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July 1st, 2013, 11:20 PM
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Appendix C, Part IV: The Trial of the Century
A long time ago, in a courthouse
far, far away (from the Eastern Seaboard)
The United States Court House at 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, which houses the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division. The
"Trial of the Century" was argued and decided here in early 1980.
Thursday, April 6, 1978. A day that would live in infamy, a red-letter date in the history of Hollywood. For it was the day that George and Marcia Lucas, on behalf of Lucasfilm Limited, filed suit against Paramount Pictures Corporation, controlled by Gulf+Western Industries, owned and operated by Charles Bluhdorn. The battle lines were drawn through Tinseltown swiftly, and brutally. Just days after their unqualified triumph at the Academy Awards, in which both halves of the creator couple went home with Oscars, the Lucases found themselves blackballed by an entire industry, at least for the most part. Marcia, who had worked as an editor for Desilu Post-Production since it commenced operations in 1971, remained with that outfit, as it was not owned by any
studio, but the
-oriented Desilu Productions, which (though it, too, engaged in the creative accounting practices which drove the industry's profit margins) stood to lose
less from the precedent set by a successful lawsuit, especially given their plentiful
revenue streams, from syndication and merchandising, along with their deals with RCA and Syzygy. Far more importantly, Lucille Ball
Marcia Lucas, and always had; she no doubt saw something of herself in this younger woman's character, and something of her ex-husband (and former creative partner) Desi Arnaz, still the great love of her life (and a close friend) despite their acrimonious and very public divorce, in Marcia's husband George. But Desilu itself, though that studio had a great deal more clout and prestige than the Lucases did, would not be allowed to keep Marcia in its employ without consequences. Her Editing Unit B, which had focused largely on movies since
American Graffiti
, was "demoted" back to television – however, as none of the shows which were produced by the television divisions of the major studios would allow Marcia to work on them, Unit B became the
de facto
in-house unit, working on
Rock Around the Clock, Three's Company, The Muppet Show, Eunice,
Deep Space
, among others. Though this reduced the burden on Unit A – the
television unit, headed by the multiple Emmy-Award-winning Donald R. Rode – it necessitated the creation of a Unit C to allow Desilu Post-Production to continue to work on motion pictures without tying Marcia Lucas to them. Ball herself took this with stride; Desilu Post-Production (like most
division of the studio) was thriving; why
expand further? Granted, one of their three units now functioned well below capacity, but Brandon Tartikoff, the studio's VP Production, was a man positively brimming with ideas, many of them good ones. No doubt he could get more shows off the ground for Marcia and her team to work on in the coming seasons.
George Lucas, for his part, decided to throw all of his energies into winning the lawsuit against Paramount. He had a great deal more pride than Marcia; theoretically, he could still get work on independent films and television commercials, but he felt them beneath his stature. Even prior to filing the lawsuit, still in the afterglow from the massive success of
The Journey of the Force
(not that
was personally seeing any of the dividends therefrom, of course), he had spent every spare moment searching for even a remotely credible litigator who had both the guts
the talent to take on one of the largest conglomerates in the world, and quite possibly emerge victorious. The ambulance-chasers had lined up to take on Paramount, no doubt hoping that the resultant publicity would bring them plenty of business, but George had received a valuable piece of advice from Marcia: "Never listen to anyone if all they do is just agree with you", and it had guided his decision-making process. This had resulted in a great many rejections on his part. Another problem that George was facing was that most
lawyers demanded an massive upfront retainer
an exorbitant hourly wage ($50
per hour
was not uncommon), and nearly everyone he had wanted to represent him had held firm on those two points. [1] Eventually, he finally resorted to the Yellow Pages in hopes of finding the right man for the job. He was more than halfway through the alphabet when he stumbled on the first prominent listing under
: "Taylor & Associates, specialists in contract law, contingent and alternative fees considered". He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who was listed as the managing partner:
Andy Taylor
. The same name as the Sheriff of Mayberry from
The Andy Griffith Show
. He wasn't sure if this was some kind of a sign, but figuring he had nothing to lose, he decided to call on Mr. Taylor, Esq.
Andy Taylor was, in fact, a "simple country lawyer", from rural Maryland (which also qualified him – like his television namesake, who hailed from the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina – as being from the South). [2] But he was also a smart cookie: he had moved to Los Angeles to attend the USC Law School on a scholarship, and had in fact been a roommate of his fellow law student – and future Congressman – Marlin DeAngelo, with whom he remained close friends. Taylor was intrigued about the possibilities of taking on Paramount, but he was not sanguine about the chances of this lawsuit being successful. "You have a case, Mr. Lucas, there's no doubt about that," he remarked, upon studying the original contract with Paramount. "But the odds of you beating the army of attorneys Mr. Bluhdorn will unleash on you if you bring this to court are… well, I don't even think there's a word for how small they are. Even 'negligible' or 'infinitesimal' are probably highballing it, really." Actually, he was
it, but that was the custom in the legal profession. He knew that he very well
win the case, though it would certainly be a
steep uphill climb.
George sighed, this not having been the first time that someone had attempted to dissuade him from proceeding. "Look, Andy, I
what they'll be throwing at me. I've built my entire career on beating the odds. They told me
would never work. Then they told me
Journey of the Force
would never work either. Called it 'Lucas's Folly', even. Laughed at me before it even came out. Never gave it a chance. And now every halfway-decent lawyer in the entire Southland is telling me there's
possible way I can beat Charlie Bluhdorn because he's got more money –
money! – and his lawyers are better than anyone I could possibly afford. Please, just do me this one favour –
never tell me the odds
, all right? I've heard it all before. You said you think there's a case here. Are you willing to represent Lucasfilm? That's all I want to know." It was a vanishingly rare moment for George Lucas – a moment of lost composure, of the impeccably professional, workaholic veneer cracking, and his baser instincts finally emerging after laying dormant for so long. Perhaps only his wife had ever seen his emotions laid bare like this, though no doubt even she would be positively shocked at this display, had she been present.
And to his credit, Taylor was impressed. "Well, Mr. Lucas," he said,
"I run a pretty small firm here, I make a fairly modest living – for a big-city lawyer, anyway – and I try to help the little guy. But I guess the little guy can come in all shapes and sizes, just as long as the other guy is bigger. And they surely don't come much bigger than Gulf+Western."
"Does that mean you'll do it?"
"We've got enough of a case that they won't impose Rule 11 sanctions on me if I try and bring it before a judge," Taylor replied. [3] "And you may have come to the right place after all, because I think I have an ace up my sleeve. I happen to know a forensic accountant who really has a chip on his shoulder about how the Hollywood studios report their profits and losses. As a matter of fact, he'll talk your ear off about it if you give him half the chance. He could be our star witness."
George wasn't sure what to make of the notion of an
being his star witness, but he knew beggars couldn't be choosers. "Well, Andy, I look forward to working with you," he said, after having gathered his thoughts. "I can't make it official until I confer with my wife and business partner, Marcia, but I have a feeling she'll like you when she comes back to meet you herself. I hope she does, anyway – she's the best judge of character I know."
Taylor smiled indulgently. "I look forward to meeting Mrs. Lucas," he said, "and the three of us drawing up a contract of our own. One which
end in heartaches."
As far as George was concerned, none of them had anything to lose.
As it turned out, Marcia
like Andy Taylor, confiding to George that she found him to be "a real straight-shooter". And with that, plans to bring the lawsuit forward in federal court commenced in earnest. On Thursday, April 6, 1978, a complaint was filed with the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, as Case No. 1:78-CV-00328-WJF, or more formally
Lucasfilm Limited v. Paramount Pictures Corporation
Lucasfilm v. Paramount
for short, and the media universally referred to the case by this name), and served on Paramount that very same day; this allowed the story to lead the entertainment news and trade papers the following day. The Hon. Warren J. Ferguson would preside over the proceedings; in an odd coincidence, Ferguson shared his name with a (minor) character on
The Andy Griffith Show
, just as the chief counsel for the plaintiff did. [4] The complaint alleged breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy on the part of Paramount; upon the deadline 30 days later, on the 6th of May, Paramount filed an answer to the complaint denying any and all allegations contained therein,
taking the opportunity to file a counterclaim of their own against Lucasfilm, for breach of contract. The stakes, once again, had clearly had raised. By this time, the media outlets had fallen into camps, depending (unsurprisingly) largely on their respective relationships with both companies, and on their economic ideologies. The
Wall Street Journal
vociferously supported Paramount, as did the
Chicago Tribune
and (unsurprisingly) the
Los Angeles Times
. (No major newspaper on the West Coast dared oppose Paramount – and therefore Hollywood – for fear of being blackballed). The
New York Times
and The
Washington Post
claimed neutrality; only populist tabloids (such as the
New York Post
) were unabashedly pro-Lucasfilm, which fit the David-and-Goliath tenor of the case. All of the Hollywood trade papers lambasted George and Marcia Lucas so viciously that Taylor threatened libel suits more than once; fortunately for them, he and his firm had their hands full with their present workload. Paramount's chosen law firm: Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher, one of the largest and most prestigious (and exorbitantly-priced) in the Southland, did not have this problem. [5] This massive disparity of manpower would provide the defense with a very powerful advantage throughout the duration of the judicial process; economies of scale applied to the judicial process.
