text:
Tucson Housing Deflating or Recovering? Get the Real Story
August 30, 2012
We know the local market real estate data and trends, and are experiencing firsthand the reality of a housing recovery. There have even been national articles about the housing recovery from the likes of The Wall Street Journal and CNN. However the Arizona Daily Star recently ran an article "Report: Tucson's housing bubble still deflating. Prices expected to drop this year, rebound in 2013".
The Arizona Daily Star's article talks about the Fiserv Case-Shiller index, which projects homes prices to fall in Tucson 3.4 percent by the first quarter 2013 before rising in 2014. Read the entire article.
Though home prices stabilized nationally and rose in some markets in the first quarter of the year, average home prices in the Tucson metropolitan area fell 4.9 percent from 2011 and are expected to keep falling over the next year, a new report says. Tucson-area home prices are expected to fall another 3.4 percent by the first quarter of 2013 before rising the following year, according to the latest quarterly data from the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes, which track home price trends in more than 380 U.S. metro markets. According to Fiserv Case-Shiller projections, home prices in Tucson will see growth of 6.7 percent between the first quarters of 2013 and 2014.
There are 2 fundamental issues with this article. First, the index itself is a measure of past market performance but not a good measure of future market activity. Steve Harney, a nationally recognized real estate expert, had this to say on the topic.
"I want to begin by saying that I very much respect the Case Shiller Indices when they report on past home prices. Their data is excellent and their methodology is strong. However, the same elements that make their reporting on past values important, limit their projections going forward. Using past sales to project values moving forward doesn't take into consideration changes within the marketplace. Example: In Tucson, in my opinion, the lack of inventory in many price points will result in prices stabilizing and in some areas actually rising.
When it comes to predicting the future, no one can know for sure. Professor Shiller himself, when being interviewed on the Fiserv report, said "Nobody knows" what prices will be in the future. Looking at the simple concept of 'supply and demand', if demand in Tucson is increasing and supply is dwindling, prices should continue to appreciate in my opinion."
The article itself goes on to mention there are differences in the Fiserv indexes and the reporting of current homes sales prices. Local home sales prices have actually increased since 2011.
The indexes differ from price data tracked by Realtor groups based on sales of listed homes, which have shown price gains locally in recent months. The Fiserv indexes analyze single-family properties with two or more recorded sales and focus on the average change in home prices.
Learn more about the methodology used in the index
Data from the Tucson Association of Realtors Multiple Listing service show the average price was up 2.8 percent in March, at the end of the first quarter, compared with March 2011. The Realtors' most recent report showed the average price in June was up 4.6 percent from June 2011.
Here are the changes in property prices based on closed sales from the Tucson MLS since September 2011, the recent low water market in prices - the "bottom". Sure looks like a big increase in home prices to us.
The second issue is that the article and index do not take into consideration any supply and demand dynamics that can influence future pricing. The Tucson market is experiencing a dramatic decrease in the number of active listings for sale (supply) and an increase in the number of sales (demand). Basic supply and demand theory tells us that if supply goes down and demand goes up, that will put upward pressure on prices. Here are some key market metrics on supply and demand.
If we look at closed sales January - July 2011 as compared to January-July 2012 you will see a clear increase in buyer demand.
These statistics are based on information obtained from the TARMLS using Brokermetrics software on 8/3/2012. Information is believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed.
A balanced month's supply of inventory is from 5 to 6, Tucson currently has only 3.2 months - a seller's market. This heat map will give you an idea of how hot or cold the market is around Tucson, and the second graphic will show you by price point.
The bottom line is the headline of this article is a misrepresentation of the Tucson housing market. It is not deflating, data shows current pricing appreciation and market conditions that will continue to put upward pressure on home prices. That's the facts.
Real Estate Market Articles
Home Buyers, Sellers: Act Now To Strategize The Market
Mortgage Interest Rates Have Begun to Level Off
The Cost of Waiting: Interest Rates Edition
What's Happening in Downtown Tucson
5 Reasons Homeownership Makes 'Cents'
How to Get the Most Money from the Sale of Your Home
Here are five reasons listing your home for sale this fall makes sense
5 Reasons Why You Should Not For Sale by Owner
Do Your Carpets Need to be Refreshed?
Top Reasons You Should Sell This Summer
Protect Yourself From Consumer Wire Fraud
The Truth About Home Mortgage Rates and Downpayments
April 2017 Federal Reserve Interest Rate Update
The Great News About Rising Prices for Homeowners
The #1 Reason to Sell Now... Not Next Spring
How Historically Low Interest Rates Increase Your Purchasing Power
The Real Estate Market Is Getting Stronger
How Scary is the Housing Affordability Index?
Do Homeowners Realize Their Equity Position Has Changed?
Put Your Housing Cost To Work For You!
How To Get The Most Money When Selling Your House
5 Great Ways to Save on Moving Costs
Important Things You Need to Know To Be Ready for the Changes in Mortgage Laws
Homeownership as an Investment: The Role of Price Appreciation
Why Tax Planning for Real Estate Has Become More Important
February Sees an Uptick in Real Estate Activity
New York Times: Homeownership is Best Way To Build Wealth
Harvard's 5 Financial Reasons to Buy a Home
Balance Returns to Arizona Housing
Want to Sell Your House? Price it Right!
It's a Price Sensitive Market, Again
Is Housing Returning to a Balanced Market?
Housing Market Trends through 2013
Mortgage Interest Rates: Where Are They Headed?
Tips for Home Shopping in a Seller's Market
FHA Will Increase it's Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium
State of the Tucson Housing Market
Arizona Housing Not So Distressed Any More
Tucson Housing Deflating or Recovering? Get the Real Story
In Real Estate it's also Price, Price, Price
A Message To Homeowners - Things Have Changed…
A Shortage of Housing Inventory?
Signs of an Arizona Housing Recovery
The Arizona Luxury Market Breathing Life
Tucson Home Prices Up 7% in March
Is the Tide of Distressed Home Sales in Arizona Changing?
The Start of the Housing Upturn
What's Up With the Arizona Housing Market?


text:
KONG Air Dog Squeakair Tennis Balls are just what they look like: 100% pure tennis balls made in the same factory, using the same materials as any high-quality tennis balls. Air KONG Squeakers units are hidden and covered by the tennis ball material.
Sizing Reference: Standard size tennis balls would be the Medium Squeakair Tennis Ball.
Very Important: No dog toy is indestructible. Supervise your dog's use of KONG Squeakairs until you are confident they can be used safely without supervision.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Gorzt Brings First Fantastic RPG Dragon's Call II
Gorzt, a newly founded game platform, was very glad to bring its first fantastic RPG Dragon's Call II for all players across the globe. The great news is that Dragon's Call II will hit the closed beta at 10:00pm, January 24th GMT-4. All players are more than welcome to join the first server Windmill Village and enjoy the thrilling gameplay in advance. After the closed beta ends, all game data will be kept for future use.
Dragon's Call II is a side-scrolling turn-based 2D MMORPG brought by Gorzt. Free to play forever. Players in game are able to enjoy a rich variety of splendid combat modes and skills. In addition, they can invite in-game NPCs or powerful Bosses to participate in battles when they stumble across the monsters and creatures. Together with various featured systems, humanistic storylines, thrilling elite instances and miscellaneous gameplay, Dragon's Call II could demonstrate a totally different and terrific game world into which players will sink their teeth.
Although the official websites of Gorzt and Dragon's Call II are still "under development", players who would like to know more game details can visit the fans page on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/wall.dragonscall2) and also interact with other game fans. In the days ahead, the game publisher Gorzt will reveal more details and offer sneak peeks into the splendid, fantastic world of Dragon's Call II, so stay tuned for the latest news and updates.
Gorzt ( http://www.gorzt.com) is a fast-rising digital interactive entertainment company, founded with the aim of becoming a leading massively multiplayer game publisher. It is dedicated to developing itself into the world's largest interactive entertainment platform by providing unique gaming environments and communities to gamers across the globe.
|[View All]


text:
Fourteenth session of the AWG-LCA - Third part
Panama City, Panama
Atlapa Convention Center, Room La Huaca
2 October 2011
During the second part of the fourteenth session of the AWG-LCA, Parties involved in the negotiations on capacity-building expressed the need for a focused discussion on developments relating to capacity-building under various thematic areas under the AWG-LCA and within other bodies and initiatives under the Convention.
In the course of the same session, Parties also agreed on the need to have in front of them more detailed information on how capacity-building is being addressed within such bodies and initiatives.
In response to these needs, the facilitator of the informal group on capacity-building requested the secretariat, under his responsibility, to prepare a background paper containing an inventory of references to capacity-building in mandates, functions and activities of institutions and initiatives under the Convention and references to other capacity-building related issues as being discussed by informal groups on various thematic areas under the AWG-LCA. The background paper is available in the section "Relevant documents" below.
The in-depth discussion on capacity-building work in institutions and initiatives under the Convention, moderated by Mr. Jukka Uosukainen (Finland), the facilitator of the informal group on capacity-building, took place at the third part of the fourteenth session of the AWG-LCA. The facilitators of the AWG-LCA informal groups on mitigation, adaptation, technology and finance, the Chair of the Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention (CGE), the Vice-Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LEG), and a representative of the secretariat of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) were invited to present capacity-building aspects in their respective areas of work. Due to specific circumstances, the facilitators of the informal groups on mitigation and adaptation were not able to join the discussion. Statements on these two thematic areas were therefore delivered by the facilitator of the informal group on capacity-building, supported by the secretariat's lead officers for the two agenda items.
Available presentations and statements are contained in the table below.
The summary by the facilitator of the main points of the in-depth discussion is available in the section "Relevant documents" below. This summary does not represent consensus reached or formal positions of regional groups.
Final agenda, 2 October 2011 (95 kB)
Relevant documents
Capacity-building work in institutions and initiatives under the Convention. Background Paper (399 kB)
Summary of the in-depth discussion by the facilitator (130 kB)
Approach methodology in the background paper "Capacity-building work in institutions and initiatives under the Convention" (312 kB)
Alla Metelitsa, UNFCCC secretariat
Capacity-building as part of enhanced action on adaptation (104 kB)
Jukka Uosukainen on behalf of the Facilitator of the Adaptation informal group
1. Integration of capacity-building in the mandates and work programme of the LEG (957 kB)
2. Best Practices and Lessons Learned in addressing adaptation in LDCs through the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) Process (220 kB)
Batu Uprety, Vice Chair of the LEG
Sangchan Limjirakan, Chair of the CGE
GEF engagement on capacity-building (509 kB)
Rawleston Moore, GEF Secretariat
Where and how capacity building is integrated in mitigation actions by developing countries (91 kB)
Jukka Uosukainen on behalf of the Co-Facilitator of the Mitigation informal group


