text: PaulOBrien 1,477 Report post Posted June 6, 2012 Introduction For all their dominance in the PC space, Intel were somewhat in the wrong place at the wrong time for the explosion of mobile devices. As a result, the mobile space is unquestionably dominated by ARM chips which offer great performance with low power drains, a combination Intel simply hasn't been able to match before now. Enter Medfield. Announced last year, Medfield is actually the fourth generation of Intel's Mobile Internet Device platform, built around a 32nm Intel Atom CPU with the XMM6260 modem (also seen on the Galaxy Nexus incidentally). The arrival is timely - as well as being a potential platform for Android (as we see here), Medfield is perfect for challenging ARM when it comes to Windows tablets which we will soon see arriving en masse with Windows 8 / Windows RT. The platform (and the San Diego as it's first consumer product) is massively important to Intel. The San Diego, previously known as the Santa Clara (the location of the Intel HQ, San Diego is the home of Qualcomm - a dig at the competition?) is actually a pretty unusual product in that it is a reference design that has made it to market - a very rare occurrence. The device is produced by Gigabyte to Intel's specifications and in many ways it is testament to the quality of Intel's work that the product is worthy of reaching consumers' hands with effectively no changes. That said, it's not just Intel 'going big' with the San Diego. With the undoubted additional brand cachet of having 'Intel Inside' (not to mention some of Intel's marketing dollars), Orange are making a big thing of the device too. The San Diego has a marketing budget of over a million pounds, it will become the first ODM (i.e. Orange branded) device to feature in TV advertising and the handset will get pride of place in in-store marketing for a whole month - something that's previously unheard of. The Orange San Francisco showed that ODM devices can be massively popular. If everything lines up - specifications, cost, performance etc., the fact that the device has the Orange brand on isn't a show stopper. The San Francisco was a sales success and far exceeded projections (of course, MoDaCo played a not insignificant part in that) and while sales of it's successor have not matched the original, there's a hope within Orange (off the record at least!) that the San Diego can become the new 'value champion'. Does it deliver? Read on to find out. Review device My review device is a full retail unit, bought in an Orange store - it is not a press unit. The phone you're reading about here is the phone you'll get if you buy one! Unfortunately Orange were unable to provide us with a review unit 'for a couple of weeks' - we think you deserve better than that. In the box The San Diego box contains the phone itself, a microUSB cable, a USB to mains adaptor, a SIM tray pin, a white headset with volume control and various size ear bits, a quick start guide and an Orange services guide. I have posted an unboxing of the device over at YouTube, and also embedded it below! Hardware - overview First of all, a quick overview of the specifications: Intel Atom Z2460 processor at 1.6GHz (single core) with HyperThreadingPowerVR SGX 540 @ 400 MHz GPUAndroid 2.3 Gingerbread16GB ROM1GB RAMGSM bands 1900/1800/900/850 MHzHSDPA Cat 14 (21.1Mbps)HSUPA Cat 6 (5.7Mbps)UMTS bands 2100/1900/900/850 MHzGPRS / EDGE Class 10Bluetooth v2.1A-GPS supportWiFi 802.11 b/g/n4.03" 600x1024 screen with Corning Gorilla Glass8 Megapixel camera with LED flash, 10 pictures per second burst capture, image stabilisation, scene detection & tuning, advanced high dynamic range, ultra low light capture1.3 Megapixel front camera1080p video captureHD voiceNFCHDMI outDual mics for noise cancellationmicroSIM5.4 Whr battery123mm x 63mm x 9.99mm117g There's are some real standout items in there, especially in what is targeted as effectively a 'low end' device. Aside from the obvious 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, it's good to see the device shipping with 1GB RAM and 16GB ROM (although there is 'officially' no microSD slot). Quad band 3G is a nice inclusion but by far the biggest surprise in the spec sheet is the 1024x600 screen. This resolution - which has only previously been seen on tablet devices - provides 294.5 pixels-per-inch, which is very impressive and not too far off an Apple iPhone 4/4S Retina display at 326 PPI. A conventional WVGA 4" screen has a PPI of 233. The camera looks good in the specs at 8 Megapixels with a burst mode providing 10 shots in 1 second together with a front camera that can record 720P video. HD voice is supported (an important part of Orange's portfolio) together with noise cancellation courtesy of dual mics. Add in NFC, HDMI out and the usual smattering of sensors and you have a very impressive set of specs. Lowlights on the list are the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system (more on that later), the lack of microSD slot (sort of, again, more on that later) and the 5.4Whr non-removable battery. Hardware - around the device Let me give you a little tour of the device starting with the front. The entire front of the device is glossy black and coated with Corning Gorilla Glass, which means the device should be very scratch resistant. Top left is the front facing camera, top centre is the speaker and top right are the proximity and light sensors. Below these sits the 4.03" screen and the bottom of the front has the capacitive keys - back, menu, home and search. The keys have a white backlight (which is slightly lighter on the 2 outer keys). The device has a matte silver strip around the whole edge (yes, a bit like an iPhone but more rounded). On the left side is the microHDMI port. On the right side sits the volume rocker, the microSIM tray (which requires the included pin to eject) and the 2 stage camera button. The top of the device has the power button, secondary mic and the 3.5mm socket. The bottom of the device has the stereo speakers and the microUSB port. The back of the device, which is non-removable and coated in black soft touch plastic, has the 8MP camera and LED flash at the top (which is very bright!), the Orange and 'Intel Inside' logos in the center and the various certifications (CE and the like) at the bottom. Also printed at the bottom is the model number - 'AZ210'. The device actually feels very nice in the hand. It's a good size, relatively thin and the materials feel pretty premium for the segment the San Diego is targeting (certainly far more premium than the San Francisco or Monte Carlo for example). Software As mentioned above, the San Diego ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread (specifically 2.3.7) with an Ice Cream Sandwich update to follow later. Orange executives wouldn't commit to an official date, but October was mentioned, which seems rather a long way away. :( When the update does arrive, it can be installed either OTA or manually.[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-about.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-softwareupdate.png][/lightbox] That's the bad news... the good news is that the Gingerbread build on the device is relatively unmodified from stock! A custom Orange setup wizard takes the user through the initial configuration of the device. This configures timezone, shows a guide on how to use the capacitive buttons, lets the user test the keyboard (and switch to Swype if desired), helps the user configure an e-mail account with a raft of e-mail providers, optionally imports SIM contacts and finally configure the data connection to use WiFi only or WiFi and cellular data. It doesn't encourage the user to set up a Google account. Upon completing the setup wizard, the user is presented with the Orange customised Launcher. This is unashamedly in the style of a HTC Sense device - a two row flip clock sits above a tips widget, under which icons for Browser, Mobile Mail, Your Orange and Play Shop live. The bottom row has an apps icon, a messaging icon, a phone icon and a contacts icon. A homescreen page indicator sits between these two rows. It's not a bad look - very 'Orangey', but quite smart. The homescreen has 5 pages with a zoomed out overview accessed by pressing the home button. The app drawer itself scrolls vertically, definitely my preferred layout! The lockscreen is stock Gingerbread, as is the notification pulldown.[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-homescreen.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-homescreenflyover.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-drawer1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-drawer2.png] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-lockscreen.png][/lightbox][/lightbox] One interesting feature of the launcher is gestures. Orange Gestures allows you to open your favourite applications and services by drawing simple shapes directly on the homescreen. These work extremely well. You can assign apps, contacts, actions (in fact, just about anything you could add to the homescreen) to predefined gestures that are common shapes and letters. Unfortunately you can't add completely custom gestures, but with 27 predefined options, you shouldn't run out. One downside potentially of the gesture implementation - it won't function with 3rd party launchers.[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-gestures1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-gestures2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-gestures3.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-gestures4.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-gestures5.png][/lightbox] Upon first starting the device a blue 'N' icon is visible in the notification bar, next to the data connection. This is the NFC indicator, indicating that NFC is enabled. A little bit annoying and unnecessary imho. So - on to the apps! Gmail, Google+, Mail, Maps, Music, Navigation, Play Books, Play Movies, Play Store, Search, Talk, Voice Search and YouTube are all included on the device and are standard Google experience applications. 'Assistant' is an Orange application that helps you get your phone set up (the startup wizard is part of this app). 'Browser' is the stock Gingerbread browser with an Orangified icon. Adobe Flash support is included. 'Calculator' is the stock Gingerbread calculator. 'Calendar' is the stock Gingerbread calendar with an Orangified icon. 'Camera' is a very fully featured Camera application, we talk more about this later! 'Clock' is the stock Gingerbread Desk Clock. 