Please note, we will only be answering questions about our open end funds. All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, and reflects the reinvestment of distributions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Current month-end and quarter-end performance information is available on roycefunds.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. You may obtain a current prospectus for any of the Royce Funds on our website at www.roycefunds.com/prospectus, or by calling 800-841-1180. The prospectus includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing. The distributor of the Royce Fund and Royce Capital Fund is Royce Fund Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Royce & Associates. This event will be recorded. I would now like to introduce Jack Fockler, Managing Director of Royce & Associates.
Jack Fockler: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our twice a year conference call for investment advisors. My name is Jack Fockler. With me today is Chuck Royce, and Whitney George and David Nadel, as well.
In today's call, we want to address first quarter performance. We want to also talk about portfolio performance, positioning and outlook. We want to spend a few moments talking about some of our second generation portfolios. And most importantly, we want to save time to answer your questions. If you have a colleague, or colleagues, who are unable to join us today, a replay of the call will be available starting later this week on the Advisor section of our website, roycefunds.com.
Let's get started. As you probably know, 2012 has gotten off to a great start. It is, in fact, one of the best opening quarters for the Russell 2000 since the first quarter of 2006. The small-cap Russell 2000 was up about 12.4 percent through the end of March. This compares to gains of 12.6 and 12.9 for the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 and 18.7 for the tech-oriented NASDAQ Composite.
Also, in contrast to last year, volatility is down dramatically as measured by the VIX Index, down about 30 percent. Performance actually from the market bottom on October 3rd has been very dynamic, and especially for small-caps. The Russell is up about 37 percent from that low through the end of the first quarter. The Russell 1000 also made a new high in the first quarter, and the Russell 2000 and S&P 500 are trading at miniscule amounts below that level.
Three-year returns, as you probably know, have been very dynamic. They're above 20 percent for all major indices, and five-year returns are dramatically tamer, 6 percent or below for all the major indices. And finally, non- US equities actually did quite well also. Small-caps actually did better abroad than they did in terms of large caps. So we've gotten off to a pretty dynamic start. Let's go to Chuck for some thoughts on performance in the first quarter. Chuck?
Chuck Royce: Sure. We were thrilled with the overall market's behavior. We had been sort of optimistic for this year, and remain optimistic. We had felt that there would be a gradual decline in sort of the headline activity that had kept people off balance all of last year, and that, although the major issues are not resolved, we thought the stock market would be more likely to respond positively to just the slowdown of incremental bad news. So we are thrilled with the market performance and our own performance.
Jack Fockler: Do you think this can continue, Chuck, through year-end?
Chuck Royce: Well, it certainly can continue at the rate we started off on. I think we're going to have a bumpy but positive rest of the year, and I think the year is going to be an excellent one.
Jack Fockler: Looking out over the decade, what are your expectations?
Chuck Royce: I think we're in a decade of reasonable returns, 6 to 9 percent, nicely better than the prior decade. I believe that without being able to point to specific reasons why we're going to get there, but I think there's a remarkable sort of pent-up demand for equities, and the performance of the underlying companies are certainly in excess of 6 to 8 percent.
Jack Fockler: The returns for both US indices and indices abroad were very closely correlated here in the first quarter. What's your take on this?
Chuck Royce: The correlation continues. The directional correlation is a fact of life. It isn't our preferred way the world works, but that's what's going on. There is more non-correlative, you know, within an index. Certainly sectors do well, other sectors do poorly. That's — that is going on. Everything is not directionally correlated. But certainly, globally, it's directionally correlated.
I do think that will separate out over time as various styles do better or worse. So I do think correlation is not permanently at the level it is, but it's certainly a fact of life.
Jack Fockler: There's a lot written in the professional press about large-caps being more attractive than small-caps. What's your take on that?
the small-cap world, first place, it is multiples, 10 or 15 times bigger than the large cap world in terms of number of participants. You have very, very clear sectors and styles that are nicely underpriced relative to large-cap. In the higher quality world, which is, call it, the top 10 or 15 percent of small-caps, we believe we can statistically document that they are, in fact, underpriced relative to similar large-cap stocks.
that, 10 years and beyond, value tends to do better.
Dividends are something we've talked about in the small-cap universe. It's not something people are really focused on. Last year, dividend paying stocks outperformed. This year, dividend paying stocks have actually lagged. Non-dividend payers within the Russell were up about 15 percent in the first quarter versus a gain of about 9.5 percent for those stocks in the Russell that pay dividends.
Chuck? How would you characterize the current environment for both micro-cap and small-cap events?
Chuck Royce: I think that the micro is a truly differentiated sector in the small-cap space, and I think people should pay more attention to it. They've had — the micro-cap world has underperformed the last five years by 400- 500 basis points. Other sectors certainly underperformed the — our premiere style funds by 400 or 500 basis points. I think micro is going to do pretty well in the next five or 10 years.
The — there is real value, though, in keeping a presence in the micro-cap world as an investor. These stocks perform differently. They're more volatile, but they give you higher returns.
Jack Fockler: Whitney, how about your take on this?
Whitney George: Well, I think a lot of what we're seeing is some mean reversion. I think we — it's hard to differentiate between small and large stocks, growth, value. Equities, as a general category, have been under pressure relative to fixed income alternatives now for a year and a half at least. Certainly, I think what you're seeing is a lot of those areas that were hardest hit as people wanted to reduce risk last year for most of the year are recovering and as that appetite comes back a bit.
I do think all equities are moving nicely in tandem right now. And at some point, as the advance matures, you'll have a little bit more sorting, stock selection. Certainly sector selection may start to weigh more importantly. But I think, essentially, everything that we're seeing has kind of been rising in a bit of a vacuum that was created last year as people were so obsessed with the newly discovered risks of a smaller world that we live in.
Jack Fockler: A couple of sectors that were — that actually were detractors for our performance last year, Whitney, Materials and Technology stocks specifically have done pretty nicely here coming with the start of the new year.
What's your case, going forward, for those two sectors specifically?
In the technology area, this is a whole very dynamic sector of the economy where America has a very strong leadership position, where there are new geographic markets for companies to address their new technologies, their new applications for those technologies, and then there's Apple Computer, which seems to be driving everything right now. In fact, you can probably pin the market's prospects on what happens with Apple's results and what Ben Bernanke decides to do with monetary policy, and that's probably 80 percent of what's going to be going on in the headlines in the next 90 days.
Materials had marched to a different drummer. They were beaten up very badly. Commodity prices were hardhit last year, recovered very strongly for the first two months of this year. But as the Fed started to indicate that maybe they did need to do more quantitative easing, maybe the economy was going to limp along and do just fine by itself. Some of that trade has come off. And so, in the last month, they actually corrected back down, so they haven't been quite as dynamic as maybe we would have liked. But it's an area we do remain committed to.
Jack Fockler: David, talk about outside the U.S. Where are you seeing opportunities, and what's most interesting to you at this point?
David Nadel: Sure. Well, we're seeing opportunities really across the board outside the U.S. The small-caps outside the U.S. are trading at about a 30 percent discount to U.S. small-caps based on P/E's, price-to-cash flow, etc., with a much higher dividend yield. So there's a lot to choose from.
I think, in particular, we like Japanese stocks at this point. About a year ago, we doubled our exposure to Japan following the earthquake. It's a market which, if you think back to the late '80s, comprised half of the world's market capitalization. Today it's about 8 percent. So it's one of the cheapest markets in the world, and there are some signs of reform happening there that are positive.
Jack Fockler: How about inside the U.S.? Were there any areas of particular notice?
Chuck Royce: Yes. I think, in the last six months, we've been pretty fully invested, and there aren't any major new themes going on that we can determine. There's some confirmation of some themes that we have thought were interesting for a while. Industrial companies are actually doing very well. And when you start to talk to managements, they're almost euphoric about current — the current outlook. But certainly there's not a euphoric valuation placed on these kinds of companies yet.
Jack Fockler: Let's talk about our own performance, if we can. We got off to a very fine start, as well, across the board with all of our funds. As you would expect, some of our more opportunistic type means — or type funds clearly had a very strong first quarter. Royce Opportunity Fund was one of our leaders, if not the leader, our Royce Value Plus. Within our focus category, Royce One Hundred had a very nice start. And we also saw some significant performance from our Global and International Fund, specifically European Smaller-Companies and Royce International Smaller-Companies. So again, across the board, performance seems about what you would expect, but we had a couple of pockets of exceptional performance.
Jack Fockler: David, you were able to eclipse the indices with the funds that you're involved with. What're your thoughts there?
David Nadel: Well, I guess you can never be dissatisfied with a kind of mid-teens return for a quarter. We did come off of a year in the form of 2011 where there was a huge bifurcation between U.S. markets and non-U.S. markets, with a lot of European markets down 20 percent, some of the emerging markets down 30 percent, for the full year of 2012 when, of course, the U.S. indices were basically flat.
So we were set up for certainly a snap-back. We were expecting a pretty good first quarter, and I think, interestingly, the non-U.S. markets have not really closed much of the gap versus the U.S. markets this quarter, with just a bit of out-performance, so we may get a continuation of this trend.
Jack Fockler: Whitney, interestingly, performance was up, but volatility is down in the first quarter. You think this is the start of something new?
Whitney George: I think we've had unusual volatility last year, and maybe we're in a more normal volatility kind of environment now. I think investors have to become accustomed to living in a much smaller global world. I think the notion that Greece, with an economy I think about the size of Atlanta, could somehow send us spiraling into a recession is a bit of a surprise and a wake-up call, and maybe even an over-reaction.
And so I think, as we get used to European headlines, which are always very, very dramatic, we'll all calm down about the news flow. Maybe this year we have to learn more about how China works, but, in general, I think investors just need time to digest this new information, this new smaller world that we live in that is more interconnected, and then rational pricing mechanisms will come back into play, and that hopefully will mean not the kind of volatility we've seen in the last couple years.
Jack Fockler: Chuck, your thoughts?
Chuck Royce: I think the lower volatility is a very interesting positive sentiment for the current stage of the market.
It is one of the things I might look at it, and I think it is indicating a — actually a better tone to the market. So I think, in a short-term sense, it's a positive indicator.
Jack Fockler: Question for all three of you. What are you hearing from company management teams, specifically in terms of their respective businesses, or even in terms of the economy?
late last year, or third quarter of last year, to concerns of a slowdown. Inventories got eliminated in two months to the tune that they had for over almost a year in '08, '09. And that's coming back.
And again, I mentioned industrial companies. If you talk to people who are manufacturing in this country, and I think there were some headlines today in the Wall Street Journal, their orders are strong. Their outlook is strong. Their business is strong. And that's a very important part of our economy that needs to come back and be healthy in the long run, you know, for us to restore some sort of equilibrium here.
Jack Fockler: David, any thoughts?
David Nadel: I guess, just in general, export-oriented businesses I think are quite bullish, because the world is going through kind of a competitive currency devaluation cycle. So I'd cite the example of German companies, for example, that are really benefiting from a relatively weak euro compared to where they'd be with a free-floating d-mark. But, export businesses in general I think are in a sweet spot.
Jack Fockler: Let's move on, if we can, and we'll talk a little bit about some positioning in the portfolio and some outlook, if we can.
One of the themes that Chuck mentioned earlier was this notion of quality. There's been some works — some interesting work done by a research colleague, Jim Furey, that's looked at quality very specifically in sort of the same vein, same as we do, by trying to sort and look at companies based on return on invested capital.
we're now looking at is that, small-cap, the lowest quality companies are trading at not only a significant premium to their own universe, but they're trading in a significant premium relative to large-cap.
The other end of the spectrum is quite interesting because the very best small-cap companies are not only trading the discount relative to their other small-cap counterparts, but they're trading at a very healthy discount relative to their large-cap counterparts. It's not something people really focus on very much, so it's an interesting thought, which we'll come to in just a moment for comments.
The second question that's sort of on the table that we get from time to time is what happens with regard to equity returns in an election year. I don't know that there's something one can pull out quite specifically in those years in which a president is being elected. But if you go back over the history of the Russell 2000, you'll find that we've had eight election terms, eight election years, since the start of the Russell back in 1979. You've had positive returns for equities in five out of the eight years, but perhaps the more interesting aspect is the year following the election year, so 1981, 1985, 1989.
And every year following the election of a president, all returns were positive, and all were very dynamic on the up side. So it's not clear what will come of this year with respect to the election in terms of its impact on returns, but it sure looks like the year, starting the first year of the term, it's usually quite dynamic.
Let's go for some thoughts for Chuck. All right, Chuck, let's go back to this quality idea, if we can. Talk about quality just a little bit more in terms of what you're thinking about not only in the small-cap space but maybe even broader than that.
