text:
Local stocks slump after Wall Street fell on concerns about the budget debate in Washington while an Israeli air strike and widespread austerity protests in the eurozone helped push European stocks lower.
- Myer gets a lift from rate cuts, mild Spring
- Qantas buyback plan lifts shares
- Graincorp rejects ADM bid, reports profit jump
- Dollar dips on US economy concerns
- US stocks slump to four-month low
5.20pm: That's all for today. Thanks everyone for reading this blog.
Here's our evening wrap.
4.40pm: All sectors had a bad day, woth gold stocks being slugged particularly had, falling 3.4 per cent. Materials slumped 2 per cent, financials lost 0.6 per cent and energy dropped 0.9 per cent.
4.31pm: Markets reflected worse-case scenarios today with investors fleeing in droves as equities hit seven-week lows following falls in European and US markets overnight, says CMC Markets trader Ben Taylor:
- Miners and Banks have taken the largest hits today as a myriad of events plague our market. Obama's speech failed to calm the markets anxiety over the pending fiscal cliff, details emerged that Greece's recession is deepening, and tensions escalating in the Middle East all added to the panic selling.
- Obama's speech overnight is the key reason we are taking such a hit today. While the markets were hoping for the Democrats and Republicans to stop playing hardball and find some middle ground the opposite seems to be happening.
- Obama believes he has a mandate from the people to repeal the Bush tax cuts for high income earners, which the Republicans strongly oppose. Increasing taxes for the rich has the two parties in a stalemate and is not something the market wanted to hear.
- News of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza strip and a flash estimate that had Greece's GDP contracting further ahead of new austerity measures have done little to incite confidence at this time.
4.20pm: The market has closed sharply lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index plunged 39.2 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 4349.2, while the broader All Ords lost 40.1 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 4370.6.
3.58pm: The chairman of Grid Australia, Peter McIntyre, has apologised to farmer and electricity industry critic Bruce Robertson for making legal threats and has withdrawn the action.
The back-down comes in the wake of a widespread public outcry over legal intimidation by the power companies, most of which are controlled by state governments.
Grid Australia is the peak body for the state electricity transmission giants. It appears the action may not have been legal anyway, due to the fact that it is not a registered corporate entity.
3.40pm: Australia's digital economy grew significantly in 2011/12 with online shopping, social networking sites and a near doubling of smart phone ownership helping drive the boom.
Online shopping activities grew 27 per cent in the 12 months to July 12, according to a new report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
There are now 11.36 million Facebook users in Australia, 9.67 million YouTube users and, in the 12 months to July 2012, 12.27 million people accessed online news sites.
3.12pm: All but one of the sectors on the ASX200 are down today:
- Materials: -1,84%
- Information technology: -1.65%
- Energy: -0.92%
- Industrials: -0.85%
- Utilities: -0.76%
- Finance: -0.69%
The only bright spot is the Telecoms sector, up 0.35%
3.05pm: Less than an hour to go and the major indices are firmly in negative territory. In recenbt trade the All Ordinaries index was 38.9 points lower, or 0.9 per cent, to 4371.8, while the benchmark S&P/ASX200 is 37.2 points lower, or 0.8 per cent, to 4351.2.
It's been a fairly down kind of a month. On October 19 the ASX200 was at 4571.1 - that's a drop of 219.9 points - almost 5 per cent.
2.55pm: More on the RBA increasing its holdings of foreign currency assets last month, with some anlaysts seeing the move as part of a recent trend that appears to signal its growing frustration with the strength of the dollar.
The Reserve Bank accumulated $457 million worth of foreign currency in October, the third month of $400-million-plus increases, compared with a monthly average rise of roughly $90 million since the start of 2010.
The RBA has repeatedly said the currency is historically, high especially given sharp falls in the prices for resource exports, but has stopped short of actual movements to push down the dollar. Deputy Governor Philip Lowe recently said any large-scale intervention would be a very big step which would only be taken ''in extremis''.
Greg Gibbs, a strategist at RBS says it show the Reserve is trying to intervene, though stealthily:
This suggests that they may have sold around A$400 million in the process of attempting to slow the dollar's rise. It's not a huge amount, but it is cumulative, and if the RBA were to continue at this pace for some months it will steadily soak up a lot of additional demand for the dollar. They probably don't mind the market talking about it and that suggests some level of concern about the currency. They are hoping it'll have some psychological and real impact.
2.37pm: BlueScope are holding their AGM today, and, BusinessDay's Brian Robins writes, investors were told to steel themselves for another bad year.
Bluescope has flagged it will be at least another 12 months before it makes a profit, forecasting a loss in the financial year to June, 2013.
''We expect an underlying net loss after tax approaching break even,'' managing director Paul O'Malley said. The foreshadowed loss is before taking into account foreign exchange influences and market conditions, he said.
In the year to June, Bluescope lost $1.04 billion, little changed from the $1.05 billion loss struck a year earlier, as the company continues to battle the adverse effects of the strong Australian dollar, which has forced it to slash production levels.
Despite the gloomy outlook, Bluescope shares are up 1.5 per cent at 46.7 cents.
2.32pm: Australia's dollar has dropped almost a cent after the the US Federal Reserve said it might consider further market stimulus and the RBA said it increased sales of the currency last month.
The dollar hit a low of $US1.0349 in the late morning after trading as high as $US1.0457 overnight. It's since come back up a touch and was at $US1.0379 recently.
The Reserve Bank sold $483 million more Australian dollars than it bought in October, the most since June 2009.
Emma Lawson, an NAB foreign-exchange strategist thought the RBA's move would ease some pressure:
There will likely be more chatter that the RBA is perhaps conducting off-market, central bank-to-central bank transactions, The Aussie is considered to have been strong due to these market transactions for investors buying our government debt. If it's being conducted off market, then perhaps that takes some pressure off the upside for the currency.
2.19pm: BusinessDay's Peter Ker has come up with this little nugget about Fortescue:
"The sums of money involved would scarcely buy 300 metres of railway in the Pilbara, yet Fortescue Metals Group's surprise expansion into shale oil and gas is intriguing none the less.
"In what shapes as the company's first steps toward diversification beyond iron ore, Fortescue has emerged as the new cornerstone investor in tiny, Melbourne-based shale aspirant "Oil Basins Limited".
"The $4.2 million investment will give Fortescue 18 per cent of "OBL", and that stake could grow further under options tied to the deal.
"Apart from being Fortescue's first plunge into the energy sector, the deal could write another chapter in the company's rivalry with BHP Billiton."
Read more here
1.52pm: Consumers appear less concerned about the inflation outlook, despite recent official price data showing stronger than expected pressures.
The Melbourne Institute's consumer inflation expectations survey for November released today found households predicting a consumer price index (CPI) of 2.2 per cent over the coming 12 months, down from 2.7 per cent as of October.
This was lowest survey outcome since early 2009 and predicts inflation at the bottom end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) two to three per cent inflation target.
''This provides the RBA with a bit of room to stimulate growth should (downward) risks coming out of Europe, the US and China increase,'' research fellow at the institute Viet Nguyen said.
1.47pm: Myer may be seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but it's not celebrating yet. Boss Bernie Brookes is preparing for a worst-case scenario of a flat Christmas trading period despite six months of comparative sales growth for the department store and a recent cut in official interest rates.
Brookes said that the Australian consumer was still feeling fragile due to continued concerns over Europe's economic crisis and fears about a rise in local unemployment. Myer had placed forward product orders for a flat Christmas this year, he said.
However, the department store, which on Thursday posted its second consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth, had the ability to quickly ship in extra stock in the last few days before Christmas if the shopping season proved stronger than anticipated, Mr Brookes said.
1.35pm: Gindalbie Metals is celebrating today after getting its first production of magnetite concentrate out of its plant in Western Australia, writes BusinessDay's Peter Ker.
While the ramp-up of the plant will take many more weeks, it means Gindalbie has almost certainly won the race into production between the two big Chinese-owned magnetite plants in WA.
The Clive Palmer linked Citic magnetite project near Karratha is still languishing with delays and cost overruns.
Shares in Gindalbie are up more than 5 per cent at 31 cents.
1.28pm: BusinessDay's Adele Ferguson has been looking at Myer's first quarter sales figures, which sent shares in the deparment store soaring today. Adele writes:
It's early days but feelings about ... Myer might just be turning the corner, with sales up in the first quarter of 2013 and investors pushing the company's share price up 6 per cent to a six-month high. Myer kicked off the first quarter of 2013 with consumers spending $688 million in its stores, up 1 per cent on last year, as the company started to focus on customer service. It has also started playing hardball with suppliers to try and close the gap between the price consumers can source products in online stores overseas versus the price charged in the local stores.