text:
|View Poll Results: Guilty Crown - Episode 19 Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 105. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2012-03-01, 21:47
|Link #61
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Also i think most of us knew that Shu void would have been broken which it seems to be .
|2012-03-01, 21:48
|Link #62
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Yes this episode is awesome and also convinced me that Shuu will die at the end. Shuu's death will be necessary to make this anime awesome since the theme itself is an apocalypse. This anime is not a happy cheerful anime, instead it is gloomy. So, I think Shuu will die like the character in Persona 3. Die like a messiah, to bear the burden of the whole world and die like a hero. Also, it will make a deeper and long-lasting impression for us, just like Lelouch Lamperouge and Sieg Hart in Rave. One of the coolest death ever in the anime / manga history. Sometimes a living main protagonist doesn't last too long in our memories, right?
Also, the moral that we can learn from Shuu is to forgive. As far as I know, Shuu is one of the anime character that experience many change in his personality. He is now become a true kind king again.
|2012-03-01, 22:02
|Link #64
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
All it would show me it that you can screw over people and get anyway with it which seem to be happening.
Also him dying would just make me remember this shows as the one where MC got used by everyone .
If they were going for bigger impact i still say they should have Shu rule or do something crazy like him messing up everyone for inori .
Not often do you come across a MC that selfish and he has every right to be .
|2012-03-01, 22:19
|Link #65
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
|2012-03-01, 22:24
|Link #66
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
The episode was great, Shu's use of everyone's voids during the battle scene is superb. Although Shu does have the cancer, I think that some miraculous circumstance will save his life. Cuz come on! Give the kid a break! He's got the fate of the whole world in his hands not to mention the weight of all the voids he uses. I'm just hoping that Shu gets back Inori and spend time together.
|2012-03-01, 22:38
|Link #67
ショ ン (^^)
IT Support
Lots of people are commenting on how the Op foreshadows Shu death which is true. However if you pause several of the scenes you will see that Shu's rebirth is also foreshadowed. Inori is the key to getting rid of the cancer. As of right now Shu and Inori have finally decided to face their destinies. Remember Gai was taking blood treatments from Inori to hold back the Cancer and this was before he had the Genome. Its possible the healing the factor might be amplified by someone with the Void Genome. So yes i agree Shu will die in a way but he will also be reborn.
Originally i was a little pissed at Shu for forgiving his friends and Haruka so easily, but as i wanted the episode i changed my mind. Hate, anger and loathing are all counter productive to Shu at this point. He had concentrated on those emotions alone i dont think he could have moved to the stage where he is at now. Once again Shu also showed that when it comes to the people he cares about he is at strongest i have mentioned this before and it was shot by many people but this episode reinforced again. Shu will not run away when the people he cares about are in danger and will put himself in harms way or become a tyrant. That is his strength and has always been his strength. Shu taking the Cancer from Souta even after everything that has happen shows forgiveness and also it seems by doing so he heals that person. I have a feeling that using a persons Void while they infected transfers it too him. Its only happening faster now because his risk using the Genome increased. Even if Gai had not taken it, the same results would have happened eventually.
So Mana and Shu are not blood relatives so no real incest but still fucking creepy. Haruka gave Mana to her brother, but she neglected to say why.
Now to the other man of the hour Sergei. Yes he was fucking nuts did that poor girl need to get shot in the face no. But i think i finally understood what he was after in the end. When he saw Gai remove that Void in the beginning he deleted the picture. Why because it was not beautiful it was not artistic. Notice that when Gai takes a Void its forceful almost ruthless like, there is not beauty in that and the animation reflects it. When Shu takes a Void not only does time slow down to prolong it but a beautiful aura appears like Shu and the person whom he is pulling the Void from are sharing their hearts. The first time he saw Shu take Inoris Void he was awe struck and as he died he mentioned that another persons heart is inside of him. I think he was looking for a beautiful death and he knew that Shu was the one who could give it too him if he had ballz to do so. In the end he recognized Shu as the rightful king not Gai.. I love characters like him because they seem so psychotic on the surface but there really is a lot more to them.
Did anyone notice that when Shu regained his powers, Gai's Void hand started glowing as well like they were linked. Also, I think Shus Void could be more powerful than Gais since it looks like Shu can pull a person real Void that consist of everything about them strengths weakness and then bares the burden. The way Shu is right now Gai is going to have one hell of a fight on his hands.
Arisa has proven that she is totally obsessed with Gai and thinks knowing his plans will allow her to move closer to him. Man oh man is this bitch wrong this is going to end so badly for her.
|2012-03-01, 22:39
|Link #68
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
|2012-03-01, 22:42
|Link #69
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
we'll see the truth.. in 3 weeks.. well less than one month.. not bad I think.. at least it is before my final exams so I can have no curiosity left whatsoever
anyway.. shuu's void is like Emiya's ability isnt'it? He just imitate the void, instead of using the "real"void.. Since I see the shape is quite different. It would be better that the imitated void can be used over and over again without requiring the void's owners nearby.
|2012-03-01, 22:59
|Link #72
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
^ but he does carry the weaknesses of them, which have yet to be shown besides Souta's cancer...
So yeah basically most OP void evar! But he must live with the fact that he's using his friends as weapons which never really worked with him...It really is a Guilty Crown that he has to wear...
|2012-03-01, 23:00
|Link #73
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
First of all shu won't die - foreshadowed in ep.
As for his Void hand and void database- it was already discussed and pointed out by many members in previous threads.
Shu also is Kurosu son, Mana is Haruka daughter.
Mana is older than Shu (unless they retcon that), Kurosu married Haruka while Shu was around 3-6 or so, Mana needs to be someone else child not blood related to Shu or Kurosu.
More on that in the ep 20 preview and spoiler thread.
Mana was infected by void virus, most likely she was tested in the lab while Haruka was goody goody with Shu. (in Triton story ep you see Mana getting many tests while she had cancer on her face)
Shu absorb power probably comes from his mother being infected by Virus, while she was pregnant. After birth she most likely died to cancer. Shu while being in womb was affected by void cancer, gaining the compatibility with voids (some magical DNA tweaks while he was a fetus) as well as more or less creating his void power *sponge heart* (of course we can't forget his heart resolve with that).
Since we got all that stuff behind us what is left is usual discussion stuff and all that ...
Well I can somehow survive Haruka and squad forgiveness.
But if Arisa will get the same treatment I really will be sad (even in this ep she showed major infatuation with Gai) considering all the Death flags she's waving as hard as she can.
Bye bye Segai you were one crazy psycho, almost on the Joker level.
More from me after discussion will go off past all the ohhh ahhh uhhh stuff.
|2012-03-01, 23:16
|Link #76
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
What I noticed was that in the past, he would draw out their voids and use it. Now, he does not draw out their voids but in fact seems to copy their voids in all it's entirety except for the appearance. Because he does not draw out their voids and only copied their abilities/strenghts/weaknesses/whatever, the voids themselves are very much the original but appears differently and since it's now his own copy, he might be able to use it over and over again. You can clearly see it when he was "drawing" Ayase's void where he's not drawing it from her but it automatically appears on him and nothing came out of Ayase.
|2012-03-01, 23:17
|Link #77
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Shu ask everyone for permission, he tells them that he will use their voids and kinda ask for the privilege to do so.
He materializes voids from his hand (look at the scissors in this ep).
Shu gets infected with Souta dissease after he uses his Opener Aparat Void (its that one right???).
So most likely Shu takes into himself everything from that person once he uses that person void from his memory. <- can be wrong on that one.
|2012-03-01, 23:23
|Link #80
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
|Thread Tools


