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FAA Weighs in on the Regulation of "Model Aircraft"
By Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D. on June 30, 2014
On June 25, 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") published in the Federal Register, 79 Fed.Reg. 36172, its "Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft" ("Interpretation") established by Congress in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub.L. 112-95, § 336 ("FMRA"). Despite its name, FAA's interpretation goes far beyond mere definitional clarification. It is, instead, the first step in establishing FAA's preemptive authority over Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS") as "aircraft" utilizing the National Airspace System ("NAS"), even where the operator of an UAS chooses to denominate it a "model aircraft."
As a first step in asserting its regulatory authority, FAA takes the position that Congress' rule in the FMRA is nothing new, but, instead, relies heavily on the long standing statutory and regulatory definition of model aircraft as "aircraft," i.e., mechanisms that are "invented, used or designed to navigate or fly in the air," 49 U.S.C. § 40102; 14 C.F.R. § 1.1. FAA also applies its own 2007 guidelines regarding UAS operating in the NAS, which recognizes that UAS fall within the statutory and regulatory definition of "aircraft" as "devices that are used or intended to be used for flight in the air with no onboard pilot." 72 Fed.Reg. 6689 (February 13, 2007).
FAA's Interpretation, however, goes far beyond the simple inclusion of "model aircraft" in the category of "aircraft." The Interpretation expands even further upon FMRA's three part test defining a "model aircraft" as an "unmanned aircraft" that is: "(1) capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere; (2) flown within the visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft; and (3) flown for hobby or recreational purposes." FMRA, § 336(d).
With regard to FMRA's second factor, the requirement that the model aircraft stay within the "visual line of sight" of the user, FAA interprets that requirement consistent with FMRA, § 336(c)(2) to mean that: (1) the aircraft must be visible at all times to the operator; (2) that the operator must use his or her own natural vision (including corrective lenses) and not goggles or other vision enhancing devices; and (3) people other than the operator may not be used to maintain the line of sight. In other words, to maintain the identity as a "model aircraft," the aircraft cannot be "remotely controlled" from a location other than that at which it is being flown.
The third factor, the definition of what constitutes "hobby or recreational use" is perhaps the thornier.
Continue Reading FAA Weighs in on the Regulation of "Model Aircraft"
Decision in Pirker Case Invokes Specter of Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
By Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D. on April 21, 2014
Posted in Aircraft, Airspace, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transportation, Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS" or "Drone")
While many members of the growing community of developers, manufacturers and operators of Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS") have expressed enthusiasm at the National Transportation Safety Board Administrative Decision in the Pirker case, Administrator v. Pirker, NTSB Docket CP-217, July 18, 2013, their reaction should be tempered by the law of unintended consequences. The outcome of the administrative action, which the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") has since appealed, acknowledges not only the FAA regulation that is certain to arise as a result of the Congressional mandate contained in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-95, § 334 ("FMRA"), but also opens the door to unrestricted local regulation.
Specifically, Pirker's argument is based on the assumption that the UAS at issue is a "five-pound radio-controlled model airplane constructed of styrofoam [sic]," Motion to Dismiss, p. 1. He does not cite, or even refer to, any operant statutory or regulatory definition of "model aircraft." On that basis, Pirker alleges that his operation of the "model airplane" cannot be regulated because FAA has "fallen far behind its own schedule, as well the scheduled mandated by Congress," Motion to Dismiss, p. 1, for enacting regulations. Pirker again fails to refer the Court to the full extent of the Congressional mandate in FMRA which effectively disposes of his fundamental argument.
Continue Reading Decision in Pirker Case Invokes Specter of Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
FAA Pushes Back Against Advocates of Unregulated Drone Operations
The Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") has appealed a recent National Transportation Safety Board administrative decision, Administrator v. Pirker, NTSB Docket CP-217, July 18, 2013, in which Administrative Law Judge Patrick Geraghty ruled that FAA had no regulatory authority when it fined the operator of an Unmanned Aircraft System ("UAS") (otherwise known as "drone") used for commercial photography, for operating a UAS at an altitude below that approved for commercial manned aircraft. It would do well for developers, manufacturers and operators of UAS to listen carefully to FAA's views because the decision, while preliminary, and subject to appeal through many levels of the Federal Court system, has opened the proverbial Pandora's Box in the relationship of manned and unmanned aircraft and their joint, or separate regulatory frameworks.
First, it is important for the UAS community to recognize that, while Administrative Law Judge Geraghty found an absence of regulatory authority in the FAA, the Opinion did not acknowledge the seminal issue of "the federal government's pervasive regulation of aircraft, airspace and aviation safety," see, Montalvo v. Spirit Airlines, 508 F.3d 464, 472-74 (9th Cir. 2007). That pervasive control arises under the Federal Aviation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 40101 in which Congress expressly granted to the Secretary of Transportation, through his/her designee, the FAA, the tasks of, among other things, "controlling the use of the navigable airspace and regulating civil and military operations in that airspace in the interest of the safety and efficiency of both . . .," 49 U.S.C. § 40101(d)(4), as well as "encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology." 49 U.S.C. § 40101(d)(3). That express assignment of responsibility alone gives FAA "skin in the game."
FAA's response more specifically addresses what it believes to be misapprehensions about the extent of its power and authority.
Continue Reading FAA Pushes Back Against Advocates of Unregulated Drone Operations
The FAA Proposes Changes to its Funding Contracts with Airports
On April 13, 2012, as a result of the February 14, 2012 passage of the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 ("FMRA"), the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") proposed modifications to the "grant assurances" incorporated into FAA's contracts with airports that receive FAA funding for physical improvements and/or noise compatibility purposes. These changes were made in order to ensure the consistency of the grant contracts with the changes arising out of FMRA. The revisions primarily address three categories of actions: (1) permission for "through the fence" operations under specified conditions; (2) exceptions to current restrictions on use of airport revenues; and (3) revision to rules governing use of revenues gained from disposal of airport property subsidized by FAA. …
Continue Reading The FAA Proposes Changes to its Funding Contracts with Airports
FAA Reauthorization Act Exempts Next Generation Airspace Redesign Projects from Environmental Review
By Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D. on February 2, 2012
Posted in Environmental, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Transportation
In a monument to political deal making, the United States Congress is today considering, in the House and Senate Aviation Committees, the "FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012," H.R. 658 ("Act") to, among other things, "authorize appropriations to the Federal Aviation Administration for fiscal years 2011-2014 . . ." It is, however, the other provisions of the legislation which most profoundly affect the public.
Purportedly to "streamline programs, create efficiencies, reduce waste and improve safety and capacity," the most recent version of the Act to emerge from the House-Senate Conference Committee exempts all new area navigation ("RNAV") and required navigation performance ("RNP") procedures, which collectively comprise the "Next Generation Air Transportation System" ("NextGen"), Act § 201, Definitions, from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq. ("NEPA").
The Act, generally, mandates that all "navigation performance and area navigation procedures developed, certified, published or implemented under this section [Section 213] shall be presumed to be covered by a categorical exclusion (as defined in § 1508.4 of Title 40, C.F.R.) under Chapter 3 of FAA Order 1050.1E, unless the Administrator determines that extraordinary circumstances exist with respect to the procedure." Act, § 213(c)(1).
The Act expands on this mandate in § (c)(2). "NEXTGEN PROCEDURES – Any navigation performance or other performance based navigation procedure developed, certified, published or implemented that, in the determination of the Administrator, would result in measurable reductions in fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and noise, on a per flight basis, as compared to aircraft operations that follow existing instrument flight rule procedures in the same airspace, shall be presumed to have no significant effect on the quality of the human environment and the Administrator shall issue and file a categorical exclusion for the new procedure."…
Continue Reading FAA Reauthorization Act Exempts Next Generation Airspace Redesign Projects from Environmental Review
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Review of the Federal Aviation Administration's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)
Posted in Airspace, Environmental, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Transportation
In a recent report entitled Civil Aviation Growth in the 21st Century, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) develop strategies to integrate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review into the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) implementation planning process in a way that would make NextGen environmental reviews…


Hanlin Tang, Jed Singer, Matias Ison, Gnel Pivazyan, Melissa Romaine, Rosa Frias, Elizabeth Meller, Adrianna Boulin, James Carroll, Victoria Perron, Sarah Dowcett, Marlise Arellano, Gabriel Kreiman. Predicting episodic memory formation for movie events. Scientific Reports 6: 30175 (2016).


Very professional and efficient service. Having dealt with many contractors during my time as a Maintenance Co-ordinator for Pickering Homes, I must say I highly recommend Peter Cox. The detailed schedule of works and breakdown of costings made it very easy to liaise between the landlord and tenants. 10/10!


Has two batteries and charger. What you see is what you get. If something is not pictured, I dont have it. The item "Pantech Zapak ZP97A Strapping Tool" is in sale since Wednesday, November 21, 2018. This item is in the category "Business & Industrial\Material Handling\Packing & Shipping\Filling & Sealing Machines\Strapping Machines".
The seller is "explore28" and is located in Noel, Missouri. This item can be shipped to United States.


