text:
Food Industry Business: A Bumper Crop of New CEOs
Baby Boomers (and one Gen Xer) are taking the helms of top food companies.
Maybe it was the recession. Maybe the golden parachutes. Perhaps there's too much pressure now at the top. It seems to us there has been an unusually high turnover among chief executive officers at leading food & beverage companies over the past 14 months.
Since November of 2009, we count six new CEOs (plus two divisional CEOs, three COOs and three unit presidents) among the 37 largest U.S. and Canadian food & beverage companies (as ranked by the Food Processing Top 100©). Interestingly, six in this story have taken over just this year.
It looks like the baby boomers are taking over. Between 46 and 65 years old, those postwar babies are in their prime to be leading companies. However, one CEO included in this report – John Bryant at Kellogg – is one year too young to even qualify as a boomer.
A generation some 76 million strong, the first wave of baby boomers turned 65 on Dec. 25. According to Pew Research Center, the typical boomer feels nine years younger and thinks "old age" starts at age 72. It's no wonder many are vigorously ensconced in their career success and continue to lead their companies to success. At the same time, we see several choosing to retire early to spend some quality years enjoying the fruits of their labors.
Of the leaders we highlight -- three are foreign-born — from Britain, Australia, Spain. Three are veterans of Proctor & Gamble's world-famous management training program, most have international experience and, unlike our 2008 report, which included two new female chief executives, all are men (Denise Morrison, CEO-designate at Campbell Soup, took a last-minute pass on this story, Sarah Robb O'Hagan of Gatorade is featured).
By the way, there remains a job opening at the top of Sara Lee, in case any of you are interested.
We asked them to give us outlooks for the whole food industry on the year ahead and for their companies, and to hint at some of the changes they'll be making now that they are in charge.
CEO: Donald (Donnie) Smith, Tyson Foods Inc.
Since being named Tyson Foods Inc.'s CEO in November 2009, Donnie Smith has steered the Springdale, Ark., company through one of its most tumultuous periods. Worldwide sales that year had dropped (not an unusual thing for Tyson) and the company reported a huge net loss of $551 million. Dick Bond, leader since the 2001 IBP acquisition (where he came from), left suddenly at the start of 2009, and Tyson temporarily was being headed by its 71-year-old former CEO from the 1990s, Leland Tollett.
While he can't take full credit for the turnaround, Smith, then just 50, certainly was a part of it as senior group vice president of Tyson's key poultry and prepared foods business. Sales in fiscal 2010 jumped 6.5 percent, to $28.4 billion, and more important was the $765 million net profit. It's all good news for the 115,000 team members employed at more than 400 facilities and offices in the U.S. and 100 countries around the world.
Smith joined Tyson in 1980 right out of college; he graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in animal science. He's a classic case of learning all the ropes. In his 30 years at Tyson, he worked in purchasing, environmental, health and safety, food safety and quality assurance, manufacturing services, information systems and logistics.
"Looking forward into 2011, we obviously have some turbulence to deal with," Smith says. "Inputs, especially corn, are going to be a challenge, but we're doing everything we can to offset those inputs through pricing, operational efficiencies and managing our product mix."
The 2009 stall in capital investment is over. "We began in late 2009 and we'll continue through 2011 investing capital in the vast majority of our domestic chicken plants. In our fresh plants, the primary focus of our capital spend is to increase yield, labor and line efficiencies while concurrently improving our flexibility to produce a more market-relevant product mix," he said. "We're also investing in our further-processing plants to improve line efficiencies to keep pace with customer demand for our value added products. The investment and size of the profit improvement projects differ from plant to plant, but many of them will produce a return of between 25 percent and 40 percent. We still have work to do, but we feel very good about our ability to mitigate at least some of the increased inputs with lower conversion costs."
Join the discussion
We welcome your thoughtful comments.
All comments will display your user name.
Want to participate in the discussion?Register for free
Log in for complete access.
No one has commented on this page yet.
RSS feed for comments on this page | RSS feed for all comments


text:
Tag Archives: key west art
Walk on White
You might have noticed that our little Key West Hotel has a big art collection– we take a lot of pride in supporting local artists and always try to find time to visit the art events around town. Tonight we'll be heading over to the Walk on White, a fun and laid-back event celebrating all the fantastic works of art on White St.
Why not take a leisurely stroll down White Street to see what artists have been up to… and while you're at it, check out the open artist studios at the Armory & 610 White Street along with a special residency cottage open house at 607/609 Ashe Street! Enjoy free wine, light snacks and as much talk about "the painter's intentions" as you can possibly stand.
Have fun out there!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Next Episode of Formula 1 is
Formula 1 is a world full of glamour, passion and excitement. It's a world with a long history and a lot of stories. Many of them have good endings but there are also some which we would wish never happened. Many drivers had a pleasure to win and some even tasted the feeling of being world champions. Only the best of the best can drive those beasts around all the challenging tracks in the world - from Monaco to Suzuka. There are also some legendary names in the sport, like Fangio, Clark, Stewart, Lauda, Prost, Senna and Schumacher, which give you "goose bumps" just when you hear them... without any doubts Formula 1 is the King of Motorsport and only the fans can understand why we sit in front of our TVs from March until November almost every weekend and watch how more than twenty greatest drivers in the world are chasing the championship winning trophy. It's a long journey full of challenges and every single man in a team has to work very hard - it's a dream which comes true only for the very best.
Suzi Perry(Presenter)
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
Please try again later or contact us.


