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Home LATEST NEWS Profile: Mimi Dabbagh of August Moon Bistro
Profile: Mimi Dabbagh of August Moon Bistro
Roger Baylor
[Originally published in the Fall 2017 issue of Food & Dining Magazine]
Some of us want to perform on stage, while others would rather coordinate the performance. Mimi Dabbagh has excelled at August Moon by selflessly setting the table with the timeless cuisine of business partner Peng Looi. Now, digging a little deeper, we see she has a powerful legacy all her own.
To dine out in Louisville is to sample a beautiful mosaic of food, sourced from a bountifully diverse planet, to be shaped and purposed by the skill of human minds and hands. It is important to know the names of the people who feed and serve us, and deservedly so – names like Peng Looi. Looi's dishes were featured on the very first Food & Dining magazine cover in 2003. He is recognized in America and abroad both as a chef and as a tireless advocate of culinary education and charitable causes.
During three decades at August Moon Chinese Bistro, and later Asiatique Restaurant, Looi has helped pioneer an edible genre, one enjoying such a wide degree of acceptance today that far-flung corporate restaurant chains are built entirely around it. Call it Chinese with Southeast Asian influences, or pan-Asian, or Asian fusion; according to Looi himself, skeptics originally called it "con-fusion." Just know that the planet has embraced Looi's vision, and his kitchen creations have long since ceased being derived from Asia alone. The cross-cultural value of deliciousness without borders is a concept Mimi Dabbagh still refers to as a "melting pot."
"The way Chef Looi cooks shows the influence of Southeast Asia," says Dabbagh. "It's not only Chinese – it's more like Asian, then a Thai background, and then a Malaysian background, a Vietnamese background – then Indian. There are a lot of Indians in Malaysia, too."
At this point, you may be asking, "But who is Mimi Dabbagh?"
She's someone you should know, too. Since 1987, Dabbagh has been Looi's co-owner and business partner at August Moon, and yet 30 years after the eatery's inception, she's almost unGoogleable, having consistently avoided the limelight in favor of tending to the less glamorous aspects of restaurant ownership. "Chef Looi is like the front man; I'm behind the scenes," says Dabbagh. "It's all right, because most people aren't so interested in the owner. They're interested in the chef and the food."
Maybe so, but behind every great restaurant there are numerous stories worthy of telling, and Mimi Dabbagh's is a tale untold far too long. It's about melting pots and managing behind the scenes; remembrance and independence; mentoring and family. It's about maintaining one's good humor and grace amid the challenges, consolidating and transcending, and preserving tradition by expanding it. As always, the logical place to start is the beginning.
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The way from Tan Son Nhut to Beargrass Creek
I'd like readers to establish a mood.
Let your minds wander back in time to simpler and less complicated days of youth – middle school, perhaps. If you're like me, you remember almost nothing about middle school. You slept through class, maybe played sports, and rode to the mall with your parents, because you were too young for a driver's license. As adolescents, our brains are still developing. The early teen years can be an emotional and paradoxical roller coaster, but we usually move past it soon enough, leaving a handful of sepia-tinged recollections, trip-wire love songs and little else.
Next, imagine that as your 7th grade year is approaching, you suddenly are compelled to depart your country of birth, where the chaos of a geopolitical endgame threatens your settled existence. You'll be leaving behind family, friends and everything familiar from childhood for a journey into the unknown, with no guarantee of returning home or seeing your loved ones again.
This was Dabbagh's experience in Vietnam, her place of birth. It was 1975, and more than three decades of war were drawing to an inexorable close.
A succession of destructive conflicts, first with Japan, then France and finally America, had divided the Vietnamese people. Unfortunately for Dabbagh's family (she was Mimi Ha then), they were situated in South Vietnam, which was shortly to become the losing side.
Along with an older sister, this sister's husband and their two-year-old child, Dabbagh was airlifted from Saigon – now Ho Chi Minh City – along with thousands of others in similarly dire straits, just hours before the city surrendered to the North. Sadly, her parents and seven other siblings stayed behind in a newly unified Vietnam, albeit under the banner of communism. No one knew what might happen next.
These four Vietnamese refugees first went to the Philippines for processing, then to a holding camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In due time, they arrived in Dayton, Ohio, where Dabbagh went to live with an older Presbyterian couple who'd volunteered through their church to house immigrants in need.
Happily, they proved to be ideal, nurturing foster parents, and in Dayton, Dabbagh finally was able to resume her interrupted studies, though with only a scant grasp of the English language and as the only Asian face in her class. She was all of 13 years old, and she didn't stop to reflect. Rather, she got on with her life.
A scant 12 years later, Dabbagh and Looi opened August Moon Chinese Bistro on Lexington Road in a small, nondescript building with only 15 tables, located adjacent to the restaurant's large, modernistic, high-ceilinged current home, which dates to 2002. The pair's founding mission at August Moon was Asian-style culinary multi-culturalism, or Dabbagh's melting pot metaphor, which was an idea that flowed naturally from their own kaleidoscopic backgrounds of synthesizing personal experiences and transcending borders.
Looi hails from Malaysia, where food is a mélange drawn from the country's ethnic composition of Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous peoples. The French cultural presence from colonial times remained prevalent in South Vietnam when Dabbagh was a child, and her paternal grandfather was from India.
Dabbagh and Looi absorbed these and other inspirations, taking differing paths to America, then coinciding as students in Louisville during the early 1980s. She was in pursuit of a marketing degree at Sullivan College, and he was studying engineering at the University of Louisville's Speed School. Presciently, they met on the job.
"We both were in college when we worked at Oriental House," Mimi explains. "Just servers, trying to make ends meet – very tough; you never see a rich student! We worked all the time."
While the budding Malaysian engineer was learning how to cook professionally and beginning to feel the pull of an entirely different career in the kitchen, the young lady from Biên Hòa pursued her complementary ambition. Dabbagh wanted to own, operate and manage a restaurant, and toward this focused end, her apprenticeship was served in a half-dozen Asian restaurants around town: Oriental House, Emperor of China, House of Dragon, Golden Dragon and House of Hunan.
"There's a lot of Chinese restaurant history in Louisville. I worked at them and managed them, and I learned how to do everything, because I wanted to be my own boss. I was very young, but they were willing to teach me."
In due time, August Moon became Dabbagh's and Looi's first restaurant venture, and the sum of what they had learned. Like so many other start-ups, it was launched with grit, sweat equity and too little capital. "We started from scratch," she remembers. "It's hard when you first open. You're scrambling."
At August Moon's inception, one of Dabbagh's restaurateur mentors recommended the services of a New York-based Chinese chef who could come stay a while and get her restaurant off the ground. The deal was arranged, and all she knew was to pick him up at Standiford Field, leaving one small detail to be resolved.
"I said to Looi, we don't know what he looks like," she laughs. "Do we just look for an Asian man? Looi thought about it and said yes, we'll take a sign saying, 'Chef from New York' and ask any Asian man we see. The first Asian man we saw looked very lost, and that was him."
Obviously, August Moon struck a vital chord in Louisville and has been here ever since, though it's probably true that 30 years in the restaurant business is 130 in "normal" human years. Consequently, a vital facet of August Moon's longevity has been a pragmatic, consistent, no-nonsense division of labor.
Peng Looi describes it as symbiotic: "We've been partners from day one. She has her strengths and weaknesses, and I have my strengths and weaknesses. We just play off each other. She takes care of the front, and I take care of the back." "The person behind the scenes is sometimes like a producer," adds Dabbagh, "and you're never going to be on TV, but you make it work. It's the backbone of the business behind the scenes."
At this juncture, it should be stated that making a restaurant work "behind the scenes" isn't a red carpet job. It's about payroll, clogged toilets, accounts receivable, broken light fixtures, insurance policies, employee satisfaction, product shortages, social media fixations, and answering the phone at 3:00 a.m. – always 3:00 a.m. – when the alarm goes off because a ceiling fan or passing truck somehow tripped the mechanism. Small business owners grow into it, and they get used to it. At times, they remember how pleasant it was to have no responsibilities.
