Making Money Opportunities

Ok Go Explains There Are Lots Of Ways To Make Money If You Can Get Fans

from the everything's-possible dept

Over the last few years, we've covered many of the moves by the band Ok Go -- to build up a fanbase often with the help of amazingly viral videos, ditch their major record label (EMI), and explore new business model opportunities. In the last few days, two different members of Ok Go explained a bit more of the band's thinking in two separate places, and both are worth reading. First up, we have Tim Nordwind, who did an interview with Hypebot, where he explained the band's general view on file sharing:

Obviously we'd love for anyone who has our music to buy a copy. But again, we're realistic enough to know that most music can be found online for free. And trying to block people's access to it isn't good for bands or music. If music is going to be free, then musicians will simply have to find alternative methods to make a living in the music business. People are spending money on music, but it's on the technology to play it. They spend hundreds of dollars on Ipods, but then fill it with 80 gigs of free music. That's ok, but it's just a different world now, and bands must learn to adjust.

Elsewhere in the interview, he talks about the importance of making fans happy and how the band realizes that there are lots of different ways to make money, rather than just selling music directly:

Our videos have opened up many more opportunities for us to make the things we want to make, and to chase our best and wildest ideas. Yes, we need to figure out how to make a living in a world where people don't buy music anymore. But really, we've been doing that for the last ten years. Things like licensing, touring, merch, and also now making videos through corporate sponsorship have all allowed us to keep the lights on and continue making music.

Separately, last Friday, Damian Kulash wrote a nice writeup in the Wall Street Journal all about how bands can, should and will make money going forward. In many ways the piece reminds me a bit of my future of music business models post from earlier this year -- and Kulash even uses many of the same examples in his article (Corey Smith, Amanda Palmer, Josh Freese, etc.). It's a really worthwhile read as well. He starts by pointing out that for a little over half a century, the record labels had the world convinced that the "music" industry really was just the "recorded music" industry:

For a decade, analysts have been hyperventilating about the demise of the music industry. But music isn't going away. We're just moving out of the brief period--a flash in history's pan--when an artist could expect to make a living selling records alone. Music is as old as humanity itself, and just as difficult to define. It's an ephemeral, temporal and subjective experience.



For several decades, though, from about World War II until sometime in the last 10 years, the recording industry managed to successfully and profitably pin it down to a stable, if circular, definition: Music was recordings of music. Records not only made it possible for musicians to connect with listeners anywhere, at any time, but offered a discrete package for commoditization. It was the perfect bottling of lightning: A powerful experience could be packaged in plastic and then bought and sold like any other commercial product.

But, he notes, that time is now gone, thanks in large part to the internet. But that doesn't mean the music business is in trouble. Just the business of selling recorded music. But there's lots of things musicians can sell. He highlights Corey Smith and Smith's ability to make millions by giving away his music for free, and then touring. But he also points out that touring isn't for everyone. He covers how corporate licensing has become a bigger and bigger opportunity for bands that are getting popular. While he doesn't highlight the specific economics of it, what he's really talking about is that if your band is big, you can sell your fan's attention -- which is something Ok Go has done successfully by getting corporate sponsorship of their videos. As he notes, the sponsors provide more money than the record labels with many fewer strings:

These days, money coming from a record label often comes with more embedded creative restrictions than the marketing dollars of other industries. A record label typically measures success in number of records sold. Outside sponsors, by contrast, tend to take a broader view of success. The measuring stick could be mentions in the press, traffic to a website, email addresses collected or views of online videos. Artists have meaningful, direct, and emotional access to our fans, and at a time when capturing the public's attention is increasingly difficult for the army of competing marketers, that access is a big asset.



...



Now when we need funding for a large project, we look for a sponsor. A couple weeks ago, my band held an eight-mile musical street parade through Los Angeles, courtesy of Range Rover. They brought no cars, signage or branding; they just asked that we credit them in the documentation of it. A few weeks earlier, we released a music video made in partnership with Samsung, and in February, one was underwritten by State Farm.



We had complete creative control in the productions. At the end of each clip we thanked the company involved, and genuinely, because we truly are thankful. We got the money we needed to make what we want, our fans enjoyed our videos for free, and our corporate Medicis got what their marketing departments were after: millions of eyes and goodwill from our fans. While most bands struggle to wrestle modest video budgets from labels that see videos as loss leaders, ours wind up making us a profit.

