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The Knot, Inc. (KNOT)
Q2 2006 Earnings Conference Call
July 27, 2006 2:30 pm ET
Amy Shey Jacobs - IR
David Liu - President, CEO
Richard Szefc - CFO
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
Barton Crockett – J.P. Morgan
Trina Choudhury – JMP Securities
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
My name is Lisa and I will be your conference facilitator. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to The Knot's second quarter 2006 conference call. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Amy Shey Jacobs.
Amy Shey Jacobs
Good afternoon and welcome to The Knot's second quarter conference call and webcast.
During the course of this conference call, comments that we make regarding The Knot that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual future events or results to differ materially from these statements.
Any such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words like may, should, expect, plan, intend and other similar terms.
You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements speak only as of today's date. Our internal projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations may change, but we will not necessarily inform you if they do. The Knot's policy is to provide expectations only once per quarter and not to update that information until next quarter.
The important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements mentioned today include, but are not limited to, our unproven business model and limited operating history, our history of losses, significant fluctuations to which our quarterly revenues and operating results are subject to, the risks and related costs associated with ongoing litigation, the seasonality of the wedding industry and other factors described in documents that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Additionally, if you have not received a copy of today's press release, the release is now posted on the Investor Relations section of the company's web site at www.theknot.com.
We have allotted up to one hour for today's conference call, including the question-and-answer session that follows. Please take note that the company is operating under the SEC Regulation FD and encourages you to take full advantage of the Q&A session.
At this time, I would like to turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, David Liu.
David Liu
Thank you, Amy. As our earnings release indicates, The Knot continued to deliver strong financial results in the second quarter of 2006. Our net income grew to $3.9 million, a threefold increase from last year's second quarter and a $2.2 million increase from this year's first quarter.
Second quarter revenues were up 30% to $17.7 million, with all three of our revenue streams contributing to the gain.
Continuing the trend of our first quarter, national advertising produced the highest gain of 61% over the prior year and local advertising was up 28% over the prior year.
Most encouraging was the 20% increase in our merchandise revenue, principally wedding supplies, which is showing steady improvement from prior quarters.
Our new commerce platform and improved merchandising strategies are beginning to pay off, and Rich will cover all the financial results in his presentation shortly.
A lot has happened since our last earnings call and I'd like to take the opportunity now to walk everyone through the major announcements of the past few months and to address some of the common questions we've been getting from our stockholders.
On June 5, we announced that we had entered into a merger agreement with Wedding Channel and with the announcement of the merger, we also announced our intention to finance the cash portion of the purchase price through previously existing cash resources and a follow on offering of our common stock pursuant to a registration statement which obligated us to observe the SEC's pre filing quiet period.
We are excited by the potential of the merger between our two companies. Over the years, because The Knot and Wedding Channel have been the most visible wedding related companies on the Internet, investors considered Wedding Channel to be our main competitor and with the announcement of the merger, many saw this deal as a consolidation of the wedding industry.
However, it is important to understand the differences between our business and Wedding Channel's business, to recognize the complimentary nature of the two organizations.
The largest revenue source for us is advertising and sponsorships. Advertising, both national and local, online and in our magazine, represents over 70% of our business.
Wedding Channel's single largest source of revenue comes from commissions of registry gift purchases they handle for their retail partners. To put this into perspective, registry-related revenue for us in 2005 represented less than 1% of our total revenue.
There is little overlap between our two businesses from either a revenue or an audience standpoint. In the first four months of the year according to the Nielsen ratings, the average percentage of traffic that overlapped was less than 20%.
So while the merger's not a consolidation of the industry, it does represent an aggregation of the online bridal audience.
We do not plan to combine the web sites. Instead, we plan to run both brands at separate destinations and to continue to build out the key advantages for both brands.
But we do plan our online reach of our audiences. If you compare the online traffic of the top revenue-generating magazine brands servicing the wedding media industry, the differences are startling. According to Hitwise, in June the [non end] Wedding Channel online sites attracted four times the audience of Martha Stewart's web site, and that is compared to her whole site, not just the wedding portion of her site.
We were 13 times larger in terms of the traffic than brides.com, which is the web site for Brides, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines from Conde Nash, and we were 17 times larger than instyle.com. Again, this is compared to InStyle magazine's entire site, not just the wedding portion. In fact, The Knot by itself has an online audience that is larger than brides.com, marthastewart.com and instyle.com combined. When you add Wedding Channel's traffic into the mix, no one comes even close.
If we complete the merger of our two businesses, we will increase our already substantial market share. We also believe that the additional traffic we drive through our brides and their wedding web pages provides us with an opportunity to increase the registry revenue at Wedding Channel, and that the added inventory for local and national advertisers on Wedding Channel will provide additional opportunity to leverage our core assets of our local and national sales force.
Shortly after the merger announcement, we received considerable interest from new and existing stockholders. Based on this demand and an increase in our stock price which occurred following the announcement of the merger, we decided to conduct a private placement of shares of our common stock with a purpose of raising capital for general corporate purposes. Our goal is to have $75 to $100 million in cash on our balance sheet following the closing of the follow-on offering and the closing of the merger after giving effect to the cash we pay out in the merger.
In order to help us achieve that goal, on July 10 we completed a $50.2 million common stock private placement at $18.25 per share with three existing, long-term stockholders.
When we filed our registration statement for our proposed public offering with the SEC last week, the size of the offering may have surprised some investors. The 3.5 million share portion of the deal, that are the shares being issued and sold by The Knot, will be used to finance the cash portion of the merger, together with previously existing cash resources and as I explained, we are using the proceeds of the private placement to build up our cash balance for general corporate purposes. The rest of the shares being offered in the follow-on offering are being sold by selling stockholders, so called secondary shares, and will not result in any dilution to existing stockholders.
Just over 4 million of the secondary shares are currently held by Comcast. Comcast had indirectly acquired the stake in the company through its historical ownership of QEC and their ownership stake in The Knot is a financial, rather than a strategic, asset for Comcast. A few months ago, Comcast had contacted us, expressing its interest in selling its position and it was decided then that rather than have a 4 million share overhang in the market, it would be more beneficial for Comcast, the company and our stockholders to include the shares as part of the follow on financing.
We look forward to continuing our operational relationship with Comcast in our video on demand and broadband content distribution efforts. We believe the additional flow to be created by the sale of shares by Comcast may be beneficial to our stockholders.
With the S3 filed, we are waiting to hear whether or not our registration statement will be reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission staff. If our filing is not reviewed, we expect to complete the public offering during August. If our filing is reviewed, we expect the closing of the offering to be in September or October, depending on the nature of the SEC's staff review.
Other news in the quarter includes the continued extension of The Nest brand offline. We signed a distribution deal with McClatchey-Tribune, formerly known as Knight Ridder Tribune, to syndicate our editorial content from The Nest to newspapers across the country. The Nest magazine will be arriving in the homes of newlyweds in August and the first book of four, entitled "The Nest Newlywed Handbook: An Owner's Manual to Modern Married Life," will be published early this coming fall.
Finally, earlier in the week we announced the acquisition of lilaguide, the nation's leading independent publisher of information guides for parents. Lilaguides are pocket-sized guidebooks that have been created from the submissions of thousands of parents who offer ratings and reviews of baby and parent-friendly businesses, products and destinations for 23 cities. With over 32,000 local businesses and destinations reviewed and rated by parents, lilaguide offers the most comprehensive local resource guide to new parents.
To date, lilaguide has only used the Internet as a way to harvest business and product reviews from parents. It has not built out a publishing platform. The combination of the rich user-generated content from lilaguide and The Knot's local and advertising sales infrastructure, our technology platform for editorial and community applications, and the continuous flow of first-time parents from The Nest makes for a compelling extension of our life-stage media strategy.
As you can tell, this is a very exciting and challenging time for us. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about any and all of these developments during the question-and-answer period.
Now I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Richard Szefc, who'll give you the financial picture. Rich?
Richard Szefc
Thank you, David, and good afternoon.
For the second quarter of 2006 we reported net revenues of $17.7 million, which represented a 31% increase from second quarter revenues of $13.6 million a year earlier.
Net income for the second quarter rose to $3.9 million, or $0.17 per basic and $0.15 per diluted share, from net income of $1.3 million, or $0.06 per basic and $0.05 per diluted share in the second quarter last year.
For the first six months of 2006, total revenues grew to $32.5 million from $25.5 million a year ago for a gain of 27%.
Net income for the first six months of this year was $5.6 million, or $0.24 per basic and $0.22 per diluted share compared to $1.7 million, or $0.08 per basic and $0.07 per diluted share for the first six months of 05.
Revenues from online advertising program for national clients and local vendors increased by 38% to $8.4 million in the recent quarter as compared to $6.1 million in the second quarter of 2005.
National and local advertising programs contributed approximately $1.1 million and $1.2 million, respectively, to this increase, with national growing by 61% and local by 28%.
The growth for the recent quarter continues to be driven by increases in the average spending by our national clients on expanded programs and increases in the number of, and advertising spending by, local vendors. Our local vendor base increased over 14,200 by the end of the recent quarter as compared to 12,400 as of June 05, or by roughly 15%.
Average spending by these local vendors was up approximately 13% due to price increases and higher usage of premium programs. The growth in local online vendors and the pace of the related revenue growth approximated the trend, which we saw in the first quarter of 2006.
As we indicated during our last call in the middle of June, we instituted price increases for all local online advertisers. While these price increases have averaged 10% in recent years, last month we implemented more aggressive pricing, particularly in larger markets and in certain vendor categories which generally drive a greater amount of revenue from an individual wedding.
Even with these higher prices The Knot remains less expensive than many local marketing alternatives. The weighted average price increase across all local markets, services and categories was in excess of 20%.
For the six months ended June 30, our overall online advertising revenue grew 4.3 million, or 37% when compared to the corresponding period in the prior year.
Again, the national and local components of this revenue stream for the six months grew 54% and 29%, respectively.
As David mentioned earlier, we saw a rebound in merchandise revenue for the second quarter, a continuation of the trend we saw developing at the end of March. This revenue stream primarily represents the sale of wedding supplies that retail to our members. Merchandise revenues also include a component for [wholesale] supply sales, specialty shops and department stores and in 2006, registry commissions, which together account for about 5% of this overall revenue line.
Total merchandise revenues were $4.9 million in the second quarter of 06 as compared to $4.1 million in the prior year. The sale of supplies at retail rose by $1 million to $4.6 million in the recent quarter, or 28%. The combination of site improvement, our new e commerce platform and more effective marketing strategies helped drive both an increase in orders and average order size. Our goal for this revenue stream is to continue to increase the percentage of our members who purchased their wedding and reception supplies from us.
In the recent quarter, we continued to see a small decline in wholesale revenue of approximately $100,000 and a similar decline in registry revenue. We are now generally receiving only commissions from the sale of registry products through our retail partnerships as we have phased out the sale of our own registry items.
Merchandise revenues for the six months increased by approximately $600,000 or 8%, with growth in retail supply sales also offset in part for this period by small declines in wholesale supplies and registry product sales.
Publishing and other revenues for the second quarter in 2006 amounted to approximately $4.5 million, a gain of 30% over the comparable period in 05. For the six months ended June 30, 06, publishing and other revenues grew to $8.3 million from $6.2 million last year, or a gain of 33%.
The most significant component of this increase was local print revenues, which increased by $875,000 and $1.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006 respectively, or just under 30% for each period. These increases were primarily the result of an increase in local advertising pages, including pages associated with the local section of our national magazine and a small increase in rates.
In addition, we have now delivered two new books in 2006 in connection with our current book program, which encompasses both wedding and newlywed related topics. We recorded related author royalty revenue of $130,000 in the second quarter of 06, and $360,000 for the six months.
In the second quarter, we also hosted a series of bridal events in partnership with the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort. To date, we have viewed this program as an element of our marketing strategy although we derived approximately $260,000 in revenue from the events. This revenue generally offset the impact of certain one time other revenue items booked in the second quarter of 2005.
Finally, revenue for the six months ended June 30, 06 also included a gain of $300,000, or about 20%, in advertising revenues from our February 2006 national magazine due to a combination of increased advertising pages sold and higher rates.
With respect to margins, our gross profit percentage was approximately 77% in the second quarter of 06 as compared to 79% in the second quarter last year.
Margins decreased by about two percentage points with respect to our merchandise revenue stream as a result of additional retail product promotion.
Also, we incurred direct costs related to the bridal events program noted earlier, which impacted publishing and other margins negatively by about five percentage points in the second quarter. The events program is completed for the current year.
Margins for the current six months were slightly higher than last year, generally as a result of the higher mix of online advertising revenue offset in part by the impact of items noted for the recent quarter.
Our total operating expenses before depreciation and amortization for the recent quarter were [$9.5] million compared to $9.2 million in the comparable quarter last year. For the last six months, operating expenses increased to $19.3 million from $17.6 million in 2005.
After factoring out incremental legal fees primarily associated with the Wedding Channel litigation our operating expenses increased by $1.7 million and $3.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006 when compared to the corresponding periods in 2005.
The principal components of these increases were additional investments in national and local sales staff of about $470,000 and $1.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2006 in part as additional support for the sales efforts related to our new initiatives, including The Nest. We also increased our investment in our information technology and editorial staff by $175,000 and $350,000 for the respective period.
In 2006 within our general and administrative expenses we have incurred costs aggregating $320,000 and $587,000 for the three and six months related to the development of a formal disaster recovery plan for the company and consulting costs incurred in connection with work being performed to ensure our compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley.
Apart from these increases in the second quarter of 2006, we also recorded stock-based compensation totalling $361,000, the majority of which related to the issuance of restricted common shares for which we have recorded expense regardless of the new stock-based compensation rules. For the six months, stock-based compensation amounted to $689,000.
The impact of adopting Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R was $144,000 and $272,000 for the three and six month periods respectively, which is related to the cost of outstanding options and the cost of rights under our employee stock purchase plan. We recorded no stock-based compensation in the first six months of 2005, but at the end of June 05 we had awarded shares of restricted stock as our primary form of stock compensation. However we may elect to resume granting stock options in the future. We currently believe that our stock-based compensation expense will range from $1.6 million to $1.7 million for all of 2006.
As of June 30, 2006, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were approximately $34.3 million, representing an increase of slightly over $5 million from the beginning of the year. This additional cash was primarily due to the income for the period prior to depreciation, amortization and non cash charges.
In the six months, we also further reduced our investment in accounts receivable net of deferred revenue by approximately $1 million due to continuing strong collection results, and further use of credit cards and the use of our subscription payment option by local vendors.
This resulting cash, combined with proceeds from the exercise of stock options or sales of stock through the company's stock purchase plan of over $500,000 in the first six months primarily funded our capital expenditures over the period. These expenditures amounted to $1.9 million. Our current estimate in the range of capital expenditures for all of 2006 is $3.5 to $4 million, largely due to the acquisition of additional computer hardware and software that would support backup systems as part of our disaster recovery program for the company.
Also with respect to cash, as David noted, in early July we completed a private placement of 2.75 million shares of our common stock, which yielded us net proceeds of approximately $47.6 million.
That is the financial review for the The Knot for the second quarter of 2006.
Before opening up the call to questions, I wanted to review certain financial information pertaining to Wedding Channel which was included in our recent registrations statement filed in connection with the proposed stock offering. The offering remains subject to the registration statement becoming effective and market conditions.
In 2005, Wedding Channel reported a loss of $6.7 million, however there were several items negatively impacting their results which would be eliminated going forward. These include $4.8 million is costs associated with the litigation with The Knot which, of course, would end assuming the merger is completed. This amount of legal expense is similar to what The Knot spent last year.
In addition, in March of 2006 Wedding Channel shut down their magazine publishing program, which had generated a loss of approximately $2.4 million in 2005.
Finally, Wedding Channel [inaudible] and marketing expense in 2005 included slightly over $2.3 million of non cash charges. These charges related to prepaid advertising credits recorded in connection with an earlier investment in Wedding Channel and are almost fully amortized.
David, in his comments, talked qualitatively about opportunities for growth in advertising and registry revenues afforded by the increased online market share the combined companies would attain. From a cost standpoint, while there will be additional transition expenses in the near term, there can be longer-term operating synergies and cost savings given that certain components of the two businesses are similar.
Two sources for possible cost savings are staffing as well as general administrative expenses apart from the litigation. These costs aggregated approximately $11.8 million for Wedding Channel in 2005. It should be noted, though, that in many instances cost savings may be realized by using existing personnel resources from Wedding Channel to fill what would otherwise be ongoing additional personnel resource requirements for the The Knot's existing business or to support incremental growth for the combined businesses.
Another area for potential operating synergy would be Wedding Channel's wedding supplies business, which we would plan to incorporate into our existing warehouse and distribution facility in Reading, California. The added volume may provide economies of scale for purchasing, personalization labor and other fulfilment costs associated with this revenue stream.
On a final note, again, as David mentioned, earlier this week we acquired the lilaguides. The purchase price was $2 million in cash. The major asset we acquired was the database of information and ratings on over 32,000 local vendors. Lilaguides currently has a small revenue stream from the sale of the physical guides. It is our intention to develop an online publishing platform and once traffic [develops] we would charge local vendors for premium listings. We would also begin to sell national advertising on the site, and the site should also expand the e-commerce opportunity for us in the baby market. We have recently begun to adds this opportunity through certain partnerships and the recent loss of our own baby shop on the net. We currently expect to begin deriving revenue from these new sources in early 2007.