Myer shares have jumped 5 per cent to $2.10.
You can read Adele's full story here
1.15pm: More from the Seven Group Holdings AGM, where the company says the outlook is strong, but that it is reviewing both its Caterpillar business in China and, as we mentioned earlier, its stake in Coates Hire.
Seven's executive chairman, Kerry Stokes, told shareholders in Sydney that it had been a challenging 12 months for its territories in China particularly in the latter part of the financial year and ''we are currently working to ensure that our cost base there reflects this lower level of demand''.
Mr Stokes said the outlook for Seven was strong, with the company expecting first half underlying net profit in the range of $200 million to $220 million.
Read the full story from BusinessDay's Colin Kruger here.
1.05pm: Consumers appear less concerned about the inflation outlook, despite recent official price data showing stronger than expected pressures.
The Melbourne Institute's consumer inflation expectations survey for November has found households predicting a consumer price index of 2.2 per cent over the coming 12 months, down from 2.7 per cent as of October.
This was lowest survey outcome since early 2009 and predicts inflation at the bottom end of the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2 to 3 per cent inflation target.
''This provides the RBA with a bit of room to stimulate growth should (downward) risks coming out of Europe, the US and China increase,'' research fellow at the institute Dr Viet Nguyen said.
1.00pm: More economic data from the ABS, this time it seems like good news, with cotton and canola production hitting record highs in the 2011/12 crop year.
Canola production was 3.4 million tonnes, up 44 per cent from last year and the highest since the 1999/2000 season.
Cotton production rose 12 per cent to 944,000 tonnes, ABS said.
12.57pm: The AGMs just keep on coming. Also on today we have industrial and media conglomerate Seven Group Holdings, which has flagged a strategic review of the Coates Hire business it co-owns with private equity firm The Carlyle Group.
Seven said the process is response to recent interest in the asset - of which it owns 45 per cent - with Goldman Sachs placed in charge of the review of ''ownership alternatives''.
The two partners attempted to float the business with a $3 billion valuation earlier this year and Seven managing director Peter Gammell signalled the current process is driven more by Carlyle looking for an exit than Seven looking for a transaction.
''Clearly there is not an IPO market available at the moment, but we have had some inbound inquiries as a result of that whole process,'' he told reporters after the meeting.
Seven Group shares are down 1.2 per cent at $6.39.
12.54pm: Heading in to lunchtime and things are still heading downward. In recent trade the All Ordinaries index is 47.3 points lower, or 1.1 per cent, to 4363.4, while the benchmark S&P/ASX200 is 45.5 points lower, or 1.0 per cent, to 4342.9.
"It's just a follow-through risk seen from U.S. markets. Of course we did just see a sharp selloff on Wall Street as we approach that fiscal cliff," said Stan Shamu, market analyst at IG Markets.
"It just seems that there's not much confidence out there," he said.
12.42pm: There's plenty of AGMs on today. We've looked at a couple, now it's Asciano's turn, with the ports and rail operator telling shareholders that it's operating in a difficult economic environment and is frustrated by the disappointing performance of its share price.
Chief executive John Mullen said Asciano had a good year, lifting its profit for the 12 months to June 30 by 43 per cent to $242.7 million, and was well positioned to deliver another year of solid earnings growth and to continue to deliver on its ambitious financial targets.
Asciano's share price is at $4.24, up 1.4 per cent today, but down six per cent for the year and - more worryingly for investors - down 83 per cent from the $24-$25 it listed at in 2007. Mr Mullen is hopeful of better days to come:
We do remain disappointed that our share price has not reflected the improvements in performance being made by the company. This is as frustrating to us as I am sure it is to shareholders, but all we can do in such an environment is to continue to deliver on our shareholder return targets and ultimately the value being created will surely have to flow through to appreciation in our share price as well.
12.32pm: Back to Qantas and BusinessDay's Elizabeth Knight, who says the prospect of the airline whittling down its debt by $650 million came as a welcome surprise to shareholders who have become more familiar with disappointments.
The capital restructure provides a sense to the market that Qantas is sufficiently confident in its strategy to revive earnings that it won't require the cash from the sale of freight company Star Track as a buffer against lean times. In other words the company is confident that the work it is doing to fix the international business will get traction. Certainly the tie-up with Emirates, which gives Qantas the use of a phantom network, is a big step in the right direction from a financial perspective.
Read more here
12.19pm: More on expectations for retailers over the Christmas period and a story from BusinessDay's retail reporter, Eli Greenblat, who's been looking into a report which predicts online spending growth will more than triple this festive season.
Figures from business information analysts IBISWorld predict overall Christmas spending will rise by 3.9 per cent this year, but growth in online retailing will surge by 34.4 per cent compared with growth just below 10 per cent between December 2010 and 2011.
The average Australian, IBISWorld says, will spend $1600 to bring the total to $28.5 billion
Read more here
12.02pm: The Lynas saga seems set to run and run with activists in Malaysia appealing to the High Court over last week's ruling that it could use a temporary operating licence for its rare earths plant.
Lynas shares rose to 80 cents after last week's judgement but the news that the activists were still seeking an interim stay on the temporary operating licence has sent Lynas shares down once more today.
Lynas shares - down almost 10 per cent earlier in the day - have lost 6.1 per cent to 61½ cents.
11.57am: More from AGM season, and today it's Mirvac's turn, with the property developer saying it sees some areas of strength in the NSW housing market but believes a recovery in Queensland is still some time away.
Chairman James MacKenzie says the Australian residential property market is stronger than many international markets and was expected to remain stable in the short term.
''Specifically, we see pockets of strength in NSW combined with continued weakness in southeast Queensland and the outer suburbs of Melbourne,'' Mr MacKenzie said.
Chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, confirmewd that Queensland's market was languishing.
''Queensland continues to be our weakest market with expectations of a sustained recovery still some time away,'' she told the meeting.
Shareholders were also told Mirvac was on track to meet its full-year earnings guidance of 10.7 to 10.8 cents per stapled security. Mirvac shares have fallen 0.7 per cent at $1.445 this morning.
11.43am: Car sales data out this morning makes gloomy reading with sales of new motor vehicles down 2.8 per cent, seasonally adjusted, in October.
In the month, 95,720 new vehicles were sold, seasonally adjusted, compared with a downwardly revised 98,436 in September, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
11.24am: Oil prices have been little moved by the unfolding events in Gaza but if tensions between Israel and Hamas escalate that could change, said Commsec market analyst Julianna Roadley.
"There was a bit of a spattering of information so no one knew exactly what was going on and then when all the vision hit the screen, there were so many other things in play that the market just sold off on the back of that," Ms Roadley said.
"At the moment there's been no real movement, but in time you could see some movement coming through," she said.
Ms Roadley said that if the US starts talking about pulling assets from its 'strategic reserve' to fill gaps in supply, the oil price would likely skyrocket.
Brent Crude is up 1.2 per cent to $US109.61 per barrel, while New York oil futures are flat at $US86.38 per barrel.
11.15am: A bit over an hour into today's session and markets are down about 0.8 per cent. The losses are broad-based, with all but consumer staples and telecoms sub indices on the ASX200 lower.
Materials are leading the losses, down 1.79%. Among the biggest losers on that sub index:
- Mineral Deposits: -12.91%
- Lynas Corp: -9.92%
- Sims Metal Management: -5.03%
- Kingsgate Consolidated: -4.50%
- Newcrest: -3.54%
11.10am: IG Markets analyst Cameron Peacock said the Australian market had followed Wall Street's lead. The Dow Jones Average plunged to close at 184.92 after US President Barack Obama challenged Republicans to accept tax increases for the wealthy in a deal to avert the so-called year-end fiscal cliff.
''What happens there happens here these days,'' Mr Peacock said.
11.03am: In Christmas present terms, retailers can expect a few stocking fillers rather than a festive haul over the holiday season.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) says shoppers are expected to put about $41.2 billion through retail tills from now until December 25.
ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said those predictions, prepared by Roy Morgan Research, represented a steady 3.9 per cent gain on sales of $39.7 billion during the corresponding period last year.
''While we by no means expect shoppers to be beating down the doors to go Christmas shopping, especially in the early stages, the figures represent growth which will see retailers hear some rings of their tills,'' Mr Zimmerman said.
