Taco who had minibike legend Dave Miller of Dave Miller Concepts build a special hot rodded bike for HOT ROD. Dave was a pro minibike racer as a teen, starting in 1969 for Bonanza bikes and capturing several national and worldwide championships. These days, he's known for amazing, tricked-up vintage bike restorations. Here's how he hopped up a new Taco 22 for HRM. Take inspiration and build your own.
You fall off this end of the bike when you crack the throttle. This thing's fast! You gotta lean forward to keep the front wheel on the ground.
The chrome gas tank, available as an upgrade from Taco, recalls the design seen on '60s Tecumseh engines.
The header and integral muffler is available from Taco. It sounds wicked cool.
Another off-the-shelf speed hop-up from Taco is the special manifold, Mikuni carb, and high-flow air filter kit.
The engine is a 212cc, overhead-valve, 6.5hp Predator, which is a Honda knock-off available for about $120 at Harbor Freight (HarborFreight.com).
The frame and forks were powdercoated a kandy HOT ROD red by Embee Powdecoating (EmbeePerformance.com).
Dress-up includes a chromed cover and a custom-cast finned-aluminum cover to mimic Cal Custom valve covers of the '60s.
These wheels are 6-inchers, an upgrade from the standard 5s, with a special five-spoke design like an early Torq-Thrust.
The tires are 5.50×4.50-6.
- Minibikes were even sold by Sears and Montgomery Ward! The bike manufacturers were companies like Bonanza, Rupp, Fox, Artic Cat, Toro, Efenel, and dozens more.
- Builder Dave Miller has a custom drag minibike in early Bonanza style, but with a turbo V2 engine with 102 hp and 91 lb-ft.
- Many super cool minibikes can be seen at GoKartsUSA.com and OldMiniBikes.com.
Other Bikes
Do You Hot Rod Everything?
If you've hopped up anything that's not a car, let's see it! Hot leaf blower? Bitchin' gas grill? Customized kitchen cabinets? Anything goes. Email pics and details: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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7596 Kings Pointe Rd. Toledo, Ohio 43617
Since 1994 Buckeye Real Estate Group has designed and built quality homes incorporating the specific needs of each individual owner.
Whether you build with your plan or one of ours, Mike White and the staff at Buckeye are here to assist you every step of the way. We build every home with quality, craftsmanship and pride. Through the years we've been able to identify and retain an extensive network of subcontractors who were selected because they, too, hold themselves to the highest levels of consistent quality and professionalism. By working with the same subcontractors, Buckeye is able to accurately estimate both schedules and costs, resulting in fewer delays or cost overruns. With few "surprises," client satisfaction remains high, and Buckeye remains of the most successful builders of both custom homes and commercial properties in Toledo, Sylvania, Perrysburg, Waterville and the surrounding areas.


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Age 21+
$20 session/eight sessions.
Everything's better with local beer, right? Come learn beginning guitar while enjoying your favorite IPA. This class is for adults picking the guitar up after years of neglect or perhaps for the first time! Here's your chance to learn some chords among others at your same level in a fun environment. Al Church will have you playing your favorite covers in no time.
BYO guitar and beer/beverage
60-minute sessions plus open jam sessions beforehand.
Registration is open HERE.


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Contact us 24/7: +1 877 678 9627
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- - Weighs approximately 4lbs/ 1.8kg
- Depth 15cm
- Handle Drop 17cm
- Height 32cm
- Width 43cm
Chloé lends fashion's favorite black tote a dose of understated sophistication, creating this luxurious leather 'T' carryall for the new season. Finished solely with subtle nude and baby-blue piping, this spacious, softly structured style will go the distance in your work-to-weekend wardrobe.
Shown here with: Chloé top and pants, Mulberry bracelet, Maison Martin Margiela cuff, Marni shoes.
