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Enterprise-level backup programs can provide peace of mind that the data on your servers is safe and secure. If your backup software doesn't give that protected feeling, you might want to invest in a solid insurance policy for your data. I found seven products that offer the comprehensive client support and advanced features necessary to enable centralized backup in an enterprise.
The products that I considered for this comparative review needed to offer backup and restoration capabilities on Windows 2000, Windows NT, Novell NetWare 5.1, and Sun Microsystems' Solaris 8 platforms. The products also needed to be able to perform online backups and restores of SQL Server 7.0's databases and Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5's Directory Store, Information Store (IS), and individual mailboxes. As I tested these base capabilities, I also considered performance, media-control features, manageability, and advanced subsets of the required features.
The nature of enterprise backup solutions demands that they offer features such as command-line control, pre-job and post-job scripting, and an array of add-ons. I chose not to dwell on those ubiquitous features. Except where noted, I obtained the performance numbers that Graph 1 and Graph 2 show without modifying the products' basic installation. As the traditional backup window meets its demise in the 24 * 7 e-world, backup concerns are beginning to shift away from hardware speeds and feeds. Because so much of your data is available online, the ability to perform highly reliable online backups is more vital than ever. Reliability and data integrity reign supreme over screaming backup speeds.
To test these backup products' important features and functions, I configured a scaled-down model of an enterprise environment. At the heart of my backup test system was an ADIC Scalar 100 tape library that contained four IBM 3580 Ultrium Linear Tape-Open (LTO) drives. The backup server—a Dell PowerEdge 4400 with dual 800MHz Intel Xeon processors and 2GB of RAM—connected to the library through two Adaptec Ultra160 SCSI adapters. One adapter connected two LTO drives and the robot (i.e., the mechanical device that moves tapes within the library), and the second adapter connected the remaining two LTO drives.
Running either Win2K Server or NT Server, I used a mixture of hardware that provided small, medium, and large data files and SQL Server databases to back up and restore. To test each product's parallel-streaming abilities, I conducted Windows file-system backups concurrently, then performed the database backup tests individually. I used an Extreme Networks Summit48 switch to ensure adequate network throughput during backups and restores. For full-duplex 1000Mbps operation, I used optical fiber—by way of a Gigabit-SX port—to connect the backup server to the switch. All other systems attached to 100Base-T ports on the switch and operated in full-duplex mode at 100Mbps.
How They Fared
Each product's features, characteristics, and price structure determine whether the product is a good fit for your environment. CommVault Systems' CommVault Galaxy 3.1, VERITAS Software's VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter 3.4.1, Legato Systems' Legato NetWorker 6.0, and Hewlett-Packard's HP OpenView OmniBack II 3.5 all boast features that enable them to scale for performance and administration in large environments. Surprisingly, three of the lower-priced products—OmniBack II, Syncsort's Backup Express 2.1.4, and UltraBac 6.3 Enterprise Edition—demonstrated impressive nontuned performance numbers, but Computer Associates' (CA's) ARCserve 2000 Advanced Edition 7.0 fared best for overall throughput. NetBackup DataCenter and NetWorker showed middle-of-the-road performance, but both products offer an array of tunable parameters with which you can optimize performance. (For a cost comparison that considers several different hardware configurations, see Table 1.)
All the products contain idiosyncrasies in setup, configuration, and operation. However, for overall ease of use and operation, I give my highest recommendation to ARCserve 2000. NetBackup DataCenter and OmniBack II follow close behind. UltraBac is also easy to use, mostly because of a less complex option set.
All the products support online backups and restores of SQL Server 2000, 7.0, and 6.5—except Galaxy, which doesn't support SQL Server 6.5. NetWorker supports SQL Server 6.5 through NetWorker's previous-version SQL Server agent (i.e., Legato NetWorker Module 2.0.1 for Microsoft SQL Server). None of the products automatically recognize and coordinate backups of distributed partitioned views; you must manually coordinate backups across member servers. All the products except UltraBac perform Win2K System State backups on both local and remote computers. UltraBac performs System State backups only on computers with locally attached tape drives.
ARCserve 2000 Advanced Edition 7.0
ARCserve 2000's installation CD-ROM arrived in a box that also contained a Getting Started manual. The autorun-enabled CD-ROM launched the ARCserve 2000 Product Explorer, which let me browse and select the ARCserve 2000 components that I needed for my environment. I selected and installed ARCserve 2000, the Tape Library Option, the Client Agent for Windows NT/2000, and the Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server. During the ARCserve 2000 installation, the software prompted me to use either the ARCserve Standard Database or a SQL Server database. I chose the ARCserve Standard Database, which I could later transfer to a SQL Server database if necessary. Immediately after I installed these components, I installed the recommended Service Pack 2 (SP2) for ARCserve upgrade, as well as a device-support service pack.
During the Tape Library Option installation, the software led me through a three-step process of assigning drives, specifying a cleaning slot, and setting media-initialization options. In the first step, I let the software automatically detect and assign devices; in the second step, I specified that I had a barcode reader and assigned a cleaning-tape slot; and in the third step, I selected the Library Quick Initialization check box. I clicked Finish and started the Tape Engine from the Server Admin tool, then watched the Device Manager interface as the software enumerated the library's contents.
You can install ARCserve 2000 Client Agents locally or remotely through the ARCserve 2000 Product Explorer. I chose the remote method for my Windows computers. Within the Product Explorer, I drilled down to the appropriate selection and clicked Remote Setup. I entered the names of the destination computers, and the software prompted me to supply credentials for each machine. I completed the installations quickly, and ARCserve 2000 informed me of their successful completion. You must install the Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server locally on the target server. I ran the installation of the Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server from the CD-ROM drive on each SQL Server machine that I wanted to back up. The installation prompted me to specify the type of authentication I wanted to use for connecting to the SQL Server database, as well as the protocol I wanted to use (e.g., Named Pipes or TCP/IP).
ARCserve Manager
ARCserve Manager is the UI that you use for all backup, restore, and management operations. From ARCserve Manager's home page, you choose the Manager component (i.e., Backup Manager, Restore Manager, Report Manager) that you need for a given job. The UI, which in Figure 1 shows the Job Status screen active, is easy to navigate. Built-in wizards let you quickly accomplish foundational tasks.
Tape Library and Media Control
ARCserve 2000 uses groups to organize slots in a tape library. You assign one or more slots to a group, then specify one or more groups as the target for a backup job. ARCserve 2000 accomplishes parallel streaming and automated media spanning by targeting multiple groups. The software uses media pools, in conjunction with retention periods, to protect the data on your tapes against overwriting. You can use mirrored (i.e., RAID 1) tape backup or the product's command-line Tape Copy utility to obtain tape copies.
To configure backups, you can use the Backup Manager interface or the Wizard menu's Backup Wizard. I used Backup Manager to configure my backups. The interface, which contains three tabs—Source, Destination, and Schedule—is simple and easy to use. You tag objects that you want to back up, specify what group to back up to, and set an appropriate schedule for the job. After you set the parameters, you click Run/Schedule to launch or schedule the job and save the job parameters. I had no problems running any of my backup jobs.
Data Recovery
The Restore Manager interface is similar to the Backup Manager interface, so diving right in to a restore is easy. The Options screen lets you tailor restore jobs to exactly suit your needs. ARCserve 2000 supports individual table restores for SQL Server 6.5, filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 2000 and 7.0, and point-in-time restores. My test restores required little effort, and I was able to complete each operation quickly.
Graph 1 and Graph 2 show that backup and restore throughput was impressive for both local and network-based jobs. Other than a brief mention of tape RAID, the product offered little documentation about performance tuning. A CA representative pointed me to the installation CD-ROM for a few utilities that I could use to test and tune performance; however, for my tests, I used the default configuration.
A Solid Product
ARCserve 2000's ease of use and performance impressed me. The interface let me quickly define and run tasks. Additionally, the Report Manager let me easily track backup and restore jobs. Besides a small documented problem involving shared directory permissions during the installation process, I didn't encounter any significant difficulties with the product. CA's support Web site is well organized, and the company's support personnel are knowledgeable. The product's high price per client might exclude ARCserve 2000 from environments that contain large numbers of clients.
|ARCserve 2000 Advanced Edition 7.0
Contact: Computer Associates * 631-342-6000 or 800-225-5224
Web: http://www.ca.com
Price: $10,060 as tested
Decision Summary:
Pros: Good performance without tweaking; solid technical support
Cons: High cost per backed-up server
Backup Express 2.1.4
Backup Express arrived in a box that contained one CD-ROM, a small Backup Express Jukebox Setup manual, and a Getting Started manual. Additional manuals are available in PDF format on the CD-ROM. To begin the product's installation, I chose the Win2000 Master Server and GUI option.
Backup Express uses the term jukebox to describe devices such as the ADIC tape library. To install the jukebox, I used the command-line utilities that the Backup Express Jukebox Setup manual describes. The installation process consists of listing SCSI devices; writing down the adapter ID, bus ID, target ID, and LUN of the drives and robot; and supplying this information to the installation utility. Although the installation procedure wasn't terribly difficult, the products that offer graphical auto-configuration were much simpler and faster to install. After I installed the jukebox, I needed to configure it within the Backup Express GUI. This process involved assigning the tape drives, creating media pools, and labeling the media.
You must install the Backup Express Client software on each computer that you want to back up; you can perform the installation manually, or you can use the Remote Client Deployment utility. For my Windows computers, I used the deployment utility, which copies installation files to a temporary directory on the target computer and builds scripts to schedule and run the installation. The base client software provides SQL Server backup and restore functionality, so no additional client-side software is necessary.
