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Why is it that we crave chocolate chip cookies rather than chard? Or bread instead of broccoli? Take heart: It's biological.
"Our attraction to sweets — and salt, carbohydrates and fat — is hard-wired from the Stone Age," says Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center. Back then, food cravings were reliable signals to our ancestors to seek out certain foods that would provide energy (sugar, fat) and essential minerals (salt).
"Today, food is plentiful and it's easy to avoid physical activity, but we've preserved craving tendencies because evolution is very slow," Katz says. And cravings are just one more reason that obesity is an epidemic in this country. So is there anything you can do to fight these deep-rooted desires?
For starters, try a reframing exercise that seems to work for all sorts of yearnings. It's actually pretty easy: When deciding whether to eat something that isn't necessarily nutritious, use the words "I don't" instead of "I can't."
What's the difference? "With 'I don't' you're choosing words that signal empowerment and determination rather than ones that signal deprivation," says Vanessa Patrick, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Houston. In four studies, Patrick and her colleagues examined how "empowered refusal" can increase feelings of control and self-awareness, especially with food. They found that when it came to deciding whether to eat certain foods, saying "I don't" was nearly three times as effective as saying "no" and about eight times more effective than saying "I can't." The research was published in March's Journal of Consumer Research.
Read on for explanations about why we crave certain foods and why we should just say "I don't."
The craving: Sugar
Why it's tempting: "When you taste something sweet, like a caramel or slice of apple pie, it triggers your brain to release opioids and dopamine, which are 'feel-good' neurochemicals," says Elisabetta Politi, a registered dietitian and nutrition director at the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center. That's right: One chunk of chocolate-covered toffee leads to love at first bite.
And why to say "I don't": Can we become addicted to sugar and physically crave it? Some research suggests we can. In the February issue of Nature, Dr. Robert Lustig, professor of pediatrics at UC San Francisco, argued that sugar is as addictive as alcohol and tobacco and should be regulated. And in 2007, psychologists at Princeton University reported that when rats are fed sugar, they become dependent on the opioids that their brains produce. The researchers concluded that some of the results may also apply to humans.
Give in without going overboard: "Plan ahead," says Politi. "If you know you are going to an event where you'll have dessert in the evening, be more mindful of what you're eating throughout the day." If weight loss is a goal, she recommends that you consider the caloric cost of certain foods and then determine — also ahead of time — if you're willing to increase the amount of exercise it would take to have a net-zero effect. For instance, to burn off the 400-plus calories in a slice of apple pie, you'd need to walk for about 90 minutes (at a 4 mph pace). Politi advises keeping food and exercise journals. Sometimes just doing the math will stave off the craving.
The Craving: Refined carbohydrates
Why they're tempting: Carbohydrates, in the form of cookies, bread, pasta and rice, confer quick energy. "From an evolutionary standpoint, starches and sugars were the easiest fuel to find for the tank," says Katz. Plus, physical activity was unavoidable. Today, not so much.
And why to say "I don't": Since we're not burning calories by chasing dinner, or running away from an animal that sees us as dinner, we don't need to get more than 45% of our daily calories from carbohydrates (and most of these should come from complex sources, such as whole grains and fruits and vegetables). When we consume more carbohydrates than we burn off, what's left is stored as fat.
Give in without going overboard: First, "unjunk yourself." This is Katz's term for cutting out most carb-laden snack foods; they have little nutritional value. (Katz produced an entertaining public service announcement, in the form of a hip-hop video, called "Unjunk Yourself".) "If you stop eating overly processed and sugar-laden foods, and start eating foods that come from nature, you'll find that your taste buds actually change and you crave the junk less," Katz says. Then, when you really want to have a cookie or whatever your proverbial poison, it will be a treat instead of part of an unhealthful routine.
The craving: Salt/sodium
Why it's tempting: "When we hauled out of the salty brine, we left sodium behind," says Katz. Sodium is rewarding and necessary because it maintains fluid balance in the body, helps transmit nerve impulses and plays a role in muscle function. But we need a fraction of what we consume, in part because sodium, like sugar, is in everything, including breakfast cereal and frozen coffee drinks. Most of the sodium we consume these days is added to foods as a preservative rather than shaken onto foods at the table (sodium is an ingredient of salt). But table salt is often added to restaurant-prepared meals because it retains heat and enhances flavor.
And why to say "I don't": Consuming high levels of sodium makes otherwise healthy people prone to gastric cancers. Researchers believe it's because in high doses sodium damages the lining of the stomach.
Give in without going overboard: The next time you have an itch for a salty snack, reach for a handful — a small one — of salted nuts, Katz advises. There is nothing we "need" in a bag of potato chips. In cooking, experiment with dill, basil, lemon, garlic, ginger or rice vinegar to enhance flavors.
The craving: Fat
Why it's tempting: In a word: satisfaction. "We have the biological drive to seek out fatty foods because they're calorie-dense and give us long-lasting energy," says Susan Bowerman, a registered dietitian and assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. What's more, "Fat enhances flavor, sort of like salt does, and it adds all sorts of textural qualities to foods," she says. (Just compare the taste and "mouth feel" of a turkey burger to a beef burger, says Bowerman.)
And why to say "I don't": Because calories are so plentiful in our modern age, we don't need to stock up on fat. And by now everyone knows that eating too much fat, especially saturated fat found in meats, dairy products and baked goods, is linked to all sorts of health problems, including obesity, heart disease and stroke.
Give in without going overboard: First, if you decide to cut back on saturated fat, and chances are good that you should, "give your palate some time to adjust to eating less fat," Bowerman says. Use healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats to add flavor to low-fat foods. "Toasted sesame oil, walnut oil and good quality olive oil are healthier and super flavorful," Bowerman says. "Greek yogurt is amazingly thick and creamy and can be used in placed of sour cream." In baked goods, replace half the fat the recipe calls for with apple sauce. Your heart and your waistline will thank you.


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Preparation Time
Under 15 Minutes
Total Time
More than 1 Hour
Salsa Corn Nibblers
It's a cool corn treat that's fun to eat. Chilled slices of crunchy, corn cob smothered in sassy, spicy CHI-CHI'S® Salsa.
4 fresh or frozen ears of corn
1 (16-ounce) jar CHI-CHI'S® 16 oz Thick & Chunky Salsa Medium
1. In Dutch oven, bring 3 quarts water to a boil. Add corn; cook 5 to 8 minutes or until tender. Cool corn slightly; cut into 2-inch slices.
2. In large bowl, combine corn and salsa; mix well. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies! Stevie Nicks had the right idea when she implored a potential lover to just tell her what she wanted to hear instead of the truth. I have always loved this song although I never knew why and now I think I do.
On the weekend, I watched The Invention of Lying, a sweet little movie in which the characters live in an alternate reality where no one has ever told a lie and, in fact, no one has the ability to lie. Many things about this mythical world appealed to me immensly. There is no crime or corruption since most criminal acts depend on some kind of subterfuge. People don't have delusions of grandeur because they are unable to fabricate the details of their lives. Everyone knows exactly where they stand with everyone else. On the down-side, there are no novels, movies, plays or anything that would rely on fiction (a lie). And, sadly, people are labelled from birth as ugly, beautiful, intelligent, dim-witted and their destiny is basically marked out for them based on these traits.
Finally, there's no such thing as religion. I guess Ricky Gervais, the writer and main character is making the assumption that all religious texts are made up. If you know me, you know where I stand on this particular point but I won't go into it here.
The fun starts when Gervais' character Mark discovers he has the ability to lie. He tells a bank teller he has $800 in his account when in fact he only has $300, and because she has no concept of deceit, she believes him and gives him the money. He tells an attractive woman that the world will end if she doesn't have sex with him and, panicked, she agrees. However, once the novelty wears off, Mark uses his newfound skill to make people feel better about themselves. He tells slow people they are geniuses, plain people they are stunning and depressed people that they're happy. And they all believe him! Eventually, he's making up fantastical stories all over the place and the masses start to see him as a messiah. A religion is born!
As an etiquette afficionado, I generally don't advocate lying. As an entrepreneur I can get behind the "fake it until you make it" approach to business but overall I consider honesty to be the best policy. In fact, until I watched this movie, I would have told you that I never lie but it brought to light all of the tiny lies that our society is based on and how important those little fibs are to our day-to-day interaction with people.
How many times do we tell people that we're fine when we're not? It's not that we're out to deceive them, it's just that we don't have the time or inclination to share the details and we know that when they asked "how are you", they weren't really interested in the gory details of our lives anyway. If a friend or spouse asks us if they look attractive, fat, thin, etc. our responses are usually a massaged version of the truth or even a bald-faced lie. Our desire to protect their feelings takes precedence over the need to be honest. If someone gives us a gift we hate, we don't say so. We accept it graciously, store it in a closet and display it in the living room when they come to visit. When my husband asks me how much that new bag cost, I artfully shave a few dollars off the total and mumble something about a sale, even if I bought it full-price.
I hadn't really considered all these things as lies until I saw the movie and started to think about all the ways deception is woven into our society. The people in the movie were born into a world without lies and had never known anything else but if we were to suddenly start telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth all the time, I feel it would have an enormous impact on our whole society - good and bad.
We're just not ready for it. Or, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men "you can't handle the truth".