With that, we will now open the call to questions.
Question-and-Answer Session
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Richard Fetyko with Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company.
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
Hi, guys. Congrats on the quarter. Just some housekeeping questions first, if I may get the gross margins one each individual segment.
Richard Szefc
That's for the quarter. Basically the online advertising margins were 96.5%, the merchandise margin was 52.3% and our margin for publishing and other was about 68.2%.
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
Great, thanks, and in terms of the decision to do with the Wedding Channel, I guess you can't really quantify them but, you know, it looks like from what we see in the historical numbers, you know, the synergies will have to be quite significant for that to, the acquisition, I mean, when you looked at the acquisition, I guess, let me rephrase it, did you feel like the cost synergies were extremely important to making that decision or was it more on the sale synergy side or eliminating competition or eliminating the litigation expenses?
David Liu
It's probably a combination of all of the above. The opportunity that we see for the actual merging the two businesses comes from, you know, the scale that we will have, the fact that there will not even be a close second, more of a distant second. There are certainly growth opportunities across all revenue streams, but you're really talking about two businesses who have evolved over the years into two very different business models. Ours is far more media-driven; theirs is much more transaction driven. The relationships we both bring to the table are very different and so we think that there's an opportunity to really build on the assets of both companies.
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
Gotcha. That's helpful and then, in terms of the sales staff, I know you've been staffing up a little bit to expand on thenest.com site advertising with the local vendors. Could you just give us an update on how many salespeople you have and how many of those are dedicated to The Nest?
David Liu
Right now we have about just around 60 on the local side, which include about a half dozen or seven that are devoted to The Nest. The balance will sell both Knot and Nest profiles. On the national side we have about 10. We've added staff there as well, obviously, in connection with general growth in national advertising as well as, obviously, The Nest magazine and Nest online.
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
Gotcha and, you know, you've been selling The Nest on the local side for perhaps up to six months. Can you just give us some color on what you're seeing? How easy or difficult it is relative to what you've experienced on the Knot side? Thanks a lot.
David Liu
Sure. It's coming along pretty nicely. I mean, we're having certainly the benefit of the traffic that comes from The Knot organically to The Nest to drive a lot of the consumer awareness and in terms of the local adoption, we're certainly getting a decent amount of traction there as we're growing the local vendor base in The Nest. It's a very different media product and as a result the consumer behavior's very different so we have to adjust accordingly in terms of the types of promotions and the types of media packages we can actually offer local vendors.
What we are seeing is the productivity of the dedicated Nest local sales people being much higher than the productivity coming from our existing Knott sales folks so that may adjust how we look at how we want to grow at least the local segment of The Nest.
Your next question comes from the line of Barton Crockett with J.P. Morgan.
Barton Crockett – J.P. Morgan
Okay, great. Thank you very much. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your approaches in [acquire], which is now becoming, you know, quite evident in obviously the Wedding Channel acquisition, lilaguides. In particular, do you have, you know, what assurances can you give us that you're exercising some type of approach to get a return on the capital you're investing in these acquisitions. Do you have a minimum ROIC threshold that you meet or some other way to approach it? Some period of time that you're looking for to get a return?
If you could just give us a sense there and then secondly, you know, related to that, I mean, you guys, you know, you said you expect to have the $75 million plus or so of cash on your balance sheet when all is said and done. I assume that that level of cash, part of that is that you would expect to be an acquirer but, you know, if there are other uses you see for free cash flow if you could outline that as well? Thank you.
David Liu
We certainly are looking to have cash on our balance sheet to make additional acquisitions. We think there's a lot of opportunity as we continue to expand our business within these different life stages. You know, there's a great deal of opportunity in the wedding space alone once you start in the different types of services and products that a newlywed's interested in as well as now first-time parents, it really expands the scope by which we can begin to not only benefit our advertisers but also our consumers.
The investment we've made, or the cost of lilaguide, is hopefully very low and so we expect to be able to derive a great deal of opportunity within that brand on a local level, on a national level and even with e commerce.
When you look at the different components that are being put together with this merger, or this acquisition of lilaguide, they have deep, deep user-generated content. You know, this is not editorial that could be written by a series of freelance people. These are thousands of parents who have actually reviewed the different maternity shops, the different hospitals, the different restaurants. Everything that you may be interested in as a first-time parent is being reviewed by your peers and by other first-time parents to we think this is really valuable content. And you would take that and you look at the continuous supply of consumers that we have who are having their first babies, coming from The Knot and The Nest, and then you have our local ad sales force and our national ad sales force that has already been selling advertisers who want to reach this consumer, we think there is a real nice combination of assets within that acquisition.
I mean, I'll let Rich talk about sort of the Wedding Channel, which we think also has strong [opportunity] as well.
Richard Szefc
Yeah. You know, we don't have a specific ROI or a specific payback period when it comes to the Wedding Channel acquisition. We basically looked at the historical financial information for Wedding Channel. We noted the various charges which I talked about earlier on the call in terms of what has impacted them historically in 2005 and in the first quarter of 2006, and if you factor those out, you put them into a positive EBIT after 2005.
After that, we considered, you know, the areas of possible cost synergies. [A lot of the lines] of the payroll costs that I talked about, that didn't cross. In terms of the general administrative costs, not only from the standpoint of cost savings per se but also cost savings in the light of being able to reduce amounts [on] investments that's been making and [plans] to make going forward to support the growth of its own operations or the growth of the combined operations with Wedding Channel.
So we kind of looked at the historical, adjusted for some of the unusual items, and looked at the potential opportunities for cost synergies as well as what David mentioned before, the opportunity of being able to build the revenue because of the market share, the combined company would attain online in the wedding space.
Barton Crockett – J.P. Morgan
Okay but you know, since you are looking at acquisitions in the future, I mean, would you guys employ some type of threshold that you'd expect to see a return on your investment above your cost of capital and, you know, as part and parcel of that, do you expect that the Wedding Channel deal will [inaudible] a return above your cost of capital and, if so, would that be driven more by costs or by revenue or by both? Cost synergies, revenue synergies or both?
Richard Szefc
I think the ability to drive that additional income would be a combination of both the cost synergies as well as the revenue growth.
Barton Crockett – J.P. Morgan
Okay, I'll leave it there. Thank you.
(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from the line of Trina Choudhury with JMP Securities.
Trina Choudhury – JMP Securities
Hi, guys. We had a few questions in [inaudible]. I'm calling in for Bill. First of all, wanted to know if your approach to building out the baby category was going to be pretty much the same or different from the way you're growing out traffic to The Nest and The Knot, essentially word of mouth?
Secondly, we were wondering what amount of cost do you think you could cut out from the Wedding Channel merger?
Then lastly, we were also wondering how much of your merchandising business upside came from [The Baby] deal with J and J, and if we can expect merchandising to continue to grow at the same rate?
David Liu
Taken in reverse order, in terms of the merchandise revenue growth, to date very little of it has come from The Baby. It has obviously been an increasing factor but it's been a small contributor to the overall revenue stream. We had hoped to be able to, you know, continue to build that revenue stream further. We just, as I said, we just recently launched our own baby shop on The Nest from which we can control the marketing so we think there's an opportunity there and then down the road, once we develop less [inaudible] as a result of our acquisition of lilaguides, we think there's opportunity for further e commerce growth with that.
As far as the existing, we generally don't comment on existing trends. I will say we did say at the end of the first quarter in March that we saw favorable trends developing. Thus far for a couple of weeks here in July, the trend is continuing.
Richard Szefc
In terms of costs savings of the Wedding Channel, there is obviously duplicative operations, things like your technology, that licensing for and servers, message boards, publishing systems and for the time being, the two companies are still operating as competitors in the marketplace and so there is very limited access to what technologies and what infrastructure is available there to leverage on our behalf and so there's going to be a lot of decisions that will be made as we get closer to the completion of the merger, and certainly thereafter.
In terms of the growth of our baby space, we actually look at the acquisition of lilaguides, it's comparable to our acquisition of Wedding Pages back in 2000. It's a business that has a great deal of content. There is a database and infrastructure that we think is leveragable not only in the baby space but even other categories, and we also like the – we actually like the brand execution that the founders for lilaguides has been able to create for that brand. When we look at the advantages of this particular sort life event, it resembles more The Knot than necessarily The Nest. While The Nest acts as a feeder, the newlywed time span does not have the same deadline and urgency for information and urgency to spend as the prenatal timeframe and that's where we think lilaguide is going to really be able to provide a platform of depthful content that we can leverage against our audience that is essentially transitioning, graduating from engaged, newly married to now, first time parent.
Trina Choudhury – JMP Securities
Okay. Lastly, any plans for the $175 million that you're raising?
David Liu
None that we can actually talk about.
Trina Choudhury – JMP Securities
Okay. All right, well, thank you guys.
Your next question comes from the line of Gary [Schnerel] with J.P. Morgan.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Hi, David. Hi, Rich.
David Liu
Hey, Gary. How you doing?
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
David, can you elaborate regarding the less than 20% traffic overlap? Is that because Wedding Channel has more guests for the registry and Knot is more brides?
David Liu
You know, I was actually pretty startled with that stat when I saw that. That is our belief. If, you know, we always believed that a significant portion of Wedding Channel's traffic are the guests buying gifts and therefore if you factor that out, then we would probably have a larger percentage of their brides who are overlapping with us. But I think the end analysis, or my assumption is, that what happens with wedding web sites is that people generally will go to all of them in the first week or so, right after getting engaged or maybe right before they get engaged, but when they are actually in the depthful planning process, they will choose one site and they'll stick with it. Most women will not create multiple budgets for their wedding across multiple sites. They won't create multiple wedding web pages. They won't, you know, upload their guest lists into multiple guest list managers or have different checklists. So once they stick with one, they generally stay on one and therefore over time, when you look at the actual traffic patterns, it would be logical that there wouldn't be that much of an overlap of the actual bride traffic to each site.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Is there any way for you to know if you have brides on The Knot that are using the registry on Wedding Channel?
David Liu
Not as of yet but certainly, you know, post-merger we're going to look at the different membership databases and we would be able to find, you know, see where everyone is registered. Right now, we do know a significant number of our brides do register at the Federated Department Stores, whether it be Macy's or Bloomingdales so just by default there is an overlap in terms of what we can provide in terms of access.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Do you think there's a slightly smaller ability to sell content on Wedding Channel, as it is more about guests and registry? Even if it's not so extreme, it's a little bit?
David Liu
You mean, in terms of advertisers?
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
David Liu
No, because what we find is that we have a lower overlap. You're really reaching a different consumer and so, you know, we view it as, really, an add-on as opposed to potentially destroying, you know, revenue opportunities. There's just additional reach and so, you know, our ability to now package a larger and more comprehensive program that reaches across two different brands, that has local and national relevance across these two brands, we think is actually an enormous opportunity.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Again, can you touch on the rates, the advertising rates at Wedding Channel in relation to The Knot?
David Liu
Historically, they have been more aggressive than us. We look at that as a, you know, a tactic of a competitor which, you know, not necessarily needs to continue. You know, I think that there will be an opportunity to preserve our rates across both brands once we begin to leverage the larger audience.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
But if they were, I mean, were they 10% below where you were at the beginning of the year or more significant than that?
David Liu
It's not a real apples-to apples comparison. From a CPM level, they were willing to probably discount more aggressively than we were. We turned - we probably turned away business because we wouldn't go very low with some of the advertisers who wanted discounts. So, one of the things that we believe internally is that there is less of an opportunity to raise the [CPMs] but there's more of an opportunity to preserve them on a national front. On the local's a whole different ballgame, but on the national front we just think that there's added reach and really, right now, there's no one else who can actually even provide an alternative. When you look at the size of the traffic and the impressions that are generated by our competitors online, no one even comes close. So advertisers really won't have an alternative if they want to reach a, you know, significant bridal audience online with a branded message.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Okay, and if we look at the Wedding Channel's sponsorship and advertising line of $5.8 million for 05, can you break that down? National versus local?
Richard Szefc
The line was predominantly national. Their local advertising revenue was a very small amount.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Was that more a function of not having a staff, or just being unsuccessful?
David Liu
I think it was just focus. They were really focused on the technology and supporting their retail partners and over time, that's really how the organization evolved. Then, this is purely my subjective analysis, you know, I'm sure the folks at Wedding Channel may differ with me, but I think the emphasis of that business has been, you know, growing their registry business and just as our registry business has been very small and then not have been the primary focus, I think that's the way the media side of the business was probably looked at.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Okay and just finally, the payroll expense line for 05 for Wedding Channel, $9.6 million, can you break that down between registry and, you know, advertising sales?
Richard Szefc
No, but what I will say in the registration statement, in the pro forma, we did break it down into the categories that we report payroll for The Knot along with other costs in the areas of product and content sales and marketing and general administration and so with that, of that $9.6 million, product and content, which is IT and editorial and related staff, they're about $4 million of that amount. Sales and marketing are about $2.9 million, and general administration of about $2.6 million.
That's for all of 05.
Gary [Schnerel] – J.P. Morgan
Okay, great. Thank you.
Your next question is a follow up from Richard Fetyko with Merriman, Curhan, Ford.
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
Yeah, guys. Rich, you mentioned some transitional expenses in the near term. Just wondering if you could provide more color on that and what areas and perhaps quantify those and then, if I understand it right, you plan on taking lilaguide and have that form of foundation for the baby web site or are you planning acquiring a separate baby web site for that purpose?
David Liu
Lilaguide is going to really become a content base. We do not rule out additional acquisitions in the baby space. Right now we are looking at continuing to organically grow the baby community that's formed on The Nest. The fastest growing and the largest community right now on The Nest is the women who populate the Babies On The Brain board and so now we actually have a brand that will be able to supply a tremendous amount of content. We think that once we are able to fully localize the experience and provide a lot of the editorial expertise as, you know, [inaudible] brings to the table, we'll be able to create even more interest and a larger audience group for that. The opportunities that are in the prenatal space we think are pretty large simply because there hasn't been a real dominant brand dedicated towards first-time parents. Baby Center by far is the leader in that category and we don't intend on competing with them. We view this much more of a life stage, lifestyle content and community play.
Richard Szefc
In terms of [inaudible], we're not commenting on the dollar amounts of integration costs but, you know, over the next several months following the completion of the merger there's going to be a lot of activity going on in terms of integration. We'll probably have some additional staffing to deal with that. We'll have support for legal, accounting, and other professional services in connection with that. There'll be costs, smaller costs in relation to let's say just moving inventory and [inaudible] from their facilities to our facility in Reading, California. So there'll be those kinds of costs but typically those are ongoing costs and those typically aren't costs that are included as part of the purchase and put into the purchase accounting.
Richard Fetyko – Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Company
All right. Thanks a lot.
At this time, there are no further questions. Are there any closing remarks?
Amy Shey Jacobs
Yes. We'd like to thank you again for joining us this afternoon. If you've missed any part of today's call you can access the replay of the entire conference call on the Investor Relations section of the company's web site at www.theknot.com. A telephone replay is available for the next two weeks at 800 642 1687, Reference No. 3164202. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com. Thank you and goodbye.
This concludes today's second quarter conference call. You may now disconnect.
Copyright policy: All transcripts on this site are the copyright of Seeking Alpha. However, we view them as an important resource for bloggers and journalists, and are excited to contribute to the democratization of financial information on the Internet. (Until now investors have had to pay thousands of dollars in subscription fees for transcripts.) So our reproduction policy is as follows: You may quote up to 400 words of any transcript on the condition that you attribute the transcript to Seeking Alpha and either link to the original transcript or to www.SeekingAlpha.com. All other use is prohibited.
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Danny Hoch
Nicholas Roberts for The New York Times
News about Danny Hoch, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
'The Knick' Recap: Count the Addiction Cliches
There is a cocaine shortage, and yelling, phantom scratching, stealing....
October 10, 2014, Friday
'The Knick' Recap: Signs of Progress, Amid All That Blood
Things move forward: X-Rays, electricity, a shared operation. And backward: Racism, failed C-sections and gangsters....
September 12, 2014, Friday
Endangered Species in Gentrifying Brooklyn
Danny Hoch's "Taking Over" is a fiery polemical portrait gallery of a play....
November 24, 2008, Monday
Assault on the Gentrifiers, and the Audience
In his new show, "Taking Over," Danny Hoch addresses a subject bound to make some New Yorkers more than a little uncomfortable....
November 16, 2008, Sunday
American Radicals in Havana, Finding Disillusionment Beneath the Beat
This intermittently funny but meandering comedy by Danny Hoch squanders much of its considerable potential....
September 14, 2007, Friday
Spinning Storytelling Yarn for a New Generation
''Flow,'' a narrative monologue in rap written and performed by Will Power, is about how stories are passed down from one generation to another and about how storytelling changes. It's about the evolution of a culture, the new stories encompassing...
June 27, 2003, Friday
'Jails, Hospitals And Hip-Hop'
Directed by Danny Hoch and Mark Benjamin R, 90 minutes Adapted from a successful one-man show, ''Jails, Hospitals and Hip-Hop,'' which opens today at the Village East (Second Avenue at 12th Street, East Village), presents the performance art...
October 12, 2001, Friday
After the Tonys, Moving Vans The post-Tony housecleaning began in earnest this week with closing notices going up at the Plymouth Theater (''Bells Are Ringing''), the Ambassador Theater (''A Class Act'') and the Brooks Atkinson (''Jane Eyre''...
June 8, 2001, Friday
A Multicultural Chameleon; Actor's Experience Spawns Polyglot Cast of Characters
This is how Danny Hoch, actor, comic, emerging avatar of New York City multiculturalism, remembers where he is from: Home is a forest of high-rise apartments in a no-name neighborhood on the edge of the Long Island Expressway in Queens. Afterno...
October 9, 1999, Saturday
Rapping in the Heartland, Eager to Shed His Skin
Flip Dogg is phat. He's a hip-hop kind of guy. ''I got so much juice/I'm getting loose,'' he raps in the privacy of his bedroom -- until his mother calls him for dinner. Did we mention that although Flip deals cocaine from the men's room at a loca...
October 8, 1999, Friday
Rss Feeds On Danny Hoch
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subset: commoncrawl


