What do Warren Buffett's stock projections mean for your that mean for retirement savings??Save plenty for retirement, Hamm writes, and start saving now.
By Trent Hamm,?Guest blogger / May 6, 2013
Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., speaks during the Economic Club of Washington's 25th anniversary celebration dinner in Washington. Buffett's stock market predictions can help guide retirement savings decisions.
Cliff Owen/AP/File
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A few weeks ago, I?discussed?a?Bloomberg article?about Warren Buffett?s projections for the stock market over the long term. Here?s a refresher on what Buffett said:
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The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.
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?The economy, as measured by gross domestic product, can be expected to grow at an annual rate of about 3 percent over the long term, and inflation of 2 percent would push nominal GDP growth to 5 percent, Buffett said. Stocks will probably rise at about that rate and dividend payments will boost total returns to 6 percent to 7 percent, he said.?
Let?s assume that Buffett is exactly right with his predictions. What does that mean for retirement savings?
First, we have to make a few assumptions. Let?s assume that you?re going to want to be able to withdraw 60% of your salary each year for 25 years out of your retirement savings when you retire, so we?ll use that as a target amount.?
It will probably come as no surprise to my readers that we will be thinking about starting our family in the near future.
Being a complete 'worry wart', I am trying to read up on every thing I possibly can when it comes to pregnancy.?Hand over a fresh new born baby to me and I thinkI could cope pretty well having grown up with baby cousins and since had three nephews to help out with. However, throw me in to a pregnancy situation (not to mention the actual birth), I would be terrified at the daunting prospect!
When I was asked if I would like to review the "Happy, Healthy Pregnancy - 50 Things You Really Need to Know" book by Ali Monaghan (an author who has a masters degree in midwifery,?a young family?and has delivered over 400 babies) I was intrigued. What would this book offer that those I had already seen wouldn't?
The book is condensed into 50 sections - covering everything from announcing your pregnancy to dealing with change in hormones, to safe guarding & baby proofing your home, to birth and everything in between.
There are tips from real life parents which I found really useful - rather than just the 'textbook' style of parenting.
I really like the way that the book has been split into easy to digest sections. I have been able to pick the book up and read a section at?a time without having to take in lots of information filled with?medical terms that are difficult to understand (and will probably make me worry even more!)
We were also sent the "Fantastic First-Time Father - 50 Things You Really Need to Know" by Tim Mungeam (the Chief Executive of Springboard for Children, Director of Dads Unlimited, Father of three sons and married to a midwife)
So I am told by my husband, this book is also written in 50 sections - digestible bite sized chunks. A book that can be picked up as and when, to be referred to when needed. With real life experience tips it is a great guide for first time Dads to help them feel prepared and helpful during the pregnancy.
After flicking through both of these books, I will definitely be reading through them in more detail?as and when our time comes. I can see them being used as reference & reassurance guides quite a lot!
"Happy, Healthy Pregnancy - 50 Things You Really Need to Know" is currently available on Amazon for ?6.89
"Fantastic First-Time Father - 50 Things You Really Need to Know" is currently available on Amazon for ?7.99
Disclaimer: I was sent?a copy of both books?for the purpose of this review. All words are honest and my own
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? Members of a Catholic church where three people were stabbed during Mass a week ago launched an effort on Sunday to raise money for victims hurt in the attack.
The start of the campaign came as Sunday services resumed at St. Jude Thaddeus Church. Parishioners were also collecting cards and well wishes to give to families.
"God is working in and through all of life's circumstances," a message seeking donations said on the church's website. "Thank you for your prayers and concern and for answering God's call."
Police said Lawrence Capener stabbed three people on April 28 as Mass was ending because he thought a choir leader was a Mason. He has been charged with aggravated battery and was being held on $250,000 bail.
Santa Fe Archbishop Michael Sheehan re-consecrated the Albuquerque church on Wednesday by sprinkling holy water and spreading incense through the building. The move was part of a Catholic ritual required after a sacrilege has been committed at a church.
St. Jude Thaddeus' pastor, the Rev. John Daniel, said he believes parishioners have already forgiven Capener and continued to pray for him and his family.
"What can you do? This is what we are taught to do," he said.
Capener, 24, told police that he also tagged the Sandoval No. 76 Masonic Lodge in Rio Rancho with spray paint just before the stabbing attack, authorities said.
Police later found red and blue spray paint on signs, outside walls and a door. Investigators said he also left the message, "I hope you guess who I am."
Parishioners said they rarely saw Capener attend services but were aware that his mother is active in the church, which is on the city's Westside.
(Reuters) - Business software maker BMC Software Inc, whose anemic growth has been a source of frustration for its largest shareholder, said it would be taken private by a group led by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital for about $6.9 billion.
Elliott Management, which owns 9.6 percent of BMC and had been pushing for a sale for more than a year, had argued that BMC's management was neglecting the huge opportunity to expand into the fast-growing cloud computing market.
"Going private will be very positive for them because it will enable them to make the changes that were necessary, that were much difficult when you are a public company," Lazard Capital Markets analyst Joel Fishbein said.
BMC has some catching up to do in a market now dominated by Salesforce.com Inc and where Oracle Corp, SAP AG and Microsoft Corp are investing heavily.
BMC's revenue is expected to have grown just 3 percent in the year ended March 31 to $2.23 billion, after growth of just 5 percent the previous year. BMC reports fourth-quarter results on Tuesday.
Elliott, Paul Singer's activist hedge fund, succeeded in adding two directors to BMC's board last year after a proxy battle.
The offer price of $46.25 per share represents a premium of less than 2 percent to BMC's Friday close of $45.42.
The stock has risen 4.5 percent since March 21, when Reuters reported that private equity groups were looking to buy the company.
BMC shares were trading at $45.50, up 8 cents, by midday on the Nasdaq.
BMC has two main divisions. The enterprise services management business manages networks, databases and storage and brings in nearly two-thirds of total revenue, but has stagnated over the years.
The mainframe services management unit, which helps automate data center operations, has grown slowly but is a cash cow that could help the new owners maximize profits.
The private equity group also includes GIC Special Investments Pte Ltd, part of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and Insight Venture Partners, a New York investment firm that focuses on software and internet businesses.
"I think they will streamline the business, focus on the higher growth areas, either divest or spin off some of the unproductive businesses," Fishbein said, adding that he expects it will take 12-18 months to "right-size" the business.
Under the sale agreement, Houston-based BMC has a "go-shop" provision that allows it to seek alternative proposals within 30 days. Analysts said it was unlikely BMC would get better offers.
BMC, which also competes with CA Inc and Compuware Corp, said the deal is expected to close later this year. Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets and Barclays have agreed to provide debt financing for the deal.
Morgan Stanley & Co LLC and BofA Merrill Lynch were financial advisers to BMC, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was legal counsel.
Qatalyst Partners, Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets and Barclays served as financial advisers to the buyers, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel.
