Are you seeking answers to your CML questions? Keeping up with the rapidly changing field of research and treatment options for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) can be challenging. Acclaimed expert, Dr. Michael J. Mauro from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, answers some of the most anticipated, critical questions from patients in the CML community. Watch now to find out more about reducing your side effect profile, long-term impact of treatment on cardiovascular health and kidney function, combination therapies for CML, fatigue, and more.
I'm Andrew Schorr from Patient Power, and we appreciate the questions you send us in from the CML community. Joining me now from New York is a noted CML expert, Dr. Michael Mauro, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute. Thanks for being with us, Dr. Mauro.
We got a bunch of questions from the community, and I just want to pose them to you. Dr. Mauro, you spoke about learning how to maybe reduce the dose in a given medicine and reduce side effects and still be effective, and we have many, many people who are taking TKIs. Where are we now with a couple things? One is being able to be mindful and control or reduce side effects, and the other is the worry that some patients have. If I'm taking these medicines for a long time, is it affecting some system in my body, whether it's my heart or my digestion, which is going to give me long-term problems?
Those are great questions, Andrew. I think you know how important it is when you see in the education session, which is designed to teach us all as hematologists what we ought to be on sort of the basic nuts and bolts, is that we had a cardio-oncologist give one of the CML education sessions from outlining cardiovascular toxicity from TKIs, so that's becoming a very important subject, and I encourage people to become aware of really just the basics.
The problem is that when someone may have CML their other health issues may be deemphasized or may not be followed as closely, and we actually need to do the opposite and make sure we know full well of someone's comorbidities and their other health issues, particularly cardiovascular health. And at the moment, we have some basic recommendations which aren't too far off what we ought to be doing anyway irrespective of the CML, meaning control your blood pressure and make sure you monitor it to make sure hypertension doesn't develop. Keep an eye on blood sugar lipids, have stress testing done, essentially what we should be doing for all patients.
As far as TKIs go, certain drugs are going to have greater risks than others, and there may be specific things we need to do for certain drugs, and we need to understand the mechanism of why some patients seem to have more complications in the cardiovascular space than others, or certain drugs have more risks than others, and that's still in development. For the time being I would propose sort of a blanket statement that pay attention to cardiovascular health, particularly if you're on drugs with somewhat higher risk. Nilotinib (Tasigna) and ponatinib (Iclusig) are the drugs that seem to have a bit more risk. And with that alone we ought to be making improvement.
Some of the other questions we've had have been I think reassuringly dismissed. We don't see a lot of other long-term tolerability or toxicity issues. Some of the subtle things that can develop might be changes in cardiopulmonary status, pulmonary hypertension may be seen with dasatinib (Sprycel). That's something to be on the lookout for. Pleural effusions can develop late in with dasatinib therapy even years into treatment, so that's something to be always mindful of.
But what people are really worried about is is long-term care treatment going to jeopardize my health? I think the only subtle thing might be that some patients have a subtle decline in renal function or kidney function perhaps with imatinib, particularly in the elderly, Gleevec that is. And bosutinib may have a similar pattern. So good general internal medicine follow-up should answer these questions, but there aren't any big roadblocks, except for this cardiovascular question that we need to jump in order to feel comfortable still with chronic long-term therapy for CML.
Two other questions we got in from our community. One is about combining therapies. Now, obviously these are expensive medicines, but people know in cancer often medicines are combined for sort of a bigger bang, if you will. Is that something now in CML, or where do we stand with that?
It wasn't at this year's ASH but in the previous meetings a new drug called ABL's, year one, has come onto the scene. And what's interesting about that drug is it's—now it's a fourth-generation of ABL kinase inhibitors, but what's unique about it is it's the first drug we can combine with the drugs we have available because it's treating the leukemia by blocking these on a different site that no other drugs work.
Combining the drugs we have together doesn't really make sense because you're trying to shoot two arrows at the same bull's eye, and that's not going to really probably be beneficial. That's why we've never seen combination TKI therapies. But combinations now with ABL zero or year one I think are going to be emerging. We have very nice data that that drug works for people with multidrug resistance and intolerance issues with several TKIs as a single agent, and that seems to be safe to combine with imatinib and nilotinib and dasatinib. So stay tuned for further information about that.
The other thing that's happening is we're borrowing medications from other areas that might have efficacy in CML, particularly with low-volume CML, maybe to allow patients to deepen their remission or potentially make it more feasible to come off their drug. I think some of the encouraging data comes from a variety of different areas. One example might be ruxolitinib (Jakafi), the drug we use in myelofibrosis polycythemia, probable has a role in pH-positive disease as well. And there's some nice early data with combining that with nilotinib that it may deepen response, and there's trials being launched to look at that further, both to improve response and to perhaps make treatment-free remission more feasible.
There's a small company with a great drug called inecalcitol, which is a vitamin D analog, which has been shown to combine with Gleevec and deepen responses, and that's another thing that might be suitable to allow more patients to come off treatment ultimately based on this early data that it can deepen response when you combine it with TKIs.
And then the list grows from there. There's information about the older diabetes drug, pioglitazone, based on its effect on CML stem cells, and there are trials in France and the U.S. collaboratively and elsewhere looking at that. There are other ideas that you see in the literature, antibiotics and a number of different things that potentially have roles at the stem cell level.
So I think it's an exciting time that we're looking at hopefully drugs with low side effect profiles that might be intriguing or may not be obvious but could really do even better than we're doing now when it comes to getting high-quality remissions or maybe getting to treatment-free remission.
One last thing is one of our community members wrote in, and this is something you hear across cancer, and say, well, is there some help I can get for the fatigue I'm feeling, which some people get with these medicines or with the underlying condition. What do you say about that?
That's a tough one. It's been an under researched question because I think we've done so well in CML with targeted therapy that we just now are really making sure we're covering all the bases with regards to even subtle, chronic, low-grade adverse effects like fatigue, and I think as we understand it better—the first bit of advice is to make sure we're not missing a co—common problem.
For example, people on thyroid replacement may need more of it if they're on a TKI because of an interaction between the way the thyroid hormone is carried in the blood. That's—would be fairly obvious, but can be the case in some people. Anemia, of course. But I think there's still research to be done as to why the drugs cause fatigue. It immediately drive us to think about dose optimization. Probably forces us to think about how feasible and how practical treatment-free remission is because if it's something we can't work around certainly more manageable to think about a defined-duration treatment than something that seems forever.
And we have some cognitive research that's going on, too, to look at fatigue and maybe forgetfulness or the fog people feel like they're in with chemotherapy that's now blossoming in CML. That will be hopefully fruitful to give us some idea. But for all the good there's still some bad that has to be kind of tweaked, and that's probably one area that's still ripe for development.
So, Dr. Mauro, I've known you for years so I always like to wrap up with this: You are so devoted to this, you're a subspecialist in this area for many years. For people maybe newly diagnosed or people living a long time, how encouraged are you that with everything you've described we're getting a handle on the management of CML better than ever before?
I would absolutely echo that. I—I'm delighted to go to my clinic where now sometimes I have folks that have been off treatment for a number of months or longer. I have the ability to talk to people about the kind of ideas we just reviewed, and we still have new drugs in development like ABL one, where I had patients with very little options who—we turned things completely around and they look like they had a fresh start on a new TKI and went into a deep remission, so and I think we can finish—close the loop on some of the side effects issues we have and safely proceed in this era of treatment-free remission. We're really going have an even better end to the story than we have now, which is that—the thing I like to open up a discussion with a new patient is that CML fortunately in 2017, 2018 is now a highly treatable, hopefully functionally curable form of leukemia with an oral outpatient-based treatment, and that's remarkable.
That is great, great continuing news. Dr. Michael Mauro from Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, thanks for being with us and answering questions from the CML community.
Oh, my pleasure. No question is unimportant.
Okay. And we look for your questions any time. Just send them to CML at patientpower.info. I'm Andrew Schorr. Remember, knowledge can be the best medicine of all.


