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For a man who has spent most of his life cracking jokes, Myanmar's most famous comedian and political dissident, Zarganar, has a sober view of the world and takes his self-appointed role as a custodian of the past seriously.
Since his release from jail in October under an amnesty for political prisoners, Zarganar has focused on ways of ensuring the atrocities of the past are recorded and not forgotten by future generations.
A meeting in Cambodia with the head of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, a private organization that has collected documents, films, and photographs of the Khmer Rouge, has inspired him.
Zarganar hopes a similar center can be built in Myanmar (formerly Burma), perhaps by 2013. It would be a test of the Southeast Asian country's transition from military rule to democracy, since many of those implicated in the abuses are still in power today.
"As we embark on the democratization process, 1988, 1990, 2007, and 2008 are four historical years we cannot forget," Zarganar, whose real name is Ko Thura, told AlertNet.
"We need to document what happened," he said, denying that revenge was a motivation.
"We know who committed those atrocities, but we don't want revenge. We have a saying that you shouldn't retaliate [against] hostility with hostility. It would be a vicious cycle. We won't be able to move forward."
Zarganar said individuals should no longer face being thrown into jail or being forced to take up arms because of their political beliefs.
"We can forgive but it's impossible to forget what happened because we were the ones who suffered," he said.
Military crackdowns
In 1998, soldiers from the military junta that ruled former Burma for nearly 50 years following a 1962 coup gunned down hundreds of unarmed pro-democracy students and protesters, arresting hundreds more.
Two years later, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 1990 election by a landslide but was never allowed to take power.
There were pro-democracy protests again in 2007, with Buddhist monks leading the so-called Saffron Revolution. It was brutally quashed with scores of monks and civilians killed and arrested.
In 2008, Myanmar suffered one the worst disasters in its history when Cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawaddy Delta killing nearly 140,000 people.
Zarganar, who had been a focal point for the informal relief effort by private citizens into the delta, was sentenced in 2008 to 59 years in prison after criticizing the junta for its slow response to the cyclone.
Clad in a white T-shirt and colorful shorts, and sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor of his living room in Yangon, Zarganar said he hopes the new center would record past and present events, from revolutions to land grabs and rights abuses.
"There's a village in Monywa where a company is trying to evict the villagers. We've gone there and documented what's going on," he said proudly.
Scrutiny of donor aid
Zarganar's voice croaked from overwork and he apologized for the state of his apartment – with books and papers scattered on the floor and no furniture in the living room – and the constant ringing of his mobile phone.
He's been busy. In January he organized Myanmar's first film festival and screened a documentary about the military's crackdown on the 2007 protests, an unprecedented event in a country previously known for its iron-like grip on the media and intolerance of dissent.
He continues to call for the release of more than 470 remaining political prisoners. He's also providing money, food, and clothing to current and former political prisoners and their families who are struggling to make a living.
He set up a company to produce documentaries, is involved in a biopic about Myanmar's founding father, General Aung San, and travels abroad and within the country extensively, taking his messages to international donors and the Burmese diaspora.
Zarganar had a specific appeal to foreign donors looking to ramp up their assistance to a country where a third of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day.
"Please scrutinize carefully to ensure that the money gets to the people who are actually doing the work," he said, adding that civil society in Myanmar is still in its infancy.
Myanmar changing
The Burmese have seen Zarganar transformed from a dentistry student telling jokes at university fairs to a successful comedian and national treasure, and now a fierce critic of the government.
Despite his outspokenness against the government, he said it was equally important to applaud the authorities when they did something right.
For example, last year, in what was one of the first signs of Myanmar's new era, President Thein Sein bowed to public pressure and cancelled the Myitsone dam being built on the Irrawaddy River by the Chinese. Power generated from the $3.6 billion project would have gone to neighboring China.
"That was good, and we should encourage them to do more good things like that," Zarganar said.
He still has misgivings towards the year-old nominally civilian government, especially over its treatment of former and current political prisoners, but said the situation in Myanmar has improved vastly.
The government has been lauded by the international community for introducing unprecedented reforms since coming to power last year. Its efforts to reform have also prompted the European Union and the United States to suspend their sanctions.
"There's a lot more opportunity to do things and more authority to speak," he said.
"I was only released from prison seven months ago. I've been working nonstop since. Some say I'm going too fast. But I think I'm actually quite slow," Zarganar concluded. "I have a handicap – I spent 11 years in prison."
• You can read the full interview on AlertNet.
• This article originally appeared on AlertNet, a humanitarian news site operated by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
• Sign up to receive a weekly selection of practical and inspiring Change Agent articles by clicking here.


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The Windows 8 user interface is a mix of old and new. While we think that both the old desktop and the new Metro interface work well when considered individually, the combination of the two leaves something to be desired, thanks to, among other things, radically different looks-and-feels, and a dependence on hot corners that play poorly with multimonitor systems.
Microsoft is planning a bunch of changes to Windows 8 that directly address the concerns we had, changes that should greatly improve the Windows 8 user experience. The company has outlined them in a pair of posts on its Building Windows 8 blog: the Windows 8 desktop will sport a new, simpler, flatter theme, and the handling of multiple screens is going to be vastly enhanced with a couple of changes. The desktop will now contain special "traps" in the corners to stop the mouse sliding between screens, and the Start screen, charms bar, and task switcher will be invokable on every screen, not just the primary.
Strangely, the multimonitor post was originally published—briefly—last week, before being removed. It was reposted today.
No more Aero
The design aesthetic of the Metro environment is to be unapologetically digital: it eschews the simulations of real-world physical materials and constraints that most current interfaces feature, with their shaded pseudo-3D buttons, brushed metal texturing, and glassy window borders, in favor of something that is stripped back to its functional core. Buttons, for example are denoted by simple text labels or highly stylized iconography. Window chrome—title bars, borders, scrollbars, toolbars, and menus—is either removed entirely or hidden, appearing only when useful and relevant.
The Aero Glass theme—used in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and current prereleases of Windows 8—is typical for its time. The chrome is heavy and intrusive, with thick, glassy, translucent window borders, bulbous, raised buttons, and extensive use of color and ornamentation to subdivide and segregate content.
On their own, each concept was reasonable, but wedded together, they felt odd: two diametrically opposed ideas about what an interface should look like, and how it should work, crammed together in what we called an "awkward hybrid."
Windows 8's new theme, shown off only in a small screenshot, will take some steps toward reconciling these two UI viewpoints. The new theme will introduce a little more harmony between Metro and the desktop. The glass effect is gone, replaced by flat color. The window buttons are no longer bulky curved blobs in the corner of the window; they're now simple flat rectangles.
The Windows desktop still isn't Metro, and existing Windows applications are not going to use Metro any time soon; they still use resizable windows, toolbars, borders, and more. Software such as Zune, MetroTwit, and Device Center are still going to be truer representations of the Metro ideal than the most regular Windows software. But with the new theme, it looks as if the (almost spurious) stylistic differences between the two worlds will be addressed in some ways.
Microsoft notes that the forthcoming Release Preview, due in early June, will not include the new theme; it will be "hinted at," but the final look of the operating system will only ship with the retail release. New icons are also rumored to be a feature of the final theme.
Improved multimonitor support
A significant minority of desktop Windows users—about 14-15 percent, by Microsoft's figures—use multimonitor systems. The current Windows 8 experience leaves a lot to be desired on multimonitor systems. Windows 8 uses hot corners for a number of fundamental operations, and while these hot corners present infinitely large targets on single-monitor systems (just fling the mouse into a screen corner and it'll automatically land on the right spot), they're closer to needles in a proverbial haystack on multimonitor systems, because an attempt to hit the magic pixel more often than not results in the mouse overshooting and moving onto an adjacent screen.
To make them considerably easier to hit, the hot corners in Windows 8 Release Preview will include small "traps:" 6 pixel barriers along the edge of the screen to make the target bigger and prevent overshooting. The Release Preview will also make every corner hot, allowing the task switcher, charms, and Start screen to be called up on any screen.
These refinements are small in themselves, but we've heard that they make a considerable positive improvement to the overall usability of the operating system. The gesture to bring out the charms still requires a little care and attention. To make the charms appear, the mouse is moved into the top or bottom right corner, and then moved in a straight line down or up, towards the middle of the right edge. While the corner traps make it easy to get the mouse into the right place to start the gesture, the movement straight up or down is still unconstrained, and the mouse can still spill out of the target area.
While Windows 8 won't ever escape its hybridity, the changes that Microsoft is making are both steps in the right direction. Will they be enough to make it feel like a coherent single operating system? That's a judgment that will have to wait for the final release.

