ImaginativePRO Blog

INFOGRAPHIC: WHY YOUR COMPANY ISN'T GROWING AND HOW TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE CORPORATE GROWTH

 

At the “When Growth Stalls” website, the Web home of the book by Steve McKee, there is a confidential self-diagnosis survey available to business professionals who want to get a sense of how their company is doing. McKee Wallwork Cleveland collected over 1,000 responses from these executives and recently took a closer look at the results. The results are staggering.

It’s not about the economy. The research shows that many struggling companies are suffering for reasons of their own making so McKee Wallwork Cleveland prepared this fun infographic to summarize the not-so-enjoyable internal dynamics that struggling companies must find a way to overcome.

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COMMENTARY:    It is important that management not only understand what corporate growth is, but what drives growth and how to manage that growth effectively for longterm sustainability and predictability.   Let's look at the 6W's of corporate growth: why, what, where, when, and HoW.

6W's of Sustainable Corporate Growth (Click Image To Enlarge)

Know Why

What is the real purpose of your business? Your company needs profits to live, but profits are not what the business is for.  The objectives are to provide value to the population and to make the community better.

When this vision is lost then we lose sense of purpose, the feeling of belonging, the sight of why we work, and why our business exists.  Start a business when you have a passion for something and want to create something that you can be proud of. Inspire yourself and your people with a clear vision. Define shared values and let values rule. Achieve your sustainable competitive advantage by continuously developing existing and creating new resources and capabilities in
response to rapidly changing market conditions. Focus on strengthening your distinctive capabilities – leadership, teamwork, processes, tacit knowledge, etc. – which cannot be replicated by competitors.

Know What

Finding the right balance in your business will help you refine your goals and hasten you towards them. Organizations prosper by achieving strategy through balancing the four major factors or perspectives: Financial; Customer; Process; and Growth.

Build Your Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Sustainable competitive advantage is the prolonged benefit of implementing some unique value-creating strategy based on unique combination of internal organizational resources and capabilities that cannot be replicated by competitors.   Sustainable competitive advantage allows the maintenance and improvement of your enterprise's competitive position in the market.  It is an advantage that enables your business to survive against its competition over a long period of time.

Know Where

Remember the old joke about the car mechanic who’s called in after every other mechanic failed? He listens to the engine for a few minutes, then hauls off and gives it a big swift kick in a certain strategic spot. Lo and behold, the engine starts humming like a kitten. The mechanic turns around, gives the car owner his bill for $400. The owner is flabbergasted and demands an itemized breakdown and explanation.

The bill says... '$1 for my time, and $399 for knowing where to kick.'

Know When

Timing is everything. You have to know not only how to make a move, but when. “The value of actions lies in their timing,”  said Lao Tzu. Customer value derives from timely delivery. Change is unavoidable, but if you can anticipate it and understand business cycles, you can ride with change instead of being run over.

Know Who

According to Lee Iacocca, "In the end, all management can be reduced to three words: people, product, and profits. People come first." Your corporate vision is worthless, strategies powerless and shared values are corrupt without the right people to execute.

Know How

Manage processes, not people. Focus not on what they do, but on how they do it. Establish a synergistic enterprise-wide and an end-to-end (cross-departmental, and often, cross-company) coordination of work activities that create and deliver
ultimate value to customers.

Sustainable Growth Rate

According to  Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy or PIMS an important lever of business success is growth.  Among 37 variables, growth is mentioned as one of the most important variables for success: market share, market growth, marketing expense to sales ratio or a strong market position.

The question how much growth is sustainable is answered by two concepts with different perspectives:

• The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) concept by Robert C. Higgins, describes optimal growth from a financial perspective assuming a given strategy with clear defined financial frame conditions/ limitations. Sustainable growth is defined as the annual percentage of increase in sales that is consistent with a defined financial policy (target debt to equity ratio, target dividend payout ratio, target profit margin, target ratio of total assets to net sales). This concept provides a comprehensive financial framework and formula for case/ company specific SGR calculations.
• The Optimal Growth concept by Martin Handschuh, Hannes Lösch, Björn Heyden et al. assesses sustainable growth from a total shareholder return creation and profitability perspective - independent of a given strategy, business model and/ or financial frame condition. This concept is based on statistical long-term assessments and is enriched by case examples. It provides an orientation frame for case/ company specific mid- to long-term growth target setting.

Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Formula

The sustainable growth rate according to Robert C. Higgins is the maximum growth rate a company can achieve consistent with the firm`s established financial policy. Basically, it is calculated as:

SGR = (pm*(1-d)*(1+L)) / (T-(pm*(1-d)*(1+L)))  where:

• pm is the existing and target profit margin
• d is the target dividend payout ratio
• L is the target total debt to equity ratio
• T is the ratio of total assets to sales

In order to grow faster, the company would have to invest more equity capital, increase its financial leverage or increase the target profit margin.

The sustainable growth rate model assumes several simplifications such as depreciation is sufficient to maintain the value of existing assets, the profit margin remains stable (also for new businesses), the proportion of assets and sales remains stable (also for new businesses) and the company maintains its current capital structure and dividend payout policy. The sustainable growth rate model has implications for valuation models, as for instance the Gordon model and other discounted cash flow models require a growth estimate that can be sustained for many years. The sustainable growth rate can be a check if business plans are reasonable.

Optimal Growth Rates

Optimal Growth from a shareholder value reation and profitability perspective according to Martin Handschuh, Hannes Lösch and Björn Heyden is the growth rate which assures sustainable company development – considering the long-term relationship between revenue growth, total shareholder value creation and profitability. Assessment basis: The work is based on assessments on the performance of more than 3500 stock-listed companies with an initial revenue of greater 250 million Euro globally and across industries over a period of 12 years from 1997 till 2009. Due to this long time period, the authors consider their findings as to a large extent independent of specific economic cycles.