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Jimson Weed (Datura wrightii)
Jimson Weed (Datura wrightii) SOLANACEAE
Datura wrighti, also known as Jimson Weed or sacred datura, is the name of a poisonous perennial plant and ornamental flower of southwestern North America. It is sometimes used as a hallucinogen. D. wrighti is classified as a deliriant and an anticholinergic.
It is a vigorous herbaceous perennial that grows 30 cm to 1.5 m tall and wide. The leaves are broad and rounded at the base, tapering to a point, often with wavy margins. The flowers are the most striking feature, being sweetly fragrant white trumpets up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long, sometimes tinted purple, especially at the margin. Five narrow points are spaced symmetrically around the rim. The plants often can be seen as a ground vine in habit, growing close to the ground and spreading in a very exposed environment with full direct sunlight (cleared roadside). D. Wrighti, blooms from April through October. In clear weather, flowers open in the morning and evening and close during the heat of the day (depending on water availability); in cloudy weather, they may open earlier and last long.
The seeds are borne in a spiny, globular capsule 3 to 4 cm in diameter, which opens when fully ripe.
D. wrighti is found in northern Mexico and the adjoining southwestern U. S. states, as far north as southern Utah, in open / disturbed land and along roadsides with well-drained (sandy) soils.
Medicinal Among the Zuni people, the powdered root is given as an anesthetic and a narcotic for surgery. They also apply a poultice of root and flower meal applied to wounds to promote healing.
Religious D. wrighti is sacred to some Native Americans and has been used in ceremonies and rites of passage by Chumash, Tongva, and others. Among the Chumash, when a boy was 8 years old, his mother gave him a preparation of momoy to drink. This was supposed to be a spiritual challenge to the boy to help him develop the spiritual well being required to become a man. Not all of the boys survived. The Zuni people also use the plant for ceremonial and magical purposes. The root pieces are chewed by a robbery victim to determine the identity of the thief. The powdered root is used by rain priests in a number of ways to ensure fruitful rains.
Information on Datura wrightii was provided by Wikipedia, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


*This part replaces obsolete part #: 0081-1939, 00801-1451 and 0801-0226.
This is a genuine Power Wheels replacement part, it is sold individually.
The purpose of the Cap Nut is to secure the wheels on the models shown below.
When removing this part it usually will be damaged in the process.
It is advisable to order a few extra to keep on hand.
Removed the old tires and put on the new ones. Had to remove a fender on each side. Had to take the caps off the axle to remove the tires. Slid the wheels off and put on the new ones with the new caps. Replaced the fenders.
Drive wheels were worn out.
1. Removed screws to remove side piece that covers the drive wheel.
2. Removed old cap nut that held the drive wheel on the shaft.
3. Slid drive wheel off the shaft.
4. Removed the wheel inserts from each side of the drive wheel.
5. Attached the two inserts to the new drive wheel.
6. Slid new wheel onto the shaft.
7. Using a hammer I knocked the new cap nut onto the shaft, (you need to support the shaft on the other reverse side to keep the wheel shaft from sliding while you tap the cap nut onto the shaft).
8. Replace the side piece back over the wheel and secure with the screws.
9. Repeat for the other side if replacing both drive wheels.
The tires on the PowerWheels motorcycle were worn down.
Unscrewed the plastic casing. Took off the push nut. Removed the old tire and replaced with the new tire. Placed a new push nut (removing the old nut broke it). Screwed the plastic casing back on.
This fix was replacing two rear wheels for a child's Power Wheels Mustang. Easy as pie!! I removed one retainer cap, pulled the wheel off and pulled the axle with other wheel off and replaced the wheel. Put the axle back through and put right tire on and put on new retainer cap. DONE in less that 2 minutes. I will be back again if I ever need a replacement part. THANKS!!!!!!
Needed to replace the wheel cap.
Put on the new cap by tapping it with a hammer.
By removing several phillips head screws and wheel caps..module removes as one piece. Then reverse the disassembly procedure.
Drive wheels were worn out, Footboard was corroded.
Power Wheels Escalade. Replaced the drive wheels and the footboard. Grand daughter test drove. Passed!
Both drive wheels were ruined when I purchased this motorcycle used. It was pretty easy finding the best parts at the best price.
I used a pair of pliers and a hammer to remove the cap nut. The wheel came off and I pulled out the axle. I than removed the other wheel. Replaced the wheel, put the axle back on and than put the other wheel on. I used a hammer to tap on the cap nut.


We'll be building up a list of places of interest local to The Duke of Wellington that registered users can rate. This will help visitors to the area find the best places to go and might even provide some inspiration for us locals too. If you want more information on any of these, why not pop in and see us - we might have some further literature, advice or even discount tickets for some of them.
Caudwell's mill Craft Centre is set in the most beautiful surroundings and the relaxing and informal atmosphere make it a unique place for an interesting day out. Whether you are just stopping to shop and have a coffee with friends or planning a family day trip, taking in the Mill and workshops, you will enjoy a friendly welcome and marvel at the stunning Derbyshire countryside.
in the craft shop you will find jewellery, including the stunning Pilgrim range, pottery, preserves, books, frames and photograph albums. Cards, accessories and hand knitwear jostling for space amongst cutlery, tableware and soft furnishings. Toys and lots of goodies including a crystal and minerals treasure chest for children of all ages. Our garden decorations, bug and bird boxes are a great success and men will enjoy browsing through the walking books and maps and interesting gifts and gadgets.
Located in the heart of the Peak District, Chatsworth has a range of things to see and do all round the year, for all of the family.
Discover 105 acres of garden with giant water features, sculptures, beautiful flowers and magnificent views of the park.
Explore the historic house, discover fascinating stories and enjoy one of Europe's most significant art collections.
Browse the interiors, gardening, gift and pantry shops as well as Britain's best farm shop. Meet the animals, see how the farm is run and enjoy adventurous fun in the playground, including the new climbing forest.
Gullivers Kingdom is a unique theme park designed to cater for families with children between the age of two and thirteen.
The park contains a number of themed areas each containing rides, attractions, shows, restaurants and shops.
Gulliver's Kingdom is set on a stunning hillside in Matlock Bath. The location is what makes the theme park unique, adding an extra dimension to your ride thrills, the illusion of super-high tower rides and flight-like coasters, and at an altitude of 629 feet (overlooking a valley some 300 feet below), there's not another log flume in Europe with views like it!
Since first opening its gates to visitors in 1780 the Heights of Abraham has become one of the Peak District's most popular destinations.
Originally the Heights of Abraham was only accessible to those few visitors who could scale the steep slopes of Masson Hill. In 1984 Britain's first alpine style cable car transport system was installed. Rising from the valley floor, the observation cars transport you in comfort and safety and allow stunning views of the Derwent Valley and surrounding Peak District.
Things to do and see include a children adventure playground Explorers Challenge, woodland walks and exhibitions or a tour around one of the historic caverns dated back to Roman times.
Lea Gardens is a Rhododendron Garden just outside the village of Lea, close to Matlock. The Garden covers approximately three and a half acres, and is situated within a woodland area, with access paths which allow visitors to see the 500 or more varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas and other plants.
The Garden is open to the public for viewing and plant sales, and there is also a very popular Teashop. Parking is free, and well-behaved dogs (on a lead) are welcome in the Garden.
The Museum houses thousands of items, relics of the lost lead industry, which are explained and interpreted in an imaginative and thought-provoking exhibition. These include hundreds of rock and mineral specimens from around the world. Interactive exhibits and climbing tunnels provide something for the young and the young at heart.
The top three exhibits include the Wills Founder Water Pressure Engine, the Howie Mineral Collection and the three mock-mine tunnels tunnels.
Matlock Farm Park is a family friendly open farm, providing a great day out with varied activities for all the family. The park has a large selection of animals to see including llamas, goats, peacocks, meerkats, chickens, pigs, alpacas, ducks and red deer to name a few. There are specially designed playgrounds and even a go-kart track for the kids and many places for the adults to relax if they wish. There is a lovely cafe serving hot food, a classroom and a gift shop.
Established in 1906 on the undulating moorland above the town of Matlock, the eastern gateway to the Peak District National Park, the club offers a challenging 18-hole par 70 course of just over 5,800 yards (yellow tees) with spectacular views across the valley of the River Derwent and unrivalled practice facilities, including a fully-equipped, covered and floodlit driving range.
With every hole different and the Bentley Brook meandering through the course to add further interest, the golf course is a regular choice for county and inter-county fixtures and each year welcomes many other visitors.
Nestling on the edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire, just a few miles downstream of the Chatsworth House, our private beat of river Derwent near Darley Dale is available for all our clients to learn the art of river fly fishing. During your fly fishing lesson, you will be targeting wild brown trout and grayling using the dry fly, nymph and wet fly. The River is teaming with insect life and is renowned for it's fly fishing.
Peak Rail is a preserved railway which operates steam and heritage diesel services for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales. The preserved railway line is currently over 3 and a half miles in length and operates train services from Matlock station via the site of Matlock Riverside and Darley Dale to Rowsley South.
A restaurant service called "The Palatine" operates throughout the season, whilst at Darley Dale there is a museum of the line's local history to discover.
The railway also operates special events as well on top of the normal timetabled services. These special events include themed "Halloween" and "Santa Specials" for children and families; the "Warring Forties" event, with battle re-enactments of World War Two skirmishes involving military vehicles and re-enactors on the site; Diesel Galas; and local music festivals.
Quiz Night (9pm)Win a bottle of wine at our fantastic general knowledge quiz featuring bingo and 'Play Your Cards Right'. Free snacks follow.


