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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
DG FastChannel®, No Longer "Executing" on its "Strategies"
"The company continues to execute on its strategic business plan."
—DG FastChannel® CEO Scott Ginsburg, August 4, 2010
We admit we know next-to-nothing about DG FastChannel® except that it has an "R" with a circle in its name in the headlines to its press releases.
Oh, sure, DG FastChannel® calls itself "a leading provider of digital media services to the advertising, entertainment and broadcast industries." But what that actually means we here at NotMakingThisUp have no clue.
And, following yesterday's drama—a nearly 40% collapse in DG FastChannel® stock on the heels of a press release from the company announcing a $30 million stock repurchase program—we strongly suspect that more than a few of Wall Street's Finest have no clue either.
Now, you might think news of a $30 million stock repurchase would be good news.
And it would be good news, unless, of course, the placement of the happy headline at the top of the press release was meant to dilute some less happy news contained further down on the same page…which is something we have seen more than a few companies do in our day.
Sure enough, while the press release started with three paragraphs devoted to the $30 million share repurchase (described by the aforementioned Scott Ginsburg as "a good use of our cash, reflecting our strong belief in the value and opportunity…"), it then delivered the less welcome news that the company was guiding Q3 earnings expectations (actually EBITDA expectations, for DG FastChannel® is one of those companies that waves non-GAAP numbers in front of Wall Street's Finest) somewhat lower than Wall Street's Finest had been expecting.
Like, 15% lower, according to one such Finest.
Now, one might wonder what Wall Street's Finest were thinking, running around with earnings expectations so far from reality that shares of DG FastChannel® would give up 40% in a few hours of trading.
The answer, of course, is that DG FastChannel® boasted of good things to come in a conference call with Wall Street's Finest not so long ago.
And by "not so long ago" we mean just about three weeks ago.
That's right: as quoted above, it was August 4, 2010 when DG FastChannel® reported "Record Second Quarter 2010 Results" and bragged right there in the press release that which forever makes our skin crawl:
"The company continues to execute on its strategic business plan."
In fact, so successfully was DG FastChannel® "executing" on its "strategy" that Chairman and CEO Scott Sinsburg used his prepared remarks in the ensuing earnings call to offer the following ebullient outlook:
"As you continue to follow our results for the year 2010, you might consider the following -- 2010 has been a better year for advertising than 2009 and will continue to be according to all the people who look at this, the sooth sayers who look at where we are in 2010, and as we look at the balance of the year we would look at continuing positive results from the markets, the video markets.
"Second, we know that TV spot advertising demand has rebounded from 2009 levels. We look at up front acquisitions in the TV network market. We look at cable, we look at broadcast TV, we look at both national and scatter markets, and they look very healthy at this time. Next, as you know this is a mid-term election and both for issue advertising and political advertising DG FastChannel represents the gold standard and we expect to get more than our fair share of that particular vertical.
"Finally, the adoption curve for HD advertising continues to increase. We expect our revenues and deliveries to improve throughout the year as well as our standard definition business as well. We have a robust business and expect it to continue for the balance of this year and in future periods. With that, operator, I would like to open up the dialogue and take some questions at this time."
—Scott Ginsburg, CEO
That was August 4th: by August 30th, however, the outlook had gotten murkier.
Precisely how it got so much murkier so suddenly is hard to say. Yesterday's release cited "normal seasonality" in one aspect of its business—apparently the company had not bothered to check the calendar last time around—and a "shift in our customer mix" that has "put short term pressure on revenues."
Naturally, despite the SNAFU, the company declares "We remain confident" in double-digit growth in revenue and EBITDA for the full year.
Don't they always?
As we here at NotMakingThisUp wrote not long ago—August 16, to be precise, in "My Dog Charles, Executing His Yadda-Yadda"—we have never seen a strategy that was not executed on.
And "strategies" are "executed on" until they are not.
As shareholders of DG FastChannel® just found out.
P.S. For the record, my dog Charles® continues "executing" his "strategies" quite successfully—sometimes two at a time. Just yesterday he a) jumped into a car, b) curled up on the back seat and went to sleep.
Despite that strong track record of "successful execution," however, I would not buy stock in Charles®. He recently "executed" a different "strategy"—the one involving eating grass until he throws up.
And then, he, well, let's just say, as dogs will, Charles® decided to execute a very different strategy...
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2010 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews, who also acts as an advisor: clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. Also, this blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Hurd by Numbers
Now that the Mark Hurd Affair has devolved into a tit-for-tat post-mortem between the HP Board and unnamed proxies for Hurd—reaching its Clintonesque nadir last week when the Wall Street Journal actually reported that Hurd himself had let it be known through his 'camp' that "This woman and I never had sex"—we thought it worthwhile to return to more concrete means by which to evaluate the worth of the man Larry Ellison ranked right up there with Steve Jobs as far as "reviving HP to its former greatness" goes.
And those means would be strictly this: the numbers.
By the numerical yardstick of Wall Street's Finest—the analysts we regularly poke fun at in these virtual pages (having been one years ago, we know the game well enough)—the answer to the question of whether Mark Hurd really revived HP "to its former greatness" is an unequivocal "Yes."
Of course, Wall Street's numerical yardstick does not necessarily include certain intangible factors that make a company great in the long run—things like corporate culture, employee turnover, new product development, or anything else beyond the realm of what happens outside the stock prices flickering across their Bloomberg terminals.
For it is no secret that the primary number Wall Street cares about is a company's stock price.
(If you think that's being too cynical, go back in time and leaf through the so-called "research" reports on Enron, say, or Lucent, or WorldCom, or any of the spectacular mortgage frauds of the housing boom: you will find consistently that, at the end of the day, continued strength in a stock price trumps short-selling reports, skeptical articles in Fortune, and even, in the case of David Einhorn's 100% accurate prediction that Lehman was doomed to fail without some form of massive restructuring, public speeches defining the exact nature and dollar amounts of a company's misdeeds.)
And on the basis of stock price, Hurd did indeed very nearly revive HP to its "former greatness."
HP's shares nearly tripled during his tenure, not only adding $50 billion in market value to HP shareholders in five short years, but also restoring HP's stock price to within 20% of its Dot-Com Bubble-era all-time high of $68.
(By way of comparison, Cisco has never gotten back to within 50% of its all-time high.)
Of course, stocks don't generally increase over a long period of time if revenues and earnings don't also increase, and, under Hurd, increase those revenues and earnings did: from 2005 to 2009 (using HP's fiscal year, which ends in October), annual revenues jumped roughly $30 billion—from $87 billion to $115 billion—while operating income grew $6 billion, from $5 billion to $11 billion.
And while we here at NotMakingThisUp pay very little attention to reported earnings per share (it is a number which can be, and frequently is, manipulated via special charges and artificially depressed depreciation charges and low book tax rates), the more relevant net "free cash flow" per share of HP stock, according to our Bloomberg, neatly doubled during Hurd's tenure, from $2 a share in 2005 to $4 a share in 2009.
Thus, it is no wonder the stock performed as well as it did under Hurd. It is also no wonder that many of Wall Street's Finest would agree with Larry Ellison that Mark Hurd did "revive HP to its former greatness" (even if they disliked his Michael Ovitz-style severance package).
But did he really?
First let's look at where that $30 billion increase in annual revenue from 2005 to 2009 came from. We find it came essentially within two business segments: $20 billion from services and $10 billion from notebook computers.
Specifically, HP's "Services" business grew from $15 billion to $35 billion between 2005 and 2009. At first glance, that would appear to be a good thing, considering that HP sought mightily over the years to emulate the IBM business model of providing lower-margin consulting and outsourcing services to its business customers in order to help spread its own higher-margin hardware and software throughout the business world.
In HP's case, however, that entire $20 billion revenue increase could be accounted for by EDS, which was doing $22 billion of revenues when HP bought it in 2008.
As for the $10 billion increase in notebook computer sales, from $10 billion to $20 billion between 2005 to 2009—well, notebooks are not the high-margin, proprietary kind of business Hurd sought to emphasize with the likes of his $4.5 billion Mercury Interactive acquisition in 2006.
Thus, we find that two-thirds of the revenue growth at HP under Hurd came from an acquisition, rather than organic growth, while the remaining one-third came from a decidedly unglamorous, commodity business not much reminiscent of HP's printing franchise in its prime.
And revenue aside, the HP of 2009 was, in some respects, not much better off than the HP of 2005.
For starters, sales per employee dropped big-time, from $580,000 to $380,000, thanks to the labor-intensive nature of the services business acquired under Hurd.
And gross margins—the best measure of the inherent profitability of a business, and the hardest number to gin up—didn't budge more than a few basis points during his tenure: from 23.4% to 23.6%, according to our Bloomberg.
Now, it is true that operating margins—which Wall Street's Finest would no doubt argue reflect the real genius of Mark Hurd, 'the execution machine'—jumped from a little under 6% to a little under 10% under his tenure.
Nevertheless, one might want to consider some of what it took to achieve that heroic step-function in profitability while sales per employee was collapsing and gross margins were staying put: what it took was layoffs, R&D cuts, and the kind of recurring "one-time" restructure charges that most investors assumed were going to disappear after the Enron, WorldCom and Lucent accounting scandals cast a pall on the use of "Non-GAAP Earnings" and "one-time" charges.
Under Hurd, annual Research & Development spending declined from $3.5 billion to $2.8 billion from 2005 to 2009. Given the rise in sales over that same time period, this resulted in a 40% drop in HP's R&D ratio—a figure commonly used across Silicon Valley as a shorthand way to measure a firm's commitment to new product development—from 4% of sales to 2.4% of sales.
As for "one-time" or "non-operating" charges, HP under Hurd took a whole lot of 'em: by our math, $7.5 billion worth in the 2005-2009 period (not to mention another $2.1 billion taken in the first half of the 2010 fiscal year), including $3 billion of the kind of "restructuring" charges companies incur when doing real things, like lay-offs.
All excluded under "Non-GAAP" accounting.
Consequently, of the roughly $40 billion of operating income HP reported to Wall Street's Finest during the 2005-2009 period, nearly $8 billion—or 20%—seems to have appeared thanks to the exclusion of costs by means of employing accounting principles which are not generally accepted by accountants.
Now, Hurd supporters, including his fans among Wall Street's Finest, may well point to the fact that 2009 was not exactly a banner year for business, coming as it did on the heels of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
And they may also point out that, whatever the details as to how it got there, HP's return on equity rose from 6.4% to nearly 20% under Hurd, while earnings per share (using the HP, Non-GAAP method) jumped from $1.65 to $3.85.
To this, we point out that, also under Hurd, both those measures were inflated by a drop in HP's effective tax rate, from 32% to 19%.
Also, thanks to share buybacks at high prices and large, intangible-asset-boosting acquisitions, HP's tangible book value per share declined from a modest $6.04 per share when Hurd arrived to an even more modest $0.15 per share. (Yes, that's right: HP's tangible book value, as calculated by our Bloomberg, was almost zero the day Hurd left.)
So "How should we think about this?" to steal a line from Wall Street's Finest.
How can we frame HP's results under Hurd, which, on a superficial level go a long way to explain the $50 billion increase in market value from 2005 to 2009, but which, on deeper inspection, point to a host of issues that might well bolster the Board's decision to say "See ya"?
Let's look briefly at IBM, the closest "comp" to HP and a company revered by Wall Street's Finest for its consistent earnings, free cash flow and share buybacks.
For starters, IBM's recent stock price (at $128 or so) is within shouting distance of 1999's $139 all-time high. That's a better recovery from the Dot-Com Bubble than HP or any other large technology company we can think of, aside from Amazon.com. Score one for IBM.
IBM's revenues, meanwhile, grew more modestly than the $30 billion increase at HP under Hurd—by a mere $5 billion on a $91billion base. And while IBM made no EDS-type $22 billion revenue-enhancing acquisitions during the period, it did, as did HP, consummate many small deals (the biggest being Cognos in 2008, which added almost $1 billion in sales) to boost revenue. Score one for HP.
As for gross margin, however, IBM started well above HP's at 40% in 2005 and rose even higher, to 45.7% in 2009, thanks to IBM's focus on adding software while HP was adding services and notebook computer revenue. Score two for IBM.
Bringing things down to operating income, we find that IBM plays similar games as HP, removing charges and "one-time" items from "reported operating income"…but nowhere near of the same magnitude. Thus, despite an already-quite profitable mix of business, IBM managed to increase its reported operating margin from 10% in 2005 to 18% in 2009. Score three for IBM.
IBM's return on equity, like HP's, jumped—from a healthy 24% in 2005 to an absurd 74% in 2009, thanks to share buybacks and the ensuing decline in equity. And while IBM likewise reduced its book tax rate (from 35% to 26%), the boost to reported earnings and return on equity was less than HP's. Score four for IBM.
So, again, did Mark Hurd "revive HP to its former greatness," as Larry Ellison claims?
Far be it for anyone to argue with a man who has created more value for more people—investors and businesses alike—than maybe anybody except Steve Jobs.
And it is true that today's HP is nothing like the HP that Mark Hurd took over. In 2005, HP's great printer franchise generated two-thirds of operating income, while the rest came from a mix of computers, storage and services; by 2009, that ratio was turned on its head: printers were a bit over one-third of operating income, and the remaining two-thirds came from services (nearly half of operating income) and a mix of PCs, storage, and servers.
Yet while HP's new line of printers (which can print from a file emailed from anything without printing capability, like, oh, an iPad) developed under Hurd will no doubt fortify that longstanding razor/razor-blade franchise, the rest of HP, as reconstituted by him, consists of a large, low-margin service business; a large, low-margin notebook computer business; and a handful of more proprietary product lines that don't move the needle too much.
At the end of the day, then, the HP Board may well have been looking at more than a faulty expense account report and the potential distraction of a drawn-out tabloid-feeding legal drama.
They may have been looking at the numbers, too.
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2010 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews, who also acts as an advisor: clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. Also, this blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
What if Dell Made Cars?
Our checks in the Taiwan PC food chain indicate order rates from the PC end market deteriorated sharply during the last part of July…
So begins a morning research update from one of Wall Street's Finest, who in this case happens to be one of the few members of WSF who actually performs work above and beyond 1) saying "Great quarter, guys" on earnings calls, and 2) writing retrospective pieces on why they are either a) reiterating their opinion on a falling stock, with the words "Our thesis remains intact"; or b) giving up in disgust on a fallen stock whose thesis has become irreparably broken, with the phrase "We are throwing in the towel," long after the towel should have been thrown.
But we digress.
We digress because it is fun to be able to write a full sentence once again.
The reason we can write full sentences once again is not, however, because severe carpel tunnel syndrome has caused a diminution in our ability to manipulate a keyboard, for example.
It is because our ability to manipulate a keyboard had until recently been diminished by what we call Severe Dell Keyboard Syndrome, in which the ability of certain keys on our keyboard to respond to things like finger pressure suddenly disappears, for no apparent reason, for days on end.
