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Louisiana-Pacific Corporation Q4 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX)

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

March 2, 2009 10:00 am ET

Curt Stevens – CFO

Rick Frost – CEO

Mike Kinney – IR

Becky Barckley – IR

Mark Weintraub - Buckingham Research

Gail Glazerman - UBS

Peter Ruschmeier - Barclays Capital

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Richard Skidmore – Goldman Sachs

Good day ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Q4 2008, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the presentation over to your host for today's call, Mr. Curt Stevens, Executive Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Please proceed.

Curt Stevens

Thank all of you for joining us on this conference call to discuss our financial results for Q4 of 2008 and for the full year of 2008.

As the moderator said, I am Curt Stevens, CFO and with me today I have Rick Frost, LP’s CEO, as well as Mike Kinney and Becky Barckley, our regular Investor Relations contacts.

As I usually do, I will begin the discussion with a review of the overall financial results for both the quarter and the full year, to be followed by some comments on the performance of the individual segments and the balance sheet.

Rick will then take over to discuss his perspective on the operating results and some thoughts on the near-term outlook. As we have done in the past, we have opened this call up to the public, and we are doing a webcast. This could be accessed at www.lpcorp.com.

Additionally to help with the discussion we have provided a presentation with supplemental information and this should be reviewed in conjunction with the earnings release. As I go through my comments I will be referencing the page numbers of these slides in my comments.

Last Friday after the market closed we did file our annual Form 10-K report with the SEC and that is available either through the SEC website or directly from the LP website.

Before I get started I do want to remind all the participants about the forward-looking statements comment that is included on slide two of the presentation. Also be aware of our use of non-GAAP financial information included in slide three of the presentation and the appendix with the necessary reconciliations is attached to the presentation.

I am not going to reread these statements, but I will incorporate those with these references. Now moving to slide four of the presentation that shows Q4 2008 results, we are reporting today a net loss for the fourth quarter of $339 million, or $3.31 per diluted share. Net sales from continuing operations were $250 million for the quarter.

The net loss per diluted share for the fourth quarter included $2.66 of noncash goodwill impairment charges that I’ll talk about in a moment, a $0.16 valuation reduction on our auction rate security portfolio, an $0.08 increase in certain noncash settlement reserves, and $0.05 in restructuring charges based on the actions that we announced in January.

For the same period last year we reported a net loss of $52 million or $0.50 a share on sales and continuing operations of $377 million. Last quarter just for reference we had a loss of $111 million or $1.08 per diluted share on sales of $390 million.

On slide five unfortunately there were a lot of special items during the quarter and I do want to talk about those. In Q4 2008 we did record a gain on the sale or impairment of long lived assets. We actually sold an asset and had a $5 million gain and we took an additional $4 million impairment on the St. Michele complex that we have under a letter of intent. That was driven entirely by the change in the Canadian exchange rate as the purchase price is in Canadian dollars and we needed to adjust that to the US dollar equivalent.

In the other operating charges and credits there was $296 million. The vast majority, $274 million of that $296 was related to goodwill impairment. The big four accounting firms reached a conclusion that a reconciliation of intangible assets to market capitalization could lead to an indication of impairment. Fundamentally what this means is that intangible net assets are less then your market capitalization plus the amount of debt outstanding plus a reasonable control premium, that companies must carefully review and write-off their goodwill.

Based on the analysis that LP performed we did write-off 100% of the goodwill on our books. As a reminder this goodwill was related to two acquisitions in 1999, [Lake Group Forex] and ABT Co. As I’m sure you’ve seen with other companies, this is a common theme for 2008 as market caps have fallen dramatically given the credit crisis.

The other thing I would note is goodwill impairment falls directly to the net income lines as there’s no tax benefit associated with these write-offs. In addition to that we had the $9 million of severance pretax due to the right sizing, we increased a settlement reserve by about $14 million and we did bring back a small amount from the litigation reserves.

On the other then temporary investments we did take a further $27 million impairment on our $151 million auction rate portfolio that is now valued on the books at $12 million. During 2008 all of the securities did pay interest. As of January there was one small ARS about $3.5 million that stopped paying interest in January.

As a reminder Q4 the special items there were the further impairment of the St. Michele sawmill of $3 million. We had the accrual on a tentative settlement on the environmental lawsuit of $7.75 million that was paid in 2008 and we had the first temporary impairment of the ARS investment of $21 million.

Adjusting for these items the net loss from continuing operations was $35 million or $0.35 per diluted share compared to a $29 million loss or $0.29 per diluted share in Q4 2007. For the full year we are reporting a net loss of $579 million or $5.62 per diluted share on sales from continuing operations of $1.4 billion.

The net loss per share for 2008 does include nearly $4.00 related to goodwill impairment other then temporary impairment of investments and other operating charges and credits. For the full year of 2007 we reported a net loss of $180 million or $1.73 per share on sales from continuing operations of $1.7 billion.

Similar to the quarter, page seven summarizes the special items for both of the full years. In 2008 we did have a further $14 million impairment on the St. Michele complex that I talked about offset by a gain on an asset that we sold in the fourth quarter. The other operating charges and credits, the big one again is goodwill of $274 million, the litigation reserve for the OSB antitrust settlement of $48 million, increase in various settlement reserves of $32 million, severance related to right sizing of $11 million. We did have an insurance recovery of about $6 million and then we had an explosion in one of our facilities and we accrued $5 million for that.

And then you can see the highlighted there is the $119 million which is the other then temporary impairment of our auction rate securities. In 2007 you can see there the biggest one was the impairment of long lived assets, a noncash impairment, that was mostly St. Michele. The other operating charges and credits, we had insurance recovery, litigation reserve I talked about before, and other items of about $2 million, and $21 million again was the fourth quarter adjustment that began the write-down of the auction rate securities.

After adjusting for these items for the full year net loss from continuing operations was $160 million or $1.54 per share in 2008 compared to a net loss of $115 million or $1.11 per share in 2007. I want to make just a few comments and actually to go back and look at slide four, the tax rate, the quarterly tax rate shown here does vary widely. The tax rate in continuing operations in Q4 2008 was 12% compared to 52% in Q4 of 2007.

The biggest impact in the fourth quarter was the non deductibility of the $274 million write-down of goodwill. For Q4 2007 the higher rate was due to a year end catch up and I’ll explain that when I talk about the full year tax rate.

Page six, the full year tax rate for 2008 was at 26%, again largely as the result of the non deductibility of the goodwill impairment charge. The higher benefit rate for 2007 then the statutory rate was due to the losses and the implementation of several strategic tax strategies. We had a reduction in LP Canada’s deferred tax liability due to an enacted decrease in the statutory rate in Canada. We have interest that’s deductible for income tax purposes on intercompany debt that get’s eliminated in consolidation.

We had the impact of the translation of Canadian operations and then in 2007 we also had the settlement of an outstanding state tax dispute in our favor. Now let me discuss the performance of each of the segments. Slide eight is our summary of the OSB segment, for the quarter OSB losses were lower at $31 million compared to $54 million in Q4 2007 and about the same level as last quarter by sales that were 40% lower.

OSB price compared to the same quarter of last year was up about 6%. However during the period volumes were down nearly 50% due to our production curtailments taken during the fourth quarter. On a quarterly comparison, the higher pricing did account for about $6 million of the improvement with the rest coming from the actions taken within the business to reduce our operating costs. For the full year OSB sales were $622 million compared to $824 million in 2007. Losses were lower by almost $40 million versus 2007, $155 million loss compared to $195 million loss in 2007, primarily driven by actions taken to indefinitely curtail certain unprofitable mills, reductions in our costs and the adjustment of our production to identified customer demand.

For the year average sale price was up 5% due to increased percentage of value added products and other actions taken by LP. The siding business is summarized on page nine, this segment as a reminder includes our SmartSide which is the OSB siding products, our fine fiber siding and commodity OSB produced on one line at our Hayward mill.

For the quarter siding lost $11 million compared to a $4 million loss in Q4 2007. This is a direct reflection of the costs associated with taking significantly more downtime across the siding system to adjust our inventories to greatly reduce customer demand. For the quarter sales volumes were down 23% at SmartSide compared to the same quarter last year, 39% below last quarter.

Sale prices were flat compared to the same quarter last year and up about 5% from the prior quarter. For Canexel sales volumes were down 24% for the same quarter last year with pricing 11% lower due to mix. We believe that volumes at both product lines suffered due to the closure of many branch locations of our channel partners and the redistribution of this inventory to those locations that remained open.

For the full year sales in this segment decreased by only 6% from $424 million compared to the same period last year and profits decreased significantly to $3 million compared to $34 million in 2007. To reconcile that lower product volumes accounted for about $10 million of this lower profit, higher pricing added $6 million and higher raw materials and energy costs including the Roaring River conversion changed earnings negatively by nearly $20 million.

Slide 10 is our engineered wood products business, this segment includes laminated veneer lumber, I-Joist operations including our JV with [Abitibi] plus other related products. For Q4 EWP recorded a loss of around $12 million much worse then the $3 million loss in Q4 2007. Sales prices for I-Joist were 8% lower in the quarter compared to the same quarter last year and a combination of our LVL/LSL pricing was lower by 16%, sequentially pricing fell 4% and 7% respectively.

For the quarter LVL/LSL volumes were down 23% and I-Joist volumes were lower by 33% compared to the same quarter last year. This is a direct reflection of the reduced new housing activity, where the vast majority of these products are sold. For the year EWP sales were at $234 million, about 30% lower then the $332 million reported last year. Losses were $40 million compared to profits of $11 million in 2007, again a direct reflection of the much slower building environment that reduced volumes and sales prices.

