This Week in Pensions & Investments: 10-11-2023
1) CPP Investments ended its second quarter of fiscal 2024 on September 30, 2023, with net assets of $576 billion, compared to $575 billion at the end of the previous quarter:
The $1 billion increase in net assets for the quarter consisted of $488 million in net income and $700 million in net transfers from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
The Fund, which includes the combination of the base CPP and additional CPP accounts, achieved a 10-year annualized net return of 9.6%. For the quarter, the Fund’s net return was 0.1%. In the 10-year period up to and including the second quarter of fiscal 2024, CPP Investments has contributed $311 billion in cumulative net income to the Fund.
For the six-month fiscal year-to-date period, the Fund increased by $6 billion consisting of a net loss of $4 billion, plus $10 billion in net CPP contributions. For the period, the Fund’s net return was negative 0.7%.
“Our diversified portfolio remains resilient, and while we expect these challenging investing conditions to persist for the near term, we are confident that our active management strategy will continue to deliver positive long-term results for CPP contributors and beneficiaries,” said John Graham, President and CEO, CPP Investments.
The Fund’s quarterly results were driven by positive performance in credit and private equities and gains across U.S. dollar-denominated assets, which benefited from a strengthening U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar. Returns were offset by losses in fixed income due to continued high interest rates and weak performance in public equities as global markets declined.
Performance of the Base and Additional CPP Accounts
The base CPP account ended its second quarter of fiscal 2024 on September 30, 2023, with net assets of $546 billion, compared to $547 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The $1 billion decrease in net assets consisted of $1 billion in net income, less $2 billion in net base CPP outflows. The base CPP account’s net return for the quarter was 0.2%, and the five-year annualized net return was 7.3%.
The additional CPP account ended its second quarter of fiscal 2024 on September 30, 2023, with net assets of $30 billion, compared to $28 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The $2 billion increase in assets consisted of a net loss of $392 million and $3 billion in net additional CPP contributions. The additional CPP account’s net return for the quarter was negative 1.3%, and the net return since inception in 2019 was 4.5%.
The additional CPP was designed with a different legislative funding profile and contribution rate compared to the base CPP. Given the differences in their design, the additional CPP has had a different market risk target and investment profile since its inception in 2019. As a result of these differences, we expect the performance of the additional CPP to generally differ from that of the base CPP.
Furthermore, due to the differences in their net contribution profiles, the assets in the additional CPP account are also expected to grow at a much faster rate than those in the base CPP account.
Long-Term Financial Sustainability
Every three years, the Office of the Chief Actuary of Canada, an independent federal body that provides checks and balances on the future costs of the CPP, evaluates the financial sustainability of the CPP over a long period. In the most recent triennial review published in December 2022, the Chief Actuary reaffirmed that, as at December 31, 2021, both the base and additional CPP continue to be sustainable over the long term at the legislated contribution rates.
The Chief Actuary’s projections are based on the assumption that, over the 75 years following 2021, the base CPP account will earn an average annual rate of return of 3.69% above the rate of Canadian consumer price inflation. The corresponding assumption is that the additional CPP account will earn an average annual real rate of return of 3.27%.
CPP Investments continues to build a portfolio designed to achieve a maximum rate of return without undue risk of loss, while considering the factors that may affect the funding of the CPP and its ability to pay current benefits. The CPP is designed to serve today’s contributors and beneficiaries while looking ahead to future decades and across multiple generations. Accordingly, long-term results are a more appropriate measure of CPP Investments’ performance and plan sustainability.
- Welcomed the designation of Dean Connor as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, effective October 27, 2023. Mr. Connor succeeded Heather Munroe-Blum, CPP Investments’ Chairperson since 2014, whose final term as Chairperson and Director expired in October. Mr. Connor has served on the Board since August 2021.
- Welcomed Nadir Mohamed to the Board of Directors. Appointed in October 2023, Mr. Mohamed is the retired President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Communications Inc. He brings extensive business leadership experience to the Board, as well as expertise in stakeholder management, enterprise risk management and cultivating talent.
- Welcomed the reappointments of Ashleigh Everett, John Montalbano, Mary Phibbs, and Boon Sim as Directors of the Board for three-year terms effective October 2023.
- Manroop Jhooty was appointed Senior Managing Director & Head of Total Fund Management. In this role, Mr. Jhooty is responsible for the Total Fund Management department where he leads the balancing and financing portfolio, which is invested in global public securities, as well as balance sheet management, tactical positioning, trading and portfolio design. Mr. Jhooty joined CPP Investments in 2019.
- Published our 2023 Report on Sustainable Investing, which focuses on how we embed sustainable investing across the investment life cycle to create value and progress on our net-zero commitment.
- Published Road to Zero: Decarbonization Investment Approach Progress Report through the CPP Investments Insights Institute, which shares learnings from the Fund’s first year implementing its decarbonization investment approach. The approach involves supporting portfolio companies as they reduce emissions to build value over the long term.
Second-Quarter Investment Highlights
- Invested €20 million into a syndicated credit-linked note with Banco Santander, a leading Spanish financial institution, for a diversified portfolio of small and medium-sized enterprise loans.
- Invested €60 million into a syndicated credit-linked note with a leading global bank headquartered in Europe for a diversified portfolio of corporate loans.
- Completed a multi-year forward flow agreement with Exeter Finance LLC, a U.S. indirect auto finance company, to acquire up to US$200 million per year in residual certificates of auto loan receivables securitizations.
- Invested US$150 million in Cornerstone OnDemand’s incremental first-lien term loan. Based in the U.S., Cornerstone OnDemand is a global leader in learning and talent management software-as-a-service solutions.
- Invested £93 million in a debt facility to Vårgrønn, owner of a 20% stake in Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is an offshore wind farm currently under construction, located off the coast of the U.K.
- Received net proceeds of US$581 million from the sales of U.S. oil and natural gas mineral and royalty interests owned by LongPoint Minerals, LLC and LongPoint Minerals II, LLC, which CPP Investments owns stakes of 72% and 44%, respectively. LongPoint Minerals, LLC and LongPoint Minerals II, LLC acquired their assets between 2016-2021.
- Invested US$206 million to acquire positions in two fund-of-fund vehicles that are invested in buyout, growth buyout and venture funds across a wide range of industries, primarily in the U.S.
- Completed the secondary purchase of a US$100 million commitment to Oak Hill Capital Partners V, which focuses on investing across the industrials, media & communications and business services in the U.S.
- Committed C$200 million to the Canadian private equity market through an evergreen Canadian mid-market mandate managed by Northleaf Capital Partners, a Toronto-headquartered global private markets investment firm. The mandate will target investments in Canadian buyout and growth funds, secondary investments and direct co-investments.
- Invested US$40 million in Redwood Materials Inc., a U.S. company developing a closed-loop supply chain for lithium-ion batteries, through an equity funding round. This is our third investment in the company for a total of US$150 million.
- Invested US$50 million in ServiceTitan, Inc. through an equity financing round and a secondary transaction. Headquartered in the U.S., ServiceTitan is a cloud-based software platform built to power trades businesses.
- Invested US$19 million in Works Human Intelligence, a leading human capital management software provider in Japan, alongside Bain Capital Asia.
- Committed €500 million to CVC Capital Partners IX, L.P., which focuses on control and shared-control buyouts across industries primarily in Europe and the Americas.
- Committed US$150 million to American Industrial Partners Capital Fund VIII, which will primarily target value-oriented, control investments in the North American industrials sector.
- Committed US$150 million to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners XI, which focuses on leveraged buyouts and growth capital opportunities in North America and Europe, primarily in the technology & software, healthcare, financials and consumer & retail sectors.
- Exited our 2016 commitment to STAR Capital Partners III through a secondary transaction, generating net proceeds of €96 million. STAR Capital is a mid-market, U.K.-based private equity firm focused on buyout and growth opportunities.
- Exited our co-investment in Vistra, a leading provider of trust, fund and corporate services based in Hong Kong with a resilient, scalable, and enterprise-wide technology platform. Net proceeds from the sale were approximately C$155 million. Our original investment was made in 2015 alongside BPEA EQT.
- Exited our co-investment in Coforge, a leading technology services provider in India. Net proceeds from the sale were approximately C$145 million. Our original investment was made in 2019 alongside BPEA EQT.
- Completed a structured liquidity transaction, partially divesting 12 North American energy funds, generating gross proceeds of approximately US$860 million with the opportunity for further distributions.
- Invested US$500,000 in Mombak, a Brazil-based venture-backed carbon removal startup investment manager focused on reforesting the Amazon, and committed up to US$30 million to The Amazon Restoration Fund.
- Announced a new partnership with Amsterdam-based Power2X, in which we will invest an initial €130 million to accelerate the growth of Power2X as a development platform and fund green molecule projects. Power2X is a leading European green molecule developer and advisor focused on the decarbonization of industrial value chains.
- Sold our 45% stake in a portfolio of medical office buildings in Southern California. Net proceeds from the sale were approximately US$100 million. Our original investments were made between 2015-2017.
Transaction Highlights Following the Quarter
- Committed US$240 million to TPG Partners IX, L.P., which focuses primarily on healthcare, software and digital media & communications, and US$60 million to TPG Healthcare Partners II, L.P., which focuses solely on healthcare. The funds target upper middle-market and large growth buyouts in North America and Western Europe.
- Committed up to US$90 million in junior financing to fund up to US$820 million of loans originated by Service Finance Company, a U.S. home improvement financial services company.
2) OMERS to invest US$400 Million for an indirect 5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE):
Toronto, [November 6, 2023] – OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, is acquiring a 5% indirect stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (“MLSE”) for US$400 million (~C$546.8 million) through a 20% direct stake in Kilmer Sports Inc. (“KSI”), owned by MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum.
“As an owner of MLSE, I’ve always seen myself as a steward of a public trust, working in service to the fans and the public to build Canada’s most iconic sports teams and win championships,” said Larry Tanenbaum, Chair of MLSE. “Now with this investment by OMERS, I’m thrilled to be sharing this public trust with over 600,000 hard-working Ontarians. Today is a good day for the future of MLSE.”
KSI currently owns 25% of MLSE. KSI is owned by Larry Tanenbaum who is also Chairman and CEO of Kilmer Group. In 1998, Tanenbaum was instrumental in the formation of MLSE, the pre-eminent leader in delivering top quality sports and entertainment experiences. It is the parent company of sports teams including the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, and the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and a number of development teams.
Blake Hutcheson, President and CEO of OMERS, said “This is an exciting and unique opportunity for OMERS members in Ontario communities to be connected to these iconic sports teams in their own backyard. As an investor on their behalf, we actively seek out investment opportunities of the highest quality, that are fortified by trusted partnerships and that offer the potential of significant long-term upside. This one happens to be here in Canada and Ontario which is also really important, and meaningful to OMERS.”
Upon closing, Tanenbaum will retain an 80% stake in KSI and KSI maintains its 25% stake in MLSE. Tanenbaum will remain Chair of MLSE, Governor and member of the Executive Committee of the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer, and Chairman of the Board of the National Basketball Association. OMERS will be a financial investor and will not participate in operational decisions of MLSE or any of its teams.
About Kilmer Group
Kilmer Group is a multi-generational platform with a long history in business development and investment focused on three verticals: Infrastructure & Real Estate, Sports & Media, and Private Equity, which includes a majority ownership in Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited.
Founded in 1962, OMERS is one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, with C$127.4 billion in net assets as at June 30, 2023. OMERS is a jointly-sponsored pension plan, with 1,000 participating employers ranging from large cities to local agencies, and 600,000 active, deferred, and retired members. OMERS members include union and non-union employees of municipalities, school boards, local boards, transit systems, electrical utilities, emergency services and children’s aid societies across Ontario. Contributions to the Plan are funded equally by members and employers. OMERS teams work in Toronto, London, New York, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Singapore, Sydney and other major cities across North America and Europe – serving members and employers and originating and managing a diversified portfolio of high-quality investments in public markets, private equity, infrastructure, and real estate.
Read the press release here.
Ana Pereira of the Toronto Star notes the deal puts the overall value of MLSE at $8 billion — a significant increase from when BCE and Rogers bought a stake in the company for 1.32 billion in 2012:
The deal puts the overall value of MLSE at $8 billion — a significant increase from when Bell Canada and Rogers Communications bought a 75 per cent stake in the company from the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan for $1.32 billion in 2012.
That’s partly because, over the last decade, professional sports franchises saw a spike in value on the heels of growing billionaire interest in a finite pool of teams.
MLSE’s success is a result of growing sales, merchandising, and breeding championship contending teams like the Raptors, which captured the NBA Championship in 2019, says Richard Powers, professor at the Rotman School of Management who specializes in sports marketing.
“They know the business,” said Powers “and they’ve had excellent leadership over the years.”
The Raptors alone are valued at $4.1 billion, 10th in a list of NBA teams for 2023, according to Forbes, while the Leafs came in second in Forbes rankings of most valuable NHL teams in 2022 at $2 billion.
For Tanenbaum, the move might reflect a desire to reap some of that gain, said Michael Goldberg, senior vice president of sports financing at DBRS Morningstar.
“If he has an asset that has gone up by a factor of eight times in the last ten or so years, it’s probably a significant portion of his net worth,” said Goldberg.
Read the full article here.
3) Teachers’ Venture Growth, the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, invests USD 80 million in Xpressbees
Pune, November 7, 2023 – Xpressbees, one of India’s market-leading and fastest growing third-party end-to-end logistics platforms, announced today that Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of the C$249 billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has made a US$ 80 million investment in Xpressbees. This investment will be used to help drive further growth for the Xpressbees platform and support the company’s strong management team with their future ambitions. This marks Ontario Teachers’ first investment in India from the TVG platform. TVG joins a marquee set of investors in the company including Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, ChrysCapital, Khazanah Nasional Berhard, Alibaba Group, Elevation Capital, Investcorp, Norwest Venture Partners and Gaja Capital.
Xpressbees has been at the forefront of tech-led disruption in the logistics industry with its unique asset light model tailormade for India and has executed this in a highly capital efficient format. Xpressbees has gained significant market share from incumbents while maintaining its best-in-class SLAs through multiple tech interventions. It has helped scale multiple e-commerce platforms by providing an extremely efficient logistics solution and delivering happiness to their customers’ doorstep. With express logistics being the need of the hour for multiple industries, it has expanded focus across Pharma, Healthcare, Manufacturing and many other segments.
Through its subsidiary NimbusPost, Xpressbees is providing a SaaS based shipping aggregation platform for SME & D2C brands. It’s easy and reliable plug and play cost effective tech solution has resulted in NimbusPost being the second largest shipping aggregator platform. Today, it has 60,000+ clients and ships through 27 local and national courier partners. The company further intends to expand its suite of service offerings through selective inorganic acquisitions. It recently acquired TrackOn to enter SME/C2C courier services.
Speaking on the transaction, Amitava Saha, Founder & CEO Xpressbees said, “We believe the logistics sector is at the cusp of technological disruption and this is the right time to expand service offerings to address the growing needs of businesses and consumers. We are elated to partner with the TVG team who bring rich experience and a vast global network which will help as we scale our end-to-end platform to cater to the next level.”
Deepak Dara, Senior Managing Director and Head of India at Ontario Teachers’ said, “We are excited about the market opportunity for end-to-end logistics and supply chain solutions that can meet the needs of a diversified customer base across industries, including e-commerce in India. Led by a strong team, Xpressbees has established a highly scalable and efficient asset-light model with proven execution capabilities. We are delighted to partner with Amitava and the Xpressbess team in executing their vision to build an industry-leading business.”