Lucasfilm gave their answer on the counterclaim after another month had passed; just like Paramount, they had waited until the day of the deadline. There would be no backing down; the suit would be moving forward. It was on the twenty-sixth of June, a Monday, that a scheduling order was entered which set a nine-month period for "discovery" (in other words, evidence collection, through fact-finding and expert testimony) effective starting on the 2nd of July, 1978 (also a Monday). Though Judge Ferguson had a judicial record indicating that he might have been more sympathetic to the plaintiff, the relatively narrow window was in this case seen as highly preferential to the defendant; on the whole, though, the Judge seemed to be taking great pains to appear as neutral and unbiased as possible. "Discovery", in legal terms, referred to three key components for the purposes of this case: interrogatories, or written questions which the other side is theoretically obligated to answer; requests for admission (leading questions typically associated in the popular imagination with the back-and-forth verbal jousting of trial theatrics); and document requests, which were self-explanatory. The last of these three would prove far and away the most time-consuming aspect of the prep work leading up to the trial for Taylor & Associates. On July 13th, Paramount issued their interrogatories, requests for admission, and document requests – Lucasfilm made their reciprocal request on the 16th, after that weekend.
It was in August of 1978, several months after the suit had been filed, that the wheels were firmly in motion. It marked the beginning of a long and contentious legal tug-of-war between both sides. What Taylor and his team wanted were "hot documents" from Paramount, which would prove their complicity in the willing fraud of Lucasfilm (resulting in the breach of contract), perhaps as part of a civil conspiracy. Paramount, naturally, was extremely reluctant to share any of their highly personal documents, being part of a highly competitive industry. But by the end of the month, Taylor was finally able to file a Motion to Compel, which would force Paramount to provide all the information that Lucasfilm needed to make their case. Two weeks later, the studio answered it, and the document flow finally began in earnest. But on Monday, September 25, 1978, at 4:30 PM, what employees at Taylor & Associates would forever after remember as "the deluge" arrived; a rental truck arrived at the firm's office, offloading hundreds of bankers' boxes, full to bursting with papers, file folders, and stuffed envelopes, among other things. All told, over a million pages were left behind when the truck pulled out of the Taylor & Associates parking lot. Every inch of space within their office was crammed full of boxes; Andy Taylor was forced to hire additional staff, needing the manpower to power through as many documents as possible before the end of the week. [6] Needless to say, this was
a reciprocal exchange; even if Lucasfilm
have as many documents for the other side to examine (and they didn't – not even
), the attorneys for Paramount (and their staff) would have been able to sort through it
more quickly.
That Friday, a scant four days later (though effectively just three, in fact), Taylor was forced to report to Judge Ferguson (and the defense) in a hearing to confirm whether or not the documents produced from the Motion to Compel had any relation to those items he had requested. Obviously, his staff had barely begun to scratch the surface of the massive mound of paperwork – which, in keeping with the "deluge" reference, was often derisively called "the Tower of Babel", also because virtually every document was useless (though technically provided under the terms of the Motion to Compel, most were obviously irrelevant to the case at hand, and were chosen for that reason) – what with re-arranging their office to find space for the excess material, and bringing on new workers to decipher what they had. Only a few thousand documents had been gleaned for information, and none were even
to sufficiently "hot" enough for Taylor to properly assess whether Paramount had properly complied with the motion. Sheepishly, he admitted this to Judge Ferguson. "Your honour, I regret that we're still reviewing the documents Paramount were good enough to send to us," he said, right after the chief counsel for the defense had gloatingly informed the judge that Paramount did indeed send over one million distinct pieces of information to Lucasfilm's counsel. "I honestly have no idea whether or not they complied with the Motion filed." George Lucas, who was in attendance at the hearing, grimaced at this, as did Taylor himself.
Judge Ferguson, meanwhile, was remarkably stone-faced and impassive. "Then I have no choice but to find for the defendant. Lucasfilm will compel no further information from Paramount for the duration of this case. Be satisfied with what you have now, Mr. Taylor, there will be no more forthcoming." And for all Taylor knew, Paramount had given them one million pages worth of nothing. Even
killer testimony from his star witness, there were still ample grounds for a summary judgment against the plaintiff.
And as the weeks wore on, it indeed looked very much like Paramount had sent them a whole bunch of nothing. As Taylor was reading through weekly reports of the ticket sales of
Journey of the Force
at each one of the couple-odd-thousand screens on which it played over the course of its theatrical release, he ruefully remarked, "Well, what do you know, it looks like that movie really
play in Peoria." That was about the best news he had to report to the Lucases by Columbus Day. George and Marcia weren't thrilled, naturally (they had already heard about how much their film had appealed to Middle America), and for the first time, George had serious doubts about whether the lawsuit stood even the faintest hope of succeeding. Had Taylor hoodwinked him? Was that "simple country lawyer" act, in fact, not an act at all? Was he in
over his head? Taylor often wondered that himself; for the first time, he was a complete no-show for the entire campaign run of his old friend Rep. DeAngelo, though he still managed to win handily without him. ("I think you would probably need my help way more than I need yours anyway," the Congressman had said – and he was right.)
But October and November marked the
period – in which each side would interview the key witnesses of the other (excluding outside experts). This was done outside of the courtroom, and away from the presence of Judge Ferguson. Despite aggressive questioning being done by sides (as they were going on what was commonly known as a "fishing expedition", searching for weaknesses), little could be gleaned from any of the witnesses that could be perceived as devastating to the case of either side, until Alan J. Ladd, Jr. gave his sworn deposition. He was the Paramount executive who had green-lit
The Journey of the Force
in the first place, having brought Lucas to Paramount in exchange for the promise to make his film, and (accordingly) had been made privy to every aspect of production, including all matters financial. Under intense questioning, Ladd revealed that he had engaged in meetings with other Paramount executives during which the question of whether Lucas was aware that what he perceived as "profits" and what
recognized as profits were
, in fact, one and the same had been raised. Taylor seized on this. "And did you turn these minutes over when Paramount was handed the Motion to Compel?" he asked, trying his best to couch his desperation in a practiced, conversational drawl.
"Nobody ever asked me for them," Ladd replied, bemused.
And with that, Lucasfilm was back in the game again. As a result of Ladd's sworn deposition, Taylor was now entitled to file additional interrogatories and document requests, this time with specific regard to the minutes referred to by the witness for the defense. Paramount, who were for the first time
on the defensive, stalled and eventually produced the relevant documents, though heavily redacted; at the same time, they floated the offer of a settlement, which would entail a moderate-sized lump sum followed by a very large number of smaller instalment payments. Taylor was insulted on behalf of the Lucases, but reluctantly brought the offer to their attention. Marcia, wishing to return to editing for the movies again ("I liked working on
Rock Around the Clock
much better when it was called
American Graffiti
," as she said to her husband), considered proposing a counter-offer, but she knew that George would hear none of it. She was right.
"Let it ride," was all he said on the matter. And so they did.
Taylor and Paramount's attorneys met once again on December 11, this time with Paramount reluctantly produced the minutes in a meaningful (and fully incriminating) format, thus effectively acknowledging that they had screwed Lucas out of his rightful earnings by any meaningful (and ethical) sense of the word. As far as the Lucases were concerned, it made for a delightful early Christmas present. However, Paramount formed part of an industry where profit
an entirely different meaning, one which was standard and universally accepted, and they would argue that when they went to trial… after the Lucases rejected their second offer to settle. Unfortunately for Paramount, the notoriously stingy Bluhdorn didn't even raise the potential payout high enough to match Marcia's originally planned counter-offer; she became convinced that they'd never get what they deserved unless they took the case to trial. Fact discovery closed with the end of the year; as of New Year's Day, 1979, Taylor could make no further requests of Paramount for any additional documents. He had weakened their case, to be sure; but by no means had he hobbled it. Things could have been
For example, the "ace in the hole" on the part of Lucasfilm, the star expert witness, was obliged to submit to questioning by the defense in a deposition, which took place on February 15, 1979. This deprived the plaintiff from having the element of surprise at his disposal, but fortunately the witness acquitted himself admirably, proving himself unwilling to be shaken, rattled,
rolled by the high-priced army of lawyers at Paramount's disposal. Paramount itself could produce no expert witnesses who possessed the same level of righteous indignation, which was a definite preemptive win for Lucasfilm.
Indeed, Taylor was surprised that Paramount did not make yet
attempt to settle.
Nevertheless, after the close of expert discovery (and therefore of the entire discovery process) at the end of March, Paramount filed a motion for summary judgment at the beginning of May, hoping to skip the ordeal of bringing the case to trial, and believing Lucasfilm's case (though stronger than originally perceived) to be weak enough to not withstand the judge's scrutiny. All through the summer, the two sides exchanged procedural volleys until Judge Ferguson, walking the fine line he had done for the duration of the pre-trial, granted Paramount's summary judgment motion in part (dismissing the Lucasfilm claim of civil conspiracy - one reason that Bluhdorn's studio was thrilled to have dodged the bullet of surrendering further documents in discovery), but also denied it in part, allowing the Lucases to proceed to trial on the breach of contract, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation claims. He made this decision on October 12, 1979; the trial was scheduled to begin three months later.
Finally, after nearly two years of legal maneuvering and wrangling, and sorting through mountains of documents, and dozens of depositions, the beginning of the trial proper was scheduled for Monday, January 14, 1980. Taylor, aware that the David-and-Goliath factor of the case would attract popular support, insisted that the civil case be brought before a jury of their peers, as opposed to a "bench" trial in which the verdict would be rendered by Judge Ferguson. Therefore, despite his inestimable influence, Ferguson would not be
responsible for the outcome of the case. That the case would be decided by a jury had been known from very early on; however, Ferguson's presence, and the impact of his judicial decisions, had been so closely scrutinized by the media that much of the public had been under the impression that he would also render the verdict.
