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Going into the final six weeks of the year, the major U.S. stock markets have already registered 20%-plus gains, and most are at or near record levels. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 is up 26% to 1798, finishing the week at a new high. This is the best year for the S&P since 2003. Small stocks have soared even higher, with the Russell 2000 index up 31%. And the workhorse Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week at a record 15,961, having moved up almost 22%.
The widespread gains have prompted talk of a bubble similar to ones in 2000 and 2007. And in certain pockets of technology, including social media and cloud-related companies, that is no doubt true. Highfliers like Twitter twtr 0.5526249686008541% Twitter Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD40.03 0.22 0.5526249686008541% /Date(1416607262188-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 11979697 AFTER HOURS USD39.93 -0.100000000000001 -0.2498126405196103% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 86854 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 25399474008.1653 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 430162 More quote details and news » (ticker: TWTR), LinkedIn lnkd -0.5492510213345438% LinkedIn Corp. Cl A U.S.: NYSE USD219.09 -1.21 -0.5492510213345438% /Date(1416607230662-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1041204 AFTER HOURS USD218.17 -0.920000000000016 -0.41991875484960517% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 11085 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 27205881719.6016 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 400903 More quote details and news » (LNKD) and Workday wday 1.4729950900163666% Workday Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD93 1.35 1.4729950900163666% /Date(1416607293718-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 891682 AFTER HOURS USD93 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 6894 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 17279400141.9067 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 237021 More quote details and news » (WDAY) all look overextended. And in the strongest IPO market since 2007, shares of up-start restaurant chains Noodles & Co. ndls 4.0725984949092515% Noodles & Co. Cl A U.S.: Nasdaq USD23.51 0.92 4.0725984949092515% /Date(1416607200001-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 464425 AFTER HOURS USD23.55 0.0399999999999992 0.1701403658017865% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 427 P/E Ratio 67.30604065273404 Market Cap 700341705.461727 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 47154 More quote details and news » (NDLS) and Potbelly pbpb -0.8455034588777863% Potbelly Corp. U.S.: Nasdaq USD12.9 -0.11 -0.8455034588777863% /Date(1416607200176-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 350960 AFTER HOURS USD12.9015 0.00150000000000006 0.011627906976744186% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 551 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 373648490.919113 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 60949.4 More quote details and news » (PBPB) are rich enough to give you heartburn.
But big blue chip stocks, including large financial, technology, and energy companies, still look attractive. The S&P 500 is valued at 16 times projected 2013 operating profits of $109 and at 15 times estimated 2014 earnings of $120. Those price/earnings ratios are about equal to the long-run average. Even if next year's earnings growth is closer to this year's projected 5% than to the aggressive current estimate of 10%, the S&P 500 forward P/E is 15.6, which doesn't look excessive at a time of near-zero short-term rates, a 2.71% yield on the 10-year Treasury note, and sub-6% average yield on junk bonds. The S&P 500 dividend yield is 2%, but the earnings payout ratio is historically low at about 35%, meaning companies have room to further boost dividends.
This is the best year for the S&P since 2003. Small stocks have soared even higher. Getty Images
"The first stage of the bull market was a revaluation to something resembling reasonable levels as it dawned on investors that the world wasn't going to end," says Stephen Auth, chief investment officer at Federated Investors. "The second stage began this summer with a transition to the view that the economy is accelerating and that earnings are poised to increase significantly in the coming years."
Tom Lee, the bullish JPMorgan strategist, says "We're in a secular bull market that will last at least another three years." Adds Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management, "If inflation stays at 3% or less, the market P/E could get into the 20s."
(For a differing view, see the interview with GMO's Ben Inker, "Bright Spots in a Pricey Market.")
Auth, who has been one of the most bullish analysts in Barron's periodic surveys of Wall Street strategists, thinks the S&P 500 could hit 2000 by the end of next year, about 11% above current levels.
Among major asset classes, stocks are by far the best, he says. "The fundamentals are good for stocks and terrible for everything else: bonds, commodities, and cash." Treasury and junk-bond yields are at historically low levels, while slowing growth in China and much of the developing world is cooling demand for a range of commodities, which are in the red this year based on broad-based indexes.
Barron's consistently has been bullish on the stocks in recent years, starting from the market low in March 2009 ("Ouch! That Hurt," March 9, 2009) and including a cover story early this year when the Dow industrials traded around 14,000 ("New Highs in Sight," February 4).
One of the biggest coming challenges for stocks is the likely curtailment of the Federal Reserve's aggressive bond purchases during 2014. When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke raised the prospect of "tapering" in the spring -- an action that the Fed has since postponed -- stocks stumbled. But Auth argues stocks can appreciate in 2014 in the face of higher bond yields.
THERE ARE PLENTY of reasons for caution. Margin debt has risen to record levels, investor complacency is high with the VIX index -- a gauge of volatility known as the "fear index" -- near a 10-year low, and many professional investors are raising cash or hedging their portfolios. Warnings about bubble-like conditions are coming from the likes of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and longtime bull Warren Buffett who said two months ago, when the S&P was 5% below current levels, that he's "having a hard time finding things to buy." That said, last week Berkshire Hathaway brka 0.7720504009163803% Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A U.S.: NYSE USD219935 1685 0.7720504009163803% /Date(1416607256265-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 229 AFTER HOURS USD218125 102 -0.8229704230795463% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1 P/E Ratio 17.459315710089705 Market Cap 361363301729.253 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 640606 More quote details and news » (BRKA) disclosed that it had taken a $3.45 billion stake in ExxonMobil xom 1.0331872260488415% Exxon Mobil Corp. U.S.: NYSE USD96.81 0.99 1.0331872260488415% /Date(1416607214258-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 11892183 AFTER HOURS USD96.84 0.0300000000000011 0.030988534242330338% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 482671 P/E Ratio 12.187629826394572 Market Cap 409944723621.756 Dividend Yield 2.850945150294391% Rev. per Employee 5338160 More quote details and news » (XOM).
Barron's Roundtable member Scott Black of Delphi Management in Boston notes this year's bull move is different because "the market hasn't left anything behind." All major sectors of the stock market have rallied this year, a contrast to the situation in 1999 and 2000 when technology soared and most other areas of the stock market trailed badly. Among the few weak spots in 2013 are coal and gold shares.
Another laggard has been real-estate investment trusts, which have risen just 5% including dividends, as measured by the MSCI U.S. REIT index. That's behind telecom, utilities, and master limited partnerships. REITs appear to be one of the most attractive income-oriented sectors of the stock market given average dividend yields of about 4%, the prospect of mid-single digit annual profit growth and some inflation protection.
The case for small and mid-cap stocks is harder to make after outsize gains this year and more than a decade of outperformance relative to their larger brethren. The median mid-cap stock in the S&P MidCap 400 has a market value of about $3.4 billion while the median issue in the S&P SmallCap 600 is just under $1 billion.
"Small caps are awfully expensive on an absolute basis and relative to large-cap stocks," says Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategist Steven DeSanctis. He calculates that the Russell 2000 index is valued at about 18.5 times forward earnings. The small-cap benchmark historically has had a higher P/E than the S&P 500, but the spread has averaged less than one multiple point. The gap, based on 2014 earnings estimates, is now more than two points.
DeSanctis's work shows that when small stocks have been this expensive -- dating back to 1979 -- the return in the subsequent 12 months has averaged a negative 1% and they have trailed large-cap stocks by about five percentage points. Black agrees, noting that small- and mid-cap indexes look overpriced and that large-cap stocks are fairly valued. "It's getting especially difficult to find good value among small and mid-cap stocks," he says.
One indication of how scarce bargains are in the small- and mid-cap arenas is that there are just 10 stocks in the S&P mid-cap index with P/Es of 10 or lower based on estimated 2013 earnings and just 14 such stocks in the S&P small-cap index. There are 21 sub-10 P/E stocks in the S&P 500 with the largest representation from financials, including MetLife met 1.8430656934306568% MetLife Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD55.81 1.01 1.8430656934306568% /Date(1416607618415-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 8111976 AFTER HOURS USD55.7 -0.109999999999999 -0.19709729439168608% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 101883 P/E Ratio 11.42170043404214 Market Cap 63402505144.1006 Dividend Yield 2.50851101953055% Rev. per Employee 1088680 More quote details and news » (MET), Prudential Financial pru 1.3298190966814425% Prudential Financial Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD84.58 1.11 1.3298190966814425% /Date(1416607527596-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2668759 AFTER HOURS USD84.58 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 169079 P/E Ratio 16.551859099804304 Market Cap 38737640838.623 Dividend Yield 2.7429652400094584% Rev. per Employee 1082970 More quote details and news » (PRU), and Capital One Financial cof 0.14798372179060304% Capital One Financial Corp. U.S.: NYSE USD81.21 0.12 0.14798372179060304% /Date(1416607564317-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2367716 AFTER HOURS USD81.21 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 94186 P/E Ratio 10.944743935309972 Market Cap 45150405075.0998 Dividend Yield 1.4776505356483192% Rev. per Employee 561322 More quote details and news » (COF), and technology, such as Hewlett-Packard hpq 0.8935824532900081% Hewlett-Packard Co. U.S.: NYSE USD37.26 0.33 0.8935824532900081% /Date(1416607235383-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 12972699 AFTER HOURS USD37.26 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 91348 P/E Ratio 14.0688762984591 Market Cap 68921537221.1533 Dividend Yield 1.7176596886741815% Rev. per Employee 354132 More quote details and news » (HPQ), Western Digital wdc -0.0687825488847401% Western Digital Corp. U.S.: Nasdaq USD101.7 -0.07 -0.0687825488847401% /Date(1416607200027-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2591438 AFTER HOURS USD101.7 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 16958 P/E Ratio 15.455927051671733 Market Cap 23617789856.781 Dividend Yield 1.5732546705998034% Rev. per Employee 181618 More quote details and news » (WDC), and Micron Technology mu 3.2821439325504365% Micron Technology Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD34.3 1.09 3.2821439325504365% /Date(1416607206889-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 25396981 AFTER HOURS USD34.34 0.0400000000000062 0.11661807580174927% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 166134 P/E Ratio 11.951219512195122 Market Cap 36819504173.6946 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 538092 More quote details and news » (MU).