Chuck Royce: Sure. Quality — the quality theme we have been extremely active with for some time. And quality hasn't necessarily saved you in the financial crisis. It's — they did slightly better, but they did not perform the way we had hoped. But I think we are evolving to a different stage in the sort of economic cycles, more maturing of — the acceleration is declining, and I think quality is demonstrably a better approach for the next phase of the economic cycle.
Jack Fockler: Talk about this whole presidential election thing. Do you see anything at all? Do you have any feeling? I mean, we get this question all the time, but—.
Chuck Royce: —Well, I think — I think — now, we've had a very distracting time here in the primaries, and it's obviously not over. But I think this is just among — this is the current headline du jour, and it may or may not have the kind of market impact that people think it does.
Jack Fockler: You know, Whitney, one of the things that you've talked about is… what are your thoughts about why people are so skittish about stocks in here? What's keeping people away from stocks?
environment and its ramifications for going forward.
Now, at the end of the day, that's meant that people have sought the perceived safety of fixed-income instruments. People need income, and I think they will eventually come back to equities, which can provide income through the forms of dividend, and they can grow that income. And that's something you can't get when you buy a 10-year or a 30-year fixed instrument.
So in addition to that, there is inflation protection, and we have a Fed now who has said they're not going to ease anymore unless the economy starts to slow down or inflation goes below 2 percent. So you actually have a targeted inflation rate of 2 percent at the same time people are locking into a rate that's not very different from that. And so I think equities are going to come back into the mix as people become accustomed to this new environment.
Jack Fockler: Speaking of equities, how should people think about equities, David, from an asset allocation standpoint, specifically non-U.S. versus U.S., or global allocations?
David Nadel: I mean, I suppose it varies quite a bit on your objectives, but the number is probably higher than you might initially assume that non-U.S. stocks are about 70 percent of the world's market capitalization. So I would certainly think an allocation of 5 to 10 percent for non-U.S. small-caps is — that'd be fairly logical.
Jack Fockler: Let's go on to our last section, if we can, and talk a little bit about our — what we commonly refer to as our next generation, or second generation portfolios. A question we often get is, within your asset — within your categories, your fund guide categories, oftentimes there'll be more than one choice. How should we think about the funds that populate — how should we think about the category? And specifically, how do we pick funds when there are multiple funds in each of the categories?
I think if you think about it contextually, with respect to our — sort of our flagship offering, and then the next generation offerings, one of the things you'll find is that there are some things that one can deduce by looking at the next generation offerings. First and foremost is that, typically, they offer greater flexibility in terms of market cap, meaning they have a little wider market cap potential from an investment standpoint. And almost generally, almost definitely, they typically operate with a higher market cap, and that's purposeful.
Secondly, they do tend to be a little smaller in size. And third, they do tend to have a greater percentage of investments outside the U.S. So there's definitely some differences that the next generation funds have, and — which basically translate into a little bit greater flexibility.
What's also interesting is that there's a fair amount of manager continuity between the initial fund and the next generation. Typically, in terms of who the manager is — for example, Chuck is very involved with Pennsylvania Mutual Fund and its successor, Heritage Fund, as he is with Total Return and Div Value. Whitney George obviously is very involved with Royce Premiere Fund, and then Royce Value Fund. So there's definitely some continuity associated with that.
Let's go to Chuck for some thoughts. How should advisors think about our second generation funds? How should they position them, if you will, within their portfolios?
Value, both have larger cap sizes than Premier.
Jack Fockler: Okay. Why don't we finish here, and let's go to Chuck, David and Whitney for any final thoughts before we open up for questions. Chuck?
Chuck Royce: Sure. I think we're going to have a sort of — a generally positive experience for the rest of the year. I'm sure there'll be a 10 percent decline stuck in there somewhere, but I feel extremely strong about the prospects for the equity markets in general over the next three-to-five years.
Whitney George: Yes, I would agree with that. I mean, I think we've had lots of scares. I think the market is getting used to kind of international headlines. And valuations are not stretched. Valuations got very depressed in the latter part of last year, and so we are by no means at levels where we're finding it hard to find interesting new ideas, and again, find the opportunities to go back to some old favorites that might disappoint from time to time.
David Nadel: I guess I've got a slightly different parting thought, which is just in terms of our non-U.S. investing, try not to make the mistake of judging a book by its cover in the sense that we have a lot of developed market companies, but they are getting — their growth is being driven by exposure to emerging markets, and their sources of both revenue and costs are often quite diversified geographically.
So it's I guess essentially a message of it's a complex picture in terms of currency exposure and revenue drivers. And just because you see a lot of German businesses or UK businesses, don't think of them as solely European local businesses, because they're often quite global.
Jack Fockler: That concludes the formal part of what we wanted to share. We have questions that have come in over the Internet. But I think, before we get to those, we'll start with questions from those of you on the phone. So, Operator, if you'll please open up the lines, and let's take our first question.
Operator: At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, please press star-one. Again, that was star-one to ask a question. There are no questions at this time.
Jack Fockler: Okay, we'll start with the ones that have come in over the Internet. How can top line growth continue if consumers are hurting so much?
businesses that are doing just fine. And so, again, I think you have to pick.
Now, there are other industries where top line growth is strong. I think to get back to manufacturing; we were experiencing a recovery in manufacturing in this country before the crisis of '08. It was very nascent, and it has just been accelerating every time we've been growing in this economy, and I think people are — it's the idea that jobs leave America to go to foreign shores where labor is cheaper is outdated and maybe even shifting. But it will take some time, I think, before the market catches on, but the results and the top lines of the companies involved in manufacturing are doing very nicely.
Jack Fockler: Someone wants to know a little more perspective on Japan at this time, David. You gave a couple thoughts. Do you have something else you'd like to share?
David Nadel: Well, not too much specifically. I mean, it is certainly statistically probably the cheapest developed market, and the businesses that we focused on in Japan are export-oriented. We think it's a proxy for asian growth in general, and typically we feel like you're getting the higher quality corporate management and slightly better corporate governance than a lot of Asia, usually much longer operating history with Japanese companies.
I mentioned the statistic before that Japan used to be about half the world's market cap, and today it's about 8 percent. Most of that market capitalization basically shifted to emerging Asia, which people were more excited about directly. But emerging Asia comes with a risk in terms of execution, and in Japan you get quite rich dividend yields, taxes — corporate taxes are being lowered a bit, and often really quite world-class businesses.
It's not a perfect environment to invest in. Culturally it's quite different from us, but I think, relative to other choices in Asia, it can be quite appealing.
David Nadel: Well, I think for us, we will shine better in a below-average return environment, let's say, in the lowish environment. We will tend to lag in almost all of our products in a high return environment. I don't think we're going to enter into a high return environment other than a quarter here and there.
But in general, we — our type, our style, our risk averse style gets you extra points in a lowish return environment. So that would be my favorite environment.
Jack Fockler: Concerns about hard landing about China and its impact here in the U.S.
David Nadel: Yes. I mean, there certainly is plenty of evidence of overcapacity in China, and there is a risk of hard landing. We don't think it's going to be all that hard. Obviously that would be a very hard — a very hard landing would be clearly negative impact here. We're certainly counting on some stabilization, or a less-than-dire scenario in China. But we don't really see signs of a hard landing. We think the consumer is actually in a pretty good spot, and that is certainly supported by a lot of statistics.
Jack Fockler: What sectors do you think look most interesting in terms of M&A, potential M&A activity?
Whitney George: Well, whenever you get the largest companies in an industry trading at large premiums to the smaller companies in that industry, you have kind of the logical math that allows for M&A, because large companies get bigger by buying smaller companies.
So I'd say certainly in the materials sector, bigger companies get premium valuations to smaller so that they can make accretive acquisitions. That's been going on probably for eight to 10 years now, and there are just some businesses that you can't grow organically. You have to go out and acquire assets to continue to do that. Again, I would expect those areas that are depressed or challenged, certainly in the natural gas business with prices where they are, one could expect to see some opportunistic consolidation take place there.
The M&A cycle sort of shut down a bit towards the end of last year as people were very uncertain about economic outlook. And it does seem to be now just starting to come back. You've seen a couple of announcements here recently, and so I think it probably would make sense now for M&A activity to pick up in all sectors.
Jack Fockler: Question, dividends did particularly well in 2011. What's your long-term take on dividends and their impact for small-cap returns?
David Nadel: Well, the interesting thing about dividends is people do not associate dividends with small-cap world, and yet we can find enough securities to build very interesting portfolios that pay 2 to 4 percent in dividend yields. I personally believe that, at the low end of dividends, the low end of yields, that the marketplace does not price in those 2 and 3 percent dividends, and you sort of get them for nothing. That's a dangerous statement to make, but I think you can nicely improve the risk adjusted returns by using dividends and small-caps together.
Whitney George: Yes. I think we have sort of the preconditions, or the formula, to find those companies that are most likely to pay and increase their dividends, i.e. we are starting with companies with very strong balance sheets.
That just means there are no other constituencies in front of you, like banks or bond holders, to lay a claim on whatever a company makes. And we're looking for high return businesses. They generate free cash, and ultimately that cash very often gets returned to shareholders and dividends, and growing dividends.
So just by virtue of the fundamentals that we're looking at, I think we have a better than average chance of identifying those companies that will pay and will continue to increase their dividends down the road.
Jack Fockler: Let's go to the operator for questions out in the — out in the field.
Operator: Again, I would like to remind everyone, to ask a question, please press star-one. You have a question from Robert Jackson.
Robert Jackson: When do you expect the leadership to move from growth to value?
Chuck Royce: I think that'll happen in various phases. Growth has been a leader in this — in the recent advance. That's perfectly normal to happen in a more — but there will be tremendous rotation. I'm completely convinced that value gives you a better bang for your buck in the long-term. So I do expect rotation, though, in the shortterm, and that's what's going on.
Jack Fockler: Couple more that have come in here. Let's see here. Besides Germany, what other countries do you see — countries, excuse me — taking advantage of depreciating currencies?
David Nadel: Well, I mean, I think the U.S. is taking advantage of a depreciated currency. I mean, we — you know, Obama made the statement that he wants to double exports within five years, and yet we hear that we're officially pursuing a strong dollar policy. Those two statements are not compatible for an economy that's growing 2 or 3 percent a year.
Virtually every economy in the world is trying to — is trying to have a weak currency at this point. I mean, Brazil is taking steps to weaken its currency. Korea, to a certain extent, is a beneficiary. But Germany is the obvious example just because it is such an export machine and really relies on that structure. But other economies in Europe that are Euro-linked that are in a much stronger position than peripheral Europe are beneficiaries. I mean, Austria is a clear example of that. And obviously, the Swiss intervened last summer to set a line in the sand in terms of their currency appreciating. So really everyone's trying to beat down their currency to stimulate exports.
Jack Fockler: Whitney mentioned in his comments about materials earlier. You want to give some additional thoughts on the — on silver versus gold?
economic global picture, they're going to be probably using gold and not silver.
Some interesting statistics, and we did a white paper I think you can get off our website that's got probably more than you need on silver, but there's just — relative to its price, there's just not that much around, so maybe there's a couple billion ounces of silver floating around the world above ground, which is about the same as the ounces of gold, but of course the price is very different.
So it's kind of like the micro-cap precious metal or small-cap precious metal for us with this industrial kicker. And so, if things go the way we think they might go over the longer run, it could be a lot more exciting.
Jack Fockler: Operator, go to you with any other questions. Operator: Again, that was star-one to ask a question. There are no questions.
Jack Fockler: One final question that's come in relates to the impact of rising gas prices on equities in general.
Whitney George: You know, no one really knows where the threshold is for where gas prices shut the consumer down. I think they're higher. They've been high before, so it's not quite the same shock. Somebody else pointed out that heating prices around the country may be down in your home to the extent that people are buying natural gas, and so there's a little bit of an offset there.
Ultimately, we pay a lot less for gasoline here than the rest of the world. And as the world gets smaller, there'll probably be some adjustment to that arbitrage. I think it has more to do with the rate of change than it does with the actual level of prices, because if people have time to adjust their driving habits or the kind of cars they drive, then they can handle it. It's when there are sudden changes that it becomes disruptive.
Chuck Royce: Follow up on what you said, I was in England about three weeks ago, and the price of gas over there was a little over $9 a gallon versus what we have here, which is a little under $4 a gallon. So it's quite a differential, as you say, around the world.
Whitney George: Yes. If you've got a big SUV, it really hurts when they jump up. But if you have time to adjust, then it's not so important.
Jack Fockler: Let's go to the Operator one more time for any final questions. We're done on our end.
Operator: There are no questions at this time.
Jack Fockler: Great. Thank you very much for your participation. We'll look forward to speaking with you again in the fall. Take care.
Operator: This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.


