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| | The May Report: 8/5/2010: Eric Wasowicz's deal of the day UWantSavings.com bites the dust; Keywell's name conspicuously absent in discussion of Groupon; Jim Orrico appears to have gotten funding, possibly a cash for CEO job deal; The Brad/Katie baby; Is Jerry Mitchell now a multi-level marketer?; Andrew Mason's lament -- or g'me that old time '99
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| | August 5, 2010
The May Report: 8/5/2010: Eric Wasowicz's deal of the day UWantSavings.com bites the dust; Keywell's name conspicuously absent in discussion of Groupon; Jim Orrico appears to have gotten funding, possibly a cash for CEO job deal; The Brad/Katie baby; Is Jerry Mitchell now a multi-level marketer?; Andrew Mason's lament -- or g'me that old time '99
Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.
If you missed an article, go here: http://www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
_____________________________________
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______________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Scoop section:
-- Human stem cell research in CA and WI
-- VC track records
-- Briefly noted, by Ron May
-- Karlton Meadows: Helping the Bucs
-- Bob Waldron: Americans and the net
-- Miscellaneous notes from John Dallas and Marty Glotzer -- not sure what the Dallas notes are about (4 messages)
-- Mary Spaeth comments
-- IU receives $9.2 million from NSF to expand global networks and research
________________________________________________
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*Acquisition Program for US PC Board Manufacturer seeking US PCB shops ($1 million to $30 million revenues)
*Sell Side Program for 40 million Euro Fiber Optics Company (based in Europe, now preparing materials)
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******************************************
____________________________
The Scoop section:
_____________________
Human stem cell research in CA and WI
From: Anthony Kolton <anthony.d.kolton@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: The May Report: 7/30/2010: Part TWO of three tonight: McCall and New World sell out on Playdom; No more excuses, no more self-pity, no more long naps -- the real problem is the space between my ears, not the lesion in my liver, capisce?; Bland cl
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:56:36 -0400
To: The May Report <ron@themayreport.com>
Ron,
The big news in HI TECH is the FDA allowing human trials with stem cells. California and Wisconsin are the hotbeds for this new frontier. Why isn't Chicago or Illinois doing more to attract stem cell companies?
Tony
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:34 PM, The May Report <ron@themayreport.com> wrote:
______________________________________
VC track records
From: "Ryan J Maley" ryan@stg.com
Subject: Rate of success in VC funded companies
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:56:31 -0500
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
Ron,
As someone who follows VC funding, I thought you'd like to see this article about success rate:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/30/conway-numbers/
I've heard a variety of numbers about the amount of deals VC actually fund but it seems to come in around 1% or 2%. So, let's define success as "securing VC funding and returning at least 2x on that investment". Assuming the 2% funding rate, the chance of success is 0.3%.
Please check my logic. I'd be interested in you take on this.
Ryan
==========
Ryan J Maley
Software Technologies Group
voice: +1.708.547.0110 x 275 mailto:ryan@stg.com
STG contact info: http://www.stg.com/about.html
____________________________________
Briefly noted, by Ron May
* This first section is being written today, Thursday the 5th, at 1:10pm. Sometimes a little thing ties everything together. The cabbie who drove me home from dialysis today, Rafiq, Flash cab #3506, reminded me that I have been in his cab three times before and one of those times was when he drove me to Skokie, the research park, only to be met at the door by security. He then dropped me off at a Dunkin Donuts, he recalled. That encounter pretty much sums it all up, acting as a fulcrum for my world: health issues, transportation, TMR, start-ups, legacy institutions and ostracism, aka dysfunctionality in our culture. .
I am hard at work on the TIF article on 247 S. State which is next, but there is a launch party tonight which sounds interesting, but no elevator and a long flight of stairs.
I might just sit outside in my wheelchair. The launch party is at Rebel Bar and Grill at 3462 N. Clark. I know everything except the name of the start-up being launched.
Rebel Bar and Grill
3462 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60657-1610
(773) 975-2010
Subway: Addison-Red
Get directions - Is this accurate?
Open Weekdays 5pm-2am; Sat 11am-3am; Sun 11am-2am
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: RE: Melanie, tell me about Ed's launch party. Thanks.
Date: 8/5/2010 9:49:09 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com
Hey Ron, Nice talking to you last night. The thing to remember is there is a big flight of stairs from the first floor to the second floor and the bar doesn't have an elevator. The event will likely take place on the second floor. The place called Cafe Risque across the street has a really good pulled pork sandwich and great bbq sauce. I also think you would like the way the place is decorated. :) -Melanie
Melanie Adcock
iPHONE: 312-259-0610
DROID: 312-833-1825
E-Mail: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://bit.ly/MelanieAdcockFacebookFanPage
Bio: http://bit.ly/MelanieAdcockARC
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieadcock
Twitter: http://twitter.com/melanie_adcock
Facebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/melanie.a.adcock
++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Melanie Adcock <melanie_adcock@msn.com>
Subject: RE: Launch Party tomorrow
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 21:26:14 +0000
To: <edward.domain@gmail.com>, <ronaldmay@aol.com>, <ron@themayreport.com>
Hello Ed, I can't make it tomorrow night. I will likely have a 12 hour work day and unfortunately need to put my nose to the grindstone. Please have either Keith McGorisk or another attendee of your event do a small write up of their experience of the event and e-mail it to Ron May (copied above). Or if you can please do a youtube video of your event and e-mail a link to Ron so he can share it with his readers. Hope it is a great event!!! :) -Melanie ps- if you're lucky Ron himself might actually show up!!!! :)
Melanie Adcock
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hey Ron, Nice talking to you last night. The thing to remember is there is a big flight of stairs from the first floor to the second floor and the bar doesn't have an elevator. The event will likely take place on the second floor. The place called Cafe Risque across the street has a really good pulled pork sandwich and great bbq sauce. I also think you would like the way the place is decorated. :) -Melanie
Melanie Adcock
_________________________________________-
* This was written Wednesday afternoon after 3pm. It is not only my brain but my GI track that is full of it, and sadly, that is a common side effect from the strong antibiotics (particularly Ertapenem (IV) and Levaquin (orally)) I am on and am administering to myself after two weeks of training. I just got home from Illinois Masonic at 3pm where the Interventional Radiology doc removed the tube from my abdomen. Total time: less than ten seconds. Four hours thirty minutes for ten seconds. Sounds like having sex.
BTW, I am infusing the Ertapenem antibiotic myself, but it took two weeks of "training" to get it down to a science. They charge $187.50 per visit to Medicare I believe. And every nurse has her own method.
News you can use. Don't call American United. Call Flash. American United tells the drivers both the pick up and drop off points so they can cherry pick and will not take short rides. Flash only tells the driver the pick up point. We waited 40 minutes for American United and three minutes for Flash.
Another little known fact. If the air conditioner in a Flash cab is not working during summer months, they will not charge you for the ride, but you have to ask.
