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White Sox share Buehrle's excitement
Teammates, skipper cheer veteran's achievement
By David Just / MLB.com
"It was awesome," said Fields. "I was thinking about catching the last out since the seventh inning and tackling him. I think that was a very nerve-wracking situation, but when you think about something else, it made the nerves go away."
The least nervous among them was probably Buehrle, who once again refused to acknowledge the unwritten rules of a no-hitter. Even during his first no-hitter on April 18, 2007, Buehrle was gabbing with teammates in the dugout, and the veteran lefty did so once again Thursday.
Tradition holds no player in the dugout is supposed to make mention of a pitcher's no-hitter.
"Buehrle talks about it, which is kind of funny," rookie third baseman Gordon Beckham said. "He came up to me in the seventh and was just like, 'You think I'm gonna do it?' I just kind of looked down because I didn't want to say anything to jinx him. And he went out there and he did it."
Nobody was happier for Buehrle than White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who has now been the skipper for both of Buehrle's no-hitters.
"It's amazing," Guillen said. "We're excited. In the coach's room, everybody was in tears. One thing about it, it couldn't happen to a better guy -- franchise kid, organization man and a great guy to have around. You guys know how good it is to be around that kid every day."
A.J. Pierzynski has been catching Buehrle for five years, including his first no-hitter, but Pierzynski was on the bench Thursday and could only watch and cheer for his friend.
"Just to witness it, see it and be a part of it is good enough," Pierzynski said. "I'm happy for [backup catcher Ramon Castro], and I'm obviously happy for Mark and the organization.
"The perfect game is the story, but the fact that we won the game, won the series against Tampa and go into Detroit with some momentum -- hopefully that will carry into this weekend."
The reaction from his teammates might have paled, though, to the reaction Buehrle got from his friends and family, which included a congratulatory phone call from President Barack Obama.
"I just looked at my phone and I had 54 text messages," Buehrle said. "I didn't know I had 54 friends. I had eight phone calls, too. It'll be a fun plane ride trying to look at them all."
David Just is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Trichy, India
Experience and enjoy a range of scrumptious buffet followed by a range of sumptuous desserts at the banquet facility in Trichy. These gatherings or meetings are usually preceded or succeeded by a small speech in honour of someone or to celebrate an event. The banquet facility in Trichy is usually coupled with a convention hall, meeting room or a conference hall. You can actually organize your child's first birthday party, bachelors party, reception function, anniversary celebration, engagement ceremony, fresher's party, alumni meet, silver or golden jubilee celebration for any event and a lot more. These events can be followed by a lavish feast at the banquet hall. Along with the banquet services guests are welcomed with Wi-Fi connectivity, travel desk, safe-deposit locker, secretarial services, medical facility and a lot more at the hotel. Book an amazing stay at one of best hotels with travelguru in order to enjoy banquet hall facility.

subset: commoncrawl


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Topic: Greatest club side ever?
For me, growing up, remember being mesmerised by that Milan side of the late 80s, early 90s.
Gullit, van Basten and Rijkaard in the same side.
They had a couple of handy local players as well - Baresi and Maldini weren't bad.
Utterly unstoppable from what I remember.


text:
Find information on common issues.
Ask questions and find answers from other users.
Suggest a new site feature or improvement.
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Illinois ME 498 Introduction of Nano Science and Technology, Lecture 12: Surfaces and Interface Effects
13 Oct 2009 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Nick Fang, Omar N Sobh
Surfaces and Interface Effects
Conduction of Ions in Fluid
Applications of Ion Migration
Electric Double Layer
Debye Length
Electro-Osmotic Effect
Electro-Osmotic Flow...


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Skip to comments.More Al Qaeda Pre-Election Attacks Forecast: Americans Quietly Lifted Out (Obama Retreats)
Posted on 10/02/2012 5:03:49 PM PDT by drewh
Just five weeks before Americas presidential election, US intelligence reports signs that al Qaeda leader Ayman Zuwahiri is preparing a string of terrorist attacks as the sequel to the murders of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US officials in Benghazi on Sept. 11, according to evidence collected across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
His twin goals are to influence the polls results and to build up his reputation as a master of spectacular terrorist operations. Eager to impress Al Qaedas franchise chiefs, Zuwahiri is reported to be celebrating his Benghazi feat his first as Al Qaeda leader - and boasting of the harm to the Obama campaign caused by his administrations stammering denials that it was an act of terror. The new terrorist chief claims his tactics had an instant, devastating impact on Washington and they were therefore superior to those of his predecessor, Osama bin Laden.
The Al Qaeda leader is now seen - not only by US intelligence experts, but by most experts in the West, the Middle East and Israel - to be impatient to capitalize on this success and so dramatically expose to the Muslim world Americas perceived weakness and his own worth as commander of the jihadist movement. His planning for a new offensive has taken advantage of the Arab Spring upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa and turned them around to strike at the heart of the Obama administrations Middle East policy objectives.
The Arab revolutions have let Islamist extremist and fundamentalist Salafi groups off the leash in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, while Lebanon Jordan, Iraq and Syria teeter on the brink of chaos. The extremists now enjoy free rein to organize for political action while also gaining access to vast stocks of modern arms. In the view of Western counterterrorism experts, Salafi groups have long maintained clandestine relations with al Qaeda, especially Ayman Zuwahiri, who joined al Qaeda in the first place as head of the violent Egyptian Islamic Jihad and stayed in close touch with its secret cells.
Al Qaeda planning also took advantage of the US counterterrorism focus in the last couple of years on the Arabian Peninsula franchise (AQAP) based in Yemen. Less US attention was devoted to the Islamist extremism simmering in North African and other Middle East arenas. It was there that Zuwahiri went to work to fashion new terrorist networks alongside Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) from the Salafi groups now rampant across a broad geographical area encompassing Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Mali and thrusting into the Middle East through Egyptian Sinai.
America is therefore confronted with a broad new al Qaeda front, armed with scanty intelligence. Worst of all, Washington cant trust the new regimes and local military and intelligence organizations, thrown into power in the post-Arab revolt countries, for cooperation in fighting terror. Instead of confrontation, the Obama administration has opted for retreat.
Exclusive sources report that an administration team has hurriedly put together a list of 20 endangered countries where US diplomatic, military and economic may be targeted for al Qaeda attack.
The list is prioritized according to the level of risk and US security capability for protection. The highest-risk locations have been quietly evacuated either to the US or West European countries - leaving only a skeleton staff behind for emergencies. A senior American source said Tuesday that Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria and Egypt have been virtually denuded of a US presence.
Middle East intelligence observers have said that they dont recall US diplomatic military and intelligence personnel, businessmen and technical staff with their families being withdrawn from the region on this scale or at comparable speed.
President Obama made American retreat his order of the day after refusing to heed calls for a US military operation against AQIM and its head, Abdelmalek Droukdel. It was Droukdel, according to accumulating intelligence who, acting on behalf of Zuwahiri, orchestrated the Libyan Ansar al-Shariah militias murderous attack on the US Benghazi consulate. The Washington Post reported Tuesday, Oct. 1, that Obama also decided against a punitive attack against al Qaedas stronghold in Mali.
I would never have bothered with Osama....Nothing but a dead man walking....a worthless piece of cr**. Risk my men?? Nope...
GM is dead.....alqueda is alive and well.
It must be true I read it on debka.com
I kind of hear Baghdad Bob reporting it, do you?
You know,,,, I'm a very even-tempered, generally calm sort of guy,,,,I don't hunt anymore, because I have no desire to personally kill anything anymore. But,,, I don't think I'd lose a minute of sleep if I put a bullet through Ayman Z's brain.
So is there really an 'attack' if the MSM doesn't report it? I think there's some truth about a 10 year cease fire proposal from AQ.
Where is the crowd that loudly claims that US actions are creating more terrorists and causing blowback?
So is there really an 'attack' if the MSM doesn't report it? I think there's some truth about a 10 year cease fire proposal from AQ.
Where is the crowd that loudly claims that US actions are creating more terrorists and causing blowback?
Where is the crowd that loudly claims that US actions are creating more terrorists and causing blowback?
They are waiting till Romney is elected, THEN you will
see them come out of the woodwork.
True. The 'Progressives' probably have a plan to finish the job Obama started. Does anyone think that if Romney wins, they will quietly accept the election results? They immediately will delegitimize Romney's administration dayone. Remember, 'Selected' not elected?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text: You know, I'm getting sick of all the negatives being thrown around right now about Bloomsburg, the heat, rally times and locations, hotel rooms, price of beer, yadda yadda yadda. It seems there's a plethora of Bitchin' Moanin' and Whinin' going on. So this thread is about the great things and fantastic experiences you've had at a National Rally.