- - Black leather (Sheep)
- - Two top handles
- - Nude and baby-blue piping, feet, gold hardware
- - Internal zip-fastening pocket
- - Fully lined in black cotton-twill
- - Open at top
- - Comes with dust bag
Product Code: 322275
For alternative suggestions, contact our Fashion Consultants
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Product Code: 322275


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Part of the ultra high-performance Z-Series of Sound Blaster sound cards, the Sound Blaster Z is an ideal all-round solution for your PC gaming and entertainment needs. It comes complete with the Sound Blaster Beamforming Microphone for crystal clear voice communication.
A signal to noise ratio or SNR of 116dB means your audio will be more than 99.99% pristine, which is over 35.4 times better than motherboard audio.
Enjoy reduced latency with Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) support with the Sound Blaster Z. Hear your audio recordings come to life!
Stereo Direct lets you listen to your music pure and unprocessed at the amazing bit rate of 24-bit 192 kHz.
Experience like never before the power of Sound Blaster audio today! With Sound Blaster Z's gold-plated connectors, speaker optimization technology and digital content encoding capability, you can be assured of only the best digital audio possible.
SBX Pro Studio sound technologies create unprecedented levels of audio realism, including stunning 3D surround effects for your speakers and headsets.
In gaming, if you're not communicating, you're not winning. Experience crystal clear communication with your teammates with the CrystalVoice suite of technologies that removes echoes, ambient noises and picks up your voice from within a zone (Voice Focus). It also maintains your voice level even if you are near or further away from the microphone.
When used with CrystalVoice Focus, the bundled beamforming microphone creates an acoustic zone and suppresses noise outside it, enabling you to be heard with amazing clarity.
The multi-core Sound Core3D audio processor is designed to offload SBX Pro Studio and CrystalVoice effects processing from your primary CPU, improving your overall PC performance, resulting in drastically superior audio and voice quality.
Connect to your home theatre system through a single digital cable and enjoy cinematic DVD movies by transforming any stereo or multi-channel streams into high fidelity immersive surround sound.
With the Sound Blaster Z-series Control Panel, just toggle between your headphone and speaker system with a flip of a switch.
In games, the Sound Blaster Z was able to provide clear and crisp sounding audio to a variety of different games tested. Audio imaging was very good, which helped when trying to find the location of different enemies.
Certified Awesome Award; Gold
Sound Blaster Z
Music was much more enjoyable when using a high fidelity sound card, each sound, is reproduced accurately and concisely allowing for audible differentiation of instrumental timbre.
Silver Award
Sound Blaster Z
In terms of music, hooking up the Soundblaster Z to my Onkyo amp and B&W speakers produced a deep and clear soundstage that was definitely step up on the audio that I usually pump through an Nvidia HDMI connection to the same device.
Recommended Award
Sound Blaster Z
Impressed!...sound reproduction is way better than on-board
Best of the best, soundblaster is still going strong.
The sound card itself is worth buying. It requires some time to set up correctly, but then it just works flawlessly. I've had some problems with Flash Player's sounds, but those have been mystically fixed (probably by re-setting the sampling frequency to 96kHz and bit depth to 24-bit). There's a very little fault, though: When Windows 7 starts up, the startup sound just breaks. I'm using an SSD drive, so it may be too fast for the driver to load. The software's 'Advanced Features' tab should contain boxes for sampling frequency and bit depth, and what I really miss is the software's resizability. The 'Equalizer' tab's DropDown list should be editable by hand, and it should allow at least 64 characters, because I often create profiles optimized for specific applications _and_ sound devices: for example, I'm not able to write 'Pioneer Steez Dubstep (Flash Player)'. The support and the delivery speed (free - 4 days) was just great, it deserves more than just 5 stars!
Intel® Core 2 Duo or AMD® equivalent processor, 2.2GHz or faster recommended.
Intel, AMD or 100% compatible motherboard
Microsoft® Windows® 10 (32/64-bit); Windows 8 (32/64-bit); Windows 7 (32/64-bit)
>600 MB of free hard disk space
Available PCI Express® (x1, x4 or x16) slot
Available CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
1-year Limited Hardware Warranty
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Lead, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
To meet the requirements of Proposition 65, it is our responsibility to notify consumers in the State of California that they can be exposed to chemicals that are known to cause cancer and/or reproductive toxicity. It does not mean that the product is in violation of any product-safety standards or requirements.