text:
Friday's Daily Pulse
What happens in Washington, won't stay in Washington. Should the nation go off the fiscal cliff, every American business will be watching its wallet with uncertainty. The travel industry - Florida's top economic driver - would surely feel the impact. Read more from WPTV and the South Florida Business Journal.
See also:
» Struggling homeowners could lose big tax break
» Fiscal cliff talks threaten Central Fla. charities
» Obama back in Washington; no deal in sight on fiscal cliff
» Economy to grow in 2013, but fiscal cliff drags down progress
» Lawmakers set up 11th-hour bid on "fiscal cliff"
Dining out on New Year's?
Find a Golden Spoon near you! Search by award, region, or city.
Lessons learned from 100% made-in-USA house
From the South Florida rock in its concrete slab to the roof trusses milled in Yulee, Greg and Jennifer Gent's new house may be the only one in Central Florida built entirely with U.S.-made products. The Gents set out earlier this year with the goal of constructing a house in Belle Isle that would serve as a model for an industry that has long used products mined or manufactured in other countries. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Northern visitors not bothered by chilly Florida
Don't be mistaken: you can't compare the beach crowd in Daytona Beach in December with what you'll find in six months. Still, there's a healthy number of people walking the beach in varying degrees of dress. You'll even see one or two people actually dive on in to the chilly Atlantic. But for the majority of visitors who are here from the north, they're finding it difficult to understand why people think it's cold. [Source: Central Florida News]
Another record-setting year for gas prices
Even though the price of gasoline has been declining for months, 2012 is on track to be another record-breaking year for prices at the pump, according to the auto club AAA. With less than a week to go in 2012, the yearlong average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.61 nationwide, or 10 cents more than the annual average price in 2011. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Family business leaders optimistic on revenue, but not jobs
Family-owned businesses remain optimistic about revenue growth in 2013, but economic uncertainty and public policy concerns are hindering hiring, according to the 2013 Family Enterprise USA survey. [Source: South Florida Business Journal]
› Nonprofit with state contracts pays its top exec $1.2M [Times/Herald]
A nonprofit company that holds two dozen state contracts to care for troubled juveniles in Florida pays its chief executive more than $1.2 million a year in salary and benefits, most of it courtesy of taxpayers.
› Vehicle chargers generate no profit in Lee County [Fort Myers News-Press]
Lee County officials say they weren't in it for the money when they had three electric vehicle chargers installed in downtown Fort Myers. And that's a good thing.
› KSC Visitor Complex unveils $16 million entrance [Florida Today]
The Visitor Complex officially opened the $16 million entrance Thursday, a week after arriving guests first began gathering to take pictures in front of the 75-foot long, 30-foot tall blue granite fountain and a globe-shaped NASA "meatball" logo in front of it.
› Florida ranks 31st for percentage of college grads [Orlando Business Journal]
New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that Florida ranks 34th for its percentage of population 25 or older with a high school degree and 31st for its percentage of population with college degrees.
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› SeaWorld files to sell stock in IPO [Orlando Sentinel]
SeaWorld is going public. Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment filed plans Thursday to sell up to $100 million worth of public shares. The company would operate under a new name, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., and trade under the symbol "SEAS."
› Jacksonville proposes cutting firefighter pensions [Florida Times-Union]
The city has proposed pension changes to the Jacksonville firefighters union that are substantially the same as those offered to the police union two months ago.
› Scott says port strike could devastate Florida economy [AP]
Gov. Rick Scott warned Thursday that a looming strike involving port dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts could have a devastating effect on Florida's families and its economy.
» Related: Potential strike won't have much impact on Port Canaveral
› Businesses try to sell before potential tax increase hits [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Business owners who want to sell their companies are scurrying to get them sold before the end of the year because of potentially higher tax rates in 2013.


text:
Cingular Distills Customer Value Into Thermometer Form
A customer service source inside Cingular sends us some interesting internal documents and says the cellphone company has a new policy that's got the headset set in a bind. He reports that Cingular will, "no longer discount equipment for customers that are not profitable for us, no mater where they stand contractually. I have received several calls from customers attempting to upgrade, only to have to inform them that although yes, they are out of contract, we will not offer them discounted equipment. "
But wait, how does a lowly Cingular rep determine how profitable you are as a customer? Luckily, there's a handy box on the operator's screen showing a computerized calculation.
If you threaten to leave Cingular for a wireless provider that doesn't suck, the degree to which they try to lure you back into the fold will depend on how green your mercury is.
The full three page job aid for Cingular reps, after the jump…
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Related: How Cingular Avoids Giving Discounts to Worthless Customers


text: DU's Next 75 Years The future holds great challenges and opportunities for wetlands and waterfowl conservation Photo © Michael Furtman By Dale D. Humburg During Ducks Unlimited's first 75 years, waterfowl populations closely tracked the abundance of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, soaring during wet years and plummeting during times of drought. Participation in waterfowl hunting has also fluctuated widely throughout DU's history in response to the abundance of ducks and opportunities to hunt them. Looking ahead, DU begins its next 75 years with more than 750,000 members in the United States and Canada, nearly 13 million acres conserved across North America, and duck breeding populations at the highest levels in more than 50 years. Decades from now, the health of waterfowl populations and their habitats will likely depend on how many DU members and other waterfowl conservation supporters we can recruit and retain. As wetlands and other wildlife habitats come under increasing threat, sustaining a broad base of conservation support will be essential to ensuring a bright future for waterfowl. Ducks in the Balance In 2012, a record 48.6 million breeding ducks were tallied in traditionally surveyed areas of North America. While this was certainly good reason for celebration, veteran waterfowlers know that high duck populations can be closely followed by dramatic declines. During the past three decades alone, breeding duck numbers have ranged from a low of just over 25 million birds in 1990 to this year's record total. Such a high degree of variability isn't unusual or unexpected; waterfowl populations have always experienced booms and busts, and they will continue to do so during DU's next 75 years. Among the more than 40 species of waterfowl in North America, some are increasing while others are declining or remain at depressed levels. For example, populations of gadwalls, northern shovelers, green-winged teal, and lesser snow geese have gradually increased over the long term. Still others, notably northern pintails, scaup, American black ducks, and several sea ducks, have suffered long-term declines. With some species on the increase, others in decline, and a lot of variation from year to year, waterfowl management will remain a complex endeavor. For many waterfowl species, the primary influences on population growth occur during the breeding season. Nesting success and hen and brood survival are particularly important. That's why the Prairie Pothole Region and western boreal forest, North America's most important waterfowl breeding areas, are DU's highest-priority conservation regions. But ducks and geese spend six to eight months in migration and on their wintering grounds, and breeding waterfowl are most successful when they return north in good condition. DU's continental approach to waterfowl conservation, which includes work in every state and Canadian province, ensures that waterfowl can find the habitat they need on their way south to wintering areas and again during their return trip to the breeding grounds. What about hunting? More than 20 million ducks and geese were harvested in the United States and Canada during 2011−2012 waterfowl seasons. Waterfowl harvests closely track duck and goose populations and hunting regulations. Federal, state, and provincial conservation agencies have the mandated responsibility to set seasons, bag limits, and other harvest regulations. In the future, DU will continue to support these agencies' harvest management efforts, but our focus will remain on habitat conservation. The numbers of ducks and geese surveyed each year, as well as trends in waterfowl harvest and hunter numbers, will continue to serve as barometers of DU's conservation success. Habitat in the Balance Simply stated, habitat gains must outpace or at least keep pace with habitat losses for waterfowl populations to hold their own. Many conservation challenges now facing DU have been decades in the making. For example, the United States has already lost more than 50 percent of its historical wetlands and 97 percent of its native prairie. In addition, Louisiana's coastal wetlands are disappearing at a rate of 17 square miles each year. In the future, increasing rates of wetland and grassland conversion to agriculture, expanding urban populations, and other causes are likely to put even more pressure on the habitats that support waterfowl and other wildlife. Conserving North America's diverse waterfowl habitats cannot be achieved using a one-size-fits-all approach. A combination of habitat protection via acquisition and easements, restoration of habitat on landscapes that have already been altered, and intensive habitat management will be required to meet the needs of waterfowl across this continent. DU's conservation toolbox includes all of these approaches to ensure success on diverse landscapes. In places like the Prairie Pothole Region, where large tracts of waterfowl habitat remain intact but are now seriously threatened, DU works with many partners to permanently protect wetlands and grasslands through direct acquisition or conservation easements. In regions like the Central Valley of California, the Midwest, and Gulf Coast, where extensive habitat loss and degradation have already occurred, DU focuses on restoring and intensively managing wetlands and associated habitats. While restored wetlands are never as productive as the original habitats, managers can mimic the natural hydrology (the timing, depth, and frequency of flooding), partially restore upland cover and diversity, and improve water quality in the surrounding watershed. But DU will not fulfill its mission through direct conservation programs alone. Policies that restore and protect wetlands are vital to ensuring a secure habitat base for waterfowl and other wildlife. The Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly referred to as the federal duck stamp, has raised more than $750 million to secure more than 5 million acres in the National Wildlife Refuge System. In addition, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act has provided more than $1.1 billion in grants, positively impacting more than 26 million acres of wetlands and associated habitat in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. And Farm Bill conservation programs, especially the Conservation Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program, have helped farmers and ranchers put millions of acres of important waterfowl habitat back on the landscape. DU members have been both supporters and beneficiaries of these programs, and their continued advocacy for these programs and other sources of conservation funding is more important now than ever. Fortunately, DU is not alone in its conservation mission. We have always relied on the strength of diverse partnerships with government, other nonprofit organizations, and dedicated individuals. DU will also continue to work with farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness to promote wildlife-friendly agricultural practices on working lands. During the next 75 years, we will strive to strengthen and build on these partnerships to achieve even greater things for wetlands and waterfowl. A Continental Waterfowl Management Enterprise The North American Waterfowl Management Plan, implemented in 1986, establishes a continental framework for waterfowl conservation. A significant revision, in which DU was heavily involved, was signed in May 2012. Strong emphasis on integrating strategies for waterfowl populations, habitat, and supporters ensures balanced efforts among all the partners involved in waterfowl conservation. DU has become an increasingly prominent part of the continental waterfowl conservation effort. That will not change in decades to come. Growing Support for Waterfowl Conservation Ensuring future generations of waterfowl conservation supporters is among the greatest challenges facing DU during its next 75 years. DU was founded by a small group of avid waterfowlers, and hunters have been and continue to be the backbone of the organization's support. Unfortunately, waterfowl hunter numbers have declined gradually over the past 40 years, from 2 million in the early 1970s to 1.15 million in 2011. Despite nearly two decades of liberal harvest regulations, generally favorable habitat conditions, and record waterfowl populations in some years, we have been unable to maintain traditional numbers of waterfowlers. Well-documented reasons for the growing disconnect between people and the outdoors include a shift from a rural to an urban lifestyle, increasing competition for free time, lack of access, and an aging U.S. population. Regardless of the causes, DU members have great potential to influence participation in waterfowl hunting and wetlands conservation. We should start by focusing on our existing strength. Waterfowlers who always purchase a duck stamp and are long-term DU members are the bedrock of the waterfowl conservation community. For many of us, introducing today's youth to the wonders of waterfowling is a compelling cause. As a grandparent, I am particularly aware of my responsibility to pass on waterfowling traditions to my grandchildren. They are among the new recruits who will perpetuate DU and waterfowl conservation in decades to come. It's up to us to mentor and encourage young waterfowlers to join our ranks. But potential new waterfowl conservationists are not limited to young people or even to waterfowlers. Although the majority of those who support waterfowl conservation today are hunters who began hunting at an early age and come from a hunting family, this may not be the case in the future. For example, between 10 and 20 percent of today's DU members do not hunt. These individuals, who support waterfowl and wetlands conservation but are not hunters, represent a large potential pool of future conservation supporters. According to a 2012 survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 13.3 million people travel away from home to observe waterfowl, including 4.2 million who travel out of state to do so. If just 10 percent of waterfowl viewers who do not currently purchase ducks stamps did so in the future, an additional $20 million would be contributed to the National Wildlife Refuge System each year. Support from an even broader constituency could come as a result of the many societal benefits wetlands provide, including clean water, flood abatement, and groundwater recharge. For example, policies focused on water availability in California, flood mitigation in the Midwest, water quality in Chesapeake Bay, or coastal wetland loss in Louisiana could provide significant new support for wetlands conservation, benefiting all who appreciate waterfowl and their habitats. The largest near-term gains in conservation support could be achieved by simply retaining more DU members from year to year and reengaging past DU supporters who are not currently active in the organization. In any given year, only about half of DU members renew their membership. In total, more than 3 million men and women have been DU members for at least one year during the past two decades. It's up to us to ask all past DU supporters to return to the fold. In the end, waterfowl populations, habitat, and conservation supporters all depend on each other. We know that large numbers of conservation supporters are required to support waterfowl habitat conservation, which in turn ensures future populations of ducks and geese. And habitat for waterfowl also means habitat that provides enjoyment for everyone who values these magnificent birds. As we begin DU's next 75 years, we must do what is needed today to ensure sustainable numbers of conservation supporters, abundant wetlands and other wildlife habitats, and healthy waterfowl populations for generations to come. Dale D. Humburg is chief scientist at DU national headquarters in Memphis. Planning for the Future Sound strategic planning is especially important in waterfowl conservation because the birds and their habitats are almost always in a state of flux. At regional scales, substantial changes in waterfowl distribution can occur from year to year. Weather and habitat conditions are highly dynamic, often accounting for annual differences in waterfowl movements and regional hunting opportunities. Participation in waterfowl hunting and support for wetlands and waterfowl conservation are also highly variable. People who are engaged in these activities today may not be tomorrow. Consequently, to ensure a sustainable future, DU and its partners must pursue dynamic strategies to keep pace with a rapidly changing world.