What still looks reasonable in a record-high market? JPMorgan's Lee favors large-cap technology stocks. So does Black, who has recommended Qualcomm qcom 1.0748126149059538% Qualcomm Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD71.47 0.76 1.0748126149059538% /Date(1416607200038-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 14938755 AFTER HOURS USD71.47 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 207493 P/E Ratio 15.109936575052854 Market Cap 118826092079.591 Dividend Yield 2.3506366307541624% Rev. per Employee 846230 More quote details and news » (QCOM) and Oracle orcl 1.270772238514174% Oracle Corp. U.S.: NYSE USD41.44 0.52 1.270772238514174% /Date(1416607242692-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 12296198 AFTER HOURS USD41.44 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 345209 P/E Ratio 17.05349794238683 Market Cap 183633239930.155 Dividend Yield 1.1583011583011582% Rev. per Employee 315557 More quote details and news » (ORCL). Most big tech stocks still trade for low double-digit P/Es based on 2014 earnings -- below the market multiple -- and carry dividend yields of 2% or more.
GROWTH IS A PROBLEM. Cisco Systems csco 0.26109660574412535% Cisco Systems Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD26.88 0.07 0.26109660574412535% /Date(1416607200041-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 31626859 AFTER HOURS USD26.8 -0.0799999999999983 -0.2976190476190476% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 285251 P/E Ratio 18.040268456375838 Market Cap 137453238208.506 Dividend Yield 2.8273809523809526% Rev. per Employee 638854 More quote details and news » (CSCO) gave surprisingly weak guidance of an 8% to 10% revenue drop in its current quarter in conjunction with its quarterly earnings report last week, prompting a 11% drop in its shares Thursday. And International Business Machines ibm 0.17430278884462153% International Business Machines Corp. U.S.: NYSE USD160.92 0.28 0.17430278884462153% /Date(1416607429471-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4045353 AFTER HOURS USD161.15 0.230000000000018 0.14292816306239126% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 31522 P/E Ratio 13.157808667211775 Market Cap 197865186741.902 Dividend Yield 2.734277902063137% Rev. per Employee 229711 More quote details and news » (IBM) has been beset by consistently weak revenue.
The big-cap tech growth challenge, however, appears to be reflected in stock prices and P/Es. And the effective P/Es for stocks like Apple aapl 0.1375634081334365% Apple Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq USD116.47 0.16 0.1375634081334365% /Date(1416607204671-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 56293765 AFTER HOURS USD116.34 -0.129999999999995 -0.11161672533699665% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 885533 P/E Ratio 17.989589608142964 Market Cap 683077903760.791 Dividend Yield 1.6141495664119516% Rev. per Employee 1969180 More quote details and news » (AAPL), Cisco, and Microsoft msft -1.4784394250513346% Microsoft Corp. U.S.: Nasdaq USD47.98 -0.72 -1.4784394250513346% /Date(1416607205513-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 42367894 AFTER HOURS USD47.83 -0.149999999999999 -0.3126302626094206% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 516901 P/E Ratio 18.5968992248062 Market Cap 395492061050.94 Dividend Yield 2.5844101709045435% Rev. per Employee 714094 More quote details and news » (MSFT) are even lower than they appear thanks to huge cash positions. Apple's P/E, for instance, falls to about nine from 12 when factoring in its $143 a share in cash, which is nearly 30% of its $525 share price.
Not surprising, activists like Carl Icahn are pouncing, trying to unlock some of the value in these behemoths. A less aggressive activist, ValueAct Capital, has been involved with Microsoft. Its shares are up 20% since CEO Steve Ballmer's August announcement that he plans to step down amid expectations that his successor will take shareholder-friendly actions to boost earnings like selling the company's unprofitable search engine Bing and cutting bloated costs.
Cisco could become the next activist target in tech. Investors could push Cisco to use its great balance sheet -- with about $6 a share in net cash and investments, or 30% of its current stock price of $21 -- to return more cash to holders. Change could come at Cisco with longtime CEO John Chambers facing greater criticism. Cisco's P/E is around 10 based on reduced current-year profit estimates.
Many big financials have stalled after early-year gains and trade for around 10 times next year's projected earnings. JPMorgan Chase jpm 0.5489021956087824% JPMorgan Chase & Co. U.S.: NYSE USD60.45 0.33 0.5489021956087824% /Date(1416607215469-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 12107644 AFTER HOURS USD60.45 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 232806 P/E Ratio 11.112132352941176 Market Cap 225973525776.817 Dividend Yield 2.6468155500413566% Rev. per Employee 400580 More quote details and news » (JPM) may finally be getting past its legal woes and that could drive its share price, now $54, above $60 in 2014. The bank's core franchises -- investment banking, trading, commercial and consumer banking, credit cards, asset management and private banking -- look better than ever. That's not reflected in its rock-bottom P/E of nine based on estimated 2014 earnings. The shares yield nearly 3%.
A well-managed Wells Fargo wfc 0.6170531039640987% Wells Fargo & Co. U.S.: NYSE USD53.81 0.33 0.6170531039640987% /Date(1416607270674-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 13880985 AFTER HOURS USD53.81 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 706518 P/E Ratio 12.936651039788437 Market Cap 279146055825.289 Dividend Yield 2.6017468871956884% Rev. per Employee 334870 More quote details and news » (WFC) has a lucrative consumer-banking business and a big fan in Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway has steadily added to its stake in recent years. Berkshire holds over $19 billion worth of Wells Fargo, making it Buffett's single largest equity investment.
The two largest U.S. energy companies, ExxonMobil and Chevron cvx 1.0826016537379592% Chevron Corp. U.S.: NYSE USD118.58 1.27 1.0826016537379592% /Date(1416607245835-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 7141509 AFTER HOURS USD118.58 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 220054 P/E Ratio 10.839716986306378 Market Cap 224166475475.63 Dividend Yield 3.6093776353516613% Rev. per Employee 3157450 More quote details and news » (CVX), have trailed the market this year mostly because investors worry about the high cost of maintaining -- and expanding -- their huge reserve bases. Those problems are reflected in their share prices with Exxon, at $93, trading for 12 times estimated 2013 earnings, and Chevron, at $120, carrying a 10 P/E. Both yield around 3%.
THREE DEFENSIVE LAGGARDS this year have been AT&T (T), Southern Co. so 0.2971768202080238% Southern Co. U.S.: NYSE USD47.25 0.14 0.2971768202080238% /Date(1416607416445-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4174469 AFTER HOURS USD47.074 -0.176000000000002 -0.3724867724867725% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 129871 P/E Ratio 20.192307692307693 Market Cap 42516163696.2891 Dividend Yield 4.444444444444445% Rev. per Employee 698745 More quote details and news » (SO), and Simon Property Group spg -0.23480740202381617% Simon Property Group Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD178.45 -0.42 -0.23480740202381617% /Date(1416607379502-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2019134 AFTER HOURS USD178.45 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 57926 P/E Ratio 45.446442214638616 Market Cap 55459044598.9563 Dividend Yield 2.9139815074250492% Rev. per Employee 901301 More quote details and news » (SPG), the country's largest REIT. AT&T has a bond-like 5% yield -- its dividend may be lifted by about a penny per quarter soon -- and seems capable of mid-single earnings growth thanks to its large wireless business.
Simon, a mall REIT, has one of the industry's best management teams, ample free cash flow in excess of its dividend that goes toward expansion and a history of regular dividend increases, including a recent hike in the quarterly payout to $1.20 from $1.15. At $152, the shares yield 3.2%. Southern, a slow-growth electric utility has been hurt by cost overruns at new power plants, but its dividend yield, at 4.8%, appears to be secure.
Caterpillar cat 4.270741502595749% Caterpillar Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD106.45 4.36 4.270741502595749% /Date(1416607349265-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 8657191 AFTER HOURS USD106.35 -0.100000000000009 -0.09394081728511038% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 80835 P/E Ratio 16.896825396825395 Market Cap 64444720299.0754 Dividend Yield 2.6303428839830905% Rev. per Employee 467017 More quote details and news » (CAT) and Deere de 1.9913318495958767% Deere & Co. U.S.: NYSE USD87.07 1.7 1.9913318495958767% /Date(1416607406053-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 3241213 AFTER HOURS USD87 -0.0699999999999932 -0.08039508441483864% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 123079 P/E Ratio 9.695991091314031 Market Cap 31207630459.7717 Dividend Yield 2.7564028942230387% Rev. per Employee 545561 More quote details and news » (DE) have bucked the upward trend in most big industrial stocks this year and now have some of the lowest P/Es in that group. Weakness in North American farm prices -- corn is down 30%, to $4.30 a bushel, this year -- has weighed on Deere, while tough conditions in the global mining industry have hurt Caterpillar. Both are world-class companies that are exposed to strong long-term trends in agriculture and infrastructure development.
Although there has been some cooling lately in the stock market's hottest sectors, mainly Internet, social media, and cloud computing, the marquee stocks still are up sharply for the year (see table below.).
Many of these stocks have little or no earnings and thus are being valued on revenues and some dubious financial measures, notably earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) and adjusted earnings per share. Both these figures exclude often high costs associated with restricted stock grants to employees. It's tough to make a strong case for any of them at current levels.