"I knew how to manage other people's restaurants, but when it comes to yours, it's different," Dabbagh observes. "It's always so different when you work for someone. You think it's so easy, but when you are your own boss, that's when the headaches come."
Overlapping cultures and complementary curries
The day I met Dabbagh to chat at August Moon was a typically scorching and humid Ohio Valley afternoon. Relief gratefully arrived in the caramel-colored form of a creamy-sweet iced Vietnamese coffee, an obvious legacy of the French colonial presence in Vietnam, along with baguettes, beignets, palmiers and a form of chili sauce strikingly like that served in France's North African colonies.
It's also another clue that Dabbagh's melting pot began right at home. "My grandfather was Indian by birth. He enlisted in the French military and became a French national. When he came to Vietnam (after World War I), he met my grandmother, and she had my dad. So, my dad was a French citizen. Then, my grandfather went back to India when my father was two years old, and my grandmother raised my father alone in Vietnam."
Dabbagh's grandmother carried on, marrying two other times, though Vietnam's incessant strife claimed both husbands. "Visiting my grandmother, I'd see photos of all these men on the wall and ask, who are these men? 'They're your grandfathers,' she would say."
As a woman, mother and restaurant owner, Dabbagh's life can be surveyed in terms of recurring motifs, like the melting pot, the producer's chair and an independence of spirit harnessed to a goal of teamwork. However, ultimately it's about family.
Maybe this is because Dabbagh left Vietnam so young and didn't see her family for so long, a situation that finally was resolved in 1990 when she and her sister joined to sponsor their elderly parents and all seven of their siblings to reunite in the United States, fully 15 years after the airlift.
Married in 1947, Dabbagh's parents had been together 70 years when her father died in April 2017 at the age of 95. She refers to him as her rock, as well as being a rich source of information about Vietnamese history. Once in Louisville, her father reconnected with his own melting pot.
"My dad was infatuated with curry spices because of his father's background," she says. "When he came to live with me, I took him to Shalimar – it was like it brought back his childhood. He was so happy just to eat the Indian food."
Curry almost functions as the Zen running through this narrative. When Dabbagh's husband Reza, an immigrant from Iran, retired from his job as project engineer for the city of Louisville, the Dabbaghs promptly purchased Saffron's Persian Restaurant in downtown Louisville, where he inaugurated a second career as a restaurant owner/manager. "When I go over to his place (Saffron's), it's the Middle Eastern spices, and over here it's the Asian spices, but what we have in common is the curry." Fusion, again.
A restaurant at 30 and beyond
So, 11,000 days later, how's business at August Moon?
"It's the same business, more or less," says Peng Looi. "We go through the same issues, and it's getting more and more challenging with more competition for customers' dollars, and the labor pool … "
I posed the same question to Dabbagh.
"After 30 years, I guess we're doing okay. Looi and I are opposites, and I guess they say opposites attract – he's very different from me, but he's very good at what he does, and I'm very good at what I do. It's a long road to get here; as you know, the restaurant business isn't as rosy as everyone says. It's very tough. If people don't see behind the scenes, they can't know what it's like to own a restaurant."
It's been an eventful road for Mimi Dabbagh, from youthful displacement to professional achievement. She has traveled this often challenging path with determination and resilience, never lacking an upbeat sense of optimism.
The melting pot as art of the possible? It makes perfect sense to me, and it should to you as well. After all, Mimi Dabbagh has lived it.F&D
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Berlin, June 2013 – The third PhoxTroT consortium meeting took place on the 20th and 21st of June 2013. Our partners from ICCS/NTUA (Institute of Communication and Computer Systems/ National Technical University of Athens) organised the conference in Greece. Our next meeting is coming up in October and will be held in Valencia/ Spain.
Berlin, February 2013 – The second project consortium meeting took place on the 21st and 22nd of February, in Berlin. The 18 partners came together to present and evaluate their work progress and to define their next action steps.


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New 3D-printed cement paste gets stronger when it cracks — just like structures in nature
Jun 14, 2019 (0) comment california contractor insurance, commercial general liability insurance, construction news
What if the inherent weaknesses of a material actually made houses and buildings stronger during wildfires and earthquakes?
Purdue University researchers have 3D-printed cement paste, a key ingredient of the concrete and mortar used to build various elements of infrastructure, that gets tougher under pressure like the shells of arthropods such as lobsters and beetles. The technique could eventually contribute to more resilient structures during natural disasters.
"Nature has to deal with weaknesses to survive, so we are using the 'built-in' weaknesses of cement-based materials to increase their toughness," said Jan Olek, a professor in Purdue's Lyles School of Civil Engineering.
The idea would be to use designs inspired by arthropod shells to control how damage spreads between the printed layers of a material, like trying to break a bunch of uncooked spaghetti noodles as opposed to a single noodle.
"The exoskeletons of arthropods have crack propagation and toughening mechanisms that we can reproduce in 3D-printed cement paste," said Pablo Zavattieri, Purdue professor of civil engineering.
3D-printed cement-based materials — such as cement paste, mortar and concrete — would give engineers more control over design and performance, but technicalities have stood in the way of scaling them up.
Purdue engineers are the first to use 3D printing to create bioinspired structures using cement paste, as shown in a published paper and the frontispiece for an upcoming print issue of the journal Advanced Materials.
"3D printing has removed the need for creating a mold for each type of design, so that we can achieve these unique properties of cement-based materials that were not possible before," said Jeffrey Youngblood, Purdue professor of materials engineering.
The team is also using micro-CT scans to better understand the behavior of hardened 3D-printed cement-based materials and take advantage of their weak characteristics, such as pore regions found at the "interfaces" between the printed layers, which promote cracking. This finding was recently presented at the 1st RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication.
"3D printing cement-based materials provides control over their structure, which can lead to the creation of more damage and flaw-tolerant structural elements like beams or columns," said Mohamadreza "Reza" Moini, a Purdue Ph.D. candidate of civil engineering.
The team was initially inspired by the mantis shrimp, which conquers its prey with a "dactyl club" appendage that grows tougher on impact through twisting cracks that dissipate energy and prevent the club from falling apart.
Some of the bioinspired cement paste elements designed and fabricated by the team using 3D printing techniques include the "honeycomb," "compliant" and "Bouligand" designs, called "architectures."
Each of these architectures allowed for new behaviors in a 3D-printed element once hardened. The Bouligand architecture, for example, takes advantage of weak interfaces to make a material more crack-resistant, whereas the compliant architecture makes cement-based elements act like a spring, even though they are made of brittle material.
The team plans to explore other ways that cement-based elements could be designed for building more resilient structures.
The work was funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. CMMI 1562927).
Watch a YouTube video at https://youtu.be/Q0MvUdZoejk.
This article was originally written by Purdue University and appeared here.
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Administrators Should Follow His Lead
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Transparency in the administration is an issue our board has raised numerous times over the past years, yet we still find ourselves writing the same editorial.
In the aftermath of recent discussions that have taken place in community forums and town halls, this issue has been raised again. The question we ask now is, How can administrators improve in order to make community discussions more valuable?
Many students feel that attending town halls and forums is not a worthwhile use of their time because they leave feeling more confused, angry and ill-informed than when they entered. Statistics, financial numbers and linear timelines often are skimmed over, ignored or diverted to examples of administrative successes.
There are significant opportunities for college administrators to exhibit greater transparency when discussing issues pertinent to student life and general operations of the college. Doing so would prompt a more fruitful discussion that leads to the "formation of community" that administrators have consistently called for.
We would like to acknowledge administrators who we feel could be emulated in providing students with transparent dialogue. College treasurer David Provost has provided a stellar example of administrative transparency that other administrators could aspire to when engaging in community discussions.
During a forum on Jan. 24, Provost thoroughly and transparently explained the reasons behind the September closing of college-owned restaurant 51 Main (now The Rough Cut). Instead of falsely painting 51 Main as a successful project, he told students candidly that the restaurant had been a financial disaster that had lost the college $250,000 per year.
Many feel that administrators often divert difficult or pressing questions about mistakes they have made to point out successes they have had. During the forum, Provost did the opposite when discussing issues like student diversity. He was engaging, funny and self-deprecating, answering student questions thoroughly and honestly.
