text: AdvancedSearch.CourseSearchTermLabel.Text Course name, subject or code Country of university or college Country of university or college England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Also... Range Within Between Further than Distance 1 5 miles 25 miles 50 miles 75 miles 100 miles and Distance 2 5 miles 25 miles 50 miles 75 miles 100 miles of from Location University or college University or college Study Mode Study Mode Full time Part time Distance learning Qualification type Qualification type Enhanced first degree (e.g. MEng) . More information: Enhanced first degree programmes typically include the equivalent of at least four years full-time study (five in Scotland), of which the equivalent of at least one year is at masters level. IPML M.CMAc MA MA(SocSci) MAcc MAnth MArabic MArch MART MB,BChir MBBCh MBBS MBChB MBio MBiochem MBiol MBiolSci MBioMed Sci MBioms MBus MChd MChem MChemPhys MChiro MClass MComp MCompPhil MCompSci MDes MDiv MDrama MEarthPhys MEarthSci MEcol MEcon MEd MED Stud MEng MEnv MEnvSci MESci MFA MFor MGeog MGeol MGeoPhys MGeoSci MHist MInf MLA MLang MLaw MLibArts MMarBiol MMath MMath&Phys MMathCompSci MMathPhil MMBiol MME MMet MMkt MMSci MNatSci MNeuroSci MNurs MNursSci MNutr MOcean MOptom MOSci MOst MPharm MPharmacol MPharmSci MPhyPhil MPhys MPlan MPol MPsych MSc MSci MSW MTCP MTheol MVetPhys MZOOL First degree (e.g. BA, BSc) . More information: A first degree, is the standard degree for undergraduate higher education. A typical undergraduate degree in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland involves the equivalent of three years full time study (four in Scotland). BA BA/BSc BAcc BArch BASc BBA BChD BD BDes BDiv BDS BEconSc BEd BEng BEng/BSc BFA BFin BHSc BM BM BCh BMBS BMedSc BMedSci BMid BMidWif BMus BN BNatSci BNurs BOptom BOst BSc BSc (Eng) BSc(Econ) BScEcon BSocSc BSW BTechEd BTh BVetMed BVMBVS BVMedSci BVMS BVMSci BVSc LLB MDiet MoOth MRad Vet.M.B Foundation degree (e.g. FD, FDEd) . More information: A foundation degree is a qualification which combines academic study with work based learning, focussing on a particular job or profession. A foundation degree involves the equivalent of two years of full time study and allows progress onto a full first degree. FD FDA FDArts FDEd FDEng FDS FdSc HND . More information: A Higher National Diploma (HND) is a work-related course. A full-time HND generally takes two years to complete, or three to four years part-time. HND HNC . More information: A Higher National Certificate (HNC) is a work-related course. A full time course generally takes one year to complete, or two years part-time. HNC Other undergraduate . More information: Other undergraduate e.g. CertHE, DipHE CertHE DipArch DipHE Graduate Diploma TQFE Accreditation Accreditation Show only courses with additional accreditation . More information: Courses on Unistats are all recognised UK awards. In addition to the awarded qualification some courses may have accreditation. This means that a Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) formally recognises the professional value of the qualification. PSRBs include the General Medical Council, the Architects Registration Board, the British Association of Art Therapists, and the Institute of Physics. Accrediting body Sandwich year Sandwich year Yes, only show me courses with a sandwich year . More information: As part of an undergraduate degree, a sandwich year or course includes the opportunity to undertake a work placement or internship in a relevant company or organisation. No, exclude courses with a sandwich year I don't mind, show me all courses Year abroad Year abroad Yes, only show me courses with a year abroad . More information: Some courses at some UK institutions include the opportunity for students to take a year abroad as part of their studies (for example, a student taking a language degree might study in the country where the language is spoken). No, exclude courses with a year abroad I don't mind, show me all courses Foundation year Foundation year Yes, only show me courses with a foundation year . More information: A foundation course is a preparatory course for students who want to specialise in a particular area. Some first degree courses will require students to take a foundation year in advance of their degree, this is particularly common in the field of art and design. No, exclude courses with a foundation year I don't mind, show me all courses Include only courses that meet these criteria Include only courses that meet these criteria % students who say that, overall, they are satisfied with the quality of the course. At least... % % students who say that the staff have made the subject interesting. At least... % % students who say that they have sufficient advice and support with their studies. At least... % % students who after one year continue at the university or college. At least… % Percentage in a professional or managerial job. At least… %


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subset: commoncrawl


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Governor Kitzhaber has prevailed in persuading lawmakers to approve high-profile initiatives in education, early childhood learning and health care. Now he wants to tackle energy, which could prove a more elusive and tougher sell.
Earlier this year, Kitzhaber handpicked three dozen industry insiders to recommend innovative policy ideas and create a 10-year energy plan. Teams worked for four months, focusing on: 1) consumption/energy efficiency, 2) supply side/resource mix, 3) siting, 4) transportation, and 5) governance.
The group sent its recommendations to Kitzhaber, which now have been made public. Their major theme is reducing carbon dioxide emissions through energy source conversion, more reliance on renewables, and ditching power generation based on high-carbon fossil fuels. Most Oregonians may not know that more than half of the state's electricity comes from coal-burning power plants.
One big hurdle in accomplishing carbon reduction is already surmounted as PGE has agreed to close down its Boardman coal-fired plant. But even that decision raises thorny questions as the utility looks for a way to replace a source of reliable energy to serve its base load.
Legislators had a previous taste of energy politics when they considered, but didn't act, in the 2009 session on a cap-and-trade proposal, intended to use market forces to encourage businesses with options to switch to energy sources with lower carbon emissions.
Since then, interest has grown in the merits of a carbon tax, which is a more direct disincentive for using fossil fuels. It also is a tax, which raises political flags.


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Welcome to GPLDL - we are still beta - please report any bugs via the contact form.
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RAYMOND WEIL Limited Edition Brit Awards watch sold for £180,000
Saturday 10 November 2012 saw Kevin Spacey and David Furnish host the sixth Annual Grey Goose Winter Ball, held at the Battersea Power Station – one of London's most iconic buildings.
A beautiful dinner, curated by two Michelin Starred chef, Hélène Darroze was followed by an incredible auction that saw LABRINTH join auctioneer Charlie Ross onstage to auction off a money can't buy lot that included his personal RAYMOND WEIL Limited Edition BRIT Awards watch, a bespoke track created by LABRINTH and dinner in his restaurant Mosaica.
Before the auction even began, JAY KAY (Jamiroquai's front man) another past design partner of RAYMOND WEIL jumped onto the stage and pledged £50,000. This was then followed by a flurry of pledges that resulted in the auction lot finally being sold for £180,000 – the most an auction lot has ever been sold for at the Grey Goose Winter Ball. In total the sum of £690,000 was raised on the night.
The Grey Goose Winter Ball to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation was set up six years ago to help raise funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation to support its fight against HIV and AIDS within the UK and Internationally.
To date an amazing £3million has been raised through the Grey Goose Winter Ball.


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View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.
NEW YORK -- The 30-year-old former deli worker charged with shoving a man to his death as a train barreled into a Times Square subway station says the victim instigated the confrontation.
Naeem Davis was arraigned Wednesday night on a second-degree murder charge and ordered held without bail in the death of 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han on Monday.
As he walked past reporters, Davis said, "He attacked me first. He grabbed me."
Law enforcement sources have said Davis made statements to detectives implicating himself in the deadly push.
Prosecutor James Lin told the judge that Davis watched the train strike Han before leaving the station.
"This defendant never once offered any aid as the train approached the station. In fact, this defendant watched the train hit the victim. And according to witnesses, he then calmly put his coat back on, picked up his cup of coffee and left the station, seemingly indifferent to the welfare or fate of the victim," Lin said.
Davis' Legal Aid lawyer, Stephen Pokart, said outside court that his client "was involved in an incident with a man who was drunk and angry."
Davis is due back in court on Dec. 11.
A wake was held for Han at the Edward D. Jamie Funeral Chapel in Flushing, Queens and the funeral was scheduled for Thursday morning.
A bystander recorded part of the fight between the two men and turned the video over to police. The man who allegedly pushed Han is heard cursing and saying, in substance, "Leave me alone... stand in line, wait for the R train and that's it."
He then pushed Han onto the tracks, police said. Han tried to climb back up onto the platform but died after getting trapped between the train and the platform's edge.
Han's family spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday. Daughter Ashley Han, a 20-year-old Hunter College student, said: "I just really wish I had one last chance to tell my dad how much I love him."
Asked Wednesday if she wished someone would have helped pull her father off the tracks, Han said it was difficult to dwell on the past.
"Yeah, the thought of someone helping him up in a matter of seconds would have been great... what happened has happened," she said.
The Q train operator, Terrence Legree, told the Daily News he saw a man on the tracks and tried to pull the emergency brakes on the train, but couldn't stop it in time. Even after he heard the sound of the train hitting the man and the locomotive screeched to a halt, Legree said he jumped out of the control booth and tried to help the victim.
"If someone can be saved, you have to do what you have to do," Legree, a 21-year employee with the MTA, told the News. But Han couldn't be saved -- a tragic fact that had Legree struggling with a range of emotions and questions more than a day after the man's death.
Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com
"All kinds of emotions from 'Why is this happening?' to 'Why was that guy down there?' to 'What happened?'" Legree told the News. He was treated for shock after the incident.