Twitter is an extreme example. At $44, it's valued at about $31 billion with an enterprise value (market value minus net cash) of around $29 billion, based on a fully diluted share count of around 705 million shares. That's more than 25 times projected 2014 sales, more than double the rich valuations of Facebook fb 0.20380434782608695% Facebook Inc. Cl A U.S.: Nasdaq USD73.75 0.15 0.20380434782608695% /Date(1416607207087-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 22828807 AFTER HOURS USD73.75 0.0100000000000051 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 231575 P/E Ratio 68.28703703703704 Market Cap 205603768034.023 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 1767400 More quote details and news » (FB), LinkedIn, and Zillow z -1.151598487452733% Zillow Inc. Cl A U.S.: Nasdaq USD115.02 -1.34 -1.151598487452733% /Date(1416607205316-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1433223 AFTER HOURS USD115.02 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 20557 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 4677109439.15182 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee N/A More quote details and news » (Z). The S&P 500 is valued at less than two times sales.
Twitter isn't expected to be profitable until 2015 or 2016, though some think it could top $1 a share in earnings by 2017. That means it trades for 40 times on potential profits four years out. Twitter has enticing potential with its ad-targeting capabilities to its 232 million subscribers based on their demonstrated interests, but that's more than already reflected in its share price. A sevenfold rise in revenue between 2013 and 2017, which is what the Street is expecting, could be tough to achieve.
TWITTER ALSO IS A MAJOR OFFENDER when it comes to excessive employee stock grants. It issued over 50 million shares of stock to employees this year, whose value exceeds current-year projected revenue of about $650 million. That's based on the pre-IPO grant prices of around $20, not the current market price.
Analysts generally exclude the high cost of those grants, which typically vest over a four-year period, from Ebitda and adjusted earnings calculations even though the stock is equivalent to cash -- and viewed as such by employees. GAAP earnings properly require stock compensation to be treated as the expense. That's why GAAP earnings are a better financial measure than non-GAAP, or adjusted, earnings. Outside of the tech and biotechnology industries, companies rarely try to exclude restricted stock from their expenses.
Cloud-computing stocks have similar valuations to social networking shares. Industry leader Salesforce.com crm -0.18867924528301888% Salesforce.com Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD58.19 -0.11 -0.18867924528301888% /Date(1416607515655-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 10153666 AFTER HOURS USD58.18 -0.00999999999999801 -0.017185083347654236% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 189156 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 36019609149.9329 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 358391 More quote details and news » (CRM) doesn't earn a profit based on GAAP earnings that includes its stock compensation expense and yet it has a market value of $34 billion. Other hot plays with 2014 price/sales ratios above 10 and no GAAP earnings include Workday, NetSuite n 0.05676979846721544% NetSuite Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD105.75 0.06 0.05676979846721544% /Date(1416607324183-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 327429 AFTER HOURS USD105.75 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2219 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 8115149082.18384 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 210938 More quote details and news » (N), and ServiceNow now -0.2338998908467176% ServiceNow Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD63.98 -0.15 -0.2338998908467176% /Date(1416607222462-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 921645 AFTER HOURS USD63.98 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2434 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 9488234127.36511 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 333218 More quote details and news » (NOW). One skeptic on some of the cloud stocks has been veteran tech manager Paul Wick, who runs the Columbia Seligman Communications and Information fund (SLMCX; see "Keep Your Head -- and Money -- Out of the Clouds," Sept. 30).
Investors are also chowing down on restaurant stocks like 2013 IPOs Noodles & Co., Potbelly, and longtime favorite Chipotle Mexican Grill cmg -0.7467978214625168% Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD657.88 -4.95 -0.7467978214625168% /Date(1416607240881-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 346717 AFTER HOURS USD654.2 -3.67999999999995 -0.5593725299446708% Volume (Delayed 15m) : 2239 P/E Ratio 50.56725595695619 Market Cap 20402832912.6611 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 85633.1 More quote details and news » (CMG). Noodles has more than doubled its June IPO price, to a recent $43, valuing the company at more than 100 times current-year earnings. The chain, which offers macaroni and cheese and other, often high-calorie, noodle dishes, is opening plenty of new restaurants but comparable-store sales rose only 2.7% in the latest quarter, hardly impressive for a triple-digit P/E stock.
Wall Street got too aggressive in pricing one hyped initial public offering last week and buyers paid the price. Chegg chgg 3.048780487804878% Chegg Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD6.76 0.2 3.048780487804878% /Date(1416607242230-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 291951 AFTER HOURS USD6.76 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 3 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 566819252.58995 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 465623 More quote details and news » (CHGG), an unprofitable college textbook rental company, went public at $12.50 a share, above the top of its projected IPO pricing range of $11.50 and ended the week around $9. Through a series of Internet acquisitions, Chegg has tried to position itself as a "student-first connected learning platform" thanks to its involvement in e-textbooks and online college recruitment for high-school students. The company still gets about 80% of its revenue from college textbook rentals, a competitive field threatened by e-textbooks, another highly competitive area. Even with the decline, Chegg is valued at around $800 million, compared with Barnes & Noble bks 0.6858122588941278% Barnes & Noble Inc. U.S.: NYSE USD23.49 0.16 0.6858122588941278% /Date(1416607438939-0600)/ Volume (Delayed 15m) : 506298 AFTER HOURS USD23.49 % Volume (Delayed 15m) : 7275 P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap 1410832895.60829 Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 153373 More quote details and news » (BKS) at $1 billion. Barnes & Noble has about 30 times Chegg's sales and a profitable college bookstore business.
The Chegg comedown could happen to many more hot stocks. While the bull market may have much longer to run, it may soon be dominated by the shares of large, quality companies rather than the many speculative stocks that have done so well this year. In our February cover story, we wrote that alternative investments like hedge funds starred in this century's first decade, but that stocks would dominate in the current decade. So far, that call looks good.
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Health Day - ONLINE EDITION
U.S. Pregnancy Rates Continue to Fall
Increase seen only among women over 30; fewer teen births reported
THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnancy rates continue to decline in the United States, a federal report released Thursday shows.
The rate reached a 12-year low in 2009, when there were about 102 pregnancies for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That rate is 12 percent below the 1990 rate of about 116 pregnancies per 1,000 women. Only the 1997 rate of 102 has been lower during the past 30 years, according to the report.
Experts said two factors are driving the downward trend: improved access to birth control and decisions by women to put off childbearing until later in life.
Those trends have caused the average age of pregnancy to shift upward.
Pregnancy rates for teenagers also have reached historic lows that extend across all racial and ethnic groups. Between 1990 and 2009, the pregnancy rate fell 51 percent for white and black teenagers, and 40 percent for Hispanic teenagers.
The teen birth rate dropped 39 percent between 1991 and 2009, and the teen abortion rate decreased by half during the same period.
Overall, pregnancy rates have continued to decline for women younger than 30.
"The amount of knowledge that young women have about their birth control options is very different compared to a few decades ago," said Dr. Margaret Appleton, director of the division of obstetrics and gynecology at the Scott & White Clinic in College Station, Texas. "Birth control is more readily available to women, and they are more knowledgeable about it."
At the same time, pregnancy rates have steadily increased for women aged 30 to 44. The rate increased 16 percent between 1990 and 2009 for women aged 30 to 34, for example, and 35 percent for women aged 35 to 39.
Dr. Jeanne Conry, president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said the report's findings are consistent with the trend of women having children later in life that has emerged in developed countries.
"This may reflect the opportunities for women to establish educational and career objectives," Conry said.
In addition to women having children later in life, they also are choosing to have fewer kids, Appleton said, which is driving down pregnancy rates.
"More women in the professional workforce are delaying childbearing, and then when they get around to it, they choose to have fewer kids," she said. "I think you see women choosing to have one or two children compared with four or five, which was more common in the 1970s."
Women who hold off on pregnancy have an increased risk of miscarriage and genetic abnormalities in their children, a risk that increases as they grow older, Appleton said. They also have an increased risk of infertility.
A mother in good health, however, likely will remain healthy and produce a healthy baby no matter what her age, she said.
"If the mom is healthy, [age] is not likely to affect the child's health," Appleton said.
Other findings from the CDC report include:
- The overall abortion rate in 2009 was the lowest recorded between 1976 and 2009. The rate -- 18.5 abortions per 1,000 women -- is one-third lower than in 1990, and reflects a nearly continuous decline since 1980.
- Pregnancy rates have declined about 10 percent each for married and unmarried women since 1990.
- The birth rate for married women is 72 percent higher than the rate for unmarried women.
- The abortion rate for unmarried women is nearly five times higher than the rate for married women.
More information
Go to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on reproductive health.
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Farewell to Paragon City November 30, 2012Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Misc MMOs.
Tags: City of Heroes, Lineage, MMO Closure, NCsoft
4 comments
Tonight at midnight Pacific Standard Time, City of Heroes will be shut down.
Or sunsetted.
Or whatever it is they have chosen to call it. But it will be gone all the same. The heroes will be told to hang up their capes and move on with their lives.
CoH will join Tabula Rasa, Auto Assault, and Dungeon Runners, on the list of closed NCsoft MMORPGs.
The closure was announced back in August, which galvanized a chunk of the CoH player base.
Those players protested, created petitions, and questioned whether NCsoft was exploring any alternatives besides simply closing the game. Even as time ran out there was hope of a Disney miracle.
But, at this point, it does not look like there will be any last minute reprieve.
The appointed hour approaches.
Among other things, CoH is another former subscription MMORPG that looked to boost its bottom line by going free to play. However, we are now in an age where free to play is the norm. Subscription only MMOs are now the rare breed. "Free" is no longer the inducement it once was. And so, while reportedly still making money, CoH became a very small percentage of NCsoft sales, being folded into the "other" category for the last quarterly report.
I think if City of Heroes had been more core to the NCsoft corporate story, the way EverQuest is to SOE, we would have seen a lot more work on the part of the company to keep it around. However, from NCsofts point of view, CoH might seem like Cryptic's game. A game that NCsoft published, then bought out, which was never a huge source of revenue for them, and was always something of an outsider.
