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According to Merriam-Webster, the title of this post is actually a trick question: the correct way to write this farewell word is "good-bye."
I'm sad to say that this will be my final post for Grammar Hammer, since I started a new job last week. Thanks so much to everyone who cared enough about grammar to follow this column and make our world a more articulate and eloquent place. I hope my attempts to liven up a sometimes dry subject helped you learn a little more about our beloved English language.
After writing this column for almost a year, I feel like I've learned so much about language rules and why knowing those rules is important. Here is my main takeaway: grammar is useful to communicate more clearly and/or to seem credible – but that does not mean it's always necessary, as long as the point trying to be conveyed is understood (and you're not trying to impress anyone). But sometimes we grammarians can and should let incorrect word usage or mispronunciation slide, depending on the context, just to save face and avoid seeming like killjoys, if nothing else. If Grammar Hammer taught you anything, hopefully it's that grammar can be fun!
And on that note, here are my top 10 fun-est Grammar Hammer entries:
- Do You Literally See Red When People Say "Literally"?
- Resolve to Use Latin Phrases Before the Apocalypse
- Punxsutawney Phil and His Long Clause
- The March Hare Has Less Tea, Fewer Cups
- The Grinch Hates "i.e." vs. "e.g."
- Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Semicolon
- Does Thanksgiving Effect or Affect You?
- AR! A Pirate Argues About Presume vs. Assume
- Chicken Little Lies Down to Lay Eggs
- Jean-Paul Sartre Philosophizes About Hyphens
Viva la grammar!
Grace Lavigne
ProfNet, a service of PR Newswire, has helped journalists and experts connect since 1992. Writers can search the ProfNet Connect database of more than 50,000 profiles; send a ProfNet query by email to thousands of subscribers around the globe; or get timely experts and story ideas by email.
Flickr image via Pink Sherbert Photography


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subset: commoncrawl


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The Best Shreveport Bachelorette Party Activity
Need bachelorette party ideas in Shreveport? Explore Shreveport like never before on a bachelorette-themed scavenger hunt.
Shreveport's Tops Sights
Explore the ultimate landmarks in Shreveport. Score points for finding plaques, statues, art, and more. You'll have only a few seconds to answer, so think fast!
Insta-Worthy Photos
Be prepared to snap some outrageous photos around Shreveport that you can keep and share. You may even end up with a new profile pic!
Bride Tribe Trivia
Bachelorette-themed trivia adds another level of excitement. Submit fun facts about the bride-to-be and discover who's the real maid of honor.
How Our Shreveport Bachelorette Party Scavenger Hunts Work
Let our team help plan your bachelorette party in Shreveport. We know all the best sights and how to help your group have the most fun. Our app makes it easy to sign up and start celebrating!
1. Complete the form above
2. Select your package
3. Gather the girls
4. Download the app
5. Explore Shreveport
6. Earn points
We Love Molly
Conza Struck Gold
Birdin Dirty!
Your Shreveport Bachelorette Party Scavenger Hunt
On your Shreveport bachelorette scavenger hunt everyone will receive a bachelorette-themed role, like Bridezilla or Hot Mess (there's always one!). You'll work together to score BIG points and play to beat the city's high score.
Will your team make it to the top of the leaderboards? Win or lose, you'll have an unforgettable experience—and lons of fun photos to download and share! You and your crew have enough to do. Book a Shreveport Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt and leave the party planning to us. Our event coordinators work hard, so you can play hard!
"This was so much fun as a day activity at a bachelorette party!"


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Job Information
Oracle Marketing Manager, Transformational Technologies Solutions in Richmond, Virginia
Development and implementation of business plans, marketing strategy, and forecasts for a product/service or vertical market.
As a product analyst you will participate in every stage of the product life cycle to ensure product meets the needs of users. Drive the implementation of programs in support of the marketing strategy, business plans, and forecasts for assigned product lines. Maintains current status of customer specifications for existing and future products. Identify, evaluate, and recommend marketing opportunities in support of product line objectives. Drive product functionality delivering high quality product documentation. Lead products through scheduled release assisting others to manage commitments and resources. Measure and report progress and review deliverables.
Leading contributor individually and as a team member, providing direction and mentoring to others. Work is non-routine and very complex, involving the application of advanced technical/business skills in area of specialization. Demonstrated product/project management experience. Ability to work with Executives. Strong interpersonal skills. Excellent written and verbal communication. Demonstrated product/project management experience. Creative, energetic, and enthusiastic. Team player. Experience using or implementing Oracle, SAP, or Peoplesoft applications. Basic HTML and web technology skills a plus. 8 years technology/industry experience and BA/BS/MBA degree.
Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law.
BusinessDevelopment Manager, Blockchain and IoT Industry Solutions Industry SolutionsGroup
Do you enjoy working with emerging technologies and applyingthem to real world use cases? Do you see yourself as a creative person withgood imagination? Do you have experience with driving innovation success in enterprises?Then we have an awesome place for you!
Your core responsibilities will be: Shapecross-industry blockchain and IoT solutions leveragingOracle Cloud technology, and drive their success in the field. Influence solutiondefinition and prioritization for each industry. Define business valueproposition. Define solution go-to-market and routes-to-market. Build Marketingassets. Build strategic partnerships with Oracle field and partners and drivetheir success with solution adoption. Deliver executive briefings. Contributeoriginal, authentic thought leadership and deep perspectives.
Oracleprovides the world s most complete, open, and integrated business software andhardware systems, with more than 380,000 customersincluding 100 of the Fortune100representing a variety of sizes and industries in more than 145 countriesaround the globe. Oracle's 110,000 global employees are critical to thatsuccess. Oracle s stated goal is to become the#1 Cloud Companyin the world with its Software-as-a-Service(SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)Integrated Cloud offeringBusiness Group Description
Oracle sIndustries Solutions Group (GISG) is a team of solution and industry expertsdedicated to developing industry leading solutions leveraging Oracle s SaaS andPaaS technology to enable our customers business needs. We have a uniqueopportunity to position Oracle as a global leader in providing blockchain and IoTCloud Solutions for targeted industries Manufacturing, Transportation,Retail, Automotive, High Tech, Oil & Gas, Communications Service Providers,Smart Cities, etc. - architected around Oracle Cloud technology and inpartnership with strategic industry leaders.
*Detailed Position Description *
The blockchain and IoT Industry Solutions Manager owns the fieldsuccess of key industry solutions anchored in Blockchain, IoT, AR, AI and otheremerging technologies. Key responsibilities include:
Define go-to-market and route-to-market strategy for industrysolutions
Drive solution success across multiple global regions
Enable Oracle field teams and partners to sell solutionseffectively
-{PS..0}->Develop relevant sales & marketing collateral
Drive new solution conceptualization, design and execution asneeded
Develop joint collaborations with other industry SMEs andtheir leadership. Drive joint solution initiatives from conception to fieldsuccess
PlayOracle evangelist in industry events, executive briefings, and consortiums
*Preferred Qualifications *
The successful candidate for the role of Blockchain and IoTIndustry Solutions Manager will be able to demonstrate deep solution selling expertiseand have:
-{PS..1}->Previous experience managing the success of complex technologysolutions
Good technical background and understanding of CloudSaaS/PaaS technologies
Good understanding of Blockchain, IoT, and mobility
Familiarity with Augmented Reality and Chabot solutionselling
-{PS..2}->Expertise with techno-functional aspects of ERP and SCM, andrelated business processes
Demonstrated cross Line of Business negotiation skills
Great communicator with experience presenting at the C-leveland at industry events
Excellent writing skills, with pedigree of well-acclaimedthought leadership
-{PS..3}->Understanding of story-telling techniques and design thinkingmechanics
Thisis a fast-moving action-packed creative role. Candidates with the followingtraits tend to be most successful in this role:
Abilityto forge trust relationships quickly and drive joint success
Deepintellectual curiosity
Goodpulse on markets and business drivers in various industries
-{PS..4}->Pragmatismand enthusiasm with emerging technologies
Enjoythe hustle and bias towards results
Comfortwith public speaking/writing
*Work Location: *Redwood City,BayArea, California Oracle Headquarters
Travel Component: *10-30%travel, some international*
- *
/As part of Oracle's U.S. employment process, candidates will berequired to complete a background check prior to an offer being extended. These background checks include: Prior Employment Verification / EducationVerification / Social Security Trace / Criminal Background Check / MotorVehicles Records (where required for position)./
- //*
/Oracle Supports Workforce Diversity/
Job: *Marketing
Organization: *Oracle
Title: Marketing Manager, Transformational Technologies Solutions
Location: California
Requisition ID: 18001HNI
Other Locations: United States
- Oracle Jobs