text:
Hermès Carnets d'Equateur Mugs
Please select a color and size before adding to your cart.
Please select a color and size before adding to your Wish List.
Please select a color and size before adding to your Gift List.
Carnets d'Equateur Mugs
Free Shipping & Returns on All U.S. Orders. See Details
Hermès of Paris' Carnets d'Equateur mugs are crafted of white and multicolored porcelain illustrated with felines and birds and trimmed with 24k matte gold. Inspired by artist Robert Dallet's gouache paintings and wildlife sketches, the pieces in this collection feature majestic wild animals frolicking through the jungle.Style #505673095
- From the Carnets d'Equateur Collection.
- Designed by Robert Dallet.
- Includes two mugs.
- Holds 10 fl oz/296ml each (approximately).
- 4"/10cm height, 4"/10cm diameter each (approximately).
- Available in White/Multi.
- Porcelain.
- Hand wash.
- Made in France.
Founded by Thierry Hermès in Paris in 1837, Hermès began as a purveyor of fine leather equestrian goods for European nobility. Over the next two centuries, the house grew to offer luxury bags, clothing, timepieces, and refined housewares that reflect a continued focus on quality and an unmistakable French flair. Crafted with the utmost precision, the brand's elegant watches are available in-store at our Madison Avenue, Chicago, Copley, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia locations.
Need Help? Have Questions? Contact Us.
Please call 1.888.222.7639 to speak with a Customer Service Representative.
We're here to help you:
Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 9 PM (ET)
Saturday - Sunday, 10:30 AM - 7 PM (ET)
If you prefer email, we can be reached anytime at email@example.com.
Free Shipping & Returns on All U.S. Orders. See Details


text:
Greenwich Academy field hockey beats Taft
The Greenwich Academy field hockey team was haunted by penalty corners, both offensively and defensively, during last Saturday's bitter defeat to the Hotchkiss School.
Gators coach Angela Tammaro made it a point of emphasis in practice, rehearsing nearly every corner in her playbook to possibly create more quality looks at the cage.
"We changed our corners around because were weren't getting anything off on goal, and we spent a lot of time in the last two practices on them," Tammaro said. "We were rewarded today."
Greenwich Academy converted three penalty corners into goals, including two from Emilia Tapsall, defeating Taft 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Tammaro Field.
The Gators dominated from the outset, and, apart from a few chaotic moments at the finish, completely controlled the game against the NEPSAC semifinalists. GA (7-1) also got goals from Teddy West and Pam Schulman.
"Our kids did a great job today, Tammaro said. "We are really excited that we scored three goals off of penalty corners. I'm pleased with how we moved the ball around and how we played defense."
Early on it appeared that the Gators would be goal-starved again, as chance after chance went by. Schulman finally opened the scoring with 4:43 left in the first half from a well-worked penalty corner.
"At Hotchkiss we had such good play until it went in the circles," Tapsall said. "In this game we really worked on finishing the cross balls and getting it into the goal and I am pleased with how we did today. We were motivated for this game so we could show everyone what we could do."
The Gators did not let up despite going in front, and worked another penalty corner to the back of the cage as time expired at the end of the first half. This time it was Tapsall who poked home a loose ball after the initial shot from the top of the circle was blocked.
Despite GA cruising most of the way, Taft (4-1) got back into the game, scoring twice with under five minutes to play to get within two. The game could have become even more tense had it not been for an amazing play from the Gators back line.
"Taft is a very dangerous team," Tammaro said. "They can score goals. We did a god job of not giving them anything until the last few minutes."
After another Big Red breakout following their second goal, Gators reserve goalie Julia Booth and a defender collided, sending both to the turf while creating an excellent opportunity for Quirk to make it a one-goal game as the ball trickled towards the cage.
However Quirk stumbled just enough, allowing Emma Olney to recover and make an excellent defensive play on the ball to preserve the two-goal cushion and avoid an anxious finish.
"She made a great save," GA's Annie Leonard said. "I think that got our energy level back up and we finished the game off strong."
GA closed the door on any more opportunities, improving to 7-1 on the season. Tammaro is pleased with the way her group is performing at the moment.
"I like what we have right now," Tammaro said. "We have a great blend of youth and experience. All of our kids are working really hard."
The Gators hit the road in three of their next four games, including their next contest against Millbrook on Saturday.
Greenwich Academy 4, taft 1
Records: T: 4-1 GA-7-1
Goals: T-Audrey Quirk, Lauren Drakeley; GA-Emilia Tapsall (2), Pam Schulman, Teddy West; Assists: GA-Eva Rosencrans (2), Annie Leonard, Tapsall; Goalies: T-Amy Feda (13 saves) GA-Hannah Keohane (1), Julia Booth (0) Shots: T--3 GA-22.


text:
Tom Z. Collina is the former Research Director at the Arms Control Association. As of August 2014, he is no longer with the Association. His current position can be found via his LinkedIn profile.
Tom has over 20 years of Washington DC experience in arms control and global security issues. He has held senior leadership positions such as Executive Director of the Institute for Science and International Security, Director of Global Security at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Senior Research Analyst at the Federation of American Scientists.
Tom has worked extensively as a researcher, analyst, and advocate to strengthen the nonproliferation regime and reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism, achieve a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, reduce U.S.-Russian strategic arsenals, and track the spread of weapons worldwide. He has published widely in major magazines and journals and has appeared frequently in the national media, including The New York Times, CNN, and NPR. He has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and regularly briefs congressional staff. Tom has a degree in International Relations from Cornell University and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Scoville Peace Fellowship and the Janelia Foundation. He lives in Takoma Park with his wife and three children
Tom Collina's primary research areas include:
Read more by Tom Z. Collina:


text:
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web
This big developer and admin conference runs from September 26 to 29 in Mainz, Germany. I'll be delivering at least one session and hobnobbing with Quest customers, friends, and in a very weird twist, my oldest daughter Emily, who will be in the Rhineland at the exact same time on a graduation present I'd been planning for her since graduation in June.
One of my favorite conferences of the year! The organizers are great. The speakers are great! The attendees are great!! The venues are great!!! The lunches are ... um ... adequate. I'm doing all an new session on SQL Injection attack, this time with LOTS of demos kindly written by an attendee at one of my sessions in Cologne. He like the session so much, he decided to build demos to go along with it. (Thanks again, Volker!)
And if you've attended before, you know how much fun our now traditional IT Horror Stories and IT Bingo Trivia sessions are. Make plans to attend these standing-room only sessions, before the fire marshal kicks us all out of the room for overfilling it.
Seriously. This is the one. If you can attend only one SQL Server training and community event in a given year, this is the one. Over 150 sessions and pre-conference seminars. Most everyone who is on the list of "who's who" in the world of SQL Server and Microsoft-related data management and development will be in attendance. And a large number of the Microsoft R&D team that builds, documents, and supports SQL Server will also be there.
Plus, more details to come on these events: Netherlands SQL Saturday, Belgium SQL Server Days, and SQLRally Nordic.
I hope to see you there in person!
-Follow me on Twitter!
If you would like to receive an email when updates are made to this post, please register here
Subscribe to this post's comments using
Hi Kevin
Thanks for the informative sessions, plus I have just spent the much appreciated Amazon voucher for a horror story on the PowerPivot 2010 book by Russo/Ferrari, so thanks again !
Cheers, and see you next time.
Thanks for sharing, Dan! Great stories! I'll be posting these on my blog in coming months. Best regards, -Kevin


text:
OpenHost provides world class web hosting services, based in Auckland.
Since 2005 we have grown to host over 15,000 NZ web hosting customers, providing New Zealand's most popular low-cost website hosting service.
When you host with us your web site is being managed by a DNC authorized domain name registrar with over 50 local staff, all of whom are dedicated to providing industry leading New Zealand web hosting.
We stand behind our service with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and 7-day phone support that can help you with every web site hosting issue from E-Mail to WordPress or ASP.NET.
What are our customers saying?
"Good service over a long number of years, good pricing structure and specials!"
"OpenHost Tech support is responsive with reliable servers and good communication."
"OpenHost provide great customer service & are always happy to help."
"I like that OpenHost is affordable and easy to access :) "
"We're happy that we can count on Openhost being reliable and totally professional so that we can be too."
"Openhost are incredibly easy to deal with and there support team are out of this world."
"OpenHost make it easy administer websites and support is timely and effective."
"If you ever have any trouble, OpenHost instantly have an answer, and just make it work."
"My website's been running for almost 4 years with OpenHost... I have not had a day's trouble!"