'DailyMotion' is the DailyMotion app that is also downloadable from the Play Store. Orange has a 49% stake in DailyMotion, hence the inclusion! 'DoubleTwist' is the iTunes sync application that is also downloadable from the Play Store. 'Gallery' is the stock Gingerbread Gallery. 'Gestures' we have talked about already! 'Messaging' is the stock Gingerbread MMS / SMS application with an Orangified icon. 'Mobile Mail' is an extensive email application that is provided by Seven and supports a large number of services. 'Navigon' is an onboard navigation application. It appears to require 'Navigon Select' as an account option in order to function (this, for me, is the very definition of unnecessary bloat!) 'Orange Plus' is the stock Gingerbread SIM Toolkit application with an orangified icon. 'Orange Wednesday' is Orange's free cinema tickets application. 'Phone' is the stock Gingerbread Phone dialler with an Orangified icon. As the stock application it does not support smart dialling or the like. 'Quickoffice' is the lite (free) version of the office suite which supports viewing of office documents / PDF files only. 'Sound Recorder' the stock Gingerbread sound recording application. 'Tags' is the stock Gingerbread NFC tag management application. 'User Guide' is a shortcut the opens the PDF version of the device user's guide. 'Weather' is Orange's own weather application, powered by AccuWeather. It's fairly basic. 'Your Orange' is Orange's account management application.[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-assistant.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-browser2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-calculator.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-calendar.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-deskclock.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-dailymotion.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-doubletwist.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-gallery.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-messaging.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-mobilemail1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-navigon.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-orangeplus.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-orangewednesdays.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-phone.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-quickoffice.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-soundrecorder.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-tags.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-userguide.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-weather.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-yourorange.png][/lightbox] And that's about it. As you can see, it's very much a simple Gingerbread stock build with a sprinkling of icon changes and additional applications. The key additions are the Camera application and the Mobile Mail application from Seven. Which leads us on to... Software de-bloat A de-bloated device for me would have stock launcher, stock icons for the various applications with Assistant, DailyMotion, DoubleTwist, Gestures, Mobile Mail, Navigon, Orange Wednesdays, User Guide, Weather and Your Orange uninstallable. Unfortunately at the moment the only thing we can achieve is reverting to a stock launcher (by installing from the Market or manually). Until we get root access, we can't uninstall the additional applications nor update the icons on the various stock apps. Thankfully, the San Diego IS pretty bloat free so it's not as bad as on some devices! Software compatibility One big question around the San Diego and Intel based devices in general has been software compatibility. The concern was that lots of applications would be incompatible due to being designed for ARM and that using an Intel device would result in swathes of applications not being available from the Android Market. I'm pleased to report that this is not the case! :) There are three ways that applications run internally on the San Diego. The first way is that an application doesn't have native libraries, in which case it runs absolutely fine just as it does on ARM. The second is where an application has NDK libraries and the developer has included a binary for x86 (the NDK makes this extremely easy). The third is when a developer uses native binaries but they are not optimised for x86 but only for ARM - in this case, a process called 'binary translation' takes place... which effectively converts ARM instructions on the fly to x86. This is what's going on behind the scenes, but what does that mean in reality? It simply means this - every single applicaiton that I use in the 'standard build' of my devices was available to, installed fine and performed great on the San Diego. That's quite a few apps spanning lots of different types - utilities, games, social clients etc. etc. - they all just worked. In fact, the ONLY application I wasn't able to install when an #askmodaco request asked that I try it (it didn't appear in the Market and a manual APK install also failed) was Temple Run. The only applications where the architecture actually seemed to matter was video players... video players designed for ARM obviously performed poorly (probably due to the translation layer), but installing a x86 optimised player (thankfully such an app exists on the market) solved this problem. As x86 devices become more prolific I expect developers to become more savvy to providing binaries for Intel equipped devices and even the small incompatibilities at the moment will disappear. Strangely, software compatibilities or oddities on the device that I did come across were more likely to be related to the screen resolution. Some applications (e.g. the Amazon Appstore) assume that a 1024x600 screen is on a 7" device and UI elements are rendered smaller than is appropriate. I envisage issues such as this will quickly be resolved. Camera software The San Diego has a 8MP camera and Orange / Intel have made much of it's speed, particularly the burst mode which snaps 10 pictures in under 1 second. So what is the application like? Fully featured is the answer! Clicking the icon opens up a camera UI that is pretty simple - only 3 buttons appear as standard... one to switch between front and rear cameras, one to switch from still to video recording and a shutter button. The shutter button is supplemented by a dedicated camera hardware button which is a 2 stage affair for focusing and taking the picture. Clicking on the left hand side of the frame pops out the camera menu which has a LOT of options. I'll run through them for you. The top button reveals the main settings. Burst Length can be set to 1, 3, 5 or 10 frames, burst FPS can be set to 1, 3, 5, 7 or 15. Camera resolution can be set to 8MP, 6MP, 5MP, 3MP, 1080P, 720P, VGA or QVGA. Picture quality can be set to Superfine, Fine or Normal. PostViewTime can be set to 0, 1 or 2 seconds. Capture Bracket can be set to None, Exposure or Focus. And that's just the first button! Next comes Scene mode, which can be set to Auto, Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Night, Night portrait, Fireworks or Text. Focus mode can be set to Auto, Infinity, Macro or Touch. White balance can be set to Auto, Incandescent, Daylight, Fluorescent or Cloudy. Exposure can be set to +2, +1, 0, -1 or -2. Flash mode can be set to Auto, On, Off or Torch. Zoom (digital of course) can be set between 1x and 8x. Colour effect can be set to None, Mono, Sepia, Negative, Grass, Sky, SkinLow, SkinMedium and SkinHigh. ISO can be set to 100, 200, 400 or 800. Shutter can be set to 1s, ½, ¼, ⅛, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 or 1/500. AE Mode can be set to Auto, Manual, Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority. AE metering mode can be set to Auto, Spot or Center. AWB Map can be set to Auto, Indoor or Outdoor. XNR, ANR and HDC can be toggled on and off. Antibanding can be set to Off, 50hz, 60hz or Auto. Store location can be toggled on and off. Back Lighting Correction can be toggled on and off. RAW Data can be set to none, YUV or Bayer. Rotation mode can be set to Header or Image. Finally, when you screw up all these settings, there is a 'Reset' option. :D When in video mode, there are are fewer options. Video quality can be set to 1080P, 720P, 480P, High '30m', QVGA, Low '30m', MMS or YouTube (720P max when using the front camera). Flash mode can be set to on or off. White balance can be set to Auto, Incandescent, Daylight, Fluorescent or Cloudy. Colour effect can be set to None, Mono, Sepia, Negative, Grass, Sky, SkinLow, SkinMedium and SkinHigh. DVS can be set to on or off, as can NR. Zoom can be set between 1x and 8x. A reset option is again present. So, there's no shortage of options... but what's the application actually like to use? Far better than the standard Gingerbread fare we see on most budget handsets is the obvious answer. Aside from the wealth of options, the application performs well and takes photos quickly. The focus options mean you can have touch focus with infinity and macro modes when you require them. The flash is very bright and is used intelligently, illuminating the scene to focus before then flashing to take the picture for example, resulting in good shots in dark conditions. The ability to record 1080P video with the rear camera and even 720P with the front camera is a nice inclusion. The burst mode works very well (even if it does sound a little strange) and it really can take 10 pictures in a second! I've included some sample pictures below - in my experience the software is a very good implementation and any weaknesses in the output are down to the optics used rather than the software implementation.[lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-camera1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-camera2.