Yes, we generally write these virtual columns on a Dell notebook—of the type, apparently, whose order rates "deteriorated sharply during the last part of July," at least according to the missive quoted above.
And while we have no idea if Dell is, in fact, reducing order rates (we're told Dell's order rates are actually "stable," for what that's worth), we think Severe Dell Keyboard Syndrome, along with a host of other mysterious glitches that never get talked about in glossy research reports, but which, in fact, are rather swiftly draining the so-called "Wintel" swamp of whatever water is left to drain, explains at least a part of the recent slowdown in notebook computer sales in general.
What exactly is Severe Dell Keyboard Syndrome (SDKS)? Well, for the last two days, this particular Dell notebook (two years old, tops) has refused to type an "S."
Not to mention a "W" and a "2."
Now, looking at the QWERTY keyboard, you can see that those three letters appear in a column, one on top of the other. Obviously, something went wrong with whatever goes on underneath the delicate keypad that is meant to trigger a response when one taps a key, expecting to see a letter appear on the screen. (And it's not dirt, or dust.)
This condition made it difficult to do things like, oh, type emails and respond to instant messages, not to mention sign onto Bloomberg and certain other critical but password-protected services that did not accept attempts to copy the missing letters from an existing Word document and drop them into the "User Name" or "Password" lines.
Yes, we actually were forced to do that, until, after shutting down and restarting a few times, the "S" key suddenly and mysteriously functioned correctly.
But this isn't the first time SDKS has occurred: in fact, we began experiencing Mysterious Key Outages as far back as April, when of a sudden the "H," "J," "T" and "U" keys went out for two days.
Imagine if Dell made cars—better yet, don't. The mind reels! Dashboard lights would go dark. Left blinkers would get stuck on, forever. Brakes would stop working, then steering wheels...the consequences would be staggering.
Dell-made cars would cause recalls that make the Toyota break problem look like a piker, except that the Dell problem would be real, not the imaginary hypersensitivity of a few jumpy consumers egged on by the trial lawyer lobby, as with Toyota.
Unfortunately for Dell and the other denizens of the Wintel swamp, however, internet users including yours truly now have a simple, reliable, easy-to-use non-Dell backup that we did not have in April: the iPad.
Of course, the iPad is not yet a full substitute for even this lousy Dell with the floating key-outage. Bloomberg, for example, hasn't yet figured out how to accomplish on an iPad what Bloomberg can accomplish on even a lousy Dell.
But eventually it will get there, and these Dells and HPs and Acers will finally be relics of a time when a company with a monopoly—that would be Microsoft—could create such a rotten experience for users that even a monopoly would not stop users from fleeing when a simple, reliable, easy-to-use alternative appeared.
And " evere Dell Keyboard yndrome" ill be a thing of the p st.
Jeff Matthe
I Am Not Making Thi Up
© 2010 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews, who also acts as an advisor: clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. Also, this blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
The Hurd Instinct: One Fiction Leads to Another
"HP had momentum…"
—Talking Head, CNBC, August 5, 2010
So it was that one of the many talking heads competing for air time with the hosts of CNBC last night summed up his thoughts—so-called—as to why the removal of Hewlett Packard CEO and Wall Street Fave Mark Hurd came as such a shock to so many people both on Wall Street and off it.
"Momentum," of course, is one of the most overused expressions on Wall Street, along with "Our thesis is still intact," generally employed by Wall Street's Finest when a company begins losing "momentum," and "We're throwing in the towel," which is generally employed when a company has so completely lost momentum that it can no longer be defended with a straight face, even by one of Wall Street's Finest.
"Momentum" is, after all, at once descriptive (a company that manages to "beat and raise" its earnings every quarter is said to have it), and meaningless: after all, companies always seem to have momentum...until they somehow don't.
So to describe HP as a company with "momentum" struck us as the most singularly vacuous comment in a string of vacuous comments from the HP-defending cognoscenti called together to discuss the "shock" at Hurd's ouster, which seemed to be everywhere.
We here at NotMakingThisUp, however, admit to no such shock.
Longtime readers know that we never subscribed to the Myth of Mark Hurd, and said as much in these virtual pages nearly one full year ago, in "Including the Good Stuff while Excluding the Bad Stuff: Come to Think of It, We Will Get Fooled Again!" from August 25, 2009.
The gist of our argument, (see http://jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com/2009/08/including-good-stuff-while-excluding.html), was simple: by reporting so-called "non-GAAP" earnings, HP was able to include good stuff from the EDS deal (EDS-related earnings), and exclude the bad stuff (EDS-related costs).
That kind of "non-GAAP" earnings management was a practice we thought had ended with the fall of Enron, WorldCom, and the many other Dot-com-era practioners of earnings fakery whose eventual falls from grace yielded losses for investors, howls of indignation from the halls of Congress, and calls for the elimination of "non-GAAP" earnings from the vocabulary of Wall Street's Finest.
Yet HP was able to revive the practice, and make something of an art of it, with the complicity of Wall Street, its analyst community, and even the press: our Bloomberg, for example, reports only the non-GAAP earnings in its HP earnings page, without so much as an asterisk.
What prompted us last August to look at how HP had become a "beat the number" machine under Hurd?
It was a quarterly earnings report in which the company had managed to earn exactly one penny per share more than Wall Street's Finest were expecting, despite an aging business profile and an exceedingly complex operating entity:
HP is, after all, a $100 billion-a-year company with more than 300,000 employees manning far-flung operations across the globe. Two-thirds of its revenues are derived in foreign currencies that fluctuate every day.
Not only that, but four of the company's five major businesses experienced sales declines of 20% or more in the quarter. Of the five businesses, one looks doomed to eventual irrelevance (personal computers), a second looks doomed to brutal competition as far as the eye can see (servers and storage) and a third is exposed to the kind of technology shift that brought about the collapse of the aforementioned Eastman Kodak (printers.)
Oh, and the one business that showed growth in the quarter did so entirely thanks to the fact that the company spent $13 billion buying EDS, in a deal that closed one year ago tomorrow.
With all that going on, one might reasonably wonder how in the world it is possible for anybody, even the heroically numbers-obsessed Mr. Hurd, to beat "The Number" by the requisite penny? The answer—aside from brutal cost-cutting—is that HP waves "Non-GAAP" earnings of 91 cents a share, up nicely from last year's 86c a share, in front of Wall Street's Finest, thus distracting the thundering herd from actual GAAP earnings, which are more of a downer.
Like, 25% more of a downer.
That's right: HP's July quarter GAAP earnings were only 67 cents a share—25% below the 91 cent so-called "Number" used by HP management and Wall Street's Finest—and down, not up, from last year's 80 cents a share GAAP earnings.
—JeffMatthewsIsNotMakingThisUp, August 25, 2009
Yes, you are reading that correctly: merely by the use of "non-GAAP" earnings, Hurd's HP turned a 16% GAAP earnings decrease into to a 6% non-GAAP earnings increase.
And Wall Street's Finest ate it up.
Call it the Hurd Instinct for playing to the madness of crowds: Mark Hurd did possess a genius for it. And that genius pervades HP today, for the same Hurdesque numbers manipulation continued right up to yesterday's press release announcing Hurd's resignation, in which the company announced that HP managed to, somehow, "beat and raise" once again:
HP announces preliminary third quarter results; raises full-year outlook for revenue and non-GAAP EPS
HP is announcing preliminary results for the third fiscal quarter 2010, with revenue of approximately $30.7 billion up 11% compared with the prior-year period.
In the third quarter, preliminary GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) were approximately $0.75 and non-GAAP diluted EPS were approximately $1.08. GAAP and non-GAAP EPS were negatively impacted by $0.02 pertaining to one-time charges relating to the previously announced U.S. Department of Justice settlement. Non-GAAP diluted EPS estimates exclude after-tax costs of approximately $0.33 per share, related primarily to restructuring, amortization of purchased intangible assets and acquisition-related charges.
—Hewlett Packard Press Release, August 5, 2010
Like my dog Charles, who gets easily distracted by shiny metal objects, fleeing squirrels, lumbering raccoons or anything else that happens to cross his line of vision, Wall Street's Finest remain easily distracted by the inflated earnings figures at HP that became a fixture under Mark Hurd.
In fact, just to make certain Wall Street's Finest continue to be easily distracted by earnings that are not prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, HP's Interim CEO, Cathie Lesjack, again waved the magic non-GAAP number across the Finest's line of vision during last night's hastily assembled conference call to explain the Hurd outster.
Said Ms. Lesjack, when asked whether the $1.08 per share so-called non-GAAP earnings was net of the 2 cent per share charge related to the Department of Justice settlement:
"That is correct. So, apples to apples, when you look at the consensus that was set, we delivered $1.10."
Thus the fiction of HP's reported earnings continues, even beyond Mark Hurd.
All that said, one might very well ask—as did several of the talking heads thrashing the issue to death last night—why the mighty Mark Hurd, who built HP into a "make the numbers" machine much to the satisfaction of the lazy spreadsheet-builders on Wall Street (and the even more immense satisfaction of HP shareholders thanks to the roughly $50 billion added to the market value of HP during his tenure), was expelled from a company for some measly expense-account misstatements?
We here at NotMakingThisUp don't know the full story, although we do know a few things about Mark Hurd that have never made it into the so-called research reports of Wall Street's Finest (never trust a CEO who colors his hair, for starters).
But as we see it, a guy who can fool all of Wall Street's Finest all of the time—by among other things, turning 75 cents worth of earnings into $1.08 worth of earnings through the magic of numbers prepared using accounting principles not generally accepted by accountants—could certainly convince himself that a great deal else can be accomplished through the magic of other principles not generally accepted elsewhere in life.
In other words, one fiction may reasonably lead to others.
Whatever the true story behind the story, however, one thing we know remains true: the more things change on Wall Street, the more they stay the same.
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2010 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews, who also acts as an advisor: clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. Also, this blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
"Buffett's Possible Successor"? It Ain't Over Til It's Over
Seems like just last week the Wall Street Journal was trumpeting a successor to Warren Buffett in his role as chief investment officer ("capital allocator," is how Buffett puts it) at Berkshire Hathaway.
And indeed it was just last week—Friday, in fact—that the Journal wrote the following about a previously little-known (outside Berkshire circles) Chinese investor name Li Lu, in "From Tienanman Square to Possible Buffett Successor":
Twenty-one years ago, Li Lu was a student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests. Now a hedge-fund manager, he is in line to become a successor to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Mr. Li, 44 years old, has emerged as a leading candidate to run a chunk of Berkshire's $100 billion portfolio, stemming from a close friendship with Charlie Munger, Berkshire's 86-year-old vice chairman. In an interview, Mr. Munger revealed that Mr. Li was likely to become one of the top Berkshire investment officials. "In my mind, it's a foregone conclusion," Mr. Munger said.
—The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2010
Now, Charlie Munger's imprimatur is no small matter.
Munger is Buffett's intellectual equal and has been his business partner and investment consigliere for decades—the skeptical "Abominable 'No'-Man," Buffett calls him.
And while Buffett buys entire companies these days without Munger's specific input, he would no more anoint a successor without Munger's approval than he would provide quotes for a glowing Wall Street Journal story on Li Lu as his "possible successor" if there wasn't something to the story.
Mr. Li's primary attribute for the role of Chief Investment Officer at Berkshire Hathaway, should that title ever be conferred on anyone but Warren Buffett, is not merely the returns Mr. Li has reportedly generated in his hedge fund—the Journal puts them at 26.4% annually since 1998, whether net or gross is not clear—but also, undoubtedly, the personal attributes that endeared Mr. Li to both Buffett and Munger, for neither man suffers fools gladly.
In fact, Munger suffers them not at all.
In addition, Mr. Li has already made Berkshire and its shareholders more than a billion dollars, thusly:
The Chinese-American investor already has made money for Berkshire: He introduced Mr. Munger to BYD Co., a Chinese battery and auto maker, and Berkshire invested. Since 2008, Berkshire's BYD stake has surged more than six-fold, generating profit of about $1.2 billion, Mr. Buffett says.
—The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2010
BYD has also been mighty profitable for Mr. Li. In fact, BYD has accounted for what looks to be something like $360 million of the $460 million in gains recorded by Mr. Li's hedge fund—if Friday's article was accurate (we make no representations here).
And yet, BYD is not exactly hitting the cover off the ball these days, according to…the Wall Street Journal.
That's right: today's Heard on the Street contains a different side to the BYD story:
BYD's dreams are crashing into a humdrum reality.
The Chinese auto maker, famous both for its plans to market electric cars and for an investment from Warren Buffett, has hit a sticky patch. Sales are stalling, up just 3% on-year in June, according to data from J.D. Power & Associates.
In particular, sales of the F3 model, BYD's most popular car last year, slumped 30%. The compact car segment it is in has become the most competitive part of China's auto market. Accordingly, halfway through the year, BYD's made only 36% of its vehicle-sales target of 800,000 in 2010.
—The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2010
Seems BYD had plans to build a plant in western China but "local officials are querying the legality of its land purchase there, putting the project's future in doubt," according to the article.
Furthermore, China's auto market is flattening out in the wake of government efforts to deflate the Chinese property bubble.
Of course, the "sizzle" in the BYD story is not about selling conventional cars to middle-class Chinese: it is about developing lithium batteries capable of powering mass-market electric cars and storing energy from solar and wind:
Says Mr. Munger: "The big lithium battery is a game-changer."
—"From Tienanman Square to Possible Buffett Successor," The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2010
Now, we have no insight on whether BYD will win that race, or even finish near the head of the pack.
But Buffett watchers have learned over the years that the man who nurtured Berkshire Hathaway from failing textile maker into one of the most successful long-term investments in NYSE history can change his mind.
Indeed, longtime Berkshire followers will recall that Rich Santulli, the genius who started what became NetJets before selling it to Buffett and staying on to run the business, was once one of the faired-haired men deemed in line to take Buffett's place as Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway.
But late last year, Santulli was "disappeared," in the lingo of Latin American dictatorships, and banished from the Berkshire family like a prodigal son after spending NetJets into a near death-spiral of ballooning debt and losses, about which Buffett himself abjectly apologized in his Chairman's Letter this spring.
Whether BYD's near-term problems herald the potential for longer-term concerns with Mr. Li, we have no clue. He clearly has the most interesting background for Buffett's investment job, having confronted Chinese tanks at Tiananmin Square in 1989.
Also, and most importantly, he comes from where the world is moving. After all, the "Next Warren Buffett" will not likely be a young stock broker from Nebraska sitting in his upstairs room reading Moody's manuals and S&P sheets.
Still, it ain't over til it's over
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2010 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews, who also acts as an advisor: clients advised by Mr. Matthews may hold either long or short positions in securities of various companies discussed in the blog based upon Mr. Matthews' recommendations. This commentary in no way constitutes investment advice, and should never be relied on in making an investment decision, ever. Also, this blog is not a solicitation of business: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.