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- Updated
- 14-07-2010
LONDON, UK, 14 JULY, 2010 – LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, launches the second phase of its Life's Good brand campaign. Aiming to make technology more accessible to consumers, by communicating how breakthrough technology continually enriches consumers' lives, the second phase of activity focuses on bringing to life the new LG Optimus mobile family.
The new wave of brand activity includes the following touch points:
- TV commercials during key lifestyle, sporting and entertainment programmes on ITV, C4, Five and Sky
- Print ads in key national newspapers, supplements and lifestyle magazines
- A series of LG idents specifically created for Channel 4 and E4
- The launch of the LG's Life's Good Facebook Page
The new LG idents created for Channel 4 and E4, showcase how LG's innovative range of handsets can enhance your life. The quirky idents are based on the spoof American soap opera 'The Young & The Connected' which brings to life the drama that social networking adds to modern life in a setting full of beautiful people, drama, revenge and skimpy swimwear.
The idents can now be seen on Channel 4 and E4 on popular programmes such as The Inbetweeners, How I met your Mother, Scrubs, One Tree Hill, The Cleveland Show, Big Bang Theory and Beauty and the Geek.
Fans of the new LG idents are encouraged to visit 'The Young & The Connected' YouTube channel where exclusive content from the soap opera can be viewed such as the never-before-seen opening title sequence and a ten minute behind-the-scenes documentary featuring the show's stars.
To celebrate the launch of the social networking-focused campaign, LG has also designed the the 'Secret Drama' application, which allows you to find out how your friends interact with your Facebook profile and reveals who are the gossipers, the keenest and the slowest communicators of your online friends. The app can now be found and downloaded from the Life's Good Facebook page.
Paul Meadows, Head of Brand, LG UK comments: "The next wave of our Life's Good Brand campaign continues to educate and encourage consumers to get involved in technology. These new initiatives highlight the growing popularity of social networking and our increasing focus in that area. Young people today communicate with their friends and the world around them via social networks and the quirky 'The Young & The Connected' TV idents we have created are a fresh and fun way of dramatising that."
"The overall aim of the campaign is to demonstrate how technology continues to enhance consumer's social lives – either by connecting people with their social network or giving people access to apps to make their lives easier."
The new campaign ties in with the launch of the new LG Optimus GT540 handset, which runs on the ever-growing app-enabled Android operating system and the announcement of the upcoming LG Optimus Series, which will include a line-up of innovative smart devices featuring the latest in mobile technology.
The campaign has been created by Mindshare, RKCR/Y&R and LG ONE and will be appearing across national TV stations and in print titles over the coming weeks.


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Aug. 30, 2010
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-After two weeks of competition, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's football team has chosen the man who will trigger the offense in 2010.
Sophomore Patrick Orlando (Manchester, MA), who transferred from Saint Anselm after earning Boston Globe Player of the Year honors as a senior at Manchester Essex High School in 2008, will take the snaps when the Corsairs begin their 2010 season Saturday.
Orlando led his team to the Division IV Super Bowl championship as a high school senior. He takes over from(sophomore) Brendan McNeish (Springfield, MA/Bridgton Academy), who started tinal five games at quarterback last season but will begin the 2010 season at wide receiver.
"After watching the competition during our first two weeks of camp, we have decided that Patrick Orlando will start at quarterback for us this season," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Mark Robichaud. "Patrick and Brendan both had an outstanding camp, and after speaking with Brendan, I decided that we would be a better team with Brendan at wide receiver and Patrick at quarterback." Brendan is arguably the best athlete on our team, and, for the good of the team, he agreed to a position change that will help us have a better offense. Brendan's selflessnessexemplifies the attitude of our team this year."
Sophomore Tom Pereira (Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth HS/Mass Maritime) will back up Orlando. "Tom was also in the competition," said Robichaud. "He also had an outstanding camp, and he will serve in a backup role."
The Corsairs will begin their 2010 season at home against Fitchburg State Saturday, September 4th at Cressy Field at 12 noon.


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Moore Thompson has been helping people like you to build successful businesses and personal wealth for more than 80 years.
From offices in Spalding, Wisbech, Market Deeping and Peterborough, we work with business people and private clients across the East of England, providing services including accountancy, business development advice and tax compliance and planning. We add extra value with specialist services including independent financial advice from our sister firm, MT Financial Management.
Our membership of the UK200Group of independent chartered accountancy and lawyer firms also gives us fast, efficient access to the expertise of other specialists across the UK, working to the same high professional standards as we do.
We want you to think of us as part of your team, working with you to help you succeed. At Moore Thompson, we believe in giving you more, so you will also benefit from our commitment to:
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To find out how we can help you, please click here.


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HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 03/09/17 -- SW Innovative Holdings, Inc. d.b.a. Everybody's Phone Company, Inc. (OTC PINK: SWHI), a provider of landline prepaid telephone services, today announced company details.
SW Innovative Holdings, Inc. (SWHI) is considered a development stage company focusing on marketing plain old fashioned telephone service (POTS) to consumers in Texas.
Norman George, President said 2016 was spent reorganizing the corporation. On or about October 2016 there was a reverse stock split, on or about December 28, 2016 registration of shares utilizing the Reg-A registration was deemed qualified by the commission allowing the corporation to raise up to $500,000 in fresh capital from the sale of common shares over the next twelve (12) months.
The proceeds from the sale of the registered stock will be used to implement our marketing plan to increase revenue and achieve profitability within the next twelve (12) months. The names of the buyers will be disclosed in our quarterly and annual reports filed with OTC Markets.
The company has spent considerable time beta-testing its marketing plan to a specific consumer base who lives paycheck to paycheck -- and developing its internal back-office automated software to allow the company to manage its business with low overhead costs. We have discovered specific zip codes where our target market lives so we can utilize target guerrilla marketing to achieve critical mass of subscribers.
Once we achieve profits from revenue we will begin to expand our marketing to other markets in adjacent states beyond fiscal year 2017.
About SW Innovative Holdings, Inc.
SW Innovative Holdings, Inc. d.b.a. Everybody's Phone Company, sells prepaid, unlimited local (dial tone) telephone service to the residential market, primarily in greater Houston. The Company is fully licensed by the Texas Public Utility Commission to resell telephone services throughout the State. Once EVPH achieves critical mass in Texas, the Company plans to expand its prepaid telecommunications product offerings nationwide. For more information, visit www.everybodysphonecompany.com.
The foregoing press announcement contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by such terminology such as "believes," "expects," "potential," "plans," "suggests," "may," "should," "could," "intends," or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties relating to our success in completing acquisitions, financing our operations, entering into strategic partnerships, engaging management and other matters disclosed by us in our public filings from time to time. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.
SW Innovative Holdings, Inc.
Tel: (713) 268-1610
Source: SW Innovative Holdings, Inc.


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Bush's idea of a full and open investigation
Bush promised a "full accounting" for "cruel and disgraceful abuse of Iraqi detainees." He said the treatment is an "insult to the Iraqi people" and an "affront to the most basic standards of morality and decency." He said those involved will "answer for their conduct in an orderly and transparent process."
Document warns Guantanamo employees not to talk
By Toni Locy, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON Military and civilian employees at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were warned recently not to talk with attorneys who represent detainees held there, according to a document prepared by the legal office of the Army-led task force that runs the facility.
The document, obtained by USA TODAY, says that soldiers and interrogators are not required to give defense attorneys statements about the "personal treatment of detainees" or any "failure to report actions of others." It also says that refusing to cooperate with defense attorneys "will not impact your career."
The warning titled "Interaction with Defense Counsel" has surfaced at a time when the treatment of the nearly 600 detainees at Guantanamo is under scrutiny because of the abuse and sexual humiliation of Iraqis in U.S. custody at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, former commander at Guantanamo, went to Iraq last year to share interrogation techniques used in Cuba.
A Defense Department spokesman said the document was aimed at ensuring that Guantanamo employees "know what their rights are." The spokesman said the references to detainee treatment are "relevant examples that make such training better."
Military law analysts and human rights advocates agree that Guantanamo employees should be advised against making incriminating statements. But they say the advice should be neutral.
The document "suggests that there is something that needs to be hidden" about how detainees are being treated, says Scott Silliman, a Duke University law professor and a former Air Force lawyer. "It suggests that the default should be: Don't talk."
Gary Solis, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, says he gave similar advice to witnesses when he was a military prosecutor. "There's no impropriety," says Solis, who teaches law at Georgetown University. But "the context of this advice gives the appearance of encouraging (people) to be less than forthcoming."
The Pentagon has been secretive about interrogation tactics at Guantanamo, where suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives have been held for more than two years.
President Bush has designated six Guantanamo detainees for trial by military tribunal. Four have been assigned military defense lawyers, who want to question interrogators, soldiers and other detainees. The lawyers want to explore whether evidence against their clients was gathered through abusive tactics. Three of the six detainees have been charged.
Here's the investigation that Bush promised:
Third, because America's committed to the equality and dignity of all people, there will be a full accounting for the cruel and disgraceful abuse of Iraqi detainees. Conduct that has come to light is an insult to the Iraqi people and an affront to the most basic standards of morality and decency.
One basic difference between democracies and dictatorships is that free countries confront such abuses openly and directly. In January, shortly after reports of abuse became known to our military, an investigation was launched.
Today, several formal investigations led by senior military officials are under way. Secretary Rumsfeld has appointed several former senior officials to review the investigations of these abuses. Some soldiers have already been charged and those involved will answer for their conduct in an orderly and transparent process.


