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The Essays of Warren Buffett - Lawrence A. Cunningham, Warren E. Buffett
The book 'The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America' is a must read for anyone who wants to learn how one of the most celebrated money managers of last century operates. I read the 3rd edition and am sharing my favourite parts from the book here.
Golden rules of Investing
The most revolutionary investing ideas of the past thirty-five years were those called modern finance theory. This is an elaborate set of ideas that boil down to one simple and misleading practical implication: it is a waste of time to study individual investment opportunities. One of modern finance theory's main tenets is modern portfolio theory. It says that you can eliminate the peculiar risk of any security by holding a diversified portfolio — that is, it formalizes the folk slogan "don't put all your eggs in one basket." The risk that is leftover is the only risk for which the investors would be compensated. This leftover risk can be measured by a simple mathematical term — called beta — that shows how volatile the security is compared to the market. Beta measures this volatility risk well for securities that trade on efficient markets, where information about publicly traded securities is swiftly and accurately incorporated into prices. In the modern finance story, efficient markets rule. Buffett thinks most markets are not purely efficient and that equating volatility with risk is a gross distortion.
As to concentration of the portfolio, Buffett reminds us that Keynes, who was not only a brilliant economist but also an astute investor, believed that an investor should put fairly large sums into two or three businesses he knows something about and whose management is trustworthy. Buffett jokes that calling someone who trades actively in the market an investor "is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a romantic." Buffett instead thinks we should follow Mark Twain's advice from Pudd'nhead Wilson "Put all your eggs in one basket — and watch that basket."
Buffet learned the art of investing from Ben Graham who in a number of classic works, including The Intelligent Investor, introduced a character who lives on Wall Street, Mr. Market. He is your hypothetical business partner who is daily willing to buy your interest in a business or sell you his at at prevailing market prices. He is moody and the more manic-depressive he is, the greater the spread between price and value, and therefore the greater the investment opportunities he offers. Buffett reintroduces Mr. Market, emphasizing how valuable Graham's allegory of the overall market is for disciplined investment knitting. Another leading prudential legacy from Graham is his margin-of-safety principle. This principle holds that one should not make an investment in a security unless there is a sufficient basis for believing that the price being paid is substantially lower than the value being delivered.
All true investing must be based on an assessment of the relationship between price and value. Strategies that do not employ this comparison of price and value do not amount to investing at all, but to speculation — the hope that price will rise, rather than the conviction that the price being paid is lower than the value being obtained.
The circle of competence principle is the third leg of the Graham/Buffett stool of intelligent investing, along with Mr. Market and the margin of safety. This common sense rule instructs investors to consider investments only concerning businesses they are capable of understanding with a modicum of effort.
Three suggestions for investors from Buffett: First, beware of companies displaying weak accounting. If a company still does not expense options, or if its pension assumptions are fanciful, watch out. Second, unintelligible footnotes usually indicate untrustworthy management. If you can't understand a footnote or other managerial explanation, it's usually because the CEO doesn't want you to. Finally, be suspicious of companies that trumpet earnings projections and growth expectations.
What needs to be reported is data — whether GAAP, non-GAAP, or extra-GAAP — that helps financially-literate readers answer three key questions: (1) Approximately how much is this company worth? (2) What is the likelihood that it can meet its future obligations? and (3) How good a job are its managers doing, given the hand they have been dealt?
On bonds: "The large numbers of corporations that failed in the early 1990s recession under crushing debt burdens to dispute academic research showing that higher interest rates on junk bonds more than compensated for their higher default rates."
On "fallen angels" — bonds that were initially of investment grade but that were downgraded when the issuers fell on bad times: "A kind of bastardized fallen angel burst onto the investment scene in the 1980s — "junk bonds" that were far below investment-grade when issued. As the decade progressed, new offerings of manufactured junk became ever junkier and ultimately the predictable outcome occurred: Junk bonds lived up to their name. Thus, said the friendly salesmen, a diversified portfolio of junk bonds would produce greater net returns than would a portfolio of high-grade bonds. (Beware of past-performance "proofs" in finance: If history books were the key to riches, the Forbes 400 would consist of librarians). The manager of a fallen angel almost invariably yearned to regain investment-grade status and worked toward that goal. The junk-bond operator was usually an entirely different breed. Behaving much as a heroin user might, he devoted his energies not to finding a cure for his debt-ridden condition, but rather to finding another fix. Additionally, the fiduciary sensitivities of the executives managing the typical fallen angel were often, though not always, more finely developed than were those of the junk-bond-issuing financiopath."
Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals. Should you choose, however, to construct your own portfolio, there are a few thoughts worth remembering: Intelligent investing is not complex, though that is far from saying that it is easy. What an investor needs is the ability to correctly evaluate selected businesses. Note that word "selected": You don't have to be an expert on every company, or even many. You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence. The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital. To invest successfully, you need not understand beta, efficient markets, modern portfolio theory, option pricing, or emerging markets. You may, in fact, be better off knowing nothing of these. Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily-understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, ten and twenty years from now. If you aren't willing to own a stock for ten years, don't even think about owning it for ten minutes.
Bertrand Russell's observation about life in general applies with unusual force in the financial world: "Most men would rather die than think. Many do."
"Value is destroyed, not created, by any business that loses money over its lifetime, no matter how high its interim valuation may get. Intrinsic value can be defined simply: It is the discounted value of the cash that can be taken out of a business during its remaining life. Intrinsic value is an estimate rather than a precise figure."
"You can gain some insight into the differences between book value and intrinsic value by looking at one form of investment, a college education. Think of the education's cost as its "book value." If this cost is to be accurate, it should include the earnings that were foregone by the student because he chose college rather than a job. For this exercise, we will ignore the important non-economic benefits of an education and focus strictly on its economic value. First, we must estimate the earnings that the graduate will receive over his lifetime and subtract from that figure an estimate of what he would have earned had he lacked his education. That gives us an excess earnings figure, which must then be discounted, at an appropriate interest rate, back to graduation day. The dollar result equals the intrinsic economic value of the education. Some graduates will find that the book value of their education exceeds its intrinsic value, which means that whoever paid for the education didn't get his money's worth. In other cases, the intrinsic value of an education will far exceed its book value, a result that proves capital was wisely deployed. In all cases, what is clear is that book value is meaningless as an indicator of intrinsic value."
"We will continue to ignore political and economic forecasts, which are an expensive distraction for many investors and businessmen. Thirty years ago, no one could have foreseen the huge expansion of the Vietnam War, wage and price controls, two oil shocks, the resignation of a president, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a one-day drop in the Dow of 508 points, or treasury bill yields fluctuating between 2.8% and 17.4%. But, surprise — none of these blockbuster events made the slightest dent in Ben Graham's investment principles. Nor did they render unsound the negotiated purchases of fine businesses at sensible prices. A different set of major shocks is sure to occur in the next 30 years. We will neither try to predict these nor to profit from them. If we can identify businesses similar to those we have purchased in the past, external surprises will have little effect on our long-term results."
"People who expect to earn 10% annually from equities during this century — envisioning that 2% of that will come from dividends and 8% from price appreciation — are implicitly forecasting a level of about 24,000,000 on the Dow by 2100. Think about it"
How Buffett and Charlie Munger run Berkshire
Buffett and Berkshire avoid making predictions and tell their managers to do the same. They think it is a bad managerial habit that too often leads managers to make up their financial reports.
Buffett just gives a simple set of commands to his CEOs: to run their business as if (1) they are its sole owner, (2) it is the only asset they hold, and (3) they can never sell or merge it for a hundred years. This enables Berkshire CEOs to manage with a long-term horizon ahead of them, something alien to the CEOs of public companies whose short-term oriented shareholders obsess with meeting the latest quarterly earnings estimate. Short-term results matter, of course, but the Berkshire approach avoids any pressure to achieve them at the expense of strengthening long-term competitive advantages.
"When a problem exists, whether in personnel or in business operations, the time to act is now."
Unlike many CEOs, who desire their company's stock to trade at the highest possible prices in the market, Buffett prefers Berkshire stock to trade at or around its intrinsic value — neither materially higher nor lower. Such linkage means that business results during one period will benefit the people who owned the company during that period.
Stock splits are another common action in corporate America that Buffett points out disserve owner interests. Stock splits have three consequences: they increase transaction costs by promoting high share turnover; they attract shareholders with short-term, market-oriented views who unduly focus on stock market prices; and, as a result of both of those effects, they lead to prices that depart materially from intrinsic business value.
Intrinsic value: The discounted value of the cash that can be taken out of a business during its remaining life. Charlie and Berkshire are interested only in acquisitions that they believe will raise the per-share intrinsic value of Berkshire's stock.
According to Buffett: Useful financial statements must enable a user to answer three basic questions about a business: approximately how much a company is worth, its likely ability to meet its future obligations, and how good a job its managers are doing in operating the business. Charlie and Buffett think that it is both deceptive and dangerous for CEOs to predict growth rates for their companies.
"At Berkshire, we try to be as logical about compensation as about capital allocation. For example, we compensate Ralph Schey based upon the results of Scott Fetzer rather than those of Berkshire. What could make more sense, since he's responsible for one operation but not the other? A cash bonus or a stock option tied to the fortunes of Berkshire would provide totally capricious rewards to Ralph. He could, for example, be hitting home runs at Scott Fetzer while Charlie and I rang up mistakes at Berkshire, thereby negating his efforts many times over. Conversely, why should option profits or bonuses be heaped upon Ralph if good things are occurring in other parts of Berkshire but Scott Fetzer is lagging?"
"Charlie and I believe that a CEO must not delegate risk control. It's simply too important. If Berkshire ever gets in trouble, it will be my fault. It will not be because of misjudgments made by a Risk Committee or Chief Risk Officer."
"It has not been shareholders who have botched the operations of some of our country's largest financial institutions. Yet they have borne the burden, with 90% or more of the value of their holdings wiped out in most cases of failure. The CEOs and directors of the failed companies, however, have largely gone unscathed. Their fortunes may have been diminished by the disasters they oversaw, but they still live in grand style. It is the behavior of these CEOs and directors that needs to be changed: If their institutions and the country are harmed by their recklessness, they should pay a heavy price-one not reimbursable by the companies"
"Audit committees should unequivocally put auditors on the spot, making them understand they will become liable for major monetary penalties if they don't come forth with what they know or suspect."
On why Berkshire bought Washing Post Company: "We bought all of our [Washington Post Company ("WPC")] holdings in mid-1973 at a price of not more than one-fourth of the then per-share business value of the enterprise. Calculating the price/value ratio required no unusual insights. Most security analysts, media brokers, and media executives would have estimated WPC's intrinsic business value at $400 to $500 million just as we did. And its $100 million stock market valuation was published daily for all to see. Our advantage was our attitude, that we had learned from Ben Graham, that the key to successful investing was the purchase of shares in good businesses when market prices were at a large discount from underlying business values."
"Whenever Charlie and I buy common stocks for Berkshire's insurance companies (leaving aside arbitrage purchases, discussed) we approach the transaction as if we were buying into a private business. We look at the economic prospects of the business, the people in charge of running it, and the price we must pay. We do not have in mind any time or price for sale. Indeed, we are willing to hold a stock indefinitely so long as we expect the business to increase in intrinsic value at a satisfactory rate. When investing, we view ourselves as business analysts — not as market analysts, not as macroeconomic analysts, and not even as security analysts."
"Ben Graham, my friend and teacher, long ago described the mental attitude toward market fluctuations that I believe to be most conducive to investment success. He said that you should imagine market quotations as coming from a remarkably accommodating fellow named Mr. Market who is your partner in a private business. Market appears daily and names a price at which he will either buy your interest or sell you his. Even though the business that the two of you own may have economic characteristics that are stable, Mr. Market's quotations will be anything but. For, sad to say, the poor fellow has incurable emotional problems. At times he feels euphoric and can see only the favorable factors affecting the business. When in that mood, he names a very high buy-sell price because he fears that you will snap up his interest and rob him of imminent gains. is depressed and can see nothing but trouble ahead for both the business and the world. On these occasions he will name a very low price, since he is terrified that you will unload your interest on him. Rather an investor will succeed by coupling good business judgment with an ability to insulate his thoughts and behavior from the super-contagious emotions that swirl about the marketplace. In my own efforts to stay insulated, I have found it highly useful to keep Ben's Mr. Market concept firmly in mind. As Ben said: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run it is a weighing machine."
The speed at which a business's success is recognized, furthermore, is not that important as long as the company's intrinsic value is increasing at a satisfactory rate.
Buffett then explains why he is happy when the stock market is stagnant or goes down: " A short quiz: If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should you wish for higher or lower prices for beef? This question answers itself. Similarly If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or lower stock market during that period? Many investors get this one wrong. Even though they are going to be net buyers of stocks for many years to come, they are elated when stock prices rise and depressed when they fall. In effect, they rejoice because prices have risen for the "hamburgers" they will soon be buying. This reaction makes no sense. Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise. Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices."
On arbitrage: "To evaluate arbitrage situations you must answer four questions: (1) How likely is it that the promised event will indeed occur? (2) How long will your money be tied up? (3) What chance is there that something still better will transpire — a competing takeover bid, for example? and (4) What will happen if the event does not take place because of anti-trust action, financing glitches, etc.?
The preceding discussion about arbitrage makes a small discussion of "efficient market theory" (EMT) also seem relevant. This doctrine became highly fashionable — indeed, almost holy scripture — in academic circles during the 1970s. Essentially, it said that analyzing stocks was useless because all public information about them was appropriately reflected in their prices. In other words, the market always knew everything. As a corollary, the professors who taught EMT said that someone throwing darts at the stock tables could select a stock portfolio having prospects just as good as one selected by the brightest, most hard-working security analyst. We continue to think that it is usually foolish to part with an interest in a business that is both understandable and durably wonderful. Business interests of that kind are simply too hard to replace. The strategy we've adopted precludes our following standard diversification dogma. Many pundits would therefore say the strategy must be riskier than that employed by more conventional investors. We disagree. We believe that a policy of portfolio concentration may well decrease risk if it raises, as it should, both the intensity with which an investor thinks about a business and the comfort-level he must feel with its economic characteristics before buying into it. In stating this opinion, we define risk, using dictionary terms, as "the possibility of loss or injury." Academics, however, like to define investment "risk" differently, averring that it is the relative volatility of a stock or portfolio of stocks — that is, their volatility as compared to that of a large universe of stocks. Employing data bases and statistical skills, these academics compute with precision the "beta" of a stock — that shows how volatile the security is compared to the market. Beta measures this volatility risk well for securities that trade on efficient markets, where information about publicly traded securities is swiftly and accurately incorporated into prices. In our opinion, the real risk an investor must assess is whether his aggregate after-tax receipts from an investment (including those he receives on sale) will, over his prospective holding period, give him at least as much purchasing power as he had to begin with, plus a modest rate of interest on that initial stake. Though this risk cannot be calculated with engineering precision, it can in some cases be judged with a degree of accuracy that is useful. The primary factors bearing upon this evaluation are: (1) The certainty with which the long-term economic characteristics of the business can be evaluated; (2) The certainty with which management can be evaluated, both as to its ability to realise the full potential of the business and to wisely employ its cash flows; (3) The certainty with which management can be counted on to channel the reward from the business to the shareholders rather than to itself; (4) The purchase price of the business; (5) The levels of taxation and inflation that will be experienced and that will determine the degree by which an investor's purchasing-power return is reduced from his gross return.