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The Delaney boot brings self-expression to fore for tiny feet. Take all the best bits of the classic adult 8-eye boot and fuse it with awesome colours. Air-cushioned soles, faux welts and our self-scripted heel tag mean these are made for running about in, plus there's a secret zip fastener to make getting them on as easy as taking them off.
Clean Away dirt using a damp cloth, allow to dry apply a clear wax based shoe polish to restore shine as desired. In the event of heavy scuffing or loss of colour then clean as before but add a matching coloured wax based shoe polish and buff up the leather with brush and cloth as required.
This product has not been reviewed yet.
Free delivery option is sent via royal mail second class and will take approx 2 -4 days to arrive with you from date of dispatch, we aim to dispatch all orders within 24 hrs of your order being placed (except Sat/Sun) If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch 01834869973 or firstname.lastname@example.com
UK next day & UK express delivery orders placed after 1.00pm will be posted the following day, orders placed after 1pm on Fridays will be posted the following Monday for delivery Tuesday, Please note there is no post on Bank Holidays
21 days policy
If you wish to return an item to us, please fill out the returns note on the reverse of your delivery sheet (this will be enclosed in your parcel) and send the item/s back to us via normal post. All returned items must be unworn, as new and with any labels intact; the cost of returning items back to us is paid by you the customer. We DO NOT offer free returns, but we do FREE UK DELIVERY on all footwear orders & exchanges. This does not affect your statutory rights.
The warranty period and conditions are set by the manufactures of the product. Each Manufacturer will have differing conditions, we will endeavour to assist you the best we can. However not all warranty claims will be valid for numerous reasons, these will be explained to you at the time of your claim.
The warranty on Crocs™ footwear applies to defects in materials and workmanship for 90 days from the date of product receipt. Broken straps/rivets, accidental damages are not covered in the warranty, but we will do our very best to help you if we can.
Due to the massive demand for these fantastic shoes, availability can change very quickly, so if we do not have your requested exchange in stock, you will be contacted to choose an alternative shoe or if preferred you can request a full refund.
We aim to process all refunds within two working days of receipt of the returned goods, the refund will be issued on the payment card or PayPal account you used to place your order. This usually would show on your bank/card/PayPal details in 5 working days from date of processing.
Please return goods within 21 days of purchase to:
Jellyegg The Old School, Station Road, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, SA67 7DU
Tel: 01834 861332
If you purchase an item from our shops in Narberth then your rights to return are different to online purchases. When you purchase from us in store we can offer an exchange or credit note only on a valid return.
Your peace of mind is vital to us, and we take your security very seriously. This website holds a valid and updated SSL secure certificate for payment processing via sage pay,one of the worlds biggest and trusted payment gateways, which means all your details are encrypted and protected at all times.
We also offer you the option of payment via PayPal and amazon, again two of the worlds biggest and most trusted payment methods.
We have a shop in Narberth Pembrokeshire UK, that you are very welcome to visit,our website office and warehouses are also based in Narberth which means we are NOT one of those faceless internet sites, we are real people and we are happy to talk to you and answer any of your questions, so don't hesitate to get in touch
We can be contacted via phone on 01834 861332 Mon-Fri or you can email@example.com at anytime and we will respond ASAP.
The Old School, Station Rd, Narberth, Pembrokeshire, SA67 7DU, UK


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AUGUSTA, Ga. — The slow and awkward decay of the powerful aura of Tiger Woods continued here Tuesday on a rain-soaked golfing cathedral that smelled like a damp towel.
For the first time in 20 years, Woods will not be here for the Masters, a tournament he has won four times, his virtual ownership of Augusta National symbolizing his decades of dominance.
Yet his fellow golfers do not sound relieved. They do not act as if reprieved. They spoke of this giant, haunting presence with neither fear nor reverence.
Their voices were, instead, filled with something that sounded like pity.
"He's 38 now, he's an old man," said Jason Day, the media laughing over the fact that this is truly how Woods is perceived. "It's a little sad seeing him hurt."
Tiger Woods, old and sad? He is missing the tournament with a bad back, but it is his legacy that is taking a beating this week among younger golfers who clearly view him as an aging, infirm uncle whose absence at the family picnic is a footnote that will be forgotten with the first sack race.
"It's a shame … but also with his form running into this week, I don't think people would have said that he was the red-hot favorite as he was in years past," Justin Rose said. "It's a shame."
Tiger Woods, a shame? It's amazing that someone who just won the PGA Tour player-of-the-year award in 2013 could be viewed with so many sympathetic shrugs, but such is the depth of the erosion of Woods' intimidation.
When Woods completed the Tiger Slam at the height of his powers in 2000-2001, some of today's stars were just teenagers. They don't remember the unbeatable presence. They forget how he could carry a weekend.
"Well, I think it's changed now," said Jordan Spieth, 20, one of a record 24 players competing in their first Masters. "I was not out here when [Woods] was as dominant as he was percentage-wise …but I know that now with the younger guys not being scared to win, I think that can only be better for the game."
Imagine that. The downfall of the player who singularly changed golf forever is being viewed as good for the game? When asked how badly the tournament will miss Woods, one player spoke of him not in terms of great golf, but mere glitter.
"Having Tiger in a tournament definitely creates more buzz, more of an atmosphere," said Rory McIlroy, who was only 11 during Woods' greatest year. "As a player, it doesn't really make any difference."
McIlroy wondered if, by the end of the tournament, folks will even remember that Woods was never here.
"I think people will miss him at the start of the week, but by the end of the week, when it comes down to who is going to win the golf tournament, it will produce a lot of excitement," he said. "Will he be missed then by the fans? I'm not sure."
This is what happens, perhaps, when you shut out the world on your climb to greatness. It is well known that Woods has few friends on tour. There are even fewer, if any, young players who have benefited from his mentorship. He is followed by hordes of fans, but he rarely acknowledges them. When it came time for someone to say the Masters would really miss one of its greatest competitors, when the opportunity arose for someone to say they would miss Woods personally, it was as quiet as the 18th green before a Sunday putt.
The players even took thinly veiled shots at Woods' famed workout regimen, which many now believe has led to his many injuries. For years, other golfers were criticized for not looking as athletic as Woods. This week, behind pursed lips and shaking heads, they are having the last laugh.
"For guys like Tiger ... guys that keep themselves in really good shape, it almost seems like they are more prone to injury," Steve Stricker said. "It's the guys that continually pound the balls and continually hit the gym that sometimes seem to have some of the issues."
One of the few people to stand up for Woods was, ironically, the one person that Woods has spent his career attempting to knock down.
"It's as weird feeling not having him here, isn't it?" Phil Mickelson said. "It's awkward to not have him here. I hope he gets back soon."
Mickelson then offered at least a reason that Woods was missed. It was a monetary reason, but a reason nonetheless.
"Look what he's done for the game the last 17 years, it's been incredible. Nobody has benefited more from having Tiger in the game than myself," said Mickelson, citing the incredible rise in purses because of the attention attracted by Woods. "It's unbelievable … what has happened with the growth of this game. And Tiger has been the instigator."
Yet now that he is at least temporarily gone from its biggest event, they will keep cashing his presence-inspired paychecks and shrugging.
One of the nicer things said about Woods came from Stricker, who said, "The tournament, I'm sure, is going to miss him. ... We need him back healthy and playing good again."
Stricker was talking about the attention Woods attracts, not the connection he brings. He was talking about the money, not about the man.
Maybe some of those guys are right. Maybe it really is sad, and a shame.
Twitter: @billplaschke


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Nearly two weeks ago, I traveled down through rural Minnesota to Caledonia and met with my future wedding clients Stephanie & Geoff for their engagement pictures. They love the outdoors so we planned to go to Beaver Creek Valley State Park for a perfect natural backdrop.
We crossed creeks and climbed rocky terrain, but I think it was totally worth it! What do you think?
Click on the above photo for more of Stephanie & Geoff's engagement pictures!
I look forward to the wedding in October you two!!!