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Tickets available for Nadel bash
By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com
ARLINGTON -- Good standing-room tickets are still available for the third annual Eric Nadel Birthday Benefit Concert on May 15 at the Kessler Theater in Dallas. Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are available at www.thekessler.org.
Country singer Hal Ketchum and rock-blues-rap vocalist Daphne Willis will headline the concert, which will benefit the CONTACT Crisis Line, which has served the Metroplex for 45 years.
"It is a free counseling hotline that anyone can call for any reason," Nadel said. "My wife Jeannie has been a volunteer crisis counselor there for 17 years, and I have volunteered my help to make sure that people know they have a number they can call for any reason, and somebody will listen.
"There is a mental health crisis in this country, I believe, and a lot of people can be helped if they will just reach out for it. CONTACT is a great starting point for anyone who is troubled about anything. Just pick up the phone and call 972-233-2233. If you don't need it, maybe someone you know does, or will."
Prince not letting slow start get him down
ARLINGTON -- This has not been a good month for Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder. He said it's not going to get him down.
"There have been highs and lows," Fielder said before Wednesday's game with the Athletics. "I feel good physically, that's all I worry about. I'd like to have 20 home runs by now but it will definitely come around."
Fielder does not have 20 home runs. He went into Wednesday's game hitting .202 with two home runs, nine RBIs and a .313 slugging percentage. In 2010, he finished April with the Brewers hitting .244 with two home runs, nine RBIs and a .360 slugging percentage. At the end of the season he was hitting .261 with 32 home runs, 83 RBIs and a .471 slugging percentage.
"I have no choice to stay patient until it comes," Fielder said. "I feel good so I'll keep playing hard and see what happens. I'm just up there trying to drive the ball. I haven't done it that much, that's obvious. If it goes, it goes. You can't put a GPS on the bat. I'm not trying to manipulate the baseball. I'm just trying to get a good pitch and hit it hard. There's not much you can do but keep playing hard."
Fielder also continues to face a defensive shift that includes three infielders on the right side. Occasionally he'll try to go the opposite way but he hasn't had much luck doing that either.
"He's capable of doing that but he doesn't have his swing together," manager Ron Washington said. "Once he gets locked in, you'll see more of that. He's going to beat that shift. He's going to go through it, over it and around it once he starts going."
Moreland gets first start in left
ARLINGTON -- Mitch Moreland got his first start of the season in the outfield on Wednesday and his first Major League start ever in left field. Shin-Soo Choo, recovering from a sprained left ankle, was back in the lineup for the second straight game but still being used at designated hitter.
Manager Ron Washington said Choo could be ready to return to the outfield on Friday against the Angels in Anaheim. The Rangers are off on Thursday.
"It's better but I wanted to give him the next couple of days," Washington said. "He could go out there tonight but I just wanted to give him another day. This was my choice."
Moreland had extensive work in the outfield in Spring Training, both in left and right field. He has played 45 games in right field during his Major League career but Tuesday was his first time in left.
Washington had been using Michael Choice in left field while Choo was sidelined but wanted to make sure Moreland was in the lineup with right-hander Jesse Chavez on the mound for Oakland.
"Mitch does a good job in left field," Washington said. "He's worked out there every day. He'll be fine. But if I have a lead late in the game, I'll use my defensive replacement."
No day off for Andrus
ARLINGTON -- Elvis Andrus was at shortstop for the 28th straight game on Wednesday night. He is the only Rangers player who has started every game in the field so far this season.
Andrus also went into Wednesday's game with one hit in his last 26 at-bats, but manager Ron Washington said he didn't consider giving him a day off. One reason is infielder Donnie Murphy has been dealing with a bruised left foot the last couple of days. But also Washington doesn't see anything physically or mentally wrong with Andrus right now.
"Tiredness has nothing to do with it," Washington said. "He's just not having good at-bats. Elvis is fine right now."
Andrus went into Wednesday's game hitting .235, which would be the lowest for the month of April in his career. His .316 slugging percentage would also be a career low.
"I feel a little lost but that's baseball," Andrus said. "I can't do too much, I'm just trying to get some details down on my swing. A day off is nice but what I really need is to have a good game tonight."
Worth noting
• Washington had his pitchers and infielders out for early fielding work on Wednesday afternoon. Washington said he wanted to take advantage of the cool weather to get his pitchers some extra work.
• The Rangers went into Wednesday's game without a player with at least three home runs. They were the only Major League team without a player with at least that many.
• Outfielder Daniel Robertson is the 34th player to appear for the Rangers this season. The Rangers used 46 players last season but just 39 in 2012.
T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com Read his blog, Postcards from Elysian Fields and follow him on Twitter @Sullivan_Ranger. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Chess Match: Arms are crucial
Situational pitching maneuvers prove huge as Sox hold on
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
Here's a look at some of the more intriguing situations that unfolded during Boston's thrilling 7-5 victory that left the Angels one loss away from elimination.
Right on right
The situation: Right fielder Gary Matthews Jr., who has been managing a sore left knee for much of the season, went 0-for-3 and made an error in the Angels' Game 1 loss, and he's never faced Boston's Game 2 starter, right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka.
The decision: Angels manager Mike Scioscia sat Matthews, a switch-hitter, in favor of Juan Rivera, a right-handed hitter with good pop who entered the game with a .333 career batting average in 18 ALDS games.
The outcome: Rivera went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored, but in one of the biggest at-bats of the game, Matsuzaka struck him out with two on, a run in and nobody out with the Angels trailing, 5-3.
The analysis: Given the Angels' offensive struggles in recent playoff losses to the Red Sox, it's hard to fault Scioscia for trying to give his lineup a spark. At the same time, it was an awfully public show of no-confidence for Matthews Jr.
The explanation: "Juan's a bat that we wanted to see match up [against Matsuzaka]. ... He's swung well in past playoff situations." -- Scioscia
Stand by your man
The situation: With two out in the top of the fourth inning, Angels starter Ervin Santana, who had allowed four runs and five consecutive hits in the first inning, gave up an RBI double to Jacoby Ellsbury that gave Boston a 5-1 lead.
The decision: Scioscia stuck with his All-Star righty.
The outcome: Santana got Dustin Pedroia to ground out to end the inning, ripped through a perfect fifth and got the first out in the sixth before Torii Hunter dropped Mark Kotsay's fly ball to center. Santana then allowed a single to Jason Varitek, and Jose Arredondo came on to load the bases with a walk before wiggling out of it.
The analysis: Santana had 23 decisions (16-7) during the regular season for a reason. He knows how to survive without his best stuff and still get deep into games. The primary options for Scioscia in the fourth were regular-season starters Jared Weaver and Jon Garland, neither of whom has pitched in relief in the playoffs, and lifting Santana at that point could have done more harm than good -- both in the game and inside Santana's head if he's needed to pitch Game 5.
The explanation: "I still liked the way Ervin was throwing the ball. It was that simple. He might have been a little too strong in that first inning, but he threw the ball real well after that." -- Scioscia
Save it for later
The situation: With Matsuzaka's pitch count approaching 100 after giving up a pair of walks to open the fifth inning, Hunter singled to left to cut Boston's lead to 5-3.
The decision: Francona stayed with Matsuzaka.
The outcome: Matsuzaka struck out Rivera, got Howie Kendrick on a fly ball to center and retired pinch-hitter Kendry Morales on a popup to keep the lead at two before calling it a night.
The analysis: Had a similar situation unfolded last season, Francona likely would have lifted Matsuzaka. By sticking with him, Francona rewarded his second-year righty with a chance to pitch out of his own jams and gave him a chance to complete the fifth and put himself in position for a win.
The explanation: "I tell you what, that was the ultimate tight rope. ... I said before the game that he doesn't give in, and he certainly didn't there." -- Francona
Oki-doke? Ok-doh!
The situation: Red Sox up, switch-hitter Mark Teixeira and right-handed hitter Vladimir Guerrero due up to start the bottom of the seventh. Red Sox lefty Hideki Okajima had just worked a perfect sixth.
The decision: Francona, instead of playing the percentages and going with either of his right-handed setup men, Justin Masterson or Manny Delcarmen, stayed with Okajima.
The outcome: Teixeira and Guerrero both singled hard to left field, prompting Francona to belatedly replace Okajima with Masterson, who issued a one-out walk to load the bases and, one out later, walked Mike Napoli to make it a one-run game.
The analysis: Okajima held right-handed hitters to a .234 batting average in the regular season, and Guerrero was 0-for-4 against Okajima in his career, but the playoffs are a different animal. As was the case earlier in the game, Francona was trying to save his righties for later by squeezing a second inning out of Okajima, and it didn't pan out.
The explanation: "One of the reasons people like to play for Tito is because he shows a lot of faith in guys. You see examples of that all the time. You see it in every game." -- Red Sox outfielder Mark Kotsay
Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Photo gallery: Alzheimer's charity praises Norwich City following Duncan's Day to help Canaries hero Duncan Forbes
PUBLISHED: 10:35 09 March 2014 | UPDATED: 10:35 09 March 2014
An Alzheimer's charity has joined the praise for Norwich City following the support shown by the club to Canaries hero Duncan Forbes before the Stoke City game.
Alzheimer's Research UK tweeted: "A fantastic day and wonderful gesture from the club. We are so grateful to have been invited along."
Former Norwich City legends, including world cup winner Martin Peters, were out in force to show their support for the event, held to raise funds for the family of Mr Forbes.
Guests, including former managers Dave Stringer and Ken Brown, joined Mr Forbes' wife Janette, sons Elliot and Scott and grandchildren for the fundraiser, which was also raising money for the charity Alzheimer's UK, at the clash with Stoke City.
Chris Hughton's men wore special 'Forbes 5' T-shirts in their warm-up, which are due to be auctioned, and all profits from the commemorative programme went towards funding Mr Forbes' day-to-day care as he battles the effects of Alzheimer's.
Mr Stringer, who was his central defensive partner during his playing days, spoke of how important Mr Forbes was as team captain and how he was missed when he was not playing.
"He was a very strong, very voracious player. He was always an influence on the team when he was team captain because he always kept the team in order.
"If anyone was not performing as they should do he would let them know in no uncertain terms what was expected of them."
Mr Stringer also praised his former colleague's "tremendous" service to the club, which spanned 33 years as a player and staff member and he featured in two league cup finals against Tottenham and Aston Villa during a playing career that lasted until he was 40.
"What Norwich have done today is a tremendous gesture to help with his costs," he added.
Midfielder Mr Peters, part of the 1966 World Cup-winning England team, said: "Playing with Duncan Forbes was great for me because we had great central defenders and you could give them the responsibility of picking up centre forwards or midfield players when they ran past me and he used to win the ball nine times out of 10."
He added: "It is nice coming back to Norwich City. I had a great time here as a player."
Mr Forbes was not well enough to return to the stadium he called his own between 1968 and 1981.