They just removed the tube in the abdomen and did not aspirate my liver to get some of the fluid out of the 2 centimeter abscess there. That was the plan last Wednesday, as explained by the surgeon, but when the surgeon and the IR doc talked, they decided that the risks outweighed the benefits. Thus it is always so in medicine and life. They will wait and see.
You just can't make this stuff up. Jay Travis, a teller at my bank quit in early July and I have been asking them what happened to him. I figured he was fired. He was, it turns out, but why? Actually, the bank forced him to submit a letter of resignation.
At 4:15pm today [Wednesday], Jay showed up outside my building shouting up to me. He came in for a visit. He looked pretty weirded out. No sleep -- just beer and cigarettes. Now I wonder if there is a Henry Miller or a William Burroughs in my future. (I threw that in for Lundin's benefit since he always fashions himself a man of letters.) Jay's problem is mental and he was put on Cyetalopram by some doc at Reed.
I feel helpless here. I'd like to help him but I don't know people in the field to whom he could be referred. We don't even know if his bank health insurance is valid.
I'm exhausted after an hour of interacting with him. He is bouncing off walls and telling me he could fix up his apartment if only he could get some cocaine??!! Meanwhile, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer will have to do. My Irish drinking expert Tom Bennett says PBR is pretty good when you can't have Old Style.
Jay told me he skipped his meds today and that the cops tasered (sp.??) him in his stairwell in his building when he was singing. They shot at him from above. This taser thing is becoming an issue. CBS Channel 2 did an expose on how the cops in Evergreen Park abuse. Think of tasers as seat belts which function to reduce risk (from guns or driving) and now let's ask, Where is Sam Peltzman when you need him? That was obscure, but it refers to a 1965 article on how seat belts cause more accidents written by Peltzman in the Journal of Political Economy. Yes, it is counterintuitive but it makes sense. Cops will use that taser more readily if they feel it is safe where they would not consider using a gun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsafe_at_Any_Speed
http://www.jstor.org/pss/4224624
http://www.jstor.org/pss/4224619
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5814/is_n2_v29/ai_n28600935/
I told Jay I had to work on the report and sent him on his way, but he does need help and I just wonder how many Jays there are out there who are completely overlooked. This guy is just fine when he is not bouncing off walls. He held a regular job, showed up to work and balanced at the end of the day. Phil Tadros, you know him and have been at his counter.
I know this is the story of an individual whose family has a history of mental illness and not the story of a city, but Jay did tell me that most of the people in his building on Belmont are on unemployment.
Jay kept telling me he has to get a job and I told him to forget about that and concentrate on his mental condition. I know I am in way over my head here since his mom committed suicide and mental illness is rooted in the family, but these are the things that matter, not some useless report on technology. It is time to stop getting squeamish about mental illness. It should be treated by us as any common physical ailment.
Let's get down to business here.
Here are my top stories for you.
Before we start on them, I have now heard from several people that Jim Orrico of Assistive Medical has gotten some form of initial funding. My best info. is that it is tied to Len Bland and/or David Carman and BNC. Len mentioned it in his latest newsletter.
Why the hush hush? First, my information is that this was not a traditional angel deal. If I am hearing correctly, someone invested an amount of money, say $50K, and that money basically bought the guy his CEO position.
If it is only $50K, that does not leave much for Len and/or Dave.
There are several issues here.
Over a period of two or more years, Jim presented everywhere: ITDA, MMM, TBIF, that roundtable in Skokie, BNC Capital Group and more. What does that say?
Persistence pays off?
Practice makes perfect?
The official helpers, all paid for in salaries, did not do much for Jim at the end of the day.
First we need the facts and then a systematic post-mortem might be in order.
1. Flip's company in Chicago is www.interact911.com
It has actually been around a long time and is not headquartered here yet, and it has a lot of the old gang from divine days. I see that Jennifer Filipowski is EVP of Marketing.
http://www.interact911.com/about-us/Leadership
I don't know if they are just opening an office here or moving HQ here, or what. But it is not a three guys in a garage start-up and they must have some good government contracts tied to homeland security.
2. My email in box brings this news. UWantSavings.com is shutting down. This firm was founded and run by Eric Wasowicz after he and his buddies sold Greenbrier & Russel. This firm was in operation for 21 months. It was more like uBid than Groupon in terms of a business model?
++++++++++++++++++
Eric Wasowicz: UWantSavings.com Launch
From: Eric Wasowicz [ewasowicz@rjegroup.com]
To: ron@themayreport.com
Subject: UWantSavings.com Launch
Sent: Mon 11/3/2008 3:31 PM
UWantSavings.com Launch
November 3, 2008
Friends, family and associates:
I want you to be among the first to know about an innovative new venture that we have been working on. It debuts today, and I invite you to visit the UWantSavings (www.uwantsavings.com) website.
UWantSavings is a shopping and social networking site that showcases as many as nine new name-brand products each day and attracts consumers by offering significant savings, a limited-time structure and a unique format. I hope it will become a must-visit site for savvy web shoppers.
Using an extensive network of manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, UWantSavings is able to find the best values in overstock and close-out items across a wide range of product categories and present them to shoppers in an interesting and entertaining way.
Visitors to UWantSavings are greeted with a nine-room house, with each room containing a different product which changes daily. A stop in the kitchen might find big savings on a food processor. In the child's bedroom, a play bench could be showcased, while in the basement visitors may find tools like a Coleman cordless screwdriver at discounts of between 40% and 80% off retail. The bathroom is the place to find massage slippers, cosmetic cases, scales, etc. at similar savings. With each item priced at 40% - 80% less than at big box stores, the deals don't last long and always expire within 24 hours or less.
Hanging out in the house are a number of characters that not only describe the products of the day, but also engage visitors in a dialogue and invite them to share experiences and provide frank feedback on the products.
Wanda Savvs is the daughter in the house and she talks about finding a lovable teddy bear lamp (one of the products available) for her cousin's wedding shower. Her mother is baking a cake for the shower in a new Wilton baking pan (another product) while little brother, Wesley, is playing with a Disney CD-ROM game (another product) that almost ends up in the cake mix.
To keep up with what's happening in the UWantSavings house, shoppers can check out the UWantSavings fan page on Facebook and follow the "tweets" from (add name) on Twitter.com.
Principals of the firm include, Rob Nardick, CEO of The Bazaar, nationwide provider of overstocked goods to discount retailers, Jeff Anderson, former CIO of Greenbrier & Russel and Eric Wasowicz, founder of the IT consulting firm Greenbrier & Russel. Nardick has 31 years of merchandising experience in the discount product marketplace, while Wasowicz and Anderson have extensive backgrounds in business, technology and the internet.
Please visit UWantSavings ( www.uwantsavings.com) regularly. The deals change each day and I think you'll find the products and the savings to be exciting.
If UWantSavings, come to our house.
Eric Wasowicz
UWantSavings.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
May again. And here is how they ended it 21 months to the day after they opened their doors.