It is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.
"If you are a know-something investor, able to understand business economics and to find five to ten sensibly-priced companies that possess important long-term competitive advantages, conventional diversification makes no sense for you. It is apt simply to hurt your results and increase your risk. I cannot understand why an investor of that sort elects to put money into a business that is his 20th favorite rather than simply adding that money to his top choices — the businesses he understands best and that present the least risk, along with the greatest profit potential. In the words of the prophet Mae West: "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
"We continually search for large businesses with understandable, enduring and mouth-watering economics that are run by able and shareholder-oriented managements."
"Our equity-investing strategy remains little changed from what it was when we said in the 1977 annual report: We select our marketable equity securities in much the way we would evaluate a business for acquisition in its entirety. We want the business to be one (a) that we can understand; (b) with favourable long-term prospects; operated by honest and competent people; and (d) available at a very attractive price." We have seen cause to make only one change in this creed: Because of both market conditions and our size, we now substitute "an attractive price" for "a very attractive price."
"Consciously paying more for a stock than its calculated value — in the hope that it can soon be sold for a still-higher price — should be labeled speculation (which is neither illegal, immoral nor — in our view — financially fattening). Growth benefits investors only when the business in point can invest at incremental returns that are enticing — in other words, only when each dollar used to finance the growth creates over a dollar of long-term market value. In the case of a low-return business requiring incremental funds, growth hurts the investor."
Value investing typically connotes the purchase of stocks having attributes such as a low ratio of price to book value, a low price-earnings ratio, or a high dividend yield.
"Leaving the question of price aside, the best business to own is one that over an extended period can employ large amounts of incremental capital at very high rates of return. The worst business to own is one that must, or will, do the opposite — that is, consistently employ ever-greater amounts of capital at very low rates of return."
"In studying the investments we have made in both subsidiary companies and common stocks, you will see that we favour businesses and industries unlikely to experience major change."
If we have a strength, it is in recognising when we are operating well within our circle of competence and when we are approaching the perimeter. Predicting the long-term economics of companies that operate in fast-changing industries is simply far beyond our perimeter. A further related lesson: Easy does it. After 25 years of buying and supervising a great variety of businesses, Charlie and I have not learned how to solve difficult business problems. What we have learned is to avoid them.
On Cigar butt investing philosophy which Buffett followed earlier in his career "If you buy a stock at a sufficiently low price, there will usually be some hiccup in the fortunes of the business that gives you a chance to unload at a decent profit, even though the long-term performance of the business may be terrible. I call this the "cigar butt" approach to investing. A cigar butt found on the street that has only one puff left in it may not offer much of a smoke, but the "bargain purchase" will make that puff all profit."
**Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre. **For example, if you buy a business for $8 million that can be sold or liquidated for $10 million and promptly take either course, you can realise a high return. But the investment will disappoint if the business is sold for $10 million in ten years and in the interim has annually earned and distributed only a few percent on cost.
On** institutional imperative**: "I learned over time that rationality wilts when institutional imperative comes into play. Example: (1) As if governed by Newton's First Law of Motion, an institution will resist any change in its current direction; (2) Just as work expands to fill available time, corporate projects or acquisitions will materialise to soak up available funds; (3) Any business craving of the leader, however foolish, will be quickly supported by detailed rate-of-return and strategic studies prepared by his troops; and (4) The behaviour of peer companies, whether they are expanding, acquiring, setting executive compensation or whatever, will be mindlessly imitated. Institutional dynamics, not venality or stupidity, set businesses on these courses, which are too often misguided."
"After some other mistakes, I learned to go into business only with people whom I like, trust, and admire."
"It's no sin to miss a great opportunity outside one's area of competence. But I have passed on a couple of really big purchases that were served up to me on a platter and that I was fully capable of understanding."
"Over the years, a number of very smart people have learned the hard way that a long string of impressive numbers multiplied by a single zero always equals zero."
On paying dividends: "Not a dime of cash has left Berkshire for dividends share repurchases during the past 40 years. Instead, we have retained all of our earnings to strengthen our business, a reinforcement now running about $1 billion per month."
" Our net worth has increased from $48 million to $157 billion during the last four decades. No other corporation has come to building its financial strength in this unrelenting way. By being so cautious in respect to leverage, we penalise our returns by a minor amount. Having loads of liquidity, though, lets us sleep well. Moreover, during the episodes of financial chaos that occasionally erupt in our economy, we will be equipped both financially and emotionally to play offense while others scramble for survival. That's what allowed us to invest $15.6 billion in 25 days of panic following the Lehman bankruptcy in 2008."
On alternative investments
"Investments that are denominated in a given currency include money-market funds, bonds, mortgages, bank deposits, and other instruments. Most of these currency-based investments are thought of as "safe." In truth they are among the most dangerous of assets. Their beta may be zero, but their risk is huge. Over the past century these instruments have destroyed the purchasing power of investors in many countries, even as the holders continued to receive timely payments of interest and principal. This ugly result, moreover, will forever recur."
"Governments determine the ultimate value of money, and systemic forces will sometimes cause them to gravitate to policies that produce inflation. From time to time such policies spin out of control. Even in the U.S., where the wish for a stable currency is strong, the dollar has fallen a staggering 86% in value since 1965, when I took over management of Berkshire. It takes no less than $7 today to buy what $1 did at that time. Consequently, a tax-free institution would have needed 4.3% interest annually from bond investments over that period to simply maintain its purchasing power. For tax-paying investors, the picture has been far worse. During the same 47-year period, continuous rolling of U.S. Treasury bills produced 5.7% annually. That sounds satisfactory. But if an individual investor paid personal income taxes at a rate averaging 25%, this 5.7% return would have yielded nothing in the way of real income. This investor's visible income tax would have stripped him of 1.4 points of the stated yield, and the invisible inflation tax would have devoured the remaining 4.3 points. Under today's conditions, therefore, I do not like currency-based investments. Even so, Berkshire holds significant amounts of them, primarily of the short-term variety. We primarily hold U.S. Treasury bills, the only investment that can be counted on for liquidity under the most chaotic of economic conditions. Our working level for liquidity is $20 billion; $10 billion is our absolute minimum."
"Gold, however, has two significant shortcomings, being neither of much use nor procreative. True, gold has some industrial and decorative utility, but the demand for these purposes is both limited and incapable of soaking up new production. Meanwhile, if you own one ounce of gold for an eternity, you will still own one ounce at its end. Today the world's gold stock is about 170,000 metric tons. If all of this gold were melded together, it would form a cube of about 68 feet per side. (Picture it fitting comfortably within a baseball infield.) At $1,750 per ounce — gold's price as I write this — its value would be $9.6 trillion. Let's now create a pile B costing an equal amount. For that, we could buy all U.S. cropland (400 million acres with output of about $200 billion annually), plus 16 Exxon Mobils (the world's most profitable company, one earning more than $40 billion annually). After these purchases, we would have about $1 trillion left over for walking-around money (no sense feeling strapped after this buying binge). Can you imagine an investor with $9.6 trillion selecting pile A over pile B? My own preference is investment in productive assets, whether businesses, farms, or real estate."
"Charlie and I are of one mind in how we feel about derivatives and the trading activities that go with them: We view them as time bombs, both for the parties that deal in them and the economic system. Essentially, these instruments call for money to change hands at some future date, with the amount to be determined by one or more reference items, such as interest rates, stock prices or currency values."
"Indeed, recent events demonstrate that certain big-name CEOs (or former CEOs) at major financial institutions were simply incapable of managing a business with a huge, complex book of derivatives. Include Charlie and me in this hapless group: When Berkshire purchased General Re in 1998, we knew we could not get our minds around its book of 23,218 derivatives contracts, made with 884 counterparties (many of which we had never heard of). So we decided to close up shop. Though we were under no pressure and were operating in benign markets as we exited, it took us five years and more than $400 million in losses to largely complete minds around its book of 23,218 derivatives contracts, made with 884 counterparties (many of which we had never heard of). So we decided to close up shop. Though we were under no pressure and were operating in benign markets as we exited, it took us five years and more than $400 million in losses to largely complete"
On owning a Bank
"Month by month the foolish loan decisions of once well-regarded banks were put on public display. As one huge loss after another was unveiled — often on the heels of managerial assurances that all was well — investors understandably concluded that no bank's numbers were to be trusted. Aided by their flight from bank stocks, we purchased our 10% interest in Wells Fargo for $290 million, less than five times after-tax earnings, and less than three times pre-tax earnings. Our purchase of one-tenth of the bank may be thought of as roughly equivalent to our buying 100% of a $5 billion bank with identical financial characteristics. Wells Fargo is big — it has $56 billion in assets — and has been earning more than 20% on equity and 1.25% on assets. Of course, ownership of a bank — or about any other business — is far from riskless. California banks face the specific risk of a major earthquake, which might wreak enough havoc on borrowers to in turn destroy the banks lending to them. A second risk is systemic — the possibility of a business contraction or financial panic so severe that it would endanger almost every highly-leveraged institution, no matter how intelligently run. Finally, the market's major fear of the moment is that West Coast real estate values will tumble because of overbuilding and deliver huge losses to banks that have financed the expansion. Because it is a leading real estate lender, Wells Fargo is thought to be particularly vulnerable. Consider some mathematics: Wells Fargo currently earns well over $1 billion pre-tax annually after expensing more than $300 million for loan losses. If 10% of all $48 billion of the bank's loans — not just its real estate loans — were hit by problems in 1991, and these produced losses (including foregone interest) averaging 30% of principal, the company would roughly break even. A year like that — which we consider only a low-level possibility, not a likelihood — would not distress us."
On owning an Airline
"The day of reckoning for these airlines could be delayed by infusions of capital (such as ours into USAir), but eventually a fundamental rule of economics prevailed: In an unregulated commodity business, a company must lower its costs to competitive levels or face extinction. When Richard Branson, the wealthy owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways, was asked how to become a millionaire, he had a quick answer: "There's really nothing to it. Start as a billionaire and then buy an airline." Unwilling to accept Branson's proposition on faith, your Chairman decided in 1989 to test it by investing $358 million in a 9¼% preferred stock of USAir. I liked and admired Ed Colodny, the company's then-CEO, and I still do. But my analysis of USAir's business was both superficial and wrong. I was so beguiled by the company's long history of profitable operations, and by the protection that ownership of a senior security seemingly offered me, that I overlooked the crucial point: USAir's revenues would increasingly feel the effects of an unregulated, fiercely competitive market whereas its cost structure was a holdover from the days when regulation protected profits. These costs, if left unchecked, portended disaster, however reassuring the airline's past record might be. Since our purchase, the economics of the airline industry have deteriorated at an alarming pace, accelerated by the kamikaze pricing tactics of certain carriers. The trouble this pricing has produced for all carriers illustrates an important truth: In a business selling a commodity-type product, it's impossible to be a lot smarter than your dumbest competitor."
On stock repurchases
"We will never make purchases with the intention of stemming a decline in Berkshire's price. Charlie and I favour repurchases when two conditions are met: first, a company has ample funds to take care of the operational and liquidity needs of its business; second, its stock is selling at a material discount to the company's intrinsic business value, conservatively calculated. We have witnessed at a material discount to the company's intrinsic business value, conservatively calculated. Today, IBM has 1.16 billion shares outstanding, of which we own about 63.9 million or 5.5%. Naturally, what happens to the company's earnings over the next five years is of enormous importance to us. Beyond that, the company will likely spend $50 billion or so in those years to repurchase shares. Our quiz for the day: What should a long-term billion shares outstanding, of which we own about 63.9 million or 5.5%. Naturally, what happens to the company's earnings over the next five years is of enormous importance to us. Beyond that, the company will likely spend $50 billion or so in those years to repurchase shares. Our quiz for the day: What should a long-term shareholder, such as Berkshire, cheer for during that period? I won't keep you in suspense. We should wish for IBM's stock price to languish throughout the five years. Let's do the math. If IBM's stock price averages, say, $200 during the period, the company will acquire 250 million shares for its $50 billion. There would consequently be 910 million shares outstanding, and we would own about 7% of the company. If the stock conversely sells for an average of $300 during the five-year period, IBM will acquire only 167 million shares. That would leave about 990 million shares outstanding after five years, of which we would own 6.5%.
The logic is simple: If you are going to be a net buyer of stocks in the future, either directly with your own money or indirectly (through your ownership of a company that is repurchasing shares), you are hurt when stocks rise. You benefit when stocks swoon."
On splitting Berkshire stock
"Were we to split the stock or take other actions focusing on stock price rather than business value, we would attract an entering class of buyers inferior to the exiting class of sellers."
"A hyperactive stock market is the pickpocket of enterprise. For example, consider a typical company earning, say, 12% on equity. Assume a very high turnover rate in its shares of 100% per year. If a purchase and sale of the stock trades at book value, the owners of our hypothetical company will pay, in aggregate, 2% of the company's net worth annually for the privilege of transferring ownership. This activity does nothing for the earnings of the business, and means that 1/6 of them are lost to the owners through the "frictional" cost of transfer. Consequently, our stock consistently trades in a price range that is sensibly related to intrinsic value."
On issuing Class B common stock later: "We made two good-sized offerings through Salomon [during 1996], both with interesting aspects. The first was our sale in May of 517,500 shares of Class B Common, which generated net proceeds of $565 million. As I have told you before, we made this sale in response to the threatened creation of unit trusts that would have marketed themselves as Berkshire look-alikes. In the process, they would have used our past, and definitely non repeatable, record to entice naive small investors and would have charged these innocents high fees and commissions. The trusts would have meanwhile indiscriminately poured the proceeds of their offerings into a supply of Berkshire shares that is fixed and limited. The likely result: a speculative bubble in our stock."
Why Buffet hates to part with Berkshire stock
"Our problem has been that we own a truly marvelous collection of businesses, which means that trading away a portion of them for something new almost never makes sense. If we issue shares in a merger, we reduce your ownership in all of our businesses — partly-owned companies such as Coca-Cola, Gillette and American Express, and all of our terrific operating companies as well."
"The oracle Aesop and his enduring, though somewhat incomplete, investment insight was "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." To flesh out this principle, you must answer only three questions. How certain are you that there are indeed birds in the bush? When will they emerge and how many will there be? What is the risk-free interest rate (which we consider to be the yield on long-term U.S. bonds)? If you can answer these three questions, you will know the maximum value of the bush — and the maximum number of the birds you now possess that should be offered for it."
On acquisitions
"Over time, the skill with which a company's managers allocate capital has an enormous impact on the enterprise's value.
"Almost by definition, a really good business generates far more money (at least after its early years) than it can use internally. The company could, of course, distribute the money to shareholders by way of dividends or share repurchases. But often the CEO asks a strategic planning staff, consultants or investment bankers whether an acquisition or two might make sense. That's like asking your interior decorator whether you need a $50,000 rug. We believe most deals do damage to the shareholders of the acquiring company. In any case, why potential buyers even look at projections prepared by sellers baffles me. Charlie and I never give them a glance, We would love to see an intermediary earn its fee by thinking of us — and therefore repeat here what we're looking for: (1) Large purchases, (2) Demonstrated consistent earning power (future projections are of no interest to us, nor are "turnaround" situations), (3) Businesses earning good returns on equity while employing little or no debt, (4) Management in place (we can't supply it), (5) Simple businesses (if there's lots of technology, we won't understand it), (6) An offering price (we don't want to waste our time or that of the seller by talking, even preliminarily, about a transaction when price is unknown)."
"Berkshire is another kind of buyer — a rather unusual one. We buy to keep, but we don't have, and don't expect to have, operating people in our parent organisation. All of the businesses we own are run autonomously to an extraordinary degree. The areas I get involved in are capital allocation and selection and compensation of the top man. Other personnel decisions, operating strategies, etc. are his bailiwick."
Note: I ignored highlights from a few chapters related to Accounting. Not being an accounting nerd, I had a hard time grasping all the concepts. I also mostly focussed on stocks and bonds and ignored other money instruments.
Links: Goodreads, Amazon