text:
It's salty, smoky, and sweet. It's experiencing a culinary renaissance. It can make almost any dish better. It's bacon, and it's the best meat ever. And now, here's the book that celebrates that deliciously sinful strip of cured pork belly. In Bacon: A Love Story, popular bacon blogger Heather Lauer serves up a piping hot dish of fun and facts with this definitive love letter to what she calls meat candy. Heather explores the ins and outs of how bacon finds its way to your skillet and what to do with it when it gets there. Bacon: A Love Story features: Makin' Bacon: a tour of country-style bacon outfits and their time-honored methods and traditions. Hankering for some pepper, cinnamon, honey, jalapeño, or vanilla bourbon-flavored bacon? They've got it! There are also tips for making your own signature cure. "Bacon Nation": profiles of bacon-loving chefs across the country who incorporate the meat into their menus in increasingly innovative ways. There's Bacon in This?: Heather dishes out more than twenty delicious recipes for tons of bacon goodies like Bacon-Wrapped Tator Tots, BLT with caramelized bacon, Jalapeño-Bacon Pizza, and a few surprises like Bacon Bloody Marys and Bacon Brownies. Bacon 411: an extensive resource section on all things bacon. Written in a witty, engaging style and brimming with Lauer's infectious passion for the Best Meat Ever, Bacon: A Love Story is a must-read for anyone who loves bacon or is passionate about food.
Bacon: A Love Story: A Salty Survey of Everybody's Favorite Meat
- Buy Now:
- Amazon.com
- Price:
- $3.79
- By:
- William Morrow
To post comments, simply sign up and become a member!


text:
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900 / Dublin / Ireland)
» Click to list general statistics » OR, select a date :
Salve Saturnia Tellus
I reached the Alps: the soul within me burned
Italia, my Italia, at thy name:
And when from out the mountain's heart I came
And saw the land for which my life had yearned,
read more >>
- Hits: Number of visitors who read the poem on the given date.
- Posts: Number of visitors who posted the poem to a friend (via e-mail) on the given date.
- Dates that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list.
- Dates, poems and poets that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list. Statistics are generated daily.


text:
Terms of Use
Prices quoted are starting rates only, per room, per night, in Canadian dollars, and are subject to availability at time of reservation. Prices may change without notice. Certain blackout dates, day of arrival and length of stay restrictions may apply, and may vary by arrival date. Rates do not include taxes and gratuities unless otherwise noted. Offers are not applicable to groups, nor combinable with other special offers or promotions.
- All Suite hotel in the heart of the sports and entertainment district
- Downtown Vancouver on the corner of Robson and Hamilton Street
- Check In: 4pm
- Check Out: Noon
- Every suite features kitchenette and living room
- Floor to ceiling windows in every bedroom
- Meeting rooms have natural light from large windows
- Walking distance to some of the best restaurants our city has to offer


text:
PEORIA -- Kory Helowka is one of the good guys now.
Yes, pro hockey is different that way.
Former IHL Phoenix and Salt Lake heavyweight Kerry Clark and then-Rivermen heavy Tony Twist each served as best man in the other's wedding, and often enjoyed pre-game dinners together with their wives.
And I watched them beat the heck out of each other in fight after fight on game night.
So a shot across the bow from Helowka, aimed at Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel in the heat of a Nov. 30 game at Bloomington, was quickly forgiven earlier this month.
Peoria needed a defenseman. Helowka, a steady defender, was available as a free agent. The Rivermen signed the former Bloomington player, and he's paid immediate dividends in helping Peoria win three of its last four outings.
It's one of the unique aspects of the game. Antagonist one night, teammate the next.
"He was being a good soldier, carrying out what he was told to do," Trudel said, referring to the Nov. 30 incident in which Helowka was dispatched onto the ice by then-Bloomington head coach Brian Gratz and told to fire a puck at the Peoria bench.
It smacked off the glass near Trudel, who ended up nose-to-nose with Gratz at the partition between the benches. Gratz resigned under fire a few days later.
Helowka absorbed a five-game suspension, and returned to play for a Bloomington team that has been well-respected under new head coach Greg Pankewicz.
"Kory is an excellent player and he can help us," Trudel said. "We had a good talk, and it's not about an individual, it's about winning. We want to win games, and Kory can help us do that."
Helowka has fit right in with his new teammates, a solid guy who has flashed bluecollar work ethic on the ice and a quick smile in the locker room.
Peoria fans will like him.
"First thing I did was apologize to Jean-Guy," Helowka said, grinning. "It's water under the bridge. That's the nature of the game. Guys fight and battle each other as opponents and then later end up being teammates, it happens all the time in pro hockey.
"I was surprised when they made the move. But I'd heard such good things all the way around about the coaches, the fans, the whole Peoria hockey community that I really wanted to play here."
And Tuesday, he'll join his new teammates in a duel against his old ones as Peoria visits Bloomington in the makeup of a game snowed-out last week.
Helowka played 11 games against the Rivermen, while with Bloomington, and notched an assist and a minus-3 rating.
In four games for Peoria, he has an even rating.
"It will be fun to go back there (to Bloomington) on Tuesday," Helowka said. "That Bloomington team and those fans were good to me, Coach Pankewich was terrific and I have great respect for him.
"But now I'm on the other side of the rivalry."
JUST FOR OPENERS: Former Rivermen center Tomaz Razingar held a place of honor last week when he served as flag bearer for his native Slovenia in the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Razingar is 34 now and playing for Troja/Ljungby in Sweden this season.
He played two seasons for the Rivermen in the ECHL, including the 1999-2000 Kelly Cup champions.
Razingar spent the first 125 games of his pro career with Peoria, and notched 13 goals and 25 assists.
TALK NET: Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel, after Peoria swept a two-game weekend series from a Columbus team that tried to force physical confrontations and found no takers:
"We know what we don't have, and they know what we don't have. It's been this way all season. Every game we play where a team tries to get dumb with us, our approach is 'Go ahead.' Our guys don't mind it all that much, because we keep winning those games where the other team does the dumb stuff."
RIVER READINGS: The Rivermen got rookie goaltender Eric Levine back on Monday from his call-ups to CHL Quad City and AHL Syracuse. ... The Rivermen have designated Saturday's game as $2 Beer Night. And Blackhawks legend Tony Esposito will be on hand to meet fans and sign autographs. ... Longtime Rivermen hockey fan Tim O'Rourke has retired from the Rivermen Hockey Hall of Fame committee. Huge kudos to Tim for his many years of service and support. ... The Rivermen HOF board has added three new committee members, including longtime team booster Mike Olson, former Rivermen defenseman Luke Gruden and current Rivermen co-owner Bart Rogers. Excellent additions to what now is a seven-member board. ... The Rivermen now have six weekend series sweeps this season. ... Bloomington is 5-2-1 in its last seven meetings against Peoria, and has posted a 1.87 goals-against in those games. ... The Thunder are returning home after an 0-3-1 road trip.
Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen for the Journal Star. Reach him at 686-3206 or email@example.com. Check out his sports blog, Cleve's World, at pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
EMINIAN: Helowka has new start, new home with Rivermen
PEORIA -- Kory Helowka is one of the good guys now.