++++++++++++++
From: UWantSavings Customer Service <customerservice@uwantsavings.com>
Sender: UWantSavings Customer Service <customerservice@uwantsavings.ccsend.com>
Subject: Thank You and Farewell
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 14:20:42 -0400 (EDT)
To: ron@themayreport.com
You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our emails.
Brand Names Closeout Prices Free Shipping UWantSavings FacebookUWantSavings Google GadgetUWantSavings TwitterUWantSavings RSS FeedYouTube Image
Dear Ron,
Thank you for being a loyal UWantSavings VIP, customer and friend.
We closed the virtual doors of UWantSavings on June 30th.
Thank you for trusting us and purchasing our goods.
Farewell,
The UWantSavings Staff
CustomerService@UWantSavings.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May again. Eric Wasowicz, could you provide a post-mortem while it is fresh in mind? Was it the business model, the execution, the dog not eating the dog food, the marketing, what?
Give us another firm which you modeled yourself on and how are they doing.
3. In preparation for the upcoming fall Chicago Innovation Awards -- and I know my invite is in the mail, just like the check -- they held a little get together at the offices of Google on July 21st. There were about 150 people in attendance with a standing room only overflow crowd. Chicago, like Gaul, is divided into two parts: the part that welcomes moi and the part that does not.
Here is the invite, just in case you did not get one.
+++++++++++++++++++++
From: Luke Tanen <luke@chicagoinnovationawards.com>
Subject: Chicago Innovation Awards Past Winners Showcase & Cocktail Reception!
To: "'Luke Tanen'" <luke@chicagoinnovationawards.com>
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 3:17 PM
Greetings!
To celebrate the rich history of the Chicago Innovation Awards, we cordially invite you and a guest to attend the Past Winners Showcase & Cocktail Reception on Wednesday, July 21st. Hosted by one of the most innovative companies of the past decade, Google, this event will honor organizations that have been recipients of the Chicago Innovation Awards since its inception in 2002.
A special panel of some of the most successful Chicago Innovation Award winners has been assembled to speak about innovation and share stories of success with today's innovators. The panel will include Andrew Mason, Founder and CEO of Groupon, Eric Lunt, Co-Founder of Feedburner, Jeffrey S. Aronin, Chairman and CEO of Paragon Pharmaceuticals (former Founder of Ovation Pharmaceuticals), Jack Philbin, Co-Founder and President of Vibes Media, and more to be announced!
Following the panel discussion, there will be a cocktail reception where guests can mingle with some of the best and brightest in the Chicago innovation community. Chicago Innovation Award sponsors, media partners, judges, and special friends will be on hand to take part in the festivities.
Join us for an evening of insight, innovation and good company as we continue to celebrate the creative spirit of the Chicago region. Food, drink and tickets to attend are complimentary.
The Past Winners Showcase Cocktail Reception will be held:
Wednesday, July 21st
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Google's downtown Chicago office
20 West Kinzie Street 17th Floor
Chicago , IL 60610
Panel discussion: 5:30pm-6:15pm (to start no later than 5:45pm)
Cocktail reception: 6:15pm-7:30pm
To RSVP, please click here. This private event will require you to input the code showcase2010 in order to register. Due to limited available seats, we kindly request that no more than two guests attend from the same company. Please RSVP asap.
We look forward to seeing you at the Past Winners Showcase & Cocktail Reception!
Sincerely,
Tom Kuczmarski
Co-Founder
Dan Miller
Co-Founder
Luke Tanen
Director
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Four things very quickly:
1. Andrew Mason who was on the panel made one statement that should be disconcerting to all start-ups in Chicago. He said that Groupon is having difficulty attracting the programming and development talent it needs since many of the top grads flee for the coast as soon as they have a diploma in hand.
But the real problem, he said, is how the compensation is structured. People from Chicago want cash, right now, on the barrel head, and are not enticed by long term stock options. The opposite is true in California which is why Groupon has opened an office in the Valley so that they can attract and hopefully keep some of these people.
If you need me to tell you why that is troubling, you should go to page 77b in your handy dandy "Here's how things were in 1999" handbook.
Groupon does not want to shell out the cash for these guys and they want to be where the perceived action is anyway.
But this issue does beg the question: If we have the resources here but are unwilling to capitalize on them, then we really don't have the resources, do we?
Now we all know this is an old story but it is important to stress that if local firms are going to be funded and viable here in the long run, they can't just get the money, and then outsource the tough work to other regions of the country, while keeping HQ and marketing here. That is not a formula for long term success.
2. My sources tell me that Andrew Mason sang the praises of Eric Lefkofsky, but the name of Brad Keywell was conspicuously absent. Brad recently got booted or stepped down at one of their firms and was replaced by a person from Yahoo!
So, what gives?
Is Keywell being pushed out of all the operations? Most of the new PR offensive, carefully orchestrated by Lefkofsky, seems to leave Keywell in the dust.
3. There may be some room here for interpretive license, but the essence of the story is that in May 2002, Ovation Pharmaceuticals received $150MM in venture in what was being called a second round at the time. Jeffrey S. Aronin ran the firm until they closed, but the real hero in this story was Bill Gantz. That $150MM did not just spring out of nowhere. Bill Gantz effectively incubated the company -- or bootstrapped it, in a liberal sense of the word -- for two years before that money came in.
Here is what I wrote on 11/05/2004
+++++++++++++++++++++
We don't have the Amgens, the Genentechs, the Genzymes. What happens is that the people who start those companies go off and start three or four or five companies. Michael [Rosen] said that there are two people in Chicago who have done that. One is Bill Gantz of Ovation. He came out of Baxter, went to start up a company in Seattle called Pathogenesis and then sold it to a larger company called Chiron for $750MM, then came back to Chicago and started up Ovation Pharmaceuticals, but Rosen also points out that some of the people who worked at Pathogenesis also started other Chicago area firms.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May again. Michael Rosen, do I have this right?
4. The attendees were the usual crowd. Brad Spirrison was there beaming brightly from just having become the father of a new baby boy with wife Katie.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1228133&id=1377607526&ref=album
Eric Benderoff is freelancing on some projects but we still don't know why he left Appolicious.com.
Michael Krauss was there, so was Dan Miller. It is so 1999. In general, the VCs were not there.
4. Is Jerry Mitchell now into multi-level marketing?
++++++++++++++++++
From: Name withheld upon request
Subject: Fwd: FW: on line shopping mall
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 21:51:25 -0500
To: Ron May <ron@themayreport.com>
Ron,
Don't print my name or e-mail as the source, but I think Jerry
Mitchell is now a multi-level marketer. See below:
-------------------------------------------
From: Jerry R. Mitchell[SMTP:JERRY@JERRYRMITCHELLANDASSOC.COM]
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 9:45:26 PM
To: jerry@jerryRmitchellandassoc.com
Subject: on line shopping mall
I want to introduce you to a one-stop online shopping mall with cash back
advantage. http://www.marketamerica.com/imagebuilderstudios
Shopping online offers lots of benefits that you won't find shopping in a
store or by mail. The internet is always open - seven days a week, 24 hours
a day - and bargains can be numerous online. With a click of a mouse, you
can buy an airline ticket, book a hotel, send flowers to a friend, or
purchase your favorite items.