Taylor had an obvious advantage over his more polished competition: he possessed a natural, seemingly effortless charisma and the ability to lead his opponents to underestimate his abilities. His rural, Southern heritage was disarming, and proved invaluable for the "little guy takes on the big bad machine" bent of his case, simply but powerfully urging the jury in his opening argument to ensure that
be done, irrespective of the massive financial advantage enjoyed by Paramount, Gulf+Western, and indeed Charlie Bluhdorn himself, over the downtrodden creator couple of George and Marcia Lucas and their tiny company, who had earned (through dint of hard work) the recognition of their peers and the adoration of filmgoing audiences, and whose well-deserved financial compensation had been cruelly deprived from them by the ruthlessness of an already too-powerful film studio, which had learned nothing from the lessons that the changes in the industry ever since the Miracle Decision and the Antitrust case of thirty years prior (in which, fittingly enough, Paramount itself had also been the defendant). This appeal to justice and fair play, though rigorously based on the spirit of government statute and precedent set by carefully-chosen examples of case law, was definitely more emotional in its orientation than the counter-argument provided by the chief counsel for the defense, who (naturally) stuck with a very "letter of the law" interpretation, emphasizing that the contract was reflective of "clearly established and universally recognized" precedent, all but stating outright that George Lucas was an idiot if he could not understand this. The jury was obliged, so the defense argued, to punish George and Marcia Lucas and their attorney for their patently absurd lawsuit (by finding them liable for damages in the Paramount counter-suit). The wildly divergent strategies employed by both sides emphasized their differing stations: an observer of the proceedings would later describe their opening arguments as "something out of
The Devil and Daniel Webster
Taylor built his case based his key piece of evidence, and the testimony of his expert. The evidence, those "hot documents" that he was finally able to locate after slogging through boxes and boxes of irrelevant scraps of paper thanks to the revelation from the deposition of Paramount executive Alan Ladd, Jr., were the minutes of a meeting between the officers at the studio reviewing new contracts made for their latest batch of upcoming productions, conducted in late 1976 (shortly after the Lucasfilm-Paramount deal had been signed). Multiple executives confirmed during this meeting that Lucas had been under the impression that "profits" represented revenues provided by ticket sales, less expenses incurred through production costs for
Journey of the Force
(the standard definition); whereas Paramount operated according to what was known as "Hollywood accounting" (also known as "creative accounting"), which calculated profit rather differently. These minutes were confirmed by inter-office memos, though they did not spell out this revelation quite as clearly or as brazenly as the minutes had done. Though the minutes might have seemed devastating to Paramount's case, the studio planned to argue that
even if
Lucas were unaware, that was
fault, not theirs; their entire industry operated according to the "rules" of Hollywood accounting, and it was an accepted maxim of accounting principles than an industry could operate under standards that were different from what was generally accepted, so long as these were universally practiced. It was, in its way, a bold strategy, and one favoured by children the world over in dealing with their parents: "But
everybody else
does it!" That was where the star witness came in; he was the man who would ask the obvious rejoinder: "And if all the
movie studios jumped off a bridge, would you do
too?" Fortunately for Taylor, and for the Lucases, he was more eloquent and passionate than his willingness to respond to Paramount's argument might suggest. His name was C.A. Baxter, and he was a forensic accountant.
An old acquaintance of Taylor's, Baxter originally hailed from Buffalo, but moved to the West Coast to attend the USC School of Business, where he graduated
magna cum laude
, receiving his CPA before accepting a position at Price Waterhouse as a staff auditor. [7] There he had his only direct experience working in the entertainment industry when he joined the team that was responsible for auditing the results for the Academy Awards [8], doing so for a number of years as he put himself through graduate school, receiving an MBA and shortly thereafter departing the firm (though remaining on good terms with his former employers) to start his own private consulting and forensic accounting business. In the years since, he had become known as an opponent of the Hollywood accounting system, irate at how studios were exempt from the rising income taxes that all the
corporations and individuals were at least
as being obliged to pay. He had written a book on the subject,
Hollywood Can't Make Money
, which had been published in 1976; it was roundly dismissed by insiders as a tawdry expos
and fell out of print. Fuelled by the publicity of the Trial of the Century and his high-profile role therein, his book would be re-published (with added material referring to
Lucasfilm v. Paramount
and his role therein) before the end of 1980, reaching the
New York Times
bestseller list.
During the round of depositions, Baxter had made his meaning plain, unwavering in the face of intimidation by Paramount's attorneys. Much of his testimony was drawn from
Hollywood Can't Make Money
, a tactic which he would repeat in the trial proper. Despite this, it was difficult for the defense to challenge his assumptions or get him to yield. "Who knew Mr. Smith could be an accountant?", a Paramount executive idly wondered after the deposition had concluded
. [9]
Taylor, after Baxter had been sworn in to testify, asked his expert witness to introduce himself to the court at the beginning of his testimony, and then proceeded to launch into the first of his many definitional questions.
"Mr. Baxter, could you please explain
to the court?" Taylor asked.
"Revenue represents the gain of assets from the sales of goods or services," Baxter said.
"Could you give the court an example of a good or service within the context of the motion picture industry?"
"Well, movie tickets sold would be classified as a good, although alternatively you could describe the opportunity to see the movie itself as a service provided by the venue."
"And what are
"They represent the loss of assets or the gain of debts incurred while in the process of manufacturing, purchasing, storing, displaying, or selling the goods and services that generate revenue." [10]
"And could you please give the court of an example of an expense?"
"Well, usually when a film is in theatres you see commercials for it on television, or hear them on the radio. Those would be advertising expenses, because their goal is to sell more tickets to see that movie."
"So how are revenues and expenses linked, exactly?"
"Well, the relationship between them is fundamental to the accounting discipline," Baxter said. "Expenses incurred have to be matched to the revenues generated within the same accounting period, usually one year, for tax purposes. That is what enables direct links and comparisons between them, the simplest of which is that revenues minus expenses are equal to profit."
"And what is
, Mr. Baxter?"
"Profit is any surplus revenue derived from all costs related to the selling of goods and services. It is the net benefit of doing business. Virtually all businesses define their success or failure in relation to their profitability, and have done so throughout the history of commerce."
"Are these your own definitions, Mr. Baxter?"
"No, although I do agree with them."
"Do you have a recognized source for them?"
"I do. They are derived from the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, a not-for-profit organization responsible for defining these terms in the public interest."
"Let the record show that the witness is referring to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, a copy of which has already been entered into evidence. Mr. Baxter, under whose authority does the FASB operate?"
"The Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency of the United States federal government."
"In your estimation, as a trained and certified member of your profession, would you say that means GAAP reflects the laws and policies of the United States government?"
"I would, yes."
"Would you consider it
for a company to not pursue profit, Mr. Baxter?"
"By definition, all corporations seek profit; any that do not are explicitly called not-for-profit corporations, and are required to apply for tax-exempt status with the United States government. Profit is so fundamental to the operations of an economic entity that it is effectively doomed without it. In my years of experience, including during my time working at one of the largest public accounting firms in the world, I have never known any company, in any industry other than motion pictures, which has been unprofitable, even in the short-term – or even
profitable than in previous periods – to not radical overhaul their business plan, or overturn their board of directors and replace most, if not all, of their officers. And
of them have faced a catastrophic decline in stock prices as a result."
"Could you explain to the court how the motion picture industry operates, based on your expertise, and on the research conducted for your book,
Hollywood Can't Make Money
, which has been entered into evidence?"
"Yes, I most certainly can. For the last several decades of the motion picture industry's existence, no film produced by
studio has
shown a profit, in
year. Despite continuing to operate for decades, despite having been purchased by industrial conglomerates like Gulf+Western, which has dramatically improved their fiscal health, and despite continuing to pay out dividends – which are shares of these supposedly non-existent profits, mind you – to their owners, we would be led to believe by these studios that the Hollywood motion picture industry, as a business, has been a complete and total failure. For example, despite generating over one-half billion dollars in ticket sales since its initial release,
Journey of the Force
has apparently resulted in a substantial net
for Paramount Pictures. In any other industry, such woeful mismanagement would result in immediate termination of everyone involved in that project – yet despite this so-called "New Hollywood" era, we see the same producers, executives, and officers working in each and every studio. However you choose to interpret the facts on the ground, the motion picture industry in the United States of America is fundamentally corrupt."
"Objection!" came the inevitable cry from opposing counsel. [11]
"Sustained. The jury will disregard the last sentence uttered by the witness," Judge Ferguson said. But, needless to say, juries were notoriously awful at pretending to have never heard that which they were supposed to disregard.
"Mr. Baxter, please inform the court, based on your research and understanding of accounting principles, how would it be possible for corporations in the motion picture industry to continue doing business without making a profit on any of the films they make, even the ones with record-breaking grosses?" Taylor continued, doing his best not to smirk.
"They overstate their expenses."
"And how they go about doing that?"
"In any number of ways – whatever it takes to make them exceed revenues. Generally accepted accounting principles are based on an accruals system, and most of these accruals allow for the use of estimates. So any expenses that cannot be directly traced are overestimated – and then not corrected or adjusted when the actual figures come in. If that isn't enough, then the costs of services rendered by company subsidiaries or affiliates are over-inflated – this is the advantage of increasing conglomeration in the entertainment industry; most goods and services are provided "in-house". And if even
isn't enough, then the unallocated costs incurred from
film projects are treated as expenses for the ones that generate more revenue. Ironically, this means that losses on movies that
genuinely unprofitable are therefore shown as much smaller than they really are, because they've been moved elsewhere. But in all cases, a studio
find the expenses they need to exceed revenues."