text:
John Chesapeake
John Chesapeake is a journalist for Weazel News in Grand Theft Auto IV. He writes many articles for Weazel News' website www.weazelnews.com.
Online Articles
Toga To Be True
Top economist falls for pyramid scheme
It seems that nobody is immune to the temptations of 'get rich quick' schemes on the Internet. Brilliant economist and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Darius Wolfe, has revealed that he was persuaded into investing $20,000 into a online pyramid scheme. "As soon as I received the spam email titled 'Amazing Business Opportunity' that directed me to www.money2makemoney.com, I just had to know more," said Wolfe, "I've never been able to resist a risky investment."
Despite Wolfe's baseless allegations, the 'Roman Empire Wealth System' has been an upstanding sponsor of Weazel News and we cannot allow some cretin to sully its name. Life is full of risks and, as civilization goes down the toilet, it only means more ratings and sponsors for us.


text:
Pennies Lab Introduction to Systems of Equations Day 2 of 2
Unit 8: Solving Simultaneous Linear Equations
Lesson 3 of 15
Lesson 3 of 15
Objective: SWBAT develop a system of equations to solve a hands on problem solving based activity.
Big Idea: Introduce systems of equations with a lab that keeps them guessing and engaged with a real world challenge.
Math, Systems of Equations and Inequalities, Algebra, solving equations, Linear and Nonlinear Equations, Graphing Linear Equations, master teacher, hands on learning
50 minutes
Bellringer - Warm up
15 min
Resources (1)
Buying Tickets Homework Question.pdf
expand content
Student Lead Presentations
20 min
expand content
Similar Lessons
Solving Linear Systems of Equations with Substitution (Day 3 of 3)
Big Idea: Students will create a system of equations from a real world scenario and interpret the solution. Students will use linear substitution to solve systems of equations.
Solving Problems in Two or More Unknowns
Big Idea: The reason systems of equations exist as an algebra topic is that they're a tool to be used when a problem has more than one unknown variable.
Solving Systems by Addition
Big Idea: Knowing that the sum of the left and right sides of two different equations are equal, is key to solving certain systems, and later, many real world problems.


text:
Gallery Description:
Here are some shots of me on my cruise recently. I had so much fun sailing the Seas...Oh my was it fun! I cant wait to go back and do it again. I got some nice sun on this day, had a few drinks by the pool and then told Jay to take me back to the room and give it to me rough (you will see the video coming up too). I love working on my tan, and hope you like it too. Check out that stripe on my ass...does it make you want to grab those ass cheeks and pull it apart or what? LOL. I like it too. Kisses, Amber
Check out the Babes of Aziani.com


text:
You are here
Master Class with Joan Larkin
Date and Time:
April 14, 2012 - 12:00PM to 4:00PM
April 15, 2012 - 12:00PM to 4:00PM
Event Location:
Conference Room
Joan Larkin's My Body: New and Selected Poems received the Publishing Triangle's Audre Lorde Award. She taught for 24 years at Brooklyn College and now teaches in Drew University's low-residency MFA program.
Application Deadline: EXTENDED TO Tuesday, April 10
Application Guidelines:
Send three poems accompanied by a cover sheet with your name, address, email address and phone number to
Poets House
10 River Terrace
New York, NY 10282
Attn: Classes
or by email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Poems must arrive by the designated deadline. No names or addresses should appear on the poems themselves.
Event Sponsored By:
Poets House
Event Type:
Workshops, Master Classes and Residencies


text:
Domori chocolates are now in stock and available to order online.
The public release of the genome of the cacao tree - from which chocolate is made - will save the chocolate industry from collapse, a scientist has said.
Dark chocolate has been shown to have a beneficial effect on the heart in numerous studies, and now scientists know why.
'The widest selection of premium chocolates from around the world for chocolate connoisseurs'
'The best chocolate in the world' As featured in
Order now and choose a future delivery date to suit you.
Standard p&p from just £3.95
Get special offers, news & discounts by email.
Chocolate Trading Co
Welcome to Chocolate Trading Co. Sign in.Register with us
my basket (0 items)Total £0.00
Customer services
Chocolate Delivery
Order tracking
Contact us
Terms & conditions
Loyalty points
Security & Privacy
Affiliate programme
Buy Chocolates
Chocolate boxes
Chocolate bars
Fountain chocolate
Chocolate cigarellos
Hot chocolate
Chocolate hampers
Chocolate couverture
Chocolate truffles
Chocolate wedding favours
Chocolate gifts
Valentines chocolate gifts
Mothers day chocolate gifts
Easter eggs & gifts
Fathers day chocolate gifts
Christmas chocolate gifts
Birthday chocolate gifts
Anniversary chocolate gifts
Chocolate gift ideas
Chocolate for chocoholics
Chocolate recipes
Chocolate blog
© 2018 Chocolate Trading Company Ltd.
Registered in England 3872536.
The Old School, Byron Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7QA England
UK Standard 2-4 day delivery from just £3.95
Next working day guaranteed delivery (UK Mainland) from £5.95
Order your chocolate gift delivery by phone: Call 01625 508224