10.51am: The retailers are enjoying a positive morning thanks to the positive news from Myer:
- Woolies: -0.67%
- Wesfarmers: +0.81%
- Harvey Norman: +0.69
- David Jones: +3.66%
- Myer: +5.5%
10.46am: Among the big miners:
- BHP is 1.26% lower to $33.30
- Rio is 1.87% lower to $56.77
- Fortescue is 1% lower to $3.96
10.43am: Property developer Lend Lease says that while lower interest rates are encouraging more people to start house hunting, sales remain sluggish.
Security holders at Lend Lease's annual general meeting heard that while the group expected a rise in property settlements this financial year, they would be struck at lower prices.
''We are beginning to see inquiry levels increase in response to lower interest rates, but the uncertain environment and the lack of impetus to buy in a market where valuations are not increasing, means this is not yet translating into sales,'' chairman David Crawford said.
10.33am: The ASX200 has sunk to its lowest level since 27 September in early trade - dipping as low as 4348. It has since tracked back to above 4350.
10.26am: The worst performed companies on the ASX200 include:
- Mesoblast: -8.21%
- Mirabela Nickel: -6.02%
- Coalspur: -5.45%
- James Hardie: -4.68%
- Sims Metal Management: -4.6%
- BoQ: -4.56% ** trading ex div
10.24am: Qantas is currently the best performed company on the ASX200 - up 5.59 per cent. Here are the other gainers in a falling market:
- Myer: +3.5%
- David Jones: +3.25%
- Flight Centre: +2.08%
- Fairfax: +1.27%
- Primary Health: 0.79%
10.19am: Telecoms is the only sub index bravely swimming against the flow this morning, posting a modest 0.07 per cent gain in opening trade. The rest are down:
- Info tech: -1.85%
- Materials: -1.56%
- Health: -0.82%
- Industrials: -0.77%
- Financials: -0.73%
- Energy: -0.7%
10.15am: The Australian share market has opened almost 1 per cent lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 39.1 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 4,349.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 39.2 points, or also 0.9 per cent, at 4,371.5.
On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was down 40 points at 4,360, with 8,654 contracts traded.
10.10am: Shares in Myer are also higher in early trade - up 1 per cent - after the retailer announced sales rose by one per cent in its first quarter thanks to warmer weather and sentiment improving slightly thanks to interest rate cuts.
10.08am: Qantas shares are higher this morning - up 2.8 per cent or 3.5 cents to $1.2265 - on news it will spend $100 million to buy back about four per cent of its issued stocks in a move to strengthen its dwindling share price. The airline has also announced it will repay $650 million of debt ahead of its due date as it moves to strengthen its balance sheet.
10.06am: Early take - stocks down about 0.5 per cent as markets open.
9.59am: Building products maker James Hardie's first-half profit has fallen 35 per cent but the company says there are good signs in its key market, the United States.
James Hardie made a net profit of $US83.5 million ($A80.86 million) in the six months to September 30, down from $US128.4 million ($A124.34 million) in the same period in the previous year.
The result included an unfavourable adjustment to the company's asbestos liabilities due to a stronger Australian dollar.
Chief executive Louis Gries on Thursday said there were signs of a sustainable housing recovery in the United States, where the company generates a majority of its earnings. But the Australian market remains subdued despite recent interest rate cuts, reflecting low levels of confidence among domestic consumers.
9.52am: The Aussie dollar has been one of the victims of the dive in investor sentiment overnight. It's now trading at $US1.0363, down from an overnight peak of $US1.0456.
BK Asset Management managing director Kathy Lien said the Aussie currency had followed US stocks down, following comments from the US Federal Reserve suggesting it was considering a bond-buying program to stimulate the labour market.
''They expressed renewed concerns about the US economy,'' she said.
''I think investors are realising that this concern from policy-makers, including in the US, means the potential for slower growth for Australia.
''So, although the comments should be US-dollar bearish, the selloff in US stocks is having a much greater impact on the Aussie dollar.''
9.47am: Also in local corporate news this morning, Australia's largest listed agribusiness, Graincorp has rejected a $2.7 billion takeover offer from US giant Archer Daniels Midland.
In a statement released with its annual results Graincorp said ADM's cash offer of $11.75 a share "materially undervalues" the company and it had advised ADM accordingly. ADM had been hoping to secure a board recommendation for its takeover offer.
Graincorp also announced a 19 per cent increase in net profit after tax to $204.9 million for 2011-12 and a fully-franked final dividend of 20c a share plus a special dividend of 15c a share.
9.44am: Qantas Airways will spend $100 million to buy back about four per cent of its issued stocks in a move to strengthen its dwindling share price.
The airline has also announced it will repay $650 million of debt ahead of its due date as it moves to strengthen its balance sheet.
''The board believes the current Qantas share price does not reflect fair value of the group, particularly considering the underlying strength of its domestic, loyalty and Jetstar businesses and the proposed partnership with Emirates,'' chairman Leigh Clifford said in a statement.
Qantas shares last traded at $1.23, well down on the $1.815 they were worth at the end of March - their highest point in the last 12 months.
9.39am: Some analyst rating changes for today:
- Seven West Media raised to 'buy' at Deutsche Bank
- Seven West Media raised to 'outperform' at Macquarie
- Paladin Energy cut to 'speculative buy' at Cormark Securities
- Perseus Mining raised to 'outperform' at RBC Capital
9.35am: To put it simply, it was a bad night for sentiment on global markets. Europe was down as protestors across the continent marched to express their opposition to austerity measures. Israel bombed Gaza, further rattling investors and bolstering concern that unrest in the Middle East will intensify and affect oil supplies.
And stocks in the US slumped, sending the S&P 500 to its lowest level since late July, on uncertainty over US budget negotiations and an escalation of violence in the Middle East.
''The recent wall of worry continues to mount,'' said Ryan Larson, the Chicago-based head of US equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management.
''Middle East geo-political tensions, continued sovereign concerns about Greece and Spain, indecision ahead of the fast-approaching fiscal cliff and the fact that the major US indices continue to trade under key technical levels are all weighing on sentiment.''
9.32am: For a comprehensive look at this morning's business news, check today's need2know. Here are this morning's key market links:
- The SPI was down points 52 at 4358
- The $A was trading at $US1.0382
- In the US, the S&P500 lost 1.39% to 1355.49
- In Europe, the FTSE100 lost 1.11% to 5722.01
- China iron ore added 8 US cents to $US122.40
- Gold 0.3% to $US1728.34 an ounce
- WTI crude oil added $US0.88 to $US86.26 a barrel
- RJ/CRB commodities index was flat at 292.57
9.30am: Hi everyone. Welcome to the Markets Live blog for Thursday.
Contributors: Thomas Hunter, Richard Hughes, Jens Meyer, Max Mason
This blog is not intended as investment advice
BusinessDay with agencies


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MOPA Presents Staking Claim: A California Invitational
Staking Claim: A California Invitational
October 8, 2013 – January 26, 2014
(San Diego, Calif.) July 1, 2013 – Staking Claim: A California Invitational opens at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) on Tuesday, October 8th. This original exhibition is the second installment of a triennial series showcasing the talent of and diverse scope of photographic work being done by photographers living within the Museum's home state. Sixteen different artists, all of whom reside in California, are featured in Staking Claim and all of the work has been created within the past five years.
MOPA's Assistant Curator, Chantel Paul, explains, "as a California-based institution, we feel it's important to recognize those photographers in our own state who are creating truly incredible work that reaches beyond California's borders and is in conversation with the global dialogue surrounding the medium. "
These photographers, both emerging and established, were selected through a nomination process that began in the summer of 2012. MOPA called upon their peers in the field - institutional colleagues, galleries, and other photography professionals – to nominate up to three photographers who they felt were creating significant bodies of work. Once that list was compiled, meeting the artists through studio visits and seeing work during gallery visits helped determine which artists would be exhibited.
The variety of work that this selection process produced is as varied as the state of California itself. "What's interesting is how photography is redefining itself right now," stated Deborah Klochko, Executive Director of the Museum. "And MOPA is here to help share what that means. There is no one definition of photography anymore and that is very exciting."
With the ease of access to digital equipment and post-production tools, photography has changed dramatically in recent years. The work in Staking Claim: A California Invitational embraces the digital medium but also remains true to, and in some cases reinterprets, traditional photographic processes. The result is a dynamic exhibition that highlights the constant evolution of the art form.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a full color exhibition catalog, published by Modernbook Editions, featuring an introduction by Colin Westerbeck, contributing writer for Art in America, as well as insights from the curator and brief biographies of each artist.