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It's December 23, and it's almost certainly National Work From Anywhere But The Office Day. I'm currently dispatching from my parents' kitchen. Where are you?
God knows you're definitely not in the office. Chances are over the weekend, you flew off to whatever locale you'll be spending the impending holiday, and you're posted up wherever there's Wi-Fi, finishing the work you have left to do before the New Year. Or even if you are in the office, it's probably some kind of desolate wasteland, sparsely populated by you and a Keurig. You're almost home free for a few days, but in the meantime, tell us where' you're working from.


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Thank you for your interest in becoming a CASA Ambassador. Ambassadors serve for one year and are evaluated for continuation in or around December.
The duties are split into Primary and Secondary activities. Primary duties are those that are required to be an Ambassador. We ask that you also complete at least two Secondary duties throughout the year. Feel free to complete any additional Secondary duties that strike your fancy! Duties noted with a star(*) are coming soon.
Primary Duties
- Update Acapedia with most recent information on all local groups (include high school, collegiate, CAL, amateur, and pro)
- Update CASA Events Calendar with local events
- Maintenance of casa.org/STATE website which is your "Embassy" headquarters (International ambassadors may have your own website/orgs, we're looking for ways to alias casa.org/InternationalLocale to your site)
- Connect scholastic groups with adult groups in your area or locale
- Communicate with local CASA member groups (CAL and regular groups)
- Promote CASA festivals to your local community
- Participate as nominator for at least a single category in the CARAS
- Increase CASA membership through Embassy. Required: The acquisition of one new member per calendar year
- Support and attend local events
- Establish relationships with a cappella-friendly performance venues in area
- Communicate with locals about CASA services at least Monthly, prefer weekly/biweekly
- Report important/unique events and projects to the Ambassador Program Manager
- Ensure all local groups are aware of CASA awards (CARAs and ACAs) and submit as appropriate. Check in with awards coordinators to ensure completion.
- Write articles about local events for Web posting and the CASA newsletter
- Forward/repost CASA Newsletter to increase membership and information outreach
- Maintain a CASA.org web account
- Submit formal report on events/progress to Ambassador PM at least quarterly
- Become and stay well-versed in the various types and benefits of membership with CASA
- Work with CASA leadership to encourage groups to join continually, answer questions for them, etc. Generally, be a brand representative and promoter for CASA
- Participate at least once monthly on ambassador e-mail list with questions and status updates
Secondary Duties
- Friend/Like local groups in their area on Facebook
- Follow/Interact with local groups on Twitter
- Identify and help recruit new talent (performers and administrative) for CASA
- Get certified as local coach*
- Volunteer for CASA festivals (virtual or onsite)
- Liaise with CAL Program Manager to help encourage new/existing local groups to join CAL
- Establish community sings/events as feasible in the area; help book collaborative gigs with multiple area groups
- Recommend potential volunteers in their area to the Volunteer Program Manager
- Take photographs at local events to post to CASA.org
- Identify good writers/contributors for CASAcademy, send to CASAcademy Program Manager
- Field local and regional requests as needed from CASA Web Content Program Manager
Hopefully the length of this list is not too intimidating. It was created based on the activities of some of our most successful ambassadors past and present. If there is something on this list that you aren't sure how to do, just ask!!


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Who among us can honestly claim to look better today than we did 20 years ago? Those who do likely credit advancements in cosmetic surgeries and anti-aging techniques, which polish our blemishes and restore surface beauties.
The same goes for "Jurassic Park." Steven Spielberg's edge-of-your-seat blockbuster celebrates its 20th anniversary with a 3-D Imax restoration that improves digital effects that were considered spectacular for their time. The enthralling man-vs.-nature parable based on the late Michael Crichton's best-selling novel hasn't aged one bit. But the upgrade allows Spielberg's larger-than-life dinosaurs to fit perfectly on today's enlarged Imax screens -- and occasionally terrify audiences when those beasts reach out and appear to be going for our popcorn.