text:
Dave D'Onofrio's Sox Beat: Embattled Buchholz on targetBY DAVE D'ONOFRIO
Special to The New Hampshire Union Leader
May 07. 2013 12:18AM
BOSTON -- WHEN the Red Sox returned to Fenway Park on Monday night after a taxing road trip through Toronto and Texas, they did so looking to reiterate that their first month has been no mirage, and that things really are as different as they seem in 2013.
As a team, they returned in the midst of a three-game losing streak after getting swept in Texas, and trying to differentiate themselves from the clubs of yesteryear by making sure that the skid lasted no longer. Dating back to the start of the calamitous collapse of 2011, the Sox had managed to do so just five times in their previous 18 opportunities.
And as an individual, Clay Buchholz returned with something to prove, at least in terms of reputation, after two Blue Jays broadcasters accused him of doctoring the ball when he blanked that team last week. He entered having won all six of his starts, and with a major-league leading 1.01 earned run average, though some suggested he could silence any allegations of impropriety by replicating that level of performance with the eyes of baseball fixated on his right forearm.
Well, their pitcher may not have personally provided many real answers - but collectively his Boston teammates battled long enough to show a crowd of 31,088 that one bad weekend can't spoil the spirit of a wonderful opening month.
Buchholz was shaky early, surrendering wall-ball doubles to Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham, then a single to Justin Morneau in the first inning. He trailed 2-0 before he recorded his second out, though that as much as anything was likely the product of who was at the plate - after those hits, the trio was collectively 15-for-30 against Buchholz in their careers - and after a couple of walks, the righty retired the next nine in a row.
As he worked, he consistently seemed to be seeking a better grip - although nothing about it looked sinister. On a cool night, he put his fingers to his mouth. He rubbed his wet hair. He touched his arm where he'd smacked it with the rosin bag. Then he wiped his hand on the back of his pants and mounted the rubber.
By the end of the six innings over which he allowed four runs on seven hits, while striking out nine, the spot where he'd been wiping his hand had been soiled a light shade of brown. But maybe most telling was that Twins manager Ron Gardenhire never asked the umpires to inspect Buchholz's body or the ball.
An in-game investigation would come only after a complaint from the opposing dugout - yet the Twins either didn't see what Dirk Hayhurst and Jack Morris did, or they at least didn't consider it worth reporting.
"There's nothing to be hidden," Sox Manager John Farrell insisted prior to the game, "nothing to hide on Clay's part."
Farrell has fought the allegations since they first surfaced - and Monday night his team showed fight of its own. After struggling in every facet against the Rangers, they sure didn't make it easy for themselves. They trailed 2-0, then 4-1 as they struggled to capitalize on their opportunities (going 2-for-9 with men in scoring position, and seeing Stephen Drew gunned down at the plate). But they kept coming. And coming. And coming.
They couldn't put a rally together, so they struck for single tallies in five straight frames. Shane Victorino homered in the fourth. Drew singled home Daniel Nava in the fifth. Mike Napoli plated Victorino with a single in the sixth. Drew found the right-field seats in the seventh.
Then Dustin Pedroia, before that homerless on the season, launched a shot that clanged off the light tower above the Green Monster to lead off the eighth. With that the Sox had a 5-4 advantage, and while closer Joel Hanrahan coughed that up by yielding a homer to Brian Dozier in the ninth, the Sox already had the validation they'd come to claim.
After all, it was their repeated failure in tests like these that led the Red Sox to last place last season. They didn't respond well to adversity, they let problems mushroom and multiply, they let one loss beget the next, and they were far more likely to be overwhelmed than to overcome.
But that was 2012. This is 2013.
And as Monday's fight suggested again, mattering more than the final result one night in early May is the continued sense that things this year sure seem different.
Dave D'Onofrio covers the Red Sox for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
{{search.results.count}} results {{searchFilter()}} {{searchQuery()}}
{{search.results.count}} results {{searchFilter()}} {{searchQuery()}}
Enter a search term such as "mobile analytics" or browse our content using the filters above.
That's not only a poor Scrabble score but we also couldn't find any results matching
Check your spelling or try broadening your search.
This service is currently undergoing maintenance.
Please try again later.
Many brands have tried to nail it, but replicating e-commerce sites on Facebook doesn't work. At least according to Nokia and Heinz.
At Facebook Marketing 2012 speakers from both brands said that while Facebook can be used as a platform for offering fans exclusive or limited edition products, it is a mistake to simply repliate existing storefronts.
We Are Social marketing director Tom Ollerton highlighted two Heinz case studies where the FMCG brand had used Facebook as a platform to sell new products to its fans.
Heinz wanted to sell just over 1m bottles of its limited edition Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup, so We Are Social recommended that an intial run of 3,000 bottles be sold exlusively through Facebook to build excitement around the launch.
The campaign proved to be a success and all bottles were sold, however there were a mistakes with the execution. Firstly, purchases were confirmed within Facebook instead of using a confirmation email which Ollerton said resulted in some negative comments on the page.
But despite that, it got picked up in the press and people got ridiculously excited about it.
Fans posted pictures of themselves with their new bottle, some even going so far as to take it on holiday with them. But there were also complaints about the buying process.
Hosting the e-commerce page within Facebook actually put people off as it's not a trusted platform for making a purchase. It created a lot of nervousness.
As a result, for a subsequent campaign to promote personalised cans of tomato soup Heinz chose to use PayPal instead of selling directly on Facebook.
Despite making the purchase journey a bit longer, we had no complaints as PayPal is a trusted online payment tool.
Overall the soup sale achieved a global reach of 26m people, and gained a 650% increase in interactions on the page during the campaign.
Ollerton said the key lessons they learned from the campaigns are that you have to reward people and innovate.
You have to give people something they can't get somewhere else, you can't just replicate your e-commerce platform.
Nokia global editor-in-chief for social media Thomas Messett echoed this sentiment.
He said that too many companies use Facebook as a way to give away cheap products or discounts, which has no long-term benefit to the brand.
If you put something cheap on your fan page, people will 'like' you to get something cheap. It doesn't actually mean anything.
Instead brands should use Facebook to offer exclusive or unique products to reward their fans, not just to replicate their e-commerce site.
Messett said there is also value in rewarding customers for sharing purchases on Facebook, however brands have to make sure they get user consent first.
Don't be too pushy, it's likely to turn people off. Frictionless sharing is a great idea, but Spotify has ruined it.
Does this mean f-commerce has no future?
Not necessarily, but as Messett said, brands need to do something different on Facebook. There are issues around usability and trust to be overcome, as well as the fact that people are less in 'purchase mode' when on Facebook.
We have looked at this issue before, and found that, though larger brands like Gap have been underwhelmed, small businesses have used it successfully, while brands like Gilt Groupe have had some success by launching exclusive offers through Facebook.
Comments (15)
Dear David,
Considering the actual content of your story, could your headline BE any more wrong... or link baity?
Stuart :)
I totally agree with you Stuart. The title is aimed at getting clicks whereas the content is saying something else entirely.
Heinz actually had great success, but the customer journey let it down somewhat, bearing in mind that this was their first F-commerce campaign this is not the end of the world. You have stated yourself that it sold loads and got user engagement.
I find that many of the articles on E-consultancy these day use headline grabbing titles to pull the visitor in but are actually rather a let-down
The title of the article is very misleading...
I come from the F-commerce industry, and these are my thoughts:
Bloomberg decided to show only a few failed attempts of F-commerce, and didn't provide even one brand that succeed in F-commerce.
Companies like Gap and Gamestop, closed their stores because the company that built their stores, Adgregate Markets, closed its doors.
A lot of these big brands created stores on Facebook that didn't fit the Facebook ecosystem, which is based on social elements and open graph usage.
However, I'm positive that they will use the knowledge they have gained from this experience and develop an improved storefront - one with a better social experience.
Facebook is already directly responsible for billions of dollars of 3rd party commerce transactions resulting in its social plugins and Open Graph API.
There are great examples for F-commerce campaigns like the launch of Heinz 'Get Well' Soup cans: 4 weeks, 2,127 sales – 1 sale per 8 fans – and a 200% (32,810) increase in Facebook 'Likes'.
We at StoreYa (http://www.StoreYa.com), see an enormous traction, there's an amazing daily growth of merchants, creating their own Facebook shops.
There's no doubt that F-commerce is the next step in the eCommerce evolution, but it will take some time.
Duplicating your eCommerce store to Facebook will not do the trick..You must provide the merchants with engagement tools, such as: Fans-firsts, Fans exclusive deals & discounts, this adds an important added value to the social shopping experience.
Hi David,
Tom Messett from Nokia here, as quoted above, I just wanted to clear up our thoughts on F-Commerce:
Nokia does believe in Social Commerce and F-Commerce, we are already trialling several initiatives across the globe and have seen good results. This is an important part of our plans and we want to move beyond driving purely "engagement" and into driving commercial value from social, as I said yesterday in my presentation.
The points I made yesterday referred to very specific use cases: We don't believe in simply dropping existing e-commerce solutions into Facebook and although offers and discounts have their place social commerce is far more than that and continually discounting to drive new "likes" is, despite what studies might say, not a great idea.
If you could correct the title that would be great, and if you would like specific comments from me or to discuss this further please email or tweet: @Tom_Messett
Hi all, I have amended the headline (which wasn't mine BTW). The content of the article represents what what said, in that Facebook storefronts that replicate e-commerce sites don't work.
This was the point I was trying to get at, rather than a general attack on f-commerce which has its benefits as per the quotes included in the blog and comments.
Looking beyond the dramatic title, I definitely love when brands jump to conclusions after ONE simple campaign that didn't go exactly how they planned. It's a bit like extrapolating and saying a city has no power just because one outlet doesn't work.
Naturally, details like the email confirmation and whatnot are simple problems to fix.
It's just a learning process. Once brands recognise what the challenges are and develop solutions, I'm sure they'll be singing a very different tune :)
I started writing a blog post about F-commerce in response to this article from David but thought in the end posting a comment might be a better option.
With my consultants / strategists hat on my thinking goes like this; replicating the eCommerce experience in Facebook can and does work, and it could be the brand that's at fault rather than the platform. Are people used to buying Heinz products from Heinz online? Likewise Nokia? Most of the time consumers buy the products from those two brands via a third party and this is where it comes down to trust.
Those brands that are seeing success with F-commerce and replication of their eCommerce web experience have already built up a level of trust with their consumers, their consumers feel comfortable purchasing online from them and this is where fashion retailers often do really well.
Those brands that don't have a strong eCommerce footprint outside of Facebook are going to struggle because they haven't built up that level of trust. The example of Heinz above adding Paypal in to the mix highlights this; Paypal is a trusted mechanism, Facebook is a trusted platform for information gathering and sharing. That makes it two trusted online brands rather than just the one (Facebook) with Heinz being the ugly duckling and not a "trusted" online brand. The original purchase through FB didn't work because Heinz wasn't a trusted online brand.
With my Zmags hat on, we've seen some great successes for our clients that have replicated their catalogue experience inside Facebook and used the same eCommerce solution across general web and inside Facebook.
What a misleading title! They don't work? When clearly you've demonstrated with Heinz that they do work? Don't mislead people. They will hate you for it.
The title do not reflect at all the content...
You sould consider updating it, it's not good to fool your loyal readers ;)
Thanks for sticking around till the end of the Chinwag / Our Social Times Facebook marketing event. It's good that you've highlighted some of the many great moments in the Heinz Balsamic Ketchup and "Get Well" Soup campaigns.
However there are a couple of points where you have misunderstood and misquoted what I said and what Heinz believe.
It starts with the title of this article which is very misleading. At no point did we say or infer that Heinz said Facebook storefronts do not work - quite the opposite in fact, as has been demonstrated by two very successful campaigns.
"speakers from both brands said that selling items through the social network doesn't have a future, primarily as consumers didn't trust it."
What I actually said was that selling through Facebook for Heinz has been a massive success for the brand on two occasions. Both products almost sold out straight away and gathered staggering amounts of P.R due to the idea, execution and nature of the campaigns being perfect for social media. Social commerce does have a future for Heinz and for any other brand who wants to give their fans an experience on a social network that they can't get in-store or on their traditional ecom. Social commerce is the socialisation of ecommerce and I'd predict that selling products through a social network directly or indirectly is the future of ecom and Heinz were rightly applauded for innovating in this space and leaving their competitors wondering what hit them - 26M campaign views can't be wrong.
"Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup was launched on the social network following a teaser campaign and fans could buy a personalised bottle within Heinz's Facebook page."
This is incorrect, fans could buy a limited edition bottle of Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup, not a personalised bottle.
"Heinz wanted to sell just over 1m bottles of its limited edition Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup using Facebook"
I actually stated that Heinz were producing 1,000,057 bottles and as an agency our first (overly) ambitious thought was it would be great to sell them all through Facebook but we quickly dismissed that idea and decided 3,000 as a number for the first foray by Heinz into f-commerce - not 5,000 as you mention.
"The first problem this encountered was that they forgot to send out confirmation emails, which Ollerton said resulted in some negative comments on the page"
As I stated at the conference Heinz were the first UK brand to sell a food product through Facebook and the decision was made to send a confirmation to the user on Facebook once the order had been placed as opposed to a confirmation email (I showed the image on the slide). We categorically did not 'forget' to send out confirmation emails - we were given feedback by a very small number of people on the page that an email would have been preferred. Our community management responded instantly reassuring the consumers that the orders were confirmed and the confirmation had been sent to them on Facebook. We took this insight from the community and responded to the community accordingly in the subsequent Get Well Soup campaign by sending them an email when their soup had been purchased.
"Hosting the e-commerce page within Facebook actually put people off as it's not a trusted platform for making a purchase. It created a lot of nervousness."
This has been taken out of context. Facebook is a new platform for making purchases through so for the first campaign there would always be a few comments about feeling nervous about purchase, but overwhelmingly, and as proved by numbers, this wasn't the case. When we first launched the campaign selling products through facebook was almost unheard of and social networks aren't famous for being secure. In the case of the checkout process on the Heinz Tomato Ketchup page this was totally unfounded given that we had a secure and robust solution and would not have considered the campaign without it.
I'd really like you to amend the points in this article including the title to reflect the truth.
Thanks for pointing out that "Overall the soup sale achieved a global reach of 26m people, and gained a 650% increase in interactions on the page during the campaign" we're really proud of these results and are proud to be working with an FMCG brand that has the vision, courage and trust to continue to innovate across social to great success.
Hi Tom,
Apologies if you (and everyone else) think the article is misleading, that obviously wasn't my intention.
I think the main issue is my use of the word 'storefront'. What I was referring to is when a brand just replicates its existing e-commerce site within a Facebook page, whereas you and other readers obviously use it to refer to any sort of commerce within Facebook. In hindsight, this was my error and I should have used a different word or defined it more clearly.
But with this in mind, I felt that your case studies and Thomas Messett's presentation supported the idea that replicating e-commerce sites doesn't work. As you mentioned, some users didn't like the buying process, which led you to use PayPal for the second campaign. This hardly bodes well for anyone trying to host their online store within Facebook.
I feel I pointed out the success of your campaigns (we have also used them as examples of successful case studies in the past - http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8778-11-examples-of-f-commerce-for-2012) and highlighted Thomas's point that "brands should use Facebook to offer exclusive or unique products," as you did with Heinz. But in my opinion the combination of your case studies and Thomas's presentation added weight to the argument that replicating e-commerce sites doesn't work, as people are obviously willing to buy products on Facebook yet there are few examples of brands achieving success with a replica storefront.
Re your point about the number of bottles being sold, I'll correct it so it's 3,000, not 5,000. I must have misheard you.
Re saying you forgot confirmation emails. Again, this is a bad turn of phrase on my part and I will amend it. I wasn't intending to suggest that you meant to do it and then didn't, more that in hindsight it would have been a good idea to use confirmation emails because, as you said at the conference, this is what consumers are used to.
Re taking you out of context – I don't think that is a fair accusation. It's a direct quote with the context being that, as you said, some people weren't comfortable making a payment through Facebook. I didn't suggest that you were being careless by using an unsecure platform, just that consumers were wary of it.
Overall, I think the comments left on this blog show that I should have been clearer about what I define as a storefront and selling through Facebook. As I said, I apologise for any confusion caused and I will amend some of the points this weekend.
However I stand by the assertion that, in general, replicating e-commerce sites on Facebook hasn't proved to be a successful strategy, and that there are trust issues with making transactions through Facebook, no matter how unfounded they may be.
Hi David,
Thank you for your response to my feedback and making the amends. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that. I'll look forward to meeting you at the next event if not sooner.
Face book is already directly responsible for billions of dollars of 3rd party commerce transactions resulting in its social plugging and Open Graph API.
Eventually one of the major players will successfully marry social and e-commerce. Will it be Facebook? Impossible to say. In the meantime, online retailers need to be more proactive in leveraging social on their own sites. I counsel my customers to build a social presence *and* boost conversion rates at the same time by trading tweets/likes for discounts. It's a potent strategy when executed properly.
Customers can smell a phony promotion a mile way. Sincerity and generosity are the keys to the kingdom. If you provide legitimate value to your online shoppers, you'll see great return on the investment—and without needing to stand up a Facebook store.
Fastidious respond in return of this matter with real arguments and
describing everything about that.