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From calculating how much mortgage you'll need to borrow, to considering Help to Buy and saving for a deposit, there's a lot to consider when preparing to buy your new home. Find out more
When making the decision to buy a home, there are a few things you need to consider. From finding a solicitor and calculating Stamp Duty to budgeting for the everyday costs of running a home, find out more about the pre-move processes.
Congratulations! You've got the keys and are ready to move in. There are just a few final things to tick off the list to ensure the move goes smoothly and life in your new home gets off to the best start.


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Some of you may have liked Duel, the new Mike Greenberg-hosted game show on ABC. I'll admit to being confused by the entire enterprise; for the first 10 minutes I thought I was watching the first episode of the new season of Lost. Answer the question, Hurley, and The Others will release Sawyer! For more detailed analysis, let's go to The Washington Post's Tom Shales, who was a little more pointed in his criticism.
Mike Greenberg, who hosts "Duel," appears to have been born without a sense of humor (even though he is half of "Mike and Mike in the Morning," a sports-chat show on ESPN), but with an obvious contempt for all game show contestants. Among his witticisms: "Discretion is the better part of valor." He so mercilessly drags out the proceedings, repeating contestants' options ad nauseam, that a player named Denise at one point snaps, "Oh, just get on with it!" Thus the most honest and enjoyable moment of the show.
But Shales goes further, suggesting, essentially, that shows such as Duel could be the ruin of television as we know it. Hmm. I might agree with him if I could figure out what the heck was going on. The blue chips are worth how much again?
Well, at least the show is getting support on its own message board:
• Mediocre at best! — Donkobes
• Too slowwwww, sticking with Jeopardy — bnbsmom
• MY GOSH!!! I can't take it!!! Is this show the most boring show in the world?? — mssusan1999
• While the premise is excellent, something must have gotten lost in the translation when it arrived from France. — Stubby55
ABC's 'Duel' Personality? Dull And Dumb [Washington Post]
The Reviews Are In, 'Duel' And Greenberg Get Destroyed [Awful Announcing]