Of course, that only works if you have a big enough fanbase, but that doesn't mean there aren't things that less well known bands can use to make money as well. He talks about an up-and-coming band in LA that doesn't even have a manager that was able make money:

The unsigned and unmanaged Los Angeles band Killola toured last summer and offered deluxe USB packages that included full albums, live recordings and access to two future private online concerts for $40 per piece. Killola grossed $18,000 and wound up in the black for their tour. Mr. Donnelly says, "I can't imagine they'll be ordering their yacht anytime soon, but traditionally bands at that point in their careers aren't even breaking even on tour."

The point, Kulash, notes, is that there's a lot of things a band can sell, focusing on "selling themselves." And, the thing he doesn't mention is that, when you're focusing on selling the overall experience that is "you" as a musician or a band, it's something that can't be freely copied. People can copy the music all they want, but they can't copy you. "You" are a scarce good that can't be "pirated." That's exactly what more and more musicians are figuring out these days, and it's helping to make many more artists profitable. And, no, it doesn't mean that any artist can make money. But it certainly looks like any artist that understands this can do a hell of a lot better than they would have otherwise, if they just relied on the old way of making money in the music business.

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(Editor’s note: Charley Polachi is a partner at Polachi, an executive recruiting firm. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)

2010 is winding down rapidly with all indications that the worst is behind us – hopefully. At the very least, that’s the sentiment of many of the executives we deal with.

As we gave forward into 2011, we queried several of our executive search partners around the world to get their input on what they see happening in their back yards and what they anticipate for the year to come. Here’s what they had to say:

Sean Carroll, Polachi (NYC)

“If there is any meaningful uptick in the economy, good talent that may be on the sidelines will be gone and entrepreneurs will have a tough time hiring on their own.  Also, I suspect there will be a strong M&A market as we’ve seen with Netezza, Unica, Coremetrics, etc.  Corporations have lots of cash and will buy at the right price.”

“Lastly, as entrepreneurs pioneer innovative solutions, there will always be a shortage of skills as the experience or domain does not exist yet.  A good example is SEO products.  Automating SEO is an interesting problem to solve but there are only a few young product companies, so the only place to get SEO experience is the agencies…no SaaS or product experience there.  Entrepreneurs need to make bets that talent can step up in a new sector.”

Andy Price, Schweichler, Price, Mullarkey and Barry (Silicon Valley)

“My view is that the talent pool is getting snapped up pretty fast and once again we’re seeing a very competitive landscape for people.  We’re competing against two forces: Other companies recruiting, and inertia driven by either risk aversion or someone’s low priced options are suddenly in the money and they’re inclined to take risk off the table.  That said, people believe startups have a chance again so they’re willing to talk to you.  Closing people is the hard part right now.”

Steve Lavelle, Gillamor Stephens (London)

“In Europe, access to the talent pool is there, provided the company’s proposition is compelling enough. Closing candidates can be challenging though and having been through the low point of hiring activity, it’s only going to heat up as we move into next year.”

Sal Rocco, Stonewood Group (Toronto)

“We are seeing more product development, engineering-oriented searches than in the past 2-3 years.  The only thing we can attribute this to is that when the market tanked and companies were cash strapped, the focus was on revenue generation and selling what we had.  They gutted costly product development and engineering teams.  The thought was: Don’t worry about new product development because we may not be alive in 2-3 years if we don’t get cash today.

“To the extent they were doing searches in the past 2-3 years, the searches were on either outward looking sales & marketing types focused on making money or CFOs/Finance types focused on raising cash or slowing the bleed. Today, as the future looks brighter and companies realize that their products are dated, they need to hire engineering leads and product development types, which they were laying off over the past 2-3 years.”

So, for 2011 the future looks fairly bright. VCs are investing and companies are hiring.  A few things entrepreneurs can expect to see and look out for are the following:

• Senior talent is getting scarce again


• Social media works for staffing at many levels, but not at the executive level


• Cleantech continues to march on – and more opportunities will be there for investors


• Venture capital is emerging from a difficult stretch, but there is money for good ideas and strong teams in mobile applications, gaming and health care IT


• Candidates want cash and equity.


• Acquisitions will provide the bulk of exits in 2011; the IPO market isn’t here yet.

Next Story: Verizon iPad 2 to join the Verizon iPhone in 2011? Previous Story: Computer platforms with the biggest buzz will be the biggest malware targets in 2011

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Online Money Making Opportunities

Amid a shrinking home entertainment market, many in Hollywood have questioned whether any investment in a film library these days is a wise one. However, people close to Colony said the firm is convinced that Miramax was a largely ignored asset that will generate enough cash to repay the debt portion of the purchase within four years.