text:
INX Digital's new silver metallic ink primed for FESPA
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Press release from the issuing company
San Leandro, CA – INX Digital International Co. introduced several new interesting products when FESPA opened in Munich, Germany on June 22. As the Industrial side of the digital printing market continues to expand from impressive growth with business units switching from conventional printing or going into digital printing for the first time, the company's new metallic Silver inkjet ink will likely attract huge interest throughout the show. INX Digital is demonstrating the Silver ink on a Mimaki JV3 printer in the Technology Showcase section of its booth in Hall B1, Stand 360.
The cutting edge metallic Silver inkjet ink is a result of the organizational capabilities of INX Digital, INX along with the creation of partnerships to help deliver new products to the marketplace quicker. INX Digital has teamed with Eckart to develop a solvent based metallic Silver and plans to expand the silver into the UV curable market this year. Company officials expect it will have a direct impact on the Industrial channel, as well as the label and tag market and the folding carton segment of packaging.
"We have been asked for 2-3 years if we had metallic silver ink for specialty applications in some new targeted markets," recalled Willis Reese, Global Director of Business Development for INX Digital. "We created the partnership with Eckart so we could continue our focus on various chemistries requiring CMYK, Light Magenta, Light Cyan, Whites and clears. At the same time, we recognized specialty items like silvers would have life on the Industrial side for those who want to print special effects on media that is evolving to digital printing. Our partnership will help us provide solvent and UV metallic silvers to all aspects of the digital market."
Reese said INX Digital has positioned itself with Industrial printers as a partner and supplier with total solutions for the digital market. The company already possesses the ability to help customers for a specialty built machine that does not exist in the market. Not only can it be designed to meet their specific printing needs, but it comes with specialty designed chemistry that will perform with proven print heads and desired media. Through its EVOLVE Advanced Digital Solutions, INX Digital offers metal decorators advanced digital technology. The MD series of UV flatbed printers and CP100 UV digital Can Printer are uniquely designed to print with specialty developed chemistries.
"We have the ability to enable a conventional printer to modify their press units with a partial digital add-on such as a print engine or with a full machine design," Reese said. "We respect the fact there are other outstanding ink suppliers in the market, but any Industrial printer throughout the world now knows they can call INX Digital and expect digital printing expertise and support from A through Z."
Reese expects the new Silver metallic ink to generate plenty of buzz for its European debut at FESPA, based on the reaction the new ink received at its North American premier at ISA in late April.
"As a total digital solution company, we are excited about the present and future at INX Digital. We have worked diligently to bring new ideas, new chemistries and overall solutions to the market, and we received a fantastic response to Silver at ISA. We have positioned our customer service, technical and sales service and manufacturing departments to help the Industrial market transition into exciting digital outcomes. I like to say if it's not digital today, it will be eventually. Any printer should realize that by involving INX Digital, they will have the confidence to successfully bring digital printing to their shop sooner rather than later."
Industry News
Copyright © 2018 WhatTheyThink. All Rights Reserved