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-camera3.png][/lightbox] In use In general use, the device continues to impress. It's fast (no doubt helped by it's 'stripped back' stock Gingerbread OS). When I say it's fast, I mean it's probably as fast as any device i've used! Navigating around the device is stutter free, fast and a very impressive experience. The 1024x600 resolution of the 4.03" screen means the display is incredibly crisp. It's a decent display too - very bright (although slightly washed out at narrow viewing angles) with no discernible gap between the display and the Gorilla Glass coating also helping to accent the premium feel. The capacitive panel picks up the lightest of touches - it is excellent. After i'd used the device for a few days, I started to wonder exactly how much t matters that the device ships with Gingerbread rather than Ice Cream Sandwich? Only the buyer can answer that question... but I think it's definitely a shame for me personally, if only because going back to Gingerbread means going back to the old Gmail client and not being able to use Chrome Beta, 2 of the applications I use more than anything else on my device! One ICS feature does seem to have sneaked into the San Diego - screenshots can be captured by holding down the power and volume down buttons simultaneously! There are a few key areas I wanted to test on the San Diego as the first Intel device. The first was Adobe Flash support / performance. I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed - although Flash doesn't appear as an application in Android Market as yet, support is preloaded on the device and worked great in my tests with BBC iPlayer, something I know is important to a lot of people and is often poor on budget handsets. The second area that concerned me was video playback. Most of the video players in the Market are optimised for ARM and while x86 optimised players will certainly appear, I think it's important that users are able to play video on the device today. Again, I needn't have worried. I tried a few applications (with varying results) but the winner was Moboplayer, which has a x86 optimised version. I pushed a MKV movie ('Paul', of course) and a MP4 movie ('The Snowman', Lucie's favourite?!?) to the internal SD card and both played flawlessly. In the free app. Excellent! They also played fine over the HDMI connection. I tested the HDMI connectivity in a few apps with no issues at all. Predictably, the home screen appears in portrait, but I tested the web browser and YouTube application and they output just great to my TV... perfect for watching 'Annoying Orange' episodes (no offence Orange)! :D The speakers on the device are as loud as one would expect from such a device and lacking bass as one would also expect. That said, I was pretty pleased with their performance in both music, video and speakerphone conversations and have no complaints. In general I found Phone usage very good (and callers were also impressed with call quality, helped by the dual mics and background noise suppression). It's difficult to test NFC on Gingerbread devices really - they don't do much yet - but, it worked... I scanned my Passport OK! Radio performance on the device seems very good (WiFi and Cellular that is, there is no FM radio). The San Diego held onto WiFi signals better than any other device I have around at the moment and had no problems with sniffing out mobile service either, very impressive. The device supports Quad Band 2G and Quad Band 3G, potentially quite useful when roaming or using SIMs from foreign networks. GPS performance is similarly excellent, acquiring a fix and holding on to it very well indeed. The final area where Intel is the great unknown is battery life. People will tell you that Intel chips don't power phones because they use too much battery. This has been true in the past, but i'm happy to say that this isn't really the case with Medfield and the San Diego. While the battery is pretty low capacity amongst it's peers at only 5.4Whr, i've seen battery life that is on par with it's competitors. In line with a lot of devices now it sips power when in standby, only becoming more thirsty when worked harder. I can happily go through a weekend day of using the phone frequently - my benchmark - and still have a little juice to spare at the end of the day. Interestingly the screen on the San Diego seems to use less power - relatively speaking - than other handsets i've tested recently. Rooting, hacking and locking The San Diego is something of an unknown quantity when it comes to rooting, due to it's different architecture. Work is progressing of course... we have dumped the system image, got hold of a boot image, extracted a boot image etc. etc.. Initial signs are encouraging in that the device seems to support 'fastboot' in the conventional way and also has a normal recovery mode, so if we can 'get in' hopefully we can open the device up for custom ROMs as usual. We don't know yet if the bootloader is locked or whether there is some low level checking going on, time will tell. That said, at the moment there is no working root solution, so if this is important to you... you may want to hold fire. The situation is the same with the SIM lock - at the time of writing the only unlock option is the official Orange route. The SIM lock configuration on the San Diego accepts both Orange UK and T-Mobile UK SIM cards, with the ability to correctly set up the APN configuration for either. Internals - microSD...? The San Diego does not officially have microSD support. However... if you remove the non-removable back cover, there is a microSD slot nestling under there! I have opened my phone and put a microSD in there... but it doesn't do anything. Yet. Hopefully when we have root we might be able to get this working. See the video below to learn more! Pricing and availability The San Diego is available to buy now from Orange online and instore, priced at £199.99 on Prepay (plus a mandatory £10 topup) or FREE on a £15.50 24 month contract. Extremely competitive pricing!http://shop.orange.co.uk/mobile-phones/san-diego-from-orange Conclusion The Orange San Diego is a great phone. At the price (particularly on contract) it's almost a steal - a premium feeling product amongst low end peers. The specs are very good, the implementation is excellent, the design is extremely impressive for a product derived from a reference platform and most importantly of all, the use of a 'new' architecture should make no different when it comes to deciding whether this phone is for you. For those looking for a budget entry to Android, it's hard to think of another device that offers such price vs features / performance. The only fly in the ointment perhaps is that the device ships with Gingerbread, which is starting to feel somewhat antiquated in places for anyone who has spent time with Ice Cream Sandwich... the caveat here of course is that outside of the geek community, that's not many people! I strongly suspect the San Diego will be a good seller for Orange. Not only for the reasons above, but also because it has genuine shelf appeal. The average consumer in an Orange shop - perhaps drawn in my the big advertising push and Intel co-branding - can pick up the device and be instantly impressed by the design, feel and the bright and sharp screen. If the phone gains the 'hackability' of the San Francisco too, it's a worthy successor as the 'enthusiasts plaything'. So, I best crack on. :) Pros and cons ProsCompetitive pricingGreat all round specificationsPremium design, good overall sizeGreat screen with a high resolutionGreat radio performance and call qualityUnexpectedly good application compatabilityFully featured Camera application Cons [*]Shipping with Gingerbread [*]No way to remove operator customisations (yet) [*]No microSD expansion [*]Fixed battery [*]Root situation TBC [*]No 3rd party SIM unlock Benchmarks I have included below the benchmarks from the popular benchmarking applications. Bear in mind that these applications may be using ARM libraries or be ARM optimised at this time. http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-benchmark-quadrant.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-benchmark-linpack.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-benchmark-antutu.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-benchmark-cfbench1.png][/lightbox] [lightbox http://content.modaco.net/dropzone/sandiego-benchmark-cfbench2.png][/lightbox][lightbox Have your say Do you have an Orange San Diego? Do you agree / disagree with my review? Post below! Sample Photos Sample Videos To follow! View full item Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Instead gold formed a double bottom at $1600 and yesterday confirmed a trend change to a pattern of higher highs and higher lows.
As is usually the case the miners played follow the leader and reversed their downtrend also.
It is now clear that gold put in an intermediate degree bottom on September 26. The double bottom is a much stronger basing pattern then a V-shaped rebound and should launch a test of the $2000 level at some point during this intermediate cycle.
25 comments:
gold has rebounded because the market mistakenly believes that the Europeans have forestalled their problems. Once it is clear that they have not, then there will be a flight back to the USD.ReplyDelete
The question is, how long that will take. Until the realization that they have fixed nothing, gold could have a good rise.
- AnonymousOctober 27, 2011 at 6:42 AM
Gold has rebounded because the dollar is as bad as the Euro if not worse. The dynamic has changed and as the Euro looked as if it was going to implode this time the smart money was not running to the dollar as evidenced by the slide in the dollar over the last few weeks. Instead I would contend that the dollar is also in question because during this euro theater gold not only held its own but advanced. The question more aptly asked would be how long before the masses realize that all the fiat currencies are suspect at best? Now that the CDS market and general markets are "stabilized" by the EU solution attention will turn to the dollar as the same forces that pummeled the euro will now take their turn with the dollar. As for gold nothing goes up in a straight line and the correction we saw in my opinion was uncorrelated with the events in the EU instead it needed a breather. Essentially nothing has changed and gold along with the red headed bastard step child silver will continue to march higher over time with set backs along the way.ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
That's why you should not try to front-run the market. Don't try to guess whats going to happen. Just wait and see what actually DOES happen and respond accordingly. You always have to account for SURPRISE in your analysis. The gold and silver dollar value remains in play.ReplyDelete
I never never never short a bull market. So even if I expected a continuation into a D-wave decline I would never put capital at risk on that expectation.ReplyDelete
I learned a long long time ago that in bull markets the surprises come to the upside.
We went long the precious metals sector Tuesday morning.