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UNSTOPPABLE SPIRIT IS A UNIQUE SCULPTURAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN NINO MUSTICA AND GERRY MCGOVERN
As Design Director and Chief Creative Officer for Land Rover, Gerry McGovern creates some of the world's most distinctive and desirable vehicles and is recognised as one of the world's leading automotive designers.
After completing a degree in industrial design at Coventry University, McGovern went on to study for a Masters at the Royal College of Art in London, specialising in automotive design. He began his career at Chrysler in Detroit, before returning to the UK as a Senior Designer for Peugeot and later joining the Rover Group. Through this period he was the lead designer of the critically acclaimed MGF sports car, the Land Rover Freelander - the bestselling compact SUV in Europe for 7 years, and led the team that created the third generation Range Rover. McGovern then moved to the Ford Motor Company to head up and rejuvenate the Lincoln-Mercury brands, setting up studios in Detroit and Irvine, California, before returning to the UK to run a design consultancy in London.
McGovern rejoined Land Rover in 2004 as Director, Advanced Design, and was appointed as Land Rover Design Director in 2006. Since then his position has grown to include the role of Chief Creative Officer and he is a member of the Jaguar Land Rover Executive Committee.
He and his team are in the process of creating an entire new generation of Land Rovers, redefining the brand and building on established heritage to make the product range relevant to the 21st Century. The phenomenally successful Range Rover Evoque, developed from the globally-acclaimed LRX concept vehicle, was the first complete manifestation of McGovern's design strategy since his return from the US. This was followed by the all-new Range Rover, which launched to critical acclaim in September 2012, the Range Rover Sport (2013) and the new Discovery Sport.
Responsible for guiding and visioning the future of this great British brand, McGovern is currently leading the team to develop opportunities to grow the business into new areas as well as to meet the challenge of replacing icons such as the Defender. As Chief Creative Officer McGovern's wider remit is to guide all aspects of visual communications ensuring a consistent look and feel between the vehicles and the identity of the brand.
McGovern's passion for design stretches far beyond the automotive industry; he is an authority on modern architecture and furniture as well as a collector of contemporary art. He has sat on many panels judging design, presented at numerous prominent international automotive and business events and represents the company on a global level.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The fire damage restoration in La Peñuelas, Moguer, will prioritize the lynx habitat
In the coming months, work will be done to prevent erosion in dune and stream areas, as well as protect slopes and river beds
The Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning held a meeting with representatives of the technical scientific work group for the environmental restoration of the area affected by the Peñuelas fire, surrounding Doñana.
Said meeting was attended by the director general of the Natural Environment and Protected Areas Administration, Javier Madrid, the director of the Doñana Nature Area, Juan Pedro Castellano, and the coordinator of said work group, Miguel Angel Maneiro.
Among the matters discussed, various initiatives were analysed which will be developed throughout the year in which the natural regeneration of the burned area is expected occur, as established in the protocols put forth in these cases.
In the coming months, work will be done to prevent erosion in dune areas such as Medano del Loro, or stream areas which in turn will act as protection for slopes and channels. At the same time, a controlled cut of fire-affected pine trees will be carried out in temporary pool areas.
These initiatives will have a special impact on the Iberian lynx habitat, in addition to others such as the restoration of rabbit burrows, or fences for breeding them with the aim of facilitating a future repopulation of this species, the lynx's main source of food.