Provost works with financial information that is often easier to disclose than the work of other offices such as judicial affairs, and we recognize that his candid style isn't appropriate in every setting for community discussion. But aspects of Provost's honest approach could still easily be translated to many other forums. If more forums are like last month's, we gurantee more and more students will actually show up.
At the same time, this paper recognizes that complete and utter transparency is not always an attainable goal for every administrative position. The college may be legally obliged to maintain confidentiality when discussing certain topics, and is not always free to disclose details about sensitive issues that students might want to know during community discussions — for example, specific details of judicial cases, which are often bound by Title IX regulations.
The ability to disclose information in student forums depends upon the department of the given administrator engaging in discussion, the particular topic at hand, and a wealth of other factors. The Campus recognizes this fact.
Still, when these constraints around disclosure are present, administrators could provide students with thorough, transparent explanations of exactly why certain details aren't available to the general public, as well as thorough background information that at least leaves students informed about the discussion they are engaging in.
This is another area in which Provost has excelled. During the Jan. 24 forum, he provided a wealth of background information that students found beneficial. Students who attended said they felt well informed about the topic they were discussing. Provost clearly and patiently provided background information concerning issues that gave the students the knowledge they needed to engage in a productive discussion.
This approach could be seen as a baseline for all administrators leading or engaging in challenging community discussions. When a sensitive question arises about a student engaged in a judicial process, for example, the administrator being questioned could provide as many facts as necessary and allowed. When they find themselves unable to disclose information, this point would ideally lead into an explanation of why certain information cannot be disclosed, rather than diverting the question to a discussion of administrative successes.
This open style of communication is also important because student dialogue and general gossip that circulates on campus has sometimes placed unfair blame upon administrators such as President Patton. More background and patient explanation during discussions would be a step towards remedying this.
Leaning into transparency are the first steps towards creating a community that is empathetic, supportive and committed to change. Time and time again, members of our administration have called for students to take on a role in "building community" and rebuilding a broken campus in which many of us feel isolated and alienated. It would be much easier for students to do this if they felt the respect granted through authentic, transparent conversation in student–administrator forums.
Without this transparency, students are left to draw their own conclusions, leading to false accusations and gossip. We hope this is the last editorial we have to write asking for transparency, and that we can work to fight for the future The Campus has sought to resist — one in which Middlebury dies in darkness.


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As described when I announced my journeyman tour I'm dedicating June, September, and October to it (since expanded into November). Each week, I set aside about four days for each "tour stop", usually Monday through Thursday. Below is the current schedule and I'll update it with links to relevant blog posts as the tour progresses.
I undertook this tour in 2015. While the tour is technically at an end, I still got a few tour stops to write about. Meanwhile, I've joined Agical through which you can hire me as a consultant.


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Born Chinese, raised American, an adoptee explores her identity
Whose Century Is It?
February 11, 2016 · 1:30 PM EST
By Mary Kay Magistad
Maya Ludtke, adopted from China as an infant and raised in the United States, is finding a balance of both identities that works for her.
Melissa Ludtke
Before Maya Ludtke was Maya Ludtke, cherished American daughter, she was an abandoned baby girl in eastern China, when the one child policy and a traditional preference for boys landed her in an orphanage.
Maya Ludtke, as infant Chang Yulu, taken in a Chinese orphanage.
Now, as a college freshman, she's teaming up with her adopted mom, journalist Melissa Ludtke, to tell the story of her search for identity, her return to the village of her birth to see what her life might have been like had she stayed, and the bigger story of how China's one-child policy, and attitudes toward women and girls, drove a wave of some 120,000 international adoptions — most to the US — of mostly Chinese girls.
The one child policy came out of a belief that if China didn't curb its population growth, the country would never prosper. Generations of Chinese grew up shaking their heads and muttering, "ren tai duo" – there are just too many people. In the early '80s, the government stepped in to change this. Three decades of coercion, intimidation, forced abortions and violations of Chinese women's privacy, dignity and human rights followed. Women were made to show proof each month that they were having their periods. And if they managed to sneak in an unauthorized pregnancy, they were punished with huge fines, or the destruction of their homes, or the loss of their or their husband's jobs.
Maya (left) and Melissa Ludtke, in their living room in Cambridge, MA.
Mary Kay Magistad
In truth, China's fertility rate had already dropped by half, from almost 6 children per woman to about 3, before the one-child policy started. And even without the policy, it would likely have dropped more — as it's done in most places around the world — as women became better educated and had better access to well-paying jobs.
But China's leaders were impatient, and they pressed ahead. Families, forced to choose, often chose to give up their girls so they could have boys. The result is some 50 million 'missing' Chinese girls — girls who were given away, killed in infancy, aborted or abandoned. China's orphanages began to fill up with unwanted baby girls. The Chinese government decided to open to international adoptions. Soon after, Melissa Ludtke, who as a young sports journalist had successfully sued to be able to interview male athletes in their locker rooms, just like her male colleagues, started thinking about breaking another barrier.
"I had very much thought about having a child," she says. "I had in fact gone and tried to have a child on my own after a relationship ended for me in my late 30s. And then, a friend of mine, asked me a question one day. She asked, 'and so, I guess you won't be a mother,' since she figured I hadn't acted on it by this point. And I responded to her immediately, 'no! I haven't decided that.'"
The friend put Melissa in touch with an adoption agency that brought her to China, and put nine-month-old Chang Yulu in her care. Chang became Maya, and Maya grew up as an American girl, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Melissa Ludtke, holding her adopted daughter Maya.
Melissa tried to keep Maya connected with China and the Chinese part of her identity. So did many of the other parents of adopted Chinese babies. Maya was part of a huge wave of Chinese adoptions — some 80,000 into the United States, 40,000 elsewhere. Many of the adoptive parents stayed in touch, even organized into more formal groups, and many of the daughters met often.
Maya Ludtke and other adopted Chinese girls get together in 2005.
Same group in 2012.
"I learned an immense amount from listening to the experiences of the Korean adoptees, who at that point were entering college and beyond," Melissa says. "They were talking very honestly about the experiences they'd had, growing up primarily, interestingly, in the Midwest, where the notion was that once they came into a family, that was who they were. No one talked about the fact that they were Korean, and that they might look different. They might act differently, they might have different sensibilities, based on what they looked at in the mirror every day. What we learned, as a community of adoptive parents, really instructed us to engage our kids in activities that would give them a sense of who they were very early on."
Maya Ludtke strikes a pose as a Chinese fan-dancer.
Maya, now a 19-year-old college student, says that worked — to a point.
"It was great to have that community of other girls, who were kind of in the same boat as me," she says. "But of course, growing up, there were moments when perhaps I was a bit embarrassed because my family wasn't what everyone else's was, and people would ask questions, and I didn't always know how to respond, like, 'is that really your mom?'"
Identity is a complex thing for anybody, that much more so when adopted from a country where ethnic identity is seen as immutable, into a country tolerant of shifting and reinvented identities, of ethnic melting pots and tapestries, and different strands of identity weaving together in different ways over time.
The Ludtkes faced this in a way that surprised them, when Melissa first took Maya back to China, when she was 7 — back to the town of Xiaxi, in Jiangsu province, where she was born.
Maya, then age 7, and Melissa Ludtke visit a market in Xiaxi, Jiangsu province, the town where Maya was born.
"We went into this marketplace there," Melissa recalls. "And as we walked around, it became clear to me that the whole marketplace had basically stopped, and everyone was staring at us, mostly at me, with the blond hair, in rural China. ... And there I was, holding the hand of a young girl. And — I don't know. Maybe they thought I had kidnapped her. They couldn't possibly understand how we had come to be together. And this made Maya so uncomfortable. ... It made us both uncomfortable. And we had this long circle to go around to get out of the marketplace. ... I had really done a bad job that morning of being her mother in the way I should have been. We went back to Changzhou, and just stayed in the hotel room the rest of the day."
Melissa says that moment stayed with her, and a decade later, she suggested to Maya that she return to Xiaxi without Melissa, to get to know it on her own terms.
