Brittany Waldrep

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

The folks who design what the industry tells us are “chicken heavens” are real virtuosos when it comes to manipulating the environment of the animals for maximum profit. When layer hen’s production begins to slacken, the producers do not just sit back and let her output wane. Not when they have found it possible to bolster her egg production by a procedure known in the trade as “force-moulting. The already panicked and exhausted hen will suddenly find herself plunged into complete darkness. The artificial lighth1g, which heretofore had been on for upwards of 17 hours a day, is now completely cut off, and at the same time her food and water are removed. After two days of starving without even water in the dark, the bircj, still without food or light, is allowed water. Eventually lighting and food will be returned to what passes for “normal.” Those hens who 51tvive this ingenious procedure will have been shocked into physiology processes associated, under natural conditions, with the seasonal lo of plumage and growth of fresh feathers. After the forced moulting, those hens who survive the ordeal may be sufficiently productive to be kept around for another two months. Then they join those who did not survive the procedure in the first place in our chicken soup.
Hopefully, the hen will have learned something from the days without food or water, because the farm managers certainly have. During her last 30 hours before slaughter she will again receive no food. A headline in Poultry Tribune reminded poultry producers to “Take Feed Away From Spent Hens.” The trade journal brilliantly calculated that food given to hens during the last 30 hours of their lives doesn’t have time to turn into flesh. It stays in the digestive system, and so, counsel the experts, is nothing but a waste of feed.

You have probably heard the magnificent trumpeting of roosters at daybreak, the passionate, flill-throated announcement that dawn has come. The sound with which they welcome the day testifies, not only to their proud and passionate spirits, but also to how sensitive chickens are to light. This is a fact that modem poultrymen know, and do not hesitate to exploit.
In the windowless warehouses we are asked to believe are “chicken heavens,” the artificial lighting is manipulated in the most unnatural ways to maximize profits and minimize costs. Broilers are often subjected to bright light 24 hours a day for the first two weeks. Then the lights may be dimmed slightly and go off and on every two hours.’° At about six weeks of age, the animals have gone so completely crazy from all this that the lights must be turned off completely in an attempt to calm them down. But even then the absence of any outlet whatsoever for the birds’ natural energies and drives leads to a great deal of fighting, with the de-beaked birds pecking painfully at each other in the dark, often managing despite the mutilation of their beaks to kill each other. It’s at times like this that farm managers will sometimes reveal the depth of their compassion for the animals in their care.
“It’s a damn shame when they kill each other. It means we wasted all the feed that went into the damn thing.” The lighting conditions for young layer hens (called “pullers”) are a little different from those provided for broilers, though not exactly what you’d call natural. These young are kept in “grow-out” buildings which are usually kept comPletely dark except for feeding times.” Then, when the young hens rach the age where they can begin to lay eggs, everything suddenly changes. Having lived their entire lives in complete darkness, excent for feeding times, the hens now find themselves subjected to harsh and continuous light.

A lot of people don’t know that in 1983 Bank of America bought Charles Schwab & Co. lock, stock, and broker, with my dad staying on as chairman and CEO. Within four years he had bought back his company. But in those first few months of being under the Bank of America corporate umbrella, Schwab employees were offered the option of purchasing shares of BofA stock commission-free. Fresh out of college and just having received my broker’s license—and never having actually placed a stock order for myself—I purchased two shares. Not two dozen shares or two hundred shares or two thousand shares. just two shares, which I still own. I always joked that while my dad was one of the largest Bank of America shareholders, I was the smallest. Still, eighteen years later, with the two shares that I bought for $44 now grown to almost $400, a tiny sliver of that BofA pie remains mine. Stocks (also referred to as equities) represent ownership. When you buy even a single share of stock, you’re actually buying a piece of that company. That’s what sets buying a stock apart from any other investment. Of course, this gives you not only the greatest opportunity for growth but also the greatest exposure to volatility if that company doesn’t perform well.
Depending on the company’s market value (the share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding), stocks are classified as either large-capitalization (the top 5% of companies, generally with market value greater than $8.2 billion), small-capitalization (the bottom 80% of companies, with market value less than $1.3 billion), or mid-capitalization (the 15% in between). Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Indexes are made up of mostly large-cap companies, with General Electric, and its more than $250 billion market cap, currently leading the herd. Though each category carries different levels of risk and reward, the object isn’t to choose one among them but to come up with a mix.
Other terms you’ll hear are growth and value styles. A growth stock is just what its name implies; its earnings (and usually its share price) are expected to grow rapidly. It pays negligible dividends because most of its profits are funneled right back into the company—to foster more growth. Growth investors are optimistic about the future of the firms in which they invest and are willing to pay a premium for this potential. This strategy has been most effective when new industries are developing and advancing, such as the rise of technology and biotechnology throughout the l990s.
A value stock is a different creature. Investors who take a value approach are looking for fundamentally strong companies whose share prices might be depressed for any number of short-term reasons. Because a company’s stock is believed to be underpriced, it is thought to represent good value. Value investors believe that, at some point in the future, the true value will emerge, the share price will increase, and they’ll profit from buying at a lower price today. Some value stocks also tend to pay higher dividends, which may help increase your overall return.