BTW if one waits until they feel comfortable with the move then you are almost always at a short-term top and will experience an immediate draw down.ReplyDelete
While it sounds smart to say wait and see what happens, the reality is that waiting will usually cause the retail trader to experience a draw down which they usually end up selling for a loss. This is how retail traders lose money in a bull market.
If you guys stop trying to time the PM's and just save your cash to buy more on weekness you'll never be surprised....and you'll always be ahead of the game.ReplyDelete
Is it true if the dollar goes below 75, its in danger? I read that somewhere. Its 75 now as I write.ReplyDelete
looking for some would like some opinions about my portfolio guys:ReplyDelete
anglogold ashanti
m.vectors gold
m.vectors JR
smaller holdings in
great basin
allied nevada
harmony gold
alamos gold
No SLV, SLW or RGLD?ReplyDelete
forgot SLW, but small holdingReplyDelete
RGLD any good?
Just hold on to your PM's and ignore charts, cycles, guru's, experts etc.ReplyDelete
It's that simple actually.
And you don't even need an subscription
SLV,RGLD,and GOLD should be in the portfiolo for the PM' believers.ReplyDelete
GDX is a more stable play which included most senior gold stocks, to own this ETF only could be avoided the ugly case such like AEM has had happened last week.
GDXJ is a much safe play compare with if you owns 10 junior gold stocks.
AEM is reported earnings this morning, they said the production this year will be 1.01 million ounces, which is only 0.06 million ounces short compare with their previous estimate, but AEM stock price is cut the half already, this stock should be bottomed if the gold price would be stabled above $1700 per ounce.
Buy and hold and buy more on corrctions...thats it...the gold story isn't going away anytime soon. When the G20 nations no longer carry debt, and are not monetizing debt, then you can sell your gold! We have a long ways to go.ReplyDelete
This timing nonsense won't pay off in the long run...Look at what happened to most of the poeple on this blog holding AGQ in May 2011!
If you think your smart enough to time the PM markets then just buy puts to hedge your PM holdings...the puts are cheap and if you guess wrong the rise in the underlying metal will cover the option premium!
I personally think you have too many stocks in your portfolio. Why not go with GDX, GDXJ and maybe 2 stocks like SLW & RGLD? Keep it simple in case you need to dump them in a hurry.
FYI - My buy and hold strategy is for GLD...the miner stocks will not always move in tandem with the metals.
mmm i hear some thoughts about gold that it is actually more volatile and stock will outperform gold in the mid-long run.ReplyDelete
the thinking behind the amount of stocks i have is to minimize risk. most of them (especially the bigger onces) basically go with the HUI and of course gold itself.
if i would spread only to 4-5 stocks, a big 20-50% loss like AEM can have a huge impact, dont you think?
Perhaps, but doesn't owning GDX and GDXJ cover all those stocks you mentioned?ReplyDelete
The suggestion is to own GDX and GDXJ as a stable play compare with a single gold stock may fell down 20% just in one day.ReplyDelete
RGLD,SLW,GOLD are the best performers so far this year, you can buy those three stocks or not depends on your personal analysis.
SLV is a ETF, silver price should be out-performanced GLD in the next 1-2 years.
So so refreshing...to finally see someone admit when they make a wrong call. I get so sick and tired of seeing over and over the so called financial gurus pontificating their RIGHT calls on the market. If the technicals change Toby changed, and he didn't go into hiding for two months. Good for you Toby make me consider subscribing to your service.ReplyDelete
I agree. Make a call and it's wrong, get over it and regroup. I can appreciate that. When's your next 15 month special offer? I still need to save every penny I can. Thanks!ReplyDelete
There is one fact and one fact only. Every soothsayer who told me I was nuts buying gold 10 years ago is now a genius gold guru.ReplyDelete
All the while they lost their shirts on netflix, and every other scam.
You need to stop timing the market like tech stocks and simply wait for CNBC to say that the only investment left is gold.
On that day sell your entire portfolio to cash and wait for 1 year.
On that anniversary sell your cash to the next bull.
50 years and counting. Never bought a top yet and always bought a bottom.
Like Natural gas stocks on Tuesday this week. You all missed that one.
Stop listening to people who talk their book. Every guru around talks their book. This Toby guy talked his short which probably wiped half of you out.
fish never learn
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
As usual you have no idea what you're talking about. I have never suggested shortening a bull market.
As a matter of fact I've probably said it 1000 times if I said it once.
Rule #1 never, never, never, never, never short a bull market.
The model portfolio is up over 20% just since July, during one of the toughest markets in history. And that is with zero draw down, zero leverage, very little risk, and never investing more than 75% of capital.
I think I can safely say that the SMT newsletter is the single best investment newsletter in the world and has been for the last two or three years.
Y2JPD said...ReplyDelete
"If you guys stop trying to time the PM's and just save your cash to buy more on weakness you'll never be surprised....and you'll always be ahead of the game."
The problem is that most retail investors cannot hang on through an intermediate decline. They end up selling at the bottom. I try to get people out ahead of those hard corrections and back in close to the bottom.
That is exactly what I did during the recent sell off. We took profits and avoided the large draw down and re-entered a day and a half after the final bottom.
This isn't a perfect strategy because it is virtually impossible to pick an exact top, but I can usually get pretty close on bottoms.
All in all subscribers almost always avoided large draw downs and are able to continue riding the bull market.

subset: commoncrawl


text: The Office of Intramurals and Recreation at Villanova University is committed to providing the Villanova Community with a wide variety of recreational services and programs that promote lifelong health and fitness. The Recreation Office aims to enhance the Villanova experience by fostering an environment that encourages diverse groups of students to unite for a common purpose. Ultimately our programs are viewed as healthy avenues for developing the total individual: intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, culturally, socially and physically.


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You have only to eat a particular food, while visiting the country in which it was grown, to understand why fresh matters.
Such was my experience while on a food tour to Spain at the end of March. It happened, strangely, with almonds.
While in Barcelona, at a spice and nut shop in the El Born district called Casa Perris, I sampled almonds grown locally. The intense, sweet flavour that filled my mouth was similar to what I usually get from almond extract, and I thought, "Oh, this is how it's supposed to be."
The trip saw 10 of us enjoy four days in Barcelona and four in the Catalonian countryside, ending up on the Costa Brava. The Barcelona portion included visits to the city's non-foodie landmarks, including Antonio Gaudi's stunning church-in-progress, the Sagrada Familia. But food was really the focus, and the greatest discovery was the Spanish interpretation of tapas, including the staple plate of thickly sliced, fried potatoes - patatas bravas - served with a spicy tomato sauce and garlic mayonnaise.
And who knew anchovies could be that big? They didn't so much rest as sprawl lazily atop a slab of smoky red pepper and another layer of roasted eggplant. Perhaps my favourite tapas dish, typically served along with charcuterie and a slice of dense, cooled potato omelette, was a simple piece of fresh, thick bread served with whole tomatoes and a bottle of olive oil.
The tomatoes, called tomato du sucra, are sweet and juicy.
Much of the fresh food we enjoyed was local.
Barcelona is renowned for its outdoor markets - there are about 40 in the city. But the Mercat de la Boqueria, the boisterous outdoor market located just off the popular promenade known as La Rambla, is not to be missed. There has been a market at La Boqueria since the 12th century, although the modern version came about during the 1850s.
Cheese, fish, fresh meat, fruits, vegetables and charcuterie spill from dozens of stalls, and there are plenty of places to grab a snack, including buttery slices of the famous "jamon serrano" or Spanish, dry-cured ham. La Boqueria is also a place to purchase saffron and red paprika, both signature Spanish products.
Another good stop for foodies is the El Born neighbourhood, home to the Picasso museum and stylish shops and cafés along Princess Street, as well as the aforementioned Casa Perris on Placa Comercial.
I will remember Casa Perris for its smells, spices and burlap, and its sounds, the drilling of scoops into barrels of hard-shell nuts.
After several days negotiating the streets and subways of this vibrant city, we were ready for a break and happily piled into our small, hired bus to travel to the renowned wine district of Conca del Barbera in the province of Catalonia.
While on the bus, as I looked out the windows at the rolling hills of the Spanish countryside, I really settled into my trip. There's something about being outside your comfort zone that invites reflection - one of my favourite features of a good holiday. We stayed at the Monastery Saint Mary of Poblet, a UNESCO heritage site founded in the 10th century and still occupied by Cistercian monks, only adding to the sense of contemplation. It also prepared me for some new experiences.