Kelvin Yu, Senior Managing Director, Teachers’ Venture Growth said “Xpressbees aligns with our TVG thesis for Asia, of partnering with exceptional management teams looking to leverage technology to accelerate growth in an attractive end market that has a long runway for innovation and development. India is a critical market for our TVG Asia strategy, where we look to lead or co-lead rounds, and Xpressbees is a culmination of one such proprietary opportunity. We are excited to partner with Amitava and leverage our global network and playbook to drive long-term value creation for the business”
Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor on this transaction
Xpressbees is one of the fastest growing end-to-end logistics companies in India. Xpressbees has established itself as a full-service logistics organization across B2C Express, B2B Express, 3PL, Cross-border operations, Shipping aggregator and SME courier services. The company today is present across over 5,000 cities and towns, serving over 20,000 pin codes, and delivers over 1.5 million packages per day. Xpressbees now has over 100 hubs across India, more than 3 million sq. ft. of warehouse capacity, and operates across 52 airports in the country.
About Teachers’ Venture Growth
Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in cutting-edge technology companies worldwide. We partner with founders with bold missions, looking to expand their product offering, scale geographically, and become the leaders in their markets. We bring long-term thinking and active investing to help build better businesses and a better world. We think globally and act locally through our direct office presence around the world.
Read the press release here.
3) CDPQ announced a minority investment in AVENIR GLOBAL, a Montreal-based holding and management company of public relations and communications firms that ranks in the international top 25:
Read the press release here.
4) HOOPP shared new discussion paper by Stephen Poloz, the ninth Governor of the Bank of Canada. HOOPP is a longtime advocate of improving retirement security for all Canadians. In Pensions in the Next Age of Uncertainty, Poloz considers how Canadians will respond to an increasingly uncertain world and how pensions will become even more essential as a result.
According to the 2023 Canadian Retirement Survey, Canadians are worried about the impact of inflation and high interest rates on their ability to save for retirement, with more than half (60%) saying they’ll be forced to push out their target retirement date if inflation continues to climb. In the discussion paper, Poloz takes this a step further, arguing that various factors, including an aging population, technological advancements, rising debt and climate change, are tectonic forces with the potential to interact in unprecedented ways. It's this "unforecastable" future that could leave even more Canadians struggling to save as retirement risks grow.
This high level of uncertainty leads many Canadians to wonder how much money they’ll need to save for retirement, a question compounded by even more questions: how long will they live? What will their future investment returns look like? What will their family home be worth?
Improved access to good workplace pensions, and particularly defined benefit pensions, Poloz explains, can mitigate these challenges by better protecting individuals against longevity risk and market volatility. Further, he notes that while some may think of pensions as a cost, the reality is they more than pay for themselves with the economic growth they generate.
Pensions in the Next Age of Uncertainty makes a compelling companion to our own research, including the newly released 2023 Canadian Employer Pension Survey, which found growing momentum for retirement benefits amongst employers. In fact, the number of employers who plan to introduce or enhance their retirement benefit offerings this year or next increased to 23%, up six per cent since 2022.
We believe these findings provide an intriguing backdrop to Poloz’s detailed look at the future of retirement security and pensions in Canada, in which he offers a unique view and raises new questions. We are pleased to share this discussion paper and encourage you to take a few minutes to read it.
Read the discussion paper, Pensions in the Next Age of Uncertainty. The executive summary and full paper are available here.
5) Vestcor released its second annual Responsible Investment Report, outlining the active investment related activities that were conducted during 2022 under the direction of its publicly posted set of Responsible Investment Guidelines (the Guidelines):
The intent of this report is to continue to fulfill the core principle of Transparency that is outlined in the Guidelines; it also continues to be formatted in-line with our other noted core principles including Active Ownership and Engagement, and to illustrate the Incorporation of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Information into our investment processes.
Vestcor’s investment and risk management teams consider responsible investment issues when conducting their initial investment due diligence and through their ongoing monitoring activities. This report highlights how we integrate ESG information into our investment decision making process and includes two new case studies that demonstrate our active investment activities in long-term carbon emission reduction opportunities in our existing real estate portfolio and through new energy infrastructure investments.
Finally, the report provides an updated climate related greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) disclosure for the majority of our investment portfolio utilizing the guidelines of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This disclosure has been significantly expanded by including more asset class types in this year’s calculation and we are very pleased to report a material reduction in GHG emissions over the comparable 2021 metrics that were part of last year’s report.
Vestcor looks forward to continuing to annually disclose TCFD aligned information as companies work towards meeting their global climate targets.
View the report at Vestcor.org/responsibleinvestment.
A Partner in Creating and Delivering Sustainable Financial Security.
Vestcor is an independent not-for-profit company located in Fredericton, New Brunswick which provides global investment management services to 10 different public sector client groups representing approximately $20 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022, and administration services to 11 public sector pension plans and 4 employee benefit plans.
Vestcor’s team of more than 150 service professionals provides innovative, integrated, cost-effective investment management and pension and benefit administration services solutions to public sector entities. Vestcor currently services the requirements of over 111,000 individual plan members and 140 participating employer groups.
Read the press release here.
6) IMCO's CEO Bert Clark wrote a comment on LinkedIn on how large investors have comparative advantages to enhance returns. He concludes;
Large institutional investors have the investment time horizon, liquidity requirements and scale to invest in private assets on a cost-effective basis, shift between private and listed investments, invest in opportunities that do not fit neatly into traditional asset classes, act as a capital sponsor to companies and effectively navigate longer term trends. These advantages allow larger institutions like IMCO to take on incremental risk that they are better placed accept, analyze and manage. Leveraging these investment advantages are some of the strategies IMCO uses to enhance returns on behalf of our clients.
Read his full comment here.
My take: I would say the key advantage IMCO and other large Canadian pension funds is certainty of cash flows and access to top private equity, real estate, infrastructure and private debt partners around the world. It allows for more degrees of diversification and smoother returns over long run.
7) Gordon Pape wrote and op-ed for the Globe and Mail stating the Canada Pension Plan changes will raise contributions at a very wrong time.
My take: There's never a right time but we need to get on with enhancing the CPP for future generations. The sooner we do it, the better off they will be.
8) David Crane writes for The Hill that Canada urgently needs more capital here at home:
Canada does not suffer from a lack of savings. But every year a significant share of our reserves end up supporting growth in other countries at a time when we urgently need more capital here at home to create our own economy of the future. This needs to change.
Our pension funds, mutual funds, insurance firms, and other managers of Canadian savings send billions of dollars every year to the United States, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe to invest in their growth companies while young Canadian businesses find themselves starved of funds. This limits their growth, and many end up selling out to foreign corporations since they cannot pursue their potential to scale up into world companies owned and headquartered in Canada.
Read full article here.
My take: Canada desperately needs a new federal government that creates winning conditions to allow our large pension funds to invest in more large-scale infrastructure projects at home. Forget the dual mandate, works well for CDPQ but it's fraught with risks and not always in the best interest of contributors and beneficiaries.
Here are some of the top investment stories this week:
1) Analyst Meredith Whitney is known for her call that anticipated the 2008
financial crisis. Now she is predicting that the housing market is due
for some dramatic changes starting in 2024:
Prices will start to go down and the supply of homes for sale will go up, she said Tuesday, reversing current dynamics that make the home-buying process difficult for many Americas.
The reason: a "silver tsunami" of baby boomers who are expected to start downsizing.
Citing AARP estimates, Whitney says 51% of people over the age of 50 — a group that owns more than 70% of US homes — are set to downsize to smaller homes. That would bring more than 30 million units of housing onto the market.
"You'll see a supply-demand dynamic shift," Whitney, founder and CEO of Whitney Advisory Group, told Yahoo Finance’s Invest Conference on Tuesday.
Whitney sees the shift beginning late next year into 2025 and said it's a multi-decade cycle.
"Americans are sitting on a tremendous amount of equity in their homes. It's a question of when they tap into it," Whitney said.
Read full article here.
2) It’s the buzz word on Wall Street and in the hallways of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. It’s blamed for triggering bond selloffs, shifts in debt auctions and interest-rate policy. That few agree on what exactly it reflects, or how to measure it, seems to matter little — the term premium is a powerful new force in the market:
Typically described as the extra yield investors demand to own longer-term debt instead of rolling over shorter-term securities as they mature, the term premium, in the broadest sense, is seen as protection against unforeseen risks such as inflation and supply-demand shocks, encapsulating everything other than expectations for the path of near-term interest rates.
The problem is it’s not directly observable. Various Wall Street and central bank economists have developed models to estimate it, often with wildly conflicting results. The one thing that most market observers, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, can agree on is that in recent months the term premium has soared, likely fueling the dramatic ascent in long-term rates that only recently has started to fade.
The implications for the trajectory of monetary policy are substantial. Powell and other Fed officials have said that the jump in the term premium could hasten the end of their interest-rate hikes by squeezing growth in the economy, effectively doing some of the work for them as they try to rein in inflation. Yet with traders having long struggled to handicap the Fed’s next moves, some warn the central bank’s focus on the notoriously hard-to-understand feature of the US government debt market is making it even more difficult to anticipate the path of rates going forward.
“It seems like a strange door for the Fed to open,” said Jason Williams, a global market strategist at Citigroup Inc. “It’s puzzling as the term premium is something that by definition you can’t know, which the Fed realizes but still is saying its rise is important and can offset some potential hikes.”
Read full article here.
3) The amount of money that investors are parking at a major Federal Reserve facility dropped below $1 trillion for the first time in more than two years.
A total of 94 participants on Thursday put a combined $993 billion at the Fed’s overnight reverse repurchase agreement facility, used by banks, government sponsored enterprises and money-market mutual funds to earn interest. It marks a steep decline from a record $2.554 trillion stashed on Dec. 30 and is the smallest sum since August 2021.
“It’s a big number,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Steven Zeng, referring to the decline past $1 trillion. “I can see it falling further with dealers owning so much of the new bond.”
Primary dealers on Thursday took down about twice as much of the Treasury’s $24 billion 30-year bond auction as normal. Dealers often finance those purchases in the repo market, and the additional collateral stands to push overnight rates higher — a move that could prompt investors to pull more cash out of the Fed’s repo facility.
Demand for the facility, however, has been fading this year as the Treasury ramped up fresh bill issuance, offering an alternative for short-term investors. Money-market funds have been scooping up the Treasury’s deluge of bills since June, after President Joe Biden signed legislation suspending the debt ceiling until 2025.
That buying has accelerated as traders bet that the Fed is near the end of its interest-rate hiking cycle, giving them room to allocate their record amount of assets into bills — without the fear that they’ll miss out on further rate increases.
The Treasury has issued roughly $1.76 trillion of bills on net, and that’s helped drive their interest rates above the offering yield on the US central bank facility — currently 5.30%. This deluge has also helped push up rates on other money-market assets like private repo.
But as usage of the Fed’s facility fades, Wall Street strategists are weighing whether there will be further impact on the central bank’s policy decisions. If demand falls toward zero, strategists say, the Fed will have to halt its quantitative tightening program because excess liquidity will have been completely drained and bank reserves will have reached a point of scarcity.
4) Mark Spitznagel, the Universa Investments founder and chief investment officer whose firm is advised by Black Swan author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, said the stock market is likely to surge — then turn drastically when the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates:
“That’s when things are going to get really awful,” Spitznagel said in an interview this week in New York.
Spitznagel is extending his concerns about the market’s reliance on Fed support through more than a decade of low interest rates and its bond-buying program, which it’s now in the process of trying to reverse. Earlier this year, he told investors we’re living in “the greatest tinderbox-timebomb in financial history,” even worse than the late 1920s run-up to the Great Depression.
“This is my own crazy theory: I think our rates are going to go back to zero as well. I mean, a lot of people would think I’m nuts,” said Spitznagel, 52. “But remember when a credit bubble pops, remember what a deflationary event that is. It’s like taking a giant pile of cash and lighting it on fire.”
Universa, based in Miami, is a tail-risk fund, which means it’s designed to protect investors when markets turn south. Tail-fund managers are inclined to warn against the next blowup, touting their strategies to clients as an insurance policy against extreme moves in financial markets. Spitznagel’s greatest payouts to investors come during extreme market crashes, such as the pandemic-spurred one in March 2020.
He said this week that he believes the Fed will have a hard time with its quantitative-tightening efforts, and that the central bank may even have to start easing once again.
“I think they’re gonna have to come back with vengeance, I really do,” he said.
The Fed’s balance sheet, which had roughly $9 trillion in assets at its peak in 2022, has declined to less than $7.9 trillion. That’s still some $3.7 trillion more than where they stood at the beginning of 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic spurred the central bank to support markets even more drastically.
Spitznagel said he believes the Fed will need to reaffirm its support because he sees a recession as likely. Yet the market will continue to rise before tumbling because “the Fed just paused — that’s a good start right there — and people are positioned in a way like we’re about to crash,” he said.
“We’re probably deferring a recession to next year, and the yield curve has spent some time being uninverted,” Spitznagel said. “Put all those things together and we’re going vertical. But the sentiment is very, very negative.”
The S&P 500 has been on a week-and-a-half rally, held up in particular by dovish signals of late from Federal Reserve policymakers. While borrowing costs in the US have risen to a 22-year high, yields have begun to subside recently.
Spitznagel said the lagged effects of such high rates have yet to be fully realized throughout the economy, and future cuts will reflect the inability of borrowers to stomach higher borrowing costs after saddling themselves with debt.
“We’re likely now in a brief Goldilocks zone, and no one expects it — more squeeze-up and blow-off in risk assets, which I’ve been writing and saying for a year,” he said. “Then Papa Bear shows up, and it will be too late to react.”
Read full article here.
5) Americans are feeling worse about the state of the US economy:
The preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in November from the University of Michigan showed the index came in at 60.4 this month, well below the 63.7 expected by economists and the lowest for the measure since May. Friday's reading also marked the fourth straight month of declines.
"While current and expected personal finances both improved modestly this month, the long-run economic outlook slid 12%, in part due to growing concerns about the negative effects of high interest rates," Surveys of Consumers director Joanne Hsu said in the release. "Ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine weighed on many consumers as well."
Notably, consumer expectations for long-run inflation ticked up to a level not seen since 2011. Consumers now see inflation at 3.2% over the next five years, a move up from the 3% seen as of last month.
Expectations for gas prices also rose to their highest levels of the year.
Read full article here.
Alright, let me wrap it up there.
Below, the opening ceremony of the seventh edition of the McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC) discussing building resilience in the face of persistent inflation featuring Ramy Rayes, Executive Vice President, Investment Strategy & Risk at BCI and Millan Mulraine, Chief Economist at OTPP.
The event, in collaboration with the Sustainable Growth Initiative (SGI), was moderated by Sebastien Betermier, Associate Professor of Finance at McGill’s University’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
Great discussion, kudos to Ramy, Millan and Sebastien.
I also embedded some clips with Stephen Poloz, former governor of the Bank of Canada who was interviewed by Amanda Lang on Taking Stock last week. Steve discussed the affordability crisis and the risks and opportunities that lie ahead.Take the time to watch and listen to his views.
Lastly, Ken Griffin, Founder & CEO, Citadel speaks with Erik Schatzker, Editorial Director, Bloomberg New Economy at the 2023 Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore
It's rare that Griffin speaks so take the time to listen to his views, he's really sharp.