Many of us neglect to talk to our spouses, our parents, and or our children about investing because we feel uneasy about our own financial knowledge and skills. As we saw so clearly with Kate’s dad and even her siblings, that uncertainty—or fear—not only leads to avoiding the topic of discussion, it can also lead to avoiding investing altogether. Like anything else, however, once you break investing down into its basic components, it’s just not that complicated.
In this section I’ll introduce you to the world of investment vehicles—from stocks to bonds to mutual funds. As you begin to learn (and talk) about them, you’ll soon realize that each type of investment has its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as its own risks and rewards. Just remember that a properly diversified— balanced—portfolio will include a mix of investments.
Once again this overview is directed primarily to beginning investors. If you’re a bit rusty, you may find it a useful review. Or if you’re encouraging a friend or family member to jump in, this could be a good place to start.

Earlier I have told my friend about the importance of “paying yourself First.” Not only does it help you start—and keep—investing on an ongoing basis, it can launch you into a strategy that works well for a lot of investors. Dollar-cost averaging, as it’s called, not only provides you with the structure and the discipline to invest consistently over time, it also works well for anyone who is feeling a bit hesitant about diving right in—and wants to spread out his or her investments over time.
This is how it works. Every month (or at any regular interval) you invest a set amount of money—regardless of how the stock market is performing. When the markets are down and prices are low, you wind up purchasing more shares for your money. Your friends will wonder why you’re able to maintain your composure as the value of your stocks tumbles—but since you’re in this for the long haul, a dip in the market means an opportunity to scoop up a greater numher of shares at lower prices. When the market and prices are up, you’ll buy fewer shares (just as you do when a sale ends and prices return to full retail). Over time your average share cost (how much you actually spend) can wind up being lower than the average share price.

You mention the stock market and most people hove mixed emotions about risk and reward. Some seem to react almost viscerally to risk particularly in a dawn market or a recession, when in the mind of the mass public risk turns into RISK’
Granted, as of this writing we are experiencing one of the worst bear markets in history. In times like this it’s extremely hard not to get emotional and want to run for the hills. But this is exactly when it’s essential to maintain a long-term perspective. Every kind of investment has some inherent risk whether the investment is stocks, bonds, real estate, or gold. In fact risk is a part of everything we do— from investing to relationships to business. Risk is a part of life.
Given this reality, what is your best defense? Understanding how much risk is appropriate for your circumstances and creating a portfolio to match, In the late nineties, when the stock market was going straight up, investors didn’t think too much about risk—it simply didn’t seem real, But once people suffered severe losses, their tolerance for risk suddenly came into clearer focus.
Carrie tells me I’m a risk-taker: that I ski aggressively and that I’m a tough businessman. That may be true, but I would qualify that by saying that I take risk in a calculated way. I wouldn’t take risks if I were skiing for the first time. I’d find an instructor and rely on help and advice from a pro. But because I have a fair amount of experience, I do ski fast—if the conditions are great I go into the lodge as soon as things get ugly My intention is to always stay in control.
I handle investing risk in the same way I stay alert and informed, so that when I take a risk, I do so with awareness and understanding And as an investor you can do the same thing As Carrie explains in the text if you have the proper asset allocation and are adequately diversified, you will be able to take an appropriate risk Of course I know there are no guarantees and that things can still go wrong But I know also that I’ve done all? can to minimize unnecessary risk And that to me, is enough.