Sidley Austin LLP was legal adviser to GIC and Willkie Farr & Gallager LLP was legal adviser for Insight Venture Partners.
(Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Aditya Kondalamahanty in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutesPublic release date: 6-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michelle Ma mcma@uw.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington
Take a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device.
University of Washington engineers and NanoFacture, a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.
The device will give hospitals and research labs a much easier way to separate DNA from human fluid samples, which will help with genome sequencing, disease diagnosis and forensic investigations.
"It's very complex to extract DNA," said Jae-Hyun Chung, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering who led the research. "When you think of the current procedure, the equivalent is like collecting human hairs using a construction crane."
This technology aims to clear those hurdles. The small, box-shaped kit now is ready for manufacturing, then eventual distribution to hospitals and clinics. NanoFacture, a UW spinout company, signed a contract with Korean manufacturer KNR Systems last month at a ceremony in Olympia, Wash.
The UW, led by Chung, spearheaded the research and invention of the technology, and still manages the intellectual property.
Separating DNA from bodily fluids is a cumbersome process that's become a bottleneck as scientists make advances in genome sequencing, particularly for disease prevention and treatment. The market for DNA preparation alone is about $3 billion each year.
Conventional methods use a centrifuge to spin and separate DNA molecules or strain them from a fluid sample with a micro-filter, but these processes take 20 to 30 minutes to complete and can require excessive toxic chemicals.
UW engineers designed microscopic probes that dip into a fluid sample saliva, sputum or blood and apply an electric field within the liquid. That draws particles to concentrate around the surface of the tiny probe. Larger particles hit the tip and swerve away, but DNA-sized molecules stick to the probe and are trapped on the surface. It takes two or three minutes to separate and purify DNA using this technology.
"This simple process removes all the steps of conventional methods," Chung said.
The hand-held device can clean four separate human fluid samples at once, but the technology can be scaled up to prepare 96 samples at a time, which is standard for large-scale handling.
The tiny probes, called microtips and nanotips, were designed and built at the UW in a micro-fabrication facility where a technician can make up to 1 million tips in a year, which is key in proving that large-scale production is feasible, Chung said.
Engineers in Chung's lab also have designed a pencil-sized device using the same probe technology that could be sent home with patients or distributed to those serving in the military overseas. Patients could swab their cheeks, collect a saliva sample, then process their DNA on the spot to send back to hospitals and labs for analysis. This could be useful as efforts ramp up toward sequencing each person's genome for disease prevention and treatment, Chung said.
The market for this device isn't developed yet, but Chung's team will be ready when it is. Meanwhile, the larger device is ready for commercialization, and its creators have started working with distributors.
A UW Center for Commercialization grant of $50,000 seeded initial research in 2008, and since then researchers have received about $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Sang-gyeun Ahn, a UW assistant professor of industrial design, crafted the prototype.
###
For more information, contact Chung at jae71@uw.edu or 206-543-4355.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutesPublic release date: 6-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michelle Ma mcma@uw.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington
Take a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device.
University of Washington engineers and NanoFacture, a Bellevue, Wash., company, have created a device that can extract human DNA from fluid samples in a simpler, more efficient and environmentally friendly way than conventional methods.
The device will give hospitals and research labs a much easier way to separate DNA from human fluid samples, which will help with genome sequencing, disease diagnosis and forensic investigations.
"It's very complex to extract DNA," said Jae-Hyun Chung, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering who led the research. "When you think of the current procedure, the equivalent is like collecting human hairs using a construction crane."
This technology aims to clear those hurdles. The small, box-shaped kit now is ready for manufacturing, then eventual distribution to hospitals and clinics. NanoFacture, a UW spinout company, signed a contract with Korean manufacturer KNR Systems last month at a ceremony in Olympia, Wash.
The UW, led by Chung, spearheaded the research and invention of the technology, and still manages the intellectual property.
Separating DNA from bodily fluids is a cumbersome process that's become a bottleneck as scientists make advances in genome sequencing, particularly for disease prevention and treatment. The market for DNA preparation alone is about $3 billion each year.
Conventional methods use a centrifuge to spin and separate DNA molecules or strain them from a fluid sample with a micro-filter, but these processes take 20 to 30 minutes to complete and can require excessive toxic chemicals.
UW engineers designed microscopic probes that dip into a fluid sample saliva, sputum or blood and apply an electric field within the liquid. That draws particles to concentrate around the surface of the tiny probe. Larger particles hit the tip and swerve away, but DNA-sized molecules stick to the probe and are trapped on the surface. It takes two or three minutes to separate and purify DNA using this technology.
"This simple process removes all the steps of conventional methods," Chung said.
The hand-held device can clean four separate human fluid samples at once, but the technology can be scaled up to prepare 96 samples at a time, which is standard for large-scale handling.
The tiny probes, called microtips and nanotips, were designed and built at the UW in a micro-fabrication facility where a technician can make up to 1 million tips in a year, which is key in proving that large-scale production is feasible, Chung said.
Engineers in Chung's lab also have designed a pencil-sized device using the same probe technology that could be sent home with patients or distributed to those serving in the military overseas. Patients could swab their cheeks, collect a saliva sample, then process their DNA on the spot to send back to hospitals and labs for analysis. This could be useful as efforts ramp up toward sequencing each person's genome for disease prevention and treatment, Chung said.
The market for this device isn't developed yet, but Chung's team will be ready when it is. Meanwhile, the larger device is ready for commercialization, and its creators have started working with distributors.
A UW Center for Commercialization grant of $50,000 seeded initial research in 2008, and since then researchers have received about $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Sang-gyeun Ahn, a UW assistant professor of industrial design, crafted the prototype.
###
For more information, contact Chung at jae71@uw.edu or 206-543-4355.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
New Jersey poker pro Daniel Buzgon (GPI#116) has been a member of the GPI 300 since October of 2011. ?With the hours he puts in grinding the live tournament, one can wonder how Buzgon finds time to field a team on Fantasy Poker Manager at every event- but he does ? and he?s been quite successful so far.
I met up with Daniel during the Day 1C dinner break here at the Playground Poker Club near Montreal where he is fighting his way into Day 2 play at the PartyPoker WPT Canadian Spring Championship.
?
Thanks for taking the time. ?Let?s start with how things have gone for you here in Montreal, you?re on your third bullet?
I think I?ve been playing pretty well it?s just the last level of Day 1A and 1B have not been pleasant.? Day 1A I lasted until the last 10 minutes to go in the night and then yesterday, I had 80K going into the last level and busted on the very last hand so it?s a little discouraging but these are things you can?t control.
You?re a Top 30 Fantasy Poker Manager, how have you liked the game so far?
It?s been fun, I?ve always liked fantasy sports but I don?t really follow a sport close enough to be competitive.? With poker, I?ve played with many of these guys, it gives me a little edge to know player values.