If you're like me non-fictional books have your mouth watering at a distant mention. I first got introduced to this proud father, entrepreneur and New York times best selling author James Altucher a little over 18 months ago. At a truly challenging time in my life, they'd broken into my girlfriends car and stolen my bag pack which contained 8 months of research for my book, my passport and ID, and i almost went to prison. All in the very same month. And in the spirit of seeking a way to stop feeling crappy. I came across his blog post on www.Jamesaltucher.com while browsing on the Internet, including tons of interviews he'd been doing for the past few years – since then I've pretty much read all of his work.


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  }

  public void save(Context context) {
    HashMap<Integer, Reminder> savedReminders = loadSavedRemindersInternal(context);
    savedReminders.put(getId(), this);
    try {
      FileOutputStream fos = context.openFileOutput(REMINDER_FILE, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
      ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
      oos.writeObject(savedReminders);
      oos.close();
    } catch (IOException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to save reminder: ", e);
    }
  }

  public void delete(Context context) {
    HashMap<Integer, Reminder> savedReminders = loadSavedRemindersInternal(context);
    savedReminders.remove(getId());

    try {
      FileOutputStream fos = context.openFileOutput(REMINDER_FILE, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
      ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
      oos.writeObject(savedReminders);
      oos.close();
    } catch (IOException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to delete reminder: ", e);
    }

    if ((flags & FLAG_AUTO) == FLAG_AUTO) {
      HashMap<Integer, Reminder> deletedReminders = loadDeletedRemindersInternal(context);
      deletedReminders.put(getId(), this);
      try {
        FileOutputStream fos = context.openFileOutput(DELETED_FILE, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
        ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
        oos.writeObject(deletedReminders);
        oos.close();
      } catch (IOException e) {
        Log.e(TAG, "Failed to mark automatic reminder as deleted: ", e);
      }
      invalidatedDeletedReminders = true;
    }
  }

  public String getTitle() {
    if (homework.isEmpty()) {
      return "";
    }

    String title = homework.get(0).title;
    for (int i = 1; i < homework.size(); i++) {
      title += ", " + homework.get(i).title;
    }

    return title;
  }

  public int getId() {
    if (homework.isEmpty()) {
      return -1;
    }
    int id = 0;
    for (HAElement elem : homework) {
      id += elem.id.hashCode(); // Not technically guaranteed to be unique, but unlikely to cause problems
    }

    return id;
  }

  public Date getDate() {
    return date;
  }

  public String getDate(String format) {
    return new SimpleDateFormat(format).format(date);
  }

  public List<HAElement> getHAElements() {
    return homework;
  }

  public Uri toUri() {
    String scheme = "reminder";
    String ssp = String.valueOf(getId());
    return Uri.fromParts(scheme, ssp, "");
  }

  public static Reminder fromUri(Context context, Uri uri) {
    HashMap<Integer, Reminder> map = loadSavedRemindersInternal(context);
    Integer id = Integer.valueOf(uri.getSchemeSpecificPart());
    return map.get(id);
  }

  public boolean wasDeleted(Context context) {
    HashMap<Integer, Reminder> deletedReminders = loadDeletedRemindersInternal(context);
    return deletedReminders.containsKey(getId());
  }

  public static Set<Reminder> loadSavedReminders(Context context) {
    return toSet(loadSavedRemindersInternal(context));
  }

  private static HashMap<Integer, Reminder> loadSavedRemindersInternal(Context context) {
    try {
      FileInputStream fis = context.openFileInput(REMINDER_FILE);
      ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);
      Object readObject = ois.readObject();
      ois.close();

      if (readObject != null && readObject instanceof HashMap) {
        return (HashMap<Integer, Reminder>) readObject;
      }
    } catch (IOException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to load saved reminders: ", e);
    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to load saved reminders: ", e);
    }