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Pit Bull & Chihuahua Spay & Neuter Assistance Available
Thanks to a generous grant from the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation and The Coalition for Pets and Public Safety, the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley will have financial assistance available for the spay and neuter of Pit Bulls, Pit Bull mixes, Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes while funding lasts.
Pet owners interested in taking advantage of this program should call 909-386-1400 to see if they qualify for assistance and to book an appointment.
Again, funding for this program is limited so call today! 909-386-1400


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My plStic surgeon is Dr.Nakano in Duluth GA. I am 5'2 at 135 pounds. A single mom in a very driven business.The price for my BA and TT was amazing. I had my preop on feb21 with my best friend. Now, I am having my surgery on this upcoming Wednesday. I am freakin out but constantly praying that everything goes excellent. I am a single mom that is pursing my dreams and my purpose. I believe this surgery will continue to bring out my very best. I'm just praying for the very best and not worrying about my results bc I trust my PS. Dr. Nakano staff is soooo amazing , patient, caring. Again, I'm nervous but am so ready to look at my new body. Those that believe in Christ pray for me ! I will keep everyone posted on my new body.
6 weeks post op - new pics added
My surgery is tomorrow at 8am. I'm so ready to get...
My surgery is tomorrow at 8am. I'm so ready to get it over and done... And healed... And back to normal. Lol. I'm trying to stay calm around my daughter. I can tell she wants everything to go well. I am excited and nervous all at he same time. I've said several prayers. Now, I'm just waiting for amazing results ! So again .. Pls pray for me ! I will post pictures tomorrow after surgery ladies !!!
Day of surgery, I wake up feeling sleepy, hungry,...
Day of surgery, I wake up feeling sleepy, hungry, and a lil nauseous. I'm thinking my nerves are kicking in. I have showered with my anti-bacterial soap. I'm just waiting to leave for this 3 hour drive. I only slept for two hours last pm. I woke up praying this morning. I'm just so ready to get it over. If its The Lord will today.. My surgery should be completed by 1130 this am. I can't believe today is my surgery day. I have never had surgery before ... And to think its cosmetic ! I just want to have a wonderful experience from this entire process. I'm praying and praying and praying for mercy. I will update pictures by the afternoon. Thanks ladies for being so supportive ! Xoxox
Love Dr. Nakano and staff ! This is the very best...
Love Dr. Nakano and staff ! This is the very best plastic surgeon ever ! I highly recommend him to anyone !!!
Today is 3 days after operation. I felt a ton of...
Today is 3 days after operation. I felt a ton of pressure from my breast and stomach. I was nauseated, full of pressure, slight pain. I'm feeling much better today ( thank God). I just wanted to let everyone know that God has been sooo good to me with this experience and more. My postoperative is on Monday ... Hopefully my drain will be out. I will update pics ASAP !
Ok ladies. I'm feeling sooo much better. I'm not...
Ok ladies. I'm feeling sooo much better. I'm not on my pain meds anymore. I feel great about my results. Tummy feels weird ( numb). I just want to say one other thing. God( Jesus, Christ ) is so good ! If you don't believe in him ... Try him for 30 days ! He repairs, restores, rejuvenate and much much more !!! I can't express enough how blessed this experience has been. Try Him !!!
I am on my tenth day ... Everyday gets better for...
I am on my tenth day ... Everyday gets better for me. Just ready to be able to put on a heel . Still walking slow and not upright at 100 %. We're going on vacation this week ... So I need to be able to move !!!
I have updated my 6 week post op pics. I am still...
I have updated my 6 week post op pics. I am still healing in my navel. Also, I'm still swollen in abdomen ( stop wearing compression garment 2 weeks after surgery). I don't recommend anyone doing that as I have to wear it now for better results. I love looking at the body I knew pre baby. I recommend my doctor to everyone !
Almost 3 mons post op
10 month post op
I am officially 10 months post op. I feel great. My doctor told me to use my stomach muscles more as I struggle to do that daily. I have posted a new full body pic. Please note that my price does include traveling for surgery as well.
Spring 2014
Please excuse my full body shot as I have had request to see my scar from tummy tuck. I do not know anything about editing pics :( !
I year post op today
Yes ladies ... This is not my best pics as I am not in sexy mode this am. I'm a lil tired from world. I just got an email to post a year review .. So here are some pics. I will update some better ones in he next couple weeks (vacation time ) ! One thing I will say is that I love my results . I wish that I would have went smaller in my breast. My profession is always business attire. I feel like I'm always trying to find the best cover the girls up. Esp, when you don't want to come off as being too sexy .
I am finally able to be my sexy self again !
A year and a 1/2 later
My body still is looking really good ... Considering I don't work out ! My boobs are a lil bigger than I want ... Considering my back hurts occasionally. I should have listened to my Ps recommendation of 375cc. However , I am happy overall with having a banging body again. I would def go smaller in breast considering I have a curvy bottom. I would recommend everyone to my doctor. Love Dr. Nakano
Recommended by friend
5 out of 5 stars
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Expedition Guide Coordinators, Greece
Growing up in Greece fueled Kostas' passion for Greek history and culture and led him to Heidelberg where he obtained his PhD in Bronze Age Archaeology. Ariel also grew up loving the history and mythology of Greece, and she is currently writing her PhD at Temple University. Ariel and Kostas met on the island of Crete while excavating a Bronze Age site. Since then, the couple has traveled all throughout Greece and is thrilled to collaborate with Chill Expeditions to bring their passion for eco-immersion to American students.
Expedition Guide Coordinator, Costa Rica and Belize
A lover of nature and traveling, Quique has a B.A. in Sustainable Tourism and is working to complete his M.A. in Project Management, which combines his passions of bird watching, photography, hiking and exercising. Quique joined Chill Expeditions in 2007 and truly believes in the life changing experiences afforded to students through educational travel, the story approach and community service.
Expedition Guide Coordinator, Spain
Sam has been running Chill Expeditions' Spanish Immersion program in southern Spain for 13 years. Originally from France but with Spanish origins, he lived and studied in the US before he began leading expeditions and diving missions around the word. Sam has worked on expeditions for Jean Michel Cousteau and has been a sea survival and helicopter crash survival instructor for the US Army and Navy. Sam is an avid traveler and enjoys exploring and discovering new cultures.
Expedition Reservations and Office Assistant
Dario was born in a small beach community surrounded by mountains, where he spent his childhood exploring rivers, enjoying beautiful sunsets and taking in views of Golfo de Nicoya. He loves the nature and culture of Costa Rica and is proud to share these wonderful treasures with trip participants. Dario loves traveling with his friends and spending time with his family. He has a degree in Ecotourism.
Expedition Planning Guide
After earning a BBA in International Business, Gretchen spent several years adventuring in Lake Tahoe before moving to Costa Rica. There, she helped establish the Sustainable Solutions Caravan, which traveled Central America teaching about sustainable living techniques. She joined the Chill Expeditions team in 2005, taking a brief hiatus to start another non-profit, Beaches Local Food Network, to address the need in her community for greater access to local food. Gretchen spends part of the year in North Carolina and the remainder homesteading with her husband and young daughter on an off-the-grid farm in Costa Rica.
Expedition Reservations and Community Service Coordinator
Cristina is from a small community in the foothills of the Braulio Carrillo National Park. Adopting her passion for travel from her parents, she resided in Guanacaste for 10 years, where she studied Ecoturism and worked for several sustainable tourism institutions. She has extensive experience in the development of environmental education projects that involve and benefit local schools and communities. She believes than a "hands on" educational system marks the difference in the learning process of students. Cristina enjoys traveling, movies and unique cuisine.
Expedition Reservations Manager
A true nature lover, Marlen is always trying to make a difference for herself and the people around her. She has traveled extensively in her beloved native country of Costa Rica and is always eager to learn more about conservation efforts. Marlen has a degree in Ecotourism and is in the final stages of an advanced degree in management and protection of natural resources. She has more than 10 years of experience working in various areas of the tourism industry. Marlen loves to travel, watch movies and spend time with her family.
Expedition Finance Coordinator
Ana was born in Cuba, but she has adopted Costa Rica as her second home. Since the moment she arrived, she fell in love with the country and its people. She especially admires the Arenal Volcano and Corcovado National Park areas. Ana has a degree in Business Administration and Tourism Management and 15 years of experience working in various administrative areas of the tourism industry. She loves reading and solving crossword puzzles, and she has a passion for baking and cake decorating. She likes to spend time with her family and travel as much as she can.
Expedition Development Director
Mike is an explorer. He has canoed the Allagash River, hiked the coastal mountains of County Donegal, admired the view of Cape Town from the summit of Table Mountain, trekked through the Kingdom of Mustang, worked as a ranch hand in New South Wales and sailed from New Zealand to Fiji. It's the uniquely educational and human component of a Chill Expedition that Mike is especially proud to represent. As a husband, father, coach and athlete, Mike is in perpetual motion. He will however pause for sushi, bacon, fried plantains, mint chocolate chip ice cream and a pint of Guinness.
Expedition Communications Associate
Inspired by her father's adventurous spirit, Beatrice has always seen travel as a way to gain new perspectives. While she was completing a B.A. in Marketing and Communications, she began working for Chill Expeditions. What began as a learning experience gradually became a dedication, and she discovered that a career in educational travel was the perfect way to combine her passions. In her spare time, she coaches a girl's lacrosse team and adds to the 500+ photos of her beloved dog, Toby.
International Operations Manager / Expedition Planning Guide
Audrey first travelled with Chill Expeditions as a student, and later returned as a chaperone. After graduating with a B.A. in Biological Anthropology, Audrey worked with NGOs in Peru, El Salvador and Honduras. She later received her M.A. in Environmental Studies and wrote her thesis on Chill Expeditions' Story Approach teaching method. Audrey believes that educational adventures that challenge students can be life changing experiences. She feels that Chill Expeditions' emphasis on community service and sustainable solutions can help travelers take positive action in their home communities. She loves travel, music and exploring new places.
Expedition Development Coordinator and Planning Guide
Carolyne was a teacher for more than ten years before joining the Chill Expeditions team. She brings with her varied experience in the educational field having taught or coached in almost every grade level, and also has years of experience as a residential camp counselor and camp director. Carolyne believes that the best part about a Chill Expedition is the bonds that form among the group members and the change in perspective that happens for travelers. Carolyne enjoys meeting new people, sports of all kinds and time with her family.