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DACs are taking over. I've been waiting for this day ever since the CD format came out because DACs provide an upgrade path. Upgrading is fun. And because DACs are cool. The conversion from digital to analog is of course crucial and for electrical engineers holds more than a little fascination as the music is (we hope) recreated from simple ones and zeroes. Since this Neko Audio DAC was shipping from deep within Silicon Valley in California, I assumed it was designed by an engineer who was otherwise employed but had a passion for audio. My assumption was correct, and that passion is well expressed in this design.
- Design: Two-Channel Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)
- Codecs: 16 and 24 Bit, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz, 192 kHz
- Inputs: Coax, Toslink Optical
- Outputs: Single-Ended RCA, Balanced XLR
- Gold Plated Connectors
- Gold Plated Solder Pads on Internal Circuitry
- Dimensions: 2.5″ H x 10.5″ W x 6.5″ D
- Weight: 5.6 Pounds
- Neko Audio
Neko Audio is producing only this one product so far. Owner Wesley Miaw told me that he has some other products in development but the DAC has been his passion so far. Passion is the word for it too. This little gem has quite a bit of polish on it: Gold plated connectors, gold plated solder pads on the internal printed circuit boards, 9400µF of capacitance overall and pi filtering (capacitor – inductor – capacitor) on the power pins of every IC. These things are rare but perhaps the most unique design feature of this DAC is an all analog output stage consisting of 0.1% resistors and Jenson JT-11-EMCF transformers. Those resistors are performing the crucial current to voltage conversion step that is typically done with an Op Amp. The resistors are directly across the inputs if the transformers which similarly replace what is usually another Op Amp in typical CD players or DACs. The D100 Mk2 features new Jensen transformers that provide an additional 6dB of gain over the original model while maintaining the same sonic characteristic of the D100. I reviewed the Mk2.
The inputs on the DAC are S/PDIF only by RCA cable or optical Toslink selectable by a large knob on the front. There is no USB input. Outputs are to your order, balanced or single ended. Neko Audio also supplies balanced to single ended interconnects if needed.
I've listed the specifications above as they are listed in the printed Neko's owner's manual. There are a couple of sampling rates that you might perceive as missing from that list of supported frequencies. Namely 88.2kHz and 176.4kHz. Wesley Miaw told me that 88.2 is indeed supported however and my own tests confirm it. It's double however, 176.4 is not. I have favored 88.2 for recordings I make from vinyl on the presumption that the downsample to 44.1 will be a simple, less destructive affair than the compute intensive conversion from 96kHz would be. And there is the by-now well known Faulkner downsampling program that attempts to ensure that. I'm starting to wonder why I bother though. If I do a conversion to 44.1 it's to make a CD that I can use in the car. Enough said. Neko Audio is a web based business and the plan is to stay that way. The D100 is available for 30 day home trial.
Connecting a DAC is pretty simple as audio components go but still you get all the permutations, especially when you are compelled to try different cables. I tried the D100 in my main system both using both a balanced and an unbalanced connection. To connect unbalanced I used the XLR to RCA cables provided by Neko Audio. Switching to balanced with some Analysis Plus cables that I typically use for my phono stage did not provide as much of a difference as I have experienced with other components but it was still better in my judgment so that is how I did most of the listening for the review. Similarly on the input side this DAC does not seem as sensitive to how it is connected as some others (such as the Naim DAC that I also have on hand for review). Using the RCA to RCA cable that Naim provided with their DAC provided a slightly warmer sound with less air around instruments (or a less black background if you prefer) than using the optical connection. Connecting optically with the Ixos Ixotica DX1 provided the blackest background of all but the sound seemed a little etched compared to an older Wire World Supernova that I've had lying around so I settled on that as my favorite. I don't think these cables, especially the optical ones should sound different but they do. If you feel like your system needs an upgrade consider playing around with interconnects. Competition has finally set in and the prices are not all outlandish or otherwise inexplicable. A competent local stereo shop can be helpful, if they are audiophiles like us (and not just the type to sell you stuff). Ask them what sort of cables they like with the different brands they sell and why. They should know what sounds best with what they sell.
At the driving end of the digital interconnect I used both an old, old, old Marantz CD63 MkII and the new, new (new!) Emotiva ERC-1. The Emotiva won this contest hands down. I'm not particularly fond of this fact either. This DAC, like pretty much all DACs now, has some heroic anti-jitter technology, which in the end amounts to some way of buffering up the data. So, unless there are out and out errors over the S/PDIF I don't think the difference should be as dramatic as it is. Doesn't always matter what I think though.
In Use
My initial impression from the Neko was that the sound was natural and not fatiguing. This is high praise from a vinyl nut like me. Perhaps a measure of how not-fatiguing it is occurred when after listening to Bjork's Voltaic I switched to the balanced connection and listened to the same record all the way through again. The difference with the balanced connection was a slightly lower noise floor and slightly higher volume at the same level. Both of these are expected with a balanced connection and I think it is because the Neko's outputs are passive that the difference is less than I normally hear. Part of it could be that the noise floor is pretty low to begin with.
My favorite record of late is Have One on Me by Joanna Newsom. I of course bought the vinyl edition on this one but it did not come with a coupon for download of a digital version so I made a recording through my Benchmark ADC1. I recorded at 88.2kHz/16b. Why a 16 bit word depth and not 24? Because the free digital recording software Audacity is worth every penny. That's why. The setting for the word depth is buried in a menu that you might remember to check only after you've recorded six sides of vinyl. Anyway… I used that same software to downsample to 44.1 and then burned some CD's with windows built-in CD burner. In spite of the troublesome journey the CD's sound great. The Neko did not impose any sort of digital character on top of my minimally processed recording. The playback sounded like the vinyl. Not as good as the vinyl, which by comparison has a little bit more of everything, bass, high end (just a little), extended decay for notes from whatever instrument, separation between instruments. But still. the little bits of each of those that were lost when playing back through the Neko seem benign in nature. No digititus.
Amy Winehouse's Frank on the other hand is not minimally processed. By most standards it's not overly processed either. But it is by my standards. I generally like this CD but it's tough to switch to after listening to CD's I've recorded myself. However, it's a great way to see if a component has the guts on the bass end and the Neko passed the test. At the same time it presented the rest of the mix with a good sense of air and a natural sound for that unique voice and well recorded piano. And most important the Neko made me reluctant to stop the music for any reason. The Neko does present the entire mix of a recording rather than emphasize any part. For instance with this CD there is a heartbreaking tinge of gravel or emotion that comes through that voice on some of these songs and I've felt the heartbreak a little more with some other components. The Neko is just slightly on the relaxed side of the sound spectrum. My definition of 'neutral' is at least in part based on my Nottingham turntable and PS Audio phono stage, your mileage may vary. My SimAudio amplification stages are also on the relaxed side as compared to Edge amps for example. It would be interesting to hook up the Neko to such an amp.
Since I had the new Naim DAC here at the same time I had to do a lot of comparisons. The Emotiva keeps both the RCA and Toslink outputs going so it was easy to A-B in a slightly unfair way since both the Naim and Neko preferred an optical connection. Since the Neko was less picky I fed it with the RCA. In this configuration it was hard to tell the two apart. From an engineering standpoint this is rather comforting since the DAC chips in the two pieces are similar and the design philosophy is as well (power supply regulation or filtering at multiple points). It's less comforting (or maybe more comforting) from a consumer standpoint since the Neko costs less than half as much as the $3500 Naim (the Naim does have a bunch more inputs including USB and Ipod to be fair). When I fed the Neko with its favored optical connection I preferred it to the Naim. A better balanced and more luscious presentation. The Naim still kept the instruments a little more separate but the highs seem emphasized. The Naim has the ability to take it to another level entirely though when coupled with one of Naim's external power supplies. I'll cover that in the review for the Naim.
Speaking of 30 day home trials from internet-only companies, how does the Neko compare to that old fashioned way of listening to CD's – straight from the (Emotiva) CD player? The Emotiva really does something right with the overall mix and keeping the instruments separate. The presentation is brighter overall and any particular instrument or voice that you concentrate on sounds really good but there is a tinge of fatiguing digital quality when compared to the Neko or the Naim. I attribute this to the DAC chips used in these respective solutions. The Emotiva uses a thoroughly modern and math intensive solution while these standalone DACs use old fashioned solutions which are at least partially R2R resistor ladders (and partially delta-sigma). Keep in mind that manufactures will list delta-sigma as something to be proud of because of its ability to shift some of the noise out of the audio band but noise isn't the problem. Fatigue is the problem and the more simple solutions, while more expensive to produce, are better in this regard.
I also tried some high res files. I converted a USB output from my laptop to S/PDIF using the Trends Audio USB10.1 converter. The Neko indeed handled 88.1kHz as promised. Even with only 16bits per word the 88kHz sample of the Joanna Newsome album was a clearly better listening experience than the 44.1kHz version. Piano especially seemed to sound much more real with better attack and sustain and just sounding like a real piano with all its complexity. The overall sonic characteristics of this DAC (and the Naim) remained the same at high res but they just seem to matter less. Kind of like good turntables, they might sound different but who cares? They sound great and don't fatigue, that's all you need. An 88kHz, 24 bit recording I have of Cat Power's Dark End of the Street proved that 24 is more than 16. Way more. Listening through the Neko took me very close to the original Vinyl experience. Not as close as I'd like to be, especially when the record is sitting right there and I could just put it on but clearly, high res digital solves a lot of the problems that CD's have.
Since the Neko has a passive output stage (the transformers) I also wanted to try it with a different amp. Wesley Miaw told me that the preamp input impedance should be at least 10 kohm. I still had the Primaluna Dialogue Two on hand. This doesn't really fit the bill as a difficult load for the Neko since the input impedance on the Primaluna is specified at 100kOhm. Oh well, I had to try. It was well worth it. It seemed like nothing was lost in switching to this amp and in the case of some CD's, something was gained, call it tube magic. Feeding the Primaluna with the Neko (digital out from old Cambridge Azur DVD player fed through Arcam AV8) and driving my Aperion 5 series two way speakers made some CD's sound better than in my two channel system.
Aimee Mann's Lost in Space for instance. This music was recorded in the sound engineer's living room, a testament to what is possible these days (or those days, since this CD was released in 2002). But, the recording is limited, a mild case of digititus. No matter with the Neko and Primaluna, I didn't want to stop, the instruments were held separate (no smearing) and there was a depth and intrigue to the music. Proving once again that you don't have to spend megabucks to enjoy your music. Or your hometheater for that matter. I've been in two channel mode in my home theater for months now and I never really think about it except when I notice how good the sound is. Putting your money into two really good channels like those provided by the Neko and the Primaluna might be better than spreading you capital over five channels.
One of my many theories around audio is that people who listen to or play physical musical instruments are in a special position to 'voice' electronic playback equipment if they happen to be the designer. I think this is the case with my Daedalus speakers (owner Lou Hinkley plays guitar), and I think it is the case here, Wesley Miaw, owner of Neko Audio: "I learned piano and violin when I was young, and then later the trumpet. I grew up in a family of musicians: my dad plays Chinese violin; my mom the piano; one brother the piano and violin; the other brother piano, saxophone, drums, guitar, and also audio engineering." So, he knows what those instruments should sound like. And he knows a couple of things about electronic design as well. Combine those and you're likely to get some pleasing audio components. However it came to be this DAC is a real bargain and it deserves a listen.