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Today Marks the Start of National Computer Science Education Week
Today marks the beginning of National Computer Science Education Week. This annual event was started in 2009 by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) "to learn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field" according to the Computer Science Education Week (CSEW) website hosted by a variety of organizations including The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and Code.org
Capitol Tech's Stephen McCaskey, VP of Academic Affairs, Invited to Join Royal Aeronautical Society
Capitol Technology University's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Stephen McCaskey, PhD, has been invited to become a Fellow with the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS). McCaskey was invited by RAes president, Prof Jonathan Cooper in October 2020. While anyone in the aerospace industry may apply to join the RAeS, select individuals may be specially invited to join the prestigious society.
Resume Building Guidelines: Does Your Resume Get Noticed?
Employers give resume about a six-second review. Does your resume get you noticed? Are you getting calls from employers? If not, your resume may need improvement.
National Computer Security Day
November 30 is National Computer Security Day. The day is all about encouraging everyone to be proactive in ensuring the equipment and systems they use on a day-to-day basis are secure. This is especially important as we enter the holiday season and many partake in online shopping, often without stopping to consider if what they are doing is safe.
The Cybersecurity Staffing Shortage Explained
The global pandemic has resulted in a drastic increase in the number of employees working from home. This situation has led to challenges for cybersecurity staff, who are now having to ensure that employees in a variety of locations are working securely, on top of their standard daily tasks.
The US: Critical Infrastructure, COVID-19, and Terrorism
Today the United States' critical infrastructure (CI) is under one of the most severe threats since the 1930s Great Depression, caused by the massive disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic's mass infections of people who work in and depend on the CI's 16 sectors.
National Infrastructure Security Month: What Does it Mean?
November is National Infrastructure Security Month. Most people take for granted the infrastructure systems and services that support us – from transportation systems to communications networks to office buildings to concerts. These and more are part of our nation's critical infrastructure.
Microsoft's Underwater Data Center
Water is likely not the first place you think of for a location of a data center, but that is exactly what Microsoft thought in 2018, when they sunk a data center off the coast of Orkney Islands in Scotland for what they have dubbed Project Natick. The goal of the underwater data center was to determine if being housed in cool temperature can improve energy efficiency and reduce costs that are normally associated with cooling servers on land, reported Rory Cellan-Jones for BBC in 2018.
Q&A: Dr. Ron Martin, Capitol Tech's Professor of Practice in Critical Infrastructure
Capitology Blog talked with Dr. Ron Martin, Capitol Tech's Professor of Practice in Critical Infrastructure, Industrial Control System Security, and Access and Identity Management, to discuss critical infrastructure and the importance of celebrating national Critical Infrastructure Security Month.
How To Build A Career In Counterterrorism
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text:
Jason takes a Midnites for Maniacs theatre crawl and goes Back to Skool
Catching up on my blogging, almost a week late.
Anyway, Midnites 4 Maniacs has introduced a new wrinkle, the "Theatre Crawl"--seeing multiple movies in multiple theatres (like a bar crawl, but with movies instead of drinking...and with drinking if you stop in any of the many convenience stores and smuggle in some alcohol.)
Anyway, last Friday was Back to Skool night, and we started at the Castro.
CAN'T HARDLY WAIT (1998): A movie that looked uninteresting to me when it came out (and I had just graduated college.) But now from my vantage point 15 years later...I understand why it didn't interest me. I was not a social person in high school. Nor did I want to be. The idea of going to an end-of-school party (even with a ridiculous revenge plot) just wouldn't appeal to me. I came out of my shell somewhat in college, but I don't think I've really become "me" until the last few years, and I'm probably still a work in progress who likes to be alone quite a lot of the time.
But wait, this is supposed to be a review of the movie, not a review of me. Yeah, it's actually pretty funny, for what it is. And you get to see a young Seth Green being absolutely ridiculous. Mostly I liked the irony in the title: CAN'T HARDLY WAIT is about a bunch of young people who waited until the last possible minute to do what they've been dreaming about for years. The thing is, most everyone who likes this movie likes it because there's a character they relate to. They can all say, "I was (or am) just like that character who ______!" But me...the closest I can say is "I was just like the character who never appeared on screen because he didn't give a crap about the party (no one told him about it anyway) and he stayed home and read a book." Consider me Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Film.
RULES OF ATTRACTION (2002): Now this was a revelation. Again, I didn't pay much attention when it came out. All I remember was it starred teen heartthrob James Van Der Beek at the height of his "Dawson's Creek" fame, and that one version of the poster stirred up some controversy (note: I want that poster now!)
Van Der Beek did not make this movie to capitalize on his pretty-boy fame, he made it to subvert it and not get typecast as Dawson. And he's an extremely unlikable character--drinking, doing drugs, dealing drugs, screwing, screwing over his friends, etc. Not that anyone else is that sympathetic, either. Nor are the filmmakers or anyone involved at all sympathetic. Perhaps the biggest trolling insult you could give director Roger Avary is to say, "I really, really enjoyed RULES OF ATTRACTION." This is not a movie to be enjoyed. It's a movie to appreciate, to marvel at, even to be blown away by; but if you enjoy it you're one sick freak. You open with a rape scene. You go back in time. You meet your gaggle of shallow, privileged college students. The fuck. They fuck around. They try to fall in love. They fail. They try to make money to pay off their drug dealer. They fail. There's a suicide so beautifully, obsessively, fetishistic-ally shot that you forget for a minute she's hardly a character in the movie. And now you're about halfway through. No more, too many spoilers already. And so much it's hard to keep it all in my head. I need to watch it again. I really, really enjoyed it.
Also, how about a double feature of RULES OF ATTRACTION and GLITTERATI (the feature-length version of the rapid-edit "European trip" sequence in the movie)...if it ever gets released? (Please, please, please!)
Then we walked down to the Roxie for the midnight screening of...
TERRORVISION (1986): What...the...fuck? A satellite dish (remember those, when people had gigantic satellite dishes to get all this TV without paying monthly bills for cable service?) accidentally pulls an alien creature into our world. Or...into whatever weird world of swingers this takes place in. Cheesy special effects, ridiculous plot, survivalist grandpa, the kid no one believes, and a late-night TV horror hostess with cleavage that doesn't end. Oh yeah, and Beef from PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE and Laslo from REAL GENIUS (or, if you prefer, Gerrit Graham and John Gries.) Then it gets weird.
Labels: castro, midnites for maniacs, roxie
Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum for Comedy Sho...
Jason takes a Midnites for Maniacs theatre crawl a...
Jason slips into a Vortex and meets YOR, THE HUNTE...
Jason slips into a Vortex and TAKES A HARD RIDE
Jason watches THE WORLD'S END


In contrast, the hills and moors of the Peaks provide a great place to get physical in the outdoors. Walking, cycling and climbing are common place.
It is very easy to get disorientated on the moor in a thick mist.
GPS is all well and good, but your smart phone does not work well in snow and rain. Your fingers are just too cold (out of gloves) to work the menus.


text:
Merchant Seamen's Club records
Overview Printable (PDF) version Contact the division
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MssCol 2369
1 linear foot (4 boxes)
Merchant Seamen's Club records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Request access to this collection.
Established by the American Theatre Wing during World War II as part of their Stage Door Canteen program, the Merchant Seamen's Club provided services, food, and entertainment to merchant marines passing through the Port of New York. Most significant in the collection are the registers containing miniature facsimiles of sketches and caricatures of merchant seamen which were sent free of charge to the mens' families or friends. The registers also include letters of gratitude from the recipients of the portraits. Also included are visitor's books, scrapbooks, letters, and clippings
American Theatre Wing War Service, Inc
Merchant Seamen's Club
Merchant mariners
World War, 1939-1945 -- War work
Visitors' books
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328
Clear Filter (ESC Key)


text:
/************************************************************************/
/* Author:  Kemi Peng
History: 08/03/2015 by Kemi Peng*/
/************************************************************************/
#include "Utilitymanager.h"
UtilityManager *gUtilityManager = NULL;

UtilityManager::UtilityManager():
						pTimeUtility( new TimeUtility() ),
						pConfigUtility( new ConfigUtility() ),
						pInputUtility( new InputUtility() ),
						pCameraUtility( new CameraUtility() ),
						pStageUtility( new StageUtility() )

{
	pConfigUtility->readConfig();
}

UtilityManager::~UtilityManager()
{
	SAFE_DELETE( pTimeUtility );
	SAFE_DELETE(pInputUtility);
	SAFE_DELETE(pCameraUtility);
	SAFE_DELETE(pStageUtility);
	SAFE_DELETE(pConfigUtility);
}

void UtilityManager::postInitiate( void )
{
	DEBUG_PRINT("Initiate utility manager...");
	pCameraUtility->postInitiate();
	pInputUtility->postInitiate();
	pStageUtility->postInitiate();
}

void UtilityManager::CreateUtilityManager()
{
	DEBUG_PRINT("Create utility manager...");
	if ( NULL==gUtilityManager )
	{
		gUtilityManager = new UtilityManager();
	}
}

UtilityManager * UtilityManager::GetHandle( void )
{
	HR(gUtilityManager);
	return gUtilityManager;
}

void UtilityManager::ReleaseUtilityManager( void )
{
	SAFE_DELETE(gUtilityManager);
}

void UtilityManager::update( double tt, double dt )
{

	pInputUtility->update(tt, dt);
	pCameraUtility->update(tt, dt);
	pStageUtility->update(tt, dt);
}

void		ResetCamera()
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->resetCamera();
}													//ÖØÖÃÉãÏñ»ú

void		SetCamAt(float x,float y,float z)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setAt(x, y, z);
}									// É趨¹Û²âµã
void		SetCamPos(float x,float y,float z)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setPos(x, y, z);
}							// É趨λÖÃ
void		SetCamPosTg(float x, float y, float z)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setPosTg(x, y, z);
}							// É趨ÐèÒªÒƶ¯µ½µÄλÖÃ

void		SetCamAddPos(const CVector &posPlus)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setAddPos(posPlus);
}								// ÉãÏñ»úλÖõÄÆ«ÒÆÁ¿
void		SetCamAddAt(const CVector &atplus)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setAddAt(atplus);
}// ¹Û²âµãÆ«ÒÆÁ¿