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Central Catholic's big hitter shows off all-around golf game
Brent Rodgers has picked up where he left off last season after winning the WPIAL Class AAA individual golf title.
The Central Catholic star has shot an average of 37 in the first nine matches to lead the defending WPIAL Class AAA team champions to a 7-2 overall record and 6-2 mark in Section 3-AAA play.
"He's just a steady player for us. He leads the team with the most greens hit," coach Cory O'Conner said. "In most matches, he doesn't use a driver since he hits it too long. He really understands the game."
The senior has been well known for being a golfer who can crush the ball off the tee. However, Rodgers wants to show everyone that he has an all-around game to complement his power with the driver.
"I'm just trying to be someone different from any particular golfer," Rodgers said. "I'm a long hitter. When people hear you're a long hitter, they think you have no golf game. I want people to think of me as someone who is a long hitter with a golf game."
Over the summer, Rodgers won the West Penn Junior Golf Championship for the second time in three years in late July. The Cranberry native had a first-round 76, followed by a second-round 72 at the Club at Shadow Lakes.
As a senior, Rodgers has assumed more of a leadership role to aid the underclassmen, especially the freshmen, on the Vikings team. Rodgers sees the big picture for the long-term prosperity of the Central Catholic golf program.
"It has been that way since I was a freshman. I had a senior take me around the course," Rodgers said. "My role as a senior is to show the freshmen how to do things on the course."
"He's a leader on a pretty young team," O'Conner said. "He hits the ball further than everyone else but still shows the younger kids around the course. When he takes the freshmen around, it just really benefits his teammates."
Andrew John is a freelance writer.