Over 30 years of experience in engineering management consulting and ASME Codes and Standards.
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Reedy Engineering has consulted for most of the nuclear utilities in the United States and Canada, as well as several in Europe and Asia. We are often involved in helping our clients resolve licensing issues with the USNRC and other international regulatory bodies.
ASME CODE CONSULTING
When we act as ASME Code Consultants, our goal is to help our clients maintain quality and safety, without sacrificing time and money. We teach our clients to resolve ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and regulatory issues for themselves. We provide training in ASME nuclear construction and inservice inspection requirements and in support of ASME accreditation.
Reedy Engineering is often hired to provide expert witness services in complicated litigations involving design, construction, materials, welding, and quality issues, due to our long involvement in ASME Codes and Standards activities. We have successfully defended many companies against asbestos litigation.
Our RA-Search database has been updated to include all the latest published ASME Code Interpretations for 2012. The database also includes comments on every change to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and the ASME B31.1 and B31.3 Piping Codes from 1952 to 2012. Comments on all of the ASME Code changes in this period are not available from any other source.
The Reedy Engineering Code Reconciliation Report has been updated to include the changes in the 2011a Addenda to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. It is currently being used by more than 30 nuclear utilities in the United States and Europe.


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It’s the time of year that Brazil comes to life with parades, shows and dancing in the streets. It’s a colourful explosion of passion and unity, known globally as Rio Carnival. But why should you visit Brazil during Carnival?
Why is there a Carnival?
Brazil Carnival (as it is also known) dates back to 1640, where local Catholics would meet up for one final feast before the start of Lent. It was originally a food festival and the word ‘Carnival’ originates from the Latin word ‘Carne-Vale’ which means ‘Goodbye to the Meat’. Traditionally Catholics gave up meat for Lent, so hence a huge feast of meat ahead of the fast. This also explains why Brazilians are so passionate about the way they cook and serve their meat as they would spend hours preparing meat for this special event.
How many people visit Carnival every year?
It’s believed that two million people grace the streets of Rio Carnival every day during the five days it runs. 500,000 of which are foreign tourists visiting the city for the Carnival. There are approximately 587 street parties (or Bloco’s as they are known locally) that take place around Rio de Janeiro as well as the main parade that takes place in the Sambodromo (Sambadrome) which is the most prestigious parade of the carnival. The ‘Parade of Mangueira’ is held by the top Samba school schools in the city and schools spend weeks or months working on their routine, float or costumes. Here there tickets available to buy for seats in the stadium to watch the large parade from the best view.
How can you visit Rio Carnival?
We are very proud to offer a tour that takes place throughout Rio Carnival. Essence of Argentina & Brazil Carnival, which includes everything our Essence of Argentina & Brazil tour has, but with the added bonus of grandstand tickets to the Parade of Mangueira in the Sambadrome. These tickets are very hard to come by and sell out in minutes every year, so we are delighted to include these on our carnival tour.
The first departure of this tour was so successful we will be offering this for next year!
What else can you do in Rio de Janeiro?
Brazil is a vast country with some of the best sights in the world. The most iconic of which being the Christ the Redeemer Statue. As part of our Essence of Argentina & Brazil tour you’ll get to visit the monument and ascend to the base of the statue for that iconic photo! In addition, the excursion includes a cable car over to Sugar Loaf mountain – which is said to be one of the best things to do in Rio.
Our tour also includes a trip to the beautiful Iguazu Falls. The falls span across Argentina and Brazil and as part of our tour you can visit both sides of the falls. Your first experience of Brazil will be crossing the border in Iguazu and trust us – you’ll find it breathtaking!
Copacabana Beach is another highlight for those visiting Brazil. Copacabana beach was made famous by the construction of Copacabana Palace hotel, which became one of the most luxurious casino and hotel resorts in Brazil. Copacabana Palace was decorated in marble and glass and hundreds flocked to the casino, until gambling was outlawed in Brazil in 1923. Copacabana is one of the most famous beaches in the world and whenever you visit you’ll find colourful characters and plenty of street performers.
Some others however prefer Ipanema beach as they find the beach to be more comfortable for sunbathing and find it much quieter than Copacabana. Ipanema might be a surfers paradise, but you will find a much more relaxed feeling here with quaint boutiques and eateries dotted along the beach edge as well as kiosks selling fresh coconuts, drinks and other refreshments.
Ipanema beach was made famous by the song ‘Girl from Ipanema’ (or Garota de Ipanema) as its called locally and since then tourists and locals frequent this beach for a relaxing day.
Our tour will make sure you capture the true essence of Brazil as well as visiting all the sites mentioned above, and much much more. For those who enjoy flavour, you’ll get plenty of chances to try the local food as part of the tour as we believe in authentic experiences.
We don’t want to reveal all the highlights of this extraordinary tour, so why not take a look at the Tour Itinerary or the Carnival Tour Itinerary to whet your appetite.