The library comes with about $300 million in revenue committed from existing deals, along with approximately $100 million in projected revenue for movies released in the last 10 years, people close to the acquisition said.

Under Lang, the new Miramax is expected to explore making a digital distribution deal with Google’s YouTube, building miramax.com as a destination site to view movies online, and launching a new cable channel devoted to its library, which includes titles such as "Shakespeare In Love" and "Chicago." The new owners will also seek a new distributor for Miramax's DVDs, a service that will continue to be handled by Disney for the next several months.

The new Miramax will have between 60 and 80 employees and about $15 million in annual overhead spending, said people with knowledge of the plans. Though executives will explore rights deals and partnerships for sequels and spinoffs based on its library, Miramax won’t finance the production of new films for at least a year, those people said.

A key figure in the Miramax negotiations was Nanula, a longtime senior executive at Disney who served as chief financial officer when the company acquired the specialty studio in 1993 from the Weinsteins.

When his boss, Barrack, gave him a green light to pursue entertainment acquisitions in late June, Nanula suggested they look at Miramax. Barrack contacted Tutor, who was already in talks with Disney to buy Miramax after a previous deal with Burkle and the Weinstein brothers collapsed.

As he had longstanding relationships with several Disney executives, including its lead negotiator, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy Kevin Mayer, Nanula spearheaded the talks beginning in early July. He and fellow Colony principal Justin Chang helped to shape the deal that Colony, Tutor and Disney agreed to in principle on July 23.

In the ensuing four months, many details of the purchase were reshaped, as investors originally brought in by Tutor, including Morgan Creek Productions Chief Executive James Robinson, were replaced by parties associated with Colony, most notably the Qatar fund.

Colony and Tutor plan to begin assembling their executive team in the coming weeks. Along with Lang, who has extensive experience in digital media, they are expected to hire a senior television distribution executive to sell Miramax movies to cable and broadcast networks around the world. At one point, talks were underway with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer TV executive Jim Packer, but the two sides didn't reach an agreement.

-- Ben Fritz

Related:

Ron Tutor-led group closes Miramax deal

New Miramax closing in on CEO, other executives

Disney agrees to sell Miramax to investor group led by Ron Tutor

Top photo: Thomas J. Barrack. Bottom photo: Richard Nanula. Credit: Colony Capital.

Funding

In May of this year, Tomio Geron at the Wall Street Journal summed up the funding story thusly:

Etacts, which completed the Y Combinator incubator program in March, has just closed a $700,000 seed round from prominent angels including Ron Conway's SV Angel; Eric Hahn, former chief technology officer at Netscape; Joshua Schachter, founder of Delicious; Jim Young, co-founder of HotOrNot; Barney Pell and Lorenzo Thione, co-founders of Powerset; Jawed Karim, co-founder of Youtube; Ashton Kutcher, actor and now angel investor; Robby Walker and Wayne Crosby, former Y Combinator participants; and Irene Pedrazza, founder of CheetahMail.

Etacts raised the funding quickly - in just over a month - and had intended to raise $500,000 but decided to let in more investors because of the strong interest, said Liu, who co-founded the company with classmate Evan Beard after the two graduated from Duke University last year.

You don't take Ron Conway money and then just give up in six months.

Rapportive raised a small round from other impressive funders 3 months later. Gist raised $4 million in between those two announcements, in July.

Etacts hasn't replied to our request for comment, but an acquisition certainly seems the most likely explanation for the service's decision to shut down.

Email as a Platform

We wrote about email as a platform for application development most recently in August. Yahoo's Eran Hammer-Lahav, then working on developer relations for Yahoo Mail, explained why so many companies are interested in this space.

"It's pretty clear that email provides a huge potential for extensibility, given the wide range of ways people use it. The inbox is much more than just a place for incoming mail, it is the primary dashboard for many web users - it is how they manage their lives. So when looking at email as a platform, the opportunity of making it more useful and productive reaches most areas of online activities.

So far the focus has been on taking social information to help better manage email overflow, but the platform has much more potential beyond that."

What will its likely acquirer do with Etacts? Presumably displaying the social networking profiles and past conversations we've had with the people who sent us emails is just the beginning. How will other email providers respond, lest they fall behind in richness of user experience? That's where things will get really interesting.

Personal Data as a Platform

Perhaps even more interesting is the way that all of these services use data about the people who have sent you email that they have acquired through services like Rapleaf. Services that scoop up and wholesale personal profile data ("the person attached to this email uses this LinkedIn profile, this Twitter profile, owns a home, has kids and loves short videos about kittens") are wildly controversial but also very useful. Nowhere is that usefulness more clearly demonstrated than in the email CRM services like Etacts, Rapportive and Gist.