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Russell Preston is founder of Principle Group, a planning, design, and development firm focused on creating authentic places. He serves as a commissioner of Boston's Air Pollution Control Commission and is on the board of directors of the Congress for the New Urbanism New England Chapter, and Washington Gateway Main Street in Boston's South End. He studied architecture at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Miami.
Bring on the Joy: New Strategies
for Citizen Engagement
March 23, 6:00 pm at BSA Space
Join the author of this peice, Russell Preston, for an interactive workshop about our city's future.


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Tours By Linda is a tour coordinator/tour guide service for Birmingham, Alabama. After 20 years, we are pleased to coordinate motorcoach tours of this beautiful and diverse city. Let us show your group why Birmingham has been called "The Magic City since 1871 and remains so to this very day.


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Well, 2015-2016 is off to an horrid start for Chelsea.
Here was our starting lineup:
Here were our available subs:
We opted to sub Willian off for Falcao, Azpilicueta off for Kenedy, and Matic off for Loftus-Cheek.
The recipe for last year's success is not working this season, and we need to change things up right quick if we want to get a top 4 position as we have only earned 4 points from 4 games, and only 1 other team has let in more goals than we have.
Ivanovic is clearly the target, the way in behind our back line, the weak point through him our opponents know they will cause trouble and disarray. We should move Azpilicueta to Right Back and let Kenedy own Left Back, reserving Ivanovic for Center Back duties as a substitute or as a starting replacement for Cahill.
Fabregas is clearly misfiring. He is not the same player that he was last season. His passing is poor, and it is affecting the team. Replace him with Ramires ASAP.
Matic is off his game. He is not bossing the midfield like last season. If he doesn't take the game by the scruff of the neck, our midfield will continue to fold to the opposition. Replace him with Mikel for the time being to shore up the midfield.
Hazard is haphazard. I've seen no real purpose or organization to his movement and passing. He just doesn't look sharp, and he doesn't look dangerous. I'm not sure if he can influence the game, but let Loftus-Cheek take over Hazard's duties for now. [EDIT 8/29/15 9:36am Pacific] How did I forget about Oscar? Once he is available, he should take charge.[/EDIT]
Willian has been poor. He takes a lot of shots—none of which are on target. I would suggest pulling him off and switching formation to remove a 5th midfielder.
In lieu of the 5th midfielder, we can add on a 3rd forward. We could go with Pedro, Diego Costa, and Falcao up top:
Azpilicueta – Cahill – Terry – Kenedy
Ramires – Mikel – Loftus-Cheek
Falcao – Diego Costa – Pedro
That's just my two-cents. Whether right or wrong, something has got to change, because our current strategy just isn't working as we are falling flat on our face.
I couldn't be more happy that a long international break is here. We need to regroup.


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text: E Rocc 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2010 It's too bad they didn't play *this* year. Maple won eight of their last nine by 28 points or more. That 28 point win was 42-6 at the half. If I didn't know Todd Filtz and know how well he has that team disciplined, I'd be concerned about their playoff performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Venn Diagram Template Editable
A diagram is a symbolic representation of information according to some visualization technique. Diagrams have been used since a long time ago but became more prevalent during the industrialization. Sometimes, the technique uses a three-dimensional visualization which is then projected onto a two-dimensional surface.
One of the common use of a diagram is the Activity diagram. Purpose of Activity Diagrams. The basic purposes of activity diagrams are similar to the other four diagrams. It captures the dynamic behavior of the system. Other four diagrams are used to show the message flow from one object to another but activity diagram is used to show message flow from one activity to another.
The most frequently used diagrams in software development are: Use Case diagrams, Class diagrams, and Sequence diagrams. The others are Activity Diagram, Use Case Diagram, Interaction Overview Diagram, State Machine UML diagram, Sequence UML Diagram, Class Diagram, Object Diagram, Component Diagram.
Here are some examples of business use case diagrams. Airport check-in and security screening business model. Restaurant business model. Ticket vending machine. Bank ATM UML use case diagrams examples. Point of sales (POS) terminal. e-Library online public access catalog (OPAC) Online shopping use case diagrams.
Using graphs, diagrams and images. Sometimes using words is not the most effective way to communicate. Using graphs, diagrams and charts can help your reader to get a clearer picture of your research findings and how they compare with other data.
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http://www.thereligionteacher.com/venn-diagrams/ How to create a Venn Diagram in Word and PowerPoint. In this short tutorial you will discover how to make a blank Venn Diagram template using…