Staking Claim: A California Invitational
156 pages
Photographers in Staking Claim: A California Invitational
Matthew Brandt
Susan Burnstine
Eric William Carroll
John Chiara
Chris Engman
Robbert Flick
Todd Hido
Siri Kaur
Mona Kuhn
Matt Lipps
David Maisel
Klea McKenna
Doug Rickard
Mark Ruwedel
Paul Schiek
Christina Seely
For additional information please visit http://www.mopa.org/staking-claim.
Press Opportunities: To request high-resolution images, additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact Danny Cappiello at 619.238.7559 X203 or via email (firstname.lastname@example.com).
MOPA Information: MOPA is a center for visual learning, passionately dedicated to sharing and exploring the universal language of photography, film and video.
Learn more at MOPA.org.
{featured image: Goldmine: Diamond: Coral (Stereographic), 2012 © John Chiara}
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HOUSTON - Authorities are searching for metal thieves who they say have been targeting cemeteries throughout the Houston area.
When Carroll Schillo visited her son's grave in Woodlawn Cemetery recently, she found the detachable bronze flower base on his marker was missing.
"It just really hurts you. Really gets you in the heart," Schillo told Local 2. "I think mostly I feel sorry for those people who may not know about it yet."
Cemetery operators said thieves steal the vases to sell for scrap. They said a new vase costs about $200 but estimated that it would only bring about $20 at the scrap yard. Cemetery operators said it's an industry-wide problem that costs families.
"It's a detachable item and we're seeing a lot of them missing quite frankly," said Scott Cheffey, the general manager at Woodlawn. "It could be happening right now as we're talking. Because people come to the park because they're here to visit their loved one. They can snatch them and be gone."
Cheffey said he and other managers are looking for the answer. His cemetery has surveillance cameras, crews watching during the day, and locked gates at night.
A bill before the Texas Legislature would make it illegal for scrap yard owners to knowingly buy stolen metal. Cemetery operators said that would include the stolen vases.
Copyright 2013 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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HOUSTON - The woman who ran a west Houston day care that caught fire, killing four children, fled to Nigeria before she was criminally charged, fire officials said Monday.
Jessica Tata, 22, has been charged with one count of reckless bodily injury to a child. The charge carries a sentence of two to 10 years in prison, if convicted, according to Donna Hawkins, of the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Tata has not been taken into custody. Immigration officials said she flew to Nigeria on Saturday before she was charged, so there was no reason for airport officials to stop her.
Tata is from Nigeria.
An arrest warrant was issued on Monday.
The U.S. Marshal's Service in Houston said it has been asked to help track down Tata.
"If she is out of the country, that doesn't mean we're not going to get her back," said Alfredo Perez with the U.S. Marshals Service.
Tata was the day care provider at a home in the 2800 block of Crestpark at Waypark when a fire broke out Thursday at 1:40 p.m. The house served as a day care facility called Jackie's Child Care.
Investigators said Tata was not home at the time of the fire because she was grocery shopping. Sources told KPRC Local 2 that security video shows she was in a store for at least 13 minutes.
Firefighters arriving at the scene found two injured children outside the home and five more trapped inside. All of the victims ranged in age from 16 months to 3 years old.
Three of the children, Elizabeth Kojah, of Cypress, and Kendyll Stradford, of Katy, both 20 months old; and Shomari Dickerson, 3, died on Thursday. A fourth child, Elias Castillo, died on Saturday.
Two of the surviving children are at Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston in critical condition. The third surviving child has been released from the hospital.
Tata was charged in connection with Dickerson's death. Prosecutors would not say if more charges are expected. Her bail will be set at $500,000.
Neighbors said they saw Tata pull up to the home with grocery bags, and then realized the house was on fire. Witnesses said she yelled for help and neighbors tried to rescue the children, but the smoke was too heavy.
According to court documents, the fire started on top of the electric stove in the kitchen. Investigators said a pot of oil was left on the burner, which was left on.
Witnesses said they did not see any other adults or employees at the scene, other than Tata when she returned to the home.
Tata's family members said they have not seen her since Friday and do not know where she is staying.
Tata's brother, Ron, said his family is devastated over the deaths and that they set up an assistance fund to help with funeral and other expenses.
"We feel very, very bad for what happened to the families. We love them and pray for them every single day," Ron Tata said. "We are opening a benefit account. We have certain contributors. I'm a Realtor and my broker is contributing. A lot of folks are working with us to bring some type of comfort to these families."
Tata's mother, Josie, said she is praying for the families of the children.
"We just been praying that almighty God will see these families through and deal with them, heal them, and provide peace for them, and guide them through this critical time in their life," said Josie Tata. "Our heart is broken. We've been crying. If crying can bring these children's life back, we would have done it."
"Being a parent, honestly, if it were my child, I know I would be hysterical," neighbor Jewell Adams said. "We've just been praying for the families that went through this bad tragedy."
Neighbors, relatives and friends have set up a memorial to the children outside the home.
Copyright 2011 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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NEWS - Press Release
July 1, 2015
Founded in 1992, NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation) offers litigants a nationwide panel of nearly 2,500 top-tier former judges and practicing specialists uniquely qualified to facilitate the resolution of disputes in a private forum. The company maintains rosters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and in major cities around the world, with specific expertise in the areas of Complex Commercial, Construction, Employment, Entertainment, Financial Services, International, Insurance, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury (including 3rd party and 1st party actions), Professional Liability and Real Estate dispute resolution.
NAM actively works with more than 8,000 commercial entities, including more than 50% of the Fortune 100 companies. NAM is often an indispensable resource for parties seeking cost-effective alternatives to expensive and often time-consuming litigation.
NAM was ranked as one of the top 2 ADR firms in the United States per the National Law Journal's Annual Reader Rankings Survey for the second straight year. Consistent with being the nation's premier ADR provider, NAM was also selected as the top ADR firm for the last 4 consecutive years in the New York Law Journal Rankings Survey.
Read more NAM news


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Ben Affleck sports the Piaget Polo FortyFive
Piaget, the Swiss luxury watchmaker, known for its dedication to cinema and the arts, is proud to be featured in the compelling drama, "The Company Men". The film follows the lives of three men affected by the recession and corporate downsizing, and stars an award-winning ensemble, including Academy Award winners Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Chris Cooper. Known for his memorable performances in "The Town", "Pearl Harbor", and "Goodwill Hunting", Affleck plays the character 'Bobby Walker', who wears a Piaget Polo FortyFive Chronograph watch during the film. The Piaget Altiplano 38mm watch in pink gold is also worn by the actor Eammon Walker, playing the role of 'Danny'. The Piaget Altiplano 38mm watch in pink gold is also worn by the actor Eammon Walker, playing the role of 'Danny'.
Launched in 2009, the Piaget Polo FortyFive watch collection is a sporty and contemporary take on the classic Piaget Polo model, one of the brand's most iconic watches. The watch has quickly become a favorite among Hollywood's leading men such as Jeremy Renner, Aaron Eckhart and Ryan Reynolds. And the Piaget Polo FortyFive is the watch of choice for many of the world's top polo players, including Marcos Heguy, Nic Roldan and Jeff Hall. In parallel, the Piaget Altiplano 38mm represents a symbol of purity and refinement: housing the slimmest mechanical handwound movement in its category (2.1mm thick).


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Welcome Home
Even in St. Barts, the capital of see-and-be-seen, Inspiration lures charter guests back to the boat.
By Richard Thiel — October 2004
It was only 10:30 in the morning, and we were already moored stern-to at the colorful Gustavia Harbor town dock. We'd an entire day to tour St. Barts, the smallest and most French member of the French West Indies. Since the island measures just six miles long and two and a half miles wide, it was no problem to visit all its enticing spots, including the infamous airport. It has an approach so precipitous, you can stand a couple hundred yards off the end of the runway and nearly touch the airplanes as they pass overhead.
Of course, we also had to visit a couple of the island's famous beachfront bars—especially Eden Rock, which sits just east of the runway—in the hopes of seeing the rich and famous who make St. Barts their winter playground. And how could we pass up sampling the superb snorkeling at La Petite Anse and Lorient? By the time we returned to Inspiration, our charter yacht, there was just enough time to clean up, change clothes, and watch the spectacular sunset over Fort Oscar. The evening cooled, people ventured out from the 15 or so other yachts moored along the quay, and we enjoyed the fragrance of the island's many species of flowers as we dined on seared scallops over leek fondu, grouper with coral butter, saffron potato, and, for dessert, blueberry mousse with a chocolate crown.