Perhaps if Etacts' feature-set goes mainstream in some big email program, the story of value built for everyday people (not just marketers) from aggregate online personal data as a development platform would become easier to tell.

That would be very good news.

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Making Money on Line

Taxpayer Dollars at Work

December 20, 2010 11:58 A.M.

By Katrina Trinko

Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) released today his annual Wastebook, which details lavish government funding on obscure projects.

“As you look at these examples, ask yourself: at a time when we are borrowing over $44,000 for every person in the country, are these items a priority and are they a federal responsibility?” writes Coburn in the introduction, adding that the cost of the 100 projects he highlights totals over $11.5 billion. Here’s some of the “best” taxpayer-funded items:

● $1.8 million to the Neon Boneyard Park and Museum, which collects and displays discarded neon Las Vegas signs.

● $2.9 million to a group of professors at University of California-Irvine for research on internet games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life and how, according to the university’s press release, they “can help organizations collaborate and compete more effectively in the global marketplace.”

● $239,100 to Stanford University for a study on how people date and find love online.

● $137,530 to a Dartmouth professor Mary Flanagan to make, according to Wastebook, a “video game called ‘Layoff,’ a puzzle-style game in which players fire as many people as they can as quickly as possible.”

● $150,000 to the Vermont town of Monkton to erect signs warning drivers to look out for salamanders crossing the road.

● $47.6 million to Atlanta, Georgia to build a streetcar system — on the exact same route as an existing subway system.

Read about the rest of the projects at:http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=774a6cca-18fa-4619-987b-a15eb44e7f18

From NRO

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White House Acknowledges Some Low Wage Earners Will Have Less Money In Their Pocket Next Year – Today’s Q’s for O’s WH

December 08, 2010 4:07 PM

National Economic Council director Larry Summers and White House senior adviser David Axelrod joined White House press secretary Robert Gibbs at today’s briefing.

As first noted by the New York Times, some low wage earners may be getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this tax cut compromise, in the sense that they may have less money in their pocket next year as opposed to this year. That’s because they receive tax credits through the Making Work Pay tax credit, which expires at the end of this year. That tax credit will be replaced by a payroll tax reduction of 2% -- and for some low wage earners, the tax credit is bigger than 2% of their income.

TAPPER:  I was wondering if you could comment on the New York Times report today that those at the -- at the lower end of the economic spectrum will actually be the only ones with less money in their pocket as a result of this deal because of the Making Work Pay elimination and the...

SUMMERS:  It's a good question.  It's a very -- it's a very good question. You -- you have to figure out what comparison you're going to do. It is true that for a $16,000 a year, so that's an all-year minimum wage worker, it is true that the Making Work Pay would have given that -- would have given that worker $400, and the -- this proposal, the pay roll tax holiday, will give $320.  That's -- and there is that $80 difference.  On the other hand, the proposals, such as the House bill that contained the Making Work Pay, would not have -- would not have included any of the three refundable tax credits that I mentioned, which, cumulatively, for that family, on average are worth several hundred dollars.

Obviously, it depends on how many kids the family has and what the situation is, but on average would work out to about $300 for such a family.  One. Two, would not have included the continuation of unemployment insurance benefits, which provide $300 a week in benefits.  And, three, takes no account of the extra growth increment that will come from this program.  If you raise GDP by 1 percent, that's $2,000 for the average family.

So we, as -- as I've emphasized, this was a compromise.  But if you look cumulatively at the elements that were in this compromise, relative to no deal or even relative to the bill that passed through the House, that $16,000 a year family gets much more support from this bill than it would have -- than it would have in its absence. And we believe you have to look at the totality of the program, not just take one provision from it and compare it with one provision in some other bill.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER:  But, just to be clear, there are those on the lower end of the economic chart who will be -- who will not benefit in 2011 compared to 2010 in this deal, while everyone else on the financial spectrum will.

SUMMERS:  No.  No.  That's not right.  That's not right. But you just said -- what you just said is factually -- is -- is wrong.

TAPPER:  A single person.  No family.  Doesn't get a child credit.  $16,000 a year.

SUMMERS:  Right.  That person will get $320.  That person will get -- will -- will get $320.

TAPPER:  As opposed to $400 this year.

SUMMERS:  Right.  So there's a person who, if they have -- if they don't benefit from the unemployment insurance, if they don't benefit from the economic growth, if they don't benefit from the EITC or the child care or the American Opportunity Credit, might be $80 behind. There's a far larger number of families, however, who will be hundreds, if not thousands of dollars ahead, because of the refundable tax credits, because of the unemployment insurance and because of the growth.