My preview audience was fired up for the blast of nostalgia, cheering the "Jurassic Park" title card, groaning when Laura Dern reached elbow deep into a 3-D pile of dino droppings and screaming in excited fear when a velociraptor tried to chomp Dern's head in a bunker. The crowd was rewarded with a breathtaking 3-D conversion that enhanced items both miniscule (Samuel L. Jackson's dangling cigarette ash, Wayne Knight's Barbasol can) and massive (the Tyrannosaurus rex, a crowning technical achievement in Spielberg's illustrious career). "Jurassic Park" was impressive in 1993. Twenty years later, it's flawless.
Spielberg has become a 3-D supporter in recent years, filming his animated "The Adventures of Tintin" with the visual enhancement and allowing technical wizards to add a rich depth-of-focus here. If enough moviegoers flock to "Jurassic Park," as I suspect they well, maybe one day we'll see Richard Dreyfuss creating 3-D piles of mashed potatoes, E.T.'s glowing finger reaching off of an Imax screen and Roy Scheider telling Quint that he's going to need a bigger 3-D boat.
O'Connell is a freelance writer.
PG-13. Contains intense science-fiction terror. 127 minutes.


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The Delavan Grider Center, 877 E. Delavan Ave., is offering a free summer youth program for kids ages 8 to 14 from 2 to 7 p.m. each weekday.
The program will provide a variety of fun, educational and recreational activities, including daily arts and crafts, sports and games, weekly field trips and educational workshops.
Snack and dinner will be served each day.
Parents must register each child in the program in person.
Also, a free lunch program is open at the center daily from 11:15 a.m. to noon. It is sponsored by the Buffalo Board of Education.
For more information, call 896-7021.


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JohnSmith Texture Pack
This texture pack was painted to what I have come to believe is one of the greatest minecraft texture artists that I have ever heard of. JohnSmith. Neatly packaged in this great texture pack are clean, detailed and sensible block and item textures that bring an unusually unique aspect to the game. Not only is this texture pack enjoyable for role players or just casual players who are looking for a detailed, yet not over done texture pack that will increase their gameplay experience. The texture pack is available in "32x" which I think is sensible seeing as the pack is already detailed enough. Some texture packs can go way over the line with trying to make there texture pack detailed. Some textures could look a little too realistic for the game. Don't get me wrong, some players enjoy that sort of texture, but in my opinion I think this kind of texture pack is far better than any other I have seen.
This texture pack is enjoyable for everyone, like I said before; it uses a medieval aspect but does not forget simple textures that make the texture pack casual and relaxed. This is what I believe will be the start of a new future for texture packs, Extraordinary.
Something that I found slightly strange, which I only picked up once I had been using the texture pack for at least 3 weeks was that the mushroom textures were the same. I am not sure if this is a bug or a glitch in my game. But if a bug, minor it may be, so it will be an easy one to get over, and continue playing the game.
Something that makes a great texture pack an amazing texture pack is one that will allow you to easily customise what blocks you want in game and which ones you don't. Looks like this texture pack is an amazing one, seeing as the texture pack provides the users an easy and efficient way to customise every single aspect of the pack to your individual choice. This makes the texture pack unique to you. The customizer is not compatible with Internet Explorer but works with either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. No downloads required until your texture pack is ready to go. Or you can just simply download the default John Smith texture pack with all the ready-to-go features that it provides, this is recommended as there is no extra hassle you must go through to get it.
How to Download and Install JohnSmith Texture Pack for Minecraft 1.11, 1.9.4, 1.8.9 and 1.7.10
[cliptag link="http://p.minecraftdl.verblickcoltd.netdna-cdn.com/vod/minecraftdl.verblickcoltd/hti/john-smith.mp4″]
- Download MCPatcher HD or Optifine
- Download JohnSmith Texture Pack for Minecraft
- Copy and paste the downloaded zip file into a folder named "texturepacks" in Minecraft folder
- Run MCPatcher HD and click Patch
- Open your Minecraft and go to Texture Packs and Mods and choose JohnSmith Texture Packs
- Done and enjoy this amazing Texture Pack!