Maya set out with a friend her age, Jennie, another Chinese girl who'd been adopted out of the same orphanage at the same time. And Melissa, seeing the potential for a journalistic project on identity, the lives of girls in China and the one-child policy, arranged a film crew to follow Maya and Jennie back to the villages where each was born, finding out what the lives of girls their age were like there, what their lives might have been like if their families has kept them.
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The stories, photos and videos from that three-week trip became the backbone of the multimedia project "Touching Home in China," which Melissa has been developing both as an e-book and as a curriculum for schools and community colleges.
"We're talking now in this country about the need to strengthen the community college system, and it really is the gateway for so many immigrants all over America, into both our society and into higher education," Melissa says. "I think Maya's and Jennie's experience of trying to return to a place to try to understand yourself better, raises so many of these questions that so many immigrants who come to this country and are made to feel as 'other,' and who think of themselves as 'other,' until they find pathways into how 'other' becomes 'us,' I think this story can be a powerful tool to help them to do that."
One of the videos in "Touching Home" shows Maya, early in her visit to Xiaxi, trying to talk to a group of local women. They ask her, in Chinese, 'do you understand when we speak to you?' Maya smiles and looks uncertain. She understands some, but not all. The women seem perplexed. She looks like a Xiaxi girl. Why does she talk funny? Why can't she understand a basic conversation?
"If I didn't say anything, I blended in perfectly," Maya says. "A lot of people were confused only when I opened my mouth and I tried to say something, and then the confusion was about why I sounded so weird. ... I was one of the only foreigners they'd ever seen."
It's interesting that Maya, talking about an encounter in the village where she was born, describes herself as a foreigner, and assumes that "seeing" this foreigner was strange for the villagers. But, the villagers actually commented on how she looked like one of them. One woman said, 'you've come home.' If America is the land of constructed identities, China is one where many people consider identity immutable — especially Chinese identity. If you're ethnically Chinese, even if you are generations removed, you're Chinese. And if you're not ethnically Chinese, you will never be Chinese, no matter how perfectly you speak the language, how well you know the culture or how much you consider China to be home.
Then again, even if you're ethnically Chinese, it can get complicated. Mei Fong, a former Wall Street Journal correspondent in China, and author of the book "One Child: China's most radical experiment" has had her own experience with that.
"I was raised in Malaysia, and we spoke Cantonese at home, but we didn't speak Mandarin, and I didn't learn how to write in Chinese. I wrote in Malay," she says. "But we spoke Chinese, we had Chinese food. But when I got to China, I was considered not Chinese enough, because I wasn't fluent in Mandarin, and I didn't know all the dynasties. But at the same time, the minute I did anything controversial in a story, I was held to a higher account than were some of my white colleagues. They would say, 'you are a traitor, because you have written something bad against the Chinese people.' Like, somehow, I was supposed to uphold the principles and the values more, because of my Chinese face and my Chinese ethnic heritage."
Mei Fong has been thinking a lot about identity, while working on her book, including about female identity. She says she can relate to the unwanted girls in China. Her father, the 16th of 18 sons — by the same Chinese-born father, different mothers — was aghast that he had five daughters, and no sons.
"My father certainly was very, very disappointed," she says."He had grown up in a household that had been defined by sons. It had a very proud lineage. And he kept having daughters. His brothers had sons. But he kept, one after another, having daughters. He was an accountant, and he would speak in that terminology. So one of the things he kept telling us was, 'you guys are liabilities. You are not assets. You are liabilities. Don't forget that."
It was attitudes like that, within China, that led to some 50 million missing girls under the 30-plus years of the one-child policy — girls who were selectively aborted, or abandoned, or killed, or hidden, so families could try again, for a boy.
Unintended consequences abound. For starters, there are way more boys than girls, and young men than young women, in the one-child generation. The usual gender balance at birth, globally, is 105 boys to 100 girls. In China, the national average was close to 120 boys to 100 girls in 2009, before coming down to about 115 to 100 now. In some provinces, and districts, it's much higher. That will make it hard, for a generation, for young men to find wives. In poorer rural areas, there are already 'bachelor villages' facing this challenge.
On the positive side, attitudes about women and girls in China have been changing fast, as China modernizes. More women were going to college, getting good jobs, making good money, and often — staying in better touch with their parents than their male counterparts do.
Maya seems ambivalent about her own biological parents. She chose not to try to find them when she was in Xiaxi, though she was touched when locals offered to help. She recalls a day when she and one of the local girls her age were in town.
"And she out of the blue said, 'there's the hospital. That's where I was born. Maybe you were born there too," Maya recalls. "So of course, we went inside, and all the doctors stopped what they were doing, to come and see this strange foreigner who said she was born here, and started digging through these old shelves of records, and looking at computer records, to see how many babies came through that day."
Again — Maya refers to herself as a 'strange foreigner,' even though she was from there — possibly, born in that hospital. Maya admits that her own sense of identity shifts over time, and depending on the context, and her visit to the village where she was born is no exception.
"I still think I'm Chinese American, because I have become American," Maya says. "But I still do feel tied to China. Instead of saying 'I'm half Chinese and half American', it's kind of more – in what areas do you feel Chinese, and in what areas do you feel American? I think for me, growing up, that changed day to day. There were some days when I wanted to be more connected to China. There were some days when I wanted to feel more American. I think it's a sliding scale, and it's hard to really say."
What Maya does say is she's glad she can share her story, and hopes it prompts other young people to think about identity as a personal journey.
"You have to figure it out for yourself," she says."You can't always have others telling you 'this is what you are.' It's really your own identity to form, who you are and who you want to be, and how you want to be defined."
In that attitude, Maya is thoroughly American. But she wants to stay in touch with her Chinese side. She's working on her Chinese language, planning to major in environmental science, and sees the possibility of going back to the land of her birth to help out on that front, for a time.
Meanwhile, China continues to change. The one child policy ended in late 2015. Now, the government says everyone can have two children — after they fill out the right paperwork. The government doesn't want to entirely get out of people's personal lives. It's apparently hard to give up that kind of control once you have it.
But it turns out it's harder to turn on the fertility tap than to turn it off. Not only is China's fertility rate now well below replacement, many young adults, enjoying good jobs and decent money, are staying single longer, and opting to have just one child or no children once they get married. They say, raising children is hard, and expensive, and anyway – they were only children. Why have more? At the same time, China's baby boom generation is starting to roll into retirement, and their grown only children are now tasked with keeping a slowing economy humming along, while supporting an ever-growing older population.
It's long been asked, will China grow old before it grows rich? Will it hit the same per capita GDP that developed countries have, which was one of the goals of the one-child policy, or will it get stuck in what's called the middle-income trap? At this point, it's not at all clear.
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What a race the French are having! Arnaud Démare's won in Vittel and grabbed the Green Jersey, Lilain Camejane triumphed at Station de Rousses, Romain Bardet smashed them on the wall at Peryagudes, throwing the race completely open in the process, with yesterday's marvelous win by "Wawa" Warren Barguil in Foix, resplendent in this Polka Dot Climber's Jersey, on Bastille Day no less, added to the host country's triumphant tally.
And us, the Americans? What has happened to our cycling? It's so painful for me to see how far we've fallen – don't forget, the Men's Olympics were no better (thank goodness for our women in Rio!). In theory we have three American teams in this Tour, BMC (it's Swiss), Trek-Segafredo (it's Italian) and Cannondale-Drapec (at least it has three Americans – who, apart from Phinney's great ride remain invisible and mired in the back).
While many still point to Lance Armstrong as the culprit, saying that our domestic sport never recovered from his on-going scandals, that is not true in the slightest. The issue is a lack of leadership and especially vision from the people responsible for our domestic sport. Their strategy has been one of offshoring our cycling to Europe, and focusing on a few, massively funded domestic stage races – the biggest of which, California, is now a French race with ASO in command. Chapeau!
The French essentially rebuilt their cycling community after 1998's Festina scandal (I was there with ESPN – it was flat out scary). Their Federation (FFC) worked closely with the police forces to eliminate the blackmarket drug distribution networks – very effectively I assure you – and they suffered through years of no results as the sport transitioned into the what is now one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest, professional sport in the world. The French supported their riders through this dry period, revised their training systems and now are reaping the fruits born of that long-term vision.