--Jake Tapper

December 8, 2010
in Current Affairs, David Axelrod, Jake Tapper, Political Punch, President Obama, Today's Qs for Obama's WH, Weblogs, White House, White House Press Briefing
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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

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Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

Digital <b>News</b> Platforms Still Present Opportunity For Marketers <b>...</b>

News sites are a good place to advertise since 92% of consumers use multiple platforms to get news.

Ben Sherwood - ABC <b>News</b> | Attack Video | Mediaite

If a video posted to Vimeo is to be believed, there are some insiders at ABC News who don't really care very much for newly-named boss Ben Sherwood, described in the video as the Draco Malfoy of Broadcast News. The video--essentially a ...

Rihanna joins the Dance Central Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Rihanna joins the Dance Central.

bench craft company scam

foreclosure

RealtyTrac has just reported that even though the volume of foreclosed homes plunged by 25% from Q2 to Q3 and 31% from Q2 of 2009, the discount on foreclosed homes has hit a five year high, as interest in even ultra bargain properties has collapsed following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, and confirming yesterday's bad Case Shiller (remember that one?) number. Per RealtyTrac: "foreclosure homes accounted for 25 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2010 and that the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure was more than 32 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process — up from a 26 percent discount in the previous quarter and a 29 percent discount in the third quarter of 2009." Yet despite the major price drop, buying interest has evaporated as nobody there is no longer any purchasing power left in the lower and middle sections of the housing market: "a total of 188,748 U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure — default, scheduled for auction or bank-owned (REO) — sold to third parties in the third quarter, a decrease of 25 percent from the previous quarter and a decrease of nearly 31 percent from the third quarter of 2009. The average sales price of properties in some stage of foreclosure was $169,523, down 2.46 percent from the previous quarter and down 0.44 percent from the third quarter of 2009." And while the average price of non-foreclosed homes posted a slight uptick in Q3, the volume drop was even worse: "The average sales price of properties not in foreclosure was $249,721, up 6.42 percent from the previous quarter and up 4.36 percent from the third quarter of 2009. Sales volume of non-foreclosure properties decreased 29 percent from the previous quarter and nearly 31 percent from the third quarter of 2009."

More from RealtyTrac's Jim Saccacio:

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The Business Of Social Media

Are you in the business of social media? If you are involved in almost any business today you really should be or at least you should have a social media.

autosport.com - F1 <b>News</b>: Lotus unveils F1 plans with Renault

Group Lotus has ramped up its involvement in Formula 1 by becoming title sponsor and a major shareholder in the rebranded Lotus Renault GP Team.

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: Did Wikileaks supporters just hack ABC <b>News</b>?

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Every time I listen to NJ Chris Christie I want to stand up and salute. Today is no different.

Please watch this 4 minute video where Chris Christie blasts LeRoy Seitz, Superintendent of Schools for the Parsippany School District about Seitz's threat to leave the state if his salary is reduced to $175,000.



NorthJersey.com has more details in Governor sets sights on Seitz contract

Last week the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education voted 6-2 to renew Superintendent LeRoy Seitz's contract, which included a 2 percent per year salary increase.

What made the contract noteworthy, aside from the dozens of people that spoke out against it and the tongue lashing the Board and the Superintendent received from Gov. Chris Christie was that the contract Seitz is currently working under doesn't expire until July 1, 2011.

The Board began contract negotiations during the summer, at about the same time the Christie administration released information about a plan to cap chief administrator's salaries and tying the numbers to the enrollment in the district.

By finalizing the contract now the Board effectively agreed to give Seitz a salary well above the governor's proposed cap for almost five years.

At the Board meeting Mark Tabakin, the Board attorney, told the gathering of about 90 people that the cap is still in the proposal form, that the contract was approved by the County Executive Superintendent Kathleen Serafino and that it is a legal action. "People are upset," he acknowledged, "but it's up to the will of the Board."

The controversial contract drew township residents and protesters from as far away as Clifton and Hackettstown, who were outraged over the Board's end run around the proposed cap.

At times the dissenters were so vocal Board President Anthony Mancuso, who remained calm and in control throughout the proceedings, had to call for a 10-minute recess to let the outbursts subside. The police were also called during one of the breaks though they never had the need to take action.

When the public was allowed to speak the floodgates opened. Taking a sarcastic tact the first speaker Roman Hoshovsky said, "How can anyone be expected to live on $200,000?" Then he produced an empty canister and proposed using it as a collection jar in businesses around town to raise money for Seitz.