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Medicare Advantage (Part C) Plans in Hawaii
A Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) is another Medicare health plan choice you may have as part of Medicare. Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called "Part C" or "MA Plans," are offered by private companies approved by Medicare. If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you still have Medicare. You will get your Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage from the Medicare Advantage Plan and not Original Medicare. In all types of Medicare Advantage Plans, you're always covered for emergency and urgent care. Medicare Advantage Plans must cover all of the services that Original Medicare covers except hospice care. Original Medicare covers hospice care even if you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan. Medicare Advantage Plans aren't supplemental coverage.
Medicare Advantage Plans may offer extra coverage, such as vision, hearing, dental, and/or health and wellness programs. Most include Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D). In addition to your Part B premium, you usually pay a monthly premium for the Medicare Advantage Plan.
Medicare pays a fixed amount for your care every month to the companies offering Medicare Advantage Plans. These companies must follow rules set by Medicare. However, each Medicare Advantage Plan can charge different out-of-pocket costs and have different rules for how you get services (like whether you need a referral to see a specialist or if you have to go to only doctors, facilities, or suppliers that belong to the plan for non-emergency or non-urgent care). These rules can change each year.
There are four common types of Medicare Advantage Plans:
- Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Plans—In most HMOs, you can only go to doctors, other health care providers, or hospitals on the plan's list except in an emergency. You may also need to get a referral from your primary care doctor.
- Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plans—In a PPO, you pay less if you use doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that belong to the plan's network. You pay more if you use doctors, hospitals, and providers outside of the network.
- Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) Plans—PFFS plans are similar to Original Medicare in that you can generally go to any doctor, other health care provider, or hospital as long as they agree to treat you. The plan determines how much it will pay doctors, other health care providers, and hospitals, and how much you must pay when you get care.
- Special Needs Plans (SNP)—SNPs provide focused and specialized health care for specific groups of people, such as those who have both Medicare and Medicaid, who live in a nursing home, or have certain chronic medical conditions.
There are also several other, less-common types of Medicare Advantage Plans including:
- HMO Point-of-Service (HMOPOS) Plans—This is an HMO plan that may allow you to get some services out-of-network for a higher copayment or coinsurance.
- Medical Savings Account (MSA) Plans—This is a plan that combines a high deductible health plan with a bank account. Medicare deposits money into the account (usually less than the deductible). You can use the money to pay for your health care services during the year.
You don't need to buy (and can't be sold) a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy while you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan. If you already have a Medigap policy and join a Medicare Advantage Plan, you will probably want to drop your Medigap policy. You can't use it to pay for any expenses (copayments, deductibles, and premiums) you have under a Medicare Advantage Plan.


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Dimensional Measurement
Linear Gauge Sensors
BS-1210 - New ! Miniature Linear Gage Sensor
Miniature Linear Gage Sensor designed for measuring where space is limited. The ultra compact Baby sensor, the BS series with 94.5 mm in length and 13 mm in thickness is ideal for mounting inside machinery with limited access space. The BS-1210/1310 is designed based on our long-selling previous model the BS-102/112 series, measures dimensions, displacements and travels in high durability, stability and high accuracy.
High accuracy and stability
Extremely durable and long life (30 million cycles)
Protection Class IP-66 ( Dust and water protection )
Miniature, thin body and light-weight construction
Expanded Temperature ranges
RoHS Compliant
10 mm / 0.4"
0.01 mm / 0.0005"
Response Speed
36 in / s
Measuring Force
150 gf / 5.3 ozf
Operating Temperature
32° to 122° F / 0° to 50° C
Stem Diameter
8 mm
Contact Point Thread
Cable length (attached)
1.9 meter
3.9 oz / 110 g
Protection Class
Standard accessories: 1.9 meter cable, contact point. Optional extension cables available up to 30 meters in length. Sensors can be connected to all of our gauge displays along with a PLC.
Download Brochure
Download Drawing
Download Manual
AA-813 - Mechanical Release Cable
AA-844 - Spindle 30mm Extension
AA-844-1 - Spindle 20mm Extension
AA-845 - Spindle 50mm Extension
AA-848 - M2.5 to 4-48 Thread (conversion) Adapter
AA-8801 - 5 Meter Extension Cable, replaces the AA-801
AA-8802 - 10 Meter Extension Cable, replaces the AA-802
AA-8803 - 20 Meter Extension Cable, replaces the AA-803
AA-8804 - 30 Meter Extension Cable, replaces the AA-804
AA-969 - Finger Lifter ( Metric M2.5 threads )
DG-1270 - (English / Metric) Comparator Discontinued
DG-2310 - 2 Channel Gauge Comparator
DG-3610 - English / Metric Gauge Display (discontinued, please call for replacements)
DG-4120 - Metric Display discontinued and replaced / upgraded with the DG-4320.
DG-4140 - Color Changing GO/NOGO (Metric Only) Comparator (Discontinued, replaced) upgraded with the DG-4320 and DG-4340.
DG-4140E - Color Changing GO/NOGO Comparator (English / Metric) upgraded to the new DG-4340
DG-4240 - Metric Comparator Display (discontinued) replaced with DG-4340
DG-4280 - Metric Comparator Display (Discontinued) replaced with DG-4340
DG-4320 - English/Metric Display
DG-4340 - Color Changing GO/NOGO Comparator (English / Metric)
DG-5100 - English / Metric Comparator Display
GS-102 - Linear Gauge Sensor Discontinued
GS-1513A - IP-64 Gauge Sensor discontinued and upgraded with the GS-1713A.
GS-1713A - IP-64 Linear Gauge Sensor
RV-3150 - Reversible Counter
S-2000 - NEW !! High Quality Granite base gage stand
ST-022 - High Quality Ceramic Base Gauge Stand for (8mm - 3/8" stems) adjustable
< Back to Linear Gauge Sensors