What?s your strategy when making your picks? ?Do you pile up with the big boys and girls and then fill your roster with value players or do you balance things out?
I guess it depends on the field of the tournament.? With this field (in Montreal), Christian Harder should be a lock with that chip count.? Even if he?s at around 300,000 points, his consistency is second to none.? It?s picks like that that make you win.
You can either get a few home run hitters than can win this or you can pick players who will cash on a consistent basis.
You have been playing several events on the World Poker Tour for the past few months, how do you explain the Matt Salsberg?phenomena?
I?ve started just keeping him on the team.? What he?s been doing is unprecedented.? I got to play with him last week in Jacksonville two tables left.? He just keeps grinding it out, I don?t know how he does it, and it?s impressive.
Do you have any dark horse picks for us?
Off the top of my head, I cannot think of anyone.? But there are so many out there that don?t play tournaments, they just play cash games on the side, they don?t have these results on the ranking system.
That?s one of the benefits, I know a lot of (those) guys or they?re friends of friends so it?s easier for me to see them on leaderboard and see the true value instead of the 10,000 value.
The World Series of Poker is right around the corner, are you starting to get excited?
Next week I?ll be excited.? I?m kind of poker-ed out at the moment.? I?m going to take a few weeks off and get ready for another two months, should be exciting.
Putting you on the spot, why should fans think of you when making their teams for the WSOP?
I?m a consistent player; I?ll go deep a decent amount of times with a good chance to cash.? I?ll probably be playing 20-25 events, hopefully less (with final tables and deep runs!)
?
Thank you, Daniel, best of luck the rest of the way!
Be sure to follow Tim on Twitter @WiLDmAn_75.
?
Ready to add Daniel to your FPM team? ?Head on over to Facebook and signup to play the?GPI Fantasy Poker Manager?? ?FPM is the official Fantasy game of the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker!
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More news and updates? on our?facebook page. You can also?follow us on Twitter!
On January 25, I participated in a review meeting kylin tv of the Higher Education Evaluation. This time to review the matter kylin tv with the Higher Education Evaluation Center is intended to establish the humanities and social sciences reference to database. Nearly 10 years, the National Science Council through the set Humanities Research Center and Social Science Research Center, in an attempt to establish Taiwanese literature Citation Index of (Taiwan Humanities Citation the Index referred THCI) and the Social Science Citation Index database in Taiwan (in Chinese). The purpose of the former by the introduction of the web: on the one hand further by citation analysis to understand the findings of a theme over the years, we can deduce this subject area in future research trends; On the other hand, can be analyzed journals are included in the academic literature, the references kylin tv among each other, in order to assess the influence of journals in the humanities, thus providing researchers as a basis for reference. Unfortunately, until a few days ago, I tried Internet query references the data is still "function is not yet open! Social Science Citation Index database (in Chinese), since its inception in 1999, the main purpose is to analyze the core social kylin tv science journals cited papers of the situation, and to understand the influence of academic journals, as well as social science researchers in the country reference kylin tv to the situation in order to assess the research performance. But so far, this database kylin tv is still the largest selection achievement of academic journals, but still does not refer to the analysis of objective data as a reference only relying on the elements of the form determines journals not included, so caused complain about most. I Internet queries, this database Although crude preparation retrieval kylin tv functions, but nearly a decade of accumulated data, the research of Professor Ye Qizheng total cited only 50 times, most of the writings of the past 10 years an average of only cited once. To this unrepresentative reference to the results, how as a reference of the assessment? This is also the same day, I am particularly reminded the long especially careful reason. Higher Education Evaluation Center are trying to build Taiwan Citation Index (TCI) is, on the journals, and more than Taiwan Social Science Citation Index database; On the quality, screened journals Taiwanese Literature Citation Index. The quality of papers is still unable to overcome, it is important to note. Reference to the creation of a database based analysis papers must assume that academic standards. This is not a problem in the United States, whether it is the SCI, SSCI or A & HCI analysis journals thousand selected. If the non-academic standards, is not likely to be selected. Such a situation in Taiwan, but not necessarily so. A dozen years ago, I guide the students kylin tv made reference, went so far as reference books cited the works, and a non-academic publications shocking core journals! By the study made me realize the papers were published academic standards, not only the quality of papers worthy of consideration the Journal is mixed. So established database, of course, can not make a good paper and influential people stand out. In addition, a few years ago "organized by the reflection (Humanities and Social) Higher Education Academic Evaluation seminar, scholars have pointed out that the Taiwan researchers in fact, seldom used Chinese paper; if references, but also to the country outside thesis majority. If this really is true, the establishment of such a reference database, meaning lie? Of course, that day, the review committee is still certainly need to create this database; as long as the data accumulated for a long time, its role in the analysis of the results. But I remind the will of the country, do not use this database kylin tv performance evaluation of researchers. If we do not reference, in turn throw the papers abroad, the results of such an analysis, reliability and validity lie? How can people be convinced as indicators of the assessment? Seats, I half-band joke half threatening to tell the CEO, Higher Education Evaluation dare such information as the basis of the evaluation, we have a group of people have been waiting for to open a workshop, a good denounce such an assessment mechanism! kylin tv 2008 (22) August (2) July (3) June (4) May (3) April (1) March (2) February (4) the study of everyday life mainland universities will not graduate debt-laden humanities straitjacket January (3) 2007 (47) December (3) November (3) October (4) September (5) August (3) July (5) June (2) May (5) April (5) March (4) February (3) January (5) 2006 (47) December (3) November (5) October (4) September (5) August (4) July (3) June (5) May (4) April (3) March (5) February kylin tv (3) January (3) 2005 (36) December (3) November (4) October (3) September (5) August (2) July (2) June (4) May (2) April (4) March (3) February kylin tv (2) January (2) 2004 (43) December (5) November (3) October (2) September (4) August (3) July (5) June ( 4) May (4) April (4) March (4) February (4) January (1) 2003 (33) December (3) November (1 April (5) March (4) February (3) ) October (3) September (1) July (3) June (3) May (2) January (5) 2002 (3) December kylin tv (1) November (2)
Images popping up across town of a wide-eyed monkey in a bright blue dress mean one thing: the Art and Book Fair is fast approaching.
Cookie, featured in the Donald Roller Wilson painting ?Cookie Had Seen One Before,? has become the new unofficial mascot for the evolving annual event. Now it its 54th year, the affair is organized by the Friends of the Wichita Art Museum to help fund exhibits and programming. Artisans from around the country will be selling high-quality art and fine crafts next weekend at Century II?s Exhibition Hall as an expanded offering of activities augments a local Mother?s Day weekend tradition.
?It?s a very festive atmosphere,? said Scott Hampel, Friends of the Wichita Art Museum chairman. ?We wanted to include as many things as possible so the whole family has something to enjoy, and we?ve definitely done that this year.