domain: travel


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Dr. Jackie Pujol has been practicing medicine for 52 years. Dr. Pujol graduated from the Univ De Bordeaux Ii, U.e.r. De Med, Bordeaux, France in 1962. He practices medicine in Vienna, VA and specializes in Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrics. Dr. Pujol is affiliated with Inova Fairfax Hospital. He speaks English, French and Spanish.
Years in Practice: 52 Years
Languages Spoken: English, French, Spanish
Medical School: Univ De Bordeaux Ii, U.e.r. De Med, Bordeaux, France
Graduation Date: 1962
Hospital Affiliations: Inova Fairfax Hospital
Specialties: Adolescent Medicine, Pediatrics

domain: medical


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(Nov. 21, 2017) On November 9, 2017, the Brazilian Federal Senate approved the bill of law No. 9/2017, which amends the Civil Code to allow the Public Prosecutor’s Office to request the withdrawal of inheritance rights from heirs who have been the perpetrators of intentional homicide or attempted murder against the person who left the assets. (Projeto de Lei da Câmara [Chamber Bill] No. 9, de 2017; Código Civil [Civil Code], Lei No. 10.406, de 10 de Janeiro de 2002, PLANALTO.) The bill now must be signed by President Michel Temer to enter into force.
Article 1,814(I) of the Civil Code already determines that heirs or legatees who are the perpetrators of or co-conspirators or participants in an intentional homicide or attempted murder of a person who has made provision to leave them the assets, and the legator’s spouse, companion, or ascendant or descendant relative, are excluded from the succession. However, the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office had not been clear. The amendment clarifies the Office’s role.