subset: commoncrawl


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Flupenthixol belongs to the family of medications known as thioxanthenes. This medication is used in the treatment of schizophrenia. It is thought to work by affecting nerve pathways in certain areas of the brain to help correct certain chemical imbalances that cause the symptoms of schizophrenia.
This medication may be available under multiple brand names and/or in several different forms. Any specific brand name of this medication may not be available in all of the forms or approved for all of the conditions discussed here. As well, some forms of this medication may not be used for all of the conditions discussed here.
Your doctor may have suggested this medication for conditions other than those listed in these drug information articles. If you have not discussed this with your doctor or are not sure why you are using this medication, speak to your doctor. Do not stop using this medication without consulting your doctor.
Do not give this medication to anyone else, even if they have the same symptoms as you do. It can be harmful for people to use this medication if their doctor has not prescribed it.
2% Solution
Each mL contains flupenthixol decanoate 20 mg. Nonmedicinal ingredients: medium-chain triglycerides. Supplied as 2 mL ampoules, packages of 5, or as 10 mL vials.
10% Solution
Each mL contains flupenthixol decanoate 100 mg. Nonmedicinal ingredients: medium-chain triglycerides. Supplied as 2 mL vials.
The recommended starting dose of flupenthixol tablets is 1 mg 3 times a day. The doctor may increase this dose every 2 or 3 days depending on how you are doing. The usual maintenance dose is 3 mg to 6 mg daily, taken in divided doses.
Many things can affect the dose of medication that a person needs, such as body weight, other medical conditions, and other medications. If your doctor has recommended a dose different from the ones listed here, do not change the way that you are using the medication without consulting your doctor.
Once you have reached a stable dose of flupenthixol tablets, your doctor may switch you to an injectable form of flupenthixol that stays in your system longer and makes it easier to remember to take your medication.
Flupenthixol tablets may be taken with food or on an empty stomach, however taking it with food or milk may help to reduce stomach upset.
It may take several weeks to feel the full benefit of this medication. Flupenthixol tablets must be taken every day to be effective. It is important that you keep taking the medication as prescribed by your doctor.
Your body will become accustomed to the medication over time. Do not stop taking this medication without talking to your doctor. If this medication is stopped suddenly, you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, or loss of appetite. If you plan on stopping the medication, your doctor may want you to reduce the dose gradually to reduce the severity of withdrawal effects.
It is important that this medication be taken exactly as prescribed by your doctor. If you miss a dose of this medication, and it is more than 6 hours until your next dose, take it as soon as possible. If it is less than 6 hours until your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. If you are not sure what to do after missing a dose, contact your doctor or pharmacist for advice.
If you are using the flupenthixol injection and you miss an appointment to receive a dose, contact your doctor as soon as possible to reschedule your appointment.
Store this medication at room temperature and protect it from light and keep it out of the reach of children.
Do not dispose of medications in wastewater (e.g. down the sink or in the toilet) or in household garbage. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medications that are no longer needed or have expired.
Do not use this medication if you:
Many medications can cause side effects. A side effect is an unwanted response to a medication when it is taken in normal doses. Side effects can be mild or severe, temporary or permanent.
The side effects listed below are not experienced by everyone who takes this medication. If you are concerned about side effects, discuss the risks and benefits of this medication with your doctor.
The following side effects have been reported by at least 1% of people taking this medication. Many of these side effects can be managed, and some may go away on their own over time.
Contact your doctor if you experience these side effects and they are severe or bothersome. Your pharmacist may be able to advise you on managing side effects.
Although most of the side effects listed below don't happen very often, they could lead to serious problems if you do not check with your doctor or seek medical attention.
Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:
Stop taking the medication and seek immediate medical attention if any of the following occur:
Some people may experience side effects other than those listed. Check with your doctor if you notice any symptom that worries you while you are taking this medication.
Before you begin using a medication, be sure to inform your doctor of any medical conditions or allergies you may have, any medications you are taking, whether you are pregnant or breast-feeding, and any other significant facts about your health. These factors may affect how you should use this medication.
Abnormal heart rhythms: This medication can cause abnormal heart rhythms. Certain medications (e.g., sotalol, quinidine, thioridazine, chlorpromazine, pimozide, moxifloxacin, mefloquine, pentamidine, arsenic trioxide, tacrolimus) can increase the risk of a type of abnormal heart rhythm called QT prolongation, and should not be used in combination with flupenthixol. You are more at risk for this type of abnormal heart rhythm and its complications if you:
Blood counts: This medication can decrease the number of neutrophils (a type of white blood cell that helps fight infection), red blood cells (which carry oxygen), and platelets (which help your blood to clot). Your doctor will do blood tests to monitor this. If you notice any signs of infection (e.g., fever, chills, or sore throat) or unusual bleeding or bruising, contact your doctor immediately.
Blood sugar: Flupenthixol may cause an increase in blood sugar levels (may cause a loss of blood glucose control) and glucose tolerance may change. This may happen to people who have never had high blood glucose levels. People with diabetes may find it necessary to monitor their blood sugar more frequently while using this medication.
If you have diabetes or are at risk for developing diabetes, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Dementia: Adults with dementia appear to be at a greater risk of sudden death when they are taking flupenthixol. This appears to happen more often in seniors with dementia. If you have dementia, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Drowsiness/reduced alertness: This medication may cause drowsiness. Do not drive, operate machinery, or perform other potentially hazardous tasks until you have determined how this medication affects you.
Glaucoma: This medication may make glaucoma worse. If you have glaucoma, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Liver function: Liver disease or reduced liver function may cause this medication to build up in the body, causing side effects. If you have liver disease or decreased liver function, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Flupenthixol may also cause decreased liver function or make liver problems worse. If you experience symptoms of liver problems such as fatigue, feeling unwell, loss of appetite, nausea, yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, dark urine, pale stools, abdominal pain or swelling, and itchy skin, contact your doctor immediately.
Movement disorders: The use of flupenthixol has been associated with a potentially irreversible movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia (TD). This syndrome involves the involuntary movements of facial muscles and the tongue. The risk of a person developing this syndrome is usually but not always linked to treatment duration and the total amount of antipsychotic medications taken.
If you develop signs and symptoms of TD during treatment with flupenthixol, including sticking the tongue out, smacking the lips, pursing or puckering of lips, and blinking eyes rapidly, contact your doctor as soon as possible.
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS): Flupenthixol, like other antipsychotic medications, can cause a potentially fatal syndrome known as neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). If you notice the symptoms of NMS such as high fever; muscle stiffness; confusion or loss of consciousness; sweating, racing, or irregular heartbeat; or fainting, get immediate medical attention.
Parkinson's disease: This medication may make symptoms of Parkinson's disease worse. If you have Parkinson's disease, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Prolonged erection (priapism): If an erection lasts longer than 4 hours (a rare occurrence), seek immediate medical assistance. If this condition is not treated quickly, tissue damage and permanent loss of the ability to have an erection could result.
Seizures: Flupenthixol may make pre-existing seizure disorders worse. If you have a seizure disorder, discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
Stopping the medication: If this medication needs to be stopped, it should be done gradually, under the supervision of your doctor. If you suddenly stop taking this medication, you may experience symptoms of withdrawal.
Take the medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor, and do not stop taking the medication without checking with your doctor first.
Pregnancy: This medication should not be used during pregnancy unless the benefits outweigh the risks. If you become pregnant while taking this medication, contact your doctor immediately. Newborn babies who have been exposed to this medication in the last 3 months of pregnancy have experienced withdrawal symptoms after birth.
Breast-feeding: This medication passes into breast milk. If you are a breast-feeding mother and are taking flupenthixol, it may affect your baby. Talk to your doctor about whether you should continue breast-feeding.
Children: The safety and effectiveness of using this medication have not been established for children.
Seniors: Seniors are at an increased risk of experiencing severe side effects of flupenthixol due to decreased kidney, liver, and heart function. Discuss with your doctor how this medication may affect your medical condition, how your medical condition may affect the dosing and effectiveness of this medication, and whether any special monitoring is needed.
There may be an interaction between flupenthixol and any of the following:
If you are taking any of these medications, speak with your doctor or pharmacist. Depending on your specific circumstances, your doctor may want you to:
An interaction between two medications does not always mean that you must stop taking one of them. Speak to your doctor about how any drug interactions are being managed or should be managed.
Medications other than those listed above may interact with this medication. Tell your doctor or prescriber about all prescription, over-the-counter (non-prescription), and herbal medications you are taking. Also tell them about any supplements you take. Since caffeine, alcohol, the nicotine from cigarettes, or street drugs can affect the action of many medications, you should let your prescriber know if you use them.
All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2020. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/drug/getdrug/Fluanxol-Depot


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Interstate 295 exit in S Maine to close temporarily due to construction
YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) � Maine motorists will get more details about the planned, temporary closing of an exit ramp along Interstate 295 in southern Maine.
The state Department of Transportation on Wednesday will unveil detailed plans for the project on the I-295 Exit 15 in Yarmouth, scheduled to begin in March.
Of particular interest to motorists is the temporary closing of the northbound Exit 15, alternative routes, and the installation of temporary traffic lights at the Exit 10 and Exit 17 northbound off-ramps.
During a news briefing Wednesday, MaineDOT Project Manager Ernie Martin will also discuss plans for the new I-295 Exit 15 on-ramp and a new park and ride commuter lot in Yarmouth.