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
Crete Carrier Corp. names Berst 'driver of month'
Vandalia resident, Robert Berst, has been named "driver of the month" at the Crete Carrier Corp. terminal in Indianapolis.
Berst, who started driving for Crete Carrier 12 years ago, has logged 1.5 million miles. For the award, he received a plaque, and he will compete with other monthly winners for the company's "driver of the year" award.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the The Leader Union, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
|ZIP Code:


text:
What do you know, how fast do you know it?
Over the years, just by surviving, Doonesbury has generated a flood of rich and varied trivia. Whether you know less about the strip than you wish you did or more than you're willing to admit, CASTMASTER 4.0 is the one place in the world this hard-won knowledge will actually be useful. Enjoy.


text:
Free Newsletter
Privacy Policy
FileMaker is a registered
trademark of FileMaker, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.
MySQL Error
1177 :
SQLSTATE: 42000 (ER_CHECK_NO_SUCH_TABLE) Can't open table
FileMaker Error Codes
Lasso Error Codes
MySQL Error Codes
Windows System Errors
About this database
This is a free public resource. It is unmoderated and operates on the "public
virtue" system. I hope you find it useful!
There are not yet any user contributed notes for this error.Add the first note!


text:
If you want to clear a room, at least in San Diego, just mention two words: public art. San Diego may be one of the most beautiful places on the planet and a hotbed of research and creativity, but outside of UC San Diego's stellar, privately funded Stuart Collection and the vibrant, community-oriented murals in Barrio Logan, our assortment of public art is too often unrepresentative of our highest aspirations as a community.
But the County of San Diego (not to be confused with the Port of San Diego, responsible for the most recent public art debacle around the kitschy "Unconditional Surrender," aka "The Kiss") has done something right. On Aug. 7, it dedicated $1.7 million in public art — 22 works by 14 artists — at the new County Administration Center in Kearny Mesa. (The art is funded by the county's policy that 0.5 percent of the estimated costs for certain public buildings will go to "original works of art integral to the project.")
Stellar large-scale sculptures by San Diego artists Joyce Cutler-Shaw, Anne Mudge and the Los Angeles-based Ball-Nogues Studio and Jay Johnson's assemblages are the headliners in a strong assortment of works that in large measure rise to the occasion.
Cutler-Shaw, Mudge, Ball-Nogues and Portland, Ore.-based John Rogers have created significant pieces for the entry lobbies of the four main buildings. San Diego's Christopher Puzio made two additional works suspended in the lobbies of the Medical Examiner & Forensic Center.
The county also commissioned the London-based sculptor Zadok Ben-David for an outdoor work to anchor the new complex and purchased images by local artists William Glen Crooks, Philipp Scholz Rittermann, Gail Roberts, Ellen Salk, Marie Najera and the late Manny Farber and Italo Scanga to place on the walls of some of the other public areas.
Consultant Gail Goldman created the overall art plan and identified potential artists for the county's selection committee of James Robbins (of RJC Architects, the project's architect), Rob Reitenour (of Lowe Enterprises, which oversaw design and construction) and Jeff Redlitz (an architect with the county's department of general services) to consider.
Apparently the county listened when Goldman and the committee made their final recommendations to Supervisor Ron Roberts and the director of the department of general services, April Heinz. They all deserve credit for showing that the public art doesn't have to be contentious, divisive and ultimately disheartening; it can speak to who we are, even who we'd like to be.
Here's a look at the county's primary pieces:
Artist: Ball-Nogues Studio
Location: 5530 Overland Ave.
Comment: The Los Angeles-based Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues are devoted to exploring the "territory between architecture, art and industrial design," and this ambitious work does exactly that. Conceived digitally then executed with 10 miles of stainless-steel ball chain, the strands weave a suspended "Waterline" (roughly shaped like the hull of a ship). It's like some computer graphic drawing come alive.
Orbital Loops
Artist: Joyce Cutler Shaw
Location: 5500 Overland Ave.
Comment: Shaw, who is artist-in-residence and visiting scholar at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, said she was originally inspired by the visual traces of the spacecraft Cassini as it explored Saturn's rings and moons. But her inspiring work also alludes to the myriad, intersecting loops and patterns that are part of daily life.
Littoral Drift
Artist: Anne Mudge
Location: 5510 Overland Ave.
Comment: Mudge's other high-profile pieces include the well-received San Diego State University Transit Center and the North Park Gateway, but "Littoral Drift" may be her most evocative piece yet. Her delicate, suspended metal sculptures seem to have grown into their circular, organic-looking shapes. Rarely does polished stainless steel look as alive as it does in these "biomorphic chandeliers."
Artist: Zadok Ben-David
Location: Courtyard outside 5520 Overland Ave.
Comment: The London-based Ben-David represented Israel in the 1988 Venice Biennale, won the Tel Aviv Museum Prize for Sculpture in 2005 and is well known in Europe and China. "Perhaps," his first U.S. commission, is a large figure made out of a single piece of Corten steel but hand-cut into hundreds of small figures, some visible, and some partially hidden.
Artifact Display Project
Artist: Jay Johnson
Location: 18 displays in the elevator lobbies of the Operations Center's office buildings
Comment: With researcher David Richardson, Johnson scoured county offices, closets, desk drawers, dark corners and archives to come up with hundreds of artifacts, from old signs and maps to seemingly ancient office and lab equipment, to create intriguing, informative, artistic and even a bit whimsical exhibits.
Artist: John Rogers
Location: 5560 Overland Ave.
Comment: The Portland, Ore.-based Rogers has numerous public pieces in the U.S., from the Miami International Airport to the Dallas Convention Center. "Ripple," with its dichroic glass and aluminum pipe, aims to create "a multidimensional experience, giving the viewer a sense of being part of the sculpture."
Star Cluster and Cell Cluster
Artist: Christopher Puzio
Location: 5570 Overland Ave. (Medical Examiner & Forensic Center)
Comment: Puzio is faculty member at the Woodbury University School of Architecture in San Diego and was recognized in the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego's recent "Here Not There: San Diego Art Now." The titles of his two companion sculptures (in the center's two lobbies) say it all.