Relationship Between Revenue Growth, Total Shareholder Value Creation and Profitability

In the long-term and across industries, total shareholder value creation (stock price development plus dividend payments) rises steadily with increasing revenue growth rates. The more long-term revenue growth companies realize, the more investors appreciate this and the more they get rewarded.

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Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Sales (ROS) and Return on Equity (ROE) do rise with increasing revenue growth up to 10 to 25% and then fall with further increasing revenue growth rates.

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Also the combined ROX-index (average of ROA, ROS and ROE) shows rises with increasing growth rates to a broad maximum in the range of 10 to 25% revenue growth per year and falls towards higher growth rates.

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The authors attribute the continuous profitability increase towards the maximum of two effects:

1. Profitability drives growth: Companies with substantial profitability have the opportunity to invest more in additional growth.
2. Growth drives profitability: Substantial growth may be a driver for additional profitability, e.g. by higher attractiveness for high performing young professionals, higher employee motivation, higher attractiveness for business partners as well as higher self-confidence.

Beyond the profitability maximum extra efforts to handle additional growth – e.g. based on integrating new staff in large dimensions and handling culture and quality - do rise sharply and reduce overall profitability.

The combination of the patterns of revenue growth, total shareholder value creation and profitability indicates three growth zones:

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• Low Return: Low profitability and low value generation below 10% per year
• Long-term Sweet-Spot: Solid value generation and highest on average profitability in the revenue growth interval from 10% to 25% per year
• High Speed: Even higher total shareholder value generation however in combination with lower profitability beyond 25% per year

Growth rates of the assessed companies are widely independent of initial company size/ market share which is in alignment with Gibrath`s law. Gibrat's law, sometimes called Gibrat's rule of proportionate growth is a rule defined by Robert Gibrat (1904–1980) stating that the size of a firm and its growth rate are independent. Independent of industry consolidation and industry growth rate, companies in many industries with growth rates in the range of 10 to 25% revenue growth p.a. have both, higher total shareholder value generation as well as profitability than their slower growing peers.

Base Strategies and Growth Moves

These findings do suggest two base strategies for companies:

• For companies (e.g. in established markets like central Europe and USA) with low single digit growth rates: Consider acceleration of growth given the fact that TSR and profitability are higher in the sweet-spot
• For companies (e.g. in fast growing regional markets like China with India and/ or rapidly growing industry segments) with growth rates beyond 25%: Consider best ways to “digest”/ and to stabilize rapid growth and ensure a “soft landing” should market growth come to a sudden stop

How To Achieve Long-Term Growth in the Sweet-Spot and Beyond

The authors have identified a set of preconditions and levers to achieve long-term growth in their defined sweet-spot and beyond:

Preconditions

• Generating a common understanding regarding growth and profit ambitions among the management team as a prerequisite for aligned and coordinated strategy development and implementation
• Understanding relevant markets (current or future promising markets). Generating market foresight when identifying and assessing growth initiatives, e.g. megatrends and scenario analyses, segment specific benchmarking and in depth assessments, market demand projections

Levers and strategy

• Applying formulas for rapid growth, e.g. maxing out the number of relevant customers, maxing out the share of wallet and lifecycle potentials, continuous innovation, killer offerings, network based growth, M&A/buy-and-build driven growth, franchising proven business concepts, pyramid-like network expansion and managing value networks
• Defining the growth strategy as a portfolio of best suited growth initiatives considering a multidimensional set of criteria, e.g. ease of implementation, growth and profit impact, expected risk vs. return, cash flow stability
• Making growth happen: Strategy and corresponding culture must be addressed in a consistent way, e.g. creating the case for growth, clearly defining and communicating vision and strategy as well as actively developing and energizing the organization.

Criticism

As described the sustainable growth rate (SGR) concept by Robert C. Higgins is based on several assumptions such as constant profit margin, constant debt to equity ratio or constant asset to sales ratio. Therefore, general applicability of SGR concept in cases where these parameters are not stable is limited.

The Optimal Growth concept by Martin Handschuh, Hannes Lösch, Björn Heyden et al. has no restrictions to certain strategies or business model and is therefore more flexible in its applicability. However, as a broad framework, it only provides an orientation for case/company specific mid- to long-term growth target setting. Additional company and market specific considerations, e.g. market growth, growth culture, appetite for change, are required to come up with the optimal growth rate of a specific company.

Additionally, considering the increasing criticism of excessive growth and shareholder value orientation by philosophers, economists and also managers, e.g. Stéphane Hessel, Kenneth Boulding, Jack Welch (nowadays), one might expect that investors` investment criteria might also change in the future. This may lead to changes in the relationship of revenue growth rates and total shareholder value creation. Regular reviews of the optimal growth assessments may be used as an indicator for the development of stock markets` appetite for rapid growth.

Courtesy of an article dated December 13, 2012 appearing in SmartBlog on Leadership and an artile by 1000Ventures.com and Sustainable Growth Rate by Wikipedia.com

THE TRILLION DOLLAR STEALTHY F-35 LIGHTNING II FIGHTER, ANOTHER MISTAKE OR COSTLY PENTAGON BOONDABLE?

 

A new Pentagon forecast showing the total cost of owning and operating a fleet of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters topping $1 trillion over more than 50 years has caused a case of sticker shock in Washington.

And that price tag doesn't even include the $385 billion the Defense Department will spend to purchase 2,500 of the stealthy planes through 2035.

During a Senate hearing this month, Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) called the $1 trillion figure "jaw-dropping," particularly when compared with the costs of operating other aircraft.

Said  Senator Cain,

"I appreciate this estimate is still early and subject to change, but we need to know that the program is going to bring that number down".

Tom Burbage, who leads the program for manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp., acknowledged that the 'T' word

"causes a lot of the sensational reaction to it, because no one's ever dealt with 't's before in a program."