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"We enjoy great freedoms in the United States. Let us never forget the men and women who have laid down their lives on the line to defend and protect our religious liberties," Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, head of the U.S. Archdiocese of the Military Services, said in a prayer for Veterans Day released Nov. 10.
The annual Veterans Day observance "invites us to remember those killed in the line of duty, those still suffering the effects of their generous response in times of national need, and of course, everyone who has retired from active duty," he continued.
"We cannot forget the sacrifices of so many. We sense an obligation to express our gratitude, and we certainly remember them in our prayers," Archbishop Broglio added.
U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said that today at "the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month of 2011, we will pause to honor America's veterans and celebrate their contributions to our way of life. Few have given more to our nation than the men and women who have served in our armed forces in peace and war." Check out his statement and a gallery of photos of members of the military serving over the years put together by the Department of Veterans Affairs.


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The Main Thing
Revelation 1:7 "Look! He is returning with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn because of him. This will certainly come to pass! Amen."
Think for a moment about the different sorts of letters you receive. A thank-you note. A notification of bad news. A postcard bringing greetings from another continent. A past-due notice. A shower invitation.
Think, too, of the ways we communicate with each other. Snail mail. Twitter. Blogs. Email. YouTube. Text-messaging. Scribbling a note and posting it somewhere. Using the telephone.
Two thousand years ago when God wanted to communicate, he often did so while people were awake, through visions, or while they were asleep, through dreams. So when Jesus wanted to communicate a message to seven churches in Asia Minor, He appeared to John—perhaps their overseer—in a vision. And what John saw were some amazing "things to come."
Jesus told John to record what he saw, and as a result, we have the Book of Revelation. As mentioned, in this study we will explore only the part comprised of the seven letters to the churches. Still, it helps to begin with an overview of the entire Book of Revelation so we understand the setting in which the letters appear.
Revelation begins with a vision of the high and exalted Christ. Once the Revealer provides a glimpse of His glory, He instructs John through twenty-two separate visions. And in the beginning of those visions, John receives seven messages to give to seven literal churches.
Many who study the seven letters identify seven corresponding periods of church history, concluding that we are now in the "Laodicean" or last period. We have chosen not to approach the text this way, which would limit our view to only the final message. Instead, we will consider every one of the seven letters as having much to teach us. In effect the churches' mail is our mail, because the words spoken to Christ-followers in the distant past provide timeless instruction that's still relevant.
The overall structure of the Book of Revelation is as follows: First, Jesus appears. Then He gives messages to the churches. After that we find a vision of the Judge and His judgments. Then we have a vision of the Coming King, followed by a picture of the coming kingdom.
The seven letters to the churches are really post-card-length messages, and they differ from most of the Book of Revelation in that they consist of straight prose while the rest is apocalyptic. Each letter includes most or all of the following elements: a description of Jesus Christ, a commendation, an exhortation, a criticism, and a promise to those who overcome. Though Jesus directed His messages to these specific churches, we can read their mail and learn about what's important to Him. We see what He rebukes, exhorts, commends, and blesses, and we find application in our own time.
The main focus of the letters and the entire vision is that Jesus will most certainly return, and He will do so unexpectedly, so His followers must be ready at any moment.
To the weary who are persevering, He brings reward and relief. To those living only for themselves, He brings judgment. Today we often hear about Jesus being our buddy, our friend, and our pal. Yet while Christ does love and have compassion for His children, that is not the whole picture. He is also the Almighty, the All-knowing, the Omnipresent King and Creator, to whom worship and obedience are due. He makes the mountains roar and the lightning flash. He is the Ancient of Days, holy, righteous, and pure. When He judges, He will judge righteously because He, the impartial One, knows all and misunderstands nothing.
When you think of His coming, do you look forward to blessing and relief? Or does "stuff of earth" compete with your desire to see Him? Do you want to be married first, or have children first, or have grandchildren first, or finish something first? Are you living with only the here-and-now in view, or do you delight at the thought that at any moment you could see His face?
What needs to shift in your focus so your greatest desire is to see the face of Jesus Christ?
Excerpted from Sumatra with the Seven Churches (AMG) by Sandra Glahn and Crickett Keeth. This book is part of the Coffee Cup Bible Study Series.


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Massachusetts judge sets trial date in cut-from-womb case
Julie Corey faces murder, kidnapping charges in death of Darlene Haynes.
A Massachusetts judge has set a trial date for a woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and cutting the unborn baby from her womb almost four years ago.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports a Jan. 9 trial date was set Friday at the request of prosecutors and the attorney for 38-year-old Julie Corey. Corey faces murder and child kidnapping charges in the 2009 death of 23-year-old Darlene Haynes.
Prosecutors say Corey beat and strangled Haynes, who was eight months pregnant, before taking the fetus. They said Corey faked a pregnancy and lied about giving birth to a child.
Corey and her boyfriend were found two days later in a Plymouth, N.H., homeless shelter with a baby that DNA testing later showed was Haynes' child. Corey has pleaded not guilty.