A look at the domestic French racing calendar is humbling for an American race producer. On top of their wonderful pro races, they have a 20 Division One teams with their own weekly calendar of great races, with D2 and D3 having their own circuits to follow. It's all organized, logical and, obviously, effective.
You know what? It's really hard to base one's entire career in Europe and to never, or rarely, have the chance to race at home. The French, Italians, Germans, Swiss, Spanish all to varying degrees have robust domestic calendars where their riders can build the moral one only gets from racing on home soil. Just ask Adrian Costa how demoralizing it can be – the young riding American star has put his career on hold as have so many Euro-circuit burnouts.
I've said it for years: for the price on one Tour of California (that had 19 Americans in it) a full, 25-weekend series of live streamed road races along the lines of my Univest Grand Prix – which was based on the production levels of a top French race like Paris-Evreux - could be created offering opportunities for new talent to emerge. Our current system cherry picks a few of the best and sends them overseas, often to never be heard from again.
The French protect their cycling: the Teams press release for the Tour stated that "logiquement" there were five French teams and almost 40 French riders in the Tour. When are we going to wake up? At this point, sadly, I don't think we will.
Watch Greg Van Avermaet today, he's clearly on form. Maybe we'll get an "American" win after all..


Brigadier General Salami: If the enemy can concentrate its power in certain points, it will create difficulties. So what is the solution? The strategic, as well as convictional, logic says that you must corrode the enemy's power in time and place – deterioration and corrosion of the enemy's forces which are strong but limited. This is a pattern, an idea and a strategic approach for organizing a defensive power that can create great victories in apparently unequal situation. When we set the goal of defending the destitute as our own ideal and final point of our own defense, certain powers will be shaped in other places of Islamic and non-Islamic lands which will become naturally aligned with us. It means that defense powers in disconnected places of the world will become aligned with our great defense power. Then the front will expand, and the enemy will be isolated. Going beyond the limitations – geographical limitations, time limitations, resource limitations, human resource limitations – is one of the key points in creating balance of power with the enemies for us.


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Pour juice into a medium saucepan, add lemon juice, sugar and water. Stir.Bring to boil. Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.
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Granitan on the menu? Try pairing with Cream Sherry, Moscato d'Asti, and Port. A common wine pairing rule is to make sure your wine is sweeter than your food. Delicate desserts go well with Moscato d'Asti, nutty desserts with cream sherry, and caramel or chocolate desserts pair well with port.


text:
ONEOK Announces Higher Second-quarter 2011 Financial Results; Updates 2011 Earnings Guidance
Net Income Rises More than 30 Percent in the Quarter; Led by Significantly Higher ONEOK Partners Operating Results
ONEOK, Inc.
TULSA, Okla., Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) today announced second-quarter 2011 earnings of 51 cents per diluted share, compared with 39 cents per diluted share for the same period last year. Net income attributable to ONEOK was $55.1 million in the second quarter 2011, compared with $41.7 million for the same period in 2010.
Net income attributable to ONEOK for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011, was $185.3 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, compared with $196.3 million, or $1.82 per diluted share, for the same period last year.
ONEOK also updated its 2011 net income guidance to the range of $325 million to $345 million compared with the previous guidance of $325 million to $360 million.
"We continued to build on our solid first-quarter results and performed well in the second quarter," said John W. Gibson, ONEOK chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The ONEOK Partners segment turned in an exceptional quarter, increasing operating income by almost 40 percent, with its natural gas liquids business results almost doubling from the same period last year."
"Our distribution segment delivered a solid quarter, while our energy services segment continues to face a challenging market," Gibson said.
ONEOK's second-quarter 2011 operating income was $216.9 million, compared with $178.7 million for the second quarter 2010.
Second-quarter 2011 operating income benefited from higher natural gas liquids (NGL) optimization, isomerization and exchange margins resulting from favorable NGL price differentials and increased NGL fractionation and transportation capacity available for optimization activities; and higher NGL volumes gathered and fractionated, offset partially by the deconsolidation of Overland Pass Pipeline in September 2010 in the natural gas liquids business in the ONEOK Partners segment.
These increases were offset by lower margins in the energy services segment due primarily to lower transportation margins, net of hedging activities, resulting from narrower realized natural gas price location differentials offset partially by increased storage and marketing margins, net of hedging activities; and increased operating costs and depreciation and amortization expense in the distribution segment.
Year-to-date 2011 operating income was $547.0 million, compared with $516.0 million for the same period last year.
The increase in year-to-date 2011 results was driven primarily by higher NGL optimization, isomerization and exchange margins resulting from favorable NGL price differentials and increased NGL fractionation and transportation capacity available for optimization activities; and higher NGL volumes gathered and fractionated, offset partially by the deconsolidation of Overland Pass Pipeline in September 2010 in the natural gas liquids business in the ONEOK Partners segment.
These increases were offset by lower margins in the energy services segment due primarily to lower transportation margins, net of hedging activities, resulting from narrower realized natural gas price location differentials and lower storage and marketing margins, net of hedging activities.
Results in the distribution segment were lower as a result of higher operating costs and higher depreciation expense.
In addition, second-quarter 2011 operating costs were $225.7 million, compared with $203.6 million in the same period in 2010. Operating costs for the six-month 2011 period were $449.3 million, compared with $406.9 million in the same period last year. The increases for both the three- and six-month 2011 periods were due primarily to higher share-based compensation and other employee-benefit costs.
Share-based compensation costs primarily relate to the company's employee stock award program that awards eligible employees with a share of company stock whenever the stock closes at a new one-dollar high. Through June 30, 2011, the company awarded 19 shares of company stock to each employee at a cost of $8.9 million, which includes taxes paid on behalf of employees.
> View earnings tables
SECOND-QUARTER 2011 SUMMARY:
Operating income of $216.9 million, compared with $178.7 million in the second quarter 2010;
ONEOK Partners segment operating income of $202.0 million, compared with $146.0 million in the second quarter 2010;
Distribution segment operating income of $20.9 million, compared with $32.3 million in the second quarter 2010;
Energy services segment operating loss of $5.8 million, compared with operating income of $0.9 million in the second quarter 2010;
ONEOK Partners increasing its 2011 to 2014 growth program to a range of approximately $2.7 billion to $3.3 billion by announcing in May investments of $910 million to $1.2 billion for additional NGL projects including:
The construction of a new 570-plus-mile, 16-inch diameter NGL pipeline, the Sterling III Pipeline, with the initial capacity to transport 193,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the ability to expand to 250,000 bpd of either unfractionated NGLs or NGL purity products from the Mid-Continent region to the Texas Gulf Coast;
The reconfiguration of its existing Sterling I and II NGL distribution pipelines to transport either unfractionated NGLs or NGL purity products; and
The construction of a new 75,000-bpd natural gas liquids fractionator, MB-2, at Mont Belvieu, Texas;
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission approving Oklahoma Natural Gas Company's annual performance-based rate filing with no modification of customer rates; and its application to implement an energy-efficiency program;
ONEOK repaying in April $400 million of senior notes with available cash and short-term borrowings;
ONEOK renewing in April its $1.2 billion, five-year revolving credit facility that expires in April 2016;
Distributions declared from the company's general partner interest in ONEOK Partners of $34.7 million for the second quarter 2011; distributions declared from the company's limited partner interest in ONEOK Partners of $49.6 million;
ONEOK announcing in May it entered into a $300 million accelerated share repurchase agreement with Barclays Capital. ONEOK received 3.7 million shares in May and expects to receive the remaining shares upon settlement of the repurchase agreement by November 2011;
ONEOK Partners completing a two-for-one split of the partnership's common units and Class B units on July 12, 2011, with the distribution of one unit for each unit outstanding. As a result, ONEOK now owns 11,800,000 common units and 72,988,252 Class B units. ONEOK Partners adjusted its minimum quarterly distribution and target distribution levels proportionately;
ONEOK, on a stand-alone basis, ending the quarter with $526.6 million of commercial paper outstanding, $2.0 million in letters of credit, $45.4 million of cash and cash equivalents, $302.3 million of natural gas in storage, with $671.4 million available under its new credit facilities;
ONEOK stand-alone cash flow from continuing operations, before changes in working capital, of $378.2 million for 2011, which exceeded capital expenditures and dividends of $225.0 million by $153.2 million;
Declaring a quarterly dividend of 56 cents per share payable on Aug. 12, 2011, to shareholders of record at the close of business Aug. 1, 2011, an increase of 8 percent from the previous quarter; and
John W. Gibson becoming chairman of ONEOK, replacing David L. Kyle, who retired as non-executive chairman in May.