We’ve talked about it before with the LSL start up mill in Houlton, Maine, accounted for about half of these losses or a total of about $21 million. Lower volumes accounted for reduced earnings of $9 million and lowered earnings by another $9 million from a price perspective. I don’t have a slide on our other building products, the segment consists of interior molding, South America now including both Chili and Brazil, our cellulose insulation joint venture, resource and non operating facilities.

In Q4 we had a combined $1 million loss from these operations and a loss in this segment of about $2 million in same quarter last year. For the year sales of both operations were flat at about $100 million, both years we incurred a loss of around $6 million.

The fourth quarter interest expense net of investment income was $6 million compared to interest income of $10 million last year. This is a reflect of higher cash balances in 2007 and then in 2007 due to the construction activity we did have capitalized interest that offset the interest expense. We had a foreign currency gain of $13 million in Q4 this year, compared to a $1 million gain in the same quarter last year. Almost all of this was attributable to the strengthening US dollar against the Canadian currency.

For the full year interest expense net of interest income was $11 million for 2008 compared to a $46 million net investment income in 2007. Foreign currency gain in 2008 was $20 million compared to a $30 million loss in 2007, again largely a result of the Canadian currency. Total sales, general and administrative costs were $26 million for the quarter, a decrease of almost 30% over the same quarter last year.

For the year total SG&A expenses were $142 million, a decrease of 7%. Slide 11 of the presentation shows some key balance sheet and cash flow statistics. Cash, cash equivalents, investments and restricted cash at the end of the year were $215 million, working capital was at $337 million, and net debt was $35 million. As a reminder in Q4 we did retire about $125 million worth of debt.

For 2008 capital expenditures and investments were $161 million and we ended the year with a book value per ending share of $11.45. Also in the presentation as I mentioned in the appendix is the reconciliation of the calculations necessary for the non-GAAP financial measures that I discussed.

Before I turn the call over to Rick, I do want to make a few comments on liquidity as this is perhaps the most frequent question that we all get from analysts and investors. As we have discussed in the prerelease in January, and on various forums, LP is focused intensely on reducing our rate of cash usage.

The actions we have taken and the expected reduction in the use of cash in 2009 versus 2008 will be discussed by Rick in a few minutes. As we have reported the last several quarters we are actively considering other possible measures to enhance our overall liquidity. These could include the possible financing or refinancing on transactions, could include the issuance of secured or unsecured debt, equity or hybrid securities, and/or the entry into one or more credit facilities.

Rick and I fully understand the importance of cash in this turbulent economic environment and I’m sure you can all appreciate this is all that we can say about this topic and we will not be providing any more information at this time. I would ask that none of your questions are about liquidity. We have said what we can say. With that let me turn the call over to Rick.

Rick Frost

Thanks Curt and good morning everyone, I do thank you particularly this morning where I guess the east coast and the northeast are getting hammered by a blizzard that you’re able to get on the call. As you can see we did change our format this quarter for our earnings release to try to provide you more initial detail and initial color and we hope that that is helpful to you in understanding the quarter and we would expect to continue to use this format going forward.

As Curt pointed out the largest impact on our Q4 results was taking the noncash goodwill impairment charge of about $273 million or $2.66 per share. Like many companies we now have goodwill off of our balance sheet going forward. As well as tough year, I think I’ll start out with some of the bright spots for 2008.

I usually mention safety and compliance on these calls because they are part of our core values and in safety we achieved another company best this year and an industry best with a total incident rate of 0.78. In our environmental compliance effort we had our first year ever with zero notices of violation from our operating facilities.

I think both of these milestones are significant particularly in light of the fact that they were accomplished under the most chaotic of operating condition for our people in our facilities. While we always do our best to operate safely and within the law because they are part of our core values, these are significant as well because these results provide significant savings in the immediate and the long-term of our company. Worth mentioning as well was the continued contribution of our lean six sigma teams which achieved for the year over five to one returns against a goal of three to one returns. In our efforts to broaden LP’s market penetration in 2008 we accumulated over 1500 wins.

Now we define a win as a new product placement with an existing customer or a product placement with a new customer and while these wins could not offset the overall decline in the market demand, they did help but more significantly they will turn into new volume and new customers for us when the markets begin to rebound.

I’m convinced that our sales force is going a heck of a job as these battles are being fought every day in the trenches. Now I want to make a few looking backward comments on each of our businesses and then turn my thoughts towards 2009.

In 2008 across the world nearly all the businesses became paralyzed in Q4 of 2008. Building products for new home construction and repair and remodel were not exempted from the carnage. Actually activity really almost stopped and our customers spent the last two months of the year redistributing their inventories. The new home starts number for December was indicative of this. I think that everyone that had not yet done so, turned their attentions inwardly into what they needed to do on the cost and the working capital side to minimize exposure, and cash drain based upon an anticipation of a very slow Q1 2009.

In OSB our Q4 sales volumes were off from Q4 2007 by 48% but our segment operating results improved over Q4 2007 by 42%. That’s evidence of a couple of things, first the way LP operated differently in 2008 and price was actually up 5% Q4 over Q4. We took almost 600 mill operating days down in Q4 and that was including 91 days for Clark County.

A quick glance at 2007 prices versus 2008 prices show an $11.00 improvement in ASP on a 7/16ths inch basis as reported by random links recently. In siding and engineered wood the Q4 story was simply a reduction in volume and the expense of intermittent running. Additionally if you look at those businesses for the year beyond volume in both cases and pricing in engineered wood products, two factors cost us a lot in 2008 that we will not encounter in 2009.

That being the conversion to the zinc borate process at our Roaring River mill which cost us about $10 million in the first half of last year and upsets and the start up loss with LSL at Houlton in this dreadful market which cost us about $21 million.

Now I’m going to turn my remarks towards the changes in cash burned between 2008 and what we anticipate in 2009. We discussed some of these in the 8-K that we issued in January. We plan for our cash burn to be dramatically less in 2009. In 2008 we paid out about $31 million in dividends that we will not replicate in 2009. Capital will drop from about $160 million to between $15 and $20 million in 2009.

The closures of our Chambord, Clark County and Athens OSB mills will reduce net cash consumed by $30 million. Our right sizing efforts and other cost reduction efforts will reduce the burn rate by about $40 to $45 million. And unpleasant to remember but part of the mix for 2008 was the $48 million payment in the OSB antitrust lawsuit and the write-down of the ARS’s from $151 million to $12 million.

Now a couple of other things are going our way as well, the Canadian foreign exchange averaged 0.96 for 2008, today its at around 0.80. Our current exposure is about $2 million per penny. As well raw materials related to energy have or are declining in cost and we estimate that the $47 million increase in raw materials we experienced in 2008 could decrease by $35 to $40 million in 2009 depending upon the volume that we run this year.

And right now we are working on $30 to $35 million in non operating asset sales which will be turned into cash when we complete them. Obviously in this credit environment this is slow going. And finally we do expect a $60 million plus tax return within the next couple of weeks.

So to sum all this up I believe that we can exit 2009 with an available cash balance equal to or exceeding the closing amount that we had in 2008 and this excludes any refinancing that we may choose to complete.

So I’ll conclude my prepared remarks with a brief look forward, I think that 2009 can best be looked at as an endurance contest. Those that last will prosper as the economy rebounds. My expectations for total starts this year is now adjusted down to 600,000. That’s approximately one-third of the underlying demand.

Now unless you are older then I am, which probably many of you aren’t, it will be the lowest demand that you have ever seen. Business will adapt or it will fail. Louisiana-Pacific I anticipate will take over 700 mill days of down time in OSB including the indefinite status of [Sills B] Athens, Clark County and Chambord, this quarter.

We will do that to adapt to the reduced demand. In engineered wood products you may have recently seen that we announced the indefinite suspension of our operations at our Wilmington, North Carolina LVL plant. Looking out a little farther, at this point in time for planning purposes, I am assuming 900,000 starts for 2010, that’s all in, that’s new starts, multifamily, and manufactured housing.

We have seen a forecast or two recently that is a bit more optimistic then that but we haven’t changed our planning yet. Our challenge will be to figure out how to be profitable at that level so that a return to 1.1 or 1.2 million starts in 2011 feels to us like the good old days at a much lower level of activity.

And just for reemphasis as Curt said we are managing the business primarily for cash in 2009. Now I’ll turn it back over to Curt.

Curt Stevens

Thanks Rick, we are ready to open it up for questions.

Question-and-Answer Session

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Mark Weintraub - Buckingham Research

Mark Weintraub - Buckingham Research

Just wanted to follow-up on the tax refund, what is the level of confidence on getting that $60 million in the next I think you said, did you say weeks? Did I hear that right?

Curt Stevens

Our level of confidence is pretty high. We have filed the return and we are just waiting for the refund to come in. Just so you know, we’ve talked about in the release in January is that we were expecting about $90 million in total tax refunds which would include both 2007 and 2008, the 2007 we hadn’t yet received at the end of the year, plus 2008 and that is offset by about $10 million in payments. So the net that we expect for the full year is $80. What we have filed so far is just the federal piece of that.

Mark Weintraub - Buckingham Research

And I guess the context of the question then, I don’t want to get into the weeds, is though that you had put out a number for the fourth quarter in terms of the tax refund you expected that didn’t play through, are we in a different situation now where your level of confidence is much higher on this one then it would have been for the numbers in the fourth quarter.