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LAMPS PLUS Blog Policies
Happy Black Friday! Isn't this is the time of year when you just crave being cozy?
Think rich textures, wood-burning fireplaces, and knitted blankets. There are are a lot of home decor products that fall under the category of cozy - pillows, throws, and bedding, to name a few. But what about lighting?
Do you ever really have the desire to curl up and read a good book - under a cold, chrome fluorescent pendant light?
I've been really inspired by natural materials in lighting lately - namely wood. Rough wood textures, smooth bark, and elegant veneers have a warmth and natural beauty that's hard to ignore. Here's a round up of some lovely wood lighting fixtures (totally on-trend this winter) that have caught my eye as of late:
Highly polished wood is so elegant, and contrasts beautifully with frosted glass and polished metals. Opt for woods with dark stain finishes, like walnut and mahogany, for that high-end, "luxury ski chalet in Vermont" look.
Playing up the natural form of branches and twigs is another modern twist on rustic wood lighting. The tripod base on this floor lamp has the feel of a tree bough with branches growing from it, and the playful resin base of this table lamp looks like a casually gathered bunch of twigs.
Wood lampshades have such a warmth and sophistication about them, especially when the grain of the wood takes center stage. If a gorgeous real wood veneer lampshade is a little outside your budget, look for custom-made, giclee printed lamp shades for a dash of style that will do the trick!
For more inspiration and ideas check out these past post on faux bois and wood grain style.