We make finding the right deals and products from the best merchants EASY!
Try it now and enter what you're looking for in the search box above.
Shop and save at over 3500 of your favorite online retailers such as Target,
Macys, Staples, Tiger Direct, Best Buy, Lands' End, ETC
If you want to see the best deals offered today from the menu you can click
on hot deals also. These change each day.
If you like me you're always looking for the best price for what you want to
purchase. Well my partner is smart enough to arrange for you to compare
pricing by creating a tab with a picture of a magnifying glass on right
corner where you can enter for example camera and you will be shown many
different cameras.
Jerry R.Mitchell
President/CEO
Jerry R. Mitchell and Associates Inc.
30W265 Argyll
Naperville, Il. 60563
P:630-305-0005
F:630-305-0009
mailto:jerry@jerryRmitchellandassoc.com
www.jerryRmitchell.com
Blog http://jerrymitchellblog.com
http://www.midwestentrepreneursforum.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jerryrmitchell
Want to know when would be the best time to contact me? Click below to view
my calendar an find out when I am free
http://calendar.yahoo.com/jerry_storyteller
My calendar doesn't accept entries. So if you would like to make an
appointment you will need to call or email me.
"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge, myth is more potent
than history, dreams are more powerful than facts, hope always triumphs over
experience, laughter is the cure for grief, and love is stronger than
death."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5. At the Knapp Center last Thursday July 29th down at IIT, attendance was sparse (under 30 people I hear) but my sources say there were some interesting people in attendance -- not counting Fred Hoch's presence, of course -- even some from out of town in incubators outside Chicago. Geoff Domaracki was there and Nik Rokop, but Geoff, you misspelled Rokop in the overhead (it is not Rokup). This meeting was held in preparation for the September 28th midVentures bonanza event. Who was conspicuously absent??
Anyone from the CEC?
Jason Felger and Kapil Chaudhary should have been there but is there any reason for the CEC to exist now? I'm serious as a heart attack. What the CEC mostly did was dispense chump change funding from DCEO, anywhere from $5K matching grants to the $80K EIR per firm funds.
Who will oversee that now?
Where is Chicago Community Ventures?
If Weinstein is in rehab he sure keeps a lower profile than Lindsay Lohan.
6. Anyone who has ever bought a stock knows that the day will come when he or she must decide when to sell. Brokers generally don't tell you to sell unless there is obvious trouble ahead. Tom Gastner who is an advertiser in this report told me that when times are bad, it is a buyer's market and when they are good, it is a seller's market (he does private equity M&A deals), but timing is everything based on my conversation with him last week. Having your financials ready to roll is important in that sense.
Here is really what I am asking: Since most exits are M&A these days and not IPOs, how is that decision to sell really made? A case in point might be the recent sale of the gaming firm Playdom which Matt McCall and New World had invested in.
http://games.venturebeat.com/2010/07/27/disney-buys-social-game-firm-playdom-for-up-to-763-2m/
The article lays out the case for continued growth of the firm but it also points out that
"there are clouds on the horizon. One of the themes at this year's Casual Connect was the post-viral era of Facebook games. After Facebook cut its viral channels to reduce spam for non-game users, traffic for many of the games on Facebook has gone downhill. That has forced many companies to advertise their games more heavily, putting profits into the pockets of Facebook but driving up costs for the publishers. If the growth continues to stall, then it might make sense for some of the companies, such as Playdom, to sell while they're at their peak.
That may be why Playdom sold out now. Playdom has raised a total of $76 million to date from Bessemer Venture Partners, Disney's Steamboat Ventures, and New World Ventures. Pleasants said last week he believes that brands will come into the market for social games; his own company has a deal with ESPN, which happens to be owned by Disney."
So, in this case and in many others I suspect the decision to sell is heavily influenced by the competitive landscape. That may be the reason that Flip said years ago (circa 2001) at a VC conference that the business environment would not permit a software firm to become $1B in gross sales.
I'm starting to babble.
Another person I talked to this morning told me he is not buying it in general. Something is wrong with the model and/or the management team, he said.
More monkey biz:
[Editor's note: May here. I am trying to figure out when I wrote this and I think it had to be Thursday morning, July 7th because on the night of July 7th I was in the hospital and it does ramble a bit.]
* You learn something every day. Kevin Koy called me this morning [July 7th]. He was referred to me by Marty Glotzer, an odd duck who attends just about every local shareholder meeting and functions as a kind of corporate gadfly.
Kevin says he turned around Dauphin Technology some years ago, after it had already gone bankrupt (I hope I have that right). Also he mentioned the investors' Woodstock, aka Warren Buffett's annual shindig in Omaha. BTW, many people in the Greek community, even restaurant owners, put money into Dauphin during one of its many incarnations. Speaking of Greeks, one of the docs in the hospital recommended Mykonos in Niles at Milwaukee and Golf Roads -- get the egg lemon soup with the lamb chops, he told me. ttp://www.yelp.com/biz/mykonos-greek-restaurant-niles
Then Kevin Koy brought up Grinnell College. I did not realize this, but Warren Buffett ran the endowment at Grinnell which is one reason it became so big. Another reason is the guy from Sonnenschein Nath Rosenthal, I am pretty sure that guy is Rosenthal, who was a big time donor. And the other Grinnell connection is the founder of Intel whose name is _________________. I put Intel and Grinnell College into Google and his name is Bob Noyce, who is the co-inventor of the integrated chip and founder of Intel, and was a Grinnell graduate.
Now a few words about Mr. Martin Glotzer. They are meant to be honest, not hurtful. Kevin knows him pretty well and Marty's dad made a lot of money in real estate and Marty inherited a fair amount. If you have seen any of his notes to me in the report, he can barely construct a sentence. Kevin says Marty has some kind of learning disability. But Koy says that Marty is a genius in some ways which is why he called him an "idiot savant."
"How's that?," I asked. Well, Kevin said that if you give Marty any intersection in the city of Chicago, he can tell you the buildings that were there for the last 75 years.
So, he is not exactly Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, but he knows his intersections and buildings.
Kevin and I chatted about how Marty likes to have his picture taken with the chairman or the CEO of every firm whose shareholder meeting he attends and how he carries around a photo album to show these pics off, something that most of us would not care about at all, but for some reason Marty wants and needs that recognition. In fairness to Marty, he is not just another Salahi. He does raise legit. issues at the shareholder meetings he attends.