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A benefit account has been established to help Roger Allen Brown pay for cancer treatment.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can go to any Liberty Bank location and deposit money into an account set up to benefit Brown.
Pottsville District School Choice
Pottsville School District will participate in School Choice for the 2013-14 school year.
Parents of students not residing in the Pottsville School District who want their children to attend Pottsville schools may obtain a formal application from the superintendent's office.
Applications will be accepted until June 1. All applicants must meet the requirements listed in the Public School Choice Act of 2013 — Act 1227.
Russellville District informational meeting Tuesday
Each year school districts are required to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private school, including religious elementary schools and secondary schools located in the school district served by the LEA in accordance with IDEA 2004, regulations 34 CFR 300.13, 34 CFR 300.36, and 34 CFR 300.145 through 300.147.
In an effort to fulfill this requirement, the Russellville School District will be holding an informational meeting with private school principals/directors and interested parents of home school children.
The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday in the Office of Special Services, Russellville School District. The office is located in the old Gardner Junior High Band Building at 1006 South Arkansas Avenue.
For more inforamtion, contact Chris Foley, Russellville School District at 890-5733.
Pottsville class reunion Friday
The Pottsville classes of 1959, 1960 and 1961 will host a reunion at 7 p.m. Friday at Western Sizzlin' in Russellville. All graduates, or those who were in these classes, their spouses, their families and teachers are encouraged to attend.
For more information, call Judy (Oates) Peters Albright at (501) 416-9427, Harold Luningham at (479) 970-6431 or 970-6432. Those attending are asked to bring their old yearbook or other mementos.
Old Baptist Cemetery decoration day
Old Baptist Cemetery decoration day will be May 19 at Old Baptist Cemetery.
Donations for cemetery maintenance can be mailed to Dudley Taylor, Secretary, at 2322 Center Valley Road, Russellville, AR 72802.


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BBB - A+ Rating - the best there is
An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2018
Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a family lived in Yorkshire. The surname Aicholm is associated with the parish of Acomb, which was located on the outskirts of the city of York.
Aicholm Early Origins
Yorkshire, at Acomb which is now a suburb within the City of York Unitary Authority. The place name is most likely derived from the Old English acum, which meant "at the oak trees." The village dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Achum, Acum and Acun, and was land held by the Archbishop of York. The village was designated as a manor held by St. Peter. There was land enough for 8 ploughs and there were 14 rent-paying tenants. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) By 1222, the village was listed as Akum. [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) East and West Acomb, Northumberland have traditionally been quite a bit smaller than the Yorkshire village with West Acomb being the larger of the two. In both of these latter cases, the first record of the place name was with the Akum spelling in 1268. Hadrian's Wall runs about 1 mile (1.5 km), north east of Acomb, Northumberland.
Aicholm Early History
Aicholm Early History
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aicholm research. Another 301 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1210, 1325, 1379, 1525, 1574, 1670, 1692 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Aicholm History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Aicholm Spelling Variations
Aicholm Spelling Variations
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Aicholm were recorded, including Acombe, Acomb, Acome, Acom, Acum, Akum, A Combe and others.
Aicholm Early Notables (pre 1700)
Aicholm Early Notables (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Aicholm Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The Great Migration
The Great Migration
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Aicholm family emigrate to North America: Robert Acom who settled in Virginia in 1642; and Thomas Acome who settled in Virginia in 1642.
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Looking for a last-minute gift for Fathers Day or a graduate?
How about doing something for someone else in honor of your loved one?
Give a gift that helps the poorest of the poor feed their families, earn a living, protect themselves from disease or educate their children.
Here are several suggestions for unique gifts that keep on giving — for the common good.
Get Their Goat
Through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Good Gifts website, for $50 you can purchase a goat for a family in the developing world and give it in the name of a dad or grad you love.
Goats can survive hot temperatures, rocky terrain or drought—you name it! This makes them especially valuable for families living in hot, dry climates where it's tough to raise other animals. Fresh milk, which is great for children, can also be used to make cheese, yogurt and other dairy products to eat and sell. As goats multiply, families often share the offspring with neighbors in need, helping lift entire communities out of hunger and poverty.
If a goat doesn't float your boat, consider a pig ($30), an alpaca ($175) or go in with friends and family to buy a cow ($500).
Seeds, Bees and Miracle Trees
Oxfam America's Unwrapped website offers of wealth of unusual gift that quite literally keep on giving for years to come. You buy the gift. Your loved one gets a card saying a gift has been given in his or her name. And the supplies go to people who need them most.
For $35 you can donate a grove of "miracle trees." The remarkable moringa tree is cultivated in many tropical countries and earned its nickname because its leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, and seeds all pack a punch. It contains rich amino acids and has antibiotic properties. But the most widespread use of moringa is for water purification at the household level.Your gift will help a family learn to plant their own trees and produce enough seeds to purify their drinking water.
Or you might consider purchasing a grove of fruit trees — mangoes, papayas, etc. — for $35.
For $60 you can plant 100 trees (avocado, banana, etc.) in the developing world. Or go in as a group and plant 500 trees for $250 — or go all in and help plant an entire forest of 1,000 trees for $500.
Alternately, Oxfam offers several very reasonably priced gifts-that-keep-giving, including a pack of seeds ($12), honey bees ($18), manure — yes, you read that correctly — ($12 or $24 for twice the stinky goodness), or help irrigate a farmer's land for two months ($20).
Nothing But Net
What better gift for anyone than to help save a life in their name? Nothing But Nets, a project of the United Nations Foundation, will send a bed net treated with mosquito repellent to families and children in the developing world where malaria is a perennial killer. Bed nets are $10 apiece and you can send one or 1,000 in honor of the dad or grad you love by clicking HERE.
Malaria, from the Medieval Italian words mala aria or "bad air," causes 200 million illnesses per year and kills 600,000 people — mostly children under the age of five. Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In fact, there are 10 new cases of malaria every second. Every 60 seconds, a child in Africa dies from a malaria infection. Forty percent of the world's population lives in malaria endemic countries, and its treatment consumes nearly 40 percent of these countries' public health resources. In addition to the burden on local healthcare systems, malaria illness and death costs Africa approximately $12 billion per year in lost productivity.
To date, Nothing But Nets has sent more than 6.4 million bed nets to the developing world.
Go Fishin'
Via Heifer International, for $300 (or $30 per share) you can give a school of fish to a family in need in the name of your favorite angler.
Teach a dad to fish, feed a family for a lifetime. Healthy, lean sources of protein; fish fingerlings help families increase their daily nutrition.
And if dad (or grad) is more of a land lubber, consider giving a water buffalo — "the living tractor of the East" — for $250 (or $25 per share.)
Educate a Child
For Adam Braun, the founder of Pencils of Promise, what has become his life's work started with a single question he posed to a child begging on the streets of India: "What do you want most in the world?" Braun figured the child would say a television or an iPod or something along those lines. Instead the child answered: "A pencil."
Braun says: I reached into my backpack, handed him my pencil, and watched as a wave of possibility washed over him.A smile erupted and his eyes brightened. And I saw then the profound power and promise brought through something as small as a giving a pencil to just one child.
Over the next five years, Braun backpacked through 50 countries, handing out pencils and having conversations with parents, children, educators and relief workers. Those experiences led him to found Pencils of Promise in 2008, a not-for-profit dedicated to bringing education — by building schools — to the poorest of the poor in the developing world.
A donation of $25 sends one child to school for one year. What recent graduate wouldn't appreciate the gift of an education for a child who might otherwise never have the chance to learn?
And if you feel the need to give a gift that you can put in a box and wrap, $60 buys a pair of men's or women's nifty limited-edition Pencils of Promise sneakers, designed in partnership with Creative Recreation and Cesario Lo. All proceeds go toward funding POP's school building projects around the globe.
Cathleen Falsani is Web Editor and Director of New Media for Sojourners. Follow Cathleen on Twitter @GodGrrl.
Beach image by Tom Wang/Shutterstock.
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Seborrheic keratosis is a condition that causes wart-like growths on the skin. The growths are noncancerous (benign).
Benign skin tumors - keratosis; Keratosis - seborrheic; Senile keratosis
Seborrheic keratosis is a benign form of skin tumor. The cause is unknown.
The condition commonly appears after age 40. It tends to run in families.
Symptoms of seborrheic keratosis are skin growths that:
Your health care provider will look at the growths to determine if you have the condition. You may need a skin biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.
You usually DO NOT need treatment unless growths get irritated or affect your appearance.
Growths may be removed with
Removing the growths is simple and usually does not cause scars. You may have patches of lighter skin where growths on the torso have been removed.
Growths usually DO NOT return after they are removed. You may develop more growths in the future if you are prone to the condition.
These complications may occur:
Call your provider if you have symptoms of seborrheic keratosis.
Also call if you have new symptoms, such as:
Habif TP. Benign skin tumors. In: Habif TP, ed. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 20.
Motley RJ. Seborrheic kertosis. In: Lebwohl MG, Heymann WR, Berth-Jones J, Coulson I, eds. Treatment of Skin Disease: Comprehensive Therapeutic Strategies. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2014:chap 220.
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The Dynamo traveled to Tucson, Ariz. on Monday morning to begin the first of two preseason trips. The club will also visit Charleston, S.C. for the Carolina Challenge Cup Feb. 16-23.
This trip includes three scrimmages against MLS competition beginning Tuesday afternoon (3 p.m. MT, 4 p.m CT) against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Dynamo face the Colorado Rapids on Thursday and the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday before flying back to Houston on Sunday morning.
This week in Tucson represents an opportunity for players to make an impact and an impression with several regulars not on the trip. In addition to Will Bruin, Tally Hall and Brad Davis, who will suit up for the U.S. national team on Tuesday night at BBVA Compass Stadium, Boniek Garcia is with Honduras and Corey Ashe, Calen Carr and Omar Cummings are each rehabbing injuries. With seven potential starters not on the Tucson trip, it offers quality minutes to several trialists and the squad players looking to crack the lineup on March 2 against D.C. United.
Today's practice session was a good indication of the competitive spirit in the camp. After a morning flight from Houston the club had a practice session at Kino Sports Complex with 40-degree temperatures and cold, desert winds. It wasn't an easy day in the sun after a morning flight. The group engaged in a spirited session that included a half-field scrimmage highlighted by impressive speed of play and some quality goals.
Now, with three games in five days, the players will have a chance to perform against MLS competition. It should be fun to watch. Check HoustonDynamo.com throughout the week for match reports and more.