?It?s fun, it?s enjoyable. It?s part indoors, part outdoors. It?s art for the ears, art for the taste buds and art for the eyes.?
Coinciding with the Wichita River Festival before its move to June in 2011, this will be the third year that the Art and Book Fair has operated as a standalone event. Organizers say this opens up more space, and they?ve been working to enhance the programming for the weekend.
This year, they are doing more to reach out to local artists, as well as expanding the scope of art to include a car show, music and offerings from Wichita?s culinary scene.
?We?ve really become a festival all on our own,? said Joanna Ramondetta, a member of the planning committee. ?There is something for everyone. There?s the chalk art, there?s the children?s activities, there?s the car show, and then, of course, the traditional art. We have really tried to make this a destination event.?
Building on a component introduced last year, the British Car Club of Wichita will exhibit automobiles outside Century II on Kennedy Plaza both Saturday and Sunday. Hampel said this helped draw in some new people last year, as many came to see the cars and discovered the art inside.
Also on the plaza will be students from area high schools doing chalk art on sidewalks and on easels. Ramondetta said this is a great way to get community and emerging artists involved.
?We?ve really been trying to reach out to the local arts community more,? she said. ?We have such incredible talent here and wanted to give them another way to participate if they aren?t showing inside Century II.?
Food trucks, including The Flying Stove and Cake Face, will serve outside throughout the weekend.
Though they wouldn?t give away too many details, Hampel and Ramondetta teased that Cookie has a surprise in store for everyone who assembles outside at 1 p.m. Saturday. They said the happening will be a first for the fair, and that people will want to be there to see it.
Inside Exhibition Hall, more than 100 artists will sell an array of works, including paintings, photos, prints, jewelry, drawings, ceramics and sculpture. About one-third of the artists this year are new, a fact Hampel said speaks to the reputation of the juried exhibition. Prizes will be awarded to artists in several categories, with prize money being donated by the Wichita Arts Council.
The book component of the fair will take place on the balcony, where thousands of books covering all interests and genres will be for sale. Prices range from 50 cents to $10. An early bird shopping special will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Buyers wanting first pick of the lot can pay an admission fee of $5 to be among the first to sift through the offerings. This is the only portion of the fair that has a fee associated with it. Admission to the book sale and art showing is otherwise free.
Local musicians, including Bruce Huss, Bruce Ward, Tom Martin and Trevor Stewart, will play throughout the weekend as attendees shop. Kernels Popcorn Express, Cero?s Chocolate, Adore Sugar Cookies and Twizted Confections will be among the food vendors selling snacks inside. There also will be a kids activities area, where children and parents can create art projects or make Mother?s Day cards.
John Morrison, a Wichita-based artist who owns Prairie Vistas Photography, has been exhibiting for several years and said he always enjoys interacting with the patrons. He sells landscape photography and often finds himself in sentimental conversations with people who are familiar with the scenes he has captured.
?From the standpoint of an artist, the show is very well managed,? he said. ?The Friends of the Art Museum really take care of the artists. The show itself has a good reputation around town, and we seem to have people return every year and look up artists they?ve seen in previous years.?
Hampel said it?s the tradition of going to the show on Mother?s Day weekend that brings many downtown each year to enjoy the offerings. He thinks the recent changes heighten the overall experience.
?The event shows Wichita?s love for the arts community,? Ramondetta said. ?We have such a strong community here, and so many people are deep-rooted in that. They either are artists themselves, or they love art, or they are collectors of art. This event speaks to that. This event shows how important art is in people?s lives.?
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, right, is watched by Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, left, as he is assisted by Harlem Globetrotter Chris ?Handles? Franklin in spinning a basketball in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, May 4, 2013, before holding the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. Tens of thousands attend Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions for more than six hours. No other annual meeting can rival Berkshire's, which is known for its size, the straight talk Buffett and Munger offer and the sales records shareholders set while buying Berkshire products. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, right, is watched by Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, left, as he is assisted by Harlem Globetrotter Chris ?Handles? Franklin in spinning a basketball in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, May 4, 2013, before holding the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. Tens of thousands attend Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions for more than six hours. No other annual meeting can rival Berkshire's, which is known for its size, the straight talk Buffett and Munger offer and the sales records shareholders set while buying Berkshire products. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Investor Warren Buffett is surrounded by hundreds of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders and journalist as he talks to Chris ?Handles? Franklin of the Harlem Globetrotters before the shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, May 4, 2013. Tens of thousands attend Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions for more than six hours. No other annual meeting can rival Berkshire's, which is known for its size, the straight talk Buffett and Munger offer and the sales records shareholders set while buying Berkshire products. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Investor Warren Buffett greets shareholders while touring the exhibit floor prior to holding the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, in Omaha, Neb., Saturday, May 4, 2013. Tens of thousands attend Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting to hear Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger answer questions for more than six hours. No other annual meeting can rival Berkshire's, which is known for its size, the straight talk Buffett and Munger offer and the sales records shareholders set while buying Berkshire products. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Dubbed "Woodstock for Capitalists," Saturday's annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders revolves around Warren Buffett, the company's chairman and CEO and a billionaire investor. Here's a rundown of what happened at the day-long event in Omaha, Nebraska:
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BUFFETT'S SUCCESSOR:
Berkshire's board knows who it would pick as CEO if Buffett died tonight, but the top candidates could change over time, Buffett said. He has no plans to retire.
He spends plenty of time thinking about the future of his company after he is gone, he said. He told shareholders Saturday that he's confident that the conglomerate will continue to thrive.
The leaders of Berkshire's roughly 80 subsidiaries and all the operating companies would reject a leader that tried to change the way the company works, he said.
Buffett leads Berkshire with a tiny staff of roughly two dozen at its headquarters, and he largely lets the CEOs of all Berkshire's subsidiaries make all the operating decisions.
___
BUFFETT'S BENEVOLENCE:
Warren Buffett has pledged to eventually give away all of the Berkshire Hathaway stock that made him one of the world's richest men, but he doesn't want to spoil his children.
At Saturday's Berkshire shareholder meeting, an estate planning lawyer asked Buffett for advice on how his clients should determine how much is too much to leave their children.
Buffett says the size of an inheritance probably isn't the most important factor in determining what kind of people children grow up to be.
"I think more kids are ruined by the behavior of their parents than by their inheritance," Buffett said.
The 82-year-old Buffett says he has been getting more generous as he ages, so every time he revises his will these days he tends to leave more to his children.
And Buffett says he lets his kids read his will each time it's changed.
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GREENHOUSE GAS PROPOSAL:
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders again rejected a proposal to require the company's utilities to set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Berkshire owns several utilities through its MidAmerican Energy Holdings subsidiary.
Backers of the measure urged Berkshire officials to take a leading role in reducing utility dependence on coal.