Heroes are ever loners.
It is Lineage that is to NCsoft what EverQuest is to SOE. It is core to their culture, popular in their home country, and still bringing in a lot of money after 14 years. City of Heroes is just something in the "other" category, soon to be struck from the list altogether.
And so it goes.
How soon until there is a private server? Somebody must be working on that.
I Guess I Won't Be Going Rogue August 31, 2012Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Misc MMOs.
Tags: City of Heroes, NCsoft
6 comments
Some time back, as part of a sale now forgotten in the mists of time, Steam had a deal on City of Heroes, complete with the new Going Rogue expansion.
I think it was $5.00 or some such lowball number.
That was a price which, at the time, I felt I could not resist.
A couple of years has passed since then. City of Heroes has changed a lot, the most radical change of all being the conversion from a subscription game to a free to play title a little over a year ago.
But somehow I never quite found the time to play City of Heroes. It was always too far down the list of games I wanted to play.
So while I had it installed on my system, but I never once clicked on the Play button in Steam.
And now there seems little point in clicking that button. In fact, I will probably unintsall the game now without ever playing the copy I purchased. (Technically I played the demo back in 2007, so I have "played" the game a bit.)
NCsoft has announced that City of Heroes is going to be shut down.
November 30, 2012 is the target date for turning the game off.
And what lesson should we take from this?
That free to play is not a magic bullet?
That the MMO market space is over crowded?
That super hero games are a niche market?
That an awesome character creation tool (so good it gets you sued) won't save you?
That NCsoft is good at shutting down MMOs?
When it comes to that last point, City of Heroes is another notch on the belt after Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa, Dungeon Runners, and Dragonica, so it seems difficult to deny it.
City of Heroes did last longer than most though, and no game lasts forever.
Friday Bullet Points June 8, 2012Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Diablo III, entertainment, EVE Online, EverQuest II, YouTube.
Tags: 38 Studios, Derek Smart, Friday Bullet Points, NCsoft, Nexon
4 comments
Small items that I feel compelled to bring up, yet couldn't really build a post around, so I will just steal somebody elses format.
- You're not really rage quitting until you have compared your situation to the Holocaust. Quartzlight Evenstar Icefluxor cries out about the extremists who blew up… wait, it wasn't blown up… who put his station tower into reinforce. (Hint: It's the evil Goons again.)
- Free to play might be a nice idea, but when you make your $15 a month subscription available for $1.25, you may have made a wrong turn somewhere. SOE suddenly yanks the ability to pay for your subscription with Station Cash. Sounds like somebody did the math.
- Is the Diablo III auction house going to kill off the game early? The reward patterns are apparently reversed when compared to its long lived predecessor, Diablo II. Somebody tell Dabigredboat he can stop now. (Ah, I see Blizzard picked up the assist in sending that message.)
- What do those points mean? Jester details how the EVE Online kill boards calculate the points you are awarded for your kills. Except the Battle Clinic kill board, which does something else. They make EVEMon, so I guess we can forgive them.
- Oh, and the EVE devs have another great economic post up examining the price of minerals since the Inferno update and Hulkageddon. I love that sort of thing.
- Nexon plunks down $687 million for 15% of NCsoft. I am not sure what that will mean in the long run. Maybe I'll get to play a US version of Kart Rider on my PC some day?
- Derek Smart provided one of the more cogent statements about the 38 Studios collapse. Yes, it is in a comment thread. Isn't he always there? Anyway, with 38 Studios filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy, it is all over bar the criminal investigation. It was nice to hear that the Big Huge Games team has options.
- And my Burn Jita video on YouTube passed the 100,000 views mark, which gives it 99,142 more views than my second most popular video, which involved using LEGO technology to cheat my Pokewalker. Thanks to all the viewers in Poland and France! My poor WoW Instance group video, which is probably my personal favorite, sits at just 300 views. Maybe I failed to make proper use of the media. Where have I heard that complaint before? Hah!
Reviewing My Demands for 2011 December 19, 2011Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Blizzard, blog thing, Diablo III, entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment, Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft.
Tags: 2011, BioWare, CCP, Cryptic Studios, Demands, NCsoft, No not predictions demands, Trion Worlds
5 comments
This year I eschewed the traditional practice of making predictions and issued a series of demands for the MMO industry for 2011.
Why demands?
Well, when you make predictions and you are wrong, it is your fault. If you make demands though, and the company does not live up to them, it is THEIR fault! Ha! Rather than scoring my own predictions, I get to score their behavior.
So it is time to review my demands for 2011, made way back on January 2nd. I gave everybody until December 15th to meet my demands. Now it is time to see who complied.
Stop looking so damn smug. Tell us what Titan is, ship Diablo III, and add some more content to the top end of World of Warcraft. I swear half the game is already level 85. Oh, and another sparkle pony, but something a little less frou-frou this time. And an expansion for StarCraft II. Somebody has to sell some PC games this year.
See, this is what is wrong with Blizzard these days. I threw a crapload of demands at them, six if you include "stop looking so damn smug," and they barely made any of them.
To sum up, we still do not know what Titan is, Diablo III is out in 2012 somewhere, and no expansion for StarCraft II. I mean, how tough was that last one? Oh, and they still look damn smug.'
All we got was a new sparkly pony, the Winged Guardian Mount, and some more content at the top end of Cataclysm. Not enough I say! Not enough.
For this I decree that Mike Morhaime will have to come up with more public rationalizations about WoW subscription numbers, including at least one additional convoluted SWTOR impact denial.
Sony Online Entertainment:
Smedley? SMEDLEY! Pull yourself together. I know those PlayStation people are bossing you around, but you make money. Certainly more than they make on hardware. Refine what you have. More server merges. Reconcile EverQuest II Live and EverQuest II Extended. Work on the PC controls for DC Universe Online because I am NOT hooking up a console controller to my PC just to play it. And finish with the Agency already, you're starting to embarrass us all.
SOE on the other hand, complied with almost all of my demands. We certainly got server merges on a number of fronts, and some are still coming, including the merger of the Live Gamer EverQuest II servers into standard servers. EverQuest II Live and EverQuest II Extended were reconciled, with Live eating and then becoming Extended.
And they certainly finished up The Agency. Ouch.
In fact, the only demand they missed on was fixing the controls for the PC version of DC Universe Online, and they were so busy launching, consolidating servers, and then converting to free to play that I guess they can have a pass on that.
For this I grant favorable portents for Planetside 2… provided they don't pull an "Agency" move with it and string us along for several years.
Just go free to play across the board already. Champions and Star Trek Online. Everybody else is doing it. But don't screw over the lifetime subscribers. And when you go free to play, make sure you have something shiny and new to bring people back. Oh, and Neverwinter, get it out this year and don't screw it up!
Cryptic… Well, everything is either free to play or in the works. They'll be a month late on the demand in the case of Star Trek Online.
Neverwinter though… just where are you guys even going with that title these days? Cryptic is supposed to be your company name, not your business plan.
I put a curse of market confusion upon Cryptic for Neverwinter… which they deserve just for choosing that name. There are OTHER locations in Forgotten Realms you know.
Everybody is watching you. You're not making some single player game. You're making an engine, an engine that is supposed to take in money and deliver the joy of being in the Star Wars universe. Don't let those wankers in San Mateo make you ship early. Meanwhile, since you guys seem to be in the MMO driver's seat at EA, for now, don't screw around with Ultima Online, but do something about Warhammer Online. You're bright guys, you'll figure something out.
Wow, talk about delivering. I am pretty sure they moved the early access back to the 13th of December just to be clearly within the scope of my demand. And yet it is late enough that we cannot really tell if the engine is set to vacuum up money from Star Wars loving fans.
Plus they didn't screw around with Ultima Online and they came up with a DoTA-like game reusing Warhammer Online assets and branding it as Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes.
Full points all around. For this the force will be with them… for three months. They are on their own after that!
Will you put that drink down already? EVE is still going, still making money, still popular, still unique, I get it. And you are improving it over time. But really, you're starting to look like a one-trick pony. What are all those people in Atlanta doing? You don't have to ship something new this year, but at least make us believe you're really working on something new. We're starting to think you're spending all that money you make on akvavit and exotic dancers.
CCP is the only company that actually responded directly to my demands. CCP Manifest dropped my a note just 8 days after my post promising that we would all see amazing things from CCP this year and that my demands would be fully met.
And then, of course, Incarna hit, the player base blew up… more than usual… plans were re-assessed, people were laid off, projects were set aside, and the summer of discontent basically loomed over the staff at CCP.
And then they refocused, shipped the Crucible expansion to mostly favorable reaction (it sure is pretty), and plans seem to be solid for DUST 514, with a release target (Spring 2012… which means by Christmas, right?) and a platform (PlayStation 3 works for me).
So I guess, in the end, they met my demands.
I would suggest that we did not need all the drama, but that seems to be one of the vital ingredients to any CCP operation. That and alcohol. I know they aren't spending all their money on booze, but I suspect there is still a line item in the budget for it.
For this I grant an early Spring and no bankruptcy in 2012.
Aion, City of Whatever, and Guild Wars. Is that really all you have going in North America? Well, there is Lineage II I suppose. And what do you have on your to do list? Blade & Soul? Really? Don't bother. And let Guild Wars 2 gestate to full term, which means don't ship it in 2011.
I didn't ask much from NCsoft, and they delivered. No Guild Wars 2 in 2011. Now the question is will we see it in 2012?
Your boon is the usual subscriber boost as you move all of your titles to free to play business model.
Trion Worlds:
Your big opportunity is coming. Ship Rift at just about the time when WoW Players have finally wrapped up the high-end content and you could get… a stable half a million subscribers. Okay, that isn't WoW numbers, but history shows that most people just stick with their favorite MMO forever due to the social network they develop. Hrmm… that is sounding like a prediction, not a demand. Okay, go and get a half a million subscribers already! By June! With your shield or on it and all that!