The suspect's last known address was in a working-class neighborhood in Queens. The only neighbor who even vaguely remembered Davis was Charles Dawes, 80, who stays with his son two doors down.
Davis "came and went, came and went, and he always looked serious," Dawes said. "But I haven't seen him for three or four months."
Subway pushes are unusual. Among the more high-profile was the January 1999 death of Kendra Webdale. A former mental patient admitted he shoved her to her death.
Following that, the state Legislature passed Kendra's Law, which lets mental health authorities supervise patients who live outside institutions to make sure they are taking their medications and aren't a threat to safety.


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Monarch Football Update: Junior Class Breakdown
By ODU Athletics
May 29, 2013
NORFOLK, Va. - With the spring semester over, the 2013 regular-season opener at East Carolina is just 94 days away. With that in mind, ODUSports.com breaks down the returning players on the roster. Last week we took a look at the seniors, this week we look at the junior class.
Jakwail Bailey - WR - Haddonfield, N.J./Paul VI
Bailey had a solid off-season and spring practice after establishing himself as a starter in 2012. He played in all 13 games and started the final six games of the year.
He caught 29 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown, and recorded career highs with nine catches for 89 yards in ODU's 64-61 victory over New Hampshire. He also had eight grabs for 79 yards in the win at Towson. With the graduation of leading receiver Nick Mayers, Bailey will look to play an even bigger role in the ODU passing attack this season.
Dominique Guinn-Bailey - DL - Portsmouth, Churchland
Guinn-Bailey burst onto the scene in 2012, earning playing time at defensive tackle, starting six games and finishing fifth on the team in tackles. Guinn-Bailey's emergence at tackle allowed the Monarchs to move Erik Saylor to defensive end, and Guinn-Bailey flourished in the process.
He finished the season with 52 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks en route to earning all-conference accolades. In 2013, Guinn-Bailey will look to pick up where he left off and improve from last season's performance.
Taylor Heinicke - QB - Atlanta, Ga./Collins Hill
Heinicke put together one of the best, if not the best, seasons ever by a quarterback at the FCS level. The winner of the 2012 Walter Payton Award for the Best Player in the FCS, Heinicke broke several records and led the country in every meaningful quarterback category. In ODU's come-from-behind 64-61 win over New Hampshire, he set NCAA Division I records with 730 passing yards and 791 total yards and also set records for passing yards and total yards in a quarter and a half, as well as the record for most passes attempted in a game (79) without an interception.
He finished the year 398-of-579 for 5,076 yards and 44 TD passes, leading the country in all of those categories. He also rushed for 470 yards and 11 touchdowns to lead the nation in total touchdowns.
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Heinicke had another outstanding off-season conditioning program and spring practice. The ODU offense lost just one wide receiver from last season, giving Heinicke familiar targets for the 2013 season.
Mike Justice - OL - Springfield, Va./West Springfield
Appeared in six games last season on special teams and at tackle. He will look to crack the lineup in 2013 and is currently listed as the backup to Jack Lowney at left tackle.
Tyree Lee - RB - Hampton, Va./Phoebus
Lee rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown in ODU's win over Delaware on national TV and never looked back, starting the final five games of the year, record three-straight 100-yard rushing games and a career-high 166 yards in the regular-season finale over William and Mary.
He led the team with 864 yards on the ground and finished second on the squad with eight touchdowns. He also caught 35 passes out of the backfield for 343 yards and a touchdown.
Eriq Lewis - CB - Washington, D.C./Coolidge
Lewis started six games and played in 11 in 2012, finishing the year with 25 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
He earned all-conference honors in 2011 as a redshirt freshman, recording 41 tackles and a team-high five interceptions, and will once again fight for playing time at corner back.
Rick Lovato - LS - Middletown, N.J./Middletown
Lovato had an unnoticeable 2012 season, which for a long snapper, is a good thing.
The second year long snapper handled duties for extra points and field goals and punts without any problems and earned All-America honors. He will head into his third season as the Monarchs' long snapper in the fall.
Josh Mann - OL - Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes
Mann started all 13 games at center for the Monarchs in 2012. All five starters on the 2012 offensive line started every game, and the group helped the Monarchs lead the nation in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense.
An intelligent player, Mann made all the line calls up front and will look for a repeat performance in 2013.
Reggie Owens - CB - Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes
Owens appeared in all 13 games last season and started six, including the FCS quarterfinals game against Georgia Southern. He had 34 tackles, two sacks, both against Villanova, and an interception against Coastal Carolina in the FCS playoffs second round.
The Virginia Beach native had a solid spring and is positioned as the starting corner back leading into fall camp.
Larry Pinkard - WR - Washington, D.C./Ballou
Pinkard was one of four wide receivers to catch 55 or more passes in 2012. The Washington, D.C. native caught 55 passes for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. He had two of his best games in the FCS playoffs, catching six passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns against Coastal Carolina and grabbed a career-best seven passes for 83 yards versus Georgia Southern.
He had one of the best off-seasons of any of the Monarchs and produced an impressive spring practice as well. He had a team-best 37.5 in the vertical jump and finished just a tenth of a second off of Antonio Vaughan's team-high shuttle, posting a 3.98. Pinkard, who has started two-straight games at wide receiver, is once again listed as a starter. He was named to the College Football Performance Award preseason wide receivers list.
Blair Roberts - WR - Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney
Another product of ODU's receiving talent, Roberts caught 56 passes for 707 yards and seven TD's in 2012. A solid route runner with consistent hands, Roberts recorded career-highs with eight catches for 104 yards in the opener against Duquesne and recorded six receptions in games against New Hampshire, Delaware and James Madison.
The tallest returning receiver at 6-2, Roberts started 11 games in 2012 and will start again in 2013.
Preston Smith - DL - Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek
Smith played in all 13 games last season, starting 11 of them at defensive end. He finished seventh on the squad with 50 tackles and also contributed 4.0 tackles for loss and three sacks.
He underwent a number change and a position change in the spring, changing from 48 to 92, and he moved down to defensive tackle from his end spot. He is currently listed as the starter at defensive tackle.
Antonio Vaughan - WR - Ahoskie, N.C./Hertford County
Vaughan is the leading returning receiver of an impressive group that saw four players catch 55 or more passes, three of them are returning. He recorded 60 receptions for 885 yards and seven touchdowns and earned all-conference honors.
He recorded a career-best 12 catches for 143 yards in the win over New Hampshire and eclipsed the yardage mark with 146 yards on six grabs versus Georgia Southern. He registered four 100-yard receiving games, also notching 100-yards against Villanova (103) and James Madison (123).
Vaughan had an excellent off-season conditioning program, posting a team-best shuttle run of 3.97 seconds and was just two tenths off of Jevon Neal's team-best 40-yard dash, delivering a time of 4.41.
Stay tuned to ODUSports.com for an update on the sophomores.
To take a look at the senior class breakdown Click Here


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Each day, Andrea Puck eagerly checks her mailbox hoping the green carpool stickers she ordered for her new Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid have arrived.
She has good reason to be worried.
There has been a surge in orders for the coveted stickers, with 38,203 issued as of Friday. The limit — for now — is 40,000 and many officials thought it would be summer before that would be reached. Now it's believed they could run out this week.
"I haven't gotten them yet," said Puck, who two weeks ago ordered her husband to rush out to buy a Volt, mainly to get stickers that will allow her to drive solo in the carpool lane.
"I am having a little stroke," said the Santa Clara woman, "especially since I didn't realize that I couldn't apply until I have the license plate number-letters, which could take two weeks. If you are a praying man, I would appreciate some."
A bill working its way through Sacramento would raise the limit to 85,000. But the earliest that would take effect is next year and drivers like Puck don't want to gamble that more will be available down the road.
The stickers are good until 2019, and the hope of skirting the worsening traffic delays for nearly five years is fueling the jump in sticker applications.
"Five years gives this benefit to drivers for a long time," said Felix Kramer, an electric vehicle advocate and the founder of CalCars.
The state has also issued 44,917 white stickers for vehicles powered by electricity, hydrogen fuel cell, liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural gas. Examples include the Nissan Leaf and all Tesla models. There is no cap on the number of white decals in circulation.
The rush is for the green decals, which go to owners of vehicles meeting California's partial zero-emission vehicle requirements, such as the Volt, the Ford C-Max Energi and the plug-in Toyota Prius.
The green stickers also allow owners to drive free in express lanes on southbound I-680 and at the Highway 237/I-880 interchange. And they cut in half the toll to cross one of the state-owned bridges in the Bay Area, from $5 to $2.50.
Plus, the cost of buying an electric vehicle is falling. The Nissan Leaf is $6,000 less expensive this year than in 2012. And there is a federal $7,500 tax credit, plus a $2,500 rebate in California.
Meanwhile, Puck and others wait nervously.
"I think I will probably get the sticker," said Puck, who overnighted her application last week. "They say it takes two or three weeks, so hopefully I will squeak by."
Two to three weeks? A prayer wouldn't hurt.
Contact Gary Richards at 408-920-5335.


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LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Two-time Academy Award winner Milos Forman is receiving the lifetime-achievement award from his peers at the Directors Guild of America.
The filmmaker who won Oscars for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus" will be getting the guild honour at the directors union awards ceremony Feb. 2.