text:
Copperas Cove V Austin Royals
- Gabe Wolf | Herald
- 0
As featured on
COPPERAS COVE — Copperas Cove has a new head coach. The Bulldawgs also have a new offensive …
Post a comment as Guest
Watch this discussion. Stop watching this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Today's e-Edition
Most Popular
- Former Ellison High student involved in assault at donut shop, KISD says
- Biker life-flighted after collision with vehicle in Killeen
- Killeen Dunkin' Donuts to open soon
- Killeen woman arrested at council meeting rejects plea deal
- Woman in critical condition after hit and run in Killeen
- Killeen woman sentenced for felony evading arrest, DWI with child passenger
- Cold temps and rain returning, snow to the west of Killeen
- Victim in Killeen-area shooting dies at Temple hospital
- Former KDH employee in critical condition after shooting
- Authorities: Woman shot Monday still alive
- Killeen reader calls for limits on number of pets per household (3)
- Council to vote on street maintenance fee Tuesday (3)
- Former Ellison High student involved in assault at donut shop, KISD says (3)
- Killeen council approves $1.6M street fee in split vote (3)
- Killeen woman arrested at council meeting rejects plea deal (2)
- Kempner WSC general manager submits resignation (2)
- Kileen staff discuss street fee, exemptions at district meeting (2)
- Christian House of Prayer Bishop Holcomb dies at 66 (2)
- Reader concerned about handling of attempted child abduction (1)
- Richard Caraway (1)
Featured Businesses
We are a full service Real Estate company specializing in the sale, management, listing, and financing of Real Estate in the state of Texas. We are a full-service real estate company specializing in the sale, management, listing, and financing of real estate in the state of Texas. Cli…
The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas Your choice for flooring in Central Texas! Your flooring is more than just the surface you walk on – it's an integral part of your home. With over 35 years of flooring experience, The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas has the resources and knowled…
Experience the difference at one of Well's Laundry's 5 convenient locations in Central Texas. The following are a few reasons why you should visit a Wells Laundry, TODAY. SAVE TIME & MONEY LARGE CAPACITY WASHERS & DRYERS Safe & Comfortable Air Conditioned Locations O…
- demouser, kcarmona11, jwcclayton
- 0
Established in 1974, the Jim Wright Company "JWC" has grown into the largest full service Rental and Property Management Company in the Fort Hood Area. We serve the needs of over 2,000 tenants and property owners each year with the majority of our customers being military. In addition, we pr…
- Jason Schaefer, donnasypion
Here at KDH Printing we help people every day create beautiful products that promote their business at an affordable price. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you on all of your printing and marketing needs.
FREE DELIVERY FAST AND CONVENIENT SERVICE BILINGUAL STAFF (ENGLISH AND SPANISH) Rx filled in 10 minutes COMPETITIVE PRICE MATCH WE ACCEPT ALL INSURANCES INCLUDING TRICARE MILITARY DISCOUNT ON ALL OTC MERCHANDISE
Keeping Commercial Properties Clean and Orderly Maintain a neat work environment and keep your customers happy. Request top-notch cleaning services from LJ Cleaning Services! LJ Cleaning Service services commercial properties in Killeen and other areas in Texas.


text:
Prayer for Those Considering a
Jesuit Vocation
God our Father, You touched the heart of Your Son
and called Him to His redeeming work.
Through the illumination and inspiration of Your Holy Spirit,
open the hearts of devout Catholic young men everywhere
to a vocation to the Society of Jesus, and give them the grace
to persevere in it, faithful to their vows and the
spirit of Saint Ignatius Loyola.
I ask that you strengthen me also in the same Ignatian spirit.


text:
Onkyo has been dropping new audio products one at a time all year. Now the company unloads five new systems at once, and they look pretty sweet. Most of them are small, single-room systems (good for dorm, office, bedroom, first apartment) for stereo listening and include features such as Bluetooth for streaming music from smart phones. Here's the rundown:
RBX-500 iLunar Dock Music System : The RBX-500 iLunar Dock Music System connects to smart phones via Bluetooth and uses a new 3D sound processing technology from Sonic Emotion in conjunction with six built-in speakers and a subwoofer. Through a process known as wave field synthesis, the speakers creates an impression of being on stage or in the studio with the musicians no matter where listeners are located in the room. $249
LS3100 EnvisionCinema: This 2.1-channel system includes a pair of small satellite speakers with a power subwoofer. It includes SRS audio enhancement and Bluetooth. $499
CS-N755 Network HiFi Mini System: This compact stereo system includes an Ethernet connection for streaming Internet music and sports Onkyo's premium Wide Range Amplifier Technology (WRAT) with symmetrical circuit design and three-stage inverted Darlington Circuitry. It comes with two two-way bass reflex speakers, each with a 5-inch Micro Fiber woofer and 1-inch soft dome tweeter. There are pre-loaded online channels for Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker, Sirius Internet Radio, last.fm, aupeo!, and vTuner. It is DNLA Certified and supports MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC, and WMA Lossless. The front-panel USB ports supports iPod/iPhone as well as flash drives and hard discs. With the optional USB Bluetooth Adaptor users can stream wirelessly from Apple and Android devices. $499
CS-355 Colibrino CD/Bluetooth HiFi Mini System: The Colibrino comes in three colors—white, black, and red. Play back music from CDs, radio, or streamed from a Bluetooth-equipped smartphone. $329
A-9050 Stereo Integrated Amplifier : Finally, a stereo component for someone who's moving up from the basic iPod dock. The A-9050 Stereo Integrated Amplifier is built 1.6 mm anti-resonant metal chassis with aluminum faceplates. Two large capacitors and a high-output EI transformer drive current through the amplifying circuit and discrete triple-transistor output stage. Solid copper bus bars provide each individual circuit with a unique link to the power supply, significantly reducing circuit noise. A Wolfson 192 kHz/24-bit DAC module and DIDRC technology cleanse signals of super-high-frequency noise and pulse interference that otherwise affects audio purity. Gold-plated RCA inputs and banana plug-compatible speaker posts also work to improve clarity. Around the back are five analog inputs and one output each, while the more powerful model of the pair adds three digital inputs for lossless PC audio (one optical, two coaxial). $499


text:
Views: 16
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Something fun that people used to do once in awhile around the Blogosphere was the whole "day in the life" thing. Take your camera with you all day and take pictures as you go, and then post them the next day. I was just thinking yesterday that it'd be fun to do this again. Here's a post of mine from about a year ago when I did that.
I just started my 'Freakout Fridays' column in which i find something fun, interesting, or newsworthy to 'freak out' about each week. I like the idea of picking a day of the week to focus on a particular topic. I also participate in Wordless Wednesday & Tackle it Tuesday over on 5minutesformom.com.