domain: politics


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Page 5 of 6
As for gas, that is included in the Consumer Price Index. But there's more than one CPI — the core and the overall index. If you look at the overall CPI, expenses such as food and energy are included, and by that measure inflation spiked to 5.5 percent as recently as 2008. But most of the time, the press reports the core CPI, because the feds use the core to determine monetary policy. And the core CPI is designed to measure the underlying structure of prices. Because a freeze in Florida could suddenly drive up the price of citrus or a refinery explosion could spike gas prices, they're considered too volatile to be an accurate gauge of what's happening to prices overall.
Williams doesn't buy any of that. In fact, he considers core inflation just another "nonsensical concept" that distorts reality once again. "While such information might be interesting over a short period of time when food and energy prices are particularly vulnerable in a given month, over the period of a year, food and energy prices cannot be ignored as part of meaningful consumer inflation," he wrote in an e-mail. "Even Fed Chairman Bernanke eats food and consumes energy."
His attitude toward hedonic adjustment is similarly withering: "If a computer now plays movies, then that should be handled as a new type of product and introduced as such. ... Instead, the government deems that a computer now is, say, 20 percent less expensive than it was before from a quality standpoint ... even though the retail sales price of the machine has not changed. ... I should be able to buy the same computer I did ten years ago for $100. To buy the same basics I need, to do the same work as I still do on the old machine, it still costs me $1,000 today. While some adjustments are proper, there are imbalances here that have been taken to extremes."
Such arguments leave Haver gritting her teeth as she struggles to find a constructive characterization of Williams. "On the Internet, there are people who want to believe the worst," she said. "And that's unfortunate. It's important that we have information about the economy that we can trust. And in Washington, we have all these nerds who are trained so hard to do their best to produce measures that really are accurate in terms of giving us a picture of what's going on in their country.
But not everyone is eager to dismiss Williams as a crank or a huckster. Kevin Phillips, for example, cited and endorsed his work in a particularly dire May 2008 Harpers piece. "Undermeasurement of inflation, in particular, hangs over our head like a guillotine," he wrote. "Our humbugged nation may truly regret losing sight of history, risk, and common sense."
Perhaps you may have heard of Phillips, a former NPR commentator. He's the author of The Emerging Republican Majority, the 1969 book that predicted that as Americans move from the industrial Northeast to Sun Belt suburbs, a massive ideological realignment would place conservatives in power for at least a generation. He is, in other words, the author of one of the most famous and deadly accurate predictions in American political science. His 2008 book, Bad Money, argued that a convergence of peak oil and unprecedented personal and mortgage debt was about to plunge the nation into a chasm.
If anything, Phillips was already late to that game. All throughout the middle of the last decade, a small number of analysts and hedge fund managers warned that the American economy was crippled with debt, that the housing market was going to tank, and we were all headed for a deep recession, only to be universally dismissed as nuts, "permabears," and professional pessimists.
One of this era's defining moments occurred on August 28, 2006, when stock broker and UC Berkeley alumnus Peter Schiff appeared on CNBC and proclaimed that by 2008, our addiction to debt-financed consumption and the collapse of the housing bubble would plunge the country into one of the deepest recessions it had ever seen. Squaring off against Schiff was none other than Art Laffer, former economic advisor to Ronald Reagan and the godfather of supply-side economics. "The United States economy had never been in better shape," assured Laffer, who even went so far as to bet Schiff a penny that the economy wouldn't crash. "I'll be you a lot more than a penny," Schiff retorted.
Perhaps the most prominent of these Jeremiahs was NYU economics professor and consultant Nouriel Roubini, who traveled around the country in 2006, warning of the coming collapse, only to be dubbed "Dr. Doom" by his condescending colleagues.
Even today, Roubini believes our pain is just beginning. According to Prajakta Bhide, a research analyst at his firm Roubini Global Economics, growth will stay flat at best for at least another year and we face a 20 percent chance of sliding into a second recession. "The growth numbers in 2009, how much of it is from private demand?" she said. "If you look at what is driving the numbers, the underlying fundamentals seem to be a lot weaker."
At first, the economy seems to be picking up, Bhide argues. Replenishing inventories gave the fourth quarter of 2009 a nice little boost, and the Census drive and a slight uptick in manufacturing will help with employment, but only a little, and only for the first six months of this year. But consumer spending is stuck at 1.7 percent, and consumption comprises 70 percent of the nation's economy. Meanwhile, the housing sector is a disaster; housing starts are still declining, and Bhide predicts that nationwide, real estate prices will still have to fall another 3 to 5 percent before they bottom out.
Seven Days - April 26, 6:48 PM
Seven Days - April 26, 12:16 PM
Seven Days - April 24, 7:24 AM
Seven Days - April 21, 2:12 PM
Seven Days - April 20, 2:30 PM

domain: economics


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Video not displaying? Watch this episode on YouTube instead.
In this episode…
When you watch this episode of B.Hooked TV you’ll learn the three most important thing you should do if you wish to substitute yarn in a project.
Using a different yarn than your pattern calls for isn’t always simple. There are three very important things you must consider when making a yarn substitute in order for the pattern to come out as intended.
Probably the most important of the three is this: the weight of the yarn, hook or needle size and your personal crochet or knitting style all play into the size of the stitches (and overall finished project). Generally speaking, thinner yarn results in more stitches per inch, whereas thicker yarn results in fewer stitches per inch.
If a pattern calls for a thicker yarn than the one you want to substitute with and you follow the directions exactly, it will turn out smaller than it was intended.
If a pattern calls for a thinner yarn and you use a thinner yarn instead, following the directions will make the project larger than expected. Little tweaks and adjustments can be made with similar yarn substitutions but drastic changes require swatching, some math and a little trial and error.
Supplies used in this episode
Red Heart Unforgettable – Get it on Amazon
Red Heart Super Saver – Get it on Amazon
Red Heart Colorscape Yarn – Get it on Amazon
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please understand I have experience with these products and recommend them because I use them myself, not because of the small commissions made if you buy them from Amazon. Thank you for your support!
We have a bunch more episodes for you to watch. Grab your favorite warm beverage and binge a little.
What is B.Hooked TV?
Some topics are best explained one-on-one. Since Brittany can’t be right there with you, B.Hooked TV is the next best thing. You’ll find helpful tips for improving your crochet and knitting skills in a relaxed and conversational way. It’s not your everyday tutorial but we try to keep them fun, interesting and educational.

domain: artistic


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The 155-acre sanctuary and its 4.5 miles of foot paths is located within the city limits of Fenton. For those who live in and around this Genesee County town of almost 12,000 residents, Dauner Martin is a quick escape into the woods for a little trail running, to soak up fall colors or enjoy the first wildflowers of spring after a long dreary winter.
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domain: geography


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Barenborg's Steady Upward Arc Now in Overdrive
Talk about progress.
The transformation of Jackie Barenborg from last season to this year on the LPGA Futures Tour has been nothing short of incredible.
To say the former Florida Southern golfer struggled as a rookie in 2010 would be a vast understatement. She missed 12 cuts in 15 tournaments, and finished better than 50th once, a tie for 17th at Hammond Ind.
But that was last season.
After finishing second in the Futures Tour Qualifying Tournament at Lake Region in November, Barenborg validated that performance by coming within a shot of winning the 2011 season-opener at Lake Region Friday through Sunday, right down to the final hole.
The 24-year-old from Vero Beach did all she could to win the Florida's Natural Charity Classic, but Tzu-Chi Lin caught fire with five birdies on the back nine and beat Barenborg by one stroke late Sunday afternoon along the shores of Lake Hamilton.
"If you'd have told me this time last year I would be contending, I don't know if I would have believed you,'' Barenborg said. "But I've worked hard for it. I think I deserve it.''
Barenborg shot 69-68-70 for a 9-under-par total that included 15 birdies over 54 holes. There were few hiccups, although she did double bogey her 18th hole in Friday's first round, costing her the lead.
It didn't hurt that Barenborg had a gallery that grew each day. Friends from Florida Southern, her parents and golfers from Schalamar Creek, where she worked briefly a couple of years ago, were with her, among 4,050 fans who attended the event.
"The cheers for me were a lot louder than the other girls,'' said Barenborg, who graduated from FSC in 2008 after helping the Lady Mocs win the NCAA Division II national title and finishing 11th as an individual.
For a player who lost on the final green Sunday, Barenborg was elated, even giddy.
"It means a lot to me. I think it's going to be the start of a great year for myself,'' she said. "If I can do it here, I can definitely do it any week during the year.
"Obviously, Q-School was really good for me, but a lot of the top players weren't there,'' she said.
The field at Lake Region included Tiffany Joh, who won two U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links championships, and Jennifer Johnson, who was the NCAA Division I runner-up last summer and helped the U.S. win the Curtis Cup win last year. Joh finished third at Lake Region, Johnson fifth.
With the $11,000 runner-up check, Barenborg heads to the Daytona Beach Invitational this week in second place on the money list.
"I made a big paycheck. And now I don't have to worry about losing my card for next year. And definitely, the LPGA is in my future,'' said Barenborg, who earned a grand total of $2,287 as a rookie.
Barenborg has already pocketed 21 percent of what Gerina Mendoza made to finish No. 5 on the 2010 money list ($53,408).
With 14 more tournaments to go to grab one of the top five spots on the money list to be exempt for the 2012 LPGA Tour, Barenborg couldn't have asked for a much better start.
"I'm definitely excited for the rest of the year to come,'' she said. "I think I'll be able to be in contention the rest of the year.''
Coming out of the blocks with a strong finish has been a good indicator of future results on the LPGA's official developmental tour, the women's equivalent to the Nationwide Tour.
"It just gives me more confidence, and believing that I can win. I'm in the top 10 now to get my card. I know it's only the first tournament, but in years past, they said that the girls who finish at the top this week are continually at the top for the rest of the year,'' Barenborg said.
"I'm so stoked. I'm excited.''
Angela Oh won the 2010 Florida's Natural Charity Classic at Lake Region and is now on the LPGA Tour.
Jean Reynolds won the 2009 tournament at Lake Region, finished second on the money list and advanced to the LPGA Tour.
Barenborg's career has taken a steady upward arc.
"I wasn't the stellar junior or college player, but I took what I learned and I've progressed every single year. There hasn't been a year where I fell back,'' she said.
If she keeps the line on the graph charting her progress going in the direction it started at Q-School, who knows how far Barenborg can go?
Daytona Beach is next on the agenda, starting Friday.
"I did horrible there last year. So I'm excited to go eat it up this year. I think I'll do a lot better,'' Barenborg said.
The future is equally bright for Lin, who couldn't wait to send a Facebook post to her friend and countrywoman from Taiwan, Yani Tseng.
"Yani, I did it,'' Lin said she would post, in Chinese of course.
Lin said Tseng, the world's top-ranked woman professional, is her idol.
Both played on the Chinese Taipei National Team.
SSC TOURNAMENT NEXT FOR FSC MEN, WOMEN
Florida Southern's men's and women's golf teams will play in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament at Boca Raton April 18-19.
The 24th-ranked men's golf team finished 13th in its last tournament, the Bobcat Invitational at Lake Oconee, Ga.
The second-ranked women's team placed third in the University of Cincinnati Spring Invitational at Crystal River on Sunday against a field of 18 Division I teams and four Division II programs.
Marianne Andersson led the Lady Mocs with a tie for fifth.
[ Del Milligan's golf column appears Wednesdays in The Ledger. He can be reached at email@example.com or 863-802-7555. Milligan's blog, Extra Holes in Polk County, can be found at theledger.com home page. ]

domain: news


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For my most recent quilt I am combining 2 tasks: the final lesson for Katie PM and the July theme for Sky (architecture). My starting point is this picture of a light house:
Normally I use a glue stick when I am compiling a quilt, but this time I prefered a fusible to all the scraps. Then the precise job of putting all those tiny pieces onto the background till it looked like this:
If you look closely you can see that I skipped some of the pieces. My patience was really challenged in creating this top. Not all the lines of the grid are where they are supposed to be, but I can live with that :-). At least the top is completed, now I can start with the much nicer part: the quilting.