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Miguel Pupo Wins The 2011 Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro; Keanu Asing Takes The Oakley Pro Junior
You couldn't have scripted it any better today at the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro 6* PRIME event, unless of course you decided to have the hometown hero win the biggest event of his career in front of his family and friends at his local break. But unfortunately for San Clemente local and outstanding performer through the duration of this event, Tanner Gudauskas, his Lowers Pro campaign came up an unquantifiable, undecipherable, ridiculously close 0.06 points short in today's Men's Final to Brazilian talent Miguel Pupo.
Both surfers have been in form and on fire all week, Tanner entering the Final as the only undefeated surfer in the event and Miguel wearing the MVP yellow jersey from his performance yesterday. The Final started off a bit slow, as the surfers waited for opportunities to continue on their hot streaks and a chance to claim the $40,000 1st place prize money and $30,000 14-carat solid gold railroad spike trophy. Tanner led for the first half of the heat by virtue of sticking a mental inverted air reverse on one of his lefts. But Pupo found his rhythm mid way though and began to settle into the form he had displayed all week, with smooth rail carves and technical air reverses, posting an 8.33 to take over the lead. Then a fierce rally went down near the end of the heat with both surfers bettering their scores to make it even tighter, leaving Tanner requiring a 6.14 to take the lead. With under a minute left in the Final he lined up three solid turns on his forehand as the beach cheered and clapped in approval of his efforts, but the score had yet to drop. As time ticked away the score came in at a 6.07, causing the Brazilian contingent in the competitors area to erupt in a flurry of screams and flag waving, leaving Miguel Pupo as the first Brazilian surfer ever to win an event at Lower Trestles.
Pupo had been wowing the crowd all week with his fluid carves and progressive airs, even completing three aerials in a row on one wave today. Miguel described his emotions and his preparation for the event after the Final. "I'm just so happy to win this event and I'm sorry I took down the town's local guy," Pupo said after the victory. "I can't believe I won, I'm just so happy. I was working on my boards with my father before the event, and I brought him here and it's the first time he's gone to a contest with me, and things just went my way. It's my dream to make the World Tour and these points will help."
Gudauskas was obviously disappointed, being so close to such an important win, yet remained as positive as he had been throughout the event. "Miguel ripped and it makes it exciting when it's a close Final," stated Tanner. "Congratulations to him, it's been a fun week. I just didn't really think about it all week, I just kept my headphones on and went surfing, staying frothed and not thinking about points or scores. I am just coming off of an ankle injury and wasn't expecting anything, and I just started making heats and then I was in the final."
In the Oakley Pro Jr. 17-year old Hawaiian Keanu Asing took a tight victory over a highly talented field. The scores for the Final were decided within 0.33 points for the top 3 finishers, with solid surfing coming from all the competitors. Asing finished on top of 2nd place finisher and World Junior Champion Jack Freestone, the best performer of the entire event and current ASP North America Pro Junior Series leader Kolohe Andino, and 4th place finisher and 2009 ASP North America Pro Junior Series Champion Nat Young. Asing's powerful backside approach earned him the highest single wave score of the Final for blasting big snaps on a steep left, and when he found his backup score in the closing minutes it put him into the lead.
"I got that one set and got an 8," said Keanu. "I needed a 4 and was hoping I would get a wave, and as I was paddling I asked Nat (Young) which way he was going to go, and he said he wasn't going. I'm just glad I got that little wave at a clutch time in the heat, Mother Nature and God gave that one to me." He continued, "I want to say thanks to all of my sponsors, to Oakley for putting on the event, and to my Coach Bert Ishimaru. I had no expectations; I just focused on my performance and knew the result would come. This is huge, to win this big event. It's a 5-Star, it's one of the biggest wins of my career for sure. I'm at a loss for words right now, I'm just so excited and so happy."
When asked about a controversial incident in his Semi-Final, Asing was happy to clarify what transpired. "I was paddling for a wave and Conner (Coffin) was paddling for it in front of me," began Keanu. "I ended up paddling right on top of him, and as the wave picked him up his leash must have gotten caught on my fin or something, that's why my board got pulled up and out from under me. I would never pull somebody's leash, and I hope that's not what people think happened." What wasn't tough to realize was that Keanu put it together when it mattered most, and was the top performer in the biggest Junior Final in North America, boosting his campaign to qualify for the World Junior Championships.
All said and done this event was another notch raising the level of today's progressive surfing platform, up to new heights that once seemed untouchable. If these kids continue on this trajectory they are going to need space suits to survive the heights they are approaching, but we will all enjoy the rewards even if the view requires staring into the sun.--Zach Keenan
Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Final Results:
1 - Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.63
2 - Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 13.57
Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 12.03 def. Jesse Mendes (BRA) 11.33
Heat 2: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 16.70 def. Thiago Camarao (BRA) 12.67
Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro Quarterfinals Results:
Heat 1: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 16.37 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.76
Heat 2: Jesse Mendes (BRA) 11.60 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 8.33
Heat 3: Thiago Camarao (BRA) 14.50 def. Junior Faria (BRA) 11.47
Heat 4: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.24 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.93
Oakley Pro Junior Final Results:
1 - Keanu Asing (HAW) 13.70
2 - Jack Freestone (AUS) 13.43
3 - Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.30
4 - Nat Young (USA) 11.53
Oakley Pro Junior Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.00, Jack Freestone (USA) 9.73, Dylan Goodale (HAW) 9.37
Heat 2: Nat Young (USA) 14.77, Keanu Asing (HAW) 11.47, Conner Coffin (USA) 10.73, Andrew Doheny (USA) 9.14


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Quick: Name ten female stand-up comedians … not as easy as you'd think, right? Naming ten male comics is much easier. But local comedian Leigh Anne Jasheway hopes to change that. "According to research, between 12 to 18 percent of professional touring stand-up comedians are women," Jasheway says. "Of the top 100 American Film Institute comedy movies of all time, only two were written by women. Most daily and weekly comedy talk shows have one or no female comedy writers."
The Northwest Women's Comedy Festival, now in its seventh year, is one way Jasheway hopes to level the comedy playing field, helping women take back the funny. "Estrogen is the hormone of nurturing and relationships, so a lot of women's comedy comes from that place," Jasheway says. "Drew Carey once said that if someone falls down on an escalator and farts, a man will think that's really funny. A woman will rush up to the person who fell and ask if he or she is okay. Then she'll go home and call her friend and say, 'The funniest thing happened today.'
Headlining this year's festival is veteran Northwest comedian Susan Rice, who has worked with big names like Jerry Seinfeld and Paula Poundstone. "The rest of the world used to think that there had to be a difference [between male and female comedy] and people still cash in on that theory," Rice says. "Comedy is honesty embellished upon and men and women both make things bigger to enhance the humor of a situation."
"Male comedians are assumed to be funny unless they prove otherwise; for we women, it seems to work the other way," Jasheway says, adding, "You wouldn't believe the number of times in my life I've heard, 'For a woman, you're pretty funny.'
This year's festival, "The Post-Election, Pre-Apocalypse, Women Take Back the Funny Comedy Show," will be emceed by Mix 94.5 Radio-host Liz Kelly and feature performances from Bahiyyih Mudd, one of only three touring Native American comedians, and Stephanie Purtle, the winner of the 2012 Eugene Laff Off.
So if divisive politics and the "war on women" brought you down this year, remember laughter is sometimes the best way to keep from crying. "I believe that there is a group of ultra-conservative men who fear that women have gotten too big for their britches and should be reined in," Jasheway says. Rice adds, "There will always be idiots. I rely on these jackasses. They make my job so much easier."
The 7th Annual Northwest Women's Comedy Festival runs 7 pm Saturday, Nov. 10, at Wildish Theatre; $25.


