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Seagate to Report Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2007 Financial Results on July 19, 2007
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., July 5, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) today announced it will report fiscal fourth quarter and year-end 2007 financial results on Thursday, July 19, 2007, after the close of the market. A subsequent conference call for the investment community will take place at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
The conference call can be accessed online at http://www.seagate.com or by telephone as follows:
USA: (877) 223-6202
International: (706) 679-3742
Conference ID: 4752922
Ah! We have a threesome.
I would suggest that we not wait for continental drift to bring us together. Let me propose spring 2008, March-April, when the local wild flowers bloom. Easy for me to say, since I live here.
Maybe I can get a group discount for early advanced sales.
Oh dear Ann,
There is no reference. The comment was made in jest and IMHO to Cosmorld7's request for a short, mid, and long term prognosis. I did base the jest on my long term following of the company and DD posted on this board. In the future I will try to make my jests more obvious. That said I do have a significant stake and do believe the prognosis is very shakey.
Here you go:
short-term: positive
mid range: positive
long term: positive
failure potential = significant
The Menage a Trois comes in 3 colors, red, white and rose. We can each bring one.
Now why didn't I think of that?
I tried the 2003 Menage a Trois (Zin, Merlot, Cab) in 2006 and found it very nice. Good idea for the train ride or after.
Let me know when. I'll join you for the ride. Maybe Susan would like to join us.
Not yet. After I'm able to afford the local wine train in Napa, I'll give the Swiss a look.
Have you been there?
Here's something from my back yard, that I've not yet tried:
It's been called Denny's on wheels and a rolling noise polluter, but after 18 years of chugging up and down the Napa Valley, the Wine Train has become as much a part of the landscape as the Robert Mondavi bell tower.
The protesters have moved on, the anti-train signs along the tracks have blown down and the boiling resentment of the residents has been dialed down to a low simmer.
"It's a sore that's healed over and we're living with the scar," says Norm Manzer, who two decades ago co-founded Friends of Napa Valley, a coalition committed to derailing the grand plans of a Bay Area man with dreams of his own Orient Express. "We've come to peace with what exists."
Today, the Napa Valley Wine Train is a major attraction in Wine Country, drawing up to 1,200 tourists on weekends and nearly as many on weekdays. At one time a proposal called for nine round trips a day. But that was shot down by residents and vintners, who felt that the train would turn the bucolic valley into an even hokier version of Disneyland's Main Street USA. It now makes 12 round trips from Napa to St. Helena -- seven lunch and five dinner excursions -- a week. Once in a while, an extra tour is added for a special occasion like a wedding.
And the locals have learned to live with it. But it's been a long haul --
20 years of fighting, name-calling and court battles.
In 1987, Vincent DeDomenico, a feisty San Francisco food purveyor who had recently sold his Rice-A-Roni and Ghirardelli chocolate empires, paid $2.5 million to Southern Pacific Railroad for 21 miles of run-down tracks and the rights to the railroad line. The tracks were originally used in the early 1800s to bring San Franciscans to Samuel Brannan's resort in Calistoga. Later, Southern Pacific assumed control. But by the 1980s it was down to once-a-week freight service on the Napa Valley Line.
The company wanted out and DeDomenico wanted in. The former pasta salesman always knew a good business opportunity when he saw one and he liked trains -- a lot. He and his wife, Mildred, had ridden on the Orient Express when they traveled to Europe and had visions of bringing luxury cars, first-rate wines and gourmet train food to the Wine Country's railroad.
But the locals didn't share that vision. In fact, if they could have run DeDomenico out of the valley on the first locomotive through town, they would have.
When opening day came in September 1989, protesters lined the tracks carrying anti-train signs. They parked a flatbed truck, carrying an 8-foot-by-8-foot poster with the words "Wine Train" circled with a big slash through the middle, at the site.
"I think the original proposal scared so many people," remembers former St. Helena Mayor Lowell Smith about a plan that would include passengers disembarking in towns and wineries along the route. "At one point they were talking of it bringing 500,000 extra people into St. Helena a year. Our sewage processing plant couldn't even handle that many more people."
The California Public Utilities Commission, at the urging of the community, blocked the Wine Train from making stops in towns along the tracks, which parallel Highway 29. And many wineries decided that they didn't want the extra business. DeDomenico does have deals, however, with Domaine Chandon and Grgich Hills. Passengers can pay an extra fee to be dropped off at the wineries for private tours and tastings.
Lara Abbott, a spokeswoman for Chandon, said the partnership has been so successful that the winery recently signed a new contract with the Wine Train.
