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Policy, Management and Finance of Public-Private Partnerships
Policy, Management and Finance of Public-Private Partnerships
ISBN: 978-1-444-30143-4 January 2009 Wiley-Blackwell 504 Pages
The chapters investigate political and institutional issues surrounding PPPs, together with the financial and managerial strategies employed by the private sector. Adopting a cross-disciplinary perspective, the book highlights the often politically sensitive nature of these projects and identifies a need for the private sector to investigate a broad set of parameters which relate to the particular political economy of individual partnerships.
Policy, Finance & Management for Public-Private Partnerships covers a range of specific issues, including: partnerships in developing countries; innovation in partnership-based procurement; government and business interaction; institutional and organisational approaches to facilitating partnership; project and corporate financing; risk and value management; market analysis, modelling and forecasting; capital structure decisions and management; investment theory and practice; pricing and cost evaluation; statutory regulations and their financial implications; option pricing; financial monitoring; syndicate funding; new roles for the financial and insurance sectors; institutional and multilateral funding; payment mechanisms; concession period determination; risk analysis and management; whole life value methodology; cost comparators and best value; team building, team work and skill development.
Contributions from Australia, Europe, the Far East, South Africa and the United States together present the current thinking and state-of–the-art approaches to public-private partnerships.
Table of contents
Part One: PPP Policy.
1 Private Finance Initiative in Use.
Ezekiel Chinyio and Rod Gameson.
1.2The private finance initiative.
1.3UK government's influence on the use of PFI.
1.4Private sector tasks in PFI.
1.5Establishing PFI contracts.
1.6Forms of finance used in PFI.
1.7Performance of PFI schemes -- a theoretical perspective.
1.8Improving the performance of PFI.
1.9Performance of PFI schemes -- an empirical review.
1.10A generic overview of PFI schemes.
1.11Comparative studies.
2 Using the Private Sector to Finance Capital Expenditure.
Jean Shaoul.
2.2The control of PFI.
2.3Post-implementation evaluation of PFI.
3 Obstacles to Accountability in PFI Projects.
Darinka Asenova and Matthias Beck.
3.2Finance capital and institutional decision making.
4 Refinancing and the Profitability of UK PFI Projects.
Steven Toms, Darinka Asenova and Matthias Beck.
4.2PFI finance and value for money.
4.3Mechanisms and policies of refinancing.
4.4PFI profits and refinancing.
5 The Dedicated PPP Unit of the South African National Treasury.
Philippe Burger.
5.2The rationale for PPPs.
5.3The rationale for a dedicated PPP unit.
5.4A brief history of PPPs and the PPP unit in South Africa.
5.5The role of the South African dedicated PPP Unit.
5.6Future challenges.
6 PPP in Greenfield Airport Development.
Thillai Rajan A., Sheetal Sharad and Sinha Sidharth.
6.2Private participation in new airport development.
6.3Indian aviation sector.
6.4The Cochin International Airport project.
6.5Performance of CIAL.
6.6Summary and lessons.
7 PPPs for Physical Infrastructure in Developing Countries.
Akintola Akintoye.
7.2An overview of public--private partnerships.
7.3PPP: developed economies.
7.4PPP: Developing economies.
7.5PPP: Analysis of private sector participation.
8 Team building for PPPs.
Mohan M. Kumaraswamy, Florence Y.Y. Ling and Aaron M. Anvuur.
8.2Integrating and sustaining PPP teams.
8.3Hong Kong perspectives of PPP teams.
8.4Singapore perspectives of PPP teams.
8.5Intergrating PPP project teams.
8.6Selecting project consortium teams.
8.7Concluding observations.
Part Two: PPP Finance.
9 PPP Infrastructure Investments.
Demos C. Angelides and Yiannis Xenidis.
9.2Critical issues in financing PPP projects.
9.3Prospects for PPP infrastructure development.
10 Patterns of Financing PPP Projects.
Sudong Ye.
10.2General patterns of financing PPP projects.
10.3Choice of financing patterns.
11 PPP Financing in the USA.
Arthur L. Smith.
11.2PPP financing models in the US.
11.3Case studies.
12 Financial Modelling of PPP Projects.
Ammar Kaka and Faisal Alsharif.
12.2Research in PPP financial modelling.
12.3Cost models.
12.4Occupancy cost.
12.5Cash flow models.
12.6PFI financial modelling in practice.
12.7An example of a PFI financial model for schools.
13 Application of Real Options in PPP Infrastructure Projects.
Charles Y.J. Cheah and Michael J. Garvin.
13.2Infrastructure project flexibility as real options.
13.3Real options literature related to architecture, engineering, construction and infrastructure projects.
13.4Modelling issues and concerns.
13.5An integrated real options--risk management process for PPP infrastructure projects.
14 Financial Implications of Power Purchase Agreement Clauses in Revenue Stream of Independent Power Producers in Nepal.
Raju B. Shrestha, Stephen Ogunlana.
14.2Financial analysis.
14.3Analyses of clauses.
15 Government Policy on PPP Financial Issues.
S. Ping Ho.
15.2Game theory.
15.3Is bid compensation effective in PPP tendering?.
15.4Financial renegotiation problems and the implied administration policies.
15.5Financial renegotiation game and its equilibrium.
15.6Propositions and rules.
15.7Governing principles and policy implications for project procurement and management.
Part Three: PPP Management.
16 Innovation in PPP.
David Eaton and Rıfat Akbiyikli.
16.2Innovation and competitive advantage in PPP.
16.3Stimulants and impediments to innovation in PFI/PPP projects.
16.4Innovation and financial issues in PFI/PPP projects.
17 Combining Finance and Design Innovation to Develop Winning Proposals.
Colin F. Duffield and Chris J. Clifton.
17.2The drivers of PFI/PPP projects in different jurisdictions.
17.3Design innovation: the issues.
17.4Financing arrangements for PFI/PPP projects.
17.5The theory and practice of winning proposals.
18 The Application of a Whole Life Value Methodology to PPP/PFI Projects.
John Kelly.
18.3Client value system.
18.4Whole-life costing.
18.5The application of whole-life value to the PPP/PFI process.
19 Best Value Procurement in Build Operate Transfer Projects.
Irem Dikmen, M. Talat Birgonul and Guzide Atasoy.
19.2Bid evaluation in BOT projects.
19.3Case studies.
19.4Best value procurement in BOT projects.
19.5An application of the proposed methodology.
19.6Concluding remarks.
20 Application of Risk Analysis in Privately Financed Projects.
Tony Merna and Douglas Lamb.
20.2The PSC and the PFA.
21 Developing a Framework for Procurement Options Analysis.
Darrin Grimsey and Mervyn K Lewis.
21.2What do PPPs bring to procurement?.
21.3Developing a methodology.
22 The Payment Mechanism in Operational PFI Projects.
Jon Scott and Herbert Robinson.
22.2The key principles.
22.3Value for money arguments.
22.4Key components of the payment mechanism.
22.5The output specification.
22.6Performance measurement system.
22.7Case studies.
22.8Analysis and discussion of findings.
22.9Concluding remarks.
23 Concession Period Determination for PPP Infrastructure Projects in Hong Kong.
Xueqing Zhang.
23.2PPP projects in Hong Kong.
23.3Build, operate, transfer scheme.
23.4Concession period.
23.5Concession period determination methods.
23.6Simulation-based concession period determination methodology.
23.7Simulation-based concession period determination framework.
- sets a topical issue in a broad but clear theoretical framework.
- presents current thinking and state of the art approaches on public private partnership on the basis of contributions from leading academics and practitioners.
- adopts an interdisciplinary approach which gives equal weight to policy, financial and managerial aspects of public private partnerships.


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text:
Bird Flu Vax Spurs Virus Evolution
Inadequate poultry immunization programs may cause higher mutations rates in the bird flu virus, rendering the vaccine ineffective and increasing the threat of cross-species transmission.
Oct 21, 2011
Edyta Zielinska
The H5N1 Type A influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is mutating faster in countries that have been implementing wide-scale, but incomplete, vaccinations of poultry, according to a report published online in Vaccine (October 12). The genetic changes accrued by the viruses rendered the vaccinations ineffective, and increased the risk that the virus could jump to humans.
That spotty vaccination campaigns seem "to favor viral mutation, has been suspected for a long time, but this is the first study which is providing hard evidence for it," Marisa Peyre, a researcher with the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development who was not involved in the research, said in an email.