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Spring/Summer Rugs
from Horseware, Weatherbeeta, Shires and more - all on sale now!
Click here to see the range!
Winner of the BETA Business Awards 2017
Not the tasty chocolate chip kind, but important for you to know - we use cookies to offer you the best experience possible when shopping with us. Continue to browse if you're happy with our Privacy & Cookie Policy.


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From HVAC to Home Performance Contracting
A version of this article appears in the March/April 2007 issue of Home Energy Magazine.
March 10, 2007
Matthew Holtkamp knew when he was in technical school at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, that he would have his own HVAC business some day. In 1996 his dream became a reality when he founded Holtkamp Heating and Air Conditioning (HHVAC)—a company specializing in service, preventive maintenance, and replacement of existing HVAC systems—in Atlanta, Georgia. With Holtkamp's expertise and diligence and his wife Suzanne's marketing and business skills, the company had what it takes to succeed. Holtkamp is a charismatic and outgoing guy, so HHVAC got a lot of referrals from friends and acquaintances. And by focusing on existing homes, Holtkamp increased his new company's chance of success. Several of his friends had begun businesses that supplied HVAC services to the new-construction market—and had failed because margins for new-homes installations were much tighter than margins for existing-homes installations.
To read complete online articles, you need to sign up for an Online Subscription.
Once an order has been placed there is an automatic $10 processing fee that will be deducted with any cancellation.
The Home Energy Online articles are for personal use only and may not be printed for distribution. For permission to reprint, please send an e-mail to email@example.com.


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A replica of Batman's Batpod motorcycle turned up yesterday in Vietnam and it's awesome.
Sure it doesn't do the sideways wheel-spinning thing that Catwoman does a dozen times in The Dark Knight Rises, but for a home-fabbed motorcycle it is absolutely amazing.
Why would it get built in Vietnam? The country absolutely runs on scooters, motorbikes and motorcycles.


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NEW YORK -- It's unanimous. And Tom Brady has outdone even himself.
Quarterback: Tom Brady, New England.
Running Backs: Jamaal Charles, Kansas City; Arian Foster, Houston.
Fullback: Vonta Leach, Houston.
Tight End Jason Witten, Dallas.
Wide Receivers: Roddy White, Atlanta; Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis.
Tackles: Jake Long, Miami; Joe Thomas, Cleveland.
Guards: Logan Mankins, New England; Jahri Evans, New Orleans.
Center: Nick Mangold, New York Jets.
Kicker: Billy Cundiff, Baltimore.
Kick Returner: Devin Hester, Chicago.
Ends: Julius Peppers, Chicago; John Abraham, Atlanta.
Tackles: Haloti Ngata, Baltimore; Ndamukong Suh, Detroit.
Outside Linebackers: Clay Matthews, Green Bay; James Harrison, Pittsburgh.
Inside Linebacker: Patrick Willis, San Francisco; Jerod Mayo, New England.
Cornerbacks: Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland; Darrelle Revis, New York Jets.
Safeties: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh; Ed Reed, Baltimore.
Punter: Shane Lechler, Oakland.
Quarterback: None.
Running Backs: Michael Turner, Atlanta; Adrian Peterson, Minnesota.
Fullback: Ovie Mughelli, Atlanta.
Tight End: Antonio Gates, San Diego.
Wide Receivers: Brandon Lloyd, Denver; Calvin Johnson, Detroit, and Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City (tie).
Tackles: Jason Peters, Philadelphia; Sebastian Vollmer, New England.
Guards: Chris Snee, New York Giants; Carl Nicks, New Orleans.
Center: Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh.
Kicker: David Akers, Philadelphia.
Kick Returner: Leon Washington, Seattle.
Ends: Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Justin Tuck, New York Giants.
Tackles: Vince Wilfork, New England; Kyle Williams, Buffalo.
Outside Linebackers: Cameron Wake, Miami; DeMarcus Ware, Dallas.
Inside Linebackers: Brian Urlacher, Chicago; Ray Lewis, Baltimore.
Cornerbacks: Devin McCourty, New England; Charles Woodson, Green Bay.