Curt Stevens

Yes, the difference is that we file in various foreign jurisdictions largely in Canada, but also in Chili and Brazil, but Canada is where we were expecting the tax refunds that we didn’t get. There is no statutory time limit in either the provinces or the federal government in Canada to pay the tax refund. In the US there’s a 45 day statutory period, that the IRS has to refund the money. So that’s the wild card and the other wild card of course is any refunds coming from the states. The states are under their own rules.

Mark Weintraub - Buckingham Research

And then also there have been a joint venture or there had been something out in the Pacific northwest at one point where you had committed to put some money to work, that seems to have been placed on hold, can you update us on the status of that situation.

Rick Frost

Yes, that’s not going to happen. We’ve looked at this market and we’ve come to an agreement with the people that we were talking to and we are not going to do that.

Mark Weintraub - Buckingham Research

And then finally you mentioned you had a couple of non operating divestiture opportunities that you hoped to realize in the next near while, is there much that could be sold beyond those opportunities that you could update us on.

Rick Frost

We’ve probably got a list of upsides, of course it depends on buyers and people’s availability for money but a list of upsides that are equal to that again.

Your next question comes from the line of Gail Glazerman - UBS

Gail Glazerman - UBS

I’m just wondering if you could walk us through your assessment of OSB industry supply demand, there’s been so much movement on the supply front recently.

Rick Frost

I’ll give you a 30,000 foot view of it but this is probably the shortest way to explain it, there’s about 30 billion feet of capacity out there near as we can tell, which includes everything that’s either completed or to be completed. Of that 30 billion feet there appears to be about 10 to 11 billion square feet that’s either been shut down permanently or shut down indefinitely. And so I think the number of permanent shutdowns is somewhere a little bit below five billion and the amount that’s been indefinitely shut down is a little bit above five billion.

So the industry capacity that’s available to run right now appears to be somewhere between [18 and 20 billion feet] and then at the rate that the industry is operating at now, the delta is being dealt with by intermittent [inaudible].

Curt Stevens

The only thing I would add to that, those are annual capacities and of course you have seasonality in this business. And the fourth quarter and the first quarter are historically low usage periods.

Gail Glazerman - UBS

In terms of the start up costs at Houlton, are those narrowing at all, the $21 million for the full year, were they significantly lower in the fourth quarter versus earlier in the year.

Curt Stevens

They are lowering, the way that worked is we brought that mill up in the first half of last year and we’ve really had no saleable product coming out of that mill at all. So all the product that we’re using for the qualification was not saleable. We did begin selling that product in the third and fourth quarter but as Rick said, introducing a new product into a declining market is always a challenge. So that mill is running very sporadically at the current time but the run rate is significantly lower then it was in 2008.

Rick Frost

I think the bright spot for Houlton and LSL is that we recently did achieve the 1.75 MOE rating that we were after and we do have immediately have orders for that so that’s a significant thing for us which happened right on our time line for this year. So we’re pleased with that. It should help us a little bit.

Gail Glazerman - UBS

In terms of FX you gave an updated exposure for the Canadian dollar, is there any sort of guidance you can give on your exposure to the Latin American currencies.

Curt Stevens

There really isn’t a lot of net exposure because we sell those largely in local currency and our expenses are in local currency. So these’s some. The only, there will be some revaluation of the debt. We do have $39 million worth of debt in the Chilean facility or the Chilean operations so there will be some revaluation there but that will be largely noncash.

Gail Glazerman - UBS

Did you make any comments about your agreement about the government subsidies for the Clark County mill and where that stands.

Curt Stevens

There was an article in the local press, I don’t think we published anything on that but its not material, its less then $0.50 million a year.

Your next question comes from the line of Peter Ruschmeier - Barclays Capital

Peter Ruschmeier - Barclays Capital

I was hoping you could comment on how Brazil may have helped or hurt in the quarter and your outlook for the Brazilian market.

Rick Frost

Brazil got pneumonia when the rest of the world did in Q4 and so our expectations for Brazil for this year are less then what they were the last time that I talked on this call. Their economy has slowed down and our sales plan that we had put together as late as November of last year is somewhat reduced. So our expectations for this year based upon what’s going on with Brazilian activity down there are less. It won’t be tremendously significant. In total I think South America will perform closely, pretty close to where we looked at it. Chili has rebounded somewhat, basically pricing has improved for us in Chili so we’re going to be a little bit better then what we thought in Chili and probably the same amount worse in Brazil.

Peter Ruschmeier - Barclays Capital

Any comment if Brazil is cash positive or negative.

Rick Frost

Our goal there is going to be probably be neutral. Our goal was higher earlier but they pretty well caught the cold with this world credit crisis.

Peter Ruschmeier - Barclays Capital

Going back to the US, and just big picture looking at costs, if your OSB volumes are down 50% year on year, I think your headcounts, I think the salaried headcount is down 12% from when you started, how do you think about right sizing the labor force, your forecast for housing starts does not suggest a very significant uptick any time soon, so how do you balance that challenging question of what’s the right size of the footprint.

Rick Frost

Well we took our first stab at that last quarter and I think where I’m at right now is to put it very bluntly the question you’ve got to ask yourself is do we have a better chance with the staffing that we have right now to make our plan or do we have a better chance to make our plan without the staffing. And at this point in time I like the way that we’re staffed based upon what we have on our plate to accomplish and so, but that’s a constant question that we ask ourselves as we’re adapting to the market.

But we accomplished the lion’s share of what we identified that was we felt cost positive to us in the fourth quarter of last year.

Peter Ruschmeier - Barclays Capital

Operationally, I’m curious down in Clark County, how much cash do you need to start Clark County, I would think that the cost structure would be sufficiently positive enough to provide a pretty quick payoff but how do you think about the pros and cons of whether that should be restarted at the, instead of some higher cost assets that you may have.

Rick Frost

Well I think out of the bucket to get that thing up and running that we’d probably have to consume about $6 million of working capital and so that went into our decision last year as we looked at, do we want to bring Clark up and take some other mills down. Managing on a cash basis it would take a while to recover that plus we would then incur severance charges at some other facilities to make room for that wood so it makes more sense to us on a short-term cash basis to leave Clark down until the market improves and our cash situation improves. And then we would rethink that.

Your next question comes from the line of Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

With respect to Houlton LSL, are the start up costs behind you, do you think that it might not be cash flow positive but is there going to be another $20 million loss or anything of that magnitude.

Rick Frost

Start up costs are behind us, the problems we’ve got there now is we just don’t have enough volume so we got real inefficiencies in running but that now with the 1.75 e completed which was a milestone for us the trick is going to be try to, you’ve just got the inefficiencies in running the mill on such a short time basis but in terms of developing the products, making sure you got product for sale as you come up, remember this is a brand new process and brand new product, those are behind us.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Are you happy with the quality and market acceptance of the product.

Rick Frost

We like the product, everybody that’s looked at it likes the product. The problem is there’s just not many takeaways right now.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Switching gears, it looks like in January the new permits were closer to 500,000 then 600,000 so I don’t know if this is the proper word but are you properly capacitized if volume comes in even lower then the 600,000 that you predicted.

Rick Frost

Well I think we’re all looking at what nuclear first quarter, this thing is, the first quarter of this thing is worse then anyone could have guessed so I think what we’re trying to do is we’re adapting on a weekly basis based upon our takeaways and the intense pressure that we have on our operations around managing working capital. So we’re just adapting and evidence of that is the recent announcement we made two weeks ago where it made less sense to [inaudible] like an engineered wood product you keep that running.

So we just went ahead and took it out and got more of the fixed cost out of there. But that’s a week to week thing.

Curt Stevens

Obviously with the recent actions that the government has taken with the various stimulus packages and housing recovery, there is a fair amount of money going into the system and there’s certainly a concentrated effort, I think there is much greater recognition that housing is important to the recovery and that’s why you saw the $275 billion being targeted for housing, why you saw the $8,000 tax credit going to new home buyers and you also saw in the budget that there’s an increase in the housing and urban development budget to forestall foreclosures and to encourage people to stay in their homes.

Rick Frost

Another positive and its pretty hard to find any but I think January was the first month where permits exceeded new starts and that’s a nice place to be. So do anticipate some seasonal uptick. Its not going to be the normal seasonal uptick. The north thaw is out, there is going to be a seasonal uptick.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

I just wanted to make sure I understood what you said, closures will save you $30 million and then the right sizing at corporate and whatnot is another $40 million, is that correct.

Curt Stevens

That’s correct.

Your next question comes from the line of Richard Skidmore – Goldman Sachs

Richard Skidmore – Goldman Sachs

Could you just talk about the cost side of things, I think you mentioned $30 to $40 million maybe cost savings in 2009, I would assume that’s obviously cost of goods sold, but what are the key buckets, is it wood fiber, is it resin, is it obviously its probably energy as well, but could you elaborate a little bit and then a second point to that would be is the market sufficiently competitive right now that you’d expect to actually give that away in the form of pricing or do you think that the market’s taking sufficient down time and people are seeing the pain enough that pricing, prices kind of stabilize and you actually see the benefit of those cost reductions.

Curt Stevens

I think fundamentally what I would expect in 2009 is that we will get back to the level of pricing on the raw materials that we had in 2007. Put that in perspective for us, if we compare the full year of 2008 versus the full year of 2007 on comparable volumes our raw materials costs were up about $48 million. The way that broke out, about a third of it was in wood, about 20% of it was in electricity, natural gas, and electricity and then the resins and wax made up the rest of that.

So we would expect that given the fall in oil pricing, that’s going to effect the wood costs and the other effect on the wood costs is that the pulp business is much depressed from where it was last year and that’s the primary competition we have for that raw material. We’ve already seen a significant reduction in [NVI] and PF resins as we went into the first quarter and we’ll see a further reduction in the second quarter.