//void		setDistance(float dis)			{m_.dis = dis;};				// ¾àëxÔO¶¨
void		SetCamRotationAngle(float angle)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setRotationAngle(angle);
}// ½Ç¶ÈÔO¶¨
void		AddCamRotationAngle(float addangle)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->addRotationAngle(addangle);
};
void		SetCamElevationAngle(float elevation)
{	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setElevationAngle(elevation);
}// Ñö½ÇÔO¶¨
void		AddCamElevationAngle(float addelevation)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->addElevationAngle(addelevation);
}

void		SetCamAspect(float w,float h)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setAspect(w, h);
}										// ³¤¿í±È
void		SetCamFOV(float fov)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setFOV(fov);
}// ÊÓÒ°½Ç

void		SetCamZPlane(float znear,float zfar)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setZPlane(znear, zfar);
}	// ¿ÉÊÓÁâÌ巶Χ

void		SetCamZoom(float zoom)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setZoom(zoom);
}											// zoomÖµ£¬Ä¬ÈÏΪ1£¬´óÓÚ1À½ü£¬Ð¡ÓÚ1ÀÔ¶£¬²»»áСÓÚ0,µ¥´¿µÄÏà»úÍƽüÍÆÔ¶
void		SetCamZoomTg(float zoom)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setZoomTg(zoom);
}											// ×îÖÕzoomÖµ
void		AddCamZoom(float zoomPlus)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->addZoom(zoomPlus);
}								// zoomÔö¼ÓÁ¿

void		SetCamFOVZoomTg(float fovzoom)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setFOVZoomTg(fovzoom);
}								// ÊÓÒ°½Çzoom×îÖÕÖµ£¬Ä¬ÈÏΪ1£¬´óÓÚ1À½ü£¬Ð¡ÓÚ1ÀÔ¶£¬²»»áСÓÚ0£¬Ï൱ÓÚÃé×¼¾µ
void		SetCamFOVZoom(float fovzoom)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setFOVZoom(fovzoom);
}							// ÊÓÒ°½ÇzoomÖµ
void		AddCamFOVZoom(float fovzoomplus)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->addFOVZoom(fovzoomplus);
}									// ÊÓÒ°½ÇzoomÖµµÄÔö¼ÓÁ¿

void		SetCamPosMoveSpd(float spd)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setPosMoveSpd(spd);
}
void		SetCamZoomSpd(float spd)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setZoomSpd(spd);
}
void		SetCamFOVZmSpd(float spd)
{
	gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->setFOVZmSpd(spd);
}

float		GetCamPosMoveSpd(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getPosMoveSpd();
}
float		GetCamZoomSpd(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getZoomSpd();
}
float		GetCamFovZmSpd(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getFovZmSpd();
}

CVector		GetCamPos(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getPos();
}// »ñµÃµ±Ç°Î»ÖÃ
CVector		GetCamAt(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getAt();
}// »ñµÃµ±Ç°ÊÓµã

CVector		GetCamPosTg(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getPosTg();
};

float		GetCamAngle()
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getAngle();
}// ½Ç¶ÈÈ¡µÃ
float		GetCamElevation()
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getElevation();
};					// Ñö½ÇÈ¡µÃ
//float		getDistance();	// ¾àëxÈ¡µÃ

float		GetCamFOV(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getFOV();
}// ҕҰ½ÇÈ¡µÃ
float		GetCamFOVZoom(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getFOVZoom();
}
float		GetCamFOVZoomTg(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getFOVZoomTg();
}
float		GetCamAspect(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getAspect();
}// ¿kºá±ÈÈ¡µÃ
float		GetCamZoom(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getZoom();
}// 'ˆ´ó'Ž
float		GetCamZoomTg(void)
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getFOVZoomTg();
}// 'ˆ´ó'ŽÄ¿˜Ë'Ž

float		GetCamZFar()
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getZFar();
}// ×îßhµã
float		GetCamZNear()
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getZNear();
}// ×î½üµã

const CMatrix &	GetViewMatrix()
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getViewMatrix();
}
const CMatrix &	GetProjectionMatrix()
{
	return gUtilityManager->pCameraUtility->getProjectionMatrix();
}

void BindCamTo( void )
{

}

void BindCamAtTo( void )
{

}

void SetWindowWH( int w, int h )
{
	gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->setWindowWH(w, h);
}

void GetWindowWH( int&w, int&h )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getWindowWH(w, h);
}

int GetWindowWidth( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getWindowWidth();
}

int GetWindowHeight( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getWindowHeight();
}

int GetFPS( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getFPS();
}

const char* GetAppName( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getAppName();
}

bool IsFullScreen( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->isFullScreen();
}

void TurnFullScreenBloom( bool state )
{
	gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->turnFullScreenBloom(state);
}

int GetShadowMapSize( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getShadowMapSize();
}

bool IsFullscreenBloom( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->isFullscreenBloom();
}

bool IsShinessBloom( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->isShinessBloom();
}

void TurnShinessBloom( bool state )
{
	gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->turnShinessBloom(state);
}

float GetFullScreenBloomFactor( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getFullScreenBloomFactor();
}

float GetShinessBloomFactor( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getShinessBloomFactor();
}

int GetBlurIntenseLevel1( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getBlurIntenseLevel1();
}

int GetBlurIntenseLevel2( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getBlurIntenseLevel2();
}

bool IsDepthOfField( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->isDepthOfField();
}

void TurnDepthOfField( bool state )
{
	gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->turnDepthOfField(state);
}

const CVector& GetDepthOfFieldFactors( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pConfigUtility->getDepthOfFieldFactors();
}

const LightsManager& GetLightManager( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pStageUtility->getLightManager();
}

int GetKeyState( KeyType key )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pInputUtility->getKeyState(key);
}

bool IsKeyPressed( unsigned char key )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pInputUtility->isKey(key);
}

void TimerStart( void )
{
	gUtilityManager->pTimeUtility->start();
}

void TimerReset( void )
{
	gUtilityManager->pTimeUtility->reset();
}

void TimerStop( void )
{
	gUtilityManager->pTimeUtility->stop();
}

double GetTime( void )
{
	return gUtilityManager->pTimeUtility->getTime();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Tomorrow is opening day for baseball. In Cincinnati this is a huge tradition with a parade and tradition. Anyone else celebrating Opening Day?
We'd play hooky from school and watch The Cubs opening day on WGN but I don't even know who played in or won the Series last year.
K.C. plays the White Sox tomorrow. I'll be watching the tv. I hope it rains here tomorrow, that way I have an excuse to stay inside!
I watched the Braves-Phillies game until the Phillies took a big lead, and then watched the rest of the Pirates-Reds game.
Well the Reds pulled out a win to start the 150th season in Cincinnati!