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This is the 4 1/2' tinsel tree that re-creates Christmas nostalgia from the era of Nehru jackets and beat poetry. Tinsel tree sales hit their peak in the mid 1960s, but their quirky retro style has never gone out of fashion. Hammacher Schlemmer's version comes prelit with 200 bright lights that shine off every one of this tree's 555 metallic tips. It comes with 36 classic glass reflector ornaments and a striped tree topper in a vintage design reminiscent of this tree's heyday. Plugs into AC. 54" H x 45" Diam.
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I am attempting to write a simple program that takes a user entered value and multiply it by a constant to get a new answer and show it on the screen. To try to debug the process, I have the three values show up on the screen as separate printf statements prior to the formatted answer so that I can see if somehow the data is messed up. It appears that by initializing my input value (Org_Curr_Amt) to 0.00 and output value (New_Curr_Amt) to 0.00, I have gotten rid of the bad data that was appearing. Now it looks like the program is not reading my scanf statement properly to load Org_Curr_Amt. I will include my code to have you look at it to try to find what is wrong.
Code:main() { char Menu_Opt[4]; /* Menu Option */ float Org_Curr_Amt = 0.00; /* Original Currency Amount */ float New_Curr_Amt = 0.00; /* New Currency Amount */ char Currency_Desc[24][100] = {"American Dollar (USD)", "Australian Dollar (AUD)", "Brazilian Real (BRL)", "British Pound (GBP)", "Canadian Dollar (CAD)", "Chinese Yuan (CNY)", "Danish Krone (DKK)", "Euro (EUR)", "Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)", "Indian Rupee (INR)", "Japanese Yen (JPY)", "Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)", "Mexican Peso (MXN)", "New Zealand Dollar (NZD)", "Norwegian Kroner (NOK)", "Singapore Dollar (SGD)", "South African Rand (ZAR)", "South Korean Won (KRW)", "Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR)", "Swedish Krona (SEK)", "Swiss Franc (CHF)", "Taiwan Dollar (TVD)", "Thai Baht (THB)", "Venezuelan Bolivar (YEB)"}; float USD_to_AUD = 1.28436; /* Australian Dollar (AUD) */ printf("Currency Conversion\n"); printf("United States Dollars Conversion Menu\n\n"); printf("A01. USD to AUD\n"); printf("A02. USD to BRL Y02. Transfer to AUD Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A03. USD to GBP Y03. Transfer to BRL Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A04. USD to CAD Y04. Transfer to GBP Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A05. USD to CNY Y05. Transfer to CAD Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A06. USD to DKK Y06. Transfer to CNY Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A07. USD to EUR Y07. Transfer to DKK Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A08. USD to HKD Y08. Transfer to EUR Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A09. USD to INR Y09. Transfer to HKD Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A10. USD to JPY Y10. Transfer to INR Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A11. USD to MYR Y11. Transfer to JPY Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A12. USD to MXN Y12. Transfer to MYR Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A13. USD to NZD Y13. Transfer to MXN Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A14. USD to NOK Y14. Transfer to NZD Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A15. USD to SGD Y15. Transfer to NOK Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A16. USD to ZAR Y16. Transfer to SGD Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A17. USD to KRW Y17. Transfer to ZAR Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A18. USD to LKR Y18. Transfer to KRW Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A19. USD to SEK Y19. Transfer to LKR Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A20. USD to CHF Y20. Transfer to SEK Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A21. USD to TVD Y21. Transfer to CHF Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A22. USD to THB Y22. Transfer to TVD Conversion Menu\n"); printf("A23. USD to YEB Y23. Transfer to THB Conversion Menu\n"); printf(" Y24. Transfer to YEB Conversion Menu\n\n"); printf("Y99. Exit Program\n"); printf("Option: "); scanf("%s", Menu_Opt); if( strcmp(Menu_Opt,"A01") == 0) { printf("\nPlease enter your value of "); printf("%s ", Currency_Desc[0]); scanf("%d\n", Org_Curr_Amt); New_Curr_Amt = Org_Curr_Amt * USD_to_AUD; printf("%f\n", Org_Curr_Amt); printf("%f\n", USD_to_AUD); printf("%f\n", New_Curr_Amt); printf("\nYour Equivalent "); printf("%s", Currency_Desc[1]); printf("is "); printf("%f\n", New_Curr_Amt); } }


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I should be grateful if you can put a name to this millipede for me.
This is a juvenile 'Black Millipede' Tachypodoiulus niger. They are widespread throughout Europe, and quite common in the UK.
Glad to help,
J Squirrell
I have since seen these two millipedes in close proximity and wonder if they are both Tachypodoiulus niger, but at progressively later stages of maturity.


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Two days after Jerome Jordan leaves for Serbia and one day after we sign Landry Fields, Patrick Ewing JR signs with the Knicks.
Two days after Jerome Jordan leaves for Serbia and one day after we sign Landry Fields, Patrick Ewing JR signs with the Knicks.
#15...So good it had to be retired twice
He's the 15th man. It's a PR move. I'm happy they signed him but he won't see any playing time.
I would have been happy with Earl Barron too.
with his athleticism and defense I am sure hes more than the 15th man
when i say that i mean in terms of winning teams need guys like that during practice and training camp
he prob wont play unless its garbage minutes
but he is more than just a legendary last name, he plays hard and im sure he will go at amare and randolph in practice helping them prepare for games
I like the signing
finally signing hard nosed players deep on the bench to prepare our team
think of our bench the last few years it was all chuckers and head cases deep on the bench
hughes, nate, jerome james, randolph morris
we finally have guy son the bench like fields, rautins, ewing who know they are never going to get serious burn in games, so they recognize their roles early and will bust ass in practice to help the team win in games
youre never going to hear ewing jr, fields and rautins quoted in the paper saying " if your not gonna play me trade me"
seem afraid
This is so AWESOMEEEEE! I loved Pat jr! Im so happy! I always thought they should bring him back and like 2 months ago finally put to rest that he would never be on the Knicks again but AHHH! This is Legendary!
AWESOME.. we definitely needed a SF.
desde la cuna del chango
he may have his father's name but if there's one guy that wants to be a Knick forever its his son!
Good signing!'
I realized the sarcasm in the SF comment but Im glad we got another SF.. disregarding all the positives Ewing brings (heart, determination, toughness, name etc) I'm happy because this is another sign of us making a deal..
The same week Chandler is talked about going to Portland for Fernandez..
The same day sources reveal Carmelo's official first choice is NY..
something is brewing my friends.
#15...So good it had to be retired twice
Not only did he look pretty good in that pre-season game, but his father can give him tips every day.
This roster spot means nothing, so it might as well be occupied by the name Ewing, just because.
Damn player-centric usernames straight to hell.
If its not clear yet, Patrick Ewing Jr. has shown 1000% commitment to the Knicks.
This guy can make an NBA roster on a contending team. Yet he choses to see if he can cut it here.
He is a warrior.
He's gonna be something special. This is it though, his second go around...
Do or die.
Remember he WAS a ballboy as a kid for his father and the 90s Knicks. He knows all about what the Garden is about firsthand.


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This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Expanded United States Supreme Court Judicial Database, 1946-1968 Terms (ICPSR 6557)
Principal Investigator(s): Spaeth, Harold J.
This data collection is an expanded version of UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT JUDICIAL DATABASE, 1953-1996 TERMS (ICPSR 9422), encompassing all aspects of United States Supreme Court decision-making from the beginning of the Vinson Court in 1946 to the end of the Warren Court in 1968. Two major differences distinguish the expanded version of the database from the original collection: the addition of data on the decisions of the Vinson Court, and the inclusion of the conference votes of the Vinson and Warren courts. Whereas the original collection contained only the vote as reported in the UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT REPORTS, the expanded database includes all votes cast in conference. Concomitant with the expansion of the database is a shift in its basic unit of analysis. The original collection contained every case in which at least one justice wrote an opinion, and cases without opinions were excluded. This version includes every case in which the Court cast a conference vote, with and without opinions. The justices cast many more votes than they wrote opinions, and hence, the number of Warren Court records in this version increased by more than a factor of two over the original version. As in the original collection, distinct aspects of the Court's decisions are covered by six types of variables: (1) identification variables including case citation, docket number, unit of analysis, and number of records per unit of analysis, (2) background variables offering information on origin of case, source of case, reason for granting cert, parties to the case, direction of the lower court's decision, and manner in which the Court takes jurisdiction, (3) chronological variables covering date of term of court, chief justice, and natural court, (4) substantive variables including multiple legal provisions, authority for decision, issue, issue areas, and direction of decision, (5) outcome variables supplying information on form of decision, disposition of case, winning party, declaration of unconstitutionality, and multiple memorandum decisions, and (6) voting and opinion variables pertaining to the vote in the case and to the direction of the individual justices' votes.
Series: United States Supreme Court Judicial Database Terms Series
Access Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
ASCII + SAS Setup SPSS Setup Stata Setup
Study Description
Spaeth, Harold J. EXPANDED UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT JUDICIAL DATABASE, 1946-1968 TERMS. 4th ICPSR version. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, Dept. of Political Science [producer], 1998. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06557.v4
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06557.v4
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
This study was funded by:
- National Science Foundation (SES-8313773 and 9211452)
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Bureau of Justice Statistics
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: case processing, court cases, disposition (legal), judicial decisions, judicial review, legal history, Supreme Court decisions, Supreme Court justices, twentieth century, United States Supreme Court
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1946--1968
- 1998
Universe: United States Supreme Court decisions from the beginning of the Vinson Court (1946) to the end of the Warren Court (1968).
(1) The data file contains undocumented codes. (2) The codebook is provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.
United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 1996-03-06
- 2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
- 1999-04-26 The data file, data definition statements, and codebook have been replaced to include additional variables.
- 1998-05-20 The data file has been replaced to include additional variables.
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If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