    Log.w(TAG, "Could not load saved reminders, returning empty set");
    return new HashMap<Integer, Reminder>();
  }

  public static Set<Reminder> loadDeletedReminders(Context context) {
    return toSet(loadDeletedRemindersInternal(context));
  }

  private static HashSet<Reminder> toSet(HashMap<Integer, Reminder> map) {
    HashSet<Reminder> set = new HashSet<Reminder>();
    set.addAll(map.values());
    return set;
  }

  private static HashMap<Integer, Reminder> loadDeletedRemindersInternal(Context context) {
    if (!invalidatedDeletedReminders && cachedDeletedReminders != null) {
      return cachedDeletedReminders;
    }
    try {
      FileInputStream fis = context.openFileInput(DELETED_FILE);
      ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);
      Object readObject = ois.readObject();
      ois.close();

      if (readObject != null && readObject instanceof HashMap) {
        cachedDeletedReminders = (HashMap<Integer, Reminder>) readObject;
        invalidatedDeletedReminders = false;
        return (HashMap<Integer, Reminder>) readObject;
      }
    } catch (IOException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to load deleted reminders: ", e);
    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to load deleted reminders: ", e);
    }

    Log.w(TAG, "Could not load list of deleted reminders, returning empty set.");
    return new HashMap<Integer, Reminder>();
  }

  public static void cleanDeletedReminders(Context context) {
    HashMap<Integer, Reminder> deletedReminders = loadDeletedRemindersInternal(context);
    HashMap<Integer, Reminder> leftReminders = new HashMap<Integer, Reminder>();
    for (Map.Entry<Integer, Reminder> r : deletedReminders.entrySet()) {
      // This should hopefully be enough time to not cause automatic (specifically instant) reminders
      // to repeat themselves.
      if (Utils.getDateDiff(r.getValue().getDate(), new Date(), TimeUnit.DAYS) <= 21) {
        leftReminders.put(r.getKey(), r.getValue());
      }
    }

    try {
      FileOutputStream fos = context.openFileOutput(DELETED_FILE, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);
      ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
      oos.writeObject(leftReminders);
      oos.close();
      Reminder.cachedDeletedReminders = leftReminders;
      invalidatedDeletedReminders = false;
    } catch (IOException e) {
      Log.e(TAG, "Failed to update saved deleted reminder list: ", e);
    }
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Washington, Oregon
A map of the Columbia River watershed with the Snake River highlighted in yellow and the Columbia River highlighted in blue
The Columbia River Basin covers 258,000 square miles and includes parts of seven states and one Canadian province.
In its 1,200 mile course to the ocean, the river flows through four mountain ranges and drains more water to the Pacific Ocean than any other river in North or South America. It once produced the largest salmon runs on earth, with returns often exceeding 30 million salmon per year; today, only a fraction return to spawn.
The river also provides drinking water to numerous communities along its course, and irrigates 600,000 acres of farmland.
Between the U.S. and Canada, the river's 19 hydroelectric dams provide about half the region's supply of electricity, in addition to providing flood control benefits. However, the dams have also played a major role in the decline and extirpation of numerous salmon and steelhead populations, including 13 stocks currently listed under the Endangered Species Act. Populations of Pacific lamprey and sturgeon have also been impacted, and water quality has declined as a result of the dams.
Dam and reservoir operations have fundamentally changed the Columbia River's natural flows. Spring run-off is captured behind dams, thereby reducing flows and hampering the migration of young salmon headed out to sea, exposing them to predators in a series of slow-moving reservoirs. Reduced flows also harm the health of the Columbia River estuary by shrinking the size of the river's freshwater plume— an area that hosts a variety of fish and bird species and accommodates the salmon's gradual adjustment to living in saltwater. Dams have also blocked salmon from thousands of miles in the upper Columbia River system, including tributaries such as the Spokane and Kettle rivers in Washington and numerous rivers in British Columbia.
Releasing more water from behind Canadian and American dams in the spring can help restore healthier flows for salmon and other species, even as climate change sees earlier snowmelts and a higher likelihood of winter precipitation falling as rain rather than snow. Combined with improved dam operations, floodplain and estuary restoration projects, and building fish passage at currently impassable dams, the future for the Columbia River's salmon, steelhead, and other species could be surprisingly bright. Conversely, failing to prioritize ecosystem health on par with hydropower production and flood control under the Columbia River Treaty could condemn the river and its fish and wildlife to further decline.
10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Migratory Fish
In celebration of the World Fish Migration Day, here are 10 fun facts about migratory fish!...
Dams are problem creators, not problem solvers
What will 3,700 more new dams do that 48,000 existing ones haven't already done?
A healthy river is a community's first line of defense, ensuring water security and...
We cannot responsibly meet our nation's energy needs by damming rivers or by weakening...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


LeaseWithEase empowers tenants to make their own leasing decisions and can save a tenant 10% to 20% on their next lease negotiation. LeaseWithEase contacts landlords directly versus searching an out dated database.
LeaseWithEase creates leverage by letting landlords compete for your business. We contact landlords directly versus searching an out dated database to give tenants the most up to date market information. Tenants will remain anonymous as data is collected from landlords. LeaseWithEase allows tenants to feel confident that they are negotiating the best lease for their business. LeaseWithEase only consults tenants so there is no conflict of interest between tenant and landlord.
To create leverage and understand the market compare offers from three or more properties.
Give yourself plenty of time to find the right space for you company. Ideally you should allow six to nine months to find space and negotiate a lease. Start early or you might not find the best space for your company.
Study the market data before you start negotiating a lease.
Disclosure: Information is considered to be from a reliable source but LeaseWithEase will use real time data to confirm data is up to date and accurate.


text:
Kirsten Dunst has a touching way of saying goodbye to her characters
By Kathryn lindsay
We hear all the time about the rituals actors have to get ready for their roles, but not as much about how they finish them. When Kirsten Dunst stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live last night to discuss the second season of Fargo, she revealed the neat thing she does to say goodbye to the characters she plays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfieQB0zJdE
"After I'm done with a role I'll write a little note to myself to kind of sign out," she said. "I write to myself basically, 'Kirsten, you're done now.'"
She doesn't save the notes because, as she explained, it's more about turning a switch inside of her brain rather than the actual note she produces.
We understand how when you're as good of an actress as Kirsten, you can get fully immersed in your character. This is a unique way of stepping back outside of the world you've created. We'd definitely love to see these notes, but we feel just as lucky seeing her amazing performances instead.


text:
Thematic Future Thinking on Carved Stones in Scotland Future Thinking on Carved Stones in Scotland: Case Studies Case Study 16: The Hilton of Cadboll cross-slab: a complex and fragmented biography
Siân Jones and Sally Foster
[T]he greatest glory of a building is not in its stones, nor in its gold. Its glory is in its Age, and in that deep sense of voicefulness, […] which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the passing waves of humanity (Ruskin 1849, 233–4)
All too often in archaeology, art history and heritage management the original meaning and use of objects, images, buildings or monuments is privileged. Yet if we follow Ruskin, it is the effects of human engagement over time that produces their 'voicefulness' or sense of authenticity. The Hilton of Cadboll cross-slab has a complex and fragmented history (Figure 1), on a par with other fragmented and displaced monuments like the Parthenon and the contested 'Elgin Marbles'. Following excavations in 1998 and 2001 (James et al. 2008), a detailed study of its cultural biography shed light on its rich social life and explored the wider social interactions and processes in which it has been entangled (Foster and Jones 2008).
Excavation revealed that the cross-slab had been erected twice at the Hilton chapel site. The cross-face may have been deliberately damaged during the 16th century. Subsequently the upper portion was broken off in a storm and reworked into a gravestone dated 1676, creating thousands of small fragments. Following its 'rediscovery' by antiquarians, this upper portion was taken by the laird to Invergordon Castle in the 1860s. His son sent it to the British Museum in 1921, resulting in widespread protest and it was quickly re-donated to the National Museum of Antiquities (NMAS) in Edinburgh. It now features prominently in the 'Early People' exhibition in the Museum of Scotland. In 2000, a full-scale reconstruction was commissioned and erected adjacent to the Hilton chapel. The excavations of 2001 recovered the missing lower portion and thousands of fragments from the cross-face. While the latter are stored at the NMS the lower portion became entangled in conflicting claims of ownership and belonging and remains in the village community hall.
The biographical study of the monument highlights the myriad ways it contributed to the production of meaning, identity and place. In Pictish times it was involved in the expression and negotiation of religious and political identities, as well as possible regional or ethnic ones. In the Reformation it became tied up with new forms of religious and political identities, but from the late 18th century onwards its significance for religious identity waned in contrast to its part in negotiating the personal identities of the landowning elite and 'polite' classes. During the 19th century it played an increasing role in the production and expression of national identity. This became fully realised in the 20th century with the incorporation of the upper portion into the collection of the NMAS. Meanwhile, in Hilton itself, the recently excavated lower portion acts as a medium for the production of community identities and processes of place-making, specifically in the construction of Hilton as a place of significance. The biography of this monument highlights potent themes of faith, identity, power and place-making, which lie at the heart of people's relationships with one another and with the material world. The powerful nature of these themes contributes to the contestation surrounding the monument, but it is also the reason why it has such a compelling aura, or sense of 'voicefulness'.
Figure 1: Composite image depicting different stages of the life of the Hilton of Cadboll cross-slab. © Richard Easson, photographer unknown; Siân Jones © National Museums Scotland; Siân Jones; GUARD; and Crown Copyright: Historic Environment Scotland
Return to Section 4.2: Identifying and evaluating value, significance and importance


Prince's music played in the background of my life. Sometimes a little louder than other times but when I hear certain songs it takes me back to a specific place. And it reminds me of something I may have forgotten until that moment when I hear that song. And it's not just the music of Prince — there are so many songs that take me to wonderful places and times.
The song "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) takes me to the summer of 1972 right after I graduated. It was tops on the charts and on the radio all the time. I was in the basement of my house working on my decoupage using gallons of Modge Podge. I had great plans to make a living as a decoupage artist — making plaques that said pithy things like "Today is the first day of the rest of your life," or "Smile God loves you." Of course I had a back-up plan — I would be a macrame artist making hanging planters.
The song "A Horse With No Name" invokes the memory of my friend Leslie Samuelson Larsen. We were in my car when the song came on the radio and she started singing away — then I noticed she was singing "I've been to the desert on a horse with Joe Namath." To this day I can't hear that song without thinking of Leslie (who passed away in 2005 from ovarian cancer) and Joe Namath.
ruffles on tuxedo shirts (it was the 70s) at Pennhurst Cleaners; and "Let's Go Crazy" reminds me of dancing with my friends at a party.
That's what music can do — great music and not so great music that is popular — it takes you to another place and time.
Thanks Prince for all the great sounds and memories.
This entry was posted in Observations, Stuff and tagged Joe Namath, Lionel Ritchie, mary hirsch, Modge Podge, music, Prince by Mary Hirsch. Bookmark the permalink.