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Frontline (American TV program)
(Redirected from Frontline (U.S. TV series))
Find sources: "Frontline" American TV program – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Frontline is the flagship investigative journalism program of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), producing in-depth documentaries on a variety of domestic and international stories and issues, and broadcasting them on air and online. Produced at WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts, and distributed through PBS in the United States, the critically acclaimed program has received every major award in broadcast journalism.[1] Its investigations have helped breathe new life into terrorism cold cases,[2] freed innocent people from jail, prompted U.N. resolutions, and spurred both policy and social change.[3]
David Fanning
Narrated by
Will Lyman (1983–present)
No. of episodes
600+ (list of episodes)
Executive producer(s)
David Fanning (1983–2015)
Raney Aronson-Rath (2015–present)
Production company(s)
WGBH-TV
Original network
480i (SDTV)
January 17, 1983 (1983-01-17) –
Since the program's debut in 1983, Frontline has broadcast for 35 seasons, producing over 600 documentaries from both in-house and independent filmmakers. The program has also produced original digital reporting and analysis, and worked to innovate the documentary form through interactive documentaries and virtual reality journalism projects.[4] More than 200 Frontline documentaries are available on the program's website, with new Frontline documentaries made available for free online streaming at the same time as their PBS television broadcast.[5]
BackgroundEdit
The program debuted in 1983, with NBC anchorwoman Jessica Savitch as the show's first host, but Savitch died later after the first-season finale. PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff took over as host in 1984, and hosted the program for five years, combining her job with a sub anchor place on The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour when Jim Lehrer was away. In 1990, episodes of Frontline began airing without a host, and the narrator was left to introduce each episode.
Since 1988, Frontline has also aired "The Choice"—a special edition aired during the lead-up to the presidential election every four years, focusing on the Democratic and Republican candidates contending for the office of President of the United States. "The Choice 2016" is the most recent installment, aired on September 27, 2016, featuring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.[6] The previous version aired on October 9, 2012, and featured a dual biography tracing the lives and careers of incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney.
A prior installment aired on October 14, 2008, using the same dual-biography format for Barack Obama and John McCain. The 2008 documentary, produced by Michael Kirk, generated favorable reviews from The New York Times, which stated that the program helped viewers "gain perspective" about the "idea-oriented campaign",[7] and Los Angeles Times, which labeled it "refreshingly clear" and "informative".[8]
Most Frontline reports are an hour in length, but some are extended to 90 minutes, 2 hours, or beyond. Frontline also produces and transmits such occasional specials as From Jesus to Christ, The Farmer's Wife, and Country Boys.[9]
Since 1995, Frontline has been producing deep-content, companion web sites for all of its documentaries. The program publishes extended interview transcripts, in-depth chronologies, original essays, sidebar stories, related links and readings, and source documents including photographs and background research. Frontline has made many of its documentaries available via streaming Internet video, from its website.
Will Lyman is the distinctive voice who has narrated most of the installments of the program since its inception in 1983.[10] However, certain reports have been narrated by David Ogden Stiers and Peter Berkrot.
The show is produced by the WGBH Educational Foundation, the parent company of WGBH-TV in Boston, which is solely responsible for its content. WGBH is the creator of The Documentary Consortium, with another 4 PBS stations, including WNET in New York and KCTS in Seattle.
In 2015, the creator and founding executive producer of Frontline, David Fanning, retired after more than 32 years as executive producer of the program, and Raney Aronson-Rath succeeded him in senior grade. Fanning, however, remains editor-at-large of Frontline as a founding member.
On September 14, 2017, the program launched its first-ever podcast called The Frontline Dispatch. The podcast is a production of PBS and WGBH in Boston alongside PRX.
Frontline/WorldEdit
Frontline/World is a spin-off program from Frontline, first transmitted on May 23, 2002, which was transmitted four to eight times a year on Frontline until it was canceled in 2010. It focused on issues from around the globe, and used a "magazine" format, where each hour-long episode typically had three stories that ran about 15 to 20 minutes in length. Its tagline was: Stories from a small planet.
Initially a co-production of WGBH, Boston and KQED, San Francisco, Frontline/World was later based in part at the University of California at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, where the program's producers recruited a new generation of reporters and producers to the Frontline program.[11]
Frontline/World also streamed stories on its website, which won two Webby awards in 2008 for its original program of online videos called "Rough Cuts." In 2005, the Overseas Press Club of America gave the program its Edward R. Murrow Award for the best TV coverage of international events, citing producers David Fanning, Stephen Talbot, Sharon Tiller and Ken Dornstein. The program broke new ground in 2007 by winning two Emmys; one of these was for a broadcast story, "Saddam's Road to Hell", and the other was for an online video, "Libya: Out of the Shadow."
Awards and resultsEdit
Other Frontline reports focus on political, social, and criminal justice issues. Ofra Bikel, who has been a producer for Frontline since the first season, has produced a significant number of films on the criminal justice system in the United States. The films have focused on issues ranging from post-conviction DNA testing, the use of drug snitches and mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the plea system, and the use of eyewitness testimony. As a result of the films, 13 people have been released from prison.
After the September 11 attacks, the White House requested a copy of "Hunting Bin Laden". In 1999, Frontline had produced this in-depth report about Osama bin Laden and the terrorist network that would come to be known as Al-Qaeda in the wake of the 1998 United States embassy bombings. Following the September 11 attacks, Frontline produced a series of films about Al-Qaeda and the War on Terrorism. In 2002, the program was awarded the DuPont-Columbia gold baton for the seven films.
The crew of FRONTLINE's "United States of Secrets" (2014), at the 74th Annual Peabody Awards
In 2003, Frontline and The New York Times joined forces on "A Dangerous Business", an investigation led by reporter Lowell Bergman into the cast iron pipe making industry and worker safety. OSHA officials credit the documentary and newspaper report with stimulating federal policy change on workplace safety. In 2004, the joint investigation was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Producer Michael Kirk's Frontline documentaries have won multiple awards. These films include "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" (Peabody Award, 2013),[12] "Cheney's Law" (Peabody Award, 2007),[13] "The Lost Year in Iraq" (Emmy Award, 2006), "The Torture Question" (Emmy Award, 2005), "The Kevorkian File" (Emmy Award), and "Waco: The Inside Story" (Peabody Award).[14][15]
Director Martin Smith has produced dozens of films for Frontline, and won both Emmy and Writers Guild of America Awards. His 2000 film Drug Wars was the winner of the Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story Emmy and The George Foster Peabody Award.[16]
Other notable producers of multiple Frontline documentaries have included Sherry Jones, Marian Marzynski, Miri Navasky, Karen O'Connor, June Cross, Neil Docherty, Stephen Talbot, Raney Aronson, Rachel Dretzin and Rick Young.
As of July 2016, Frontline has won a total of 75 Emmy Awards[17] and 18 Peabody Awards.[18]
EpisodesEdit
Main article: List of Frontline (American TV program) episodes
List of programs broadcast by PBS
Timothy Grucza, an award-winning cinematographer for Frontline
^ "Awards". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
^ "U.S. and Scotland Eye Two New Suspects In Lockerbie Bombing". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
^ "Impact". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
^ "7 Days, 7 Docs, 360 Degrees: It's VR Week at FRONTLINE". FRONTLINE. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
^ "Watch Full FRONTLINE Documentaries - PBS - Official Site". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
^ "The Choice 2016" at PBS.org, accessed 27 Sept. 2016.
^ Genzlinger, Neil (October 13, 2008). "The Past Parts of the Present Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
^ McNamara, Mary (October 14, 2008). "A refreshingly clear 'Choice'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
^ "From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians". Frontline. PBS. April 6, 1998. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
^ "Will Lyman :: Actor". whitethroat.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
^ "'Frontline/World' video journalists bring world to Web". SFGate. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
^ 73rd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2014.
^ 66th Annual Peabody Awards, May 2007.
^ "About Us: producer michael Kirk". PBS Frontline. 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
^ "RAIN media: Awards". Rain Media. 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
^ Paddonio, Patrice (26 April 2016). "FRONTLINE Wins Six Emmy Awards". FRONTLINE (Press release). Retrieved 1 August 2016.
^ Paddonio, Patrice (29 September 2015). "FRONTLINE Wins Peabody Award for 'ISIS in Afghanistan'". FRONTLINE (Press release). Retrieved 1 August 2016.
Frontline/World
Full chronological list on PBS/Frontline site
"Frontline - When Kids Get Life; Spying on the Home Front Review" at Variety
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frontline_(American_TV_program)&oldid=905718914"


Spring is shearing time, oh and fall too…..
Depending on the type of fiber critters you have, you will always shear in the spring and some critters will be shorn in the fall as well. Here at BlackWater Treasures spring shearing is for everyone, ALL the Sheep, the Alpaca fiber boys and the Angora Goats, too. We shear in early April before the weather gets hot and before the ewes start giving birth.
Fall shearing is usually the first weekend of October. Included in the fall line-up is our mohair fiber boys and all the Icelandic sheep. Typically for Icelandic sheep, the fall fleece is the best and of course all the lambs first shearing are the softest most wonderful fleeces to work with.
So for your viewing delight, here are pictures of both sheep and alpaca shearing.
Sheep and Goats are shorn by placing them on their bottoms at the shearers feet. One of the secrets of successful shearing is being able to hold and move the sheep in such a way that it remains relaxed. So the shearer must be comfortable and balanced during shearing.
The sheep are gathered up and held in a pen while waiting to be shorn. Danny Smith our friend and professional shearer starts with the white sheep and progress through the colors ending in black.
1) Danny starts with the belly and inside legs, all this wool is discarded.
2) Next he shears the center of neck from the chin down, going around the neck and starts down the left shoulder.
3) He works in long strokes over the left side all the way to the backbone ending at the britch/rump area.
4) Next he trims up the face and head.
5) Then he starts back at the neck this time going to the right.
6) And last he works in long strokes over the right side all the way to the backbone ending at the britch/rump area.
Alpacas are usually shorn on the ground. The process only takes 5 -10 minutes from the time they are put down until they are back on their feet. There really in not much stress involved for the paca, but for the people it is strenuous on the back, legs and knees. It is worth it, because after you are done you have a much cooler alpaca and a bag full of paca fluff to play with.
Alpacas on a Shearing Table.
Alpacas can also be shorn on a shearing table. I like this method the best. It is easier on the humans and is more secure for the alpacas.
Lead the alpaca to the front of the table (person #1).
Put the belly strap under him and hold it securely(person #2).
Person #1 walks behind the table with the lead rope to hold the alpaca's head steady.
Person #3 gets ready to grab the alpaca's front legs.
Person #4 gets ready to grab the alpaca's back legs.
Person #2 tilts the table to the flat position while persons #3 and #4 secure his legs as they help lift and steady him on the table.
Shearing commences with the blanket, the neck, the chest, the belly, the britch and the legs.
Shearing continues with the blanket, the neck, the chest, the belly, the britch and the legs.
All the fiber is gathered up and put into marked bags as the alpaca is sheared.
The alpaca's head is trimmed up last, his annual shots are given and his feet and teeth are trimmed if needed.
One year, we sheared some of our younger Alpaca boys standing up. This was fairly successful, with only a few of them going kind of nutsy. I really was not too pleased when the fiber fell to the ground, because as much as we swept and tried to keep them in the middle of the alley, the fleece knew where the straw was and flew straight to it!
I would only recommend this type of shearing if the alpacas are tame and easy to handle. The wild ones jump around too much and your fleece can be in danger of being stomped on and disassembled.
Our Studio - back to the beginning.
Choosing a Quality Fleece - where we learn how to get the best fleece.
Cleaning Fiber - where we learn the all about washing fleeces.
Preparing Fiber to Use - where we learn how to card and comb.


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NOT JUST FOR KIDS:
Realistic Games Bring Real Fun to All
This real-life train conductor might have difficulty remembering whether he is at work or just playing a game. (Kuroyakko)
Games that enable players to grab hold of a handle and feel like they really are train conductors are now booming among middle-aged men. The realistic feel has apparently hooked adults, and simulation games abound. There is a bass-fishing game, where players can enjoy the tug on the line when the fish bites; a water-skiing game, where players weave their way through waves while shifting their center of gravity on the control platform; and more. Shedding their image as dark and dingy places, game arcades have become "playgrounds" for adults on their way home from the office.
Drive a Train, Catch a Fish
After eight at night, one arcade in a business district in the heart of Tokyo is teeming with businessmen on their way home from work. One of the most popular games offers driving simulation, where players become train conductors on the Japan Railway Yamanote Line or other well-known train lines. Developed by Taito Corp., the giant game-machine manufacturer, this simple game requires only that players run their train according to a strict schedule and that they stop the train at the proper location on the station platforms. But the game is replete with real-life sensations: The players feel the vibrations in their feet and under their seats, they hear the sounds of the railroad crossings and on-board announcements, and they are jolted to a stop by emergency systems if they go too fast. "Hasn't everyone had a time when they wished they were a train conductor?" says one man enthusiastically. What seems to be attracting adults is the sense of reality that was achieved by incorporating actual video footage in the graphics on the game screen.
The bass-fishing game gives players a controller shaped like a fishing pole and a limited amount of time to hook and reel in a big bass. The newest in computer graphics technology is employed to make the fish in the water appear real. When a fish is hooked, the player feels the telltale tug on the pole. A horse-race game has players straddle a horse-shaped controller, rocking it strongly to the front and back to increase its speed. The "whip" button is pressed for a sudden burst of speed. There is a jet-ski game, where the player holds on to handlebars, shifting his or her center of gravity to steer the jet ski through big waves and buoys. Collaboration with Yamaha Motor Co., a manufacturer of real jet skis, made possible an authentic-looking controller. And then there is the human-powered flying-machine game, whereby players operate the handles and pedals of the bicycle-like flying apparatus and fly around a course. Increases and decreases in speed can be sensed by the wind blowing past the player's face.
High-Tech Arcades Attract Adults
The forerunner of all these hits was the motorcycle-racing game developed by Sega Enterprises, Ltd. in 1985. Until then, motorcycle games had used only handlebars for controls. The popularity of this new game came from having players sit atop a complete motorcycle-shaped controller. The bike is steered by the player shifting his or her weight from side to side. This game spurred a stream of similar games that feature moving or vibrating driver's seats and other additions. The popularity of these games waned after a few years, however, as their size required too much arcade space and their violent actions resulted in frequent breakdowns.
The fire was relit in 1995, when the alpine-skiing game developed by Namco Ltd. made its debut, creating a second boom in the popularity of simulation games. The player skis against the clock, operating the skis atop a controller by shifting his or her weight to the left or right, just like on real skis. In an industry where selling 1,000 units of a game meant a hit, 10,000 units of this game were sold. This megahit paved the way for snowboarding, water-skiing, horse-racing, and many other kinds of simulation games.
The most recent boom in this form of amusement occurred against a backdrop of advances in computer technology, which have enabled more realistic images and movement. As a result, arcades, conventionally thought of as play spots for middle- and high-school students, saw an increase in adult enthusiasts. Taking a peek into these establishments today, one can easily spot businessmen, groups of women, and, especially on weekends, couples. Arcades are making their atmospheres brighter and cleaner, setting up bars, and offering as prizes a variety of daily necessities, including perfume and cigarette lighters, all in an attempt to establish themselves as playgrounds for adults.
Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.
Japan Information Network