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" Manufacturer: Stylophone / Type: Electronic Organ "
* Prices may differ from that shown
Around Christmas time my Husband decided that he wanted a Stylophone, it was one of those toys he had never been brought as a child and he always remembered that the annoying kid down the road had one and he never did.
I had a quick look on eBay and found that they were relatively cheap. For a modern remake of the original Rolf Harris one it is around £10.00, there are also some original ones on eBay selling for around the same price. We managed to buy a second hand one from a local person for £3.50.
For those of you who don't know a Stylophone is a miniature analog stylus operated synthesizer. Invented in 1967 it was a popular toy until the mid 70's, Rolf Harris was the face of Stylophone, whenever anyone mentions Stylophone I instantly think of Rolf Harris.
The modern Stylophone measures 15.5cm x 9.5cm x 3.5cm, it looks pretty much the same as the original item apart from it has connections for your mp3 player, so you can play along to your favourite song, a headphone jack, very handy so no one can hear the noise you make and most importantly a volume control.
The Stylophone needs 3 AA batteries that are inserted in the battery panel on the back, these do last for a good couple of weeks considering the level of noise the Stylophone makes. To start making beautiful music you need to unclip the stylus from its handy niche on the top of the Stylophone, set volume to maximum and then press the stylus onto the metal keyboard, what then emits it's a high pitched squeally, wailly, warrbly sort of noise. To improve the sound coming from your musical instrument you can switch the vibrato switch on this then gives a lovely wibbly sound to the squeally, wailly, warbly noises, there is also a switch on the side marked 1, 2, 3. I am not sure what difference switching this makes to the sound and there is also a twisty dial underneath, this seems to make the Stylophone go higher pitched.
My husband was delighted with his present, he switched it on a started trying to play a song, when the lovely tuneful! Noise that is very authentic to Stylophone was emitted he did look a bit puzzled and continued in his attempts to make music like he remembered from his childhood for about an hour, he then passed it to our then eleven year old daughter to see if she could get anywhere with it. Amazingly after a few attempts she managed to play the theme song to Wallice and Gromit, which she then played repeatedly for a couple of days much to mine and my husbands delight.
I am in two minds as to whether I recommend this toy; on the one hand it is very authentic looking with its black and cream plastic casing and silver grid on top, the stylus is really well secured and easy to grip, the keyboard area is marked out 1 through 10 on one side and 1.5 through 11.5 on the other, the extra functions like headphone jack and volume control are great as not everyone appreciates the music a Stylophone makes, these are all pluses. On the other hand it is a bit of a gimmick, bringing back childhood memories for my husband and no doubt many others, it is really difficult to get any sort of tune out of the thing and I found it nigh on impossible to find a modern Stylophone music book.
The toy was popular for less than a week in our household and now languishes in a tub under my daughter's bed, but for around ten pounds it is almost worth buying for the nostalgia factor alone. My Husband wanted one as soon as he saw it but he soon got bored of it, if he could have time travelled back to 1975 and given it his five year old self it would have been wonderful, but unfortunately it does not come with a time machine.
In conclusion it is a bit of a gimmick but would make a nice gift or stocking filler for some one who was a child in the late 60's early 70's. If you can get one cheaply it is worth it for the couple of hours of fun and the amazement on your kids faces when you explain to them that this was the toy every child wanted in the 70's.
Thank you for reading xx
The Stylophone is a small (slightly larger than handheld) musical instrument, it's not a serious thing but it does what it does, and it does it well. It's played via an attached stylus(hence the name I believe!) and by pressing the keys with the pen/stylus, there are several different sounds that can be chosen via a waveform selector, you can add vibrato to the notes with the flick of a switch and the range of pitch can be increased with the turn of a knob recessed into the back of the Stylophone.
It's powered by battery or a 9v adapter (if I remember correctly, neither were included) and has a headphone jack so you don't annoy everyone around you with whacky BEEEEP sounds.
The grating square waves produced out of it's tinny speaker are what I refer to as 'nostalgia'. I feel as though a trip down memory lane to the era of Sonic the Hedgehog and Zelda happens each time I play with this little thing. Obviously it's only a toy so don't expect an antique synthesizer to jump out of the box, however, if you just want to make silly sounds reminiscent of the gameboy and sega era then this is definitely for you.
Obviously the cheap'n'nasty sound of this little unit has little use for most peoples repertoire but I think the Stylophone company realise this also. For some new sounds that are amusing and not costly I'd go for this before anything else (they also have a drum machine released in their catalogue).
***In Use***
The amount of entertainment attained from this device definitely outweighs the cost, this can easily keep you (a 21 year old man) amused just as easily as it could your niece (a 3 year old).
I found the stylus to be easy to manoeuvre and didn't really struggle with any aspect of the Stylophone, it's definitely anybodies instrument.
If you're looking for a cheap piece of fun, then you've found it.
Stylophones tend to bring a wave of nostalgia when anyone even hear them mentioned and for various age groups (children, who might enjoy it in earnest; people over 30 with fond Rolf Harris related memories; and those Generation Xers who enjoy a healthy dose of knee jerk irony) the stylophone is perfectly capable of providing a good time. For the most part though, it's little more than a novelty, and doesn't have much ue a an instrument. This is largely due to the fact that it makes a pretty horrible, piercing sound on all 3 of its tone settings. It has some uses though: I find it's useful for sound effects rather than any kind of melodic playing and I've seen someone use one as a keyboard amp using the mini jack input which gives a nice lo fi effect. Not sure if this is harmful to the device itself though so I wouldn't recommend it.
This wonderful bit of retro kit makes an excellent present, as I found at Christmas! It takes the fondly remembered Stylophone sound and design and adds a couple of modern touches; you get a choice of 3 slightly different sounding noises to make, a vibrato switch, volume wheel (which comes in useful when others don't find it quite so fun) and headphone socket. The keyboard is in a piano style and gives you an octave and a half of pure beeping fun. A small booklet included also has a couple of songs telling you what button to press to get you started.
A couple of downsides that I have noticed; the stylus and keyboard needs cleaning every now and then because the sound gets quite jumpy because of dirt, and the only other main point seems obvious; for anything other than a novelty present it needs a particular interest to stop it being put in a cupboard after two days.


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CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is fresh off the best season of his NBA career, and hope springs eternal as he enters the offseason free of injury for the first time since becoming a pro.
In past years, Curry has spent valuable time rehabbing his surgically repaired right ankle instead of working to add elements to his game. He couldn't be more thrilled that this summer won't contain such obstacles.
FAMILY TIES: Curry on brother Seth's pro future | NBA father-son moments
"It's huge," Curry said Monday at his youth basketball camp, which was held at Charlotte Christian high school, his alma mater. "Mentally, that's the biggest part. You don't have to worry about the rehab. It wears on you every day knowing you have to wake up and do these mundane exercises to get your range of motion back."
Curry started his summer workouts last week and plans to take full advantage of time he has to prepare for training camp in October.
When he returns to the court, Curry will face new pressures that his banner year created. In his fourth NBA season, he led the Warriors to the second round of the playoffs, where they lost in six games to the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs.
Curry averaged 22.9 points and 6.9 assists in the regular season—both career highs—while leading the Warriors to a 47-35 record and just missing a spot in the All-Star Game. He improved those numbers to 23.4 points and 8.1 assists in his first postseason experience.
After improving his ballhandling and passing since entering the league, the 25-year-old Curry doesn't have many holes in his game. But at 6-foot-3, he experiences the obvious struggles that come with challenging larger players at the rim.
He plans to address that limitation this offseason by working on a strategy to reach the free-throw line more. Curry, who shot 90 percent from the stripe last year, figures it can only help the team if he draws more fouls.
He said the keys will be to study film and add bulk, which in turn will put him in proper position to be fouled and make him strong enough to endure a beating in the lane.
"That's the biggest thing," Curry said. "In the playoffs I've found your shot can take you a long way but to be able to not let defenders play so tight on you and be able to get those easy points at the free throw line definitely opens the game up for you more, especially in those games where you aren't shooting the ball so well. You still have a way to get easy points if you can get to the line."
Another point of emphasis for Curry will be to keep in touch with his teammates, many of whom are young and have the potential to increase their production next season.
While he acknowledges the offseason can be busy, Curry wants to meet with his teammates for workouts at least twice over the summer. He pointed to the Summer League in Las Vegas as one surefire way to spend time together as a team. The onus falls on co-captains Curry, David Lee and Andrew Bogut to make sure that happens, Curry said.
Curry believes there will be a time when Golden State, which also depends on young players Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson, won't finish its season in the second round, when it can challenge in the always-tough West. In order for that to come to pass, he knows they have to remain tight-knit and learn as a group.
"Hopefully keep our team together," Curry said. "We have a lot of chemistry this year. Going through that experience in the playoffs that is big to build the foundation going forward, especially with a fairly new coach (Mark Jackson) who has got his taste of being in a suit. Once you have those pieces together, you want to keep them together so when we go through those ups and downs of the season and get our taste of the playoffs again we will know how to advance further."