Trion, you made it. While you were out there claiming a million customers, I am going to take it as read that that meant more that half a million subscribers at one time. And you even kept them for a while, thanks to Cataclysm backlash, a late ship date for SWTOR, and essentially no new competitors in your field.
For this you get favorable portents for End of Nations and a soft landing from the SWTOR effect.
Other MMO Studios:
Which of you is even poised to do anything in 2011? TERA is going to be another Asian oddity, soon forgotten by the mainstream. It was all that Aventurine could do to ship Darkfall, they won't be doing anything else. Funcom won't get The Secret World out in 2011, they're more likely to cut more staff. All of you other studios, select a champion and send it out to do battle. Yes, it can be TERA if you cannot find anything else, but I'm telling you it is going to be completely forgettable.
Nothing? Really, no small studio champion has arisen?
Fine, you're all doomed to mutter about the success of Minecraft and Angry Birds.
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw:
When Star Wars: The Old Republic ships this year, review it. I know, it is a muh-more-puh-gah, but this is Star Wars and BioWare. I demand it. We all demand it!
Alright, you're absolved because of the late ship date of SWTOR. But I expect a review of it next year.
Dr. Richard Bartle:
You were awfully quiet in 2010. And you've got your three level 85s in WoW now. (A very common claim these days.) Go say something controversial. Declare WoW dead. Predict SWTOR will be a failure as a virtual world. Make some news. Do an interview with those people at Massively. They'll print anything you say.
Dr. Bartle was kind enough to comment on my original demands list that, while I found the past controversies surrounding his statements in the gaming press amusing (remember the "I'd Close WoW" headline or his positive view of Stranglethorn Vale), the whole thing tends not to be so much fun for him.
And he managed to steer clear of such controversies, despite my egging on certain members of the Massively staff.
So he gets a pass as well. We can just hope that somebody takes note of his idea of how to break the current state of stagnation in MMOs and that he has a good fortune in 2012 as he attempts to educate us on the obvious. I personally look forward to further education.
What is there to score?
Okay, if you want to view my demands as predictions, I think I did okay this year. But I did not really go out on a limb with anything either. 2011 was a quiet year in many ways, with titles being pushed off into 2012.
Now, do I go back to outrageous predictions for 2012 or stick with unreasonable demands?
I'm Pretty Sure This Wasn't From Scott Jennings… February 1, 2010Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Humor, Misc MMOs.
Tags: Aion, NCsoft, Phishing
11 comments
His style is usually a bit more… coherent.
When you receive this message at the same time means that you have a routine account of our recent examination, was checking your account we have the evidence to prove that involved in the controversial game currency transaction so we had to take the necessary measures.
Please visit our web site https:[bogus URL] as soon as possible to activate your account or we will suspend your account.
The NCsoft Team
Worst phishing attempt so far this year. Not only is the grammar attempting to work under extreme duress, but I don't even have an Aion account.
Oh, and this may be my first Aion related post ever.
2010 MMORPG Progdictionations January 1, 2010Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Blizzard, blog thing, Diablo III, Dungeons & Dragons Online, entertainment, EVE Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Lord of the Rings Online, Sony Online Entertainment, Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft.
Tags: 38 Studios, Aion, Bruce Campbell, Carbine Studios, Darkfall, NCsoft, Planetside, PlayStation 3, PS3, Red5 Studios, Richard Bartle, Richard Garriott, Simutronics, Turbine
8 comments
MMORPG predictions, now in its third year here at TAGN.
Having done the same thing for both 2008 and 2009 predictions, I thought I would change it up a bit and go for a series of short, sharp, and easily scored predictions for 2010.
Yes, I still have that cold I mentioned the other day, so I'm not feeling very creative at the moment.
Of course, other people are putting out their predictions for next year, so I am putting this sentence in as a place to link to them as their posts show up.
See! Creativity, out the window! On with the floor show!
Polar Bear in a Blizzard
My quick predictions for Blizzard in 2010! (5 points each)
- StarCraft II – Will ship second quarter 2010
- Cataclysm – Will ship fourth quarter 2010
- Cataclysm – Will beat WotLK's 24 hour sales record (early 2012 prediction: whatever follows Cataclysm won't do as well)
- Diablo III – Will not ship in 2010
- New MMO – An announcement at BlizzCon with the usual Blizzard mystery build-up
Every Station but PlayStation
Sony Online Entertainment predictions! (5 points each)
- Planetside – Dead by December
- Norrath – Official details about the next Norrath based MMORPG some time in 2010
- Norrath – The next Norrath based MMORPG won't be called EverQuest III
- EverQuest II – All digital distribution after the February expansion
- EverQuest – The next round of server consolidation will happen, and it will be a good thing
- The Agency – Won't ship in 2010
- PlayStation 3 – SOE still won't have a PS3 MMO title by the end of 2010
Electronic Arts and Science
What will EA do? (5 Points each)
- SWTOR – Not in 2010, no no no.
- WAR – Won't die in 2010, but won't magically spring back to life either. It will just trudge on with enough resources to keep it going and improve it slightly, but not enough to change anything dramatically.
Turning the Turbine
(5 points each)
- LOTRO – Next expansion, announced in 2010, will be the Riders of Rohan!
- LOTRO – Riders of Rohan will feature real mounted combat
- DDO – Continued success under the free to play banner with a push into some overland content
- New – We'll hear about Turbine's next project in 2010.
Glory to the CCCP!
(5 points each)
- Station ambulation – Still just a myth in 2010
- Dust 514 – Not for 2010
- EVE – Two Content Releases, don't we always get two a year?
- EVE – Tech III ships will finally become common enough that you might actually see one now and again.
Leading by Torchlight
(5 points each)
- An inexpensive expansion will be released for Torchlight to keep funding going for Runic's MMO
- Runic will give us some concrete details about said MMO
- That MMO won't ship in 2010
- But said details will make some pundit say, "Wow, that's what Dungeon Runners should have done."
(5 points each)
- Aion – Going to seem like a replay of Lineage II, popular in Asia, less so in the west. Still, it will have enough customers to keep going. Given how readily NCSoft shuts things down, that will be saying something.
- GuildWars 2 – Not for 2010
- PlayStation 3 – NCSoft still won't have a PS3 MMO title by the end of 2010
Other Titles
(5 points each)
- Darkfall – Will continue walking the tightrope between hardcore PvP focus and giving players something to do when they aren't actively engaged in battle. Slow growth with at most a single server added to the game for 2010.
- Star Trek Online – Won't disappoint Trek fans, but we're all co-dependent on the franchise after years of reckless treatment by the studio. We'll all still be there after the first 30 days playing with our pre-order bonus items. The rest of you people though…
- Hero's Journey – It was best of show at E3 in 2005, but it will still be a no-show in 2010.
MMO Industry
The following people will have new companies and new projects announced in 2010 (2 point each):
- Mark Jacobs
- Richard Garriott
- Bill Roper
- Brian Green
- Scott Hartsman
One of the following companies will announce their first/next project, and it won't be an MMO (5 points):
- Aventurine
- Carbine Studios
- Red5 Studios
- Simutronics
- Turbine
One of the following people will move to Canada (5 points):
- Scott Jennings
- Mark Jacobs
- Brian Green
- Scott Hartsman
- Richard Bartle
- Alan Crosby
- David Reid
Spurious Logic
Random neurons firing for the following guesses.
Most subscription MMOs that sell vanity items like pets or appearance gear will sell custom mounts by the end of 2010. WoW and EQ2 will be the benchmark. (5 points)
"Yahtzee" Croshaw will review exactly ONE muh-more-puh-gah on Zero Punctuation during 2010, and it will be Star Trek Online. He won't like it (duh) but the Trekkie humor will be too much for him to resist doing a review. (5 points)
We will find out that the following people will be appearing or doing voice work in the Warcraft movie (IMDB shows no actors as of this date – 1 point each):
- Jack Black
- William Shatner
- Keanu Reeves
- Ben Stein
- James Earl Jones
- John Ratzenberger
- Bruce Campbell
- Sarah Silverman
- David Spade
- Lucy Lawless
Total Points
If I count correctly, that should be 200 points total at stake. I'm a little woozy at the moment, so I wouldn't put money on it, but we'll call it 200 for now.
If history is an accurate predictor of success I will probably get 40-60 points total.
Check back in December 2010 to see how I did.
In the mean time, what do you think will happen in 2010?
KartRider? January 11, 2009Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Misc MMOs.
Tags: Combat Arms, KartRider, Maplestory, NCsoft, Nexon
13 comments
I went looking for KartRider this morning, but it seems to have disappeared.
A little less than a year back I ended up, due to a big colorful ad on the back of Games for Windows Magazine (which itself disappeared in April of last year) downloading and installing the Nexon free to play game KartRider.
It is (was?) a fun little racing game that my daughter and I played on and off for a couple of months.
This morning my daughter was looking at the icons on my desktop, pointed at the KartRider icon, said that we had not played that game in a while, and asked if we could give it another try.
But when I tried to launch the game, it gave an error, citing my firewall as a possible issue.
I went to the KartRider site I had bookmarked, to see if anything had changed or if I needed to download a new client and was greeted by this:
The open beta is over (oh, yeah, I forgot it was still in beta) and thank you to all the people who made it a huge success.
The main Nexon site had no obvious mention of KartRider. The Korean site for the game still seemed to be up and in full swing however.
Eventually I found a notice on the site about the end of the open beta:
Greetings KartRiders!
We'd like to thank our beta testers for all their hard work in testing KartRider!
The Closed Beta will come to an end on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 5pm (PST). We encourage you to get your last few races in!
We will announce the full launch of KartRider at a later date.
Thanks for playing!