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I hope everyone enjoyed my DIY Halloween Costume Guest Blogger Series! Today's blog is a bit of a surprise. It ends up one of the lovely ladies from the "Rock Paper Scissors" costume I included in my post, Tuesday Ten: Creative & Crafty Halloween Costumes, is a LaurenConrad.com member! As luck would have it, Courtney Richards (aka "Scissors") offered to provide everyone with a step-by-step tutorial on how to recreate the fabulous costume trio she made with her friends! Below are Courtney's instructions… If you have any questions for Courtney, feel free to message her on her LaurenConrad.com account. Happy crafting!
XO Lauren
Hi everyone! Courtney here. For the past couple years, while my friends and I were in college, we always strived to have super creative costumes for sorority and fraternity theme parties and, of course, Halloween. Some of our past costumes (together and separately) included: the "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday girls" from the Nuva Ring commercial, the "balloon boy" from the popular 2009 scandal, a PB&J sandwich, post-it notes and more! For us, the brainstorming of Halloween costume ideas starts as early as a month to two months ahead of time. For the Rock, Paper, Scissors costume we knew that we wanted a group costume to suit 3 people. We Googled "things that come in threes" to find inspiration, and voila: The Rock, Paper, Scissors costume was born! The Rock, is an Illinois Elementary School teacher named Lauren Miller, Paper is also an Illinois School teacher named Kierstyn Hacker, and I am the Scissors, an Industry Events Manager from Chicago. Enjoy the tutorial!
All three costumes have the same dress underneath. Here is what you will need:
- 3-4 yards or silver, sequin fabric (per dress)
- Scissors
To make the dresses…
1. Cut the fabric to a length you prefer.
2. Wrap the fabric around you until the piece meets at both ends.
3. Cut fabric in half so that each cut is on your side.
4. Extend the fabric about 3 inches on each side. Cut strips into each side of the fabric where the sides met. These strips should be about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide.
5. Once all of the strips are cut, tie the sides together (it is easiest to tie the sides together when you are wearing it). This process looks similar to tying fleece blankets.
The finished product should look something like this:
- Large piece of thick foam blocks
- Can of silver and gray spray paint
- 1 yard of velvet fabric
- Hot glue gun
- Silver tights
1. Cut the foam into two large, uneven circles.
2. Spray paint the foam circles to look jagged. (To the lighter make it look jagged, spray it entirely color first, then take the darker color and accent it).
3. Spray with sparkle spray paint at the end.
4. Once the spray paint is dry, cut out two velvet pieces to hot glue on each side of the rock. The length of the velvet will vary depending on the person.
5. Glue additional sequin straps like suspenders. Elastic sequin strips work really well!
- 2 large white foam boards
- Light blue paint
- Hot pink paint
- Scotch tape (or blue painter tape)
- 2 yards blue and/or pink sequence straps
- Hot glue gun
1. Hung like suspenders, the "paper" costume is made from a giant white foam board, which can be bought at Hobby Lobby (or any office or craft supply store). You will need two white foam boards, one for the front and one for the back.
2. On the front of the board paint with a light pink color, horizontal stripes and one thick light blue stripe vertically on the left (so it looks like a sheet of ruled paper). With black paint, create 3 circles to represent hole punches vertically on the left. Do this twice, once for the front and once for the back board.
- 2 large white foam boards
- 2 hot pink, lightweight poster boards
- 1 can silver spray paint
- 4 yards of black sequence straps
- Sparkle spray paint
- Hot glue gun
- Box cutter
- Clear gems/jewels
1. Scissors: To start off, use a pair of regular scissors as reference to draw an outline of a pair of scissors on the white foam board. You will create two complete pairs of scissors, one for the front and one for the back. Do this two times. Using a box cutter is the easiest way to cut out your shape after its drawn on the board. Use a hot glue gun to combine the sides of the scissors. Spray paint all sides of the scissors with the silver spray paint.
2. The pink handles: For the pink handles trace the outline of the scissor handles on the pink poster board. Cut out and glue to the to the silver scissors.
3. Once the two separate scissors are made, make them mirror each other when you're wearing them. It's easiest to create the handles when the scissors are on your body. Glue the sequin straps across the inside of the scissors like a guitar straps.
4. Glue additional sequin straps like suspenders.
5. When you are finished you can add cute gems and jewels to the corners of the scissors and the handles!
For all three costumes…
To make them extra girly, use the sparkle spray paint generously! The sparklier the better!
Are you going to make this costume?


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An elegant new display case puts all 5,000 colors of the PANTONE PLUS SERIES right at your fingertips.
The PANTONE REFERENCE LIBRARY gives you the full line of the PANTONE PLUS SERIES fan guides and chip books - all of our spot colors, metallics, pastels, neons and process colors for print, packaging, web, video and other applications - in one money-saving bundle, in a clean, modern new display that lets your creativity shine.
Now with 336 New Solid Colors to Let Your Creativity Shine
Our newly redesigned storage and display case keeps your guides and chips books organized, handy and beautifully displayed.
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Dippy eggs with Marmite soldiers
Prep: 5 mins Cook: 5 mins
Start the day the right way, with this quick, easy and nutritious breakfast
Nutrition and extra info
- Vegetarian
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal372
- fat21g
- saturates8g
- carbs31g
- sugars2g
- fibre4g
- protein17g
- salt1.09g
Save to My Good Food
Bring a pan of water to a simmer. Add 2 eggs, simmer for 2 mins if room temp, 3 mins if fridge-cold, then turn off heat. Cover the pan and leave for 2 mins more.
Meanwhile, toast 4 slices wholemeal bread and spread thinly with butter, then Marmite. To serve, cut into soldiers and dip into the egg, then a few mixed seeds.
You may also like
Comments, questions and tips
6th Feb, 2013
Love soft-boiled eggs, love Marmite, but think I'd rather stick with unspoiled buttered toast for this - though the seeds are an interesting addition. However - my contribution is that if you want perfectly soft-boiled eggs at 8,200ft (Colorado Rockies), boil for exactly 7 minutes (from fridge). Took me a while to work this out!
24th Oct, 2011
Amazing. Didn't have seeds so omited them and used wholemeal pitta instead of normal brown bread which worked brilliantly. It had probably been about 10 years since i'd last had a runny egg but now I'm having them all the time. It's really the marmite that makes this though as the savoury punch adds so much extra flavour and thus enjoyment. Yum.


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At a public hearing of the Legislative Yuan, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday said she would propose amendments to remove the requirement for foreign nationals to renounce their original citizenship before being granted Republic of China (ROC) citizenship, as two former Pakistani nationals recounted how became stateless when they were denied Taiwanese citizenship after giving up Pakistani citizenship.
"If there's any reason why I cannot be granted Taiwanese citizenship, you can tell me, so that I can keep my Pakistani citizenship, and live here as a foreign resident," Syed Noor Alam, a former Pakistani, said at a public hearing at the legislature.
Having lived in Taiwan for more than 20 years, Syed decided to become a naturalized Taiwanese citizen after marrying a Taiwanese woman.
He was given a Certificate of ROC Naturalization Candidacy after submitting the required documents, including a certificate from the police showing that he had no criminal record in Taiwan.
With the candidacy certificate in hand, Syed flew to Pakistan to officially renounce his Pakistani citizenship. However, upon arrival in Taiwan, he found that bad news awaited him.
"When I came back to Taiwan, I received another police document saying that I had a criminal record, and so my naturalization application was turned down," Syed said.
Admitting that he was ruled guilty in a theft case, Syed said it was unacceptable to him that the government made a mistake in the first place and is now not trying to help him.
"I couldn't attend my father's funeral when he passed away. Now my mother is severely ill and I still cannot be by her side," Syed said. "My mother calls me all the time, asking me when would I be back — but I don't know the answer."
"Don't you [government officials] have mothers as well?" he said.
Another former Pakistani citizen, Jawal Shakoor, faced a similar dilemma. Jawal was granted Taiwanese citizenship in 2004, but he was only a Taiwanese citizen for about eight months, as his citizenship was revoked by the Ministry of the Interior after he was discovered to have a criminal record.
"Prior to giving up my Pakistani citizenship, the police issued me a certificate proving that I had no criminal record. After granting me a Taiwanese ID card and a Taiwanese passport, they discovered otherwise and decided to take them away, without telling me what I can do next," Jawal said.
Hsiao said she had also been stateless for a few days after she gave up her US citizenship before she received ROC citizenship.
"I waited for a few days, but some immigrants may have to wait more than a few days or even a few months. I was fortunate enough to receive my Taiwanese citizenship, but what if something went wrong during the pending period?" Hsiao said.
"I think it's not reasonable to ask an immigrant to give up citizenship of his or her country of origin before getting Taiwanese citizenship," she said.
Hsiao added that it is not justified to allow naturalized citizens to run for public office only 10 years after their naturalization.
"When someone becomes a naturalized citizen, he or she becomes one of us, and should be granted the same rights in political participation," she said.
Hsiao proposed an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) and the Election and Recall Act for Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) to address the issue.


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Called to Serve: the Tri-County Chapter of the American Red Cross
Description: This book features the history of the Tri-County Chapter of the American Red Cross, which was chartered in Hereford in 1917, one month after the start of WWI. The history includes year by year summaries, as well as lists of officers and board of directors, correspondence, and financial reports.
Date: 2002
Creator: Miller, Genevieve O.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Book
Partner: Deaf Smith County Library


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College of Visual & Performing Arts
- Davis College of Business and Economics
- College of Education and Human Development
- College of Graduate Studies and Research
- Waldron College of Health and Human Services
- College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences
- Artis College of Science and Technology
- College of Visual and Performing Arts
- Other Offices and Departments
CVPA Calendar
Student Jewelry/Metal Show »
Tuesday Apr 3 - Thursday Apr 12
All day @ Porterfield Gallery 205An exhibition of special projects and work from current Radford University students in jewelry/metalsmithing. The exhibition is in the Porterfield Gallery (room 205). The gallery is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closes from noon until 1 p.m.
Radford University Percussion Ensemble Concert »
Tuesday Apr 3
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. @ Davis Performance Hall in the Covington CenterFree admission.
Faculty Recital: Marlayna Maynard - Soprano »
Wednesday Apr 4
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. @ Davis Performance Hall in the Covington CenterMarlayna Maynard, Cara Modisett and other guest artists will present Jake Heggie's one-act opera "At the Statue of Venus" along with shorter works from a variety of composers.
Radford University International Guitar Festival »
Friday Apr 6 - Saturday Apr 7
All day @ Davis Performance Hall in the Covington CenterFree admission. Friday April 6 from 4:00pm to 9:00pm Saturday April 7 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00pm
BFA Graphic Design Show »
Friday Apr 6 - Sunday Apr 15
All day @ Radford University Art Museum at the Covington CenterGraduating students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts Graphic Design program exhibit their best works. Free admission
Reception for the BFA Graphic Design Show »
Friday Apr 6
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. @ Radford University Art Museum at the Covington CenterMeet the artists. Graduating students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts Graphic Design program exhibit their best works. Free admission.
Mountain Stage »
Sunday Apr 8
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. @ Bondurant Auditorium, Preston HallJoin the Radford University Performance Series for a special recording of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce, home to live music on public radio for over 30 years. Distributed by NPR, more than 150 stations across America and around the world play the two-hour episode of Mountain Stage every week via NPR Music and mountainstage.org. Recorded in front of a live audience, Mountain Stage features performances from seasoned legends and emerging stars in genres ranging from folk, blues and country; to indie rock, synth pop, world music and alternative.
Hollins Art Faculty Show »
Monday Apr 9 - Saturday Apr 14
All day @ RUAM Gallery DowntownAn exhibition of art by studio art faculty at Hollins University. Featured artists are Rick Hensley, Donna Polseno, Jennifer D. Printz, Elise Schweitzer, and Bob Sulkin.
Radford University Opera Workshop Concert »
Monday Apr 9
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. @ Davis Performance Hall in the Covington CenterFree admission
Curtain Up! Oklahoma! »
Tuesday Apr 10
5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. @ Covington CenterDinner and a show. Proceeds benefit Radford University's theatre guest artists program. Tickets include cocktails, dinner and ticket to Oklahoma!