"We've been doing it for eight years," she says. "It helps congestion and stops drinking and driving."
That notion might appeal to travelers stuck on the valley's clogged roads over the July 4 holiday, but opponents of the train argue that the "amusement ride" actually brings more people to the valley, who after their tour along the tracks, continue to explore Wine Country in their cars.
Residents feared that not only would the train bring more crowds and disrupt the peace with its noisy whistle, but would turn the Napa Valley into a theme park. And frankly, they thought the train was a bit tacky for their California version of Tuscany.
"We felt it was on the lower end -- practically a Denny's on wheels," says former Mayor Smith.
He admits, though, that he's never been on the train.
"I think if I got on they'd throw me onto the tracks," he jokes.
It's nothing like Denny's. With train packages ranging from $89 to $135, the fare on this moving restaurant is no Grand Slam breakfast. Freshly cooked dishes are prepared in the kitchen car and include hors d'oeuvres and three courses with choices such as pan-seared salmon and fennel flan.
Passengers can choose from a wine menu that lists some of Napa's biggest names -- Sterling, Beaulieu Vineyard, Beringer, Clos du Val, Niebaum Coppola and St. Supery. Bottles run between $32 and $66 and wines by the glass cost between $6 and $9. Tastings of four different wines can be had for $5.
The train, which holds 300 people, harks back to a romantic time when riding the rails was done in luxury. Mildred DeDomenico designed each car with lavish Victorian details -- richly upholstered, swiveling club chairs, dark mahogany trim, plush floral carpets, thick velvet curtains and brass train racks. The bathrooms have marble sink counters and white hand towels. The tables are set with white damask linens, china and crystal.
The cars, says the 92-year-old DeDomenico, were made in the early 1900s -- the perfect era for his vintage railway line. He purchased 20 of them from train museums in the Southeast for $2,500 apiece.
"Each one cost $200,000 to strip and deck out," says DeDomenico, adding that they made sure that the chairs would face outside to the scenery, unlike the seats on the Orient Express. Passengers are then treated to an uncensored view of the valley -- rows of picturesque vineyards and charming farmhouses next to dilapidated trailers and backyards strewn with rusted old cars and equipment.
During the three-hour tour, riders are free to roam, walking from car to car, as the train travels 18 mph. They can watch the cooks prepare lunch or dinner in the kitchen or make their way to the tasting car. That one seems to get the most action.
Julie Vann and nine others from her neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, were spending a lot of time there one recent Sunday as part of a vacation. They liked the ride and the Luna Sangiovese, one of their many tastings at the crowded bar.
"It may seem like a tourist trap," Vann said. "But it's the only way to see the vineyards at a slower pace without drinking and driving."
Sylvia Espelage, of San Jose, was having a girls' weekend with her friends Angela Cadile and Dorothy Downing. They tasted two different Zinfandels and a Sterling Cabernet.
"They were all excellent," said Espelage, adding that for tastings the portions were generous. "I think one of the wines sells for $40 a bottle."
Cadile also enjoyed her salmon lunch.
"I would do this again," she said. "But I do think it's a little pricey."
In the Vista Dome car, Amber and Matthew Ruiz-Stupi were holding their wedding reception. They had come from Huntington Beach to tie the knot in a little Napa church and then party on the Wine Train.
"I wanted the scenic view," said the bride. "He wanted the wine."
Their guests liked both.
William Hayes and about 45 others from a spirits industry trade group also took the train. He works for Jim Beam in Kentucky, a state known for its bourbon tastings. But on the train it was strictly wine.
"I drank a lot of it, actually," said Hayes, who particularly liked the Hagafen Riesling and thought the trip was excellent.
DeDomenico says he and his wife take the train once or twice a month to make sure everything is running smoothly. He won't talk about his earnings, saying that it's "mostly profitable."
A rough estimate shows that 12 weekly trips, with 60 percent of seats filled and an average ticket of $89, would gross just under $10 million in annual revenue -- without counting amenities like the wine. In 2002, DeDomenico said he had already invested $20 million in the venture, and he continues to pay for upkeep on the tracks, cars and six locomotives.
He says he's happy with the way it all turned out, but hasn't given up on the idea that some day the train will be allowed to disembark in St. Helena. For years valley residents have discussed the idea of a commuter train that locals could take from one town to the next, but have dismissed the Wine Train as a mere amusement and not a means of transportation. Still, the idea intrigues DeDomenico.
"Then it would be more like a real railroad," he says. For now the dream of dropping off passengers in town is on hold. Earlier this month the California Supreme Court refused to listen to an appeal from Wine Train attorneys asking to reverse the PUC's decision. St. Helena City Attorney Amy Valukevich says she believes it's the end of the line for the long-raging court battle.