Safeties: Nick Collins, Green Bay; and Antrel Rolle, New York Giants, Eric Weddle, San Diego, Malcolm Jenkins, New Orleans, Quintin Mikell, Philadelphia, Chris Harris, Chicago, Michael Huff, Oakland, Michael Griffin, Tennessee, and Darren Sharper, New Orleans (tie).
Punter: Mat McBriar, Dallas.
The record-setting New England Patriots quarterback is the leading vote-getter for The Associated Press 2010 NFL All-Pro Team, the seventh consecutive year that at least one player received every vote. Three years ago, when Brady set the league record for touchdown passes, he missed being a unanimous selection by a half-vote, sharing a ballot with Brett Favre.
As usual, Brady prefers to deflect praise to the rest of the Patriots, who went 14-2 this season before losing to the New York Jets in the playoffs.
"I've been here for a while, so I've seen our offense evolve," Brady said. "We do some different things now than we've done in the past. Ultimately we're still trying to do the same thing, which is be productive and win games."
Brady won those 14 games as the league's leading passer, and he went an NFL-record 335 attempts without an interception. Overall, he threw 36 touchdown passes and just four interceptions.
Brady is one of three New England players selected to the All-Pro Team by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. He's joined by guard Logan Mankins and inside linebacker Jerod Mayo.
A player has made the team unanimously since 2004, including one of this year's All-Pros, Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed. The Ravens also have defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and kicker Billy Cundiff on the team.
One rookie -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh -- is an AP All-Pro.
"It's a great honor, and it's an award I've had my eye on, along with being in the Pro Bowl," Suh said. "Those are two of the highest accomplishments you can have other than winning a Super Bowl and being MVP. To be the only rookie speaks volumes about the help I got from my teammates -- especially on the defensive line -- and my coaches."
Suh's work, including 10 sacks that ranked him tops at his position, so impressed longtime defensive coach Gunther Cunningham that the Lions coordinator said, "I've never seen anything like this, and a lot of people want to compare him. There's no comparison."
It's also difficult to compare the Oakland Raiders' Shane Lechler to other punters. Lechler has the most All-Pro selections of anyone on the 2010 team, six.
The AFC is the dominant conference with 18 of the 27 spots: nine on offense, seven on defense, two special-teamers.
Joining Brady in the backfield is one of the season's biggest surprises, Houston Texans running back Arian Foster. He went from a nonentity with the Texans to the league's leading rusher with 1,616 yards and 16 TDs. The other tailback is the Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles, like Foster a first-time choice.
Foster's guide through holes in the line, Vonta Leach, is the All-Pro fullback, also for the first time.
The wide receivers are the Atlanta Falcons' Roddy White and the Indianapolis Colts' Reggie Wayne, both newcomers to the team. White led the league with 115 catches.
Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten makes it for the second time.
Up front are Mankins and the New Orleans Saints Jahri Evans at guard, the Miami Dolphins' Jake Long and Cleveland Browns' Joe Thomas at tackle, and center Nick Mangold of the New York Jets. Evans, Thomas and Mangold are repeaters from last season. Long and Mankins are first-timers.
Cundiff and Lechler are joined on special teams by Chicago Bears kick returner Devin Hester, who also was an All-Pro in 2006 and 2007. This season, Hester's 17.1-yard punt return average set a record, and he passed Brian Mitchell for career kick-return touchdowns with 14.
Along with Reed, making his fifth All-Pro squad, Ngata, Suh and Mayo on defense are ends Julius Peppers and John Abraham; outside linebackers Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers and James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers; inside linebacker Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers; cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha of the Raiders and Darrelle Revis of the Jets; and safety Troy Polamalu of the Steelers.
Defensive repeaters from 2009 are Willis and Revis.
Polamalu, Peppers and Willis make it for the third time, Abraham, Harrison and Asomugha for the second.
In all, 10 AFC teams and eight from the NFC are represented. Chicago and Atlanta are the only two NFC clubs with two players.