Such as the onion festival, or Calcotada, an annual event in Tarragona that celebrates the first onion (calcot) crop of the spring season.
Had our guide told us in advance that lunch at the Restaurant dels Torrents would be onions grilled in newspaper and served on terra cotta tiles, I might have smiled stiffly and reached for the granola bars in my backpack.
But as it was, the onion meal was one of the highlights of my trip, and a lesson about reserving judgment.
The onions were mild, long and narrow, like leeks. Once you peeled back the charred bits, the inside was soft and sweet. We lifted them high above our heads and dropped them into our mouths much like you would a long strand of spaghetti. The calcots were served alongside romesco sauce (a thick paste of nuts, peppers and garlic) with fresh bread.
We ate that meal at a table set with white linens in front of a crackling fireplace.
It was delicious because of the flavour, but also because it reminded me, again, of one of the great lessons of travel.
Be open to the moment. You will be rewarded.


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Make Your Emotions Work for You
- 2010 18 Nov
Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Harold J. Sala's book, Making Your Emotions Work for You, (Harvest House Publishers, 2009).
When you're hit with challenging circumstances, it's natural to feel emotions like fear and anger. But just because you experience negative emotions doesn't mean that you have to let them hurt you. If you invite God to help you manage your emotions, He'll use them as catalysts to bring out the best in you. You'll discover that your negative feelings can actually lead to positive growth in your life.
Here's how you can make your emotions work for you instead of against you:
Come to understand yourself. Pray for God to give you His perspective on yourself, so you can see how you're a unique and valuable individual who He deeply and unconditionally loves. Once you understand that, you'll realize that no matter how much you're struggling with negative emotions, you can change with God's help. The confidence that comes from understanding who you truly are will help you respond in a healthy way when people criticize you. Instead of lashing out at them or letting their comments create insecurity in your life, you'll be able to honestly assess their comments to determine whether you should improve a certain area of your life or just let the criticisms go if they're unwarranted. Even more importantly, a healthy self-image will give you the freedom to respond in a healthy way to God, empowering you to accept the love, forgiveness, and grace that He offers. Then you can respond to your emotions in healthy ways and become the person God intends for you to be.
Recognize that emotions are gifts. God created your emotions to help accomplish good purposes in your life. Rather than trying to deny or suppress the negative emotions you feel, ask God to show you how they can teach you something valuable and motivate you to grow. Realize how significantly your emotions can affect you physically, mentally, and spiritually. If you let negative emotions run wild without directing them properly in your life, they can cause a host of illnesses that can eventually destroy your body, lead to sinful and destructive thoughts in your mind, and alienate you from God by tempting you to pull away from Him. But if you aim to use your negative emotions as catalysts to positive change, you can experience physical, mental, and spiritual benefits.
Learn how to identify and express your emotions. Get in touch with your emotions, thinking and praying about what you're really feeling and putting names to the specific emotions. Then, instead of bottling your emotions up inside, talk about them with someone nonjudgmental who cares about you, and pray about them, asking God to help you express them in healthy ways. Whenever one of your emotions leads you to an unhealthy thought, take that thought captive in your mind and surrender it in prayer to God while asking the Holy Spirit to bring positive thoughts into your mind to replace it. Ask God to take control of your emotions, guiding and helping you to express yourself and glorify Him in the process. When talking with other people whose words or actions have caused you to feel negative emotions, rather than blaming them, use "I feel" statements to emphasize how they have affected you so they can better understand how to change.
Deal with memories well. Memories of traumatic events, situations, or conversations can burn negative emotions into your being. You need to pursue healing to overcome the ways they have affected you. Confess your sins to God, repent of them, and accept His forgiveness. Then ask God to help you forgive yourself for your past mistakes and others for how they've hurt or offended you. Remember that forgiveness is an act of the will.
You probably won't feel like forgiving others, but if you decide to obey God's call to do so, He will help you every step of the way, and by the end of the process you'll discover that He has changed your feelings toward them. Give the bitterness of your traumatic memories to Jesus by imagining Him hanging on the cross for the sins of the world and imagining yourself handing a piece of paper to Him with your memories written on it. Then imagine the blood that flowed from His wounds covering the writing until it's completely obliterated. Refuse to let your mind dwell on traumatic memories.
Replace them with Scripture verses that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind to help you heal. Talk with some trusted friends or a counselor about the negative emotions that have arisen from your memories. Ask some other believers – such as elders in your church – to pray for your emotional healing. Thank God for the healing and restoration that He brings into your life as He works it all out according to His will.
Cope with anger. Try to avoid or eliminate stressful situations as much as possible. When you encounter circumstances that make you angry, stop and ask yourself: "Is this situation really worth the emotional stress and strain of getting angry?" and "Is this person worth losing my temper over?" to help gain the right perspective.
If your anger threatens your welfare or that of other people (like your spouse, kids, or coworkers), learn how to contain it. Vent your emotions regularly in healthy ways (such as through prayer, exercise, or music) so that anger doesn't breed in your heart. Whenever you feel angry, check to make sure that your anger is directed toward the right person and the right cause. Be angry only for a short time; deal with your anger quickly. Try to focus on the problem that made you angry rather than the person who has created the problem. Work positively and constructively toward a solution. After you've processed your anger, let it go completely so you can move on with your life.
Cope with worry. You never need to worry, because God cares about you and is ultimate control of every situation in your life. Whenever a worry creeps into your mind, pray about it. Ask God to forgive you for the sinful habit of worrying and give you the faith to overcome it by regularly casting your anxiety on Him and placing your trust in Him to help you.
Commit to God what He alone can do rather than wasting time and energy worrying about something about which you can't do anything yourself. Refuse to worry over the same issue when anxious thoughts continue to come into your mind. Focus on God and let His peace fill your heart.
Cope with fear. Fear can become your friend when it causes you to rise to a challenge or motivates you to solve a problem. The more you understand God's great power and love for you, the less fear you'll feel. But whenever you do feel fear, admit it and assess the strength of your fear. Ask yourself: "What's the worst case scenario?" and "Is God greater than my fear?". Act upon your fear by doing what you can about it and finding God's help to go beyond your strength.
Develop an action plan and move ahead with the confident assurance that God will be with you. Commit to God what you can't change or understand. Rest in God's comforting promises in the Bible that you don't need to be afraid. Remember that fear comes from Satan, not God, and that God has not given you a spirit of fear. Keep in mind that whatever situation is causing you to feel scared is temporary and will pass.
Cope with boredom. Ask God to ignite some fresh passion in your life for your relationship with Him and other people. Break out of the ruts you've gotten into in your daily routines by exercising, writing in a journal, taking a trip, learning something new through a class, etc. Pray for God to reveal more about His purposes for your life, and get excited about pursuing those purposes by dreaming some new dreams, setting some new goals, and taking some new risks to try to achieve those goals.
Give your very best effort to your work, striving for enthusiasm and excellence and tackling challenges. Maximize your potential so you can make a significant positive difference in the world because you lived. Give your time and use your talents to serve other people as God leads. Read, study, and mediate on the Bible and pray with a passion to get to know more about God every day.
Cope with stress. Fight stress by getting God's perspective on it, realizing that He can use it to accomplish something worthwhile in your life that would never happen without you going through the stressful situation. Let your relationship with God be the anchor that holds you in a place of strength during stressful storms. Stop trying to bear loads that you aren't meant to bear; ask God to take over. But do what you can to relieve situations that cause stress if there is something in your power to do, such as resolving a conflict with someone. Learn how to say "no" to people's requests when you can't handle the stress involved in saying "yes". Manage your time well by prioritizing your tasks and then doing the most important task first. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your soul, which will give you peace.
Cope with burnout. Remember that who you are as a person (your character, integrity, faithfulness, and commitment to values) is more important to God than what you accomplish. Don't hesitate to let some tasks fall by the wayside when necessary to avoid burnout. Make time regularly for rest and recreation. Evaluate your goals and adjust them so that they're truly reasonable, taking into account your limited time and energy. Ask God to help you set the right priorities and base your daily decisions on those priorities. Mend relationships with others that you've damaged by making wrong decisions that have led to burnout. Start taking care of your body by getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating a nutritious diet.