DeDomenico counters that his lawyers still have plenty of fight left in them. But longtime opponent Norm Manzer just wants it to be over.
"In recent years we've agreed that it worked out for the best," says the 65-year-old insurance salesman, whose office is just 50 feet from the tracks. "There's no need to harbor any more animosity or hold grudges."
An easy beat for Napa's railroad police
The Wine Train has its own police force. Napa Valley Railroad Police Chief Jeff Hullquist and two other officers patrol the tracks, the yard and drive alongside the train in patrol cars to ensure safety.
The tiny police department is funded by the Wine Train. He says railroad police have a long history in the United States, starting in the 1800s. In those days they were called special agents and were hired by the railroad companies to protect passengers and freight from outlaws. Sometimes the special agents themselves had been on the wrong side of the law, but switched for promises of cash. They were often sent out to guard the railroad with just a gun and their wits. The training came on the job.
The agents got a reputation for being rough-and-tumble bullies with little regard for the law. For that reason the railroad employees had a healthy distrust for the agents, Hullquist says.
But that all changed when states began passing legislation that gave governors power to appoint individuals to the position of railroad police and grant them peace officer status.
"Today's railroad police officer is highly trained and tested," says Hullquist.
As far as crime on the Napa Valley line, Hullquist admits the last 18 years have been pretty quiet.
That's not to say that there haven't been a few newsworthy incidents. In 1992 the train made headlines when an angry wedding party of more than 72 was thrown off for alleged bad behavior. At the time, Carol Saal told a Chronicle reporter that she had paid about $5,000 for her daughter's rehearsal dinner. She said that halfway through the trip the party was ejected from the train. Officers stood guard as the riders were bused back to their cars.
Saal blamed the incident on bad service, no drinks and lousy air-conditioning. The staff said the party was so drunk that they verbally abused train employees.
Two years ago the train made news again when several passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries after some of the cars became uncoupled and slammed into the engine, requiring an emergency stop that knocked riders out of their seats.
See www.sfgate.com for pics
Be nice to add a number that gives the running % held with respect to total shares outstanding. Thanks for maintaining the list.
TAMPA - The City Council voted today to give $2 million to a proposed cancer research center near the University of South Florida.
The council approved $800,000 plus $1.2 million in land costs to help create M2Gen, a joint venture between Merck & Co. and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.
“No one can be a better spokesman for Moffit than I am,” Council Chairwoman Gwen Miller said.
Miller and her husband, Les, both have survived bouts with cancer.
The city’s contribution was the last piece of a funding package that includes $15 million from the state and $28 million from Hillsborough County. Merck plans to contribute more than $90 million.
“Now we are doing our part,” said Mark Huey, the city’s economic development administrator.
Moffitt officials have said M2Gen will generate 165 high-paying jobs and position Moffitt as a leader in the growing field of personalized medicine. It also might spawn lucrative spinoff companies to continue job growth.
Huey estimates the project will have a $1.6 million economic impact on the city, from property taxes and fees.
M2Gen is planned for an old air strip near USF, with construction to start in September. The facility would open about a year later, Moffitt spokeswoman Michelle Foley said.
The Merck-Moffitt deal is the latest research venture to receive public funding in Florida.
Last year, the state approved more than $150 million for a facility in Orlando for the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and $20 million for SRI International in St. Petersburg.
Real... Mine...This time
Can you tell us how many people attended the meeting?
Possible, but not likely. I would not bet on it.
re Seagate:
Seagate Unveils Cheetah(R) NS - New Mission-Critical Network Storage Hard Drive Optimized for Greater Energy Savings and Capacity
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif., June 19, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) today announced the Cheetah NS hard drive, developed for mission-critical enterprise network storage applications where the highest available storage capacity and the lowest power consumption are required. With its combination of features that include Seagate's PowerTrim(TM) technology optimized for these environments, the Cheetah NS provides the lowest price-per-gigabyte and watts-per-gigabyte value for the enterprise.
Leveraged from the same platform as the 15K-rpm Cheetah 15K.5, the Cheetah NS is a new 10K-rpm hard drive that delivers best-in-class capacity, energy savings and performance when compared to standard 3.5-inch form factor 10K-rpm enterprise drives. The Cheetah NS and Cheetah 15K.5 drives provide IT professionals with a choice in optimizing their enterprise systems for capacity or performance. Choose the Cheetah 15K.5 for the highest IOPS-per-gigabyte transactional performance in its class, or the Cheetah NS for the best capacity and price-per-gigabyte available in mission-critical enterprise storage.