The long-range estimate is, by its nature, imprecise because it attempts to forecast factors including inflation and fuel costs decades into the future. And the Pentagon says it will be adjusted as the planes enter operation.

But the figure is bringing new scrutiny to what is already the Pentagon's largest-ever weapon-buying project as its budget comes under pressure. Already, Lockheed Martin has said it was looking for ways to bring down the long-term cost.

 

Christine Fox, head of the Pentagon's cost-assessment office, said in Senate testimony that the F-35 would likely cost about 33% more per flight hour to operate than two of the aircraft it will replace, the F-16 and F-18. But the new aircraft will be much more sophisticated, will be far less visible to enemy radar and will have sensors that allow a single jet to take on missions that now require several aircraft.

The Marine Corps version of the F-35 will be able to hover and land vertically. The Navy model will operate from aircraft carriers, while the Air Force version will be based on land. Developmental aircraft are flying, and the first F-35s—which cost about $113 million each—are slated to enter service later in the decade.

The Pentagon's forecast includes all the possible costs the military might incur over the lifetime of the program, including everything from housing the aircraft to installing replacement parts. Add all those together, and factor in inflation, Mr. Burbage said, and "you trip the trillion-dollar mark."

But, he said,

"The question to ask is, is that a relevant number?"

Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Emerson Gardner, who previously oversaw cost assessment at the Pentagon, said it wasn't "good analysis" to put that round dollar figure out without a point of comparison—for instance, the cost of sustaining the less-capable aircraft the new plane would replace.

Geneneeral Gardner said,

"You can scare the children with lots of things by projecting out to what it's going to cost in 2065.  It's more useful to us if it's [forecast] five to 10 years."

A more near-term analysis, Gen. Gardner said, might add to a constructive debate about realistic costs and alternatives.

It is normal for sustainment costs to outstrip the basic drive-away cost of a piece of military hardware. But Pentagon procurement chief Ashton Carter said in a recent Senate hearing that the Joint Strike Fighter's projected sustainment bill was on top of an "unacceptably large" bill for procurement.

Still the Pentagon sees no "better alternative" to the F-35 says the general,

"Sustainment seems like years away, but now is the time to face that bill and begin to get that under control." 

The Joint Strike Fighter has long been a troubled program, with cost overruns, military management shake-ups and heightened political scrutiny, but Lockheed says the aircraft is now ahead of schedule on its test flights.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Lockheed Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Stevens said the trillion-dollar figure was derived from a new Pentagon "selected acquisition report" that wasn't developed by the company, and said the company would work to find ways to bring down the aircraft's long-term production and sustainment costs.

Says the Lockheed CEO,

"As big as that number is, there are sufficiently large opportunities to reduce that number by making streamlining decisions along the way." 

COMMENTARY:   Just before leaving office, the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us all when he said, "Beware of the U.S. military industrial complex."  I wonder what Ike would say about the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program.

I enjoy writing about and exposing U.S. military wasteful spending, and believe me, "The Greatest Miliary In The World,"  is the biggest spender of our tax dollars, which is contrary to what people say is being spent on entitlement programs like social security and medicare.  

If you believe what the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) says the Department of Defense spends each year, then you are very naive.  Did you know that the Department of Homeland Security, CIA and NSA fall under the Department of Defense?  All the U.S. contractors stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan are also included in the Department of Defense budget.  

THE FACT IS:  Nobody really knows the actual amount being spent by our U.S. military because much of the spending is highly classified and the government simply doesn't want us to know.  It's for reasons of national security, and we don't want the other side to know what we are up to. 

THE F-22 RAPTOR PROGRAM COMES TO AN END

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth generation super-maneurable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. The Raptor, originally designated the      Y-22, first entered service on December 15, 2005, and was designed for the U.S. Air Force primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles. 

The high cost of the Raptor, a lack of clear air-to-air combat missions because of delays in the Russian and Chinese fifth generation fighter programs, a US ban on Raptor exports, and the ongoing development of the supposedly cheaper and more versatile F-35 Lightning resulted in calls by the U.S. Defense Department to end F-22 production on April 2009.  A total of 168 Raptors were built out of 187 budgeted with a total program cost of $65 billion.  Total unit costs per plane was $150 million.

On 9 July 2009, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services his reasons for supporting termination of the F-22 production line.  He believed, most importantly, that Fifth-generation fighters need to be proliferated to all three services, a need that could only be met by shifting more resources to producing the 10-years more advanced, multi-service and multirole F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter jet.

THE F-35 LIGHTNING JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER 

The F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter jet. previously designated the X-35, will be produced by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corp, U.S. Navy and our European military partners The U.K., Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada.  The number of F-35's to be produced are as follows:

United States:

• US Air Force:  1,763 
• US Navy/US Marine Corp: 680 
• Total:  2,443

European Military Partners:  

• United Kingdom - Royal Air Force and Royal Navy: 138 
• Italy: 131 
• Netherlands:  85 
• Turkey: 100 
• Australia:  100 
• Norway:  48 
• Denmark: 30 
• Canada:   65

U.S. also ordered 14 F-35's for flgiht tests. 