Be willing to say "no" to requests when doing so is best for you. Delegate responsibilities to others whenever possible. Learn how to relax and have fun at least a bit every day. Live in the present moment and do all you can to make each moment count.
August 18, 2009
Adapted from Making Your Emotions Work for You, copyright 2009/1996 by Harold J. Sala. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Or., www.harvesthousepublishers.com.
Harold J. Sala is the voice of Guidelines, heard in 49 of the 50 states and more than 100 countries. An internationally known speaker and Bible teacher, he has written more than 40 books, including When Your Heart Cries Out to God, Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible, and the award-winning Profiles in Faith.


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(Pictured: A mural from 2012 by Gus Cutty satirizing Cathy)
Rumors that the developing Harris-Teeter complex on Merrimon Avenue would include a certain Southern fast-food drive-thru chain have been wafting through town for some months, and on July 15, food writer Emily Patrick confirmed the news. "Chick-fil-A confirmed through an email to Xpress that the new location is 'projected to open,' although public relations representative Bernard Hendrix says it's too early to say exactly when."
While there are existing Chick-fil-A locations in Asheville already, the proximity to downtown Asheville perhaps rekindled the ire some residents felt when the Georgia-based restaurant's chief operating officer Dan Cathy made public comments in June 2012 opposing same-sex marriage. His comments were in response to reports that Chick-fil-A had made charitable contributions to organizations similarly opposed to the cause. Boycotts were called, "appreciation days" were planned in rebuttal, and eventually downtown Asheville had a mural of Cathy done up in the garb of '70s-era drag queen Divine.
Aside form the cultural implications of the chain's downtown outpost, other readers lamented the encroachment of non-local business and the inevitable traffic complications of a drive-thru at the already dense, busy intersection of Merrimon and Chestnut Street.
But not everyone's feathers are ruffled. A few readers welcome the establishment. As one reader, Mookie, put it on mountainx.com: "Dude, Chick-fil-A is delicious and I'm gay." Let us know what you think in the comments field.
Via Facebook
For people in AVL who like their highly processed "chicken" slathered in homophobia with a side of religion. — Scott Benson
I'd rather [have] mine slathered in religion with a side of homophobia, a side of racism, and a side of republican filibuster. Chik-fil-A-Buster — Sean Zigmund
And don't forget the pickle! — Jeffrey Long
I think that's super! Now I don't have to take the garbage in my car all the way to Tunnel Road! I can put it in the parking lot of the Merrimon one! — Diane Hollifield
Vote with your $$. Don't eat there, and they will hopefully go away eventually. With Bojangles' across the street, can there really be that much demand for disgusting fried chicken? — jenna yarosh
I know right?! that Bojangles' doesn't get much business anyway! — Kelly Prime
I just lost my appetite. — Reese Huffman
Anti-gay restaurant in Asheville? I don't think that's going to go so well. — Casey Willette
I gotta laugh at all the hate. I love Chik-fil-A, I could care less what their COO has to say about human rights. It's not like the people who run restaurants are elected, folks. Giving an entire chain hell over someone's opinions is flat-out dumb. — Bruce Whitaker
Bruce, it is not about a person's opinions. It is about the company giving millions of dollars to groups that advocate an anti gay agenda. The money you spend on that sandwich goes to hate groups. — Jill Boniske
This is our elected officials hard at work. This is proof of their ineffective and outright spineless money grab. They will sell our once-quaint and culturally significant town to any group with a financial agenda. They will use tired broken rhetoric and talking points to achieve victory come election time. Asheville is still an amazing place to live, but what are they thinking! Who signs off on this? Who dissents? How many more horrible decisions are they going to allow (like Merrimon isn't a horrible traffic nightmare — now with two chain groceries, it will become worse). Not really sure how the revenue outweighs the congestive future nightmare. Thank your City Council, people, and the mayor. Thank the county commissioners; thank them for working so hard to keep Asheville drunk on craft beer, and shopping at the same chain grocery stores, and staying at high-dollar boutique hotels. I am really ashamed of these decisions. — Marshall Pyle
Seems like downtown is starting to go more corporate. It's funny that it is mostly centered around the Merrimon exit (Patton Avenue in West Asheville is already lost). I couldn't believe when I got home from tour and there was a big ugly brick wall that said "Staples" on it, right by the interstate. Made me feel like I was in the wrong city. I must say that I feel like that has been somewhat balanced out by the awesome artwork on the bridge. Someone should propose a budget to Staples to paint their brick wall with some cool local Asheville art. In Hawaii, they only use low-pressure-sodium street lights and have size regulations on business signs to preserve the natural beauty and cut down on light pollution. Jus' sayin'! We are an artistic community that believes in supporting local business, that is something to be proud of, and is a reason many folks travel here to spend "out of town money." Let's keep Asheville unique! — John-Paul Miller
Let's see … What have we got on Merrimon? McDonald's, of course. Subway. Jersey Mike's, Bojangles, Wendy's, Atlanta Bread Company, what am I leaving out? China Wok. On the positive tip, we also have Marco's, Circle In The Square, Rise'n'Shine, The Hop, Urban Burrito, Zen Sushi, HomeGrown and Dough. I suppose we should be grateful that we don't have Burger King, Taco Bell, Krispy Creme, etc. And of course I just can't wait to see the incredibly clever solution for managing traffic at the Merrimon/Chestnut intersection. There is one, right? — Dave Erickson
Talk about a square peg in a round hole … or, a turd in a punch bowl. How stupid for Harris Teeter to choose that chain. Why not a real-food, locally owned restaurant? I see no reason to ever go there. — Nila Scribner
My apartment already smells like Bojangles' half the time … — Mister-Photon Haptic-Interface Furr
But imagine all those minimum wage jobs! — Susan Troianello
It's tasty chicken — nothing more, nothing less. — Kathleen Hilker-Lawlor
They can't tolerate gays but if you walk in there in a cow costume with udders sticking out from your pelvic area, you get a free sandwich! — Janet Swan
Mmmm — chicken soo good — Hugh Owings
Tsk-tsk! let it go ! — Eddie Baker
Via Mountainx.com
Boo! Go away Chic-fil-A! We don't want you or your moral majority biggotry here. Go open up at Dolly World where you belong. — John Lomax
If you don't want to help them, pipe down. The year of the big anti-gay boycott produced their most profitable year, spurred by 12 percent growth. — indy499
What an uninformed liberal robot you are. You find a "liberal cause" and cheer for it without knowing the facts. Chick-fil-A does provide benefits: medical, dental and vision. That's what all the protesting was about; they wouldn't provide benefits to partners of employees in same-sex couples. They reversed their decision some weeks later and now cover same-sex partners. — Mike
I'm not trying to either help them or hurt them, and the likelihood of a posted comment on this site having any effect at all on anyone or any business is slim to none. While marches, protests and attempts at boycotts have and will continue to have the opposite effect, as you note. Thanks for the advice, but I decline to accept it. — Dionysis
Dude, Chick-fil-A is delicious and I'm gay. — Mookie


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|more useful options
Re: Re: Re: Best way to 'add modules' to web app?by IlyaM (Parson)
|on Jul 05, 2003 at 12:28 UTC ( #271617=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
chromatic is obviously advocating YAGNI approach to solve design problems. In short the idea is that you split your development process in short iterations: in each iteration you select functionality to implement, then you design the system in the simpliest possible way to pass functional tests. While doing it you religiosly refactor code to remove code smells (i.e. code dublication, too big methods and subs, etc). In my experience it is actually very efficient approach which at the end produces more high quality and more flexible code compared with water fall style development process when you try to design everything from the begining. Too often initial assumptions became wrong assumptions, functional requirements change and end result becomes big ball of mud.
Word of warning though. If you try to develop using YAGNI way then TDD is a must, constant refactoring is a must. If you don't follow these practices you'd better stick with waterfall way or result will be a disaster. In a sence waterfall is simplier model though less effective.
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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Cheerleaders are usually portrayed as air-headed and dumb, the sport is often the butt of jokes and in this age of equal rights, it's considered anit-feminist to be part of a squad. The truth, of course, is very different.
It wasn't that long ago (before Title IX in the 70s) that cheerleading was often the only organized sport available to high school and college women. Today, competitive cheerleading (not the silly dance steps performed by squads at professional football and basketball games) is a scholarship sport at hundreds of colleges, with National Championships held each year in April that are shown on ESPN. Like any college sport, it requires rigorous practices, learning specific skills, staying in excellent physical condition and game day situations. It is also plagued by the same problems – illegal drug use, often serious injuries and eating disorders.