Scanners are available for the use of students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Webster University and Eden Seminary.
Scanners are not available to members of the general public.
Each has flatbed document/image scanners along with transparent materials adapter for slide/35mm film for your scanning needs.
The scanner in the Listening/viewing area has an automatic document feeder.


Are y'all paying attention to the great ATG News Channel postings? Was recently perusing a copy of How Books Came to America: The Rise of the American Book Trade which is part of the Penn State Series in the History of the Book. Did you notice that it was a book of the week for Against the Grain back in May?
Did you notice that on the wonderful schedule app on which Leah Hinds (what would I do without her?) has put the conference sessions, we can see the recently active speakers in a section all their own? Then you can go and see what they will be speaking about. Try it out!
Sandy Thatcher, once of Penn State University Press, will be at the Conference this year. His concurrent session panel, "Who Will Do Non-Profit Scholarly Publishing in the Future, and How?" will include Kathleen Fitzpatrick from the Modern Language Association, one of our keynote speakers.
Just a few more tidbits!
Rene Erlandson (Director, Virtual Services, The University of Nebraska Omaha's Criss Library, Omaha, NE) will be speaking Saturday about "Tools, People and Processes: Managing Change Holistically." Rene has worked in libraries for almost 30 years. Her passions include traveling, coffee houses and museums—more or less in that order.
Aron Wolf (Software Developer at Serial Solutions) Aron holds an MLIS from the University of WashingtonSchool of Information and will be speaking about "One IOTA at a time: A Case Study of OpenURL Success Metrics." Aron is speaking at a concurrent on Thursday.
Nikki DeMoville (Electronic Resources Coordinator, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA) has worked with serials of all varieties since 1989, and with electronic resources since 2006. She earned her undergraduate degree at Cal Poly and is currently enrolled in the MLIS Distance Education program at The University of Alabama. Her topic: " Will It Blend? A Practical Approach to Evaluating the Big Deal." She will be soeaing at a concurrent on Friday.
See y'all soon in Charleston!