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Mayor Robert G. Ortt will be the guest speaker at the Marine Appreciation Day celebration hosted by the Conrad Kania Marine Corps Detachment, Marine Corps League. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 13, at Raymond Klimek Veterans Park on River Road in the City of North Tonawanda.
The highlight of the day will be the rededication of the marine monument, which includes the famous eagle, globe and anchor that sits atop a portion of the monument. It was recently refurbished after being weathered during the past 15 years - since the monument was built.
A presentation of the Marine Corps League Gold Medal will be given to James May; military vehicles will be on display; and a remembrance of fallen marines will also be part of the event.
Refreshments will be available, along with the Ladies Auxiliary basket raffle and quartermaster table. Western New York Young Marines will also be on-site to answer questions about their program.
"For 237 years, the United States Marine Corps. has produced some of the finest warriors and leaders that America has had. This event is a wonderful way for the public to come and pay tribute to that history and recognize the sacrifice and service of the Marine Corps, and I am honored to be a part of it," Ortt said.


text:
MP903, New May 2008
The dense foliage of wild plum offers good thermal refuge from intense summer heat.
Scott Sudkamp, Missouri Department of Conservation
Wild plum is among the first flowers of spring. Fragrant white flowers occur in clusters of two to five and have five petals.
Missouri Department of Conservation
Fruits are fleshy red drupes 3/4 inch to 1 inch long.
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, Oklahoma
Wild plum leaves are simple and alternately arranged. They range from 2-1/2 to 4 inches long and are dark green with a pointed tip and toothed margin.
Scott Sudkamp, Missouri Department of Conservation
American plum occurs in woodlands, pastures and thickets throughout the Midwest. This species can grow as a small tree up to 20 feet high but more commonly occurs in colonies or thickets by sending up root suckers and shoots. The leaves are egg-shaped, simple and alternate. The twigs are slender and smooth and may have spurlike branches or thorns. The bark breaks into long, thin, scaly plates and is covered with lenticels. It is one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring with showy clusters of fragrant white flowers. The globe-shaped fruit is variable in size and ripens from July through September. Ripe fruits are red, sweet and desirable to wildlife, as they are to makers of jellies, preserves and pies.
Another species, Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia), is common in the southern Great Plains.
This species' most valuable attribute in quail habitat is as covey headquarters. The dense canopy of leaves in summer shades out plants on the ground, providing ideal loafing cover and escape from the heat of summer days. Twigs of multiple plants intertwine to provide excellent winter cover and an almost impenetrable barrier to predators. The fruit of American plum is eaten by many species of wildlife, including bobwhites.
Order publications online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/shop/ or call toll-free 800-292-0969.