"And what are the negative consequences of this?"
"Well, for one thing, companies don't pay income tax on losses, only on profits. And the revenues generated by the film industry speak for themselves."
"Let the record show that a report of industry-wide box-office grosses for the last decade has already been entered into evidence. Please continue, Mr. Baxter."
"If a company is misleading about which of its goods or services is unprofitable, that will impact the decisions made by shareholders. It will also mislead creditors, who might be inclined to make decisions to loan money based on faulty risk assessment profiles. And it prevents potential investors from getting a clear picture of a company's finances. The proper flow of economic resources is entirely dependent on transparency, and I can't think of a single word less apt to describe the accounting practices that are prevalent throughout the motion picture industry."
With that came another objection from the defense, though more perfunctory and less indignant than the one before. "Sustained," Judge Ferguson repeated, this time eying Baxter. "Don't make me do that again, Mr. Taylor. The jury will disregard the last sentence uttered by Mr. Baxter."
"My apologies, Your Honour, but I have no further questions for Mr. Baxter." Judge Ferguson raised his brow, but nodded, and with that, Taylor returned to his seat. He studiously avoided the gaze of the chief counsel for the defense; Baxter, however, glared at them, knowing that they would not be able to rattle him. Indeed, as their entire case depended on acknowledging what he said was true but then pointing out that it didn't matter, their round of questioning largely consisted of highlighting his relative lack of experience with the entertainment industry, as if it was deserving of special treatment beyond outsider comprehension; a tactic with
potential for backfire.
The rest of the trial proceeded largely without incident; the verdict arrived on Friday, February 29, 1980, Leap Day, after three days of deliberation (both sides having delivered their closing statements and arguments having concluded on Tuesday, the 26th). In the end, by a margin of nine-to-three, the absolute minimum majority (75%) needed for a verdict to be reached in civil court in the state of California, the jury found the defendant, Paramount Pictures, liable for breach of contract, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation (in other words, all counts) and were ordered to pay massive – and unprecedented – damages to Lucasfilm Limited.
The damages which the jury decided were owed to Lucasfilm were based on that studio's share of the profits generated by the film in the United States, retroactive to the original breach (in 1976), and then with the interest compounded monthly to the end of the most recent period (January 31, 1980). Under the terms of the original contract, Lucasfilm was entitled to one-half of the net profits, estimated at nearly $150 million
interest. The punitive damages levied upon Paramount (for their blatant fraud) multiplied that total by approximately a factor of six, though there was some rounding involved, as there was no doubt that the jury liked the sound of the final figure at which they arrived: one
dollars. Needless to say, that particular figure led the headlines around the world the next day. [12] The
New York Post
famously described the result as "LITTLE LUCASFILM WINS BIG BUCKS", other papers (and tabloids) were even more crass in their use of titles, including a multitude of "force"-related puns. (The
National Enquirer
set the standard with "JURY USES 'FORCE' ON PARAMOUNT"). For the first time since Bluhdorn had purchased Paramount in 1966, the other investors (not to mention the creditors) were irate. It didn't help that, ever since the trial had started, many protesters had gathered at the gates to the main Paramount studio on Melrose Avenue, armed with a battery of raw vegetables and plenty of signs, picketing the "corporate greed" and "criminal racket" that they believed endemic to the industry. Marcia Lucas herself, who worked next-door at Desilu, did her best to dissuade these protests, urging the assembled malcontents to trust in the judicial system (or at least, to contain themselves, as far away from Gower Avenue as possible). The crowd rapidly disbanded upon learning that Paramount would be paying through the nose for their… error in judgement.
The $1 billion which Paramount was due to pay Lucasfilm was a greater sum than the annual GDP of several dozen third-world countries. Stateside, by contrast, it took the US government a grand total of
one day
to spend that much money in their budget for FY 1979 – but the movie studios, Paramount included, were lucky to pull in that much revenue in a whole
. Their cash-on-hand was dreadfully low – every major studio had their most of their money tied up in either fixed assets, such as studio space (located on prime land in Hollywood and other central neighbourhoods), soundstages, and filming equipment; or intangibles, such as the copyrights for their film archives, and patents for new filming technologies. Although most of the Billion-Dollar Verdict would not be paid out by Paramount pending appeal (which the studio filed almost immediately, with the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), Paramount
still required to post a bond for the damages awarded, which would be theirs for a value of ten cents on the dollar, or $100 million – the largest bond ever posted in the history of the United States. Where Paramount would be able to find the money to post such a bond was one of the burning questions to emerge at this point in the saga, which would no doubt continue down the long road of appeals, heading for the Supreme Court or Bust. More pressing for Paramount, and indeed, for every studio in Hollywood, was that all the details of the case were now a matter of public record – and in an election year, the gory details of Hollywood accounting being laid bare to the voting public had dangerous, and previously unforeseen, consequences…
[1] $50 per hour in 1978 dollars translates to roughly $185 per hour in 2013 dollars – this would break the bank for the Lucases, who had sunk all of the money they had made from
Journey of the Force
(along with the costs of raising their daughter, Amber). The upfront retainer would have cost about $5,000 ($18,500 today).
[2] Maryland, a border state, has in recent decades been increasingly regarded as a
de facto
part of the Northeast, due to the rapid growth of the Baltimore (and Washington, D.C.) suburbs. This was certainly far less true during the era that Mr. Taylor would have been born and raised. Even today, many Marylanders identify with Southern culture.
[3] Rule 11 refers to the obligation of lawyers to bring cases based in the law or in a "good faith extension" thereof; this theoretically serves to mitigate the threat of frivolous lawsuits, though obviously it has not eliminated them entirely.
[4] Judge Ferguson achieved considerable prominence as a jurist IOTL, having ruled on
Haywood v. NBA
, and later
Sony v. Universal
. In 1979, he was elevated to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth District by President Carter; obviously, ITTL, that does not happen.
[5] Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher were (and remain, under the abbreviated name Gibson Dunn) one of the largest and most successful law firms in the world; their OTL existence stands in contrast to the fictional Taylor & Associates. Their representation here as chief counsel for the defense is not meant to imply anything about the ethics or character of the organization (though I would be tickled if anyone connected with the firm ever did read this).
[6] Roughly one million documents would fit into approximately 350 bankers' boxes, each of which is fifteen inches long, twelve inches wide, and ten inches high. The combined volume of all these boxes is 29 square feet, assuming a nine-foot-high ceiling. They would find room for all of them at the offices of Taylor & Associates, but it would be a
cozy fit – especially given all the excess bodies they have to cram into those confined quarters to help
it all.
[7] Price Waterhouse – which, IOTL, merged with another company, Coopers & Lybrand, in 1998, and is now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers – was, and remains, one of the largest public accounting firms in the world. It has audited the results of voting for the Academy Awards since 1934 (not coincidentally, at the ceremony immediately following the "tie" between Wallace Beery and Fredric March which was not actually a tie at all). And yes, this is the sole reason why Mr. Baxter worked at that firm; their presence in this timeline does not in any way reflect upon their relationship with the entertainment industry, nor with my (or their) stance on Hollywood accounting practices.
[8] Yes, this means that Baxter was made privy to the Oscar results prior to the opening of the envelopes at each ceremony. The final tallies in each category being proprietary information, he sadly could not divulge just
narrowly some of the victors had taken home their respective trophies.
[9] This is a reference to
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
, which starred Jimmy Stewart, and
was released in 1939 (the
annus mirabilis
of Hollywood)
[10] Some additional definitions:
represent resources (tangible or otherwise) owned or claimed by the
economic entity
(company). These are almost always used to generate revenue, and the costs of utilizing or consuming these assets are one of the two main ways to define expenses.
) represent the claim upon assets by
; increasing these debts (through direct borrowing or interest) is the other main way to define expenses. All assets less all liabilities are equal to the
or claim upon assets by
into the company (this formula is called the
accounting equation
), and any profits are either retained as equity, or paid out (in dividends) to investors.
[11] This objection is due to the fact that "an expert witness may not opine as to the ultimate conclusion to the case"; Baxter crossed the line
blatantly that the chief counsel for the defense does not even have to provide grounds for his objection. But as that truism that litigators know so well goes:
you can't unring the bell
[12] This amount is being reckoned on the
short scale
; that is, the number one followed by nine zeroes (ten to the ninth power). Today, it would be
billion dollars.
And thus concludes the Trial of the Century! Many of you may be wondering why this instalment of Appendix C is labelled "Part IV". Well, as everyone knows, the fourth part of a saga always comes first!
No, actually I'm employing another classic George Lucas tactic: the retronym (which has also been brandished upon a certain
television series IOTL, but emphatically
ITTL). You can consider
"Another Night at the Movies"
to have been Appendix C, Part I;
"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia"
to have been Appendix C, Part II; and
"Brand New Hollywood, Same Old Industry"
to have been Appendix C, Part III. Appendix C will have six parts in all; two more will be forthcoming.
I hope you all enjoyed this update! It would not have been possible (nor anywhere
as good) without editing assistance (and encouragement) from
e of pi
, nor without the
advice of my legal consultant,
Andrew T
, with whom I collaborated closely in an effort to accurately reflect the proceedings of a civil trial. Any remaining errors or misconceptions to be found in this update, however, are solely the fault of my own, and I apologize profusely for their presence.