- The KartRider Staff -
Hrmm, it has been a while since I peeked in on the game.
Still, I have to wonder how huge of a success the open beta was if they removed all mention of the game from the main US site and have let the US localized version of the game sit for more than seven months.
They still have MapleStory, Combat Arms, and a couple of other games listed on their US site, but could this be another sign (ala NCsoft) that Korean game makers aren't able to tap the US market as effectively as they do their home market?
AA Moment of Silence Please September 1, 2007Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Misc MMOs.
Tags: Auto Assault, NCsoft
1 comment so far
It is now September 1st. The game has passed. Farewell to Auto Assault.
The final note on the AA site:
Thanks to Everyone in the Central Wastelands — 08/31/07
With Auto Assault closing down tonight, we wanted to thank all of you for creating a tremendously cool and dedicated community of Wastelanders. We just didn't want to give you guys a wild, crazy event tonight, but something else that may be just as fun. In the coming days those that are eligible will be receiving a "Parting Gift" message in your e-mail inboxes, with opportunities to take a part in some of our other products, including Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa and City of Heroes. It's our way of saying "Thank You" to the diehard Auto Assault fan base and we hope to see you in are other virtual worlds.
And so it goes.


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By Travis Pflanz | January 27, 2012 | 0 Comment
The Descendants has been nominated for five Academy Awards, including "Best Picture", George Clooney for "Actor in a Leading Role" and Alexander Payne for "Directing."
Academy Award nominations are great and all, but years from now, people remember great movies, not nominated movies. I am not saying The Descendants should not have been nominated, in fact, it is your prototypical Oscar nominated film… A film for old people.
The movie was good, don't get me wrong, but I will probably never watch it again. Clooney was good, so were the rest of the actors. To me, the movie simply lacked something… Left me unfulfilled. So many things could have happened at the end, yet nothing did.
The movie is good, but I would wait until it hits Red Box.
The Descendants has a 7.8/10 rating on IMDB, is 90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has a 84/100 Metascore.
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Books Made Into Movies — Which One is Better? [POLL]
Book or Movie, that is the question. Popular novel series have been getting the blockbuster movie treatment for years, but which do you prefer?
Book or Movie, that is the question. Popular novel series have been getting the blockbuster movie treatment for years, but which do you prefer?
In a move that should surprise approximately no one, the 'Divergent' film franchise will now be four films instead of three, with 'Allegiant,' the third book in Veronica Roth's best-selling series, now being adapted into two films. Just when you thought young-adult dystopic science-fiction stories were on the way out ...
If the main goal of 'Divergent' was to snag a large portion of the audience for 'The Hunger Games,' it looks like it succeeded. Although it didn't reach the absurd heights of Katniss' two movies, Shailene Woodley's dystopian adventure effortlessly nabbed the number one spot and, unless something bad happens next week, announced the arrival of a new big franchise.
Finally! 'Divergent' finally lands in multiplexes today (March 21). In this behind-the-scenes footage related to the soundtrack and the score, we learn how integral British singer Ellie Goulding, whose fingerprints are all over the music in the film, was to the process. She also helped to create heroine Tris' inner voice.
Springing forth from the same lineage of Katniss Everdeen, far removed from the toxically weak Bella Swan bloodline, 'Divergent' heroine Beatrice "Tris" Prior is well worth rooting for, even if her debut film isn't as compelling as its leading lady. Based on Veronica Roth's best-selling YA trilogy, Neil Burger's film is cripplingly faithful to its source material, and although he and screenwriters Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor have plenty of rich material to pull from, the film's inability to distill it down to its most essential bits makes for a strangely bloated and often flatlining final product.
Yet, for its dragging run time – nearly two and a half hours – and its repetitive nature, 'Divergent' should both thrill fans and (hopefully) excite newcomers who will leave the theater wanting to know where its open ending travels next.


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Philly Weekend in Late March -- How's My List Look?
Hey Chowhounds,
My wife and I are coming from NYC to Philly to enjoy a long weekend, check out the Springsteen exhibit at NCC, and enjoy as much great food and drink along the way as we can. Would love to get advice. Here's my plan:
Arrive (Friday)
Dinner: Amada (Have seen that some think you need to order the right things here -- any advice on what the right things are? Or should we go for the chef's tasting?)
Dinner: Vetri
Brunch: Lacroix
Dinner: Talulah's Garden
Thinking about hitting DiNic's at some point for the pulled pork sandwich as well. Bars I'm thinking about include Franklin Mortgage, Ranstead Room, Farmers Cabinet, and Bar 201. Also looking for dessert advice: any great places for sweets, especially post-dinner?
Thanks in advance!
Good list. However, I think you should include one or two of our great byob's. Bibou and Littlefish would be at the top of my list. Also, I don't know when you are coming but (unless you already have one) you should make your Vetri reservation. I think it's still two months out. I would call exactly two months before the date you want. If I'm wrong on this, someone here here will correct me. It is difficult, though, to get Vetri reservations.
re: JanR
The hardest time to snag a reservation for Vetri is Friday nights. I did a quick search on opentable on Vetri for this weekend and you could get a seating at 6pm or 830. I think that if you are flexible in the time you want to eat, you should be ok in finding a reservation (though do not wait.. ). I you prefer to eat a civilized time like 7pm, then make sure you get your reservation in now.
re: cwdonald
If it were me, I'd substitute Zahav for Talula's Garden. While the latter has very good food, nothing really struck me as being a "must eat" whereas the lamb mesibah at Zahav is another story. Do hit DiNic's and browse the Reading Terminal Market. As far as desserts, I am honestly drawing a blank. Capogiro has good gelato and the Franklin Fountain (temporarily closed for renovations) has good ice cream creations, but since Naked Chocolate closed a while back I can't think of any really good dessert destination in town.
re: bluehensfan
La Golosa (near 6th & Catherine) is a good dessert destination.
re: bluehensfan
+1 on Zahav's roasted lamb (needs to be ordered in advance).
Per JanR's suggestion, maybe Friday night is the night to incorporate a BYOB. Bibou and Little Fish are awesome. I'd also suggest Kanella and Fond. Kanella is one of my favorites and may feel less heavy given your plans for Vetri and brunch at Lacroix (also good to snag a rez here quickly). Kanella is on Open Table, so it's easy to reserve.
Pick up some whoopie pies at Flying Monkey in the Reading Terminal Market, they'd make a tasty late night dessert.
Sounds like you like cocktails from your bar picks... I'd suggest a trip to Southwark, maybe instead of Bar 201 since you're hitting Lacroix anyway and Southwark's focus on classic cocktails complements your other choices which are more modern. It's a little out of the way but only a short cab ride from your other places. The food there is great too, could be good for a snack if you end up with a late reservation anywhere, or maybe for dessert after Amada as it's not too far, walkable even if the weather is mild.
re: sockii
So, you're saying that when you have brunch at Lacroix, you don't eat again the rest of the day?! Our reservation is at 11:30. If we don't eat again the rest of the day, I would think we'll be hungry at least by 9 PM or so.
I get that it's a ton of food, but am I missing something? Even after a monster meal I need to eat again 8 hours later.
I like a desert + cocktail option personally, and here are a few ideas that just hit me off the top of my head:
-Barbuzzo for a salted carmel budino. They are open late, and maybe you'd at least have a chance for a seat at the bar. I've never been there late night.
-Beau Monde for crepes. Then you can dance the calories off upstairs at l'Etage.
-This is way off of the reservation, and perhaps repetitive for regular CH'ers as I posted about this last week, but I just had a lot of fun at Bar Ferdinand enjoying the sherry tasting, and I am a complete sucker for a churro.
Also, I second (or third) the idea of a BYOB inclusion.
And lastly, for Amada, IMHO the best thing to get is chorizo a la plancha, and I also enjoy the charcuterie, and lamb meatballs there. I'm part of a dairy-free couple, so I can't speak for the flatbreads. People speak well of the pernil asado, which can serve as a not-quite-the-same-proxy for the suckling pig if you are only a party of 2.
re: tfalbo
Personally I think the suckling pig at Amada is (unfortunately) aptly named. But I am a big fan of most of the other items on their menu...
re: bluehensfan
I agree with bluehens fan. I would caution that if you order the tasting menu make sure you dont have any dietary restrictions. I dined there once with someone that didnt eat any pig product and not once twice but three times they brought out dishes with some sort of pig product on it.
re: tfalbo
Anyone have the paella at Amada? I'm going there soon for a celebratory dinner for my mother, and she's been obsessed about trying the paella, so I was just wondering if anyone has tried it, and if so, what the results were.
Sounds wonderful. But I hope you're getting the early seating for brunch at Lacroix.
It's not to be missed, but you might not want to eat anything else all day!
Great choices. For Amada, the tasting menu is nice because you don't have to make as many decisions, and everything is wonderful. However, I would definitely recommend the Tortilla Espanol and the Stuffed Dates. These are both extraordinarily good. Talula's is gorgeous and worth it just for the atmosphere, but the food is also excellent. The service is more "fine dining" although it's not stuffy at all. For dessert, Capogiro for gelato is one of the best and only dessert-only destinations (someone else mentioned the sad closing of Naked Chocolate, and I too mourn its loss). You're probably better off getting some Tastykakes from the deli and eating them in your hotel room. I recommend the Kandy Kakes or Butterscotch Krimpets. Don't forget the Hanks Root Beer!
re: BelgianBeerMistress
I second Capogiro (recently named by Nat Geo as the best ice cream parlor in the world). There are a few locations and their website lists which gelatos and sorbettos are served in each of their locations, daily. If you have time for more ice cream, note that Franklin Fountain is a delicious time-traveling experience, and also a critics' darling. As you like dessert and you will be going to the Reading Terminal Market to visit DiNic's, you might want to visit Metropolitan Bakery for lovely slices of cake.