Kevin Koy then told me his own brush with greatness which is the story of how he actually got a returned call from Steve Jobs twenty years ago. At that time, Jobs was between jobs after he had been canned by John Sculley. Is that right? Not only is that right, it is, ironically, a hot topic right now, twenty five years after the fact. I put 'Sculley fired Jobs' into Google and a ton of articles popped up with dates from this month, all along the lines of where are the men who sent Steve Jobs packing in 1985.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-06/why-i-fired-steve-jobs/full/
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Spotlight-The-Man-Who-Fired-Steve-Jobs-Speaks-3931
Kevin Koy explains his success in getting Jobs to return his call to persistence and just plain luck that Jobs was "in between" jobs at the time.
That was just one call.
Prior to that I had breakfast at Golden Apple at Southport and Lincoln. Alan Slate, another odd duck type who is "retired" at age 66 and who used to be a printer -- over the years I have found that printers tend to be fascinating people -- is big on futurism, amateur science and medicine, etc. He mentioned the expectorant value of licorice as he puffed on a cigarette. He also said his sugar level is now normal after he started using cinnamon. And he said one should eat desert (fruit) first, entree second and salad last because of the way glucose and digestion works. He is also planning to sell his sketches of people on T-shirts. He says he has gotten so good at it that art gallery owners have told him he should be selling the work, not giving it away. I asked him why he can't just do a sketch from a picture or a photo of the person. He said that there is an extra dimension of a person that you cannot get from a photo.
The main question I wanted an answer about was the issue of a manned flight to Mars. This topic came up last Thursday night when I talked to Chad Smith of n2 (Co-Founder) grew up on a farm in Iowa, used his first computer at age 18, and by 21, was working on mission dynamics and astrodynamics algorithms for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Chad told me that one of the big problems in a trip to Mars which would take three years is the effects on bones and muscle which both atrophy when not in use as they would not be under zero G conditions.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/server_virtualization/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225300232
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0778174.html
Alan Slate said that to get some kind of meaningful gravity force to keep muscles and bones in shape, we would need to create a 1/2 G environment and the way to do that would be a rotation. In other words, rotate the capsule, similar to centrifugal force.
OK, here's the rub. The zero G capsule has a very thin exterior but a 1/2 G capsule would need a much thicker exterior which also means much more fuel, etc., etc.
It is clearly not a trivial problem.
* This last week [June 21 to 25], attending three events (TBIF, Social Media Chicago and Tech Cocktail Mobile 2), I picked up a few pieces of relatively useless information.
-- Dan Ehrmann wants me to restrict my headlines to 255 characters or less since he can't open the report with more than that.
-- Zoe Quan, now back in Chicago after a few years in Toronto, and Marci Chapman never want to give me their cards. I now know why. They don't like my reference to "babes" or "hotties" or "chicks" and similarly demeaning ways of writing about women. I plead guilty of course.
What I have noticed is that the "hot chicks" like Valerie from TC Mobile 2 or Sarah and Georgeta from SMC don't mind it one bit and I do ask them. But the lady from GiveForward does mind, understandably and therefore she is not going to be listed. The true babes never seem to mind that I put them on that list and I do understand that professional women, no matter what their appearance might be, are often offended and am cognizant of that distinction.
-- Monica Metzler and Nik Rokop are not likely to be an item any time soon. I say this because Monica was looking admiringly at Jed Abernethy's long hair which she remarked is a good thing to run one's hair through.
From my tape of the SMC event on June 24th and a lot of this is just email addresses.
-- Kim Red was wearing black at the SMC event.
-- Eric somebody was wearing the same blue short sleeve shirt I was wearing.
-- Tanya and Monica are on the babes list.
-- Xan Pierson's parents were hippies. She is German and English so the first name Xan is not Asian.
-- leia.ferarri@starcom.com
Zack.zaban@gmail.com
GeorgetaDragoiu@gmail.com is a hottie with the World Bank.
Mary Fitzgerald from the Irish Times mfitzgerald@irishtimes.com
Juliana Malka is 12 lbs at the tender age of three months. Her mother is Daliah Saper.
Sarah from Initiate Systems. Of the 350 people at the time fo the purchase by IBM, 100 were in Chicago. She has not received IBM stock yet and does not to this day know the price of the sale.
Crysta Anderson crysta@us.ibm.com
Rachel Kaberon deserves a slam in the report for going to the SMC event and for abandoning MIT-EF.
frankmcgee@hotmail.com
Patty Huber is now at Groupon doing community management for www.thepoint.com.
ThePoint is having a revival right now after a long period of dormancy. It was being revived about a month ago when Patty was hired and the launch will be in a few weeks.
ItStartswithUs out of Milwaukee is a company for which 3,000 people spent 15 minutes making a difference in the lives of people around them. I have tried but can't find the URL.
Laura Snyder, 18, is from Maryland and definitely a hottie majoring in PR at DePaul. She says she loves the field and would not want to do anything else. Go figure.
Amy@hessercommunications.com
This is a good place to cut it for this report. Next up:
-- TC Mobile 2 on June 24th
-- TBIF Soap Box and the comments of the judges on June 21st.
-- Healthcare trends observed at Illinois Masonic. Things like where the residents are coming from and where the nurses and nurse techs are coming from. Seth, formerly an account exec. with Draft FCB has given up kissing butt for wiping butt -- and I ain't kiddin. Weber Grill was one of his clients. We're talking the full Monty, stuff that would make Big Al Wasserberger cringe. Strip clubs, hookers, etc.
* Lyn Williams and her event last Tuesday night. There are many things going on in the mobile space that I did not know about and Melanie Adcock has been kind enough to bring me up to speed on some of the activities. I know a number of folks, including Bruce Montgomery, are involved.
Lyn Williams' event on Tuesday night was not well attended (40 to 50 over the course of the evening) and only two people took advantage of the no charge at the door if you mention TMR offering, but they had eight aspiring artists actually working and displaying their works, and chatting with art lovers and on-lookers.
Lyn Williams who founded this thing has been to five cities now, Chicago being the farthest east. She has big plans and sees her business as a portal for new and fresh but as yet unrecognized artists of all kinds. She is planning to have a TV show but is not sure how it will fit in with the Bravo show already in existence that does the throw one artist off the show each week.
Most of the art is in the lower price range, with the most expensive works being about $3K. Lots of stuff between $200 and $600.