In announcing the award Wednesday, guild President Taylor Hackford called Forman one of the greatest filmmakers of modern times, saying the filmmaker finds the "universality of the human experience in every story."
Along with the directing Oscars for "Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus," Forman also received the Directors Guild top prize for both films.
Among Forman's other films are "Ragtime," "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and "Man on the Moon."
Forman is the 34th recipient of the guild honour, whose past recipients include Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock.


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Sunday, February 27, 2011
Buffett vs. Lampert: A Tale of Two Letters
Two significant shareholder letters were released this week.
The first was from Sears Holdings' Chairman Eddie Lampert; the second from Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett.
And while it is certainly easier, and a lot more fun, to write about good news—as Buffett has been accustomed to doing over the years at Berkshire, in contrast to the kind of bad news that has issued forth from Lampert's fading retail giant of late—there is, even so, a remarkable difference in both the substance and style of letters by two men who actually have a great deal in common.
For one thing, both started out as hedge fund managers. For another, both are without peer in their fields, and fabulously wealthy as a result. For a third, they each got into the position of writing annual shareholder letters as a result of taking control of a fading, once-giant, public company. Finally, they each spent years personally wrestling with how to turn the original business around.
In the end, of course, one (Buffett) decided the rational thing was to disinvest in the original business and re-create the company to his liking, while the other (Lampert) is still wrestling with Sears even as he extracts cash from "hidden" assets like real estate and minority-controlled subsidiaries.
Still, differences between the two men are legion (Midwest publicity-magnet versus East Coast recluse, for starters) and do not end with how they played the hand they were dealt: differences in how to hire, invest, manage and incentivize people are revealed in almost every sentence of the respective shareholder letters they have penned.
Indeed, so remarkably different are the letters that we here at NotMakingThisUp couldn't help but compare the two, by topic.
On Investing Excess Cash:
"As we have done since we took control of Kmart in 2003, we will continue to evaluate alternative uses of the company's cash flow and capital resources to generate long-term value for all shareholders. Each year brings with it different circumstances, and we expect to have a variety of opportunities to invest our cash in the years to come. Our discipline in evaluating opportunities leaves us prepared to weather difficult times as well as to prosper when economic conditions improve."
—Edward S. Lampert
"Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy."
—Warren E. Buffett
On Management:
"We continue to make changes in our broader leadership team, as we allocate more responsibility to leaders who have delivered results and seek to attract leaders who are capable of improving performance in areas that have lagged. In particular, we want leaders who are capable of transforming key aspects of our business, as retail is increasingly impacted by new technologies and social interaction."
"Our trust is in people rather than process. A 'hire well, manage little' code suits both them and me."
On Investing for the Long-Term
"We will continue to make long-term investments in key areas that may adversely impact short-term results when we believe they will generate attractive long-term returns. In particular, we have significantly grown our Shop Your Way Rewards program, improved our online and mobile platforms, and re-examined our overall technology infrastructure. We believe these investments are an important part of transforming Sears Holdings into a truly integrated retail company, focusing on customers first."
By being so cautious in respect to leverage, we penalize our returns by a minor amount. Having loads of liquidity, though, lets us sleep well…. That's what allowed us to invest $15.6 billion in 25 days of panic following the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008.
On Making a Key Hire
"Lou knows what it is like to be the 800-pound gorilla from his days at IBM, and he knows what it is like to compete against 800-pound gorillas from his days at Avaya. He also understands how technology can shape and change companies and industries. The profound changes that many industries, including retail, are currently experiencing require new thinking, new leadership and new business models. Information and technology have always been an important part of the supply chain in retail, but more and more it is becoming critical that we use information and technology in a much more profound way to deliver great customer experiences. Lou is a proven winner, and I am excited to have him as the leader of our company."
"It's easy to identify many investment managers with great recent records. But past results, though important, do not suffice when prospective performance is being judged. How the record has been achieved is crucial, as is the manager's understanding of—and sensitivity to—risk…. In respect to the risk criterion, we were looking for someone with a hard-to-evaluate skill: the ability to anticipate the effects of economic scenarios not previously observed. Finally, we wanted someone who would regard working for Berkshire as far more than a job.
"When Charlie and I met Todd Combs, we knew he fit our requirements."
On How to Deal with a Cyclical Business:
"Given the large proportion of the Sears Domestic business which is in 'big ticket' categories and linked to housing and consumer credit, Sears is much more susceptible to the macro-economic environment than Kmart. But I don't accept this as an excuse: our results at Sears in 2010 were completely unacceptable. The profit erosion at Sears Domestic occurred primarily in appliance-related businesses and in the Full-line Store apparel and consumer electronics businesses….
"When industry margins are shrinking, an organization must respond by adding new innovative products and bundling them with services and solutions that meet customers' evolving needs….
"The new management in our appliance business has already taken actions to rebuild leadership in this area and to further reinvigorate the Kenmore brand….
"In parallel to the efforts that we are making to increase the productivity of our Sears stores, we are also looking at adding world class third-party retailers to our space. Earlier this year we announced that Forever 21 will be taking over 43,000 square feet of Sears space at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA…"
[Editor's Note: We are not making this last part up; the author also discusses leasing out space to Whole Foods].
"Our businesses related to home construction, however, continue to struggle…. A housing recovery will probably begin within a year or so. In any event, it is certain occur at some point. Consequently: (1) At MiTeck, we have made, or committed to, five bolt-on acquisitions during the past eleven months; (2) At Acme, we just recently acquired the leading manufacturer of brick in Alabama for $50 million; (3) Johns Manville is building a $55 million roofing membrane plant in Ohio…; and (4) Shaw will spend $200 million in 2011 on plant and equipment, all of it situated in America. These businesses entered the recession strong and will exit it stronger. At Berkshire, our time horizon is forever."
On Wonderful Businesses vs. the Wonder of Financial Legerdemain
"I wouldn't be surprised to see our share of Coke's annual earnings to exceed 100% of what we paid for the investment. Time is the friend of the wonderful business."
"In April, we had the opportunity to purchase an additional 17% of Sears Canada for $560 million, increasing our ownership from 73% to 90%. In 2010, Sears Canada has paid two dividends, which returned $639 million of cash to Sears Holdings. Of course, of the cash we received in dividends, we would have received $518 million without the additional shares purchased (because we already owned 73% of Sears Canada), so in effect we received $121 million in dividends on behalf of the additional shares purchased in 2010."
On Reinvesting in the Business, or Not
"Furthermore, not a dime of cash has left Berkshire for dividends or share repurchases during the past 40 years. Instead, we have retained all of our earnings to strengthen our business, a reinforcement now running about $1 billion per month."
"We invested more than $400 million in capital expenditures in 2010, including significant investments in stores in important markets, and contributed over $300 million to our pension and post-retirement plans. We invested just under $400 million in Sears Holdings share repurchases in 2010, a slight reduction from 2009....
"Share repurchases are not a panacea, nor are they a singular strategy. Yet they are more than just the return of capital to shareholders... As a form of discipline on alternative capital allocation strategies, share repurchases can magnify returns."
Did He Really Say That?
"At Sears Holdings, we seek to create long-term value for our shareholders. Like Apple, we seek to do so by improving our operating performance, innovating, and delighting customers…"
[Editor's Note: The first and last time you will see 'Apple' and 'Sears' in the same sentence, at least for some time to come.]
"As one investor said in 2009: 'This is worse than divorce. I've lost half my net worth—and I still have my wife.'"
[Editor's Note: Buffett's letters have always been suffused with a 1950's-era Hugh Hefner-style male/female sensibility, but it never ceases to amaze us that he continues with the nagging-wife jokes]
On 'Painting the Bull's-Eye' of Performance
"Charlie and I believe that those entrusted with handling the funds of others should establish performance goals at the onset of their stewardship. Lacking such standards, managements are tempted to shoot the arrow of performance and then paint the bull's-eye around wherever it lands…. To eliminate subjectivity, we therefore use an understated proxy for intrinsic value—book value—when measuring our performance."
"Despite our challenging performance over the past several years, the difficult economic environment, and the dramatically changing retail environment, we have generated very attractive returns for shareholders since May 2003, when we assisted Kmart in its emergence from bankruptcy."
[Editor's Note: While SHLD stock has more than quadrupled from the aforementioned May 2003 "bull's-eye," it is in fact down more than 50% from its 2007 peak.]
What Happens to the Wrong Managers
"This requires us to part ways with some who have given great effort, but who have fallen short of the performance required for us to be competitive."
"Our compensation programs, our annual meeting and even our annual reports are all designed with an eye to reinforcing the Berkshire culture, and making it one that will repel and expel managers of a different bent."
What Happens to the Right Managers
"We will continue to provide great opportunities for talented individuals to run businesses, while holding them accountable for performance."
"Many of our CEOs are independently wealthy and work only because they love what they do. They are volunteers, not mercenaries. Because no one can offer them a job they would enjoy more, they can't be lured away."
On Throwing Good Money after Bad
"At Berkshire we face no institutional restraints when we deploy capital… When I took control of Berkshire in 1965…the dumbest thing I could have done was to pursue 'opportunities' to improve and expand the existing textile operation—so for years that's exactly what I did. And then, in a final burst of brilliance, I went out and bought another textile company. Aaaaaaargh! Eventually I came to my senses, heading first into insurance and then into other businesses."
"We have a need to manage the scale of our operations at the same time as we transform them. The activities required for transformation are vast and time-consuming. As the retail industry is reinvented, we intend and expect Sears Holdings to be a significant player in this reinvention."