text:
Naturalists and scientists from all around the world will come to admire the hidden world. Soon tourists will be clicking their cameras scaring these rare animals, and the whole world will be talking about it.
And yet, every year, for the last 25 years, in or around February a new world is re-discovered; an enchanted world, the ultimate Galapagos, and everyone takes it for granted.
Instead of walking through the jungles, picking up rare berries, and observing strange animals, the strange creatures I meet are my fellow human beings; each one of them from a different part of the world - some of them very rare species indeed.
I must warn you, that all of them carry the same type of disease that I suffer from. And friends, it is very contagious! Once you get it, its there for life. This grave illness is gem disease. And this gem heaven is the Tucson gem and mineral show.
Yes, I know you know that Tucson is in Arizona; and there is really nothing special there, save some odd cacti, the old Tucson Film Studios and Lil Abner the Steak house.
What you may not realize is that every year this town is hit by a swarm of gem and mineral locusts, the likes of which the eyes have never seen before.
Every little motel, hotel, bungalow, tent or back of a car, turns into a treasure vault.
In each and every lobby, corridor, and room, tables are covered with layers of gems and minerals. Native Americans sell their beautiful gem set jewelry, Chinese come with amazing beads and carvings. Others display minerals from the tiniest micro-size to the size necessitating a truck to transport them home, from the most common to the most rare.
Others display gems found around their villages, in Africa, Madagascar and South America, while others, including myself, display OPV (gems found near other peoples' villages). Though some think that there certainly must be some diamonds mines near Ramat Gan - no real gems are mined in the Holy Land...
The amazing thing is that goods from a few cents to a few hundred thousand dollars are displayed for all to see in Tuscon. And those people selling the items that cost only a few cents are as enthused as those selling very expensive gems.
You can see the most humble small dealer having a gem discussion with the head of some of the most prominent companies in the world, all talking about gems and colors.
Some people bring dinosaur parts to sell. Under each of them, the estimated age and species is listed. As I wandered around the strange looking bones, one of their owners uttered suddenly, you know, they never really cared about diamonds. When he realized I didnt know what he was talking about, he explained, my dinosaurs were wandering around 100 million years ago, some of your diamonds were not even formed then, or were still soft! I looked at the face of his 120 million year old big creature and knew I could not really argue about that.
And how was the Tucson show business wise? Very good. Walking through the booths handling semiprecious, it was clear that they were doing well. Also apparent was the use of plenty of ornamental material as part of gem jewelry. From amazonite to moss agate, from sugilite to chaorite, from fossilized coral and pieces of amber to wonderful shapes of baroque pearls to mother of pearl, it seems that corporating nature in jewelry was the theme of today.
The people in the booths just opposite us, who handle beads and strings, were always busy, selling thousands of all types of gems strung into colorful chains. It seemed that the whole world wants to surround their necks with beads.
Speaking to my fellow gem dealers, it was obvious that untreated gems seemed to be in high demand. Scarce natural ruby and blue sapphire, fancy sapphires, beautiful pink and fancy spinels. Aquamarine seemed to be plentiful and was selling very well especially in the higher grades. Tanzanite - my love - has shunned her face this year.
And how was Lil Abners Steak house this year? My daughter had three steaks there out of the five she eats per year so it is good.
And as for the gem disease, it can be cured quite easily, by buying gems. The trouble is that after three or four gems you get addicted for life, and nothing will cure you.
opyright IDEX Magazine 2006, all rights reserved.
[ add comment ] ( 804 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 2.9 / 9868 )
CAN A SMALL DEALER AFFECT THE COLOR TRENDS OF THE INDUSTRY IN THE SAME WAY THAT BUTTERFLIES AFFECT THE WORLDS CLIMATE?Nov 01, 2005 - I am a veteran of the trade and Ive heard lots of stories, which were told to me by prominent or less prominent figures in the trade. But this last story I heard, which is unfolding in the jewelry industry right before our very eyes, has astounded me.
Just before breaking my arm very badly in Bangkok and realizing that cracks in bones are really much worse than cracks in gems, I had an opportunity to meet with a dear friend of mine, a connoisseur of gems and yet not one of the biggest dealers of all. What he told me amazed me.
He started by saying you know, everyone in the trade thinks that brown and brownish colors are unattractive to our customers. When you so much as mention brown in conjunction with a certain gem or a certain color, your customer always thinks that it is inferior. Then he hit me with his declaration, Can you believe I have changed this concept in the jewelry trade this year?
Well, it was only lunchtime and he was certainly not drunk. He is a serious person so I began to wonder what on earth he is talking about, to which he unfolded the following story.
About a year and a half ago I visited Africa with my dear better half, to enjoy Safaris together and to show her what her husband does as a gem buyer. In one of the offices a dealer came to me with a bunch of cut, brown stones and asked me if I would be interested in buying them, to which I immediately uttered, really brown, you must be joking! Who would buy such gems? Though being silent most of the trip to Africa, my better half suddenly showed intense interest in those brown gems saying, wow, arent earth colors very popular with everything today? Well, he tells me, I decided there and then to take my wifes word for it to buy almost a kilo of this brown rough.
Time passed, a few months went by and I sent the parcel to be cut, only to receive many more brown stones, which I knew had no chance on the market, unless a miracle would happen.
By chance, I took the stones with me to the U.S. with all the rest of my goods, all very saleable blues, greens and reds. Sales were mediocre. Then at the last minute, I decided to show my customer, a very prominent jeweler, those very peculiar brown colors. I dont think that he was really impressed until his wife suddenly walked into the meeting room where I was showing him those brown stones, looked at them and said, Wow, Earth Tones. I immediately realized that these were no longer brown stones, but from then on, Earth Tones. To cut a long story short, he bought the lot from me and since then, suddenly, one can see plenty of jewelry with Earth tones stones set into them.
I dont want to be too big headed, he tells me, but I believe that I have changed the concept of people to those colors in the same way that butterflies can affect the worlds climate.
What on earth (tone) is he talking about? That I leave for you to decide, but would you believe that only a couple of weeks ago I received a call from one of my customers asking for... Earth Tones!
The GemEwizard
Copyright IDEX Magazine 2005, all rights reserved.
[ 1 comment ] ( 1034 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 9707 )
Chains of jewelry shops were scarce and at most included only a few shops. Thus, the orders to fulfill such jewelry designs never included more than a few dozen stones, or a few hundred stones of the same size, which were fairly easily bought through the existing dealers. With the appearance of jewelry mega chain shops, however, consisting of hundreds or thousands of shops and the appearance of TV selling channels, the jewelry world has gone through a major change, affecting all levels of suppliers deep into the pipeline, mainly the cheaper stone pipeline, hence the Indian pipeline.
The possibility of a single piece of jewelry, consisting of 30 diamonds of 3 points each, being shown on television, and selling 1,000 pieces within one hour has imposed orders in the range of 30,000-100,000 pieces of the same size and quality. No single dealer was capable of supplying such vast quantities of uniform material. Thus, a new position was created in the jewelry pipeline, called the Mega Accumulators. Since no single factory could produce such quantities of uniform size of diamonds, these Mega Accumulators had the right connections with many diamond suppliers and cutters, and were able to fulfill such orders in a relatively short time. The small suppliers found themselves, in many cases, unable to join the party and they had to either expand considerably and cater for such orders or specialize in a special niche in the diamond world or remove themselves from the game.