And Happy Canada Day (still Dominion Day, ITTL), everyone! I realize that coverage of the Trial of the Century, which takes place in American federal court, may not
patriotic, but I can assure you that Canadian media outlets covered the trial with just as much zeal as the Americans did. That's how the maple sugar cookie crumbles!
Thus concludes the 1979-80 cycle, and (for all intents and purposes) the 1970s! Everybody get ready for the
totally tubular
decade which lies ahead
The Turtledove Award-Winning
That Wacky Redhead
: Big Dreams Have Big Consequences!
Find out more on the
Alternate History Wiki
TV Tropes
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Original Link: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2329
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe: X38 and DDR3 arrives... almostby Gary Key on September 18, 2007 4:00 AM EST
- Posted in
- Motherboards
The launch of the Intel X38 chipset is just a few days away (after several delays, 9/19 update - Launch is moved to October 11th) and we have a feeling the product managers and press relations personnel in and around Santa Clara are a bit nervous at this point. While the P35 launch was a bit convoluted as product was available on the street before the launch date, the X38 launch is heading down a slightly different path.
Everyone we spoke to just over a month ago expected the same launch situation that we had with the P35. Boards would be hitting certain distribution channels before the press launch date and everyone would be scrambling to figure out which board best met their needs. Well, it's not going to happen that way now. In fact, most manufacturers are scrambling at this point to get boards ready for the press activities on Monday. At this point, they are wondering if there will even be sufficient quantities of product in the distribution channel for a smooth launch. So, what happened?
It seems the X38 was not exactly ready for a grand debut on the 24th after all. We thought it was ready based on what was supposed to be final board designs a couple of weeks ago, but it turns out a few technical issues arose during final QA testing and Intel had to respin the X38 chipset. The chipset has passed the final quality hurdles and is now in full production with quantities being delivered to the major manufacturers. That's the good news, but many manufacturers are still scrambling to get boards ready.
|Click to enlarge
After discussions this evening, it does appear that retail boards should arrive from a few motherboard manufacturers by early next week, but we do not expect the channel to be full until sometime in October now. This includes additional designs from the launch partners and competing solutions from other suppliers. While that is disappointing to us, we understand the situation and applaud Intel for making sure the chipset is actually ready for the market before releasing it. It appears they have learned their lessons after the rough P965 debut last year, at least.
In the meantime, we have been testing one of the first X38 boards with DDR3 capabilities for the past couple of weeks. ASUS sent us their new P5E3 Deluxe for an early look at the board design, performance, and new features that will be included when this board is released shortly. Although it turns out this board is not based on final silicon, the performance and stability have been excellent in testing to date, and it comes with a very nice feature set.
With that in mind, we are going to provide a very early look at the feature set and a few benchmarks that show its potential. The BIOS is still maturing and based upon the improvements we have seen over the last five releases, this chipset is looking more and more like a winner, especially in a DDR3 configuration. We just hope retail boards make it in time for the launch date; if not, we will have a lot of nice graphics to look at and will then move on to a very interesting product launch from the guys in green on the 25th.
Let's take a look at the feature set of the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe and check out preliminary performance in a handful of benchmarks.
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe: Board Layout and Features
|Click to enlarge
ASUS has designed a board that reminds us of cars from yesteryear: large, solid, and seemingly engineered as if it's a tank ready for the front lines. The board easily installs into a variety of cases from Antec and Cooler Master. The majority of connections are easily reached within a full size ATX case. The board features an eight-phase voltage regulator system that contributes to the excellent stability we experienced throughout testing. The P5E3 Deluxe uses 100% Conductive Polymer Aluminum Solid Capacitors. ASUS installs a total of six fan headers (1 x 4-pin, 5 x 3-pin) which is an excellent decision in our opinion. The CPU and four of the five system fan headers can be controlled via the BIOS and the ASUS AI Suite program within Windows.
Around the CPU socket area, we find an ample amount of room for the majority of cooling solutions. We utilize the stock heatsink/fan in our base testing but also verify the ability to install several aftermarket socket 775 cooling solutions such as the Tuniq 120 and Thermalright Ultra-120 during our overclocking tests. The 8-pin EPS12V power connector is located on the edge of the board behind the PS/2 keyboard port and does not interfere with our various cooling units. However, based upon our preliminary overclocking tests, if a vertical mounted fan in an air cooling unit such as the Tuniq 120 or water cooling is utilized then additional cooling will be required on the MCH and PWM areas.
The DIMM module slots' color coordination is correct for dual channel setup based upon the premise of installing DIMMs in the same colored slots for dual-channel operation. The black and orange slot colors (Ed: Happy Halloween?) look out of place on this board, but then again we do not express any love for several board manufacturers who tend to use the entire Crayola color palette on their boards. Installing memory modules will be a slightly difficult affair with a full size video card placed in the first PCI-E x16 slot.
The 24-pin ATX power connector is properly located on the edge of the board along with the floppy drive connector. The CPU fan header is located on the far right edge of the board and works well with our test fans. Two additional fan headers are located on either side of the floppy and power connectors.
The positioning of the six red ICH9R SATA ports is excellent when utilizing the expansion slots. The ICH9R chipset is passively cooled and remained fairly cool to the touch throughout testing... well, at least until we installed our CrossFire setup and then it became quite toasty to the touch. The IDE connector is at a right angle next to the SATA ports and generally is easy to reach in our case. The chassis panel is located on the bottom left edge of the board along with the number three fan header. Right above those two items is a green LED power-on indicator, the battery, and the number four fan header. The two blue connectors are for the additional USB ports and the red connector is for the extra IEEE-1394 connector.
The board comes with three physical PCI-E x16 connectors (2 x16, 1 x8 electrical), two PCI-E x1 connectors, and two PCI 2.2 connectors. The second PCI-E x1 and PCI slots will be blocked by dual slot graphics cards. Several cards we tried in the first PCI-E x1 slot were a very tight fit if a full size card was used in the first PCI slot. Due to the location of the two x16 capable PCI-E slots, there is not much room for custom cooling solutions on the video cards. ASUS has informed us the Republic of Gamers board will have a different layout that will be conducive to custom cooling solutions. We also tried a TriFire setup on this board (three HD 2900 XT cards), but we did not have proper driver support for that to work at present - although we expect it soon.
The rear panel contains the standard PS/2 keyboard port along with several other connectors. The panel also includes dual RJ-45 LAN ports with activity indicator lights, six USB ports, and optical/coaxial S/PDIF out ports. The audio panel consists of six ports that can be configured for 2, 4, 6, and 8-channel audio connections for the ADI 1988B HD codec. The board contains an 802.11n specification WiFi card that worked flawlessly with several different Draft N routers. Finally, there are two eSATA ports along with an IEEE-1394 port which completes a back panel that pretty much covers a wide array of options designed with the home user in mind.
ASUS will utilize the ICS 9LPRS918HKL clock control chipset on this board.
ASUS P5E3 Specifications and BIOS Overview
|ASUS P5E3 Deluxe
|Market Segment
|High Performance Enthusiast - $259.99 (estimated)
|CPU Interface
|Socket T (Socket 775)
|CPU Support
|LGA775-based Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, or Core 2 Quad Recommended
|Intel X38 (MCH) Northbridge and ICH9R Southbridge
|Front Side Bus Speeds
|Auto, 200 ~ 800 in 1MHz increments
|DDR3 Memory Speed
|Auto, Eight Ratios dependent upon Strap Setting
|FSB Strap
|Auto, 200, 266, 333, 400
|PCIe Speeds
|Auto, 100MHz - 150MHz
|PCI Speeds
|Locked at 33.33MHz
|Core Voltage
|Auto, 1.10000 to 1.70000 in .00625 increments
|CPU Clock Multiplier
|6x ~ 11x, downward adjustable for Core 2, upward to 50 for Extreme
|DRAM Voltage DDR3
|Auto, 1.50V ~ 2.78V in .02V increments, 1.50V standard
|DRAM Timing Control
|Auto, Manual - 16 DRAM Timing Options (tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS, tRFC + 11 sub-timings)
|DRAM Command Rate
|Auto, 1T, 2T
|NB Voltage
|Auto, 1.25V ~ 1.91V in .02V increments, 1.25V standard
|SB Voltage
|Auto, 1.05V, 1.20V, 1.05 standard
|FSB Termination Voltage
|Auto, 1.20V to 1.50V in .02V increments, 1.20V standard
|Clock Over Charging
|Auto, .70V to 1.00V in .10V increments, .80 standard
|CPU Voltage Damper
|Auto, Enabled, Disabled
|CPU Voltage Reference
|Auto, .63, .61, .59, .57
|NB Voltage Reference
|Auto, .67, .61
|AI Clock Twister
|Auto, Light, Medium, Strong
|AI Clock Skew CA/CB
|Auto, Normal, 50ps to 350ps either advance or decrease
|AI Transaction Booster
|Auto, Enabled, Disabled, settings 1 to 8, higher increases performance
|Memory Slots
|Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM Slots
Dual-Channel Configuration
Regular Unbuffered DDR3 Memory to 8GB Total
|Expansion Slots
|3 - PCIe 2.0 x16 (2 - x16, 1 - x8 electrical)
2 - PCIe x1
2 - PCI Slot 2.2
|Onboard SATA/RAID
|6 SATA 3Gbps Ports - ICH9R
2 eSATA 3Gbps Port - JMicron JMB363
|Onboard IDE
|1 ATA133/100/66 Port (2 drives) - JMicron JMB363
|Onboard USB 2.0/IEEE-1394
|10 USB 2.0 Ports - 6 I/O Panel - 4 via Headers
2 Firewire 400 Ports by Agere FW3227 - 1 I/O Panel, 1 via Header
|Onboard LAN
|Realtek RTL8110SC - PCI Gigabit Ethernet controller
Marvell 88E8056 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
ASUS 802.11n Wireless Port
|Onboard Audio
|ADI 1988B - 8-channel HD audio codec
|Power Connectors
|ATX 24-pin, 8-pin ATX 12V
|I/O Panel
|1 x PS/2 Keyboard
2 x eSATA
2 x SPDIF - Optical Out, Coaxial Out
1 x IEEE 1394
1 x Audio Panel
2 x RJ45
6 x USB 2.0/1.1
|Fan Headers
|6 - CPU, (5) Chassis
|Fan Control
|CPU and Chassis Fan Control via BIOS/AI Suite, PC Probe II monitoring
|BIOS Revision
|Board Revision
As mentioned, the P5E3 Deluxe board is designed for the general enthusiast with an emphasis on features designed for the home user, whether it is for gaming or home theater usage. ASUS provides two eSATA ports via the JMicron JMB363 chipset, IEEE-1394 support from Agere, excellent onboard audio support from the ADI 1988B, an 802.11n WiFi port, and dual Gigabit LAN capability. The board offers a very good mix of expansion slots, though utilizing a CrossFire setup will create the physical loss of a PCI-E x1 and PCI 2.2 slot. The third PCI-E x16 slot operates at x8 electrically and can be utilized for various PCI-E cards including AGEIA PhysX, RAID controllers, or a third video card. This slot will support a third ATI graphics card for "TriFire" operation once drivers are released with the proper support, according to our current information.