Bird flu has plagued poultry farmers for years, wiping out entire stocks, and occasionally jumping to the farmers themselves. In 2006, for example, the disease caused 79 human deaths worldwide. That same year, Egypt implemented wide-scale immunization programs against the virus, treating millions of farmed poultry with an H5N1 vaccine. Recent news, however, suggested that such programs were failing, with regular reports of bird and human infections. But it was unclear whether the failure was "caused by the vaccine cold-chain being broken"—thus rendering the vaccine ineffective—or if the virus was changing in a way that allowed it to infect even immunized animals, said first author Giovanni Cattoli, a veterinary scientist at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie in Italy.
So Cattoli and colleagues, sequenced flu samples collected between 2006 and 2010 in countries that had vaccinated their poultry (Egypt and Indonesia), and compared the sequences to samples from countries that had no immunization programs in place (Nigeria, Turkey, Thailand). The results showed that the viruses circulating in countries with mass vaccination efforts were evolving faster, and had become genetically distinct from the virus that the vaccine was designed to combat. "There are sharp increases in genetic diversity of the virus," said Cattoli.
Cattoli suspects that the problem stems from the way the vaccine was administered. Just as antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria arise when antibiotics are not taken properly, evolution rates were likely to be higher in areas were the vaccination was incomplete, covering only a fraction of the chicken population. In addition, vaccination can result in partial immunity if the vaccine is left out in the sun where its components decay, or if follow-up booster shots are not administered. In such cases, the chicken may not mount a strong enough immune reaction to fight the live virus. Most likely, said Cattoli, the virus moved from an unvaccinated chicken to one that was partially immunized, to one that hadn't been infected or vaccinated at all. "All of this continuous movement among different levels of immunity is likely to drive and force the evolution of the virus," he said.
Indeed, when Peyre investigated the vaccination practices in Egypt, she found that in some areas as little as 30 percent of the vaccinated bird population was protected from infection. In addition to the risk this poses to the poultry industry, a faster-evolving virus increases "the threat of emergence of a novel strain which might be one day be more specific to human infection," said Peyre.
Cattoli's study, she said, "emphasizes the critical needs for improved surveillance strategies and field protocols" in these countries, which can be both labor intensive and expensive. For countries looking for a quick fix, vaccination "is not the simplest way," Catolli agreed. Although there are no easy alternatives, he said, it is clear that inadequate vaccination campaign can wreak more harm than good.


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Why I Believe in the Power of Neon
Something has happened friends. We are in the middle of a neon revolution (you know…like the eighth one in the history of revolutions). We are seeing it everywhere. I personally couldn't be more happy. I believe in the power of neon.
What the hell does neon mean? Some things that might come to mind: Kelly Kapowski, lava lamps, leg warmers, and drugs. All of which do very much have their roots in neon. But then again so do I. When I was younger my sister and I were told we could pick the color of our bedroom. Like most young ladies our age we did the most obvious thing — we picked a different neon color for each wall. We also wrote in pen across our current walls in big letters what color each wall should be.
My mom and dad were not amused.
Neon has something. It's electric and I adore that. It's unmistakable, impossible to ignore, and larger than life. Much like all things should be if you ask me. So why do I believe in the power of neon? Because I believe that life is short, and color matters. I believe that how we visually shock this world should reflect the impact we hope to have in it. I believe that neon colors could very well change the course of any day.
And drape myself in it I will. I've bought shoes, nail polishes, shirts, and phone covers. I've embraced Neon so much I am wearing it as makeup. Hell to the yes. I've talked about the power of a color before, and I do very much think Neon has the same possibilities. Why not be bolder? Why the hell not.
FWIW I think the current Neon phase might just become the norm. I don't think we will see this one fade. Much like we saw with chunky gold watches, and studded boots, I think we may just find that Neon is setting up shop in our 2013 world. I, for one, hope so.
Looking for more Neon inspiration? I'm pinning the hell out of it right now.


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AGRM in the NewsBelow is a sampling of Association of Gospel Rescue Mission-related media clips.
Sleepless in San Diego brings awareness to the needs of the homelessness.
Posted: 09/23/2013
NBC 7 San Diego
Rescue Mission Executives Visit the Panhandle
Posted: 09/12/2013
On the block
Posted: 08/09/2013
World Magazine
Do We Really Want the Feds Taking Over U.S. Charity?
Posted: 07/23/2013
Wall Street Journal
Religious Charities Ask Congress To Save Charitable Deduction in Tax Overhaul
Posted: 07/22/2013
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Tampering with the Charitable Deduction Hurts Communities, Needy the Most
Posted: 07/05/2013
Illinois Business Journal
Get Involved: 900 Miles Against Hunger
Posted: 05/29/2013
5280: The Denver Magazine
Tamper with charitable deduction and communities lose
Posted: 03/27/2013
The Hill
Program helps churches learn problems of homeless
Posted: 02/18/2013
The Joplin Global
Over 40 Nonprofit Officials and Experts to Testify on Charitable Deduction
Posted: 02/13/2013
Chronicle of Philanthropy
Holes in the Safety Net
Posted: 11/02/2012
Denver Mattress Company Pledges a Dollar for Every Dollar Donated to Sixty-Seven Rescue Missions Across the U.S.
Posted: 11/01/2012
The Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, Disney and Hanes Give Socks to Homeless
Posted: 07/13/2012
The Christian Post
Disney Launches Sock Drive for Needy Families
Posted: 07/10/2012
One-Third of Shelter Residents Are Newly Homeless
Posted: 12/01/2011
The Huffington Post
Christian Missions Survey Finds Increased Reports of Abuse and Homelessness
Posted: 12/01/2011
The Christian Post
A cap on tax benefits for donations in Obama's jobs proposal worries nonprofits
Posted: 09/27/2011
The Denver Post
Rescue Missions Fear Obama's Jobs Plan Will Affect Donation
Posted: 09/24/2011
The Christian Post
Gospel Rescue Missions React to Aspect of Obama Jobs Plan
Posted: 09/22/2011
CitizenLink, Focus on the Family
Preserve the Charitable Deduction
Posted: 07/26/2011
The Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance
Care for Those in Need
Posted: 11/23/2010
Faith Radio Mornings with Stephanie and Ted
Thanksgiving Turkey Donations Plummet: How You Can Help
Posted: 11/19/2010
ABC World News- Diane Sawyer


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Super Mario Oddity: 8 Times Mario Got Weird
Super Mario Odyssey is shaping up to be the most bizarre Mario game yet, so Joey's looking at the weirdest things to ever happen in Mario's history.
Super Mario Odyssey is shaping up to be the most bizarre Mario game yet, so Joey's looking at the weirdest things to ever happen in Mario's history.
Tom has experienced life in 2D! So he and Peter help you make sense of the 2DS by answering your questions about it.
Homer Rabara takes you around the Nintendo Gaming Booth at Comic-Con 2012.
These are GameSpot's nominees for the Best Platformer of 2011.
These are GameSpot's nominees for the Best Handheld Game of 2011.
GameSpot AU community manager James Kozanecki tells you what games are coming out in Australia in the week beginning November 21, 2011!
Johnny brings you details of the first downloadable content for Assassin's Creed: Revelations and PETA's new Nintendo-bashing campaign.
This week we check out Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Super Mario 3D Land, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Saints Row: The Third, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Jurassic Park: The Game.
Maxwell grabs a tanooki suit and races through this video review for Super Mario 3D Land on the Nintendo 3DS.
Super Mario 3D Land drops you into a dark dungeon filled with goombas in this clip.
Super Mario 3D Land has you soaring to new heights in this clip from world 1 level 3.
Super Mario 3D Land blasts you off in your own raccoon suit to the airship in world 2.
Super Mario 3D Land doesn't pull any punches in the first castle level from world 1.
Super Mario 3D Land continues with this patchwork level from world 3.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Mario Kart 7 will be just some of the games on show at the Nintendo Booth during EB Games Expo 2011; James Kozanecki ...
Giancarlo Varanini gives us his hands-on impressions for Super Mario 3D Land.
Johnny's back with a round-up from Nintendo's TGS conference and plenty of 3DS news.
Mario's back for some goomba-stomping action in his first 3D adventure.
Jody syncs you up on the latest on the Nintendo 3DS price cuts, lots of numbers, and the #2 Hidden Game Secret!
Super Mario's mushroom-stomping action is coming to the 3ds.
Jody brings you new information on Super Mario Bros. 3DS, the PSP Go in North America, Thor: God of Thunder, and much more.