Barbara Hackling pointed out the Board had laid off teachers and refused to negotiate with the paraprofessionals, "but found money for him."

Karen Blunt, a 36-year Parsippany resident and a paraprofessional in the district said, "He is looking out for his future. I haven't had a raise in 4 years who is looking out for my future?"

The day before the meeting Seitz is quoted in the Daily Record as saying, "Because of the proposed salary caps, I have to look at my future and the financial welfare of my family. I certainly would have options if I didn't feel the compensation in this district, or New Jersey, is appropriate."

The governor reacted to Seitz's veiled threats to leave New Jersey and go to a nearby state where there is no state salary. "I will say in response to Mr. Seitz, 'Let me help you pack.' We have real problems in our state that we have to fix and we don't have the time, nor the money, nor the patience any longer for people who put themselves before our citizens," Christie railed.

I Applaud LeRoy Seitz

A tip of the hat goes to LeRoy Seitz for being such an arrogant SOB that that the meeting to discuss the new contract overflowed with citizens fed up with school board greed.

It is not easy standing up to thugs who want nothing more but to raise your taxes. But the voters did. That's how riled up they were.

I recommend voters in the Parsippany School District send a message to the ignoramuses who agreed to give LeRoy Seitz a new contract. Vote them off the school board.

Fortunately it takes approval from another level to agree to that raise, so the raise is not a done deal yet.

New Jersey taxpayers are fed up, and rightfully so. If LeRoy Seitz thinks he can get $212,000 elsewhere, more power to him. The same holds true for every public "servant". If you can get more in the private sector, shut up and do it.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

In the never-ending search for bigger and faster storage options, Mac users have a number of sources for hard drives, but OWC has been a favorite for many Apple fans since the late 1980s. Now the company is offering a set of turnkey eSATA add-ons and upgrades for mid-2010 27" iMacs that should make almost any space-challenged Machead happy.

The upgrade paths are all outlined on a special configuration web page on OWC's site. It all starts with an internal boot solid-state drive. If you already have the 256GB internal SSD option installed in your iMac, then you're ready to go -- if not, then you move on to the next step, which is to add either an eSATA port or an internal SSD.

You then have the option of adding more SSDs (up to a total three 480GB drives) and/or a big 7200 RPM hard drive. Adding the "last" SSD disables your internal SD card reader, but never fear -- OWC throws in a USB card reader to replace it. The capacity of the 7200 RPM hard drive can be up to 3TB, making for a lot of built-in storage.

My personal dream configuration, if money was no object (and it is), would be to get a 480GB SSD installed for a boot and applications drive, a second 480GB SSD for mirroring the first drive, and a 3TB drive for all of my data. Then I'd have the eSATA port installed and put my original 2TB internal drive into an OWC eSATA enclosure for doing some backups. Throw in a 16GB RAM upgrade, an external Blu-Ray read/write drive, and a three-year extended warranty, and the cost would be right around $3,000.

It is great to see these kinds of storage options available for iMacs, and tremendous fun to price out the different configurations. If money was no object, what would you have OWC install in your 27" iMac?

[via Electronista]

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Every time I listen to NJ Chris Christie I want to stand up and salute. Today is no different.

Please watch this 4 minute video where Chris Christie blasts LeRoy Seitz, Superintendent of Schools for the Parsippany School District about Seitz's threat to leave the state if his salary is reduced to $175,000.



NorthJersey.com has more details in Governor sets sights on Seitz contract

Last week the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education voted 6-2 to renew Superintendent LeRoy Seitz's contract, which included a 2 percent per year salary increase.

What made the contract noteworthy, aside from the dozens of people that spoke out against it and the tongue lashing the Board and the Superintendent received from Gov. Chris Christie was that the contract Seitz is currently working under doesn't expire until July 1, 2011.

The Board began contract negotiations during the summer, at about the same time the Christie administration released information about a plan to cap chief administrator's salaries and tying the numbers to the enrollment in the district.

By finalizing the contract now the Board effectively agreed to give Seitz a salary well above the governor's proposed cap for almost five years.

At the Board meeting Mark Tabakin, the Board attorney, told the gathering of about 90 people that the cap is still in the proposal form, that the contract was approved by the County Executive Superintendent Kathleen Serafino and that it is a legal action. "People are upset," he acknowledged, "but it's up to the will of the Board."

The controversial contract drew township residents and protesters from as far away as Clifton and Hackettstown, who were outraged over the Board's end run around the proposed cap.