The 2,443 F-35's for the U.S. military are scheduled for production between now and the year 2035 at a total cost of $385 billion.   This averages $158 million per plane (includwa spare parts) before recurring costs like maintenance, housing and armaments.   Individual unit costs are as follows:

• F-35A:  $122 million (average cost, 2011)
• F-35B:  $150 million (average cost, 2011)
• F-35C: $139.5 millin (average cost, 2011) 

The F-35 Lightning II comes in three variants designed to replace aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corp and U.S. Navy: 

• U.S.  Air Force (F-35A CTOL)  - Replaces the General Dynamics F-16 Flying Falcon or Viper, a supersonic (1.2 to 2.0 Mach), long-range (2,200 nautical miles) multirole jet fighter designed for dog fighting and attacking ground targets.  Original unit cost: $14.6 to $18.8 million (1998 dollars).  Average flyaway cost: $3 million.  
• U.S. Marine Corp (F-35B STOVL) - Replaces the McDonnel Douglas (now Boeing/BAE Systems Hawker Siddeley Harrier or AV-8A Sea Harrier), a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing or V/STOL ground-attack subsonic (662 mph), mid-range (1,200 nautical miles) attack jet.  Original unit cost: $30 to $35 million (1997 dollars).  Average flyaway costs:  NA  
• U.S. Navy (F-35C CV) - Replaces the McDonnel Douglas Navy F/A-18 Hornet, a supersonic (1.8 Mach), mid-range (1,089 nautical miles), all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets ((F/A for Fighter/Attack).  Original unit cost: $29 to $57 million (2006 dollars).  Average flyaway costs: NA   

There are subtle specification differences between each variant as listed below:  

Below is the U.S. Marine AV-8B Harrier jet landing on the deck of the U.S. Navy Amphibius Assault Ship USS Bataan (LHD-5). 

 

The F-35B (STOVL) will replace all four previous versions of the V/STOL Harrier family.

  

According to the Pentagon, the estimated average recurring fly away costs per plane using the U.S. Air Force F-35A CTOL as the benchmark is $65 million per year per plane.  NOTE: U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corp versions of the F-35 would have a different estimted average recurring fly away costs because of differences in design.  

The Pentagon produced the following production schedule for the 2,443 F-35's being ordered based on Lockheed's annual production capacity.  This includes 415 F-35's that will be produced between now and the end of FY 2016, and another 2,028 additional F-35's that will be produced between FY 2016 and FY 2035.    

If you do the math,  the estimated recurring fly away costs for the 415 F-35's that have already been produced and will be produced between FY 2011 and FY2016 are as follows: 

• Test Flight Craft - 14:  $910 million
• Produced FY Prior to 2011 - 58: $26.390 billion
• Produced FY 2011 - 32: $12.480 billion
• Produced FY 2012 - 32: $10.400 billion
• Produced FY 2013 - 42: $10.920 billion
• Produced FY 2014 - 62: $12.090 billion
• Produced FY 2015 - 81:  $10.530 billion
• Produced FY 2016 - 108: $7.020 billion

The above totals for the above 415 F-35's totals approximately $84 billion between now and the end of 2016.  Then you add this to the recurring costs for the other 2,028 F-35's that will be produced after FY 2016, and that's how the Pentagon derived its $1 trillion figure.  In any event, $65 million for maintenance, housing and armaments for the F-35 is damn expensive to say the least.

COMPARISON F-22A VERSUS F-35A

Thanks to nice folks of the Air Force Association, I was able to obtain a comparison of the F-22A versus F-35A.  Comparisons were based on different metrics:

 

Air Force Association - F-22 Versus F-35 Comparison

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What's not to like about the F-22A.  The F-22A was superior over the F-35A in just about every metric except for Unrefuled Combat Radius.  The cost comparisons are a bit tricky because they do not include maintenance, housing and armament costs.  The F-22A unit cost was also based on a much smaller quantity--187 versus 1763.

The U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy have special needs and requirements because they require V/STOL and carrier-based landing capability respectively.  Therefore, the costs for the F-35B and F-35C will probably be higher than the F-35A which is land-based.

The biggest criticism that I have with the F-35 Lightning II is the decision to go with a mulitrole underpowered aircraft that would be designed for three branches of the military. We seem to have put all our eggs in one basket.  The F-22A has far better performance characteristics and would've given us greater ability to go up against both Russian and Chinese Fifth Generation Fighter jets.

If the price of the F-35 Lightning II was supposed to be chaper, it sure as hell has not turned out that way.  I think we need to totally re-evaluate the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Attack jet.  We have no choice.  In an era of huge federal budget deficits, we must find ways of reducing costs in every department, and this includes the defense budget, a department with costs that will approach $1 trillion by 2016.  

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BUDGET

To make my case for reductions in the defense budget, let's look at the U.S. Department of Defense Budget for the Fiscal Year 2010, 2011 and 2012 shall we.

U.S. Department of Defense Budget for FY 2010

U.S. Department of Defense Budget for FY 2010 - By Branch and Department

U.S. Defense Department of Defense - Program Spending over $1.5 billion - FY 2011

U.S. Defense Department of Defense - FY 2012 (DOD and other departments)

U.S. Department of Defense Annual Budget for the FY1962 Through FY 2010 and Forecasted for 2014 - Adjusted For Inflation

U.S. Department of Defense Per Capital Spending 1962 Through 2010 and Forecasted for 2014 - Adjusted For Inflation

If you look at the U.S. Department of Defense for programs spending in excess of $1.5 billion, the F-35 is prominently at the top of the list.  I think we can assume that the F-35 program will occupy the No 1 spot for a decade and beyond.  In short, the F-35 program will be the single most expensive project U.S. Department of Defense Budget.  

We have to seriously ask ourselves whether it's time for the U.S. government to seriously consider reducing our military budget.  It has gotten completely out of control.  Per capita spending on military spending has risen from $2,500 per person in 1962 to nearly $4,000 per person in FY 2010.  By FY 2014 per capital spending will be $4,100 per person.

CONCLUSION

I believe we would be better served by replacing the U.S. Air Force F-35A with the F-22A because it is just plain and simple the superior plane in just about every performance metric.  It can carry larger payloads, has greater thrust, speed and maneuverability, has a superior flight envelope, and can control twice the battle space of the F-35A.  I don't know who made the decision to go with the F-35A, but in my opinion this was a huge mistake. 