Sentences We Didn't Want to Read
"By aligning our associates with our customers, not with our stores or products, we believe this reinvention will play out in our favor."
[Editor's Note: That was perhaps the most astonishing sentence we have ever seen in a Chairman's Letter—the runner-up being the one that follows.]
"To update Aesop, a girl in a convertible is worth five in the phone book."
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2011 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and 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 by Mr. Matthews: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Posted by Jeff Matthews at 10:55 AM 19 comments:
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Best Buy: Time for the Ackman Rumor Again!
"The question I get most often is, what's the next new thing that's going to save the consumer electronics industry? And my answer is, it's not any one single thing, but rather the connection of all the things that we have, both to each other, to the content that we love…and to be able to be mobile and move that around any place where we are."
—Michael Vitelli, EVP Best Buy, Oppenheimer Conference, July 15, 2009
"We have to move rapidly in recognizing the transparency of pricing."
—Michael Vittelli, EVP Best Buy, Bloomberg, "Best Buy May Switch to Wal-Mart-Style Everyday Prices," February 9, 2011
Poor Best Buy.
The company—which navigated the consumer electronics store-wars so cannily it become the Last Man Standing among "Big Box" retailers—now watches the non-box likes of Amazon.com grow electronics and general merchandise revenues 71% in its just-ended quarter, while Best Buy's U.S. brick-and-mortar sales actually declined in December.
All things considered, of course, this should come as no surprise, what with software, music, movies, TV shows and even video games going digital…not to mention the fact that computers have shrunk into book-sized tablets and pocket-sized smart-phones that can be ordered and delivered online, without the need to shlep to a Big Box retailer like Best Buy.
Yet Best Buy's own online business rose only 13% in the month of December—a still far cry from Amazon's online domestic growth in electronics.
Now, to Best Buy's credit, the company did not become the Last Man Standing among consumer electronics chains by standing still. Indeed, ever since 1983, when it changed its name from "Sound of Music" and opened its first superstore, the company has moved ahead of trends in the business.
In fact the company's most important—and gutsy—move came in 1989, when management shucked the commissioned-sales model of computer and TV-selling, letting consumers shop for themselves and making Circuit City's high-pressured sales model obsolete. Furthermore, as consumer electronics became an ever-larger piece of the American home, Best Buy moved to ever-larger store formats.
One more thing Best Buy did to distinguish itself from its peers, and boost margins: it entered the private label business with both feet, creating its own Dynex and Insignia brands, whose blue (Dynex) and green (Insignia) boxes containing everything from 55 inch LED High Def TVs to clock radios and boom-boxes can be seen all around the store.
Largely as a result of those moves, Best Buy caught the previous decade's cathode-ray-tube-to-flat-panel tsunami from start to finish.
Outside the Big Box, however, Best Buy's moves haven't always been so prescient.
A Fiscal 2000 "comprehensive strategic alliance" with Microsoft involving "significant co-marketing between Microsoft Network of Internet Services, BestBuy.com and Best Buy's retail stores" was never much heard about again.
In 2001, the company paid $696 million for Musicland, "to continue its revenue growth beyond fiscal 2005," as the 10K said at the time. Unfortunately, Musicland didn't make it past fiscal 2004—at least under the Best Buy umbrella.
The company sold Musicland for "no cash consideration" in the summer of 2003.
By then Best Buy had also bought Magnolia Hi-Fi, with the stated goal of growing the high-end home theater purveyor from 13 stores to "up to 150 stores nationwide." And while Best Buy stores today do indeed have Magnolia departments (in the corner near the TV displays), there were all of 8 free-standing Magnolias across the land, according to last year's 10K.
Similarly, Best Buy bought Geek Squad in 2002, with the goal of making it "North America's largest provider of in-home computer installation services," and in 2005 announced plans to open 20 to 50 stand-alone Geek Squad stores "in the next 12 to 18 months." (One of Wall Street's Finest actually told Fortune Magazine around that time Geek Squad could earn more than a quarter-billion in operating income on a billion in sales in 2007.)
And while Geek Squad—like Magnolia—has been rolled out in Best Buy stores, the count of stand-alone Geek Squad stores was 7 as of the Fiscal 2010 10K.
In 2006 Best Buy bought Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers, saying "we expect to expand the number of Pacific Sales stores in order to capitalize on the rapidly growing high-end segment of the U.S. appliance market," and although the Pacific Sales store count has more than doubled since then, according to the 10K, sales have not nearly kept pace.
In 2007, Best Buy spent $89 million to buy Speakeasy, an "independent broadband voice, data and IT service provider" to help make Best Buy the "one-stop shopping" destination for small business customers. And a year later the company paid a reported $121 million acquisition for file-sharing pioneer Napster "to reach new customers with an enhanced experience for exploring and selecting music and other digital entertainment products over an increasing array of devices." A much-ballyhooed 2010 move into the video game trade-in business dominated by GameStop has submerged without much of a ripple.
Along the way, the Best Buy Big Box kept getting bigger, eventually reaching 45,000 square feet, which seemed barely big enough to hold everything in those pre-Amazon.com, pre-Internet days, when a product needed to be sitting on a shelf in order for the consumer to see it, learn about it and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.
But at least one retailer proved that a brick-and-mortar store could compete in a dot.com world.
In 2001, Apple began opening retail stores that would average only 6,000 square feet, and although the move was initially dismissed by nearly every techno-commentator in Silicon Valley, by fiscal 2010 each one of those tiny stores was selling, on average, a whopping $34 million a year of Apple products.
And that is roughly the same average annual sales figure as a domestic, big box Best Buy.
(Anyone who has shopped at an Apple Store and a Best Buy knows that at an Apple Store, you'll be surrounded by students surfing the internet on Macs and iPads, toddlers playing games on iTouches, and slightly uncomfortable Baby Boomers talking to thin, black-shirted, ear-ringed Apple people carrying iPhones that can swipe your credit card and get you out of the store in minutes.
(The Best Buy experience, by comparison, is no longer so much fun, what with all those non-commissioned "Blue Shirts," as the ex-Blue Shirt CEO himself likes to refer to them, pushing extended warranties and unwanted software on customers it formerly left alone to browse, as anybody who accidently bought the Kasperksy AntiVirus product along with their notebook computer at a Best Buy knows.)
Meanwhile, the drive to satisfy Wall Street and carry the Best Buy brand around the world led to larger moves than buying Napster, Geek Squad and the rest.
The company spent $3.5 billion on one of those "return-value-to-shareholder" buybacks in 2007, when the stock traded in the $40s...good for both those who sold to the company and for—who else?—Goldman Sachs, which served as the counterparty to the accelerated share repurchase program.
More strategically, the company spent $1.1 billion in 2008 on a 50-50 joint venture with Carphone Warehouse in Europe, which has indeed helped Best Buy roll out well-staffed mobile phone desks in its own stores—although plans for a fleet of big box Best Buy stores across stodgy old England haven't materialized as fast as Wall Street's Finest expected.
Indeed, when the original deal was announced in May, 2008, the Carphone CEO said "we will have stores trading in 2009," but the first UK Best Buy big box actually opened in May, 2010, and the company recently—according to press reports—backed out of a deal for its first north-east England store near Newcastle.
It may be a coincidence, but shortly after that deal fell through, Scott Wheway, CEO of Best Buy Europe, resigned his post, although he is staying with the company for a period of time. This came all of 18 months after Wheway got the job, at which time Robert Willett, then chairman of Best Buy Europe, announced the appointment by saying "Scott is the consummate retailer," among other nice things.
Now, in case you're wondering why Mr. Wheway's change of position didn't make much news, it may have something to do with Wall Street's rumor mill.
Shortly after the Wheway news hit on the morning of February 1, a report popped up on the indispensible Briefing.com: "Best Buy shares spiked following a rumor that Pershing Square could take a position in the stock."
Pershing Square, of course, is the hedge fund vehicle of Bill Ackman, the genius who, among other things, saw value in General Growth Properties when it had been left for dead, and helped create billions of dollars of value for his investors and General Growth shareholders at the same time.
Why an Ackman-for-Best Buy rumor got so much credence as to add nearly half a billion in value to Best Buy's market capitalization—and wipe the Wheway resignation off the news page—probably relates to Ackman's reputation for taking positions in real estate laden-retailers like JC Penney and Target, and then agitating for the unlocking of its value from the more mundane retail operation sitting on top of it.
And JC Penney, whose board Ackman recently joined, is indeed loaded with real estate.
Penney owns 416 of its 1,100+ stores (with 119 of those located on ground leases), as well as 3 million square feet of distribution space, 1.8 million of warehousing space, 6.5 million of direct fulfillment center space, its 1.9 million square foot home office in Plano, Texas, and 240 acres of adjacent property.
Best Buy, on the other hand, seems not so encumbered with the stuff Ackman seems to love.
According to the Fiscal 2010 10K, Best Buy owns 24 US store locations and 32 buildings on leased land, out of 1,000+ US store locations, plus 3.1 million square feet of distribution center space (out of 10 million total) and a 1.45 million square foot corporate office.
So, real estate-wise, Best Buy looks to be somewhere in-between Borders Group (another Ackman investment, but one that did not work out as well as General Properties), which leased all its stores and owned only some of its headquarters building, and JC Penney.
Nonetheless, the Ackman rumor seems too good for Wall Street types to resist.
It appeared on Briefing.com back on January 5th ("Best Buy jumps on increased volume; Hearing rumors that Bill Ackman is targeting BBY"), and, in slightly different form, on January 3rd ("It was rumored that Best Buy could be seeing private equity interest.")
And while we have absolutely no idea what view of Best Buy, if any, Ackman actually possesses, based on the once-every-four-week schedule it looks like the rumor should crop up again—especially if the kind of startling disclosures contained in the recent Bloomberg story quoted at the top are anywhere close to reality.
Here's how the story began:
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Best Buy Co., the world's largest consumer electronics retailer, may curtail three decades of tactical discounting and move instead to its own version of the everyday prices pioneered by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
With Americans increasingly using smartphones to comparison shop, consumers are unwilling to wait for sales if they find better deals elsewhere, said Mike Vitelli, executive vice president and co-head of the North America division.
"We have to move rapidly in recognizing the transparency of pricing," Vitelli, 55, said in a Feb. 7 interview at Best Buy's headquarters in Richfield, Minnesota. Internal discussions about making the switch are at an early stage, he said.
There was more, with the kind of thought-provoking detail you don't get in the usual quarter earnings-per-share reportage from Wall Street's Finest:
During a Best Buy staff meeting, Vitelli was willing to say out loud: "Why do we carry inventory when we train consumers only to buy it'" on sale, said Rick Rommel, a senior vice president who helps run a unit that tests new concepts.
"If the pricing isn't everyday, the consumers just wait," Rommel said in an interview. "Our inventory sits and waits for that next promotional moment."
Switching to consistent pricing would "be very powerful," said Barry Judge, Best Buy's chief marketing officer. "It makes our pricing much more transparent than it is today."
Best Buy's weekly newspaper circular would be "a whole lot easier to lay out" with prices easier for consumers to understand, Judge said.
"The prices are the prices," he said.
The retailer is also reducing the number of items it sells to focus on products that sell well, Vitelli said. By the end of the year the company will carry fewer than 100 TV models in the average store, down from about 140 a year ago. Slower-selling products will continue to be sold online, Vitelli said.
—"Best Buy May Switch to Wal-Mart-Style Everyday Prices," By Chris Burritt and Clifford Edwards, Bloomberg February 9, 2011.
It will be interesting to see how Best Buy handles what Bloomberg calls "the switch"—especially with all those Dynex and Insignia products sitting on Best Buy shelves in stores across America…and all those Ackman rumors sitting on trading desks across America.
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2011 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and 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 by Mr. Matthews: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Posted by Jeff Matthews at 9:38 AM 6 comments:
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Weekend Edition: "Norman Rockwell, American Monster"
The worst interview we ever saw—and that includes anything Jay Leno ever did—was a Deborah Solomon interview of Steve Martin for the New York Times' television magazine a few years ago.
Solomon is—or was, until recently—the Sunday Times Magazine columnist who made a career of short, sharp, solipsistic interviews with subjects chosen mainly as a means of injecting Solomon's own uber-liberal world-view into whatever topic on which she wanted to vent.
You had to cut through Solomon's annoying technique of twisting each question-and-answer into a validation of her own personal demons (as opposed to the subject's), but the interviews were lively and interesting, and worth reading—although this appears to have been due as much to good editing as they were to good questioning, a factor made clear by the aforementioned videotaped interview of Steve Martin (see our Weekend Edition column, "Wisdom of Solomon?" from February 2008.)
Shorn of the ability to manipulate words on paper, Solomon's maniacal self-absorption came across, on camera, less clever than obnoxious. Of many low-points, the lowest came when Martin was explaining that he had stopped performing stand-up altogether because comedians need to be on the road constantly in order to stay sharp, and Solomon said in complete, clueless seriousness, "Can't you practice at home?"
But that was when she was writing a column for the New York Times.
Today she is, as she says, working on a "long overdue, almost-finished biography of Norman Rockwell," thanks, apparently, to one too many strident columns, including a recent interview with Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen.
Now, we here at NotMakingThisUp harbor no particularly positive, or negative, view of Abby Joseph Cohen.
When reading the Barron's Roundtable each year, we do skip Cohen's blandishments on the economy or whatever big-cap stock she currently favors—it always seems to be either J&J or IBM, or both—and go straight for Marc Faber.
But such is the by-product of the job: being a "Strategist" for a high-profile firm on Wall Street means never having to say anything that may come back to haunt you. In other words, the blander the better—and if you don't think that's the way it works, you haven't worked on Wall Street.
Still, Cohen missed a great chance to go toe-to-toe with Solomon in last weekend's column, and that is a shame, because Solomon's interview technique is like the playground bully—aggressive questions and lots of them—without much in the way of actual knowledge on the subject beyond her own narrow instincts.
Indeed, here's how we here at NotMakingThisUp would have liked to see it go down.
A Steady Hand
Deborah Solomon: As a partner at Goldman Sachs and one of the best-known market analysts in this country, you're surely aware that women continue to be thinly represented among the senior ranks on Wall Street. Why is that?
Not Making This Up: For the same reason that of the 11 senior executives at the New York Times, only 1 is a woman.
DS: I assume there's no shortage of candidates.
NMTU: I assume there's no shortage of female English majors for the New York Times, either.
DS: But if women make up 30 percent of M.B.A. programs, as has been reported, why do they represent only 12 percent of the current partners at Goldman Sachs?
NMTU: You do realize that women bear children, don't you? I mean, you are aware of that? And you do realize that, as a result, in the real world—whatever you and the editors of the New York Times might wish for—many highly educated women at a certain age face a choice that men don't face? And many do in fact reject the notion of sacrificing everything else in their lives for the brass ring of becoming a Goldman partner?
DS: Let's change the subject... Do you have a Facebook page?
NMTU: Deborah, if you knew how to use Facebook you'd know whether I do or don't—you can search for them, you know.
DS: Ah, well let's change the subject to something I can score points on… Goldman Sachs just withdrew its offer to American clients to sell shares of Facebook, which could violate all kinds of rules.
NMTU: What, exactly, are these "all kinds of rules" you say the deal could have violated, specifically?
DS: Uhhhhhh….
NMTU: Name one.
DS: (Feverishly thumbing through her notes, which happens to be a single New York Times "DealBook" article)…uhhhh….Let's change the subject to class warfare. Do you think it's ethically justifiable that certain bankers earn $50 million or $60 million a year at a time when unemployment is nearly 10 percent and income inequality is widening in this country?
NMTU: No, so why does Obama keep hiring them for his Chief of Staff?
DS: I hate you. Let me try this another way… You could say that entertainers at least provide entertainment, as opposed to a C.E.O. What is a C.E.O. contributing to society?
NMTU: What about the C.E.O. of the New York Times Company, Janet Robinson? [Editor's Note: This is the one response Abbey Joseph Cohen got right.]
DS: What about her? She's contributing a newspaper to society, which presumably keeps the American public better informed. It has been widely observed that the financial-services industry is not creating a product in the tangible sense.
NMTU: Aside from the howler about "no tangible product"—Wall Street funds lots of companies that create tangible products, like, oh, the iPad—your well-paid CEO blew the digital revolution, for starters.
DS: Well, we have a successful web site.
NMTU: Why on earth is Huffington Post the go-to name in online news? How did you let Politico become the go-to name in online politics? What was going on over at the New York Times while the Wall Street Journal was making the online transition so successfully and you did not? Why do more people watch Yahoo! TV than New York Times TV on the web?
DS: Uh, well, we don't have a "New York Times TV" on the web.
NMTU: Precisely. You guys blew it. And for that, your CEO received $6.2 million in compensation in 2009, according to my Bloomberg—which happens to be the go-to name in financial data, not the New York Times.
DS: (Fumbling for a cigarette, trying to get the wrapper off.) Son-of-a—
NMTU: You smoke?
DS: (Lighting up.) I quit thirteen years ago. Let's move on… Do you feel any responsibility for the economic meltdown of 2008, which you failed to foresee?
NMTU: How, exactly, am I responsible for pushing Fannie Mae to make bad loans to people who couldn't afford them?
DS: We're talking about your life; there was a big meltdown in 2008. I'm wondering, how do you deal with that emotionally?
NMTU: Do you feel any responsibility for the collapse of the New York Times as a leading source of news?
DS: Please leave.
We'll miss Solomon's columns but look forward to her almost-finished biography of Norman Rockwell, the artist who painted lovingly iconic scenes of an Americana that must set Solomon's hair on fire: family gatherings at Thanksgiving; rosy-cheeked Boy Scouts; flag-waving parades.
Indeed, given her left-wing muscle-memory, it should be about as suffused with her own blinkered mindset—and therefore just as uninformed—as a biography of Pablo Picasso by Sarah Palin.
The working title, we understand, is "Norman Rockwell, American Monster."
Jeff Matthews
I Am Actually Making This One Up
© 2011 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and 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 by Mr. Matthews: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Posted by Jeff Matthews at 2:11 PM 15 comments:
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Does Bernanke Read This?
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. is a unique, veteran outplacement firm whose seasoned principals Your Editor has had the pleasure to encounter over the years.
Now, the good folks at Challenger, Gray also happen to tally and report monthly job cuts based on their own experience in the real world, similar to the way payroll processing giant ADP reports monthly job creation based on its own experience in the real world (see "The Fed in La-La Land" just below).
And today's job cut report from Challenger, Gray is a head-turner.
Anyone bothering to read the press release will find it includes the phrase: "Lowest January on Record"—and no, they are not talking about job creation, they are talking about job cuts.
But don't take it from us. Take it from the actual press release yourself:
January Layoffs Down 46% From Year Ago
CHICAGO, February 2, 2010 – The slow pace of downsizing that marked the second half of 2010 appears to be continuing into 2011, as employers announced plans to cut 38,519 jobs in January. While that is an increase from the previous month, it marks the lowest January total on record, according to the report released Wednesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray
& Christmas, Inc.
January job cuts were up 20 percent from December, when planned layoffs totaled 32,004; the lowest monthly figure since June 2000 (17,241). Compared to a year ago, however, last month's job cuts were down sharply, falling 46 percent from the 71,482 job cuts recorded in January 2010.
The 38,519 job cuts last month represents the lowest January total since Challenger began tracking monthly layoff announcements in 1993…
And that's just the first three paragraphs. For more color, read the full release at http://www.challengergray.com/press/PressRelease.aspx?PressUid=160
So the Question for Today is, does Ben Bernanke read this stuff?
Jeff Matthews
I Am Not Making This Up
© 2011 NotMakingThisUp, LLC
The content contained in this blog represents only the opinions of Mr. Matthews. Mr. Matthews also acts as an advisor and 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 by Mr. Matthews: all inquiries will be ignored. The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.
Posted by Jeff Matthews at 9:10 AM 14 comments:
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text:
An insect not known to be in the U.S. tried to hitchhike in on a bunch of calla lilies coming through Dulles International Airport.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agricultural specialists were all over this ugly little guy. They spotted the bug, which looks a lot to the untrained eye like a cockroach. It tried to come in hugging the flowers coming from Kenya and the Netherlands.
For you entomologists out there -- or whoever is just plain curious about what the heck this thing is -- the whole name is: Conostethus venustus Fieber. Or we can just call him Miridae, for short.
"We know that insects in the Miridae family generally have a voracious appetite and can cause serious harm to cultivated plants in the United States," said Christopher Hess, CBP Port Director for the Port of Washington, D.C. "The introduction of this insect pest could have a profound impact on American agricultural industries."
Good catch, CBP agricultural specialists. Keep this pest out of our lives.
They issued an Emergency Action Notification that required the flowers to be fumigated or destroyed. The flower exporter gave the order to kill the flowers by steam sterilization. Pretty serious business for a pretty serious pest.
And a bit of amazing trivia: Every day, CBP agricultural personnel inspect tens of thousands of human passengers and air and sea cargoes. They seize 4,291 banned meat, plants or animal products -- including 454 insect pests -- one of which was our ugly, hitchhiking little guy.


text:
The ESEE 3 MIL Series were previously only available to law enforcement and military. During that time, it became the official knife of numerous law enforcement groups and special teams.
The ESEE-3 is a premium, high-performance Industry Standard Law Enforcement & Special Operations Fixed-Blade Sheath Knife. It is a no-nonsense knife that you can stake your life on when it comes to performace & durability. The people behind this knife developed it by experience & practical application... not theory. Regardless of your place in life, this knife will soon become your best friend as you experience its superb form & function. The NTOA (National Tactical Officers Association) scored the ESEE 3 fixed blade a 4.77 out of a possible 5.
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The textured power coat is extremely durable, and will not wear off easily. The 3 5/8" Micarta handle slabs provide most all hand sizes a secure 4 finger grip.
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Adding Sporting Field Handles to extend the length of the handle grip beyond the tactical style factory scales is easily achieved by installing our very popular custom G-10 handle scales; they are available in a wide variety of colors. This makes the knife much more comfortable for those with larger hands. Our custom scales bolt on easily, and will transform the function, feel, and appearance of your knife.
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Esee knives are not considered "high production" due to the care that is taken during the manufacturing process. After the steel is laser cut to size, the knives are heat treated (**see note below). The Micarta handle slabs are profiled and radiused on a CNC milling machine, and each set of handles are matched and fitted to a corresponding knife blank. The reason for this is during the laser cutting process there is a certain amount of tolerance, so one knife may be a few thousanths of an inch bigger (or smaller) than the next. By marrying a set of handles to a blank throughout the manufacturing process, the user ends up with a finely fitted knife. The handles slabs are held in place with three screws fastened with Loctite into a barrel nut. When the handles are assembled, a fiber liner is placed between the Micarta slab and tang of the knife. The partially serrated knives are made by milling each serration individually with a 3/8" end mill. Unlike a lot of serrations, these are designed to easily cut through fabrics, rope and other flexible materials.
Partially serrated blades are easily sharpened by honing with a flat hone across them in the same manner as you would hone the plain edge. The textured powder coat we use on Esee knives is a special powder that has an increased amount of resistance to wear and corrosion, while maintaining a smoother feel than oxide or phosphate coatings.
**All ESEE Knives now feature a Rowen Manufacturing heat treat recipe that allows for hardening the blade completely to 57 Rc. while still maintaining flexibility.
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A lot of folks have asked us (ESEE Knives) how we can stay in business offering such great customer service and warranty protection. The answer is simple; we believe that our consumers, as a whole, are honest people. The occasional customers who are dishonest are few and far between, so even if we loose every once in a while due to dishonesty, our reputation of great customer service, regardless of the situation, brings us more good customers."
This product comes packaged in a heavy plastic bag
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Syk, phospho (Tyr525 / Tyr526) human, mouse, rat
(Cell Signaling Technology Cat# 2711, RRID:AB_2197215)
Applications: W. Consolidation on 10/2018: AB_10890705, AB_10890706, AB_2197215.
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Boat Test Videos
Content courtesy ofLast year we introduced the new queen of the family-friendly, coastal series from Boston Whaler, the 270 Dauntless. She builds upon the multi-functional Dauntless family allowing for everything from offshore fishing runs, to entertaining to watersports, and doing it all while looking stylish and elegant. This year, Boston Whaler has taken its success and added even more perks to her pedigree, the most notable being the addition of an optional "swim patio." It is very cool.
Key Features
Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.
Mission Statement
The mission of the 270 Dauntless is to simply offer a boat with the traditional qualities of a family-friendly Boston Whaler while providing options to expand its use as a comfortable platform for enjoying watersports and coastal fishing, going further offshore in the appropriate conditions.
Distinguishing Features
New Swim Patio.
Far and away the most distinguishing feature of the latest 270 Dauntless is the inclusion of the optional swim patio ($12,684). While it shares the characteristic of a hull-side dive door, it is intended to be a swim platform.
Ease of Use.
The patio was designed to be easy to use. In the open position it rests at a 45-degree angle to the water, kept raised from dual gas struts to either side. In this manner, raising it to the closed position is as easy as reaching out to pull it up the rest of the way. Utilizing it requires stepping out and letting it fall to the horizontal. And of course it can be kept at the horizontal position by inserting a pin into one of the struts holding it from bringing the door back up to the 45-degree angle.
Ease of Reboarding.
While it's easy enough to simply hoist oneself onto the deployed platform, some may still have trouble, and for that reason, Boston Whaler is currently developing a swim ladder to attach to the aft edge of the deployed platform. It wasn't on this first prototype model that we saw, but production models will certainly have it.
Safety Considerations.
Being safety oriented we had to ask about some concerns we had regarding the overall safety of the swim patio. Let's go over them and see how they were addressed.
Accidental Opening.
For starters, what prevents it from opening accidentally while underway? The answer is two heavy-duty stainless steel hasps across the top that slide into the receivers in the caprail. To us, these looked like they would last the life of the boat, so no concerns of an accidental opening.
Driving Off While the Door is Open.
Here's a genuine concern. If pilots can forget to lower the landing gear before touchdown, it's a sure thing that someone will forget to close the patio before attempting to head off. Boston Whaler removes this concern in two ways.
, an ear piercing alarm will go off when the ignition key is turned. This alarm is loud enough to be heard even when the engines are at full power; so again the accidental opening subject is put to rest. But what about the hearing impaired?
A second
safety mechanism is a safety cut-out that kills the power to the ignition preventing the engines from turning over while the door is open.
Emergency Starting.
Okay, so killing the ignition is all well and good. But what if we need to start in an emergency? Like we're drifting into a bridge abutment, or into a channel. In an emergency, there's an override switch allowing an engine start, right next to the ignition. Now we can run the engines, but…. the alarm will still be screeching the whole time.
Creative Aft Bench Seating.
Where a typical center console fishing machine will have a basic bench seat that folds out from the transom, the Boston Whaler 270 Dauntless bench seat is concealed under a nearly full beam casting platform. There is storage under the seat which, depending where it is lifted from, allows for raising one or both halves of the seat with one hand. Under the deck of the storage compartment is additional storage for the ship's batteries.
Larger Fuel Tank.
The fuel capacity of this 270 Dauntless is 150 gallons (568 L). While this may be a smaller capacity than a dedicated offshore fishing platform it represents a big jump from the 79 gallons (299 L) of her smaller sibling, the 230 Dauntless.
Multi-operational Bow Features.
Sure the bow has cushions for lounging, and if you remove the cushions you have a casting deck. The aft end of the V- seats lift up to form forward facing loungers, and an optional bow table transforms the bow into an al fresco dining area. (Guests will enjoy hanging out here.)
Wide Bow.
Boston Whaler's trademark design almost always features a wide bow that carries the beam much farther forward than a typical V- hull. Because of this, whatever activities you choose to partake in the bow, are so much easier thanks to the roominess.
Foam Cored Hull.
While other builders simply inject foam into some of the void areas, Boston Whaler does things considerably different. When the deck and hull sections come together, expandable foam is mechanically injected into the entire length of the hull to not only add flotation, but strength and a bonding component as well.
It's an interesting and unique process that can be seen in our Boston Whaler factory tour video. It's this method that allows Boston Whaler to accurately add the tagline "Unsinkable Legend" to their logo.
Styling plays an important part in the Dauntless Series particularly when compared to, say, the Outrage lineup. This Dauntless has more of a subtle curve to her sheer line, actually sloping downwards as it moves towards the bow. This is indicative of a boat that is more targeted towards near coastal work and protected waters, and certainly a boat having concerns more towards family outings rather than taming Mother Nature.
Features Inspection by Function
Command and Control
Regardless of whether the 270 Dauntless will be used for fishing, tubing, or even cruising the one common denominator here is at the helm. Boston Whaler did a fine job in creating a functional console that manages information efficiently. A choice of 9" (23 cm) ($4,931) or 12" (30.5 cm) ($9,842) electronic displays will fit neatly into the open real estate of the upper panel with room for a second display of either size. On our test boat, the right hand side was taken up with the optional VHF ($690) and standard stereo ($1,433).
Good Design.
A black strip along the bottom of the panel reduces glare and serves as a mounting point for the waterproof rocker switches, three SmartCraft gauges and the ignitions to the far left. Having these ignitions mounted up high like this marks a good mindset on behalf of the design team at Boston Whaler as it is now impossible to bump up against the keys and bend them and they are also well out of the "knee-strike" zone.The cast stainless three-spoke wheel is mounted to a tilt base right next to the Mercury ERC or Electronic Remove System. This offers a wide range of optional features including single lever, engine sync and troll mode.
Helm Ergonomics
We found the helm to be a good fit from an ergonomic standpoint as even with captains of short stature, visibility is excellent and everything falls right into place. Boston Whaler's doublewide helm seat was well positioned and offers dual flip-up bolsters. We'd like to see the addition of armrests to add to the feeling of stability while underway but the footrest molded into the lower section of the console certainly adds to the comfortable feeling as well as the security. Handholds are found on the supports to the optional hardtop. This is the first year that Boston Whaler has incorporated accents into the seat, in this instance grey, to match the console.
Fishing Features
Certainly one of the premier features of this crossover platform is its ability to handle the chores of a dedicated fishing machine. Beginning with the optional hardtop ($9,328), the 270 Dauntless can present four aft-mounted rocket launchers along with an array of fore and aft LED spreader lights, as well as serving as a mounting point for an assortment of antennas. The beefy powder-coated supports also serve as well placed handholds while doing little to interfere with visibility from the helm. Underneath the hardtop is a dome-light that switches between red and white and a storage bag for life jackets. Molded mounting points in the hardtop offer a base for optional outriggers ($2,597).
Aft Casting Deck
Boston Whaler makes a major departure from the typical design of a center console cockpit by deviating from the classic flush-mounted bench seat that drops down from the transom and instead going with a bench seat that flips down to reveal a nearly full beam casting platform. While still leaving room for a cockpit walkthrough to the starboard side this presents a massive platform that not only serves for casting a line but cast-nets as well.
Forward Casting Deck
Of course any boat that is used to partake in fishing wouldn't be worth its salt unless it had fishing areas both fore and aft. With the 270 Dauntless, simply removing the cushions from the forward seats reveals nonskid hatch covers that are more than wide enough to walk around on while fishing. If even more room is required, the addition of the casting platform ($776) will convert the entire area into a large casting deck. In addition, the foredeck is also coated with nonskid and serves as an elevated casting deck. Storage underneath the seats is self-draining allowing them to be used as fish lockers. Both casting decks will accommodate pedestal fishing seats ($464).
Bottom Fishing?
Beneath the foredeck hatch cover, Boston Whaler provides an optional anchoring system ($4,254) that runs through the stem of the 270 Dauntless. All mounting hardware is stainless steel and sturdy. Having the anchor running through the stem makes the foredeck much more usable as a casting platform as the tripping hazards of a bow roller are eliminated. However, the 270 still has side-mounted cleats that -- while in a somewhat recessed niche -- we would still like to see converted to pull-up cleats. The hatch is unsupported by any gas assist struts, allowing it to lay flat against the foredeck.
Leaning Posts
The standard leaning post consists of a set of dual helm seats with removable backrests, a fiberglass storage compartment and a 94-quart (89 L) cooler. Two deluxe leaning posts are offered, giving a choice of livewell, seating options, sink with pullout sprayer and storage drawers.
Comfort Features
Lounging Ahead
Two areas of the 270 Dauntless' comfort zones will be vying for the top ranking and are in close proximity to each other. These are the forward lounge seating and forward V-seating. Forward of the center console is a doublewide lounge seat. This seat is surprisingly comfortable and in our opinion, destined to be the most popular spot on the 270 while underway.
Chaise Seating and Room for Tanks.
Grab handles are located below, and to the sides, and are a little hard to reach. But this year Boston Whaler added flip down armrests, a much needed and welcome addition. The seat itself measures 3 ½' (1.1 m) wide by 4' (1.22 m) fore and aft, making it a comfortable chaise. A latch at the forward end of the seat releases a back gelled and fully gasketed hatch over deep storage that can accommodate dive tanks, 5-gallon buckets, and practically anything else needing to be stored.
Bow Seating.
Of course others may argue that the most comfortable spot on the 270 Dauntless will be the forward V-seats when the boat is at rest. While being used as regular seats the height of the bulwarks serves as a sufficient backrest but I'd like to see the addition of padded bolsters surrounding the bow to add to the comfort. By lifting up the aft seat panels port and starboard, a chaise lounge position and a whole new level of comfort manifests itself. The addition of an optional side-mount pedestal table ($1,179) will certainly make this a contender for the number-one comfort zone.
Lounging Behind
Aft Bench Seat.
Certainly not to be outdone in the comfort zone is the aft bench seat. It serves as a three-across seating in its close proximity to the leaning post provides a comfortable spot to put one's feet up, also adding security during transits across choppy seaways. Drink holders are located to both sides and plenty of storage is positioned underneath the bench.
The Head
A head is located inside the console and accessed via a doorway to the starboard side. It offers 5' 3 ½" (1.6 m) of overhead clearance and includes a portable toilet with pumpout. Hanging hooks are located on the forward bulkhead. Circuit breakers, battery switches and an access port to the backside of the helm electronics are all located on the aft bulkhead. A stainless steel opening portlight provides an element of natural light and ventilation.
Additional Options
While this particular 270 Dauntless was rigged more for fishing, there are several other fishing options that are available, and still others that serve to reveal another side to the cross-platform abilities.
Options for Entertaining.
A bow filler cushion turns the entire bow seating area into a large sun pad ($321) and requires the bow casting platform ($776). The cockpit refrigerator ($1,239) will be a welcome addition to any day on the water.
Pricing and Power Choices.
The 270 Dauntless is offered as a base package with a single 300-hp Mercury Verado as the power of choice and carries an MSRP of $103,433. Upgrades include a pair of Mercury 150s ($12,346), Mercury 200s ($21,470), or a pair of 225 Mercury Verados ($26,499). Previous tests performed on this model with a pair of 200s that showed a top speed of 52.9 mph and a cruise of 23.2, which turned in a fuel burn of 8.5 gph and a range of 368 miles.
Some guys will say that bigger is better, and certainly when it comes to boating those guys are right. This 270 Dauntless is a marked improvement over the 23' (7 m) version that was previously residing at the top of the lineup. She offers more comfort and more functionality, all while staying consistent with the striking good looks that we've come to expect from a Dauntless.
Test Result Highlights
Marine Electronics
Exterior Features
Full Warranty Information on this brand coming soon!
Pricing Range: $107,894.00Prices, features, designs, and equipment are subject to change. Please see your local dealer or visit the builder's website for the latest information available on this boat model.
Test Results - Change Measurement Unit
All fuel consumption numbers are the total for all engines in the boat. Speeds are measured with Stalker ProSports radar gun or GPS. Fuel consumption (gallons per hour) measured with Floscan digital fuel-flow meter or by on-board factory-installed diagnostic instruments. Range is based on 90% of published fuel capacity. Sound levels determined using Radio Shack digital decibel meter on A scale. 68 dBA is the level of normal conversation. Time to plane is measured from start of acceleration to formation of rooster tail behind boat.


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Interview with Jo Knowles on writing process, writer advice & SEE YOU AT HARRY'S
I've been a fan of Jo Knowles ever since reading Lessons From A Dead Girl and even more so after See You At Harry's (Candlewick, 2012) plus I love her fun and positive tweets from @JoKnowles on Twitter. I've also heard great things about Jo's Pearl and Jumping Off Swings, so am looking forward to reading those next!
Jo has a master's degree in children's literature and taught writing for children in the MFA program at Simmons College for several years. Some of her awards include a New York Times Notable Book of 2012, Amazon's Best Middle Grade Books of 2012, An International Reading Association Favorite 2012 Book, an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, the PEN New England Children's Book Discovery Award, and YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults. Jo lives in Vermont with her husband and son. Her next book, Living With Jackie Chan, a companion to Jumping Off Swings, will be available September 2013.