Amethyst Challenge Winners
San Francisco Celebrity Artists
Seattle Celebrity Artists
Portland Celebrity Artists
San Jose Celebrity Artists
Shop by Price $$
Art Books and Cards
Animal and Pet Lovers
Ceramics
Digital Paintings
Drawings & Mixed Media
Fashion
Fine Jewelry
Fiber Art
Home Décor
Funky Jewelry
Paintings
3D Wall Art
Photography
Prints (Giclées)
Printmaking
Religious and Spiritual
Sculptures
Teaching Guides
Wood Furnishings
Popular Items
Membership to Mysoiree
The web development firm for her site which she found through the net and social networking, is www.dreamco.com. Those guys are in Dundee and have about eleven people now. 55% of their business is for firms wanting websites under $5K. They have some bigger deals in the $90K range as well and mentioned Cherry One as a competitor they bump up against. Cherry One rang a bell with me:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/web-hosting/cherry-one-web-desig/cherry-one-web-design-the-mcdo-3ca7y.htm
I am sorry I missed the Howard Tullman event, the TBIF summer soiree, and the BNC Capital Group last night. That was just due to being wiped out and not being "sure" without Depends. :-)
________________________________
Karlton Meadows: Helping the Bucs
From: Karlton Meadows <injinjiuk@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: The May Report: 7/30/2010: Part one of three tonight: McCall and New World sell out on Plsydom; No more excuses, no more self-pity, no more long naps -- the real problem is the space between my ears, not the lesion in my liver, capisce?; Bland claims
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:36:22 +0000
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
Hey Ron,
One of Chicagoland's very own is out here in Tampa trying to help the Bucs. May I trouble you to include the enclosed link and my request for positive comments in your next posting? Majestic Balance is still going and the Bucs are still on my hitlist. http://www.buccaneershome.com/videos/display-bAoVwd2hnl4.php
Graciously,
Karlton Meadows
Majestic Balance Head Performance and Training Specialist
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Karlton Meadows <injinjiuk@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: The May Report: 7/30/2010: Part one of three tonight: McCall and New World sell out on Plsydom; No more excuses, no more self-pity, no more long naps -- the real problem is the space between my ears, not the lesion in my liver, capisce?; Bland claims
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:42:42 +0000
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
My apologies Ron,
I forgot the comment link
http://thehockeyzen.appspot.com/view_media.jsp?team=tb&type=video&id=14113282
Thanks,
Karlton
_______________________________________
Bob Waldron: Americans and the net
From: Bob Waldron <bwaldron@gmail.com>
Subject: americans and the 'net
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 10:07:10 -0500
To: Terri Griffith <t@terrigriffith.com>, justin kruger <justin.kruger@gmail.com>, Mark Nickel <mark.nickel@gmail.com>, Andrew Fleck <gve@newbc.rr.com>, Marcus Nelson <marcusnelson@yahoo.com>, ron@themayreport.com
just so you know how (Nielsen says) the masses spend their time on the internet
1. Americans spending more time on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube; online gaming overtakes e-mail http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=69156 ?Americans are spending a quarter of their Internet time on Facebook or other social networking sites, while online video games have passed sending e-mail as the second most popular online activity?Americans spent 22.7 percent of their online time on social networking or blogs in June 2010, a 43 percent increase compared to June 2009. Video game playing increased by 10 percent in the same period to account for 10.2 percent of time spent online?e-mail usage?declined 28 percent to an 8.3 percent share of online time?time spent on Web portals decreased 19 percent to a 4.4 percent share of all activity, and instant messaging had a 4 percent share, a decrease of 15 percent?viewing of online videos and movies increased 12 percent to about 3.9 percent of all activities, allowing that category to surge past online searches. "Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the Web, 40 percent of U.S. online time is spent on just three activities - social networking, playing games and e-mailing??
__________________________________
Miscellaneous notes from John Dallas and Marty Glotzer -- not sure what the Dallas notes are about (4 messages)
__________________________
#1: From: John R Dallas Jr <notification+ku-7--d@facebookmail.com>
Subject: Memories of a Lifelong Early Adopter
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 22:28:58 -0700
To: Ron <ron@themayreport.com>
facebook
John R Dallas Jr
10:28pm Aug 1st
Memories of a Lifelong Early Adopter
To ron@themayreport.com
Ron, I thought you would find interesting these flashbacks.
To reply to this message, follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=697820545&k=4VBT25R6PT2FXCGCW13VPVYSTWEJ3U&oid=1452372963256
If you do not wish to receive this type of email from Facebook in the future, please click here to unsubscribe.
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___________________________________
#2: From: "John R. Dallas, Jr." <jrdallasjr@hillviewpartners.com>
Subject: FW: Visual Thesaurus Magazine: Don't Quote Me
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 02:39:07 -0500
To: <ron@themayreport.com>
FYI
From: Visual Thesaurus Magazine [mailto:magazine@visualthesaurus.com]
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 2:37 AM
To: jrdallasjr@hillviewpartners.com
Subject: Visual Thesaurus Magazine: Don't Quote Me
Dear Visual Thesaurus Subscriber,
Here's the latest article from Language Lounge:
Don't Quote Me
August 2, 2010
By Orin Hargraves
A specter is haunting English - the specter of abused quotation marks. We notice this more and more in our reading and editing in the Lounge: the unthinking or misguided use of quotation marks where they are not required or serve no clear purpose seems to have become epidemic, perhaps nowhere more so than in the recently well-publicized open letter that the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers posted on the team's website, in which he responded to star player Lebron James' move to another team.
Click here to read the whole article...
Words, delivered fresh daily! Did you know you can now subscribe to the Visual Thesaurus' Word of the Day? We'll send a fascinating, fun word to your email inbox every morning, automatically. Click here to sign up
Don't want to receive the latest Visual Thesaurus articles from Language Lounge? No Problem.
Click this link to remove your email address from the list.
____________________________________
#3: From: MGlotz@aol.com
Subject: Re: The May Report: 7/30/2010: Part TWO of three tonight: McCall and New Worl...
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:50:46 EDT
To: ron@themayreport.com
Martin Glotzer reads your reportss hpe your HEALTH get BETTER
In a message dated 7/30/2010 9:38:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time, ron@themayreport.com writes:
_______________________________________
#4: From: MGlotz@aol.com
Subject: Re: The May Report: 7/30/2010: Part TWO of three tonight: McCall and New Worl...
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 08:09:00 EDT
To: ron@themayreport.com
wonder have you heard of THE CITY OF HOPE???? Duarte Calif/ one of the top cancer clinics in America I toured the place several years ago they have a fund rasing office in Skokie look them up on google. Martin Glotzer
In a message dated 7/30/2010 9:38:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time, ron@themayreport.com writes:
________________________________________
Mary Spaeth comments
From: mary.spaeth@transmera.com
Sender: mary.spaeth@transmera.com
Subject: Re: The May Report: 7/30/2010: Part TWO of three tonight: McCall and New World sell out on Playdom; No more excuses, no more self-pity, no more long naps -- the real problem is the space between my ears, not the lesion in my liver, capisce?; Bland claims to be getting some traction
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2010 15:19:00 -0400
To: "The May Report" <ron@themayreport.com>
Hello Ron,
Darrell Dvorak's reference to the WSJ editorial on 27 July entitled
'Krugman's Fraud' provokes my own editorial on matters of truth spinning.
I feel compelled to encourage discussion, in the US and in Europe,
regarding the often misleading rhetoric that surrounds the energy (read
electric) industries. Despite, or perhaps because of, the amount of
information flow via today's media both online and off, we know perhaps
less than ever before. So, following is a long editorial, but far from
long enough to sufficiently address an issue that I believe is the MOST
important in national and world politics today.