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The Online Teacher Resource
Receive free lesson plans, printables, and worksheets by email:
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|Classroom Organizers
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- Vocabulary Focusers
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- Helps Students Focus Better
- For All Grade Levels and Content Areas
- Over 600 printables.
- Instantly save time!


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Abused Journalist Finds Hope in Kansas City
Makori Studies Communications at UMKC
Listen to the story here.
American journalists are blessed with a free press. But around the world, journalism can have life-threatening occupational hazards.
Before coming to the U.S., University of Missouri-Kansas City Communication Studies major Peter Makori faced down death when he worked as a journalist for The Standard, Kenya's oldest newspaper.
After surviving ten years of intimidation, brutal beatings and imprisonment, an Alfred Friendly Press fellowship landed him at The Kansas City Star in 2005. Makori shared his experiences during a recent segment of KCUR-FM's KC Currents.
KCUR-FM is a service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City


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Remember when traveling by air was an adventure? Sure, we had to walk through the metal detectors as far back as the early 1970s. But back then, private security firms who had been hired by the airlines did the screening. So there was an interest in customer service and satisfaction as well as security. September 11, 2001 changed all of that. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act required that all passenger screening must be conducted by Federal employees. These employees, who became the Transportation Security Administration, were under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security. And we all know what this has done to what used to be an exciting and pleasant activity. I have some truly horrible stories as I'm sure we all do.
What if this security were to be expanded to… oh, let's say subways? Or trains? Or even that toll bridge you have to cross to get to work? That may be in the works. In the November 30, 2012 Federal Register, the TSA applied for funding to "… establish the current state of security gaps and implemented countermeasures throughout the highway mode of transportation…" This examination of data is allegedly to help the TSA to provide resources to the "… surface transportation community." Surface transportation? That would mean trains, buses, trucks and cars. The TSA calls this study BASE - Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement.
TSA Looking At Expanding Beyond Airports To, Well, Everywhere
Current Status: Blessed (1)
Seeded on Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:59 AM
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Best unlimited Korean BBQ in DeNVER!
DAE GEE® (which means pig in Korean) is a Korean BBQ restaurant constituted in providing the freshest and dynamic food available. We also believe in the progressive thoughtfulness in being able to educate about Korean food. DAE GEE® is the integration of food, the arts and experience!


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KNUE Salutes The Men & Women Who Died While Serving
This Memorial Day we would like to pay tribute to our men and women who lost their lives while serving our country.
We are going to have a 72 Hour Memorial Day Tribute May 28th – May 30th. Click Here to Submit the name of a fallen hero.
Oops! We could not locate your form.


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- Photography
- Computers
- Pro Video
- Lighting
- Pro Audio
- Mobile
- TVs & Entertainment
- Camcorders
- Surveillance
- Optics
- Audio-Visual
- Used
- Shop Categories
- Used Dept
Why do All-in-One computers hold such sway over desktop computer users? Is it because the clean lines of the old iMacs were so futuristic and forward-thinking that PC users wanted to adopt them like shiny new robot puppies? Or are PC desktop users longing for the day when they can break the surly bonds of tried-and-true tower workstations and keep their desktop systems out in the open for everyone to see?
"All-in-One desktops are post-modern art—the clean lines and absence of wires lets you display yours out in the open..."
The answer is all of the above. All-in-One desktops are post-modern art—the clean lines and absence of wires lets you display yours out in the open, and not hidden under the desk like in days of old. All-in-One desktops are functional—with the decrease in the size of hard drives, solid-state drives, optical drives and more, All-in-Ones are just as powerful as tower workstations (for the most part). But the reason All-in-Ones have really taken off is because now the home-based computer can be just as comfortable as your multimedia entertainment center, work-based desktop, or client-facing workstation.
Traditionally, however, most All-in-Ones lacked real processing power. At most, you could find a couple with Intel® Core™ i7 processors, which are powerful and perfunctory in their own right, but are not the ideal processor to handle high-end video and digital photography editing. Also, All-in-Ones traditionally keep their slim form factor by excluding dedicated graphics cards.
Along comes HP, which, according to the most recent IDC market share data, is the industry leader in the desktop workstation market. Their HP Z line has always offered some of the best post-production video editing workstations, and they now bring that dedication to a new line of All-in-One systems.
The HP Z1 All-in-One Workstations finally bring powerful processing and a hardcore work ethic and marry it with sleek aesthetics and slim form factors. For the first time, a true All-in-One computer has the chops to compete with desktop workstations, and include workstation-specific attributes like RAID storage options, dedicated graphics cards and high-level Xeon processors. These All-in-Ones also offer a unique feature that allows for more flexibility in upgrading and customization—a tool-less chassis and horizontally folding monitor that let you quickly access and replace components, including hard drives, RAM, graphics cards, and more.
To that end, HP introduces the HP Z1 G2 F1K83UT All-in-One. The HP Z1 G2 F1K83UT (and all Z1 AiO models) features a 27" anti-glare screen with 2560 x 1440 resolution, and really brings the noise with a 3.2GHz Intel Xeon E3-1225v3 processor. This quad-core processor with an 8MB cache can be clocked up to 3.6GHz with Intel's proprietary Turbo Boost technology. The K83UT also includes 8GB of 1866MHz dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM, upgradeable to 32GB. But more importantly, the graphics processor is the Intel Graphics HD P4600—the "P" stand s for performance, and this chip certainly performs. Intel upgraded this GPU to handle heavy-resource tasks found mainly in post-production applications like AutoCAD and Adobe Premiere. It includes enhancements to the number of execution units, improved geometry performance, and additions to key 3D elements including Microsoft DirectX11.
The HP Z1 G2 FK184UT one-ups that with a 3.4GHz Intel Xeon E3-1245v3 quad-core processor with eight threads (the previous model was a four-thread processor). The extra threads simply mean that with Intel Hyperthreading, you can assign more processes per core, which allows smoother multitasking, especially when using programs or applications that involve high levels of computation. If you need that extra power, this is the unit for you. It also contains an 8MB cache for often-accessed data, and the speed of the processor can be clocked up to 3.8GHz.
Another difference in these units is the graphics option. This is the only All-in-One in the Z1 lineup that uses a dedicated graphics card, in this case an NVIDA Quadro K2100M with 2GB of dedicated RAM. It also includes a 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive and the same optical drive, ports, and connectivity options of the previous models. It also uses the same 27" LED backlit display with the same 2560 x 1440 resolution.
The next in the lineup is the HP Z1 G2 F1K85UT Multi-Touch All-in-One Workstation Computer. It mirrors, right down to the ports and amenities, the F1K84UT model, but adds 10-point touchscreen functionality to the mix. With touchscreen functionality, this high-end workhorse may be better suited for presentations or digital artistry. Medical professions may also find the touchscreen helpful in day-to-day operations. It is also configured with the Intel HD Graphics P4600 controller, so AutoCad and Photoshop professionals can use this with confidence. It includes 8GB of RAM, which can upgraded to 32GB.
The last All-in-One in HP's lineup offers certain perks that make it the best of the bunch. The HP Z1 G2 F1K87UT 27" All-in-One Workstation Computer starts with the 3.4GHZ Intel Xeon E3-1245v3 processor, with an 8MB cache.
First perk: It comes configured with 16GB of 1866 MHz dual-channel DDR3 RAM, upgradeable to 32GB. It uses the integrated Intel HD Graphics P4600 GPU, and is encased in the same 27" Led backlit 2560 x 1440 display.
Perk 2: It upgrades the storage with a dual setup. Inside this user-serviceable All-in-One is both a 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive and a 256GB solid-state drive. A solid-state drive should always be your first upgrade when considering purchasing a post-production workstation. They're faster, they produce less heat, and they are quickly becoming affordable.
Perk 3: In addition to the standard ports, including USB 3.0 and 2.0, this unit finally steps up to the plate with dual Thunderbolt 2 ports. That means that you now have a conduit for 20GB/s of bi-directional transfer speed, which is four times faster than USB 3.0, and twice as fast as Thunderbolt. When it comes to the streams of uncompressed video that professional video editors deal with, having something with that kind of speed is a blessing, and they know it.
Also available at the more affordable end of the spectrum, HP has the HP Z1 F1K81UT 27" AiO Workstation Computer. The reason it leans toward the consumerist end of the scale is because it uses a more common 3.4GHz Intel Core i3-4130 Haswell processor and Intel HD Graphics 4400 GPU, but it does allow 1866MHz DDR3 RAM (4GB installed, and it can be upgraded). The screen is still a 27" widescreen LED backlit display, with native resolution of 2560 x 1440, which is perfect for clear web viewing and multimedia applications. It also includes a 500GB 7200 rpm hard drive.
A similarly loaded Intel Core i5 model is also available, the HP Z1 F1K82UT Workstation Computer, which uses a 3.2GHz i5-4570 Haswell with an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4600 chip, so there is a slight boost in the graphics. This model also comes with 8GB of installed 1866MHz DDR3 SDRAM, also upgradeable to 32GB. The storage on this unit is a 1TB 7200 rpm hard drive.
Both models are configured with a tray-loading Super Multi DVD R/W drive, and a variety of ports including USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports (one of which doubles as a charging data port), a DisplayPort for dual-monitor support, and audio ports like microphone and headphone input/outputs, and SPDIF output.
These two models also include Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and the newer 802.11 ac networking protocol. Bluetooth 4.0 and an integrated front-facing 2.0MP webcam are also part of the package.
Although not as powerful as their beefier cousins, they're also suitable for light video editing and digital artwork, and they also use the same worry-free tool-less chassis and high RAM configurability.
It's good to see that HP doesn't just sit around and wait for the desktop market to die. They step forward and advance the role of desktops, producing workstations that would be just as comfortable in the living room as in the boardroom. But they understand the needs of professional users, and they've built a sleek, smart and stylish desktop that doubles as one of the most powerful PCs around. Good for them. And good for you.