The Backup Express GUI
Although I could install the Backup Express GUI on any machine, I used it primarily on the master server. By default, the GUI opens in User Menu mode, which lets you restore only to the local computer. To access the full-featured GUI, you must click Administrator Login, then provide credentials. The interface, which Figure 2 shows, looks simple and intuitive, but getting accustomed to it takes a while. One of the interface's detriments is that it doesn't let you simultaneously open multiple screens related to different operations. For example, I couldn't keep a job-monitor screen open while creating or modifying backup jobs. According to a Syncsort representative, you can work around this behavior by opening multiple instances of the GUI.
Tape Library and Media Control
To create media pools and assign media to those pools, you click Configure, Media. Backup Express uses a job-centric approach to media management, so you specify many settings typically associated with a media pool at the job level. When you create a backup job, you can specify backup-destination options to govern how the software handles media during and after the backup; for example, you can specify copy media (e.g., twin tapes) and offsite media designations.
To perform such operations as importing, exporting, loading, and moving media, you choose the Device Control option and click Jukebox operations. These functions weren't terribly intuitive, but after a few operations, they were easy to use and operated as expected.
Each system that you want to back up is a node. The software categorizes nodes into group nodes, and the group nodes belong to an enterprise. To select objects for backup, you drill down the hierarchy to the node level. When you expand a node, Backup Express enumerates all pertinent backup objects, including SQL Server databases. After you make your backup selections and specify source and destination options, you save the backup definition for subsequent launching or scheduling. The user-friendly options for launching backup jobs provide much flexibility. In my testing, file-system and SQL Server backups performed well.
Data Recovery
The data-restoration process is similar to the backup process. You use the same object-selection interface, which you can populate with cataloged backup data or tape contents.
Source and destination options let you customize the restore task. Backup Express supports individual table restores for SQL Server 6.5 and filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 2000 and 7.0. A Syncsort representative suggested that I could modify Backup Express's scripts to accomplish point-in-time restoration, but the feature isn't available from the GUI. Restore operations in my environment performed well.
I was able to back up and restore all the objects necessary in my testing, but Backup Express's performance was initially poor. I contacted Syncsort about the performance problems, and support technicians discovered a bug in the product's data-mover component, which writes data to the tape driver. Just before press time, I obtained a new build of the software and had enough time to run the tests again—with much better results. As Graph 1 and Graph 2 show, Backup Express's late-breaking build performed well.
Room for Improvement
Although I eventually became familiar with the GUI, having to jump back and forth between tasks posed productivity hurdles. Also, attempts to review tasks in the logs were difficult, particularly when a job comprised multiple tasks.
On the plus side, the single agent for covering multiple backup types simplifies the product's installation and configuration, and using Device Control for library and media management was effortless.
|Backup Express 2.1.4
Contact: Syncsort * 201-930-9700
Web: http://www.syncsort.com
Price: $15,250 as tested, plus annual maintenance fee of 18 to 24 percent depending on maintenance plan
Decision Summary:
Pros: Single client agent covers multiple backup types; easy graphical library and media management
Cons: GUI doesn't let you display multiple operations simultaneously; confusing log names complicate job tracking
CommVault Galaxy 3.1
Galaxy arrived in two boxes that contained four CD-ROMs and individualized manuals for the software components that I needed in my environment. Galaxy is a complex product that takes time and planning to install and configure.
CommVault refers to three components—CommServe StorageManager, MediaAgent, and iDataAgents—as its Galaxy product suite. A configured installation of these elements comprises a CommCell. The CommServe StorageManager component is the central director for all CommCell activities, MediaAgents transfer data between the client and the backup media, and iDataAgents enable backup and restoration of data types on the client. To accommodate Galaxy, I needed to make one adjustment to my environment: Because the CommServe StorageManager shouldn't reside on an existing SQL Server computer, I added a dedicated computer to the test bed to host this component.
After I installed the MediaAgent, the software automatically launched the Galaxy Library and Drive Configuration program. I clicked Detect Devices, and Galaxy found and configured devices for Galaxy's use and accurately assigned the LTO drives' drive type.
Galaxy's extensive list of iDataAgents lets you support a wide range of hardware and software environments. I installed iDataAgents for SQL Server, Windows NT File System, and Windows 2000 File System on the appropriate machines in my environment. To install the iDataAgents on Windows computers, you run the setup program from the local CD-ROM drive and answer a few questions about each system's environment.
The CommCell Console
The CommCell Console is the interface you use to control and manage a Galaxy CommCell. You can launch the console as a standalone Java application, a Web-based Java applet, or a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. I worked in the Web-based Java applet, which Figure 3 shows. Most of the product's action takes place in the CommCell Browser window. This browser's treeview of client computers, storage resources, and storage policies is intuitive and easy to navigate.
Tape Library and Media Control
Galaxy detected and managed the attached tape library and media without requiring any intervention. To manually move several tapes out of the scratch media pool and move the cleaning tape to the cleaning media pool, I could simply drag icons. Galaxy uses storage policies to map backup data to physical media. In my environment, I created several storage policies and organized them logically according to platform type. Backup tasks specify a storage policy that controls how the software writes a backup to media. To facilitate redundant or archival media copies, you can copy and configure storage policies with alternative parameters. Galaxy's granular approach to library and media management provides great flexibility without making the process overly complex.
Galaxy's unique backup approach is to let subclients control backups of different data sets*either separately or in parallel. For example, one subclient might be responsible for backing up OS files and another subclient might focus on data. These subclients can target separate storage policies or the same storage policy. When you create a backup set, you specify the subclients and resulting storage policies that the software will use to accomplish the backup task. When you install the iDataAgent, the software enables a default subclient for backing up all fixed disks on the client. In my testing, I used the default subclient for creating backup jobs but created a multiple subclient job for testing.
After you create backup sets, you can launch them manually or use CommVault's Scheduler tool to schedule them. The manual methods for creating and scheduling jobs are fairly straightforward, but new administrators might want to use the product's built-in wizards.
Data Recovery
A wizard lets you easily configure and launch restore processes. The wizard prompts you to select the client, the iDataAgent that backed up the data, the backup set that contains the data to restore, and the objects you want to restore. The wizard then lets you specify alternative path, file-permission, and overwrite options. Galaxy supports full point-in-time restores of SQL Server 2000 and 7.0 databases. Although the product doesn't support individual-table restores, the iDataAgents provide much flexibility and precision when you're restoring file systems and SQL Server databases.
In addition to the parallelism that running multiple jobs simultaneously affords, Galaxy's subclients let you throttle a job so that it fits into a smaller time window. Although I didn't use this throttling feature in my tests, the throughput that I achieved using the default client configuration shows that Galaxy offers reasonable performance out of the box.
Ready for Large Enterprise
My overall impression of Galaxy was positive. CommVault's technical support group, which I worked with to resolve a few minor difficulties, is knowledgeable and helpful. Galaxy offers much power and flexibility and, at the same time, maintains ease of use and minimizes complexity. Galaxy's component-based architecture ensures that the product will scale gracefully, and the Java-based interface to the CommServe StorageManager bolsters enterprise-level usability. However, the high price per backed-up server might prove too costly for some large organizations.
|CommVault Galaxy 3.1
Contact: CommVault Systems * 732-870-4000
Web: http://www.commvault.com
Price: $12,250
Decision Summary:
Pros: Powerful and flexible environment; built for scalability
Cons: Storage Manager can't reside on an existing SQL Server system; high cost per backed-up server
VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter 3.4.1
NetBackup DataCenter comes in a box that contains four CD-ROMs and eight printed manuals. I consulted the Installation Guide and the System Administrator's Guide while installing and configuring NetBackup Server for Microsoft Windows NT on my backup server. The installation was simple—except that I needed to enter long license keys for each option I wanted to enable. As VERITAS's support personnel recommended, I installed the most current patch to update the software to version 3.4.1. The patch installation was simple, but I had to repeat it on each NetBackup DataCenter client and the backup server.
After the installation, the Getting Started Wizard helped me configure my storage device, volumes, and catalog backup, as well as create a backup policy. These steps provided the groundwork for implementing a successful backup and recovery scheme. The program automatically discovered the robot and drives but couldn't determine the type of installed drives. I needed to manually specify the drive type; however, the software doesn't list LTO tape drives as an option. A VERITAS representative told me I could use DLT as a substitute in my tests.
You can install Windows clients remotely from the CD-ROM: I was able to easily push-install the client software to networked Windows machines. I installed the SQL Server Agent from my SQL Server machines' local CD-ROM drives. The SQL Server Agent installation was fast, but configuring the agent took more effort than the other products did. The agent relies on an ODBC data source for backup and restore operations. To accommodate automated SQL Server backups, you need to generate a script, which NetBackup DataCenter's scheduling component will later execute.
NetBackup Administration
The NetBackup Administration tool, which Figure 4 shows, is a graphical menu from which you can open separate administration windows for the product's various components. You can display the tool as a window, a toolbar, or a system tray icon.
I had already visited the Storage Unit Management and Media and Device Management interfaces as I walked through the Getting Started Wizard. In the Storage Unit Management interface, you add and remove storage devices and configure operational parameters. In the Media and Device Management interface, you configure backup devices and the media they use. Overall, NetBackup DataCenter offers excellent, highly automated media-management and device-management facilities that support an extensive list of hardware vendors.
To configure and manage backup jobs, you access the Backup Policy Management interface. Policies, which the software refers to as classes, define the rules for backing up one or more member clients. Each class has four components: General Attributes, Client List, File List, and Schedules. The General Attributes section lets you specify the type of clients that you want to back up, the class's priority, and the storage unit you want to use for the backup. The Schedules section lets you launch manual backups and schedule automatic jobs. You can configure a scheduled job to target a specific storage device, thereby overriding the device that you specified in General Attributes. After I set appropriate classes for the various systems in my test environment, I scheduled a few backup jobs, then ran the remainder manually by right-clicking the class icon and choosing Manual Backup from the resulting menu.