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(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
In the midst of promoting his forthcoming release X, due out this summer, Chris Brown talked influences and what's next – including, potentially, a country album and Chris Brown: The Rapper.
While his new single "Fine China" recalls Michael Jackson, Brown has always openly acknowledges MJ's proverbial presence in his life.
"Michael is one of my greatest influences," he said. "The way I look at everything I approach is… I wouldn't say a Michael Jackson standpoint, but I would say, 'Would he like it? Would he approve of it?' I looked up to him as a kid for every dance, for everything."
Read more at Radio.com


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|General Discussion
|« Previous MessageNext Message »
|Mmm Ster UCI
|April 9 1999 1:50am
|MetaData Layer Problem
|View as plain text
Hello all, I am writing a Java application which uses the EnterpriseSoft Report Writer to print reports (this is by no means a plug for their software) and on the backend I am using a JDBC driver (http://www.gwe.co.uk/mysql/) to connect to our MySQL database. I have encountered some problems reading tables from the database (although I can connect just fine) because of the following taken from the FAQ on EnterpriseSoft's Website: -------------- I am able to connect to my database, but I cannot see any of the tables/columns. What could be wrong ? 1.If you are able to connect but are not able to read any tables/columns, make sure the username and password you are using are correct and that you have the rights to read the tables/columns. 2.ERW heavily uses the MetaData layer to read database information. If your database/driver does not cleanly implement or support the JDBC MetaData module, you may not see the table/column information. Usually when this happens, messages are displayed either by the driver or the database letting you know about this. Check the console window for such messages and tell your database administrator about them. You may need to upgrade your database or get different drivers. -------------- My question to all you knowledgable people is... is there a way to implement this in MySQL (it works great with Access and SQL-Server) using a different driver (the use of myODBC would be a last result) or more updated driver which supports the JDBC MetaData module? Has anyone else come across a similar problem trying to implement this with the ERW software or any other software? Thanks in advance for any help! Josh Drummond http://www.hurl.net _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
|• MetaData Layer Problem
|Mmm Ster UCI
|9 Apr


text: for a tool kit, yeah. for anything i'd every have to actually carry around...heck no. those things are heeeeeavy. I didn't even like using one as a rifle case. they way overbuilt for everything except perhaps shipping sensitive equipment where you know the airline folks or UPS drivers will be throwing them around.


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Tourism is at the same time a growing source of income and an increasing driving force for actual negative impacts in the Mediterranean coastal regions. Protected Areas are the best example of it: they look at the tourists as additional "financial resources" for their weak institutional budget, but at the same time they fear the impact of large groups of tourists, concentrated in peak season.
Twenty protected areas in ten countries bordering the Mediterranean will be the case studies of a European project led by Federparchi which aims to create a Mediterranean model of participatory planning for tourism respectful of nature. The main objective is to develop an integrated strategy (which foresees coordinated actions) in order to settle an Eco-Tourism Development model for the Mediterranean area that boosts a better seasonal distribution of tourism flows.
The guidelines for the project have been explained at a press conference held in Rome on Monday 11 March 2013. The project was presented by Luca Santarossa, project manager, and the ENPI Managing Director, Dr Anna Catte, followed by the speeches of the heads of all institutions partners. This project was officially launched on January 17 and will be run until 16 October 2015.
IUCN-Med Role
The IUCN-Med as a partner in the consortium will be in charge of the coordination of the Mediterranean Ecotourism Planning Scheme Secretariat (MEPS) in collaboration with the IUCN ROWA office in Amman (as an Antenna of the secretariat in Middle East regions). The MEPS Secretariat's purpose is to guarantee the capitalization of the results (mainly through MEPS Network), and the sustainability of the project after its end through the promotion and trading of MEPS Eco-tourism package Catalogue towards International Tour Operators.
The project is called "Mediterranean Experience of Eco-Tourism" (Meet) and is financed primarily by the ENPI CBC MED (European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument for Cross Border Cooperation, Mediterranean sea), an EU grant program targeted at countries bordering the Mediterranean. Federparchi will coordinate the 5 million euro of EU funding along with the eight partner institutions, including the Lazio Region, the French Federation of National Parks, Medpan (network of protected areas in the Mediterranean), the region of Catalonia, the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment, Royal Society for the Conservation of nature and the managing body National Park Al-Shouf Cedar in Lebanon.
For further info: Carla Danelutti.


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Icahn, who also owns a majority interest in American Railcar Industries, Inc. (ARII), on Monday contacted Greenbrier's president and chief executive officer, Bill Furman, to notify him of the investment and spoke about past discussions and investments with Greenbrier. He suggested the parties have further discussions possibly relating to strategic opportunities. Mr. Icahn added he believes that Greenbrier shares are undervalued, Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Greenbrier said.
Greenbrier noted that no specific proposals or opportunities have been suggested, nor any specific times established for further conversations.
Said Furman, "Mr. Icahn is a respected investor, and we have had considerable interaction on several occasions in the past with him and ARII. We are joint venture partners with ARII in Ohio Castings. We also have worked together with ARII in the past to our mutual benefit, including purchasing over 2,000 railcars from them, and subcontracting the manufacture of railcars to them.
"We believe this purchase of Greenbrier shares validates our business model and strategic decisions," Furman continued. "Among other things, our business plan has led to growth in our new railcar market share in North America to 24% of deliveries, double ARII's market share. This is a result of decisions to expand our product offerings in covered hopper cars, tank cars, and other diversified railcar types, with additional capacity within our low cost manufacturing footprint.
"We agree that our stock is a very good value opportunity at present pricing. Greenbrier remains committed to enhancing shareholder value and to maintaining an open dialogue with its shareholders," Furman said.
In a note to clients earlier Tuesday, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. analyst Steve Barger said, "With Icahn's current 54.2% stake in American Railcar Industries, Inc. we think this will reignite investor speculation around ARII or Icahn possibly holding discussions around potential strategic opportunities with GBX. If true, we expect investors would view any reasonable offer favorably, as the stock of GBX has significantly underperformed the S&P 500 by 52.3% year-to-date and its peers by 37.4%."