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Now for the fun part, link up with me!
Sunday, January 11, 2015
The Power of Positivity Week 2
1 comment:
Hi Gina! First off your blog is so adorable! I'm your newest follower. I love this idea and will have to remember to link up in the future!ReplyDelete
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Io Galileo SSI Grayscale Global Mosaic 1km
The best quality global monitoring images taken by the Galileo imaging system at spatial resolutions up to 1 km/pixel have been assembled here to depict the global and regional morphology of Io. This mosaic is made up of 32 monochrome images taken at various phase angles and local times of day, so care must be taken to note the solar illumination direction when deciding whether topographic features display positive or negative relief. In general, the illumination is from the west over longitudes 0 to 270 W, and from the east over longitudes 270 W to 360 W. The images were empirically adjusted in brightness and contrast to match one another in areas of overlap. Most of the images were taken in the clear filter, but green and 756 nm filter images were substituted when they were more detailed than other available images. Image resolutions range from 1.3 to 10 km/pixel along the equator, with the poorest coverage on the Jupiter-facing side of Io.
References: * Belton, M. J. S., Klaasen, K. P., Clary, M. C., Anderson, J. L., Anger, C. D., Carr, M. H., Chapman, C. R., Davies, M. E., Greeley, R., and Anderson, D. 1992. The Galileo Solid-State Imaging experiment. Space Science Reviews 60. doi:10.1007/BF00216864
* Williams, D. A., Keszthelyi, L. P., Crown, D. A., Yff, J. A., Jaeger, W. L., Schenk, P. M., Geissler, P. E., and Becker, T. L. 2011. Volcanism on Io: New insights from global geologic mapping. Icarus 214. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.05.007
* Becker, T. and Geissler, P. E. 2005. Galileo Global Color Mosaics of Io. Lunar and Planetary Institute Science Conference Abstracts 36. URL: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2005/pdf/1862.pdf
* P.E. Geissler, A.S. McEwen, L. Keszthelyi, R. Lopes-Gautier, J. Granahan, D.P. Simonelli, 1999, Global color variations on Io, Icarus, 140 (1999), pp. 265–282. URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103511001710
* Veeder, G. J., Davies, A. G., Matson, D. L., and Johnson, T. V. 2009. Io: Heat flow from dark volcanic fields. Icarus 204. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.06.027
* Barth, B., Radebaugh, J., and Christiansen, E. H., 2009, Classification of Io's Paterae: Active vs Inactive. Lunar and Planetary Institute Science Conference 40.
- Publisher
- Originator
- USGS Astrogeology Science Center
- Group
- Added to Astropedia
- 14 March 2012
- Modified
- 8 May 2019
- Purpose
The Io products update Voyager mission global maps with Galileo SSI data of superior resolution and geometric fidelity. The color mosaic improves on the previous product of Geissler (1999) using later, higher resolution images with better geometric control and a more consistent range of phase angles. These products have been used as a basis to map global geologic units [Williams], paterae [Barth], and volcanic fields [Veeder] and as a base map for formal planetary nomenclature. An animated globe produced from the merged mosaic is available from NASA's Planetary Photojournal: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09257.
- Geospatial Data Presentation Form
- Global Mosaic, Remote-sensing Data
- Online Linkage
- https://planetarymaps.usgs.gov/mosaic/Io_Galileo_SSI_Global_Mosaic_1km.tif
- Native Data Set Environment
- ISIS v3
- Supplemental Information
- http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09257
- System
- Jupiter
- Target
- Io
- Theme
- Geographic Information System (GIS), Image Processing
- Mission
- Galileo, Voyager
- Instrument
Contact and Distribution
- Access Constraints
- Public domain
- Use Constraints
- None
Data Status and Quality
- Time Period of Content Begin
- 1 January 2009
- Time Period of Content End
- 15 March 2011
- Currentness Reference
- Publication date
- Progress
- Complete
- Update Frequency
- None planned
- Logical Consistency Report
- All data were projected to a triaxial ellipsoid shape model using the best available Galileo control network (Archinal, B.A., Davies, M.E., Colvin, T.R., Becker, T.L., Kirk, R.L., Gitlin, A.R., 2001. An improved RAND-USGS control network and size determination for Io. Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXII. Abstract #1746). This network suffers from a lack of control points in the region of 320° to 20° (east) longitude. The Voyager 1 images of regions west of 0° longitude appeared displaced from the positions predicted from the control net derived from the solution of the combined Galileo and Voyager data set. We suspect that the discrepancy arises from regional topography west of the sub-Jupiter point, and have adjusted the positions of the Voyager 1 images (all acquired near the limb of Io) to match the best-fit geometry. Horizontal accuracy is nominally 1 pixel, translating to 1 kilometer in low latitude regions with good coverage.
- Completeness Report
This mosaic has no coverage within ~5° of the north and south poles. Smaller data gaps occur at both poles in both of the monochrome mosaics. The poles are filled in by interpolation in the merged mosaic.
Each of the mosaics is made up of images with mixed resolution, with the poorest coverage on the Jupiter-facing hemisphere. Resolution of the color mosaic ranges from 1.3 to 21 km/pixel at the equator, while the monochrome and merged mosaics range from 1 to 10 km/pixel.
- Process Date
- 15 March 2009
- Process Description
PDS images were ingested into ISIS 2 and were calibrated using the best end-of-mission calibration information, co-registered to subpixel precision, and map projected using the camera-pointing corrections of Archinal et al. (2001). A Lunar–Lambert limb-darkening correction was next performed, after having first determined that a coefficient of 0.7 was adequate for all three colors. Finally, the images were mosaicked together using a numerical procedure (Soderblom, L. A., Edwards, K., Eliason, E. M., Sanchez, E. M., and Charette, M. P. 1978. Global color variations on the Martian surface. Icarus 34. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(78)90037-4) that reduces the mismatch at the seams. The merged mosaic was created by superimposing the color mosaic on the more detailed combined monochrome mosaic. The procedure adopted was to calculate color ratio images from the Galileo data and apply them to the monochrome mosaic, requiring that the color ratios of the composite images match the color ratios of the Galileo data. That is, the red brightness was computed as the product of the monochrome mosaic multiplied by the ratio of the Galileo 756 nm/GRN, and the blue brightness as the monochrome mosaic times the Galileo VIO/GRN ratio.
- Horizontal Positional Accuracy Value
- 1000
- Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report
- Accurate to Control Net
- Entity and Attribute Detailed Description
- Of these four, the color mosaic is the only product intended for photometric interpretations (such as deciding whether any given feature is brighter or darker than another). The global color mosaic was constructed in two steps. First, the consistent (3.5–4.5°) phase angle 756 nm (nm), green (GRN), and violet (VIO) images from orbits G2 (September 1996), C9 (June 1997), C21 (June 1999), and I31 (August 2001) were calibrated using the best end-of-mission calibration information, co-registered to subpixel precision, and map projected using the camera-pointing corrections of Archinal et al., 2001 (referenced below). A Lunar–Lambert limb-darkening correction was next performed, after having first determined that a coefficient of 0.7 was adequate for all three colors. Finally, the images were mosaicked together to form a baseline estimate of Io's global color, relatively free of photometric effects caused by variations in phase angle, but subject to spatial resolution limitations and geometric distortions, especially in areas imaged near the limb.The second step improved on the global color mosaic by including higher resolution images from orbit E6 (14° phase, February 1997), adjusted to match the color and contrast of the 4° phase angle data. The selected color images were processed as above, hand-edited to remove topographic shadows and pixels too near the limb, and mosaicked using a numerical procedure (Soderblom et al., 1978) that reduces the mismatch at the seams. Users should keep in mind several limitations, including: surface changes between imaging periods, the use of false color (756 nm-GRN-VIO); variations in incidence and emission angles; uncertainties in the limb-darkening correction, especially at the poles; and mixed resolutions ranging from 1.3 to 21 km/pixel at the equator, with the poorest resolution on the subjovian hemisphere of Io. The Galileo monochrome mosaic is made up of 32 monochrome images taken at various phase angles and local times of day, so care must be taken to note the solar illumination direction when deciding whether topographic features display positive or negative relief. In general, the illumination is from the west over longitudes 0–270°W, and from the east over longitudes 270–360°W. The images were empirically adjusted in brightness and contrast to match one another in areas of overlap. Most of the images were taken in the clear filter, but green and 756 nm filter images were substituted when they were more detailed than other available images. The combined monochrome mosaic includes 50 Voyager 1 images with spatial resolutions sometimes exceeding the 1 km/pixel scale of the final mosaic. These Voyager images were calibrated with an additional correction for dark current build-up during passage through the plasma torus, as described by McEwen (1988). They include both Clear and Blue filter images, empirically adjusted to match the brightness and contrast of the Galileo monochrome mosaic.
- Source Originator
- Planetary Data System
- Source Title
- Galileo and Voyager PDS Archives
- Source Online Linkage
- http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/portal/galileo_mission.html
- Type of Source Media
- Online
- Attribute Accuracy Report
- Accurate to Control Net
Geospatial Information
- Minimum Latitude
- -90
- Maximum Latitude
- 90
- Minimum Longitude
- -180
- Maximum Longitude
- 180
- Direct Spatial Reference Method
- Raster
- Object Type
- Pixel
- Lines (pixels)
- 5723
- Samples (pixels)
- 11445
- Bit Type
- 8
- Quad Name
- Radius A
- 1821460
- Radius C
- 1821460
- Bands
- 1
- Pixel Resolution (meters/pixel)
- 1000
- Scale (pixels/degree)
- 31.79
- Horizontal Coordinate System Units
- Meters
- Map Projection Name
- Simple Cylindrical
- Latitude Type
- Planetocentric
- Longitude Direction
- Positive West
- Longitude Domain
- -180 to 180


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Sue and Clive Read, well known locally for their involvement with theatrical productions, have been successfully writing plays for the last 20 years.
Their latest offering, to be performed by the Revellers for the first time at the Peterborough Indoor Bowls Club in Burton Street, is called B&B USA and is a comedy based on a real life B&B in Williamstown, a small town on the famous Route 66. Sue and Clive know the B&B well, it's run by Clive's daughter and her husband !
The play centres around the owners Jean and Barry Harlow, played by Vicky Head and Brian Havers.
Jean's intention is to turn the once dilapidated run-down B&B into one of the best for miles around.
However, lazybones Barry seems to have only one interest, their uncontrollable dog who no one else can stand the sight of.
This includes their one track minded Mexican maid, played by Cyd Beagley, and her mind's certainly not focused on her job description.
One of the guests, retired bank manager Errol Charlesworth, played by Denis Stapleton, is continually threatening that if he had his twelve-bore with him he would shoot the varmint.
Meanwhile his wife April, played by Joanna Linford, has a different priority, putting whatever she can find that will fit, into her handbag.
Things really begin hot up when a bizarre twosome, Bubba and Laverne Bean, played by Shaun Kane and Nichola Gardiner, swing into town on their clapped-out Harley Davidson.
B&B USA runs from 17 to 20 February, for tickets phone 01733 755176 or 560449


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Subscribe To Dead Or Alive 5 New Character Mila Revealed With Screenshots, Trailer Updates
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Today Tecmo Koei showed off the second character making their debut in Dead or Alive 5. Mila is a red-headed MMA fighter who, unsurprisingly, is quite easy on the eyes.
Mila is a part-time restaurant worker who spends most of her free time training at the gym. Her MMA is off to an impressive start but there's one goal that's eluded her so far. She's entered the fifth Dead or Alive tournament in order to face her idol in the ring.
Her skillset is pretty much what you'd expect from an MMA fighter. After pummeling her foe with lightning fast punches, she can take them to the mat and inflict further punishment. The trailer shows her throwing an opponent to the ground and punching him into submission.
DoA5 will arrive on September 25th in the United States and on the 28th in Europe.