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Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 19919
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 6:38 pm
Post subject:
Consider yourself fortunate to live that close to your sailing. Many of us spend a few thousands on fuel and a few thousands more on WSing vacations each year.
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Joined: 06 May 1998
Posts: 604
Location: Redwood City, CA
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 7:04 pm
Post subject:
prevett wrote:
So, with regard to cost per session, I do feel that windsurfing can be relatively inexpensive.
And that's how I justify to my wife sailing as many days per year as possible!
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Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 8715
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:50 pm
Post subject:
I spend $2500 per year on new gear. However sell about $500 on average. So it costs me $2000 per year. I get an average of 80 days per year of sailing, so the cost per day is about $25. This is a bargain. If I'm skiing, it probably costs me $140 per day.
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Joined: 06 May 1998
Posts: 604
Location: Redwood City, CA
Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 9:53 pm
Post subject:
I'm just a cheap bastard. I spend about the same per year, but it only costs me about $13.50 per day.
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Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 275
Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:28 pm
Post subject:
There are a few WS camps here in the SF / NorCal Area. And maybe some kids learn when their parents take them on warm water vacations. But it eems the weakness with keeping the sport alive is treating these camps like farm teams. What is the next step for these kids once they learn how to uphaul and maybe use a harness? Who will drive them to the beach, help them buy gear? What about trading up?
There is a youth program starting up in the Berkeley Area. There is also a low cost WS and sailing coop. Got to get the cost down to get more people into it.
And speaking of gear, why won't one of the companies put out a generalist kit and acknowlege that there isn't THAT much difference between the gear, especially for the beginner and intermediate? (yes i saw the 20 page thread on quad vs twin fin boards) There is a model for this in Berkeley: a skateboard shop where I got a board for my 10-year old daughter. They had plain boards, generic trucks and wheels. All good quality. And all you would pick is the graphics for the board. All one [reasonable] price.
Tom G.
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Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 8715
Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:55 pm
Post subject:
It would be intellegent for the top 6 or 8 manufacturers to joint venture a single entry to intermediate board line consisting of 3 boards. They could put their logos on all the boards, masts, booms and sails. How much would this lower the entry price for new consumers? A JP, Naish, Goya, Starboard, Tabou, Bic, and F2 board.
The manufacturers could then focus on their higher end lines. (racing, surf, B&J). They could all also cooperate on beginners clinics, demo days, rental shops. In other words cooperate for the greater good.
I'll bet they don't make a dime from their entry level boards anyway.
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Joined: 05 May 1998
Posts: 863
Location: Rio
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 11:54 am
Post subject:
I remember when Giant, the bicycle manufacturer, started marketing bikes (low end ones, originally) under its own name. Cobra boards?
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Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 156
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:38 pm
Post subject:
Ironically enough, I remember when Cobra started as a brand. There were in fact Cobra boards. They weren't on the market for all that long. The two things I remember about them is that they were nicely finished and they had a cloth-over-foam deck pad that was recessed into the board. That would have been in the late '80s
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Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 775
Location: Seattle, Wa
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:33 pm
Post subject:
Great thread... I'm just a visitor to "this section" reading more windsurfing stuff to get my fix, ha-ha
I've been windsurfing longboards since '80 and shortboards since '84. And still sail both. I've lived my whole life in Seattle... but have sailed all over.
I'm just a recreational sailor with only intermediate skills... but still love it.
I've taught windsurfing a LOT... I've done a fair amout of club racing, for fun only... I've organized lots of fun, social sailing events... etc.
But of course, like was said... I have WAY more miles and hours, free-sailing than racing. But I still have fun with racing. I don't compete with the leaders... but I have fun trying to catch the guy in front of me... and trying to keep the guy behind me, from passing me
I agree with lots of the great points that have been made.
Other thoughts -
Windsurfing used to be expensive. But when it declined, there became a glut of gear. So because of "supply and demand" used gear is crazy cheap. The only thing that some would say, still makes it costly... is if you're only going to sail planing shortboards. Because that is more specialized, so you'll drive farther and put much more time and resources into it, and that costs $.
But to buy one longboard and one rig, that'll work in 2 to 20 knots of wind, is simple and cheap. Sure, you'll go slow in the lightest stuff... but you'll go fast in 20... work on hi-end skills... and get great exercise.
I'm sure there's a similar gear designed for wave sailing.
I know there is for hi-wind stuff, but you'll need 3 sails that fit on your 1 mast and boom.
Of course, if you get picky and want the perfect kit for every wind... then you're going to need a van, and a big garage
But, it's a mistake for us to tell beginner's that they need that. Because they don't. Windsurfing can be very simple and fun... that's how it was, when it was the most popular.
And yes, it's an individual sport (like lots of others)... but most people are very social and enjoy doing it around other participants (just like skiing, biking, kayaking, etc). So, a "fun race" is just another fun part of the sport to enjoy. Even very experienced sailors will learn something racing, because it's different than free-sailing. Anyway, certainly most windsurfers around the world have never and will never enter a fun, friendly local competition. And that's fine... but for some, it's just another way to enjoy our cool sport.
And certainly, gear development did improve due to racing. "One Design Windsurfers" with teak booms went away cause they wanted to advance the designs with open classes...and all that, does trickle down to the rec. guys, like most of us. But do I need the latest designs? Nope, I don't. And for sure, I couldn't get the performance from the top race designs, so that would be a waste of money, for me.
And - It's too bad about your Enduro... it's been similar in Seattle.
Anyway, the National's will be fun for you, that want to participate. And I'd say, "Do it".
I did the National's in Hood River last summer (only the slalom)... and it was a blast. No, I'm nowhere near the leaders. I'm in the back half of the fleet. We all stay out of the way, of the good guys... and then we have fun trying to beat each other, at the back of the pack
And you don't need any race gear. Like the guy in this thread that said he raced on wave gear... absolutely, anything will work. I sailed on rec. gear from the early 90's and beat lots of people. Having newer gear, makes no difference, if you're way late for the start... or you fall once every "8 buoy slalom" course. And most of us in the back half, do exactly that
Anyway, your Enduro will come back when the National's are gone, summer '14... I'm sure of that, cause it's a good fun excuse to show up and sail with others. And have dinner afterwards.
Oh yeah, that idea just a few posts above, about the companys getting together to make some entry level rec gear is a great one. It's been talked about before, often around the talk of Olympic gear. Anyway, probably never happen... but it's a good one.
Hey, just be glad there's still a few windsurfing stores in CA. There used to be 20 windsurfing shops within 2 hours of Seattle... now there's none.
But like you, we have the computer now (which we didn't use to have, right).. so we can still connect... and meet-up at the lake... to sail !!
Have fun,
PS - I've sailed just once, in CA. It was at Crissy Field for the '90 National's. I got last place
But, Eric Sanford did a 6 page report/article for Windsurfing Mag (RIP)... and put my name in the 1st paragraph. He didn't know me at all. But he looked at the results, and saw Nevin Sayer in 1st and me in last... and wrote about pros competing against rec. guys and how cool that was. I guess I must've improved, since I didn't get last place in last summer's National's in Hood River, ha-ha
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Joined: 05 Apr 2002
Posts: 64
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:31 pm
Post subject:
Let's face it windsurfing is a fad sport. It was extremely popular for a time (given how difficult and inconvenient it is...) and interest has been waning for some years now because people don't think it's cool anymore. When I tell people I windsurf, guess what the first question they ask is: "Have you ever done any kitesurfing?". When people at the beach see my rigged sail on the ground they run up and ask if it's one of those things that fly up in the air. When I tell them it's a windsurfing sail and not a kite, they lose interest and walk away.
Kitesurfing appears to have the buzz and the cool factor now... and windsurfing at one time did too.
I agree with the earlier comments that to grow our sport we need to grow the base and get more people (younger people!) into the sport. Get out there and teach your kids or your friend's kids, or support programs that do teach new people and youngsters to windsurf. If it's your local shop that actually has a learn to windsurf program, then buy from that shop by all means!
I don't agree with the comment that we'd still be stuck with dacron sails and longboards if the sport depended on racing for advancement. Virtually every advancement in the sport has come from the competition side of the sport (just like every other sport...). It is the drive to go faster, jump higher, spin more times, etc. that drives the advancement in the wave, freestyle and slalom/course racing gear. It is the competing pros in each of these disciplines that drive this advancement by testing the new experimental boards, sails, booms, fins, etc. and using them in competition. Then the manufacturer picks what works and trickles it down to the gear we all use.
So for the sport to stay healthy and not completely die out, it is important to grow the number of people entering the sport to at least match the number of people leaving the sport. But it is also important that our sport has a healthy competitive side (just like any sport) to drive the advancement in equipment. Competing is also a heck of a lot of fun. Those who haven't tried it go on about it being regimented, not fun, etc., but don't knock it till you've tried it...
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Dreamliner Fixes Still on the Horizon
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has been grounded for nearly two months, with investigators still unable to pin down a cause for overheating batteries. The WSJ's Jeffrey Ng explains when the aircraft may be ready for takeoff.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the ... late seventy eighty seven g like there has been out of commission for almost two months ... after problems were found with ... the ... aircraft battery system ... and ever con joining me now is the Wall Street Journal's ... Jeffrey ... ok Jeffrey first and foremost why is this investigation taking so ... where is it ... all ... there weren't any ... its aircraft ... the problem of new crash or ... or or the similar incident takes a long time for investigators to pinpoint ... the actual causes of palms planes are made of the millions and millions of parts and it's really difficult for them ... to do over a few weeks of time to really conclude what wet wall with of ... the local fire is that we soul when some of these batteries and seventy seven so ... it's no surprise that all that ... either that or Japanese or the ... FAA folks in the US have found a real cost to the tothe fire again aside from the bad publicity out over a brand new aircraft ... what is true is really hurting them this I mean I'm getting this has to be costing the airline's a lot of money but that lead Boeing would be that the ... biggest ... of losing the most of that this because ... I would be with u cream likely that they'll have to pay a lot of compensation to airline for every day that there are some links and stuff like ... the one job that are that many seventy sevens in the air from fifty two and half of those planes or wedding without offering with Jet Japan's two biggest airlines DNA ... and Ciao ... Japan Airlines ... so in ... in in the grand scheme of things ... milk ... reading this Airport suspended from flying for ... your time ... isn't such a big deal to the industry in general the seventy seven has already been delayed for years because of ... the vote of no backlogs and delays and ... a few more months is really a big deal for the airline industry this is hurting future feature orders for the aircraft and presumably ... I hear an airline you don't really wanna buy aircraft until they know what's wrong way to work with we've seen problems with the seventy seven percent from the airport's three feet of the mega jumbo jet ... and ... it's becoming very clear that no ... compensation causes and compensation for delays will be the front and center ... of many negotiations that airlines will undergo with ... a bigger profit affections going for it because ... it's it's hard to ... gauge what will happen in the order of one of the planes and ... you get suspended ... um and seventy seven case it's been ... cooler than against a blessing that ... there will already have been delays earlier on ... because no airline staked DNA and shall really ... were able to keep a lot of capacity that their plight that they had been planning to get rid of ... on line ... because the seventy seven just had no right so the impact for them it's actually has been ... a bit less now than ... what what what would happen should ... have the that that some exams arrive on time to get it today do we know of any and cancellations in orders to achieve these problems not yet but a lot of some somewhat carriers of how our reporting that the delays in there and deliveries of the seventy sevens but there has been no new cancellations airlines are not too clearly worried about this are confident that ... the Boeing and the andthe with leaders will come out with a ... solution and it seems like ... no one's Boeing's plan to fix its ... batteries ... are accepted by the but the FAA the Federal Aviation ministrations and Ingo protesting switch footprint in another for six weeks old she ... of course collected they are not not not too distant future this year carefully for a bear like junkies like YouTube said to have righted the extraordinary events and Jeffrey ... for monastery to go to Des beest dot com under for ...