Then natural gas, if you recall last year about this time it was selling for $12 and I think its at $4.80 today. We will see those reductions. So I would expect to recover most of the increase that we had in 2008 so it can get back to 2007 levels.

As far as a competitive marketplace we are in a very competitive marketplace and always have been. I am encouraged though when you look at the random links pricing has stayed up. They’ve been pretty flat for the really the last couple of quarters. We got a slight increase in the first part of February and that’s held. I think last week we had a couple regions come off a bit but it is very regionally based and it also is reflective of the delivery cost to the facilities.

Richard Skidmore – Goldman Sachs

Can you just provide what your natural gas consumption might be and maybe an order of magnitude on the resin consumption.

Curt Stevens

Well it depends on how much we’re running, historically we’ve used about 100 million pounds of MDI, and about 70,000 of PF roughly. So historically our resins have been about a $200 million spend. But with the greatly reduced run schedules we’ve got its going to be less then that. On natural gas our spend is generally been about $35 to $45 million and again it depends on what you’re running.

I appreciate all of you joining us on the call, as usual Becky and Mike will be available. Again I am pleading with you don’t ask us about liquidity because we can’t say anything more and I don’t want to shut down your questions but we’re not going to talk that at this time.

Thanks again.

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text:
Windstream Holdings' Q4 Earnings: More Negatives Than Positives

| About: Windstream Holdings, (WIN)

Executive summary:

  • $1/share dividend in FY 2014, stock yields 12.50% based on its current price.
  • Balance sheet leverage increased significantly, both equity and long-term debt decreased.
  • Adjusted free cash flow payout ratio higher than expected, payout ratio between 68-78% in 2014.
  • Failing growth oriented strategy, revenue most likely to decline in 2014.
  • The company should cut its dividend and start to repay its debt more aggressively.

Windstream Holdings (NASDAQ:WIN) published their fourth quarter earnings last week. I followed this earnings release with great interest, since I strongly doubt Windstream's dividend payments are sustainable in the long-run. Windstream's performance last year and the guidance for this year support my initial thoughts regarding the company's unsustainable dividend yield. Despite a few positive notes about their performance, I found mostly negative indicators for the growth oriented strategy and the company's future dividends. In this article, I will discuss both the positive and the negative notes from Windstream's fourth quarter earnings release and restate my bearish outlook for the stock.

Dividend payments

One of the few positive notes was the company's dividend. It seems very likely that the company maintains its quarterly dividend of $0.25/share for the next year. Considering that the shares trade around $8/share, the company yields a very attractive 12.50%. The $0.25/share quarterly dividend has become an important pillar that supports the stock at its current level. If this pillar disappears, the stock could plunge immediately. Therefore, it is a positive sign that the company is likely to pay the dividend for at least a year. However, the question remains whether Windstream will be able to pay its dividend in the next couple of years as well.

Balance sheet

Further, Windstream proudly announced that it had improved their balance sheet. According to the press release, the company was able to decrease their debt by more than $200 million. That sounds like a positive note. In fact, the company did not improve their balance sheet at all. On the contrary, Windstream's balance sheet is even worse than it was a year ago. For example, take a look at the company's long-term-debt-to-equity ratio (hereafter: LTDTO ratio). The LTDTO ratio was 9.69 in 2012 and increased to 13.28 in 2013, a 37% increase year-over-year. Despite the fact that the company reduced its debt by $200 million, the balance sheet is a lot more leveraged than it ever was a year ago.

Adjusted free cash flow

Windstream managed to earn enough (adjusted) free cash flow to support the dividend payments in 2013. The adjusted free cash flow was $891 million and the dividend payments amounted $594 million. This equals a total payout ratio of 67%. However, Windstream expects that the adjusted free cash flow will decrease compared to last year. The adjusted free cash flow is likely to be between $775 million and $885 million. This equals an expected payout ratio between 68% and 78%. For Windstream, it is very important to control the payout ratio. If the payout ratio increases even further, the dividend is immediately in jeopardy. This is a result of the company's extremely leveraged balance sheet.

Growth strategy

"We are executing a growth-oriented strategy while also managing our legacy business for profitability." This quote was published along Windstream's fourth quarter earnings. It sounds quite nice to be honest. However, what is the meaning of this particular quote? I guess every self-respecting company executes a growth-oriented strategy. I find evidence in Windstream's fourth quarter earnings report that the actual facts are not in line with the company's statement. For example, last year's revenue decreased by 2% compared to 2012 and Windstream expects that its total y-o-y revenue will decrease again in 2014. I already mentioned that the company's adjusted free cash flow will decrease as well. This does not sound a true growth story to me.

Going forward

Overall, I see more negative notes than positive notes in Windstream's fourth quarter earnings report. This is in line with my previous articles about Windstream Holdings. I find it very unlikely that the company will maintain its current dividend and execute their growth-oriented strategy at the same time. Besides, the company's current 10%+ dividend yield proofs that an investment in the shares is quite risky, even at its current level of $8/share. Therefore, I suggest that Windstream cuts their dividend payments and starts to improve their balance sheet. Eventually, this will improve the company's financial position and its growth-oriented strategy. I expect that the current shareholders strongly disagree with my idea. However, it is in the company's (and also the shareholders') best interest.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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text:
Chinese 4G licenses handed out, services to start soon

|By:, SA News Editor

The Chinese government has finally issued 4G licenses (long anticipated) to China Mobile (CHL), China Unicom (CHU), and China Telecom (CHA), paving the way for commercial service launches to start.

China Mobile, which has already built out a giant "trial" 4G network, is set to have a 4G partner conference in two weeks that will reportedly feature an iPhone announcement. China Telecom says it will launch 4G services in Q1.

Notably, the licenses only cover 4G networks relying on the TD-LTE standard (allows for more capacity to be allocated to downlinks than uplinks, if carriers wish). China Unicom and Telecom both want to run networks using the FDD LTE standard, which is far more popular internationally, and say they still plan to request FDD LTE licenses in the future.

In addition to Apple, Chinese 4G launches are likely to benefit Qualcomm (QCOM). Whereas Qualcomm faces tough competition in the Chinese 3G baseband chip market (particularly on the low-end) and has had royalty collection issues for sales of phones running on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA 3G network, it has a dominant share of the global 4G baseband market, and hasn't had any major 4G collection issues.

Many think the Chinese government's anti-monopoly probe of Qualcomm is a bargaining tactic aimed at securing 4G royalty rate concessions.


text:
Pierre Bennu: Black Moses Barbie

Black Moses Barbie commercial #2 of 3 from pierre bennu on Vimeo.

This video contains many of my favorite elements: progressive politics, dolls and deconstruction of images and fakery. Wow.

"This mock commercial for a Black Moses Barbie toy is the 2nd in a series of 3 celebrating the legacy of Harriet Tubman. It is part of Pierre Bennu's larger series of paintings and films deconstructing and re-envisioning images of people of color in commercial & pop culture."

Les Ballets Russes - film footage found!

Les ballets russes Les Sylphides from V& A museum
The Ballets Russes on stage during their first visit to the Fêtes des Narcisses when they danced Les Sylphides and Aurora’s Wedding (which is shown in this photograph). source- V&A Museum

The film won't embed, but do click this link to British Pathe to see film.

This is the only known footage of the Ballets Russes, the most exciting dance company of the 20th Century. Impresario Serge Diaghilev was adamant that no films be made of his ballets. This is a rehearsal of Les Sylphides, 1928 at the Fetes des Narcisses at Montreux, Switzerland. Serge Lifar dancing the lead.

see also THIS blog from the V&A museum curator Jane Pritchard:

What we see is I believe the June 1928 Festival (the topiary arch indicates this is the Ballets Russes second visit to Montreux when they danced Les Sylphides, Cimarosiana and the Polovtsian dances from Prince Igor). I believe that Serge Lifar was dancing the lead role – sometimes referred to as the poet. No doubt the long wig worn confused the cataloguer to suggest ‘One female dancer (representing Narcissus?)’.

See also this   from the Ballets Russes exhibition website at the Victoria & Albert Museum


text:
Select a location

Ewelands House in Thirsk, North Yorkshire

  • £
  • $
per week
sleeps 12
6 rooms

Ewelands House description

Tennis court and games roomStanding elevated in an acre of attractive grounds, this imposing property is situated on the edge of the Hambleton Hills and enjoys stunning views across the Vale of York. It provides a perfect base for exploring the North Yorkshire Moors, the Yorkshire Dales and the Yorkshire Heritage Coast. Guests can enjoy peace and tranquillity in this spacious holiday accommodation which boasts its own first floor balcony, tennis court and detached games room. The pretty hamlet of Felixkirk is home to the Yorkshire 4x4 Driving Centre, which offers action packed days with off-road driver training, quad-biking and clay pigeon shooting. Nearby is the attractive market town of Thirsk with its World of James Herriott - the former surgery of the famous vet and author. The Hambleton area which surrounds Thirsk has a rich racing history and the racecourse is known for its scenic countryside location. Historic York is just 25 miles away and the Minster’s medieval pinnacles can be seen from the property on a clear day. An 18th century inn, renowned for serving good food, is just a short stroll from the house, and there is a grass landing strip for light aircraft just half a mile away. Shops 3 miles, pub and restaurant 300 yards.Ground floor: Living room. Dining room. Kitchen. Day room. 1 double bedroom. Separate toilet. First floor: 5 bedrooms: 3 double, one (6ft zip and link can be twin beds on request) with en-suite bathroom with bath, shower cubicle and toilet, 2 twin, one with en-suite bathroom and toilet. Bathroom with shower over bath and toilet.Open fire in living room (initial fuel inc). Oil CH, elec, bed linen and towels inc. DVD. Range cooker. Elec cooker. M/wave. W/machine. T/dryer. D/washer. F/freezer. Enclosed garden and furniture. Balcony. BBQ. Ample parking. External games room with second kitchen and wet room with toilet. Tennis court. No smoking. NB Drop in grounds.