We began to hear the music drift down from the island's tony discos and nightclubs. St. Barts comes alive at night, but alas, we did not. After sipping port in the top-deck hot tub, we drifted off to our respective staterooms. There was no place else any of us really wanted to be and really nothing else we needed to help us slip into pleasant dreams.
That's because Inspiration is the kind of charter yacht that, despite her proud profile and gorgeous interior, feels very much like a comfortable home. She's a 156-foot Broward—one of only two this size—with a separate dining room that seats ten (a feature not often found on charter yachts in this range). She also has a mahogany-accented, enclosed sky lounge that has all the big-screen, surround-sound trappings of other yachts her size but that looks like it could double as a yacht-club meeting room.
Next page > Part 2: Tired from our long flight, we were all appreciative of Inspiration's comfortable accommodations. > Page 1, 2, 3, 4
This article originally appeared in the September 2004 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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PRIMARY school teacher Ms Crane couldn't have known, 40 years ago, when she showed students in her tiny Boronia classroom how to make hot cross buns that the shy and softly spoken Dan Lepard would one day become one of Europe's most famous bakers.
The buns were Mr Lepard's first baking attempt and, he recalls, his first introduction to science and food.
''I still remember it today because she [Ms Crane] did something very strange,'' recalls Mr Lepard. ''She said in order to make really good hot cross buns, you have to add a vitamin C tablet.
''I often think now, 'How did she know that'? That wasn't something you read in the Women's Weekly …''
Mr Lepard says the use of ascorbic acid is now a topic of ''hot debate'' for bakers. ''I think that was my first bit of geekery in baking … and now I am king of the geek bakers.''
Born in Boronia, the 48-year-old is one of the stars of this year's Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. In London, where he now lives, Mr Lepard is well known as author of The Handmade Loaf and as a columnist for The Guardian.
But in Australia he is relatively unknown. This should change this year when he appears as a judge on Channel Nine's new reality cooking show, The Great Australian Bake Off.
Taking a break from filming at Werribee Mansion, the master baker said being home had stirred up memories. It has made him sentimental about a place he says he never quite fitted into. ''I remember seeing the career counsellor at high school with my ideas to either be a big chef or a fashion photographer,'' he says. ''I remember my teacher looking kind of wistful and a little bit depressed by it all … she explained that those weren't opportunities to be had in Boronia.''
After a year in Italy as an exchange student, Mr Lepard felt determined to save, travel and to try to become a photographer. At 20, he moved to Britain, where he held his first amateur exhibition in a hairdresser's basement.
He made a list of top London fashion magazine editors, sent them invitations and was shocked when they came to his show. Everything sold, most of it to a fashion house in Italy. The same fashion house later flew him to Italy, where a meeting with Italian Vogue led to them giving Mr Lepard 30 pages to fill.
But the glamour was short lived, and Mr Lepard found himself slowly slipping to advertising photography to pay the bills. ''I started at Vogue and I worked my way down to the bottom,'' he laughs.
In Soho, depressed about his career, he would often eat at Alastair Little's eponymous restaurant. Little, then getting famous as a chef himself, offered him a job in the kitchen. Mr Lepard packed away his camera, took the job and loved it. Slowly, his kitchen career shifted to focus solely on pastry and breadmaking. ''That was 1991 and … I'm still really happy, I love baking.''
On Nine's new show, in which amateur bakers compete in challenges, Mr Lepard hopes to be a teacher rather than a know-it-all judge. ''I didn't quite get it until after we started filming, and I thought, 'this is a big thing for these people' … and you feel very much like a mentor,'' he says.
Mr Lepard is known for using old British baking techniques and recipes. He still likes to champion Ms Crane's hot-cross buns technique, too.
''Funnily enough, I am still partial to a little bit [of vitamin C] today, because it makes them extra round, extra gorgeous and extra soft.''


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Method of treating light metal cylinder bore walls to receive thermal sprayed metal coatings
Reference Number: N 01-02
Inventors: Palazzolo, Christopher K.; Nageswar Rao, V. Durga; Shepley, Barry E.
Owner: NISTAC
USPTO Link:5691004
Invention Summary
The invention, meeting the above object, is a method of treating a light metal cylinder bore wall to adherently receive a thermally sprayed metallic coating, that comprises (a) honing the wall to produce a net cylinder shape surface oxide by use of spiral overlapping cross-abrasions having certain peaks and valleys of said abrasions folded over and molded to create tears, folds and undercuts rendering a hook and ladder effect, the honing being carried out with the use of a machining coolant to prevent burnishing of the walls; (b) either concurrently or shortly after step (a), washing the honed surface with a hot alkaline solution comprising (i) a non-soaping aluminate agent that produces a protective residue on the walls, and (ii) surfactants that facilitate wetting of the walls even when some steam bubbles may be present; (c) rinsing the washed surfaces without disturbing said residue; and (d) thermally spraying a metallic bond coat on said honed and washed surface to render a adhesion between said coating and prepared surface that is at least 2800 psi.
The washing solution preferably contains an aluminate forming agent that consists of sodium xanthate hydroxide or meta silicate, which may be fluoro siliconized; the alkalinity agent may comprise anionic hydroxides or meta silicates of sodium or potassium; the surfactants may comprise nonionic fluoronated hydrocarbons such as Fluorad.RTM. produced by 3M company, and the solutions may comprise non-soaping and non smutting agents such as octoates of sodium and potassium, and hydrocarbons such as sodium gluconate.


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You are here: Home → Forum Home → Bumblebee forums → Bumblebee discussion → Thread
Interested to see your topic on B.hypnorum.
Last year I saw the odd worker hypnorum foraging in my garden. This year I have seen a number of queens and I am now lucky enough to have a queen nesting in a bird box. I first observed her entering the nest box on 17 March and she is still active. Yesterday I observed another hypnorum queen nest searching around this bird box, trying her hardest to get into the box. Although she flew up to the entrance I didn't observe her go in. She may well have been successful in entering the box by now. I presumed she may have been attracted either to the bird nest smell or the smell of the other queen, and may well have been attempting to usurp the original queen (?).
Today the weather has warmed up a little and noticed two hypnorum queens in my garden, one nest searching along there guttering and eaves of our bungalow and another flying around an oak tree in the garden.
This is the first year I have seen queens in my garden (Carmarthenshire). Will keep you posted on the queen in the bird box.
Hi Kevin,
It is amazingly lucky that you spotted these queens using the nest box.
Might you be able to make something like a daily / weekly log about what you observe over the coming weeks and months ?
Back in 2009 I too had a natural colony in a bird box in my garden.
The first thing I noticed was a queen carrying pollen into the nest box, so I knew she had started to set up home.
Despite keeping an eye out for activity, it was not until there was a drone cloud outside the box many weeks later that I saw any further activity.
Later I logged what I knew, which was surprisingly little !
Have a look at the information below - and see if you can prepare yourself for coming events !
Notes about Clive Hill's 2009 Bombus hypnorum colony in Birdbox.
Date Weeks Days Elapsed Event
10/3/09 0 0 Queen founds nest - Assumed
17/3/09 1 7 Queen first noticed - taking pollen into nest.
After that no activity seen at all for nearly 8 weeks ! (Despite much looking!)
18/5/09 9 62 Nest Surveillance by Drones first seen.
∴ 9 weeks before nest flight activity noticed.
25/6/09 14 100 Last Drone visits noticed.
∴ Colony has died out.
Cause of demise : Aphomia sociella - BB Wax moth. Colony did not produce any queens.
I keep a log/diary for the year which includes all my Bombus activities and sightings and any box occupations I have.
I had B.hypnorum activity today - The queen in the bird box still seen going in and out during the day. Also saw another hypnorum queen and she was nest searching around some schwegler boxes. She entered both boxes, one of which was occupied by a B.terrestris queen (not sure if this queen is now in the box). The way she flew to the boxes, especially the first, led me to believe that she may well have visited before. Was she trying to usurp the terrestris queen. I know terrestris queens will usurp other queens, any idea about hypnorum ?
Later on in the day I saw a hypnorum queen nest searching along the eaves of the shed as well as entering a bag of compost which was partly open. This may well have been the same queen from earlier.
(Clive how do you attached photos to a reply ?)
will keep you posted with the nest.