Berkshire CEO Buffett and the board oppose the idea of setting goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions because it remains unclear how those emissions will be regulated.
Buffett and the board control 39 percent of the voting power. The proposal gained only 57,569 votes. Berkshire said 598,162 votes were cast against the measure.
Shareholders rejected a similar measure in 2011.
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MAKING BONBONS:
Before facing questions from a crowd of more than 30,000, the 82-year-old Buffett toured the meeting's 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall. A pack of security guards created a buffer around the "Oracle of Omaha" as he visited displays that sold Berkshire's See's Candy, explained BNSF railroad's virtues and highlighted some of the company's other 80-plus subsidiaries.
At the See's booth, Buffett got a lesson in making hand-dipped bonbons. Then See's manufacturing manager Steve Powell got Buffett to autograph his white uniform coat, demonstrating that employees are nearly as excited about meeting Buffett as shareholders.
"He was right there. Why not? It's Mr. Buffett," said Powell, explaining why he asked for the autograph. "He's wonderful."
Powell said he'll probably frame the coat and display it at work when he returns to California.
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MINERS PROTEST:
Dozens of Utah coal miners picketed outside the doors of the annual meeting in downtown Omaha.
The protesters are members of United Mine Workers of America who work at Deer Creek mine near Huntington, Utah. The mine is run by a subsidiary of Berkshire's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.
The union's contract expired in January. The company and union are negotiating, but disagree on health care coverage and safety checks. The protesters hope to influence Buffett.
Bernie Morris of Price, Utah, stood in the rain with others Saturday to hand out flyers. The 67-year-old Morris said he's worked for the coal mine for 28 years. He feared that he and his wife won't be able to afford the monthly health insurance premium the company wants to charge miners and retirees.
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PAPER PROFITS:
Berkshire shareholders should expect decent returns on the newspapers the company has bought in recent years, Buffett said. But he doesn't expect the papers to generate enough profits to make much difference to Berkshire.
Berkshire has paid cheap enough prices for the newspapers that Buffett expects them to deliver 10 percent returns every year, but he also expects their earnings will keep declining.
Berkshire has acquired 28 daily newspapers over the past two years.
Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger pointed out that Buffett made an exception to his usual investing habits for newspapers because he likes them.
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'GANGNAM STYLE' WARREN:
Buffett again poked fun at himself in the humorous movie that begins the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.
A cartoon version of Dancing With the Stars opened the hour-long movie.
Buffett and Munger served as judges on the dance show as representatives of different Berkshire companies competed.
In the end, Buffett and Munger won the competition themselves with their version of "Gangnam Style" dancing.
In a live-action video later, Buffett tried to pull strings to win a part in Arnold Schwarzenegger's new Terminator movie.
But Schwarzenegger, who once relied on Buffett's financial advice as California's governor, decided that Munger would make a much scarier villain.
In this early April 2013 photo provided by Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman, Bachman, left, and partner Nate Hall prepare to remove a 12-foot-long beehive from an A-frame cabin in Eden, Utah. It was the biggest beehive the Utah beekeepers have ever removed, containing about 60,000 honeybees. (AP Photo/Courtesy Vic Bachman)
In this early April 2013 photo provided by Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman, Bachman, left, and partner Nate Hall prepare to remove a 12-foot-long beehive from an A-frame cabin in Eden, Utah. It was the biggest beehive the Utah beekeepers have ever removed, containing about 60,000 honeybees. (AP Photo/Courtesy Vic Bachman)
This early April 2013 photo provided by Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman shows an A-frame cabin in Eden, Utah, where a 12-foot-long beehive was removed by Bachman. It was the biggest beehive he says he?s ever seen in the state of Utah, containing about 60,000 honeybees. Utah calls itself the Beehive state, a symbol of industriousness. Whether this was Utah?s largest beehive is unknown. (AP Photo/Courtesy Vic Bachman)
In this early April 2013 photo provided by Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman, Bachman, left, assisted by partner Nate Hall, uses a vacuum cleaner to collect about 60,000 honeybees from a 12-foot-long beehive from an A-frame cabin in Eden, Utah. It was the biggest beehive the Utah beekeepers have ever removed. (AP Photo/Courtesy Vic Bachman)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? It was the biggest beehive that that Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman has ever removed ? a dozen feet long, packed inside the eaves of a cabin in Ogden Valley.
"We figure we got 15 pounds of bees out of there," said Bachman, who said that converts to about 60,000 honeybees.
Bachman was called to the A-frame cabin last month in Eden, Utah. Taking apart a panel that hid roof rafters, he had no idea he would find honeycombs packed 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 16 inches deep.
The honeybees had been making the enclosed cavity their home since 1996, hardly bothering the homeowners. The cabin was rarely used, but when the owners needed to occupy it while building another home nearby, they decided the beehive wasn't safe for their two children. A few bees had found their way inside the house, and the hive was just outside a window of a children's bedroom.
They didn't want to kill the honeybees, a species in decline that does yeoman's work pollinating flowers and crops.
So they called Bachman, owner of Deseret Hive Supply, a hobbyist store that can't keep up with demand for honeybees. Bachman used a vacuum cleaner to suck the bees into a cage.
"It doesn't hurt them," he said.
The job took six hours. At $100 an hour, the bill came to $600.
"The bees were expensive," said Paul Bertagnolli, the cabin owner. He was satisfied with the job.
Utah calls itself the Beehive state, a symbol of industriousness. Whether this was Utah's largest beehive is unknown, but Bachman said it would rank high.
"It's the biggest one I've ever seen," he said. "I've never seen one that big."
He used smoke to pacify the bees, but Bachman said honeybees are gentle creatures unlike predatory yellow jackets or hornets, which attack, rip apart and eat honeybees, he said.
"They just want to collect nectar and come back to the hive," he said. "Most people never get stung by honeybees ? it's a yellow jacket."
Bachman reassembled the hive in a yard of his North Ogden home, while saving some of the honeycomb for candles and lotions at his store. He left other honeycombs for the cabin owners to chew on.
"We caught the queen and were able to keep her," Bachman said. "The hive is in my backyard right now and is doing well."
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011.Intel CEO Paul Otellini, holds up a Google Android phone running on an Intel chip during the keynote address at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. Intel said Thursday, May 2, 2013, that it has chosen Brian Krzanich, as its new CEO. Krzanich, who is 52, will replace Otellini on May 16, at the company's annual meeting. Otellini had announced his decision to resign in November. Otellini, 62, will be ending a nearly 40-year career with Intel, including an eight-year stint as CEO by the time he leaves. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011.Intel CEO Paul Otellini, holds up a Google Android phone running on an Intel chip during the keynote address at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. Intel said Thursday, May 2, 2013, that it has chosen Brian Krzanich, as its new CEO. Krzanich, who is 52, will replace Otellini on May 16, at the company's annual meeting. Otellini had announced his decision to resign in November. Otellini, 62, will be ending a nearly 40-year career with Intel, including an eight-year stint as CEO by the time he leaves. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 28, 2007, file photo, Intel Corp. Vice President and General Manager of Assembly and Test Brian Krzanich makes his speech at the start of construction ceremony of the Assembly and Test Facility of Intel's chipset products at Saigon High Tech Park, Ho Chi Minh city, South Vietnam. Intel said Thursday, May 2, 2013, that it has chosen Krzanich, as its new CEO to steer the world's largest chipmaker in a world where PC sales are cratering while smartphones and tablets thrive. (AP Photo/Le Quang Nhat)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? In picking Brian Krzanich as its next CEO, Intel Corp. stuck to a familiar playbook amid a game-changing shift in computing that has raised worries about the future of the world's largest chipmaker.