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3Di Tournament Archery
The African chapter of IBO, and their subsidiary 3-Di, was established by a group of dedicated archers, with the mutual desire to see that the sport of 3-D target archery expand and flourish.
To educate, establish and maintain the highest levels of competitive 3-D archery as set out in the Original Charter of the IBO.
Go to the 3Di Section »
ABO Conservation
Our diverse African wildlife is arguably one of our most precious natural resources. As devout conservationists, we understand our role in sustainable utilisation.
ABO aims to empower archers to attain an acceptable level of competence, with exposure to generally acceptable standards Should they wish exercise their right to bow hunt.
Go to the ABO Section »


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Leg of Lamb Baked with Butter and Herbs with Redcurrant, Orange and Mint Sauce
This is a very old but well-loved recipe – baking lamb in foil keeps it very moist and juicy and allows the flavours of the herbs to really permeate the meat.
I've included a sauce recipe, too – the quickest but most beautiful sauce for lamb ever.
This recipe first appeared in Sainsbury's Magazine (May 2000). Serves 6-8
- method
- Ingredients
Begin by chopping all the herbs as per the instructions given in the ingredients list, then mix the butter, herbs and garlic together, adding a level teaspoon of salt and some freshly milled black pepper.
Now stab the joint in several places with a skewer, and rub the herb butter all over the upper side – this will allow the butter to run into the joint during cooking. Next, wrap the joint loosely in foil, allowing a bit of space to let air circulate, then fold the edges and seal well. Now place it in a large roasting tin and cook for 2 hours on the centre shelf of the pre-heated oven, then open out the foil and cook it for a further 30 minutes, so that it browns nicely. With these cooking times the lamb will be slightly pink. If you like it well done, give it a little extra time in the foil before opening it out.
When it is ready, remove the joint to a warm serving dish and keep in a warm place while you make the gravy. Empty the juices from the foil into the roasting tin, then tilt the tin slightly. You will see that the meat juices and fat will separate, so spoon off most of the fat into a bowl and discard, and leave the juices in the tin.
Now place the tin over a medium heat, and when the juices start to bubble, sprinkle in the flour and work it to a smooth paste, using a wooden spoon, then cook for a minute or so, to brown. Now pour in the wine and let it bubble, then gradually add the stock by degrees, to make a thin gravy. Taste and add seasoning, if it needs it, then pour into a jug.
Place the redcurrant jelly in a small basin, break it up with a fork, then mix in the orange zest and mint – and that's it. This must be one of the quickest sauces in the world, and it's absolutely delicious.
Pour it in a jug and serve with the lamb and the gravy.
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C)
Using a fan-assisted oven? Click here


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Top Patriotic Movies for Independence Day
Independence Day is right around the corner. The Fourth of July summer celebration means car shows, picnics, boating, fireworks, and remembering what Independence Day is all about. To make the July 4th party complete, why not take a break and relax with a favorite patriotic movie before the fireworks and evening festivities.
The movie titles listed below can be purchased on the Amazon Web site or may be available for download from Amazon's Video on Demand service. Many can be rented from popular video stores. Check TV listings for movies offered for the holiday.
Top Patriotic Movies for Independence Day:
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
The Music Man (1962)
The Great Escape (1963)
1776 (1972)
Johnny Tremain (1975)
The Patriot (2000)
Independence Day (1996)
National Treasure (2004)
National Treasure 2 (2007)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
|PowerPoint: Top Patriotic Movies for Independence Day
|Video: Top Patriotic Movies for Independence Day
|Download PowerPoint Presentation
|Watch on Youtube


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Rhode Island Events, Coupons, Reviews!
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Scrape A Round Ice Scraper Review
Have you seen the Scrape A Round? Take a look at the video and watch how easy this ice scraper works!
I was sent a set of 2 traditional Scrape-A-Round scrapers and one "Green" Round 2 scraper before Christmas, unfortunately, the weather here did not give me the chance to be able to use the scrapers on my vehicle.
Normally we would have already had snow that stayed for a few days so it would have melted on the windshields or been really cold for thick frost. No thick frost but it did snow and before it could melt and cause ice on the windshield the rain came and washed it away. I got lucky I did get an opportunity to use the scraper just not on my car. Let me explain.... early on a school morning, I opened the front door to discover one of the kids did not close the storm door all the way so the inside glass was frosted over. Grrr.... I needed to be able to see out to watch for my son's bus which it just so happened to be a morning we were running late and I didn't have time to waste with the tiny old credit card I keep by the door in case it ever frosted up (yeah the kids have done it before don't they all? lol) so I grabbed the traditional Scrape A Round that I had placed by the door to take out to the car if we ever got frost and wow the frost on the window was cleared in no time. Like less than a second, it was so fast! I loved the way it fit in your hand comfortably allowing you to have the power to cut through the frost and ice easily. This is a great product!
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Introducing The Scrape Around


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Hi guys. I have a quick question. ( Well, you probably could have guessed that. )
At school, I downloaded an executable file known as " Word Extractor. " But when I tried to open it, it says : This feature has been disabled by your system administartor. Cannot run selected file due to restrictions on the network. ( Or words to that effect. I assume they installed that restriction because of viruses and the like. )
So basically I can't run an executable. Is there any other file type that I can convert it to, to prevent the restriction ?
Thanks for any help, and Cya all again.


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We've all seen them. Ferraris with Mansory bodykits, chrome Lambos, and whatever the hell happened to this red/gold McMerc SLR. There needs to be a home for these mistreated supercars.
Reader Alexander Murel got the idea when we saw the world's most stereotypical Lamborghini owner's music video. Even the strongest eye bleach could not cleanse our tortured hearts.
There should be Social Services for abused cars. If you abuse your supercar or degrade it in cruel and unusual away it should be taken away and put into foster care. I'll offer to get the ball rolling by fostering that poor Aventador. I'd give it its own room and even give it some new clothes so all the big kids at the track won't make fun of him. I have a friend who would love to adopt the RX-7 too.
We hope to set up a non-profit service, helping to put these exotics up for adoption and into healthier homes. This could be a pilot program for a larger car-aide service, getting horribly mistreated Camaros, Nissans, and other performance cars into the right hands. We look forward to your support.
Photo Credit: Zoe TV


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Veterans of Foreign Wars accepting donations to help veterans in
collected stay in local community
Send a link to a friend
28, 2012]
SPRINGFIELD -- As we enter the
holiday season, many veterans throughout Illinois are facing
financial difficulties -- unsure of how they will pay their rent,
mortgage, utility bills or even purchase groceries.
More than 113 years ago, the Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States was founded for two purposes -- to
promote legislation directly affecting veterans and to assist
veterans, our military and their families.
As war continues in Afghanistan, multiple deployments affect the
lives of those serving in our armed forces. Many of our nation's
newest combat veterans return home to face eviction notices from
landlords, mortgage foreclosures and shut-off notices from utility
In addition, many of our older veterans face the necessity of
choosing between the need to purchase medicine or groceries.
When called upon, the VFW turns to donations from the public to
help veterans facing a financial crisis. Through the generosity of
local donations, organizations can assist our needy veterans with
their rent, mortgages, utility bills and groceries.
That's where you -- John and Jane Q. Public -- can help.
[to top of second column]
VFW posts have funds established to which monetary donations can
be earmarked to assist veterans in need. Those funds are collected
through poppy drives, various fundraisers, and generous individuals
and businesses making monetary donations. In addition, many posts
conduct food drives throughout the holidays to help provide holiday
meals for veterans in their communities needing assistance.
During this holiday season while you are enjoying time with your
family, consider making a donation to your local VFW post to help
those veterans less fortunate in your community.
For information on making donations, contact the VFW post in your
[Text from file received from
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Illinois]
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text:
Most grain products for sale are wheat products. Bread, crackers, biscuits, muffins, pasta..
A change from wheat can do you good, even if you don't have a diagnosable intolerance.
I avoid giving Nadia (3) lots of wheat in the evenings - she regularly wets the bed on such nights.
This gluten free vegan baking mix was on special at my favourite health food store, I snapped it up. Because I want to do more home baking anyway, right? Let's get two.
Imaginary baking while shopping is so much easier than real baking! Especially for unfamiliar ingredients. These have occupied shelf space for too long...
The very next time I got a baking urge, I recklessly opened the first package and Nadia and I got busy.
With the suggested fruit muffin recipe I used chopped banana and chocolate chips.
These disappeared like magic when fresh.
For most cooking, and I think especially gluten free, it's never as good the next day. But I did get at least one day of these as a lunchbox treat.
And as always, I vow to keep up the baking habit - these simple recipes are their own reward!


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Peter Siddle fit and fired up
PETER Siddle had to summon all of his reknowned fighting spirit just to make it back to his bowling mark late on the final day of the second Test in Adelaide.
But, after two days of recovery, the Australian workhorse has declared himself "ready to go" to "get stuck into the South Africans and get a win on the board" in the third Test, starting in Perth tomorrow.
Siddle finished with match figures of 6-195 from a mammoth 63.5 overs at the Adelaide Oval, and looked exhausted as he bent his back time and time again in search of those final two wickets to give his country the win over the visiting Proteas.
"It was a very dry heat out in the field, which was tough work bowling a lot of overs," Siddle said yesterday.
"It was hard work, but that's Test match cricket.
"I'm always pretty diligent with what I do after games, and what I need to do to prepare for the next match.
"It's all about the recovery straight after ...ice baths and fluids, and sleep's a big factor too, (and) I got plenty of sleep in.
"I'm feeling good. Woke up this morning feeling well."
Alongside fellow Test regular Ben Hilfenhaus, Siddle is one of six pace bowlers vying to play at the WACA.
While James Pattinson is out with a side strain, Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Josh Hazlewood have all come into the squad, which also includes Mitch Starc, the 12th man from Adelaide and Brisbane.
The Australian selectors face a tough job trying to decide whether to play four of them or three and leave spinner Nathan Lyon in the line-up.
Siddle said he had "no idea at the moment" of the attack's make-up.
"It just depends how everyone is feeling and what the wicket looks like," he said.
Certainly one player keen to be a part of the pace battery is injury-prone Shane Watson, who returns to the side, at the expense of Rob Quiney.
Recovering from a calf strain that has kept him out of the first two Tests, Watson said yesterday he wasn't about to give up bowling and was determined to remain an all-rounder, something that would help Lyon's cause.
"No, unless something goes very horribly wrong," Watson said.
"I know it puts pressure on my body, but it's something I just love doing."