Hi Kevin,
Gosh, you are wonderfully well organised !
I have a little spiral bound notebook I fill in daily, but for most topics data is not sequenced to a specific topic.
In what follows I'm working from my aged memory, so if it is not quite correct, just have a play !
To add photos you post your main text.
Then you select Edit.
In edit (down the page) you have an options of "Choose File".
Do that and select the photo you want to add.
Then press Update Post.
Photos are very restricted in file size. You can have up to 3 photos, but with a maximum combined (or single) file size of 300 Kb.
I think you can add two photos at one edit session.
My routine is to find the photos separately, then export them to a temporary holding location, choosing reduced file size.
Then check if it is small enough to be acceptable. Then proceed as above.
But you'll have to have a play with your own photo store.
Do have a go, because pictures do liven up our posts !
I hope this works ! Clive
This is my first post - hope I get this right.
Have seen a tree BB three times now in the past two weeks here in Devon. I think I may have seen one last year but am not sure.
The B.hypnorum queen in my bird box is still active. Saw her leave and enter the box several times today. A lot more queen activity today due to the rain stopping and the sun coming out.
I would expect workers to hatch out soon in this nest if my calculations are right.
I also have a B.hypnorum queen flying around over the last week or so going into a couple of schwegler bee boxes I have in the garden. A queen was checking out a box today, but they (or it maybe the same one) do not seem to have set up a nest in any.
Will keep you posted if workers are observed in the bird box.
This is my first post - hope I get this right.
Have seen a tree BB three times now in the past two weeks here in Devon. I think I may have seen one last year but am not sure.
Hi Adoxa,
Welcome to the Forum.
Once you get your eye in, Tree Bumblebees are remarkably common.
The queens can vary quite a bit in size; and some will be noticeably darker than the standard ones.
At this time of year keep an eye on Winter Heathers, Cherry and Apple blossom and other fairly shallow flowers.
I've got a thread running in the "Gardening Zone" asking for comments on what flowers they work.
Any extra flower types = useful data !
Yours Clive
Clive, Adox
Just to inform you that the B.hypnorum nest in the bird box now has workers. I saw a couple leaving and re-entering the nest, along with the queen who is still foraging. I expect her to continue until worker numbers increase a bit. A worker was seen feeding on Lungwort.
These are first workers I have seen this season, along with a B.pratorum feeding at a piers.
To all hypnorum fans !
As mentioned above the B.hypnorum nest box now has active workers.
On saturday 12 Apr I observed some interesting behaviour at the entrance to the box.
For the last couple of weeks I have had another hypnorum queen flying around the nest box and seemingly trying to get into the nest through gaps etc.
At about 7:30 pm I noticed a queen flying around the nest box. I was hoping to catch this queen to identify her as although she had a bright white tail she looked almost black all over. I didn't manage to catch her but noticed she was a hypnorum but her thorax was extremely dark and it was difficult to see the gingery hairs, although they were there. She then entered the box. After about two minutes she flew out of the box being pursued by the original queen, who went straight back in the nest. the dark queen flew off.
Some 10 minutes later the dark queen came back and entered the box, and about 30/40 seconds after she had entered another hypnorum queen (normal colour) entered the box !
After ten or so minutes a queen was seen flying out of the box , but which queen, was unknown.
Today about 6:30pm I saw a queen leave this box. She didn't go straight out as the 'original' queen does but flew briefly around entrance before leaving. She returned in ten minutes and landed on the entrance tube. A worker came out and 'attacked' her, knocking her down into a bush below. She went up into the tree and rested for 5 minutes- she then returned and entered the nest box.
My theory is that these two queens seem to be trying to 'take over' or usurp the original queen. There has been at least one hypnorum queen hanging around the oak tree where the nest box is for two maybe more weeks and i have noticed the very dark queen for a little less.
I have never noticed the 'intruder' queens enter the nest box before, but as soon as workers are active they are going in - maybe pure coincidence, i do not know. Do they wait for active workers to be present so that they have less work/foraging to do if one succeeds in taking over ?
Unfortunately as the queens are not marked it is difficult to identify which is which, except the dark one. Did not see the dark form today.
Not very scientific and all theories but fascinating none the less. Hope the original queen can stick it out !
I would love to know if anyone else has observed any thing similar to these observations ?
sorry for the novel length of the post
Hi all,
I've just noticed this morning 16-5-2014 that we seem to have Tree Bumblebees entering our loft space in our bungalow (Hatfield, Herts) between the gutter and roof tile over hang.
Initial observations, that 2-3 at the most 4 seem to hang around outside swirling by the gutter, as others return or depart they seem to relieve each other like they are on guard. Quite amazing to watch.
I'm guessing that the queen is in the loft. I've not ventured up there primarily because I don't wish to disturb them, and space is a bit tight.
Earlier today I found a 'big' Tree Bumblebee (possibly a queen) that had flown into our greenhouse, so I allowed it to walk onto my hand and found a tree branch in the garden for it to vacate my hand and live on. Am I right to assume this 'possible queen' is not part of the colony in th loft space?
Those entering the roof area are frequently visiting our Azaleas, Cotoneaster, and flowering Hawthorns in the garden.
The funny thing is for ages we had planted the garden to encourage bees etc into the garden, bought the bamboo type housing structures, with no evident usage and they pick our loft….
My question is, will those in the loft space, run the course, and eventually die / move on, or will this be a permanent re-occuring feature.
I really don't have a problem with them to be honest. But being realistic, are they likely to increase in volume, and cause us any significant problems down the line.
Hi Andy,
Firstly, welcome to the Forum !
Secondly, you will probably find it useful to take a look at an article I wrote about Tree Bumblebees. It is tucked away in the FAQs of the About Bees section of this website.
Here is a quick link to it:
I think most of your queries will be covered in the article, but please come back to this thread if you have any further questions.
Yours, Clive
PS. If you haven't yet done so, do sign up for the BBCT's free E-Newsletter , which will give you a wider background knowledge about bumblebees.
Hi All,
I've had tree bumble bees nesting in the wall of the house since 2013. We notice the activity from May 2013 although there wasn't much. I would say we saw a bee every 1 to 2 minutes. I was intrigued to know about the bumbles sharing my house and through this website identified them as tree bumble bees. In July 2013 we got a good look at them, as they must have got too hot in the nest and various large bees took turns to stand in the entrance of the nest and fan it. It's a bit noisy when 2 or 3 are doing it at the same time.
By the end of August we didn't see much activity at all and after looking at this website, found out that they finish around end of July.
I couldn't find out if the nest would die and that was the end or if the queen would hibernate there and restart next year. Because we were unsure we left the hole in the wall, which incidentally is next to my cooker extractor fan flue.
I can tell you that the nest survives and must be bigger this year. We saw the bees coming and going from March 14. The traffic is much more than last year and is more a constant flow, every 5 seconds. Recently we noticed the nest surveillance. There are between 2 and 5 smaller bees flying around the entrance. Every so often they fly towards the bigger bees coming and going and we've seen a couple of them attach to each other and fly off. We've also seen a couple of these smaller bees dead on the floor.
I feel privileged to have them although my husband doesn't agree. The more I find out the more i involve the children and when they see a bee out and about, they look very closely at the colours. They tell me they saw a bumble bee out, but it wasn't one of ours!
Last year a friend had 'bees' around the roof of his shed. They turned out to be hypnorum and there was a nest under the roof tiles are about 15 feet up. This year he has reported a constant buzz of bumblebees hovering around the nest entrance. I am hoping to go and have a look at the end of the week. It sounds like male behaviour, but is it not too early? Also it is exactly the same nest site - I thought they did not use the same nest two years running? Allan
Great to read about other people's experiences with the Tree bumblebee. We've had a colony in our loft space for the last 2 years, but this year we seem to have 2 colonies that are just separated by a chimney. There's a lot of buzzing around and checking each other out it seems - certainly we are seeing more activity than in previous years!
My Dad also has a Tree bumblebee colony in a nest box and, after assuring him that they're quite safe to have around, he seems to be quite enjoying watching them! The nest box is at about eye level, so you can get a really good look at them and their behaviour. One thing that I've found fascinating is that they appear to have largely blocked up the entrance hole, so that it is now much smaller and more "bee-sized". Does anyone know what material they have used to do this? Also, when we watched them there were quite often 5 or 6 bees on the outside of the nest box constantly fanning their wings. Are they cooling the nest, (they seemed a bit far away from the entrance for it to do any good), or just on guard duty?