  • Barbecue
  • Detached Property
  • DVD player
  • Dishwasher
  • Ground Floor Facilities
  • Main Fuel or Power incl.
  • Games Room
  • Pub within 1 mile
  • Open Fire
  • Rural Location
  • Shower
  • Television
  • Short Breaks All Year
  • Bed Linen & Towels Included
  • Washing Machine
  • No Pets Allowed
  • Car Parking - On Site
  • Owner Services Region
  • Brand Migration

Booking Request

Check availability / Book online
Call Owner/Agent
Quote reference number: 24627
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  • Book direct with owner or managing agent
Request to Book

Be the first one to tell us about your rental experience while staying at Ewelands House. Let us know if the listing matched your expectations. You can share your comments about the location, property owner/manager and all the unique features that made your stay a memorable one.
With cookies we can give you the best experience on By using our website, you consent to the use of cookies.


text:
Select a location

Review Holiday home Nin in Nin, Zadar

Share with us your rental experience and help other travellers decide to stay in Holiday home Nin. Tell us if the listing matched your expectations. Share your comments all the unique features that made your stay memorable.
click to rate
Photo of Holiday home Nin
Holiday home Nin in Nin, Zadar
With cookies we can give you the best experience on By using our website, you consent to the use of cookies.


text:
Select a location

Review Sporting Resort in Asiago, Veneto

Share with us your rental experience and help other travellers decide to stay in Sporting Resort. Tell us if the listing matched your expectations. Share your comments all the unique features that made your stay memorable.
click to rate
Photo of Sporting Resort
Sporting Resort in Asiago, Veneto
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text:
Danielambler.com is using 3 services which we detected on its website. The major ones are digitalbusinesslounge.com for DNS management, Go Daddy as Registrar and Go Daddy for email services The site was online when this report was compiled on 17 January 2017 08:39. danielambler.com is hosted in United Kingdom .

After checking the site records, we found that it is 10 months 7 days old and will expire on 20 March 2017. For more registration details, refer to this section. The site uses a SSL Certificate issued by Comodo Group to protect the privacy of its users. The site has a title but meta description is absent, it will be better for SEO if both are present. Homepage is in English and contain 1 external links.

Services used by danielambler.com

Find what are the main services utilised by danielambler.com.
Server Tech Apache/2.4.25 (cPanel) OpenSSL/1.0.1e-fips mod_bwlimited/1.4
Compression Algo -
Generator -
SSL Certificate Comodo Group
Hosting Account -
DNS Served by digitalbusinesslounge.com
Google Analytics Absent
External Links 1
Language English
Origin country United Kingdom
Primary IP Address
Owner Country -
Email server Go Daddy

Registration Metadata

Registration details tell about a website past and future. The information is critical for websites assessment.

Complete registration information text

   Registrar: GODADDY.COM, LLC
   Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 146
   Whois Server: whois.godaddy.com
   Referral URL:
   Status: clientDeleteProhibited    Status: clientRenewProhibited    Status: clientTransferProhibited    Status: clientUpdateProhibited    Updated Date: 21-mar-2016
   Creation Date: 20-mar-2016
   Expiration Date: 20-mar-2017


text:
Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Free ezine!

There's a free new issue of Electric Spec. W00t!

In "Seasonal Fruit" by Kathryn Board, a botched "date" turns into an adventure involving a goddess, a stomach pump,and some super-enhanced sex appeal. Colum Paget's "Love in a Time of Bio-Mal" is a cyber-punk tale that bring a whole to meaning to the word "love." For those looking for something on the more humorous side, we present "The Pageant, a Battle Maiden's Cunning Stunt" by Krista Wallace, which shows just how far a woman will go to look good while gutting the enemy. "Stiltskin" by Samantha Boyette is a tale that explores just how far a father will go to preserve his family in a bleak future, and Simon Kewin's "Slieau Whallian" explores a similar theme: are we willing to allow an injustice go unchallenged to preserve or own skin?

j.a.kazimer's interview is especially intriguing. Come read her answers to questions such as:
Fairy tales were really the first stories, what's so enduring about them? Do you think the persecuted heroine with its emphasis on marriage and the female heroine being saved by the male hero still apply in today's society? The premise of CURSES! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale, namely, a villain cursed to behave like a hero is brilliant. Similarly, killer blue-birds are an amazing idea. How did you come up with these? CURSES! deals with several hot-button issues including homosexuality, and obesity/body-image. As a writer, how do you avoid being constrained by societal expectations? Regarding profanity in book titles, some people might say the proliferation of profanity in our culture signals the beginning of the end, the decline of our society. What do you think it means?

Support these authors and check it out!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

On-line Classes

I'm finishing up an on-line writing class right now. For the month of February I tried to learn how to make my novel sellable. (Yes, I'm purposefully being vague so you can't figure out what course it is.) To be honest, I don't think I learned much. This is primarily my own fault because I didn't do the homework and read all the class materials.

I started out reading all the class materials but it was pretty specific to another genre and I got less interested. The primary thing I noticed about the handouts was the teacher advocated a lot of telling. In examples, the teacher would tell the reader the character's goals, motivations, and conflicts on every page. Apparently, some genres are in favor of a lot of telling, but this goes against my writing paradigm.
During the month I tried to implement the class ideas (in a non-telling way) when I wrote first drafts of my new pages. This made homework difficult because we were supposed to post a "before" and an "after" writing sample where we improved our writing based on the class ideas. My first drafts were as "after" as I knew how to make them.
I guess the gist here is, I'm a bad student. :)

This wasn't the first time I've signed up for an on-line writing class. I get excited about the topic prior to the class and plunk down my money but they are rarely as exciting and informative as I think they'll be. Oh well. At least it gets me thinking about various aspects of writing and interacting with other writers. That's always fun.

How about you? Have you ever taken a good on-line writing class? If so, tell us!

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Plotter-Pantster

Where does everyone stand on the great plotter versus pantster debate?  The question reminds me of a tee-shirt popular in the early days of computing that read: There are 10 kinds of people in this world -- those who read binary and those who don't.

Those of us who tend to be more linear, left-brain types like to plan out our plots. Planning may be a habitual approach to life, but I call a big white piece of paper with a visual storyline a sanity-saving device. No longer having to worry about plot, the writer is free to focus on character and scene.

For the truly artsy, a plot planner is confining rather than liberating. Many writers have said that they only found the right voice after they stoppd planning and just let the ideas run.

I've found that my cortical preference has a bit of both hemispheres. I want an outline, the more visual the better. But I don't want it too detailed. I want to be free to improvise when I suddenly discover that nothing in the story's middle is ever as easy as it seemed when I started.

I don't know if it's because I've been discussing this topic with writer friends lately, but one of my characters has turned out to be quite the curser. He's the twenty-year-old single brother of one of my pov characters and enjoys playing video games, drinking beer, and hanging out with his friends. And cussing. I think he dropped the f-bomb twenty times in one scene. Phew!
I'm a firm believer in letting the muse run free in the first draft. But, I'm going to have to ponder this a bit...

Next week I'll be publishing (in my ezine) an interview of up-and-coming author j.a.kazimer, author of the soon-to-be-released CURSES! A F***ed Up Fairy Tale. As a (too?) provocative teaser, here we discuss profanity:

Me: Regarding profanity in book titles, some people might say the proliferation of profanity in our culture signals the beginning of the end, the decline of our society. What do you think it means?

j.a.: I've had a few people, especially in the more conservative local media, react poorly to the implied f-word in the title, going as far as to call me inappropriate. However, I do think the use of the fuck has its place in literature as well as in our culture. If using the word fuck is what ends society as we know it, we're in a lot worse shape than I first suspected.

What do you think? Does profanity ever have a place in literature?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

close third

I read a great story this past weekend in which I felt like I was the character. After I finished reading I thought, How did the author do that? When I went back and looked carefully at the story I was surprised to see it was written in third-person point-of-view rather than first-person.
It's worth reminding ourselves that there are three main point-of-views:
  • first: I
  • second: you
  • third: he/she
AND the distance from the character is independent of the point-of-view. Authors can use any distance with any point-of-view, from very close to very far.

In the story in question, the author used a very close distance; he was right there inside the character's head. The reader was privy to all the character's thoughts and feelings. And the author didn't use any distancing words like "thought", "realized", "felt", "heard", or anything similar. It was extremely effective.

I must admit my third-person pov is not as good. I prefer first-person. When I write third, I tend to include those darn distancing words. Then, when I revise, I have to strike them all out. When I first started writing third-person I wrote the initial draft in first-person and changed it to third in revisions. I may have to go back to that...

What's your favorite pov? What's your favorite distance?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

protect your muse

After having some significant troubles getting my new pages done over the last couple months I've had a breakthrough. I'm not bragging, I'm sharing. :) And I hope you'll share your tips, too. No doubt I'll get bogged down again in the future and then I can refer to this idea and hopefully get out of the muck.