Ever since Intel co-founders Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore ceded their roles as the first two CEOs, the company has always promoted the second-in-command to the helm. That started in 1987 with Andy Grove, who served as the top lieutenant under the co-founders. After learning the ropes under Grove, Craig Barrett took over as CEO in 1998 and then handed the reins to his understudy, Paul Otellini, in 2005.
Krzanich, Intel's chief operating officer, was named its sixth CEO on Thursday. He will start in two weeks.
The succession formula worked well in a computing market dominated by desktop and laptop machines that ran on Intel's microprocessors and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.
But if there is a time to break from that tradition, this would be it. Traditionally strong in personal computers, Intel is facing a threat from smartphones and tablet computers, which demand lower-energy processors that Intel is late to master.
"We are a little disappointed that the board didn't bring in new blood at this critical juncture for the company," Wedbush Securities analyst Betsy Van Hees said. "We have seen a pretty significant shift in the tide, and they are now navigating some pretty tough currents. It would have been nice to have a fresh pair of eyes."
PC sales are declining as businesses and consumers embrace mobile computers ? most of which don't rely on Intel's chips. Microsoft has even created a lightweight version of Windows that isn't well suited for Intel's processors. The upheaval contributed to a 15 percent decline in Intel's profit last year.
Intel has been scrambling to develop power-sipping chips and designs better suited for the needs of mobile devices. But even if that effort is successful, the company's profit margins may be squeezed. That's because mobile chips sell for much less than PC chips.
Some analysts believe that Otellini, who is 62, decided to retire early because of the industry turmoil. The board had expected him to remain CEO until he turns 65 in 2015.
"It's time to move on and transfer Intel's helm to a new generation of leadership," Otellini said in November when he disclosed his plans to leave.
His retirement created an opportunity for the Santa Clara, Calif., company to hire an outsider as CEO for the first time in its 45-year history. Although external candidates were considered during the six-month search, the board concluded that Krzanich is the best leader to tackle the mobile computing challenge.
Krzanich, who is 52 and spent his entire career at the company, comes out of a manufacturing organization where meticulous attention is required to churn out processors with billions of minute details.
Just because Intel promoted from within doesn't mean there won't be changes, RBC Capital Markets analyst Doug Freedman said. He believes Intel plans to become less focused on engineering technological breakthroughs so it concentrate on helping its customers develop their products.
"Our view is Krzanich's appointment was awarded as a result of changes in the future direction of the company, with these changes expected to become visible over the next few quarters," Freedman said.
Investors evidently weren't disillusioned with Intel's CEO choice, which had been widely expected. Intel's stock rose 12 cents to close Thursday at $24.11.
Krzanich isn't inheriting Otellini's title of president. It will go instead to software chief Renee James, 48, creating a two-person "executive office" at the head of the company.
Gartner Inc. analyst Sergis Mushell believes one of the reasons Intel promotes from within is because of the difficulty finding outsiders capable of running a business with the size and complexity of Intel. The company generates $53 billion in annual revenue, employs 105,000 people and operates dozens of offices and plants around the world.
"By the time an outsider got a feel for things, the company could be already lost," Mushell said.
Mushell named Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers and Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook as among the few people who could have run Intel, as they already have experience in managing large high-tech manufacturing operations.
Beyond that, he said, "you need someone who has grown through the ranks that understands the complexity of the ship. You need someone who knows when he turns one knob on the ship to the right, he has to turn another knob to the left."
Intel previously faced competitive threats to its PC franchise from other chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and the now-defunct Transmeta Corp. Under the regimes of Grove and Barrett, Intel managed to thwart those threats, partly by relying on cut-throat sales tactics. Those methods resulted in lawsuits alleging that Intel was illegally trying to stifle competition. Intel paid AMD $1.25 billion to settle one complaint and resolved Federal Trade Commission allegations by agreeing to change some practices.
In those instances, Intel was fending off a threat in an area that it had already been dominating. Intel processors are the brains behind four out of every five PCs.
Krzanich will have to come up with a strategy to make Intel a more formidable force in a new era of computing.
"He doesn't have an easy job ahead of him," Van Hees said. "He is facing challenges no other Intel CEO has had to face."
In an interview, Krzanich said he will tackle the challenge of declining PC sales by relying on the assets that Intel is built on: its engineering prowess and enormous, billion-dollar chip factories, which feature technologies that are years ahead of its competitors.
By promoting from within, Mushell said Intel's board is signaling its belief that nothing is seriously wrong at the company.
"The message here is that Intel is not shaken," Mushell said. "A lot of people thought this CEO selection would lead to a new Intel that would be flipped upside down. This clearly shows this is the same Intel."
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AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson in New York contributed to this story.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar climbed more than 1.0 percent against the yen and global equity markets surged on Friday, boosted by a U.S. labor report showing stronger-than-expected jobs growth in April.
Wall Street stocks surged to record highs, while government debt prices dropped.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 165,000 last month and the jobless rate fell to a four-year low of 7.5 percent, the Labor Department said. Economists expected payrolls to rise 145,000 and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 7.6 percent.
Wall Street and most European indices rallied more than 1 percent on the news of the resilient U.S. labor market. The drop in the jobless rate reflected a gain in employment, rather than people leaving the workforce.
The benchmark S&P 500 stock index broke through the 1,600 mark for the first time, and the Dow surpassed the 15,000 mark, also for the first time, as both indices set record highs.
Crude oil, copper and other commodities' prices also rallied, while government debt slumped on the data.
The strong jobs data overshadowed an industry report that showed the pace of growth in the vast U.S. services sector slowed in April to its weakest pace in nine months.
"The employment number was definitely the trigger for today's rally," said Michael Korn, president at Skokie Energy in Princeton, New Jersey.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 163.13 points, or 1.10 percent, at 14,994.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 19.53 points, or 1.22 percent, at 1,617.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 43.57 points, or 1.30 percent, at 3,384.19.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 of leading shares rose 1.05 percent to 1,219.14, while MSCI's all-country world equity index rose 0.99 percent to 371.55.