Alastair \a-las-tair, al(a)-stair\ as a boy's name (also used as girl's name Alastair), is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Alastair is "man's defender". Scottish variant of Alistair, from Alexander. Most of the variants are different phonetic spellings of the name. TV commentator Alistair Cooke; actor Alistair Sim.
Alastair has 26 variant forms: Al, Alasdair, Alasteir, Alaster, Alastor, Alaisdair, Alaistair, Alaister, Aleister, Alester, Alistair, Alistar, Alister, Allaistar, Allaster, Allastir, Allistair, Allister, Allistir, Allysdair, Allystair, Allyster, Alysdair, Alysdare, Alystair and Alyster.
Baby names that sound like Alastair are Alistir, Alistaire and Alisdair.


Jason Furman joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics as senior fellow in January 2017. He served as a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama during the previous eight years, including as the 28th chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from August 2013 to January 2017, acting as both Obama's chief economist and a member of the cabinet. Furman played an important role in most of the major economic policies of the Obama administration. In addition, Furman helped make the Council of Economic Advisers a thought leader on a wide range of topics including labor markets, competition policy, and macroeconomics.


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Prime Video Should Surrender Fridays to Netflix and Instead Focus On Owning Thursday Nights
By Meghan O'Keefe Twitter @megsokay Oct 25, 2018 at 9:20am
Photo: Shutterstock; Photo Illustration: Dillen Phelps
Do you have a scheduling conflict with Prime Video? What I mean by that is this: Do you ever look up when that splashy new season of an Amazon original is dropping and immediately realize you have…something else you need to watch first? Namely, something brand new and buzzy on Netflix? You're not alone and it's a problem for Prime Video.
Earlier this month, The Ringer's Alison Herman sagely pointed out that "streaming television's sheer density has created a sort of small-screen parallel to the film industry concept of opening-weekend box office." Her piece went on to point out that Netflix and Amazon have often found themselves facing off with splashy new debuts on Fridays, and Netflix always wins. (It's happening again next Friday, November 2, when Amazon's splashy Homecoming, starring none other than Julia Roberts, will go head-to-head with Netflix's final season of House Of Cards.)
But there IS a way that Prime Video could fight back, one that takes a page from Television Broadcasting 101: Amazon chief Jennifer Salke should make a strategic programming decision to retreat from the Friday fight and, instead, throw all of their promotional muscle towards Thursdays. Yes, Thursday. The almost weekend night. Thursday, the artist formerly known as "Must See TV." Netflix owns Fridays, HBO's got Sundays, and Hulu keeps trying to make Tuesday and Wednesday happen. But Thursdays? Thursdays can and should be Amazon's domain. There's an opening there and Prime Video should push into it, pronto.
First of all, Thursday has a longstanding tradition of being a "good" night for TV programming. As I've already mentioned, it wasn't so long ago that Thursday was America's big night to sit in front of the boob tube and catch up on Friends, Seinfeld, and E.R. DVR and streaming arguably killed Must See TV, though, and it's currently kind of a dead night outside of Shondaland. That means it's a perfect time for Prime Video to edge in.
Photo: Everett Collection
Funnily enough, Amazon already has planted a few flags on the Thursday programming landscape. Many avid Amazon users have noticed that Prime Video's Friday debuts often drop early on Thursday night. It's what you might call a "soft launch" for these splashy new shows, and it illustrates that Amazon is already sort of pushing their release dates back a day. Curiously, they don't seem to be excited to promote these soft launches. But they should.
It's possible Amazon doesn't want to detract from its big draw on Thursdays, which is currently Thursday Night Football. The service has exclusive streaming rights to that popular live programming block and it's a big deal for them. While some of the commercials that run during breaks are the same that you'd see broadcast on Fox, some aren't. Some are specific to the Amazon live feed. This makes Thursday Night Football an ideal spot for Prime Video to cross-promote its own original programming. Just imagine if they could tell viewers that they could stream those flashy new originals immediately after the game? What if they even engineered it so that when the live stream was over, the first episode of a big new title went on auto-play? What if Amazon made Thursday Night Football work for their original content library?
And it seems that Prime Video knows it's time to give up the face-to-face Friday throwdown fight with Netflix. Just yesterday, they announced that the highly-anticipated second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the Emmy-winning jewel in Prime Video's programming crown, would debut on December 5, 2018: a Wednesday.
Now, I'm not saying that Amazon couldn't own Wednesdays just as easily as Thursdays, but they already have Thursday Night Football and their soft Thursday launches. Plus, Thursday is closer to the weekend binge window. Once you start something on Wednesday, you might be finished with the season by Friday or Saturday. You'll click over to Netflix. If you start a massive season of TV — something like, I don't know, a big Lord of the Rings TV show — on Thursday, though, well…you might be less induced to also binge a whole other big show over on Netflix. Thursdays should be Prime Video's big night of the week.


Join us in stunning Kingscliff for a fun, family-friendly triathlon at one of Australia's premier coastal sporting destinations.
The "Kingy Tri" was created as a community sporting event to celebrate the Tweed and get the whole family active. Whether you're chasing a new PB or giving your first tri a go, the Kingy Tri is known for its great atmosphere and stunning location.
Olympic, Sprint and Tempta distances, as well as team options.


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Sarvaš (, ) is a village in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, east of Osijek. It has a population of 1,658 (census 2021). It is administratively within the area of the city of Osijek. Szarvas means "deer" in Hungarian.

History
One Scordisci archaeological site in Sarvaš dating back to late La Tène culture was excavated in the 1970s and 1980s as a part of rescue excavations in eastern Croatia. Archaeological site was a part of the settlement network of Scordisci in the area of Vinkovci.

According to the 1931 census in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the town's population included 1157 Danube Swabian Germans (the majority). These folk were almost all expelled by the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito after 1945.

The local Catholic church was completely destroyed in the country's War of Independence. By 2006 the church was restored.

References

Populated places in Osijek-Baranja County
Osijek
Archaeological sites in Croatia
La Tène culture