We talk to Street Fighter creator Yoshinori Ono and Nintendo fans at the London midnight launch for the 3DS.
Shaun McInnis gets stumped by lots of Japanese characters trying to demo a yet to be determined Koei 3DS game.
Ricardo Torres shows off the 3DS version of Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bubble 3D.
Ricardo Torres shows off the Augmented Reality Games for the Nintendo 3DS.
Shaun McInnis and Ricardo Torres unbox the Nintendo 3DS in Japan.
Check out some of the titles coming to the Nintendo 3DS!
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While IBM was extremely vocal last week over its acquisition of software testing company Green Hat into the Rational fold, the company has been less talkative on its recent release of Eclipse EGL Web Developer Tools (EWDT) version 0.7, the first open source version of its EGL development tool.
Building upon the free EGL Community Edition software donated to the community four years ago, this new release is likely to be of interest to teams building rich web application designed to run on the IBM i operating system and can access RPG logic.
Note: RPG is a high-level non-procedural language; RPR stands for Report Program Generator. IBM i (formerly known as i5/OS) is a 20-year old business-level operating system from IBM for Power Systems including AS/400, iSeries, and System I machines.
Writing on the IBM developerWorks blog, IBM product manager Will Smythe notes that this new release bears some resemblance to the IBM EGL Community Edition (the free tool IBM delivered in 2009). "We have also contributed many of the great capabilities delivered in Rational Business Developer version 8.0.1, as well as added completely new capabilities, like a new IDE Test Server that greatly simplifies and speeds up development and test of services all from within the IDE."
New features include the opportunity to:
- Visually construct modern rich applications that run in all popular web browsers, utilizing the Dojo toolkit and other standard HTML widgets
- Integrate with existing JSON and XML-based web services
- Create web services that perform business logic and interface with relational databases
- Test and debug end-to-end (browser to server) across the entire solution without needing to configure or deploy to a server
- Deploy to a local Java application server (like Apache Tomcat) and export as a standard Java web archive (WAR)
"The EGL technology has come a long way over the last few years, and we are grateful for the continued support from our customer and partner community. We encourage all of you to explore the details of the open project and to download and try the new tools," wrote Smythe.


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By Derek Bonnett: One of the greatest benefits of covering the world of boxing for SecondsOut is the opportunity to develop long-lasting friendships with those who share the same unquenchable passion for professional fisticuffs. Fighters, trainers, managers, and writers: I've sat down with all of them. However, one of the rarer roles in the sport of boxing is that of the professional artist, who uses his brush to interpret the dynamic collision of two boxers in the heat of savory competition.
I first met Jace McTier at the 2011 International Boxing Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. The instant I beheld his masterful brush strokes over canvas, I knew he was a man I had to work with for the pages of SecondsOut. Over the past year, we have remained in touch to share discourse on the Sweet Science and other matters pertinent to both of us. Above all, I have found McTier to be a devoted family man, one of strong spiritual resolve. The fact that he knows the sport of boxing inside and out is an added bonus. McTier's brush has eloquently captured boxing history and lovingly reached out to touch humanity. I reached out this week to Jace to hear his thoughts about the 2012 boxing scene, a little art, and a whole lot more. This is what Jace had to offer SecondsOut.com.
Derek Bonnett: Jace, a lot has happened since you last spoke with SecondsOut, most notably, the passing of Angelo Dundee and Leroy Nieman. How did these men influence your passion for the sport and your artwork?
Jace McTier: There are really no words to describe the influence that both men had on me or on the sport of boxing. Angelo was the world's greatest motivator, he told you exactly what you needed to hear when you needed to hear it- in and out of the ring. His insight was phenomenal. Little things that I had noticed through my study of the sport, like the way Muhammad Ali moved - if you watch Willie Pastrano, at his best, and fast forward the tape to about twice the speed, it will make you see shades of the young Cassius Clay. Angelo understood personalities and knew that Pastrano would be a good sparring partner and personality around the gym to work with his emerging "mega-star." Hanging around the superstars of all sports that loved to talk to Angelo was always amazing, but things such as being privy to hearing Angelo and Solomon McTier, another one of Ali's early sparring partners reminisce, are moments that this boxing fan will never forget. I remember one day I was visiting with Angelo and we were talking about baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays- of all things- and Big George Foreman called him up. I had the opportunity to sit and listen to two boxing legends talk about their sport and hear the advice that Angelo gave Big George about training his son – as the commercial says- it was priceless.
Neiman, a great friend of Angelo, used his emotional exhibition of color of art to bring the power of sport, especially boxing, to people unable to sit ringside – if you see a fight live and up close, it is completely different than watching it on television. You can feel the hard shots landing: there is a concussion to it that you feel. The drops of sweat and blood that fill the air when a flush-shot is landed can never be recreated even in the highest of high "def" TV, but Neiman, through powerful and bold use of color, gave people a template for their imagination to be ringside and live the greatest moments of the sport in their own time and understanding. The example set forth by Neiman is something that I will always strive to achieve – my goal is to make you stop and reckon with my art, not to just see it, but to experience it.
DB: Your work branches far beyond the ropes of a boxing ring. What types of work have you been keeping busy with on your version of the canvas?
JT: I've had the privilege recently of working with greats of the golf world. I'm wrapping up a project with Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke that will benefit the Press On Fund (www.pressonfund.org)– a named charity of The Cure that helps benefit the children of St. Jude Medical Research Hospital and their ongoing fight against childhood cancer. I am also finishing up a commission of the Muhammad Ali of the cowboy world – Phil Rapp. In the near future I will be unveiling (at the Miami 5th St. Gym) the next painting in my Dundee series. It will feature the great Emmanuel Steward and Angelo's protégée, Matt Baiamonte.
DB: 2012 has been a very vibrant year for upsets in the sport of boxing. Which upset moment do you think could be best represented with the artist's brush?
JT: Danny Garcia's TKO of Amir Khan was the one that really caught my attention – I was unaware of how solid Garcia's boxing skills were. I thought it would be a close fight but TKO in 4 was impressive. That one would be fun to paint! In 2012 you've got to mention Bradley/Pacquiao (although I'd rather not – huge respect for both fighters). If I were to paint that fight, I would have to paint the judges and not the pugilists.
DB: One of the most prominent active boxers to be honored by your brush is Sergio Martinez. He has a stern challenge coming up this month. How do you see that fight unfolding?
JT: With fireworks! Both guys like to throw hard and fast. I'm looking for Sergio, the real middleweight champion (he did beat Pavlik, who beat Taylor, who beat the middleweight king, B-Hop) to lay it all on the line against the bigger, younger and yet inexperienced fighter. This is a tough one, but I am looking for Sergio winning by KO in the 9th. If Sergio can protect his body early and land a couple of those earth-shaking over-hand lefts, the fight won't see the championship rounds. Martinez went the distance and cut Pavlik to pieces and Chavez Jr. has never been in the ring with that kind of firepower – no matter how good he looked against Andy Lee. Whoever's hand is raised at the end, the real winner is the boxing fans. There is no way this one isn't going to be exciting and entertaining! When fight fans of yester-year bought a ticket to see the likes of LaMotta, Basilio and Hagler, they knew what they were going to get- an all out athletic display of the fighter's heart – I'm looking for that same spirit to be showcased September 15th.
DB: The Olympics inspire sports fans all over the world to stop what they're doing and take notice of the multitude of sporting events testing human wills to reach super-human levels. Did you feel inspired to capture any Olympic moments this summer?
JT: I would love to be involved – Neiman's footprints are all over the Olympic landscape and I would love a shot at capturing all the great athletes of the world. In talking with Big George, his favorite moment in boxing wasn't winning the title, but winning the gold medal – stars are made and dreams come true in those worldwide showcases of the best athletes. Who could forget the joy on Claressa Shields' face after winning the gold – what a moment! Only time will tell.
DB: One boxing favorite to say his farewells in 2012 was Glencoffe Johnson. If you were asked to do a montage of his career highlights, what would you consider his must see moments?
JT: The Road Warrior! Great boxing nickname- you don't get much tougher than that. I like to capture the heat of the moment in a single scene, but you've got to love the intensity at which he attacked and brutally KO'd Jones, Jr. Really all of 2004 for the then 35 year old champion was pretty impressive. And to top it off, he made a pretty good showing at 41 as a replacement in the Super Six against much younger and faster competition. I'd have to paint three paintings – one, the right hand from the Jones Jr. fight with Johnson wearing all white and attacking hard; two, the Tarver fight, with Johnson and Tarver all tangled up, in the same passion as "Stag at Sharkeys" by George Bellows. How much fun was that fight? And the third would be just of Glenn's face now in 2012 – a humble, tough and tested champion- a boxing warrior.