Murray and Mike's Catering in Myrtle Beach offers custom made to order Birthday cakes, Wedding cakes, and special Occasion cakes. Whether it's a picture out of a magazine or a favorite character theme we can do it all. We offer many flavors and décor options.


Dental Hygiene – If I Had Known Then What I Know Now….
Hello all you wonderful people out there. Have you ever thought, "If I had known then what I know now…." or "If I had my life to live over again I would change……"?
Actually there is not too much I, personally would have done differently. But there is definitely one health related subject I would like to have known more about and adhered to: early childhood hygiene practices.
I had problems with my teeth from the minute go. I had to have fillings, root canal work, tooth extractions. You name it, I had it. Even eating all those taffy apples and other candy (especially at Halloween) would have been alright if only I had known about and practiced proper (and I mean proper) gum and health hygiene. Call it hindsight.
Ironically, at this stage in my life I frantically take care of the few teeth I can still call my own. I brush my teeth (and gums) as soon as I get up in the morning and after every meal. I use mouthwash regularly. I go for biannual dental checkups. I make it a point to get to a dentist as soon as I suspect the slightest dental problem.
In our day and age anything can happen. My next statement may sound a little bizarre – like something out of science fiction – but so did reaching the moon fifty years ago. I visualize people in this lifetime cutting a third set of teeth. Wouldn't that be something! So let's not waste time. Let's brush up on gum and mouth hygiene practices. Let's promote dental hygiene whether through annual dental hygiene week for kids or dental hygiene shirts or whatever.
And don't forget folks– keep smiling!


atual 19:51 5 Ene 2019 900 × 600 (197 bytes) FDRMRZUSA Higher svg resolution from same file (resized by "Inkscape). Same proportion: 2:3. Reduced code size. No other changes.
12:25 12 Heb 2011 900 × 600 (343 bytes) Tryphon Valid SVG.
14:48 9 Heb 2010 900 × 600 (670 bytes) Tryphon Valid SVG.


Chinese medicine: A holistic way to improve your health.
Chinese medicine is unique in the sense that it treats the whole body rather than just treating symptoms. Chinese medicine addresses the root cause of disease. Through this approach, many patients will notice an improvement in many areas of their health including pain, digestion, sleep habits, increased energy and a sense of well being.
Our bodies have an innate ability to heal themselves. Chinese medicine simply gives the body a boost, and allows it to do what comes naturally: To heal itself!
Chinese medicine has five main modalities: acupuncture, herbal therapy, dietary therapy, Qi Gong (gentle exercise), and Tui Na (medical massage). One or more of these modalities may be used in addition to acupuncture, depending on your specific needs.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture uses very thin sterile single-use needles to access specific points on the body to stimulate the body's internal resources.
Cupping: Cupping feels like a gentle massage and it involves the suction of glass cups to your skin. This brings blood and oxygen to specific areas of the body.
Gua Sha: The literal translation means "sand scrape." Performed by scraping a blunt instrument to the surface of the skin. This process enhances circulation and draws out blood impurities.
Moxibustion: Involves burning a special herb called artimesia mugwort either on, or very close to the skin to affect the flow of qi in the channels.
Chinese Herbal Therapy: Sometimes our bodies may need a little extra boost and this is where Chinese herbs come in. Herbs are like nature's medicine, and give our bodies extra support when we need it.
Diet & Lifestyle Advice: Diet and lifestyle are important components of Chinese medicine. Simple changes empower patients to improve their own health.
Tui Na (medical massage): Tui Na is similar to conventional massage, but is more focused on specific problems. It helps relieve pain associated with acute and chronic problems related to joints, and the musculoskeletal system.
Qi Gong (gentle exercise): "Qi Gong" literally means "energy cultivation," and it augments the body's healing capabilities. It harmonizes energy on the physical, psychological and emotional levels.


Steele Saunders is a LA-based Australian comedian, podcaster and television presenter. He produces and hosts the Steele Wars Star Wars Podcast and cult comedy hit I Love Green Guide Letters.
Initially self publishing from his lounge room in Melbourne, Steele's innovative I Love Green Guide Letters grew to be a Australian comedy institution by "reviewing" the complaint letters to the local TV guide. It was named "Best Australian Comedy Podcast 2016" by iTunes.
In 2013 the Steele Wars Star Wars Podcast was launched uniquely combining a decade of stand up comedy experience and a lifetime love of Star Wars. Steele Wars is a hilarious, passionate & informative must download for Star Wars fans the world over.
Steele recently won "best host" at the Star Wars Podcast Awards and is currently working on a book on Star Wars fandom and a Star Wars news program for a major media platform.


text:
Messi's Defensive Work Not Up For Debate – Pochettino
REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Former Paris St Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has said it is absurd to debate Lionel Messi's defensive work as the Argentina captain gets ready to lead his side into the World Cup final against France on Sunday.
Messi is the joint top scorer and assist provider at the World Cup, but there has still been some discussion about his role on the pitch as he looks to guide his team to a third World Cup title.
"Honestly, I think the debate about Messi's defensive work is stale, almost silly," Argentine Pochettino, who coached Messi at PSG, told The Athletic.
"You can't pretend that Maradona or Pele – along with Messi, the most important players in football – were focused on trying to win the ball back. He can't participate in that. He just needs others to run for him," the coach added.
"When you have Messi, you need the other players to understand that they have to take the ball and give it to him so he can keep his energy and then be decisive, as it shows."
Pochettino also praised coach Lionel Scaloni for fostering a sense of unity around Messi.
"That's the most important thing about this Argentina team and the reason why they are in the final. It's because the players understand their roles perfectly. When you have Messi on your team, you must run for him."
Messi's Argentina will appear in their sixth World Cup final when they face France, as they look to claim a first title since 1986.
Tags: messi pochettino
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DONE. NO CHEMICALS. NO FOLLOW UP.
We've been there! You're frazzled, your child has lice and you need it gone today! Our child had lice for 5 months and it was terrible. We used all the other lice services and spent a ton of money; they did their comb-out and these services couldn't kill the lice eggs (nits) or all the bugs, and told US to comb for 3 weeks!
We finally heard about AirAllé® and drove to the closest provider, 4 hours away. We got treated that afternoon and came home LICE FREE. DONE. NO CHEMICALS. NO FOLLOW UP. It was nothing less than a miracle.
Our patented AirAllé® treatment is clinically tested and proven to kill all stages of head lice by utilizing controlled heated air. This method is safe, fast and highly effective against all head lice infestations, including the most stubborn of lice.
For your convenience, we strive to schedule appointments within 24 hours!
Getting your whole family back for mandatory follow-ups is a nightmare, our 3 step process including our FDA-cleared medical device, the AirAllé® will have you lice free in one visit.
Featured Segment on The Doctors!


text:
/*	$NetBSD: tc.c,v 1.26 1998/05/22 21:15:48 thorpej Exp $	*/

/*
 * Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 Carnegie-Mellon University.
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Author: Chris G. Demetriou
 *
 * Permission to use, copy, modify and distribute this software and
 * its documentation is hereby granted, provided that both the copyright
 * notice and this permission notice appear in all copies of the
 * software, derivative works or modified versions, and any portions
 * thereof, and that both notices appear in supporting documentation.
 *
 * CARNEGIE MELLON ALLOWS FREE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE IN ITS "AS IS"
 * CONDITION.  CARNEGIE MELLON DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY OF ANY KIND
 * FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 *
 * Carnegie Mellon requests users of this software to return to
 *
 *  Software Distribution Coordinator  or  Software.Distribution@CS.CMU.EDU
 *  School of Computer Science
 *  Carnegie Mellon University
 *  Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890
 *
 * any improvements or extensions that they make and grant Carnegie the
 * rights to redistribute these changes.
 */

#include "opt_tcverbose.h"

#include <sys/param.h>
#include <sys/systm.h>
#include <sys/device.h>

#include <dev/tc/tcreg.h>
#include <dev/tc/tcvar.h>
#include <dev/tc/tcdevs.h>

struct tc_softc {
	struct	device sc_dv;

	int	sc_speed;
	int	sc_nslots;
	struct tc_slotdesc *sc_slots;

	void	(*sc_intr_establish) __P((struct device *, void *,
		    tc_intrlevel_t, int (*)(void *), void *));
	void	(*sc_intr_disestablish) __P((struct device *, void *));
	bus_dma_tag_t (*sc_get_dma_tag) __P((int));
};