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Other Industries Using Boeing's Pioneering Methods to Corrupt the Government Agencies That Regulate Them
Boeing's corruption of the FAA and DOD is legendary (at least here). However, wholly different industries use the same methods corrupt Boeing management uses to corrupt the agencies they want to hobble from doing their critical duties.
Last week an article came out in the Washington Post detailing how the Drug Industry uses Boeing's corrupt hiring methods to hire former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials in order to corrupt that agency by subverting its regulation of the industry, just as Boeing has almost totally subverted FAA regulation of Boeing's Quality and Engineering departments as noted on this site.
"The hires came after the DEA launched an aggressive campaign to curb a rising opioid epidemic that has resulted in thousands of overdose deaths each year. In 2005, the DEA began to crack down on companies that were distributing inordinate numbers of pills such as oxycodone to pain-management clinics and pharmacies around the country.
Since then, the pharmaceutical companies and law firms that represent them have hired at least 42 officials from the DEA — 31 of them directly from the division responsible for regulating the industry, according to The Post."
Boeing has long similarly hired many officials from the FAA formerly heading up critical enforcement arms of the agency responsible for independently and impartially making sure Boeing is compliant with relevant FAA regulations.
'The number of hires has prompted some current and former government officials to ask whether the companies raided the division to hire away DEA officials who were architects of the agency's enforcement campaign or were most responsible for enforcing the laws the firms were accused of violating.
"The number of employees recruited from that division points to a deliberate strategy by the pharmaceutical industry to hire people who are the biggest headaches for them," said John Carnevale, former director of planning for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, who now runs a consulting firm.'
This is exactly the reason Boeing hires FAA officials straight from their jobs regulating Boeing, and why they hired Darleen Druyun, a former DOD procurement official that Boeing's CFO promised a quid pro quo Boeing executive job (and her daughter and boyfriend a job) if she gave the Air Force Tanker Program contract to Boeing instead of their competitor. Druyun did 9 months in prison for her corruption and Boeing CFO Sears did 4 months in prison for his role on behalf of Boeing management corruption.
Interestingly, the Druyun affair was ultimately outed by a Boeing employee who reported Boeing's theft of Lockheed competition sensitive U.S. satellite launch services contract proposal documents to Boeing H.R.
Way more interesting is that corrupt Boeing attorney Mark Rabe (unsuprisingly currently accused of destroying evidence by former Boeing contractor Alabama Aircraft Industries) was involved in the investigation that was then launched by the company.
At that time, he apparently did the right thing and his investigation resulted in the firing of the former Lockheed employee who stole the documents from Lockheed and the Boeing manager who had them in his desk and had used them to help Boeing win most of the launch services contract.
That is really surprising, because Mark Rabe was the eminently corrupt Boeing attorney that Doug Bain, Boeing Chief Counsel at the time, assigned to investigate my report I had sent to Bain in 2002 requesting that Boeing investigate and end the Boeing/FAA corruption negating Boeing QA documented within that I had long witnessed.
Of course, noting that Boeing attorneys like Rabe and former Chief Counsel Bain are corrupt is totally redundant. As I have witnessed, Boeing attorneys only exist to enable Boeing to get away with doing the wrong thing--not to ensure compliance with the law.
That's what occurred in the 2002/2003 Boeing investigation of my report. Bain decided to do absolutely nothing to address the fraud I reported in any way. No employees were fired, not even my Boeing QA Supervisor of the time that had harassed me when I did my job and tried to convince me that Boeing inspectors were not supposed to inspect anything at Boeing, and were instead supposed to just buy off the paperwork that stated we did without any inspection and train mechanics. My supervisor was promoted instead by Boeing, probably to ensure he denied my report should I later get it investigated by the relevant government agency or official.
Rabe specialized in white collar criminal defense, so it was no wonder he and Bain protected the felonious Boeing managers that I reported the criminal actions of to them, rather than holding them accountable in any way, and instead ensuring they were promoted to reward them for their corruption.
Even though they covered up the Boeing QA Management corruption I reported to them, they took my report extremely seriously, and as a major threat to the company's lucrative and criminal QA subversion across the enterprise, so much so that both Rabe and Bain hopped on a Boeing corporate jet in 2003 and flew to my Boeing workplace, I assume to ensure my Division management had all of its denials ready in case I went public after they buried my report, which I was threatening to do at the time after I gave them one more chance to do the right thing.
That Chief Counsel Bain and Rabe, the senior Boeing attorney whose investigation of the internal Boeing Lockheed proprietary data theft ultimately led to the outing of the Druyun affair that resulted in the resignation of Boeing CEO Condit and prison sentences for Druyun and Boeing CFO Sears, came to my relatively small Boeing workplace on such a special trip to ensure the covering up of my report was remarkable. It was the equivalent, analogy-wise, of Bill Gates coming to my own house to personally confiscate and destroy my defective copy of Microsoft Windows so I wouldn't be able sue Microsoft to get it fixed.
This proves Boeing has only gotten more corrupt over time, especially with their bribing of key government officials with quid pro quo jobs so they don't do their job in oversight of Boeing, as they continue to do with key FAA and DOD officials, just like the Pharma industry does with the DEA as noted in this article.
"It is not unusual for corporations to hire federal employees directly away from the government..."
'"...the number of hires from one key division shows how an industry can potentially blunt a government agency's aggressive attempts at enforcement.
The DEA diversion officials who have gone to the industry since 2005 include two executive assistants who managed day-to-day operations; the deputy director of the division; the deputy chief of operations; two chiefs of policy; a deputy chief of policy; the chief of investigations; and two associate chief counsels in charge of legal affairs and enforcement actions against pharmaceutical companies.
"It's obvious that they targeted the office," said Joseph T. Rannazzisi, who ran the diversion division for a decade before he was removed from his position and retired in 2015.
Most of the DEA officials went to work for the pharmaceutical industry and law firms within weeks of leaving the agency. Among the 31 DEA diversion employees, 22 began their new jobs within weeks of leaving the DEA.
At least five of the 31 DEA employees were hired by McKesson — the nation's largest drug distributor and fifth-largest corporation. McKesson has been the subject of two publicly disclosed DEA enforcement actions, which resulted in $163 million in fines after allegations that the firm failed to report hundreds of suspicious orders for millions of pain pills from Internet pharmacies and others.
The Post contacted a dozen former DEA officials who went to work for the drug industry, but few agreed to be interviewed.
Ethics experts said revolving-door issues have been a long-standing concern across the government, with some of the most notable cases coming from the Defense Department.
The ethics experts said the number of officials switching sides at the DEA raises serious questions about whether the ability of the diversion division to carry out its mission has been compromised by the pharmaceutical industry.
"The findings that so many DEA officials have switched from their roles preventing, detecting and investigating illegal drug use to working for those involved in the supply chain is disturbing," said Scott H. Amey, general counsel for the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group in Washington. "It's also another reminder of how well the revolving door is greased and how the revolving door can negatively impact government operations. It's not a surprise that DEA isn't as vigilant as it once was when so many ex-feds are working for the companies that they once investigated."
The DEA has pursued cases against some of the largest opioid distributors in the country, including McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, as well as CVS and Walgreens, which distribute opioids to their own pharmacies. In general, the companies did not admit wrongdoing and said they were taking steps to address illegal diversion.
In 2008, McKesson settled one of those cases, paying a $13 million fine without admitting liability. That same year, the DEA filed a case against Cardinal. That company also settled, paying a $34 million fine.
The DEA's initiative was sharply curtailed in the face of pressure from the pharmaceutical industry beginning in 2013, according to a Post investigation published in October. In fiscal 2011, civil case filings against distributors, manufacturers, pharmacies and doctors had reached 131. By 2014, they had fallen to 40.
The slowdown came after DEA lawyers began to require a higher standard of proof before cases could move forward. Supervisors in the field said they were frustrated that their cases were being stalled at DEA headquarters. Top DEA and Justice Department officials have declined to discuss the reasons behind the slowdown.
Government ethics experts said regulators often join the industries they oversee, lured by substantially higher salaries.
"That high rate of turnover makes you really wonder whether those officials were acting in the interests of the DEA rather than the companies they were regulating," said Craig Holman, an expert on revolving-door issues for Public Citizen, a government watchdog group in Washington. "Just by seeing your colleagues going that way, that tells you that you can shape your future employment prospects if you behave accordingly."
Once senior employees leave for jobs in the industry, ethics experts said they can exploit weaknesses they are aware of within the DEA.'
So there you have it. Proof that other major U.S. industries are following the exact template that Boeing has long used to corrupt/end unbiased FAA and DOD regulation of itself, with deadly results.
Please do everything you can to end this deadly Boeing fraud. Write your Representative and Senators and ask at least for a Congressional investigation of the Boeing/FAA corruption documented on this site. Boeing has steadfastly continued and expanded this fraud, at least since 2002 when I reported it directly to former Boeing Chief Counsel Bain.
Boeing's current Chief Counsel, Michael Luttig, has carried on with Bain's past support of this fraud by Boeing. In my liberal informed opinion, Luttig is actually a step down from the as noted corporate crime abetting Bain. He's never met a fascist he didn't like, being a conservative so extreme he is on the right wing nutjob fringe. An oligarchy supporter, no wonder he is on the Board of Directors of the most corrupt and arrogant large company on the planet.
Please write your representative, even if my liberalism offends you. The lives you save by doing so may be your own and/or of someone you love.
Today marks 100 years since Boeing was incorporated on July 15th, 1916 in Seattle, Washington. That would be something significant to celebrate for any ethical company in the world. Sadly, that is not the case in Boeing's situation, with Boeing long being run by a corrupt cabal of management that continues to engage in various fraudulent business practices that have cost at least 750 lives so far, with many more deaths and injuries undoubtedly to come via that quality assurance fraud documented on this website.
Add to that fraud (that I witnessed for almost ten years as an inspector at Boeing) the vast network of fraud that I also witnessed after Boeing as an inspector, and there is even less reason to celebrate Boeing's Centennial.
And also add to those frauds the many other ways Boeing management has intentionally defrauded its employees, our environment, other companies, states, and all levels of our federal government, including our military, and this date is no longer anything worthy of celebrating by anyone except by the corrupt management of Boeing for mostly getting away with their copious fraud schemes as noted on this website and thereby enriching themselves.
Sadly, no one else has any reason to celebrate the longevity of the various frauds Boeing has engaged in and continues to engage in, unless they are capable of the extreme cognitive dissonance that would allow them to do so.
Of course, the employees at Boeing who do an honest days work and do not advance their management's many frauds have reason to celebrate their years of doing so. However, that would have nothing to do with the Centennial of the fraudulent enterprise they do that good work for. Many such workers do exist at Boeing, however many would be surprised at just how many Boeing workers are aware of the various frauds engaged in by Boeing and its suppliers, from the massive rollerstamping fraud that makes quality and safety assurance at Boeing a joke, to the various schemes to overcharge governments and other customers, to the methods used to bribe government officials to look the other way and make decisions favorable to Boeing.
Until the current parasitic cabal that runs Boeing is totally replaced with ethical and hopefully more competent management, each additional year of existence of the company under that management should be mourned, not celebrated. For if the fraud obsessed management currently in place at Boeing is not replaced, the only other acceptable alternative for the flying public, troops, and taxpayers would be for the company to die and cede the marketplace to ethical companies that do not rely on fraud to succeed in the marketplace as Boeing does.
However, Boeing's corrupt management will no doubt still celebrate Boeing's 100 years of building something worse than required in order to defraud their customers and illegally line their pockets.
So, sadly, Boeing's Centennial of fraud and corruption is nothing to celebrate at all, less those managers--just the opposite.
The Last Inspector
November 2018