DB: A favorite topic of any boxing aficionado is the state of the heavyweight division. Do you see any hope for the Klitschkos' upcoming challengers, Charr and Wach?
JT: Hope against the Klitschkos? I guess Charr and Wach can hope that the brothers pull a muscle while playing golf or climbing through the ropes on fight night! They are just so big and have really solid technique, a fact that is underrated by a lot of people because it isn't all that entertaining. Charr takes a good deal of punches (from what little I've seen of him) and that isn't usually a plus against either one of the KO Brothers. Wach is at least in Wladimir's same height and reach department and he did beat Kevin McBride, who beat Tyson…that was sarcasm, in case you missed it. Another thing about Wladimir, to beat him you have to beat the man, the nickname AND his corner- with the great boxing mind of Emanuel Steward. The champion has so many weapons at his disposal, not to mention that long jab and wicked right of the man affectionately referred to as "Dr. Steel hammer!"
Speaking of heavyweights, here's something that always gets the pot stirred up – the best of all time. Here's what I would love to do: imagine an incredible collection of LIFE-sized works of art depicting the heavyweight greats. That would give our kids, the future of boxing, and us older folks something to marvel at. History brought to life, through art, to commemorate the greats of the sport and see how the boxing has evolved since the adoption of the Marquess of Queensberry rules over the last 145 years. The ten I'd like to paint in no particular order: Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, Rocky Marciano, George Foreman, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Vitali Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko, Jack Dempsey, and Mike Tyson.
DB: Outside of art and boxing, I have found you to be a man of great global awareness and social concern. Are there any special interests you'd like to share with the readers at SecondsOut?
JT: Some of the toughest fighters I've ever seen are children battling for their life against cancer. For me, it is a blessing and a dream come true to see my art being used to help them and their families. There is no referee or break in-between rounds in their fight! But like Angelo or Emmanuel at your side preparing for a fight, we can all help, and fight in their corner by praying, spending time and raising money to help with their bouts.
Visit: www.pressonfund.org for a great place to start and help stand in the corner alongside these little warriors.
"Jace McTier and his art have both emerged as two of the most positive and dynamic influences in our personal lives and in our emission to cure pediatric cancer. Individually, Jace is one of the kindest and most generous people I know. I see his gift as something so much more than that of the artist, but as the capacity to communicate understanding and compassion through the graceful stroke of a brush." -- Turner Simkins, Co-founder of the Press On Fund for CUREchildhoodcancer.org
You can see more of Jace's boxing and sporting art by visiting:www.mctierart.com
For further boxing discourse, contact Derek DBO Bonnett on Facebook or at email@example.com.
September 10, 2012


text: Floyd Anthony "Tony" Raines is a race car driver. He drives the #37 Ford Fusion for Max Q Motorsports in association with Front Row Motorsports. Raines was Rookie for the Year for the NASCAR All Pro Series in 1990 and for the NASCAR Busch Series in 1999. He was the American Speed Association champion in 1996.


text:
iPhone 5C Price
Rainbow Remix: The Colorful iPhone 5C Is Affordable — and Plastic
The iPhone 5C is official. At Apple's launch event in Cupertino, CA, marketing executive Phil Schiller confirmed the plastic-backed, colorful iPhone 5C, an affordable alternative to the iPhone 5 and just announced 5S.
Vibrant hues cover the new iPhone's polycarbonate hardware, which is reinforced with a steel frame that doubles as an antenna. Blue, pink, yellow, green, and white are the color options for the new iPhone 5C.
Apple, for the first time ever, developed a case specifically for the device. A soft-to-the-touch silicon rubber cover — with circle cutouts that reveal the phone backing beneath — will be sold in white, pink, yellow, blue, green, and black.
The iPhone 5C has a lot of the same features as the iPhone 5: A6 processor, 8MP iSight camera, and, of course, iOS 7, which Jonny Ive said is "designed to match the iPhone 5C," as wallpaper can be selected to match the outside of the phone.
Like what you see? Take a closer look at some essential stats:
- 4-inch Retina display, full sRGB standard
- Widescreen video
- 8MP iSight camera
- New FaceTime HD camera
- Larger 1.9 pixels
- 100 Mbps download
- The iPhone 5C will cost $99 for 16GB and $199 for 32GB with a two-year contract.
- Complementarily hued Apple cases will be $29 each.
Preorder the new device starting Sept. 13 or buy it in store on Sept. 20 in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.


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Assignments are generated to develop both a visual and verbal understanding of the principles of design while allowing the student to practice setting up visual problems and investigating possible solutions. Projects explore the way basic principle and elements may be put to use in applied designs including practice in communicating ideas and in the integration of concepts, materials, and techniques.
Two Dimensional Design is one of the initial starting points for gaining an understanding of the basic principles and elements that apply to any field within art or design. The class is considered to be one of the primary foundation courses necessary for pursuing a career in art or design and is required for students pursuing an AFA in Art.
Studio: 6 hours
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In the Bible book of Judges, Jephthah is a military commander chosen to free Israel from oppression by the Ammonites.
In Judges 11:30-31 , he makes a deal with God: if God will help him defeat the Ammonites, Jephthah will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house when he returns home. With God's help, he frees Israel from the Ammonites, and upon his return is greeted by his daughter. When he explains to her the agreement he made, she asks for two months to bemoan her virginity in the hills with her friends. After the two months have elapsed, she returns home and Jephthah sacrifices her as a burnt offering (Judges 11:34-39 ).
According to some scholars, it was shameful for a woman to die childless. Thus, Jephthah's daughter bemoans not the fact that she never had sex, but the fact that she never had any children.
It is not clear whether Judges 11:31 should be translated "whoever" or "whatever" (different modern translations use different words). Perhaps Jephthah expected an animal to wander out of the courtyard.
According to some historians, the Ammonites worshiped the god Molech to whom, according to the Bible, people sacrificed children. Thus, the story of Jephthah's daughter carries a measure of irony: Jepthah frees Israel from people who perform human sacrifice, but only at the cost of performing one himself.
Few, if any, apologists defend Jephthah's actions. Rather, apologists concentrate on showing that this does not reflect poorly on God.
God did not approve of Jephthah's actions[edit]
In Judges 11:29-30 , God does not speak to Jephthah (or anyone) directly. It can thus be argued that silence does not mean assent, especially if it involves human sacrifice, which God has forbidden.
However, God is not shy about showing his disapproval. Throughout the book of Judges, God sends invaders to punish the Israelites for not worshipping him. In Judges 9:53-57 , God arranges for a woman to kill Abimelech to punish him for killing his seventy brothers.
Furthermore, Judges 11:32 says that after Jephthah offered his bargain, "the LORD delivered [the Ammonites] into his hands". Unless it is argued that this is a figure of speech, this means that God has tacitly accepted the agreement. Furthermore, he could have intervened at any time after Jephthah's daughter came to greet him, as in the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18 ).
The sacrifice was metaphorical[edit]
Some apologists (1, 2) argue that the term "sacrifice" is metaphorical, and that Jephthah was offering to make his daughter a servant at the Tabernacle. The justification for this interpretation revolves around the fact that Jephthah and his daughter are saddened by the sexual implications of the agreement — that she will have no children, that he will have no heir — rather than the fact that a person will die.
For one thing, all of these sad consequences are true whether Jephthah's daughter is killed or whether she lives but remains celibate. More importantly, it ignores the terms of the deal in Judges 11:31 : "I will offer it up for a burnt offering".
See also[edit]
- This story is similar to the Moabite king sacrificing his son to his god Chemosh which seems to cause the defeat of Israel's army.
- The scriptural God is unworthy of worship
External links[edit]
- ApologeticsPress.org: Jephthah's Daughter
- MissLink.org: Ask a Minister: Did God honor Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter?
- Youtube video: A cartoon representation of this story, by the user NonStampCollector.
- Jephthah Kills His Virgin Daughter, The Brick Testament


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Friday, November 02, 2012
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Journals and Posts
The mysterious Isabella
My GGG Granfather, Andrew Donaldson (1752-1817), married a woman named Isabella in 1794. Isabella was born in 1772 in Cumberland County, PA and died in 1825. But I don't know her last name or who her parents were. If you do, please fill me in. I'd be ever so grateful.