We will go into the BIOS settings in additional detail once we receive the retail kit and official launch BIOS. However, the following screenshots represent features that we know will be in the retail BIOS.
ASUS monitors the standard CPU fan speed and voltage readings. One item of note is that the BIOS monitors the CPU fan speed and four chassis headers but not the fifth header. Fan control is fairly limited when comparing it to abit's excellent uGuru setup with very simple options based on fan percentage speeds or base system temperatures. While the ability to individually control fan speeds is good, the speed options are too limited in our opinion for a board in the enthusiast category.
The advanced section of the BIOS contains the standard power saving options and an additional control for the CPU ratio.
The heart of the BIOS is under the AI Tweaker section with a wide variety of options for tuning the board. Although not as extensive as the typical DFI enthusiast boards, the options are fairly extensive with the notable addition being the 400FSB Strap setting in addition to 200, 266, and 333. Although not shown, the DRAM timing control section offers 15 different memory settings and hopefully they will remain in the retail BIOS.
ASUS has added the Ai Clock Twister option which basically offers slightly tighter sub-timings when set to strong. We noticed a slight decrease in latencies when utilizing this particular setting, but no tangible real world results that would matter to most users. ASUS has also revamped the Ai Transaction Booster setting when compared to their P35 boards. The old Transaction Booster setting of 0 on the P35 board is now 1 on the X38 board with the remaining ratios offering the same offset. Ratios 5 through 8 are new to the board although we could not get the board to POST with a ratio higher than 3.
Our screenshots show the maximum value for each option. Any setting greater than 1.77V for the Northbridge resulted in a warning for better chipset cooling. Although previous engineering samples of the X38 ran warm to hot when overclocking, our current sample stayed around 74C with 1.91V after two hours of looping 3DMark06. The available voltage options should satisfy about 95% of the users; however, we feel like the available CPU voltages are lacking when compared to the other X38 boards we have in-house as well as some of the upper-end P35 boards. ASUS has also included the ability to save BIOS profiles, although it is currently limited to two profiles.
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe Express Gate Features
One of the new features that ASUS is launching with this board is their Express Gate application that is based on Splashtop technology. Express Gate features a unique startup screen when the system is first booted. This technology allows you to continue the POST process into your operating system, enter the BIOS setup, and power down or restart the system. The current utilities allow the user to enter a built-in web browser or launch Skype provided an internet connection is available through one of the Gigabit LAN controllers or the 802.11n wireless connection. ASUS includes a windows based utility to update the current Express Gate program code and applets.
Startup / Exit
The top screenshot shows the startup screen with the bottom screenshot showing the exit options. Express Gate can be turned off in the BIOS if this application is not interesting to the user.
The setup and configuration of Express Gate was fairly straightforward with individual options for Date and Time, Input Devices, Language and Keyboard Layout, LaunchBar settings, Network configuration, Volume control, and Screen Resolution. Screen Resolution is limited to 1440x1050 currently but the ability to define the network connection is extensive.
During testing, our Skype connection worked perfectly during several extended conversations. The current code included will be updated before product launch and we will provide details on the final version at that time.
The browser is based on Splashtop technology and performed admirably in early testing. The current code release is being optimized along with additional browser features. We visited several websites and did not run into any layout or display issues in our initial testing with this applet. Adobe Flash is also supported within the browser.
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe Additional Features
ASUS includes their standard WiFi-AP applet for configuration of the wireless connection. Our initial testing with the board's Draft N capabilities was very good with general compatibility across a wide range of routers. However, we will wait on final production hardware and software before passing judgment on this feature.
Audio duties are left to the Analog Devices 1988B codec that ASUS has used extensively over the past year in their Deluxe and Premium boards. The move to Windows Vista has allowed ADI to introduce Sonic Focus's Blackhawk - for SoundMAX technology. This technology encompasses the full suite of Sonic Focus's PC audio technologies, including their Adaptive Dynamics, Extrapolator, and X-Matrix processes.
We will have full details and benchmarks in an upcoming audio article, but to put it simply, this program suite allows the user optimize the quality of compressed audio streams from a wide variety of sources. Our subjective opinion is that it works, and works very well for an integrated audio solution and provides sound quality that easily exceeds the current Realtek offerings.
The above screenshots represent a sampling of the control panel and configuration settings available within the BlackHawk audio suite.
Test Setup
|ASUS P5E3 Deluxe Testbed
|Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Quad Core, 2.4GHz, 8MB Unified Cache, 9x Multiplier, 1066FSB
|CPU Voltage
|1.1500V Stock
|Tuniq Tower 120
|Power Supply
|Super Talent DDR3-1866
|Memory Settings
|Video Cards
|Video Drivers
|ATI Catalyst 7.9
|Hard Drive
|Western Digital 7200RPM 750GB SATA 3/Gbps 16MB Buffer
|Optical Drives
|Plextor PX-B900A, Toshiba SD-H802A
|Cooler Master Stacker 830 Evo
|Operating System
|Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. Our game tests were run at settings of 1280x1024 HQ to ensure our MSI HD 2900 XT is not the bottleneck during testing. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
We selected the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 as our processor of choice since it represents one of the better price to performance values in the midrange processor market and is the CPU we will concentrate on in future reviews. We are utilizing Microsoft Vista Home Premium 32-bit as our operating system along with a 4GB memory configuration. Even though Vista 32-bit cannot take advantage of the entire 4GB of memory address space (3.326GB), we found the additional 1.278GB of memory available provided improved performance during multi-tasking events and gaming. We would not recommend anything less than 2GB with Vista Home Premium. We will also provide select Vista 64-bit results in the X38 launch article.
We utilize new drive images on each board in order to minimize any potential driver conflicts. Our 3DMark results are generated utilizing the standard benchmark resolution for each program. We run each benchmark five times, throw out the two low and high scores, and report the remaining score. All results at stock speeds for this article are with memory timings at 5-5-4-12 (DDR3-1066) and at 6-6-6-15 (DDR3-1600) for our overclocking tests. Where possible, memory sub-timings were set exactly the same to ensure consistency between the boards.
Our choice of software applications to test is based on programs that enjoy widespread usage and produce repeatable and consistent results during testing. Microsoft Vista has thrown a monkey wrench into testing as the aggressive nature of the operating system to constantly optimize application loading and retrieval from memory or the storage system presents some interesting obstacles. This along with what we still see as a lack of driver maturity will continue to present problems in the near future with benchmark selections. Our normal process is to change our power settings to performance, delete the contents of the Prefetch folder, and then reboot after each benchmark run. This process results in consistency over the course of benchmark testing. All applications are run with administer privileges.
Note: Due to the preview nature of this article, including the use of a pre-release board, our benchmark test suite will be very limited. A full range of benchmarks will be available on September 24th, provided retail kits arrive as planned.
Memory Testing
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The Sandra unbuffered scores on the Gigabyte X38 DDR2 board are around 2% better than the ASUS X38 DDR3 board and about 4% better than the abit P35 board. Our Gigabyte board is a production sample board with an early release BIOS. The scores have dropped about 1% from the engineering board we tested previously, although Gigabyte confirms that the BIOS is not fully tuned yet.
We did not expect the memory performance of DDR3 to be this close to the DDR2 board as we noticed significant differences on the P35 boards when running DDR3 at 1066. Intel and the board manufacturers have repeatedly said the X38 chipset will show improved performance with DDR3, especially with the 1333MHz FSB CPUs that allow DDR3 to run at stock 1333MHz rates. The latest BIOS spins show this trend and hopefully the retail releases will show the same progress we have noticed over the past couple of days. However, the price differential between the two memory technologies still means the DDR3 boards will be relegated to the very high end of the market for the near future.