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Oyster card and contactless payment extends to Hertford North, Bayford and Cuffley stations
Pay as you go offers greater convenience for commuters
Mark Powell (GTR), Joseph Whelan, Mayor Councillor Beryl Wrangles, Barry Edwards, Duncan Primrose and Liam Ludlow (Image: Martine Xerri)
Commuters can now travel using Oyster cards and contactless payment at three further Hertfordshire railway stations.
Great Northern passengers are now offered greater convenience at Hertford North, Bayford and Cuffley, with the extension of Transport for London's (TfL) pay as you go scheme.
At least half of the ticket machines at each station have been converted to allow customers to top up their Oyster card and to check their balance and journey history on the go.
Customers can also use the free TfL app to top up their Oyster card and to check their balance and journey history on the go.
The service offers commuters greater convenience (Image: Martine Xerri)
Parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has worked with Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT) to extend the system to the three stations.
On Tuesday (April 2) the arrival of the new services was celebrated with representatives of Hertford Town Council and station staff at Hertford North station as the first contactless user came through the gates.
Passengers between Hertford North and Stevenage to benefit from trains with more space, wi-fi and air-conditioning
A council spokesman said: "This extension of pay as you go for these three stations is a great success that will help passengers in our local communities save time and money; it's good news for the travelling public."
Business improvement director of GTR, Alex Foulds, added: "On behalf of our passengers we are delighted to introduce the extra choice and convenience of TfL's pay as you go, with many lower fares for our passengers at Hertford North, Bayford and Cuffley."
Mayor Councillor Beryl Wrangles uses one of the first Oyster cards at Hertford North (Image: Martine Xerri)
Pay as you go is said to 'revolutionise' how customers travels on tube, rail and bus services and there are plans to expand the service across the county.
Shashi Verma, chief technology officer at TfL, said: "We are delighted that, working with the DfT and Great Northern, we have now been able to expand Oyster and contactless to cover services to Hertford North.
"Pay as you go with contactless and Oyster has helped revolutionise travel on tube, rail and bus services across London, making them more convenient for all.
"We are now working with the DfT and train operating companies on expanding pay as you go to more stations across the GTR network later this year."
GTR area manager Mark Powell with Mayor Councillor Beryl Wrangles (Image: Martine Xerri)
Although the extension of pay as you go does not include travelcards, TfL's daily price cap will apply, so passengers going on to make one or more journeys within the pay as you go area will pay little or no more than the cost of a paper day travelcard.
This is said to be considerably less in Cuffley.
From Monday to Sunday weekly capping will also be available to contactless customers, meaning regular users will never be charged more than an equivalent seven-day paper travelcard.
Oyster cards and contactless payment can now be used at Hertford North, Bayford and Cuffley stations (Image: Martine Xerri)
A full range of paper tickets also remain available including Great Northern's GroupSave and Kids for £2 deals, and at weekends super off-peak paper tickets will remain cheaper than the pay as you go fare.
Season tickets from these stations will not be available on Oyster and there are no changes to season ticket fares.
For more information visit govia.info


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Overwatch 2 Popular News
Overwatch 2 Repeats the Decision to Remove an Inappropriate Game Mode
It is important to note that this article contains references to sexual assault, as well as conversations about the current problems concerning sexual assault and harassment in Activision-Blizzard.
In 2022, Overwatch 2 took out a highly unsuitable game mode, and they have once again eradicated it. This mode referred to a sexual assault and a situation that involved a previous Activision-Blizzard staff member.
The "sexual harassment simulator" was the name given to a mode that had players take control of Cassidy (formerly McCree) to knock down female characters and assault them. This type of mode was found in October and promptly removed. This content is profoundly offensive, not only to those who have experienced harassment at Activision-Blizzard, but to victims everywhere.
The inappropriateness of this mode is further enhanced because it has to do with Jesse McCree. Even if the character wasn't tied to him, the mode would still be unacceptable; but with the link to McCree, it is especially disturbing. The original naming of Cassidy was an homage to McCree, who was the lead designer for Diablo IV before he was dismissed from his position.
McCree was embroiled in abuse accusations and among those in the photo taken in the infamous "Cosby Suite". Despite the name change, it appears to be a deliberate attempt to recall his former identity. If this is supposed to be a criticism of Blizzard's handling of the situation, it is an incredibly insensitive act that disregards the pain of the victims.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS, xBox, Nintendo Switch
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If you've kept reasonably informed over the last few years, you've no doubt seen some big changes in our industry. With mouthwatering new sources of stone, equipment that could only be imagined a few decades ago, and new designs and uses for what we produce, there's never a dull moment in our ever-evolving industry. But it is acquisitions and consolidation, some behind the scenes by industry movers and shakers, that's the focus of this story.
Considerations for a merger or acquisition from the buyer include the efficiency and age of the company or management. Does the founder or founders not have someone to pass the company to, or an exit plan? Have they been innovative or not, are they weak on the marketing side, or do they not have the energy or vision to continue? In this instance, two companies with each having different advantages could make great partners. In conclusion, it's these and other reasons that are driving this consolidation as told from the perspective of three industry luminaries with decades of experience in the stone industry.
First, representing Big Fish Consulting and The Artisan Group is Jon Lancto. John was a fabrication shop-owner for 27 years, and is the current owner of Big Fish Consulting located in Charleston, South Carolina. Jon is the President of The Artisan Group, a national network of premium stone fabricators.
Second, representing Tennessee Marble Company, is Monica Gawet. Monica entered her family's stone fabrication business in 1993. Soon after, the family purchased the Tennessee Marble Company located in Friendsville, Tennessee where she has since been the President.
Third, representing Premier Surfaces-Northeast, a fabricator located in Rochester, New York, is Gregg Sadwick. Gregg has directed the company as President since the company was acquired a few years ago, and is now part of a conglomerate serving the eastern half of America.
Jon Lancto: "The driving force of the consolidation in our industry is by people with private equity looking for places to put their money. The stone industry in the past, because of its newness in the world and until the advent of diamond tooling to cut granite, in comparison to other types of companies, was very small. It was this diamond tooling that was the impetus to jump-starting the countertop industry, and once it got rolling along, it was mostly by craftsman without a business background, and the skills to think in terms of consolidating or merging with other companies.
"But as things went along, we got a new crop of managers coming into these businesses who had more of a business background, and opened up the door for the acquisition phase that we are going through right now. Mostly what's driving this is the aging-out of the original people who started these companies. They are getting to a point in their lives where they are not going to pass the company on to family members, and need some sort of an exit strategy. Additional reasons for acquisitions are influenced by capital shortages, trying to comply with new safety regulations (such as OSHA), or don't have what it takes to buy high tech equipment that's now required to be profitable.
Jon continued, "There's also the dynamics of consolidations in the distribution business. I've seen this playing out, too, especially with companies that are distributing engineered materials where they need a major brand to be successful. Companies that have their own brand or private label, that are not getting national distribution, are going to have a harder time of marketing their products to compete against major brand names that have distribution facilities across the United States. So the industries' transition to engineered materials is affecting and accelerating the rates of roll-up within these distribution businesses as well.
"So are acquisitions good or bad? Well... they are good for companies that are not reaching their full potential and the employees are at sort of a dead end, and when you have somebody that's willing to come in and inject capital and modernize the facility and get it up to higher standards, it provides a longer career path for those employees. The other positive is that if someone needs an exit strategy and are positioned to sell, they need someone to come in and buy. Some acquisitions are done very well with good people at the top who enjoy working with these companies, but there are some situations where it hasn't been a good thing, because the management wasn't there to take on multi-branch locations and make them successful. So there have been failures and successes in all of these situations.
"As for the future, I think we will continue to see consolidations. I know just from conversations with The Artisan Group members I work with that there are several members looking for these types of opportunities that will take their companies to a different level. I also think that consolidation in our industry will continue to play out, because the money that's sitting on the sidelines looking for these types of opportunities is still there. The stone industry is young and ripe for roll-ups, and we need to see it stay at this current level and not faster.
Monica Gawet: "I see acquisitions as simply a byproduct of what's happening in the stone industry and neither good nor bad. There are people who want their companies to get bigger or they see opportunities for consolidation and being more efficient in the market, and have the capital to invest. I think that the most important things to look at in an acquisition, though, is whether or not the accessibility of the acquired company's stone will be the same or greater.
"When I came to Tennessee Marble Company in the '90s, it wasn't a great time in the market place and with not anywhere near as many fabricators who were small or medium, and are now larger. Today, the industry has expanded in all those levels. This is a good thing. What I do worry about, however, is that there are so many companies selling the engineered materials along with natural stone. That, to me, is more worrisome, only because I am a natural stone quarry and fabricator, period! Sometimes I see customers, be it architect or residential, walk into a fabrication shop and say, 'Oh, wow! I like this! How much does it cost?' and base so much of their decision on a low price. I understand fully that shops want to offer variety, but as a player in natural stone, I don't see it as a good thing and far more dangerous to our industry than acquisitions. For the consumer, though, all these choices are fantastic, right? More choices than ever before with different price points, colors and durability, but that's different than the question of the industry and how we react to that.
"I don't have my finger on the pulse of small shops. That said, it is not inexpensive to start a shop if you want to just do very simple things with simple edges. But these days, people want different finishes and details that are far more elaborate than years ago, and you need more sophisticated equipment that is very expensive. So shops that get bigger and more sophisticated are a natural progression that is driven by a plethora of different options that are out there, and in some ways the consumer knows it, because they can go on websites that show different products that create different expectations. Years ago, simply having different types of marble and granite was enough, and if you were looking for something specific, you just called a shop to find what you were looking for. But these days, shops have a lot of pressure on them to offer a lot of different products. So as a shop owner, if you find yourself not being competitive, you might have to find yourself a partner.
"In terms of some of the larger consolidations, I hope I'm seeing them make a difference in the viability and the life span of quarries. This to me is number one, because if you look at American history, an incredible amount of quarries were not able to survive.
My conclusion has always been that they didn't invest in new technology and didn't take capital and reinvest it into their company. "These days, with larger consolidations, there is a great focus on efficiency and the expansion and the availability of North American stone, and to me there is nothing better than this for American quarry operators.
"So, I think that this excitement, if you will, has also precipitated some of that. Do I think that these mergers and acquisitions are a good thing? Yes! I think it's healthy and good for the market, and very similar to what we are doing at Premier Surfaces Northeast where we are collectively figuring out ways to do better, and that's good for the market. Solid competition should be lowering prices, and that's going to lower our costs, and we will be more affective.
"As for how it affects the employees, when you're buying a company; the team has to be intact, and if it isn't, what are you really buying? What you are really buying is all those intangibles that come with the people, not the equipment, and if you are just buying the equipment, you might as well do a startup.
"I also get the part of negative attitudes by employees, but when I came to this company, one of the first things I told them was that nobody has to worry about losing their job other than me! If we are not performing, they are not going to shut this place down. They are going to get someone else who knows how to run the darn thing, and that's the truth! So a lot depends on who is coming in and how they handle it. The people here knew I was a local guy and not just some plant by corporate. I also think it generally helps the employees and provides them more opportunity. This cross pollinating of companies allows people, who have seen only one way of doing things for many years, the ability to see that there is another way of doing things, and this collaboration improves their skills.
"So you lose the family atmosphere of the company? Well... In our instance, we've kept the leadership local in all divisions. We are not answering to an unknown face five states away. We have to keep a local presence, because our customers are all relationship-based, and we need to maintain those relationships at a local level and not distant. Those customers still want to know that they still have access to a local leader.
"One other advantage to private equity coming in to mergers and acquisitions, in our case, is that the seller of our company had what he needed, but may not have been as aggressive as private equity tends to be. What he had done in the first 35 years may have worked very well, but as the market was changing, he didn't want to deal with it, because he had been there and done that and could have been an inhibiting factor. I'm not saying that it was, but there's the potential for this to occur, and in private equity we don't have that luxury. We have to continue to grow the business for everyone and provide opportunities.
So, is consolidation in the stone industry good or bad? Well... you've heard the opinions. You be the judge. What all our industry veterans agree on is that you better have top-flight service to go with increased size and capability.