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Geoff and I had scheduled Majestic Wine as the May 2015 stock pick for our Singular Diligence newsletter because it looked like an affordable stock with the best competitive position in its small niche (multi-bottle wine purchases in the U.K.). But a transformative acquisition and a change of CEO makes us doubt the board intends to maintain the corporate culture that lead to Majestic's success. So we've scrapped the issue on Majestic for now. We picked a simpler, safer stock for May. Majestic is still an interesting company. And it might be a good stock for some blog readers - just not for Singular Diligence right now. So, here's my take on the company.
Majestic Wine is the largest specialist retailer of wine in the U.K with 215 stores. Majestic stores are about 3,500 square feet carrying 800-900 types of wines. That's small compared to U.S. wine stores. In the U.S., an upscale supermarket can carry 2,000 types of wines but having 800 types of wines is a lot to U.K. consumers. Only Waitrose carries a similar range. U.K. retailers offer fewer types of wines perhaps because supermarkets control most of the market share. Supermarkets might want to concentrate purchasing power, and maximize sales per square foot so they don't carry many types of wines.
Majestic doesn't try to sell the cheapest wines. They focus on premium wine. Majestic sells on average £7.94 per bottle (or $12), which is 40% higher than the industry average of £5.38 per bottle (or $8.14). The differentiation is the 6 bottle-purchase minimum. Majestic's average transaction is £129 (or $195) or 16.25 bottles per transaction. The high revenue makes it feasible for great in-store service. Knowledgeable employees can give customers advices about wines. They carry wines to customers' cars and offer free home delivery. Stores also offer free tasting. Majestic sells good wines and good service at competitive price.
Wine Retailers Enjoy Favorable Product Economics
Unlike in beers or liquors, product economics is better for wine retailers than for brand owners. Brand is less important in wine. Customers choose wine by origin, grape variety, and price range. Selecting wine is like selecting a mutual fund. There are hundreds of choices and each choice tastes different. Price visibility is low. So, customer relationship is better built at store level than at brand level. As a result, retail mark-up on wine can be 30% compared to 10% on beers and spirit.
Wine retailers have strong power over winemakers. Wine retailers are more concentrated than consumers and suppliers. Premium wines are usually made at small scale. Majestic is the #1 or 2 buyer from each producer. My estimate is that Majestic buys about 25% to 50% of each producer's capacity. As an example of Majestic's power over suppliers, Majestic asked suppliers to pay 4 pence per bottle between October 2014 and April 2015 when they built a new warehouse.
Favorable product economics, along with efficient operations, allows Majestic to make about 8% EBIT margin. By turning assets 4 to 5 times, Majestic can make 30-40% pre-tax ROIC. From 2000 to 2014, annual sales growth was 9.2% and annual earnings per share growth was 12.3% while Majestic retained only 48% of earnings.
Majestic has 215 stores today. They target to have 330 stores by opening 12-16 stores per year. That would result in high single digit growth for many years while paying about 60% of earnings in dividends. During my research, the share price was around 320 pence per share, which implies 9x EV/Pre-tax Normal Earnings. Majestic pays about a 23% tax rate so that translates into less than 12x After-tax Normal Earnings. Majestic seems like a good "Growth" candidate.
Like I said in the last post, the key to analyzing Growth stocks are durability, moat, and debt. Majestic has almost no debt. Rent is so cheap that EBITR/Rent is about 3.7. The solvency risk is minimal. Durability and moat seem good.
There are two main risks to durability. One, wine brands become more important and the profit pool is shifted from retailers to brand owners. Two, Majestic loses the role of connecting consumers with producers.
Retailers Helps Connect Small Wine Producers with Consumers
There's little risk that wine brands become more important for some reasons.
First, economies of scale in wine production aren't significant. 80% of capital investment is highly variable in equipment like refrigeration system, fermentation & storage tanks, or cooperage (barrel, racks, etc.) Some studies show that most of the decline in unit costs are gained when capacity is increased to 10,000 cases (1 cases = 12 bottles of 750ml). Economies of scale become less important for wineries with capacity over 10,000 cases. So, production cost isn't the problem for small producers. That means there are always many small producers to buy wines from.
The problem of small winemakers is marketing. Small producers don't have scale to reach end-consumers in each end-market. Oyster Bay is one big premium brand. Oyster Bay's gross margin is over 60%. They spend 30% of revenue in marketing. Most wine producers can't spend that much.
So, for many small wine producers, Majestic is the best route to U.K. consumers. Majestic has store employees to explain new wines to consumers. In fact, one third of Majestic's wines are replaced each year.
High Barrier to Entry
The risk that Majestic loses the role of connecting consumers with suppliers comes from competition. Majestic competes with supermarkets, high street wine specialist, and distant sellers like mail-order or online retailers. Supermarkets control over 80% of market share but are more focused on cheap wine. High street wine specialists are weak and losing market share. Many wine specialists went out of business during the Great Recession. Online wine retail is a hot area.
Barrier to entry is high in the brick-and-mortar channel. It's difficult to replicate Majestic's warehouses. Entry was easiest in early 1980s. After 30 years, it's difficult to replicate Majestic's buying power and efficient operations. It's also difficult to compete with supermarkets. Supermarket market share is concentrated in a few players. Except for growing discounters like Aldi and Lidl, there's little change in that channel.
Barrier to entry is low online, but it's very difficult to build a viable online business. Many wine e-retailers come and go quietly. They couldn't get enough scale to pay for fixed costs. The problem is that pure online retailers don't have a cost advantage over traditional retailers like Majestic. They're actually at a cost disadvantage.
Majestic Model
Majestic has an extremely efficient model. Each store has 4 or 5 employees and 1 or 2 vans. Employee's jobs include lifting lots of boxes of wines, giving customer advices, managing store's web page, carrying cases to customer cars and delivering wine to customers. Store employees deliver about 40% of sales to customers' home.
This level of service is possible because each store fulfill an average 30 orders per day. So, stores aren't busy. Yet, staff and credit card processing expenses are on average only 7.9% of sales. That's thanks to the high revenue per transaction, which is a natural result of Majestic's policy to sell by cases.
Majestic stores are usually located away from high street (focal point for shops in U.K. town and city centers.) and between where affluent people work and live. Many are converted garages, pubs, or petrol stations. Average store size is about 3,500 square feet. Each store has free parking for 10-12 cars. Rent expense is just 3.4% of sales.
Big stores allow Majestic to keep inventories at stores instead of distribution centers (DCs). Majestic has only one national warehouse that is in the same building with Majestic's headquarters where cardboard boxes crowd the reception area. The national warehouse passes through inventories quickly to stores. Each store holds enough inventories for 11 or 12 weeks.
I think Majestic's model is even more efficient than supermarkets like Tesco. Tesco doesn't keep a lot of inventories in stores so they have to replenish stores frequently from 28 regionals DCs. Tesco ships a big amount of wine to regional DCs, and then ships a small amount of wine from regional DCs to stores frequently. Meanwhile, Majestic ships a big amount of wines to stores much less frequently. Including store occupancy cost, the cost of getting wines to stores and delivering to customers is just 8.4% of Majestic's revenue. That's impressive. Also, inventory cost is financed by suppliers because Majestic gets 75-day credit from suppliers.
Majestic spends about 5.2% of sales in administrative expense. So, total operating expenses is 21.5% of sales. Adjusted gross margin, which considers only cost of wine, duties, and carriage cost in cost of sales, is about 29-30%. So, Majestic can make about 8% EBIT margin.
Online Competitors Don't Have as Low Costs
Naked Wines is the most successful competitors. Revenue has grown very fast. Revenue was £4 million in 2009, £11 million in 2010, £22 million in 2011, £35 million in 2012, £53 million in 2013, and £74 million in 2014. Naked Wines made £3.3 million EBITDA loss in 2014. However, EBITDA in the U.K. was about £2.1 million, which translates into about 5% EBITDA margin.
In its best year, operating expenses is well over 30% of sales. Naked Wines spends about 16% of sales in selling and distribution expenses, 11% of sales in administrative expenses, and over 6% of sales in customer acquisition.
Selling and distribution expenses are highly variable. Naked Wines's best chance to reduce cost is to gain operating leverage in administrative expense, and to achieve high customer retention rate (thus reducing customer acquisition cost over customer lifetime value). But it's perhaps impossible to match Majestic's efficiency of spending only 21.5% of sales in operating expenses.
That's understandable because wines are heavy so it's expensive to ship a few cases from a central warehouse. Also, revenue per transaction is so high that centralizing customer service and order fulfillment doesn't save that much.