Data Recovery
You can initiate data restoration from the client side or the server side. To perform a Windows file-system restore from the backup server, I opened the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface on the backup server and specified the remote clients that I wanted to use as the targets for the restore. The software supports individual table restores for SQL Server 6.5 and filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 7.0, as well as partial-database restores for SQL Server 2000. NetBackup DataCenter also provides full point-in-time restoration capabilities. The processes for performing file-system and SQL Server restores are intuitive and highly functional.
NetBackup DataCenter offers extensive provisions for load balancing between servers, clients, classes, and devices. Bandwidth limiting, class preference, and multiplexing for backup devices are a few of the many configurable options that you can use to maximize performance and minimize resource utilization. The System Administrator's Guide illustrates how to use these settings. For my tests, I didn't alter the default parameters, and I experienced good backup throughput but noticed subpar restore performance.
Thorough Enterprise Functionality
Although the separate windows for each operation can quickly clutter the desktop, NetBackup DataCenter's interface is easy to use. To ensure backup integrity, you'll find all the information you need in the Activity Monitor, the detailed logging, and the Reports utility (although the Activity Monitor's progress bar is often inaccurate). NetBackup DataCenter seamlessly worked with the tape library and never required that I manually move a tape. The SQL Server client was somewhat difficult to configure, but some of this difficulty is attributable to the product's learning curve: I accomplished subsequent installations more quickly. The necessity to individually target all clients and servers for the patch installation was manageable, but intelligent management of patch distribution to clients would save administrators time and effort. Overall, NetBackup DataCenter offers a powerful and thorough set of features and options that will help you keep your data safe.
|VERITAS NetBackup DataCenter 3.4.1
Contact: VERITAS Software * 650-527-8000 or 800-327-2232
Web: http://www.veritas.com
Price: $23,595 as tested
Decision Summary:
Pros: Thorough job tracking and reporting capabilities; seamless library and media management
Cons: Time-consuming SQL Server client configuration; difficult client-update procedure
Legato NetWorker 6.0
NetWorker comes packaged with a media kit and hard-copy versions of an Administrator's Guide, a Disaster Recovery Guide, and a Performance Tuning Guide. I used the PDF Installation Guide (which I found on the Documentation Suite CD-ROM) while installing and configuring the software.
NetWorker detects and supports a wide range of standalone drives, tape libraries, and silo devices that you can use as backup targets. To configure the ADIC tape library, which Legato refers to as an autochanger, I used Legato's text-based Jbconfig utility. Jbconfig detected the autochanger, then walked me through the process of configuring the tape devices within the library. Overall, the process was fairly straightforward but required some manual configuration at the drive level.
I installed the appropriate backup clients for my environment from the local CD-ROM drives on those systems. In all cases, installation was easy and straightforward. However, because of an error in the documentation about the NetWare installation script's pathname, I spent more time in the NetWare System Console than I wanted to.
I installed the NetWorker BusinesSuite Module for Microsoft SQL Server from the local CD-ROM drive on each server that required the module. The program easily installed the module, which didn't require configuration.
NetWorker Administrator
The NetWorker Administrator program is the primary tool for performing backups and restores. Figure 5 shows the graphical NetWorker Administrator interface. The interface comprises the Network window in the left pane, the Server window in the right pane, and the Message window on the bottom. The Network window displays NetWorker clients and servers. Before you can perform any operations on clients, you must manually add them to the Network window. The Server window contains information about the backup server you connect to.
You can enable auto-media management for standalone tape drives and tape libraries. Auto-media management simplifies the task of managing media by automatically labeling, mounting, and recycling media when appropriate. In my testing, auto-media management performed flawlessly. The software uses media pools and associated criteria to ensure that data targets appropriate volumes. NetWorker also provides automatic or manual cloning of backup volumes and save sets for redundancy or offsite storage. NetWorker has strong media-management and device-management facilities with a good balance of easy operations and powerful capabilities.
For each client computer that you want to back up, you must create a client in NetWorker Administrator. For any one computer, you can create multiple client entries, each with a different backup specification. For each of my SQL Server systems, I created one client entry to back up the typical Windows file system and another entry to back up the SQL Server databases. Also in NetWorker Administrator, I created groups and added appropriate clients to each group. I created a group named Windows Machines (to hold the clients that I configured to back up the typical Windows files) and a group named SQL Servers (to hold the clients that I configured to back up the SQL Server databases). Because NetWorker initiates scheduled and ad hoc backups at the group level, I granularly defined clients and placed them into groups. NetWorker performed my test backups without difficulty.
Data Recovery
To accommodate different environments—for example, one environment might require users to call a dedicated backup administrator to initiate a restore, and another environment might require end users or administrators to initiate restores—NetWorker provides several data-recovery methods. You can restore files through the NetWorker UI from a client system or through a Directed Recovery (i.e., a server-initiated recovery that never touches the client). To restore SQL Server data, I referred to the instructions about the product's BusinesSuite Module for Microsoft SQL Server in the online Administrator's Guide. NetWorker required that I perform the restore from the SQL Server machine rather than from the backup server. To initiate the recovery, I could use the Recover command with appropriate arguments, or I could use the NetWorker User for SQL Server GUI. From the GUI, I clicked the Recover button on the toolbar, selected the database I wanted to recover, and clicked Start to initiate the process.
To accomplish individual table restores for SQL Server 6.5, you can use the NetWorker Module 2.0.1 for Microsoft SQL Server. I tested only NetWorker Module 3.0 for Microsoft SQL Server, which supports filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 7.0 and partial-database restores for SQL Server 2000. NetWorker offers point-in-time recovery capabilities.
The Performance Tuning Guide provides suggestions for testing and tuning backup performance. NetWorker has three key settings for fine-tuning the application for different environments: Server Parallelism, Client Parallelism, and Multiplexing. Compared with this review's other products, NetWorker's overall nontuned backup and restore performance is average, as Graph 1 and Graph 2 show.
Although NetWorker wasn't difficult to configure, it felt different from a typical Windows product. During some operations (e.g., displaying details, editing a group while a backup ran), the NetWorker Administrator interface seemed unresponsive, as if the system were under a heavy load. However, Performance Monitor showed low system utilization during these times. Another minor drawback is that the program offers limited logging and monitoring of restore jobs. On the plus side, NetWorker performed well and has strong media-management and library-management facilities.
|Legato NetWorker 6.0
Contact: Legato Systems * 650-210-7000
Web: http://www.legato.com
Price: $13,280 as tested
Decision Summary:
Pros: Strong media and library management; wealth of performance-tuning capabilities
Cons: Limited logging and monitoring for restore jobs; occasionally unresponsive UI
HP OpenView OmniBack II 3.5
OmniBack II comes in a trifold cardboard case that contains three CD-ROMs and a six-page Quick and Easy Installation Guide. The three CD-ROMs hold installation files for Win2K, NT, and HP-UX servers and many supported clients. OmniBack II uses the term cell to describe a network environment that contains a Cell Manager (i.e., the backup server), clients, and backup devices. I accepted the default installation of components to my Cell Manager, then selected additional check boxes to install documentation and the SQL Server and NetWare components that my test environment required.
The installation took about 1 minute, after which the Next Step Wizard automatically opened and walked me through the steps of adding clients and users and configuring a backup device. I clicked the wizard's Add New Clients button to open the Add Client Systems window in the OmniBack II User Interface for Windows. This easy-to-use interface lets you select client software to install on individual Windows-based computers.
An HP support technician instructed me to download and install the latest OmniBack II patch from the company's Web site. The 35MB patch, OMNIBACK_00017, applies general fixes and enables single-mailbox restore functionality for Exchange Server. After the patch's installation, I right-clicked specific client icons and chose Add Components from the resulting menu to install the SQL Server component on the appropriate clients. To verify that I'd installed the correct component on each client, I checked each client's Properties dialog box.
I clicked the wizard's Configuring Device button to open the New Device window. I followed the Quick and Easy Installation Guide's recommendations for autoconfiguring the backup device. The autoconfiguration ran for about 1 minute, installing and configuring my tape library. After I ran a few tests, however, I discovered that OmniBack II hadn't properly configured the hardware. I worked on the problem with the help of HP engineers, but the software and the IBM LTO tape drives in the library wouldn't cooperate long enough to permit testing. At press time, the IBM drive isn't yet on HP's supported-drive list for OmniBack II. I was able to use the ADIC tape library to test OmniBack II's functional capabilities, but I had to use a standalone DLT 8000 tape drive for my backup and restore tests.
OmniBack II User Interface for Windows
The OmniBack II User Interface for Windows, which Figure 6 shows, is the centralized management interface. The Context List, in the top left corner, is a drop-down list of management-task categories: Clients, Users, Devices & Media, Backup, Restore, Reporting, OmniBack Database, and Monitor. Below the Context List is the Scoping pane, which contains a treeview of items that you can select to open a corresponding view. The software displays the view's contents in the large Results area. The interface was intuitive, and the contextual approach simplified navigation to appropriate portions of the interface.
Tape Library and Media Control
OmniBack II offers robust and easy-to-use media-management capabilities. Extensive control over media pools, data expiration, media availability, and media cataloging help you implement an effective media-allocation and protection scheme. Media copying and vaulting operations are also available to help you protect archive media. Multiple OmniBack II cells can share media-specific information. OmniBack II also offers features (e.g., mailslot, barcode, cleaning tape, and library-sharing support) that optimize usage with large tape libraries.