What I learned recently is: Protect your muse! She is an elusive and slippery beast and you have to entice her with everything you've got, namely, find the conditions that yield successful writing--and then use them. For me, a certain geographic location with minimal distractions, a comfortable desk and chair, a certain time of day, and background music all collaborate to get my creative juices flowing. There are other things I could be doing this time of day...but I've learned I should not. I'm not nearly as successful in other conditions. :(

That's my tip for wrangling a muse. What's yours?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Ninc Binder

A new free resource has been released by Novelists, Inc:
The Ninc Binder:A Comprehensive Guide to the New World of Publishing.
This has a ton of info about, well, the new world of publishing. I include a crude outline in case you want more info before downloading it. I looks great to me. :)
  • Section One: Keeping Up With the Newfangled Publishing World: Terms and Tools You Need To Know
    • When Techies Say That,They Mean This: E-Publishing Terminology, Acronyms,Social Networking Terms
    • Tools Overview: Tools for E-book Production, Author Platform Tools,Web and Social Media Analysis Tools
    • New Opportunities Require a Change in Thinking

  • Section Two: How To Expose Yourself Without Getting Pneumonia: Marketing and
    Promotion Using Social Media
    • Not a Marketing Plan, What You Need Is a Connecting Plan
    • Are Blog Guest Posts Worth Your Time?
    • Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn: Essential Social Media Tools to Build Your Audience
    • YouTube Videos
    • Google+: Not Another Way to Waste Time on the Web!
    • Crowdsourcing: In the Crowd, or Leading It?
    • Podcasting
    • Building a Massive E-Mail Database

  • Section Three: The Nuts and Bolts of Publishing Out-of-Print, New, or Bonus Material Without a Publisher
    • What You Need to Know Before You Get Started
    • The Seven Secrets to E-Book Publishing Success
    • What You Need To Do To Get Your Book Ready (Hint: Editing and Cover Art)
    • Working With a Freelance Editor
    • What Your Cover Designer Should be Asking You
    • Step by Step Upload Directions for:
      • Amazon Kindle
      • Barnes and Noble Publit
      • Smashwords

    • How to Keep Track of Sales and Taxes

  • Section Four: If You Put it on the Web, The Readers Will Come… (If You Holler Real Loud and Jump Up and Down… and Set Your Hair on Fire): Other Promotion and Marketing Options
    • I Need Promo Help!
    • Author Co-op and Promotional Groups
    • Mo Boylan of MMB Author Services: The Best Promotion Tools to Reach Readers and Reviewers
    • Publicity and Promotion: A Publicist’s Take
    • Short and Sweet: How to Use Short Content to Build Your Career

  • Section Five: Contract Watch: What You Need to Know Before You Sign
    • Kindle: Not Necessarily Worldwide
    • Deal Breakers
    • Final Drafts: Selecting a Literary Executor

  • Section Six: I Want the Money… but I Just Want to Write!
    • The Art of Running Your Business
    • Meet Author’s Assistant Melissa Hermann
    • Looking Good, Selling More: Experience eBooking from the Inside-Out

Thursday, February 9, 2012

pantsing it

I've been having a heck of a time writing new pages this year. The problem stems from my method...I'm a pantser. This means I do not plot my novels out. Thus, the opposite of a pantser is a plotter. (I've tried this method, too, and it doesn't work for me; writing becomes drudgery.) In the eternal struggle between panster and plotter: pick whatever works for you. There's no right or wrong way to write.

However. Pantsing has its perils. Namely, not knowing what's going to happen next.

I'm working on two novels right now. (Another trick: I can change projects when I get stuck.) In Project 1, I wrote half of it and got bogged down in the sagging middle. My critique group suggested I needed an antagonist. (Critique groups rock.) My brain always goes to a black-caped villain (cue evil laugh) with the word 'antagonist' and let's face it, most people don't deal with villains. But, a person whose interests are in opposition to the protagonist's interests... That could work. I introduced a new pov character and wrote about 10 chapters for him. Introducing a new pov character seems very effective--I'll keep it in my bag of tricks. Everything was going great until I got stuck again. Ugh. I couldn't figure out what would happen next because I hadn't plotted it. But, finally, after I quit procrastinating, I figured out what the worst possible thing that could happen to that character and I made it happen. Viola. Now the chapters are flowing again. (Poor guy!)

I started Project 2 several years ago and got bogged down in legal jargon and rules (there's a murder in chapter 1). A few months ago I picked it back up and dusted it off with a total rewrite. (Thank you critique group!) But the pantser method is really biting me in the ass this time. I don't know what should happen next. I don't recall who the murderer is. I planted a bunch of clues and I don't recall where they lead and so on. It's pretty much a disaster. Don't do this! Apparently, even pantsers need to take notes. The next few days I will be brainstorming what happens next. Wish me luck.

How about you? Are you a panster or a plotter? Do you have any advice for avoiding pantser or plotter pitfalls?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Writing on Reading: Ender's Game

Once in a while I reread an older novel to see how well it stands up. It's interesting because as time passes, I bring different things to the table, and so notice different things about it. Recently, I reread Orson Scott Card's 1985 novel Ender's Game.

Very briefly, the story is: in the far future humans encounter an alien insect-like race and they go to war. On Earth, children are bred to be soldiers and officers in the war. One such child is Andrew "Ender" Wiggin and he is chosen to go to Command School. At Command School he undergoes extensive game-like training programs and ends up playing a significant role in the war while still a child.
Perhaps this sounds a bit mundane or perhaps speculative fiction is not to your taste. There are still things to learn here. The author does an excellent job plotting; there are some fabulous plot twists, particularly at the end of the book. The author also does an excellent job characterizing Ender, the smart misfit. Card really puts the reader inside Ender's head. We're right there as he's bullied, has to fight for his life, wins and loses games, etc. This is the very essence of fiction: making the reader understand what it's like to be someone else. Moreover, for many bullied or misfit kids it was comforting to know they weren't alone in their experiences.

This novel also deals with bigger questions. The kids behave the way kids really behave rather than how adults wished they behaved; this was eye-opening for some adult readers. It also makes one think about the whole concept of war and genocide. Is war ever justified? Is genocide? What if your whole world was at risk? Perhaps most significantly it addresses the issue of good and evil within each of us. The very best fiction addresses such big picture ideas. Recall what Card wrote about fiction.

As a geek, I also enjoyed the shout-outs to other works. In particular, the anonymous military leaders who discuss their plans at the beginning of the chapters is very reminiscent of the Second Foundationers in Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Alluding to previous works of fiction makes a novel richer. I don't think I noticed the allusions to the Foundation Trilogy in previous readings. Recall writer plus readers makes art. :)

The take-home messages are:

  • When reading, think about what you're reading. What works? What doesn't work?
  • When writing, think about what you're writing. What works? What doesn't work? How can you write really effective characterizations to put the reader in your character's head? Can you add fabulous plot twists? How can you address big picture ideas in your fiction? How can you allude to other fiction?

Good luck with your writing!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

By now, we're well into 2012. How's it feel? How's it going? I deliberately did not write about New Years Writing Resolutions because, frankly, I don't really believe in them. Not because resolutions are bad, per se, but because I need New Day Resolutions, New Week Resolutions, and/or New Month Resolutions. :)

I think it's important to periodically (more than once a year!) stop and assess how one's writing is going. I also think small resolutions or goals work better, for me, at least. (Big goals seem too scary?) Generally I have weekly writing goals such as writing a first draft of a new chapter, revising old chapters based on critique group comments and similar.

It strikes me as I write this that it's also important to periodically stop and assess one's writing behavior. Last year I blogged about a revision watch list. The idea here is we repeat some of the same not-necessarily-good things in our writing and we need to watch out for them. But I also repeat some of the same not-necessarily-good things in my writing behavior. Apparently, I need a writing behavior watch list! My most non-production writing behaviors are procrastination (not writing) and then feeling guily about it. Hhm... I need to quit these behaviors. They are negatively impacting my writing.
I resolve to stop doing these. At least this week. :)

How about you? Do you do New Years Writing Resolutions? If so, how do you stick to them?


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Sunday, December 22, 2013

Silk flowers, finally.

This is Burda 4/2012 110A. The fabric is silk that someone put on the 'take' table at one (of only 2)Guild meetings I managed to go to. I loved it immediately. It is crisp and swishy and feels lovely on. Those of you who are a bit observant will note that this is a dress - but that Burda 4/2012 110A is not. It is a pants suit. This was a pants suit when I made it 12 months ago. I made it just in time to go to a friend's 40th birthday celebration in the park on a beautiful sunny Brisbane summer afternoon - sounds perfect, right? It was until my son said "Mum, you look like a clown!" I took it off and put something else on.

The problem/s were:

Bodice cut one or two sizes too big,
Pants with pockets and blowsy top was unflattering (clown like)
and the pockets it had (no more) added bulk to this.

During the year, I took the bodice princess seams in about 6 cm and removed the pants from the bodice and cut off the pockets. Because they were designed as harem pants (which I did not do to the pants) there was lots of fabric and I cut each pant leg into gores and made a skirt. That's where I left it end of last summer. I finished it off today. I still think the bodice is too big but I think it will be an easy dress to throw on and wear.

I took the middle photo first - forgot my hair was awol, but did remember a necklace. I wore it with my black belt. I also was lazy and just slipped my bra straps inside the bodice but for the 2nd lot of photos I put some lipstick on, tidied my hair and put my gold chain link belt on, and a proper strapless bra. Makes a bit of a difference.

Earlier today I made another thing from a Burda magazine for my girlfriend (Hostess, and husband - Captain)who live and work on a luxury private boat. They cater for their boss and his guests and family and also run charters. This is for the next post when I can get her to model it hopefully - they are in Brisbane visiting family and friends for Christmas and I shall see her on Boxing Day (can't wait).