Such uniform, vast quantities of orders had a strong effect on the diamond pipeline. Producers, in order to keep up their position in the supply, sometimes have intentionally cut diamonds to the size required, although they were losing on the yield. Many suppliers have supplied higher quality goods to accomplish the number they were committed to just so that they could keep their commitments. These have created abnormalities in dealers and manufacturers stock since only certain sizes were in demand, and the excess, odd to this order sizes or qualities, remain unsold in the stock.
The Mega accumulators only purchased the sizes that were suitable for their mega orders. At certain times, it seems as if the whole market was looking for the same size and type of stone. This abnormally uniform demand, although met with an adequate supply, has deformed the stock remaining in the hands of the manufacturers and dealers. In many cases, when an order for, say 5 points of KLM color, was thrown into the market at a certain price point, it affected the price of same size, higher quality goods which were not required.
Certainly, the jewelry design world has undertaken a tremendous change, too. Since these TV Mega sales had to cater for the taste of the very many, the designs had to be to the liking of as many as possible people. Unique pieces became obsolete. The only gauge for beauty and uniqueness was the number of pieces of jewelry sold within a certain period of time.
We call it the Jeansing effect where a simple design is to the liking of the many. Such designs have to be relatively simple, mediocre in beauty. Another point to bear in mind is that very few designers working for a Mega jeweler, can affect a considerable portion of the jewelry sold, creating some kind of homogeneity where the non-unique is the desired uniqueness.
Virtually the same affect was apparent in the Mega jewelry chains, where hundreds of shops carry identical pieces of jewelry and for which the orders usually came in hundreds or thousands of pieces of jewelry.
Since this jewelry was all made in vast quantities, their cost of production was relatively low - leading to a relatively low cost, very attractive to the consumers.
The direct TV sales have ignored the traditional position of the retailer and directed the jewelry to the cheap to very cheap market end. The small, local shops had to fight in order to survive. In many cases their customers have required jewelry similar to those on TV and also similar prices. Hence, many of them were forced to include within their display TV-like pieces of jewelry.
Soon a new position of jewelry suppliers was created. Such a supplier has specialized in TV-like pieces of jewelry which he supplied to the many small shops which didnt belong to the Mega chain but needed such jewelry.
All in all, the effect on the world of jewelry has been not very different from that on the clothing and fashion industry, where the effect of a single designer could determine what would be bought in thousands of shops.
Regards The GemEwizard Copyright © IDEX
[ add comment ] ( 486 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 3.1 / 8875 )
The longer you are in the gem and diamond trade, the less you know you know.
In the early days, when I was an apprentice jeweler in London during the day and studied gemology at night, passing my gemology exams with distinction, I was sure that within a few months, or at most a couple of years when I would handle more gems, I would know practically all there is to know about the gem world.
Five years passed by and I was handling and learning about many more gemstones when I realized that there is undoubtedly much more to learn about them. And now, after 33 years, everybody else seems to think that Im an expert in gems, but I, myself, know that there is so much more to learn about them all and everyday and every new stone may prove that Im right and teach me something new.
Diamonds prices are accurate in the eye of the beholder or diamonds have no value - they are just a percentage off.
Everybody in the trade is familiar with the leading diamond pricelist. This is said to represent certain prices of diamonds and yet, depending on your position in the trade, these prices may be as much as 50% off the actual price. In fact, most diamond dealers do not talk about actual dollar prices but say, for example: minus 28%, meaning that the value of the diamond is 28% off the current pricelist. Others will argue that it is more valuable, only minus 24%.
Somehow nobody seems to mention the actual price - only a percentage off! Can you imagine in your mind walking into a shop and asking the price of a kilo of cucumbers and being answered: 12% off?
The first gem you meet in a parcel is either the best or the lousiest of the lot!
Please dont ask me why, but it doesnt matter what size parcel you are examining, somehow the first gem you pick up is either the best or the lousiest. Never one that actually represents the average price of the parcel.
When I asked a fellow gem dealer if he agreed with this assumption he said yes and continued: Dont you know that the first person that you meet in a new city is either the priest or the prostitute? It took me many years to understand what he meant but since then I have always tried to avoid the priests and the prostitutes of the parcel and concentrate on examining the crowds.
Gems look worse after being purchased by you and much more attractive after you have sold them!
Usually the day after you have purchased an important gem when you know that it is yours, and you examine it carefully devoid of the excitement of the purchase, the stone tends to look slightly less attractive. It is somehow, when not under the influence of the illusions of the gem, that the stone reveals its true self.
However, once you have sold it and it belongs to somebody else, again the stone will acquire all its original charms and illusions.
The GemEwizard
Copyright © IDEX
[ add comment ] ( 824 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 2.9 / 8223 )
You never really know what they mean because, honest to god, nothing could be further from the same as what you asked for. Even after a while (30 years in my case) I could not grasp exactly what they meant. Sometimes it means that the buttons are the same and sometimes that it is the same manufacturer, and sometimes it means you asked for a shirt, these are trousers that look similar.... But recently I finally got it. Ok, you ask yourself, what has all this got to do with gems?
A few weeks ago, I crossed the street from my office to visit a friend in the Diamond Exchange. He used to deal in gemstones and now, they say, he is very strong in fancy color diamonds. And since we are working very hard to adapt the Gemewizard Color Assessment Module to the colors of diamonds using some consultants within the trade, I decided that I should try to convince such a knowledgeable person to join our team of consultants. So there I was, gazing at many colorful diamonds, from light yellow to vivid yellow, from pink to brownish orange to slightly violet, and a one-carat pinkish reddish diamond quite heavily included, proudly reigned in the center of the display. Suddenly it hit me. I have exactly the same colors in my fancy sapphire production. I asked him to bear with me for a while and rushed to my office to show him my beautiful new production and collection of fancy sapphires. Well, we took a beautiful vivid yellow diamond from his collection and matched it with exactly the same color as my natural yellow sapphires, I asked him how much his gem cost and he answered about $16,000 per carat where my gem cost $550 per carat.
Then we looked at one of his 2+ carat pinks and compared it to the same color 2+ carat gem deep pink sapphire (mind you, my sapphire was deeper and brighter than his diamond.) How much? I asked. He replied around $70,000 per carat. My sapphire was $1,200 per carat. But the big blow to me was his reddish, heavily included diamond. I have the same color beautiful red sapphire in 4 carats and mine is gem clean. People urged me to define it as a ruby but I insist it is a sapphire. Anyway, he asked me how much I want for my 4 carat sapphire and I proudly replied $3,000 per carat. He asked if I would accept $2,500 since he wanted to give it to his wife to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary. How could I refuse such a request, especially when a husband and wife's relationship was at stake? I accepted.
I asked him how much he wanted for his heavily included ugly reddish diamond. He became thoughtful and said: Ugly you call it? Well, from you, I want only three hundred for my included red. I was so glad one of my sapphires was more valuable than his diamond of the same color even though mine was free of inclusions. I decided on the spot to buy it just in order to show it to my customers and prove to them that the same color sapphires may be more attractive than a diamond and more valuable. So I said: will you accept $275. He became serious and asked me how I would pay and I said: The same way youll pay - cash! He suddenly realized that I had not understood him and said: I meant three hundred thousand per carat, yes? and told me a one carat diamond like the sapphire he had just bought from me was sold for $900,000-plus several years ago.
I packed my beautiful sapphires and as I walked back to my office, I kept thinking: Same, same but different!".
The GemEwizard
Copyright © IDEX
[ add comment ] ( 706 views ) | permalink | related link | ( 3 / 8073 )