text:
San Antonio, Texas,Social Worker MSW
Alexandria, Louisiana,
In 1999, two historic Catholic charities became one, forming CHRISTUS Health and creating a unique purpose in the modern health care market - to take better care of people.
To extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, the mission that the Sisters of Charity Health Care system and Incarnate Word Health system shared for more than a century, is now also the mission of CHRISTUS Health.
Ranked among the top 10 Catholic health systems in the United States by size, the CHRISTUS Health system includes more than 40 hospitals and facilities in seven U.S. states, Chile and six states in Mexico, with assets of more than $4.6 billion.
Whether seeking care in Alexandria Louisiana, or Coahuila, Mexico, patients discover that the healing spirit is alive at CHRISTUS Health.
CHRISTUS is committed to providing a total compensation package to fulfill your health, body, mind and spiritual needs. We support our health care teams with competitive compensation and an outstanding benefits package. A sample of the types of programs include (some benefits may vary by facility):
CHRISTUS Health has long recognized the importance of diversity and inclusion. These fundamentals not only underpin our core mission, they also guide our interaction with patients, associates and the communities we serve.
To guide and champion these efforts, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion focuses on training and education, recruitment and retention, equity in care, community partnership and supplier diversity and creating accountability across the board.
At CHRISTUS Health, we define diversity as "everyone and everything with no one and nothing left out." We recognize the worth of each unique human being, and respect personal differences because they strengthen us collectively.
We care about every person who is part of our mission. Our definition of inclusion is "engaging all who participate in our mission." At CHRISTUS, we believe it is critical that each person is able to contribute their best talents, skills, abilities and experiences. We are committed to fostering and encouraging growth and opportunity for all. Creating an inclusive environment is directly linked to our performance, profitability and success.
Our mission here at CHRISTUS Health is to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ for ALL. Our patients' receive treatment that includes caring for each part of their total being. We strive to ensure each patient gets culturally and linguistically competent care tailored to their unique needs.
Through our continued focus on excellence, we embrace CHRISTUS' sacred name and seek to create a culture in which our mission and core values are truly exemplified, ensuring that the lives of those we serve are sustained and strengthened by the care we provide.
Unique individuals united in the spirit of excellence . . . united in a mission of healing. That's CHRISTUS Health.
Our Mission
To extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
Our Core Values
DIGNITY - Respect for the worth of every person, recognition and commitment to the value of diverse individuals and perspectives, and special concern for the poor and underserved.
INTEGRITY - Honesty, justice, and consistency in all relationships.
EXCELLENCE - High standards of service and performance.
COMPASSION - Service in a spirit of empathy, love, and concern.
STEWARDSHIP - Wise and just use of talents and resources in a collaborative manner.
Our Vision
CHRISTUS HEALTH, a Catholic health ministry, will be a leader, a partner and an advocate in the creation of innovative health and wellness solutions that improve the lives of individuals and communities so that all may experience God's healing presence and love.
Our Name and Symbol
CHRISTUS is Latin for "Christ," and proclaims publicly the core of our mission. OUR NAME choice also recognizes the heritage of our two congregational sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Houston and San Antonio. Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Word, the Word of God made flesh. It is, therefore, only fitting that it is in another form of His name that our health ministries are called together.
Reflects the healing ministry of Jesus Christ - a combination of a medical cross and a religious cross. The flowing banner on the cross is a common symbol of the risen Christ, while the royal purple signifies Christ. The flowing banner also conveys a sense of motion as we move forward into a new era of service to our communities.
©2017 American Society of Addiction Medicine. All rights reserved.
11400 Rockville Pike, Suite 200, Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: 301.656.3920 Fax: 301.656.3815 firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Come see the impressive work of the Friends of Malcolm Creek and Grasslands, who previously planted the mid-storey with lots of shrubs to provide habitat for small birds. This time we focus on the ground-storey including rare and threatened plants. Enjoy pizzas for lunch.
Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?
Hume City Council's Greening events are free family-friendly and child-safe activities, with people of all ages and backgrounds welcomed. Participants up to the ages of 85 are covered by Council's Personal Accident Insurance policy, but participants older than 85 years are NOT covered and participate at their own risk. Children must be supervised by their parent or guardian at all times.
Please register your attendance on the event sign-in sheet, and follow the event supervisor's safe working instructions.
What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event?
Car-parking is usually available on the surrounding streets to the planting site, or at designated reserve carparks.
For public transport options, check the PTV Journey Planner at http://jp.ptv.vic.gov.au/
What can I bring into the event?
Please wear old comfortable clothing that you wouldn't mind getting dirty, with safe enclosed shoes. Consider if you need to bring a rain jacket or a sun-smart hat. Bring a drink bottle (water, tea and coffee will be provided) and your own packed lunch if you have any special dietary requirements (a simple BBQ lunch or pizzas are catered for lunch, with fruit snacks).
All of the other tools, equipment and materials required will be provided by Council, including gloves and sunscreen.
When will events be cancelled?
Greening events will cancelled if there is bad weather forecast, including heavy rain, thunderstorms or gale force winds. However light drizzling rain is great planting weather and the event will go ahead if people arrive (check the rain radar on http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR023.loop.shtml#skip).
Council staff are normally out on site about an hour before the event commences, setting up.
How can I contact the organiser with any questions?
Contact Melissa Doherty, Urban Biodiversity Officer at Hume City Council
9205 2466
0409 702 086


text: G'day, When running a perl script on a cluster node with Scyld, I get errors about LC_LANG and LC_C. For example: test1.pl #!/usr/bin/perl print ("hello\n"); Push this to node 1: bpsh 1 ./test1.pl The following is displayed: perl: warning: Setting locale failed. perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings: LANG = (unset), LC_ALL = (unset), LANG = "en_US" are supported and installed on your system. perl: warning: Falling back to the standard locale ("C"). By manually setting LC_ALL to "C" this goes away, but this should be automatic (tested on Scyld 28cz4). Note I tried to run postgresql on a cluster node under Scyld and had similar problems, hence gave up. Other than putting this in my /etc/bashrc, does anyone have a fix for this? Also, is there a mailng list to report bugs or issues to Scyld? Cheers, -- Wade Hampton


text:
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr. Denis G. Wilde, OSA
Fr. Walter Quinn, OSA
Death Penalty
Church Documents
Inspiring Stories
America Will Not Reject Abortion Until America
Sees Abortion
Prayer Campaign
Take Action
Social Networking
Rachel's Vineyard,
A Ministry of Priests For Life
Silent No More Awareness Campaign, A Project
of Priests For Life
Clergy Resources
Yes the Party Matters
Sí, el partido importa
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director of Priests for Life
March 10, 2008
Three years ago, I wrote a column called "The Party Matters," in which I stated,
"Voters need to ask how much the election of a particular candidate will shift the balance of power between the parties, and what will happen when a particular party takes control. Voters should know the platform of the party and the official positions of party leadership on the same moral issues on which the individual candidate is evaluated…In short, the party matters."
Some criticized these statements, complaining that they are partisan. Yet it is time to restate and reaffirm that
Yes, the party matters.
This is one of the many elements of the moral evaluation of one's vote. Morality deals with human actions, and voting is a human action. The first moral consideration, of course, is whether one votes at all. Voting is a moral duty, as the Church has affirmed multiple times.
Whether one's actual voting choice is morally justified depends on a lot of other factors. After everything is considered, there may be multiple morally acceptable choices, In other cases, depending on who is on the ballot and what positions they take, the morally acceptable choices may be very limited.
The point is this. It is a key role of the Church to teach believers how to make moral decisions. The Church cannot fail in this responsibility simply because the topic touches on politics. On the contrary, as the Second Vatican Council stated, "At all times and in all places, the Church should have the true freedom to teach the faith, to proclaim its teaching about society, to carry out its task among men without hindrance,
and to pass moral judgment even in matters relating to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls requires it"
(GS n. 76).
Yes, "even in matters relating to politics," and even when the task of moral teaching
appears to be partisan.
One of the aspects of evaluating the morality of an act is to
consider its consequences.
It's pretty predictable what the consequences of driving through a red light are, and that's a key moral factor in evaluating that act.
So with voting, the consequences are that a particular candidate
as well as a particular party
come into power. Some people don't think about the consequences of a party taking power. We can either let them forget about it, or we can teach it.
To teach that "the party matters," as an aspect of the moral evaluation of a vote,
is not to endorse a particular party or candidate
. Rather, it is to give the believer the tools necessary for a complete moral evaluation of the act they are about to carry out.
Whether in fact that moral evaluation causes them to embrace or reject a particular party is a conclusion the voter will arrive at. But if we are to teach moral principles only when they have no practical consequences, then we render the Church irrelevant. And that certainly is not an option.
Help us spread the word. Share this with your social network.
Click here to leave a comment
Priests for Life
PO Box 236695 • Cocoa, FL 32923
Tel. 321-500-1000, Toll Free 888-735-3448 •


text:
It's not exactly a red carpet, but a Staten Island man whose home was devastated by Hurricane Sandy has just the thing to welcome President Obama today to his storm-ravaged neighborhood.
Perched outside Joseph Ingenito's battered New Dorp Beach home is a 7-foot Christmas tree — all that remains of the towering blue spruce that toppled in his yard when the superstorm struck.
"I was hoping it was going to be the next Rockefeller Center Christmas tree," Ingenito said.
The tree is decorated with ornaments that survived the surge, along with empty paper coffee cups, surgical masks and safety goggles.
"I just wanted to help the neighborhood keep its spirits up," said Ingenito, whose Topping Street home was flooded when the hurricane struck. "We're still going to have Christmas."
FEMA-frustrated storm victims hope Obama comes bearing government gifts when he visits hard-hit areas of Long Island, Queens and Staten Island.
Sources said the president's trip will include a helicopter fly-over with Gov. Cuomo above the Rockaways before he touches down at Staten Island's Miller Field, where he will be met by Mayor Bloomberg.
Although Obama's schedule is still tentative, he will likely spend a little time on the ground in and around New Dorp Beach, where a convoy of Sanitation Department street sweepers joined a neighborhood broom brigade to attack the piles of debris.
While the neighborhood buzzed with Secret Service, the National Guard and the NYPD, out-of-towner Dennis Murphy worried about the effects of a neighborhood on lockdown, where streets can be accessed only with a local ID.
"I'm going to have to sleep in one of these houses tonight if I want to help," said Murphy, who flew in from Seattle to help his family in the neighborhood. "I leave on Monday and don't have a day to waste while he walks around and makes a speech."
"I want him to help me move this refrigerator," said Achilleas Siozos, 53, as he cleaned up outside his home.
Heavy lifting is likely not on the agenda, but Obama did spend time yesterday tackling another weighty subject: climate change.
"I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions," Obama said at a news conference in response to a question about Hurricane Sandy.
"I think we've got an obligation to future generations to do something about it."
Obama visited New Jersey two days after the storm, and received warm words from Republican Gov. Chris Christie just days before the presidential election.
In other developments:
* State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued subpoenas to LIPA and Con Ed regarding their preparations and response to Hurricane Sandy, sources said.
The broad request for documents includes preparation and recovery plans, communication records and information on what actions were taken to provide a reliable energy supply before and after Sandy.
* New York's US senators outlined up to $1 billion in coastal storm-protection projects they are seeking immediately from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
* The city suspended alternate-side parking indefinitely for areas severely affected by the storm, including Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Gowanus and Red Hook in Brooklyn.
* The MTA is providing free shuttle buses from the Rockaways to and from its fare- and toll-hike hearings in Flushing today. Buses will leave the Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. subway station hourly starting at 3:30 pm.
The seven projects include the south shore of Staten Island, Long Beach, Fire Island, Rockaway Beach, Coney Island, Gilgo Beach and Asharoken.
* Dozens of American Red Cross relief workers are staying at the posh Soho Grand, one of few places with rooms available.
* New York's highest court invoked its "disaster rule" for the first time, allowing out-of-state lawyers to provide pro-bono services to Sandy victims.
Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli, S.A. Miller and Carl Campanile


text:
Brighton skipper Gordon Greer is still suspended for the visit of south-coast rivals Southampton.
The centre-half serves the third game of the four-match ban he received for his second red card of the season against Sheffield Wednesday a fortnight ago.
Full-back Jim McNulty remains a long-term absentee after ankle surgery but boss Gus Poyet has no new injury worries.
Poyet is considering making changes after Brighton clinched the title last week, although he insists there is still plenty to play for with an unbeaten home record to protect and seven points required to reach the 100-point mark.
Lewis Dunk, Jamie Smith, Alan Navarro, Gary Hart and Fran Sandaza are among the players hoping for a rare start for the champions.
Promotion-chasing Southampton will head along the coast without Lee Barnard.
The 16-goal striker was taken to hospital with an ankle injury during Saturday's 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers and could struggle to play again this season.
Winger Alex Chamberlain is set to miss out again with an ankle problem while left-back Dan Harding is a doubt with a groin injury.
Adam Lallana has been struggling with a groin tear lately but could come back into the starting line-up after he was rested last week.
Richard Chaplow may also be recalled after sitting on the bench against Rovers but fellow midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin (knee) and winger Lee Holmes (ankle) are still missing.
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.


text:
US Trade Representative Michael Froman to help light National Menorah near White House
WASHINGTON – U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will help light the National Menorah near the White House to mark the start of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish holiday.
The ceremony will be held Wednesday at 4 p.m., ahead of the first night of Hanukkah. It will also feature performances by violinist Miri Ben-Ari and the U.S. Air Force Band. Froman will represent President Barack Obama's administration.
President Jimmy Carter attended the first White House menorah lighting in 1979. President Ronald Reagan dubbed it the "National Menorah."
Free tickets to the event are available online. Those who attend will receive hot Hanukkah latkes and doughnuts, along with personal menorah kits and dreidels.


text:
Avanti WD361 Water Dispenser with Push Button Faucets
- Home or office use
- Hot and cold water dispenser
- Uses 2, 3 or 5 gal. bottles
- Reviews
- Description
- Specifications
- Benefits
- Resources
Avanti WD361 Water Dispenser
Enjoy fresh, energizing water at the touch of a button with the Avanti WD361 water cooler and dispenser! With dual faucets for hot and cold water, making a cup of tea or instant drink has never been simpler. Bring both functionality and modern style to your home or office with the unit's contemporary design olus th efollowing benefits:
- Hot and cold water dispensing
- 2, 3, and 5 gallon bottle capacity
- Home or office use
Safe For Kids
The hot water feature of the Avanti WD361 water dispenser is accompanied with a child safety guard, so the water dispenser is safe to keep in homes with small children.
Easy To Transport
Built of ivory-hue plastic that is both lightweight and durable, the cooler weighs only 25 pounds for easy transportation without worry of breakage.
Special Features Include
- Child hot water safety tap
- Contemporary design
- Detachable leveling legs
- Spill proof drip tray
- Easy to use push button faucets
No Wet Floors
The Avanti WD361 water cooler and dispenser has a built-in drip tray to catch spills or overflows, so water doesn't damage carpets or cause slippery floors. Tray is removable for easy water draining.
Push Button Faucets
People with small children, arthritis or limited hand mobility will enjoy the faucet design of the Avanti WD361 water dispenser and cooler. With no complicated turn knobs, refreshing water is as easy as a push of a button!
Guaranteed Satisfaction.
- Up To 30 days to return your purchase
- Money back guaranteed
- Free return shipping
- No restocking fees
- Model: WD361
- Product Type: Water Cooler and Dispenser
- Product Dimensions: L: 12.25" x W: 13.00" x H: 33.75"
- Product Weight: 35.00 lbs.
- Product Color: White
- Application: For dispensing water in your home or office
- Warranty: 1-year limited manufacturer's warranty on parts and labor; 5-years on compressor
- Voltage: 110 volts
- Frequency: 60 Hz
- Type: Bottled Water Dispenser
- Water Temperature: Hot & Cold
- Compressor: Yes
- Thermoelectric: No
- Product Construction: Stainless Steel , Plastic
- Finish: White
- Hot Water Thermostat: Yes
- Cold Water Thermostat: Yes
- Faucet Type: Push button
- Energy Star Rated: No
- Drip Tray Type: Removable drip tray
- Compatible Bottle Sizes: 2,3,5 gallons
- Built-In Filtration System: No
- Safety Features: Child Resistant Hot Water Tap
- Includes Bottle Cover: No
- An optional cup dispenser attaches to the side, for disposable cup access
- Catch spills and easily empty excess water with the removable drip tray
- Protect little hands from hot water burns with the child safety guard
- The detachable leveling leg allows you to adjust for inclines and declines, for better balance!
- Unit is made of lightweight, durable plastic so mobility is easy up and down stairs
- With contemporary styling, the unit brings functionality and style to your room


text: On Fri, 8 Jun 2001, Stephen Gaudet wrote: > Hello Tom, > > > -Can you hook up Macs and PC's in a beowulf? > > You can use Alpha's, AMD's and Intel's, but as far as I know no support for > Macs. > > > -Do i HAVE to use Linux > > Yes. I completely disagree. Many people nowadays are using the term "beowulf" to mean "cluster", and you can cluster pretty much anything with a network card and an implementation of MPI (depending on what you're doing). We've been doing Sun clusters since the late '80s. I've seen a Mac G4 cluster running yellowdog Linux, and there are several significant NT-based clusters (the A3 at Cornell for example). I really find it amusing that most people on this list don't seem to think you can have a functioning cluster without Scyld. _\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_\|/_ | Roger L. Smith Phone:662-325-3625 roger at ERC.MsState.Edu | | Systems Administrator FAX: 662-325-7692 WWW.ERC.MsState.Edu/~roger | |-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Mississippi State University/National Science Foundation | |______Engineering Research Center for Computational Field Simulation_____|