/* Definition of the driver for autoconfig. */
int	tcmatch __P((struct device *, struct cfdata *, void *));
void	tcattach __P((struct device *, struct device *, void *));

struct cfattach tc_ca = {
	sizeof(struct tc_softc), tcmatch, tcattach
};

int	tcprint __P((void *, const char *));
int	tcsubmatch __P((struct device *, struct cfdata *, void *));
int	tc_checkslot __P((tc_addr_t, char *));
void	tc_devinfo __P((const char *, char *));

int
tcmatch(parent, cf, aux)
	struct device *parent;
	struct cfdata *cf;
	void *aux;
{
	struct tcbus_attach_args *tba = aux;

	if (strcmp(tba->tba_busname, cf->cf_driver->cd_name))
		return (0);

	return (1);
}

void
tcattach(parent, self, aux)
	struct device *parent;
	struct device *self;
	void *aux;
{
	struct tc_softc *sc = (struct tc_softc *)self;
	struct tcbus_attach_args *tba = aux;
	struct tc_attach_args ta;
	const struct tc_builtin *builtin;
	struct tc_slotdesc *slot;
	tc_addr_t tcaddr;
	int i;

	printf(": %s MHz clock\n",
	    tba->tba_speed == TC_SPEED_25_MHZ ? "25" : "12.5");

	/*
	 * Save important CPU/chipset information.
	 */
	sc->sc_speed = tba->tba_speed;
	sc->sc_nslots = tba->tba_nslots;
	sc->sc_slots = tba->tba_slots;
	sc->sc_intr_establish = tba->tba_intr_establish;
	sc->sc_intr_disestablish = tba->tba_intr_disestablish;
	sc->sc_get_dma_tag = tba->tba_get_dma_tag;

	/*
	 * Try to configure each built-in device
	 */
	for (i = 0; i < tba->tba_nbuiltins; i++) {
		builtin = &tba->tba_builtins[i];

		/* sanity check! */
		if (builtin->tcb_slot > sc->sc_nslots)
			panic("tcattach: builtin %d slot > nslots", i);

		/*
		 * Make sure device is really there, because some
		 * built-in devices are really optional.
		 */
		tcaddr = sc->sc_slots[builtin->tcb_slot].tcs_addr +
		    builtin->tcb_offset;
		if (tc_badaddr(tcaddr))
			continue;

		/*
		 * Set up the device attachment information.
		 */
		strncpy(ta.ta_modname, builtin->tcb_modname, TC_ROM_LLEN);
		ta.ta_memt = tba->tba_memt;
		ta.ta_dmat = (*sc->sc_get_dma_tag)(builtin->tcb_slot);
		ta.ta_modname[TC_ROM_LLEN] = '\0';
		ta.ta_slot = builtin->tcb_slot;
		ta.ta_offset = builtin->tcb_offset;
		ta.ta_addr = tcaddr;
		ta.ta_cookie = builtin->tcb_cookie;
		ta.ta_busspeed = sc->sc_speed;

		/*
		 * Mark the slot as used, so we don't check it later.
		 */
		sc->sc_slots[builtin->tcb_slot].tcs_used = 1;

		/*
		 * Attach the device.
		 */
		config_found_sm(self, &ta, tcprint, tcsubmatch);
	}

	/*
	 * Try to configure each unused slot, last to first.
	 */
	for (i = sc->sc_nslots - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
		slot = &sc->sc_slots[i];

		/* If already checked above, don't look again now. */
		if (slot->tcs_used)
			continue;

		/*
		 * Make sure something is there, and find out what it is.
		 */
		tcaddr = slot->tcs_addr;
		if (tc_badaddr(tcaddr))
			continue;
		if (tc_checkslot(tcaddr, ta.ta_modname) == 0)
			continue;

		/*
		 * Set up the rest of the attachment information.
		 */
		ta.ta_memt = tba->tba_memt;
		ta.ta_dmat = (*sc->sc_get_dma_tag)(i);
		ta.ta_slot = i;
		ta.ta_offset = 0;
		ta.ta_addr = tcaddr;
		ta.ta_cookie = slot->tcs_cookie;

		/*
		 * Mark the slot as used.
		 */
		slot->tcs_used = 1;

		/*
		 * Attach the device.
		 */
		config_found_sm(self, &ta, tcprint, tcsubmatch);
	}
}

int
tcprint(aux, pnp)
	void *aux;
	const char *pnp;
{
	struct tc_attach_args *ta = aux;
	char devinfo[256];

	if (pnp) {
		tc_devinfo(ta->ta_modname, devinfo);
		printf("%s at %s", devinfo, pnp);
	}
	printf(" slot %d offset 0x%lx", ta->ta_slot,
	    (long)ta->ta_offset);
	return (UNCONF);
}

int
tcsubmatch(parent, cf, aux)
	struct device *parent;
	struct cfdata *cf;
	void *aux;
{
	struct tc_attach_args *d = aux;

	if ((cf->tccf_slot != TCCF_SLOT_UNKNOWN) &&
	    (cf->tccf_slot != d->ta_slot))
		return 0;
	if ((cf->tccf_offset != TCCF_SLOT_UNKNOWN) &&
	    (cf->tccf_offset != d->ta_offset))
		return 0;

	return ((*cf->cf_attach->ca_match)(parent, cf, aux));
}

#define	NTC_ROMOFFS	2
static tc_offset_t tc_slot_romoffs[NTC_ROMOFFS] = {
	TC_SLOT_ROM,
	TC_SLOT_PROTOROM,
};

int
tc_checkslot(slotbase, namep)
	tc_addr_t slotbase;
	char *namep;
{
	struct tc_rommap *romp;
	int i, j;

	for (i = 0; i < NTC_ROMOFFS; i++) {
		romp = (struct tc_rommap *)
		    (slotbase + tc_slot_romoffs[i]);

		switch (romp->tcr_width.v) {
		case 1:
		case 2:
		case 4:
			break;

		default:
			continue;
		}

		if (romp->tcr_stride.v != 4)
			continue;

		for (j = 0; j < 4; j++)
			if (romp->tcr_test[j+0*romp->tcr_stride.v] != 0x55 ||
			    romp->tcr_test[j+1*romp->tcr_stride.v] != 0x00 ||
			    romp->tcr_test[j+2*romp->tcr_stride.v] != 0xaa ||
			    romp->tcr_test[j+3*romp->tcr_stride.v] != 0xff)
				continue;

		for (j = 0; j < TC_ROM_LLEN; j++)
			namep[j] = romp->tcr_modname[j].v;
		namep[j] = '\0';
		return (1);
	}
	return (0);
}

void
tc_intr_establish(dev, cookie, level, handler, arg)
	struct device *dev;
	void *cookie, *arg;
	tc_intrlevel_t level;
	int (*handler) __P((void *));
{
	struct tc_softc *sc = (struct tc_softc *)dev;

	(*sc->sc_intr_establish)(sc->sc_dv.dv_parent, cookie, level,
	    handler, arg);
}

void
tc_intr_disestablish(dev, cookie)
	struct device *dev;
	void *cookie;
{
	struct tc_softc *sc = (struct tc_softc *)dev;

	(*sc->sc_intr_disestablish)(sc->sc_dv.dv_parent, cookie);
}

#ifdef TCVERBOSE
/*
 * Descriptions of of known devices.
 */
struct tc_knowndev {
	const char *id, *driver, *description;
};

#include <dev/tc/tcdevs_data.h>
#endif /* TCVERBOSE */

void
tc_devinfo(id, cp)
	const char *id;
	char *cp;
{
	const char *driver, *description;
#ifdef TCVERBOSE
	struct tc_knowndev *tdp;
	int match;
	const char *unmatched = "unknown ";
#else
	const char *unmatched = "";
#endif

	driver = NULL;
	description = id;

#ifdef TCVERBOSE
	/* find the device in the table, if possible. */
	tdp = tc_knowndevs;
	while (tdp->id != NULL) {
		/* check this entry for a match */
		match = !strcmp(tdp->id, id);
		if (match) {
			driver = tdp->driver;
			description = tdp->description;
			break;
		}
		tdp++;
	}
#endif

	if (driver == NULL)
		cp += sprintf(cp, "%sdevice %s", unmatched, id);
	else
		cp += sprintf(cp, "%s (%s)", driver, description);
}


Local bands will be playing along to award-winning Malaysian films in a project called Panggung Muzik, brought to you by The Wknd. Live music by Tempered Mental (pictured), Pitahati and Deepset will each be complementing three films – 'Bunohan', 'The End Of Daybreak' and 'Songlap'. To reserve your tickets, send an email to tickets@kakiseni.com with your name, contact number, show name, and date and time of show. Each person is limited to two tickets, which must be collected 30 minutes before the show.