Just in time for opening of college football. Cheer! by Kate Torgovnick takes you through a typical season with the squads from Stephen F Austin, Southern University and the University of Memphis. You'll go behind the scenes, experience the hard times and the fun times and come to love the people of each squad. Well-researched and detailed, Cheer! will give you new insight into – and respect for – the world of cheerleading.


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nickfenton necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 119 diseños de 20 diseñadores freelance.
We are a "Young & Hungry" group of guys that are determined to create the best platform on the internet for educational material and information with regard to trading stocks, options, futures, and other financial instruments. The vision is to create "A Think Tank for Traders" that allows individuals to access free market related content (blog, video, etc), premium content, real time virtual Trader coaching, and other great content/products. The goal is to eventually allow promising individuals to contribute content to the site.
Our primary target audience is active Trader's, no matter what age. We also intend to attract beginner/intermediate Trader's that are looking for a place to access/learn everything they could possibly need to increase their abilities as a Trader.
The name TickerTank is derived from two concepts. A "Ticker" is a stock symbol that relates to a publicly traded company. For example, the stock ticker for Google is GOOG and the stock ticker for Apple is AAPL. "Tank" is referring to a think tank. Somewhere people can go to think about their next trade, gather information, talk to other traders about their potential play, etc...
The goal with this logo is to portray the fact that TickerTank is "A Think Tank for Traders." We don't necessarily want that slogan visible on the logo, but are open to it being visible if you can display it in a creative manner that isn't overwhelming.
We want the logo to eliminate any negative connotation to the word "tank" being that it could be attributed to the market selling off, aka "tanking".
We do not want any military tanks used in this logo design.
Clean & simple is the feel we are aiming for with the site. We would like the logo to reflect that.
We will need high resolution.jpg, .png, and .psd (raw photoshop) files , as well as a black-and-white version.
Please refrain from using ".com" in the logo. Make sure TickerTank is one word, and that the "T's" are capitalized.
Feel free to let your creative juices flow. You are the artist, and we need you to help us stand out in this competitive market with something unique & original, but not overdone.
Good luck!!
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text: Taoist inner alchemy is a collection of theories and practices for transforming the mind and refining the self. The Inner Teachings of Taoism includes a classic of Chinese alchemy known as Four Hundred Words on the Gold Elixir. Written in the eleventh century by a founder of the Complete Reality School, this text is accompanied by the lucid commentary of the nineteenth-century adept Lui I-ming.


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Sometimes, when it comes to making everybody think a character is supercool, less is more. Overkill just feels like overcompensation. And sometimes, creators spend so much time making a character cool on the surface, they forget to work on the other stuff. But which supposedly badass character fell the flattest?
Please include a picture, clip, book cover or comics page for your chosen non-badass. And please mention his/her name and why he or she didn't live up to the hype. Thanks!
Top image: General Grievous from the Star Wars prequels. Actually was kind of great in the Tartakovsky cartoons, but not in the live-action movies. None of the prequel villains except Palpatine really lived up to their hype, to be honest.


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Xenon wave freeFree
Free bonus - cracked glass and squashed mosquitoes backgrounds. The xenon wave live wallpaper brings to your device something it's never experienced before – an ocean full of flashing, blue, xenon waves! All you have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the splashing of beautiful light blue color all around your device's screen. After the download you don't need internet connection to enjoy the application. This application will not download videos from the internet and waste your bandwidth. Download once and enjoy for ever.This free app is ad supported and may contain ads in the notification tray and/or home screen How to install: Once you have downloaded this live wallpaper the icon will not appear in your homescreen. To activate the application and access the settings, tap on the "Menu" button, select "Wallpapers", then select "Live Wallpapers". Scroll down to the live wallpaper icon and press "select wallpaper" to activate the application.
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text:
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, KS — Twenty-six Air Force installations participated in a survey Feb. 13-27 regarding dietary supplement usage in the Air Force.
"The survey will help the Air Force keep track of what supplements people are taking, so the Air Force can educate Airmen on any dangers that may go along with taking supplements," said Capt. Christle Peaden, an aerospace physiologist with the 22nd Aeromedical-Dental Operations Squadron.
The survey, originally developed by the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, was revised for Air Force use. The Army survey results found 40 percent of soldiers use one or more supplements; 30 percent reported significant side effects such as dizziness, alteration of consciousness, weakness and cardiac symptoms.
Captain Peaden said the survey was e-mailed base-wide, asking everyone to participate even if they were not taking dietary supplements. In the survey, dietary supplements refer to energy boosters, over-the-counter diet pills, bodybuilding drinks or mixes and daily vitamins.
"There is no magic pill," said Staff Sgt. Sunny Siler, 22nd Aeromedical-Dental Operations Squadron. "We see all the celebrities on television endorsing the products and companies sending samples with their fitness DVD package but that doesn't mean you need to take it."


text:
Dustin Pedroia Jersey Shirt Winner
The winner of the Dustin Pedroia shirt as been announced!
Watch the video to see who won!
Previous giveaways were for this Brandon Phillips shirt which was won by Matt Jackson. The first winner of this Matt Wieters shirt was Joey Orr.
I'll have near gear to give away tomorrow. I think I've narrowed down to a National League team since this past week was an AL giveaway.
46 days until opening day, 13 days the first broadcasted game on MLB TV (Yankees vs Phillies).


text:
I can work on your project.
Thursday, September 29
the kickstarter experience pt 6 - recording, editorial, metadata
Thursday, September 15
the kickstarter experience pt 5 - the interim
Saturday, September 10
the kickstarter experience pt 4 - the launch
I'll note here that KS re-encodes the video before posting, so you can see that some of my text ended up coming off a little lower-res than I would have liked. Just keep that in mind with text on screen.
writing your "about this project" page
In my case, I treated my about this project page basically as a blog post. I put some history up there about the trains, posted a sound clip that I had recorded while scouting, described the agreement that I already had in place with MATA, and stated my goals and needs for the project.
Pretty straightforward, but for those not comfortable with writing such things you may want to get a trusted set of eyes to look over it all before launching. You can edit this page after the fact, but when you launch the clock starts and you'll want to be directing all of your KS energy towards the awareness push at that point.
I left descriptions of who I am and why I'd be any good at recording this stuff to my profile page, which is also right there on the project home page.
I found FAQs to be very helpful on other kickstarters, and I figured the biggest question people would ask is "how can I use the sounds you'll deliver?" I knew people that would be most willing to pay for sounds will want max licensing freedom, so instead of creative commons I went for the more useful full royalty free usage common with purchased sfx libraries.
I also described my gear, metadata methods, and reiterated the exclusivity of the library.
The FAQ format is pretty good for bullet pointing things that backers will want to know before committing the cash, and the KS software does a great job of formatting.
Launch and push
With everything written it was time to launch and push. I triple checked the things I couldn't change (deadline, funding goal, rewards and reward levels) and then published.
I had emailed Miguel over at designingsound.org prior to my launch to see if he would be amenable to putting my project up on his page. He was into it, so I sent him a link. I also sent out an email to a small number of individuals in my contacts list that I figured would be interested.
I posted to twitter and facebook as well. (google+ hadn't been launched yet)
In each of these pushes I explicitly asked for the two things I wanted - please back this and please share (or retweet) this.
Really that was it. When I launched I was shocked at how quickly people picked it up and shared it. I think to some degree it was the novelty of the thing, but regardless it was a pretty humbling experience.
I fully funded in 5 hours, and then after that the designingsound post went up and the funding really took off.
Monday, September 5
the kickstarter experience pt 3 - hard decisions
There are four things that you have to set in order to launch a kickstarter, and once you set those four things you can't change them, so you really have to do your homework before committing to those numbers.
Lets start with the first and most difficult.
---your financial goal---
Setting a target goal is one of the trickiest aspects of launching a kickstarter. Set the goal too low and you may end up reaching into your own pocket in order to deliver on your promises to your backers. Set the goal too high and you risk not getting funded.