Online competitors are unlikely to have lower cost of wine than Majestic. Majestic has about 4% market share. However, Majestic's CEO said in an interview in 2011 that 80% of wine sold off-trade in the U.K. was below £5. That means Majestic may have close to 20% market share in premium wines. They have 13% market share of wines from Argentina, 12% market share of wines from Bordeaux, 12% market share of wines from New Zealand, and 10.5% market share of Champagne. So, Majestic has strong buying power.
Majestic is also a tough buyer. Most of business is conducted at trade fairs. Majestic's wine buyers usually spend 15 minutes talking to a winemaker and taste all of the wines. They don't socialize or fraternize. They taste and say to winemakers "that wine and that wine I like. Send me a sample and your best price."
So, I don't think competitors can have lower cost of sales than Majestic. Some actually said that Naked Wines sell £1 or £2 more than should be. Most critics say that Naked Wines's wines are bottled very young.
There is evidence that other distant sellers are less efficient than Majestic. For example, Laithwaites is a mail-order wine merchant since 1969. Laithwaites revenue is about £350 million. Laithwaites has over 1 million customers Half to 2/3 of customers are regular customers. Laithwaites sells wine at a higher mark-up than Majestic. One wine critic in the U.K. told me that Laithwaites sells lower quality wines than Majestic. However, Laithwaites EBIT margin is just 2-3%. That suggests high operating expenses, perhaps because of high shipping cost and high customer acquisition cost.
So, it's easy to establish an online wine retailer but it's very hard to build a profitable business. It took Naked Wines 4 years to break even. And after 6 years, Naked Wines's EBITDA in the U.K. is merely £2.1 million. Majestic is in a better position than online competitors because 40% of sales are already delivered by local stores.
Majestic Wine Can Co-Exist with Supermarkets
The biggest competitive risk actually comes from supermarkets. They are trying to sell more online. And they're trying to sell better wines.
Majestic has some protection. First, Majestic has inherent cost advantage over online retailers as discussed above. Tesco online may have greater scale to match Majestic's efficiency. Tesco may underprice Majestic by taking lower margins. But that's all. Online retail of wine isn't a winner-take-all situation. Different e-retailers don't carry the same types (or labels) of wines. Price comparison is very difficult. There's room for several winners. And Majestic has only about 4.2% market share.
Supermarkets can also underprice Majestic in the brick-and-mortar channel. Some Majestic's employees told us that Waitrose sells similar wines somewhat cheaper than Majestic because they sometimes sell wines as a loss leader.
Pricing competition from supermarkets isn't a big problem. Majestic has never tried to offer the lowest price. They offer great service at competitive price. The differentiation is 6-bottle purchase minimum. About a half of customers go to Majestic stores once a year to buy wines for events like BBQ, Weddings, Christmas, etc. They buy from supermarkets for the rest of the time. The other half of customers are regular customers. They may visit Majestic stores once every 2 months.
Customers go to Majestic because of product availability and services. Supermarkets don't normally carry several cases of the same wine. Majestic offers party services like free glass loans or free return of unopened bottles. Supermarkets don't offer free tasting like Majestic. Supermarkets may try having wine experts in-store but consumers aren't used to store employees approaching them in supermarkets. Supermarkets definitely don't help carry wines to customer's cars.
Price is important but there are always customers willing to pay a bit more for better services. Majestic will be fine as long as they keep prices competitive while maintaining a high level of customer service.
Volatility Creates Opportunities
One more thing I like about Majestic is price volatility. EV/EBIT moved by 5 units in most years since 2001. For example, the lowest EV/EBIT was 8.5 and the highest EV/EBIT was 13.8 in 2012. Recently, the price went from 400 pence per share in early January 2015 to 301 pence per share on March 01, 2015, and to 382 pence per share today. Business fundamentals can't move that much. Smart investors can make great profit by trading in and out of the stock.
The Inherent Risk in U.K. Stocks
Majestic has one risk that's typical of U.K. companies. U.K. companies have a tendency to hire external CEOs. But I thought that Majestic had a unique culture. When Tim How, the first CEO, retired in 2008, Majestic didn't look for external candidates. They had actually appointed Steve Lewis as COO in 2007 to prepare for Tim How's retirement. Steve Lewis joined Majestic in 1985 as a store employee right after graduating from college. He spent his entire career at Majestic. That's a strong evidence for the continuity of a culture.
Steve Lewis has done a good job. He took Majestic through the Great Recession unscathed. Majestic's recent performance isn't good. They gained market share but expected flat earnings this year. Margins declined because of pricing pressure from supermarkets. I think that's fine. Majestic is still growing and is now more competitive. Margins declined but are still higher than historical level (and my expected normal margins).
But Steve Lewis was suddenly fired in February 2015. Majestic said they wanted to find a CEO with online expertise. That worried me. It's true that Majestic is slow in growing the online business but I expect an evolutionary instead of a revolutionary change. An online executive may know nothing about wine warehouse and offline customer service.
Finally, Majestic announced the acquisition of Naked Wines in April 2015. They'll make Naked Wines CEO Rowan Gormley the new CEO. Majestic will pay £50 million cash, which is financed by debt, and £20 million in shares based on performance over the next 3 years.
I think acquiring Naked Wines make great strategic sense. There're cost and product synergies between a wine warehouse and a wine club or an online wine store. Last year, Naked Wines made £74 million revenue, £2.1 million EBITDA in the U.K., and -£3.3 million EBITDA overall. If Majestic helps Naked Wine reduce cost of wine, administrative expense, and distribution cost, they can make 8% EBIT margin on Naked Wines's sales. If that works, the price they paid isn't high at all. The two companies combined can also offer stronger offerings to consumers.
My concern is that Majestic made Rowan Gormley the new CEO. To me, he's more of a salesman than a value builder. His experience over the last 15 years has always been with wine e-retailer start-up. He might have spent more time at raising money or PR than creating value. He may not understand what brought Majestic success and may kill Majestic's culture. I would prefer Steve Lewis to stay as the CEO of the merged company.
This development reminded me of Sequoia's discussion on Rolls-Royce in the recent letter to shareholder:
"Rolls-Royce, our largest UK position, seems willing to destroy shareholder value in the name of diversification. Rolls-Royce has a world class business making engines for wide body jets. These engines are often sold at breakeven prices, or even a loss, but come with long-term Total Care service contracts that are quite profitable. Rolls shares a duopoly with General Electric in wide body engines and the barriers to entry for any newcomer would be formidable. Not only is the business intensely regulated, but a new player selling jet engines without an installed base of profitable service contracts likely would lose billions of dollars to capture market share from GE and Rolls. Not surprisingly, Rolls earns more than a 20% return on invested capital in civil aviation and its installed base of service contracts and strong backlog suggest Rolls should grow profitably for years to come.
And yet Rolls' board of directors decided that it wanted to diversify deeper into the marine engine and power generation businesses, competitive sectors that are being encroached by low cost Asian players. To pursue this strategy, the board appears to have pushed out a sitting CEO who had crafted the successful Total Care service contract selling model, and replaced him with John Rishton, a board member who, in our meetings with him, has shown minimal awareness of the returns on capital his acquisitions have generated.
Rolls' stock declined more than 30% in sterling during the year as investors lost confidence in management. We held our shares in the belief that Rolls' wounds are self-inflicted and reversible. The recent share price does not properly value the civil aviation business even if we ascribe little value to the marine and energy businesses. However, management and the board seem stubborn and entrenched, and it may take a tough-minded activist to force strategic change."
A Singular Diligence issue on Majestic was scheduled for May 2015. But there's a risk that Majestic is changing for the worse like the story Sequoia thinks Rolls-Royce is. So, Geoff and I decided not to publish an issue on Majestic in the near future. There's too much change and it's too early to tell. To me, Majestic chairman Phil Wrigley looks like an idiot. But I can be wrong and he may prove a genius. So, I'll keep watching the developments at Majestic. But for now, we can't afford any speculation in our newsletter.
This experience also teaches us to be careful of European stocks in general. Independent Chairmen are strong in European countries. European companies tend to hire chairmen and CEOs externally. That results in a risk of change in a company's culture or direction. It's perhaps safer to pick good family-controlled companies when investing in European stocks.