Regarding Amada, I agree that the tortilla espanola is delicious, and also love the chipirones and the albondigas (the latter are quite rich). While I love Amada, I am often underwhelmed by their desserts.
As you haven't many replies to your question about wine and beer...Tria is a lovely wine bar and Monk's Cafe and Eulogy have impressive beer selections. The Farmers' Cabinet cocktails are a literary hipster's dream.
re: Mr. Peabody
Lol Mr. Peabody, love your description of Farmer's Cabinet's cocktails (though they are well made.. ). Really should give a shout out to the great saison's that are being made by Terry Hawbaker especially for Farmer's Cabinet. Terry used to be at Bullfrog in upstate PA, and left to join Farmer's Cabinet. For a variety of reasons a brewpub in Farmer's Cabinet never materialized, and Terry is brewing beers especially for the Farmer's Cabinet down in Alexandria, VA. The saison's are world class, and until they start to be bottled, you won't find them anywhere else.
re: Mr. Peabody
Monk's is a good place for beers, just note that they are almost exclusively in the Belgian style. If you're looking for local micro-brews, Standard Tap usually has a bevy of local options. South Philly Tap Room also has a diverse list of American craft beer not limited to the immediate area.
re: Mr. Peabody
Farmers Cabinet has GREAT fresh juice cocktails. Capogiro on 13th street is one of the coolest spots in town. I really enjoy the veal meatball pizza and the 'stache' pizza at Zavino... Stache pizza now comes with whole wheat crust... which i think makes it better.
I also think that Dandelion is a great place to stop in Philly, Fish and Chip and the pork terreine are excellent. I think they are open for brunch
Your plans look pretty good to me, but one thing I'd really suggest is to switch out Amada for Tinto. I've eaten at Amada quite a few times over the years, the last time being December, and it's really starting to feel a bit tired. The food never changes and the servers seem bored and uninterested compared to how it used to be. On the other hand, I think Tinto is turning out some amazing food- they have great, helpful servers. The manager I met is doing all the right things IMO. They are right next door to Village Whiskey, so stopping there for a cocktail or two would be a great way to end the night after dinner at Tinto.
Ranstead Room is a must- even if you have to wait, just give them your cell phone # and go over to the bar at El Rey and wait- it will definitely be worth the wait. MUCH better than Franklin Mortgage.
Hey everyone,
Thanks so much for the tips -- keep em comin!
I should have mentioned but I already have resies for the meals listed. I've got an 11 AM for brunch at Lacroix, so I'll think we'll be hungry come dinner time, even if it's a bit later than usual.
I definitely love beer and wine as well as cocktails, so if you have any great spots for that I'd appreciate it. Especially local brews or something unique that I can't find here in NYC.
Thanks again.
re: Delucacheesemonger
The service there is indeed great!
re: ml77
For interesting and/or local beers, your best bets would likely be Alla Spina and Farmer's Cabinet for the former, and Standard Tap for the latter (as noted above). I have only actually had cocktails at Farmer's Cabinet, but they had a very interesting beer list at their former spot, and seem to offer a similar beer list at FC. Alla Spina has several interesting Italian beers. Be advised that you will be paying for 10 oz pours at Alla Spina, even for lower alcohol content drafts.
Preferred wine spots would include Tria, and, perhaps moreso for the wine than the food, Ristorante Panorama (though the food is by no means bad). RP has one of the most extensive by the glass lists that I've come across, and you are able to do flights. And there are probably others that I am forgetting as well.
re: ml77
Am a line cook in two different restaurants outside of center city Philly and would very much agree with a couple of the comments that have been made.
Swap out Amada with one of our awesome BYOs. Top choices for me would be the already mentioned Bibou and Little Fish, as well as Koo Zee Doo.
Swap out Talula's Garden for Zahav. No offense meant to the crew there -- they do GREAT work and Aimee's created a great Philadelphia spot. But in that you're only here for a weekend, I think Zahav is not to be missed. You'll have a memorable meal at either restaurant, but I just feel like Zahav has that sparkle, that something extra that makes your dining experience that much richer. An unexpected ingredient that really makes a dish pop. An Israeli wine recommended by a server that you never would've picked but is everything you were looking for. That's the kind of thing that I'm talking about.
Also, on the cocktails front, Ela at 3rd & Bainbridge has some excellent options.
Regardless, have a great trip and I hope that Philly does all of us proud in providing some awesome food experiences for you and your wife!
re: fancynewbeesly
Am intrigued by the praise for Zahav. Can I get the lamb shoulder without ordering the tasting menu?
re: cwdonald
Thanks for the info. I'll probably stick with the lamb, as a good ribeye is easier to get here in NYC than a great lamb.
re: ml77
Take a look at the menu to familiarize yourself with the types of dishes that are available. The lamb is fabuluous, but any of the dishes cooked over the coals are quite flavorful, and the rib eye is dry aged, and should be a fantastic piece of meat.
The only thing I would encourage you to have if you get the lamb is a big appetite.
I moved here form NYC a year ago. Philly is a good restaurant town, but I agree with the poster who advised you to drop Amada: it is seriously overrated. My last visit--and it will be my last--was at the beginning of this year. The food was mediocre and the service was terrible. The room, though, is lovely.
The gelato at Capogiro is excellent, though the place itself is not somewhere you'd want to spend any time.
Have a good trip! Enjoy Vetri!
We're coming to Philly at the end of March as well (and also for Springsteen!). I'm thinking of going to Lacroix for their $16 breakfast buffet, but from reading comments on other threads it seems it is pretty hoity-toity. We're basically meat-and-potatoes types and this prospect is lightly intimidating, but I've heard that their breakfast buffet is a great value and food wise, is excellent, but don't want to get all dolled up and be worried about our p's and q's. Any comments?
re: barneyvernon
Lacroix is in the Rittenhouse hotel one of the higher end luxury hotels, so its not a place for your birks and cutoffs, but since its breakfast I don't think you are going to find people wearing their gold lamé or bow ties.
But if you are looking for other breakfast options, there are plenty of more down to earth places. May not be AYCE... but Kanella serves a wonderful breakfast, Honey sit n Eat is great as well.
re: barneyvernon
Is it possible you're confusing the Lacroix breakfast buffet with their much fancier and more expensive ($55+) brunch buffet on Sundays?
cwdonald is right, there are a lot of great breakfast places (even though I'm a die hard Lacroix brunch fan) that are less fancy. Kanella is great (see the NYC Hound's write up of it recently), Supper is also excellent for brunch.
re: urbanfabric
The one other comment is it would appear that the express breakfast buffet which is served m-f til 10 and Saturday til 10:30 is NOT available on Sundays. So as urbanfabric cautions, please do not confuse the breakfast buffet with the brunch buffet which is what everyone raves about on this board.
re: cwdonald
Incidentally, has anyone tried the $16 Mon-Sat buffet? Looks like it could be good, and a fair price.
re: barryg
If the smoked salmon is good its worth the price just for that. Definitely will try it the next time I need a breakfast meeting in town!
re: barryg
This is what I am referring to - the $16 M-F buffet, NOT the more elaborate weekend brunch. Just looking for comments on this $16 buffet, as I heard it was a great deal and the food was a notch above your typical hotel brekky buffet.


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Starting October 6th, we will no longer mail hold pick/cancellation notices. In order to receive information about your holds, please log in to Your Library Account and make sure we have your current email address or phone number. Thank you for your cooperation.
Snack Attack
Beat the heat! Learn how to make a cholesterol-free plant based snack.


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The singer pitches in to help fight hunger at the Show Your Helping Hand launch event in N.Y.C. Plus: Robert Pattinson, Kendra Wilkinson, Megan Fox and more
Credit: Justin Sullivan
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Dad-to-be (again!) Matthew McConaughey finds common ground with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service Monday at San Francisco's Moscone West Convention Center, where the actor supported the Entertainment Industry Foundation and spoke out about his j.k. livin foundation.
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Day Trips
Day Trips
You can fit a lot into a Yukon day. Or maybe it's all the things you aren't doing that make a Yukon experience so memorable. The natural highs of a Yukon adventure aren't limited to those with time for a longer vacation. Depending on how long you're staying, choose an exhilarating Yukon day trip to round out your itinerary.
Perhaps you're here on business or attending a conference, or maybe you're just passing through. Our Yukon operators offer a year-round smorgasbord of day trips, from action-packed adventure outings to cultural experiences to a relaxing tour of local attractions. Many offer custom tours and half-day options.
Summer Sights
From a flightseeing tour at dawn to an evening round of golf under the midnight sun, our long summer days squeeze in more than you can imagine. In a day you can raft the Tatshenshini River or paddle the Yukon River. Tour the Klondike gold fields and take in a music festival. Spend a day being guided through art galleries and historic attractions before dining on flavourful northern dishes.
Winter Wonders
Meet a friendly team of Yukon huskies, try ice fishing, and spend your evening watching for the northern lights. Tour our museums and cultural attractions, and hang out with locals at a café. You'll love the pace of the Yukon in winter.