Who was Mariah Cline????
My GG Grandmother, Mariah Cline, married John L. Willaimson in 1848. She was born in Ohio in 1830 and died in WV in 1921. If anyone knows anything about her parents, I'd love to know. Thanks so much.
Seeking Sam Lasure...or Laisure of PA
My great gandmother, Sarah Cathereen Lasure Williamson was the daughter (born 1847 in Fayette County, PA)of Sam Lasure or perhaps Laisure and Mary Ann Younkins. If you have any information about any of them, I'd love to know. Thanks.
Searching ancestors of Dorcas Phebe Critchfield Linger...born in PA, died in WV
My G Grandmother, Dorcas Phebe Critchfield, was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania in 1860, married William Edgar Linger in November of 1880, and moved to West Virginia, where she died in February of 1944. Her mother, by all family Bible accounts was Ellen Main and her father was apparently John Critchfield. Other than that, I have no information about her parents or earlier relatives. If you can help I'd be grateful.
Searching Philip McNemar
My GGGG Grandmother was Margaret McNemar Linger, who lived from 1764 to 1827 in West Virginia. I'm looking for her father, Philip and for Philip's wife, whatever her name might be. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
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Picks and Stones
What word best describes your style?
a) classic - Check.
b) contemporary - Wait. I love a pop of neon. Check.
c) boho - Does my maxi dress count? Uh, check?
d) rocker - Which I wore under my leather jacket. Hmmm...
When it comes to style, it's hard to play favorites. Luckily, with Thread and Stone's brand-new jewelry line and online store, you don't have to.
Designers Alana Mock and Nicole Cabebe are former local girls living in Costa Mesa, Calif.; Mock is from Oahu's North Shore while Cabebe hails from Kahului. They drew inspiration from the great outdoors and their love of the elements to create an eclectic nine-piece collection.
Necklaces with hefty, raw-edged stones and hand-hammered bars are bold yet ethereal. The pyrite cluster necklace with tiered chains is both tough and feminine. Feeling a little tribal? Get fired up over the red-tipped feather necklace and individual dreamcatcher earrings. And for your edgier days, slip on the hand-hammered geometric bar bracelet-slash-ring.
That's not all. Once you're done sifting through new jewelry, switch over to "The Attic" and dig through a selection of vintage finds that Mock and Cabebe culled from flea markets, estate sales, thrift and antique stores in Hawaii and California. Pick up a hand-engraved wooden cigarette box for your coffee table, or a framed vintage airguide barometer, thermometer and hygrometer that would look great on your bookshelf (and be the perfect conversation starter).
Mock and Cabebe are already planning to expand the shop with more pieces and eventually a men's jewelry line.
So there's something to please your ever-changing tastes.
Talk about a site that's easy to mine.
Click here to shop Thread and Stone's online store.


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Thank you Takralus!
I will watch this space :)
Grats to the first 8 listed I do hope it goes smoothly for you whenever it happens!
*hugs Takralus*
Thank you for the quick update! Very good news and I am also very happy to notice that several people (myself included) already got some their wishes granted!
3 loud cheers! *does a happy troll dance*
24/10/2013 13:02Posted by LswindrunnerI've updated the original post with new info for y'all :)
I have to take my bow off to you, and apologise a little, you are going about this the correct way.
All of the realms you have listed so far are the lowest popped realms in the EU.
The new numbers won't be fantastic by any stretch of the imagination, but at least by slowly merging these low pops together they get less and less and will obviously be connected again once they are stable.
I was wondering why are all the realms getting merged PvP ones, both in US and here, without any PvE ones getting merges?
Any particular reason for this?
Why are low pop realms connected with other low pop realms? it should be a high pop realm with a low pop realm.
Any plans on connecting full servers with dead ones and moving people over. Or just splitting the server in two, but keeping them connected?
Here in Draenor its a mad house. 1000+ queue lines some times, was made to wait for an hour and a half once.
25/10/2013 07:42Posted by Anzathey dont connect realms to fix faction imbalance
"In the end, we're considering a number of factors, including Battlegroup, population, and faction balance."
25/10/2013 08:51Posted by DroliazWill you keep adding more realms if connected realms are still too low?
I'm sorry, once more, but You are connecting 2 COMPLETELY empty servers to emeriss. why would you connect 3 realms together while 1 has an "ok" amount of 90's, emeriss in this case, and 2 thats made of thin air? isn't it better to connect hakkar with emeriss and crushridge with another realm like emeriss? I don't see it fullfilling the purpose of populating the realms further, nor help the technical issues by mixing in massive amounts of realms without it changing anything.
hakkar and crushridge basically contributes nothing to emeriss, but ofc, the other way around, emeriss contributes to them, But why would you attach 2 empty realms to the same one? wouldn't it be serving a much better purpose connecting those nothingness realms to one other realm?
Edited spelling mistakes
after seeing that Scarshield Legions and Spooregar will be merged,
arent it better to just merge the RPPVP servers with each other?
Hey Vaneras i´m curious to know whats th target population for each final group of connected realms. Something like a high populated server? or Medium?
Thanks a lot.
Yep!25/10/2013 14:10Posted by KarlotteAlso, do custom chat channels work "crossrealm"?
I see there is now a currently linked realms sticky: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/8715582685
Just a suggestion to you blues. It might be as the list gets longer to split the list by locale.. At the moment the length is manageable. But soon it might be hard to find your realm.
Just a thought.
So perhaps:
Below you will find the list of the realms which have been connected so far. More will be added as we proceed.
English Realms
Chromaggus and Shattered Halls
Runetotem and Killrogg
Burning Steppes and Kor'gall
Crushridge and Emeriss/Hakkar
Sporeggar and Scarshield Legion
French Realms
Temple Noir and Naxxramas
German Realms
Vek'lor and Arthas
Mug'thol and Dethecus/Theradras
Taerar and Echsenkessel
Spanish Realms
Shen'dralar and Zul'jin
20/11/2013 10:41Posted by AndraiiGarrosh and Shattrath completely vanished from the list, awesome.Confirmed (for whatever my confirmation is worth). I have them on my list marked as delayed. So they were scheduled and there was a problem.
Now they're in neither the connected, or to be connected list.
20/11/2013 10:44Posted by XayoOnce everything is connected, will such clusters have their own names? I'm guessing it would be quite usefull and realm forums should be connected like that too.
Hey Takralus,
i think there's little error.
French realm Naxxramas is already connected to Temple Noir.
So the next connection is Arathi ans Naxxramas/Temple Noir.
20/11/2013 12:43Posted by NerrawDid the Haomarush/Dragonmaw connection get scrapped? I don't see it in the top post anymore, despite being listed in the Nov 5th update.
20/11/2013 12:48Posted by ШокохрюшкаWhat about Russian realms? There's even no thread about Connected realms on Russian forums...
@Takralus: One minor edit, if you don't mind. *chuckle*
Current lists have both:
Boulderfist and Chromaggus/Shattered Halls (shortly)
Daggerspine and Chromaggus/Shattered Halls (more info later)
Maybe edit the latter to:
Daggerspine and Chromaggus/Shattered Halls/Boulderfist?
21/11/2013 07:10Posted by KolanjiErhm, just a few days ago it said that Bladefist and Zenedar was going to connect, but not anymore? Why?
The Breaking News say:
Agamaggan, Emeriss, Hakkar and Theradras.
Lets hope this is a visual mistake and you wanted to say Crushridge instead of Theradras.
If not, you may encounter problems with the language being Theradras german and the other 3 servers are english.
Lets hope its only a mistake and you wanted to say Crushridge! =)
21/11/2013 08:56Posted by HimmelfeskHi, was just wondering if you have any kind of timeframe on the project as a whole? I'm very eager to ask about my own realm, but I know you probably don't know spesifics yourselves even :)
21/11/2013 09:02Posted by ThirnI just wish realm forums were merged too, it is going to be impossible to use when your realm has 4 different forums.
21/11/2013 09:46Posted by JakfuNot a single alliance raiding guild on the Agamaggan/Emeriss/Hakkar/Crushridge connection. -.-
Can we fix turalyon horde before WoD please?
Kinda hard to recruit for mythic on a dead server side.
So, will all servers, except the already high populated ones, be merged at some point?
Because if not, the servers that don't get merged will be left out and slowly die off. I find that a little unfair.