I like the F-35 Lightning II's multiservice role, and what it can do overall, but performance-wise the F-22 is far superior.  Unfortunately, the F-22 is not designed for vertical takeoff and carrier operations.   I am very reluctant to go with the F-35B STOLV and F-35C CV, because the F-35 Lightning II's performance puts our Marine and Navy pilots at a disadvantage in combat conditions.  If we are going to go into battle, I want my Marines and Navy pilots behind the best plane--period.  They should not be second best to anybody.   

My other complaint is the F-35 Lightning II's total production costs per aircraft have skyrocketed to $158 million per plane, and are projected to rise even higher.  Just what the hell is going on here?Lockheed Martin has a lot of explaining to do.  The company needs to provide a detailed breakdown of the costs of production, parts, housing and armaments.  We need to find a way to make the plane much more cost-effective, even if it means that Lockheed Martin has to eat some of those flyaway costs.  

12/16/12 - UPDATE:

For three years (FY 2010, FY 2011 and FY2012), the Pentagon has been postponing orders for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.   Plans to produce 425 of the F-35's have been put on hold.  But Lockheed, the builder of the F-35 has reasons to be optimistic.  According to government officials, the Pentagon is close to approving a deal to produce 29 F-35's during fiscal year 2013.   The F-35's history is full of research and development setbacks, rising costs and mounting criticism of the troubled F-35.  It is now estimated that if the Pentagon builds 2400+ F-35's, the total cost will hit $395 billion.  That's a 70% increase in costs since 2001.   Flight tests have uncovered a number of flaws with the F-35.  Lockheed has agreed to underwrite half the cost of fixing those flaws.  And, the Air Force general who supervises the F-35 program calls the relationship between the Pentagon and Lockheed,

"The worst I've ever seen."

Lockheed launched an online campaign on its website to urge F-35 supporters to sign a petition to prevent the F-35 program from being scrapped.   The F-35 has undergone numerous test flights since 2006, but don't expect the F-35 to appear over the skys of Afghanistan anytime soon. 

 

Courtesy of an article dated May 26, 2011 appearing in The Wall Street Journal, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Lockheed Martin F-35 Fast Facts, Air Force Association Comparison of F-22A versus F-35A, Wikipedia, Department of Defense Selected Acquisition Report-SAR for the F-35 Lightning II and an article dated December 10, 2012 appearing in Bloomberg   

ARMED TO THE TEETH: GUN OWNERSHIP IN AMERICA, U.S. LEADS THE WORLD WITH WELL OVER 270 MILLION FIREARMS AND GROWING

 

Gun Ownership - U.S. vs World 

Where are the world's guns - and which countries have the highest rates of firearms murders?

The Aurora shooting has re-lit the arguments over gun control in the US.

How does the US really compare on firearms?  The world's crime figures are collected by the UNODC through its annual crime survey.  It has a special section of data on firearm homicides - and provides detailed information by size of population and compared to other crimes. It is not a perfect dataset - some key nations are missing from the data, including Russia, China and Afghanistan. But it does include the US, UK and many other developed nations.

The Small Arms Survey is also useful - although it is from 2007, it collates civilian gun ownership rates for 178 countries around the world, and has 'normalised' the data to include a rate per 100,000 population.

It shows that with less than 5% of the world's population, the United States is home to roughly 35–50 per cent of the world's civilian-owned guns, heavily skewing the global geography of firearms and any relative comparison

So, given those caveats, we can see which countries have the highest ownership rates for firearms - and which have the highest gun murder rates.

The key facts are:

• The US has the highest gun ownership rate in the world - a total of 270 million guns as of 2007 or an average of 88 per 100 people. That puts it first in the world for gun ownership - and even the number two country, Yemen, has significantly fewer - 54.8 per 100 people.
• But the US does not have the worst firearm murder rate - that prize belongs to Honduras, El Salvador and Jamaica. In fact, the US is number 28, with a rate of 2.97 per 100,000 people.
• Puerto Rico tops the world's table for firearms murders as a percentage of all homicides - 94.8%. It's followed by Sierra Leone in Africa and Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean

Even China and India, with four time the population of the U.S. do not have anywhere the number of guns owned by Americans.   In fact, if you added all the guns owned by private citizens in the other countries of the world.  It would not match the 270 million guns (as of 2007) in the hands of Americans.  That number is now probably 300 million or very close to it.    

The full data is below - what can you do with it?

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Gun Crime Statistics by State

How bad is gun crime in the US? The latest data from the FBI's uniform crime reports for 2010  provides a fascinating picture of the use of firearms in crimes across America.

In early January 2011 the shooting of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords by Jared Lee Loughner in front of supporters in Tucson, Arizona left six dead, including a nine-year-old child. But since then, the issue has been given scant attention.

The FBI crime statistics are based on reports to FBI bureau and local law enforcement. The figures are not complete - there are no stats for Florida on firearm murders and the data for Illinois is "incomplete".  But even so it provides a detailed picture of attacks by state.

Click To View Interactive Map 

Click the above map then click on a state to explore it - or use the dropdown menu to choose different ways of seeing the data

In fact, gun crime, like all crime across the US is going down - you can see how much in the graph above.

In 2010 - the latest year for which detailed statistics are available - there were 12,996 murders in the US.  Of those, 8,775 were caused by firearms.

The figures show that California had the highest number of gun murders last year - 1,257, which is 69% of all murders that year and equivalent to 3.37 per 100,000 people in the state. Big as that figure is, it's still down by 8% on the previous year. Other key findings include:

• While gun crime is down in the vast majority of states, it is up in New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Mississippi, Missouri, Arizona, Delaware, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Connecticut and several of the smaller states.
• If you look at the firearms murder rate per 100,000 people, District of Columbia comes out top - with 16 firearms murders per 100,000 man, woman and child in the state. There were 99 firearms murders in DC in 2010, down 12% on 2009
• DC is followed by Louisiana (7.75) and Missouri (5.34)
• DC is also top for firearms robberies per 100,000 people - with 255.98
• If you look at aggravated assaults involving a firearm, Tennessee (129.87) and South Carolina (114.73) come above District of Columbia (99.25)

Gun Crime In The U.S. by State for 2010

States with Extremely High Populations of Gun Owners(more than 50%):

This article lists individual gun owners as a percentage of each state's population, as of 2007.    