At times the dissenters were so vocal Board President Anthony Mancuso, who remained calm and in control throughout the proceedings, had to call for a 10-minute recess to let the outbursts subside. The police were also called during one of the breaks though they never had the need to take action.

When the public was allowed to speak the floodgates opened. Taking a sarcastic tact the first speaker Roman Hoshovsky said, "How can anyone be expected to live on $200,000?" Then he produced an empty canister and proposed using it as a collection jar in businesses around town to raise money for Seitz.

Barbara Hackling pointed out the Board had laid off teachers and refused to negotiate with the paraprofessionals, "but found money for him."

Karen Blunt, a 36-year Parsippany resident and a paraprofessional in the district said, "He is looking out for his future. I haven't had a raise in 4 years who is looking out for my future?"

The day before the meeting Seitz is quoted in the Daily Record as saying, "Because of the proposed salary caps, I have to look at my future and the financial welfare of my family. I certainly would have options if I didn't feel the compensation in this district, or New Jersey, is appropriate."

The governor reacted to Seitz's veiled threats to leave New Jersey and go to a nearby state where there is no state salary. "I will say in response to Mr. Seitz, 'Let me help you pack.' We have real problems in our state that we have to fix and we don't have the time, nor the money, nor the patience any longer for people who put themselves before our citizens," Christie railed.

I Applaud LeRoy Seitz

A tip of the hat goes to LeRoy Seitz for being such an arrogant SOB that that the meeting to discuss the new contract overflowed with citizens fed up with school board greed.

It is not easy standing up to thugs who want nothing more but to raise your taxes. But the voters did. That's how riled up they were.

I recommend voters in the Parsippany School District send a message to the ignoramuses who agreed to give LeRoy Seitz a new contract. Vote them off the school board.

Fortunately it takes approval from another level to agree to that raise, so the raise is not a done deal yet.

New Jersey taxpayers are fed up, and rightfully so. If LeRoy Seitz thinks he can get $212,000 elsewhere, more power to him. The same holds true for every public "servant". If you can get more in the private sector, shut up and do it.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

In the never-ending search for bigger and faster storage options, Mac users have a number of sources for hard drives, but OWC has been a favorite for many Apple fans since the late 1980s. Now the company is offering a set of turnkey eSATA add-ons and upgrades for mid-2010 27" iMacs that should make almost any space-challenged Machead happy.

The upgrade paths are all outlined on a special configuration web page on OWC's site. It all starts with an internal boot solid-state drive. If you already have the 256GB internal SSD option installed in your iMac, then you're ready to go -- if not, then you move on to the next step, which is to add either an eSATA port or an internal SSD.

You then have the option of adding more SSDs (up to a total three 480GB drives) and/or a big 7200 RPM hard drive. Adding the "last" SSD disables your internal SD card reader, but never fear -- OWC throws in a USB card reader to replace it. The capacity of the 7200 RPM hard drive can be up to 3TB, making for a lot of built-in storage.

My personal dream configuration, if money was no object (and it is), would be to get a 480GB SSD installed for a boot and applications drive, a second 480GB SSD for mirroring the first drive, and a 3TB drive for all of my data. Then I'd have the eSATA port installed and put my original 2TB internal drive into an OWC eSATA enclosure for doing some backups. Throw in a 16GB RAM upgrade, an external Blu-Ray read/write drive, and a three-year extended warranty, and the cost would be right around $3,000.

It is great to see these kinds of storage options available for iMacs, and tremendous fun to price out the different configurations. If money was no object, what would you have OWC install in your 27" iMac?

[via Electronista]

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

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News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

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News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Every time I listen to NJ Chris Christie I want to stand up and salute. Today is no different.

Please watch this 4 minute video where Chris Christie blasts LeRoy Seitz, Superintendent of Schools for the Parsippany School District about Seitz's threat to leave the state if his salary is reduced to $175,000.



NorthJersey.com has more details in Governor sets sights on Seitz contract

Last week the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education voted 6-2 to renew Superintendent LeRoy Seitz's contract, which included a 2 percent per year salary increase.

What made the contract noteworthy, aside from the dozens of people that spoke out against it and the tongue lashing the Board and the Superintendent received from Gov. Chris Christie was that the contract Seitz is currently working under doesn't expire until July 1, 2011.

The Board began contract negotiations during the summer, at about the same time the Christie administration released information about a plan to cap chief administrator's salaries and tying the numbers to the enrollment in the district.

By finalizing the contract now the Board effectively agreed to give Seitz a salary well above the governor's proposed cap for almost five years.