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This is the place to go to connect with other players, luthiers and enthusiasts of Altgitarren.The Alto Guitar is a fairly new instrument, constructed in the 60s by the swedish luthier, piano- and furniture maker George Bolin. In swedish it's called "Altgitarr", which means Alto Guitar. It usually has 11 strings, but some models have up to 13. Eventually there will be an article up with more information about the instrument.
Christoffer Wadensten, Sweden


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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Yummy Christmas Presents
I tried the first before we ever left KC (yeah, I'm the type to shake my present under the tree to try to figure out what it is), and was rewarded for my impatience. Tröegs Brewing's Troegenator Doublebock (or "Dopplebock" for you German purists) is an outstanding rendition of this heavy-as-lead winter seasonal. As their website notes, this style was created by monks who needed nutrition during periods of fasting, and this stuff is like liquid bread. (Not Wonder Bread, either – more like heavy duty wheat with a thick, chewy crust.) It's not for the faint of tastebud, and you better have a deep love of malt. Fortunately, I do. It easily stacks up against my longtime favorite in this style, Spaten Optimator (which, for some reason, I must always pronounce with my best Ahnuld Schwarzenegger accent).
Thanks, guys! It's always awesome to try some beer that I can't get here in Texas, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the sixer. (They also included a Golden Monkey from Victory, which is distributed here, but hey, I'll take it anyway. For the record, I'll gladly accept free Victory beer any time.)
Since Erin is in a family way, it was up to me and Ben to then sample the limited-edition Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad that my mother-in-law gave me. I can't say I was as blown away as some of my KC beer blogger friends – I wasn't quite sure what to make of the cherry flavor, and maybe I just needed a cleaner palate after putting away some Boulevard Nutcracker. I think Ben felt the same way. Nonetheless, I liked it, and continue to applaud Boulevard's adventurousness with the Smokestack Series. The MIL got me two bottles, so maybe my appraisal will come up on the next try. (UPDATE: Yes, I thought this was excellent on the second go-around. I think letting it warm for several minutes is a good tactic with this beer.)
What did rock my world was the Double Wide IPA (another Smokestack) that I accidentally left in the MIL's fridge last winter. A year's worth of aging didn't hurt this beer one bit. Maybe the DWIPA raised my expectation too high for the BBQ (Get it? Bourbon Barrel Quad? Kansas City BBQ? Those guys are clever.) Now, if only Boulevard will put on the market that imperial stout that they tested on me and some other beer bloggers earlier this year. It was great.
Up next: Boulevard's other limited-edition brew, the Brett Saison, which the KC crowd has been raving about and I'm anxious to sample. As far as I know, it's not been for sale in Texas, making my biannual KC trips all the more valuable. Um, well, that and visiting my in-laws. ;-)
5 comments:
So glad the Troegenator Doublebock measured up, and I hope the rest of the pack brings equal enjoyment. Also hope you are able to head you up for that April visit to the City of Brotherly Love, by which time I'll be able to join in a right proper Philly brewer's tour. I'm loving that the little baby is due on St. Patrick's Day - if that's not a beer lover in the making, what is? - but I'm reeeeally looking forward to enjoying a tasty brew. Cheers - Erin
Hey Lee,
Not all the beer is from the Philly area. We just happened to get "a few" mixed cases from a beer tasting charity event. It was way too heavy for the servers from the brewers to bring back to their vehicles. So, so we offered our car, and took if off their hands.
Good to see you all!
- Scott-TheBrewClub said...
I'm in Jersey - I wonder if its too late to get some of that Troegenator brew, is is just for the holidays? Sounds like something I'd really enjoy, but I don't think I've seen it. Happy '09!
- Karla said...
I will think fondly of you as I drink all the yummy -ator beers in Munich for Starkbierzeit in March.
Optimator, Salvator, Maximator, Unimator.....
Ein Maas bitte!
- Lee said...
Speaking of such, the new Shiner 100th anniversary beer is a dobblebock named Celebrator. Had one last night. It was yummy. A bit lighter than the likes of Optimator.


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After years of agonizing over the literal days of creation in Genesis, I decided to spend time researching this problem at the London School of Jewish Studies in Hendon, England.
No results found in .
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.


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Current U.S. immigration policy is the worst of both worlds: Americans have poor border security while social-welfare programs offer a financial magnet which helps attract low-skilled immigrants from all parts of the world. Many of these low-skilled immigrants enter the United States illegally.
Any change in policy must deal with both of these problems but, of late, it is questionable if the current immigration bill making its way through the U.S. Senate will do much of anything to reform our current system.
The immigration-reform bill has a tall climb. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives wants a bill that does not grant citizenship to immigrants who are undocumented or who came to the United States illegally � even if that process takes years.
That the path to citizenship for the nation�s 11 million undocumented immigrants would take 13 years is proof to many that the bill is not soft on illegal immigrants; however, it is also sure to be challenged in court within nanoseconds of the bill being signed.
Of course, many will still dislike the bill � especially if it is too loaded with �pork� amendments or tries to spend too much money on related spending programs for immigrants.
For more than two decades, lawmakers have decided to do next to nothing about illegal immigration � including enforcing existing law � while letting problems fester while more undocumented aliens arrive every day.
Congress has approved some measures to increase border security along the U.S.-Mexican border in the past decade, but it is far from enough. The job of securing the border remains unfinished, and any immigration reform must substantially invest in new border security if passage is expected.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has filed for cloture on the border security agreement to the immigration reform bill, setting up a key vote Monday evening that would pave the way for the Senate to pass the bill by the end of next week.
There has been a slow and steady influx of undocumented immigrants in the past 20 years. Their numbers have reportedly swelled to 11 million or more. These undocumented immigrants create a large burden on many social-service agencies, and also on the police, school systems and more. In some states, illegal aliens have had little problem tapping into welfare benefits. That is unacceptable.
Congress must develop a fair and tough immigration-reform bill. It probably should include a path to citizenship, but one that takes a long time to walk.
A reform bill must also address the need to slow or halt the influx of illegal immigrants. The "Border Surge" amendment would double the number of Border Control agents to 40,000 and guarantee the completion of a 700-mile fence along the southern border, among other security measures sought by Republicans.
It is true the United States is mostly a nation of immigrants or people with ties to immigration. That is one of the nation�s defining qualities; it helps make America great.
Future immigration, however, needs to be legal and documented. Congress must act to make it so.


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Associated Press
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Wyoming coach Dave Christensen has been suspended one week and fined $50,000 for his actions following an Oct. 13 loss to Air Force.
Athletic director Tom Burman said Monday that it's important to send the right message to the team about taking responsibility for your actions.
Christensen confronted Falcons coach Troy Calhoun on the field after Air Force's 28-27 victory.
He accused the Falcons of faking an injury to their starting quarterback in the fourth quarter so they could set up the next play without taking a time out. Air Force took the lead on the next play when backup quarterback Kale Pearson scored on a bootleg.
Assistant head coach Pete Kaligis will serve as interim head coach this week and will lead the Cowboys against No. 21 Boise State on Saturday.
The following video contains vulgar language.


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Spartanburg, SC 29301
Job Description
Immediate opening for commercial pipe welders and fitters.
Welders and fitters must have at least 6 years of commercial pipe experience.
Welders must have experience with TIG, MIG, and Stick welds.
Fitters must have experience with carbon steel, stainless, weld and screw pipe.
Must have all necessary tools.
Must be able to start immediately.
Pay will depend on experience. Ranges between $18-23/hr.
Paid weekly. Possible overtime available.
For immediate consideration, please reply with official resume and include contact information


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The very first picture of what is purported to be Olympus's upcoming E-P5 mirrorless camera has surfaced, and has more of the retro touches we have come to expect know and love.
Move the arrows on the slider above from left to right to see a P5 / PEN-F comparison. When the slider is on the right, you're looking at the rumored E-P5.
The E-P5 succeeds 2011's popular E-P3 micro four-thirds camera. Clearly Olympus is running with the success of its throwback design philosophy. This time it's taking cues from the PEN-F models from the 1960s.
Details are still slim, but 43rumors is reporting that the P5 will borrow the 16 megapixel sensor from the E-M5 and PL-5, while improving an already great auto-focus system. It will come with the new 17mm f/1.8 as its kit lens. No word yet on price or availability, but expect an Olympus announcement in the next few weeks or so. [43rumors]


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probably because the way most healers are done, it doesn't get to be cool, or in the spotlight, or it takes away from something else that could be done. personally, i have an issue with all clerics being able to heal. i think that the abilities of a cleric should be limited to the nature, characteristics, and portfolio of the entity they follow.
i have one healer, a sangehirn, that also has the schtick of being a predictor. she is blind, a nod towards tradition, but as an erudite, she can overcome her limitations temporarily. she will randomly predict things for the party, npcs, and monsters. but as her prediction is an odds based one, even if she is wrong, it can be explained by juxtapositional events which beat the odds. makes for a lot of fun. with a good bluff check, she can seriously spook out mooks and minor npcs. especially when she manifests something with a visual trait. her eyes glowing with silver fire makes for good background prelude to a prophecy.