text:
NAICS Codes: 44719
Companies in this industry primarily sell fuel for motor vehicles; they may also offer car washes, car repairs, or inspections. No major companies dominate the industry. Although major oil companies own few retail fueling outlets, many gas stations contract to sell specific brands of fuel.
Rising demand for motor fuels in fast-growing economies such as China and India is driving gas station growth in those countries. China, the world's second-largest fuel market with $440 billion in retail sales, is home to 90,000 gas stations, according to Reuters. China's state-owned oil company Sinopec operates a third of the country's gas stations and competes with PetroChina, domestic independents, and foreign operators, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP. The Chinese provinces with the most gas stations include Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Guangdong, and Jiangsu. India, with more than 57,000 retail fuel stations and a growing middle class keen on car ownership, is outpacing China as the driver of global oil demand growth. Three state-run firms -- India Oil Corp., Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum -- dominate the market accounting for more than 93% of the market share, according to Platts Analytics. Still, India's fast-growing retail fuel market is drawing attention from major global oil companies, including Shell and UK-based BP.
The US gas station industry includes about 14,200 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $140 billion. Revenue for the industry, driven mainly by fuel consumption, can vary significantly from year to year, depending on the price of crude oil.
The industry includes some truck stops but excludes establishments that are combination gas station/convenience stores, which account for the majority of fuel retailers and are covered in a separate industry profile.
Demand depends on the volume of consumer and commercial driving. The profitability of individual companies depends on the ability to secure high-traffic locations, generate high-volume sales, and buy gas at the lowest possible cost. Large companies have advantages in purchasing and finance. Small companies can compete effectively by having superior locations. The US industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies generate about 55% of revenue.
As more retailers have added gas to their merchandising mix and big oil companies exit the fuel retailing, the competitive landscape for gas stations has expanded to include not only convenience stores, but also mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, and grocery stores. Convenience stores sell about 80% of all fuel purchased in the US, according to NACS.
Potential long-term threats to gasoline stations include self-driving vehicles and ridesharing services, which could reduce the number of miles driven by helping better coordinate trips, and gas delivery startups, such as Filld and WeFuel, which allow drivers to bypass service stations. The number of gas stations in urban areas is falling as land values rise. In Manhattan, the number of gas stations fell by 40% over the last decade to just 31, as the ground underneath them was converted into apartments and office buildings.
Fuel for motor vehicles accounts for about 90% of industry sales. Major products sold include unleaded regular gas and diesel fuel. Gas stations also sell ... plus:
Automotive Repair & Maintenance Services
Biofuel Manufacturing
Convenience Stores & Truck Stops
Automotive Oil Change & Lubrication Services
Petroleum & Petroleum Products Wholesalers
Tire Wholesalers


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text:
The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo struck Allied shipping and naval bases around Ceylon, but failed to locate and destroy the bulk of the British Eastern Fleet. The Eastern Fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir James Somerville, was forewarned by intelligence and sailed from its bases prior to the raid; its attempt to attack the Japanese was frustrated by poor tactical intelligence.

Following the attack the British expected a major Japanese offensive in the Indian Ocean. The main base of the Eastern Fleet relocated to East Africa, and Ceylon was reinforced, but Somerville kept his fast carrier division, Force A, "...in Indian waters, to be ready to deal with any attempt by the enemy to command those waters with light forces only." However, the Japanese had no short-term plans to follow up on their success, and within the year operations in the Pacific made it impossible to do so.

Background

Strategic situation
The island of Ceylon was strategically important, since it commanded the Indian Ocean. Thus it controlled access to India, the vital Allied shipping routes to the Middle East and the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Ceylon held most of the British Empire's resources of rubber. An important harbour and naval base, Trincomalee, was located on the island's eastern coast. Japanese propaganda had an effect on some of the Sinhalese population, who now awaited their arrival.

The fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 broke the United Kingdom's eastern defensive perimeter of the Bay of Bengal; and Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands on 23 March 1942 gave Japan control of the Andaman Sea enabling ships to resupply Japanese troops in the Burma Campaign for control of India. Both German and British authorities anticipated Japanese capture of Ceylon to solidify control of the Bay of Bengal and disrupt British resupply for defence of India, Australia, and perhaps the Middle East. Ceylon was hastily garrisoned by Australian troops returning from North Africa; and  was relieved of naval duties to serve as a high-speed aircraft ferry shuttling available planes to Ceylon.

Japanese intentions to mount a major offensive into the Indian Ocean were placed on hold in March 1942; strong naval forces were needed in the western Pacific against the United States, and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) refused to allocate troops for an invasion of Ceylon. In response, the IJN developed Operation C, a plan for an aggressive raid into the Indian Ocean in early April. Operation C aimed to destroy the British Eastern Fleet, and disrupt British lines of communications in the Bay of Bengal in support of the Burma Campaign.

British intelligence correctly assessed the Japanese strategy. The Americans were notified; the Doolittle Raid – which was already in progress – took on the additional role of a diversion.

Japanese preparations
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto issued the initial order to proceed with Operation C to the IJN's southern force, commanded by Admiral Nobutake Kondō, on 9 March 1942. By 16 March, the plan was to depart from Staring Bay, Celebes, on 26 March for an attack on Colombo ("C day") on 5 April. The Japanese expected to destroy the British Eastern Fleet in port.

The Japanese force, commanded by Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, had a core of five aircraft carriers; ,  and  in Carrier Division 5, and  and  in Carrier Division 2. The carriers were accompanied by all four s, and both s.

Japanese intelligence on the composition of the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean was reasonably accurate,
while overestimating the air strength on Ceylon. The 19 March operational order vaguely advised that a "considerable" portion of British naval and air forces in the Indian Ocean were "deployed in Ceylon area".

The Japanese stationed reconnaissance submarines outside of the known British anchorages at Colombo and Trincomalee; their effectiveness was limited. At least one submarine was sent to scout the Maldive Islands but failed to detect Port T at Addu Atoll.

At the same time as Operation C, the IJN also dispatched Malay Force, consisting of the aircraft carrier , six cruisers, and four destroyers to destroy shipping in the Bay of Bengal on 1 April. Malay Force was not part of Operation C.

British preparations
The reinforcement of the British Eastern Fleet depended on transfers from Britain and the Mediterranean, a reflection of active warzones and the demands on the Royal Navy's (RN) resources.