22/11/2013 09:42Posted by AndraiiTechies love bunnies. They'll do as they're told! :P
22/11/2013 20:54Posted by Trelw@Allianceduck: I have to point out that is already weekend and rather late, too. Most blues are probably catching (hopefully a good night's) sleep. Anachronos is not on the lists yet, but the same applies to many other small realms, too. Blues can not give definitive answers to questions to which they do not (yet) have one. I am not a blue, but I can say this much. I think Anachronos will get connected, but as to when and with which realm(s) remains to be seen later. If you read back on the thread, you will notice that some answers are very short and not everyone gets a personal reply. Even so, things can and do happen.
22/11/2013 21:46Posted by KevaverTakralus how do you define a low population, Hellscream is listed as a mid popped realm, but so was it durning vanilla, tbc, wotlk, while back then we had a lot more active players then we do know.


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The Lamar County Trojans scalped the Vidalia Indians 4-1 in round one of the GHSA state soccer playoffs at Trojan Field Thursday night.
Lamar (12-3) will host Fitzgerald (12-3) Tuesday, May 6 in second round action.
Standing (l-r) are region soccer champs Ben Seleb, Antonio Williams, Jacob Seo, Bryan Garcia, Alex Guzman, Quentin Frazier, Tyler Treadwell, Walter Nivarro, Tyler Scandrett, Cody Allen, Gage Clark, Loukas Plaxco, Chase Bennett, Sed Pearcy, Aaron Holloway, Jeremy Bun, Justin Dobbins, CJ Basso, (kneeling) Cullen Bennett. Dylan Johnson is not pictured. Seated are members of the recreation U12 Cyclones soccer team.
Trojans win; face Fitzgerald Tuesday
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The Washington County High School baseball team nabbed a 6-0 win against Bell County (1-5) on Friday night, hours before they boarded a bus for Florida.
The Commanders (6-3) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first and cruised the rest of the way.
Complete results from that game will be in next week's edition.
While in Florida, the Commanders dropped a 12-1 decision to Allen County-Scottsville (5-0).
Complete results from that game will also be in next week's edition.
Washington County vs. Casey County
Score: 8-4 Washington County
When: Friday, April 4
Where: Idle Hour Park
Game highlights: A big comeback on Friday at Idle Hour Park would send the Commanderettes (5-2) softball squad into spring break smiling.
Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Washington County reeled off seven runs and batted around to go up 8-4 against Casey County.
One of the first true signs that spring is here is that first mess of asparagus, and it has finally emerged from its cold winter nap. If you haven't checked your bed yet, do so soon or you might lose your first picking. If you would like to start a bed of asparagus, now is the time to plant.
In late January, USDA released their annual Cattle Inventory report, which estimated the size of the US cowherd. As expected, beef herd liquidation continued during 2010 despite the stronger fall markets. US beef cow numbers fell by 1.6 percent, which was largely consistent with pre-report estimates. The number of heifers held for beef replacements may have been the biggest surprise of the report, falling by about 5 percent. With fewer cows and less heifer development, the 2011 calf crop will clearly be smaller than 2010.
Eric and Kristen Bartley of Lebanon announce the birth of their son at 12:24 p.m. March 25, 2011 at Spring View Hospital in Lebanon.
Joseph "Brayden" Bartley weighed 10 pounds, 3 ounces and was 23 inches in length.
He was welcomed home by a brother, Jonathan Bartley, age 4.
Maternal grandparents are Benny and Phyllis Humphress of Campbellsville.
Paternal grandparents are Lisa Bartley, Wayne and Melissa Bartley, and Jimmy and Kim Lanham.
Great-grandparents are Jim and Margaret Cocanougher.
Julie and Terry Keith Scott of Willisburg announce the birth of their daughter at St. Joseph's East Hospital in Lexington on Jan. 29, 2011.
Isabella Rose weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19.5 inches in length.
She was welcomed home by her brothers, Andrew, Daniel and Samuel.
Maternal grandparents are Harry Shouse of Lawrenceburg and Rosanna Yeager of Lexington.
Paternal grandparents are Terry and Donna Scott of Willisburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Walter of Dry Ridge, Ky., announce the marriage of their daughter, Whitney Tate Walter, to John Caleb Barr, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack L. Barr of Versailles, Ky.
He is the grandson of Nancy Barr Goatley and the late Dr. Jack L. Barr, D.M.D.
The wedding was held at Williamstown Christian Church in Williamstown, Ky., on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, at 3:30 p.m. The reception followed at Talon Winery in Lexington.
The Lincoln men's golf club is opening the season with a membership drive during a pick-up Calcutta scramble.
The tournament is open to all members and potential members. The tournament will tee off on April 9 at 1 p.m.
There will be no membership charge to play in this tournament. Green fees will be charged at the twilight rate.
Participants are encouraged to sign up at the pro shop before 12:30 p.m. Teams will be drawn at 12:30 p.m. The auction will start soon after, with a 50/30/20 split.
Softball, baseball and tennis at the high school level will squeeze in a few games and matches this week, as they prepare for the spring break layoff.
On Wednesday, the St. Catharine College baseball team plays host to Union at 3 p.m. at home.
Thursday is a busy day, as the SCC softball team hosts Midway at 2 p.m. at home.
The Washington County High School softball team hits the road, taking on Bardstown in a district matchup at 5:30 p.m. in Bardstown.
2011 Lincoln men's golf club tournament schedule
April 16 - Stag Scramble dinner - 6:30 p.m. at the Old Club House
April 17 - Stag Scramble tournament - 1 p.m. tee off
May 15 - Four-man best ball (ABCD) - 1p.m. tee off
May 22 - String tournament - 1 p.m. tee off
June 12 - Red, White and Blue tournament - 3 p.m. tee off
June 25 - Glow ball tournament - 9 holes, 3 p.m. tee off, dinner and 9 holes glow golf
July 10 - Flag tournament - 3 p.m. tee off
Copyright © 2019
The Springfield Sun is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Springfield, KY, and the surrounding area.


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I received an email today stating that I had been selected as a Microsoft SQL Server MVP for 2010. This is my first MVP award and I am elated to become part of such a distinguished group. What a great community!!!!
Thanks to all those that nominated me and thanks to the MVP team!
Talk to you soon,
Patrick LeBlanc, SQL Server MVP
Founder www.TSQLScripts.com and www.SQLLunch.com.
Visit www.BIDN.com, Bring Business Intelligence to your company.


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text:
20 Mar 2012
(HONG KONG) Dragonair today welcomed the Hong Kong SAR Government's decision to approve in principle the Airport Authority Hong Kong's recommendation to adopt the three-runway option for planning purposes for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). The airline fully supports the long-term development of HKIA and believes that a third runway will result in huge economic and social benefits for Hong Kong.
Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Patrick Yeung said: "The Government's in-principle approval to the building of a third runway at HKIA, as proposed by the Airport Authority, is a crucial step in enabling our airport to meet anticipated future growth and for Hong Kong to maintain its position as Asia's premier aviation hub.
"We believe that Hong Kong as a whole will benefit from the enhanced capacity in our home hub, further boosting the development of the aviation industry which makes such a significant contribution to the city's economy."
Mr Yeung said that Dragonair recently announced its own expansion plans in light of growing demand and rising passenger expectations, with additional aircraft joining the fleet, a strengthened network, enhanced products and services, and the recruitment of more cabin crew and pilots.
"The increase in capacity at HKIA will enable us to grow in parallel with the aviation industry in Hong Kong, helping to boost the prosperity and well-being of Hong Kong people in the long run," Mr Yeung added.


text:
Peter Monticup sits at his desk, a miniature guillotine at his elbow, a 70-year-old "talking" skull staring vacantly from its perch beside a Dell computer. It is not yet 9 a.m. and already he has fielded a dozen phone and e-mail inquiries from, among others, a man requesting a recipe for stage blood and another novice having difficulty with the Faro shuffle. Now Monticup is typing a response to someone who's staging a play and needs to know how to produce a cigarette as if from nowhere.
"Either use an illuminated self-smoking cigarette prop along with an automatic finger-mounted cigarette producing gimmick or have the actor produce a bouquet of flowers instead," Monticup types. "And if you use the cigarette, don't inhale!"
Monticup, founder and president of MagicTricks.com, a Web-based business in Charlottesville, Va., spends about 40% of his time typing explanations of such arcana. Answering questions was easier when he owned traditional stores and could simply show people he had nothing up his sleeve. The difficulty involved in demonstrating tricks online means customer service is more important to his business than ever; it just requires speed of typing rather than sleight of hand. And that's but one small change. Like most company owners who've made the Web a critical piece of their operations, Monticup has experienced new demands on himself, his staff, his processes, and his budget.