The process of creating a backup job is simple and effective. To back up an OmniBack II client, you switch to the Backup context, then choose from the list of Backup Specifications the type of backup you want to perform. (Available specifications in my environment were Filesystem and MSSQL.) Next, the software prompts you to choose a template to apply to the backup. You can choose from a selection of precreated templates for typical backup jobs, or you can create custom templates for your environment. The templates contain specifications (e.g., backup options, file selections, device options) for backup jobs. You can modify any of these template specifications and set a schedule for the backup job before choosing to save, start, or start a preview of the backup. File-system and SQL Server database backups worked smoothly and performed impressively.
Data Recovery
Restoring data from a backup is similar to initiating a backup. You switch to the Restore context, choose the type of backup from which you want to restore, and select the appropriate files or directories to restore. Tabs along the top of the Results area let you precisely control the method of the restore. Before you start a restore job, you can specify options for alternate destination, file-conflict handling, and pre-execution and post-execution commands. The software supports individual-table restores for SQL Server 6.5 and filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 2000 and 7.0. OmniBack II doesn't offer a point-in-time restoration option. If you have any concerns about potential restore problems, you can use the Preview Restore option, which initiates a dry run of the restore. To proactively identify which media are necessary to complete a restore, you simply click the Preview Restore button before you start the operation. You can also access details about restore operations in the OmniBack Database context, under Sessions.
The online Concepts document provides an overview of factors that affect backup and restore performance. In addition to hardware-related considerations, the document discusses OmniBack II's Load Balancing feature, as well as the pros and cons of one-to-one and many-to-few object and media schemes. Generally, you have a great deal of flexibility when deciding whether to concentrate performance considerations on backups or restores. When you back up and restore data, OmniBack II prompts you to select a network load value of High, Medium, or Low. I accepted the default value of High in my tests. The software's performance during all my backup and restore operations on the DLT drive looked good, but I couldn't directly compare the results with other products' results, which I used the four-drive library to obtain.
High Overhead, but Easy to Use
OmniBack II's easy-to-navigate interface and thoroughly organized online documentation were impressive. The product's reporting functionality was also user-friendly and robust. OmniBack II's CPU and memory utilization on the backup server was higher than that of the other products. An HP representative informed me that the high utilization results were due to the number of objects I had inserted into the catalog (i.e., database). Apparently, for the next product version, HP is planning to reduce the utilization by introducing a flat-file catalog, which will let you write more records in a more streamlined way. One concern you might have when dealing with HP's technical support for OmniBack II is that because of the time-zone differential between Germany (where most of this product's technical experts reside) and the United States, you might experience delays just when you need to resolve a mission-critical problem.
|HP OpenView OmniBack II 3.5
Contact: Hewlett-Packard * (49) 7031-14-0 or 800-752-0900
Web: http://www.openview.hp.com
Price: $4890 as tested
Decision Summary:
Pros: Easy-to-navigate interface; strong reporting; good value for feature set
Cons: High system-resource utilization; support structure might cause problems at crunch time
UltraBac 6.3 Enterprise Edition
UltraBac arrived in a folder that contained one CD-ROM and a printed User's Manual. I used the Full Install option to install the software on my backup server. Per an UltraBac support technician's request, I updated the driver for the autochanger in Win2K with an UltraBac-supplied driver. Then, to ensure that the application properly enumerated all the tape library's slots and drives, I opened the UltraBac program and selected Media Changer from the Tools menu.
UltraBac doesn't offer any client-side software for Windows computers. To transport backup data, the product uses standard Windows network connections. UltraBac also offers no client-side software components for SQL Server, although you must install the SQL Client Network Utility on the backup server to enable appropriate access.
A Very Simple Interface
UltraBac's interface, which Figure 7 shows, isn't as slick as some of the other products' interfaces, but it's straightforward and effective. The first time you open the interface, Backup mode appears. From the Mode menu, you can select Restore, Verify, and Archive modes, and you can set any of these options as the default mode. The interface doesn't change as you select different modes, but available menu options do.
Tape Library and Media Control
Before UltraBac can be a serious contender in the enterprise backup and recovery arena, the company needs to improve its tape-library and media control. Although the product successfully recognized the ADIC tape library and let me easily perform manual media functions, the lack of media-allocation and drive-allocation automation is a drawback. Also, the product somewhat oversimplifies media management for large environments and lacks automated features for implementing a comprehensive media-management scheme. However, UltraBac does contain a facility for manually creating copies of tapes for archiving or redundancy.
Because I didn't need to install any agents on most of my environment's clients, I was able to start backing up systems 30 minutes after I installed the software. The processes of creating and running backup jobs are simple. You first create sets, which contain the set of files you want to back up. Then, you create a group, which contains one or more sets. You perform backups by groups. To create backup sets for the various machines in my environment, I selected New from the Backup menu. A wizard helped me define the set that I wanted to back up. Next, the software wrote a text-file definition for the set to the UltraBac directory. To create additional backup sets, I modified several of these intuitively formatted text files and saved them under different names.
To create a group, you choose Schedule Backups from the Scheduler menu. You use the Scheduler dialog box for both scheduling and configuring backup groups. A large array of settings are available at the group level—including device targeting, verification, and media handling. After you configure a schedule and add one or more sets to the group, you click Run Now to immediately execute the specified backups. I configured multiple groups (logically organized by computer type), then tried scheduling some jobs and manually running the remaining jobs. All the backup jobs executed as expected.
Data Recovery
To enable the restore-associated menus in UltraBac's interface, I selected Restore from the Mode menu. To initiate a restore, I could choose to load the index from either the storage media or from disk. For my restore activities, I used the indexes stored on disk. After I chose which index to use, the software displayed a list of available backups to restore. I then selected the objects I wanted to restore from a Windows Explorer—like interface and clicked Perform Restore. UltraBac supports individual table restores for SQL Server 6.5 and filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 2000 and 7.0. The product doesn't offer a point-in-time restore option. Restore operations in my environment worked as expected and performed nicely.
Backup and restore performance was impressive; however, the inability to automate the use of multiple drives and multiple data streams will be a drawback in busy backup environments. To use multiple drives simultaneously, I needed to schedule multiple groups to execute at the same time—allowing some buffer time so that robot activities from one job could finish before another job started.
A Scrappy Competitor
Given UltraBac's simple and compact design, I didn't expect it to perform as well as it did. Although the product requires some server-side software (i.e., a SQL Server client) to enable special backups, the functionality that the product provides without requiring client-side agents is impressive. Automated media and device management, however, isn't UltraBac's strong suit. The product doesn't intelligently load-balance between drives to exploit the power of multidrive tape libraries. UltraBac's low price and operational simplicity make it an attractive option for organizations that don't require highly automated performance management for their backup operations. However, if Win2K System State backups are important to you, the current version's inability to perform them on remote clients could be a serious detriment.
|UltraBac 6.3 Enterprise Edition
Contact: UltraBac Software * 425-644-6000
Web: http://www.ultrabac.com
Price: $2885 as tested
Decision Summary:
Pros: Simple and compact; no client-side software required; good value
Cons: Insufficient automation for media and device management; necessity to manually manage parallelism


text:
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday condemned racially charged language used by a federal prosecutor in Texas.
The justice, appointed to the court by President Barack Obama in 2009, took the relatively unusual step of writing a statement to accompany the nine-member Supreme Court's announcement that it would not take up a criminal case.
Sotomayor took issue with the question asked by the prosecutor, identified in the trial transcript as Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Ponder.
While questioning an African-American defendant in a drug case, Ponder asked: "You've got African-Americans, you've got Hispanics, you've got a bag full of money. Does that tell you - a light bulb doesn't go off in your head and say, this is a drug deal?"
The first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, Sotomayor wrote that the prosecutor had "tapped a deep and sorry vein of racial prejudice that has run through the history of criminal justice in our nation."
The question was "pernicious in its attempt to substitute racial stereotype for evidence," she added. Sotomayor also accused the Obama administration of playing down the issue.
The defendant in the case, Bongani Charles Calhoun, wanted the Supreme Court to order a retrial because he said his right to a fair trial was violated when the question was asked. He was convicted of three offenses over his role in a drug conspiracy.
Initially, the administration declined to file a response to Calhoun's claim, indicating government lawyers did not think it merited attention.
"I hope never to see a case like this again," Sotomayor wrote.
Justice Stephen Breyer signed on to Sotomayor's statement.
Reached by telephone on Monday, Ponder declined to comment.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, where Ponder is listed as working, said the matter had been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility, which handles allegations of attorney misconduct. He declined to comment further.
Tom Moran, the Houston-based lawyer who filed Calhoun's Supreme Court petition, said Sotomayor's statement should be taken to heart by other prosecutors.
Moran said Ponder "got slapped around pretty good" by the justice.
The Supreme Court did not take up the case on Monday, because Calhoun had failed to raise his argument earlier in the appeals process, as required under the law, Sotomayor wrote.
At trial, Calhoun's argument was that although he was present when federal agents arrested him and several other men, he was unaware of the illegal activity.
The case is Calhoun v. United States, U.S. Supreme Court, 12-6142.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller and Mohammad Zargham)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sarah A. Finne: NH does not need under-trained hygienists doing oral surgeryBY SARAH A. FINNE
November 17. 2013 4:15PM
Charles Arlinghaus' recent column calling for the addition of a new type of dental provider in New Hampshire is off base when he cites the need to relax scope-of-practice laws to improve care. As a veteran dentist who began her career as a dental hygienist, I understand firsthand the need for clear scope-of-practice laws and disagree that this new category of provider is right for New Hampshire. It is not.