The Society for the Anthropology of Europe (SAE) was first conceived in 1986 and its first elections were held in the Fall of 1987. The purposes of the organization, as announced in the organizing letter that went out in 1986, were to strengthen national and international networks between colleagues, to provide forums for discussion and debate, to encourage comparative research, to enhance the visibility and legitimacy of Europeanist anthropology (both within the disci Field pline and among other Europeanist groups), to facilitate the dissemination of information about employment opportunities and grants, and to promote the professional integration of students specializing in Europe. This web site includes access to the H-SAE discussion list, and details on special programs including the annual SAE student paper competition, the SAE Pre-Dissertation Fellowship, SAE’s Distinguished lecturer series and roundtables, and the online edition of the SAE’s journal Europea: The Journal of the Europeanists. You can also click here for various subgroups of SAE, including the Network for French and Francophone Cultures, The Hungarianist Research Group, the German Studies Network Bibliography, the East European Anthropology Group, and the Anthropology of Italy Network. (By the way: Strange as it may seem. SAE is a division American Anthropological Association, referenced above. Membership in one entitles you to membership in the other.)

Anthropology at The National Museum of Natural History is all about what makes us human, our place in nature, our common concerns and our differences. National Museum of Natural History anthropologists explore these issues through laboratory and collections-based research at the Museum and at field sites throughout the world. The National Museum of Natural History anthropology staff build and maintain the Museum’s world class collections which now include more than 600,000 objects documenting the diversity and accomplishments of humankind. Museum anthropologists also teach others about what they have learned through exhibits, school age educational programs, public programs and opportunities for advanced training. This thorough, thought-provoking web site also includes outside links to research projects conducted by the National Museum of Natural History and other institutions, among them the Field Museum’s New Guinea Research Program, a a fascinating multidisciplinary endeavor bringing together expertise in archaeology, social anthropology, human biology, museum studies, and data analysis to explore the history and human diversity of the southwest Pacific. Since 1987 the New Research Program (NGRP) has been using the world-famous ethnological collections at the Smithsonian and other institutions as a starting place “benchmark” for researching the social life, prehistory, and contemporary cultural change on the Sepik Coast of New Guinea.

If the main management tool of the past half dozen years has been business process reengineering (BPR), a far more comprehensive approach is urgently needed to handle the challenges of the new situation. What matters in every case is that the new technologies can transform not only business processes but also the way products and services are created and marketed, the structure and goals of the enterprise, the dynamics of competition, and the actual nature of the enterprise. “Virtually every business will find it possible to use these new tools to become more competitive,” Vice President Al Gore said in his 1994 speech to the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. “And by taking the lead in quickly employing these new information technologies, America’s businesses will gain enormous advantages in the worldwide marketplace. Why isn’t BPR making the grade?

‘Hunters and fishermen need to know that a transmission will last the life of vehicle—if it’s cooled properly,” Appelgate says. “Unfortunately, the way your guys use their trucks—grinding slowly over offroad trails, climbing steep hills, towing boats and trailers—places a great deal of stress on the transmission. Stress creates heat, and heat is the number one killer of automatic transmissions. That’s the main reason why so many 1il prematurely But that can be prevented.”
How?
“The primary way to control heat is with an auxiliary transmission oil cooler. Any good unit that can circulate transmission fluid efficiently will do the job.Asd when the fluid stays cool, the transmission enjoys a long life.”
I interrupt. “All right. I hear you. But over the years I’ve talked to many outdoorsmen who believe such equipment really isn’t necessary. They say, ‘I don’t stress the vehicle enough to need one. And besides, the truck comes with a cooler. The dealer’s just trying to rip me off for another option.’”
“Yeah.Well, we at B&M for the most part disagree. First, just doing what you guys do—hunting and fishing—stresses the transmission in ways many outdoorsmen don’t consider. For example, when you climb a steep offroad trail, you often get a lot of wheelspin, which generates extra heat in the transmission fluld.That’s why even though original-equipment transmission radiator technology has come a long way, we still recommend an auxiliary cooler.
“Still not convinced? Think of it this way. It’s really no more than an inexpensive insurance policy. Our cooler costs about $60 retail. Compare that to as much as $2,000 for a rebuilt transmission.”
Appelgate’s eyes have lit up. He’s in his element. “In addition, (here are a few other things—besides ongoing maintenance, such as changing the fluid and making sure the filter is clean, which many people ignore completely—that anyone can do to increase the life of the transmission. “Next on the list is to install a deep transmission oil pan. A deep pan allows the transmission to benefit from another 3 to 4 quarts of fluid. If you can circulate a larger quantity of transmission fluid, you greatly increase the ability of the transmission to stay cool.”
Though a deeper pan means a small loss in ground clearance, most 4×4s are high enough so the loss doesn’t affect offroad performance. It’s a worthwhile compromise.