Bee Mad
I have a B.hypnorum nest in a bird box and I noticed a couple of days ago that the entrance (which I had made smaller with a plastic tube) had been partially blocked with moss and old bird nest material from inside the box. On closer examination (up a ladder) I noticed a worker arranging the material and it left a small hole in the material about bee size. Presumably it makes the entrance easier to defend ?
I have a feeling that this nest maybe struggling as there are very low numbers coming and going from the nest box, and I see people on the forum already talking about male swarms. I am in South Wales though and the development of nests always seems a few weeks behind the South east and other regions, so I hope they do survive.


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Controversial Republican-led Senate coalition aims to split power between parties
Two Democratic state senators announced Monday they will join an unprecedented Republican-led Senate coalition that aims to split power between the two parties.
The Majority Coalition Caucus proposes to have six Democrat-led committees, six committees led by Republicans and three panels that are evenly split between the two parties. Those committees will have no more than a one-vote majority.
Sen. Rodney Tom (D-Bellevue), who will serve as the coalition's majority leader, said during a news conference in Olympia that "the public is hungry for us to come together, to work together in a collaborative manner and that's exactly what this coalition is trying to accomplish. We want a cooperative relationship and making sure that we work across party lines."
Sen. Tim Sheldon, who is also a conservative Democrat, will serve as the body's president pro tempore.
The coalition currently has 25 Senate members and Tom hopes other Democrats will join.
The body's governing principles include promoting job growth in a vibrant economy, ensuring a world class education system and building a sustainable budget. Tom noted those are values and needs of the state's middle class.
Republican senators also lauded the effort as an equitable approach that would evenly divide the governing structure across party lines.
But the proposal is drawing opposition from some Democratic Party leaders, who say the coalition is risky and would bring instability and more gridlock to Olympia.
Washington State Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz said in a news release that Senators Tom and Sheldon stood for re-election as Democrats in 2010.
"But today, (they) turned their backs on the Democratic Party by siding with a radically right Republican caucus that earlier this year attempted to slash critically important funding for education and social services for the elderly and the vulnerable," said Pelz, who added the proposal is a "prescription for instability and division."
He also claims that Tom "instigated this unprecedented coup and joined with Republicans to install himself as majority leader out of a desire to further his own personal ambitions, not out of what is in the best interests of his constituents or the public at large."
However, Tom told the Reporter that the coalition is about governing, not politics.
"The election season is over and citizens want us to govern and get away from political bickering and move forward on the issues," said Tom, noting that he is not joining the coalition for his own personal interests. "I think we have a great opportunity and this is unique in that we're actually listening to voters who want us to govern and get away from politics and to help solve the problems that are the mainstay of middle class families in the state and that's what we intend to do."


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MANAGEMENT consulting group The Boston Consulting Group has set the scene for a busy leasing period, signing a 10-year lease for the top three floors of Grocon's $800 million, 55,000-square-metre office development at 161 Castlereagh Street.
The Boston Consulting Group, which is moving from Chifley Tower, joins other tenants including Herbert Smith Freehills on 13 floors, and ANZ across 21 floors of premium office space.
The leasing deal hands the Grocon project a pre-commitment level of 97 per cent, with only one office floor remaining in the building, whose construction is less than six months away from completion and will be named ANZ Tower.
The NSW general manager at Grocon, Chris Carolan, said the leasing deal was another another sign that Sydney's midtown was gaining traction as a major business hub.
This follows the lease signed recently with Ashurst lawyers at 5 Martin Place, which is co-owned by Commonwealth Property Office Fund and Cbus.
There are also suggestions that the advisory group Ernst & Young will move to the soon-to-be-redeveloped 190-200 George Street, owned by Mirvac. At Thursday's annual meeting, the chairman of Mirvac, James MacKenzie, told shareholders demolition of the building would start in early 2013.
The ANZ tower's co-leasing agents for the project are CBRE and Cook Wish Ellison. CWE's Matthew Ellison said quality buildings in the central business district would always attract leading organisations, despite soft market conditions.
He said the 43-storey building was designed to have a six-star Green Star rating and would bring to life the midtown precinct, with limited office space now available following the leasing deal to The Boston Consulting Group.
The senior director at CBRE Global Corporate Services, Tim Nicholas, who negotiated the transaction on behalf of The Boston Consulting Group, said the development would provide new life to the Sydney CBD's heart at a time when the office market was in balance, for the first time in many years.
According to the latest Office MarketView report from CBRE, while demand was cyclically weaker, low levels of supply had kept vacancy levels below 10 per cent, with 8.2 per cent vacancy recorded in the six months to July. This created a short-term balance in the market, with prime net face rental growth stable at 0.1 per cent between June and September, and 3.2 per cent for the 12 months to September.
However, the senior director of office services at CBRE, Jenine Cranston, said big CBD tenants continued to be in cost-containment mode. ''Many tenants are looking to keep headcount stable and economise on floor space. Some new lease agreements have been signed with a 20 per cent to 25 per cent reduction in floor space, and we are increasingly hearing of tenants' need to drive real estate harder.''
The head of research at CBRE, Stephen McNabb, said such agreements were indicative of an ongoing trend in the market.
''The market remains heavily aligned to finance and insurance businesses, which are experiencing top-line revenue growth pressure and have been managing expense growth and reducing employment demand,'' Mr McNabb said.
On the investment front, prime yields have remained tight across the metropolitan area, while there has been some widening in yields in secondary locations and stock.
Mr McNabb said softer demand, with net absorption averaging just 2500 sq m a year since 2007, had led to Sydney underperforming when compared with markets such as Melbourne in terms of yield.
''CBRE's report indicates this divergence is likely to narrow in the medium term as underlying activity begins to even out between NSW and Victoria,'' he said.
''While CBD yields fell over the year to September 2012, there has been an improvement in transactions in the market, with $1.8 billion worth of sales taking place over the year. This represents a 5 per cent increase from the corresponding period in 2011.''
Mr McNabb said foreign investors maintained a strong interest in the Sydney market.


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Results 201 to 220 of 435
- Join Date
- Jun 2011
- Posts
- 1,118
Is it possible to just moderate a sub-forum? If so I'll volunteer to do the Frozen Synapse one - it's mostly going to be me starting the threads in there anyway (to begin with at least), and it would be handy to be able to sticky or lock threads without having to bother someone.
I'd be willing to mod more generally if that was a requirement of managing the sub-forum, but I'd rather not. I fear such unbridled power would have a terrible effect on me.[RIGHT]
Also isn't Alec a mod too? At least that's what I thought the Disintegration node title always meant...Nalano's Law - As an online gaming discussion regarding restrictions grows longer, the probability of a post likening the topic to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea approaches one.
Soldant's Law - A person will happily suspend their moral values if they can express moral outrage by doing so.
- Deleting spam threads
- Moving threads to appropriate subfora
- Censoring obvious hate speech (ie: the "what's so wrong with the word 'nigger'" guy)
Roles I do not accept for a mod:
- Stepping into discussions
- Stepping into discussions the mod has participated in
- Locking non-spam threads
- Censoring anything short of obvious hate speech
- Banthammering anything
I do not trust anybody to set aside their own points of view to play the role of internet policeman, least of all the people who vie for that role, no matter their stated rationalizations.
As a number of the people proposed for mod have gleefully volunteered for the latter on a number of occasions prior to this thread, I can't hardly veto their nominations strenuously enough, and as I myself, as Soldant, enjoy arguing, I do not want any part of the moderation business and cast aspersions to anybody who would look in my direction for such.
Do you dislike it when anyone objects to the tone of a discussion or just when an appointed official does it because position of authority, etc?
If the latter, I get where you're coming from ... I don't think a moderator around these parts would have enough power that I'd consider it substantially different from a normal member doing the same unless they said things like "cut it out or I'll make you regret it" or otherwise make it clear that they aren't part of the community at large, but I get where you're coming from and it's certainly a fair concern.
If the former ... I think "policing" discussions within reasonable constraints is part of everyone's role in a functioning community. There's a large, fuzzy region between that and censorship but I don't think censorship in the general sense deserves the same bad rap as censorship The Issue; deciding that certain things really shouldn't be said is OK as you point our yourself. For anything that isn't clear, it's preferable to have a community where expressing concern with the tone of a discussion, or with certain things said is acceptable. If this sort of critical meta-discussion isn't really acceptable and people get strung up as overly-sensitive, Internet Policeman Wannabes or otherwise problem community members whenever issues of personal comfort come up ... that's not good.