The bill Arlinghaus mentions in his column would create a new class of dental practitioners who would undergo three years of education after high school and be able to perform dental surgery — drilling and extracting teeth. I began my career as a dental hygienist. By attending dental school and receiving an additional four years of education and clinical training after receiving a four-year bachelor's degree, I was able to experience just how different a licensed dentist is from a dental hygienist who specializes in prevention.
The truth is that those with an associate's degree plus a short 9-to 12-months of additional training simply do not have the skillset and background necessary to perform invasive surgical procedures on patients. This isn't a matter of economics, as Arlinghaus holds, but of patient safety.
Instead, we need to work to properly direct patients through the existing public health system. The causes of the dental crisis are varied and complex, and a myriad of factors can prevent patients from being able to see a dentist. New Hampshire dentists are working to address those barriers head-on.
For instance, a number of dentists are partnering with health professionals around the state to refer patients who visit the emergency room for dental pain to the dentist's chair, where they can treat the source of the pain. We're also developing programs to help those patients navigate their options within the private/public safety net to get them proper dental care. Additionally, many New Hampshire dentists are going into schools to provide screenings for children and to educate them about preventive practices so that our state's youth can follow a path of proper dental health throughout life.
New Hampshire has taken significant strides to improve an already good oral health care system. A recent Pew study found New Hampshire to be the fourth-best in the nation in terms of oral health. We are ranked first in the country for the fewest number of third graders with untreated tooth decay and are one of only 11 states in the country to provide dental care to at least 50 percent of Medicaid-eligible children.
Additionally, our state continues to attract more and more dentists. The Board of Dental Examiners recently recorded approximately 1,000 actively licensed dentists in the state, which is a sizable increase over the past 10 years.
Understanding that health care changes and evolves, new scopes of practice are consistently reviewed to ensure we're serving the needs of patients appropriately. In the past two years, New Hampshire dentists have worked with many stakeholders to establish two new dental workforce providers: the Certified Public Health Dental Hygienist and the Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary (EFDA). These providers more than adequately address the barriers patients most often face to getting dental care.
In addition to the preventive services, certified public health hygienists provide relief to patients through temporary fillings, nutritional counseling, limited x-rays and other services in the community public health setting. When a patient at a school-based clinic has a cavity, a certified public health hygienist can immediately apply a temporary filling that protects the tooth from further damage until the child can receive a permanent filling from a dentist.
An EFDA is another proven model of provider, used in 30 states, adding additional efficiencies to public health clinics and dental practices. With the integration of these expanded services, we are addressing the needs of residents who may have trouble accessing oral health services. These new workforce models will make a difference, but we need to give them a chance to succeed and have an impact on patients before we introduce yet another model.
The point is simple: the new dental provider touted by Arlinghaus fails to address the many obstacles New Hampshire families face in getting the dental care they need. It does not address lack of dental insurance or transportation, cultural and language barriers, diminished state public health programs, and a lack of understanding about who should care for children's teeth in ways that can prevent disease.
New Hampshire dentists are working to address these issues in multiple ways. Let's focus first on expanding what's been proven to address barriers to care before playing with patient safety and adding a mid-level provider to the team.
Public education, community water fluoridation, using the current workforce to its full potential where there is existing capacity to serve more patients — these are the factors that will close the dental divide. This is where the focus should be.
Sarah A. Finne is a dentist in Hampstead.


text:
Click here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about our Committee hearings and markups.
The Committee's video streams use the free Adobe Flash Player and Windows Media Player software. An error message may appear if you do not have the latest version of this software installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe website and the Microsoft website. Apple users must install Windows Media Components for Quicktime, which is also available for free from Microsoft.
Video archives of Committee meetings are made available online approximately 24 hours after the conclusion of each meeting. Digital archives (video or audiocasts) of Committee meetings are available from 2007 to present. Learn more about our video archives here.
The use of duplications of broadcast coverage of the House Committee on Natural Resources is governed by the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. Proceedings of the House Committee on Natural Resources, including any recording of such proceedings, may not be used for any political purpose or in any commercial advertisement, and may not be broadcast with commercial sponsorship except as part of a bona fide news program or public affairs documentary program.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), issued the following statement regarding the Department of the Interior's issued rule to end burdensome Obama-era regulations on venting......
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Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed H.R. 6510 (U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah), the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act. "As America's beloved national parks buckle under the weig......
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Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop and Ranking Member Raúl Grijalva announced and passed a deal on the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), offered and adopted in Com......
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text:
Bogan in BC Canadian Rockies 2005 Chamonix 1993 In Search Of Eastern Skiing in the Great Thaw of 1995 JMK's Trip Bariloche, Argentina 1994 Misc 2004 Panorama, British Columbia, March1998 PattiMac's Utah Avalanche Pictures The Matt Duffy Chronicles Todd's Utah Big Air Photo's Todds' Tahoe Trip 1996 Wes and the Boys in Colorado 2003 Wesley and Vickie's 2001 Swiss Adventure Whistler April 1999: Wesley, Jumpin Jimmy, mrrogers Back to Vermont Skiers Travel the World
Waiting for the train to get us back to Chamonix. Gilles at left, Jeff at right.
Last modified November 14 2002 05:29 PM


text:
While at my scrappin' retreat last weekend I managed to snag up some new Jillibean Soup papers...hands down one of my absolute favorite companies. Then, when I got home from my weekend, there was a box of goodies waiting for me. Double bonus!!
Anyway, I've been wanting to make some altered clipboards for a while now. And I finally got a chance to do that this week. I wanted to make more than just a clipboard to make it more useful for my needs. So this is what I came up with:
I covered the clipboard in the JS paper, inking the edges first. Originally I was going to cover the entire thing in Mod Podge but then ended up skipping that because I liked the way it looked. I will tell you that I was very generous with the adhesive though. The clipboard was longer than 12", so I actually cut about 2" from the top and left a gap between the top and bottom pieces. That's where I ended up adding the other strips of paper.
I had some leftover magnets from another project so I used those to hold the notepads (from Papertrey) in place. That way, when I'm done with a notebook I can create another one to put in it's place.
You can see that the cardstock was cut to fit around the top of the notepad and comes down about another 2" in the back. I simply measured the notebook and made 2 score marks to fit around the top. The front was stamped with the 'Take Note' stamp set from Papertrey in brown StazOn.
Then I simply embellished the top of the clipboard and it was finished! I'm really loving that Martha Stewart butterfly punch lately. So cute!
Now, my daughter saw what I was doing and requested one for herself (of course!). So I used the new Easter papers to create hers...
You might notice that the notepads are a bit skinnier. For hers I used some leftover notepads that I had cut myself for a different project. After making hers I think I like the wider notepads better (but she's 8, she doesn't mind!)
These notepads were also thicker and the paper didn't want to lay flat like on mine. But that's ok.
Aren't those little bunnies cute?! Olivia loved them :)
She wanted one notebook that she could list her books to read so the stamp set worked out perfect for that. She was very happy with it...can you tell?!
She's a big reason why I love crafting. The look of excitement on her face when I make something for her...just priceless!
And as you can see she's making very good use of her notebooks...
Do you like the "tatoo" on her arm that my son gave her?? My son has one on his arm, too :) And based on her clothing choices I think she's trying to match her notepads. Hmmm....
Any questions on how I made this, just leave a comment!
Friday, March 12, 2010
5 comments:
- Kim's Treasures said...
I love these! Great job and pretty paper!
- March 13, 2010 at 7:08 AM
- Kellie said...
I love the clipboards. Too cute! Very useful.
- March 13, 2010 at 7:38 AM
- jenjen said...
Michelle --
That is just adorable. I love it. What a great way to keep track of things!
- March 14, 2010 at 6:06 PM
- Mara... said...
FABULOUS!!! I love Jillibean and their new releases are fantatic. And I love your notebooks, too!!! Great projects.
- March 15, 2010 at 9:21 PM
- Betty J Pagley said...
Just did a clipboard for a teacher gift. You have taken this to a whole new level! Great job! Thanks for sharing.
- June 29, 2010 at 4:48 AM
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text:
Starting an eBay Business For Dummies, 4th Edition
Table of Contents
Author Information
Part I: Getting Serious about eBay.
Chapter 1: Launching Your Business on eBay.
Chapter 2: The Finer Points of eBay Selling.
Chapter 3: Cool eBay Tools.
Chapter 4: Safe Selling Equals Profitable Sales.
Chapter 5: Expanding Sales with an eBay Store.
Part II: Setting Up Shop.
Chapter 6: Finding Merchandise to Up Your Profits.
Chapter 7: Pricing Your Items to Sell.
Chapter 8: Establishing and Marketing Your Web Site.
Part III: Business Is Business — Time to Get Serious.
Chapter 9: Software Built for Online Auctions.
Chapter 10: Dollars and Sense: Budgeting and Marketing Your Sales.
Chapter 11: Setting Up Listings That Sell.
Chapter 12: Providing Excellent Customer Service.
Chapter 13: Collecting Your Money.
Chapter 14: Shipping Your Items: Sending Them Fast and Saving Money.
Part IV: Your eBay Back Office.
Chapter 15: Getting Legal: Understanding Taxes and Licenses.
Chapter 16: Savvy Record Keeping — Keeping the Tax Man at Bay.
Chapter 17: Building an eBay Back Office.
Part V: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 18: Ten (or So) Sellers Who've Made the Jump from Hobby to Profits.
Chapter 19: Ten Other Places to Move Your Merchandise.
Appendix A: eBay Business Glossary.
Appendix B: The Hows and Whys of a Home Network.