BUSINESS-UNIT RESULTS:
ONEOK Partners
ONEOK Partners' second-quarter 2011 operating income was $202.0 million, compared with $146.0 million in the same period last year.
The increase in second-quarter 2011 operating income, compared with the same period in 2010, reflects:
A $64.6 million increase in the natural gas liquids business due to higher NGL optimization margins as a result of favorable NGL price differentials and increased NGL fractionation and transportation capacity available for optimization activities between the Mid-Continent and Gulf-Coast markets;
A $7.3 million increase from higher NGL volumes gathered and fractionated, and contract renegotiations associated with exchange services activities in the natural gas liquids business;
A $7.1 million increase from higher net realized commodity prices in the natural gas gathering and processing business;
A $4.7 million increase due to favorable changes in contract terms in the natural gas gathering and processing business; and
A $4.0 million increase from higher isomerization margins in the natural gas liquids business.
These increases were offset partially by a $16.7 million decrease due to the September 2010 deconsolidation of Overland Pass Pipeline in the natural gas liquids business.
For the first six months 2011, the ONEOK Partners segment posted operating income of $379.6 million, compared with $266.1 million in the same period a year earlier.
Six-month 2011 results reflect a $118.2 million increase due to higher NGL optimization margins as a result of favorable NGL price differentials and increased NGL fractionation and transportation capacity available for optimization activities between the Mid-Continent and Gulf-Coast markets and a $27.2 million increase from higher NGL volumes gathered and fractionated, and contract renegotiations associated with storage and exchange services activities in the natural gas liquids business; and a $15.1 million increase from higher net realized commodity prices and a $8.8 million increase due to favorable changes in contract terms in the natural gas gathering and processing business.
Second-quarter 2011 operating costs were $113.6 million, compared with $97.9 million in the second quarter 2010. Six-month 2010 operating costs were $222.3 million, compared with $194.3 million in the same period a year earlier. The increases for both the three- and six-month 2011 periods are due primarily to higher employee-related costs associated with incentive and benefit plans, which includes share-based compensation costs and higher property taxes. These increases were offset partially by the deconsolidation of Overland Pass Pipeline, which is now accounted for under the equity method of accounting in ONEOK Partners' natural gas liquids business.
Equity earnings from investments were $29.5 million in the second quarter 2011, compared with $20.7 million in the same period in 2010. For the six-month 2011 period, equity earnings from investments were $61.6 million, compared with $41.8 million in the same period in 2010. These increases were due primarily to higher contracted capacity on Northern Border Pipeline, in which the partnership owns 50 percent. Additionally, ONEOK Partners' 50-percent interest in Overland Pass Pipeline is now included in equity earnings from investments, effective September 2010.
Key Statistics: More detailed information is listed in the financial tables.
Natural gas gathered totaled 1,026 billion British thermal units per day (BBtu/d) in the second quarter 2011, down 6 percent compared with the same period last year due to continued production declines in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, offset partially by increased drilling activity in the Williston Basin; and up 3 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
Natural gas processed totaled 682 BBtu/d in the second quarter 2011, down 1 percent compared with the same period last year due to natural production declines in western Oklahoma and Kansas, offset partially by increased drilling activity in the Williston Basin; and up 6 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
The realized composite NGL net sales price was $1.09 per gallon in the second quarter 2011, up 21 percent compared with the same period last year; and unchanged compared with the first quarter 2011;
The realized condensate net sales price was $82.43 per barrel in the second quarter 2011, up 30 percent compared with the same period last year; and up 8 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
The realized residue gas net sales price was $5.77 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in the second quarter 2011, up 7 percent compared with the same period last year; and down 5 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
The realized gross processing spread was $8.38 per MMBtu in the second quarter 2011, up 141 percent compared with the same period last year; and up 1 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
Natural gas transportation capacity contracted totaled 5,295 thousand dekatherms per day in the second quarter 2011, down 4 percent compared with the same period last year due primarily to lower contracted capacity on Midwestern Gas Transmission resulting from narrower natural gas price location differentials; and down 6 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
Natural gas transportation capacity subscribed was 82 percent in the second quarter 2011 compared with 85 percent subscribed for the same period last year; and down from 87 percent in the first quarter 2011;
The average natural gas price in the Mid-Continent region was $4.18 per MMBtu in the second quarter 2011, up 3 percent compared with the same period last year; and up 2 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
NGLs fractionated totaled 541 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d) in the second quarter 2011, up 3 percent compared with the same period last year due primarily to increased production through existing supply connections in Texas and the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, and new supply connections in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions; and up 11 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
NGLs transported on gathering lines totaled 432 MBbl/d in the second quarter 2011, up 15 percent compared with the same period last year, after adjusting for the September 2010 deconsolidation of Overland Pass, due primarily to increased production through existing supply connections in Texas and the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, and new supply connections in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions; and up 9 percent compared with the first quarter 2011;
NGLs transported on distribution lines totaled 462 MBbl/d in the second quarter 2011, down 4 percent compared with the same period last year due primarily to managing the transportation of NGL volumes across the system by placing additional unfractionated NGL volumes on the Arbuckle gathering pipeline to Mont Belvieu to capture additional margins from favorable NGL price differentials; and unchanged compared with the first quarter 2011; and
The Conway-to-Mont Belvieu average price differential for ethane, based on Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) pricing, was 20 cents per gallon in the second quarter 2011, up 25 percent compared with the same period last year; and up 33 percent compared with the first quarter 2011.
The distribution segment reported operating income of $20.9 million in the second quarter 2011, compared with $32.3 million in the second quarter 2010.
Second-quarter 2011 results reflect higher operating costs due primarily to $5.5 million in higher share-based compensation costs, $1.2 million in increased pension costs and $1.0 million in higher employee-benefit costs.
For the six months 2011, operating income was $125.7 million, compared with $146.1 million in the same period in 2010.
Six-month 2011 results decreased as a result of higher operating costs due primarily to $11.2 million in higher share-based compensation costs, $2.4 million in increased pension costs and $1.9 million in higher employee-benefit costs.
Net margin for both the three- and six-month 2011 periods were relatively unchanged compared with the same periods last year.
Depreciation and amortization expense was $34.5 million for the second quarter 2011, compared with $30.9 million for the same period in 2010. For the six-month 2011 period, depreciation and amortization expense was $70.4 million, compared with $64.2 million in the same period of 2010. These increases were due primarily to increased regulatory amortization expense associated with previously deferred costs that were approved for recovery in the segment's revenues; and higher depreciation expense associated with the investment in automated meter-reading in Oklahoma during 2010.
Residential natural gas sales totaled 12.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in the second quarter 2011, relatively unchanged compared with the same period last year;
Total natural gas volumes sold were 17.4 Bcf in the second quarter 2011, down 15 percent compared with the same period last year due to lower wholesale volumes, which had minimal impact on margins; and
Total natural gas volumes delivered were 63.8 Bcf in the second quarter 2011, down 7 percent compared with the same period last year.
The energy services segment reported a second-quarter 2011 operating loss of $5.8 million, compared with operating income of $0.9 million in the same period in 2010.
Second-quarter results reflect a $19.3 million decrease in natural gas transportation margins, net of hedging, due primarily to narrower realized natural gas price location differentials resulting from lower hedge settlements in 2011; and a $1.5 million decrease in financial trading margins compared with the same period last year. These decreases were offset by a $12.5 million increase in storage and marketing margins, net of hedging activities, compared with the same period last year.