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The United States Federal Reserve is armed with enough positive economic information to take the first step this week to unwind its unprecedented $US3.8 trillion ($4.25 trillion) stimulus.
The improving US labour market and a political compromise over the federal budget fulfil two key criteria identified by Fed chairman
Ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, a slew of economic data in recent weeks suggests the US economy is experiencing a gradual sustained recovery.
Financial markets are becoming increasing comfortable with a small $US5 billion to $US10 billion reduction in asset purchases.
Ten-year US Treasury yields are hovering around 2.88 per cent – below the spike to 3 per cent recorded in September when traders – wrongly – priced in the start of tapering.
When Dr Bernanke wrong-footed markets in September and continued the monthly buying of $US45 billion in US Treasuries and $US40 billion in mortgage bonds, the two key reasons he pointed to were uncertainty about the strength in the labour market recovery and the looming fiscal uncertainty in Congress.
He said the reduction in bond buying, which aims to lower long-term interest rates and stimulate the economy, would be "data dependent".
New low in unemployment
Since then unemployment has fallen to a five-year low of 7 per cent, after the American economy added 204,000 jobs in October.
Industrial production jumped 1.1 per cent in November, the largest monthly increase this year, new data released on Monday showed. Strong gains were recorded across utilities, mining and motor vehicles.
"The surge in utility output was in response to demand, so it will be reflected in the consumers' spending data," Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson said.
About half of US economists surveyed predict confirmation of a taper in December, with most others anticipating a January or March wind-down.
"No one will be shocked if tapering is announced, but expect it to be delayed for at least one more meeting," High Frequency Economics chief US economist Jim O'Sullivan said.
Congress is in the final stages of formally approving a budget compromise reached by Democrats and Republicans in the Senate last week, preventing a repeat of the government shutdown in October.
The Bipartisan Budget Act will defer $US64 billion in spending cuts previously scheduled for 2014 and 2015, in return for cuts in mandatory spending and increases in revenues worth $US85 billion over the next 10 years.
"A significantly milder fiscal-policy drag in 2014 remains adds to the probability of the Federal Reserve beginning its 'taper' process," IHS Global Insight chief US economist Doug Handler said.
Congress still needs to lift the debt limit by around mid-February to avoid hitting the borrowing ceiling in the months ahead.
Chance to pull the trigger
The December FOMC meeting is the penultimate chance for Dr Bernanke to commence the unwinding of the massive stimulus campaign the Fed initiated in response to the worst economic downturn since the 1930s depression.
Unless he pulls the trigger at the scheduled meetings this week or in January, the task will fall to his anointed successor,
Ms Yellen, like Dr Bernanke, has been a strong supporter of the Fed's stimulus campaign.
Even when the Fed begins its reduction in bond purchases, it has pledged to keep its short-term funds rate at zero at least until the jobless rate falls to 6.5 per cent and as long as inflation remains in check.
The Australian Financial Review


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Creating Productive and Positive Dealership Environments
Thursday April 17, 2014
FREE Registration
Staying compliant with workspaces and automotive (including Agriculture/Heavy Equipment) work bays.
There are regulations for compliance in regards to environment and safety of automotive work bays, but did you know that there are HR rules and regulations that have to be accounted for as well? In this webinar, Senior HR advocates Angie Williams and Kim Kavanagh will discuss what is appropriate and legal for individual automotive (including Agriculture/Heavy Equipment) work bays, and how to bring them into compliance to create a positive and productive atmosphere at your dealership.
Can't attend at this time? Register anyway!
If you are unable to attend the webinar at this time, please register anyway and you will be sent a link to a recording of the webinar along with the presentation slides.
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Becky Ross at firstname.lastname@example.com, (866) 356-1735
Kim Kavanagh is a Sr. HR Client Advocate for KPA's HR Management product line. Kim has over 15 years of experience and is a certified Sr. Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Kim is working towards a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources at Colorado State University.
KPA Angie Williams is a Sr. HR Client Advocate for KPA's HR Management product line. Angie has over 15 years of experience in Human Resource Management working for both local and national companies. Angie is a certified Professional in Human Resources and is California PHR certified with a B.S. Degree from Colorado State University in Human Development and Family Studies.