Five years ago small businesses got props if they remembered to change the date on their home page. Today some consider their Web operations as important as their supply-chain or customer-service functions. In fact, their Web operations may be those functions. This is true not only of companies that sell online but also of those that manage large projects with many partners, such as construction firms, or are in industries that require multiple handoffs or sign-offs, like freight or advertising.
Such strategic use of the Web is still uncommon. Of companies with fewer than 100 employees, only 40% have websites, and just 40% of those do e-commerce, according to Merle Sandler, a senior analyst at IDC, in Framingham, Mass. Far fewer manage other major functions online. "They still see it as being too expensive," says Sandler.
Whether to spend on talent or tools is just one decision facing company owners.
But companies that bet on the Web say their investment has paid off in new business, streamlined processes, and improved relationships with customers and suppliers. And while the investment may be large, there are ways to cut corners, such as using software and services priced for small companies and automating processes in stages. "We know we're not General Motors," says William Jopling, whose $15 million company, Wood Flooring International, is lashing together its entire supply chain using FrontPage and $4,000 software that makes reports interactive. "For a company our size, the key theme is doing it on the cheap."
Jopling does, however, turn out his pockets for four IT staffers. Whether to spend on talent or tools is just one decision facing company owners with Web initiatives. Others include whether to make the project interdepartmental, how to get customer buy-in, and what the goals are. For mission-critical Web operations, simply racking up hits doesn't cut it.
In this article, we look at how three very different companies are using the Web to handle three of the most vital business functions--supply-chain management, customer communication, and, of course, sales. Their experiences provide a good idea of the care and feeding required by Web efforts that have ceased to be mere decoration and have become, instead, load-bearing walls.
The Company
Wood Flooring International
$15 million in revenue; 30 employees
The Site: An elaborate extranet that manages every link of the supply chain, from vendors all the way through to its customers' customers
The Cost: More than $300,000 so far to build; about $240,000 a year to operate (almost all of that labor)
The Team: Four technologists are dedicated to the site, and the CEO spends about a third of his time working on it as well.
If you run a mill in Paraguay, Malaysia, or Italy that sells to Wood Flooring International (WFI), chances are you've recently received a visit from Andrew Mullen. Mullen is in charge of technical services and quality control for the Delran, N.J., company, which buys exotic wood overseas, has it milled into floorboards, and sells it to distributors. Unlike most techies, who toil in the bowels of corporate data centers, Mullen spends a third of his time jetting around the world, preparing WFI's vendors to use its online supply-chain-management system. It isn't always easy.
WFI, you see, is on the technical leading edge of its industry. As for its vendors--20 small, family-owned mills, chiefly in Latin America--"you're lucky if they have accounting systems," says CEO William Jopling. Nonetheless, Jopling and Mullen have managed to persuade the mills to use their own protected sections of WFI's website (written in English, Spanish, or Portuguese--Italian is on the way) for everything from printing customized palette labels to retrieving product specs to checking open purchase orders. Perhaps most important, the suppliers use customized quality-control forms on the site to report readouts from their machinery as each lot of wood is milled, allowing Mullen, back in the U.S., to audit production. That has reduced quality and communications problems. "And if there's a quality issue, it's clear whose fault it is," says Jopling. If it's the supplier's, the supplier covers the cost.
"Every half-hour they're filling this out so we can make sure they're keeping up to our standards," says Jopling. "I used to have three overseas employees at a cost of $100,000 to watch them." The CEO says those savings, together with savings from the reduction in errors, are enough to fund the next stages of the Web initiative. The vendor piece, you see, is just the soup; early next year WFI will complete the nuts--a site to assist the marketing efforts of retailers and installers--of its supply-chain system.
The Web project began in 1999 as a massive brain-dump by Jopling. The former logger's business was poised for expansion, and he needed new staffers to know as much about such exotic species as Tamarind and Patagonian rosewood as he did himself. Ultimately he wrote more than 1,000 pages' worth of content.
Six months later Jopling recruited a CIO, Joel Scholtz, to create a site to house that material, using Microsoft FrontPage (the 2002 version costs $169) and outsourcing hosting to keep down costs. They soon brought the site in-house at a cost of about $75,000, which includes a Web server, an extra T-1 line, and off-the-shelf software for, among other things, online customer-relationship management and a virtual private network.
Simultaneously, the company was migrating to new accounting software, and Jopling hired a technician to build and maintain Web-based windows into that system via a product called Crystal Reports. Now, whenever WFI takes an order, the mill making that product sees an update instantly on the site. The mills also can consult real-time reports of their sales histories, check whether their shipments have arrived, and ensure that WFI's idea of money owed squares with their own. "We're heading toward just-in-time fulfillment, where the suppliers can self-manage our inventory," says Jopling. "If you're doing this the way Wal-Mart does it, the minute something went short it would generate a purchase order on their side. But the investment to do that is huge. Crystal Reports only costs about $4,000."
Suppliers can see aggregate reports of what the distributors are and are not selling and adjust their own production accordingly.
WFI has almost completed a comparable section of its site for "market partners"--flooring distributors holding a specified level of its products. The idea is to allow distributors to track how their inventory stacks up against their agreements with WFI. Distributors can also view how much, say, single-strip maple WFI has in stock, and how much more is on a boat headed for the company's warehouses. That allows them to order what's available or will be soon if they need supplies right away. The distributors can also quickly find answers to any questions about products, thanks to a vast repository of technical data, drawings, photographs, and marketing information that's constantly updated by the fourth member of the IT team. Meanwhile, suppliers can see aggregate reports of what the distributors are and are not selling and can adjust their own production accordingly. Jopling says this yields the whole channel more sales with less inventory, quicker fulfillment, and reduced overstocks.
"We think this will be a big incentive to do significant business with us," says Jopling, who estimates that efficiencies gained online will allow distributors to increase inventory turnover by 20% a year.
Jopling also expects to win over distributors with Web offerings for their customers: retailers and installers who sell the fancy flooring to architects and homeowners. WFI has created yet another subsection of the site with technical and marketing information, as well as inventory data, that those retailers and installers can make a part of their own sites. That way, folks who log on to a retailer's site can see just how much of any given flooring type is available from WFI.
Overall Web strategy and architecture are handled by Scholtz and Jopling, who find the job often spills into evenings and weekends. Aside from Jopling and the IT group, no one else in the company is much involved with the system's planning or operation. "It would get too bogged down," says the CEO.
One more advantage: The Web lets WFI do ever bigger business while remaining physically small. Thanks to the system, the company will need fewer people to answer questions about the status of customer orders; fewer people to support the outside sales staff (who have access to live data on all their accounts); and fewer people to negotiate orders and logistics with far-flung suppliers. "With this we can probably double sales without adding one staff member," says Jopling. "That's the whole game plan."
The Company
$30 million in billing; 44 employees
The Site: ClientNet, an extranet for the ad agency's client communication and project management
The Cost: $100,000 to build the site; $5,000 a month for maintenance and improvements
The Team: Ovation's vice president of technical services and two tech employees worked full-time for three months developing ClientNet. Today, the three-person IT staff spends about 10% of its time on the system, with input from top executives and from account managers, who are its principal users.
It's almost 500 miles as the Clydesdale gallops between Ovation in LaCrosse, Wis., and its largest client, Anheuser-Busch Cos. in St. Louis. ClientNet renders that distance meaningless. The extranet--born in 1995 as a place to post photos for client approval--is now a multifeatured edifice of customized workspaces: one for each of Ovation's 11 corporate customers. Virtually everything that passes through an account manager's hands--schedules, research, creative concepts, photos, campaign results--proceeds at once to the site, where customers can submit criticism and ideas. Because Ovation uses digital photography, clients can actually see a photo--as though through a camera lens--being composed and shot, and immediately call or e-mail to ask, for example, that a T-shirt's left sleeve be folded over instead of left flat. And the system will soon deliver Web-based videoconferencing, thus ducking the facelessness rap often leveled at online collaboration.
Ralph S. Heath III, founder and CEO of the 25-year-old business, says that from the beginning the project's return has been intuitive: "We just knew it was going to have greater value than the costs we put into it." Vice president of client services Kim Larson elaborates: ClientNet wins customers' love by helping them save time and money. One client, for example, reported a 25% reduction in time spent approving work and retrieving information from Ovation. Another said that the system cut the costs of shipping, copying, and long-distance calls between the two businesses by 80%.