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Solid as a Rock
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In the 24 years since Laurence Fink founded BlackRock, the New York-based company has become the world's largest investment manager, with $3.6 trillion of assets, and one of Wall Street's classiest acts. You wouldn't know it, however, from the company's laggard shares. BlackRock (ticker: BLK) is up just 4% for the year, to a recent $186, and is underperforming both the Standard & Poor's 500 and competitors' shares.
Investors have soured on the stock for two reasons: Vanguard and Charles Schwab (SCHW) have been undercutting BlackRock by charging lower fees on exchange-traded funds, a huge business for all three concerns. And Fink, BlackRock's highly regarded CEO, could depart to become the U.S. Treasury secretary if President Obama is re-elected. Fink is playing down the possibility at the moment. "I have a great perch, and a really great job," he says.
He also has a great company—well run, diversified across asset classes, and global, with a strong management bench and ample opportunities for growth in both asset- and risk-management. With or without Fink at the helm, BlackRock's prospects are bright, and its shares look undervalued. Trading for 12.6 times next year's estimated earnings of $14.76 a share, the stock could rally to $210 in 12 months as it earns a higher multiple. Add a 3.2% dividend yield—the company's pays out $6 per share annually—and investors could enjoy a 16% return.
BlackRock's fortunes are tied to the performance of the financial markets, and both tanked in 2008; earnings fell 22% from the prior year, to $5.91 a share. By 2010, however, they had rebounded to $10.55, helped by the 2009 acquisition of Barclays Global Investors, an indexing and ETF platform, for $13.5 billion in cash and shares. BlackRock earned $2.3 billion, or $12..37 a share, last year, on revenue of $9.1 billion, and this year is on track to earn $13.18, although growth has been harder to come by lately. In the second quarter revenue fell 5% from a year earlier, to $2.2 billion, largely due to a drop in fees, while assets under management slipped 3%, owing in part to equity outflows.
BlackRock has been taking steps to improve its equity-fund performance, especially as the BlackRock Large Cap Value fund (MDLVX) ranks in the bottom 20% of its Morningstar peer group based on one-, three- and five-year returns. Manager Robert Doll, who also served as chief investment officer of global equities, retired in June, and has been succeeded by Chris Leavy.
BlackRock's revenue is split about evenly among the institutional, retail, and iShares ETF businesses. The latter categories offer the most growth potential, even though fee pressure on ETFs has unsettled some investors. iShares has lost market share to Vanguard, which focuses on U.S. retail clients and charges low fees. As of August, BlackRock controlled 51% of the U.S. ETF market, and Vanguard, 24%, according to Goldman Sachs. Vanguard is moving to lower fees further by switching index providers (see ETF Focus), while BlackRock is expected to unveil a new strategy shortly that could involve fee cuts for certain ETFs.
Yet, there is plenty of growth potential for both companies in the $1.2 trillion ETF industry. Luke Montgomery of Bernstein Research estimates the ETF market will grow by at least 12% annually, to $6 trillion, by 2025. "We are having one of our best years ever" in ETFs, Fink tells Barron's.
He notes that iShares remains the No. 1 player globally, with net inflows totaling $50 billion so far this year, well ahead of both last year's pace and Vanguard's $42 billion. BlackRock has been helped by the rollout of new ETFs.
MATTHEW KELLY, AN ANALYST AT Morgan Stanley, rates BlackRock Overweight, with a 12-month price target of $219. He expects any cuts in ETF fees to shave 1%-2% from next year's earnings. "Institutions care just as much about liquidity and trading volumes as they do about price," he says, in explaining BlackRock's favorable outlook.
The Bottom Line
BlackRock shares have performed poorly this year, and some analysts see a good entry point. The stock could rally to $210 from a recent $186.
Even with BlackRock's ETF market share slipping, Kelly estimates that ETFs' contribution to earnings will reach nearly $8 a share in 2015, up from an estimated $4.50 in 2012. He adds that "the potential earnings impact of any new competitive response to Vanguard's ETF strategy might not be as great as some feared."
BlackRock generated nearly $2.6 billion in free cash last year, and the company is using the funds, in part, to buy back shares. It repurchased $1.3 billion of stock in the first half of this year.
There's no telling yet whether Fink will head to Washington or stay at the helm. Either way, BlackRock is expected to remain a major and lucrative force in asset management, with shares that reflect its enviable status.
Although its shares have lagged many peers, BlackRock offers a juicy yield, a diversified business and solid growth potential.RecentYTDEPS P/E DividendCompany/TickerPriceChange2013E 2013E YieldBlackRock/BLK $185.79 4%$14.7612.63.2%Affiliated Managers/AMG
123.24288.9613.8NoneEaton Vance/EV
28.46202.04 14.02.7Franklin Resources/BEN 128.28349.7313.20.8Invesco/IVZ 25.01252.0712.12.8T. Rowe Price/TROW 64.65133.7517.22.1E=Estimate
Source: Thomson Reuters
E-mail: email@example.com


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Randy Blythe's Bail Doubled As Prosecutor's Complaint To Prevent Release is Dismissed
The latest developments in the ever-changing legal saga of Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe bring both good and bad news. According to the Czech news agency iDNES.cz, the Prague Municipal Court has dismissed the prosecutor's request to deny bail to Blythe, but in turn, the vocalist's bail amount has been doubled.
This means Blythe may be closer to getting released from a Czech jail. However, Blythe's bail has been increased from $200,000 to $400,000, which is said to be the equivalent of the singer's income over two years. Additionally, the Czech legal system allows the prosecutor to file yet another complaint against the new bail amount, leaving Blythe's release remaining uncertain.
Blythe, who has been in jail since June 27 and faces manslaughter charges for an alleged incident at a 2010 Prague concert, recently gave his first jailhouse interview. In the interview, he said he was unaware of any incident that took place at that show and remembers few details about the gig.
As the wheels of the Czech justice system move extremely slowly, here in the United States plans are being made for another rally to support Blythe. On Sunday (July 22), friends and fans will partake in a vigil in front of the United States Supreme Court building. A petition to ask President Obama to intervene has also been launched.
Fans and fellow musicians have also been calling for more mainstream media coverage of Blythe's situation, which has been covered extensively by the music press, but remains under the radar for the majority of news outlets.


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Woodstock Country Club is a private golf course and does not offer online tee times to the general public. You may book discounted tee times at other golf courses In the Chicago North area of Illinois or other locations below. Contact the course for information on membership or view more detailed information about Woodstock Country Club.


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Citing "well connected Democrats," the website The Daily Beast is reporting that Rahm Emanuel has had talks with key donors and party leaders about a possible 2016 presidential run. The Chicago mayor has said repeatedly he is not interested in the job.
Still, UIC political professor Dick Simpson says it's not out of the question he could pull it off.
"It is possible he could be elected," he said. "He might like to be elected, but it's a very difficult road even for Rahm Emanuel."
Simpson says Emanuel is a talented fundraiser and knows the Washington DC machine about as well as anyone. But advancing to the White House from city hall requires a lot more than a lot of cash.
The Daily Beast reports that mayor Emanuel tells sources he would only consider running if Hillary Clinton decides not to run.