Caribou Crossing Trading Post
Tour Yukon's most extensive Wildlife Museum and stroll among creatures of Yukon's past and present, with favorites including grizzly bears, monster moose, woolly mammoth, and the World's …
Visit our Websitehttp://www.cariboucrossing.ca
Email email@example.com
Phone or Fax Us
Phone: (867) 821-4055
Alt. Phone: (867) 821-4055
Fax: (867) 821-4025
Goldbottom Tours
Visit three generations of the Millar family at their working placer goldmine. Your friendly guide will take you right onto the mine site to learn how gold is deposited by nature and …
Visit our Websitehttp://www.goldbottom.com
Email firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone or Fax Us
Phone: (867) 993-5023
Gray Line Yukon (Dawson)
Phone or Fax Us
Phone: (867) 993-5599
Fax: (867) 993-6408
Gray Line Yukon (Whitehorse)
Phone or Fax Us
Phone: (867) 668-3225
Fax: (867) 667-4494
Husky Bus
Husky Bus is your one stop shop for your transportation and day trip needs. Visit the historic Dredge #4 and learn about the Klondike Gold Rush. This 3-hour trip includes an interpretive …
Visit our Websitehttp://www.huskybus.ca
Email firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone or Fax Us
Phone: (867) 993-3821
Ice-Fishing & Snow Shoe Tour
Dec 01, 2014 - Mar 31, 2015
After a short drive to a frozen lake, we'll show you how to walk on snowshoes. With our fishing equipment, we'll walk onto the ice of the lake where we'll fish through a hole in the ice. With some...Starting At$105
Mountain Biking Half Day Trip
May 01, 2015 - Sep 30, 2015
Discover the natural beauty of Whitehorse, while riding through our scenic trail networks surrounding town. Beginner to advanced trail options; family friendly.
Half day rides include...$175
Steak dinner ride
Apr 01, 2014 - Apr 01, 2015
Join us on a 2 hour horseback ride into beautiful Yukon Wilderness from our ranch. Ride precedes with a short riding lesson from one of our experienced guides. Return to the ranch to enjoy a...Starting At$50
Whitehorse the "Wilderness City"
Jan 01, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014
This tour unites Culture, History & Arts with proud First Nation's Heritage. Learn about native history at the Quanlin Dun Cultural Center, see an old log church and sky scraper, visit the...$95
Wildlife Preserve & Hot Springs Tour
Aug 21, 2014 - Apr 15, 2015
From Whitehorse drive approx. 30 km to the Wildlife Preserve. Excellent guided tour and great opportunities to view and photograph wildlife in its natural habitat: Dall Sheep, Bighorn Sheep,...


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The Chattanooga Lookouts have been playing like a Southern League playoff team in recent weeks, and they're starting to feel like one, too.
"We're just expecting to make the playoffs right now," left fielder Scott Van Slyke said. "We're expecting to keep winning and doing the things we've been doing."
The Lookouts are in control of their postseason destiny despite Thursday night's 7-4 loss to Birmingham at AT&T Field. They lead the North Division second-half race with a 27-19 record and are 62-54 overall with 24 games left in the regular season.
Chattanooga has not lost a series in nearly a month, has improved to third in the league in hitting and has extended its commanding league lead in team ERA.
"This is a team built around pitching," second-year manager Carlos Subero said. "We've already lost four pitchers [to big-league promotions], and we're still throwing the ball well. Our hitting is coming around. We had some loud bats in Jacksonville, and the addition of Alex Castellanos has definitely helped.
"We're in August, so everybody's had a good shot to develop. Now it's about trying to win whatever is left."
Castellanos, who played right field Thursday, is hitting .324 in his first 10 games since arriving from the Boston Red Sox organization and has given the Lookouts an even more imposing outfield. Van Slyke leads the league in doubles and ranks second in average. Alfredo Silverio leads the league in total bases, and Kyle Russell, who was the designated hitter Thursday, ranks fourth in home runs.
The Lookouts have two ways of reaching the playoffs. They could take the direct approach by clinching the division, but finishing a close second to Tennessee would assuredly result in a postseason trip via the wild-card route.
"We're in first, and every time we win it's a good thing in the standings," Van Slyke said. "I think we're just more concerned about winning and getting that overall record, so if Tennessee makes a push it won't matter for us."
The Lookouts erupted for eight runs in the second inning of Wednesday night's 16-3 whipping, but the Barons put up five in the fourth inning Thursday to break a scoreless tie. Chattanooga pulled within 5-4 in the seventh on a two-run homer to left field by Brian Cavazos-Galvez, but Birmingham scored twice in the ninth to put the game away.
Michael Antonini (9-8, 3.83 ERA) is scheduled to start tonight's 7:15 game for the Lookouts, with Charles Leesman (8-5, 4.13) scheduled for the Barons.
David Paschall is a sports writer for the Times Free Press. He started at the Chattanooga Free Press in 1990 and was part of the Times Free Press when the paper started in 1999. David covers University of Georgia football, as well as SEC football recruiting, SEC basketball, Chattanooga Lookouts baseball and other sports stories. He is a Chattanooga native and graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received numerous honors for ...


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Posts by JDubya
3 posts • joined 7 Nov 2011
Your kids' chances of becoming programmers? ZERO
Re: Kids not programming? Here's why...
Could not agree more. I think AutoIT (which is foolishly named due to its growth as a genral scripting language) is criminally overlooked. It is exactly what you suggest. It is a tiny download, self contained, compilable, GUI rich, BASIC syntax scripting language.
And it just works. Msgbox(0,0,"Hello World!"). Right click > Compile. It is a modern version of BASIC in a tin, with just a tiny download and a single executable to get started on.
Will they write something utterly amazing with it? Probably not. Will they become interested just as we were with the power, and then -crucially- the limitations of BASIC? Yes. And that's when the lightbulb moment will happen.
Get a uber uber simple GUI BASIC scripting language into Windows Stat !
Doctor Who? 12th incarnation sought after Matt Smith quits
It will be...
Best Buy to shutter all UK megastores
A shame
Big outlets cant compete with the internet on price or choice, so need to on expertise. I went to Best Buy in Nottingham for the first time to look at some speakers. To my amazement they had a dedicated listening room, lots of equipment on show all wired up with switching boxes. The guy in store was incredibly knowledgeable, talking to me about the bright sound on some KEFs could be tamed by matching with something warm like a Marantz cd player. I dont mind paying a small premium for that expertise. Far better then the Dixon boys reading out the card underneath the item when asked about. "Yeah the Sony 500SE here is like a Special Edition or something " (including upward intonation straight from Ramsay Street).
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I apologize for the silence, and misdirection. I am currently safe and in the company of two intrepid journalist from Vice Magazine, and, of course, Sam. We are not in Belize, but not quite out of the woods yet. I will do a more detailed posting later today if all goes well. My "double", carrying on a North Korean passport under my name, was in fact detained in Mexico for pre-planned misbehavior, but due to indifference on the part of authorities was evicted from the jail and was unable to serve his intended purpose in our exit plan. He is now safely out of Mexico.
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text: HawaiiHawaii's Public RecordsHawaii's Public Records: What Can Hawaii Learn From Other States? October 11, 2013·By Nick Grube Join the Discussion A map of the United States of America. Lawsuits, legislative reform and even scandal have prompted states to cap fees on public access to records. About the Author Civil Beat Staff Nick Grube Nick Grube is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at email@example.com or follow him on Twitter at @nickgrube. Use the RSS feed to subscribe to Nick Grube's posts today Discussion How do you think Hawaii stacks up to other states when it comes to public records charges?


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Plimoth Plantation: An Interpreter's Tale
A year ago a group of Laotian refugees were taken on a cultural excursion to the Plantation. The filmstrip and static exhibits were of little interest, but the Laotians brightened when they entered the village. They examined the fat sheep and pigs, sniffed the herbs, and touched the wooden houses reverently. As they were leaving, one of them politely asked, "Can we move here and make this our home?"
Please Note: This article was accurate at the time of publication. When planning a trip, please confirm details by directly contacting any company or establishment you intend to visit.


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Telemark Polyp Study, a Trial on Colonoscopy Screening (TPS)
Recruitment status was Active, not recruiting
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- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Colonoscopy screening to reduce mortality and incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been implemented in many western countries. The estimated effect is based on case-control and observational studies. There are no randomized trials quantifying the effect of colonoscopy screening on CRC incidence and mortality.
The present study investigates the effect of a population-based once-only colonoscopy screening with polypectomy on the incidence of CRC in an average risk population.
In 1983, 900 individuals 55 to 64 years of age were randomly drawn from the population registry of Telemark county, Norway. 400 of these were invited to a flexible sigmoidoscopy screening examination, and 400 individuals were not offered any screening. In 1996, the remainder, both cohorts from 1983 were invited to a colonoscopy screening examination. A new age and sex matched control group, not being offered screening, was randomly drawn from the same registry. Both groups are to be followed with regard to CRC incidence, CRC mortality and all-cause mortality through national Norwegian registries.
Colorectal Cancer
Procedure: endoscopy
Phase 3
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Open Label
Primary Purpose: Prevention
|Official Title:
|Telemark Polyp Study, a Randomized Trial on Colonoscopy Screening
- Colorectal cancer incidence [ Time Frame: at least 10 years of follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- Colorectal cancer mortality [ Time Frame: at least 10 years of follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
- All cause mortality [ Time Frame: at least 10 years of follow-up ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|March 1983
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|December 2013
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|December 2008 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: Screening
Procedure: endoscopy
sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy screening
Other Name: polypectomy
|No Intervention: Control
Detailed Description:
This as a randomized study of once-only colonoscopy screening (n=685) vs/no screening(care as usual)(n=684). Men and women at 63-72 years of age are recruited from the population registry. The intervention group is invited for screening after a bowel cleansing regimen at home. Follow-up is restricted to trace events (colorectal cancer incidence and deaths) through national registries.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|55 Years to 64 Years
|Genders Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age 55 to 64 years old
- Both male and female
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01014039
|Cancer Registry of Norway
|Oslo, Norway
|Study Chair:
|Geir Hoff, MD
|Sykehuset Telemark
No publications provided
|Responsible Party:
|Geir Hoff, The Cancer Registry of Norway
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01014039 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|November 13, 2009
|Last Updated:
|November 13, 2009
|Health Authority:
|Norway: Ministry of Health and Care Services
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Colorectal Neoplasms
Colonic Diseases
Digestive System Diseases
Digestive System Neoplasms
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms
Intestinal Diseases
Intestinal Neoplasms
Neoplasms by Site
Rectal Diseases
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on November 27, 2014