At the Board meeting Mark Tabakin, the Board attorney, told the gathering of about 90 people that the cap is still in the proposal form, that the contract was approved by the County Executive Superintendent Kathleen Serafino and that it is a legal action. "People are upset," he acknowledged, "but it's up to the will of the Board."

The controversial contract drew township residents and protesters from as far away as Clifton and Hackettstown, who were outraged over the Board's end run around the proposed cap.

At times the dissenters were so vocal Board President Anthony Mancuso, who remained calm and in control throughout the proceedings, had to call for a 10-minute recess to let the outbursts subside. The police were also called during one of the breaks though they never had the need to take action.

When the public was allowed to speak the floodgates opened. Taking a sarcastic tact the first speaker Roman Hoshovsky said, "How can anyone be expected to live on $200,000?" Then he produced an empty canister and proposed using it as a collection jar in businesses around town to raise money for Seitz.

Barbara Hackling pointed out the Board had laid off teachers and refused to negotiate with the paraprofessionals, "but found money for him."

Karen Blunt, a 36-year Parsippany resident and a paraprofessional in the district said, "He is looking out for his future. I haven't had a raise in 4 years who is looking out for my future?"

The day before the meeting Seitz is quoted in the Daily Record as saying, "Because of the proposed salary caps, I have to look at my future and the financial welfare of my family. I certainly would have options if I didn't feel the compensation in this district, or New Jersey, is appropriate."

The governor reacted to Seitz's veiled threats to leave New Jersey and go to a nearby state where there is no state salary. "I will say in response to Mr. Seitz, 'Let me help you pack.' We have real problems in our state that we have to fix and we don't have the time, nor the money, nor the patience any longer for people who put themselves before our citizens," Christie railed.

I Applaud LeRoy Seitz

A tip of the hat goes to LeRoy Seitz for being such an arrogant SOB that that the meeting to discuss the new contract overflowed with citizens fed up with school board greed.

It is not easy standing up to thugs who want nothing more but to raise your taxes. But the voters did. That's how riled up they were.

I recommend voters in the Parsippany School District send a message to the ignoramuses who agreed to give LeRoy Seitz a new contract. Vote them off the school board.

Fortunately it takes approval from another level to agree to that raise, so the raise is not a done deal yet.

New Jersey taxpayers are fed up, and rightfully so. If LeRoy Seitz thinks he can get $212,000 elsewhere, more power to him. The same holds true for every public "servant". If you can get more in the private sector, shut up and do it.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

In the never-ending search for bigger and faster storage options, Mac users have a number of sources for hard drives, but OWC has been a favorite for many Apple fans since the late 1980s. Now the company is offering a set of turnkey eSATA add-ons and upgrades for mid-2010 27" iMacs that should make almost any space-challenged Machead happy.

The upgrade paths are all outlined on a special configuration web page on OWC's site. It all starts with an internal boot solid-state drive. If you already have the 256GB internal SSD option installed in your iMac, then you're ready to go -- if not, then you move on to the next step, which is to add either an eSATA port or an internal SSD.

You then have the option of adding more SSDs (up to a total three 480GB drives) and/or a big 7200 RPM hard drive. Adding the "last" SSD disables your internal SD card reader, but never fear -- OWC throws in a USB card reader to replace it. The capacity of the 7200 RPM hard drive can be up to 3TB, making for a lot of built-in storage.

My personal dream configuration, if money was no object (and it is), would be to get a 480GB SSD installed for a boot and applications drive, a second 480GB SSD for mirroring the first drive, and a 3TB drive for all of my data. Then I'd have the eSATA port installed and put my original 2TB internal drive into an OWC eSATA enclosure for doing some backups. Throw in a 16GB RAM upgrade, an external Blu-Ray read/write drive, and a three-year extended warranty, and the cost would be right around $3,000.

It is great to see these kinds of storage options available for iMacs, and tremendous fun to price out the different configurations. If money was no object, what would you have OWC install in your 27" iMac?

[via Electronista]

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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Live Blog: President Obama&#39;s <b>news</b> conference – CNN Political <b>...</b>

President Obama will hold a previously unscheduled news conference on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. likely focusing on the compromise with Republicans on tax cuts, the White House announced. Check back here for CNN's live blog of the press ...

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 &amp; Lens Profile Downloader <b>...</b>

Adobe releases Lightroom 3.3, ACR 6.3 & Lens Profile Downloader: Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 and DNG Converter 6.3. These are final versions of updates that were originally posted as 'release candidates' ...

AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: They&#39;re only symbolic battles when you never <b>...</b>

News and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.

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