In late-December 1941, a reassessment of the threat posed by Japan envisioned transferring the majority of the RN's heavy units to the Eastern Fleet. Matters were made urgent by the crippling of the United States Pacific Fleet's battle line at Pearl Harbor, which exposed the weak forces in Malaya to attack. Heavy units were freed up by American reinforcements in the Atlantic. The construction programs of the late-1930s were also starting to yield new heavy units. The Mediterranean yielded far fewer reinforcements than expected due to serious losses in that theatre in 1941.

The Eastern Fleet that Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville assumed command of in March 1942 was smaller than what had been envisioned in December 1941. Somerville divided the fleet into two groups, based on speed. The faster "Force A" included the aircraft carriers  and , the modernized battleship  (as flagship), as well as the modern cruisers and destroyers. The slower "Force B" was formed around the old carrier  and four unmodernized s. A few submarines were also available. The ships had never operated together before, and both ship and air crews were deficient in training.

Allied intelligence accurately assessed the strength of the Japanese force. Somerville planned to evade the Japanese during the day and close to launch torpedo strikes with radar-equipped Fairey Albacore bombers during the night. However, the plan was based on information provided by the Far East Combined Bureau (FECB), which identified only two carriers in the Japanese force. FECB also believed the Japanese would sail from Staring Bay on 21 March for a "C day" of 1 April. Thus, Somerville sailed early expecting to fight a smaller and manageable enemy force, particularly in aircraft strength. As such, Somerville likely did not see his plan as incompatible with his orders from the Admiralty, which were to protect the lines of communications in the Indian Ocean, and to maintain the Eastern Fleet as a fleet in being by avoiding unnecessary risks.

The British recognized the threat of Japanese carrier-borne air attack on Ceylon after strike on Pearl Harbor, and the island's air defences were reinforced. On 7 December 1941, air defences consisted of four obsolescent three-inch anti-aircraft guns - at Trincomalee - with neither fighters nor radar. By 4 April, there were 67 Hawker Hurricanes and 44 Fairey Fulmar fighters, a radar station each at Colombo and Trincomalee, and 144 anti-aircraft guns; 37 or 38 Hurricanes were serviceable around Colombo on 5 April. The fighters were divided into three Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons of Hawker Hurricanes (two at Colombo, and one at Trincomalee), and two squadrons of RN Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Fairey Fulmars. In the same time frame, other air forces increased from eight obsolete torpedo bombers, to seven Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats, 14 Bristol Blenheim IV bombers, and 12 Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers. On the eve of battle, RAF forces were part of 222 Group, commanded by Air Vice-Marshal John D'Albiac.

Raid

First moves

The Japanese sailed from Staring Bay on 26 March as planned.

Somerville sailed on 30 March in expectation of an attack on 1 April, and deployed his fleet in a patrol area  south of Ceylon. Ceylon air defences and forces went on alert, with land-based aerial reconnaissance concentrating on the southeast, where the Japanese were expected to approach to launch strikes at Colombo and Trincomalee. Late on 2 April, the British retired toward Port T –  southwest of Ceylon – to refuel. Somerville also detached various ships to resume previous commitments; the heavy cruisers  and  were sent to Colombo, and Hermes to Trincomalee. Air defences stood down, although Catalina patrols continued.

At about 16:00 on 4 April, PBY Catalina flying boat (AJ155/QL-A) from the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) 413 Squadron flown by Squadron Leader Leonard Birchall spotted Nagumo's fleet  south-east of Ceylon on a course that would have entered Somerville's previous patrol area from the south. The Catalina transmitted the sighting, but not the size of the fleet, before being shot down. At this time, Somerville was refuelling at Port T; Force A sailed eastward toward the Japanese upon receiving the sighting; Force B could not be ready until 5 April. Catalina FV-R from 205 Squadron RAF took off at 17:45 to shadow the Japanese fleet, making its first report at 22:37 on 4 April, and a final report at 06:15 on 5 April while  from Ceylon. FV-R was shot down about 90 minutes after the final report.

Within an hour of QL-A's report, D'Albiac met with his subordinates to discuss an anticipated Japanese strike after dawn. 222 Group issued a warning to subordinate units before midnight, and units went on alert at 04:00 on 5 April. On the morning of 5 April, six Swordfish from 788 Naval Air Squadron (788 NAS) began relocating from China Bay, near Trincomalee, to Colombo, in preparation for a strike on the Japanese fleet. Admiral Geoffrey Layton, on Ceylon, ordered ships put to sea to avoid being attacked in harbour. Cornwall and Dorsetshire, which had just reached Colombo, were sent to rejoin Force A; they sailed late on 4 April. Hermes sailed from Trincomalee and was ordered to hide northeast of Ceylon.

The Japanese did not perform an aerial reconnaissance sweep along their intended course on the afternoon of 4 April, and a planned reconnaissance of Colombo harbour by cruiser floatplanes was cancelled. The Japanese realized surprise was lost after intercepting a signal from Colombo asking QL-A to repeat its report.

Attack on Colombo

Japanese intelligence on the morning of 5 April 1942 indicated that British carriers were absent, and the Japanese morning air search was limited accordingly. At dawn, Japanese aerial reconnaissance aircraft flew off to the south-west and north-west; they would fly out to a maximum of  over the next few hours. A reconnaissance Fulmar launched from Force A at 08:00 spotted one of the Japanese aircraft at the extreme edge of the south-west search area at 08:55 about  ahead of Force A.

Shortly after 06:00 Nagumo's force began launching 91 bombers and 36 fighters for the strike on Colombo. British early warning failed to detect and identify the incoming strike, forcing British pilots to scramble under fire when the first Japanese aircraft appeared over them at 07:45. The effective defence of the Ratmalana airbase by British fighters left the harbour exposed. The armed merchant cruiser , the Norwegian tanker Soli and the old destroyer  were sunk; three other ships were damaged. The port was damaged but was not put out of action. 20 of the 41 British fighters that took off were destroyed. At least one fighter was damaged and made incapable of flight while attempting to take off. The six Swordfish of 788 NAS arrived during the battle and were shot down. The Japanese lost seven aircraft.

Nagumo changed course to west-southwest at 08:30 – unknowingly causing the opposing fleets to steam toward one another – and recovered the Colombo strike from 09:45 to 10:30.

The size of the airstrike on Colombo was Somerville's first concrete evidence that the Japanese force contained more than the two carriers he expected. Nonetheless he continued to steam toward the enemy at 18 knots. Radar-based fighter direction would allow Force A to avoid surprise attack by neutralizing shadowing Japanese aircraft.

Loss of Dorsetshire and Cornwall

At 10:00, an aircraft from Tone searching the southwest area spotted and began shadowing Dorsetshire's force; the aircraft reported that the cruiser was heading southwest and making 24 knots. The cruisers reported the shadower, but had no means to drive it off. Nagumo increased speed from 24 to 28 knots upon receiving the sighting. Carrier Division 5's reserve strike force was ordered rearmed with anti-ship torpedoes, replacing the high explosive bombs intended for a second strike on Colombo. The rearming encountered delays, and the strike was carried out by Carrier Division 2 instead; Soryu and Hiryu began launching dive bombers at 11:45. Force A radar detected the air strike on Dorsetshire's force at 13:44, putting the aircraft  to the northeast. Cornwall and Dorsetshire were sunk at 1400; ultimately 424 officers and crew were lost.

The Japanese missed an opportunity to find Force A after sinking the cruisers. The aircraft shadowing the cruisers flew another  along the cruisers' course before returning to Tone. It would have detected Force A if it had flown southwest another ten minutes.

Nagumo recovered the strike against the cruisers at 14:45.

Nagumo evades Somerville
Somerville launched four Albacores from Indomitable at 14:00 to search an arc to the northeast out to . Nagumo's southeasterly course would have taken the Japanese fleet right through the centre of the arc. However, at 15:00 or 15:30, Nagumo changed course to the southwest. Carrier Division 2 did not immediately follow; it performed a series of kinking manoeuvres starting at 15:00 that initially took it northwest. Carrier Division 2 was spotted by the two northerly Albacores around 16:00. Hiryū launched Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters to intercept the scouts; one Albacore was damaged at 16:04, and the other shot down at 16:28 without reporting. The two southernmost Albacores missed Nagumo's main body.

Somerville did not receive the damaged Albacore's sighting report until 16:55; the report gave the position of Carrier Division 2 with reasonable accuracy, placed the Japanese  away, but contained no other data. At 17:00 he received signals intelligence (SIGINT) from Colombo reporting the Japanese course at 14:00 as southwesterly at 24 knots. Somerville ordered a course change to the southwest at 17:26, not knowing that Nagumo's main body was  away, and that Carrier Division 2 was only  away. The course change was presumably to maintain distance between a superior enemy that was believed to be still closing, or to cover Port T from attack, but it also meant the British lost an opportunity to meet the enemy; had Force A continued on its easterly course, Carrier Division 2 would have passed right in front of it at 21:00 at range of about .