The dollar rose 1.01 percent to 98.94 yen, on pace for its biggest one-day rise in two weeks, while the euro rebounded a day after President Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank said it was technically ready for negative deposit rates.
The euro was up 0.49 percent to $1.3127.
German Bund futures fell to a session low of 146.11, down 105 ticks on the day, while the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 31/32 in price to yield 1.7279 percent.
Brent crude was up $1.88 at $104.73 a barrel, while U.S. crude gained $1.87 to $95.86 a barrel.
"The idea that employment is holding as well as it is in the face of the fiscal headwinds the economy is currently enduring is a very positive sign of the economy's underlying fundamental improvements," said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Services.
The better jobs data comes just a month after the Bank of Japan promised to inject about $1.4 trillion into its economy to spur growth and end decades of deflation.
By increasing liquidity, three of the world's major central banks have fueled a rally in share and bond markets that has driven many benchmark indexes back up to levels last seen before the financial crisis began.
As Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Point Mugu, Calif., firefighters are hoping to take advantage of rain in the forecast to help contain a wildfire that has scorched at least 28,000 acres in Ventura County.
By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News
Record-setting temperatures, erratic winds and a parched landscape spell a dangerous fire season for California, experts said on Friday as firefighters fought to control several large blazes of a kind that usually would not raise thick plumes of smoke over the horizon until late fall.
?This is definitely a preview of a long, hot, incendiary summer,? said William Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca?ada-Flintridge.
A combination of early, powerful gusts from the inland to the coast, called Santa Ana winds, breathed life into the roaring orange flames that devoured brush and raced down hillsides near Malibu toward the Pacific Ocean on Thursday night. The sea-bound winds pour into the southern part of the state from the northeast and southwest, becoming drier and hotter as they approach the coast, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard, Calif.
This week, ?all the ingredients? came together across parts of California, Patzert said.
The Spring Fire in Ventura County was 56 percent contained, Cal Fire said on its Twitter feed?Saturday evening,?after jumping to 28,000 acres on Friday, shutting down a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway for a time and drawing nearly 1,900 fire personnel, eight helicopters, and a half-dozen air tankers. The fire damaged at least 15 residences and dozens of other structures, NBCLosAngeles reported, citing fire officials.
The Summit Fire in Riverside County was fully contained at about 3,166 acres, Cal Fire said. Riverside County fire officials said two firefighters were injured as they worked to draw a line around the flames, which destroyed one home, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
More than 1,000 firefighters battled a third blaze, the 6,720-acre Panther Fire, in Tehama County.
?At this point it?s just a question of meteorology, of the Santa Anas, and of course in Southern California 95 percent of the fires are human (caused),? Patzert said. ?Fire is fuel plus meteorology plus ignition.?
Many California residents in areas prone to wildfires have known the fear of watching flames lick the borders of their property, but in the past wide-scale destructive fires usually have not struck until summer or fall. A series of 22 major fires across seven Southern California counties destroyed more than 2,200 homes in 2007 ? but those fires lasted over three weeks from October to November, according to a report by the Orange County Fire Authority.
The 2009 Station Fire burned over 160,000 acres, destroyed 80 structures, and killed two county firefighters. That fire, the largest in Los Angeles County history, wasn't sparked until late August, according to an after action review. The cost to fully contain the Station Fire topped $95 million, the U.S. Fire Service reported.
?This is certainly one of the earliest fire seasons I remember,? Patzert said.
Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters
Firefighters battle the Springs Fire at Point Mugu State Park on May 3. A wind-driven wildfire raged along the California coast north of Los Angeles early on Friday.
Firefighters around Camarillo contended with unpredictable Santa Ana winds as flames threatened residences on Thursday and Friday. Such winds?drive from inland to the sea, but they usually occur during the fall and winter months.
?We?re having Santa Ana events in May,? Capt. Mike Lindberry of the Ventura County Fire Department said on Thursday. ?An event like this ? it hasn?t happened in my career.?
Those winds make it harder for firefighters to corral the flames as they leap across scrubby, uninhabited areas.
?The winds are just super strong. They couldn?t get ahead of the fire because the winds are so strong, and the heat was tremendous,? said Seto.
Extremely dry conditions for this time of year have also contributed to the growth of the fires, Seto said. The dryness of the vegetation that fueled the flames in the Camarillo area was comparable to what is usually measured in July, he said.
Temperatures hit a record high for the date of 98 degrees in Camarillo on Thursday, Seto said, topping the previous high of 94 degrees in 2004. Normal for this time of May is about 74 degrees, he said.
While parts of the Plains states and upper Midwest saw late-season snowfall earlier this week, officials in California have said that the state's snowpack is lighter than normal. That means the amount of water that flows into state reservoirs over coming months will be less than usual as the snow melts.
?I?m finding nothing,? Frank Gehrke, chief surveyor for the Department of Water Resources, told The Associated Press on Thursday. ?Seriously, there is no snow on the course at all.? The water content in California?s high-altitude snow turned out to be only 17 percent of what it usually is, the department reported.
Fire officials have been warning about the dangerous fire conditions in California for several months. After an 100-acre brush fire flared up in Monrovia in April, city fire Chief Chris Donovan told reporters that experts anticipated a ?very dry ? and very bad? season.
A wildfire outlook produced by the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, predicted ?above normal? fire potential for Southern California, the Sacramento Valley and?parts of southern Oregon?in May. The likelihood of significant fires will expand through Washington, Arizona, New Mexico and other large swaths of California over the summer months, according to the fire center?s outlook.
?This big picture is across the country it?s been sort of two winters, as the Northeast and the Midwest had a never-ending winter with spring that just didn?t want to show up,? Patzert said. Meanwhile, in Southern California, ?the rain spigot essentially just turned off in January.?
?It?s a no-brainer to tell you that it is going to be a busy fire season,? he said.
Jonathan Alcorn / Reuters
A fire engine is parked on Pacific Coast Highway as the Springs Fire burns in the hills at Point Mugu State Park on May 3.
A still photo from an experiment video shows a tiny cubesat satellite prototype after deploying a folded sail in weightlessness aboard NASA's "vomit comet" research plane.
By Tia Ghose Space.com
A?simple paper-folding technique could help tiny satellites unfurl big sails in space to detect micrometeoroid impacts, scientists say.
The folding strategy, described Tuesday?in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A Mathematical and Physical Sciences, could be used to pack relatively large sails into miniature satellites known as cubesats. When the sails pop out, they could provide a bigger area to catch meteoroid impacts.
"It's like putting a bigger windshield on your car to catch more bugs," said study co-author Nicolas Lee, an aerospace engineer at the California Institute of Technology. [Tiny Satellites Launch from Space Station (Photos)]
Electronics wipeout by space rock Sigrid Close, an aerospace engineer at Stanford University and Lee, then a graduate student who worked with Close, wanted to know whether meteoroid impacts disrupt electronics aboard spacecraft.