The Cheetah NS also features up to 33% more capacity at 400 gigabytes along with a 33% reduction in power and cooling requirements. This additional capacity and reduced cooling profile in the data center means that the Cheetah NS ultimately delivers the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for a wide range of mission-critical enterprise network storage applications.
Storage Growth and Scale Requirements
According to IDC, disk drive terabyte shipments for data centers are increasing at a rate of approximately 50% per year on average to meet the demands of internal business processing and delivery of content to digital devices and internet users worldwide(1).
"Data center managers are being asked to support rapid data growth for their organizations while at the same time improve on metrics such as responsiveness and power consumption," according to John Rydning, IDC's research manager for Hard Disk Drives. "Storage system OEMs will welcome higher capacity 10,000-rpm disk drives like the Cheetah NS to help their customers meet these challenging demands."
"The Cheetah NS, with its energy-saving PowerTrim(TM) technology, complements Seagate's enterprise drive lineup to provide the high capacity, reliability, and performance required for network storage," said Sherman Black, senior vice president and general manager, Seagate Enterprise Compute business. "From the highest transactional performers that include our Cheetah 15K.5 and Savvio 15K models, to drives built for nearline enterprise storage such as our Barracuda ES, Seagate continues to deliver the premier storage solutions for a wide range of enterprise needs."
Cheetah NS Benefits
Highest Capacity -- The Cheetah NS provides the highest capacity available for mission-critical network storage environments. Using proven perpendicular recording technology, the Cheetah NS enables 33% more storage per drive to deliver up to 400GBs.
Performance -- The Cheetah NS delivers higher IOPS performance when compared with standard 10K-rpm drives. With a seek time of 3.9 ms, and operating at 10K-rpm, random performance is increased by 10% while sequential performance is improved by as much as 23%. The Cheetah NS is also available in the most advanced interfaces, 3Gb/sec Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or 4Gb/sec Fibre Channel.
PowerTrim(TM) Energy Efficiency -- Seagate's PowerTrim(TM) technology is a set of proprietary features that together reduce the Cheetah NS drive's overall power consumption in the enterprise. Using PowerTrim(TM) technology, the Cheetah NS helps energy-constrained data centers maximize efficiency with power consumption rated as low as eight watts. The result is a drive that delivers a best-in-class 34% reduction of power at idle as well as a 33% reduction in operating power compared to other standard 10K drives.
Designed for the demanding workloads of the enterprise, the Cheetah NS is rated with a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of 1.4 million hours and is backed by Seagate's trusted five-year warranty. Seagate is now shipping the Cheetah NS to leading OEM customers. The Cheetah NS is expected to be available to the worldwide distribution channel during the third quarter of 2007.
6/13/07
Management and directors file statements of beneficial ownership
Options exercized:
Birndorf: 547,500 @ 1.39
Ludvigson: 300,000 @ 1.39
Lidgard: 187,500 @ 1.39
Respess: 187,500 @ 1.39
Saltmarsh: 187,500 @ 1.39
Papadopoulis: 18,116 shares
Whalen: 18,116 shares
Schreiber: 18,116 shares
Dreissman: 18,116 Shares
http://www.snl.com/irweblinkx/insiders.aspx?IID=4097115
This is a stock to accumulate as it sits under .02. It will rise slowly over the next 6-9 months, when breakeven, according to the company, should occur. I look for at least a 10 cent value by then.
The call is still going on. Breakeven expected in 6-9 months!!
SMTR 3rd Q conference call this morning at 11:30 EST
1-800-865-1051
1994 Mealybugs were first discovered in California vineyards and by 2007 30-40 thousand acres were infested. In 2007 experiments were begun were begun with dogs trained to sniff out female mealybugs in heat.
(WSJ, 6/14/07, p.A1)
SmarTire - SMTR Timeline
SmarTire website: http://www.smartire.com/company/index.html
1987 TTC/Truck Tech Corp. (now SmarTire Systems Inc.), began pioneering the research and development of tire monitoring technology. With offices in North America and Europe, the Company is well positioned to be a global supplier of tire monitoring solutions for the light vehi-cle (passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, minivans and light trucks), motorcycle, and the commercial, industrial and recreational vehicle markets.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1989 By this year TTC/Truck Tech Corp. had applied for wireless data communications tech-nology patents and initial products were designed for off-road use in the mining industry. The company also gained public status by listing its shares for trading on the Vancouver Stock Ex-change.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1994 The TTC/Truck Tech Corp. name was changed to UniComm Signal Inc. (now SmarTire Systems Inc.).