Archeologyof Memory, Behavior, and Biodiversity Naturalis deals with dirt, seeding and care as the cradle of the cyclical movement of life and death, rituals of passage, memory, and cultural preservation.
The artist began her research in Pompeii, IT and Bear Mountain, NY. In both locations, she learned how to interact with nature following the directions in the "Education for the Stone," a poem by João Cabral de Melo Neto.
Couto took these two remote experiments into an art-biology laboratory where she casted her oldest child's body and made a sculptureof concrete and stones. In it, she introduced moss from Bear mountain, Brazilian and American seeds. In the Lab, shecontrolled temperature and humidity. With the necessary care, the artist allowed these seeds grow into the concrete cracks. During installation, she placed a table with "Education by the Stone on view.
Concrete, dirt, moss and grass grown from Brazilian and American seeds.
Ultra-violet neon light is contained in white painted neon tube hanging on white wall and released in the dark.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology Archive of bird sounds and behavior description mixed with Brazilian lullabies sang on the artist's voice.
Recycled brown packing paper, recycled house paint, clay, rabbit skin found during moss gathering, glass, papyrus plant.


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Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT), AbbVie Inc (ABBV): Should We Follow Dodge & Cox's Two New Buys?
Dodge & Cox is famous for its outstanding performance, delivering an annualized return of 12.5%, beating the S&P 500's annualized return of 10.8% for the past 30 years. Founded in 1930, Dodge & Cox is currently managing around $84 billion in its long portfolio. In the first quarter of 2013, Dodge & Cox initiated long positions in Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV). Let's take a closer look to see whether or not we should follow Dodge & Cox into those two companies.
A U.S. mature food play with nice dividend yield
In the first quarter, Dodge & Cox accumulate nearly 4,000 shares of Kraft Foods, quite a small position with around only around a fourth of a million dollars. After spinning off Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Kraft Foods now focuses on consumer packaged food and beverage, mainly in North America. It has two main food brands including Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) and Oscar Mayer.
According to the company, Kraft has the leading position in 11 of its top 17 product categories in the U.S. and the number two position in its remaining six product categories. Kraft derived most of its revenue, or 31% of its total revenue, from Cheese and dairy products while meat and meat alternatives ranked second, accounting for 15% of total revenue. Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) has quite a customer concentration, with five biggest customers representing 42% of total revenue. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is its biggest customers, representing around 25% of its total revenue.
While Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) concentrates its business on the maturing U.S. market, its spin-off focuses on fast-growing emerging markets. Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), headed by the ex-chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, is the owner of Chips Ahoy, Oreo, Club Social, Chiclets, Trident, etc. According to Mondelez, the company was the number one global player in Biscuits, Candy, Powdered Beverages and Candy while Gum and Coffee ranked second in the world.
45.4% of its total 2012 operating income was generated from the developing markets while Europe and North America accounted for 35.4% and 19.2%, respectively. In the first quarter, Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) experienced significant growth of more than 9% in the emerging markets. India, Brazil, and China have grown at double-digit rates.
At $54.40 per share, Kraft Foods is worth more than $32.3 billion on the market. The market values Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ:KRFT) at 12.15 times EV/EBITDA and as high as 3.34 PEG. Income investors might like Kraft Foods with its decent dividend yield of 3.60%. Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) is more suitable for growth investors. It is trading at $31 per share with a total market cap of more than $55 billion. The market values Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) at a higher EV multiple of 13.62 but lower PEG ratioat 1.93. The dividend yield is much lower than Kraft at 1.70%.
Kraft Foods Group Inc. (KRFT)Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ)NASDAQ:KRFTNASDAQ:MDLZ
Hedge Fund News: Nelson Peltz, The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX), BMC Software... Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT): A Solid Quarter Indeed Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ): The Trends You Need To See
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP), Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ): Maverick Investor Seeking... News To Watch: Facebook Inc (FB) Slam, DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (DVA)... Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ), General Mills, Inc. (GIS): How Should You...


Jordan, a six-time NBA champion with the Bulls who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, is the first stateside player ever to be honored with a unique 'Tegata' memorabilia piece from UDA. Utilizing handmade Japanese Fuji paper, Jordan has inked his left hand in black and included an authentic Inkan stamp which corresponds perfectly with the traditional craft. The overall keepsake, which measure 30" wide by 40" high, includes a 12" by 12" inset center upon which Jordan's hand is inked and is surrounded by a double-matted mosaic background of on-court, action images of MJ throughout his 13-year tenure with the Bulls.
Jordan recently performed the Tegata process alongside UDA officials and helped in the actual hand-crafting of 23 uniquely authentic stamps for each keepsake. His unique, red Inkan stamp reflects his initials and uniform number. He then completed the autograph phase of UDA's patented five-step authentication process by signing his name in silver across each handprint. Click on this video link to see Jordan inking and signing the exclusive Tegata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9RoxWl6XFc.
"It's an honor to be the first Upper Deck Authenticated spokesmen to be selected to go through this process," said Jordan, who celebrates his 48th birthday tomorrow.
The prized piece of sports memorabilia, which carries a suggested retail price of $4,999.99, is now available at Upper Deck's online store: www.upperdeckstore.com.


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Mubashar from the Alpha Content Team
Exploring the Fiction Publishing Scene in Kenya
Kenya has a vibrant and diverse fiction publishing scene, with a range of established and emerging authors and publishers producing work in a variety of genres.
One of the key players in the Kenyan publishing scene is East African Educational Publishers (EAEP), which is the largest publisher in East Africa and has a strong focus on educational materials, including fiction for children and young adults. Other notable publishers include Kwani Trust, which focuses on contemporary literature, and Storymoja, which publishes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults.
Kenyan authors have been increasingly gaining international recognition and acclaim in recent years. For example, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a Kenyan author, is considered one of Africa's most important literary figures, and his work has been translated into many languages. Binyavanga Wainaina, another Kenyan author, won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002 and has been widely anthologized.
In addition to traditional publishing, there is also a growing independent publishing scene in Kenya. This includes self-published authors and small press publishers who are using digital technologies to produce and distribute their work. This has helped to increase the diversity of voices and perspectives in the Kenyan publishing scene, and has made it easier for new and emerging authors to get their work out into the world.
Overall, the fiction publishing scene in Kenya is diverse, dynamic and increasingly gaining recognition both domestically and internationally, with a range of established and emerging authors, publishers and independent publishers who are producing and promoting a wide range of genres and styles.


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Love is War 2nd Season | Episode 3
OOCentral	 May 11, 2020
It's only episode 3 and it already feels like the end of the Anime. For obvious reasons, it is not the end of the episode as we all know. However, the way the end of the episode played out it certainly felt like the end. As a matter of fact, if they made the latter half of the 3rd episode the entirety of the last episode (episode 12), then I would have been satisfied with the conclusion of the 2nd season to Love is War.
The school year was drawing to a close, and this current student council, the 67th student council's term was coming to an end. As this anime is a comedy, there is a bunch of it at the start of the anime. As their time together is drawing to a close, they decide to do something together, one last time. That thing they decided to do together was stargazing. Something Shirogane was hard pressed on doing, in large part because he's always had a passion and interest in stars even from an young age.
Kaguya, who has slowly been stepping up her game/tactics to make Shirogane confess his feelings for her first, seized the opportunity of a rooftop stargaze to with Shirogane and began to rig a "trap" for him to say the words "I like you" first. However, her plan she thought would work, as per usual failed and she was the victim of Shirogane's absolutely intense fixation and fascination with the stars.
Who would have thought that a Shirogane stargazing, is a whole different person from how he usually is on other episodes. Who would have thought that someone who is very reserved in nature, would be so transformed and hands-on, *very* hands-on without even knowing it. Kaguya learned just how hands-on he was. She was the "victim" of him pulling her close to him by the shoulder, as he taught her about the stars. The "victim" of him pulling her down onto the blanket they were sitting on, his hand holding the back of her head as he continued his talk about the stars and constellations. While Kaguya's plan didn't work, she still got what she wanted at the end.
Jumping to the end of the episode now, as previously mentioned at the start of this post, the school year as come to a close, and it was now time to clean out the student council room for the next student council. For some reason they made this part extremely emotional, the OST playing in the background was very dramatic and had a very sad vibe to it. It also didn't help that as they were cleaning out room, they were coming across all the old stuff they did together, all the games and all the events they participated in together.
Like me talking about it through text does not give the end to this episode justice. It was so good, it pulled at the right heartstrings. It felt like it was the end of something fun, the end of an experience that will never be experienced again. Not even words and properly describe the various emotions the end of the episode made you feel. I personally loved it.
One thing that it did do however, is reaffirm that Shirogane will once again be running for student council President but it also gave a little bit of foreshadowing on the new character(s) they will be introducing into the series. Both of which you can see in the cover art for the Anime. I am really looking forward to the next few episodes, I think it'll be fun and it'll be interesting to see how the whole dynamic changes as the anime starts to introduce to us new characters.
Episode Review
Action, adventure, anime and manga, anime dub, anime girl, anime manga, anime movie, anime online, Anime Review, anime sub, Anime Universe, かぐや様は告らせたい?~天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦~, best anime, Cars, comedy, Dementia, Demons, download anime, drama, ecchi, episode, Episode Review, fantasy, First Impressions, free anime, game, harem, Hentai, Historical, Horror, is it good?, Josei, Kaguya Wants to be Confessed To: The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains 2nd Season, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen 2nd Season, Kaguya-sama: Love is War 2nd Season, Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2, Kids, magic, manga, Martial Arts, mecha, Military, movie, Movie Review, music, Mystery, new season, oocentral, Opinion, Otaku Central, Parody, Police, Psychological, release date, Romance, Samurai, School, Sci-Fi, season 2, second season, seinen, Shoujo, Shoujo Ai, shounen, Shounen Ai, Slice of Life, space, Sports, Super Power, Supernatural, Thriller, top 10, Vampire, watch anime, Worth Watching?, Yaoi, Yuri