This data was very relevant during the 2012 General Election and state elections for governors and U.S. senatorial and congressional races.  The data clearly explains why candidates President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney refused to meaningfully address gun control and ownership issues before the November 2012 election day:  thirteen of fourteen 2012 battleground states have gun ownership rates of 30% or more.

1. Wyoming - 59.7%
2. Alaska - 57.8%
3. Montana - 57.7%
4. South Dakota - 56.6%
5. West Virginia - 55.4%
6. Mississippi - 55.3%, Idaho - 55.3%, Arkansas - 55.3% (3-way tie)
7. Alabama - 51.7%
8. North Dakota - 50.7%
9. Kentucky - 47.7%
10. Wisconsin - 44.4% *
11. Louisiana - 44.1%
12. Utah - 43.9%
13. Tennessee - 43.9%
14. Oklahoma - 42.9%, Iowa - 42.9% * (2-way tie)
15. South Carolina - 42.3%
16. Kansas - 42.1%
17. Vermont - 42.0%
18. Missouri - 41.7% *, Minnesota - 41.7% (2-way tie) 
19. North Carolina - 41.3%
20. Maine - 40.5%
21. Georgia - 40.3% 
22. Oregon - 39.8%
23. Indiana - 39.1%
24. Nebraska - 38.6%
25. Michigan - 38.4% *
26. Texas - 35.9%
27. Virginia - 35.1% *
28. New Mexico - 34.8% *
29. Colorado - 34.7% *
30. Pennsylvania - 34.7% * 
31. Nevada - 33.8% *
32. Washington - 33.1%
33. Ohio - 32.4% *
34. Arizona - 31.1% *
35. New Hampshire - 30.0% *  
36. Delaware - 25.5%
37. Florida - 24.5% *
38. California - 21.3%
39. Maryland - 21.3%
40. Illinois - 20.2%
41. New York - 18%
42. Connecticut - 16.7%
43. Rhode Island - 12.8%
44. Massachusetts - 12.6%
45. New Jersey - 12.3%
46. Hawaii - 6.7%

* Battleground state during the 2012 General Election.  Source - USACarry.com

Interestingly, the top ten states with the highest gun ownership rates (all 50% or more) are considered staunchly Republican-red states.  And nine of the ten states with the lowest gun ownership rates (all less than 30%) are considered staunchly Democratic blue states.  The sole exception is Florida, a battleground state with a 24.5% gun ownership rate.

The South is the most violent region in the United States

The FBI divides America into four regions:

• Northeast
• Midwest
• South
• West 

In 2010, the South accounted for 41.5% of all violent crimes reported to the FBI, but the data ignores relevant issues that tended to inflate violent crime statistics for the South.  

• Between 2000-2010, the South actually experienced a 22.3% decline in its violent crime ra1te, beating the U.S. decline of 20.3%.
• Illegal immigration-related crime tended to inflate violent crime statistics for some of the Southern states, and this had a significant impact on southern states like Texas and Florida.  
  • A 15 year old was charged with nine murders after crashing a van smuggling illegal immigrants near the Mexico border. 
  • Fifteen more illegal immigrants died recently when another smuggler crashed his overloaded truck. Minus the dead driver, that’s 23 more murders in Texas this year, all related to illegal immigration.
  • Houston police officer Rodney Johnson and Dallas officer Brian Jackson were murdered by illegal immigrants.
  • In Florida, a Haitian illegal immigrant with a long rap sheet and deportation order murdered three people in their North Miami home. After Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, the president put deportations on hold, so ICE put him back on the street.

Obviously, illegal immigrants commit violence in other parts of the country.  Simply saying that the South is more violent ignores the impact of policies created by the federal government.  In fact, our elected federal officials have yet to fully address the illegal immigrant problem in the U.S. or ignored it altogether.  Illegal immigration is such a hot issue, that Mitt Romney lost the hispanic vote by a wide margin by supporting self-deportation.

COMMENTARY:   First, I would like to say that I fully support the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which gives all Americans the right to bear arms.  Second, I am for nationalized gun legislation and control of all firearms.  I have never fully subscribed to the notion that gun regulation is a "states right."   Here's why.  

• A lack of uniformity in gun ownership laws, with some states requiring background checks, while some have hardly any or none at all. 
• Differences as to who can legally sell firearms.  Many states allow the sale of firearms at gun shows and flea markets. 
• The length of time required for approval to own a firearm.  In Kentucky, I can walk out the door with a gun without a background check, waiting period or registration.
• The types of firearms that can be legally owned.  Some states have no legislation to prevent conversion of a semi-automatic assault-type rifle to fully-automated.  
• The types of firearms that can be legally owned.  