text:
linum usitatissimum
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical.
Pale blue flowers have 5 slightly overlapping petals. The famous seed (from inside a papery brown seed pod) is used as a fiber for digestive and bowel issues like diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation. Contains 800 times more lignan (a plant estrogen) than other plants. Used for female problems. Has essential fatty acids that help lubricate the body and promote regularity. Anti-inflammatory. The darker brown seed type has more Omega 3 than the golden yellow flax. Used in cancer therapy and raw food diets. Promotes strong bones, nails, skin and teeth. Flax is kind of gritty and hard, I prefer chia seeds over flax.


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My Icelandic knitting list was doing a KAL for Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket, and I was always wanting to try making it. So I found some leftover worsted weight yarn in colours that I thought would work: the red is Bartlettyarns from Maine, and the browns are from a local sheep farm. I found that following the pattern as written seems to fit my average weight, tall-for-his-age one year old, although I haven't sewn buttons on.
He tried it on in Starbucks where I was sewing in the ends and sewing the sleeves together.
Here it is by itself. Now I just have to find some matching buttons from my button stash.


text:
UNESCO has launched a revised and improved the Education For All media training and resource kit titled "Education Makes News". Education for All (EFA) is the international initiative to achieve education for all by 2015. The kit is to be used to encourage the communication media to highlight EFA goals locally, regionally and globally. The kit can be used to develop the interest, knowledge and skills of journalists and other media professionals in writing, reporting and investigating the EFA issues. It can help them to create stories from statistics and bring the EFA debate to the center stage. The revised kit has been updated with recent statistics, facts, and examples and newly organized contents. The technology used in the Computer Based Training (CBT) is simplified for easy use by learners/trainers.
Click here to downloaded the kit.


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Bertha's Cafe
Phoenix, AZ 85018
- Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
- $$
- Wheelchair accessible, Catering, Free Wifi, Kid Friendly, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Wifi Access
- Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch
- No Alcohol
- Parking Lot Available
- Reservations Accepted, Reservations Not Necessary
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text:
Vicente Sebastián Pintado (1774 - 1829)
Mother's Day Brunch & Dinner at Skopelos
Celebrate mom with a special Mother's Day brunch/dinner at Skopelos on May 12th! Reservations are available by phone only: (850) 432-6565In the Skopelos Grand Ballroom, Executive Chef Gus Silivos will offer a Brunch Buffet featuring Chef-attended stations, seafood/chicken/meat/vegan selections, plus all of your traditional brunch favorites. Pastry Chef Jamie Lynne Nutt will create house baked … Read More
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July 01, 2010
Well, we survived out first trip to the ER with a bloody face wound! ( I am sure first of many). We went to Children's Medical Center and got him all fixed up! He hit his face on the corner of a stepstool and there was so much blood we werent sure if he needed stitches or not, but a little medical glue and butterfly did the trick!!!!!! He was so brave! Such a sweet boy.
On a different note, I NEED YOUR HELP!! I just started blogging for YOUPLUSMEDIA.COM...the site that Chris works for and need people to read/comment on their site! So if you have a minute, check it out!!!!!!
2 comments:


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It's Senior Life Skills Day here at CHS - always a great day!
Yesterday, the Girls' Golf team clinched the Granite Ridge Conference title yesterday, winning both nines of an 18 hole event at Milaca. CHS swept the all-conference honors with Greta Egerman, Lucy Gaetz, Kelsey Osendorf, Erin Stocker and Ann Berdan earning the honors.
Kyle Haag fired a 36 to earn medalist honors as the Boys' Golf team won the Granite Ridge meet at Foley. The Crusaders carded a team 155 - two shots better than Little Falls.
The Boys' Tennis team advanced to the section semifinals with a 5-2 quarterfinal win over New London-Spicer. Jon Chalupsky had a thrilling three-set win at #4 singles - 1-6, 6-1, 7-6. The Crusaders meet top-seed Fergus Falls in the section semis at 10am on Tuesday at St. Ben's.
The Girls' Lacrosse team lost to Buffalo 18-9.
And, the Boys' Lacrosse team evened their record at 6-6 with a 6-3 win over Buffalo.
The Boys' Golf team spends today and tomorrow at the Detroit Lakes East-West Invite.
The Softball team opens section play at Holdingford at 4:30pm.
And, the Boys' Lacrosse team hosts Holy Family at 6:30pm at Husky Stadium.
The Baseball team plays in the Kurt Langer tourney in New Munich - taking on Melrose at 10am and Little Falls at 2pm.
And Sunday:
The CHS Choirs have the Finale' Concert in Holy Angels at 7pm.
Have a great weekend!
Inspired and informed by Catholic tradition, our
mission is to educate people while inspiring them to virtuous lives.
Cathedral High School
312 7th Ave. N.
St. Cloud, MN 56303
Main: 320-251-3421
Fax: 320-253-5576


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Pinpoint which phases of group work interest your teams most and identify which behavioral roles team members habitually play or ignore. This 18-item assessment is a powerful tool to help individuals and teams understand and improve team performance.
Using an 18-item assessment, team members rank-order sets of four statements describing their manner of working in a team. This assessment will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. A team profile (created by compiling individual profiles) and group discussion then help the teams to discover how they can modify their behavior to ensure roles and phases are addressed.


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Yunnan net reported on October 14 yesterday (13 days) in the morning at 10 o'clock, mr Liu of skinful jack-o'-lantern hits into report of our newspaper hot line: "Sit to the plane before 3 hours, the plane is in aircraft parking area ' run ' a few paces, also had not moved again. Also had not moved again..
Mr Liu says, they at yesterday morning at 7 o'clock the 40 scheduled flights that take Oriental airline to fly to Jiangxi Nanchang from Kunming, board the plane process all the time very successful. When the plane prepares to take off, circuit was circled to stop in aircraft parking area. All passengers water of a mist, it is good to passed a long time, the staff member that just has a few Dong Hang comes round to explain, they say, as a result of weather reason, the plane cannot take off temporarily.
A lot of passengers special to this do not understand: "Why the plane of other airline can take off normally, and the airlines of additionally a few orders also can fly Dong Hang, why cannot fly with respect to this time of airliner? " Mr Liu with etc a few passengers and Dong Hang's staff member argue strongly, and the staff member is only tell them to cannot fly temporarily everywhere, ask them to understand.
Meanwhile, still a few staff members come round to examine the case of the plane ceaselessly. But the problem still did not get settlement, the plane continues to stop on aircraft parking area. 10:30, the staff member of ship company tells a passenger again east: "The plane overloaded, cannot fly so. " such explanation, cannot make more passenger be convinced: "How doesn't overload say when you sell a bill? "How doesn't overload say when you sell a bill??
such, bilateral all the time refuse to budge nearly 3 hours, at 11 o'clock 40, the plane just takes off from airport aircraft parking area, passengers were controlled at 3 o'clock afternoon arrive at Nanchang.
Explanation of working personnel of airline of Kunming airport east says, because weather and overweighted reason just must stay in Kunming,the plane is really, to other and specific issue, they do not wish to become an explanation more however. (Wang Zhuojiao) net of Wuhan ticket Wu


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From a distance there's only colour
from the hydrangeas in the garden now.
I love the different shades of colour
that appear in the bushes of hydrangea
by this time of year.
Fading colours, dusty colours,
my favourites.
There can be a variety of colours
in just one flower sometimes.
Except for hydrangea "Annabelle".
While the fresh flowers are bright white...
they all turn green as they age.
I made an amazing discovery this afternoon
as I was taking pictures of the hydrangea Annabelle.
In the middle of one of the aged flowers
I discovered the seed pod of an Allium
that obviously must have bloomed in spring
but was covered by the leaves and flowers of
the hydrangea at that time.
Having a closer look,
I discovered two more seed pods
hiding in the hydrangea bush.
Talking about seed pods,
the blue love-in-a-mist that bloomed
in the border in spring
has now totally dried up seed pods.
Every seed pod looks to me as if it were
a little nest with a giant egg in it.
Even those dried up spring flowers
are worth to be taken a picture of I think...
Right next to these are some
white blooming love-in-a-mist
I sowed here early spring this year.
The dark cornflowers
have reached the end of their bloom
for this year too.
Something tells me
there's already a bit of fall
around the corner...
August... Harvest month...
Summer is about to come to an end.
Let's enjoy the last days of summer!