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Carolina Basketball
This week may reveal the true North Carolina. Are the Tar Heels the team that is a pedestrian 22nd in the Ratings Percentage Index, thanks to a schedule that includes a loss to Santa Clara (RPI: 192)? Or, after two ACC wins by a combined 68 points, is No. 3 UNC a team worthy of the first-place poll vote and the general foaming at the mouth among broadcasters?
Tar Heels face tough test with Tech's 'D'
The Durham Herald Sun
The protective mask that sits in Jawad Williams' locker isn't there to remind the North Carolina senior how far he has come since last season, when he wore the bulky accessory to shield a broken nose.
Mask serves as reminder for J. Williams
The Greensboro News and Record
Tonight's going to be one of those precious tickets, and for all the right reasons. Georgia Tech is 11-2 and brings a defensive posture North Carolina's Roy Williams has to respect. The Yellow Jackets, who played for, but lost, the national championship last season are holding opponents to only 34.6 percent from the field, best in the ACC. Only two Tech foes, Michigan and Gonzaga, managed 40 percent.
Dascenzo: Really, this one's worth ticket price
The Durham Herald Sun
Georgia Tech comes into Chapel Hill unbeaten in league play with convincing home wins over Miami and Virginia. But they will again be without the services of senior guard B.J. Elder, who injured his left hamstring in a loss to Kansas on New Year's Day and is expected to be sidelined for at least another 10 days.
Jackets offer Tar Heels stern test
The Fayetteville Observer
Jawad Williams has seen good times at North Carolina turn sour quickly, so he isn't easily impressed by his team's 13-game winning streak or its two ACC wins by 34 points each.
Tar Heels say their focus remains on Yellow Jackets
The Winston-Salem Journal
To say North Carolina's 34-point victory against then-No. 22 Maryland has left some fans in a state of hoops hysteria would be an understatement. One radio-show caller even suggested this week that if the Tar Heels can't find better competition, they should consider joining the NBA.
To those giddy fans, coach Roy Williams had a simple message before his Tar Heels tip off tonight against No. 8 Georgia Tech: Forget the Maryland game.
Williams tells Heels to forget last victory No. 8 Georgia Tech visiting No. 2 UNC
The Jacksonville Daily News
In the era of LeBron, matchups like this were supposed to be extinct, relegated to ESPN Classic along with short shorts and college basketball dynasties.
But tonight, on regular old ESPN, No. 3 North Carolina and No. 8 Georgia Tech will tip off without a freshman on the court.
Tech, Carolina buck trend with all-veteran starters
The Macon Telegraph
It's amazing what a little 34-point annihilation of the reigning ACC tournament champ can do, isn't it? In the afterglow of North Carolina's 109-75 victory over Maryland Saturday, the Dean Dome delirium spilled outside by mid-afternoon and then moved up to fabled Franklin Street, where the party continued long into the night.
It also moved Ron Green Sr., the esteemed and now retired sports columnist for the Charlotte Observer, to pick up his laptop once more. "The sky over Chapel Hill is Carolina blue again," Green wrote. ". . . Roy Williams has gathered up the broken pieces and put them back together. Tar Heels basketball, the real stuff, is back."
Skies are Carolina blue once more
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The national media's fascination with the North Carolina schools makes it that much more difficult to woo a player interested in playing in the ACC, Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt believes.
Georgia Tech coach battles an ACC bias
The Charlotte Observer
Anthony Morrow's mother never imagined the sweet sound her son made would turn into something special.
Morrow takes swish to Ga. Tech
The Charlotte Observer
Carolina Football
James Webster bowed his head under his new TSU ball cap Tuesday, waiting for the tears to subside. Being named the new head coach of Tennessee State's football program fulfilled a goal he has had since age 7. "I worked hard to get here," Webster said in choked tones Tuesday during a press conference on the TSU campus. "It has been a tough road. I want everyone to know I'm really excited to get here."
Webster follows long road to TSU
The Nashville City Paper
James Webster had to wait 27 years, but he became a head-football coach for the first time yesterday when he was hired by Tennessee State to rebuild its program.
Tennessee State hires Webster as coach
The Winston-Salem Journal
James Webster, a UNC assistant football coach the past four seasons, is going to be a head coach for the first time. Webster is the new coach at Division I-AA Tennessee State.
UNC's Webster named head coach at Tennessee State
The Durham Herald-Sun


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Muesli Breakfast Cereal
Get a healthy start in the morning with this flavorful mix of rolled oats, nuts, fruit, and milk.
- Servings: 2
Source: Everyday Food, December 2006
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 Bartlett pear, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved or quartered lengthwise
In a small bowl, stir together oats, milk, and sugar. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour and up to overnight.
In a small skillet, toast walnuts over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Stir walnuts, pear, and grapes into oat mixture.


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Linda Ori
Linda Ori (08/13/1945 / UTAH)
» Click to list general statistics » OR, select a date :
The Gift
Treasure friendships while you may,
The ones for life, or just one day -
Each time we meet and share a thought
Is a precious moment not forgot;
read more >>
- Hits: Number of visitors who read the poem on the given date.
- Posts: Number of visitors who posted the poem to a friend (via e-mail) on the given date.
- Dates that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list.
- Dates, poems and poets that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list. Statistics are generated daily.


text:
We have 1 clue and 1 related crossword answer for Nurse Fleming on TV's Monk. Read below for answers to clues including Nurse Fleming on TV's "Monk.
|Last seen
|Nurse Fleming on TV's "Monk
|June 17, 2013
Copyright © 2013 by Two Across, LLC. | Privacy | Mobile | Two Across Player for Windows 8 PCs | Contact Us


text:
Staff Notes
February 1998
February 1998
Put a lid on it
(your bike, that is)
If you were a bike, you couldn't ask for a groovier pad. These storage units, called
Bike Lids
were installed last November on the south side of FL4. Each of the nine lids, made of polyethylene over a steel shell, flips up on a spring-assisted hinge at one end that's attached to a steel base. This allows one or two bikes to be stored on either side of a rack inside. The bikes can be locked to the rack or secured by locking the lid itself in its "down" position (or both). Because the new lids are great for bikes, but not much use for anything else, they could help thwart the scofflaws who have used the bike lockers at ML and FL for storing everything from snow tires to fertilizer for weeks at a time. Another new development will please users of the older lockers. Dean Lindstrom (Facilities Services) has been working with Jack Fox (Design and Fabrication Services) to design new hasp-type locks that will replace the current lock-and-key system within the next month. "This will eliminate the long delay for replacing locks when either a key is lost or a lock is broken. More importantly, these hasps will prevent lockers from being pried open," says Dean. Bikers will use their own standard U-locks or padlocks with the new hasps. As always, the lockers are intended for daily use only--one of the policies and procedures to be spelled out in guidelines being affixed to each locker.
In this issue...
Other issues of
Staff Notes Monthly
Edited by Bob Henson,
Prepared for the Web by Jacque Marshall


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Here's how you can download the Download All Files app free for Android devices.
1. Go to the Google Play page for the free app Download All Files.
2. Tap the Install button.
Download All Files makes it easy for you to download RAR, ZIP, MP3, DOC, XLS, APK, and other kinds of files. You can also save them to your SD card, including your Gmail attachments.
This article is published as part of the IDG Contributor Network. Want to Join?


text:
|Innovation Awards Program
Share |
Innovate and Secure the Future with ASC
2017 ASC Innovation Awards
Innovation clearly drives value through the value chain. The ASC innovation awards will recognize companies that have made efforts to differentiate and make significant impact in the marketplace.
Winners of the award will:
• Be recognized at the ASC Annual Spring Convention
Wood Adhesion Webinar


text:
Initially, the primary concern raised by vaporization of polymer scaffolding was that polymer-vapor residue might interfere with the bonding of the thermoelectric legs to the metal pads on the ceramic substrates. In an experiment to investigate the likelihood of such interference, a mockup comprising two molybdenum legs separated by a PAMS sheet in contact with a titanium plate was placed under uniaxial pressure and heated to a temperature of 950 °C in a partial vacuum of 10–6 torr. Strong, uniform bonds were made between the molybdenum legs and the titanium plate, demonstrating that the PAMS vapor did not interfere with bonding.
This work was done by Jeffrey Sakamoto, Shiao-pin Yen, Jean-Pierre Fleurial, and Jong- Ah Paik of Caltech for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.techbriefs.com/ tsp under the Materials category.
In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its commercial use should be addressed to:
This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
Vaporizable Scaffolds for Fabricating Thermoelectric Modules (reference NPO-41248) is currently available for download from the TSP library.
Please Login at the top of the page to download.


text:
The wealth management industry has called on the opposition to back the federal government's plan for a 40 per cent resources super profits tax in order to ensure that the proposed changes to Australia's superannuation regime are passed.
The move widens the divisions in the business community over the resources tax after the small business sector expressed concern about losing tax concessions if the mining industry campaign against the tax is successful.
The government has tied its company tax and small business tax breaks to the passage of the resources tax.
On Monday, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, the Investments and Financial Services Association, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees and Industry Super Network, which together represent super funds and wealth managers, will call for bipartisan support for the government's proposed changes to the tax system.
"This is a once in a generation opportunity to do something about our retirement system," said AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds.
"We think [Opposition Leader]
The government stepped up its defence of the resource tax on Friday as Mr Abbott said he would even oppose a watered down version.
He said the decision of the government to respond immediately to the Henry report was "in the interests of certainty" for investors in the mining sector.
He said there was no certainty in the royalties regime which the resources tax is designed to replace.The new tax would benefit the sector when profits were lower whereas many miners were "punished" by the "archaic and unfair royalties regime", he said.
Federal Treasury is now in discussions with 80 companies after calling for consultations on the detailed application of the resource rent tax on their projects and future investment plans.
Treasury is delivering detailed briefings on how the complex new tax regime will work in practice and on how transitional arrangements will work.
Mr Swan said miners would still be able to claim rebates for royalties even when they did not make super profits. He divided the minerals sector into "a few on the fringe" who were engaging in "extreme and hysterical statements" and the "great bulk of companies" that were consulting on how the tax would apply.
Ministers also welcomed the move by former head of the Business Council of Australia and the Minerals Council,
The Australian Financial Review


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is there a faster way to send envato DMCAs??
every single day theres like 15 new items on graphicriver and there all rip off from other members some mine some others?
I agree with you IK. Reviewers also need to be more sceptical of their evaluation.
Take a look at my pluginhttp://codecanyon.net/forums/thread/dmca-sender-free-plugin-helping-you-protect-your-products/109886
LCweb said
Take a look at my plugin http://codecanyon.net/forums/thread/dmca-sender-free-plugin-helping-you-protect-your-products/109886
Im not talking about those warez sites lol those are easy – Im talking about GRAPHICRIVER!
LOL, are you saying that reviewers are approving items ripped from other projects?
LCweb said
LOL, are you saying that reviewers are approving items ripped from other projects?
Pretty much . theres a lot of new people here just buying files or downloading illegal ones witching some words up and uploading them back to graphicriver and getting approve.
Blatant rip offs or similar idea? When it comes to design these days, pretty much everything is a remix of something else, uniqueness is a rarity, and some times if you think you came up with something by yourself, it's most likely already been done
yea I understand that but when they use the same elements you created then thats when they hit the line
to my mind it is a problem of the review team. its their responsibility to make sure that files are not ripped off.
Support takes for ever !! That's the sad part what they do with the money they make of pirate files ?!!