Touring a Japanese student tomorrow - help with these translations?
A group of students are visiting our school tomorrow, and although it's an English trip for them, I'd like to be able to say just a couple of things (also, he says he can't speak much English, so I want a back up). Explanations are welcome, but I don't mind either way.
-Do you learn other languages?
-What is the weather like in Japan?
-This book is tricky for us too!
- Sorry about him, he's just annoying.
- What subjects do you do?
- What do you do in Japanese (the class)?
-What subject do you like the most?
-I will be with you after break (as in school-break), see you then!
Romaji would be great, although I don't mind. Thanks in advance!!
Hoka ni gaikokugo naratteru no?
Nihon no kikō tte donna kanji?
Kono hon wa bokutachi ni mo wakarinikui n da.
Gomen, aitsu wa yakkaina yatsu na n da.
Jugyō de donna koto yatteru no?
Dono kyōka ga ichiban sukina no?
Yasumi wa jikan ga aru kara, issho ni irareru to omou yo. Jaa sono toki ni.


text:
Value Stock Geek
Current Holdings
Company Analysis
ArcBest (ARCB)
June 9, 2019 valuestockgeek
Enterprise Value = $746.83 million
Operating Income = $142.67 million
EV/Operating Income = 5.23x
Price/Revenue = .22x
Earnings Yield = 9%
Debt/Equity = 42%
ArcBest is a logistics company that is split up into two segments: asset heavy (mainly shipping freight, and this is 69% of revenue) and asset-light (31% of revenue). The asset heavy segment is a trucking freight company, with a specialty in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping. LTL is exactly as it sounds: it's for shipping freights that aren't big enough to comprise a full truckload. The light asset division provides logistics services.
The LTL business usually picks up goods at an individual company that isn't large enough to fill an entire truck. Small shipments are then consolidated at a service center. From the service center, they're then delivered with smaller vehicles from the service center to the end customer. Pulling this off requires infrastructure and heavy staffing. This creates a low margin capital intensive business, but it also creates significant barriers to entry. ABF Freight, ArcBest's asset-based carrier, operates 245 service centers throughout the United States. This is a large enterprise that is difficult to duplicate.
The asset-heavy line of the business is also labor intensive. Truckers are expensive, and there is currently a shortage of them. Labor costs represent 51.9% of revenues.
ArcBest operates in a tough business but maintains decent cash flow generation and a stable financial position, with a debt/equity ratio of 42%, compared to 99% for the industry.
The stock is down 47% over the last 52 weeks, and it is due to the usual suspects. The market is worried about a recession, and that would significantly reduce freight throughout the US. The trade war and tariff worries are also weighing the stock down.
LTL is a brutal business, but it is a growing one. I think it is likely to grow more as e-commerce and total freight expands throughout the United States. Customers are ordering large goods online. As people order things like couches online, the demand for LTL services will grow. Trucking is also something that grows organically with the economy, as you can see from the below truck tonnage data from FRED.
Meanwhile, ArcBest's asset-light businesses (Fleet Net, Panther Logistics, ABF Logistics) are good businesses and are growing significantly. In 2013, these divisions produced $571 million in revenue. This has grown to $971 million in 2018. These businesses use technological solutions to help their clients navigate complex supply chains.
ArcBest has a high degree of financial quality. The debt/equity ratio is only 42%. The Altman Z-Score is 3.34, implying a low probability of bankruptcy and a permanent loss of capital. The F-Score is a solid 6. ArcBest also maintains a large cash stockpile, currently at $9.60 share, representing 37% of the current market capitalization. I suspect ArcBest keeps such a significant cash position because they contribute to a multiemployer pension plan for current and former employees. This can result in payments outside of expectations, which is why ArcBest likely stays on the safe side and maintains a significant amount of cash.
The current P/E of 11 compares to an industry average of 16. On a price/sales basis, Arcbest currently trades at 22% of revenue, compared to an industry average of 99%. The stock currently trades at 4x cash flow. The EV/EBIT multiple is currently 5.23x, compared to a 5-year average of 14.57. As recently as 2018, the company traded at 10x EV/EBIT, which seems right for a company of this kind.
ArcBest certainly faces some uncertainty, but I think it is currently mispriced by the market and it is in a strong financial position which makes up for the tough business it is engaged in. They are also growing their asset-light division, which ought to improve returns on capital over the long run.
PLEASE NOTE: The information provided on this site is not financial advice and it is for informational and discussion purposes only. Do your own homework. Full disclosure: my current holdings. Read the full disclaimer.
Miller Industries (MLR)
Operating Income = $47.34 million
Earnings Yield = 11%
Miller Industries manufacturers towing and recovery equipment. They maintain multiple brands operating in three segments: (1) Wreckers – These are used to tow cars and trucks from car accidents. They make a variety of wreckers, including one-off tow trucks and more heavy-duty equipment. (2) Car carriers – These are flatbed vehicles with hydraulic tilts (an example is pictured in the stock photo). (3) Transport trailers – These are the vehicles you typically see on the highway stacked up with cars usually transporting new cars to an auto dealership.
Miller has a nice little niche with well-known brands in the industry, such as their Century line. The company as it exists today, is a result of a significant amount of consolidation over the years, as they've acquired multiple brands under the Miller umbrella.
Miller grows with the economy. As the economy improves, the miles which are driven in the US and internationally also grows. As driving mileage grows, so do car accidents. Miller's success with wreckers, for instance, is tied to increasing numbers of car accidents that come naturally through more driving and more activity. In 2007, for example, there were 6,024,000 car accidents in the United States. This then declined with the recession to 5,338,000 in 2011. By 2016, the number of car accidents increased to 7,277,000.
Obviously, this a cyclical industry. Miles driven is extremely cyclical. Miller also has international operations that can be affected by Trump's trade wars. The stock is down significantly since Trump started escalating the trade war and is down 22% from its 52-week high, which was only reached back in May. This has been hammered by the usual subjects: trade war and recession jitters.
If we do have a recession, one advantage that Miller has is that most of its products are manufactured upon order. In other words, expenses can quickly be reduced if the economy dries up. This leads to the remarkable consistency in Miller's margins. Their net margins, for instance, are typically around 4-6% regardless of the direction of revenue. In 2009, during the depths of the recession, Miller was still able to eke out a profit of $.51 per share, a year in which most firms produced losses. The stock price did collapse in the last recession, but it also traded at a much higher valuation at the peak of the last cycle. In 2007, it traded at 5x book value (it currently trades at 1.3x book).
While the market is speculating that a recession and trade war will adversely affect Miller, the company itself continues to execute. In the most recent quarter, for instance, income was up 29% over the same quarter a year ago.
Miller has a high degree of financial quality. Debt/equity is low, at 14%. The F-Score is 6, which is pretty solid. The Altman Z-Score of 4.16 implies a very low probability of bankruptcy and a permanent loss of capital.
If Miller simply continues to do what they're doing and the market speculation about trade wars and recession subside, the multiple ought to increase significantly. Right now, from an EV/EBIT perspective, the company trades at 6.8x. The 5-year average is 8.6x, which would be a 26% increase from current levels. The P/E of 8.74 compares to an industry average of 20.94 and a 5-year average for Miller of 14.7. Miller currently trades at 42% of sales, which compares to an industry average of 129%. Quite recently, Miller traded at 55% of sales.
Live Trades
Unum Group (UNM)
I sold my 64 shares of Unum Group on 6/6/19 at a price of $33.22.
ARCB
Today, I purchased 77 shares of ArcBest (ARCB) @ $26.0792.
The death of value investing has been greatly exaggerated
May 29, 2019 valuestockgeek	1 Comment
With everyone freaking out about the "death" of the value investing, I thought I'd devote a blog post to my thoughts on why I think it's much ado about nothing.
Also, for those who are easily triggered: I understand that value investing as a statistical factor is different from value investing as an analytical style used to evaluate the future cash flows of a company. When I talk about "value", I'm talking about statistically cheap stocks.
The Value Anomaly
The academic literature treats value as an "anomaly."
They say it's a factor that explains anomalous returns. There is the market return, and value is a premium that you can earn over that. The hardcore EMH adherents will say that this premium is simply compensation for the additional risk of owning cheap stocks.
Size is described as another factor. This model explains why small-cap value has been the best investment strategy one could have pursued in the markets over the last 50 years or so.
If you knew that buying small, cheap stocks was a good idea on December 31st, 1971 and you could scrounge up $10,000 (assuming you could stop listening to Led Zeppelin IV and Who's Next), you would now have $5,000,805, for a rate of return of 14.03%. If you opted for mid-cap value, you would have earned a 12.99% rate of return, which would have turned $10,000 into $3,234,830.
This compares to the US stock market return of 10.37%, which would have turned your $10,000 into $1,067,300. Large-cap value basically matched the performance of the US stock market, delivering a 10.3% return, which would have turned $10,000 into $1,035,393.
Actually implementing and sticking with the strategy would have been hard. There weren't many low cost funds that could achieve this. You would have needed to do it yourself, which was hard in the era of high commissions. Moreover, you would have had to white knuckle it through some dicey times for the markets and the United States economy. Right after implementing the strategy in 1972, you would have lost 24.12% in 1973 and another 21.09% in 1974. I guess that most investors would have given up at that point, just when the strategy was about to rock.
Anyway, the "anomaly" exists. If you slice and dice it in different ways, other value factors work better. It's also worth noting that the above results are based on price-to-book, which is a crappy way to describe value.
Is the value premium compensation for risk?
Value investing as a statistical factor is a subject of hot debate. There isn't widespread agreement on what causes the premium.
The EMH crowd believes that the premium is compensation for heightened risk. Cheap stocks tend to be junky companies with uncertain futures, so they are riskier. Cheap shares in smaller companies ought to be even more dangerous, considering that a small company is more prone to failure than big companies. EMH adherents think of value and size in terms of a "premium" over the market return as compensation for risk.