Such customer gains have been at ClientNet's heart since 1995, when a cross-departmental executive team dreamed up a system that would house a central database accessible to the agency and its clients, streamline work processes, and make it easy for customers to give feedback. To vice president of technical services Jack Felsheim fell the task of making it flesh; he led two programmers in hand-coding the entire site. The creative services group weighs in on the design, and maintenance chiefly involves creating sections for new clients and improving ease of use. "We don't want the technical department holding the keys," says Felsheim. "Users should manage their own clients' spaces."
Ovation tests each new client offering on that client's platform before taking it live.
Account managers ask new clients what features they'd like on their slice of the site: Photo approval? An interactive calendar? A complete archive of all creative material produced by Ovation and other agencies for that client? (The Anheuser-Busch section of ClientNet, for example, houses more than 7,000 images created over four years.) Larson also surveys clients twice annually, asking among other things how the extranet can be improved. Ideas from inside the company percolate up through weekly management meetings and biweekly IT "geek meetings" attended by a rotating assortment of guests from other departments. "We want everyone to have a voice in this," says Felsheim.
Heath says that more than three-quarters of clients use the extranet--in part because it's been made so dang easy for them. Ovation keeps handy one of most types of computers and operating systems and tests each new-client offering on that client's platform before taking it live. The technology department guides each new client user remotely through an hourlong screen-by-screen orientation using WebEx software.
Ovation is similarly conscientious when prepping for its "webinars"--free 35-minute online tutorials launched last year. A new-business initiative, they demonstrate Ovation's expertise in everything from photographing food to building a brand. About 25 to 50 prospective clients attend each; two of them have been converted to paying customers in the past six months. A few days before the event Ovation does a brief test run with all attendees to ensure they can experience the slides, audio, and video in all their glory.
Ovation initially outsourced development and hosting of the webinars--as it does with all experimental applications--bringing them in-house when their value became clear and Heath was convinced his staff could create something comparable for less money. The company is taking the same approach with Web-based videoconferencing. Says Heath: "We're going to build a room and use it to do all our broadcasting over the Internet, including webinars, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing.
"This is never anything I've ever had to push," says Heath. "Everyone knows it's about getting closer to our clients. There is no resistance."
The Company
4 to 10 employees (seasonal)
The Site: An e-commerce site selling tricks, videos, and memorabilia; an extensive library on magic
The Cost: A few thousand dollars to construct; $2,000 a month to operate and $3,000 a month for promotion
The Team: MagicTricks.com's vice president developed the site and works on it almost exclusively; the president devotes a few hours a day to online customer service; and an employee spends one day a week typing in product information.
Peter Monticup's most mystifying feat in a long career of mystifying feats is this: that he ended up the owner of a dot-com. Monticup is a guy who eight years ago ran a business that didn't use a single computer. Yet today, after more than three decades of operating magic stores that never reaped more than $100,000 in sales, he's the owner of a Web business that employs as many as 10 people and has been growing 30% to 50% a year.
For small and midsize businesses with basic commerce sites, host outsourcing can reduce the total cost of ownership 25% to 80%.
Certainly magic is nonintuitive content for the Web, which presents no physical reality to subvert. At the three stores he owned, Monticup, a professional magician, would first astound customers with his tricks, then demonstrate their ease of execution, and finally close the deal. But in each location, "there are only so many people who are going to buy magic," he explains. "You saturate the market, and you have to move to another location and open another store."
In 1995 Monticup's wife suggested they experiment with the Web. Jackie Monticup is an M.B.A. and former advertising executive. (The couple met when she was handling the McDonald's account for a major New York agency and he was the East Coast Ronald McDonald.) As head of marketing for the business, she was chiefly looking for ways to promote the couple's latest store, Magic Tricks, and maybe move a little inventory as well. A computer-literate insomniac, she taught herself Web programming at night, using free online resources like HTML Goodies, PageResource.com, and Bravenet.com. She then built a site using Microsoft's FrontPage, a gift from one of that product's original developers, who happened to be an amateur magician.
Like many small-company owners, Jackie outsourced hosting for the site and the attendant security and reliability headaches. (For small and midsize businesses with basic commerce sites, host outsourcing can reduce total cost of ownership 25% to 80%, according to the online Web Hosting Resource Index.) The store portion of the site is housed at a company called Hostway, which charges MagicTricks.com from $69.95 to $159.95 a month, depending on traffic. Jackie also chose low-cost vendors to handle the electronic commerce piece: Americart for the shopping cart and Stone Edge Technologies--to which she paid an initial $2,500 fee--for database processing. She manually enters credit-card numbers into a regular retail credit-card processor, then erases the numbers from her site--a setup she believes is more secure than a fully online processing system. She still uses the same vendors, at a cost of less than $600 a year. "The site cost us hardly anything to put up," says Jackie.
But there is nothing bargain-basement-ish about MagicTricks.com's appearance. Jackie went into the project with an understanding of design developed over years working in advertising. And she has never been shy about contacting other site owners to ask how they achieve certain effects. As for the site's scope, MagicTricks.com offers more than 1,400 constantly changing products--from a device for sawing a girl in half to tricks recommended specifically for bartenders and sales reps.
There are also thousands of pages of pure content: biographies of magicians, histories of tricks; sheet music played during performances; guides to celebrity magicians, tips from "guest authors," and more. The content is so copious that it would cost an extra $300 a month to house it at Hostway. Fortunately, the Monticups have a friend who runs the information portion of the site on his own servers at no charge.
"It would be great if people who read about Houdini would then go to the online store and buy some of his favorite tricks but unfortunately, that's not how it seems to work," says Jackie. But the content, she adds, "establishes our expertise and makes customers more secure about our buying recommendations; it gives visitors a reason to bookmark our site and perhaps return when they are in a buying mode."
As the site grew through the late '90s, so did its impact on revenue. The first year, it accounted for 50% of sales; the next year, more than 80%. At that point the Monticups hired several people to take online orders and handle fulfillment; they also built a physical wall dividing their shop into a showroom front and shipping-department back. In 2000, when their lease came up, they closed the shop and moved the online operation into their guesthouse.
Jackie insisted on managing MagicTricks.com by herself when it was part of a store; even now that it is the entire business she still refuses to hire technical help. "I believe in doing things myself. I like to have control," she says. Currently, she spends 20 hours a week removing discontinued items from the site and adding new ones, changing product descriptions, taking photos with a digital camera and posting them. (An employee from the shipping department lends a hand with data input.) Another 10 hours is devoted to finding and writing up new material for the online magic resources. That task often means playing reference librarian. "People will write and say, 'My grandfather was this particular magician and what can you tell me about him?" Jackie says.
The rest of her time--two hours a day--is given over to the study of metrics. She spends several hundred dollars a month on Web analytic software and services that measure how people arrive at MagicTricks.com, where they travel on the site, and what pages prompt them toward--or deter them from--final checkout. The most useful of those programs is Urchin, offered for $5 a month through Hostway. MagicTricks.com plans to spend $2,000 on a much more powerful tool--the WebTrends Log Analyzer--early next year.
Jackie is also meticulous about tracking the performance of her advertising: The company pays about $3,000 a month to such pay-per-click sites as Overture, Google, and Sprinks, and for banner ads on industry sites. "I want to know the return on every investment I've made, and as a result of what I see I will make changes every day," she says. For example, if her weblogs suggest that a preponderance of customers head for the beginner's section of the site, she might tweak the wording in her ads so that instead of "Incredible Magic Tricks!" they tout "Incredibly Easy Magic Tricks!"
Peter Monticup, meanwhile, remains responsible for inventory and customer service, which he chiefly handles through e-mail. (The couple hired another professional magician to take customer questions over the phone.) And he is preparing for a more public role: demonstrating tricks on videos that will be on the site next year. Video will be the most expensive tech investment the Monticups have made to date; Jackie estimates the cost at $40,000, plus greater charges for hosting.
Even as the site grows more technologically sophisticated, the Monticups plan to spend less time on it. Unlike a mall store, the Web business allows them to keep Monday-through-Friday schedules. That gives them more time to pursue hobbies and more opportunities to attend professional gatherings, like a sword-swallowers' conference or a horror convention, where they can network, pick up ideas, and promote their business to peers in the industry.
"I grew up thinking that you have to have a walk-in business," says Peter Monticup. "Then I came to my senses."
Leigh Buchanan is a frequent contributor to Inc. on the subject of technology.