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Dear Fellow Shareholders: Throughout the years, I have frequently written about the great emphasis the Third Avenue Management ("TAM") investment team places on the quality and quantity of a company's resources when evaluating a potential investment. Put simply, most of the time, we seek to invest in the equity securities of companies with lots of cash and little, or no, debt. This quarter, I thought it might be of interest to my fellow shareholders to expand upon our thoughts on how cash can be most productively used by corporations.
Corporate Uses of Cash
In the broadest context, a corporation has only three uses of cash:
1) Expand assets
2) Reduce liabilities
3) Make distributions to shareholders
a) Pay dividends
b) Repurchase outstanding equity securities
For the vast, vast majority of corporations – and from the point of view of the corporation, itself – distributions to equity owners have to be a residual use of cash, distinctly subordinated to having the corporation expand assets and/or reduce liabilities. There are exceptions, however. Corporations which need relatively regular access to equity markets to raise new funds, will tend to pay out 70% to 80% of earnings as dividends in order to give these companies enhanced ability to sell new issues of common stocks, say every 18 months to two years, at prices reflecting a premium over book value. For most of the post-World War II period, this was the situation that prevailed for integrated electric utilities. Growth in demand ranged from 2% to 7%, per annum, year after year. It took capital expenditures of $5 to $7 to produce $1 of increased revenue. The integrated electrics were financed 60% to 70% with debt, mostly publicly-held first mortgages; 10% preferred stock; and 20% to 30% with common stock. Obviously given the physical growth, the large amount of capital expenditures and the need to maintain debt to stock ratios, companies in the electric utility industry had to raise capital periodically by selling new underwritten issues of common stock every 18 months to two years. What was true for the electric utilities was also valid for water companies, natural gas distributors and many expanding consumer finance companies. These were all, and to a considerable extent still are, high dividend payers. There are also a large group of companies with flow-through income tax characteristics, i.e., entities which are generally exempt from federal income taxes to the extent that income which would otherwise be taxable at the entity level is paid out to shareholders. These companies include registered investment companies ("RICs") and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"). Master limited partnerships ("MLPs") are flowthrough entities, whose earnings are taxable, not to the business entity, but to the partners themselves.
However, for most companies it is highly impractical to plan to raise new equity capital by making periodic trips to capital markets. These markets are notoriously capricious. At times, access to equity markets can be had on a super attractive basis – see the 1999 dot com bubble. At other times, there can be no access at all to equity markets at any price – see the 2008-2009 meltdown. In any event, raising new equity by accessing capital markets tends to be quite expensive; gross spreads range between, say, 21⁄2% and 7%. Rather, the vast majority of corporations will continue to get most of their new equity capital (and cash) through retained earnings, i.e., profits not distributed to shareholders.
Most of the companies whose common stocks are held in Third Avenue Management portfolios are in an especially good position to make distributions to common shareholders, especially to conduct long-term programs to repurchase outstanding common stock. These companies tend to combine super-strong financial positions with stock market prices that represent a meaningful discount from readily ascertainable, and economically meaningful, net asset value ("NAV"). Companies in the various TAM portfolios which exhibit such characteristics include the following:
Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK)
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM)
Capital Southwest Corporation (NASDAQ:CSWC)
Guoco Group Hong Kong Property and Holding Companies (Cheung Kong Holdings; Hang Lung Group; Hang Lung Properties; Henderson Land; Hutchison Whampoa; Lai Sun Garment; Sun Hung Kai Properties; Wharf and Wheelock)
Investor A/B
Key Corp
Toyota Industries (NYSE:TM)
White Mountains Insurance Group (NYSE:WTM)
In the above-mentioned list of companies, whose common stocks all are selling at meaningful discounts from NAV and which also enjoy super strong financial positions, long-term returns to TAM investors would likely be more than satisfactory, if the individual issuers could increase their NAV after adding back dividends by at least 10% per annum compounded.
A stock buy-in program, whereby a corporation repurchases some of its outstanding shares, could make it quite easy for several of the companies cited above to achieve the 10% growth bogey. Most of the managements and Boards of Directors are probably unaware of these benefits from a buyin program, so it is unlikely to happen in the case of most of the companies on the list (White Mountains Insurance seems a notable exception). A simple example should suffice. Investor A/B reported that at March 31, 2012 its NAV was 167,657,000,000 Swedish Kroner (SEK) on 760,505,872 common shares outstanding, resulting in a NAV of 220 SEK per share. The market for Investor A/B common at the time of this writing is around 130 SEK, or a 40.9% discount from March 31, 2012 NAV. Total debt outstanding was 45,575,000,000 SEK leaving Investor A/B with a stock to debt ratio of 79:21. If Investor A/B, using additional borrowings of 21,000,000,000 SEK, were to tender for 150,000,000 Investor A/B common at 140, (including expenses) and the tender offer succeeded, there would be outstanding 610,505,872 Investor A/B common, with an NAV of 146,657,000,000 SEK or 240SEK per share an increase of 9.1% in NAV per share. The basic question ought to be – would such a buy-in be a more productive use of cash than expanding assets? Whether, or not, such an Investor A/B tender offer attracted 150 million common shares, it seems likely that the immediate after market price for Investor A/B Common would be north of 130.
Mathematically all of the companies on the list could achieve results consistent with those in the Investor A/B example above but there are other limiting factors. Even for Investor A/B, dividends have an enormous advantage over buy-backs because the dividend payments are tax deductible to Investor A/B under Swedish law at a 28% rate while there are no tax benefits to Investor A/B from most buy backs. Capital Southwest is small and a major repurchase program might cause it to go private; Brookfield Asset Management probably feels its best growth opportunities are in expanding assets; and various Hong Kong control shareholders have been fairly aggressive buyers of common stock for their own personal accounts recently so that for them having their companies buy shares poses something of a conflict of interest.
From a management point of view, share repurchases are a simpler use of funds than expanding the asset base most of the time simply because the research task is so much easier. You are less likely to make analytic mistakes when involved with your own enterprise, rather than an enterprise controlled and managed by someone else.
From a shareholders' point of view, especially the point of view of shareholders affected by daily stock price fluctuations, there are important advantages to these shareholders if cash distributions to shareholders are made in the form of dividends rather than stock buy backs. First, the markets populated by outside passive minority investors ("OPMIs") are volatile. However, insofar as a company pays regular dividends which are increased periodically market prices tend to be a lot less capricious than would otherwise be the case because the shares tend to get priced, at least in part, on a return (or yield) basis. Second, many OPMIs rely on regular dividend payments to meet living expenses.
The above shareholder point of view is not the TAM point of view. TAM is basically a long-term buyand- hold investor. It seeks to invest in the common stocks of companies that have excellent prospects for increasing NAV by not less than 10%, per annum, compounded over the next three to seven years. And TAM would like to have its portfolio companies achieve this goal conservatively and in a very safe manner. To accomplish this, share buy-backs seem an ideal way to go, as long as common shares are available for purchase by strongly financed companies and priced at meaningful discounts from NAV. The Investor A/B theoretical tender offer cited above demonstrates this.
From a shareholder's point of view, buy-ins do have certain advantages over dividends:
Participating in a buy-in is voluntary for each individual shareholder. Receipt of a dividend, on the other hand, is mandatory to all shareholders.
Generally, a shareholder that participates in a buy-in will, subject to certain conditions, be treated for tax purposes as selling the shares back to the company and the shareholder will be taxed on any gain (proceeds minus cost basis) recognized from such sale. Depending upon the holding period, lower long-term capital gains rates may apply. On the other hand, the full amount of any payment treated as a taxable dividend may be subject to tax. If the qualified dividend rules do not apply, individual taxpayers may be taxed at rates which are higher than long-term capital gain rates. U.S. corporations eligible for the 70% corporate dividends received deductions could be taxed at an ultra-low rate.
Long-term market performance might be better with a buyin, because weaker shareholders are more likely to sell out in the presence of the corporate buying interest.
Buy-ins can cause market liquidity to dry up, a very distinct disadvantage for many OPMIs.
From a company point of view, buy-ins tend to have huge advantages over dividends:
• Regular dividends become, in effect, a fixed charge, payable in cash for the corporation. In contrast, management controls completely the timing of buyins. It can conserve cash as needed, giving expanding assets and/or reducing liabilities the priorities they deserve at the times they deserve it. versus paying out a regular cash dividend to shareholders.
• Bought-in shares can offset the dilutive effects of issuing employee stock options.
Many, if not most, managements share the TAM view that the long-term object of the company is to grow economically meaningful NAV safely, conservatively and cheaply.
As an aside, it ought to be noted that there are four ways to acquire common stock for cash, whether for buy-in or other purposes:
• in the open market
• in private transactions
• via tender offers
• by use of the proxy machinery, for cash out mergers or reverse splits
Most purchases are open market purchases made after a Board of Directors authorizes the management of a company to repurchase a certain amount of shares.
Large enough purchases or use of the proxy machinery can result in a company going private or "going dark". This seems unlikely to happen to the various companies in the TAM portfolios, but one never knows. The effect can be disastrous if the going dark price does not reflect a substantial premium over market. I am not too worried on this score. The Hong Kong companies, in particular, seem safe from a take-under because the listing rules in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange make it almost impossible to use proxy machinery to go private. Also, the companies are so big that they are likely to stay public, even though control insiders have been regular and sometimes large, buyers of common stock.
For market participants focused on growth in NAV, there are a lot of differences between the last time the Dow Jones Industrial Average ("DJIA") was above 13,000 (December 2007) and the current 13,000 level. Book value for the DJIA is not exactly the same as NAV for the securities listed above; but, it remains a pretty good, albeit rough, surrogate for NAV. The book value for the DJIA at April 30, 2012 was 42.2% greater than the book value at December 31, 2007. More importantly, though, is the probability that the quality of the book value at April 30, 2012, as measured by the financial strength of the thirty companies making up the DJIA, was far superior in April 2012 compared to what it was in December 2007.
Do not rely on OPMI markets for economic logic. In OPMI markets, sponsorship and promotion seem to count much more than does economic logic. Two of the most successful private equity firms acquiring elements of control over the companies in which they invest, based on their long-term track records, are Capital Southwest and Investor A/B. As of this writing, Capital Southwest is trading at about a 43% discount from estimated NAV and Investor A/B is trading at about a 41% discount from estimated NAV. How do these extremely well financed companies compare with private equity limited partnerships and hedge funds, few of which have been as successful as these two in growing long-term NAV?
1) The private equity limited partnerships and hedge funds are not priced at any discount from NAV.
2) The private equity limited partnerships restrict investors from cashing-in their investments.
Capital Southwest and Investor A/B are marketable as long as securities markets are open (i.e., almost all the time).
3) The overall all-in expense ratios for both Capital Southwest and Investor A/B are probably less than 1%. The typical private equity partnership or hedge fund probably charges a management fee of 2%, plus a 20% profit participation after meeting a bogey of, say, 6%, to the limited partners. Most fees earned by a private equity limited partnership or hedge fund (banking fees, home office charges, etc.), probably belong mostly to the general partners, not the limited partners.
4) Most private equity partnerships and hedge funds are probably more leveraged, i.e., less well financed, than are Capital Southwest and Investor A/B.
5) Investor protections are manifestly greater for market participants holding common stocks than they are for market participants who are limited partners.
Especially strong investor protections exist for Capital Southwest, which is registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
One final observation. Academics are mostly believers in Modern Capital Theory ("MCT"). In the efficient market in which they believe, situations like the companies in our list could not exist. For them, efficient pricing would get rid of the large discounts at which each security sells. This
MCT view is diametrically opposed to the TAM view. In the TAM view, securities markets populated by OPMIs tend very much to be price inefficient, unless there exist catalysts. Principal catalysts include prospects for changes of control, going private, mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and major asset or liability re-structurings. If there is anything wrong with the TAM list of companies cited, it is a lack of catalysts. Yet, over time, the TAM portfolios have performed satisfactorily even in the relative absence of such catalysts. And, perhaps most important of all, the probabilities seem to be that none of the companies will suffer permanent impairments no matter how unfavorable the various top-down economic outlooks might be.
I will write you again when the shareholder letters for the period to end July 31, 2012 are published.
Sincerely yours,
Martin J. Whitman
Chairman of the Board
Dear Fellow Shareholders: Throughout the years, I have frequently written about the great emphasis the Third Avenue Management ("TAM") investment team places on the quality and quantity of a company's resources when evaluating a potential investment. Put simply, most of the time, we seek to invest in the equity securities of companies with lots of cash and little, or no, debt. This quarter, I thought it might be of interest to my fellow shareholders to expand upon our thoughts on how cash can be most productively used by corporations.


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Well, gang, another rally is almost in the books. We are a couple hours into the last shift in the Biergarten, we've run out of both Yuengling varieties, as well as Miller lite, and as far as we can determine at this time the total number of kegs consumed is a record. We did get a second shipment yesterday and that also is almost gone.
I would be remiss if I didn't thank everybody who volunteered to help sling suds. Being as I'm getting memory challenged, (and I don't have all the names written down) let's just say a huge THANK YOU from the entire beer team, and we hope at least some of you will consider joining forces with us again. You all have done a great job, even with the conditions. Thanks again!
Jim (Mad Dog)
Tom (Bullitt 7801)
Rev Willie
Randy (manic mechanic)