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1996 UniComm Signal Inc. acquired the low tire pressure warning division of EPIC Technolo-gies, Inc. This included assets such as specialized testing equipment, patents and all contractual rights, and a production program with Ford Motor Company.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
1997 UniComm Signal Inc. became SmarTire Systems Inc.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2001 SmarTire launched its 2nd generation tire monitoring solutions for passenger vehicles.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2002 SmarTire unveiled its Motorcycle Tire Monitoring System. This technically advanced product is being marketed in Europe and North America in both aftermarket and original equip-ment applications.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2003 SmarTire launched the Road Voice System for towed vehicles, trailers and light mo-torhomes.
(www.smartire.com/company/index.html)
2005 Apr 8, SMTR closed at .037.
(IHub 4/8/05)
2005 Apr 11, SmarTire Systems Inc. reported today that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued its final rule requiring all new passenger cars and light vehicles being manufactured for sale in the USA to be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) by September 2007. The more stringent requirements of NHTSA's final rule can currently only be fulfilled by direct measurement systems such as the kind developed by SmarTire.
(IHub #18, 4/5/05)
2005 May 2, SmarTire Systems Inc. today announced that ICA Security Systems is distribut-ing its SmarTire for Motorcycles product in France. ICA Systems is the largest manufacturer and distributor of motorcycle alarms and anti-theft systems in the French market with over 1000 dealers across the country.
(IHub #153, 5/2/05)
2005 May 31, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Robert Rudman, SmarTire's President and CEO, will present at the 16th Annual Wall Street Analyst Forum at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on June 2. The presentation will focus on SmarTire's current market op-portunities in tire monitoring and the Company's future in wireless sensing and control systems for the transportation industry.
(IHub #195, 5/31/05)
2005 Jun 14, SmarTire recorded a quarterly net loss of $5.31 million or loss per share of $0.03 compared to a net loss of $2.95 million or loss per share of $0.04 for the same quarter last year. The net loss for the nine months ended April 30, 2005 was $11.79 million or a loss per share of $0.07 compared to a net loss of $8.12 million or loss per share of $0.10 for the same period last year.
(IHub #203, 6/15/05)
2005 Jul 6, SmarTire Systems Inc. today announced the Company has completed a major fi-nancing with Cornell Capital Partners LP that has resulted in net proceeds of $11 million plus a $160 million Standby Equity Distribution Agreement. The Company issued convertible deben-tures totaling $30 million that bear interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum, have a term of three years, and are convertible into common stock at $0.1125 per share. Also included in this financ-ing are 62.5 million warrants with an exercise price of $0.16 per share.
(IHub #221, 7/6/05)
2005 Jul 18, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Detlev Louis Motorradvertriebs GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, the largest mail order company for motorcycle garments and technical parts in Europe, will be distributing SmarTire for Motorcycles.
(IHub #236, 7/18/05)
2005 Sep 8, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Chairman Robert Rudman will pre-sent at the Arch Investment Conference in New York City, Tuesday, Sept. 13. The conference will be webcast live. SmarTire is one of six companies presenting at the conference. Rudman is scheduled to present in the morning session from 9 to 10 a.m. The audience will include fund managers, analysts and investment bankers, media and other members of the investment community. The conference will be webcast live at:
http://www.informedinvestors.com/VC/ClientPage.asp?ID=45356.
2005 Sep 22, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has achieved registration to ISO/TS 16949:2002, the quality management standard for the automotive and commercial ve-hicle industries.
(IHub #242, 9/28/05)
2005 Oct 17, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has signed a contract with Dana's Commercial Vehicle Systems group to market and sell SmarTire's tire pressure and temperature monitoring systems to the commercial truck, bus and RV markets.
(IHub #246, 10/17/05)
2005 Nov 9, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today gross revenue of approximately $594,000 for the quarter ended October 31, 2005, an increase of approximately $292,000 or 97% from the same quarter of 2004. Total sales to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) market for the quarter ended October 31, 2005 were approximately $437,000, an increase of approximately $264,000 or 153% from the same quarter of 2004. SmarTire will file its Form 10-QSB for the first quarter ended October 31, 2005 by December 15, 2005.
(IHub #250, 11/9/05)
2005 Nov 21, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has entered into a manufactur-ing agreement with Vansco Electronics LP. Under the agreement, Vansco will manufacture key subsystems for SmarTire's wireless gateway family of products. SmarTire also announced the termination of its contract manufacturing agreement with Hyundai Autonet Company, Ltd. ("HACO") in Korea, which was terminated as a result of HACO's acquisition by Hyundai.