I don't think this is as big a problem here as it is in other communities I'm part of. In any case, what do you consider stepping in? Suppose a mod is in a discussion and someone says something personally injurious to another member or to the mod? Is it ok for the mod to invoke mod status? Is it ok for the mod to make a point of it if they don't invoke mod status? Are only other people allowed to touch the issue at this point?
Last edited by gwathdring; 15-05-2013 at 06:38 AM.I think of [the Internet] as a grisly raw steak laid out on a porcelain benchtop in the sun, covered in chocolate hazelnut sauce. In the background plays Stardusts Music Sounds Better With You. Theres lots of fog. --tomeoftom
You ruined his point by putting it in context thats cheating -bull0
While a mod might have just cause to take action against members who are crossing the line, there's always going to be the question of whether it was justified or an abuse of power, whether they should have never entered into the discussion, whether they let it go on too long before acting or acted too quickly... it's the downside to having a community mod. While the community mod knows the users and knows when people are going too far or just screwing around without malice, this might affect their judgement and call into question their motivation behind their actions.
Getting involved in a heated discussion then invoking mod status, whether it was justified or not, is going to attract negative attention. Hence why I sort of agree with those suggesting that a mod can't really get involved in arguments.Nalano's Law - As an online gaming discussion regarding restrictions grows longer, the probability of a post likening the topic to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea approaches one.
Soldant's Law - A person will happily suspend their moral values if they can express moral outrage by doing so.
Having a known mod in a thread changes things, people act different, post different, it changes a community. We aren't used to having mods around here, yeah the forums are moderated, but we don't have real mods.
15-05-2013, 10:50 AM #207Nalano's Law - As an online gaming discussion regarding restrictions grows longer, the probability of a post likening the topic to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea approaches one.
Soldant's Law - A person will happily suspend their moral values if they can express moral outrage by doing so.
Alms - He's done great work in the March of the indie bundles thread.
Look at how often people get called "shills" around here. Do we really want to add in a witch hunt where anyone who feels they are unfairly moderated (so everyone who has a post deleted or a temp ban :p) will start accusing the people they were most recently "not attacking"?
Anonymity takes the sense of biased moderation and spreads it to everyone.
Nah, handling the issue of bias is simple. Either have two user moderators (preferably who don't tend to line up on the same sides in the arguments but who are still capable of rational thought during them) so that the one can handle the threads the other is very active in, or just rely on Jim for those.
And the thing is, as long as the moderator isn't getting super aggressive in the thread, it isn't a problem. It is VERY easy to just have something like this
Switching to my moderator hat for a moment: Guys, this is a good discussion, don't ruin it by getting this thread locked. I won't name any names, but if you have recently called someone a "stupid asshole", you should consider yourself warned.
Back to the thread:
That is a good point, but I think the merits of modeling the surgeon's entire body are more than worth any limited motion. Besides, imagine the horrifying achievements that can be added when you have your entire body to screw withSteam: Gundato
PSN: Gundato
If you want me on either service, I suggest PMing me here first to let me know who you are.
(you should be considering "am I being a dick" whenever you're about to post a reply)
Actually, wasn't it the old RPS forum?
I disagree. Mods should be willing and able to step into discussions, shoot people down, and ban them if necessary. They shouldn't be a Janitor, they should be a Sheriff, and they should probably get some kinda little star or something next to their Avatars. I don't think Jim is asking for your acceptance, and your 'veto' is likely worth less than half a turd here... The forums need more active moderation, they need a Policeman/men. Need a Regulator.
I don't know why a lot of people are getting scared about more active moderation (actually, I can probably tell) and the inevitable "tyranny of mods". It won't happen. If the right people are chosen, and I'm fairly confident Jom will do the choosing right, and some checks and balances will be there.
15-05-2013, 04:12 PM #214Nalano's Law - As an online gaming discussion regarding restrictions grows longer, the probability of a post likening the topic to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea approaches one.
Soldant's Law - A person will happily suspend their moral values if they can express moral outrage by doing so.
I think it's funny looking at people thinking that if someone becomes a mod, they'll have unlimited and endless power for all time and that they'll be allowed run around like a mad man banhammering and locking threads left and right.
As if complaining about his actions to Jim wouldn't get his mod rights revoked and maybe a time out sitting on the bold step."Halo is designed to make the player think "I look like that, I am macho sitting in my undies with my xbox""
Steam ID
Roles I accept for a mod:
- Deleting spam threads
- Moving threads to appropriate subfora
- Censoring obvious hate speech (ie: the "what's so wrong with the word 'nigger'" guy)
Roles I do not accept for a mod:
- Stepping into discussions
- Stepping into discussions the mod has participated in
- Locking non-spam threads
- Censoring anything short of obvious hate speech
- Banthammering anything
I support a permanent ban against anyone who's ever used the phrase "banhammer" in earnest.The Secret of Gargoyle Manor, a browser point-and-click adventure about retrieving your lost hat whatever the cost, is something you could play!
The most recent case was a lovely clusterfuck on a privately-run "community" forum for my server on Guild Wars 2, as ArenaNet was not in the business of creating server forums, nor were there semi-official realm forums like in Warhammer Online. The owner of the forum was simply the guy who registered <servername.com> first, and even before the game came out there was a three week argument about if and how the forum should be moderated.
The owner himself was a hands-off kind of guy - a position that lasted close to a month - but eventually caved into the clamoring from self-professed carebears (as opposed to self-professed PvPers who were used to trash-talking one another in Rift, WAR, etc) that moderators should be appointed to help do various administrative work on the site and clean up the forums, and that they should be appointed from those within the community with the time and will to volunteer for the position. Two were chosen, and it took less than a week before things went to shit.
The mods immediately set upon enforcing the rather nebulous rules (of the vaguely defined "don't be a dick" variety) unevenly: Carebears (and fellow guildies of the mods) could rant and rave and make any sorts of comments they wanted, but enemies of carebears had to watch their Ps and Qs or suffer tempbans and post deletions. This resulted in two important reactions:
1) Friends and guildies of the mods viewed their position as proof that their points of views were more "representative" of the community, because they had tacit mod support, and acted on that advantage. Guilds without their own personal mod immediately started nominating folks from their flock in order to even up the balance of power, leading to an arms race on the forum.
2) Posters who had no intention of participating in the arms race - the unguilded, the PvPers who all came from the same PvP servers from previous games - started railing against the overzealous moderation and called on the site owner to collar them and/or demod them, and for their efforts were the most popular targets for tempbans and locked threads.
Eventually, one of the mods was warned and the other demodded, with a more... moderate mod commissioned as replacement. However, by that time, the damage had been done and a good half of the population jumped ship to an alternate forum or a different server.
The populations who stayed in the original forum or who went to the alternate forum both created what can best be described as "hugboxes," where opposing points of view were summarily mocked and removed. Ultimately, the carebears were far more destructive to the community than the PvPers they professed were the cancer of the forum, because their intolerance was far more heartfelt than anything the PvPers could muster.
The population who went to a different server soon found themselves in the exact same fight within a month between an "open" forum that didn't have <servername.com> as its URL and an "official" forum that did have <servername.com> as its URL but was run according to the rules of a single guild - complete with wanton thread deletions and tempbans.
And that's just one game. I have more.
- Join Date
- Jun 2011
- Posts
- 4,090
We all have our experiences, and mine tell me that police moderation rarely helps the forum and it's mostly likely to hurt it.
Yours might be different, that's great. I think I've said it every time I post but I do not want to challenge RPS decision regarding mods nor I want to change it. It's not my place to decide or anything, I'm just expressing my opinions and reservations about it. That's it, it's wot I think nothing more, nothing less. And one of the things I'm worried about is exactly what you say about choosing "the right people", which I think is quite hard (see the disaster of quanta's self appointed moderation a while ago). Specially when choosing amongst the community as there are a lot of personal vendettas and rivalries. I wouldn't trust half the forum to treat Kadayi or Nalano fairly.
I'm sure Jim will choose as best as he can but you don't know how someone will react later. I left a forum I was admin of because I got the nicest person in the forum (always willing to help, organized, kind and all that) appointed as mod who later got into a personal vendetta against several members of the forum for disagreeing with him. Wanting to ban them for the silliest excuses, editing their posts as he pleased and all kind of nasty stuff. And mind you, this was (prior to that) the nicest member of the community. No one would've thought he'd get to that point. I don't want that happening to anyone here.
I'd like to read why you think more active moderation is needed.