domain: design


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When Dee Frazier and her team design for retirees, they love taking a trip down memory lane with them. Projects that involve helping retirees downsize and prepare to do lots of entertaining in retirement area are a favorite of Dee, Lori and the rest of the DFI design team. Not knowing what to keep and how to transition beloved keepsakes into a smaller space, Mrs. Jones, called DFI.
Updating and repurposing of treasured heirlooms and other furnishings was a theme in the design DFI produced for Mrs. Jones. Reupholstered comfy reclining chairs are now favorites for kicking back and relaxing. Her mother’s sewing machine doubles as a console in the living room, and repurposing the carved antique chest with a new marble top below art from a local artist made it a natural fit in the entryway. The grandfather clock in the dining room not only chimes to announce the dinner hour, it takes Mrs. Jones back in time. Dark dining chairs have been replaced with light upholstered pieces that are not only more comfortable, but also make the space feel bigger. Confident in their relationship and knowing Mrs. Jones, Dee selected a clean-lined white carved front Italian buffet with a repurposed gold carved mirror for the dining room. It was initially a stretch for Mrs. Jones, aesthetically speaking. But, now the space is a house favorite Mrs. Jones also loves the soft white linen window treatments with cool blue banding and functioning white plantation shutters that add brightness yet give her much-desired privacy.


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The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will open its fifth Parenting and Family Literacy Centre on Monday at Christ the King Elementary School in Erin Mills.
Literacy centre opens.
A new Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Parenting and Family Literacy Centre will be opening Monday at Christ the King Elementary School.
The centres promote positive parent-child interaction. They also aim to engage parents/caregivers and children in play-based early literacy and numeracy activities that will help prepare children for a successful start in school. They are open to all parents/caregivers in the school community with children aged six and under.
"We look forward to welcoming families with young children and to providing a high-quality early learning environment supportive of all families," said Valerie Kenny, manager of the centres.
The centres are funded by the Ministry of Education and staffed with a parent worker/facilitator trained in Early Childhood Education and Family Support.
The new centre will be open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Mississauga has other centres at St. Teresa of Avila, Holy Cross and Canadian Martyrs elementary schools.


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Drug-dependent persons seeking treatment
Hospital casualty department visits
Survey of school children
Field studies of young people
Survey of the use of alcohol and tobacco
Author: D. CORRIGAN
Pages: 91 to 97
Creation Date: 1986/01/01
An assessment of the nature and extent of drug abuse , based on the synthesis of different available indicators, shows that since 1979 there has been an alarming increase in drug abuse among young people in Ireland. Surveys of schoolchildren and young people indicate a sixfold increase in drug experimentation. The number of heroin addicts and other opiate addicts seeking treatment increased 5-6 times during the period from 1979 to 1983. The growing drug problem is also reflected in the increasing number of cases of hepatitis B and of drug-related deaths. A recent study carried out in a northern part of Dublin has revealed that 10 per cent of young people in the "15 -24-year" age group were addicted to heroin, while another study has found that only 2.2 per cent of the youth in a southern suburb of Dublin were heroin addicts. Disrupted family life appears to be the major risk factor underlying heroin abuse among young people.
Reporting in 1979 [ 1] on the nature of the drug problem in the Republic of Ireland, the author of this article stated that Ireland had been relatively fortunate in that the more dangerous drugs, such as heroin, were not as widely used there as in some other countries, but the publication of that report has unfortunately been followed by an epidemic of heroin abuse. The large scale of this epidemic has prompted an increase in public concern , which has resulted in an expansion in law enforcement activities, as well as preventive educational and treatment efforts by government and non-governmental organizations [ 2] . Of the 3.4 million inhabitants of the Republic of Ireland, 56 per cent live in urban areas and 48 per cent are under 25 years of age. In 1984, the birth rate was 20.3 per 1 ,000 and youth unemployment was 18.1 per cent. In such circumstances an epidemic of drug abuse may have potentially devastating consequences.
Statistics show the existence of a significant drug abuse problem involving illegal drugs, as well as legal drugs and medicines. This article eviews data on different indicators of drug abuse and associated problems, which are summarized below.
Data of the National Drug Advisory and Treatment Centre [ 3] show that between 1979 and 1983, 2,057 drug-dependent persons sought treatment at the centre for the first time. The majority of them were heroin abusers and under 25 years of age. During the same period, the number of people seeking treatment for addiction to opiates, mainly heroin, increased 5-6 times, and the number of people seeking treatment for addiction to other drugs increased threefold. Many of them were multiple drug abusers. The number of people seeking treatment for drug abuse at the National Drug Clinic, Jervis Saint Hospital, increased from 416 in 1979 to 1,515 in 1983, and since then the number has slightly decreased (3.7 per cent). In 1982, 772 heroin addicts attended the clinic; in 1983, the number increased to 1,006; and in 1984, it decreased to 969.
With regard to other substances, there has been a substantive increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for the abuse of benzodiazepines, while the number of persons seeking treatment for the abuse of synthetic narcotics, such as dipipanone, dextromoramide and methadone , has dramatically decreased. This decrease has been mainly attributed to improved prescribing practices and to improved security in pharmacies.
The abuse of cocaine is a relatively minor problem at this time, as is the abuse of amphetamines. Legislation has played a vital role in reducing the supply of amphetamines and, in turn, the size of the amphetamine problem.
A survey of heroin users in the city of Dublin shows that 8 per cent of them inhale heroin, 18 per cent inject it subcutaneously and 74 per cent inject it intravenously [ 4] . Because of the use of unhygienic needles and syringes, there has been an increase in the number of cases of hepatitis B among those who inject heroin [ 5] , [ 6] . During the first eight months of 1981, 1.58 new cases of hepatitis B were reported [ 7] . The disease subsequently spread to people who had not been abusing drugs but had come in contact with drug abusers infected with hepatitis B [ 8] . There has recently been some concern about the level of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome among intravenous drug abusers in Ireland.
Another indication of the increasing magnitude of the drug problem are seizures made by the Customs and the police. The number of seizures of illicit drugs reached a peak of 2,278 in 1983 and then declined to 1,704 in 1984. The amount of drugs seized followed a similar trend ; for example, the amount of heroin seized rose from 105 grams in 1982 to 1.37 kg in 1983. Recent seizures of cannabis products have shown that the stronger resin form of the drug is the most popular in Ireland ; in 1983, 10 times more cannabis resin (485 kg) was seized than marijuana (44 kg). Seizures of cocaine (97 grams in 1983) seem to reflect the current low level of abuse of this drug, at present [ 9] .
The number of drug offenders dealt with by the criminal justice system has been increasing. The trend is similar to that emerging from the two above-mentioned indicators : a peak was reached in 1983 with 1 ,822 persons charged with drug offences, while in 1984 there was a 25 per cent decrease in such charges. The proportion of cannabis offences has markedly decreased whereas the proportion of heroin offences has increased. The number of cocaine offences declined from 50 in 1980 to 23 in 1984. All parts of Ireland have had cases of drug offences, but the majority of cases have been reported from Dublin and its surroundings [ 9] .
No accurate figures on drug-related deaths are available. The statistics show that the number of deaths related to drug abuse increased from 4 deaths in 1980 to 12 in 1983. By the end of November 1985, 20 such deaths had been recorded for 1985. A considerable number of these were caused by solvent abuse. It is believed that the actual number of drugrelated deaths is higher because some of them may have been listed under other causes, such as hepatitis or asphyxiation.
In Ireland, only one attempt has been made so far to use hospital casualty departments as a source of information [ 10] . For the purpose of this study, a survey of 14 hospitals with accident and emergency departments in the Dublin area was conducted in September 1982 ; 80 drug abusers, 69 per cent of whom were heroin abusers, visited the casualty departments during that period. In view of those findings, it would seem necessary to monitor such figures on a continuous basis.
Two national surveys of the use of illegal drugs among secondary school children were undertaken : one in 1970 and the other in 1980 [ 11-14] . The results show that those living in the city of Dublin were more involved in illicit drugs than their rural counterparts. In 1980, 22 per cent of the respondents in the Dublin area reported that they had been offered addictive drugs. Though this figure was twice that reported for the rural children, the figure foreach group had doubled or tripled since 1970. The number of boys under 16 who in 1980 said they had used an illicit drug was 8-10 times higher than the number of boys in 1970 who had said they had done so. The corresponding figure for boys over 16 showed a fourfold increase. In all cases, the rate of reported drug use for rural areas was between one half and one third lower than that for Dublin, but the rate of increase was similar in the two groups. The proportion of Irish secondary-school children who reported drug use in. 1980 was 8.3 per cent. This finding for schoolchildren is similar to that reported by Parfrey in 1977 for a group of undergraduate students at Cork [ 15] . He found that 19 per cent of the respondents had experimented with cannabis, 3 per cent with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3 per cent with barbiturates or amphetamines.
In 1984, a survey of drug use was carried out among Irish youth in the "15-24-year" age group. The survey was sponsored by the National Youth Policy Committee established by the Government [ 16] . Approximately 10 per cent of the respondents said that they had tried drugs, in most cases cannabis. The highest proportion of reported drug use was found in the following groups : those living away from home or in the city of Dublin (17 per cent) ; those in their late teens or early twenties (14 per cent) ; males (16 per cent) ; and young working class people (13 per cent).Approximately 62 per cent of the young people surveyed considered drugs a major health risk.
An overall assessment of the results of different surveys shows that drug experimentation has increased from five to six times since 1979.
Two field studies of heroin use among young Irish people have been carried out. One study covered an area of the north inner city of Dublin [ 4] and the other covered two electoral wards of a suburb in the south of Dublin [ 17] . Approximately 10 per cent of youth in the "15-24-year" age group in the north inner city had used heroin. A subsequent study of the heroin users and non-users in the same area, matched according to age and sex [ 18] , revealed that the heroin users smoked twice as many tobacco cigarettes as the non-users. The heroin users also drank less alcohol than the non-users, but the number of heroin users who had come from homes where one or both parents had had a history of alcohol problems was twice that found among the non-users. A higher proportion of the heroin users had parents who had separated or who had died at an early age. Very few of the heroin users were employed, but the unemployment rate among the non-users was also high (approximately 50 per cent). It is encouraging that 90 per cent of young people in the area of the study, which is one of the most deprived areas of Ireland, had chosen not to use heroin even though they were living in the same conditions as heroin abusers and half of them were unemployed and exposed to the drug.
The second field study [ 17] found only 29, or 2.2 per cent, of a population of 1,327 young people to be heroin users. It showed that disrupted marriage, premature parental death and family alcoholism were the major risk factors leading a young person to become involved in heroin.
In a recent survey of alcohol consumption among young people in the "15-24-year" age group, almost 60 per cent of the respondents described themselves as current drinkers [ 16] . In other surveys, approximately 90 per cent of the young people were alcohol drinkers, many reporting that they drank at least three times a week [ 19] .
With regard to cigarette smoking, the percentage of adult smokers declined from 41 per cent in 1974 to 32 per cent in 1984, while an unacceptably high level of young people were regular smokers. In a survey of schoolchildren, 33 per cent of the boys and 25 per cent of the girls were regular smokers [ 20] . The highest level of smoking (48 per cent) was reported in the "20-24-year" age group [ 16] . The use of alcohol and tobacco are of concern not only because of their inherent health risks but also because of the link between early involvement with these two legal drugs and subsequent involvement with illegal drugs [ 21] .
Although each of the foregoing indicators may not precisely reflect the drug problem, the synthesis of all the indicators clearly shows that there has been a rapid increase in drug abuse in Ireland since the 1970s. The increase in the abuse of heroin has been the most marked and disturbing development. Although the survey data should take into account some possible "under-reporting" inherent in this approach, they show that the majority of young Irish people do not use or even experiment with illegal drugs. Unfortunately, the same statement does not apply to legal drugs, particularly tobacco and alcohol, which are used by many young people.
With regard to the overall situation since 1979, it appears that drug abuse reached a peak in 1983. It is hoped that the decreasing trend observed since 1983 will continue. This trend is considered to be a result of law enforcement, educational and treatment measures and the concerted efforts of the local community. Hope for the future is provided by the fact that most young people are aware of the risks of drug abuse and that their experimentation with illegal drugs is still at a relatively low level compared with the situation in some other countries. Those involved in preventing drug abuse are encouraged by the fact that efforts to date have had a positive impact. There is an opportunity to maintain the drug-free status of many young people. There is also an urgent need to help young people recognize the potential destructiveness of tobacco and alcohol, as well as that of illegal drugs.
Further promotion of preventive measures requires concurrent efforts to assess accurately the incidence and prevalence of drug abuse and the problems associated with it and to facilitate the exchange of experience between countries in this area [ 22] .
D. Corrigan, "The identification of drugs of abuse in the Republic of Ireland during the years 1968-1978 ", Bulletin on Narcotics (United Nations publication), vol. 31, No. 2 (1979), pp. 57-60.02
Report of the Special Government Task Force on Drug Abuse (Dublin. Government Information Services, September 1983).03
G. Dean and others, "The opiate epidemic in Dublin, 1979-1983", Irish Medical Journal, vol.78, 1985, pp. 107-110.04
G. Dean, J. S. Bradshaw and P. Lavelle, Drug Misuse in Ireland 1982-1983 (Dublin, Medico-Social Research Board, 1983).05
Yearly summary of births, deaths and marriages (Dublin, Central Statistics Office. 1983).06
A. G. Shattock and others, "Increased severity and morbidity of acute hepatitis in drug abusers with simultaneously acquired hepatitis B and hepatitis D virus infections", British Medical Journal, vol. 290, 1985, pp. 1377-1380.07
A. G. Shattock and others, "Epidemic hepatitis B with delta-antigenaemia among Dublin drug abusers ", lrish Journal of medical Sciences, vol. 151. 1982, pp. 334-338.08
D. A. Kelly and others, "A secondary outbreak of hepatitis B among contacts of drug-abusers in Dublin", Irish Medical Journal, vol. 76, 1983, pp. 205-208.09
Report on Crime 1983 (Dublin, Garda Commissioner, 1984).10
Report of the Task Force on Drug Abuse (Dublin,Eastern Health Board, 1982). .11
M.Nevin, "Drugs-a report on a study in Dublin post-primary schoolchildren 1970", Journal of the Irish Medical Association , vol.64,1971, pp.91-100.12
P. Kirke, "Drugs-a study of Irish rural post-primary schoolchildren 1970-71", Journal of the Irish Medical Association , vol. 66, 1973, pp.231-237.13
E.B.Shelley and others, "Drugs-a study in Dublin post-primary schools", Irish Medical Journal , vol.75, 1982, pp.254-259.14
E. B. Shelley and others, "Drugs-a study in postprimary schools situated outside Dublin 1981", lrish Medical Journal , vol.77, 1984, pp.16-19.15
P. S. Parfrey, "Factors associated with undergraduate marijuana use in Cork", British Journal of Addiction , vol.72, 1977, pp.59-65.16
Final Report National Youth Policy Committee (Dublin, Stationery Office, 1984),pp.66-67.17
G.Dean, R.Smith and B.Power, Heroin Use in a Dun Laoghaire Borough Area , 1983-1984(Dublin, Medico-Social Research Board, 1984).18
G. Dean and others, Characteristics of Heroin and Non-heroin Users in a North Central Dublin Area , 1984 (Dublin, Medico-Social Research Board, 1984).19
M.Maher, "The problem of teenage drinking", The Irish Times , 3 June 1985.20
A. H. O'Rourke and others, "Smoking-a study of post primary schools 1980-1981", lrish Medical Journal , vol.76, 1983, pp.285-289.21
K.Yamaguchi and D.B. Kandel, "Patterns of drug use from adolescence to young adulthood; III: predictors of progression", American Journal of Public Health , vol.74,1984,pp.673-681.22
T.Oppenheimer, "Strategy for the prevention and reduction of demand for illicit drugs in the international programme of drugabuse", address delivered at the Thirty-Fourth International Congress on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Calgary, Canada, 4-10 August 1985.