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Offering a strong combination of high salary and job security.
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Ext version tested:
- Sencha Touch 2.2.0
- Sencha Touch 2.2.1
Browser versions tested against:
- Chrome 30.0.1580.0 canary (only)
There is no such bug in stable Chrome version.
- Use Chrome canary for development. Title is not displayed in TitleBar component.
Steps to reproduce the problem:
- Open http://docs.sencha.com/touch/2.2.1/#...le/nested-list with Chrome 30.0.1580.0 canary
The result that was expected:
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The result that occurs instead:
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See this URL for live test case: http://docs.sencha.com/touch/2.2.1/#...le/nested-list
Debugging already done:
- The issue comes from this line in TitleBar.js:
spacerBox.width is 0.Code:var spacerBox = this.spacer.renderElement.getPageBox()
Possible fix:
- not provided
Operating System:
- Windows 7


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Phil Simmons Professional Resume
Phil Simmons is a native Oklahoman who holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Georgia. Additionally he holds a Bachelor of Arts in both Theatre and English from Oklahoma State University. For the past 20 years, he has split his time between performing in, directing, casting, and choreographing musicals around the world, calling New York City "home."
His favorite roles include fellow-Oklahoman Will Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies, Hysterium in the Broadway First National Tour of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opposite comic great Rip Taylor, Anselmo opposite Tony winner and Academy Award nominee Ron Holgate in the Broadway First National Tour of The Man of La Mancha, and Ozzie in the International Tour of Leonard Bernstein's On the Town.
As a card-carrying Equity Actor, Phil's passion lies in training young performers not only in the foundational techniques and methods of acting, singing, and dancing but in the practical, day-to-day side of thriving in the unpredictable and uber-competitive Musical Theatre world.
Phil couldn't be happier to be an Asst. Professor of Musical Theatre as one of Eastern's first split appointments—50% in the department of Communication, Media, & Theatre Arts and 50% in the department of Music & Dance. Together with other EMU faculty, Phil has established a professional theatre company—8th Wonder Theatre where area high school and college students can take classes, perform, and ready themselves for a career in performance.
- Faculty Advisor, Dance Forum
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- Faculty Mentor, LGBT Resource Center
- Recruitment & Retention Committee, Music & Dance
- Instruction Committee, Communication, Media & Theatre Arts


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Quantum Transport for Nanostructures
Published on
Nonequilibrium Green's function techniques, initiated by Schwinger and Kadanoff and Baym allow ones to study the time evolution of a many-particle quantum sys- tem. Knowing the 1-particle Green's functions of a given system, one may evaluate 1-particle quantities like carrier density or current. The many-particle information about the system is cast into self-energies, parts of the equations of motion for the Green's functions. Perturbation expansion of the Green's functions is the key to approximate the self-energies.
Green's functions provide a very powerful technique for evaluating properties of many-body system both in thermodynamic equilibrium and also in nonequilibrium situations.
Cite this work
Researchers should cite this work as follows:


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Kyanite and Peach Sunstone Mala Bracelet with Sterling Silver Omega Patterned Charm.
Stunning pearlescent Kyanite is strung together with Peach Sunstone and a sterling silver omega patterned charm on stretchy cord. This bracelet reminds us of the surf lit up by a setting peach sun.
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This bracelet is strung with professional jewellers knotting technique. All bracelets are handmade, designed and finished in Vancouver, Canada. Each gemstone is very carefully selected. Because these are handmade there may be slight variance from the photo shown but I do select the most uniformly cut beads with the highest grade available to me. Quality gemstones are important to me and so you will see that my designs do not include filler beads of lesser quality.
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No profits? No problem for biotechs!June 10, 2014: 1:19 PM ET
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.
Earnings are supposed to matter. But that little bit of Investing 101 may need to be thrown out of the window when it comes to biotech stocks.
The biotech sector has staged a remarkable comeback from its lows earlier this year. The group was sold off hard along with other momentum darlings as the market worried about high valuations. That's no longer a concern. For now, at least.
Just look at the acquisition announced Monday morning: Merck (MRK) agreed to pay $3.85 billion in cash for biotech Idenix (IDIX), an unprofitable developer of a hepatitis C drug. The deal valued Idenix at ... wait for it ... a nearly 240% premium to its Friday closing price.
Take a minute and think about that. The stock finished last week at $7.23, By Monday morning, Merck had decided it was worth $24.50.
Idenix was already up more than 20% this year before the Merck deal. It's not the only money-losing biotech to surge lately either.
Related: Wall Street 'experts' pick loser stocks
Achillion (ACHN), another maker of a hep C medication, has surged more than 125% in the past two days thanks to good news from the FDA about its own hepatitis C drug as well as speculation that it too could be acquired.
MannKind (MNKD), which is developing drugs to treat diabetes and various types of cancers, has more than doubled this year. And InterMune (ITMN), which works on lung-disease drugs, has soared more than 180%.
The big moves in all these stocks have helped fuel the gains in two key biotech exchange-traded funds: the iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB) and SPDR S&P Biotech (XBI) ETF.
And the rally may not be over. John Eade, a health care analyst and president of Argus Research, said the biotech sector is in the midst of a "research and development renaissance." The companies that Big Pharma will covet the most are those that are working to treat infectious diseases like hep C as well as those focusing on diabetes and oncology.
Eade mentions Incyte (INCY), a maker of oncology drugs, as a more speculative biotech that could attract some interest. The company already has partnerships with Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novartis (NVS).
Craig Callahan, CEO of ICON Funds, said another reason more biotech buyouts make sense is because Big Pharma has the marketing and sales expertise that smaller biotechs lack. And Big Pharma is desperate for new blockbusters in their pipeline. In fact, a certain 80s hit by Huey Lewis and the News could be the industry's theme song.
Callahan added that the biotech sector is now the largest in the ICON Long-Short fund, mainly because there are few other areas that offer as much potential for growth over the next few years.
But investors need to be really, really careful.
"There are going to be more deals between Big Pharma and biotech," says T.J. Qatato, co-manager of the Frost Growth Equity fund. "But we are looking for more consistent, stable growers with proven trial results." His fund owns big biotechs Biogen (BIIB), Celgene (CELG) and Gilead Sciences (GILD).
Paul Condrat, co-manager of the Davidson Multi-Cap Equity fund, agrees. He thinks larger biotechs are better investments for the long-term than the more speculative ones. They also can benefit from deals. He owns Amgen (AMGN) and points to the company's purchase last year of cancer drug developer Onyx.
Related: Bill Ackman bets big on Botox maker
Condrat also owns Gilead, which already has a hepatitis-C drug on the market -- a drug that it acquired the right to when it purchased biotech Pharmasset in 2011. Shares of Gilead fell on Monday due to concerns about the Merck-Idenix deal. But he thinks that's an overreaction.
Callahan recommends that investors take on a little more risk though. He thinks that the biotech sell-off earlier this year was just a blip. Fears that the market may have topped and that the U.S. economy was heading into a more pronounced slowdown have faded.
"The theme of investors embracing recession-proof, high dividend stocks may be behind us. Investors are back to buying last year's winners, high-growth stocks like biotech as well as cyclical companies," he said.
With that in mind, Callahan owns more speculative, small cap biotechs such as Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) and Ligand (LGND) as well as biotech blue chips Biogen and Celgene.
Still, investors must remember that biotech is extremely risky. You need to know more about the companies than their earnings growth rates and valuation metrics. Smaller biotechs often rise and fall based on clinical trial results ... and that's the kind of information they teach in medical school as opposed to an MBA program.
That's why Joe Costigan, director of equity research at Bryn Mawr Trust, thinks that investors may be better off with larger, more mature (i.e. profitable) biotechs like Amgen as well as Big Pharma firms that may look to scoop up smaller, riskier biotechs, such as Novartis and Pfizer (PFE). His firm owns all three stocks.
Those companies can afford to pay 240% premiums for smaller biotech firms because the downside is limited if the deals doesn't pan out. If you're an average investor trying to pick the next Idenix, it's not easy to do so. And you probably don't want to lose your shirt trying to figure out what unprofitable biotech could get bought next.
"If you own the right biotech company, you can do well. There will be a couple of home runs, even grand slams. It is a land grab for Big Pharma," Costigan said. "But the vast majority of companies will not be hits -- and you need to understand the underlying science."