Q6600 9x266
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Q6600 9x333
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Q6600 9x400
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Our memory results are very preliminary considering the beta nature of the latest 1.4 BIOS. We are not showing comparisons to the other DDR3 boards until the BIOS is finalized, but at this time it appears performance is generally a few percent better than the X38 DDR2 boards. In the 9x400 results, the top screenshot is with the system set to the 400 strap and the bottom screenshot is with the 333 strap setting. The improvements in chipset latencies result in slightly better read/write/copy numbers and memory latency is improved about 5%, although tRAS timings were increased from 15 to 18. However, we had to increase our MCH voltage by .04V and CPU voltage from 1.375V to 1.41875V.
Speaking of CPU voltages, we had no issues completing our entire benchmark test suite with our Q6600 set to 1.1500V at stock settings, 1.19375V at 9x333, 1.3750V at 9x400, and 1.44375V at 7x505. Even though we are not at liberty to discuss overclocking results at this time, we do have permission to show our top FSB overclock with the Q6600.
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We were able to reach a final FSB setting of 505 with our Q6600. This required the 400 strap setting, MCH voltage to 1.77V, and several other BIOS settings that we will discuss in the launch article. The board actually posted our Q6600 at 522FSB, but benchmark stability was not reached until the 505FSB level. We hit 498FSB with 4GB of memory and the same settings. Hopefully the latest chipset spin and BIOS tweaks will improve upon this result. Vdroop averaged around .02~.04V throughout testing with CPU Voltage Damper enabled; without it, we noticed Vdroop around .07V~.09V when overclocking a quad-core CPU.
Gaming and Graphics Performance
The 3DMark series of benchmarks developed and provided by Futuremark are among the most widely used tools for benchmark reporting and comparisons. Although the benchmarks are very useful for providing apples-to-apples comparisons across a broad array of GPU and CPU configurations, they are not a substitute for actual application and gaming benchmarks. In this sense we consider the 3DMark benchmarks to be purely synthetic in nature but still valuable for providing consistent measurements of performance.
In our 3DMark06 test, all of the boards are basically even in this test. When looking at the individual tests, the ASUS board scores slightly better in the SM2.0 and SM3.0 tests while the CPU scores are just about identical between all three boards - we'll ignore the ASUS board's seven point advantage.
In the more memory and CPU throughput sensitive 3DMark01 benchmark we see our ASUS P5E3 Deluxe board is around 1% faster. We believe Gigabyte still has some tuning left to complete with their DDR2 X38 board as it scored a fairly anemic 35311 with the memory set to DDR2-800 with 3-4-3-9 1T timings. The differences in performance are not really noticeable in either 3DMark unless you're looking to reach the top of the ORB, which we have a good feeling the X38 was designed to do with the right setup.
Gaming Performance
As usual, gaming performance was tested with a couple popular games. We ran our benchmarks at a 1280x1024 resolution with high quality settings
Battlefield 2
This benchmark is performed using DICE's built-in demo playback functionality with additional capture capabilities designed in house. During the benchmark, the camera switches between players and vehicles in order to capture the most action possible. There is a significant amount of smoke, explosions, and vehicle usage as this a very GPU intensive Battlefield 2 benchmark. We run Battlefield 2 using medium quality graphics settings available in the video settings. The game itself is best experienced with average in-game frame rates of 35 and up.
Prey offers some superb action sequences, unique weapons and characters, and is a visually stunning game at times. It still requires a very good GPU to run it with all of the eye candy turned on. We set all graphic settings to their maximum except for AA/AF and utilize a custom timedemo that takes place during one of the more action oriented sequences. We generally find the game to be enjoyable with an average frame rate above 35fps.
Gaming Summary
The ASUS P5E3 provides an almost 3% improvement in frame rates under BF2, which tends to be more CPU limited than most games, but in the latency sensitive Prey benchmark we find it falls about 5% behind the Gigabyte board. This is the only benchmark where we witnessed a measurable decrease in performance when utilizing DDR3 at 1066 on the X38 chipset. For now, we will chalk it up to the BIOS needing fine tuning as other latency sensitive benchmarks did not show this pattern in offline testing. Once we receive the shipping BIOS for the retail boards, we will revisit these same games and provide CrossFire results against the P35 and 975X equipped boards. However, the preliminary CrossFire results show minimal gains for the X38 over the 975X when comparing percentage increases between single and dual card configurations.
First Thoughts
We have thoroughly enjoyed our test sessions with the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe board. Although we still do not have final silicon boards yet, we have to say that ASUS has done an excellent job with their design implementation on this board. While the new or revised features such as Express Gate, 802.11n, and the BlackHawk audio technology might mean little to some users, we think the additions complete the overall package that ASUS is after with their Deluxe series of boards. The early package we received just showed a certain level of polish that our other X38 boards do not have at this time. Sometimes that means little, but it certainly left an impression on us in early testing. This is an impression that we hope continues with the retail package as this board is certainly worth a second look.
Overall performance has been very good at stock speeds even with the slight memory throughput penalties that running DDR3 at 1066 brings to the table compared to DDR2 at 1066. However, unlike what we witnessed with the P35 DDR3 boards at launch, the ability to have DDR3 1066 performance match or better DDR2 1066 is impressive considering the potential clocking headroom DDR3 enjoys. Unfortunately, the performance potential of DDR3 sounds great until you realize the current entry price for the high performance modules. As a buyer, looking at the prospect of spending up to four times more for DDR3 is daunting considering the minimal advantages it offers.
We are only a few days away from the official X38 launch and the ability to show a full test suite, provided the retail boards show up in time. We had actually planned on providing a lot more detail today, but last minute updates from the involved parties limited our reporting. With the launch article, we will have additional details including some impressive power consumption numbers that are now lower than the P35 chipset and improved thermal characteristics. We say "impressive" because the early boards showed just the opposite trend. While we would love to provide more information, at the behest of our contacts at Intel it will have to wait. We just hope the wait is not longer than expected.


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"May is Older Americans Month in Alaska" and a great reminder to recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of older Alaskans. This tradition is based on the Older Americans month celebration that began with President Kennedy in 1963 to honor older Americans. Alaska's senior advisory commissions, senior centers, and other senior community organizations will be hosting special activities during the month of May to honor the value that older Alaskans continue to contribute to their families and communities.
The theme for Older
Americans Month 2015 is Get into the Act.In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Older
Americans Act (OAA), Older Americans month is focusing on how older adults taking
charge of their health, getting engaged in the community, and
making a positive impact in other people's lives.
The Older Americans Month theme for the 2014 observance was Safe Today, Healthy Tomorrow.
In 2013, Alaska recognized Alaskans who are 100 years or older as distinguished Alaskan Centenarians for the first time in recognition of older Alaskans as productive, active and
influential members of our state and to call special attention to the
growing number of Alaskan Centenarians, people age 100 years or older.
We encourage communities to take time to recognize older Alaskans in their communities, particularly Alaska's Centenarians, for their special achievements and contributions to their families and communities. Centenarians are both rare and distinct, being a testament to the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. In the U.S. there are an estimated 53,364 Centenarians, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Alaska, there are an estimated 62 Centenarians based on information provided by the Alaska Division of Permanent Fund (based on 2011 data).
Alaska's Senior Advisory Commissions celebrated Older Americans Month celebrations with several community events:
For more information about this observance, please see:


text: andrewm September 03, 2009 1:45 PM Last Edited 2429 days ago They had better get a door bell then. Knocking is quite vulgar and is not often heard if you are away from the front door.It is certainly changed days from when they nearly always hand a champion driving for tem. They will have to be careful that they don't become a mid-field team that is used only feed drivers into F1. I hope they get back to their winning ways soon. Reply Report abuse 6 agree 6 disagree


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The exhibition Mechanical Life brings three artists together that explore the borderline between the lifeless and the living. Nemo Gould, Tom Haney and Joe Shea create their versions of a 'modern Prometheus' by mixing automata, found objects and human emotion into delicately crafted sculpture.
Nemo Gould through scouring old and discard mechanical parts imbues a Golden Age sensibility to his mechanical tableaux's. Tom Haney carefully handcrafts his figures and gearing into touching emotional moments of consciousness. Joe Shea creates mechanical hybrids from found material and delicate castings which illuminate and question the frailty that life contains.
As a teaching facility, the Wallace L. Anderson gallery advances learning through lively and innovative approaches that promote the arts to the students of Bridgewater State University and communities beyond the campus.
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Scientific Illustrations & Other Beasties Published January 22, 2016
Process/Progress Published September 08, 2015
Demonstrative Published March 26, 2015
Drawn,Drawing Published March 04, 2015
Dialecticians Published February 24, 2015
The Empowerment of the Pin-Up Published December 08, 2014
Amuse Bouche Published September 08, 2014
Modern Traditions Published February 06, 2014


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Customer reference
In Southern Moravia, congress tourism is primarily concentrated in its capital city, Brno. Important events of international significance are often held here.
Scientific and medical conferences
AUM 2011 International Conference, Brno
The international conference was held by the Central European Institute of Technology – CEITEC and the National Centre for Biomolecular Research of Masaryk University. 180 renowned scientists from all around the world attended the event. The main theme of the congress was the development of spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scientific cooperation in the field of structural biology.
Nationwide Conference on DNA diagnostics 2011, Brno
The conference was sponsored by the Czech Medical Association of Jan Evangelista Purkyne (ČSL JEP) and the Czech Medical Chamber (ČLK). The main themes of the 14th nationwide conference were for example Genetics in oncology or Forensic genetics and more.
MEKA Congress (Disaster Medicine) 2009, Brno
MEKA Congresses (Disaster Medicine) have been held in Brno since 2006. The event is organised by the Trauma Hospital in Brno, under the support of the Department of Health Emergency Preparedness of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic and the World Health Organisation.