text:
I am somewhat irritated today after visiting the Bdn Bug Hotel and not finding ANY bugs in it.
Then finding someone who had written, I didn't find any, so I took one anyway.
Come on people, these caches are intended for the exchange of TB's and to help others move them around. But what I am finding is nobody logging taking these and never finding out where they are going.
Because of it's location, I am not suggesting any singular person is responcible, but people need to be made aware, if you take one, LOG it, If you leave one LOG it.
Much more of this goes on and I'm just going to disable this one.
Hey slippery,
There's one or two kicking around in caches here that I may be able to snag and get you restocked tomorrow.
Cheers, Dragonfreys


text:
Olympic Athletes Told To Cover Apple Logos On Devices So Apple Doesn't Get Any Free Promotion
from the this-post-brought-to-you-by-olympic-censorship dept
Except, our joke has almost become reality. Apparently, athletes are being told to cover the Apple logo on any electronics they have, because Samsung is the big consumer electronics sponsor for this Olympics, and the Olympic Committee can't let any brand possibly get free support. And, apparently, because the Olympic Committee thinks everyone in the world is a moron who won't recognize that a MacBook with a piece of tape over the Apple is still a MacBook.


text:
Righthaven Loses Track Of Its Many Cases; Discovers Four Days Late That It Missed Deadline In Appeal
from the so-professional dept
Righthaven's counsel originally requested a telephonic 14-day extension of time to file its opening brief in this matter on October 27, but was advised that its opening brief was not due under November 28, 2011. Upon further inquiry, it appears that the opening brief deadline provided was for an associated appeal in this action concerning an award of attorneys' fees and costs (Case No. 11-16995). Righthaven discovered this apparent misunderstanding today, October 31, 2011, which is one business day following the October 28, 2011 filing deadline for its opening brief.Meanwhile, Hoehn's lawyers, from the Randazza Group, aren't buying the excuse and are asking the judge not to grant the belated extension request:
Defendant Wayne Hoehn ("Hoehn"), through counsel, opposes Righthaven LLC's ("Righthaven's") Motion for Extension of Time to File Opening Brief (the "Motion"). (Doc. # 4.) Righthaven's request for an extension is untimely, sought four days after Righthaven's brief was due - October 27 (Doc. # 1), not October 28, as Righthaven's counsel misstated in the Motion (Doc. # 4 at 2). The docket's plain language belies Righthaven's claims of diligence, as even a cursory check would have revealed, immediately, the appellant's briefing deadline. Moreover, a review of this Circuit's law and the context in which Righthaven brings this motion reveals that it is bereft of good faith as well.Hoehn's lawyers make the case that just the merest ability to check the details would have shown the timing on the case, and Mangano's failure to do so should not result in delaying the case any further.
Righthaven also attempts to blame the Court's clerk for its untimely motion. (Doc. # 4 at 2). Righthaven's inability to track its appeals before this Court is not the fault of Court administrators. With six appeals pending before this District – and not a single brief filed despite numerous extensions sought – it is all the more important that Righthaven diligently prosecute its appeals. To date, it has not done so, nor offered any legitimate excuse for failing to abide by the original briefing schedule imposed in a single appeal before this Court.It's somewhat amazing that Righthaven ever accomplished anything, given the way its lawyers have handled these cases.
The instant untimely Motion (Doc. # 4) is Hoehn's first indication that Righthaven had any issue with the briefing schedule. Having not voiced any objections to the Court's earlier deadlines, Hoehn's attorneys have made travel plans, holiday plans, and scheduled other litigation matters with this original schedule in mind. (Decl. of J. DeVoy.) To allow Righthaven's counsel to attempt to change the clock after time has run out will create serious prejudice to Hoehn's counsel.


text:
- Posts: 65
- Thank you received: 4
Blue Eagle 1.5.2 Released (11 Dec 2018)
The Kunena team has announce the arrival of Kunena Blue Eagle 1.5.2 which is now available for download as a native Joomla extension for Kunena 5.1. This version addresses most of the issues that were discovered in K 1.5.1 and issues discovered during the development stages of K 1.5.2.
Solved 5.1 upgrade - now "flickering" when hovering cursor over top 20% of user avatar
Forum Access
- Not Allowed: to create new topic.
- Not Allowed: to reply.
- Not Allowed: to add attachements.
- Not Allowed: to edit your message.
Time to create page: 0.082 seconds


text:
A short and snappy, positive, uplifting piano riff builds from a simple repeated pattern. This is joined by glockenspiel, strings, horn and drums to bring the piece to a climax. Suitable for a short online advert, TV, business venture or marketing campaign, perhaps on YouTube.
A 1-minute-version is also included in the download with a slight extension of the piano riff at the beginning.