As you can see from the above statistics, there is no direct correlation between gun ownership and reduced violent crimes involving guns.  Compounding the problem are inconsistencies in gun regulations between states and liberal regulations governing acquiring military-style assault weapons   In fact, the reverse is true according to statistics compiled by the FBI:

• Women are 12 times more likely to be killed with a firearm by their husband during a domestic dispute when there is a gun in the house.
• An average of 83 Americans die every day from firearms in the United States. And the U.S. has the highest firearm homicide rates in the developed world.
• More guns has not reduced the number of mass killings, in fact there are now more of them, and the numbers of individuals killed and wounded is increasing:  Columbine High School massacre which killed 13 and wounded 26 others, "The Dark Knight Rises" midnight premiere in an Aurora, Colorada movie theater killed 12 and injured 58, the Virginia Tech student mass shootings killed 32 and wounded 15.
• According to the FBI (see above graph), guns are the overwhelming weapon of choice when it comes to violent crimes.
• States with "shoot first" gun laws, are more likely to result in a death by shooting which could've been prevented, or occurred due to a mistake in judgement or outright error. Shoot first laws expand the right to use deadly force in self-defense beyond the home and eliminate a person's duty to retreat before resorting to use of such deadly force. There are now 15 states with laws similar to those of Florida, and you can bet that here will be more of these unwarranted killings.
• The U.S. ranks No 1 out of 36 top nations in the number of individuals (9,369) imprisoned for committing a murder using a firearm.    
• In the U.S. nearly 40% of all homicides are committed using a firearm.  This ranks the U.S. 7th out of the top 32 developed nations.
• In 33 states, criminals and terrorists can buy military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips from “private dealers” on the Internet or at gun shows without showing ID or completing a background check. No ID, no background check, no restrictions, no detection. It is perfectly legal for private gun dealers and individuals to sell an unlimited number of firearms to anyone, including domestic criminals and international terrorists, cash and carry.  This is complete lunacy and dangerous.  
• In Massachusetts, where we have some of the most effective gun laws, firearms kill three people per 100,000 each year, compared to the national average of 10 per 100,000. Massachusetts is one of the few states to require gun training, licensing and registration, and consumer protection standards for firearm manufacturers, and is one of only 17 states that require criminal background checks for all gun sales. 

UPDATE:   This morning I woke up to the shocking news that as many as 20 children, students at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connectiut were shot.  Law enforcement officials are very tight in releasing details of the shootings.  This is another example of just how out of control the "Culture of Guns" has become.  President Obama and our Congress must find a solution to this problem.  We are now experiencing mass killings, not just one or two a day, but MASS KILLINGS of innocent civiliants and even very young children as in the ase of Sandy Hook Elementary.  If you are a gun owner, you must properly secure and store those guns where your children or thieves cannot get their hands on them.  If you cannot absolutely secure your weapons, then you should not be owning a firearm.  I know that's harsh, but we must find a way to put an end to these MASS KILLINGS using firearms.  The next victim maybe your children, wife, parent or loved one.  

Courtesy of an article dated September 27, 2011 appearing in The Guardian and an article dated July 22, 2012 appearing in The Guardian and an article dated November 17, 2012 appearing in About.com and an article appearing in the Coalition To Stop Gun Violence and an article dated July 27, 2012 appearing in PJ Media Daily Digest

FACEBOOK'S EPIC CAFE SERVES FREE FOOD 3X A DAY, LOOKS LIKE A SCHOOL LUNCH LINE AND CONSTRUCTION SITE, BUT THE FOOD ROCKS

Facebook's Epic Cafe (Click Image To Enlarge)

ROMAN & WILLIAMS HAS CREATED NOSTALGIC INTERIORS THAT MOST OTHERS CAN ONLY EMULATE. HERE’S THE LUNCHROOM THEY CREATED WITH FACEBOOK.

Facebook's Epic Cafe cafeteria greats staffers with the words EAT at the start of the waiting line lane (Click Image To Enlarge)

Google ruined everything. Microsoft gave out free soft drinks, but Google let employees eat gourmet food for free. How can you possibly differentiate mealtime in Silicon Valley with that act to follow?

Facebook's Epic Cafe knows how to put out the food fr Facebook staffers -- and there's plenty of it (Click Image To Enlarge)

Facebook's Epic Cafe food looks delicious. Here's one of the salad bars (Click Image To Enlarge)

Facebook aimed for cool. They hired Roman & Williams--the ultra-hip powerhouse firm behind landmark projects like the Ace Hotel--to create their Epic Cafe.  In reality, Roman & Williams is mostly the vision of husband-and-wife design team Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, who are largely credited with the trend of alluring, faux-nostalgic interiors, pieced together through an alchemy of heirloom furniture, found objects, warm woods, grommets, and occasionally, even flannel. Their look is what the New York Times calls the "Benjamin Button school of design," or a nostalgia for a time that never actually existed. Indeed, if interiors had an Instagram filter, it’d be Roman & Williams.

Facebook’s Epic Cafe is their Menlo Park eatery created by Ace Hotel designers Roman & Williams (Click Image To Enlarge)

Facebook's Epic cafe is full of reclaimed furniture and custom pieces, all which create a post-industrial space that’s reminiscent of a schoolhouse or factory (Click Image To Enlarge)

Everything is left a step unfinished, to give the Epic Cafe's space a feel of constant flexibility and iteration, like the Facebook platform itself (Click Image To Enlarge)

The meeting between Facebook and Roman & Williams was happenstance. Everett Katigbak and Ben Barry, who head Facebook’s Analog Research Lab, actually bumped into Standefer and Alesch in the lobby of the Ace Hotel. What eventually resulted was a collaboration on Facebook’s Epic Cafe, a cafeteria that sits somewhere between a schoolhouse lunch line and a half-finished construction site. The spa has all the carefully curated objects of a Roman & Williams design mixed with the “don’t you dare finish painting those walls!” mentality of Facebook’s corporate culture.Facebook’s Everett Katigbak tells me.

“[That culture] indirectly starts with the product, not that we leave it unfinished, but we leave the product open to iteration.  It’s a continual work in progress.”

Ben Barry and Everett Katigbak at Facebook's Analog Research Laboratory (Click Image To Enlarge)

Much of Katigbak’s job is ingraining Facebook’s culture into their buildings, designing interior spaces to ensure going to work at Facebook doesn’t feel like going to work anywhere else. So when Facebook opened its Menlo Park campus, Katigbak didn’t want one big design firm painting the grounds with a single stroke. Instead, he was inspired by Facebook’s roots, the tiny company that sprouted in Palo Alto, snagging a patchwork of buildings downtown to accommodate a quickly growing workforce.