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Venue line makes Dell a tablet contender
PC makers haven't had much luck with tablets, but the pieces are falling into place to build a credible contender with Android or Windows 8. For the past few weeks I've been trying out two new tablets from Dell that illustrate how PC companies are trying to catch up.
By John Morris for Laptops & Desktops | December 18, 2013 -- 20:31 GMT (12:31 PST) | Topic: Tablets
Not for lack of trying, but PC makers haven't had much luck with tablets. Earlier endeavors were big and heavy, burned through batteries, and were saddled with versions of Windows that weren't really designed for touch and lacked real apps. They were expensive too.
Now the pieces are falling into place to build at least a credible contender to Apple or Samsung in tablets. Many chip companies offer inexpensive dual- and quad-core ARM processors for Android tablets and Intel's Bay Trail platform, the first truly competitive x86 alternative, works with either Android or Windows. Microsoft has made real improvements with Windows 8.1 and now throws in a version of Office on smaller devices. For sheer numbers, the Windows Store won't match Android, let alone Apple, anytime soon, but most of the major apps are now available.
For the past few weeks I've been trying out two new tablets from Dell that illustrate how PC makers are trying to catch up on tablets. The first one, the Dell Venue, is based on the older Intel Clover Trail platform and runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It starts at $150 with a 7-inch display, but I tested the 8-inch version, which is $180. I also tested the Venue 8 Pro, which also has an 8-inch display but is based on the newer Intel Bay Trail platform and runs Windows 8.1. It starts at $300.
Dell Venue 8 tablet Image: Dell
There isn't too much to distinguish the Venue from other basic Android tablets, but in a way that's a good thing--it shows that Intel and the PC makers are finally catching up. Like most tablets in this price range, it has a lower resolution display (1,280 by 800 pixels) and the Cloverview processor (a Z2560 dual-core in the Venue 7 and a Z2580 dual-core in the Venue 8) can't match the performance of top-end mobile processors, but it gets the job done. Both also come with 2GB of memory, 16GB of storage, 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, and a microSD card slot. The Venue 7 has a VGA front camera and a 3MP rear one; the Venue 8 has a 2MP front camera and a 5MP rear camera. Neither one will replace your point-and-shoot, but Dell is hardly alone in that regard--most tablets have mediocre cameras.
The Venue isn't as thin and light as a premium tablet such as the iPad Mini, but it still feels perfectly comfortable in the hand and the build quality is fine. And it's not really fair to compare it to tablets that cost more than twice as much anyway. The Dell Venue stacks up well to other Android 4.2 tablets with the same display size and resolution such as the HP Slate 7 Plus (Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core, 1GB plus 8GB storage); Asus MEMO Pad HD 7 (1.2GHz MediaTek MT8125 quad-core, 1GB plus 16GB storage) and MEMO Pad 8 (1.6GHz Rockchip RK3188 quad-core, 1GB plus 16GB storage); and Lenovo IdeaTab S5000 (MediaTek 8125, 1GB plus 16GB storage).
The challenge for all of these is that there are much better Android options available for a bit more, in particular the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX, which both start at $229. But Intel and Dell have succeeded in delivering a competitive Android tablet, and in general, it's remarkable to see how much you can get for less than $200 nowadays.
Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet Image: Dell
The Venue 8 Pro is a bit more interesting since it's one of the first full Windows 8.1 devices at this size and price. The first, the Acer Iconia Tab W3, didn't get great reviews, but since then Acer has announced the updated W4 and others are starting to trickle onto the market including the Venue Pro, Lenovo Miix 2 and Toshiba Encore. All of these are based on Intel's Bay Trail platform and have very similar specifications starting with an 8-inch display with a resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels.
The Venue 8 Pro uses the Atom Z3740D quad-core processor while the others list the processor as the Atom Z3740 (though I suspect some of them are using the 3740D as well). There are some differences between the two, but in practice it shouldn't make much difference on these devices. Bay Trail is, however, a big step up from the older Atom platform and it provides the performance to run Windows 8 and common productivity and entertainment applications.
The Venue 8 Pro I tested also came with 2GB of memory and 32GB of storage. Dell also sells this configuration with a case for $340 or with both the case and a wireless keyboard for $390. With the included Microsoft Office and my Windows 8 apps installed, I had only 6GB of storage left--before adding any music or video files (though it has a microSD slot too). So with any of these 8-inch Windows 8 tablets, I would also recommend upgrading to 64GB, which in the case of the Venue Pro adds $50 to the price. Finally there's an active stylus pen, which came with my test unit, but costs an extra $30. Put it all together and you are up to $470.
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All of these Windows 8 tablets are a bit bigger and heavier than their Android counterparts, and the Lenovo Miix 2 appears to be the thinnest and lightest of the bunch, but the Venue 8 Pro is only 9mm thick and weighs 395 grams. The Acer Iconia W4 and Toshiba Encore are both bulkier, though they have some additional features such as mini-HDMI out, and on the Encore a larger battery and 8MP camera. The Venue 8 Pro gets by with the standard 2MP front camera and 5MP rear camera.
The Windows 8.1 update is a significant improvement for these types of devices with new tile sizes, a Start button, touch-optimized versions of more Control Panel settings, and a bunch of new and updated Microsoft apps. With a few exceptions, most major apps are now available for Windows 8--recent high-profile additions include SlingPlayer, Mint, Flipboard and Facebook. The inclusion of Office Home and Student 2013 adds real value--it sells for $140 separately--though keep in mind that this version doesn't include Outlook.
But there are still some rough edges with Windows on small devices. Most are little nuisances. For example, the onscreen keyboard covers much of the screen making it awkward to enter information such as usernames and passwords in text boxes. But there's also one big issue: with the exception of OneNote, Microsoft has yet to release "modern," touch-optimized versions of its Office apps. For now it just doesn't make sense to get one of these Windows 8 tablets without a stylus, keyboard or both. (There's a reason Microsoft pushes the keyboard so hard with its own Surface devices.)
The Venue 8 Pro has a few quirks too. The Windows Start screen button is on the side, rather than on the front like other Windows 8 PCs and tablets, which takes some getting used to. It's tricky to figure out how to click, right-click and double-click on items using the stylus, and it sometimes didn't work at all. And while the display is excellent, with a brightness rating of 400 nits, the feature that adjusts the display for ambient light to save battery left it far too dim, so I ended up turning it off. (Note that Dell just released an update for the ambient light sensor which should address this.)
Overall these are minor issues, and I really liked the Venue 8 Pro. It isn't for everyone, but the concept of a tablet that can also run Office and other Windows desktop applications holds a lot of promise.
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Price drop: Latest Kindles have never been this cheap on Amazon
These are historic-low prices.
iPhone trade-in values: Apple cuts what you get by up to $100 globally
Apple now offers about 15% to 17% less for your old iPhone when you upgrade to a new one.
CES 2020 wrap-up, Vantage V updates, mobile minimalism (MobileTechRoundup show #490)
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Jabra followed up its Elite 75t fully wireless earbuds with the Active version for athletes. A few significant software updates will be coming in 2020 that make the Elite Active 75t ...
The Brydge Pro+ is an iPad Pro keyboard with an integrated trackpad and it looks amazing
It's the first iPad keyboard accessory we've seen that takes advantage of mouse and trackpad support in iPadOS.


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Beach Update: Teams Chosen for World Games
By B.J. Hoeptner Evans (bj.evans@usav.org) | September 12, 2019 , 09:32 PM (MDT)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 12, 2019) – Twelve U.S. women's and men's beach volleyball players will represent the United States at the ANOC World Beach Games on Oct. 12-16 in Qatar.
Each beach volleyball team at the World Beach Games will have four players with two substitutes.
On the women's side, the United States will send Karissa Cook, Emily Hartong, Kelly Reeves, Katherine Spieler, Geena Urango and Allie Wheeler.
For the men, Brian Cook, Taylor Crabb, Troy Field, Maddison McKibbin, Riley McKibbin and Casey Patterson are scheduled to compete.
Both the women's and men's fields will include teams from eight countries.
The U.S. women's pool will include teams from Brazil, Czech Republic and Nigeria. The other pool will include Australia, Canada, Vanuatu and Gambia.
The U.S. men's pool will include teams from Qatar, Germany and Indonesia. The other pool will contain teams from Poland, Chile, Australia and Mozambique.
The ANOC World Beach Games is a global multi-sport event that was created by ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committees) and launched in 2015.
The event was designed to connect new sports and news stars with a new generation of sports fans.
THOUGHTS FROM ROME
Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb had a great run at the FIVB World Tour Finals in Rome. They won their pool, beating Italy's top-seeded Paolo Nicolai/Daniele Lupo, 23-21, 17-21, 15-8. After winning second- and third-round matches, they fell to Germany's Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler in the semifinals, 26-24, 21-17.
"I'm bummed," Gibb said. "I had a swing for the set at 21-20 and I don't know. My sideout was a little bit off and that was the biggest difference."
"They just kept the pressure on us," Crabb added. "They had two really good float serves and we struggled passing and that will always put pressure on your sideout if you can't pass."
In the bronze-medal match, they lost to Norway's powerhouse Anders Mol/Christian Sorum, 21-16, 21-15.
FINAL RESULTS IN ROME
1 Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy RUS
2 Thole/Wickler GER
3 Mol/Sorum NOR
4 Ta. Crabb/Gibb USA
17T. Lucena/Dalhausser USA
25T. Tr. Crabb/Bourne
DNQ Slick/Allen
DNQ Priddy/Brunner
1 Ludwig/Kozuch GER
2 Agatha/Duda BRA
3 Ana Patricia/Rebecca BRA
9T Claes/Sponcil
9T Klineman/A Ross
9T Larsen/Stockman
17T Sweat/Walsh Jennings
DNQ Day/Flint
OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION RACE
The 2019 FIVB World Tour ended with the Finals in Rome on Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
Taylor Crabb/Jake Gibb grabbed a fourth-place finish, which came with $16,000 and 840 points toward qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Crabb/Gibb are in third place among U.S. men's teams trying to qualify and they are 17th overall with 5,100 Olympic qualifying points.
Teams in the top 15 of the FIVB Olympic rankings qualify automatically for the Olympic Games. If there are more than two teams from a country in the top 15, then only the top two qualify.
Teams must compete in at least 12 qualifying events during the qualification period, which runs Sept. 1, 2018-June 14, 2020.
U.S. WOMEN'S PROVISIONAL OLYMPIC RANKINGS
1 Alix Klineman/April Ross (2nd overall) 8,760
2 Kerri Walsh Jennings/Brooke Sweat (5th overall) 6,780
3 Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil (7th overall) 6,560
4 Kelley Larsen/Emily Stockman (9th overall) 6,040
U.S. MEN'S PROVISIONAL OLYMPIC RANKINGS
1 Trevor Crabb/Tri Bourne (11th overall) 5,960
2 Nick Lucena/Phil Dalhausser (16th overall, need two events to be in the running) 5,360
3 Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb (17th overall, need two events to be in the running) 5,100
FIVB Women's Provisional Olympic Rankings – FIVB Men's Provisional Olympic Rankings
Emily Hartong/Geena Urango and Brandon Joyner/Michael Boag will compete for the U.S. on Sept. 13-15 at the NORCECA Tour event in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The AVP will hold its Hawaii Open on Sept. 20-22 in Waikiki.
Melissa Fuchs/Lindsey Fuller and Aurora Davis/Allie Wheeler along with Travis Mewhirter/Kyle Friend and Chris Austin/Kris Johnson will compete for the U.S. on Sept. 27-29 at the NORCECA Tour event in Bonaire.