Results of The Associated Press 2010 NFL All-Pro balloting selected by a national panel of media members (first-team players in bold):
|Complete All-Pro team voting
|Tom Brady, New England, 50
|Running backs1
|Arian Foster, Houston, 45
Jamaal Charles, Kansas City, 33
Michael Turner, Atlanta, 8
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota, 6
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville, 5
|Vonta Leach, Houston, 17
Ovie Mughelli, Baltimore, 13
Le'Ron McClain, Baltimore, 7
Lawrence Vickers, Cleveland, 4
Greg Jones, Jacksonville, 4
Michael Turner, Atlanta, 1
Jason Snelling, Atlanta, 1
John Kuhn, Green Bay, 1
Marcel Reece, Oakland, 1
|Wide receivers
|Roddy White, Atlanta, 47
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis, 18
Brandon Lloyd, Denver, 10
Calvin Johnson, Detroit, 8
Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City, 8
Andre Johnson, Houston, 5
Greg Jennings, Green Bay, 2
Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh, 2
|Tight end
|Jason Witten, Dallas, 36
Antonio Gates, San Diego, 8
Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville, 3
Vernon Davis, San Francisco, 2
Rob Gronkowski, New England, 1
|Offensive tackles
|Joe Thomas, Cleveland, 22
Jake Long, Miami, 21
Jason Peters, Philadelphia, 11
Sebastian Vollmer, New England, 7
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, N.Y. Jets, 6
Donald Penn, Tampa Bay, 5
Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati, 5
Kareem McKenzie, N.Y. Giants, 4
Jordan Gross, Carolina, 4
Chad Clifton, Green Bay, 4
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore, 2
David Stewart, Tennessee, 2
Michael Roos, Tennessee, 1
Michael Oher, Baltimore, 1
Tyson Clabo, Atlanta, 1
Matt Light, New England, 1
Sam Baker, Atlanta, 1
Damien Woody, N.Y. Jets, 1
Eric Winston, Houston, 1
|Jahri Evans, New Orleans, 24
Logan Mankins, New England, 15
Chris Snee, N.Y. Giants, 14
Carl Nicks, New Orleans, 13
Brian Waters, Kansas City, 12
Kris Dielman, San Diego, 9
Josh Sitton, Green Bay, 5
Brandon Moore, N.Y. Jets, 3
Ryan Lilja, Kansas City, 3
Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota, 1
Rich Seubert, N.Y. Giants, 1
|Nick Mangold, N.Y. Jets, 37
Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh, 11
Casey Wiegmann, Kansas City, 1
Alex Mack, Cleveland, 1
|Defensive ends
|Julius Peppers, Chicago, 35
John Abraham, Atlanta, 21
Justin Tuck, N.Y. Giants, 16
Osi Umenyiora, N.Y. Giants, 9
Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis, 7
Trent Cole, Philadelphia, 4
Jason Babin, Tennessee, 2
Jared Allen, Minnesota, 2
Robert Mathis, Indianapolis, 1
Cameron Wake, Miami, 1
Vince Wilfork, New England, 1
Justin Smith, San Francisco, 1
|Haloti Ngata, Baltimore, 45
Ndamukong Suh, Detroit, 30
Vince Wilfork, New England, 15
Kyle Williams, Buffalo, 3
Justin Smith, San Francisco, 2
B.J. Raji, Green Bay, 1
Casey Hampton, Pittsburgh, 1
Tony Brown, Tennessee, 1
Jonathan Babineaux, Atlanta, 1
|Outside linebackers3
|Clay Matthews, Green Bay, 39
James Harrison, Pittsburgh, 31
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas, 9
Cameron Wake, Miami, 9
Tamba Hali, Kansas City, 7
Lance Briggs, Chicago, 2
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore, 1
|Inside linebacker4
|Patrick Willis, San Francisco, 28
Jerod Mayo, New England, 21
Brian Urlacher, Chicago, 20
Ray Lewis, Baltimore, 18
Lawrence Timmons, Pittsburgh, 8
Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans, 1
Derrick Johnson, Kansas City, 1
A.J. Hawk, Green Bay, 1
|Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland, 20
Darrelle Revis, N.Y. Jets, 19
Devin McCourty, New England, 17
Charles Woodson, Green Bay, 14
Asante Samuel, Philadelphia, 12
Tramon Williams, Green Bay, 8
Brent Grimes, Atlanta 3
DeAngelo Hall, Washington, 2
Champ Bailey, Denver, 2
Joe Haden, Cleveland, 1
Brandon Flowers, Kansas City, 1
Antoine Winfield, Minnesota, 1
|Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh, 47
Ed Reed, Baltimore, 41
Nick Collins, Green Bay, 4
Ed Reed, Baltimore, 4
Darren Sharper, New Orleans, 1
Antrel Rolle, N.Y. Giants, 1
Malcolm Jenkins, New Orleans, 1
Michael Griffin, Tennessee, 1
Eric Weddle, San Diego, 1
Chris Harris, Chicago, 1
Michael Huff, Oakland, 1
Quintin Mikell, Philadelphia, 1