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Drugs and related paraphernalia were found in the cabin of the Captain Phillips cargo ship where two U.S. security contractors were found dead, the Seychelles Police Force reported Thursday.
Former Navy SEALs Mark Daniel Kennedy and Jeffrey Reynolds were found dead Tuesday in Kennedy's cabin on the Maersk Alabama, which was docked in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Police did not indicate the type of drugs, and autopsy results are pending.
After police completed their initial investigation, the Norfolk, Va.,-based ship was allowed to leave Port Victoria, the Seychelles capital.
The men were employed by the Trident Group, based in Virginia Beach. Company President Thomas Rothrauff said their families asked that no additional information be released.
Calling the apparent drug overdoses an "isolated incident," Maersk Line Ltd. said in a statement that it is working with Trident to immediately tighten its "zero tolerance policy" on drug and alcohol use, including random testing and rescreening.
"The action plan includes, and is not limited to, the review of all security personnel records to confirm that drug tests, background checks, and training requirements are current; retesting of security personnel for drug use where necessary; an audit of personnel hiring, training, performance evaluation, and compliance practices; and a re-evaluation of the shore leave policy," said Maersk spokesman Kevin Speers. "The Trident Group will also immediately implement a random drug testing program to increase the frequency at which it screens security personnel."
Former Navy SEALs and special warfare operators founded the maritime-security firm in 2000.
In April 2009, four Somali pirates boarded the 508-foot Maersk Alabama off eastern Africa. Three held Capt. Richard Phillips hostage for four days in a covered lifeboat before being shot dead by SEALs aboard the USS Bainbridge. The fourth, who had been captured earlier by the crew, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly 34 years in a federal prison.
Tom Hanks portrayed Phillips in the 2013 film that dramatized the hijacking.


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Our letter mounts frames make ideal gifts for children, weddings, anniversaries, special birthdays or even for your favourite pets. Our personalised photo letter name frames are designed for you to place a different photo behind each letter-shaped aperture.
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Chris De Herrera's
Windows CE Website
Website Awards
Website Updates
Windows and
Windows CE are trademarks of
Corporation and are used
under license from owner.
CEWindows.NET is not
associated with Microsoft
All Trademarks are owned
by their respective companies.
CES 2006 - Symbol MC70
By Chris De Herrera,
Copyright 2006
Version 1.00 Revised 1/10/2006
All Pictures By Chris De Herrera, Copyright 2006, All
Rights Reserved
Symbol MC70
Return to Chris De Herrera's Windows
CE Website


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Welcome to Rudding Holiday Park
One of the UK's award winning holiday parks in Yorkshire, Rudding Holiday Park is a privately owned camping, caravanning and self catering holiday park located three miles south of the popular spa town of Harrogate.
Set within beautiful parkland, you can benefit from the vast onsite facilities or explore Yorkshire's many attractions which make it one of the great family holiday parks in Yorkshire.
Rudding Holiday Park is open every day from the first weekend in March to the last weekend in January.


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The manual provided here is to be used only as a sample reference.
Please refer to the instruction manual that was included with your product for all warning and instructional use.
Be the first to know about giveaways, product launches, new parenting tools and more by joining our mailing list.
Keep up to date on all of our


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Discuss ways to improve search engine optimization (SEO).
Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
Note: when sorting by date, 'descending order' will show the newest results first.
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For Best Relation a Beautiful Gift Happy Valentines day Awesome Cards for WifeRead More »
For Wife
Wife often complain to her husband for love, or lock of time. On Happy valentines day, husbands can easily show their love, by sending them cards and gifts. We have a stock of valentines day cards for Wife, give these cards to your wife and sweetly say I Love You, she will forget all past complains.


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Published In March 2000
Cox Systems Technology, Oklahoma City, Okla., has been in voice/data/video since Walter and Naomi Cox founded the company in 1959. They first specialized in repairing radios. The business grew during the next decade to include low-voltage contracting by installing intercom systems for schools and hospitals and small sound systems for a variety of clients. By the 1970s, the low-voltage market began to expand, and Cox Systems' information technology (IT) component grew right along with it. Today, what was once a radio repair shop has annual sales of about $3.8 million, and employs seven people in the office and 13 low-voltage technicians in the field. The company primarily serves the health care, educational, and the institutional and correctional markets and specializes in the installation of such electronic systems as nurse call, fire alarm, intercom, security, sound, CCTV, telephone and voice mail, and data cabling. In addition, systems integration, especially in the correctional facilities market, has been a particularly high-growth market for the company during the past five years. "The information technology market has seen dramatic growth over the last 10 years, and by the end of the next decade, Cox Systems will specialize solely in IT projects," predicts Thomas G. Smith, president. Providing field technicians with laptops gave the operations manager a medium to provide info and improve documentation. "At the time, the company was still primarily installing intercom and sound systems in the electrical construction market only," he says. Smith immediately began focusing on improving the quality of workmanship at Cox, building a reliable reputation in the marketplace, and expanding into new markets such as telephone interconnects and fire alarm system work. "One step in establishing a quality reputation was to select well-known, high-quality vendors to represent on a proprietary basis," he states. The company entered into agreements with Toshiba, New York, for its telephone interconnect projects; Altec, Birmingham, Ala., for its engineered sound products; and Dukane, St. Charles, Ill., for its nurse-call and intercom systems projects. In 1987, Smith purchased Cox Systems Technology from a national conglomerate. The company immediately began focusing on expanding its current market share and building on the reputation for quality work it had established during Smith's tenure as general manager. "We began to sell more services directly to facilities, negotiate more projects -- as opposed to bidding them traditionally, and work on more design build projects," he says. The future of education The town of Norman, Okla., needed to build a brand-new high school. Prior to being awarded the contract through the traditional bid process, Cox Systems worked closely with the school district and the project's architect and engineers to help design the low-voltage systems for Norman North High School. On being awarded the contract, Cox Systems became responsible for installing and integrating the intercom and telephone systems, installing the sound system for the multipurpose auditorium that houses public speaking and sporting events, and doing the data cabling for the 600 classroom PC workstations, as well as networking those computers to the school's central media facility via fiberoptic cable. There were 250 intercom points and 120 telephone stations throughout the school to be installed and integrated. "This integration gives teachers and administrators the ability to communicate with each other directly from the classroom," Smith explains. For example, a call made from the intercom in a classroom can be picked up in the office on the telephone, and vice versa. For the sound system in the 1,500-seat, multi-purpose auditorium, Cox systems had to install 18 speaker arrays, which were distributed across the top of the 30-foot-high ceiling. The company also installed both the wireless and hard-wired microphone channels, which included multiple audio programming capabilities. "The fact that the company is known in the area as multi-faceted, with the ability to ensure the proper installation of integrated systems on time and on budget, were major contributing factors to our being awarded the job," Smith says. Another major reason the company was selected to do the work was its emphasis on providing end-use training. "The data component was quite large and complex, and the school district relied on our reputation of quality workmanship and customer service to do the job." The $400,000.00 project was awarded in December 1997 with a completion date of August 1998 and the average number of technicians on site was six. Special challenges A major obstacle during Cox's work on the school was project management. "The number of systems involved and the fast-track nature of the project put a strain on how we managed it," Smith says. In order to deal with these factors, the company set up a process of multitiered supervision. Each subsystem was assigned a foreman, who reported daily to the operations manager on the progress of that particular installation. The operations manager then coordinated all of the labor and material requirements before filtering that information back to the field, insuring that everyone had shared, complete, current information. To help the flow of all that vital data, the company provided laptops to the technicians in the field. "This was the first time we used laptops on a project," Smith says. The computers not only helped speed up the transfer of information between the field and the office, but they improved the documentation process as well. "The benefits we received by using this technology on this job spurred the decision to always use laptops in the field for communication purposes," Smith says. The company also now uses its computers in the field for system initialization and installation. Another major challenge for Cox Systems was to improve customer training. "It doesn't do the customer any good to buy an expensive, complicated intercom and telephone system and then not be able to use it," Smith observes. The company devoted more than 160 man-hours to train 120 staff members on the integrated communication system. Cox Systems has learned other valuable lessons while performing some of its larger designbuild projects at various correctional facilities. For instance, Smith says, to ensure proper completion of a project, the company starts ordering all the necessary material upon being awarded the job and stores it on site in security containers that are categorized by system. "Design-build projects today have a very short demand curve," he explains. Not only are current customers demanding faster project completions but also suppliers are running on much shorter order cycles than in the past. "The contractor that plans ahead by ordering material immediately can help insure that it the project will be completed on time." The customer is always right Cox Systems believes in providing added value to its low-voltage services, such as a two-year warranty on installations. "It is our responsibility to provide total systems solutions and to meet all of the customer's requirements and objectives," Smith observes. The company fulfills that responsibility by presuming that the customer is always right and entitled to satisfaction. "Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for our customers to do business with us." The company also promotes an open relationship between management and labor. The result is very low turnover, with some employees staying with the company for 10 to 15 years. To provide service to its customers and to establish a reputation as a company that fulfills its customers' needs quickly and with high-quality workmanship, Cox Systems provides its technicians with all the tools they require to do the job. "We not only provide educational tools, but also the hardware needed to perform the work, such as laptops in the field," Smith says. To further maintain consistent lines of communication, the company holds regular weekly meetings to discuss project problems, solutions, objectives, and to answer technicians' questions. "These meetings are a forum for the technical staff to express their concerns and requirements and a means for management to relay the company's overall objectives and how it plans to meet them," he explains. In addition, Smith has always thought it particularly important to recognize outstanding performance, as well as to point out areas in which employees can improve. But, he adds, he wants employees to learn from their mistakes, not be punished for them. "Every technician has the authority and responsibility to stop work on a project because of a problem. They know they don't have to worry about getting in some kind of trouble because they may cost the company money by stopping work." In this way, Cox Systems encourages its employees to operate in the best interest of the customer and to provide the highest possible level of service. Plans for the future As part of its plan to enter into markets outside of its geographical area, the company has signed a national agreement to represent Dukane's line of industrial communication products. Smith's emphasis and concern, however, is not focused on getting bigger but on getting better. "If the company satisfies its customer base correctly and provides the necessary services, growth is a natural outcome," he says. Cox Systems also plans to pursue more systems integration work. "We are pursuing systems integration work with the idea that in the next five years information technology will be the primary growth market," Smith observes. He thinks the challenge for a systems contractor is to decide exactly which market segments it should not pursue: "No company can be all things to the marketplace, but rather has to insure that it can be the best at what it does." Smith believes that Cox's biggest challenge in the future will be to stay informed about the ever-changing technologies in the IT market. To position itself to meet that challenge, the company provides its office employees with individual PCs, ISDN lines, e-mail, and Internet access. "If you're not connected, it will significantly affect your business within the next two years because the engineers, architects, and owners in the IT market have that technology and expect their contractors to be on the cutting edge as well," he explains. In addition, the suppliers that IT contractors work with are concentrating on constructing their own Web sites and using electronic commerce to decrease their own costs and increase the flow of data. "To succeed in the years to come, we must not only provide the latest technologies to our customers but must use those same technologies to improve business operations," Smith said. Cox System's Web site's goal is to keep customers informed of the systems and services the company offers, allow architects and engineers to download project specifications from a secured site, and to allow field staff to access secured customer data to insure the customer's needs are being met. Smith observes that any contractor who wants to get into the IT market can overcome the problem of technical know-how and learn how to install these low-voltage systems. But to be truly successful, the company must change its organization and focus on training the customer. To provide this added value, a company needs to invest in a full-time customer service representative whose responsibility it is to oversee end-user training and provide total IT solutions to customer's problems. "If the end-user doesn't know how to use the technology, you have failed in providing full service and will ultimately be less successful in the market," he advises. Because the company has invested heavily in building a reputation of providing consistent, high-quality work on time and on budget, everyone in the firm is dedicated to providing the company's customers with total IT solutions. "Our quality of workmanship and consistency of service sets us apart from other information technology contractors in the area," Smith concludes. Bremer, a freelance writer based in Solomons, Md., contributes frequently to Electrical Contractor. She can by reached at (410) 394-6966 or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Home » Explore » Locomotives & Rolling Stock » Locomotives - Locomotives
At Didcot you can see what is believed to be the largest collection of locomotives, from any one railway company, anywhere in the world.
Some may be in steam on our demonstration lines or shunting in the yard, whilst others may be on display in our Great Western Railway Engine Shed. You will also be able to see several locomotives being restored in our modern and well equipped Locomotive Works.
Stay up to date with events and what's going on at Didcot Railway Centre.
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New Orleans Union Of Entertainment All Stars return with their fifth installment in less than 120 days, "Da Independents" featuring Corner Boy P, Da U Boys, Tim Smooth, TNC Boys, Partners N Crime, Devious, Fiend, Jay Jones, Big Ramp, Bruce-Lee Roy, KG Boys, Marcy, Redd, Mz. Wizdom, EazyMoney, Magnolia Shorty, Konfo, Majesty Sozey, Young Torrento, and more. This mixtape exhibits the rawness and lyrical prowess of New Orleans and will definitely become a favorite of true heads and "snap backs."
Scheduled to release on October 18th, Da Independents is a highly awaited mixtape being released on the heels of Da U Boys' "Tha Shut Down", Corner Boy P's "Limitless", and Fiend/Don Cannon mixtape. "NOUE tries to stay aligned with what's hot in the streets of New Orleans so we can keep things moving consistently." Da Independents will be available at most major mixtape sites, blogs, and forums. Follow the New Orleans Union For Entertainment @NOUE1.