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Stephen Colbert Roasts Mark Zuckerberg, David Fincher at NBR Gala
Jesse Eisenberg also said that the Facebook CEO is "frightening and frightened" as he accepted his award for best actor.
By Georg Szalai
Georg Szalai
International Business Editor
More Stories by Georg
Spotify Hits 205M Paying Subs, Grows Ad Revenue, But Loss Widens Amid Higher Expenses
Jesse Eisenberg survived a lengthy audition process with director David Fincher to nab the lead role of Mark Zuckerberg.
NEW YORK – "With The Social Network, David Fincher has done what many said was impossible: he peeled America away from Facebook long enough to watch an entire movie about Facebook." Then people re-connected to Facebook to 'like' the movie.
That was one of a slew of punchlines by Stephen Colbert as he introduced The Social Network, which won the best film honor, at Tuesday night's star-studded National Board of Review awards gala here. Winners were previously announced.
It also featured a range of comments on Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was not in attendance, and a snow storm that started during the gala.
Sony Veteran Martin Bachmann Joins Constantin Film Executive Board
Facebook Allows Donald Trump Back on Platform
"[The Social Network] has been a huge success, grossing $94 million domestically," Colbert also said. "$94 million. To put that in perspective: That is only $6 million less than Mark Zuckerberg gave to the Newark school system to seem like less of a jerk after the release of The Social Network."
And he shared this thought on why the film is worthy of awards season attention. "Finally, a film that tells the gripping tale behind a technological breakthrough that allows people I barely remember from middle school update me on the pants they just bought," he said.
The release by Sony's Columbia Pictures picked up four awards at the gala, including for best adapted screenplay for Aaron Sorkin, best director for Fincher and best actor for Jesse Eisenberg.
"Tonight, we honor the story of a young nerd who beat the odds to make a fortune – David Fincher," Colbert quipped to more laughs.
And he asked the crowd: "What is it about fast-talking megalomaniacal assholes and Aaron Sorkin that just fits!?"
In accepting his award, Eisenberg, who was welcomed on stage with much applause and many cheers, said playing Zuckerberg allowed him great range given that the Facebook founder is "frightening and frightened at the same time."
Producer Scott Rudin accepted the best film award, thanking his team and Zuckerberg, whom he called a good sport. He earlier told The Hollywood Reporter that it would be great to see Zuckerberg attend the Academy Awards. "I hope he does," Rudin said. "It would be wonderful if he did."
In other acceptance speeches, Jennifer Lawrence, who was honored as breakthrough performer, thanked Oliver Platt for introducing her and being a great partner on X-Men: First Class. "Working with you was like a puppy licking my face," she said.
"Mistress of Ceremonies" and Today co-host Meredith Vieira followed Lawrence by promising: "I'll try that line on Matt Lauer tomorrow."
Fincher's acceptance speech gave her another idea for a comment for Lauer, she said. Without his group of collaborators, Fincher said "I'd only be an asshole with a lot of opinions."
Bill Murray also earned his share of laughs as he introduced Sofia Coppola who won her second NBR special filmmaking achievement award. "They told me I have two minutes," he said as the show was running long. "I'm going to pop this Red Hot [candy] to finish in two minutes."
He ended his speech on an edgy note, calling the father of Coppola's kids, Thomas Mars, the French lead singer of rock band Phoenix, "the only Frenchmen who could ever play Rock'n'Roll." Said Murray: "Fuck Johnny Hallyday. Pardon my French!"
With another snow storm predicted for the awards night, Colbert opened his comments, the final introduction speech of the night, with a joke about New York's slow clean-up after the recent holiday season snow.
"I bring you news from outside," the comedian said. "The first flakes have started falling – and New York has devolved into a post-apocalyptic cannibal culture."
Mark Wahlberg's introduction of Christian Bale and Bale's comments also got the audience's attention Tuesday night.
When he saw Bale in his first movie, he noticed his blue-collar storyline, which also seemed fitting for their work in The Fighter.
Wahlberg quipped he'd "blue-collar" Bale any day of the week though. "I've been in prison, dude. Come on!" he said before turning serious. "Unfortunately that part is true. I won't go back."
Bale said the latest Batman film is next for him, but he is still in the mode of his Fighter character Dickie since he hasn't played any other roles since. "I'm interested to see how Chris Nolan takes Dickie in a Batsuit," quipped Bale.
The snowstorm once again came up in his speech, as Bale mentioned that he, Wahlberg and the rest of their table would have to run off right after they get off stage to make it out of town – or risk being stuck. Bale mentioned he particularly needs to return to LA to work on screen tests for possible Batman co-stars.


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12 reasons why you should subscribe to The Greenville News
Stay informed and do your part in supporting local journalism by subscribing to The Greenville News.
12 reasons why you should subscribe to The Greenville News Stay informed and do your part in supporting local journalism by subscribing to The Greenville News. Check out this story on greenvilleonline.com: https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2018/12/04/12-reasons-why-you-should-subscribe-greenville-news/2191532002/
The Greenville News Published 7:00 a.m. ET Dec. 4, 2018 | Updated 4:19 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2018
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You can play a vital role in supporting trusted, local journalism. By subscribing to The Greenville News, you help our journalists hold those in power accountable for making changes in our community. Better still, you can get the information you need to keep your family and friends safe, healthy and informed.
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Rocket Surgery, a creative cocktail restaurant by the owners of Sidewall Pizza, has closed
Camperdown plaza, hotel, apartments on Main in Greenville on track for late summer finish
Local group calls on county to rescind 1996 anti-gay resolution


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Which iPhone?
Top Android phones
Top budget phones
Which mid-range phone?
Upcoming phones
Phone news
OnePlus phone news
OnePlus is going to show off a 5G phone later this month
Dan Grabham | 11 February 2019
Best Samsung Galaxy S10 deals July 2019: 30GB for £30/m on EE
- Demo set to take place at Mobile World Congress
We already knew that OnePlus was developing a 5G phone but now it has confirmed it will be bringing 5G handsets to Mobile World Congress (MWC) late this month.
In an email, OnePlus confirmed to Pocket-lint that attendees to the show will be able to "connect and communicate with our community over a 5G network".
We're not entirely sure what that involves, but there will also be a gaming demo over a 5G network, too: "attendees will also be able to experience the capabilities of 5G gaming on a OnePlus 5G prototype."
OnePlus 5G phone release date, rumours and features
So that means we'll definitely see a OnePlus 5G phone there of some type - OnePlus confirmed it would be doing a 5G phone last autumn while OnePlus and Qualcomm announced in December that it would use Qualcomm's own Snapdragon 855 platform alongside the X50 modem.
At CES 2019, Qualcomm had a handful of prototype handsets on its booth including one from OnePlus' parent company Oppo, labelled as the Find X 5G.
The OnePlus 7 is not being announced at MWC - we're expecting that later in the Spring or early Summer. What's not clear is whether OnePlus' 5G phone will be a variant of the OnePlus 7 or a completely different device.
Qualcomm designed the X50 modem as an "add-on" chip separate to the main 855 platform. That means we'll see two versions of some phones this year, one with and one without the X50.
5G networks are set to launch in mid-to-late 2019 both in the UK and US.
What is 5G, when is it coming, how fast is it and what 5G phones will launch in 2019
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is now available on EE who have been awarded the UK's best network for the fifth year running. RootMetrics tested the four UK networks and EE was faster and more reliable than all of them, with better data performance. Their network has come a long way since they launched in 2012. Back then they had 11 UK cities covered by 4G. Today they cover most of the UK's land mass, thanks to 19,000 state-of-the-art 4G sites. They've got faster, too – from 50Mbps to a maximum speed of 400Mbps. And they're soon to experience even greater possibilities with the launch of 5G.
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PopularIn Phones
Apple iPhone 2019: Release date, features, news and rumours for the iPhone XI
What's 5G on Vodafone UK like? Here are the speeds you should expect
YouTubers are already showing off 'dummy' models of the iPhone 11
Nokia feature phone spotted running a lightweight custom version of Android
Best smartphones 2019: The top mobile phones available to buy today