Political meetings
Prince Charles' visit, Brno 2010
The British Crown Prince Charles visited the campus of Masaryk University at the end of March 2010, where he received the Grand Gold Medal for interest in the environment and sustainable development, and for his activities in charity. He debated with students on the subject of research and successes of Brno scientists and even about global issues. The Prince also visited environmentally friendly village Hostětín in the Region of Uherske Hradište.
Meeting of the Special Agricultural Committee of the EU Council, Brno 2009
An informal meeting of the Special Agricultural Committee of the EU Council was held in Brno in May 2009. The informal meeting became the top event bringing the Czech Republic's Union presidency to an end. Representatives of departments of agriculture from all member states gathered in Brno with hundreds of experts in agrarian policies. The main theme of the meeting was the future resemblance of Common Agricultural Policies.
Summit of 15 Presidents of EU Member States 2007, Brno
The summit of 15 top government representatives of certain European Member states took place in Brno in May 2007. Not only did they discuss the expansion of the European Union, but also controversial themes such as the independence of the south Serbian province Kosovo, or the abolition of visa requirements for Macedonia.
Brno awarded by FDI – City of the Future, 2005, 2007 and 2011
In 2011 Brno gained the "City of the Future 2010/2011" award for the third time in the assessment organized by fDi magazine published by the Financial Times group. Brno won equally high awards as early as in 2005 and 2007 when it took the 1st place in the Visegrad region and the Central European City categories. (source 1; source 2)
Brno awarded FDI – 1st place in the category "Influx of foreign investments – Eastern Europe" 2010
In 2010, Brno defended its position and at the MIPIM Trade Fair in Cannes France and at the FDI competition is once again placed 1st in the category "Influx of foreign investments – Eastern Europe." Thereby, Brno has drawn attention to how it successfully manages to attract investors. At the same time, Brno belongs among the Top 10 best cities in Eastern Europe.
The sunniest region in the CR – referred to as the Czech Provencal
In 2008, the American magazine US Today recommended Southern Moravia as one of the five cheapest places in the world for a pleasant holiday with extensive history and beautiful viticulture villages. It compares the region to French Provencal.
Moravia Convention Bureau
Plan your event
Events calendar
This project is co-financed by the European Union.


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posted at 1/6/2013 9:50 AM EST
Winning usually makes you likeable. But lets face it teams that were not supposed to win and surprise are the most likeable. Teams like the O's and A's last year had everyone rooting for them. Who wasn't pulling for the O's to knock off the Yanks at the end of season or in playoffs other than Yankee fans or weren't rooting for A's on final day of season to knock off Rangers?
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2nd Annual High Desert Music Festival
High Desert Music Festival and BBQ Showdown
Victorville, CA
June 28, 2014
The Victorville Fairground was host to the high Desert Music Festival and 2nd Annual BBQ Showdown. Thirty teams were positioned on the grounds to compete in the event which included a KCBS sanctioned BBQ competition and a backyard Stubbs sponsored rib and chicken cook-off. Debbie Yopp and Noble Jackson were the promoters offering the teams a venue with large sites and all the other amenities you could wish for at a competition. In addition to the Sunday backyard event, a KCBS judging class was offered on Sunday, June 29th for those wishing to achieve KCBS judging certification. Teams began arriving Thursday afternoon and noted that the Victorville fairground was located near many grocery stores and warehouse shopping. Locating good restaurants was the subject of social media inquiries where some suggestions met with happy dining and meals shared by BBQ friends.
Teams driving into the venue Friday were greeted by waves of hello from everyone from the promoters to teams already set up along the entry route. Steve and Merrialyce Alvarez were the KCBS representatives assigned to this event. Upon arrival, teams were assured that there would be no delays in meat inspection and team check in. The KCBS reps walked the venue and announced that the cooks meeting would start in the designated area at 6:00pm. Cooks meetings are nice because you get to see who has arrived and the teams new to competing get recognized as rookies or first time competitors. Their special treat is to listen to the CD on KCBS rules and guidelines for competition.
After the cooks meeting, the teams socialized and relax for a couple of hours. Most teams cooking either ŌĆślow and slowŌĆÖ or ŌĆśhot and fastŌĆÖ have completed their brisket and pork preparation with everything from injection to rub applications for brisket and pork. Smokers have been set up, checklists have been double checked and itŌĆÖs time for dinner. Whether dinner is a dining experience at a local restaurant, pot luck with friends or casual food prep on site, everyone is gearing up for the competition.
Quiet time was announced as 11:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The area was pretty quiet with only the occasional sound of laughter. Those not cooking ŌĆś hot and fastŌĆÖ have their pork and brisket meats on by midnight. Those cooking with stick burners have a designated person manning the fire throughout the night. Those cooking hot and fast have an early wake up call for 3-4 am to put their meats on. Those cooking with pellets, Stoker/Gurus or vent regulations may get a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep. Looking into the sky, the background is one of BBQ smoke drifting into the skies and the smell of cherry, pecan, hickory, apple, peach and other woods burning to smoke meats for the competition.
Many alarm clocks go off round 5:00 am. Brisket and pork butts are checked to see if they are ready to wrap, sprayed with various concoctions to ready for wrapping, or treated on the smokers for later intervention. Ribs are prepped for their introduction to smoke and chickens are doing their thing in brines or waiting to sweat their rubs. The cooks are getting ready for breakfast with varying foods from a good cup of coffee to chorizo, egg, and cheese burritos, sugary cinnamon rolls and Danish treats. Debbie and Noble also provided breakfast for the cooks offered in the air conditioned judging area.
By 10:00am all the cooks have on their game faces focusing on those final steps to get their meats to the judges. The turn in boxes are garnished to assure the nicest picture frame for each meat in hopes of getting great appearance scores. Some superstitious cooks have changed into their winning apparel, set out trinkets bringing good karma and turned on music which gets them in the zone towards achieving a great cook.
With turn ins complete at 1:35pm, a sigh of relief can be heard across the fairgrounds. Now itŌĆÖs time to relax with friends, share samples with other competitors and the best anxiety reliever before awards-cleanup. Everyone asks how you felt your cook went but in hopes not to jinx yourself, you just reply as one of my neighbors did that ŌĆ£IŌĆÖm not mad at any of my meatsŌĆØ. Musicians graced the festival stage with blues, country and R&B music as people gather around the stage dancing and enjoying BBQ treats from vendors and those teams selling samples.
Awards started around 5:30pm. A local DJ had the honor of making the announcements under the supervision of the contest reps. A number of teams had multiple calls by the time the brisket calls were named. Dennis McGrath of Porketeers had 3 top five calls and he was a very strong contender for Grand Champion. By the time the 10th to 2nd place in brisket were called by the DJ, Steve Alvarez took over the microphone to announce that the 1st place brisket was receiving a 180 score and by the rules as the KCBS rep, he was making the announcement and awarding the 180 pin to PORKETEERS.
The top 10th-3rd overall winners were announced. Once again, it was announced that not only had a 180 been awarded in this contest but there were also two more inductees into the KCBS ŌĆ£700ŌĆØ club. The Reserve Grand Champion, Big Poppa Smokers received a 701.2116 and the Grand Champion, Porketeers received a 703.4516. Dennis did a happy strut to the stage to accept his trophy and the Harley-Davidson commemorative jacket for the event. After the awards, the event staff distributed event bags containing coupons, a t-shirt and a mug with the team name engraved on it. Score sheets were distributed, pictures taken and monetary awards were given to the winners.
A Special thank you to the event organizers, Debbie and Noble and their staff, the KCBS reps, Steve and Merrialyce and to the Victorville Fairgrounds for a wonderful event.
Chicken Results:
1 Funtime BBQ
2 Porketeers
3 Zzyzx BBQ
4 Simply Marvelous
5 Big Poppa Smokers
6 Porterhouse BBQ
7 C and C BBQ
8 Lady of Q
9 Loot NŌĆÖ Booty
10 Smokin Money
Rib Results:
1 Sin City Smokers
2 Big Poppa Smokers
3 Cool Grilling
4 Porketeers
5 Stoke to Smoke
6 Lady of Q
7 All Hogs Sauced Up
8 Wild WillyŌĆÖs Smokin Hot BBQ
9 Funtime BBQ
10 2nd to Last BBQ
Pork Results:
1 Simply Marvelous
2 Stoke to Smoke
3 Tropical Heat
4 Porketeers
5 Cool Grilling
7 Loot NŌĆÖ Booty
8 Big Poppa Smokers
9 D Blacks Smokin Que
10 Left Coast Q
Brisket Results:
1 Porketeeers ŌĆō Scoring a 180
2 All Hogs Sauced Up
3 Wild WillyŌĆÖs Smokin Hot BBQ
4 Hog Heaven Sauces
6 Lady of Q
7 Loot NŌĆÖ Booty
8 Simply Marvelous
9 The Woodshed
10 D Blacks Smokin Que
Overall Results:
1 Porketeers joins the 700 club with a 703.4516
2 Big Poppa Smokers has another 700 club score with a 701.2116
3 Lady of Q
4 Loot nŌĆÖ Booty
5 Simply Marvelous
6 Funtime BBQ
7 Porterhouse BBQ
8 All Hogs Sauced Up
9 Hog heaven Sauces
10 Cool Grilling
The Grand Champion, Dennis McGrath also received a special jacket from Harley Davidson. SundayŌĆÖs special event was a Stubbs Backyard BBQ challenge. The Grand Champion was Andy Soto of Master of Disaster. The cook included two meats of ribs and chicken which were supplied by the sponsors.