The damaged Albacore landed at 17:45, less than a half-hour before sunset, and the crew was debriefed. There were two resulting revisions to the 16:00 sighting, which were transmitted to Somerville at 18:00 and 18:17 respectively, and differed significantly from the other and the original report. The final revision correctly identified the two carriers of Carrier Division 2 – which Somerville likely realized to be only part of the enemy force – but also claimed they were heading toward the northwest at a position  or the original sighting. The course heading conflicted with the first revision, which suggested a course toward the southeast. Late on 5 April, FECB decrypted a JN 25B message containing Nagumo's planned movement on 6 April, but this did not aid Somerville as the transmission to the fleet was garbled. Somerville declined to launch a strike based on poor information, and opted to head northwest in pursuit. One radar-equipped aircraft was launched to search a northern arc out to . Later, aircraft were sent to search the easterly arc. By this time it was too late to reestablish contact with the Japanese.

For the Japanese, too, there was a lost opportunity to find the British before night fell. Nagumo did not order a search for the British carriers at the appearance of British carrier-based aircraft. Search aircraft might require homing signals from the carriers to return, homing signals which the enemy could use to locate the Japanese. The Japanese continued southeast at 20 knots completely unaware of the presence of Force A. Carrier Division 2 rejoined the main body's track at 18:00, and caught up at 22:00  due east of Force A. The Japanese circled wide to the south and then east in preparation for striking Trincomalee. The Japanese suspected the presence of British carriers, and on the morning of 6 April they launched a much denser westward air search, but found nothing. Further searches on route to Trincomalee were equally unsuccessful as the British carriers were by that time far to the west.

By 6 April, British SIGINT indicated the Japanese force contained four carriers and three battleships, a force Somerville clearly realized as beyond the Eastern Fleet's capability to engage without undue risk. The declining serviceability of his fighter force also reinforced his caution. Even so, Somerville did not immediately withdraw or return to port. Force B rejoined early on 6 April. In the afternoon 1,122 survivors from Dorsetshire's force were recovered, while maintaining a look-out for the superior enemy force with all-around air reconnaissance. Intelligence from Ceylon put the Japanese between Port T and Ceylon. Somerville cautiously arrived at Port T from the west at 11:00 on 8 April and refuelled.

On 6 April heavy cruisers  and  with destroyer  sank the British merchant ships Silksworth, Autolycus, Malda and Shinkuang and the American ship Exmoor..

Attack on Trincomalee
By 8 April, the Eastern Fleet had withdrawn and the Japanese fleet was approaching Trincomalee from the east. The Japanese fleet was detected by a RAF Catalina at 15:17 on 8 April. The harbour at Trincomalee was cleared that night. Hermes, escorted by , was sent south along the coast.

The Japanese air search on the morning of 9 April was limited as on 5 April, as British carriers were no longer expected.

The Japanese strike group of 132 aircraft was detected at 07:06 on 9 April by the radar of AMES 272 at a range of . The defending fighters - 17 Hurricanes and six Fulmars - took off in time, and inflicted the first kills of the battle when a section of Hurricanes attacked three Zeroes and shot down two. The China Bay airbase and the port were heavily bombed. The monitor  was damaged. SS Sagaing, a merchant ship carrying aircraft and ammunition, was set on fire and abandoned. Eight Hurricanes and a Fulmar were lost, although no serviceable fighters were lost on the ground. The Japanese lost four aircraft.

At 07:16 another Catalina from 413 Squadron RCAF spotted the Japanese fleet, but was shot down while reporting.

Blenheims attack the Japanese carriers
Around 10:25, nine unescorted Blenheims from 11 Squadron RAF attacked Nagumo's force. They were not detected inbound by the combat air patrol (CAP). Hiryū spotted the aircraft but failed to relay a warning to the other ships. As a result, the attack achieved total surprise. The bombers unloaded at  on Akagi; the bombs fell close to the target with no hits. Four bombers were shot down over the carriers by CAP A6M2 Zeroes (two of which were claimed by Kaname Harada), and another by Japanese aircraft returning from the strike on Hermes. In return, a Zero was shot down near the carriers and another in the returning strike. This was the first time a Japanese carrier force had faced a concerted air attack.

Loss of Hermes

Hermes and Vampire were  away when Trincomalee was attacked. At 09:00 they reversed course. Shortly after the end of the attack on Trincomalee, an aircraft from Haruna spotted the ships. 80 Aichi D3A "Val" bombers, held in reserve on the Japanese carriers, attacked starting at 10:35. Both were sunk before noon near Batticaloa. Hermes was lost with 307 men after being hit by over forty  bombs. Vampire was lost with 8 men. The nearby hospital ship Vita rescued 600 men.

The Japanese attack expanded to nearby ships. The corvette  was hit by aircraft from Soryu and sunk with 53 men. Also sunk were the naval auxiliary Athelstone, the  tanker British  Sergeant, and the cargo ship Norviken.

British land-based Fulmars arrived only after Hermes was sunk. Two Fulmars and four Vals were destroyed.

Nagumo disengaged after recovering the strike on Hermes.

Aftermath

British reaction
The Japanese inflicted disproportionate damage on the enemy. They damaged port facilities, sank one carrier and two cruisers, destroyed a third of enemy ground-based fighters and nearly all of the enemy ground-based strike aircraft. In addition, 23 merchant ships, totalling 112,312 tons, were sunk, including those by the separate Japanese Malay Force. In return, the Japanese lost only 18 aircraft, with damage to about 31 more. Conversely, they failed to destroy, or even locate, the main bulk of the British Eastern Fleet.

The British interpreted their position as precarious. Ceylon and the Eastern Fleet were required to safeguard the sea lines of communications through the Indian Ocean. The British expected the Japanese to continue threatening these lines. SIGINT suggested that the Japanese were preparing a deliberate advance across the Indian Ocean. The raid demonstrated that the RAF was too weak to defend Ceylon and the naval anchorages, and that the navy was ill-prepared to meet a Japanese carrier force.

The Eastern Fleet transferred its main base to Kilindini, Kenya, in East Africa, temporarily ceding the eastern Indian Ocean to the Japanese; from there it continued contesting control of the central Indian Ocean on better terms. Force A, including its two aircraft carriers, Indomitable and Formidable, retired to Bombay, and Somerville regularly deployed a fast carrier force to the central Indian Ocean over the next six months, during which he operated from or near Ceylon for nearly half that time. On 18 April, naval planning accorded the Eastern Fleet the highest priority for reinforcement, which also included transferring most of the carriers from the Home Fleet and the Mediterranean, with the intention of returning to Ceylon in September.

By June, Ceylon was defended by three RAF squadrons (64 aircraft, plus reserves), three strike squadrons (including one of Beauforts), and much improved radar and anti-aircraft defences. Ground defences were manned by two Australian army brigades.

The invasion scare was short-lived. British intelligence detected the movement of the Japanese carrier force eastward in mid-April, and their deployment in the Pacific in mid-May. After the Battle of Midway in June, it was realized that there was no longer the threat of major Japanese naval activity in the Indian Ocean. In September, British intelligence predicted Japan would go over to the defensive. As a result, the Eastern Fleet was not reinforced as planned and, instead, shrank after early July.

Japanese reaction
The Japanese did not exploit their victory as the British feared. The decision to postpone major operations in the Indian Ocean was upheld. The Japanese aircraft carriers required maintenance and replenishment after months of intensive operations, and there was already difficulty in maintaining the strength of frontline air units. Nagumo and officers such as Mitsuo Fuchida (commanding Akagi's air group) felt that the losses inflicted on the British did not justify the loss of experienced Japanese air crews. Japanese attention also lay elsewhere. In early May, Japanese carriers fought the Battle of the Coral Sea in the southwest Pacific, followed in June by the Battle of Midway. In both cases, losses constrained Japanese options further.

In June, the IJA developed a plan for a major offensive in the Indian Ocean, including an invasion of Ceylon. The Germans were advancing in North Africa, which made an Axis link-up in the Middle East attractive. Resource constraints forced the IJN to reject it, especially once the Guadalcanal Campaign started.

Subsequently, the limit of Japanese operations in the Indian Ocean was against trade using submarines and armed merchant cruisers. Notably, a submarine group patrolling off East Africa attacked the harbour at Diego-Suarez, Madagascar, while the Allies were capturing the island. Ironically, the Allies were motivated by fears that the Japanese might establish a base there to attack trade. Overall, Japanese attacks on trade enjoyed some success, but after 1942 the presence of major Japanese naval units in the Indian Ocean virtually ceased.

Criticism of Nagumo
Nagumo's leadership has been characterized by Andrew Boyd as rigid and unimaginative, and contributed to the escape of the British Eastern Fleet. The manoeuvring of his fleet was mainly to facilitate strikes on Colombo and Trincomalee; the possibility that the enemy might be at sea was apparently not seriously considered. He failed to appreciate that the direction that Dorsetshire's force was sailing, and the later appearance of British carrier-based aircraft, were related. Furthermore, due to limited aerial reconnaissance, Nagumo had little concrete information of what was around him, especially to his front and exposed flanks. He was not served by the confidence that there was nothing else to be found outside of the few searches made.

The limited air searches conducted at the start of the battle reflected contemporary IJN practice, where the intensity of air searches was scaled according to expected threats. The stronger morning search on 6 April reflected the suspicion that British carriers might be present. The intensity of later air searches dropped off when the British carriers were not found and there was little expectation of encountering them. Ultimately, all navies suffered from inadequate air search planning during this period.