text:
Pedro De Los SantosNew York Mets
Pitcher | Ht: | Wt:
|Mets | Two minor leaguers suspended
Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:49:46 -0700
Adam Rubin, of the New York Daily News, reports New York Mets Ps Pedro De Los Santos and Luis X. Hernandez were both suspended 50 games Tuesday, Aug. 18, for testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol. Both players were pitching in the Dominican Summer League.
|Comment (0)
|| Share:


text:
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text: Covario: Global paid search grew 18% in 2012 Published on January 17, 2013. San Diego—Worldwide spending on pay-per-click search advertising in the enterprise technology, consumer electronics and retail sectors grew 18% last year, according to search marketing agency Covario Inc. According to Covario's "Global Paid Search Analysis" of its own clients, paid search advertising on mobile devices continued to accelerate worldwide throughout the year, with mobile search spending up 30% in the fourth quarter compared with the year-earlier period. For the second consecutive quarter, costs-per-click on tablets exceeded those on personal computers, Covario said. Google continued to command more than 86% of the paid-search market share, with the Yahoo-Bing Network at nearly 8%, according to the report. Most Popular In this article: BtoB


text:
Lamna ditropis
|Scope: Global
Language: English
|Scientific Name:
|Lamna ditropis Hubbs & Follett, 1947
Common Name(s):
|Red List Category & Criteria:
|Least Concern ver 3.1
|Year Published:
|Date Assessed:
|Goldman, K., Kohin, S., Cailliet, G.M. & Musick, J.A.
|Cavanagh, R.D., Fowler, S.L. & Valenti, S.V. (Shark Red List Authority)
The Salmon Shark occurs in the eastern and western North Pacific and its population appears to be stable and at relatively high levels of abundance. Currently there is no directed fishery in the Northeast Pacific, apart from a small sport fishery for the species in Alaska. Bycatch in the Northeast and Eastern Central Pacific appears to be at low levels and is not increasing at this point-in-time. Additionally, with the current ban on commercial fishing in Alaska state waters and fairly conservative sport fishing limits, it appears that the population is stable. In the Northwest Pacific, a small directed fishery still exists, but typically takes no more than ~5,000 animals per year. Bycatch in the Eastern and Western Central Pacific has been significantly reduced since the elimination of the drift gillnet fishery and the population appears to have rebounded to its former levels. In addition, the most recent demographic analysis supports the contention that salmon shark populations in the Northeast and Northwest Pacific are stable at this time and it is assessed as Least Concern. Nevertheless, there are very little data on catch in other fisheries, discards and potential finning from the major pelagic fisheries in the North Pacific. Bycatch in U.S. State and Federal waters should be documented in order to foster responsible management and catch records should be obtained from the Northwest and Central Pacific.
|Previously published Red List assessments:
|Range Description:
|The Salmon Shark is a coastal and oceanic inhabitant of the north and central Pacific Ocean, ranging between 35°N-65°N in the Northwest Pacific (greatest densities between 42°N-52°N) and 30°N-65°N in the northeast and eastern central Pacific (appear to be most concentrated between 50°N-60°N) (Neave and Hanavan 1960, Farquhar 1963, Compagno 1984, Blagoderov 1994, Nakano and Nagasawa 1996). They have been caught as far as 67°N and a few specimens have been taken at around 10°N (Nagasawa 1998). In general, the southern boundary of this sharks' range in the western Pacific is the transitional domain separating the subarctic current from the central Pacific current (McKinnell and Waddell 1993, Nakano and Nagasawa 1996, Nagasawa 1998). In the eastern central Pacific, Salmon Sharks occur as far south as 30°N (Croker 1942, Strasburg 1958, Hart 1973) to Baja California, Mexico (Compagno 2001).
Recent electronic tagging studies have demonstrated that the salmon shark is extremely wide ranging throughout the north Pacific with individuals traveling from Prince William Sound, Alaska into waters as far south as Baja California, Mexico and Hawaii (Weng et al. 2003, Weng et al. 2005). Bycatch of Salmon Sharks are reported in the equatorial central Pacific (Nakano and Bayliff 2003), although the authors are convinced that the reports are misidentifications since the shark is otherwise not reported in waters south of 20°N. An improved set of criteria will be used for fishery observers in the Eastern Central Pacific starting in 2004, and should help to resolve the misidentifications.
This species is abundant in water temperatures ranging from 5-18°C, and high catches have been recorded in sea surface temperatures (SST) of 9-16°C (Nakano and Nagasawa 1996).
|Countries occurrence:
Native:Canada (British Columbia, Yukon); United States (Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington)
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Pacific – eastern central; Pacific – northwest; Pacific – northeast; Pacific – western central
|Additional data:
|Range Map:
|Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
|No detailed information exists on salmon shark abundance, and nothing is known about stock structure. No abundance estimates are available for salmon sharks in the Northeast Pacific. Minimum stock size for the Northwest and Western Central Pacific has been estimated via catch data from several Japanese drift/gillnet fisheries to range from 1.66 x 106 to 2.19 x 106 (Shimida and Nakano unpublished data, cited in Nagasawa 1998), however no detailed information was given as to how these estimates were obtained.
While sexual segregation is relatively common in sharks, a remarkable sex ratio difference occurs in salmon sharks across the North Pacific basin. The western side is male dominated and the eastern side is female dominated, with dominance increasing with latitude (Sano 1962, Nagasawa 1998, Goldman 2002, Goldman and Musick in press). Larger sharks range farther north than smaller individuals, and southern catches generally occur in deeper waters (Nagasawa 1998, Goldman and Musick unpublished data).
|Current Population Trend:
|Additional data:
|Habitat and Ecology:
|Salmon Sharks occur in both the nearshore and oceanic environments. Typical vertical distribution is from surface waters to 150 m (Farquhar 1963, McKinnell and Waddell 1993, Nakano and Nagasawa 1996, Robinson and Jamieson 1984), with recent tagging studies showing they penetrate depths >600 m (Weng et al. 2003, Weng et al. 2005). Adult Salmon Sharks typically range in size from 180-210 cm PCL (where TL = 1.1529*PCL + 15.186, from Goldman and Musick 2006) for northeast Pacific - no conversions are given in the literature for Salmon Sharks in the northwest Pacific), and can weigh upwards of 220 kg. Reported lengths of 260 cm PCL (>300 cm TL) and greater with weights exceeding 450 kg are unsubstantiated. Length-at-maturity in the northwest Pacific has been estimated to occur at approximately 140 cm PCL (age five) for males and between 170 and 180 cm PCL (ages 8-10) for females (Tanaka 1980), while length-at-maturity in the northeast Pacific has been estimated to occur between 125 and 145 cm PCL (age 3-5) for males and between 160 and 180 cm PCL (ages 6-9) for females (Goldman 2002, Goldman and Musick 2006).
In addition to length and age-at-maturity, growth rates and weight-at-length of L. ditropis also differ between males and females from northeast Pacific and the northwest Pacific. Tanaka (1980), (also see Nagasawa 1998) states that maximum age from vertebral analysis for northwest Pacific L. ditropis is at least 25 years for males and 17 for females, and that the growth coefficient (k) for males and females are 0.17 and 0.14 respectively. Goldman (2002) and Goldman and Musick (2006) gave maximum ages for Northeast Pacific L. ditropis (also from vertebral analysis) of 17 years for males and 20 years for females, with growth coefficients of 0.23 and 0.17 for males and females, respectively. Longevity estimates are similar (20-30 years) for the northeast and northwest Pacific. Salmon sharks in the northeast and northwest Pacific attain the same maximum length (approximately 215 cm PCL for females and about 190 cm PCL for males). However, past approximately 140 cm PCL for males and 110 cm PCL for females, salmon sharks in the northeast Pacific are of a greater weight-at-length than their same-sex counterparts in the northwest Pacific (Goldman 2002, Goldman and Musick 2006).
The reproductive mode of salmon sharks is aplacental viviparity and includes an oophagous stage (Tanaka 1986, cited in Nagasawa 1998). Litter size in the western Pacific is three to five pups and litters are reportedly male dominated 2.2:1 (Nagasawa 1998). Data from a single pregnant female taken in Alaska waters in December 2006 provide the only insight to litter size and sex ratio of pups in the northeast Pacific. That shark had four pups with a 1:1 sex ratio (Gallucci et al. unpub. data). Gestation times throughout the north Pacific appear to be nine months with mating occurring during the late summer and early fall, and parturition occurring in the spring (Tanaka 1980, Nagasawa 1998, Goldman 2002, Goldman and Human 2005, Goldman and Musick 2006, Goldman and Musick in press, Tribuzio unpub. data). Size at parturition is between 60-65 cm PCL in both the northeast and northwest Pacific (Tanaka 1980, Goldman 2002, Goldman and Musick 2006).
In the northwest Pacific, a salmon shark pupping and nursery ground may exist just north of the transitional domain in oceanic waters. According to Nakano and Nagasawa (1996), larger juveniles than term (70-110 cm PCL) were caught in waters with SSTs of 14-16°C with adults occurring in colder waters further north. Another pupping and nursery area appears to range from southeast Alaska to northern Baja California, Mexico, in the northeast Pacific (Goldman and Musick in press).
Salmon Sharks are opportunistic feeders, sharing the highest trophic level of the food web in subarctic Pacific waters with marine mammals and seabirds (Brodeur 1988, Nagasawa, 1998, Goldman and Human 2005). They feed on a wide variety of prey including salmon (Oncorhynchus), rockfishes (Sebastes), Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria), lancetfish (Alepisaurus), daggerteeth (Anotopterus), lumpfishes (Cyclopteridae), sculpins (Cottidae), atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus), mackerel (Scomber), pollock and tomcod (Gadidae), herring (Clupeidae), Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias), tanner crab (Chionocetes), squid and shrimp (Sano 1960, 1962; Farquhar 1963; Hart 1973; Urquhart 1981; Compagno 1984, 2001, Nagasawa 1998).