text:
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
One of the most exciting parts about this for me is that after two more engine mods, my peformance modifying will be complete.
Quote from: "jayryan"One of the most exciting parts about this for me is that after two more engine mods, my peformance modifying will be complete.JR this sounds like fun, but I don't believe you will be complete with your modding after this. Admit it, it is a sickness we all suffer from.let us know how it goes. it sounds like a worthwhile change.
The AEB engine also calculates A/F by reading from O2 and Fuel sensors and not direct fuel maps which makes chip programming a bit harder than the later cars.
a 5bar FPR and stock injectors is the same as 440cc injectors and a 2bar FPR or thereabouts (Rusty's setup).
...This is maintained by the ECU's reading of o2 voltage and air/fuel.
On the stock programming, if the car sees too much fuel vs. o2, it will cut the fuel (limp) and vice versa, but it can only add so much on stock injectors. Add more air (COAM etc.) add more fuel and the ECU will not see a problem and will allow more boost (based on RPM- hence fuel).
That's one reason why the AEB's are harder to program than the other cars. We don't have set "fuel maps" we can just manipulate.
What do you mean, "Rusty experimented with different FPR/Injector combos and found this to be the most effective." In what way is this the most effective?
Pat's not sure if his stock injectors are 210 or 310 or gamma alpha beta. Like Pat said, Pat doesn't know crap about this. So Rusty, are you saying there's possibly a difference between the AEB they put in the A4 compared to the AEB in the Passat?
Dammit- so much for the shit I read on CB5...it makes sense in my head at least....speaking of beer....


text:
Cirque du Soleil is seeking professional instrumentalists and singers.
Come meet our Talent Scouts to learn more about the original music of our shows, the challenge of live performance and our casting process.
Don't miss this rendezvous!
Swan Dive
615 Red River Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Friday, March 15
12h - 13h30
Here's a television program by Italian channel Rai 5 about World Dance Movement! The 30 minutes program is featuring Rick Tjia, Dance Senior Artistic Talent Scout, explaining the principal elements he looks for in a dancer at Cirque du Soleil.
Dance Senior Artistic Talent Scout, Rick Tjia will meet you at Artists in Action Festival, from February 8 to 10. See you soon!
Meet our Casting Partner Vivienne Carlyle who will be at the
London A Cappella Festival from January 24 to 26.
Cirque du Soleil is pleased to announce that it is renewing its collaboration agreement with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for another four years. When FIG President Professor Bruno Grandi and Secretary General André Gueisbuhler visited our International Headquarters in Montreal, we seized the opportunity to take them behind the scenes of our new show Amaluna! View the highlights of the visit!
Our website is now available in a version optimized for smart phones. Like our conventional site, it can be browsed in seven languages.
Cirque du Soleil® is seeking professional singers with strong technique, stage presence and versatility for live performances in its current shows and upcoming creations.
Apply now!
Our talent scouts specializing in dance will be attending the following events in the coming months:
• DancEmotion (Montreal) – April 28-29
• Regional Dance America [RDA] (Montreal) – May 1-5
• New York City Dance Alliance [NYCDA] (New York City) – July 4-5
• World Dance Movement (Castellana Grotte, Italy) – July 15-17
• Dance World Cup Nationals [CID-UNESCO Event] (Montreal) – July 7-8
DancEmotion (Montreal) – April 28–29
Dance talent scouts Rick Tjia and Nicole Lamontagne participated in the first edition of DancEmotion.


text:
On August 18, 2003, I wrote the first post of this blog, a definition of the word "mumpsimus". The next day, I posted some ideas about what I thought would be appearing here. Then another post, some thoughts on a story by James Patrick Kelly.
Five years later, the blog has lived longer than I ever expected it to, been read by far more people than I ever imagined possible, and the posts have had far more range and variety than I thought they would when I was guessing what might pop up in what I then called, with more accuracy than I could know, "this mad universe".
Five years doesn't sound like much time, and yet look at how much has changed! When I began The Mumpsimus, the blogs I had read were all personal or political. There were plenty of sites about science fiction and fantasy, but I didn't know of anyone using a blog to write primarily about SF, and so I thought I would give it a try. I had only recently begun reading SF again after shrugging it off during college, and I thought the blog would give me an opportunity to find patterns between what I read, to formulate some ideas, to watch myself become reacquainted with a form of writing that had changed quite a bit in my absence. (I was inspired by two things primarily: the "New Wave Fabulists" issue of Conjunctions, to which I subscribed at the time, and the New Weird discussions at the TTA Press bulletin boards, which I discovered via Kathryn Cramer's blog -- in fact, I probably owe my decision to create The Mumpsimus to Kathryn, whose site I had been reading for a few months, originally because of her commentary on current events, until I found myself getting more and more curious about the SF community that appeared in glimpses and glances therein.)
Things did not start quickly. I wrote only 16 posts in all of 2003, and 10 of those were in the first month. This makes sense -- I was teaching at a boarding school, and that job took over my life again in September, and my sense of myself as a writer was not yet attached to the blog, so it was easy enough to ignore, and I was still thinking of this as a science fiction blog: if I wasn't reading much SF, I didn't have anything to write (I did allow myself to exclaim some joy when J.M. Coetzee won the Nobel, and tried a bit desperately in the last paragraph to tie it to something having to do with SF). January 2004, though, brought 24 posts, and I began to give myself the freedom to write about anything I felt like, regardless of its connection to science fiction. 2004 was the most productive year, with 319 posts total. Blogs became ever more popular during that time, and every month more people were using blogs to write about books.
319 posts shows, too, how suddenly the blog took over my life. I had, for the first time, a sense of an audience for my writing, and I wanted to satisfy it. I wrote quickly, without too much reflection, and though now I look back in awe at how much I wrote, I don't have any desire to return to that level of productivity, partly because it often led to half-baked or idiotic posts, blustery generalizations, vague pronouncements, and obvious self-contradictions. It also led to some sentences, paragraphs, and even entire posts that I'm quite proud of.
Some of the conversations and controversies of the early years have been lost, because Blogger did not have a native comment system then, and I tried out a couple of different ones, without much satisfaction (I wouldn't say I'm satisfied with Blogger's, but at this point, it's good enough). But somehow I think we'll all be just fine, even if all the comments about Lord of the Rings and homoeroticism have been lost.
I couldn't maintain the productivity, though, because the blog had put me in contact with enough people that I was given the opportunity to write reviews and commentary elsewhere, and so there wasn't as much material for this site. I thought about quitting many times, but instead gave myself permission to take breaks whenever I wanted. I'd achieved an audience for a while, but the struggle to keep that audience coming back, to keep the numbers of unique visitors high, to get links from more prominent sites, etc. -- the struggle began to wear me down. My life kept changing, too, but not in a way that gave me more time -- I started a Master's degree and then became a department head at the school where I worked. The only way the blog could survive was if I only wrote in it when I felt like it, even if that meant fallow periods and a much slower rate of posting. The only reason to keep doing this, after all, was if it could be fun.
And it is fun. More than fun. My life has changed so much over the past five years that I am grateful to have had this one stable element to it, and to have an archives of some of the things I have thought about, read, and seen during that time.
Often over the years, I thought that if The Mumpsimus could survive to its fifth anniversary, that would be enough, and I would give it up and move on to other things. (Often, I doubted it would make it to a fifth anniversary.) I don't feel that urge anymore, though, because I also don't feel the urge to try to get tens of thousands of readers, to review every book that comes through the door, or to blog when I don't feel like blogging. There are now thousands of blogs about books and reading, about science fiction and fantasy, about literature and life, and I feel no pressure to add to the noise except when it's amongst the noise that I want to be. So why put an end to this thing that has already metamorphosed so many times? The temptation to call it quits has subsided, at least for now.
As much as I write this blog for myself, I would never have continued this long without the readers who have joined in the discussion, sometimes to cheer me on, sometimes to add information, sometimes to challenge my statements and assumptions. Many of the people I met through the blog in its earliest days are now among my most frequent correspondents and closest friends, some of whom I see frequently in "the real world", many of whom I only get to see once a year at best, and most of whom I still owe emails to.
Really, this post is just me using a lot of words to say thank you. Thank you to the people who have been steady readers over the years, and thank you to the folks just now coming by. Nobody is forced to read this stuff, and that some of you continue to choose to amazes me, frightens me, humbles me. Thank you.


text:
Monday Design Wall
Up today I've got a picture of my design wall. I've completed all of the blocks for the pinwheel quilt for my friend. I'm trimming the blocks down…quite a bit. One column is sewn together already (see left). I'm hoping the middle all done and ready for borders by this weekend.
Fabric is It's a Hoot by Moda.


text:
Ways of Giving
How You Can Help
When you support the Conservancy's work in Ecuador today, you will help to protect and restore some of the world's most ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.
Donate Online
Help provide essential funding for conservation initiatives in Ecuador identified as needing the most support.
Become a Member
You'll be welcomed into a family of dedicated individuals committed to protecting our natural world now and for future generations.
Renew Membership
Help continue the Conservancy's work to expand the scope, scale and pace of conservation action in Ecuador.
Monthly Giving
Provide a stable flow of support for our critical conservation work. Plus, it's paperless!
Other Ways to Give
Volunteers help The Nature Conservancy devote a major portion of its funds to land and water conservation, keeping our effectiveness high and our costs low.
Workplace Giving
Pledge a specified amount to be automatically deducted from each paycheck.
Stock Donation
Gifts of appreciated securities to The Nature Conservancy can be a simple and tax-savvy way to support conservation.
Real Estate Donation
Gifts of real estate can frequently save you thousands of dollars in income, estate and capital-gains taxes, while providing a substantial benefit to The Nature Conservancy.
Gift & Estate Planning
Deferred gifts are a way to make a lasting contribution to the Conservancy while taking advantage of favorable federal and state tax laws.
Become a Conservation Buyer
Are you a conservation-minded individual looking to protect natural places forever? Learn how to become a conservation buyer and view conservation properties for sale.