Problems with Japanese carrier operations
The raid also provided early examples of problems with Japanese carrier operations. Inadequate aerial reconnaissance failing to locate the enemy fleet in a timely fashion, the difficulty of rearming aircraft for a different mission at short notice, and the penetration of the CAP by enemy aircraft due to the lack of radar-directed fighter control, would all recur at the Battle of Midway.

Criticism of Somerville
Somerville's leadership was characterized by a willingness to take risks, bordering on recklessness.

The initial deployment of the fleet on 30 March endangered the British fleet in multiple ways. Somerville was relying on radar – manned by inexperienced personnel – to locate the enemy and facilitate night strikes. If the Japanese approached as expected from the southeast and the British failed to find the Japanese before dawn, the distance between the two fleets would be no more than ; the British would be detected by Japanese aerial reconnaissance at dawn and be subject to air attack for the entire day. Much the same could have been expected had Somerville still been on station when the Japanese arrived – as they did – from the southwest. Somerville's decision to refuel at Port T – rather than on Ceylon – on 2 April allowed the Eastern Fleet to avoid Nagumo a few days later, and likely saved the Eastern Fleet from destruction.

The failure of the Japanese fleet to appear on 1–2 April led Somerville to mistakenly believe that the entirety, rather than a part, of Allied intelligence concerning Operation C was flawed. As a result he detached Cornwall, Dorsetshire, and Hermes, which were subsequently lost after being sent into areas overflown by Japanese aerial reconnaissance.

Andrew Boyd notes:

The disquieted Admiralty broadly agreed.

Somerville faced challenges not experienced by the RN in the Atlantic or Mediterranean. Japanese air superiority made it difficult to scout, close, and attack during the day. Radar-enabled night attack was the only viable offensive option. This was a high-risk strategy. A combination of careful positioning, luck, and Japanese errors nearly produced the preconditions for a strike on the night of 5 April; the enemy was within  – 1-hour flight range in an Albacore – but accurate information on the enemy's vector was missing. Even then, it required experienced air crews to find their targets at night, using radar with a range of just  and new tactics.

References

Notes

Articles

Books

  Uses recently translated Japanese sources.

Further Reading

Crusz, Noel, The Cocos Islands Mutiny, Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2001.

External links

Order of battle
WW2DB.com: Raids into Indian Ocean
Royal Air Force History: Battle for Ceylon

Conflicts in 1942
Indian Ocean operations of World War II
Military of British Ceylon
Naval battles of World War II involving Japan
1942 in Japan
World War II raids
Naval battles of World War II involving Canada
Military history of Ceylon in World War II
Naval battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom
March 1942 events
April 1942 events

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In the heart of North London's most popular shopping centre, Kervan Wood Green is the perfect spot to eat and dine with family, friends and a place for your meetings. Taking time to marinade and prepare our meat and grill it to succulent, smokey perfection on a charcoal grill is one of the reasons why Kervan Sofrasi has become a standout Turkish restaurant in North London.
Amazing value for money. The food is delicious for great reasonable price. Very tasty, you are brought salad and bread to your table for free. I'll come back.
This is my favourite place when it comes to kebabs and generous portions. They have complimentary starters which is great! Highly recommended.
Lovely food, fresh, good portion given. Suitable for people with children. Nice, helpful members of staff. Would go again.


Key considerations for energy retailers – So, your business has decided to obtain an energy retail authorisation? We have seen unprecedented interest from businesses wanting to obtain retail authorisations over the previous 6 months and wanted to share our experience to help these businesses decide if they are ready.
Why become an energy retailer?
There are a number of drivers of the newfound interest in becoming an energy retailer. Firstly, a retail authorisation allows you to trade energy in the NEM, an option not available to those 'behind the meter.' Secondly, energy retailing is seen as a profitable business. While the barrier to entry is high, revenue is all but assured with energy being an essential service. Lastly, energy retail can be a natural extension of an existing successful business model.
So, what are the key considerations for energy retailers?
The energy market in Australia is in dire need of new innovative business models. A new way to pay bills (online) is not innovative. While 80 percent of the market is managed by three retail businesses, that 80 percent will remain with their existing provider unless there is a new compelling offer.
Your business plan must be realistic and well researched. Assumptions should be identified and tested.
How much money do you need? You will need to be able to have sufficient cash in the bank (or easily accessible) to fund your business over 12 to 18 months on the assumption of no revenue. This means paying for customer acquisition, wages, taxes, and energy costs, with no revenue coming in.
Your business plan needs to then permeate throughout the whole of your application. Your documentation, i.e. compliance policies need to be drafted to be consistent with your business plan.
Energy retail is the most heavily regulated industry in Australia. Everything that a retailer does must be compliant with the legislation, the rules, the law and the relevant guidelines.
Compliance is as much about documented processes and policies as it is about culture. If you think that you can leave compliance to one side, find a different industry. From Day One you will need to understand and apply relevant obligations. This means that every board member and executive team member needs to read, understand and apply regulatory obligations.
Your retail authorisation application needs to demonstrate this dedication and understanding. Furthermore, as you grow your business, compliance needs to be embedded in decision making.
One of the first tasks you will have in preparing a retail authorisation application is to identify the regulatory obligations that will apply to your business. You will then need to develop and map controls to each.
You need experience to run an energy retailer. That experience can be internal or from external contractors, but it needs to be comprehensive. Ideally, you want someone who has done it all before. When assessing candidates, particularly at a senior level, examine the compliance performance of their previous retailers (for example, look at the ESC's published audits). The energy industry is small and a bad reputation will follow an individual around for life. If you are hiring an individual to manage to lead your energy business, start off on the right foot, hire someone with good experience and with a good reputation.
As noted above, there is an expectation that you will have sufficient financial resources to meet your liabilities over one year assuming that you have no revenue. This makes sense. A key risk to the retail market is the failure of retail participants. There is a comprehensive framework in place (the ROLR framework) to manage this.
In developing your financial model, you need to consider the financial strains placed on retailers. Customers don't pay. Many experience short and long-term financial hardship and you need to have robust strategies in place to manage their accounts- and you cannot simply disconnect them.
Expect the assessment of your retail authorisation application to take some time and be prepared to develop patience. The Australian Energy Regulator (or Essential Services Commission) has the task of assessing your retail authorisation application. The Australian Energy Regulator typically take 3-4 months to complete an assessment (including the public consultation period). The only way that you can influence this timeline is by providing a comprehensive and complete application in the first place. Do not call the Regulator after you have submitted, or email them, asking for updates. The only thing you will achieve is to take up their time and delay your assessment.
Once you have been issued a retail authorisation also consider that you will have to wait for EWON approval (if you are operating in NSW) and have to wait until you tick all of the other boxes (such as an agreement with the Department of Human services to pass on concessions and rebates, AUSTRACLEAR membership and Market Participant status with AEMO.
If you would like to chat to us about becoming an energy retailer, please email Connor James or use our contact form.


A Beautiful Ruckus: Happy Halloween 2012!!
I'm super excited to share our costumes for this year! If you follow the A Beautiful Ruckus FaceBook Page, then you've already seen a sneak peek. I just couldn't wait to put up the photo!
We Dressed Up as Superheros!!
I was really pleased with how well the costumes turned out! It took W-A-Y longer than I anticipated to put them together though. I ended up hand-sewing quite a bit on the costumes. Pretty much I either need to learn how to use a sewing machine, or pick something much less complicated next year...I'm thinking maybe I'll cut eye holes in four paper bags and call it good!
But it was worth it because the kids were adorable!
Click for directions on how to make a Homemade Captain America Shield!
Sheesh, Abby had a rough day! I think we have reached that point where she wants her way, and she will let us know when we aren't meeting her expectations. (Some behavior modification is in order because Mama can't handle the wailing long term.) So the tears are not her opinion of her costume! I've added a second photo of her that I took earlier in the week when she tried on her costume so that you can see a happy picture of her. She did calm down once we started Trunk or Treating and definitely slept well that night!
Click for directions on how to make a Homemade Tutu Skirt!
Sean is our resident comic book authority, so I asked him to pick out the characters for each kid. He chose Robin for Ellie. I was a little confused why she was going to be a boy, but it turns out that every male superhero also has a female counterpart! Huh! You learn something new everyday! So Ellie was Robin, The Girl Wonder who is a "real" superhero, not just one we made up. She also loved her costume, but this was the best photo I caught of her. She was way too busy playing and showing it off to hold still for any amount of time.
Our first stop of the evening was Uncle Todd and Aunt Ruby's house to show Sean's side of the family the costumes. We tried desperately to get them to pose for a photo with their grandparents but they just didn't turn out. It looks like we are torturing them in every single one, so I'll spare you those. We did manage to get this one that includes Cousin Marissa in her unicorn costume though.
Our next stop was church. They had Trunk-or-Treating in the parking lot, and my parents had choir practice inside, so we took the kids in for a quick minute to show off their costumes. Surprisingly, this photo turned out pretty well...and no one is crying!
The Trunk-or-Treating was a lot busier than I thought it would be. That's awesome because it is used as a community outreach project! Except...I kind of forgot that we had quadruplets. Laugh if you will, but it's just so normal to me that sometimes I don't think our public adventures all the way through. Let's just say, if I was worried that not enough people would see the kids' costumes, that is no longer a fear! Lots and lots of people saw them. :) We didn't stay too long because of the people and the fact that it was starting to get chilly, but sweet friends from church did have some fun toddler friendly items like fruit snacks that they were holding back for the little guys. So very thoughtful of them to do that!
We ended the night by hitting Sonic to take advantage of their $0.50 corndogs. It isn't every day that you can spend $4.00 and buy enough corndogs to feed a family of six! I think Sonic has that promotion every Halloween, and I'd love to start that tradition with our kids. It seems like it would be a fun (and cheap) family memory to create each year!
What did your little ones dress up as this year? Head over to the A Beautiful Ruckus FaceBook Page and leave a picture! I'd love to see your family!!
Sean's Grandma and Aunt Denise are super sewers they should be able to teach you those sewing skills you need to get started, but from the looks of your costumes you are well on your way. We used a clear plastic garbage bag stuffed with colored balloons one year for a bag of jelly beans, super easy and cheap. Maybe you can steer Sean towards Casper the friendly ghost next year, sheets and holes done.
Looks like you will always have lots of fun no matter with so many personalities to play with.
The costumes were well worth your hard work! You did an amazing job. Your children looked fabulous in their hand sewn super hero outfits. And with the photos...these memories will last a lifetime. I imagine some day they will proudly tell their friends that their Mom made their costumes from scratch. Well done, Mama!
Thank you for the kind compliment! I hope they look back and like them...not think they are silly!
Oh how adorable!!! These costumes are so cute!
I am loving the superhero theme!
Really so cute kids and their dresses are nice on them.