|Special teams
|Shane Lechler, Oakland, 34
Mat McBriar, Dallas, 11
Sam Koch, Baltimore, 3
Donnie Jones, St. Louis, 2
|Billy Cundiff, Baltimore 24
David Akers, Philadelphia, 10
Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland, 4
Rob Bironas, Tennessee, 4
Matt Bryant, Atlanta, 4
Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis, 3
Neil Rackers, Houston, 1
|Kick returner
|Devin Hester, Chicago, 43
Leon Washington, Seattle, 4
Jacoby Ford, Oakland, 2
Marc Mariani, Tennessee, 1
|1 three voters selected only one running back
2 one voter selected didn't vote for a fullback.
3 two voters selected only one outside linebacker.
4 two voters selected only one inside linebacker.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press


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At least one in four Canadians will experience some form of mental illness during their lifetime, according to medical experts, and almost all of us will be affected by it through family, friends or colleagues.
Yet despite the proximity and ubiquity of mental illness, people in our society with a diagnosed mental health problem are frequently stigmatized.
Camillo Zacchia, senior adviser for the mental health education office at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal, says this is due in part to "the nature of human beings and their tendency to form groups. It protects us from predators but it also makes us feel superior and take an antagonistic approach to others."
This negativity frequently manifests itself as hostility toward people perceived to be different. In the past, says Zacchia, when we thought of mental illness, "we thought first of the need to separate people and put them in asylums to give them what they needed. Then, they were not like us anymore.
"Segregation is the root of most stigma because you make assumptions, and even if those assumptions are true in some cases, they are never true about all individuals."
Familiarity tends to give rise to greater understanding, he says. "The most effective way to combat the stigma associated with mental illness is through direct contact. When you interact with people, you discover that they are basically normal."
Ian Manion, executive director of the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health in Ottawa, says stigmatization can also be countered by talking freely about the disease and the way it affects people.
"We should be talking about these issues. But we should also be mindful of how we talk about them. If young people are given the tools, they can be resilient in the face of the stigma and recognize that their own well-being is more important than somebody else's attitude."
Sometimes, he says, "our own systems help to reinforce the stigma." For example, an individual with a chronic mental illness who makes repeated trips to a hospital emergency room is sometimes dismissed as a troublemaker and not taken seriously.
"As health professionals, we should serve as a bridge to get someone the right level of service at the right time. We need to promote sensitivity and wellness. It's partly about education, not just for the public, but also for anyone who works with young people - physicians, police, teachers, social workers and so on."
We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves, says Vancouver clinical psychologist and organizational consultant Joti Samra. "No one is unaffected by mental illness. All the stats tell us that one in four will juggle with depression or anxiety at some point. If we project the numbers, we see that even people not directly affected will have a partner, parent, child, friend or colleague who is. Mental illness is everyone's problem because we are all affected in some way."
Individuals will be more likely to ask for help when the message that mental illness is treatable is more widespread in our society, says Dr. Mimi Israel, chair of the department of psychiatry at McGill University and psychiatrist-in-chief of the Douglas Institute. "But destigmatization, desensitization and cultural change take a long time. So the sooner we get started the better."
This content is sponsored by Bell Canada in support of the Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative.