text: Does Exide really want a settlement? By Abhijit Menon-Sen <email@example.com> February 17, 2012 In my last hearing at the consumer forum, I was asked to present oral arguments again today. The Exide chap also asked me for my phone number so that the lawyer could discuss a settlement. He never called. I wondered if they'd try to spring it on me in court today, and that's exactly what they did. Their lawyer (the same one who wrote the response to my complaint) waited until the last possible moment to ask me what it would take to settle, so that when my case came up for hearing, he could say he wanted to discuss a settlement, and I would be unprepared. I protested to the bench that it was a delaying tactic, but that made me look unreasonable (just as he wanted, I'm sure). I eventually did agree to another hearing in two weeks to see if we can reach a settlement. When he asked me what I wanted, I referred him to my complaint, which he dismissed as being always exaggerated. I said I wanted all three batteries replaced, plus compensation amounting to a bit less than what I had originally asked for. I also said I was very offended by what they had said about me in their response (unclean hands etc.), and he said that's just a part of litigation. Anyway, he went off saying he would try to bring some harmony between Exide and me. Meanwhile, I will prepare my oral arguments again, based on what I learned from listening to a somewhat disorganised lawyer presenting hers in court today. I learned a lot about what not to do, and what the forum members look for.


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Ric Flair Responds To CM Punk's Promo From WWE Raw
Dot com has a new article online featuring quotes from Ric Flair responding to WWE Champion CM Punk's promo from this week's WWE Raw. Flair, who is rumored but not confirmed for next week's Raw, concludes the article with this quote:
"Like I said, if you like me or don't like me, learn to love it baby, because it is the best thing going today. And that's the quote I'll drop on him [down the line] if I see him. WOO!!!"
Click here to read the article in its entirety.

subset: commoncrawl


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Are you brokenhearted? Do your friends tell you that you need to move on? Did you know that you can actually use technology to help you?
Here are our recommended apps for moving on. Let's go through them step-by-step and by the usual post-breakup phases.
Stuck at Home Phase
When your SO dumps you, you'll find going out can be such a drag. You'd rather stay home, curl up in your bed and cry yourself to sleep. You're thinking that you can miss a couple of gym days to "recover" but we all know that's just an excuse.
Did you know you can do Netflix and chill by yourself? A small disclaimer though: this doesn't work if you and your ex usually do this together.
Distract yourself by binge watching that show your SO didn't want to watch in the first place. Hey, "Iron Fist" is out. If you're really feeling sad about life in general, maybe you can watch the third season of "Bojack Horseman." That show has a lot of harsh realities for an animated series.
If you're into local shows and movies, you may want to try out Iflix. Relive Popoy and Basha's moment again in "One More Chance".
Let's be frank. You can't keep that feelings bottled up especially if the breakup is still fresh. If you're going to cry in your bed or beside the window, why not go the extra mile and play some senti music?
Go find some sentimental music playlists on Spotify and cry your heart out. My personal favorite OPM senti song is "Pwede Ba" by Soapdish.
"At 'wag kang magtataka
Kung ako'y biglang makita
Na nag-iisa..nakahiga lang sa kama
Iniisip ko ito,
"ba't nga ba biglang nagbago?.."
Makayanan ko sana 'to."
Let it all out. Crying is for everyone, even if you're a guy. Take the time to process your feelings and reminisce. Do all of those things guys and girls usually do in your favorite music videos.
Google Keep (or any other note/journal app)
One common mistake for those who have been dumped is to pour their heart out to their SOs. I can tell you by experience that this does not definitely work. It's either too late or just plain too creepy.
I found that it definitely helps to write out your feelings. This way, you won't feel as stupid because nobody won't be able to read them. Writing can be your outlet for your feelings.
Later, you can go back and read them. Weeks from now, you may find your sad feelings today to be actually cringeworthy. Still, it's good that you can let it all out without hurting yourself. Google Keep, Quickmemo or Evernote can be good choices.
Food Panda (or any other delivery apps)
Don't want to go out yet but starving? Go to the Google Play or Apple's App Store and enter your favorite fastfood. They may have an app for deliveries. For the lazy people, there's Food Panda.
Food Panda allows you to choose from your favorite restaurants nearby and have your food delivered to you. You can still eat your favorite Sisig dish from Gerry's Grill or chow down on a Halo Halo Special from Icebergs without going out.
You Need to Go Out Phase
After spending a day or two on your sweats and letting all the feels out in your room, you might finally realize that you may actually need to start going out. You've already missed three gym sessions. For guys, you might be losing your hard-earned gains. For girls, your well-toned behind may start to sag. You might want to put down the Cheetos now.
Stronglifts 5×5 (or any other fitness exercise app)
If you are serious about getting fit, you can use fitness apps to help track your progress. You may want to finally get those six-pack abs or that "Daammn" ass. No matter what path you take, one goal is clear: you will be better-looking the next time you two cross paths again.
But let me be clear, you are doing this for YOU, not for HIM or HER. You need to move on. The endorphins released from exercising will also help you to feel good and process your thoughts better. If you can lift heavy, you can also lift your feelings and drop them off a metaphorical 100-foot cliff.
MyFitness Pal (or any other diet/calorie counting app)
Exercise is often not enough for a fit body. Calorie counting apps can help you keep track of what you are eating.
You'll see that all of those nights eating at expensive restaurants are costly both to your health and your wallet. Trust me, you'll start to appreciate being single.
SongKick (or any other events app)
So you got your body fitness in check, what's next? No, you don't call or text your ex to flaunt what you got. That's the complete opposite of moving on.
You need to go out and enjoy yourself. Maybe you can finally afford that concert you've been wanting to go but can't because of date expenses. SongKick and other events app can help you find gigs and happenings near your area. Who knows, the next "the one" is just around the corner.
If you want to improve yourself even more career-wise, Eventbrite can be your app. It features events that are mostly career-oriented. They feature workshops that can help you improve your craft even more.
Tinder (or any other dating app)
I deliberately put Tinder and other dating apps last in the list because I suggest you only use them while you are more or less 50% done with moving on. If you start with this, you'll only think that no amount of dates or hookups will ever fill the void your SO left you with.
You need to realize first that he or she is not coming back. You need to realize that it's okay to love again. You need to realize that it isn't the end of the world.
Sure, he or she knew you intimately for 4 years and more. But get this, the next one can and might give you 10 years or more. If they deserve to be happy, you deserve to be happier.
These apps can only help you to move on only if you are ready to do so. The decision still rests with you.
Article written by Lord Marin.


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If You Could Go Back and Do Some Things Differently
Victoria is a stay-at-home mom, author, educator, and blogger at Healthy at Home. She currently lives in Colorado with her family.
I think we've all asked ourselves this question at some point along the way: What if I could go back and change something from my past? Could I have handled that situation differently? What if I had chosen a different path? If only I had known about that sooner or gotten to know that person better. Maybe if I had pushed harder or made amends with that person. If only I had been stronger or more courageous. We wonder if a different choice in the past could have changed the way things are now.
Many of us let regret, shame and guilt drag us down and be a constant reminder of the way we have failed. Those feelings tell us that we are failures, there's no way to change, and we shouldn't even try because we'll just mess things up again. They can even keep you from improving yourself or your current situation if you let them. But none of that is true, for you or for me. The past is simply just that. It's a period of time where a decision had to be made or a lesson had to be learned.
While we can revisit the past, try to see the decisions we (or others) made from a different perspective, and try to learn from them, we can't change anything that has already happened. However, we don't have to let it define us now. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to try and learn from what we have experienced and do better now. Have you ever heard the saying, "I did the best I could with what I knew; now that I know better, I will do better" by Maya Angelou?
What Would I Change?
This question has been rolling around in my head a lot lately. I had a terrible childhood. Pictures from my past are constantly flashing before me, haunting me, taunting me, daring me to move forward in life and not let them swallow me whole. I've spent a lot of time processing, understanding and coming to terms with the things that happened. In fact, I still have epiphanies every so often that help explain some of the past to me. However, I have accepted it and moved on, and don't let most of that stuff bother me anymore.
Normally I would tell you that there isn't anything I would change, but that's simply not true. What has really been weighing on me, especially looking into the future this week, with a new year at my fingertips, are the mistakes I've made with my kids. When I was pregnant with my first little one, and the first couple years of his life, I had know clue what I was in for. I had babysat before and had been a first grade teacher for almost 10 years, and I was confident that I would be great with a baby.
But I had no support system, no real experience, and my husband was in a major depression at the time. Now, as I parent my second child, I see how my first child could have been parented and how differently things could have been handled. I really feel like he would be a different child if I knew then what I knew now. The mom guilt is sometimes unbearable. I honestly wish he didn't have to struggle with some of the things that he does at such a young age, but I can't go back.
The Reality
When considering the past, and wishing we could change one or more situations, the only thing each of us is really saying is, "I really want to be happier today, and I don't know how to get there."
You're looking to maximize your happiness now. But there's no way to achieve that by looking back. It's a waste of time thinking that if your life had gone the other way back then, things would have worked out better now. There really is no way, without having had knowledge of the future, to pick the moment that truly would change your life. You have had so many different scenarios where you could have chosen differently one way or the other, that would have had far-reaching and unpredictable consequences in your life.
You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. Each and every experience we have, and each different pathway we chose, has led us to the point where we are now. If your loved one hadn't passed away, if you hadn't been in that horrible situation, and if you hadn't had to make that difficult choice, it's very possible that you wouldn't have what makes you so special today, if you would even be here at all.
If you haven't seen enough of those time travel movies, like Back to the Future, the one thing they always learned was that it didn't benefit to change the past. If anything, it always just screwed things up further. You did the best that you could, in your current state of mind, in that situation, at that time. The only thing you can do now is to move forward and make your future better.
Moving Forward
We may not be able to go back and change our past, but we can change our future. We can change the person we are, how we treat others, the decisions we make, and the paths we take right now. Today. So let's look back together. (It may even be helpful to write these down.) What specifically would you change and why? What can you do today to take those lessons you've learned and apply them to your future?
Did you need more patience? This is great time to work on being more patient with those in your life. Did you wish you had said you were sorry or told someone you loved them before they passed? Oh man! Do it now. Call those that you love or go visit them, say your apologies now and tell them how much you love them. Did you put up with poor treatment in a relationship before? Vow from this day on to never do that again. Use the experiences from your past to know how to avoid repeating them again.
And here's some great all around suggestions for healing from the inside out and moving forward to a more positive future. You deserve a better future no matter where you are in life. Now's your chance to get it!
- Forgiveness. One if the most important things you can do today that will radically change the future is to forgive. Confidently forgive those that hurt you, knowing that by holding on you're only hurting yourself, and forgive yourself. Let go of the guilt, the regret and the self-blame. You can't change things in the past, but you can change the future.
- Walk Away From Toxic People. It's hard to move on and become a better person yourself if you are allowing people that hurt you, tempt you, or being you down to continue being a part of your story. Let go, stop answering their phone calls, and allow them to drift out of your life. You need people that will encourage you and lift you up in your life.
- Have Faith in Yourself. You are worthy of a better future, you are capable of change, and the future will be as bright as you make it. You can do it! You only need to have confidence in yourself. You have gotten this far, and you have survived your past struggles. That should tell you that you can handle anything that is to come.
- Embrace your inner badass. Don't put up with situations thinking that you're weak. You're more powerful than any situation, even at times when you feel broken, damaged, or undeserving. Nip the abuse in the bud. You have enough strength to take care of yourself.
- Feel your pain. Don't take it out on others, don't suppress it, but just sit with it. Grieve, cry, write, meditate, or see a therapist, if you need to. Do whatever it takes to let go of the pain, instead of holding on to it as if it's a badge of honor. It's not.
- Let go of the past. Whatever transpired is done and over, so we don't need to hold on to the pain forever and allow it to define us. Only you can decide that you are no longer going to let the mistakes of the past affect your future.
- Rewrite your story. Set goals for yourself, dream big, and then start heading that direction. It doesn't matter who you are, what you've been through, or even what you are suffering right now... it can change today. Step out of that bad relationship, quit that awful job, start eating right to get rid of that disease, and start taking to yourself with more respect.
Make the Effort and It Will Pay Off
I keep having to remind myself, when I start thinking about the first few years of my oldest son's life, that I did my best. I genuinely cared about him and was doing my best with the limited resources I had. Would I make the same decisions today? No way! But I'm not that person anymore am I? My husband and I are in a much healthier place, thanks to some hard work. We've had a handful of miscarriages, we've lost one of our sons to unknown causes, and here we are 5 years later with another beautiful little boy in our lives.
All I can do now is to try and repair our relationship and do the best I can for him in our present and in the future. I'm sure I'll look back in another 5 years and wish again that I had done things differently, but I'm not there yet. I don't have that knowledge or experience yet. That's why I read all of the books I can, do all of the research I can on parenting, and try my best to love him, care for him, and be the best mom I can. What more can we ask of ourselves?
That's what I suggest for you as well. If you truly want to move on and improve your life, you have a fun journey ahead of you and lots of healing. Start with the suggestions above for a great way to get started, and seriously set some amazing goals for yourself for where you want to be 1, 5 and 10 years from now. Then start working towards your goals. You may not reach them, you may surpass them, and you may change them 10 times along the way, and that's okay.
The idea is that you are making the effort. I promise that it will pay off in the end. Next year, when you are looking back on the past year of your life, you'll be pleased.
© 2018 Victoria Van Ness
Victoria Van Ness (author) from Fountain, CO on December 31, 2018:
lol I love that belief. I'm so glad I ended up in this place myself. I love my husband and my two kids. I couldn't have asked for a better future.
Eric Dierker from Spring Valley, CA. U.S.A. on December 31, 2018:
How wonderful my friend. "If you haven't seen enough of those time travel movies, like Back to the Future, the one thing they always learned was that it didn't benefit to change the past. If anything, it always just screwed things up further."
Wow I am so happy with my life -- if I didn't mess things up before I would not be here.


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AirBridgeCargo Airlines, in cooperation with its Japan-based partner, Nippon Express, and Vneshtransavia, the largest shipping company in St. Petersburg, delivered six Toyota Camry cars from Domodedovo, Moscow to Narita, Tokyo. In Japan, the Toyota cars manufactured in St. Petersburg will undergo in-depth technical inspection for compliance with designer quality standards.15.11.2007
Russia's largest scheduled international cargo carrier, AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), part of Volga-Dnepr Group, has today taken delivery of its first Boeing 747-400ER Freighter, representing the next stage of its strategic development.15.11.2007
AirBridgeCargo Airlines took part in Air Freight Asia 2007- a major regional event organized by Reed Exhibitions and dedicated to the fast growing air freight industry in Asia-Pacific region.24.10.2007
AirBridgeCargo Airlines, the scheduled cargo airline of Russia's Volga-Dnepr Group, will commence Boeing 747F services from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport to Tokyo's Narita Airport on September 7th 2007, expanding its presence to and from the Japanese market.7.9.2007
AirBridgeCargo Airlines, the scheduled cargo subsidiary of Volga-Dnepr Group and Russia's largest international cargo carrier, has taken delivery of its second B747-400ER Freighter from The Boeing Company – the 1,400th 747 aircraft ever delivered.15.7.2007
AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), Russia's largest all-cargo airline, met with representatives of the leading transport companies in St. Peterburg today to promote new opportunities for logistics solutions with the Russian Far East, Europe, Japan and China.8.7.2007
AirBridge Cargo (ABC), 's first and largest international scheduled cargo airline, has joined the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) and subscribed to all security procedures as recommended by TAPA to underpin its commitment to the highest levels of customer service by using TAPA's risk management tools.1.4.2007
Today Volga-Dnepr Group and The Boeing Company have signed a contract for delivery of five brand new long-range Boeing 747-8F freighters. The contract also provides the Russian cargo operator with an option for five additional aircraft of this type.12.3.2007
AirBridge Cargo Airlines (ABC), Russia largest scheduled air cargo airline and part of the Volga Dnepr Group will launch services to St. Petersburg starting from the 25th of March, 2007.12.2.2007
AirBridge Cargo(ABC) — Russia's first and largest international scheduled cargo airline, which commenced operations under the brand name of AirBridge Cargo(ABC) in May 2004 and is the first Russian all-cargo airline to operate scheduled services...1.2.2007


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Presenting as a new gender often means shaving somewhere different than before. Whether it's learning how to shave facial hair or trying for a smooth pair of legs, it can feel intimidating at first. Even cis folks often struggle to learn on their own, usually the hard way. We'll spare you that learning curve and provide some tips to make it easier.
Bound to Succeed
As a genderfluid person, there are times I want to look like I don't have boobs. This can be done through a process called binding. There are many ways to do this, but it needs to be done carefully to avoid injury. We'll go over several safe methods to make someone feel a little more comfortable with their chest.
Tuck and Cover
Having a penis can make it hard (pardon the pun) to present as femme. Whether it's to lessen dysphoria, perform in drag, or feel safer in public, people smooth and shape their crotches through a process called tucking. This post will be very NSFW because I won't be beating around the bush (sorry).


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The Columbia Flute Choir, under the direction of Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda has been delighting Washington audiences since 1994, performing throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Founded in 1994 by our much beloved Sharyn Byer, the ensemble features all members of the flute family including piccolo, C flute, alto flute, bass flute, contr'alto flute, contrabass flute, subcontr'alto flute, and double contrabass flute. The Columbia Flute Choir presents a variety of classical music as well as original works for flute choir and hosts an annual Flute Choir Festival in the Fall. Highlights of previous seasons include The Columbia Flute Choir performances on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, in the Concert Hall with Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, and in the Terrace Theater. The Columbia Flute Choir has also performed at The White House, in the Helen Hayes Gallery at The National Theatre, on Columbia Institute of Fine Arts' "Distinguished Artist Series", during Fairfax City's "Spotlight on the Arts", on the "Old Town Hall Performance Series" in Fairfax, and the "Muldoon Concert Series" in Annandale. The Columbia Flute Choir has presented world premieres at the Washington Flute Society's Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention and the National Flute Association's Annual Convention.
Members include: Back Row (left to right): Sharyn Byer, Founder, JennaMarie Warfield, Michelle Williams, Liz Crane-Wexler, Michelle Clover, Sydnee Stein, and Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda
Middle Row: Tanya Haley, Heather Tribble, Katie Rice, Claire Smith, Rachael Smith, Brittany Primavera, and Julia Amadee
Front Row: Catherine Ade, Laura Cook, Katherine Coughlin, Nicole Penn, Marissa Weisberger, Anne Smith, and Lindsay Hemphill
Not pictured: Danielle Barsky, Alice Collazo, Wendy Kaegy, Lindsey Larson, Nancy McAlphin, Yana Nikol, Nan Raphael, Mary Real, Maria Luisa de la Cerda Rohde and Madeline Walker


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) today announced that Vince Mollica was named managing director of the Equipment Finance business. In this role, he will lead the Equipment Finance sales organization with responsibility for commercial lending and leasing in the Industrial, Technology and Office Products markets, as well as for Lender Finance. Mollica will report to Mike Jones, president of the Business Capital division.
"Vince is a seasoned leader with deep industry expertise and over 23 years of experience at CIT," said Jones. "His skill set in Vendor Financing and Business Development makes him a natural fit to lead the Equipment Finance division and advance our growth strategy."
The Equipment Finance division is part of CIT's Business Capital operation and works with manufacturers, franchisors, distributors, resellers, dealers and systems integrators to finance their equipment, software and services to commercial customers.
Mollica joined CIT in 1995 and most recently was senior vice president for Business Development and Structured Transactions in the Equipment Finance operation. Prior to this, he had key roles in Vendor Finance and led programs for a number of technology clients. Earlier in his CIT tenure, Mollica was in the Finance function and supported business lines, as well as corporate finance efforts. Prior to joining CIT, he was with Bank of America and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
About CIT
Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with approximately $50 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2017. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has approximately $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. CIT provides financing, leasing, and advisory services principally to middle-market companies and small businesses across a wide variety of industries. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. For more information, visit cit.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.
John Moran
SOURCE CIT Group Inc.


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This is not a new debate. We've had it before. Many times. What we've never had, is closure. I have many conversations with Q4 clients where the recommendation is clear: quarterly guidance is not in their best interest. Doing so encourages counterproductive behavior, both on behalf of the investor, as well as the leadership team. Conversely, I've had just as many discussions where suspending guidance would destroy shareholder value, remove transparency, and cause reputational harm that would be difficult to ever rebuild. There is no clear answer. However, I do believe that in most cases, offering some form of forward-looking financial measure is in both parties' best interests.
This discussion will explore the pros and cons of guidance, offer some data on each path, and propose a few alternatives to the status quo of Revenue and EPS guidance. The takeaway is likely that your company is unique, and requires a thoughtful evaluation of each point in the evaluation, before reaching a conclusion. There is no clear answer. Spreading the guidance peanut butter over the whole market, results in poor application of an important tool.
The Case for Guidance
The business world is not always as transparent and forthcoming as you may be. Remember that the halls of history are littered with Enron and Lehman Brothers. It wasn't that long ago. We forget quickly. There was a time when guidance was considered "extra credit" by the street. According to a McKinsey review: "approximately 4,000 companies with revenues greater than $500 million found that about 1,600 had provided earnings guidance at least once in the years from 1994 to 2004. The number of companies that did so increased from only 92 in 1994 to about 1,200 by 2001, when the rate of growth leveled off. The number of companies in [their] sample that discontinued guidance has also increased steadily, growing to about 220 in 2004."
Studies show that between 1995 and 2007, the number of public companies offering annual guidance increased six-fold, and those offering quarterly guidance increased by more than 7 times. This improved transparency drove a period often considered as the "golden age of shareholder information." The internet and resulting ease and speed of information sharing enabled this as well, but ultimately, companies have to be willing to disclose that data. This, in-part, improved valuation accuracy, increased volume, and reduced volatility.
These days, almost everyone agrees that more information and transparency (within reason) is a good thing. Approximately 94% of the 360 respondents in the 2016 NIRI Earnings Process Guidelines Study, offer some form of guidance.
"There's going to be a Street number, don't you want it to be yours?" You've heard this argument before, haven't you? In my opinion, it's valid. The Street has an expectation for what your quarterly performance will be. Your guidance will play an influential role in setting those expectations. If you offer no guidance, do you think that number no longer exists? Of course it exists. Do you think you're no longer measured against it? Of course you are. The question you need to ask is: "Do I want to influence that number?"
In my prior IRO roles, I spent a great deal of effort ensuring that the sell-side understood our guidance elements, incorporated those into their models appropriately, and produced a range of outcomes that was rational. I did not require them to be within my guided range, only to have an accurate model, with a thesis they could defend. For this reason, consensus estimates were normally within a tight range, and were typically reasonable. Our conversations after the earnings call were then around what differed from both our guidance and their expectations. Without offering guidance this process would have been stressful — requiring long, painful discussions about what drove the performance.
Providing a guidance metric builds confidence in management and drives the alignment of objectives. Your company may believe that free cash flow is the most important metric by which to measure progress and performance. Perhaps its ROIC, or EBITDA margin. I don't believe that there is a single, best guidance metric. I believe that you should select something that you have confidence in, and is of value to your analysts and investors. It does not need to be Revenue and EPS. Be creative, but be thoughtful in your approach. Offering an aspirational EBITDA range for exiting the year will allow investors to have a goal by which to measure you.
You'll also want to deliver quarterly updates against that goal. Discuss the gives-and-takes driving the "miss/meet/ beat." Remember, perception is a valuable element of valuation. If the Street perceives you are managing your business against the right metrics, and you are transparent in the performance against that goal, trust will increase, and downside risk will be reduced. The table below highlights the point that companies are different, and should adopt the metric that best fits their corporate strategy and objectives:
In the Harvard Business Review (2012), Baruch Lev's research shows that accuracy improves. Comparing the accuracy of managers' quarterly guidance with the accuracy of the most recent analyst estimates, managers were more accurate than analysts in 70% of the comparisons and less accurate in only 26% (the rest were ties). Their analysis also makes clear that financial analysts recognize the predictive edge of managers. In over 50% of the sample cases, "analysts revise their earnings forecasts in the direction of the guidance within a scant two days of managers' guidance release, increasing to about 70% revisions within ten days of the guidance. The experts obviously recognize the usefulness of guidance."
The Case Against Guidance
Being a public company is not easy. It requires patience, a thick skin, and a long-term focus. What newly public company executives often find is that the focus on quarterly performance is exhausting and even counter-productive. It does not encourage "the right" management behavior. In a 2018 CNBC interview, Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffet articulated the misalignment of objectives:
"When companies get to where they're living by 'making the numbers,' they do a lot of things that really are counter to the long-term interests of the business. I've never seen a company whose performance has been improved by having some forecast out there by the CEO that 'we're going to earn X' because it's not only sending the wrong message and delivering the wrong results to the company and the country, it's also teaching the people who work under him or her that quarterly performance is the end game. I tell our managers: just pretend that this is the only business that you and your family are going to own for the next 50 years and you can't sell it. Then you'll make the right decisions."
We all want management to make the best decisions for the long-term success of the business. That might mean re-investing in operations, building out a fleet or adding employees. Obviously, any of those decisions may mean that Cap Ex or Op Ex is higher than management and the Street expected. Uh oh, there goes guidance. BUT, as long as the company is able to explain that the investment was made in the best interest of long-term investors, and was a smart opportunity, most investors are, and should be, willing to overlook short-term price fluctuations for the betterment of the company's competitive position.
Perhaps it's a naive view that management would be willing to disappoint or surprise in the short term, to build a better business in the long-term. However, as the IRO, you can encourage the right behavior by speaking to the philosophy, style, and long-term objectives into your conversations with investors and analysts. The result will likely make you better positioned to manage those guidance surprises. Also, aim to have candid conversations with quality shareholders around these potential decisions, and ramifications. I bet you'll find that most of them are supportive of management doing the "right thing."
Guidance does not help valuation. Stated in the aforementioned McKinsey review: "Contrary to what some companies believe, frequent guidance does not result in superior valuations in the marketplace; indeed, guidance appears to have no significant relationship with valuations—regardless of the year, the industry, or the size of the company in question."
The previously mentioned McKinsey study, which analyzed 126 companies, showed that those who discontinued guidance were nearly as likely to see higher as lower total shareholder returns, compared with the market. Of the 126, 58 had a higher TSR in the year they stopped issuing guidance, and 68 had a lower TSR compared with the market. The "lower-than-market TSR of companies that discontinued guidance resulted from poor underlying performance and not the act of ending guidance itself." The fear of a failing stock price, resulting from a discontinuation of guidance, all-else equal, looks to be untrue. Although I would argue that very few companies would choose to cease guidance when business is going well, and confidence and visibility is strong.
"What if we can't accurately guide?" Fair question. What metric DO you have confidence in? Find something that you can control and influence. Consider free cash flow, cash flow margin, tax rate, gross margin, number of customers, CapEx —something, anything. Giving the Street anything at all opens the door to improved trust and transparency. The perception of investors of companies that don't provide guidance, is either the inability or unwillingness to discuss the business. The next leg down is that they have something to hide. Lack of guidance almost always coincides with reduced reporting disclosures. It's a slippery slope that you should avoid.
Even the CFA Institute recommends (in the CFA Institute and the Business Roundtable, Breaking the short-term cycle) the practice of quarterly earnings guidance. The belief is that it entails "(1) unproductive and wasted efforts by corporations in preparing such guidance, (2) neglect of long-term business growth in order to meet short-term expectations, (3) a "quarterly results" financial culture characterized by disproportionate reactions among internal and external groups to the downside and upside of earnings surprises, and (4) macro-incentives for companies to avoid earnings guidance pressure altogether by moving to the private markets. Corroborating research identifies the most significant costs of issuing guidance to be management time."
Meeting in the Middle
There are benefits, and potential pitfalls of quarterly guidance. I can argue this issue both ways, as you likely can do as well. My opinion is based on my corporate experience, the business leaders I've been fortunate to work for, and the investors and analysts I've worked with. My tendency to lean in favor of offering guidance is based on those experiences, on our ability to forecast the business, to have visibility into pipeline, and market trends. It's based on my belief that to have a truly symbiotic relationship with both the sell-side and buy-side, information must be shared, candidly and in a timely manner. I believe that a business can have a long-term investment horizon, do what's in the best interest of shareholders, and still provide insight as to the likely future financial performance. Your stock's performance is important, but building investor trust and ensuring your reputation remains intact will help drive long-term shareholder value.
Matt Tractenberg is Investor Relations Partner at Q4.
Interested in more earnings related insights? Read Six Common Earnings Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them.


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There's nothing more powerful than being there when a potential customer is specifically searching for your product or service.
Online classified websites such as Craigslist and Backpage are extremely popular. Millions of consumers frequent these sites every day looking for products and services that they plan on purchasing soon.
Therefore, your business should post ads there to get in front of your potential customers. If not, it's like letting profits slip right through your fingertips.
Simply put… classified ads are effective and very low-cost… a winning combination.
Classified advertising also allows you to get in front of LOCAL prospects. When looking for local products and services, consumers tend to flock to classified sites as well.
Most classified sites are broken down by geographical area, making it simple for consumers to find what they need in the area they specify.
Although most classified advertising websites are free, it does take some skill to create ads that convert as well as ads that show up in the search engines for your profitable keywords.
Most classified sites have the typical sections such as real estate, jobs, and household items. However, they also have sections for business services – which is where most local business owners place their ads.
Because people visit classified ad sites looking for service and product providers, they usually convert higher than traditional advertising methods.
They are extremely cost-effective and allow you to reach a targeted audience as well as a world-wide audience.
Classified ads are also extremely important when it comes to SEO. Just like your website can come up in the search engines when people search for your type of service, so can your classified ad.
Not only that, but putting your website link in your classified ad provides a very strong backlink to your website, which in turn helps it rank higher over time.
The more backlinks you have to your website, the better!
Sign up for an account at the classified site of choice and then follow the steps to post an ad.
- Make sure the title of your ad is catchy and contains keywords that your potential customers would use to find your product or service.
- Make sure your ad copy is compelling with a strong call to action.
- Make sure the body of your ad uses some of the proper keywords.
- Make sure there is a link back to your website to generate backlinks as well as deliver more traffic to your website.
- A picture is worth a thousand words! Use an image in your ads if possible – they simply convert higher.
- As time passes, your classified ad will drop down the list as others are added. Be sure to post ads frequently so you stay near the top of the classified listings. Some classified sites actually let you bump your ad to the top from time to time.
If you struggle with any part of placing a classified ad, any online marketing consultant should be able to help you maximize the use of online classified ads in your business.


text: Crudely modeled after Rio gang drama City of God and its superior Scorsese/De Palma forefathers, Gangster's Paradise charts a young crook's rise to Johannesburg slumlord with derivative flash and faux-moralizing. Failing to secure a university scholarship in 1994, poverty-stricken Lucky Kunene (Rapulana Seiphemo) instead turns to carjacking and—after moving to the big, bad city—to real estate scams, all the while purporting to be a Robin Hood humanitarian combating his homeland's racist power structure. Writer/director Ralph Ziman bends over backward stacking the deck in Lucky's favor by making his light- and dark-skinned adversaries even scummier than he is. Nevertheless, given that the inspired-by-real-events story has its wannabe-Scarface operate solely out of amoral self-interest, any rationalized glorification of its protagonist rings false. So, too, does Lucky's silent seething over a white woman confessing that "when you're rich, poverty seems glamorous," since the film wantonly exploits destitution and violence for genre thrills. Though South Africa's racial strife is frequently invoked, sociopolitical inquiry takes a backseat to creaky gangster-cinema tropes. Still, there's minor amusement in the suggestion that entrepreneurial criminality begins with a preference for Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal over the Bible.


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Rafting vacations are a popular method of getting away from civilization for a few days; letting the undulating water literally lullaby those stresses of daily life away is surreal. They are a great way for families to spend time together, talk to one another, and learn some new skills away from computers and video games (finally!). Whether young or old, everyone has fun on rafting vacation.
Most rafting vacations center around whitewater rafting, and if you are a beginner the best way to start is to find a rafting guide company to take you out on the water. Beginner trips go on Class I & II whitewater, which is the easiest kind with some small waves but no major holes, rocks, drop-offs or the like. Guided rafting vacations can be at any skill level — beginner, intermediate or advanced?and are often required on certain rivers, such as the river rafting on the Colorado River.
Rafting vacations provide an outdoor camping experience which can be quite enjoyable, though the adrenaline rush keeps you alert and ready for anything. Most rafting companies provide the gear (from helmets, to dry suits to booties to keep your toes-ies warm), you will camp out every night in a tent or under the stars. You can experience hearty meals cooked on the campfire or camp stove, roast marshmallows, make Smores, and enjoy being out in nature.
Rafting vacations are a true outdoor adventure filled with memories that you will cherish for a lifetime; bring a waterproof cameral to capture the best of moments. To guarantee that you have the best possible experience, it is important to carefully choose the river rafting company you are going to hire. Make sure to find out how long they have been in business, how many trips they do every year and inquire about their safety record?required public knowledge. Make sure to check out the qualifications of the guides and that their certifications are current. With every man Jack getting sued for the whole schmear, you can be sure that the guides are well-trained and current.
You can plan exciting rafting vacations in just about every state in the U.S., across Canada and around the world. Big rivers in the West are major draws–the biggest rafting vacation destinations include Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and California. While some of the rivers on the East Coast are a bit smaller, there is still plenty of whitewater available for all skill levels from Florida to New England.
Do you like to fish? Some rafting vacations even include fishing options. There?s nothing like the taste of fresh fish, not to mention the smell of fish being fried on the camp stove. If everyone in your group has some good paddling skills you could get out in the wilderness and run some truly thrilling rapids. However, unless you are have some very skilled paddlers along, make sure you put safety first–don?t just rent a raft and head off on your own. One of the first things that anyone who paddles learns immediately is to respect the water just like hikers must learn to respect the mountains. Nature cares for those who caution themselves.
Many guide companies running rafting vacations require that you bring along your own tent and outdoor sleeping gear. Also, bring a waterproof backpack or a dry bag for each member of your group to ensure that you keep your extra clothing dry. Sometimes you can rent these beforehand from the rafting company. Clothing that is waterproof and dries quickly has distinct advantages over normal everyday wear on rafting vacations. Paddling shoes are waterproof and have gummy-gripping treads so you won?t slip on wet rocks or getting in and out of the raft.
Other essentials to bring along on rafting vacations are sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UV rays, sunglasses to protect the eyes?the glare of sunlight on water can be quite severe?and at least one water bottle for each person?more if you have chosen a hot, summer trip. Another good thing to take is a filtration water bottle. These newer designs involve only filling the bottle and squeezing as you drink to remove contaminants, often triple osmosis through a charcoal capsule. With one of these filtration water bottles you can have fresh water anywhere without having to drink river water.
Rafting vacations are also great for school kids or church youth groups. You can start by checking out online all the different companies that offer rafting vacations. Most even allow for online registration. You?ll have a great time and come back refreshed with memories to share for a lifetime.


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Tips for Back to School Shoes
Kids all over Highlands County are currently dreading the next week as their carefree summer is nearing an end. Parents, however, are ecstatic that the school year is about to start again and they can breathe a little bit easier knowing their children are busy back at school. Back to school shopping is something I'm sure many people are in the process of doing or about to do. School supplies such as paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, backpacks and clothes are obviously very important items to have but there is also another thing that is very important people don't think about and that is shoes. Finding a good, comfortable, stylish shoe can help to prevent a lot of foot pain.
While you are out looking for new shoes, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Kids with low arches will likely need a shoe that offers control and stabilization while high arched feet may need a shoe with good shock absorption.
- Measure both feet with socks on as they may not be exactly the same size and then buy shoes for the larger foot size. There should be about ½ inch space from the end of your toes to the end of the shoe.
- Shopping near the end of the day is beneficial as your feet tend to swell as the day goes on.
- The back of the shoe (heel counter) should fit snugly and without slipping.
- The shoe should have appropriate cushioning, and flexibility at the ball of the foot.
- Good inserts can go a long way to help a shoe that may not support your feet as much as they should.
- Shoes should typically be changed out every 6 months depending on the number of miles you put on them.
At The Gentle Foot Care Center, we can evaluate your child's foot type helping to guide you in finding the right pair of shoes.
Dr. Olga Garcia Luepschen and the Gentle Foot Care Center are located on US 27. For more information visit http://www.Gentlefootcarecenter.com or call 863-314-9255.


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LEMONT, Ill. – Temperatures dipped to 39 degrees early Thursday morning, rising to a balmy 52 when the first group teed off about 3 hours later at 10:20 a.m. Justin Rose, for one, felt the chill and figured, "It's a day to hang in there."
He was wrong. Way wrong.
As it happened, Rose birdied half the golf course and shot 8-under 63. That's not hanging in there. That's hanging a "Catch Me If You Can" sign on your back.
"It's certainly my top round of the year and could have been one of the top five, top 10 rounds I've ever played," Rose said after hitting all 14 fairways and 16 greens in regulation at Cog Hill No. 4.
Golfers, particularly at this level, can be one swing or one swing thought or one round from elevating quickly. In Rose's case, an hour tuneup session Tuesday with his instructor, Sean Foley, "cleaned something up."
His polishing involved focusing on his position at the top of the backswing. He sometimes has the tendency of laying the club off.
"When I had it a bit laid off, I can throw it quite quickly on the way down," Rose said. "When I have it nicely in the slot at the top of the backswing, the club just falls down nicely into the ball. It feels pretty easy. I'm sort of managing to do it with a nice, simple thought."
Rose started the season nicely, with eight top-20 finishes through the Masters despite some substandard putting at times. He had no more such high finishes until July, and his T-6 at the recent Barclays was his first top 10 since March.
So it was a summer to forget. But he thinks it could be a fall to remember.
"I feel I can still make it a great year," Rose said.
Bomber Dustin Johnson, the defending champion, called Cog Hill "long and hard." If it's long and hard for Johnson, imagine how medium-length hitters might feel.
Yet Rose, thanks to some receptive greens softened by Thursday rain, was able to make nine birdies. To illustrate how good his ball-striking was, consider that his longest birdie putt came from 15 feet.
"I started the day with the mindset to respect the golf course," Rose said. "I went out thinking about hitting fairways and greens. It's pretty simple."
There's that word again: Simple. The game becomes more that way when the brain finds a way to simplify the swing and the strategy. Never underestimate the value of an uncluttered mind.
Or the value of enjoying your surroundings.
While the likes of Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker have panned architect Rees Jones' redo of Cog Hill, Rose was complimentary. He called the greens "about as perfect as you can get them." He called the golf course "pretty" and "definitely attractive to the eye."
Rose could say the same about his position. He leads the penultimate playoff event by two strokes over the sizzling hot Webb Simpson, who has won two of his last three starts, and Chicago-area resident Mark Wilson, who has made Cog Hill one of his home courses and, like Simpson, has won twice this year.
Simpson, 26, has emerged as not only the leader in FedEx Cup points and PGA Tour earnings, but also as a nascent star. One strong sign that he could win big is that he also is No. 1 on Tour in the all-around statistic. Not only is his short game about as good as it gets, but he has a complete game.
With one small aberration. He tends to shank the ball now and then.
That's right. Shank. The S word. Don't like to write it, don't like to say it. But somehow it shows up in Simpson's arsenal at times.
He shanked a ball when he won the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., recently. And then he shanked an 8-iron approach on No. 18 here Thursday, only to manage to get up and down, saving par from 12 feet.
In discussing the matter, Simpson said something I never thought I'd hear from a touring pro, much less the current Tour leader.
"I probably shank one every other day on the range," he said.
Every other day? Hosel rockets?
"Today I had a little trouble getting my hips through the ball," Simpson said. "So when that happens, the club kind of gets inside and the heel gets to the ball first."
And the ball squirts 45 degrees to the right. And when it does, pain can follow, if not humor.
Simpson was asked whether he would try to shank a ball at every tournament if he wins this week.
"Maybe," he said.
He also was asked whether he can shank a ball on demand.
"I wouldn't try," he said.
Good answer. For him. And for us, for it ended the S-word line of questioning and exhausted the quota of shank mentions.


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If you or someone in your home is having a problem going up and down the stairs or is at risk for falling while trying to climb the stairs, a stairlift is the prefect solution to ensure safety and independence within your home.
A stairlift by Ottawa Valley Stairlift are easy to use and give you access to all floors of your family home. Experience tells us that different homes and people require different solutions, our stairlifts have a variety of styles and options that can be customized to meet your personal needs as well as any requiements for your home.
There are two basic types of stairlifts, straight and curved. The type you need will depend upon the design of your staircase.
We also carry outdoor stairlifts that are weatherproofed and are available for both straight and curved stairs. Outdoor stairlifts are good if you have steps leading into your home, porches, decks or garden.
Safety is our first and main priority. All OVSL stairlifts come with seatbelts for maximum safety while in transit and carry applicable worldwide safety certifications.
With safety in mind, our stairlifts have what is referred to as "hold to run" toggle controls, what this means is that the stairlift will stop immediately if the control button is released. Our stairlifts also have safety sensors that will stop the stairlift is anything is detected in its path.
Stairlifts for straight staircases.Read More
Stairlifts for staircases that turn corners.Read More
Weatherproofed stairlifts for outdoor steps.Read More


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Need I say more?
Ramblings of a computer geek…
Remember this when you're out Christmas shopping – all of those expensive toys and games out there and what he really wants is an empty box.
Does this model come with wheels???
Oh, thank God! He likes boxes! David is the last one on my list to shop for, and you know me and QVC! (I've got them on speed-dial.) So I have PLENTY of boxes. (Now the problem is picking just the right one. . . hmmmm. . . . . )
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Do you think of yourself as a gar guy or a car gal? Can you tell the model and make of a vehicle by just looking at a tailight ahead of you on the road? Can you tell how old a car is by seeing the headlights in your rearveiew mirror or by listening to the exhaust?
If you love cars, then you have probably been called a car guy or a car gal before. This is not a derogatory in term in any way. It is basically a way of people saying that you love cars and know a lot about them.
In general, a car guy or a car gal is someone who really loves cars. They are someone who appreciates all types of cars, even if they cannot afford to drive certain vehicles. They are the guy or gal who can tell you if a vehicle is a V8 when you tell them the make and model.
This is different than just loving a certain type of car. You can love the Evo or a pretty Mustang, but it will not make you a car guy or car gal. It just means that you really like a certain kind of car. A true car guy or car gal has a general love of cars. As teenagers, these are often the kids who are working on a vehicle in shop class. If their school has a senior project, they choose to rebuild an engine from scratch as their project.
When Did You Become a Car Guy or Car Gal?
For many car lovers, there is not a single moment when you realized that you loved cars. Since you were a toddler, you knew that you loved the engines and the look of different vehicles. When your mom was busy, you sat in the car and played with the steering wheel as you dreamed about driving. Most likely, your parents bought you Hot Wheels toys for Christmas each year because they knew how much you loved cars.
Cars are like the modern Wild West. Long ago, adventurers dreamed of hitting the open road with their horses and seeing what life had in store for them in the unsettled areas of the west. Now, the same attitude makes car lovers driven to the open road. As long as your car is well-maintained, the open road calls to you and gives you that sense of wild freedom that adventurers once enjoyed.
What Does It Take to Become a Car Guy or a Car Gal?
Your love of cars is not just for a pretty, perferctly maintained vehicle. As a car guy or car gal, you are willing to put up with your car breaking on the side of the road and annoying repairs. When the transmission goes, you look on in horror as someone suggests you scrap your baby. You don't have to own an expensive brand of car or build one from scratch to be a car guy or car gal. You just need a genuine love of cars.
While it is not required, most car lovers can also fix their vehicles. Obviously, this is not always possible since many of the tools you need are quite expensive to own as a private individual. At the same time, you are probably able to do most repair jobs from your home with a basic manual, a few tools and an internet connection. You take great pride in being able to fix your own car. When someone says that they have no clue how to check their oil, you wonder how they ever survived to adulthood.
There is no hardship that you will not endure for your beloved car. Even if you can only afford a beater for now, you have it perfectly maintained. When someone tosses garbage on the floor, you look on in horror as you contemplate whether you should push them out of the vehicle.
Some car guys and gals like to race cars as well, but you don't have to be a speed demon or drag racer to be a car lover. The main defining characteristic of any car guy or car gal is a love of cars. Once you have that love and passion, you are hooked for life.
You are one of the lucky few who has found something in life that they genuinely care about. If someone calls you a car guy or a car gal, take it as a compliment. While they are stuck uncertain how to cool off their overheated radiator, you will breeze by in style because you know exactly what to do for any car emergency. You might not have a Lotus quite yet, but you will someday drive the car of your dreams.


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In a country that actively silences journalists, Edinah Masanga set out on a dangerous mission to reveal the real face of child marriage.
I began my career as a journalist at the height of repressive laws against press freedoms in Zimbabwe. My time in the newsroom showed me that in this profession you must balance doing your job with staying out of prison and even staying alive.
I remember a particularly harrowing experience that happened in 2013 when I was working as a freelance journalist in Zimbabwe. I was on a mission to gather visual evidence of girls who have ended up in the belly of a beast called child marriage. To do this, I collaborated with an international human rights organization, and they agreed to send a delegation from America* to film a documentary on issues of child marriage and rape amongst orphaned children.
There were issues right from the start. Getting Gavin* and his crew of filmmakers into my country was a calculated move. Their entry could not raise any suspicion or indicate any connection to me. I was already a vocal critic of the government, and as a journalist I was already on the radar of the Central Intelligence Organisation. And so, the delegation purposefully did not fly into Harare, the capital city. Instead, they landed in a smaller airport. There, they were picked up by a safari tour company, and I met them on the highway in the thickness of the Zimbabwean forest.
We were headed to a small rural village in the southeastern part of the country.Naturally, as with any repressive regime, we had to seek permission to use cameras in public places, as well as to go into the villages. I met with three local government men to seek their permission.
They spoke arrogantly and inquired why 'white people' from America wanted to take pictures of the villages. It was a precarious period, just before an election, and I could not reveal that we wanted to film Zimbabwe's child marriage scourge. Public officials are fully aware of the problem, but donothing to bring perpetrators to justice.
When I entered the office to approach the officers about permission to film, they probed and probed into our reasons for visiting villages instead of viewing local tourist attractions.I had to think fast.
"Erm, may I speak with you in private, sir?" I said to one of the agents who asked most of the questions and thus seemed to be the one in charge.
"Yes, sure," he agreed.
We went outside, leaving my team of filmmakers inside. I told the officer, "I was a little shy to say this…but one of them, the tall one, is my boyfriend. He really just wants to see how people live in these parts of the world."
I spoke with a wry look on my face, feigning shyness, like the shy African girlfriend of an American man.The officer giggled and his brow softened. He changed his tone, "Oh, oh I see, you should have said that."His giggle was very telling; he had been taken by surprise, but at the same time he was charmed.
"How come you searched so far? Couldn't you find someone here at home?" he asked, seemingly genuinely curious. The conversation was moving in the right direction—distracting the official from our fact-finding mission about child marriages.
I told the man I was after a better life in the developed world, and he seemed to understand that. In the meantime, I texted Gavin:I'm now your girlfriendif asked.
Gavin turned around to look at me through the dusty windows of the office we were in,and I winked slightly at him so hewould realize what I had done. When I got back into the room he moved closer to me andsaid, "Maybe we should do some shopping first, honey."
"Yes," I said, all the while experiencing tremors of fear inside me. If we got caught out, we would all be arrested. Gavin and his crew would most likely be deported. But me? There was no telling if I would ever be seen again. The thought of never seeing my family again was unbearable. But I knew the work had to be done. There is a culture of silence regarding abuse in Zimbabwe. I wanted girls voices to be heard beyond the villages. Further than the system that shuts them up. And I was prepared to die seeing to it that we collected their stories.
The authorities were satisfied that we were not bent on finding ill in the villages, so we got the permission to proceed with our journey.
While filming, we had to be very careful. We constantly erased the memory drives of the cameras after uploading the material onto encrypted pocket hard drives. Wehid those in holes, beneath the earth. We would leave ordinary looking signs to guide us to the locations on our way back.
When we were done filming, we bought lots of tomatoes and vegetables in the village and hid our drives in the produce so that if we were stopped and searched, something that happens frequently when you are moving with a foreign delegation, they would not find anything 'incriminating' on us.
I drove on the way back. Sometimes the police can be lenient when it's a woman at the wheel. Often, they will just wave you to pass without stopping at the police roadblocks.
We ate at fast food restaurants, and I gave cues to my delegation to stop and look amazed at the sights around us. We needed to solidify the charmed boyfriend routine that we were playing out.
We survived three days of cat and mouse with the authorities. I was the shy girlfriend and Gavin was the doting boyfriend. When he was "kissing my cheek", he was really whispering information in my ears. They never figured it out, despite the fact that we were in many situations where they scrutinized us.
At the end of our time together, I stood outside the airport and watched the plane take off carrying Gavin and his crew. Their camera's memory cards carried the story of the plight of girls in Zimbabwe. The film was a success, and many projects were implemented to support the girls who participated.
In the end, I planned and executed this journey with courage and resolve to tell the stories of girls. And I made the choice to go to great lengths to survive while doing it. I felt I needed to get the stories out into the world because sometimes we sit in our offices and write statistics, turning survivors of rape into numbers and graphs, removing the face from the story. As a journalist, I know how powerful information can be. The people who make policies that affect the developing world need to hear these voices. I can try to describe the pain of going through such a harrowing experience but I cannot put a soul into it. Only a survivor can. So, I had no choice but to go on this dangerous mission. And I lived to keep the fight alive.
I am not here to tell you how to hide from dictators, but I can tell you that during those three days, hiding my mission in plain sight helped me to achieve it. It can be done.
As journalists and storytellers, we need to find ways to circumvent censorship so that we can continue to tell the stories that need to be told.
*Details have been changed to protect identities.
This story was originally published on – and won the – Worldpulse Story Awards.


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Instrmnt introduces their first mechanical watch
Instrmnt is marking its fifth anniversary with the introduction of an all-new timepiece that delivers their take on the dive watch. The new D-Series is assembled in Germany and features a 40mm sandblasted steel case with black bezel in anodized aluminum or a silver bezel in 316L steel. The movement is a Sellita SW200 automatic with a custom Instrmnt-branded rotor. Other details include a steel dial with Helvetica Neue dial and date numbering, a doubled-domed sapphire crystal, a sapphire crystal caseback, and 200m of water resistance.
The watch's Kickstarter campaign has already met its funding goal and is set to deliver to customers this December.
$369, kickstarter.com