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Emma Shaw graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2001 with a degree in Industrial Management. Even though she had a keen interest in soft furnishings from a young age, she didn't expect to follow this path because of her chosen educational route. But when Emma bought her first house, she decided to make all her own furnishings and this reignited the interior design bug she'd always had.
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Food & Drink
Man vs. machine: Who should be at the wheel?
By Ray Sanchez and Thom Patterson, CNN • Updated 8th December 2013
Up next
In the early-morning stillness on the Sunday after Thanksgiving,
William Rockefeller
was manning the controls of a half full Metro-North train out of Poughkeepsie.
The Hudson line train was
hurtling along at 82 miles an hour
, not within the speed limit of 30 mph, as it approached a sharp bend in the tracks in the Bronx. The cars tumbled off the track, killing four passengers and injuring dozens of others. The lead car came to rest on its side inches from water at the intersection of the Hudson and Harlem rivers.
Rockefeller's lawyer, Jeffrey Chartier, and his union representatives say the train's hypnotic motion may have caused him to nod off -- a case of what the lawyer termed "highway hypnosis."
The engineer told investigators that moments before the derailment he was "going along and I'm in a daze. I don't know what happened," one law enforcement official said.
"I think we're really looking at a sad, really basic kind of inattentiveness," says Steven Harrod, a University of Dayton professor and expert on railway operations. "Nothing fancy: No alcohol, no drugs, maybe not even a cell phone. Just plain vanilla inattentiveness."
The deadly New York train wreck raises a larger question important to millions of U.S. travelers who rely on trains, planes and cars: When should key safety factors like piloting, steering, and braking, be handed over to emerging technology? At what point should control remain in human hands? Self-driving cars and sophisticated airline auto-pilot systems are already here. How safe is that technology? And on trains, should auto-braking technology be mandatory? As more and more Americans criss-cross the nation on land and in the sky, what does the future hold for automated safety technology?
Investigators look into possible criminal charges against the engineer who may have "nodded off" before the attack.
A union representative tells CNN that the train engineer in a NY crash "was nodding off and caught himself too late."
Former NTSB official Peter Goelz weighs in on the organization booting the rail union from its investigation.
Sleep expert Michael Breus talks about whether a change in sleep schedule could have contributed to the Bronx train crash.
The Metro-North tragedy, however, poses a bigger question that also includes planes and ground vehicles: Is the time coming soon when it will be safer for humans to take a backseat and let computers take the wheel?
The short answer, say experts, is yes.
Still, researchers are quick to add that it's important to create technology that maximizes the benefits of good decisions by pilots, drivers and engineers, while minimizing the threats that humans will eventually be distracted or get tired.
Railroad safety officials have long pushed for a system known as positive train control technology, which combines GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor trains and stop them from colliding, derailing or speeding. But the railroad industry has opposed it because of the high cost and technological issues.
Agency issues emergency safety order after New York train derailment
"If PTC had been in place, this accident would not have happened," Harrod tells CNN. "That's pretty clear at this point. It's non-negotiable. It would not have happened."
Positive train control was designed to prevent the human errors behind roughly 40% of train accidents, rail safety experts say. The transportation safety board has urged railroads to install PTC in some form for decades. The technology already is used by many European rail systems and several American railroads.
In response to a head-on collision that killed 25 people near Los Angeles in 2005, Congress in 2008 ordered the nation's railroads to adopt PTC by December 2015.
"It's a technology that's being deployed in the military as part of the concept called network-centric warfare," says Steven Ditmeyer, a former Federal Railroad Administration official who teaches at Michigan State University. "It's the same technology that is being implemented in aviation as Next Generation Air Traffic Control. It's using digital data, communications, GPS and computers in the vehicles and control centers."
A new law allows driverless cars to cruise on the streets of California.
Google parades its self-driving Prius on D.C. streets to garner support from lawmakers to make it street legal.
On the Metro-North train in Sunday's accident, PTC would not have allowed the train to exceed the speed limit, rail experts say. It would have slowed and eventually stopped the train it if the engineer became unresponsive.
Train crash victim was 'pure goodness'
On Tuesday, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Earl Weener said PTC may have prevented the Metro-North derailment.
"For more than 20 years the NTSB has recommended the implementation of PTC technology," Weener said. "These systems provide a safety redundancy by slowing or stopping the train that isn't being operated in accordance to signals, speed limits or other operating rules. PTC is proven technology that can prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments and incursions into work zones."
Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Salvatore Arena said the agency began work to install PTC on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad in 2009, budgeting nearly $600 million for PTC installation, including $428 million last month for a system integrator. Full implementation is estimated at $900 million.
But, in a statement, Arena said implementing PTC by the 2015 deadline will be difficult because much of the technology is still under development, untested and unproven on commuter railroads the size of Metro-North and LIRR.
"The MTA will continue its efforts to install PTC as quickly as possible and will continue to make all prudent and necessary investments to keep its network safe," Arena said.
Sunday's crash has led to calls for the government to stick to the 2015 deadline.
In a letter last week to Sen. John Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, chairman of the Senate commerce, science and transportation committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, wrote: "In just the last ten years, the NTSB has completed 26 investigations of train accidents in the United States that could have been prevented by PTC. These accidents claimed 65 lives and injured more than 1,000 people."
But Harrod and other experts doubt that the government will stand firm by the deadline.
"They stalled so long that they lost the window of opportunity to get it done on time," Harrod says. "I don't care had badly people scream and yell, it aint going to happen now. It does take time to implement."
Cars that 'platoon' with others
It's a crazy time in the car business, as the industry and regulators scramble to keep up with lightning-fast technology -- including automated driving systems.
"Concerns about what happens when computers take over vehicles are real and appropriate," says
Sven Beiker, executive director of Stanford University's Center for Automotive Research
. Biggest worry: how automated vehicles will interact on the road with cars completely controlled by humans. Self-driving cars are already here --
recently legalized by the state of California
In addition, several, automakers, such as Ford, BMW and Volvo, already offer automated forward-collision avoidance systems, which automatically apply brakes or brake assistance when sensors and computers detect that a collision is unavoidable or likely.
By the end of the decade, our vehicles may be able to use cellular networks to "talk to each other," allowing them to coordinate movements.
Cars on similar routes will "platoon" in tightly organized bunches as they roll across streets and highways.
During this time we also may see more cars equipped with "traffic jam assist," says Beiker. "Just like a school of fish -- when you're in a traffic jam your car will be able to keep its distance from the vehicle in front of you and to the left and right of you," Beiker says.
In 10 years, says Beiker, it's plausible we'll see vehicles that will allow drivers to "sit back and monitor" their progress while cruising on long stretches of highway without much traffic. The vehicle would tell the driver when it's time to reassume control for whatever reason.
Beiker, whose facility works with Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford and other carmakers, is busy with a project that involves "wiring up" race drivers to study how they control their cars. If all goes well, researchers will learn how to translate the skills of top drivers into terms that can be understood by computers.
The push toward automation really isn't about convenience. "Safety is why were doing this," says Beiker, "basically to reduce human error." Beiker says automation will cut the number of accidents caused by distracted or tired drivers.
'Pilots like to have control over the end product'
In theory, autopilot safety systems aboard airliners might have prevented the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The idea is called "refuse-to-crash" automation. Supporters say the technology would have made it virtually impossible for the planes to be flown into the Pentagon or the twin towers at the World Trade Center.
Here's how experts say it would work:
Airliners already have the ability to fly automatically via computer-driven auto-pilot programs that follow precise data from GPS satellites. "Refuse-to-crash" would build on that model. Locations of all buildings, mountains and other potential crash threats would be programmed into auto-pilot systems. Using that geolocation data, computers would essentially lock the plane's guidance systems from being able to collide with potential targets.
Commercial airline pilot Justin Schlechter says that kind of system wouldn't make him feel any safer.
"I just don't feel that's the kind of equipment that's essential in the cockpit when I'm flying," he said. "Pilots like to have control over the end product. I wouldn't want the system to lock onto a building and make a hard maneuver away from it that I'm not ready for."
One of the biggest challenges surrounding highly automated pilot systems "is the crew not fully understanding what the automated system is doing," said
R. John Hansman, who specializes in humans and automation as director of MIT's International Center for Air Transportation
Another hurdle, said Hansman, includes the price tag of retrofitting technology across the entire fleet of U.S. airliners. It would be enormous. Hansman estimates somewhere in the tens of billions of dollars. Then there's the federal certification process. The Federal Aviation Administration "would have to be convinced that the benefits of the technology are worth the cost and that you don't create any unexpected hazards," said Hansman.
Sometimes autopilot technology isn't enough to prevent a crash. A glaring example is Air France Flight 447 -- one of the deadliest airline disasters of the century. The Airbus A330 en route from Brazil to Paris flew into a storm and plummeted into the South Atlantic, killing 228 passengers and crew.
Flight 447 was outfitted with an automatic system designed to keep the plane from stalling. A stall occurs when there's not enough airflow moving across the wings to keep the plane flying. This could happen when the plane is flying too slowly or its nose is pointed too high.
It was a stall that eventually doomed Flight 447 after a tragic series of events, according to the final investigation report. It started when the icy storm froze the plane's air-speed sensors, which automatically turned off the aircraft's anti-stall system. Then the plane went into a stall, which triggered a warning that it was in danger. The investigation report said pilots may have "embraced the common belief that the aeroplane could not stall, and in this context a stall warning was inconsistent."
Read the report (PDF)
"The crew never understood they were in a stall situation and therefore never undertook any recovery maneuvers," chief investigator
Alain Bouillard told reporters when he introduced the report
The use of automatic systems on planes has improved safety overall, Bouillard explained, but "when it comes down to it, safety will always be based on the capacity of the pilots and the signals which they are given, which they have to understand and react to."
Pilots say maximum training on automated systems is imperative. Air France 447 reminded pilots that it's critical to be aware when automated systems are engaged and how that will effect the plane during various situations.
Another danger posed by automated systems is complacency. "You can't afford to be complacent," said Schlechter. "If you're thinking, 'Oh, if I don't fly this plane as well as I should, the stall-protection system will always save me -- and I'll be all right,' that's a very dangerous way of thinking."
So, bottom line: The technology to prevent catastrophic crashes via autopilot systems is here. But even if the most sophisticated and complicated autopilots perform as advertised, big questions remain: Do they create more problems then they're worth? Would they be too expensive?
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