As with all members of the family Lamnidae, this species is endothermic, retaining heat created by its own oxidative metabolism (Carey et al. 1985, Goldman 1997). Body temperatures from moribund or recently dead specimens have shown elevations (over water temperature) of 8-11°C in smaller specimens and up to 13.6°C in larger specimens (Smith and Rhodes 1983, Anderson and Goldman 2001). Body temperature can exceed ambient water temperature in free-swimming salmon sharks by as much as 21.2°C (Goldman 2002, Goldman et al. 2004).
|Major Threat(s):
Historical records of commercial catch and bycatch of salmon sharks are sparse. Japanese commercial catch was reported to the FAO between 1952 and 1965 totaling 110.4 metric tons (mt), with 40.1 mt being the highest amount taken in any single year (Compagno 1990). The current fishing mortality on salmon sharks comes mainly from their being taken as bycatch in purse seine fisheries (e.g. for salmon), but they are also taken in longline fisheries for halibut and sablefish. There is also a small amount of directed commercial and sport fishing taking place off Japan and in Alaska, respectively.
Historically, salmon sharks were commonly caught in gillnets set for salmon (Oncorhynchus species) and flying squid (Ommastrephes) primarily by Canadian, Japanese and Russian fisheries, with smaller numbers taken by Taiwanese and North Korean fisheries (Blagoderov 1994, McKinnell and Waddell 1993, Nakano and Nagasawa 1996, Robinson and Jamieson 1984). Based on the number of boats, average number of sets and the average CPUE reported in Robinson and Jamieson (1984), flying squid fisheries may have taken between 105,000 and 155,000 salmon sharks as bycatch over a four-month period each year (Goldman and Human 2005).
With the elimination of open ocean driftnet fishing and the cessation of the Japanese open ocean salmon fishery, it is likely that there is considerably less salmon shark bycatch in the open north Pacific and the population appears to have rebounded to its former levels (Nagasawa et al. 2002, H. Nakano pers. comm.). However, Salmon Sharks are still taken in U.S. waters (particularly the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, PWS) as bycatch in trawl, gillnet, and seine fisheries, but this bycatch has been poorly documented (Camhi 1999), and salmon shark bycatch from other countries fisheries is not reported. However, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), trawl, gillnet, and (particularly) seine fisheries are probably responsible for a large number of shark interactions. The state extended the sport fishing regulations to include the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (to 200 miles). Anecdotal reports from fishermen are that there are less salmon sharks in PWS in recent years, and that there is more time between hook-ups. However, there are no abundance estimates to support a decrease in the number of salmon sharks at this time.
The most recent demographic analysis support the contention that salmon shark populations in the eastern and western north Pacific are stable at this time (Goldman 2002).
The State of Alaska and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has also noted high levels of methyl mercury content in Salmon Shark muscle tissue samples provided by the ADF&G, suggesting that pollution is having an affect on this species.
The conservation status of this species is still of some concern because there is so little data on catch in other fisheries, discards and potential finning from the major pelagic fisheries in the north Pacific. There is a great need to document the bycatch in U.S. State and Federal waters in order to foster responsible management of this species, as well as to obtain catch records from the northwest and central Pacific.
|Conservation Actions:
Sharks are currently listed in the Federal Groundfish Management Plans for the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands as "other species" and are allowed as bycatch. They are included in the commercial bycatch TAC (Total Allowable Catch) for Alaska Federal waters. How much of this bycatch is salmon shark (vs. Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) and Sleeper Shark (Somniosus pacificus)) is unknown. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) is considering closure of directed commercial fishing for sharks in Federal waters as no Federal Management plan exists specifically for sharks in the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutians and the Bering Sea (J. DiCosimo, personal communication 2007).
Commercial fishing for all shark species in Alaska State waters has been illegal since 1997. State of Alaska regulations prohibit directed commercial fishing of sharks statewide except for a spiny dogfish permit fishery adopted by the Alaska Board of Fisheries for the Cook Inlet area in 2005. Sharks taken incidentally to commercial groundfish and salmon fisheries may be retained and sold provided that the fish are fully utilized. The state limits the amount of incidentally taken sharks that may be retained to 20% of the round weight of the directed species on board a vessel except in the Southeast District where a longline vessel or a troller may retain up to 35% round weight of sharks to round weight of the target species on board. All sharks landed must be recorded on an Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) fish ticket.
The ADF&G manages the recreational shark fishery in state and federal waters with a daily bag limit of one shark of any species per person per day, and an annual limit of two sharks of any species per person. There is a directed fishery for salmon sharks in Prince William Sound involving a small number of charter boats. There have been no reported incidents of sport-caught sharks being finned and discarded, and state regulations prohibit the intentional waste or destruction of any sport-caught species. Recreational harvest of all shark species combined is estimated through a mail survey of sport fishing license holders. In addition, harvest of salmon sharks by guided anglers is required to be reported in charter logbooks. About 1,600 sharks of all species were harvested by the sport fishery in state and federal waters of Southeast and Southcentral Alaska in 2005 (most recent estimate). No sport harvest of sharks was reported in western Alaska. Charter boats reported a salmon shark harvest of about 240 fish statewide in 2005. Although estimates of salmon shark harvest are not available for unguided anglers, the charter fleet is believed to account for the majority of salmon shark harvest. In addition to the mail survey and logbook, shark fisheries are monitored in Southcentral Alaska through biological sampling for species, size, age, and sex composition, as well as spatial distribution of the harvest.
Family Lamnidae is listed on Annex I, Highly Migratory Species, of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which urges States to cooperate over the management of these species. No such management yet exists. Precautionary adaptive collaborative management of target and bycatch fisheries is needed for this biologically vulnerable shark. It is also essential to improve data collection and develop stock assessments for this species.
The adoption of shark finning bans by fishing states (e.g. USA), regional entities (EU) and regional fisheries organisations (IATTC) is accelerating and should increasingly prevent the harvesting of salmon shark bycatch on the high seas for their fins alone.
|Goldman, K., Kohin, S., Cailliet, G.M. & Musick, J.A. 2009. Lamna ditropis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T39342A10210228. . Downloaded on 19 September 2018.
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Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Zenyatta: In Their Own Words
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, November 10, 2010--The great Winston Churchill had it right when he said: "There's something about the outside of a horse that's good for the inside of a man."
Women might be included in this, too, of course.
Among the arguments made here several weeks ago about voting for Zenyatta as 2010 Horse of the Year regardless of what happened in the Breeders' Cup Classic; that transcendent horses need to be recognized.
Recall that there is no Horse of the Year guidebook to consult.
There will be no expounding further on what a Horse of the Year resume is; voters need to settle that question within their own conscience and let the heavens fall.
I've surfed the Internet for Thoroughbred storylines in the wake of Zenyatta's "Quest for Perfection," and it's been heartening to see all the positive reaction following such heartfelt disappointment.
Because of Zenyatta's hulking presence, the lead-up to this year's Classic was unprecedented.
Photo spreads in two national magazines plus a "60 Minutes" love-in does something for your image. Even in the best of times, presenting racing in a favorable light to the masses is a challenge.
And these are far from the best of times.
All this preamble led to 6:45 pm last Saturday. The latch was sprung and in less than an eighth of a mile most feared that this time it might end differently.
Even the Hall of Famer on her back was having doubts. The Classic wasn't a quarter-mile old before Mike Smith briefly considered easing her, protect her. She was traveling uncharacteristically poorly, clearly uncomfortable with the going under foot.
But out of loss came not despair but adulation, the kind of feelings that Churchill understood enough to try to describe. And it came from everywhere.
"As the horses were about to be loaded into the gate Saturday for the Breeders' Cup Classic, three light blue and reddish bands of light took shape in the sky directly overhead.
"It didn't require much imagination to associate these bands with Zenyatta's salmon and teal colors, and to see them as a sign that perhaps the hopes riding on her extended further than people knew…" --Jeff Scott, for The Saratogian
"My interest was piqued and I tuned in to watch the chance for history to be made. As I watched Zenyatta "dance" on her way to the track, weaving her way through the massive crowd in the paddock area, I was mesmerized…" --Blogger Al Stephenson
"Her most important success probably came off the track, as she single-handedly revived the flagging interest in U.S. racing..." --Sam Walker, for The Racing Post.
"If horse racing had a Mount Rushmore, [Zenyatta's] image would be there, alongside Secretariat's and Man o' War's and Citation's..." --Gary West, for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Zenyatta was a gift from heaven and God further blessed us by giving her to John Shirreffs…" --Art Wilson, for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune
"Zenyatta endeared herself to millions of Americans and helped raise the profile of racing in the same way that Seabiscuit and Secretariat did before her." --Reuters
"She's the greatest filly I've ever seen. She may be the greatest of all time…" --Steve Haskin, for The Bloodhorse
"She is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, not merely a superb racehorse… It is hard to imagine that a [Horse of the Year] vote could go any other way. Zenyatta hasn't just won lots of races and attracted lots of interest to a sport whose piece of the general fan pie is a sliver, she has created a buzz that made its way to mainstream America…" --Bill Dwyre, for the Los Angeles Times
"So ends a truly great career for the most talented older race mare I have ever seen…" --Steve Davidowitz, for GradeOneRacing.com
"Rarely, if ever, has a thoroughbred so thoroughly exuded greatness while enduring such a monumental defeat…" Ed Gray, for the Boston Herald, retired
"Zenyatta demonstrated in a clear, unequivocal manner she is the best Thoroughbred in America…" --Nick Kling, for the Troy Record
"Her legend was enhanced in defeat…" --author Bill Nack, for ESPN.com
"Zenyatta's first defeat served to complete the legend rather than diminish it..." --The Independent [United Kingdom]
"…The weight of the loss was on us… I heard turf writers whom I would have sworn didn't have a sentimental bone in their bodies say in bewilderment, 'I can't believe how bad I feel…" --Blogger Teresa Genaro, Brooklyn Backstretch
"She was--and is--far bigger than her one defeat…" --Tim Layden, for Sports Illustrated
"I saw people crying at Churchill Downs Saturday evening, I saw middle-aged women wiping tears from their faces. I saw college-aged girls doing the same… --Tim Wilkin, for the Albany Times-Union
"I didn't cry until Sunday morning… It wasn't because Zenyatta lost; it was because an era was at an end…" --Blogger Jessica Chapel / Railbird v2
"I'll say that I saw Zenyatta…" --Chapel
Written by John Pricci - Comments (18)


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Committee gets testimony on tar sands pipeline
Feb. 20, 2013
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A pipeline company executive told Vermont lawmakers Tuesday his company is willing to move tar sands oil from western Canada across northern New England, a possibility panned by environmental activists concerned about spills and the chance the state would lose its standing as a leader in limiting pollution.