domain: sociology


text:
Comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss
A suburb of London, around 1780: Sir Morosus, a retired admiral, leads a secluded life due to his extreme sensitivity to noise following an explosion on his ship. Rich and in his midsixties, he associates only with his housekeeper, whose constant chatter irritates him, and his barber, his only friend. The housekeeper considers she would be the ideal wife for the old Morosus and tries to enlist the barber’s help with her plan. However, the barber accuses her of being an «blithering, doddering old woman” and she him a «hedge-priest and fugitive on the run”. Their noisy quarrel attracts the attention of Sir Morosus, who shoos the housekeeper away. As he shaves him, the barber tries – not without success – to persuade Morosus to marry a young woman. However, Morosus has his doubts: «The only place you will find a silent woman is in a graveyard ...” To everyone’s surprise. Henry enters the scene, Sir Morosus’s nephew who disappeared while studying in Italy. Morosus is ecstatic to have found a blood-relative to whom he can pass on his fortune. However, he soon discovers to his horror that Henry has travelled to England as a member of a touring Italian opera troupe and, adding insult to injury, has married the troupe’s prima donna, Aminta. When Henry’s colleagues appear, Morosus hurls insults at them about their station in life. He disinherits his nephew and orders the barber to find him a young, silent wife. The outraged players are pacified by the barber. They listen with fascination as he tells them of the riches of Sir Morosus and are manifestly moved when Henry avows his love for Aminta and his loyalty to the troupe, even at the cost of his inheritance. When the barber finally puts forward a plot to «cure” Sir Morosus and win back Henry’s inheritance for him, their enthusiasm is boundless.
The following day, the barber puts his plan into action with the help of the opera troupe. The three female members of the company are presented to Sir Morosus as potential wives. He chooses Aminta, who plays a sweet, quiet peasant girl. Two actors, one playing the role of priest, the other that of notary, complete the bluff by marrying the two, toasting the bride and groom. Hardly are they alone than the bride becomes a woman possessed: her destructive frenzy brings Morosus to the edge of despair. As if by chance, Henry enters and calms her. He appeases his grateful uncle with the prospect of a quick divorce. The two are reconciled, and Mororsus retires to bed. Henry embraces his beloved Aminta.
On the third day, the final stage of the barber’s intrigue is carried out.
As Lady Morosus, Aminta has the admiral’s house cleaned out and redecorated to suit her taste. The noise of the workmen makes Morosus’s life hardly worth living, but the final straw comes in the form of Aminta pretending to give a singing lesson, with Henry playing a musician.
Finally, the barber announces the arrival of the Chief Justice to make arrangements for the divorce. Once again, the players take their revenge for Sir Morosus’ insults. The old man threatens to commit suicide when the Chief Justice denies his request for a divorce.
The time has come to reveal the hoax.
When Morosus discovers what a rough time he has been given, against all expectations he responds with conciliatory amusement, recognising the beneficial effects of the charade. The players have found a new friend, Henry and Aminta a home.
In silent contentment, Morosus acknowledges his satisfaction with his life.