I don't agree with this. Take a look at the performance of small cap value during big, nasty, recessionary drawdowns. If value stocks are riskier, then the drawdowns during recessions should be more than the drawdowns for the broader market.
On average, small cap value declines with the broader market during recessions. However, the loss is typically limited to the broader market's losses. In fact, it often outperforms.
On average, small cap value outperforms the broader market by 9.57%. Of course, this 9.57% average is skewed by the early 2000s, which was probably a freak event. This happened because in the late 1990s, small cap value was completely ignored by investors. Value investing famously fell out of favor in the late '90s as investors became infatuated with the "new" economy. In 1998, small cap value suffered a loss of 2.68% while the broader market had an extraordinary 23.26% gain. In 1999, the pain continued. Small cap value delivered a paltry 3.35% rate of return while the market delivered 23.81%. As a result, entering the year 2000, the broad market was ridiculously overvalued and the value universe was overflowing with bargains that were ripe for multiple appreciation.
Even with that freak event thrown out, small cap value's drawdowns are still limited to the market's drawdowns during ugly recessions. If small cap value were a truly riskier strategy, the drawdowns should be a lot more severe than the broader market. This isn't typically the case. In fact, small cap value still delivers a tiny premium of 2.53% for most of these terrible years, even when you throw out the early 2000s.
Small cap value doesn't provide protection during most drawdowns, but the loss is usually limited to the market's loss. If it were truly riskier, the losses should be much more severe than the broader market.
Meanwhile, value delivers incredibly robust returns when the economy is emerging from recessions and snapping back to life:
If small cap value were riskier, then these incredible returns in years like 1991 and 1975 should be offset by nastier drawdowns during recessions. However, this isn't usually what happens. The drawdown is typically limited to the market's drawdown and the recovery is usually more robust than the broader market.
And, this is using a crappy factor like price-to-book. If you use other factors like price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, or enterprise multiples – the results are a lot better.
This is also market-cap weighting value, which is further dragging down the returns. The returns in a value portfolio are usually in the cheapest securities, because they have the most runway to expand their multiples once the weather improves. The EMH adherents who treat value as a statistical anomoly usually market cap weight the value universe. They weight the stocks with the biggest market cap in the cheapo universe more heavily in the portfolio. A better approach would be equal weighting the universe or weighting the cheap names most heavily.
Meanwhile, value has underperformed for the last ten years, a phenomenon which is causing everyone to lose their minds and value managers to lose their jobs.
Value investors of the cheap variety are being mocked by everyone else who has bought the likes of Netflix and Amazon or simply invested in index funds. Most of the taunting amounts to "I bought VTSAX at 4 bps and made a ton of money, meanwhile these value nerds are killing themselves looking at cash flow statements and underperforming."
Many of the value managers are capitulating to the bull market. They're buying Netflix and Amazon and calling them value stocks because they've done a discounted cash flow model with optimistic assumptions about growth, margins, and interest rates. Then they quote something Buffett said about moats or Munger said about a tapestry of mental models. Ta-da, Netflix and Amazon are value stocks.
Since 2009, this has been the underperformance causing everyone to lose their minds:
Angels and ministers of grace defend us. Value investors have "only" earned a 13.82% rate of return for the last decade. How can they possibly sleep at night? What do they tell their children? Do they wear scarlet letters at investment conferences, hanging their heads in shame? Are they dragged through the streets while a nun rings a bell and shouts shame?
Obviously, this is ridiculous. Value has held up with the market and underperforming slightly, but this is hardly the scarlet letter of shame that the headlines suggest.
Yes, there are prominent value investors who have fallen from the heavens of the early 2000s, but most of their underperformance is due to the fact that they made outsize bets on individual stocks or outright shorted the market.
In the 2000s, shorting expensive stocks plus concentration in a handful of "best ideas" amounted to leveraging up returns and, likely, leveraging up egos. A decade of massive outperformance inflated the egos and confidence of prominent value investors, which caused them to continue to doing the same thing into the 2010s. The market gods sniff out arrogance like a bloodthirsty wolf, and the same strategy that worked in the 2000s amounted to leveraging their returns to the downside for the last decade.
Meanwhile, systematic long-only value investors quadrupled their money and mostly kept up with the market.
By the way this the "underperformance" is discussed, you'd think that value investors are chugging bottles of Pepto Bismol after spending their nights drowning their tears of sorrow into plastic bottles of vodka because of their paltry 14% rate of return that quadrupled their money in a decade.
The truth is that the death of value investing has been greatly exaggerated. Sure, it has underperformed, but only because the indexes have performed so wonderfully in the last decade.
Flat Markets & Bull Markets
The key to understanding the "underperformance" of value is to understand that value isn't a premium at all. It's an idiosyncratic return that is correlated to the market, but not a premium over the market return.
The return is caused by multiples changing. A systematic quant value investor is simply buying a bunch of stocks at depressed multiples. Why are the multiples depressed? Usually, there is some bad news with the underlying business and cause for concern. Why do the multiples expand? Mean reversion, like a force of nature, improves the fortunes of these businesses. The prospects of the businesses improve through microeconomic forces (i.e., competitors go out of business, prices increase, prosperity resumes). Meanwhile, the prospects of hot businesses grow worse through the same microeconomic forces. When business is good, competitors swoop in and kill a good thing. The stock market, meanwhile, tends to extrapolate whatever is going on right now and projects it into the future. This creates a consensus and a depressed multiple. When that consensus is reevaluated for value stocks, multiples expand.
This process even happens in markets that are in a secular bear market, like Japan in the '90s and 2000s. In Japan, for instance, the magic formula strategy delivered a 16.5% rate of return from 1993-2005 while the broader market was destroyed.
Multiples for stocks are always expanding and contracting in dramatic ways. Stocks with a P/E of 5 are going up to P/E of 10. Stock's with P/E of 50 are going down to 25. Even if the broader market is flat, this process is constantly happening within the market. Throughout the market, the prospects of stocks are constantly being reevaluated and the market is assigning multiples based on Mr. Market's mood swings at any given moment.
As an example of Mr. Market's insanity, take a blue chippy stock like JPMorgan. JPM's 52-week low is $91.11. JPM's 52-week high is $119.24. That's a 30.9% difference. Has the actual underlying value of JPMorgan changed by 30.9%, or is Mr. Market a little crazy?
It's this compresion and expansion of multiples that drives the return in a statistical value portfolio. This is a return that's correlated with the market, but it isn't a "premium" the way that the academics describe it.
This is why value truly shines during the flat markets when nothing is happening for the indexes, earning a seemingly insane level of outperformance. Take a look at the performance of value during two bad periods for the indexes:
Meanwhile, value's underperformance during bull markets is nothing new. When US stocks are doing well, value either matches the market's return (the '80s) or it struggles to keep up (the '90s, the 2010s). With that said, even when the strategy underperforms, the returns aren't terrible.
Why does value deliver a decent return even while the market is flat? This is because value is always doing its own thing. There are always going to be stocks with depressed multiples which later expand, even during flat markets. It's not a premium over the market return: it's an idiosyncratic return derived from multiples constantly changing. During bull markets, value is always going to underperform. The long-term outperformance takes decades to capture because it mostly occurs during flat decades like the 1970s and 2000s.
Technology's Impact
I also don't believe that that technology has destroyed value investing.
Value stocks have never been hard to find. Buffett combed through the Moody's manuals in the 1950s. Investors in the 1970s could buy a copy of Value Line and find statistically cheap stocks. Now, investors can use screeners to find cheap stocks. Some say that this has elminated the "edge" for value investors. What these prognosticators of doom miss is that value stocks have never been hard to find. Value stocks have always been hard to buy.
It is hard to buy a stock with a depressed valuation. When you look at the company, there is usually good reason that the stock is out of favor. Everyone knows why they're out of favor. Think about how ugly a New England textile mill looked in 1962 as it faced down cheaper competition. It's just as hard as to buy the textile mill in 1962 as it is to buy a mall retailer facing reduced foot traffic in 2019. The hard part has never been identifying these cheap stocks, it's actually going out and buying them. Technology makes it a little easier to find them, but it's still just as hard to have the courage to buy them as it has always been.
There are also worries that the strategy has been overfarmed. Too many people are doing it. To which I ask: how many value funds out there have a significant active share in the cheapest stocks? How many fund managers have the cajones to really embrace the cheap stocks? How many are buying the truly out-of-favor securities? Most "value" funds and ETFs have an average P/E of 15 spread across hundreds of stocks. That's hardly deep value land. They don't actually buy the cheap stuff because few can handle the volatility and bouts of underperformance in a deep value portfolio. After a decade of underperformance, fewer are doing it than ever before.
Value investing, even of the statistical variety, isn't going anywhere. The recent underperformance during a long bull market is nothing new.
If quadrupling your money in a decade causes you to throw in the towel, then buddy, maybe you don't deserve the long-term value premium.
The outperformance, for those with a long time horizon, will come. It will come during the long stretches of time when the market is flat or delivering a low rate of return. I'm certain this is going to happen as much as I am certain that it will be cold in February. Markets are seasonal. They ebb and flow.