The more I hear and read discussions related to climate and energy, the
more I am persuaded to drop all other priorities and focus on what has
been becoming the largest scam this world has seen. Let's begin by saying
that regardless of the facts or fictions on the science of climate change,
we should all do as much as we can to ensure that we do not put the planet
in harm's way.
So what is the scam? The scam is related to the notion advanced by Enron
that, somehow, deregulation is a democratic and free-market policy that
promotes competition and healthy economies. What is sad is that people
actually believe this--because the rhetoric "sounds" right. It almost
sounds "American." What is even sadder is that Enron's promotion of this
notion for the sake of its own self-interest has given capitalism a bad
name around the globe and has led Americans to make rather strong
statements against some of the successful social-democratic practices in
Europe without understanding that it REMAINS the interest of the energy
industry to foster bad-will about government-owned and/or regulated
institutions in order to gain full control of the market as a means to
manipulate trading (and at the same time have the gall to tell consumers
that their electric bill has gone up because of the cost. They are
inferring production but of course meaning share price.
De-regulation (from the perspective of many wolves disguised in
pseudo-capitalist sheep's wool) too often means exactly what it implies:
eliminate regulation. We have all seen that too many practioners in the
financial industry require more regulation--not because of any form of
political philosophy like capitalism or socialism--but because of the
philosophy of greed. The clamour for climate by energy-magnates too often
reflects less concern for climate (despite the jargon they use) and even
less concern for the future beyond their own funerals.
Those of us who have been involved in business development for many years
know well that the legal form of a business is not what ensures its
success or failure to operate as a business and to ensure return on
investment?whether that means responsible break-even or 40% margins.
Whether a company is owned by the 'government' or by private individuals
does not have to mean that one is better than the other. We all know that
the complexities of operating a business run deeper than this. Form, by
definition, may restrict certain kinds of behavior?and even induce other
kinds of behavior, but we don?t have to look far to find state-owned
airlines, railroads, schools, and hospitals which are productive and
successful?in the US, Australia, Sweden, China, and throughout the world.
Importantly too is that the level and type of involvement that a nation
has in companies varies within and across countries.
Over the last 10 years I have written once or twice a year to the May
Report to boast about the quality of life and business in Sweden. In 2007
I accepted Swedish citizenship and was fortunate to be able to retain my
American citizenship as well. Together they represent probably the best
ideals on the planet and I am proud to wear the colors of both countries.
But, Sweden, like the US, is not immune to domestic tyranies that stand to
threaten the quality of life, economics and ethics of its peoples. In
Sweden, Vattenfall--(now one of Europe's largest utility companies), wants
to privatize (in the name of market freedom) while it has been buying up
(with tax-payer money) its competition (in February it paid $13.3 billion
to acquire Nuon from the Netherlands to create what they described as a
European energy company). Not unlike AT&T, Vattenfall (and E-on among
others) is creating cartels and/or monopolies by leasing its "control" to
smaller firms which are basically regulated, cartel-like, to the price of
the shares traded globally. Consumers are led to believe that they have a
choice, not only of smaller companies from which to purchase their
electricity, but that they can choose rolling or fixed prices. This is
rather far from the truth.
Fortunately for the Swedish tax payer, the major political parties,
particularly moderates, center party and social democrats are discussing
the issues of privatization with a full understanding of the benefits of
nationalization to prevent monopolies while serving the public good. What
the central party, perhaps speaking on behalf of the reigning moderate
party, seems to be forgetting is that it is possible for the government to
retain fiscal responsibility for a company that affects a full 100% of its
citizens.
Infrastructure is a word that suggests support for large numbers of
people. In the US we talk about highways and public education which has
traditionally been funded, quite successfully in most places, by tax payer
dollars. The potential for transparency and quality exist and via a true
democratic republic, citizens can vote out those who do not represent
their views on education--much more easily than one can vote out the CEO
of Enron for jacking up prices. And do I remember correctly that Chicago
planned to pay off its tax-paid highway construction with tolls that would
eventually disappear? Who owns the toll-road collection there now? I do
know that the Stevenson Expressway was estimated to generate 25millionUSD
by 2020. But then, road construction, asphalt and concrete in Chicago is a
whole 'nother story isn't it?
The infrastructure of health in a nation is a difficult one to maintain,
particularly when we have the technology to extend life well beyond age 70
but we lack the financial resources to offer this to every individual in a
society, even if we?d like to do so. The advantages and disadavantages of
private and public health care systems are many and varied. In Sweden
where the research and science is fairly equivalent to the US, the
nationalized health care works well if one suffers from an easily
identifiable disease. The system is pragmatic, fair, friendly and caring.
Sadly, there are weekly articles in the newspapers about patients who get
lost in the system as they are passed from specialist to specialist and
back to their primary care physician for years before serious problems are
diagnosed, often too late. But like the US, patients have a choice of
being covered by their insurance providers (in this case the government)
or going to a specialist and paying a bit extra. I like to remind my US
friends that the US military services are an example of the so-called
?socialized medicine? about which so many Americans associate rather
simplistically with cold-war communism.
The May Report has lots of readers who teach or promote entrepreneurship.
There is good reason that the leadership of a government owned company
would be interested in the privatization of an entity that enjoys the
captive market associated with ?infrastructure?. What a deal, too, if a
company gets its investment start on the backs of tax payers.
Electricity should never have been allowed as a tradeable commodity. And
in Europe it has become so deregulated to the extent that any potential
for competition that might have provided a FAIR market price to all
citizens will probably not be realized. Ironically, Swedes believe that
their national company, Vattenfall, should not be regulated as to price.
Europeans are amazed when they hear that the US actually does regulate the
electricity industry to some degree (FERC). Adults under 40, here and in
other parts of the world are often shocked to know that there was a time
when electricity was not traded on open markets, and that price increases
and decreases REALLY did, at one time, have something to do with use.
I urge all May Report readers to read as much as possible about these
issues--from multiple sources. Look at historical data between 1970 and
2010 to understand prices and markets in the energy industry. Look at your
own electric bills and those of your parents and grandparents. Consider
the impact of these changes and their meaning for the public good. Carbon
off-set trading, hedging, and other schemes are probably less altruistic
and socially "responsible" than they seem. The argument surrounding
climate goes far deeper than saving the planet. Often it has more to do
with saving the ever-increasing revenues of the energy companies who are
happy to invest in electric car research, wind, waves, water and anything
that will raise the price of stock at the expense of captive consumers.
I am not a prize-winning economist like Paul Krugman. In fact I am not an
economist, nor am I particularly wealthy. In the last several US elections
I have voted libertarian. In Sweden I voted for the current reigning
party. No party candidate has ever represented my views on every issue. I
hope that most voters can say the same thing. If they can?t, I question
their own due diligence. The point of this editorial is to remind, if not
insist on greater not lesser diligence in seeking knowledge while
questioning, understanding, and appropriately supporting the motivations
of those who work or speak on our behalf.