text:
Abraham Lincoln historical digitization project (809) + -
Illinois during the Gilded Age (57) + -
Prairie Fire (16) + -
Mark Twain's Mississippi (14) + -
books (880) + -
manuscripts (document genre) (20) + -
memoirs (8) + -
speeches (7) + -
biographies (documents) (4) + -
proceedings (4) + -
autobiographies (2) + -
clippings (information artifacts) (2) + -
announcements (1) + -
bibliographies (1) + -
obituaries (1) + -
songs (document genre) (1) + -
Davis, Rodney O., ed. (377) + -
Wilson, Douglas L., ed. (377) + -
Lincoln, Abraham (340) + -
Hay, John, ed (316) + -
Nicolay, John G., ed (283) + -
Altgeld, John P (39) + -
Nicolay, John G, ed (33) + -
Taylor, Zachary (33) + -
Hanks, Dennis F (22) + -
Rutherford, Hiram (19) + -
Davis, Rodney O. (17) + -
Wilson, Douglas L. (17) + -
Greene, William G (13) + -
Ellis, Abner Y (10) + -
Speed, Joshua F (10) + -
Turnham, David (10) + -
Whitney, Henry C (10) + -
Grigsby, Nathaniel (8) + -
Pierce, Edward L (8) + -
Rutledge, Robert B (8) + -
Friend, Charles (7) + -
Lincoln, Robert T (7) + -
Campbell, A. (Alexander), 1814-1898 (6) + -
Crawford, Elizabeth (6) + -
Davis, David (6) + -
Political campaigns--United States--History (56) + -
Presidential candidates--United States--History (39) + -
Presidents--United States--History (39) + -
United States--Politics and government--History (39) + -
Black Hawk War, 1832 (24) + -
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United States--Politics and government --1857-1861 (16) + -
De Kalb (Ill. : Township) (7) + -
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(-) ≠ Thomsen-Ellis Company
(-) ≠ Gebelentz, Georg von der, 1840-1893
(-) ≠ articles
(-) ≠ Ayre, Ivor E.
(-) ≠ Vanderhoof, Kate
(-) ≠ guidebooks
'Letter to James A. Briggs, November 13, 1859' in 'The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 5'
Lincoln, Abraham, Nicolay, John G., ed, Hay, John, ed
'Elizabeth Crawford to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Crawford, Elizabeth
'David Turnham to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Turnham, David
'Letter to E. B. Washburne, December 13, 1860' in 'The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 6'
'Abner Y. Ellis to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Ellis, Abner Y
'Letter to Mr. Williams, March 1, 1845' in 'The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 1'
Lincoln, Abraham, Nicolay, John G, ed, Hay, John, ed
'Mary Owens Vineyard to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Vineyard, Mary Owens
'John Rowbotham to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Rowbotham, John
'Letter to John Bennett, January 16, 1846' in 'The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 1'
'William Walker to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Walker, William
'Grant Goodrich to William H. Herndon' in 'Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements About Abraham Lincoln'
Wilson, Douglas L., ed., Davis, Rodney O., ed., Goodrich, Grant
'Opinion on the Illinois Election Law' in 'The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, v. 2'
Letter of Dr. Hiram Rutherford to John Bowman, November 24, 1844. Oakland
Rutherford, Hiram


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Wedded Bliss
Are Indians Marrying The Right Person?
By Urvija Banerji
Do you believe in soulmates? It's the cliched question that crops up in rom-coms, on matrimonial websites, and even on first dates. If our survey on the state of modern Indian marriage is anything to go by, there is indeed a right person out there for almost everyone.
In an overwhelming majority, 92 of our 131 survey respondents said they had definitely married the right person. An additional two said "yes and no," they had and they hadn't married the right person. Two more said they sometimes felt they'd married the wrong person, 12 didn't know, and 23 said no, they'd married the wrong person.
Of the women who thought they'd married the right one (respondents were 93% female), a few expressed the idea that they wouldn't be able to find someone else who would want to be with them. "He is able to deal with my stress in ways I don't think anyone else can," wrote a woman who'd been married for eight years. "He's very patient with me – I am a very moody person and not many people will tolerate it," wrote another, who'd been married for four.
"I love him (often confirmed by how I feel were I to imagine a life without him)," said one respondent. "Also, he's a great person, and just living with him, helps me keep my [conscience] in check, and also aspire to be a better person. We both learn a lot from each other – healthy dialogue, discussion and debate."
Values lining up — especially feminist values — often gave an indication of whether or not a woman felt that her husband was 'The One.' "Definitely," wrote one woman. "He is a true feminist and very understanding."
"Sometimes yes and sometimes no," said a woman who got married two years ago. "Yes when he tolerates my stupidities and mistakes… no when he pressurises [sic] me to change my ideologies, act superficial and do things which I don't like — e.g. Doing rituals I don't believe in… when he and his family [don't] seem to appreciate concept of individuality, manners, freedom and healthy space."
"Yes," said one woman. "Sufficiently modern outlook, gives me space, handles in-laws effectively."
One woman conceded that it was hard to tell when you have little to compare it with. She was in an arranged marriage of 35 years and said she'd married the right person, but added, "don't know any different" with a winky face. Others had a more nonchalant attitude: "Yes because no one is perfect and this is the best probably," one respondent said.
"It's not like you get to try various options before getting married," said one woman who didn't know if she was married to the right person. "You can't really know a person unless you live with them 24×7 and then you don't have anything to compare it with. So I think given the circumstances I made the most optimum decision in marrying him."
A woman who'd had an arranged marriage four years ago found that her husband didn't live up to her hopes. "I thought marriage would change him as a husband and I will find my best friend in him with the same craziness and fun loving nature as mine," she said. "But, alas!"
Though her arranged marriage had led to disappointment, people in arranged marriages were almost as likely to believe they were married to the right partner. They were, however, slightly more likely to definitely feel like they'd married the wrong person — 13 out of the 60 respondents in arranged marriages felt confident they had not found 'The One.'
"He is not marriage material," said one woman in an arranged marriage of 16 years. Her husband, she wrote, only likes to be by himself or with his friends.
Two women knew they weren't with the right person specifically because they were cheated on. One of these woman wrote that her husband was a "big cheater." Their marriage had been arranged, and they'd been together for 13 years. "He cheated on me.. [sic]" wrote the other. She'd been married 12 years, but it was a love marriage. The topic they most often fought about was infidelity.
Seven out of the nine male respondents said they felt they'd married 'The One.' "I strongly believe that God guides you to your soulmate and we need to learn how to strike a balance in the marriage," wrote a man in a 14 year old marriage. "We amplify each other's strengths and protect each other from our weaknesses," said another. One simply wrote, "I think we complement each other perfectly."
Some respondents did reject the idea of a 'right person,' or a soulmate. But they remained optimistic about growing together with their partners. "There's no right person. Because people change. We have a very deep friendship and trust in each other that trumps all else," one woman wrote. "Sexual chemistry has always been something we relied on and as we get older, it is still evolving so that's interesting in terms of a life journey. We married young, we had kids without really thinking about it and we struggle with a lot of things. But we both believe the other is a good person and on our team when it comes down to it. So that's the 'as right as possible' option I think."
"I don't really believe in 'soulmates,'" said another. "I think marriage takes work no matter who it is with, and that it's possible to make a life work with someone other than whom you married. I think it's easier to say when someone's married the 'wrong' person, rather than when someone's married the 'right' person. BUT, that being said, if you're lucky enough to come across one person in this world that you're willing to work for, I would consider yourself super lucky. To cut to the chase, I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to meet, grow up with, and marry my husband. And I'm willing to work on us forever!"
Written By Urvija Banerji
Urvija Banerji is the Features Editor at The Swaddle, and has previously written for Rolling Stone India and Atlas Obscura. When she's not writing, she can be found in her kitchen, painting, cooking, picking fights online, and consuming large amounts of coffee (often concurrently).
See all articles by Urvija
Latest Family articles
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Forest Knight (KNIGHT)
Buy / Sell Forest Knight
KNIGHT Twitter
N/A $156,299 N/A
Forest Knight current price is $0.0126 with a marketcap of N/A. Its price is -1.24% down in last 24 hours.
Forest Knight is a Play-to-Earn mobile game powered by Ethereum & Polygon Layer 2. This Free-to-Play Turn-Based Strategy game allows players to build their own team of brave heroes that have all traveled from different realms to join the battle against the Skeleton Master. Your goal is to level up your heroes and equip them with unique and powerful NFTs to aid them in this journey.During this long journey, you will challenge other knights of the kingdom in the PvP Arena for great rewards, join guilds with like-minded knights and fight in mass battles versus other guilds, train your own pets and gain $KNIGHT tokens every step of the way.If you haven't tried our game yet, feel free to try the public Early Access of Forest KnightThe $KNIGHT token is a native, utility token used for:Marketplace TradingUpgrading & Merging NFTsStaking in BuildingsGuild Wars BountiesPVP Tournament EntriesBlockchain Pet EvolutionWhat makes Forest Knight Unique?By adopting a Free-to-Play model, in Forest Knight, you will be able to play the game and earn both NFTs and Tokens, without having to invest anything but time. No large initial deposits, no odd subscription models. The team is focused on enriching the player's experience by adding many fun and unique features and not just rely on NFTs to make it look cool. You can always find something fun and productive to do in Forest Knight.Balancing the PVP and PVE features of the game, the developers are focused on creating a journey for all types of players - casuals and hardcore grinders. For players that love the PVE experience, we have Adventure Mode, a series of missions culminating in the fight against the Skeleton Master. And for the players that really just want to fight other players, we have the Arena and Guild Wars.The game features a deceptively simple presentation with eye-catching fantasy graphics that conceal deep strategic structure and tactical nuance underneath. As you progress through the game, you'll recruit new heroes to join you in the battle to protect the realms, each with their own strengths and weaknesses (plus weapons and accessories) that provide varying advantages and drawbacks against enemy teams.Ultimately, the team wants to create an enjoyable game whose experience is enhanced by NFT collectibles and not the other way around. Earning money from playing should just be a byproduct of enjoying yourself while playing the game, which is exactly what Chrono Games aims to do with Forest Knight.


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Semur-en-Auxois és un municipi francès del departament de la Costa d'Or, a la regió de Borgonya - Franc Comtat.

Referències

Municipis de la Costa d'Or


text:
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