Here's how I approached it:
First, calculate your expenses. For the purposes of this project I had a charter fee of $150, a planned gratuity of $40 for my motorman, and a small budget of $100 or so for gear rental, food/drink, and other minor expenses. I knew that delivery of the final assets wouldn't cost me anything, but if you're planning on delivering anything to your backers that costs any money to produce, be sure to factor that in to your expenses.
My total added up to $290.
Next I had to factor in the fees that both KS and Amazon payments were going to charge. Kickstarter takes a flat 5%, and Amazon takes somewhere between 3% and 5%. I decided to just assume that 10% was coming off the top. The proper math for this is to take your expenses (E) and to DIVIDE that number by 0.9.
To reiterate, your financial goal should equal E ÷ (0.9)
In my case 290/(0.9) = $322.22 I rounded the number to $325 and called it a day. $325 * 0.9 = $292.50, so I knew if I hit my goal I was going to be able to execute the project.
Time to define the next part of the project.
---your rewards---
I figured this would be pretty simple, and for many sfx style recordings it should be. I planned to deliver a fully fleshed out library of trolley sounds at various resolutions for the various backer levels. I would include photos and metadata.
Fortunately, much of the technology and indie sfx market has settled in on what are the general standards.
In my case I went with:
256k mp3s
44k 16 bit wav
24 bit 96k wav
and 24 bit 96k with broken out mic layers for the top tier.
The other thing that I offered was complete exclusivity. This meant that I would not put these sounds up for sale in the future, and you could only get access to them if you backed the project. I went with the total exclusivity route because I wanted to do everything I could to make sure the project got funded. In the future I'd probably go to some form of limited exclusivity given the results of this first effort.
The thing to remember is that once these specific rewards are set they cannot be changed, so consider carefully exactly what you want to give away and how you want to do it.
Also, its important to consider delivery costs. In my case I had access to an ftp that I was able to set unique passwords for, but in some cases you may want to budget for a delivery service or medium.
Rewards were set, another big decision in front of me.
---your backer levels---
Again, in this case I'm fortunate in that the indie sfx community has basically put up some general pricing standards that backers would be familiar with.
I swam around it a bit and came up with the following pricing:
$1 for thanks
$5 for the mp3s
$15 for the 44k wavs
$25 for the 96k wavs
$40 for the 96k wavs with broken out individual mics
$120 for the 96k wav with borken out mics and a personal meetup
I assumed that everyone would gravitate towards one or two levels, so I calculated how many backers in each level it would take to fund my goal on its own:
65 $5 backers or
21 $15 backers or
13 $25 backers or
9 $40 backers or
3 $120 backers
Looking it over I felt that I could pretty safely assume 9 $40 backers, or at least 5 or 6 and then a few $25 backers to make the diff, so my pricing ended up looking pretty doable.
I also honestly thought that the $5 level was the biggest bargain and could possibly skew my numbers too far down, but the network of people that got the message on this project skewed much more towards the sound designer crowd, so that helped me out tremendously.
with my goal, rewards and levels set I had one more critical decision to make.
---your deadline---
In kickstarter, deadlines are less defined by dates than by time periods. you can go anywhere from 1 to 60 days out.
One important thing to keep in mind when setting a deadline is that there is a time-lag in between the deadline passing and the funds from a successful kickstarter hitting your operational account.
Kickstarter does not start transferring you money the moment you meet your goal. In fact, it does not charge your backer's credit cards until the deadline date that you set, so if you hit your goal early (as I did) you still have to wait until your deadline passes before payment processing begins.
Kickstarter advises that it can take up to 14 days to process all of the payments and transfer them to your amazon business account. You then have to account for the 3-5 business days it takes to move funds from amazon into your operational account. This all happens AFTER your projects deadline passes.
That means if I set a deadline that's 30 days out, it could be as many as 45 days before I can gain access to the backer's funding needed to execute the project
In my case, 80% of the backers funds transferred into my amazon account on the day of my deadline and the transfer out to my operational account also only took one day, so I got my funds very quickly compared to their predictions, but I'd still approach timing with regards to seeing the funding with extreme caution.
The other complicating factor there is time frame with regards to booking the trains. I couldn't confirm a date with them until I had reached my funding goal, and they required a two week lead time. Fortunately I reached my goal quickly and was able to book the train pretty much right away, but if I had been in a huge funding push to reach the goal at the end it would have added two weeks to my turnaround time.
All of this is to say that Kickstarter is in no way an instant gratification kind of thing for you or for your backers. It's a process, and that process takes days and weeks to get done just from pure logistics, so be sure that your backers and vendors are informed and updated as to what's going on behind the scenes.
With all of that under consideration I chose a deadline date of 21 days out, mainly to give potential backers a chance to get a paycheck in set some $ for the project aside. Even though I funded much more quickly than that I'm pretty happy with the total time I ended up choosing.
---final thoughts---
once these decisions are made they are no longer in your control. It's as though you set them into a boat and floated them out to sea, and now you have to chase them all down.
This means you really have to do your homework on the front end with regards to monetary needs, timeframe commitments, and vendor bookings. It also means constant communication with both your vendors and backers.
If you mess these decisions up it could be the difference between a successful project and a failure, so triple check your work and then send it off!


text:
Future Cop™ L.A.P.D. (PS3™/PSP®)
Sony Interactive Entertainment
PS one Classic
Purchase this PS one® Classic and play it on both your PS3™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems!
In a devastated, gangs have taken over Los Angeles. Armed with the ultimate assault vehicle, the L.A.P.D. must now reclaim the streets!
This product is not endorsed by or associated in any way with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Download this PS one® Classic today!
Transferring to a PSP® system from your PS3™ system:
You must be signed into the PlayStation®Network account that originally purchased the game. You must have at least 258 MB free on your Memory Stick Duo™. Connect your PSP® system to your PS3™ system with a USB cable and switch your PSP® system to USB Mode. Highlight the game on the PS3™ XMB™, press the Δ button and select Copy.
PC Store Customers:
Log into your PlayStation®Network account that you originally used to purchased the game. Then, download the game from your "Download List" in the PlayStation®Store onto your PS3™ system.
This title has been converted from the original PlayStation® disc to the PSP® and the PS3™ systems. Consequently, there may be times where the title plays differently from the PlayStation® disc version, or where some features may not function properly. This version does not support PlayStation® peripherals (controller, memory card, multitap, etc.), therefore functionalities such as multiplayer, versus, and co-op modes are not available.
Purchase indicates acceptance of the PlayStation®Network Terms of Service/User Agreement and this item's use restrictions. If you do not wish to accept all these terms, do not purchase this item. One time fee for use on downloads on up to 2 activated PSP® systems and 2 activated PS3™ systems.
© 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. Trademarks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved.
"PS one", "PlayStation", "PS" Family logo, and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.


text: Freshwater crocodiles have strong legs, clawed webbed feet and powerful tails. Equally fast on land and water, these crocodiles can move at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. This croc is gray or olive-brown with a lighter underside and darker mottling or bands on the upper body, tail and sometimes snout. It has a smooth, narrow, tapering snout and a mouth lined with 68 to 72 sharp teeth. The fourth tooth on either side of the bottom jaw protrudes outward and can be seen when the animal's mouth is closed. In the dry season, females lay about 20 eggs in sandy hollows, which they protect until they hatch. Hatchlings call from within the egg before hatching. An adult female responds by excavating the nest, picking them up in her mouth and carrying them to the water. Did You Know? These crocs bask with their mouths open to prevent overheating. Diet In the wild, juveniles feed on insects, crustaceans and small fish. Larger crocodiles extend their diet to include amphibians, bats, large fish and land mammals. Adult crocodiles are sometimes cannibalistic and may eat juveniles. The Aquarium's crocodiles are fed fish, chicks and mice. Size Johnston's Crocodiles reach an average of 6 feet and 32 pounds, though some can grow upward of 9 feet and 48 pounds. Range This species is restricted to the tropical regions of northern Australia (Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia) and is found mainly in freshwater lakes, rivers and wetlands. Population Status In the past, this species was at risk of extinction because crocodiles were hunted for their skin. The population has made a comeback due to protection and sustainable farming, and there are an estimated 100,000 individuals in the wild. Habitat destruction is still a major threat. Predators Adult crocodiles, black kites, whistling kites, turtles and large fish eat juveniles, and lizards prey upon nests. Some aboriginal people hunt these crocs for food. Back to the Top