You might think that a flat market will never happen again. You might think that the market will deliver a 14% rate of return for the next ten years while every measure of market valuation is at historically insane levels. I think you're probably wrong.
Valuations imply that we are in store for a decade of low returns. Pick your metric. Price/sales for the S&P 500 is at all time highs. Profit margins are at all time highs and profit margins usually mean revert. The CAPE ratio is 28.85. That's not '90s crazy (it was over 40 in 2000), but it's currently where it was at the end of the 1920s boom. My favorite measure of valuation – the average investor allocation to equities – implies a 4-5% rate of return over the next 10 years. Vanguard agrees with that assessment and projects a 4-6% return for the next decade.
Those rates of return never happen in a straight line. A 5% rate of return is just the average of crazy returns. We'll probably have years over the next decade where the markets delivers a 30% positive return and somewhere there will be a terrible year where the market suffers a 50% drawdown again.
Maybe the Fed has eliminated the business cycle and the world is forever changed. If you believe that: please pass me whatever it is that you're smoking.
I'm betting that the next decade will provide low returns for US stocks. Meanwhile, Mr. Market will continue to increase the multiples of depressed stocks as their prospects change. As value investors systematically buy stocks with compressed multiples that later expand, the returns for value investors will likely exceed that of the market.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think this is the likely outcome based on history and common sense.
Hurco Companies, Inc. (HURC)
May 23, 2019 valuestockgeek
Debt/Equity = 0%
Hurco's specialty is metal cutting technology used in the manufacturing industry. Their products are considered machine tool products. The primarily sell equipment and software used for the cutting of metal on an industrial scale. They have been in this business since 1968.
The sale of new machine tools represents 87% of Hurco's revenue. 1% of their revenue is sourced from the software to run their machines, while an additional 12% originates from servicing machines that are already in use.
Hurco is a global company, and 71% of its sales occur outside the United States. Hurco has grown steadily with the economic expansion since the global financial crisis.
Hurco is currently 35% off its 52-week high. The stock has been under pressure for a few reasons.
This is a cyclical company. Hurco depends on the global economy and industrial production to continue growing. If we have a recession, Hurco will be adversely affected. Much of the pressure on the stock has been related to concerns about the global slowdown which started last year and the possibility of a recession.
Key commodity inputs have been increasing in price, notably steel. The strength in steel prices is a reason I own steel companies separately in the portfolio.
Hurco is a US company that derives 71% of its revenue from overseas. A trade war is bad news for Hurco.
All of these concerns are legitimate, but I think the market has overreacted to each of them. A surprise on any of these fronts will improve the stock price: the US economy doesn't enter a recession, the trade war is resolved, commodity prices decline and improve margins. This is a bet that one of these current worries will go away.
In terms of the long-term competitive position of Hurco, I also think they are in a good place. A recession will only be a temporary problem for Hurco, mainly due to the strength of their balance sheet. Hurco carries no debt, and they currently have a massive cash stockpile. Management is clearly well aware of the cyclicality of their industry and is well prepared for it. The current price of the stock is $36.69. $10.25 of that price is cash. The financial strength is also reflected in a excellent F-score of 7. The financial quality of Hurco and cash position limits the downside.
From a valuation standpoint, Hurco is attractively valued compared to its history and its peers. The enterprise multiple of 5.28 compares to a 5-year average of 8.31. An increase to this level would represent a 57% increase from current levels. The P/E of 10 compares to an industry average of 20.81 and a 5-year average for Hurco of 16.21. On a price/sales basis, the current value of .83x compares to an industry average of 1.29x and a 5-year average for the company of .98x.
Flanigan's (BDL)
Enterprise Value = $51.94 million
Operating Income = $6.51 million
Earnings Yield = 8.4%
Flanigan's is a Florida-based business operating 26 liquor stores and restaurants. The company was founded in 1959 by Joseph "Big Daddy" Flanigan and the company's namesake. The CEO and the largest stockholder is Joseph Flanigan's son, James Flanigan. The company is operated and owned by the family. Insiders presently own 62% of the company's stock. James Flanagan owns 374,320 shares of the 1.8 million shares outstanding.
Flanigan's currently operates 26 liquor stores and restaurants. The restaurants are all based in South Florida with a relaxed, saltwater vibe to them. The liquor store chain is called "Big Daddy's Liquor's" and the restaurants are all referred to as "Flanigan's". 3 locations are liquor store/restaurant combinations, 6 locations are liquor stores only, and the remainder is restaurants.
The restaurants all have great reviews on Yelp, with the occasional bad review over some one-off poor service, something you'll find for any restaurant. Most of the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Check out these reviews for the Coconut Grove location.
The financials are excellent, growing, and healthy. Here are the earnings and growth trajectory for the last ten years:
Operating metrics are also respectable and consistent. Gross margins last year were 26.34%, and that is a standard arena for this company. They have some debt, but it is small and manageable. I am also encouraged by the fact that the company maintained positive earnings throughout the 2009-2012 period.
I found this stock while looking through companies at a sub-$50 million valuation with a high level of insider ownership. As I dug into the company, I was compelled by what I found. This was a well managed, growing, family-owned enterprise where insiders have strong incentives to keep the company moving in the right direction.
I don't usually focus on book value, but the stock trades close to its book value, which is currently $18.93/share. On Friday, it closed at $24.34. Cash & equivalents represent 32% of the current market cap. By the traditional value metrics that I look at, the stock is compellingly cheap for such a well-managed, growing, enterprise. It trades at 40% of revenue, 5.5x cash flow, with a 7.9x enterprise multiple, and trades at 11.9x earnings per share.
Institutional investors only own 16% of the stock. Because of the nano-cap valuation, this isn't big enough to even be a part of the Russell 2000 index, and it is entirely overlooked by big investors. That's why such a great company is selling for compelling multiples. Substantial insider ownership also reduces the float. Bottom line: this is an excellent company at a decent valuation that is overlooked by the market.
There is also a lot of room for this company to expand, even if they continue to maintain their Florida footprint. Florida is a big state with a growing population. It is currently the 4th fastest growing state in the country. If Flanigan's maintained its current footprint of stores, they would continue to grow sales and earnings organically. However, I think there is a lot of room for growth. There are currently several franchise locations, and it looks like the company plans to continue to grow this footprint. With such a small footprint, there is a tremendous runway for the company to expand.
As I've stated before, now that the yield curve is inverted and the Fed continues to quantitatively tighten the balance sheet even though they're standing pat on rates, I think it's probable that we're going to have a recession soon. As with all things, I don't know this for sure, but I think a recession is probable. This is why I currently have a large cash balance that is 30% of my portfolio and I've been more trigger-happy to sell if the stock hits a decent multiple or a 52-week high.
With that said, Flanigan's will be harmed by a recession, but I think there is downside protection based on their cash position, liquid balance sheet, and the company's performance during the last recession. I doubt that people will stop drinking alcohol and eating reasonably priced food at Flanigan's locations during the next downturn. It's also possible that people will spend more time at the liquor store when the inevitable recession hits!
RS, TWIN, SCHN, MLR, HURC
I sold Reliance Steel & Aluminum now that it is near a 3 year high. 26 shares @ $89.71 for a 17.6% gain.
I bought the following positions:
Twin Disc Inc. – TWIN – 130 shares @ $15.175
Miller Industries – MLR – 63 shares @ $31.7125
Schnitzer Steel Industries – SCHN – 88 shares @ $22.50
Hurco Companies – HURC – 51 shares $38.00
Today's buy trades bring my invested position back up to 70%. Prior to this week's buys, I was nearly 50% cash.
I purchased 100 shares of Flanigan's Enterprises (BDL). I think it is an exceptional company at a bargain price. It is largely ignored due to its market capitalization of $44.6 million. It is small enough to stay out of the Russell 2,000 and has no analyst coverage.
I should have the detailed write up finished this weekend.
MAN & UFPI
I exited two positions yesterday: Manpower Group (MAN) and Universal Forest Products (UFPI).
I sold 49 shares of UFPI @ $36.1103. I sold 20 shares of MAN @ $91.50.
This brings my cash balance up to 45% of my portfolio.
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The Trilobite is the thing that attacked the Engineer, right?
OmegaZilla, you should update your Wolfctopus pic by putting Wolf's head on the Trilobite.
Yes, but it is Starbeast regardless of what everyone says!
Yep. Oh, and the Black Goo should be on there as well (if its not, already).
Is Stick Man the River Ghost?
Maybe that should be up there too.
This thread is awesome, btw, nice work.
Man, I realy wnt to know where the term "Hammerpede" came from, it's not like it looks like a hammer or a centipede so what's the deal?
Came from the 'Art of Prometheus' book. I believe the 'hammer' part is because of the hammerhead-esque head, and the 'pede' part because, like a centipede, it looks a bit worm-like.
Name sounds cool, but the 'pede' part makes zero sense. Creature's got no feet -- unless the 'crests' are actually feet. Doesn't seem likely, though. It moves by slithering, and it's not even slug-like.
Best creature in the film anyway.
Thanks, and sorry guys for this taking so much time to update. I've just started my second year in college and admittedly, I 've got a lot less time on my hands than I initially thought I would've. Anyways, I'm making small updates all the time so the dictionary does make progress.
The new alien of the last trailer of Aliens Colonial Marines, the Xeno Boiler. Nice thread, excelent work.
I'm surprised that for "Pussyface" you didn't state that it's called that by Danny Glover in the origin section. And I'd say it's pretty straight forward why he called it that..
Crusher, Raven, and Boiler need sections.
Did Harrigan really say that in the film? Damn, my memory is getting to me. Better rewatch ye old predator movies soon. As for the A:CM, I will update stuff in the near future.
What about the river ghosts in predators. do people forget them it had its own part when they killed it.
Don't forget "City Hunter" as an alternative to "Pussyface."