At the outset of this editorial I said that discussions regarding climate
might be the most important of our time. Their importance, however, has
nothing to do with the arguments made regarding the science, myth or
reality of climate change. What are important are the far-reaching
ramifications of these discussions which are too often partially informed,
misused, or disguised in manipulative rhetoric. From funding for energy
research in universities; to the global promotion of sexy smart-grids; to
the trading of electricity; to the buying and selling of offsets, we
should exercise caution in lauding projects that purport to be in the
interest of all. The revelation of Enron's horrific practices should be a
clarion call that continues to echo and reverberate in our ears. We humans
are fortunately optimistic and well-meaning beings, but we shouldn't be
happily blind to the ambitions of others--whether they are dictatorial
leaders of "evil" countries, or greedy business leaders disguised as
community benefactors.
The legacy we leave with future generations?with our children and
grandchildren?should be not only a healthy and peaceful planet, but one
where ethics and goodwill take precedence over greed.
Best regards,
Mary Spaeth
President, Transmera AB
Tekinikringen 7
58330 Linköping
Sweden
________________________________________
IU receives $9.2 million from NSF to expand global networks and research
From: iuinfo@indiana.edu
Subject: IU receives $9.2 million from NSF to expand global networks and research
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 14:37:00 -0400
To: ron@themayreport.com
Indiana University
IU News Room
News Release
Last modified: Monday, August 2, 2010
IU receives $9.2 million from NSF to expand global networks and research
EMBARGOED UNTIL 2 p.m., Aug. 2, 2010
EDITORS: To watch a video of Principal Investigator James Williams speaking about international networking, go to: http://www.indiana.edu/~video/stream/launchflash.html?folder=video&filename=JimWilliams.flv
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has been awarded $9.2 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to lead two high-speed international network services. The awards provide IU with $4.6 million to continue the TransPAC3 network connection to Asia, and an additional $4.6 million for a new connection to Europe, named ACE -- America Connects to Europe.
"Congratulations to Indiana University, the first institution to receive two awards in an IRNC competition," said William Chang, National Science Foundation IRNC (International Research Network Connections) program officer, and an Indiana University graduate. "Thanks to its leadership, scientists and educators in Asia and Europe may now connect to U.S. research and education centers, to the great benefit of people around the world, especially in less developed countries. Indiana University, positioned in the heartland of the U.S., has now earned the distinction of global center of information technology for science and education."
IU, in close cooperation with its national and international partners, will lead the implementation of these networks to connect scientists and researchers in the U.S. with their counterparts in Europe and Asia.
Michael McRobbie
Michael McRobbie
Print-Quality Photo
"These global, high-speed communications networks are absolutely critical to 21st century scientific research," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie, who was the principal investigator on the original TransPAC grant in 1998. "They make possible a level of collaboration among researchers at the world's major scientific and engineering institutions that couldn't even be imagined just 20 years ago. Indiana University has played an essential role in managing such services since 1998 when the first connection to the Asia Pacific was initiated. I am extremely proud that IU has been chosen again by the NSF to continue to play a major role in this important work. This continues to place IU right at the center of international developments in advanced networking."
TransPAC3, an extension of the current TransPAC2, will facilitate direct U.S.-Asia research interactions. Moreover, TransPAC3 will expand opportunities for U.S. research collaborations across all regions of Asia, thanks to the network's ability to reach a greater number of countries and deploy higher capacities.
Similarly, the ACE Project, which consists of a cooperative partnership with DANTE and the GÉANT community of more than 34 national research and education networks, will provide significant economies of scale in trans-Atlantic connectivity and support a broad community of users through the deployment of bandwidth between Europe and the U.S.
Both of these connections will have an immediate impact on the global research environment and will pave the way for future service and technology advances.
James G. Williams
James G. Williams
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"Our goals are to competently support current needs and also to extend the trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific exchanges into further scientific fields and disciplines and geographic regions," said IU Director of International Networking James Williams, principal investigator for both the ACE and TransPAC3 projects. "Bandwidth procurement alone is not the purpose of the projects. Technical and operational collaboration and planning are critical in supporting science and engineering research. Education and research collaboration between the U.S., European, and Asian communities is our overarching mission."
One way in which this award will support the overarching mission of education is through the utilization of IU's Gerald L. Bepko Internship Program, which aims to identify, connect and work with students in populations that are under-represented in information technology. The funding from this award will provide undergraduates in the Bepko program an opportunity to work alongside IU network experts and gain real-world experience on an international scale.
This award will also provide much-needed support for important future research objectives in the Asian and European regions. For example, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in Southern France and the Australian Square Kilometre Array prototype Pathfinder international radio telescope -- both of which will depend on sharing large amounts of data among hundreds of widely distributed researchers -- will benefit greatly from TransPAC3 and ACE.
"These two awards from the National Science Foundation continue to expand IU's role in leading some of the world's most advanced networks," said Brad Wheeler, vice president for information technology at Indiana University. "There is real synergy in staff expertise for managing these research networks at the state, national and international levels. IU's growing Networks group continues to demonstrate this synergy and effectiveness through these awards and contracts."
Brad Wheeler
Brad Wheeler
Print-Quality Photo
Dai Davies, general manager of DANTE, builder and operator of the GÉANT and TEIN3 networks, adds, "Research is a global activity and is becoming increasingly important for seeking solutions to many of the societal issues facing the world. GÉANT and TEIN3 together interconnect with networks worldwide to support collaborative research programs between Asian, European and U.S. researchers. The ongoing demand for capacity increases means close collaboration amongst operators of research networks is vital for cost and technical reasons. This new award to ensure continued and improved connectivity between the USA, GÉANT in Europe and Asia is welcomed and we look forward to this relationship enduring in the years ahead."
About the partnerships
IU will lead the TransPAC3 collaboration in partnership with APAN and DANTE via the TEIN3 project, and in coordination with Internet2 and numerous other R&E networks that will be interconnected through the project.
On the ACE Project, IU will serve as the lead institution and will work in partnership with DANTE, NYSERNet, and Internet2, and in coordination with many national and multi-national R&E networks.
* APAN (Asia Pacific Advanced Network) represents research and education interests across much of Asia.
* DANTE is the operator of the pan-European network GÉANT and the TEIN3 project.
* Internet2 is the leading U.S. research and educational networking organization, representing 300 member institutions and connecting thousands of institutions across the U.S.
* NYSERNet, a private not-for-profit corporation created to foster science and education in New York State, is a partner in Manhattan Landing (MAN LAN), one of the premier U.S.-based international R&E exchange points.
Funding for ACE and TransPAC3 is provided by grants from the National Science Foundation titled "IRNC: ProNet: ACE -- America Connects to Europe" and "IRNC:ProNet: TransPAC3 -- Asia-US High Performance International Networking" under NSF Award Numbers OCI-0962973 and OCI-0962968. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
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