text:
Thousands of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders have gathered in Omaha, Neb., to hear Warren Buffett speak on Saturday, May 3.
We live-blogged the event. Here is a recap, with highlights.
[Editor\'s note, this story was republished on Monday May 5.]
- Sort by:
- Oldest
- Newest
- 4:15 pm
- Add a Comment
And so the meeting begins to wind down for another year. Thanks for joining us.
- 4:14 pm
- Add a Comment
More questions about the housing finance reform and if Berkshire would get in to this business.
Buffett says Berkshire unlikely to participate in this market because other people would be more optimistic than them in setting premiums.
"In the end, the Government needs to be the main insurer."
#BRK2014: Buffett: "A 30 year fixed rate mortgage is terrific boon for home owners – Govt guarantee keeps price down, promotes ownership."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 4:00 pm
- Add a Comment
Buffett talks about utilities and answers why they have not been delivering free cash flow.
Expects a good return over time and is betting that regulators are going to treat them fairly.
"We think that is a good bet given that Berkshire has been a good corporate citizen."
- 3:58 pm
- Add a Comment
FYI, Buffett is done taking questions from the reporters and analysts. It's all shareholders all the time for the rest of the Q&A #brk2014
— Michael de la Merced (@m_delamerced) May 3, 2014
- 3:57 pm
- Add a Comment
The Berkshire meeting, now know as Woodstock for capitalists, had 12 attendees in 1981. This year? 38,000 http://t.co/3mDm3nZ1B7 #BRK2014
— WSJ MoneyBeat (@WSJMoneyBeat) May 3, 2014
- 3:53 pm
- Add a Comment
And here is the most intelligent question: "what is the most intelligent question you've been asked recently.
Buffett's answer: "No good answer to that"
- 3:52 pm
- Add a Comment
Answering a question about buying smaller faster-growing companies Buffett says there is more competition for smaller deals.
"Bigger deals make more economic sense for Berkshire."
"We're not passing up anything of any size that can have any real impact on Berkshire" Our main emphasis should be on bigger deals #BRK2014
— Luciana Lopez (@Luciana_F_Lopez) May 3, 2014
- 3:48 pm
- Add a Comment
Buffett points out that he never used derivatives to buy shares of Coca-Cola and he has yet to buy the rest of the company.
- 3:47 pm
- Add a Comment
Andrew Ross Sorkin asks what they make of the rise of activist investors?
Activism "won't go away and scares the hell out of all our managers": Buffett #BRK2014
— Anupreeta Das (@PreetaTweets) May 3, 2014
- 3:45 pm
- Add a Comment
We were wondering when the Clippers joke would come and here it is:
Buffett: Charlie, are you going to buy the Clippers? [Charlie silent] Buffett: Now I'm worried he's thinking about it! #BRK2014
— Matt Koppenheffer (@KoppTheFool) May 3, 2014
- 3:42 pm
- Add a Comment
A question from the audience: Would Berkshire buy a prof sport team?
If you're asking me about owning a sports team, it may be time to talk about successors, jokes @WarrenBuffett #askliz #BRK2014
— Liz Claman (@LizClaman) May 3, 2014
- 3:39 pm
- Add a Comment
Buffett talks about train accidents and insurance coverage.
"We're on both sides of this. Ajit Jain (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group) is willing to write a very high-limit policy to any railroad, but so far they haven't liked his prices."
"Companies don"t like to discuss how much insurance coverage they carry because it can turn into a honey pot."
A SLIP: Munger: What did the biggest railroad accident in history cost? $200m? Buffett: I don't think BNSF ever announced that. #BRK2014
— Becky Quick (@BeckyQuick) May 3, 2014
- 3:30 pm
- Add a Comment
A question from the audience – is there another financial crisis looming? is criminal activity on Wall Street being institutionalized?
Munger says behavior on Wall Street has improved, but criminal prosecution of individuals will change behavior.
Buffett says he leans towards prosecuting individuals rather than firms.
"Much easier for a prosecutor to win a case against a company compared to an individual — the company is anxious to settle."
- 3:24 pm
- Add a Comment
We now get to one of the most interesting questions: inflation – should investors be thinking more about inflation?
Both @WarrenBuffett and #CharlieMunger caution against printing money to inflate out of problems. Weimar Germany, Munger warns #BRK2014
— Luciana Lopez (@Luciana_F_Lopez) May 3, 2014
#BRK2014: Munger on QE: "I don't like this confidence that we can just keep on with QE. I'm not crazy about this printing of money."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 3:12 pm
- Add a Comment
Another question form the audience: Who would be Berkshire's biggest competitor?
"Perhaps a private equity group willing to borrow a lot of money at low interest rates to compete with Berkshire for acquisitions.
One reason other companies haven't tried to copy Berkshire's approach is that it's slow and difficult–the get rich slow approach"
Why no Berkshire copycats? #Munger says there's nothing in American business to teach you how to be like BRK #askliz #BRK2014
— Liz Claman (@LizClaman) May 3, 2014
- 3:07 pm
- Add a Comment
Munger, asked if $BRK would change tax domicile: "I think it would be crazy to be as prosperous as BRK and get our tax to 0." #BRK2014
— Becky Quick (@BeckyQuick) May 3, 2014
- 3:06 pm
- Add a Comment
Andrew Ross Sorkin asks if Berkshire would buy a company to reduce taxes like Pfizer is doing with AstraZeneca.
Buffett says 'no'.
That doesn't mean we voluntarily pay more taxes than we have to–we follow the rules. We take advantage of tax incentives when they're available. But we've made lots of money over the years and paid lots of taxes.
- 2:58 pm
- Add a Comment
More questions about Geico. Buffett goes into the history of State Farm and Allstate.
Buffett: If I live to 100, GEICO should become #1 in auto insurance. I plan to do my part. #BRK2014 @CNBC
— Brad Quick (@bquick83) May 3, 2014
#BRK2014: Munger: "Geico is a lot like Costco. Offers a wonderful product at a reasonable price. Lots talk about it. Few companies do it."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 2:55 pm
- Add a Comment
Becky Quick asks about price gouging by hotels during the Berkshire weekend. Isn't this just supply and demand?
.@BeckyQuick asks about Airbnb and Omaha hotel "price gouging," and immediately draws claps from the crowd #BRK2014
— Michael de la Merced (@m_delamerced) May 3, 2014
- 2:48 pm
- Add a Comment
Buffett advises to be inquisitive.
When he was young, Buffett used to ask CEOs which competitors they would go long and which they would sell short. #BRK2014
— Alex Rubalcava (@AlexRubalcava) May 3, 2014
- 2:46 pm
- Add a Comment
Another softball question – if you were 23, which non-tech industry will you go and why?
Buffett's answer is classic: I would do what I did when I was 23 – go into investment business.
- 2:42 pm
- Add a Comment
So much fun!!! #BRK2014 pic.twitter.com/8bFTP5og3M
— Alan Castro (@cashtronovaa) May 3, 2014
- 2:40 pm
- Add a Comment
A question: Why do you compare the performance of the S&P to Berkshire's growth in book value per share? It seems like apples and oranges, since Berkshire is primarily an operating business these days.
Munger at #BRK2014: Comparing BRK book value to S&P is "insane" but makes it harder for Buffett to look good. He "likes to climb mountains."
— Alex Crippen (@alexcrippen) May 3, 2014
- 2:36 pm
- Add a Comment
Someone in the audience asks about circle of competence, or rather how does one figure it out.
Buffett says says he know about his own circle of confidence, but he does not have much advice for others.
#BRK2014: Buffett: "Be realistic in assessing your talents – a number of CEOs have no idea where their circle of competence begins and ends.
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 2:31 pm
- Add a Comment
There is a question about Geico and what would happen to the insurer when self-driving cars become widespread.
"SELF-DRIVING CARS ARE A REAL THREAT TO THE AUTO INSURANCE BUSINESS" says @WarrenBuffett while discussing his @GEICO biz. #BRK2014 #askLIZ
— Liz Claman (@LizClaman) May 3, 2014
- 2:27 pm
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At 83 years old, Warren Buffett charms the media and shareholders discussing lessons learned from See's candy, the housing market and more at his annual shareholders meeting.
Watch the video here: The Buffett investor and media circus
- 2:25 pm
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Munger chimes in:
You can't judge your performance compared to what could have been achieved by buying stocks at the absolute bottom. First of all, you can never tell where the bottom is except in retrospect. Second of all, you probably wouldn't have been able to buy a significant volume of shares at those low prices.
- 2:23 pm
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Buffett talks about decisions to buy stocks vs. businesses.
#BRK2014: Buffett: "When we're right about stocks, see it in market value immediately. When we're right about businesses takes time to see."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 2:19 pm
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Another question about Berkshires purchases in 2008-09 panic – specifically investing in so many different areas.
Buffett says their timing could have been better in 2008-09:
"We started buying too early. We did well, but we should have focused more on common stocks rather than bonds and preferred stock."
Buffett at #BRK2014: "Timing could have been improved dramatically" for BRK's late-2008 investments since bottom didn't come until 2009.
— Alex Crippen (@alexcrippen) May 3, 2014
- 2:15 pm
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A question about Heinz's performance in the next few years.
Buffett says he expects profitability to improve substantially under new management.
#BRK2014: Buffett: "Heinz was reasonably run company with 15% pretax margins for many years. Those margins will be significantly improved."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 2:12 pm
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#BRK2014: Munger: "One of our greatest assets at Berkshire has been scrambling out of our mistakes."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
- 2:10 pm
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Buffett is asked about changes that could impact Berkshire Hathaway business.
"All companies should be aware of disruptive threats to their businesses."
"We know our businesses won't look the same in 5 or 10 years. Our subsidiaries generally see more gradual change and are starting from a position of strength. We also look for managers who are on the lookout for change and able to adapt."
- 2:07 pm
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The scene before start of #Berkshire meeting. @warrenbuffett says 38,000 people attending. #brk2014 pic.twitter.com/Px8sKYYPs0
— Susie Gharib (@sgharib_NBR) May 3, 2014
- 2:05 pm
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Berkshire Hathaway meeting reconvenes after a lunch break. Buffett says this meeting is the most attended.
- 1:01 pm
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The convention breaks for lunch. And we will be back in about an hour. Stay tuned.
- 1:00 pm
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Buffett vs Protege Partners bet 6 years out: Buffett's S&P index up 43.8%. Protege's hedge funds up 12.5%. #BRK2014
— Becky Quick (@BeckyQuick) May 3, 2014
- 12:54 pm
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Buffett is speaking about conglomerates:
Owning a group of good business is not a bad business plan.
I think our strategy makes a great deal of sense–we own a diversified group of very high-quality, well-managed, conservatively-capitalized companies.
Be suspicious of a conglomerate that is constantly issuing new shares to acquire other companies. Berkshire buys with cash and is willing to wait for good opportunities.
On being a conglomerate: We acquire for cash and acquire good businesses. "Business like principles instead of stock promotions" #BRK2014
— Gabrielle Bourne (@gabriellebourne) May 3, 2014
- 12:46 pm
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Buffett: This is not a bubble situation we're living in, but it is an unusual situation #askLIZ #BRK2014
— Liz Claman (@LizClaman) May 3, 2014
- 12:45 pm
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Questions turn to interest rates and the Federal Reserve. "Are low rates leading to asset bubbles? If you ran the Fed what would you do?"
Buffett answers:
I'm surprised by how well things are going. I would like to say that I would have done exactly the same thing.
I think Ben Bernanke was a hero, both at the time of the crash and panic, and subsequently. He is a very smart man.
I thought it was very interesting to read the Fed minutes and see how many of the Fed board members didn't fully appreciate how bad the situation was in 2008-09
- 12:35 pm
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Andrew Ross Sorkin asks Buffett about climate change.
"You have investments in things like renewable energy and electric cars but BNSF carries lots of coal. What happens in the future?"
#BRK2014: Buffett: "I don't think in making an investment decision in Berkshire – or any company – climate change should be a factor."
— Alec Hogg (@alechogg) May 3, 2014
Munger answers: There is plainly global warming, but people who know exactly what is going to happen are talking through their hats. Climate changes are a real issue, but no one really knows how to quantify the impact. We're going to need a lot more electricity made from the sun. Berkshire is positioned well with investments in renewable generation and transmission lines.
- 12:28 pm
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Speaking about investing in stocks, Buffett says he likes good businesses.
Buffett: "What really turns us on when we find a business we can buy" emphasizing buying co's vs. investing in stocks #BRK2014
— Matt Koppenheffer (@KoppTheFool) May 3, 2014
- 12:23 pm
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Questions turn to Bank of America – Berkshire Hathaway has a major investment in the bank.
Buffett on BofA: "that error they made does not bother me." Hasn't changed his view on bank "one iota." #BRK2014 http://t.co/hu5vr1VWJm
— Erik Holm (@erikholmwsj) May 3, 2014
- 12:20 pm
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Buffett talks about See's Candies purchase.
Buffett: See's opened my eyes to the power of a brand, probably would not have bought Coke if we hadn't bought sees first #askLIZ #BRK2014
— Liz Claman (@LizClaman) May 3, 2014
Buffett on See's "It provides us w/ earnings we use to buy other companies." oh & btw, "America prefers milk chocolate over dark." #BRK2014
— Liz Claman (@LizClaman) May 3, 2014
- 12:11 pm
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The Berkshire meeting is often a test of how many different ways Buffett & Munger can make the same points they've made for years. #BRK2014
— Anupreeta Das (@PreetaTweets) May 3, 2014
- 12:10 pm
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Buffett talks about weak points and says they have a lot of those. One is they are slow to make personnel changes.
- 12:02 pm
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Mr Buffett is talking about his long-time business partner Charlie Munger, answering the question about who would replace him.
- 12:00 pm
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Warren: "Fair to say I'm more inclined to action than Charlie." Charlie: "You once called me the abominable no-man." #BRK2014
— Stephen Foley (@stephenfoley) May 3, 2014
- 11:44 am
- What to watch for
- by Anora Mahmudova
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Six Key Things to Watch in Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting:
Some 38,000 attendees are scheduled to appear at the annual meeting this weekend for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A). Warren Buffett has already been in the news quite a bit ahead of the event, some probably not of his own choice.
24/7 Wall St. wanted to preview the annual meeting, with more than just what to expect. In short, there are several things that investors should be on the lookout for. We have broken these out individually, but they are not in any specific order or listed in this order for any primary reason.
Will Buffett keep adding stock positions, even as the market reaches new highs?
- 11:42 am
- Visitor's guide
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
Here is a link to the 2014 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting Visitor's Guide.
- 11:33 am
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More than 30,000 people have gathered at the CenturyLink Center, a basketball arena in downtown Omaha, Neb., as Buffett and his business partner, Charlie Munger are speaking.
The annual convention began with a movie – a humorous video featuring Buffett. This was followed by Buffett talking about Berkshire Hathaway's first-quarter results.