(IHub #252, 11/21/05)
2006 Feb 27, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that Camping World, a major U.S. supplier of aftermarket RV products has placed a substantial purchase order for SmarTire's rec-reational vehicle (RV) tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). Camping World is the world's largest supplier of RV accessories and camping equipment and currently has 46 retail outlets in key regional locations throughout the US.
(IHub #276, 2/27/06)
2006 Dec 15, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that revenue for the first quarter of fis-cal year 2007 increased 44% to $851,779 from $592,866 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006. Net loss for the quarter decreased to $5.3 million, or $0.02 per share, from $17.8 million, or $0.06 per share, in Q1 '06. Excluding non-cash charges of $3.3 million during fiscal Q1 '07 and $15.4 million during the first quarter of fiscal year 2006, net loss decreased to $2 million for fis-cal Q1 '07, from $2.4 million fiscal Q1 '06. Cash used to fund operating activities during fiscal Q1 '07 decreased to $1.8 million, from $3.1 million during Q1 '06. Less cash was used in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 than the comparable quarter a year ago mainly as a result of a $900,000 interest payment on SmarTire's convertible debentures in Q1 '06.
(IHub #312, 12/15/06)
2007 Jan 16, DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses North America announced today its planned partnership with SmarTire Systems Inc. to supply tire pressure and temperature monitoring sys-tems (TPMS) as a product upgrade.
(IHub #314, 1/16/07)
2007 Jan 26, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement dated January 23, 2007 providing for the sale of convertible debentures in the amount of up to $1,800,000. On January 23, 2007, SmarTire sold one convertible debenture for gross proceeds of $684,000. The Agreement provides that SmarTire may sell convertible debentures for the balance of up to $1,116,000 at any time over the next six months. Terms of the financing are disclosed in the company's 8-K filed today.
(IHub #330, 1/26/07)
2007 Jan 30, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has completed its restructuring of operations as it reduced its work force by approximately 25%.
(IHub #335, 1/30/07)
2007 Mar 8, SmarTire Systems Inc. a provider of active tire pressure and temperature moni-toring systems for the global commercial transportation, recreational vehicle, bus and off highway vehicle markets, announced today that it has completed the sale of the third and last convertible debenture to be sold pursuant to the terms of the securities purchase agreement dated January 23, 2007. The terms of this convertible debenture are disclosed in the Com-pany's Form 8-K, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(IHub #338, 3/8/07)
2007 May 1, SmarTire Systems Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement dated April 27, 2007, providing for the sale of up to $1.5 million in convertible debentures to a subsidiary of Cornell Capital Partners, LP. On April 27, 2007, SmarTire sold one convertible debenture under this agreement for gross proceeds of $1.15 million. The agreement provides that SmarTire may sell convertible debentures for the balance of up to $350,000 at any time un-til Oct. 1, 2007. Terms of the financing are disclosed in the company's 8-K filed today.
(IHub #345, 5/1/07)
2007 Jun 12, SmarTire Systems Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SMTR) announces its third-quarter earnings call for shareholders. What: SmarTire Third-Quarter Earnings Call When: Friday, June 15, 2007, 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time How: Participants will dial: 1-888-865-1051
(IHub #355, 6/12/07)
RICHMOND, British Columbia, June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SmarTire Systems Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SMTR) today announced that it has signed an agreement to supply its SmartWave tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to Deere & Company, maker of the well-known John Deere vehicles.
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)----Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq:NGEN), developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced today that it has received project funding from several Canadian agencies, including the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The purpose of the funding and collaborative agreement is to develop diagnostic tools for the detection of natural or potential bioterror threats to livestock, such as foot and mouth disease and avian flu, employing the company's NanoChip(R) platform.
"Although the majority of our NanoChip(R) instruments are used in basic research and human clinical diagnostics applications, we have always known that the platform's flexibility confers benefit in other markets, such as veterinary diagnostics and the monitoring of bioterror threats," said Nanogen president and chief operating officer David Ludvigson.
Foot and mouth disease, a viral infection that devastated the beef industry in the United Kingdom in 2001, is a bioterror concern because it is easily transmissible from animal to animal. Economic losses could be enormous - the 2001 epidemic cost an estimated $12 billion, according to a study sponsored by the Wash., D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Avian flu poses a similar threat to poultry stocks.