Meteoroids whiz through the solar system at tens of thousands of miles per hour, so even minuscule space rocks slam into spacecraft with incredible force.
Nicolas Lee
Scientists have borrowed a paper-folding strategy to pack a meteoroid-detection sail in a coiled, compact roll for use in tiny cubesat missions.
"The impact speed is so fast it's not just like a bullet hitting a surface; it has enough energy to vaporize and ionize part of the material," Lee told Space.com.
The scientists worried that vaporization could cause weird electron motion that would essentially jolt a spacecraft with an electromagnetic pulse, wiping out electronics onboard.
But they needed to study many impacts to understand the process. They came up with a simple method for doing so.
The plan?
Squeeze a 10.9-square-foot (1-square-meter) sail to catch meteoroid impacts into a cubesat the size of a jack-in-the-box.
Pencil and paper To figure out the best way to do that, Lee went back to basics: a paper and a pencil. He folded a sheet of paper like an accordion and wrapped it around the pencil. But the creases bunched up, making the folded paper too bulky.
Lee tried another approach, slightly changing the angle of curvature of the creases. That kept the folded sections from stacking up.
The researchers also tested that a folded sail would unfurl properly in zero gravity on a so-called "vomit comet," a special aircraft that dips and climbs to simulate a feeling of weightlessness for 20 to 25 second intervals. They created a video of the meteoroid sail unfolding in weightless conditions to chronicle the success.
Nicolas Lee
To fit a big sail in a small box, scientists are using a zig-zag fold at an angle, which ensured that the creases do not bunch up aboard a tiny cubesat satellite. The sails could be used to detect micrometeoroids in space.
Broad applications The new findings are exciting, said Chris Biddy, the vice president for engineering at Stellar Exploration Inc., a California-based company that is developing cubesat technology for the Planetary Society.
"What's really cool about it is you're optimizing how much material you can pack in a certain volume," Biddy told Space.com.
The packing technique could also help squeeze larger solar cells into cubesats, Biddy said. Solar panels give the tiny satellites a bit more thrust, allowing them to travel at higher speeds.
Getting big panels to work properly in the cubesats isn't trivial.
"Solar panel deployment is difficult, as seen by the deployment failures in the ISS [International Space Station] panels from a few years ago," James Cutler, an aerospace engineer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who was not involved in the study, wrote in an email.
Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter @tiaghose.?Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Brooklyn Nets forward Andray Blatche, right, celebrates with C.J. Watson during the second half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. The Nets won 95-92. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Brooklyn Nets forward Andray Blatche, right, celebrates with C.J. Watson during the second half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. The Nets won 95-92. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls guard Nate Robinson reacts after forward Carlos Boozer fouled during the second half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. The Nets won 95-92. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer, left, defends against Brooklyn Nets forward Reggie Evans during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah defends against a shot by Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah reacts after scoring a basket and a free throw during the first half in Game 6 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets in Chicago, Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CHICAGO (AP) ? The Brooklyn Nets wiped out their deficit. Now, they will try and finish off an improbable comeback.
The Nets are one win away from overcoming a 3-1 series hole after beating Chicago 95-92 Thursday night to force a seventh game.
Then again, the way Gerald Wallace sees it, they never should have been in that predicament.
"We feel like we're the better team," he said. "We feel like we shouldn't have gotten down 3-1. We feel like just as they won three games in a row, we can win three games in a row."
Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson each scored 17 points, and the Nets again avoided elimination, beating the short-handed Bulls.
The series goes back to Brooklyn for Game 7 on Saturday, with the winner getting defending champion Miami in the second round.
"We just believed," Johnson said. "We believed in one another. In practice (Wednesday), we went over a lot. More so than anything, it was about who wanted it badder."
The Bulls hung in until the end even though they were missing Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, but Brooklyn came away with its second straight win to avoid elimination.
A layup by Nazr Mohammed cut the Nets' lead to 93-92 with 25.2 seconds remaining.
Nate Robinson then fouled Andray Blatche, who had missed a free throw only moments earlier. This time, he hit both to make it a three-point game with 19.2 seconds left.
The Bulls had opportunities to tie it, but Marco Belinelli missed a 3-pointer and Joakim Noah stepped out of bounds with about six seconds left.
Chicago still had a chance, though.
Noah tied up Williams after the inbounds, resulting in a jump ball with 3.6 seconds left.
Johnson controlled the ball, and the Nets hung on.
Wallace added 15 points for Brooklyn.
Only eight NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-7 series, but the Nets are in position to do just that.
"Most people would have counted us out being down 3-1," Blatche said. "But we kept fighting. We showed that we have a lot of heart. Now that it's tied up, we have to go out with the same hunger, the same attitude, finish this off."
And the Bulls?
"We're a team of fighters," Noah said. "We keep getting punched in the face, but we fight back. I'm proud of this team."
The Bulls stood their ground even though Hinrich missed his second straight game with a bruised left calf, and Deng got sent home from the arena with flu-like symptoms, forcing coach Tom Thibodeau to shuffle the lineup.
Belinelli started at shooting guard with Jimmy Butler moving to small forward. He scored 22 points and tied a career high with seven assists. Robinson started his second straight game and finished with 18 points, but it's no secret that the offense runs smoother with Hinrich and that he does a better job containing Williams.
"Yes, it was big," Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "It affects the game because he's one of their best players, not just as a defender."
Butler had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Chicago. Noah added 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. Carlos Boozer scored 14 and grabbed 13 boards.
The Nets were leading 81-73 early in the fourth after 3-pointers by Wallace and C.J. Watson.
Robinson wowed the crowd when he faked picking up his dribble for a jumper and drove past a leaping Kris Humphries for a layup that made it 83-79 with about 7:30 remaining.
Noah scored on a tip-in that made it 87-85 with four minutes left. Then, after Lopez dunked, he rotated over for a huge block of Lopez, delighting the crowd.
The fans were really screaming when Belinelli made a 3 to pull Chicago within 90-88 with 2:19 remaining.
Blatche then banked in a fadeaway with 1:15 remaining, but Robinson quickly answered with just over a minute left.
He also missed a driving layup with 32 seconds to play. Boozer got called for a loose ball foul on the play, and Blatche hit the second free throw to make it 93-90.
"There is not a team in the league that plays harder than them," Carlesimo said. "We could have made it easier on ourselves and given us more of a cushion if we made some layups and free throws late in the game."
Notes: With the Nets and Bulls meeting in Game 7, Rihanna's concert scheduled for Saturday at the Barclays Center is getting moved to Tuesday. The Nets, however, did invite her to the game. ... Carlesimo had this to say about facing a short-handed Bulls team: "Starting with Derrick, their franchise player hasn't played. It seems almost every time we play them, it's a different roster." ... Thibodeau said Hinrich "made good strides" and the Bulls are "hopeful" he'll be ready.
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Public release date: 6-May-2013
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