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text:
Southern NM leaders leery of Texas reopening for business
Several cities in 'Land of Enchantment' are minutes away from El Paso, were 921 COVID-19 cases have been reported
by: Julian Resendiz
Posted: May 2, 2020 / 08:35 AM CDT / Updated: May 2, 2020 / 08:35 AM CDT
Businesses in El Paso, Texas on Friday began displaying "Now open" signs. (photo by Julian Resendiz/Border Report)
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The phased-in reopening of Texas business began on Friday, prompting concerns from its New Mexico neighbors leery of the spread of COVID-19.
On Thursday, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima called on the residents of New Mexico's second-largest city not to cross the state line into El Paso, Texas.
"I want to ask you to please refrain from going to El Paso for the next couple of weeks," Miyagishima said. "We've had 130 confirmed cases of COVID in Doña Ana County in the last six weeks. El Paso has received over 30 cases in one day. I'm going to ask you to think about your health and the health of your family."
Please refrain from going to El Paso tomorrow for 2 more weeks, Thanks!! pic.twitter.com/Ea8rLRwHls
— Mayor Ken (@MayorKenLC) April 30, 2020
Las Cruces, N.M., Mayor Ken Miyagishima urges his residents not to go across into Texas as their neighbors across the state line begin to reopen most businesses.
Doña Ana County Commissioner Ramon Gonzalez, whose District 2 shares a border with Texas, agrees. he said the reopening of Texas businesses and New Mexicans coming and going to El Paso could aggravate the coronavirus situation in New Mexico.
As of Thursday, New Mexico had recorded 3,411 COVID-19 cases and 123 fatalities. This prompted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to extend the state's stay-at-home order through May 15, which, nevertheless, allows non-essential businesses to resume low-risk activity such as curbside delivery of merchandise to customers who phone-in or email their orders.
On the same day, El Paso County reported three additional COVID-19 fatalities and 37 new cases, bringing the total to 924 cases with 21 deaths.
"It concerns me, people going into Texas," Gonzalez said. "To me, wearing a mask and spacing themselves ought to be into law, not just recommended, because then people start breathing on each other and standing inches away. It's life and death. It's not a game, it's not a joke."
Gonzalez said his district leads Doña Ana County in COVID-19 contagion, with 54 of the 144 cases there. He thinks it has something to do with the towns of Sunland Park, Santa Teresa, Chaparral and Anthony being a couple of minutes' drive from El Paso.
"People should stay at home and stay safe, wear a mask if they go out and space themselves," he said.
by Nexstar Media Wire / Jan 17, 2021
Lake Champlain Chocolates (LCC) issued a voluntary recall on select milk chocolate products after a consumer reported finding plastic pieces in the product, according to the FDA.
No consumers have reported adverse health effects from the contamination thus far.


Today dear daughter and I went to the Fair Trade Christmas Market at Bethany Presbyterian Church. The church has done this every year for a long time. The subtitle the event "a different way to Christmas shop".
If you are interested on being on their mailing list for next year, go to their website and email them your information.
This entry was posted in Churches, Once in a while events, Places of the Spirit, Tacoma, The Holidays, WA State - Pierce County and tagged alternate, Bethany Presbyterian Church, Christmas, Church World Service, Community, Dough for Doe, El Guetzal, Fair Trade Christmas Market, Fish Food Bank, gifts, Grass Roots Uganda, Heifer, Hfj Community Services, holiday, Jubilee Traders, Kilimanjaro, L'arche Farm and Gardens, nonprofit, presents, Tacoma, vendors, worthwhile on December 5, 2010 by admin.


text:
Hollywood Superstars is a comic book series created by writer Mark Evanier and artist Dan Spiegle originally for Epic Comics, an imprint for Marvel Comics for creator owned properties, and ran from November 1990 to April 1991. Thematically, it is similar to an early series by the same team, Crossfire, published by Eclipse Comics, but without the superhero element.

Premise
The series featured the adventures of Jerry Naylor, a stunt coordinator disillusioned the film industry, Melody, an aspiring actress trying break into the business and Leo Haney, a good natured stand up comedian. Together, they run a private detective agency in Hollywood, where they deal with various crises such as irresponsible professionals who recklessly endanger innocents in the making of films.

In keeping with the creative team's tradition, Evanier also posted lengthy essays about the entertainment industry with color illustrations by famed cartoonist, Sergio Aragones.

Production history
The series was commissioned by then Epic editor, Archie Goodwin, who wanted a regular series for the imprint by a reliable creative team that could appeal to a different audience than Marvel's usual fandom. Goodwin anticipated running the series for 1–2 years, possibly at a small loss, while using it to explore alternative means of distribution. Furthermore, the stories would be later bound in trade paperbacks for sale in book stores; it's a retail concept that would become regular practice in subsequent decades.

The arrangements with Marvel's legal team took 10 months to develop an acceptable contract with Evanier and Spiegle. By then, Goodwin had moved to DC Comics and the current editorship had no interest in marketing material beyond their mainstream comics audience and the title proved short-lived as a result.

In 2014, About Comics collected the material for the first time, releasing the entire run in a single black-and-white volume.

References

External links
Hollywood Superstars on Mark Evanier's personal website

Epic Comics titles

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association ended the 1985-86 season with a record of 37 wins and 45 losses, finishing fifth in the NBA's Midwest Division, and compiled a postseason mark of 0-3. Phil Johnson coached the team. The 1985-86 Sacramento Kings lost in the conference 1st round.


text:
Drying out the cane toad invasion
In June 1935, the cane toad began its invasion of Australia. Sailors brought the animal over from Hawaii in an attempt to control the cane beetle that was ravaging Australia's sugar cane crops. It was a mistake that the continent's wildlife would pay for. The toad did nothing to stop the beetles. Instead, it launched its own invasion, spreading across the continent from its north-eastern point of entry. As it marched, it left plummeting populations of native species in its wake.
The toads are born conquerors. Females can lay 35,000 eggs many times a year, and each can develop into a new frog in less than 10 weeks. They're unfussy eaters and they'll munch away on bird eggs, smaller native frogs and more. And they have large glands behind their heads, which secrete a milky poison. Local predators (or domestic pets) that try to eat them tend to die.
Now, Daniel Florance from the University of Sydney has found a clever way of corralling the cane toad invasion. He realised that humans have continued to give the toad a hand, long after we first brought them to Australia. By creating dams and troughs, we provided the toad with watery staging grounds that allowed it to spread across otherwise impassably dry land.
By blocking the toads from these hubs, we could prevent them from spreading over 857,000 square kilometres, an area of land the size of Pakistan. As Florance says, it's not a "silver bullet for toad control", but it can certainly help to cut the numbers of these troublesome trespassers.
Cane toads are less dependent on water than many other frogs, but they're not adapted to truly dry climates. While some frogs burrow underground or create protective cocoons, cane toads simply lose water until they die of dehydration. In the heat of Australia's dry season, they need bodies of water to survive. Fortunately for them, humans have provided them with moisture galore, in the form of cattle troughs, boreholes, and dams.
Florance fenced off these artificial water sources in the Northern Territory during the dry season, when temperatures can regularly climb as high as 37 degrees Celsius. He used wire and metal posts to prevent the toads from jumping over, and buried cloth to prevent them from digging under. Once the barriers were set up, Florance evicted all the toads within them, more than 2,000 in total.
The fences worked. In the following months, Florance couldn't find any toads within the protected areas (although he found several that died at the fences, trying to get in). He fitted radio-trackers to 60 individuals and followed them in their quest for water. Near the fenced areas, all of these toads died within three days. Most of them kicked the bucket after just twelve hours, and they had lost around half of their body weight by that point. Meanwhile, almost all of those released near unfenced water survived.
Without any countermeasures, Florance predicts that the toads will eventually colonise the top half of Australia, spreading over 2.2 million square kilometres. Using a simulation, he calculated that he could reduce that area by 38 per cent if he kept the toads away from man-made water sources. Conservationists could even achieve that by focusing their efforts at 40 to 50 critical "corridor" sites, during the country's dry season.
The fences don't seem to harm any other native animals. Small native frogs have adapted to Australia's harsh climate and they have ways of dealing with the heat without human help. Some died near the fences, but only very few. Meanwhile, larger animals like birds, pythons or mammals are more than able to hop over the relatively short fences. And Florance thinks he could make the fences even more friendly to locals by installing "gates", made of mesh that's large enough to let small frogs through, but small enough to keep out the bulky cane toads.
The same ideas could help to halt the spread of other invasive species. These incursions don't usually happen in a gradually spreading wave – they stem from specific staging grounds. For example, the Argentine ant, another superb invader, spreads by travelling long distances to new areas and setting up colonies that then seed the surrounding lands.
But Florance's strategy is not foolproof. In some areas, natural waterholes will always allow toads to stage fresh invasions. Blocking artificial sources could keep the toads from spreading to certain strategic areas, but it's not going to turn back the invasion in any way. If this seems like a shallow victory, remember that against cane toads, victory of any form would be welcome. Since their invasion began, conservationists have tried all sorts of tricks to control them. And as fond as Australians are of "cane toad golf" and "cane toad cricket", no measures have actually worked on a large scale.
Scientists have tried to find viruses, bacteria or parasites that could hit the toads with debilitating diseases, but to no avail. Others have tried to simply catch the animals or to use pheromones to lure them into traps, but none of these methods are feasible on a large scale. Some have considered releasing sterile males that would prevent other males from fostering the next generation, but that approach would only work if we release far more sterile toads than the entire existing population! Even bouts of arthritis can't stop them.
In the light of these failures, conservationists are getting desperate. Some are playing at damage control, trying to train native predators to avoid the taste of toads. And you know things are dire when people optimistically greet the discovery that meat-eating ants are devouring the toads. Florance's study isn't going to magically solve the problem, but it's a step in the right direction.
Reference: Florance, Webb, Dempster, Kearney, Worthing & Letnic. 2011. Excluding access to invasion hubs can contain the spread of an invasive vertebrate. Proc Roy Soc B http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.0032
Image by Sam Fraser-Smith
More on frogs:
Frogs debug themselves by absorbing tracking devices into their bladders
Coin-sized frog becomes mite-y thanks to poisonous diet
Seven habits of highly successful toads
'Wolverine' frogs pop retractable claws from their toes
First lungless frog discovered in Borneo