The NanoChip(R) 400 is the company's second generation automated multiplexing platform, which uses advanced microarray technology for performing pathogen sequence detection and genotyping applications. Multiple samples with multiple targets can be applied to an open and flexible electronic microarray, the NanoChip cartridge, which may be reused until all test sites have been utilized. As the NanoChip arrays are built by users rather than containing pre-determined content, the system provides a simple, fast and cost effective means for performing molecular testing.
The project, titled "Adaptation of Recently Developed DNA Microarrays to NanoChip Microarray Technology for Detection of Agroterrorism Agents" was approved by Defence Research and Development Canada through the CRTI Program (CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI). Financial terms were not disclosed. Additional collaborators include the CFIA's laboratory in Lethbridge, Alberta and the National Center for Foreign Animal Diseases located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Can you please let us know how many people attended the SH meeting yesterday?
Can powdered wine be far behind:
Dutch students have developed powdered alcohol which they say can be sold legally to minors.
The latest innovation in inebriation, called Booz2Go, is available in 20-gramme packets that cost 1-1.5 euros ($1.35-$2).
Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-colored and -flavored drink with just 3 percent alcohol content.
"We are aiming for the youth market. They are really more into it because you can compare it with Bacardi-mixed drinks," 20-year-old Harm van Elderen told Reuters.
Van Elderen and four classmates at Helicon Vocational Institute, about an hour's drive from Amsterdam, came up with the idea as part of their final-year project.
"Because the alcohol is not in liquid form, we can sell it to people below 16," said project member Martyn van Nierop.
The legal age for drinking alcohol and smoking is 16 in the Netherlands.
In Germany, alcopops -- sweet drinks containing alcohol and in powder form -- caused quite a stir when launched on to the market. Alcohol powder, classified as a flavoring, was sold in the United States three years ago.
The students said companies interested in making the product commercially could avoid taxes because the alcohol was in powder form. A number of companies are interested, they said.
(Reuters, 6/6/07)
Time will tell.
Major report this evening on CNBC covering identity theft, computer security and related issues. All the ID theft horror stories covered under the title "Big Brother - Big Business."
Not much mention on possible solutions, but raising the issue bodes well for WAVX.
Picked this up from another board. Though it refers to beer I am sure the same holds for wine.
As explained by Cliff Clavin, of Cheers.
One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.
Here's how it went:
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
Not only do the big fish eat before the small fish, they eat the small fish, lock stock and barrel. I believe tomorrow will mark a feeding frenzy, and I will be in the middle of it.
This may well be the last WAVX "blue light special." I took out a major loan today to take advantage of prices tomorrow. The after hours drop to 2.39 may well mark the last time WAVX sees this level. If the SP drifts lower I will continue buying. I love acquiring WAVX shares at below my average price per share.
In China, Spain, Chile, Tahiti and other parts of the world there are at least a dozen winemakers using the words Napa or Napa Valley in their brand names in what California vintners say is a deliberate attempt to deceive customers.
Such misleading marketing will be more difficult to pull off in Europe after the European Union this week formally granted Napa Valley what is known as geographic indication status.
It marks the first time a region outside the European Union will come under its protection.
Napa Valley Vintners, the nonprofit trade group in St. Helena that represents and promotes 300 wineries and doggedly protects the name Napa, says the designation will significantly help resolve several pending matters in Europe.
"Next we focus on China, where we have some real problems," said Linda Reiff, the trade group's executive director.
"This is (a) historic agreement in the world of wine and in international relations," Reiff said. "Europe has granted us the (status) which now puts us on an even playing field with our European counterparts and helps in terms of name protection."
Until this week, the trade group and others were hamstrung in bringing complaints against what they considered the misuse of the Napa name because, as individual European countries pointed out, Napa Valley did not have the required EU geographic indication status. Napa Valley Vintners has been pursuing winemakers such as Clos du Napa in the United Kingdom and Varon du Napa in Spain.
This week's granting of geographic indication status prevents misuse of the name, said Napa lawyer Scott Gerien, who assisted Napa Valley Vintners in the EU application.
Gerien said the status gives customs officers the power to seize goods at borders. If, for example, wine from South America using the name Napa were to be imported to Europe, it could be stopped at a border, he said.
Geographic indication status is protected in accordance with national laws and under a wide range of legal concepts, such as laws against unfair competition, consumer protection laws, laws for the protection of certification marks or laws that specifically protect geographical status or appellations of origin, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. Sanctions range from court injunctions to damages or, in some cases, prison terms, the organization said.
Some important changes in international trade are making the designation and other developments in trade possible, Reiff said.
Last year, after 25 to 30 years of effort, bilateral wine accords between the United States and the EU were agreed upon, significantly changing the trade landscape, said Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers.