Operating income for the six-month 2011 period was $42.0 million, compared with operating income of $104.0 million in the same period in 2010.
Six-month 2011 results, compared with the same period last year, reflect:
A $34.3 million decrease in natural gas transportation margins, net of hedging, due primarily to narrower realized natural gas price location differentials resulting from lower hedge settlements in 2011;
A $19.1 million decrease in storage and marketing margins due primarily to lower realized seasonal natural gas storage price differentials, net of hedging;
A $6.4 million decrease in premium-services margins associated with lower demand fees; and
A $3.1 million decrease in financial trading margins compared with the same period last year.
(Millions of dollars)
Marketing, storage and transportation revenues, gross
Storage and transportation costs
Marketing, storage and transportation, net
Financial trading, net
Net margin
$ (0.4)
Total natural gas in storage at June 30, 2011, was 43.3 Bcf, compared with 50.4 Bcf a year earlier; at Aug. 1, 2011, total natural gas in storage was approximately 42.4 Bcf;
Total natural gas storage capacity under lease at June 30, 2011, was 72.6 Bcf, compared with 74.6 Bcf a year earlier; at Aug. 1, 2011, natural gas storage capacity under lease was 74.1 Bcf; and
Total natural gas transportation capacity under lease at June 30, 2011, was 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), of which 1.2 Bcf/d was contracted under long-term natural gas transportation contracts, compared with 1.4 Bcf/d of total capacity and 1.3 Bcf/d of long-term capacity a year earlier; at Aug. 1, 2011, total long-term natural gas transportation capacity under lease was 1.2 Bcf/d.
2011 EARNINGS GUIDANCE UPDATED
ONEOK's 2011 net income is expected to be in the range of $325 million to $345 million, compared with its previously announced range of $325 million to $360 million that was provided on Jan. 18, 2011. The updated guidance reflects higher expected earnings in the ONEOK Partners segment, offset partially by lower earnings in the distribution and energy services segments. Additional information is available in the guidance tables on the ONEOK website.
The midpoint for ONEOK's 2011 operating income guidance increased to $1,012 million, compared with its previous guidance midpoint of $977 million. The midpoint for ONEOK's 2011 net income guidance is $335 million, compared with its previous guidance of $343 million.
The midpoint of the ONEOK Partners segment's 2011 operating income guidance has been updated to $752 million, compared with its previous guidance of $656 million. The updated 2011 guidance reflects higher expected earnings in the natural gas liquids business.
The midpoint of the distribution segment's 2011 operating income guidance has been updated to $218 million, compared with its previous guidance of $231 million, reflecting higher operating costs, primarily share-based compensation costs incurred in the first six months of 2011.
The midpoint of the energy services segment's 2011 operating income guidance has been updated to $42 million, compared with its previous guidance of $91 million. Updated 2011 guidance primarily reflects lower transportation margins, net of hedging activities. Additional information on the energy services segment's revised guidance is available in the guidance tables on the ONEOK website.
The midpoint for equity earnings from investments guidance increased to $123 million, compared with previous guidance of $106 million. This increase reflects higher anticipated earnings from Northern Border Pipeline and Overland Pass Pipeline, in which ONEOK Partners owns a 50-percent interest in each.
The increase in Northern Border Pipeline equity earnings is due to wider natural gas price location differentials between the markets it serves. The increase in Overland Pass Pipeline equity earnings is due to lower interest expense as the result of financing the Overland Pass Pipeline at the partnership level versus the joint-venture level that was assumed in the initial 2011 financial guidance.
Capital expenditures for 2011 are expected to be approximately $1.55 billion, comprised of approximately $1.3 billion at ONEOK Partners and $258 million on a stand-alone basis.
On a stand-alone basis, the midpoint of ONEOK's 2011 guidance for cash flow before changes in working capital has been updated to $680 million, compared with its previous guidance of $727 million. Cash flow before changes in working capital is expected to exceed capital expenditures and dividends by $180 million to $210 million. Additional information is available in the guidance tables on the ONEOK website.
EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST:
ONEOK and ONEOK Partners management will conduct a joint conference call on Wednesday, August 3, 2011, at 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10 a.m. Central Daylight Time). The call will also be carried live on ONEOK's and ONEOK Partners' websites.
To participate in the telephone conference call, dial 866-206-6509, pass code 1541976, or log on to www.oneok.com or www.oneokpartners.com.
If you are unable to participate in the conference call or the webcast, the replay will be available on ONEOK's website, www.oneok.com, and ONEOK Partners' website, www.oneokpartners.com, for 30 days. A recording will be available by phone for seven days. The playback call may be accessed at 866-837-8032, pass code 1541976.
LINK TO EARNINGS TABLES:
http://www.oneok.com/Investor/FinancialInformation/~/media/ONEOK/EarningsTables/OKE_Q2_2011_Earnings_Hd58Pj1.ashx
NON-GAAP (GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES) FINANCIAL MEASURE
ONEOK has disclosed in this news release stand-alone cash flow, before changes in working capital, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Stand-alone cash flow, before changes in working capital, is used as a measure of the company's financial performance. Stand-alone cash flow, before changes in working capital, is defined as net income less the portion attributable to non-controlling interests, adjusted for equity in earnings and distributions received from ONEOK Partners, and ONEOK's stand-alone depreciation and amortization, deferred income taxes, net of the change in taxes receivable, and certain other items.
The non-GAAP financial measure described above is useful to investors because the measurement is used as a measurement of financial performance of the company's fundamental business activities. ONEOK stand-alone cash flow, before changes in working capital, should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or any other measure of financial performance presented in accordance with GAAP.
This non-GAAP financial measure excludes some, but not all, items that affect net income. Additionally, this calculation may not be comparable with similarly titled measures of other companies. A reconciliation of stand-alone cash flow, before changes in working capital, to net income is included in the financial tables.
ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) is a diversified energy company. We are the general partner and own 42.8 percent of ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS), one of the largest publicly traded master limited partnerships, which is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the U.S. and owns one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions with key market centers. ONEOK is among the largest natural gas distributors in the United States, serving more than two million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Our energy services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas and related services throughout the U.S. ONEOK is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Stock Index.
For information about ONEOK, Inc., visit the website: www.oneok.com.
For the latest news about ONEOK, follow us on Twitter @ONEOKNews.
Some of the statements contained and incorporated in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. The forward-looking statements relate to our anticipated financial performance, liquidity, management's plans and objectives for our future operations, our business prospects, the outcome of regulatory and legal proceedings, market conditions and other matters. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following discussion is intended to identify important factors that could cause future outcomes to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include the items identified in the preceding paragraph, the information concerning possible or assumed future results of our operations and other statements contained or incorporated in this news release identified by words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "should," "goal," "forecast," "guidance," "could," "may," "continue," "might," "potential," "scheduled," and other words and terms of similar meaning.