text:
Browsing Category Television
(Don't-Call-Her-Auntie Oprah is returning to TV…maybe. Eight years after bidding farewell to airwaves, Oprah Winfrey admits she's thought about a talk show reboot. The legendary talk show ...
On June 24, 2019 / By Anecdote Staff
TV character kill-offs shouldn't be morbid, should they? Roseanne Barr couldn't stay from away from Twitter — even if she really, really tried. (Remember, she did try when she ...
On October 17, 2018 / By Amber McKynzie
Get 'em, Whoopi! Whoopi Goldberg is the wrong one to mess with especially when it comes to the country's social and political issues, especially when they involve Donald Trump. ...
On July 20, 2018 / By Anecdote Staff
Oprah Lands New Role as '60 Minutes' Correspondent
Is there anything Oprah can't do? Beginning this Sunday (Sept. 25), Oprah Winfrey will add another title to her already long list of accomplishments – TV show host, ...
On September 22, 2017 / By Kamilah Kashanie
Shonda Rhimes Says Farewell to ABC, Signs Multi-Year Deal with Netflix
Shondaland is on the move. After spending more than a decade with ABC, TV producer and show writer Shonda Rhimes is leaving the network for an exclusive multi-year ...
On August 16, 2017 / By Amber McKynzie
Now you can celebrate TGIF everyday with Hulu! Get ready to sing your favorite Friday night childhood theme songs whenever you want because Hulu just acquired the rights ...
On August 3, 2017 / By Amber McKynzie
Rick Ross is adding a new title to his repertoire. Rick Ross is teaming up with Grammy-winning songwriter/producer The-Dream and Roc Nation's Senior VP of A&R, Lenny S., ...
On July 26, 2017 / By Amber McKynzie
NBC Cancels 'The Carmichael Show' After 3 Seasons
It's so hard to say goodbye. The Carmichael Show is saying farewell after three seasons – "(okay, 2.5)," according to show creator Jerrod Carmichael. The show's star told ...
Issa Rae Delivers the Trailer for Season 2 of HBO's Hit 'Insecure'
Things are about to get hella real… Issa Rae's gone from being an awkward Black girl on an Internet series to a young adult in California who's insecure ...
On June 19, 2017 / By Amber McKynzie
Jimmy Kimmel Shares Touching Story About Son's Open Heart Surgery During 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'
Jimmy Kimmel couldn't hold back his tears during last night's broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel got personal last night as he opened ...
On May 2, 2017 / By Amber McKynzie


KOHIMA: Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), a Government of India Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Nagaland Bamboo Development Agency (NBDA), a state government undertaking, today inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for sourcing two lakh tonnes of semi-processed bamboo annually.
Imkonglemba said the present availability of bamboo in the state was around nine lakh metric tonnes.
Bamboo needs to be harvested in three years and NBDA has decided to tie up with NRL as their requirement was two lakh metric tonnes per annum, he said adding, NBDA would be working on promoting bamboo entrepreneurs.
Imkonglemba expressed confidence that more than 200 people would be given indirect employment when sourcing of Nagaland bamboo to NRL takes shape.
Ekka said the NRL was also implementing a bio-refinery in Assam for producing bio-ethanol from available non-food bio-mass feedstock.
He said for the proposed project, NRL would be sourcing bamboo from Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
NRL has joined hands with a Finland-based technology provider Ms Chempolis who has third generation technology to convert bamboo to ethanol in commercially viable basis, which was much ahead of other established technology providers for conversion of bamboo to ethanol, Ekka added.


The global market for intraocular lens is highly consolidated in which the top five companies accounted for a mammoth share – about 80.5% - in 2016. The market dominance of the top five players, namely Abbott Laboratories, Terumo Europe NV, Boston Scientific, Inc., Biotronik, and Biosensors International is in large part due to their wide geographical outreach.
The leading players are slated to up their ante further in the upcoming years by carrying out clinical trials to prove the superiority of intraocular lenses over other products. They are expected to expend a lot of energy and money on research and development to unveil more cutting-edge products with multiple benefits.
As per a research report by Transparency Market Research, the global market for intraocular lens was worth US$3.2 bn in 2015. By expanding at a steady CAGR of 5.2% between 2016 and 2024, it is predicted to attain a value of US$5.0 bn by the end of 2024.
The global market for intraocular lens can be segmented on the basis of end-users into ophthalmology clinics, hospitals, eye research institutes, and ambulatory surgery centers. Among them, the hospitals segment accounts for maximum share in the market. In 2015, for instance, it held a share of 36.4%. In the years ahead, however, the segment is predicted to lose its market share to ambulatory surgery centers and ophthalmology clinics. The latter two segments are forecasted to clock higher CAGR from 2016 and 2024 due to the soaring popularity of outpatient settings which help facilitate faster cataract surgery and the ease of access to ophthalmology clinics.
Based on geography, the key segments of the market are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa. Of these, North America holds a leading position because of rising instances of cataract, swift take-up of technologically advanced products and techniques, and growing demand by patients for premium intraocular lens. Europe trails North America in market share. In terms of growth, on the other hand, Asia Pacific is predicted to outshine all other regions with a CAGR of 5.7%. Factors underpinning the growth momentum in the region are high occurrence of diabetes which often results in cataract, different initiatives undertaken by governments to cure cataract, and a fast-expanding refractive surgery market.
At the forefront of driving growth in the global market for intraocular lens market is the spike in ophthalmic and ocular conditions across the world. "The American Association of Ophthalmology (AAO) states that cataract will continue to be the most popular condition responsible for visual impairment in the coming years. The increasing pool of geriatrics, who are susceptible to ocular conditions will also be responsible for the growth of the global intraocular lens market. The increasing awareness amongst the aged about issues associated with impaired vision is also expected to drive the global market in the coming years," explains the lead analyst of the report.
The swift uptake of premium intraocular lens has also been stoking growth in the market in the recent past. Such premium products are a result of continued technological progress and innovation. High prices of such high-end products have done little to dampen their demand. This is because benefits offered by premium intraocular lens such as better vision, lesser rates of astigmatism, and better spectacle independence far outweigh the disadvantages of steep price.


text:
Cloaked in Danger
Ruesch, Jeannie
Aria Whitney has little in common with the delicate ladies of London society. Her famous father made his fortune hunting archaeological treasures, and her rustic upbringing has left her ill prepared for a life of parties and frippery. But when Gideon Whitney goes missing, Aria must embrace the unknown. Armed with only the short list of highborn men who'd backed her father's venture, she poses as a woman looking for a husband. She doesn't intend to find one.
Adam Willoughby, Earl of Merewood, finds London's strangest new debutante fascinating, but when he catches her investigating his family's secrets, he threatens to ruin her reputation. He doesn't intend to enjoy it so much.
When their lustful indiscretion is discovered, Adam finds that he regrets nothing. But now, as Aria's father's enemy draws near, Adam must convince his betrothed that she can trust him with her own secrets…before it's too late.
Publisher: Toronto : Carina Press, 2014
Read more reviews of Cloaked in Danger at iDreamBooks.com


Ever since his debut album In the Lonely Hour back in 2014, Sam Smith has cornered the market on songs made for when you want to sink into a deep state of emotional vulnerability. He made you feel like you're not the only one, in a much more reassuring way than one of his hit songs laments. It's that emotional relatability that made and continues to make Sam Smith so appealing, in conjunction of course with that voice — that heart wrenching, soul-rattling, life-altering, singularly stunning voice. Sam Smith's sophomore release is a continuation of his heart-on-his-sleeve musical journey; and with every journey, there are times of triumph and growth, but also dry patches of monotony. The Thrill of It All lags at moments when it relies too heavily on the familiar sound and style that brought Smith success in the past. It is at its most paramount when it capitalizes on Sam's growth, as the twenty-five-year-old singer plays into a newfound sense of confidence and honesty throughout the album.
I'll admit, at first listen of The Thrill of It All, I thought I was listening to In the Lonely Hour Pt. Two. The ten-track album is filled with more crooning ballads, endless falsettos, catchy hooks, and that soulful, emotive quality that brings a good ole' feeling of heartache with each song. It is Sam Smith doing what Sam Smith does best, but it felt a little too familiar. The first single off The Thrill of It All, 'Too Good at Goodbyes,' which has been riding the top of the charts since its release, simply felt too predictable. It was carried to commercial success by Sam's sheer stardom and some well-placed snaps. 'Pray,' the second single released, gave off a much more genuine feel, and hinted toward the gospel and religious influences that would be further incorporated in other parts of the album. With Timbaland brought on for production, the song feels dynamic, and Sam's delivery is sincere. As the chorus repeats "I've never believed in you no, but I'm gonna pray" we hear Sam singing about his struggles with his faith, a refreshing break from his usual subject of lost love. It was one of the songs that made me realize the album as a whole was more nuanced than I originally thought, albeit in a subtle way.
Smith shines in the two upbeat tracks on the album dubbed "dance-and-cry" songs by the artist himself (it seems like the goal is to always keep us crying). 'One Last Song' and 'Baby, You Make Me Crazy' have a vintage, bluesy sound that Sam Smith's voice melts effortlessly into with fluidity and passion. These songs just have a good little zing to them that pays tribute to an older sound, one that deserves a revival on the pop charts. Had he departed further from his conventional ballads and explored this Motown-inspired soul even more, The Thrill of It All could have been much more vibrant, and — dare I say it — thrilling.
'HIM' is a glowing standout on the album for its lyrical impact. Smith addresses a "Holy Father" throughout the song, as he opens up about his struggle in reconciling his relationship with God in regards to his homosexuality. Each line feels deeply intimate and personal, and is sung with a gentle earnestness. This candor and frankness about his sexuality was something that went previously unmentioned in Smith's first album, so this song in particular demonstrates an intentional shift in subject matter, and again speaks to the growth seen on this album. Considering Sam Smith's influence and platform in the pop music industry, incorporating a decidedly LGBTQ viewpoint into his songwriting could encourage and bolster other LGBTQ artists, and impact how they elect to incorporate their identity into their music as well.
The Thrill of It All is by no means a step in the wrong direction for Sam Smith. While he could have done more to stretch himself artistically, it is certainly still a notable start towards a richer development of an artist who has already created a niche for himself in the music world. The blander moments of the album don't stand out sorely, but rather just sit quietly in the background, as the record is ultimately carried by Sam's incredible vocal prowess and his ability to tap into the emotions of his listeners by baring his own story. If anything, The Thrill of It All is not so much reflective of where Sam Smith is now, but instead holds more promise of what he will do next with the inklings of growth that this album has fostered.