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This Monroeville home for $800,000 has heated in-ground pool, outdoor waterfall
State police are investigating the death of a woman in Clymer, Indiana County. The district attorney says the circumstances are suspicious.
The DA says the circumstances of Janice Knight's death are suspicious.
The Thunderbolt is now a "Coaster Landmark" -- the third Kennywood roller coaster to be so recognized by American Coaster Enthusiasts.


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Two parish roads reopened following bridge work
Ascension Parish President Tommy Martinez announced Thursday two parish roads have reopened following the completion of bridge work at those locations.
David Drive and Bishop Woods Road are now open to through traffic, President Martinez said.
A bridge on David Drive, west of Manchac Acres Road, was replaced with three 10 feet by 7 feet box culverts. Work began on Feb. 25 and was scheduled for completion in July but crews from East Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 finished the installation of culverts last week, officials said.
"I want to commend those crews for completing their culvert installation work in a shorter time frame which restored road travel for the residents of that area," President Martinez said.
Culvert repairs were also completed at a bridge crossing on Bishop Woods Road just north of the La. 621 intersection.
Repaving at both locations is scheduled for a later date, officials said.


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This event is listed inactive, below is the original description:
11 Day all gay cruise by Atlantis Events on the Celebrity Silhouette capacity 2800 guests!
Departing from Amsterdam, with stops in Amsterdam
La Rochelle, France
A Coruna, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal (overnight)
What is it like?
Atlantis cruises attract mostly gays, and usually a few lesbians. Age varies, some younger and some older guys. The concept is all about making everybody happy, day time entertainment at the pools, have nice dinners with (new) friends, see fun shows in the theatres, and 1 or more parties till the sun comes up.
Some of the parties have themes (whiteparty, classic disco, tropical etc), and most of the guys really dress up for those. Watch the Youtube video to get an impression. Many also decorate their cabin doors.
Amsterdam hotels and information
The cruise will start in Amsterdam. The cruise ship terminal is right in the center. Make sure to add a few days here before the cruise, as this city has so much to offer. See our gay destination guide to Amsterdam for info on where to book your hotel and gay nightlife info.
Barcelona hotels and information
The cruise will end in Barcelona. Make sure to add a few days here after the cruise, to see the beautiful Gaudi buildings or just to recover on the beach. See our gay destination guide to Barcelona for info on where to book your hotel and gay nightlife info.


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Optifine HD D2 Ultra Mod for Minecraft 1.4.4 is the latest update in the Minecraft. Basically Optifine HD Ultra Mod is an graphics mod which improves fps (frames per second) in your game. By improving fps in your game it will give a smooth environment for you to play with. The current version is available regarding the per-release. Feel free to check it out..
Description: Performance enhancing mod for Minecraft.
Filesize: 320.88 kB
Release date: 16 November 2012
Compatibility: Single player, Windows, Mac, Linux
[Minecraft 1.4.4] Optifine HD D2 Ultra Mod Download:
OptiFine_1.4.4_HD_U_D2.zip (mirror 1)
Compatible with Forge #374, fixed falling in void when loading a world, fixed chat not wrapping long lines correctly, fixed crash when riding pigs with Forge installed
So guys enjoy playing Minecraft with the latest Optifine Mod and don’t miss to comeback here and check the latest updates of your favorite game online..

domain: game


text:
Made out of 7 oz leather. Hand dyed, oiled and sealed. All edges are beveled and burnished to give it a professional finish that is rarely seen in modern leatherwork. Seams hand stitched. Etching applied by hand an border applied with hand embossing wheel. The belt can be re sized to meet your requirements. The bag is 5" wide, by 6" tall, bay 2 1/4" deep. and closes with a turnbuckle lock. Can also be removed from the garter to wear directly on the belt.
Leather Garter Belt Satchel


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AI algorithms analyze player behavior, preferences, and gaming history to offer personalized game recommendations. This level of personalization ensures that players are introduced to pokies that align with their interests, increasing the likelihood of an enjoyable gaming experience. The more a player engages with the platform, the more refined and accurate these recommendations become. Oceania's top bookmakers, Operators utilize data analysis and continuous monitoring to identify patterns of behavior that may indicate problematic gambling. We'll discuss how sophisticated systems can flag unusual gaming activity, prompting operators to reach out to players and offer support or information about responsible gaming resources.
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With the decreasing price in i3 laptops I'm increasingly interested in getting one.
I'm currently looking at the one on PC World/Currys for £399.99 and am wondering if it is a good price.
Processor Intel® Core™ i3-2310M Processor
- 2.1 GHz
- 3 MB L3 Cache
- Dual-core (with hyper-threading)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
RAM - 4GB installed DDR3 memory
Graphics card Intel® HD Graphics 3000
- 128MB of dedicated system memory, supporting Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1
Screen type Widescreen LCD
Screen resolution - WXGA
- 1366 x 768 pixels
Screen size 15.6"
Screen features Acer CineCrystal display
16:9 aspect ratio
Hard drive 320GB
Optical disk drive 8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
USB 1 x USB 3.0
2 x USB 2.0
Modem/Ethernet 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port
WiFi Acer InviLink™ Nplify™ 802.11b/g/n WLAN
Video interface 1 x HDMI with HDCP support
1 x VGA
Audio interface Headphone & microphone ports
TV output HDMI (digital video/audio)
VGA (analogue video)
Sound - 2 built-in stereo speakers.
- Optimized Dolby® Advanced Audio® v2 audio enhancement, featuring Audio Optimizer, Audio Regulator, Volume Leveler, Volume Maximizer, and Surround Virtualizer for Built-in Speakers technologies
Battery - 48 Wh 4400 mAh 6-cell Li-ion standard battery pack
- Up to 4.5 hours battery life
Additional features Kensington lock slot
Accessories included Power cable, AC adapter, documentation
Size 381.6 x 253 x 25.2 - 33.2 mm (W x D x H)
Weight 2.6 kg
Any input would be great as I may get this today.


text:
Hi! Yes, we’re still here. Things have been a little crazy for us and it took me longer than expected to feel like I was back from Zambia. We’ve been busy refinancing our home loan, gutting our master bathroom (OK, not gutting – it just feels that way) and making some big-ish decisions. All will be revealed in time. Right now, we’re back in the swing of things by planning for Micah’s FAVORITE holiday – Thanksgiving.
I know, it seems like it’s too soon to be thinking about Thanksgiving as Halloween is still a week away, but it takes time to finalize a themed menu. For all our new readers out there, we do a themed Thanksgiving every year. We’ve done Chesapeake Bay (Maryland/Virginia area), Hawaiian, Chinese, New Orleans and Cuban. I was hoping for a Thai inspired Thanksgiving but the winner is a Pacific Northwest themed menu. The idea is to use flavors our region is known for and ingredients we can find locally. Thai is next year for sure.
I think PNW menu is hard because it’s hard to think of a flavor profile that this area is known for. When I think about food from here, I think of apples, salmon, Penn Cove mussels and apples. Did I say apples?
This year, we’ve decided Micah is in charge of the turkey. My original idea was an Alder smoked turkey but unfortunately I hear Alder makes the turkey taste sappy. Micah has a co-worker that smoke, grills and fried up the most amazing meats. He thinks that between the two of them, they can come up with something good.
I have the task of settling the rest of the menu. I also had a little help. A friend of ours, Jeremy, works in produce distribution. I went straight to him to figure out what to serve and what produce I could get that is Washington grown. He said onions, potatoes, apples, mint and hops. Probably pears too. That’s not a ton to work with but I think I’ve come up with some idea. Here is what I’ve got so far:
Smoked salmon on crackers
Green beans served with caramelized Washington Sweets onions
Washington Yukon Golds with beer (local) gravy
Smoked oysters and bacon stuffing
Beecher’s mac and cheese
Turkey w/ blackberry sauce
Washington Apple pie and Pumpkin Pie
Served with local beer, Washington wines and fresh cider.
The menu isn’t set in stone. Some variations I’m thinking about are instead of mashed potatoes, doing a warm potato salad with bacon (which I’d cure myself) and apple cider dressing. If I did that, I wouldn’t do the blackberry sauce for the turkey but serve it with the beer gravy instead. I’m also thinking about a Salmon bisque instead of smoked salmon. If I do the smoked salmon, I’d definitely want to smoke it myself. I know, I’m being ambitious. I wouldn’t smoke the oysters for the stuffing. I found a place that sells smoked local mussels that are delicious. Which makes me think that an option could be to serve smoked salmon and smoked oysters as an appetizer and then do an apple and bacon stuffing. To make it easier to digest, here are the options I’m thinking about.
1. Smoked Salmon on crackers
2. Smoked Salmon and Oysters on crackers
3. Salmon Bisque
1. Green Beans topped with caramelized Washington Sweets onions
2. Some sort of green salad with apples
1. Mashed Washington Yukons served with Beer (local) gravy
2. Washington fingerling potato salad with bacon, Washington red onions and apple cider vinegar dressing
1. Smoked oyster and bacon stuffing
2. Smoked Penn Cove mussels (if I can find them) and bacon stuffing
3. Bacon and apple stuffing
1. Beecher’s Mac and Cheese – I have no other option because this stuff is AMAZING!
1. Mt. Vernon blackberry sauce
2. Beer gravy
Pies – Think we’d probably do both Apple and Pumpkin, maybe
I think the beverage part will be easy as will the musical selections for the night. I think I can leave it to Micah to handle both of those items.
I’m not 100% committed to anything, so I’m open to suggestions. I don’t have rolls listed as I couldn’t think of anything. Seriously, we’d love recipe recommendations. I’d also love to hear which dishes you’d prefer from all the options.

domain: food