I'd like to take this opportunity to say thanks to everyone who follows my blog (I can't believe I have followers!) and to everyone who reads my blog and those who take the time to make comments also. I know I am not a prolific sewer at the moment and I don't offer a lot in advice or education but I enjoy to sew and I am enormously grateful to the bloggers who do.

Merry Christmas to all. I wish you and your families a beautiful, fun, sunny (or white depending on where you are!)and importantly, safe festive season.

  1. Love your dress.
    Hope you and your family have a blessed and Merry Christmas.

  2. Merry christmas to you too. I love your dress, very summery and your messy up-do looks artfully arranged to go with the look! I can't believe someone was getting rid of that fabric from their stash, it's gorgeous

    1. Thank you Kristy! I know how gorgeous is it - so lovely to wear.

  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

  4. Merry Christmas to you too! Your dress is very pretty, the fabric was meant to be yours :)

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I love hearing what you think.


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Swivel Clip 1″ and D-ring

Sew Sweetness Purseware in beautiful retail packaging. This set includes ONE 1″ swivel clip and ONE 3/4″ d-ring in silver. This combination can be used for an adjustable swivel clip strap.

Additional Information

Weight 1oz oz
Dimensions 3 x 3 x .25 in

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San Francisco Public Library

An Evening With Kadir Nelson

6:00 - 8:00

Main Library

Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A/B

100 Larkin St.

Kadir Nelson, two-time Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King  Award winner will discuss his new book,  I Have A Dream. The book pairs the award-winning Nelson’s magnificent paintings with the text of Martin Luther King Jr.’s  powerful speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington. This picture book is certain to be treasured by children and adults alike. The themes of equality and freedom for all are not only relevant today, 50 years later, but also provide young readers with an important introduction to our nation's past.

Upcoming Events

At Home In Exile
Wednesday, January 25, 2017, 7:00 pm
Merced, Merced General Floor Area
Scandinavian Crime Thrillers Today
Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 6:00 pm
Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Rms A & B
Author Event - Matt Richtel
Saturday, February 4, 2017, 11:00 am
West Portal, West Portal Children's Area

More related events


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Escape room "Elixir"

Company: Captivate Escape Rooms

60 min.
Average Rating: 5.0 (4 reviews)

  +65 9182 2552

You visit one of Singapore's oldest bungalows where the owner, Oscar Lee, disappeared 50 years ago and his son vanished 25 years later. As you explore you stumble upon a hidden room that hasn’t been opened for 25 years. Can you discover what happened to the missing men on the eve of the anniversaries of their disappearance? Work together to solve the mystery and escape!

Reviews on escape game "Elixir"

  • We had a very good time with the Elixir escape room, as there were very interested and challenging clues that our group was required to think through and solve. However, we had to stop and ask for clues a few times...

    Andrew Sherman

  • Gone for Captivate today. It was fun, with a bit of help we managed to get out. Have went for a few times at different escape rooms and would say this is one of the better ones in SG that deserve a revisit. The owner and his family are friendly as well. Worth a visit.

  • Went to two rooms, great standard. Puzzles are good and follow on well. Overall the rooms are on the more expensive end for SG, but what you are paying for is quality. There has been great thought into the planning and execution and they are up there with the best. A definite visit for the tourist looking for fun or the local up for a challenge. Visited February 2016

    Greg K

  • Simply mind boggling and fun!!!! Will definitely try all the other rooms!

    Nur'Aini Sidik


text:
April 5 - 9, 2017
Show Home Entertainment Seminar Schedule Seminar Schedule Exhibitors Admission Parking Lodging Contact Us
Discount Coupon
Coupon Must Be Printed

“SAVE THE DATES” April 5th-April 9th that is when the much anticipated 51ST ANNUAL ARROWHEAD HOME AND BUILDERS SHOW happens at the DECC. For over half a century hundreds of exhibitors have been bringing the newest, most exciting products on the market from home design to better living to landscaping. Whether you are designing and building a new home, remodeling your present home, landscaping your outdoor spaces or replacing those old appliances, furniture and decorations with bright new ones, then this is the place for you. As it does every year, the show will cover the entire Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) so mark your calendars now for April 5th-9th because this year promises to be “UNFORGETABLE”.

At the show this year will be a display of the most infamous event in American history that has never before been seen the in the Arrowhead Region. The 9/11 NEVER FORGET MOBILE EXHIBIT is a traveling museum that pays tribute to all of those whose lives were sacrificed on September 11, 2001. This memorial provides interactive education; including artifacts from the towers, documentary videos, recordings of the first responder radio transmissions and live tours from FDNY firefighters who survived 9/11.

If it’s grilling tips you are looking for then you are in luck with nationally recognized and self-proclaimed “Grillologists” Mad Dog and Merrill.  This dynamic duo from Wisconsin have been entertaining and educating thousands of backyard enthusiasts every year with the finer points of grilling. They will be performing daily thru the run of the show.

Back by popular demand is Joey Green; this best-selling author and TV celebrity will amaze you with his tips for Health Remedies using every day products. Again this year, kids of all ages will be able to interact with the friendly, colorful birds of the Parakeet Landing as they fly around their enclosure landing on arms, hands, shoulders and heads. The young ones are especially amazed as they can see the birds up close.  You will want to have a camera ready to capture the looks of joy on their faces as they interact with these friendly birds. Also, be sure to take the young ones over to the Main Deli area to see "Builder Bob" and get their faces painted for free as well as receive a balloon animal.

Add daily seminars on a variety of home related topics and you have a show that is sure to be the 2017 Premiere Spring Family event not only in Duluth, Superior, Arrowhead Region but also Northwestern Wisconsin, Upper Michigan and Southeastern Ontario.

Make your plans now to attend and enjoy Spring's Biggest Event, the ARROWHEAD HOME AND BUILDERS SHOW April 5th-April 9th at the DECC.

Sponsored annually by the Arrowhead Builders Association.

Exhibitor Hours
5p.m. - 10p.m.
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Join Our Email List

April 5 - 9, 2017

Shamrock Productions | 14551 Judicial Rd. Suite #111 | Burnsville, MN 55306 | Office: 952-431-9630 | Fax: 952-431-9633


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» 11.29.2003

in my room...

He should be able to spell his own name at a very early age...And with all the books his mother's bought him, he should already know how to read...And to think that I wanted to throw that dresser out...
{ click each image for a larger view }

Ok, boy. Your room's all set up, you're full term and your mother started maternity leave today, so... whenever you're ready you can come on out to play...

Ready yet?

How about now?...

ok, then... we can wait...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [2]   ]

» 11.27.2003

happy thanksgiving...

Jennifer is keeping a list of everyone who gave a gift in Coleman's scrapbook
{ Theme Thursday : Thankful }

Many of you lovely people have given us many wonderful baby gifts and for this we are certainly very thankful.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [1]   ]

» 11.26.2003

almost falling...

I really need to start picking easier pictures to write about...

There comes a day in the year as the sun slides further south, as the shadows pull longer across the landscape, right after the clocks belch up an extra hour of sleep one cool Sunday morning, that the whole of the northern hemisphere begins to turn inward in quite introspection. The haze of morning lingers further into the day. The kudzu slows its incessant growing and fades to a paler green.

The trees begin the slow retreat, pulling the essence of life in from the limbs, back down the trunk, to hide away the winter months safe from the chill. As they slide backwards into slumber, they set fire to the raiment of green summer, leaving the brilliant hues of warmer light. The gradient tumbles from green to yellow, golden yellow to orange, brilliant orange to the deepest of reds, until the entire landscape burns like a wildfire.

But the wildfire never burns long. The vivid colors of early autumn are fleeting. Leaves become brittle dry, fade to brown, lose their tenuous grasp, and fall. The cover the green lawns in a thick blanket of somber hues. Twilight comes and all nature slides softly, silently into slumber.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]

» 11.25.2003

two'fer tuesday : saturday's nature...

If a tree fell in the woods and landed on a baby seal, would PETA sue the Sierra Club?
{ Almost Falling : 12 votes }

Every rose has it's other name...
{ Thorny White : 3 votes}

Voting has ended.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [16]   ]

» 11.24.2003

breaking the silence...

We're guessing he'll be 8 1/2 lbs.

Sorry about being so distant the last few days. I've not been ignoring you and no, I don't think we need to have any sort of talk about our relationship. Don't worry. I still love you. I've just been very tired as of late. I'm not sure if it's the mixture of excitement and nerves here so close to birth day or if it's just the early onset of seasonal affective disorder. Neither excuse is sufficent to explain my absence these past few days. Mea culpa.

I will let you know beforehand that I'll be taking a week or two off from the web when Coleman does arrive. I'll set up a pictures page so you can see him, but I won't be here writing each night for you. To keep your well entertained, however, I have secured a guest writer and I'm working on a couple of guest photographers for Two'fer Tuesday. For the three of you who make this small journal a daily visit, hopefully this is good news.

Also of some note, the first anniversary of the kudzu is fast approaching. Hard to believe another year is gone. Following that is our anniversary, but I'm sure I'll speak more to that next month. Extra points if you can guess which one this will be. (No fair to play if you were there at the wedding...)

Finally, If you'd like to see the actually progress Coleman has made of the last six weeks or so, compare the picture above to the one I posted on Oct. 17 which was taken on Oct 12.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [10]   ]

» 11.22.2003

and the band played on...

Switchfoot concert...
{ Photo Friday : Gathering }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]

» 11.20.2003

me, my camera, and i...