One should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are applicable only as of the date of this news release. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Those factors may affect our operations, markets, products, services and prices. In addition to any assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with the forward-looking statements, factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statement include, among others, the following:
the effects of weather and other natural phenomena, including climate change, on our operations, including energy sales and demand for our services and energy prices;
competition from other United States and foreign energy suppliers and transporters, as well as alternative forms of energy, including, but not limited to, solar power, wind power, geothermal energy and biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel;
the status of deregulation of retail natural gas distribution;
the capital intensive nature of our businesses;
the profitability of assets or businesses acquired or constructed by us;
our ability to make cost-saving changes in operations;
risks of marketing, trading and hedging activities, including the risks of changes in energy prices or the financial condition of our counterparties;
the uncertainty of estimates, including accruals and costs of environmental remediation;
the timing and extent of changes in energy commodity prices;
the effects of changes in governmental policies and regulatory actions, including changes with respect to income and other taxes, pipeline safety, environmental compliance, climate change initiatives and authorized rates of recovery of natural gas and natural gas transportation costs;
the impact on drilling and production by factors beyond our control, including the demand for natural gas and crude oil; producers' desire and ability to obtain necessary permits; reserve performance; and capacity constraints on the pipelines that transport crude oil, natural gas and NGLs from producing areas and our facilities;
changes in demand for the use of natural gas because of market conditions caused by concerns about global warming;
the impact of unforeseen changes in interest rates, equity markets, inflation rates, economic recession and other external factors over which we have no control, including the effect on pension and postretirement expense and funding resulting from changes in stock and bond market returns;
our indebtedness could make us vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions, limit our ability to borrow additional funds and/or place us at competitive disadvantages compared with our competitors that have less debt, or have other adverse consequences;
actions by rating agencies concerning the credit ratings of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners;
the results of administrative proceedings and litigation, regulatory actions, rule changes and receipt of expected clearances involving the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), Texas regulatory authorities or any other local, state or federal regulatory body, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC);
our ability to access capital at competitive rates or on terms acceptable to us;
risks associated with adequate supply to our gathering, processing, fractionation and pipeline facilities, including production declines that outpace new drilling;
the risk that material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting could emerge or that minor problems could become significant;
the impact and outcome of pending and future litigation;
the ability to market pipeline capacity on favorable terms, including the effects of:
future demand for and prices of natural gas and NGLs;
competitive conditions in the overall energy market;
availability of supplies of Canadian and United States natural gas; and
availability of additional storage capacity;
performance of contractual obligations by our customers, service providers, contractors and shippers;
the timely receipt of approval by applicable governmental entities for construction and operation of our pipeline and other projects and required regulatory clearances;
our ability to acquire all necessary permits, consents or other approvals in a timely manner, to promptly obtain all necessary materials and supplies required for construction, and to construct gathering, processing, storage, fractionation and transportation facilities without labor or contractor problems;
the mechanical integrity of facilities operated;
demand for our services in the proximity of our facilities;
our ability to control operating costs;
adverse labor relations;
acts of nature, sabotage, terrorism or other similar acts that cause damage to our facilities or our suppliers' or shippers' facilities;
economic climate and growth in the geographic areas in which we do business;
the risk of a prolonged slowdown in growth or decline in the United States or international economies, including liquidity risks in United States or foreign credit markets;
the impact of recently issued and future accounting updates and other changes in accounting policies;
the possibility of future terrorist attacks or the possibility or occurrence of an outbreak of, or changes in, hostilities or changes in the political conditions in the Middle East and elsewhere;
the risk of increased costs for insurance premiums, security or other items as a consequence of terrorist attacks;
risks associated with pending or possible acquisitions and dispositions, including our ability to finance or integrate any such acquisitions and any regulatory delay or conditions imposed by regulatory bodies in connection with any such acquisitions and dispositions;
the possible loss of natural gas distribution franchises or other adverse effects caused by the actions of municipalities;
the impact of uncontracted capacity in our assets being greater or less than expected;
the ability to recover operating costs and amounts equivalent to income taxes, costs of property, plant and equipment and regulatory assets in our state and FERC-regulated rates;
the composition and quality of the natural gas and NGLs we gather and process in our plants and transport on our pipelines;
the efficiency of our plants in processing natural gas and extracting and fractionating NGLs;
the impact of potential impairment charges;
the risk inherent in the use of information systems in our respective businesses, implementation of new software and hardware, and the impact on the timeliness of information for financial reporting;
our ability to control construction costs and completion schedules of our pipelines and other projects; and
the risk factors listed in the reports we have filed and may file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are incorporated by reference.
These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any of our forward-looking statements. Other factors could also have material adverse effects on our future results. These and other risks are described in greater detail in Item 1A, Risk Factors, in the Annual Report. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or change in circumstances, expectations or otherwise.
Analyst Contact:
Dan Harrison
Brad Borror
SOURCE ONEOK, Inc.


What is exactly HODL Fund?
HODL Fund is a cryptocurrency index fund tracking the top 20 coins with a decentralized withdrawal option. Apart from that, it allocates a small percentage of the fund to other new ICOs pre-sale investing and altcoin trading.
HODL is the token behind the fund, backed by its underlying crypto assets.
No, HODL will use the Ethereum blockchain, it will be an ERC20 token.
Can I mine or stake it?
Will ever more tokens be issued after the token sale?
No, no more HODLs will be ever created after the ICO. The supply will be limited.
Why not run my own index fund?
-As a fund, HODL Fund becomes a 'whale' investor, getting volume based discounts on exchanges and access to ICO pre-sales and having market power in certain altcoin markets.
-Convenience: investor buys and forgets. Not everybody has the time and resources to keep track of the different coins and rebalance.
-You only have to hold a single token instead of 20+.
-The HODL token will be tradable itself and its price may exceed the value of the underlying assets (since the fund management, altcoin trading and ICO investing add value), but the price of the underlying assets works as a lower bound.
How does HODL Fund compare to other crypto funds?
We consider there is still demand for more crypto funds, since investors are paying huge premiums to buy tokens of the existing funds and we can see that in the traditional finance industry there are many more index funds and ETFs, so it may be just the beginning.
HODL Fund can be easily differentiated from competitors by looking at some key features.
-Crypto20: Crypto20 is a cryptocurrency index fund with low lees too, but it misses the potential of altcoins and ICOs and the ICO is already over, so you will have to pay the premium on exchanges.
-Bitwise: Bitwise HOLD 10 is an index fund tracking the top 10 cryptocurrencies, instead of 20+. It is a traditionally regulated fund only accessible to accredited investors from the USA and you can only buy shares through USA brokers. It is not blockchain based, but centralized.
-Triaconta/Combicoin: Triaconta ICO has been suspended because of an order of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, since this company is incorporated in Netherlands. HODL Fund is in process of incorporating in the Cayman Islands. Also, they have a different approach, with buybacks and dividends, which we believe give us margin for improvement.
-Iconomi: Iconomi is more of a platform than a token. They have exit fees and the withdraw option is not built-in in the smart-contract. Instead, the withdrawal depends entirely on their website.
-Symmetry fund: Symmetry fund is al about active management. Their strategy involves trading on margin which makes the fund more fragile. Additionally, funds are held in fiat instead of cryptos. This means that there is added complexity related to operating with fiat.
How can I buy HODLs?
The pre-sale has now started and you can buy HODLs at a discount by contacting us to confirm and verify your investment and sending ether to our address, provided you invest at least 10.000 USD. Later on, the sale will be open to the general public.
How can I buy ether (ETH) in order to be able to buy HODLs?
You can buy ether on any crypto exchange, like Coinbase, Binance and so on. Then you can transfer the ether to a wallet (like MyEtherWallet or MetaMask) and from there send them to our ETH address.
The ICO starts on March 1.
-For the ICO, only 100 USD.
-For the pre-sale: 10.000 USD.
At what price are you selling HODL during the token sale?
-ICO (first 48h): 1 USD.
-ICO (later on): 1.05 USD.
Why buy during the ICO and not wait the token to be on the exchanges?
As you wish, but HODL will be probably be sold higher on the exchanges. People who invest in ICOs tend to be crypto-connoisseurs, more tech savvy, but the risks end up paying off.
Will the token be tradable on exchanges?
Yes, we will push the token to different major exchanges.
Whenever you want to sale your HODL tokens to make a profit, you have two options: using the built-in withdrawal function or trading the token on the exchanges.
The smart-contract has a built-in withdraw function. When the user activates it (interacting with the contract itself or using our DApp frontend), ethers from our reserve account are automatically transferred to the user's address. The reserve account is dynamically refilled by a micro-service.
There are no broker fees, no exit fees. The annual management fee is 1%.
How is the token price/NAV calculated? How often is it updated?
Every hour the token price/Net Asset Value is updated by computing the maximum between the price of the underlying assets and the price of the token on the exchanges.
Is HODL Fund automated or software based?
HODL Fund relies heavily on a custom, propietary technology that we have built to manage the fund.
We have been seeking legal advice. Please read the legal disclaimers. HODL Fund is in process of being incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
What are the HODL Network Services (HNS) mentioned in the whitepaper?
HODL Network Services is a network of other crypto related services, including blockchain consultancy, crypto auditing and ICO underwriting that we will deploy later leveraging our experience in HODL, with economies of scale. The HODL token will enable access to those services, so it will be an utility token, not a security one.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us by email or Telegram.