text: On 24 Oct 2008, at 12:42 pm, Jon Aquilina wrote: > but why waste time sifting through all 26,000+ pkgs in the repos > when u can > have a distro with repos focused on clustering pkgs? They're grouped according to purpose, so I didn't have to do any such sifting. That list I produced from a cursory glance through the scientific software section, and the few packages I already knew about. I also very much agree with Carsten - there have been any number of occasions when people have asked me for really quite obscure bits and pieces of software, and I've thought "Oh, that's never going to be packaged up already... oh, wait, yes it is... aptitude install really-obscure-package" The point I was countering was the idea of creating [yet another] derived distribution, when it isn't necessary. Maintaining a Linux distribution is an *enormous* amount of effort, especially if you're going to attempt to keep up with security patches and so on, so why anyone would want to do it themselves is beyond me. Just use one of the widely used and well supported distros, and supplement it with a local package repository if you have local custom needs. This is what we do; we use plain old Debian Etch, with a local package repository of a few things we have updated to more recent software versions (cfengine, rsync, multipath, heartbeat and one or two other things). I do the equivalent thing for SLES10, for our Oracle boxes. When we decided to move from Debian Sarge to Etch, it was a really simple move; we had half a dozen or so local packages to rebuild against the updated distro, and that was it, we were up and running. The amount of effort required is pretty small (at least for anyone who's passingly familiar with build RPMs or DEBs from source) Tim -- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is operated by Genome Research Limited, a charity registered in England with number 1021457 and a company registered in England with number 2742969, whose registered office is 215 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE.


text:
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
So here's what I can remember. I've been eying these cupcakes in the Martha Stewart Cupcake book since I got it. They look absolutely adorable with their little kiss of 7 minute frosting on top. The only problem is 7 minute frosting kind of frightens me. Looking at reviews for the cupcakes online before I started making them, more than half said they had trouble with the frosting. I don't deal well with baking drama, and I was attempting to make it through the baking process without any tears this year. So 7 minute frosting was out of the question. I stuck with something simple instead—vanilla bean buttercream.
What else I remember? People at work LOVED them. I can usually judge how good a cupcake is now from how many people stop me throughout the night. This one was a complete win. Even the 20-year diabetic complimented them! Which totally freaked me out—but at least he scraped off the frosting first. I don't want to be held responsible for his blood sugar going sky-high! The only complaint about them was that they were a little dry, but that was totally my fault. I accidentally left them sitting out uncovered when I went to dinner with Boyfriend… And didn't realize it until I got home 6 hours later.
While they didn't win a ribbon (I think they were too simple compared to the rest of the competition), they're definitely winners in my book. Slightly cinnamon, perfectly sweet, and totally adorable. These will definitely be made again. And maybe, just maybe, I'll try out the 7 minute frosting next time.
Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Makes 28 cupcakes
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups milk
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with 2 additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
4. Divide the batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about three-quarters full (about 2 tablespoons batter). Bake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool in tins for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Bean Buttercream
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, for dusting
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for dusting
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract, vanilla beans, and salt, and beat until combined. Add confectioner's sugar, a half cup at a time, beating until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, pipe frosting onto cupcake: hold bag over cupcake with the tip just above the surface and squeeze to create a blob of frosting, then release pressure and pull up to form a peak.
3. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Using a fine mesh sieve, dust mixture over top the peaks.
9 comments:
- Paige said...
I made a variation of the Snickerdoodles like forever ago and did the 7 minute frosting and really wished I hadn't. It turned out fine, but I just didn't like the taste.
- August 9, 2010 at 2:12 PM
- oneordinaryday said...
These sound delicious and I love the big dollop of frosting on top.
- August 9, 2010 at 5:33 PM
- sarahe said...
they look perfect! i will have to try this recipe sometime...
- August 9, 2010 at 7:08 PM
- Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...
These are so cute and I'm glad they went over well. I have the book and have been wanting to try these for while now.
- August 9, 2010 at 7:36 PM
- Butter Hearts Sugar said...
OOh these look yummy! That recipe has always caught my eye too, glad it all worked out well. will have to give it a try.
- August 10, 2010 at 5:53 AM
- Laura said...
Oooh, those look so good! I just made my first batch of scratch cupcakes, and I've got the bug now... These will have to make the rounds in my kitchen.
- August 19, 2010 at 2:23 PM
- Ingrid said...
Another fantastic looking cupcake!! You go! Sadly, mine didn't turn out as delicious as yours. Mine were dry and they shrunk in on themselves. Perhaps I need to try again? I do love snickerdoodle!
- August 24, 2010 at 8:17 PM
- M.E. said...
Greetings! what type of tip/piping bag did you use for the frosting? i too am obsessed with baking, and am just diving in and starting a baking blog regarding sweets! and i would love to decorate like you. i think the tips i have are too small. i love how fluffy the cupcake looks
- September 8, 2010 at 10:32 PM
- Danae - The Busty Baker said...
M.E. - I used a large plain round piping tip for my frosting on this one. I got it at a baking supply store, but if there's not one near you, try to find it online at places like Bake It Pretty. Most of my other tips have come from craft stores, but I could never find this one there. Hope that helps, and good luck with your blog! :)
- September 19, 2010 at 10:13 AM


text: On Wed, 23 Nov 2005, Alan Ward wrote: > Hello everybody. > > Since 64-bit CPU architecture is cheap these days in a Semperon (3000+ version), I've been trying to optimize some of my C code. As for compile switches on the gcc, do > > -march=x86-64 -mfpmath=sse -m3dnow > > look reasonable? Any reason why the -m64 switch does not work for me? Sorry, to be more explicit, I think that MOST people probably don't want to use -m features, whether or not they work. The compiler will usually "do the right thing" without them, unless you are cross-compiling. I think they are there mostly for cross-compilers. However, I'd love to be corrected if I'm wrong. Over the years when I've tried them, though, I've seen zero impact on microbenchmark code, leading me to doubt that they do much by way of tuning relative to baseline. I haven't tried them, I admit, on x86_64 at all, or gcc 4.x at all. So PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, especially if you have benchmarks that back up what you say. The man page for gcc has ALWAYS had a lot more features than I think any human being ever actually uses, and I'd bet there are quite a few of them that have NEVER been used except by the developers. At least, I've never seen a Makefile that uses more than a tiny fraction of them, usually -f options, and frankly a lot of those have less impact on performance than one might think. rgb > > Best regards, > Alan Ward > -- Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