Oh the irony of taking a picture of my high end film camera with my low end digital...
{ Theme Thursday : Ego }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [6]   ]

» 11.19.2003

can you say landslide?...

Truth be known, I know absolutely nothing about farming and such...

As fall rolls in like a fog off the ocean, as the temperature drops into the southern end of the mercury, the farmer works to pull in the harvest from the fields. All year he works to cultivate his fields, tilling the ground, planting seeds, pulling weeds, fixing tractors, trimming, pruning. It's a lot of work. Maybe too much work. It braids muscles into knots, beads sweat upon the brow, bends the spine. It’s the kind of work that makes the young man look old and the old man leather tough.

His work has purpose beyond profit. His work feeds the hungry, delights the children, holds doctors at bay for one more day. It’s filled with long walks in the orchard, praying over the coming harvest, praying for a high yield and high dollar so he can send Johnny Jr. to the state university. Every golden delicious is another bit of change in the fund, another step closer to making a better life for the little apple seed.

It is not the easy life of the playboy, the glamorous life of the rock star, the monkish life of the academic, or the monotonous life of the programmer. It is the life of dirty fingernails, the life of calloused hands, the life of pragmatic joys and measured optimism. It’s a life spent waiting for fall, for the filling of baskets, for the fruits of his labor to manifest. Then comes the winter, and the rest, and the waiting for next harvest.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [4]   ]

» 11.18.2003

two'fer tuesday: cornerstone...

How to keep the doctors away?  Tell them your insurance payments lapsed...
{ Apples : 16 votes }

Waiting for Over the Rhine to play
{ Concert Crowd : 3 votes}

You know the deal, folks. Get your votes in by 11PM EST for them to count. You have 23 full hours, so I don't want to hear any excuses about "I was in Malaysia and the time zone's a day and a half ahead" or "I couldn't vote because I didn't know where my polling place was" or "I was too busy playing with my new baby girl to vote..."

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [20]   ]

» 11.17.2003

say what?!?...

I just found the the following post in a blog. Anyone wanna tell me what they said? Or maybe what language this is? (I hope it's nice.)

Saturday, November 08, 2003

Cantik betul gambar-gambar dalam http://shaneblake.com. Aku teringin nak tahu kamera jenis apa yang dia pakai, color correction apa yang dia guna... Cantik sangatlah.

[ azman ayob taip @ 1:33 PM ]

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [6]   ]

how do you title an instrumental?...

I ment to set my recording gear back up and record at least one song this weekend.  It didn't happen.

I wrote a new instrumental for church this week. Josh recorded it off the soundboard this morning, so I have a live version for those of you not in the 10:00 service at church this morning. I just decided on the title five minutes ago. Hope you like it.

Waiting For Patience (live)

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [3]   ]

» 11.14.2003

what you lookin' at, fool?...

I didn't know pimps used computers....  Evidently Carl is a high tech pimp.  A Techno-Pimp, if you will...
{ Photo Friday : Work }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [5]   ]

» 11.13.2003

green water...

Cornerstone Music Festival 2001
{ Theme Thursday : No Entry }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [6]   ]

a new little friend...

Right after this picture she decided to show us how well her little lungs worked.
{ Emily Anne Dreifuss }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [4]   ]

» 11.12.2003

and behind door number one...

What's behind the door?  You really wanna know?  Jennifer's socks.  Told you it was boring...

Sure, you could ask what's behind the door. Will I tell you? Probably not. No, I'm not trying to be cruel here. It's just that not everything should be known. There is a reason for the lock and key, and it's not so much for the fear of theft. Locks won't stop a thief. Best it can do is slow one down. If someone wants to make your stuff their stuff bad enough, not much you do shy of led shot and powder will be completely effective.

No, the real purpose of locks is to keep secrets. Humans are curious, nosey, ravenously inquisitive. We are all little god wannabe's, seeking to extend our omniscience into the private lives of those around us. But we cannot control the planets, or change the laws of gravity, or speed the process of gestation. So much of nature out of our control. Therefore our omnipotence depends on the power we can weld over our peers. Knowledge is that power.

We know this. We understand the rules, and as we go digging for dirt, we recognize the need to protect our own secrets. So we hide them in drawers, behind locked doors, bury them in jars in the back yard, whatever it takes to shield them from the eyes of the world.

But there is a truth we sometimes forget. There is power in being vulnerable. There is strength in weakness. There is a time to insert the key, turn the handle, and give the world a little peek inside. You know this. I know this. And I have this locked door right here before us. I could open up and let you see. But, then again, maybe some secrets are better left unspoken...

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [6]   ]

» 11.11.2003

two'fer tuesday: post-revolution...

Adam R. at Goodberry's
{ Unconcerned : 4 votes }

The old cedar chifforobe in our bedroom.
{ Lock and Key : 7 votes }

Ok folks, it's Tuesday again. You know what to do. Remember that you have until 11PM EST to get your vote cast.

And yes, I've now seen Matrix: Revolutions. And yes, I did like it. And oh heck yeah, especially liked the ending. Sure, those movies have plot holes big enough to fly a hover ship through, but so what? Ok, so there are a few dangling plot threads at the end. But who cares? They're movies. You laugh, cry, cheer, yell, raise your left eyebrow in puzzled bemusement. They're entertainment, not repositories of theology. There is no spiritual enlightenment to be gleaned from them. And, most importantly, there's no pop quiz at the end.

So come. Join me by the water cooler and we'll waste our fifteen minutes arguing over what we thought we saw.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [13]   ]

» 11.9.2003

welcome to the stage...

Our new friend Emily Anne Dreifuss entered the world stage this morning weighing in at 7lb 7oz. Drop by her daddy's blog and drop a congradulatory comment.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [1]   ]

» 11.8.2003

truth in advertising...

Stupid Bradford Pear trees...

The nature of writing (be it novel, journal, blog, whatever) is, at it's very base, an egotistical act of self fulfillment. In writing, you make yourself the center of attention. In writing, you can tell your story, speak your mind without the annoyance of interruption or fear of confrontation. It is the ability to speak with your most reasoned voice, with your most elequent vocabulary. You make an audience of the page or screen and perform for a captivated, gracious and patient audience. After all, what is the purpose of the page but to receive the fruits of your intellect? What purpose has WordPerfect if not to contain your perfect words? What purpose has the internet but to be the brick wall for so much self-aggrandizing graffiti?

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [3]   ]

» 11.7.2003

after a long day at work...

Downtown Raleigh, NC at night.
{ Photo Friday : Downtown }

[   link   ]:[   Sez U   ]

» 11.6.2003

i waited 24 hours for this?...

Coleman's furry friends wait on  him to come out and play...
{ Theme Thursday : Waiting }

So I've been staring at that darn goat for the past two days thinking to myself "I don't know nothin 'bout no goats. What am I gonna write about a %#&@ goat?!?" Sure. I grew up in the south, but the closest I'd ever been to goats where confined to a petting zoo. Sure. Jennifer wanted a goat for a pet when she was young, but her grandfather said she couldn"t have one. Something about them being too dirty, or too much trouble, or too redneck. His memory as to why must have grown rather hazy as he purchased three goats last year. He was rather upset when the feral dogs killed two of them. I can understand why. They were rather cute. Certainly wish I could have found the pictures of those three that I took last time we were out there. (The two goats in Tuesday's picture belonged to the neighbor, in case you were wondering.)

Jennifer once had a run in with a petting zoo goat once. Little dear decided the flowers on her favorite dress looked real enough to eat. So he did. He ate them. Great big hole in her favorite sun dress just above her knees. Too funny. Ok, so not nearly as funny as the time she sat on the electric fence and burned a hole in each cheek of the jumper she was wearing. We weren't dating at the time, so I wasn't there to see her expression at that exact moment, but I can imagine it was funny. She sure did turn red when her grandmother showed me the outfit with the burned holes. Anyone want to guess what expression she'll have when she reads this in the morning? { Hi sweety! }

So what have we learned tonight? That being from the southern states doesn't mean you have personal knowledge of livestock. That urinating on an electric fence might not kill you, but sitting on an electric fence can cause spontaneous urination. That some nights I can't keep my eyes open past 11 PM and others I'm still rambling on well past midnight.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [6]   ]

» 11.5.2003

So "coming soon" is going to be later than sooner. Can't be helped. Sorry.

In the mean in between, go get yourself a pirate name. Arr...

Mad Morty Kidd
Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [1]   ]

[story coming soon...]

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [1]   ]

» 11.4.2003

two'fer tuesday: end of a county road...

Guest Photographer : Jennifer Blake

{ Goats : 11 votes}

{ Sunflower : 6 votes}

Showing off some of the wife's photography today. Let her know which you like better in the comments and, as always, I'll write about that photo for tomorrow's post.

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [18]   ]

» 11.3.2003

return of the list...

I'm digging in the dirt / Stay with me I need support. / I'm digging in the dirt / To find the places I got hurt / To open up the places I got hurt.

26 Things is back for November. I'm kind of excited. I had a lot of fun with the previous list and look forward to finding photos of the new items. Let the digital scavenging begin!
26 Things : 2
high point
too much
the end
close up
new old

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [1]   ]

» 11.2.2003

waiting for the joy...

Umm... Coffee...

Am I trying to equate having a baby with the effort it takes to make a good cup of coffee? Is this photo some attempt at an extended metaphor About using the best ingredients? The proper vessel? Waiting an approximate, yet exact amount of time? About how the joys of anticipation and longing rival the joy of a desire realized?

[   link   ]:[   Sez U [4]   ]

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