Those accords recognized the winemaking procedures of the United States and Europe in the interest of facilitating the trade of wine, including giving U.S. wine greater access to the European market.
At the same time, interest in protection of place names has grown throughout the world. There has been a concerted effort by producers of Champagne in France, Port in Portugal and sherry in Spain to protect the use of those names in branding through a campaign called the Center for Wine Origins, based in Washington.
That group, along with Napa Valley Vintners and regional groups in Sonoma County, Paso Robles (San Luis Obispo County), Washington state, Oregon, Italy, Hungary and Australia in March joined in a "Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin'' in an effort to persuade policymakers to protect identities of growing regions.
In Washington on Tuesday, Jean-Marc Trarieux, agriculture attache for the European Union, cited the "clear support of the European Union of any initiative concerning geographic indications.''
Napa Valley Vintners said an earlier petition it filed with the EU to recognize Napa Valley had been denied, in part because there was not a protocol in place for nonmember states.
The matter was resolved in subsequent meetings in Washington and Brussels, Reiff said, because "regions are now working together to protect their names, and we have the support of our counterparts in Europe.''
"We now have a legal precedent to base our trademark protection in Europe," she said. "This represents a landmark in wine place protection."
(SFC, 5/23/07, p.C1)
Make yourself a note to repost that again in October. Meanwhile I will continue with my Spring-time project.
I looked over my overgrown front yard recently and noticed how spring growth had seriously impeded access to the house fuse box. I soon sat down and began pulling knee high grass and weeds. Old stones set years ago re-emerged and I saw again the old pathway leading up the hill to the power box. Overgrown and half-buried pavers were laid here when I first began investing in HRCT. Now my whole approach demanded a new view. I recalled Dr. Hu and his approach to turning a faltering company around: make a plan, get rid of the old stuff, look to the future, lay down a solid foundation, plant your stepping stones solidly one at a time, stay focused. I will post a picture here when my project approaches completion. In the meantime I have engraved Hartcourt Princely onto the 1st paver and put in buy orders to accumulate.
USA Today
http://tinyurl.com/2kgczo
If there's a way that personal data entrusted to the government can be lost, stolen, breached or otherwise compromised, you can bet federal agencies will find it. In fact, they probably already have, judging by the welter of high-profile embarrassments in the past year:
•A laptop containing personal data on 26.5 million veterans was stolen from the home of a
Department of Veterans Affairs employee last May. (It was recovered a month later.)
•Nearly 500 IRS computers, many containing sensitive taxpayer data, were lost or stolen from workers' cars, homes and offices over 3½ years, starting in January 2003.
•The Agriculture Department posted on a public website
Social Security numbers of about 38,700 people who had gotten USDA loans or other aid.
•The Transportation Security Administration - the folks who secure the nation's air travel system - couldn't secure a portable hard drive holding personal and banking records on 100,000 former and current workers, including air marshals, who work undercover. The drive disappeared from
TSA offices last week.
The list goes on and on, with federal agencies seemingly incapable of learning from past fiascos and exposing ever more people to privacy invasion and identity theft.
Last month, Congress'
Government Accountability Office reported that 21 of 24 major agencies had "significant weaknesses" in information security controls, putting data at risk. At many, even basic barriers to keep intruders out were wanting: 18 agencies had weak access controls, such as passwords and encryption.
Seven Cabinet-level agencies - including the Defense Department and
Treasury Department (home to the IRS) - got failing grades on a report card on data security issued by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. That's appalling, considering the kinds of data those agencies hold.
Some agencies even fail to learn from their own experience. Despite last year's laptop debacle at Veterans Affairs, a VA portable hard drive with billing data for 1.3 million doctors and personal information on a half million veterans disappeared from a facility in Birmingham, Ala., in January. Some of the data were not encrypted.
The Office of Management and Budget, which oversees computer security throughout the agencies, says it has tackled the problem with stricter controls and more training. But there's not much evidence of success.
What's missing is accountability, which makes the solution seem fairly straightforward. Agency heads need to make it their mission to see that the records they administer are secure, and there should be consequences if they fail.
The Bush administration clearly is not giving the problem that kind of priority, and if it doesn't, you can bet on this: Advancing computerization will inevitably make the problem worse. Disappearing hard drives, lost computers and personal data popping up on the Web are just the early signs of much bigger trouble ahead.
You might recall that old Salada TV ditty:
"Take Tea and See"
I always find my lost socks after a cup of green tea.
Yeah, green tea. Works every time.
Yeah, that's even worse than losing a pair of socks.