Portland Pipe Line Corp CEO Larry Wilson said that while his company has no active plans to get into the tar sands shipping business, it would welcome the opportunity.
"We hope to have a project to do something with our pipeline in the near future, and that is an option that we would absolutely consider," Wilson told the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee. Wilson's statement came after months of denials by energy companies that any plans were afoot to ship tar sands oil across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
To do so would require reversing the flow of the pipeline which now carries oil delivered by ship in South Portland to a refinery in Montreal.
"Reversing our pipeline is something we're prepared and capable of doing very effectively, very safely, and moving oil of any crude grade, whether it be light, medium or heavy, is something we're very comfortable and confident we can do," he said.
Aside from visiting with state officials in Vermont, Wilson said he had been touring towns all along the three-state route of his company's pipeline, trying to mollify any concerns of local residents and officials.
The arguments by environmentalists echo those associated with the Keystone XL pipeline proposal to move tar sands oil down the country's midsection to refineries on the Texas coast.
The Vermont committee is considering putting any such changes on the pipeline under the state's tough Act 250 land-use review law, under which developers have to bring projects to a district commission, with appeal rights both for project supporters and critics to a state board. Wilson spoke against the legislation, calling it an unnecessary layer of government regulation.
Environmentalists have been raising an alarm about the possibility of Canadian tar sands oil being shipped through New England with two key objections in mind: fear of spills and worries that burning tar sands oil will worsen climate change.
Jim Murphy, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation, cited a 2010 rupture of an oil pipeline that went unnoticed for 17 hours near the Kalamazoo River in Michigan.
Tar sands oil is said to be more difficult and energy-intensive to produce and dirtier to burn, releasing more carbon than conventional oil. Environmentalists said Vermont, with no big coal-fired power plants and little heavy industry, is among the lowest carbon emitters among the states but would become, in the words of Johanna Miler of the Vermont Natural Resources Council, "a conduit for the world's dirtiest oil."
Wilson said in an interview he would let others decide what to do about global issues like climate change.
"As long as we as a society require the energy that we require for our lifestyles today, I believe we ought to move that energy in the safest, most reliable, most efficient and effective manner possible, and that is pipelines," he said.
Brent Kinsley, 62, a vegetable farmer and maple syrup producer from Irasburg whose land is crossed by the pipeline, said he liked the idea of subjecting any big changes to the use of the pipeline to a full state environmental review. "It would be prudent to have as good or better oversight, in terms of holding these folks who want to repurpose this to a high standard."


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There are no questions yet.
Comes as a set of 3.
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|Standard Mini


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Room Scheduling
From CCRMA Wiki
CCRMA uses a web-based scheduling system located here:
With the exception of the CCRMA Stage and the Recording Studio you can reserve any of the following rooms at CCRMA subject to a maximim of 8 hours per week.
Please keep the rooms clear of trash, even if you find some in there when you arrive. And, please never place food or liquids anywhere near the gear.


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Greg Grossfree agent
Team Official | Ht: | Wt:
|Phillies | Two more coaches not returning
Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:39:10 -0700
Philadelphia Phillies hitting coach Greg Gross and bench coach Pete Mackanin will not return to the team next season.
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|| Source: MLB.com - Todd Zolecki
|Phillies | All coaches to return
Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:05:21 -0700
The Philadelphia Phillies announced all of manager Charlie Manuel's coaches will return for the 2012 season. Rich Dubee (pitching), Greg Gross (hitting), Pete Mackanin (bench), Sam Perlozzo (first base), Juan Samuel (third base), Mick Billmeyer (bullpen), and bullpen catcher Jesus Tiamo will keep their respective positions.
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|| Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
|Phillies | Greg Gross named hitting coach
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:20:56 -0700
The Philadelphia Phillies have named Greg Gross their new hitting coach Thursday, July 22, after firing former hitting coach Milt Thompson, according to The Associated Press. Gross was previously a coach for Triple-A Lehigh Valley the last three seasons and served as the Phillies' hitting coach from 2002-04.
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|Phillies | Fans select Wall of Fame finalists
Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:05:15 -0700
Ken Mandel, of MLB.com, reports Philadelphia Phillies fans have selected five finalists for the 2008 Wall of Fame inductee. The finalists include former C Darren Daulton, OF Lenny Dykstra, OF Greg Gross, 1B John Kruk and 2B Juan Samuel. The winner will be selected Saturday, Aug. 9, before the game against the San Diego Padres.
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How's that austerity plan working out? The jobs number came in at 88,000 four years into the recovery. We are something like 80,000 behind last year's pace at this time. What else is there to say? I'm going to leave that alone, but my sentiment here is about the bond market. It was only three months ago that the crowd thought the bull was over. Rick Santelli said the dumbest people around are those who engaged recently in fixed income securities who bet on higher rates and now seeing annuity payments drop. Not sure but I think I also heard Santelli talk about the end of the bond bull as well.
Something is not translating down to Main Street because it's beyond description to see markets at all-time highs yet such a muddled recovery. It proves two things. First of all it means the entire stock market is going a lot higher in the long run. It has to. This trading community as witnessed two important tops in the last 13 years, and this one is nothing like the rest. But coming to the near term it means some dynamic of the structure of this recovery is not working out. Money seems to be in the hands of the few or we'd see more jobs. The jobs that we do see are in pockets of the country. There are 2 themes to the prosperity these days. There is an oil boom going on as there appears to be oil and gas jobs in places like the North Dakota. Of course there's hi tech jobs in Northern California. But in the average American city for people looking for the kind of average American jobs people have sought for the past 40-50 years, it remains hit and miss. Until this problem is addressed things are not likely to change very much. In my view, the way it needs to be addressed is that some guy like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs needs to emerge out of his garage with the next technological wave.
What appears to be happening now is the market has finally peaked. Markets were looking for an excuse and the jobs number on Friday was IT. We've been watching the European markets all week long to see if they'd fail at their imbalance points and while they were leaning it took Friday to finally get it done. We've had clues and signs leading up to this point. Not only did the DAX peak in the middle of March days from the Gann window but also very close to 180 days off the prior highs in September. While our Gann window wasn't a smashing success, we did get some precision. I've also been focused on the BKX which actually peaked the same day as the DAX. Since they are about 13 trading days off the high, I'd say the time window worked.
But markets haven't topped together. The SPX test of the 1576 peak fell a couple of points short, fell to 1539 and now a little over 20 points off the peak. The real question is whether this peak as given us clues it's a good place for a high. In fact it has. When we look at this move off the November low the high comes in a sliver off what I call the 161A point. The big leg is 1.618* the first leg off the low. Is it an A or 1st wave? If it's a 5 wave sequence then we likely have a shorter lived complex consolidation before a final high. But a C wave up could be it. That's the wild card.
The Dow has a similar configuration, only 1 time degree larger. The A wave from the Dow is the first leg off the June low from last summer. Sure enough, when we measure off that low we end up with a 161 relationship to that leg. What does that mean? Basically the same thing, we can't yet rule out one more final high to this sequence. Remember 2011 where we had the rolling highs first in February and then in May. This chart can work out the same way.
Next page: Why worry about the peak...


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Underwire bikini top in Italian matte
Prices do not include taxes.
size & fit
- Moderate coverage.
Product Details
This high-quality top is crafted in a soft, stretchy fabric from a top Italian mill that puts its swim materials through rigorous testing (think dunks in chlorinated water and 20 hours of UV exposure) to ensure vibrant colors and resistance to pilling. Bonus: Its UPF 50 sun protection is like sunscreen for your clothes.
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Artist description:
For my lovely Bre. ouo ♥ Sorry it took so damn long. ;__; But now I finished it and I like the result. :D Yahooo.~ Happy Easter everyone. =u=b PFFT. I ENDED UP DOING THE PINK DRESS. .__. I don't really like pink... =-=;; Scattering spam FTW.♥
Java Draw Created Apr 08, 2012 460 x 640px Unless noted Copyright 2012 CookieTan.
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super cute
So cute ; u ;
SO happy go lucky :) love this stuff
So cute! I love it!
They're so cute! You have an amazing talent for these kind of drawings, and the lines and colors are PERFECT!!! Just in one thing, is the girl on the left missing a hair tie, or is is just me??? Probably just me... KEEP DRAWING!!!!
Really pretty! I like the pink :3 their hairstyles are very cute. 5/5
Is that Rena and Bre? Lol you guys look related here.
excellent ! just very pretty !
lol i became obsessed with using scattering as an easy bg XD The are so adorable and their poses are cute :D epic dresses- I havent worn a dress for ages lol trousers are comfy thoughXD i love her hair ribbon, and their brunette hair :D 5h faves~
Too adorable! Love the soft colours.