Q: What's your writing process? What was your writing process for SEE YOU AT HARRY'S?
So far for all of my books, I've just started writing and discovered the book as I went. Not surprisingly, my first drafts are big messes. After I clean things up a bit and have a basic rough draft, I create a storyboard to help me get organized and figure out the themes, plot and rhythm of the book.
The storyboard process I use I learned at a workshop with Carolyn Coman. Basically, you get a sheet of paper that's large enough to fit enough squares to represent each chapter of the book. Then you follow these steps:
1. Think of a scene with the strongest image that best represents that chapter. Draw it as best you can in the first box.
2. Write a very brief phrase that describes the point of that chapter and write it in the bottom of the box.
3. Think of the strongest emotion conveyed in the chapter and write it at the top of the box.
Repeat for each chapter, one per box.
This leaves you with a big visual that illustrates the movement of the book both actively and emotionally.
Since my books tend to be less action driven and more emotionally driven, seeing the book this way is a big help. I can see the spikes of emotion and how they play out in the text, and where I need to insert more or less action, or emotional peeks.
Seeing the images also helps me to think about how stagnant certain chapters or groups of chapters might be, and helps me pinpoint where I need to move my character around more. (For example, in PEARL, Bean spent way too much time on the roof, which was her place to escape. I don't know that I would have realized this if I hadn't drawn a storyboard and had that visual.)
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Remember that getting published is not a race. I recently read a blog post by someone who had taken three years to sell her first book, referring to her journey as "The Long Road to Publication." Long road? Three years?? Oh my.
In reality, I think the average time it takes most people going the traditional publishing route is more like ten. I think people tend to measure success on how quickly they can sell their first book. This is a shame because speed has nothing to do with it. I think longevity AFTER you sell your book would be a better marker.
If you want to be an author, you need to take time to learn the craft and learn it well. Read a thousand picture books. Study the rhythms of your favorites. Type out the text and close- read it without the pictures. Pay attention to the types of details that are in the text versus the ones that are implied or easily and more effectively shown in the illustrations.
The next step is to learn how to revise. To learn how to listen to feedback and make the best use of it. I can't tell you how many aspiring writers I've met who have told me they didn't want feedback because they felt their work was as polished as it could get. But they hadn't shared it with anyone but family members!
One of the hard lessons I learned when I first started out was that I really didn't understand what revision meant. When an editor suggested a revision without a contract, I happily addressed the changes she proposed, but not to the degree I should have. I tweaked, I didn't revise. There is a very big difference.
Revising is rewriting. Not rearranging. Not fixing typos. Not deleting a sentence here and there. That's what you do at the copyediting stage. Better to learn this with critique partners guiding you than with an editor who doesn't have the time or patience to teach you him- or herself.
There is just so much to learn and so many early mistakes to be made when you're first starting out. It's worth it to take your time and get lots of feedback from other writers (and make those mistakes with them, not an agent or editor). Not only that, you will develop some wonderful relationships and create a community–a support network–which will be invaluable when you DO start submitting.
I am as impatient as the next person, but for new writers, I can't emphasize this enough: Please don't treat the time it takes you to get published as a race, or measure your journey against someone else's and use that as a marker for success and failure. Instead, think of your journey to publication as a travel experience to savor. The more you learn, the more people you connect with, the better prepared you will be for your final destination. And the more people you will have to celebrate your success with!
Q. What are you working on now? Any other upcoming events or other info you'd like to share?
I'm currently working on two projects. One is a contemporary YA novel called READ BETWEEN THE LINES. After writing JUMPING OFF SWINGS I swore I'd never write another book with multiple points of view, so naturally this book has ten. It's kind of a "day in the life" sort of story about how each character's actions affect the next. While I wait for my editor's comments on that, I've started a humorous middle grade/tween novel tentatively called FROM THE COMPLAINT BOX, about a boy who goes to a funky independent school and the adventures/mischief he gets into with his two best friends. When I told my agent I was writing something funny he said, "That's how you described SEE YOU AT HARRY'S and it made everyone weep!" So, he's suspicious. We'll see!
Where can find out more about Jo Knowles:
Jo Knowles website - Jo Knowles blog - Twitter (@JoKnowles) - Facebook
Don't compare w/someone else's progress as your success/fail marker. Savor the journey. @JoKnowles bit.ly/11UDU4K (Tweet this)
Writers: Remember that getting published is not a race. - @JoKnowles: bit.ly/11UDU4K (Tweet this)
Also see other Inkygirl Interviews.


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Rural sanctuary: No need to leave home
ADDRESS: 1930 White Hall Road
SIZE: 3600 fin., 600 unfin. sq. ft.
YEAR BUILT: Original cabin unknown, additions 1960s, '70s, and '80s.
NEIGHBORHOOD: Crozet
CURB APPEAL: 7 out of a possible 10
LISTED BY: Bill Ware of Real Estate III-West 979-0174
Crozet, with its unassuming air, managed to stay off developers' radar for a pretty good while. No longer. Sandwiched nicely between Route 250 West and I-64, this rural hotspot offers access aplenty to a variety of locations. Bucolic fields at the base of the mountains are currently being parceled up for non-farming clientele, and, with the closing of the frozen food factory called ConAgra, Crozet has an already established and abundant water source.
All the new houses popping up create the desire to step back into an older home a feeling akin to slipping into well-worn shoes. Nestled between towering pines and a rocky outcropping (some things you definitely won't find in a development), this house sits low and quiet. At first glance, it looks like a bungalow until one notices the residential fact sheet boasting 3,600 square feet behind those louvered windows.
From the entrance, the square feet stretch out into a many-tentacled thing. In the 1960s, construction on the original structure began in earnest, creating both a north "wing" and a south "wing." Although these are impressive improvements, the house lacks a general cohesiveness.
But with all this space, who cares? The north wing contains the living quarters with a great room, galley kitchen, and dining room. They all flow from one to the next allowing for maximum light and viewing of the gardens beyond.
The south wing reaches even farther inland with its amalgam of spaces suited for the different needs of each tenant. During the '70s, the owner of Happy House Interiors lived and worked here. She connected her workroom to the main house. New owners in the '80s continued work in this wing converting it all to "master" status. A colossal bath and dressing room at the end of a long hallway certainly serves those spacious 21st-century needs.
The original cabin doesn't garner much attention, situated as it is in a sort of holding pattern between all the other areas. A small staircase leads to two small bedrooms and a full bath upstairs: obviously a repository for the children.
The U-shape of the house creates a courtyard that can be seen from almost anywhere inside. The sandbox that now commands the space has probably seen plenty of action, but the idea of an inner sanctum (albeit outside) is so universally appealing that it is easy to envision Moroccan dinners served while reclining on large pillows; or perhaps a Zen garden where peaceful raking can take place. The possibilities seem endless.
A blacktop driveway snakes around one side of the house, leading all the way back to a two-and-a-half bay garage with a 660-square-foot apartment above it, which could easily be a rental unit. This might impinge on privacy, though, so it might better be utilized as an office or in-law suite. A small stream runs alongside the two buildings further enhancing the idyllic and natural setting.
In the 1980s, someone decided to install an in-ground pool. The benefits of this seem negligible, although during July and August the desire to cool off without having to drive somewhere can outweigh the unpleasant maintenance requirements. Fully fenced, terraced, and landscaped, it didn't take long for this reporter to weigh the pros and cons of taking a dip herself.
Since it's more compound than house, one could set up shop here for quite some time with all the necessary (and some not so necessary) components of communal living. Because of its unconventional layout, the house might not fit every lifestyle but it's worth a look. For some, that beats certain developers' current vision of one house model fits all.


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Janico necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 55 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
Electrical and plumbing Supplies eCommerce Site needs a logo and favicon. We would like something simple, bold, masculine, easy to read, etc... Feel free to ask questions. Feedback given promptly. Please read entire project brief.
janico online
We just need a logo and a cool favicon. We just want something simple, bold and fresh. Think really clean and fresh lines.
About Us
We sell electrical and plumbing parts both online and through stores in the UK. We need a logo for our new online website as well as for stationary. To get an idea of the products we sell, please visit some of our competitors sites screwfix . com or discount-electrical . co . uk or electricalstock . com and browse their catalogs. Also visit our own site janicoonline . com which is not yet finished. Neither does it have many products yet loaded.
Some logos we like are found at:
lightnation . co . uk
screwfix . com
isswww . co . uk
Designers that we liked so far:
Our main products expected to sell online are:
Electrical test instruments, bathrooms and showers, recepticals and switches, dimmers and lighting controls, light bulbs, light fittings, wires and cables, water pipe and fittings, ventilation fans, heaters and water heaters etc..
We primarily expect to sell to D.I.Y as well as trade customers
- Style: Fairly simple but we are open to anything. We would like a typeface and an icon either to the left of the typeface, above it, or integrated into the type in some way. We still want something creative though.
- It would be good if the logo reflected the fact that we sell products using either electricity or water or in some cases both.
- Typeface: Simple and Bold.
- Colors: Dark reds or maroon as the main theme. The logo will mainly be used on a light background. Colors can be flipped. Like light text and dark text... Just in general, versatility rules in our mind. Give us something with an icon or standalone text and we will be happy.
- Not too fussy
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.