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Added on June 14, 2011 Ryan Thomason article , computers , Dan Young , desktop , laptop
WPR Perspective: We Talk to the CEO of the Best Computer Retailer Around
I had the pleasure of talking to Dan Young, CEO and Owner of PC Laptops the dominant PC and Laptop retailer and repair company in Utah and Nevada. I'll be honest, I was nervous as hell when I saw his number flashing on my phone, my recording app was broken so I had to go straight up old school. I wrote stuff down with a pen and paper. Add on top that that, (full disclosure) this is someone that I really respect and admire as a businessmen and wish to emulate the kind of success he's had with my own little company here at WatchPlayRead.
We talked a little about the business, and what he geeks out over (unsurprisingly, it's computer related!) you can tell why his company has won so many Best in State awards. When a personable CEO is willing to have a candid phone interview at 9pm, you can only assume that filters through the employees and gives you the outstanding customer service they are known for. Employees are only as good as their boss shows them through actions. Going on that line of thought, Dan is probably a damn good boss to have.
We did talk a little about his son Jake, if you live in Utah, you've heard his son practically grow up with listeners on the radio. Now that Jake prefers to be known as a "Computer Guy" the protege actually convinced Dan to let him do radio ads, they recorded a couple in the studio and the rest is history. TV ad's has always been what PC Laptops is known for, as crazy and hilarious as they can be, they try to keep it as "family friendly" as possible according to Dan. So you'll have to wait a long time for anything crazy like Dan trying to sell you computers with a bunch of strippers in the background. I'm just fine with the Geeky ones they currently have.
What you may not have known is that Dan actually serves on both the Intel Board of Advisors and the Miscrosoft Partner Advisory Council. As he explained it, both give him access to new, emerging technology and input with professionals that can be shakers and movers in the tech industry. I can only day dream of the kind of face to face and conference call meetings he's had with people at two of the biggest tech powerhouses in the world, and no, he wouldn't divulge any trade secrets. It's hard to not have a little more faith in someone who sells you a product when you know that they themselves are highly regarded enough to have that kind of access. Let's just hope he doesn't use it for evil, like building a villainous lair under the Great Salt Lake or something.
If you look at him though, usually through his Facebook page, you can tell that he spends a lot of time at the gym. He didn't always use to be that way, saying that staying fit had to become a daily thing. His best tips? Do something active for at least an hour a day, just get away from the computer screen, walk around the mall or go outside, do SOMETHING. The other big one, especially when gaming is munch of something tasty, but filling. While he did mention that before he's going in for a long WoW session or getting ready to do any long stretch of very much not physical activity, his wife makes him some "Crazy Veggie Drink" I don't want to say too much in case she reads this, but the taste department of said drink was a little suspect.
Diving deeper into the latest craze of Social networking, especially when it comes to the king of all things Social, Facebook we both agreed that any business worth it's salt should be Facebooking. When it comes to having a "personal touch" with his fans who are more importantly his customers and livelihood, Facebook has been an incredible tool for building a unique customer service tool. It came down to the company philosophy that the customers will come back to you if you treat them like family and engage them in a personable and knowledgeable way. He really impressed that through social networking it becomes an extension of what you are trying to accomplish in the lobby of your store, a business relationship not with unknown customers, but friends.
PC Laptops has done a lot of growing in the past couple of years, ever since they pushed South from Salt Lake, setting up shops in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. PC Laptops has been setting their sites now on pushing further North moving up into Idaho (I'm assuming the booming frontier town of Boise is on his list) and East into Colorado. When I crossed my fingers on asking him if he had a secret lab somewhere making groundbreaking computers I must have jinxed something. When we did get into the nitty gritty though, the one thing that they really focus on when looking at hardware for new computers is reliability. See, they have life time parts and labor warranties on the products so obviously they're going to test systems until they've found a piece of hardware that can stand the test of time. They do look into the community when it comes to what is the thing that everyone is gushing over. If gamers are going bananas over a graphics card and it works out on their (PC Laptops) end, you can bet your bottom dollar that it'll be in their next line of computers. Sadly, we won't be getting any Tablets from PC Laptops in the near future. After talking about how saturated the market is already, Dan pointed that Tablets are what he calls "Consumption" devices. They're there to watch videos, read books and play games. When the technology is there for tablets to be true "Creation" devices is when we'll more than likely start seeing your own Tablet from them. If he had to chose one computer as his favorite, it was hands down The Juggernaut when he was talking about it, he was literally gushing, you could tell he loves this piece of equipment, or the premium example of what he calls their "Creation" devices.
Also, sorry all you Apple junkies, but they won't be making any Apple OS or Macbook related products. Apple keeps a tight ship on modifying their goods, while his guys are more than willing to repair Apple products you won't be seeing any laptops with any Apple Operating Systems selling in their shops. If you are someone who wants to get into Linux or Ubuntu, but the setup for those is beyond your scope, they'll do it for you. Basically it comes down to what the end user wants, and you don't have to be a big commercial company buying 15 laptops to have it made your way. While they're just as willing to install Windows 7 (minus all the bloatware mind you) with the MS Office suite, they'll work with you on getting thing setup whatever is best for you, and honestly, you can't get that at a big box or big chain computer supplier who are totally locked in on what they put on systems and all the useless programs that have to get slapped on them.
Finally, I got to talk to him a little about his geek side, because deep down, we're all geeky for something. When asked, Dan classifies himself more of a "Nerd" with an obvious hard leaning toward technology he said his current obsession is high productivity maximization. Building a tower that can stream THREE different monitors and data is what he has been pushing for people to try the most. Not dinky monitors too, he thinks you should have the big fellas, the 27" ones, all three lined up and producing maximum efficiency. He was telling me that the amount of work you can get done with that kind of investment is incredibly worth it. (We'll save our opinion until *ahem* maybe a certain computer making company helps us recognize said efficiency *wink, wink*) He's not a COMPLETE Nerd, we did talk about how great the reboot of Battlestar Galactica was (both of us in agreement with the hotness/awesomness of Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck) though Erin Gray (of Buck Rodgers fame) was the first woman to take his heart as a youngster. He surprised the hell out of me when he said Toxic Avenger was one of his favorite movies. Toxic Avenger, yes, look it up. He's kept his old comic/star wars/everything else collection but mostly handed it down to his son Jake, who unsurprisingly plays the Call of Duty games, his kids (Nyah his daughter included) are playing Portal 2, which if you know WPR, we highly approve of this game choice While he seems to have torn himself away from the time sink that is World of Warcraft, I gave him an appreciative nod that he couldn't see over the phone when he told me that Warhammer 40k had taken WoW's place. Even though he's a Sci-fi guy, unless he had piles of money to buy a seat on something like Virgin Galactics Space Ship that will soon be shutting people into LEO (Low Earth Orbit) he'd rather use the money to help people here on the ground.
And I couldn't think of a better way to close out this article with such a grounded and down to Earth person.
by Ryan Thomason
Husband, Father, Geek and Usher Syndrome Advocate. I'm a man of various talents, a master of none. I serve as one of the WPR Overlords so if you ever have any issues/questions, just let me know.
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Robert Chesley says:
Warhammer is a great game. It is unfortunate that the table top version requires a lot (not only investment monetarily but time and space).
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