text: On Wed, 31 Jul 2002, Michael Stein wrote: > > One thing that they did that had me a bit concerned from the beginning > > was wire the power poles by pulling all three phases to a power pole and > > coming back with a single common ground. > > Is that 'ground' (grounding conductor?) or 'neutral' (grounded conductor?)? Sorry, single common neutral. > > > Of course if you have three equal, purely resistive loads on all three > > hot wires you could in principle grab the common cold wire in your hand > > as it would carry no current (Kids! Do Not try this at home!) > > Power factor correction (PFC) power supplies should be very close to > looking like a resistive loads and the currents in the neutral should > cancel out (assuming balanced loads on the three phases). > > > but in practice it is not at all clear that the load currents of a > > cluster will all be in phase with the current (or even shifted by a > > common amount). > > Typical (?) PC power supplies are not PFC and draw a big pulse of current > on each rising peak (120 times a second for 60 Hz power). If you have > a bunch (cluster) of PCs spread over three phases, the pulse from each > phase doesn't occur at the same time since the phases are 120 degrees > apart so these pulses can't cancel out in the neutral. Define "big pulse". If a supply draws order of 1 A rms average, is the peak draw 2 A? 4 A? Depending on the response time of the circuit breakers, this could explain why they pop well below the rms power capacity presumed from their current rating. > > In practice, our racks were popping breakers before they reached 75% > > of nominal load, making me wonder if they actually had three DIFFERENT > > phases sharing a ground... > > Breakers should only be in the "hot" lines not in the neutral. So this > overload of the neutral shouldn't pop the breaker. Rather the neutral > should melt and start a fire... > > I'd worry why you are popping breakers and keep looking for some other > problem... And worry about the neutral too. I'm doing exactly those two things. They have four circuits per power pole, for example, not three, but only three phases. I'm very curious as to how they are sharing the neutral, as just a silly little mistake would have two circuits with the same phase sharing the neutral. Code is conservative enough, and the run short enough, and the room cold enough, that this might not start a fire, but we'll all feel better when they rewire it with a neutral per circuit. > > Are there published standards for wiring clusters (or similar > > environments)? We will soon be having them redo the power pole wiring > > so each line has its own ground. Is there anything (relatively > > inexpensive) we can add or should insist on at that point to condition > > the power and isolate the harmonics so that they don't bleed through > > from system to system? I think dual isolation transformers are beyond > > our means, but could a high-quality surge strip (perhaps one with > > limited UPS capacity) serve the same purpose? > > One possiblity I've thought of but haven't tried would be to switch the > PC power supplies to the 240 setting and run them off of 208 (between > two phases of the three phases). > > You'll need some special power strips (probably a powerstrip with IEC > 320 C-13 outlets) and some C-13 to C-14 power cords for the machines. > > The pulses will still exist but won't be going into the neutral (since > it's not connected). > > I haven't tried this, but I think that some large rack mount systems > do this... This is a bit invasive for our setting and we need to keep everything compliant with code for all possible reasons -- I do some of my own wiring at home, but Duke requires licensed electricians. We could have electricians rewire the poles for 209V and do as you suggest (expensive) but first I'm just going to give in and a) put an oscilloscope on the lines; b) put a poor man's GFCI (one I wire out of parts downstairs:-) inline with a strip and plug in a segment of the cluster to test for current imbalance. If the supplies are all drawing a really big pulse of current in phase and dumping it on neutral in phase, it could be (as Don suggested offline) deforming the waveforms and dropping the de facto line voltages at peak to where the push the supplies out of spec. If the current draw is large enough to drop line voltages on the hot line (which it does by drawing enough current so that IR on the supply line is no longer negligible and because of inductive lag in everything), it is also large enough to create a pulse of line voltage on the neutral (the same IR in the other direction), which in turn creates interesting possibilities of a transient ground loop -- too short to show up on a cheap multimeter, but more than enough to create all sorts of problems. Very interesting. Time to go in and scrounge a scope from my experimentalist friends... rgb Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


text:
A stone wall constructed in the late 1920s is coming between neighbors on Penn Street and Midvale Avenue in East Falls.
The stone-masonry retaining wall that separates the rear alley of houses along 3401-3463 W. Penn St. from the common driveway of homes along 3400-3458 Midvale Ave. is leaning, cracked and unsafe, according to a structural report by the Streets Department (PDF).
Large fissures have formed between the alley and the wall, as well, and plants are growing in the deteriorating parts of the mica schist and cement. If it fails, the rear decks of Penn Street homes will collapse and cause structural damage to those buildings.
The 65 residents along the affected blocks of Penn and Midvale are now being asked to pick up the estimated bill of $450,000 to make the repairs that would secure the wall and prevent further deterioration.
That's an average cost of $6,923 for the residents, depending on the width of their properties.
The city's Department of Licenses & Inspections sent letters to the residents in recent weeks informing them that they were "in violation" of Philadelphia building codes because of the condition of the retaining wall.
At a Tuesday night meeting near the wall — organized by the office of Fourth District Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. — the neighbors heard some good, but mostly bad, news about a challenging situation.
Albert McCarthy, construction codes specialist with L&I, told them they would not be fined for the violations cited in the letters they recently received.
The letters had informed the recipients that they were "directed to make repairs" to the wall within 30 days or the city would take action to demolish and reconstruct the wall at the homeowners' expense, which could be 20 percent more than if the residents hired a private contractor to make the repairs.
McCarthy assured the more than 50 neighbors who attended the outdoor meeting that his office would not pursue any fines.
Weekly inspections of the wall will be made, and if the wall seems stable for now, the city will give the residents more time to deal with the problem.
Darin Gatti, chief engineer for the Streets Department, explained to the residents why they were all responsible for making the repairs to the wall erected 85 years ago.
The block — bounded by Midvale Avenue and Penn, Vaux and Conrad streets — was developed by builder Michael J. McCrudden in 1928 to 1929, according to a report by city surveyor and regulator John Parkinson.
To complete construction of the houses and to deal with "compelling grade problems," the builder constructed the 12-foot-wide driveway behind the Midvale properties with a retaining wall that supports a 3-foot-wide alley, sidewalk and fence for use of the Penn Street homes.
Parkinson's report (PDF) concluded that in keeping with a municipal act from 1923, the responsibility for repairs to the entire driveway should be shared by property owners on Midvale, and repairs related to the alley and fence be apportioned among owners of the Penn Street properties.
Any repairs to the retaining wall should be shared by all of the property owners of Midvale and Penn in proportion to the width of their properties abutting the wall, Parkinson wrote.
"It's a common misconception that you are responsible for the driveway that is only behind your house," Gatti said. "You are responsible for the entire driveway."
All the neighbors on Midvale and Penn are "equally liable" if anyone is injured because of the condition of the wall, which is private property, he said.
Residents on the Midvale side of the block asked Gatti why they were responsible for conditions that seemed to be caused by their Penn Street neighbors who built decks just above the wall. The areas of the wall that lean and bulge are clearly below the backyard decks.
Gatti said three main factors cause a retaining wall to fail: Water infiltration, tree roots/vegetation and lack of maintenance.
In the case of the East Falls wall, there is "no smoking gun" that caused the damage, but there are multiple causes, he said.
The decks behind the Penn Street homes were inspected when they were constructed, McCarthy said. There are no setback requirements from a retaining wall for decks.
The wall itself was constructed before the city zoning code existed.
Gatti said the residents had several options to fix the problem.
The most expensive — the $450,000 option — would be complete reconstruction of the wall.
A second option would be partial reconstruction, focused on the worst sections of the 550-foot-long wall.
A third option would be installation of tiebacks that would hold up the wall at the worst points along the expanse.
Rows of East Falls homes, including those along the Penn Street and Midvale Avenue blocks, have been designated a historic district by the Philadelphia Historical Commission.
Gatti said he had talked to Historical Commission representatives, and there would probably be allowances made if partial reconstruction was not done in stone. Replacing the mica schist could double the price, Gatti said.
The biggest challenge ahead for the residents will be coming to an agreement to repair the wall that will satisfy everyone.
In his 30 years of experience, he has seen three examples where neighbors were able to solve the problem on their own, but all those cases involved much smaller walls, Gatti said.
The meeting ended with the formation of a committee of residents from both sides of the wall to take the next steps, with the guidance of Councilman Jones' office.
Gatti said he would provide the neighbors with a list of qualified contractors that have been employed by the city.
Greg Curci, a resident of Penn Street for 11 years, said there is no animosity between the two sides of the retaining wall.
"But, I can't conceive of a way that this many parties can come up with an agreement and at this cost," Curci said. "To try to get a consensus on how this should be done will be impossible."
He said the city will have to take the lead in making the repairs to the wall.
Midvale resident Joe Locastro said both sides share "some responsibility."
Some damage to the wall has occurred naturally and some has been due to negligence, he said, noting that the outdoor decks erected on the Penn Street side were built too close to the wall.
"After the decks went up," he said, "the wall started moving."
Penn Street resident Glenna Hazeltine also weighed in.
"The issue is simple: The wall has to be fixed. The next step will be a meeting from both streets," she said, jokingly referred to the blocks as the Hatfields and McCoys. "If some residents don't participate, we'll have to give it back to the city."
In the meantime, she said, the homes can't be sold and "our property values just tanked."
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