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How to Invest When You Don't Have Much to Invest
7 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Open a 401(k)
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The 6 Factors That Determine Who Gets To Be a Millionaire
Is LASIK Surgery Worth the Money?
Feeling Stressed? You're Probably Not Having Enough Sex
Jeffrey Stoffer, CFP®, MBA, CFA®
Certified Financial Planner® & Wealth Advisor. Values based planning: the recipe for success
Jane Barratt
Founder and CEO of GoldBean: Investing for Beginners.
Jenny Powers
Helping women elevate their personal and professional network, one high heeled step at a time.
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Adda designs and teaches classes on digital job skills
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Helping people to recalibrate their connection between life and money.
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CBTiger Live Demo
Our online demo is a fully working version allowing you to try out most of the functionality of CBTiger.
The live demo will be refreshed every six hours
- Joomla 2.5.x
- Front End : http://www.sclivedemo.com
- Back End (administrator) : http://www.sclivedemo.com/administrator
- Username: demo
- Password: demo
CBTiger is tested on cloudaccess.net platform. The official host of the Joomla! Demo site
- URL of Joomla: http://demo.joomla.org (Official Demo)
Vtiger Demo
CBTiger is tested and integrated with the latest version of Vtiger
- URL of Vtiger : https://demo.vtiger.com (Official Vtiger CRM Live Demo)
- Username: admin
- Password: admin
You can create your Vtiger free demo account in the official demo of Vtiger @ http://www.vtiger.com/crm/on-demand-sign-up/ and try it with our demo of CBTiger


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About the Brand
Suno is named for owner and designer Max Osterweis' mother, in part because it was visits to her home in Lamu (an island on Kenya's Swahili coast) that first created the impetus for the line. There, Osterweis, who had been in the film industry before launching Suno, was inspired by Kenyan cloths called kangas, which women wore as skirts and tops or wrapped around their backs as baby slings. Osterweis and his partner, Erin Beatty, still make much of their collection from kanga-like fabrics in Kenya, though they've since expanded to other countries, seeking out elements of the local aesthetic to incorporate into their designs in each place.


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BERWICK, Maine — Four people were arrested Saturday and charged with assault after attempting to remove a group of "squatters" from the home of an incarcerated family member.
According to a press release issued by the Berwick Police Department, at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24, law enforcement responded to 19 Allen St. for a fight including at least eight people — some of whom were injured.
The fight involved four individuals trying to remove three other people believed to be "squatting" in a family member's apartment at 19 Allen St. while the actual tenants were incarcerated.
Following the fight the four suspects fled the scene in a truck but were later located by the Somersworth, N.H., police department at the city's Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building.
Diane Beaton, 52, of Berwick, Timothy Dyer, 51, of Somersworth, Susan Dyer, 46, of Somersworth, and Joshua Royer, 32, of Somersworth were all arrested and charged with assault following an investigation by police. They are scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 15 at the Springvale District Court.
Nathaniel Lang, 31, and Jill Botelho, 32, both of Berwick, and Ryan Breton, 31, of Lewiston, Maine were treated and released at the scene of the assault.
An unidentified 11-year-old male who was reportedly assaulted during the incident was also treated and released at the scene. The boy's mother declines to allow police to have any involvement with her son.
The police have since learned the alleged "squatters" had been allowed to stay in the apartment by at least one of the tenants.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Captain Jerry Locke, email@example.com, or Patrolman Steven Shisler, firstname.lastname@example.com, or through a call to the Berwick Police Department at 207-698-1136.
Four charged in Berwick brawl
BERWICK, Maine — Four people were arrested Saturday and charged with assault after attempting to remove a group of "squatters" from the home of an incarcerated family member.


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WADE, OK - OSBI say they're investigating the death of a Bennington man who was fatally shot at a house early Thursday morning.
Parker Tyson, 27, was armed with a handgun when he kicked in a door
at 14 E. Main St., according to OSBI. Someone inside the house opened fire, hitting Tyson several times, OSBI said.
Jessica Brown, OSBI spokesperson, said Tyson was flown to MCSO and pronounced dead a few hours later.
"OSBI agents were called in by the Bryan County Sheriff's office to help with the investigation," she said." We've been doing that all day, doing interviews, collecting evidence from the crime scene."
Neighbors said two people were home at the time - a man and woman. They said both are staying with friends for now.
District Attorney Emily Redman said the shooter claims self-defense.
It's up to her office to decide whether to press charges, she said.
Brown said she can't release details on whether Tyson knew anyone inside the home.
Law enforcement said Tyson had a lengthy criminal history.
DOC records show he was sentenced to 5 years in prison for a second degree manslaughter charge after he fled the scene of a fatal accident in 2008.
He was released in January of 2011 and was on probation until 2019.
Brown said they haven't arrested anyone at this time and can't release the identity of the person who fired at Tyson.
"Everything is under investigation," she said. "OSBI is still conducting interviews, still waiting on results from tests on evidence, so right now the investigation is still in the really early stages, and I can't release any more to you at this point."
OSBI will turn the case over to the district attorney's office, who will decide how they want to proceed.