Facebook's Epic Cafe has big, communal areas for socializing (Click Image To Enlarge)

Facebook's Epic Cafe also has quieter nooks for ideating  (Click Image To Enlarge)

Facebook's Epic Cafe also has some neat, vintage prints hanging around too. But there isn’t a piece of taxidermy to be seen (Click Image To Enlarge)

Katigbak reminisces.

“It was interesting to have to run to meetings across town, navigate through the city.  It had this feeling of energy we really liked and connected with.”

The Menlo Park campus itself is largely modeled to “feel like a city.” With the building serving as one blank canvas, employees were free (even encouraged) to claim their own spaces, creating a mini urban environment inside a corporate office.

And Epic Cafe had to feel like a social hotspot in this city--a place you wanted to go, meet, eat, and collaborate with friends in the company that you may not see in your normal office area.

Katigbak explains.

“On the general employee side, we wanted them to have something they felt proud of, a place ‘I’ get to eat as a destination, but flexible in a Facebook way.  They could add to it without changing the overall vibe of it.”

The resulting space is like your childhood lunchroom, reformulated for adults. It’s largely Roman & Williams, filled with postindustrial furniture (some discovered, some crafted), found print art (magazine clippings), exposed light bulbs, and plenty of rivets. But whereas Roman & Williams’s brand of alchemy generally finishes these components, Facebook’s culture demands they stay raw. It’s no pseudo-swank hotel lobby; the cafeteria is built on a concrete floor and topped with exposed rafters, like a construction site waiting for the laminate and drywall guys to show up already. Since it’s Facebook, you could probably carve your name in a chair, but since it’s Roman & Williams, destroying the cultural artefact would be sacrilege.

I asked Facebook if they’d used any tricks of social hacking in the space, much like Google had found eight-person tables were the perfect number to prevent cliques yet maintain conversations. Katigbak says.

“We don’t get that granular, to find the optimal metrics and measurements.”  

But he does see the value of communal seating in empowering “chance encounters,” and a few smaller tables have clearly been set up to allow two people to run a more focused discussion over lunch.

Indeed, the word that comes up again and again with Katigbak isn’t “synergy” or “networking.” And it certainly isn’t Google’s creed, which would probably be “optimization.” It’s simply “cool.” For however we may try to classify Roman & Williams, identifying the unifying threads or jealously criticizing its brand of quasi-retro chic, most of us agree, in this place and time, that it does feel “cool.” And Facebook’s cafeteria is pretty cool, too--for reasons a bit beyond mere association.

COMMENTARY:   What a novel idea:  A corporate cafeteria that is not finished, a work-in-progress, if you will, where staffers can add their personal embellishments to what is supposed to be the most popular spot on the Facebook's corporate campus in Menlo Park.  

However, I differ greatly when it comes to describing Facebook's Epic Cafe as "cool."  It's not cool at all.   It looks entirely too institutional.  The school cafeteria and unfinished construction zone look is most appropriate. To this I would add boring, bland, uncool, unFacebook, to name a few.  

If you are going to use the term "cool" to describe something, it should be a absolutely unforgettable, an explosion to the senses and memorable almost to the point of being historic. Facebook's Epid Cafe does not meet those standards.

Having said this, Zuck hired away executive chef Josef L. Desimone from Google in 2011, and under his able hand, has formed quite an impressive Facebook Culinary Team (see below):

Facebook Culinary Team Tony Castellucci, Chris Moss, Josef L. Desimone, and Virgil HIdalgo (Click Image To Enlarge)      

The Epic Cafe's menu is international in scale, befitting of a company with staffers from all parts of the globe. The food is highly ultra cuisine, very creative, tasty, healthy, there's a huge seletion of it, and it's 100% free to Facebook staffers, and served three times a day, and I don't think Facebook's hackers miss a meal.  Here are a few examples from the Facebook Culinary Team page:

 

Courtesy of an article dated December 13, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design and an article dated May 18, 2012 appearing in Business Insider

 

ACCORDING TO MARKETING STUDY BY SCARBOROUGH, MILLENNIALS HAVE UNIQUE WAYS THEY ENGAGE WITH MEDIA

 

According to a recent study by Scarborough Research, Millennials, Americans age 18 to 29, are 53% more likely than all U.S. adults to feel that social media sites are very important for finding information about news and current events. The study provides marketers and advertisers with a tool to better navigate the digital generation by examining that 43% of Millennials identifed as a race or ethnicity other than white.

Media engagement by younger people has evolved significantly over the past ten years. By examining the news consumption trends of American adults age 21-34* over the last decade, marketers, advertisers and media agencies can see the clear transition from traditional news media toward more digital media.

Evolution from Analog to Digital (Adults 21 – 34)
	2001	2006	2011
Traditional
Daily Newspaper Avg Issue Readership	40%	35%	24%
Listened to News/Talk/Information/ Personality Radio Past Week	15%	15%	14%
HHLD Subscribes to Cable TV	67%	58%	52%
AM Local TV News	N/A	33%	32%
Evening Local TV News	N/A	42%	36%
PM Local TV News	N/A	26%	25%
National/Network TV News	N/A	24%	19%
Digital
Spend 20+ Hrs on Internet in Avg Week	8%	11%	20%
Listened to Online Radio Past 30 Days	N/A	13%	27%
Internet News	33%	42%	44%
Internet Sports Scores/Updates	18%	20%	27%
Internet Financial Information/Services	19%	21%	20%
Source: Scarborough USA+ Study, November 2012

Millennials are the first generation to internalize the concept of “glocalism.” Understanding that, due to technology, Millennials feel hyper-connected both to their local neighborhoods as well as to the world at large is essential to crafting outreach plans that resonate with their sensibilities. For Millennials, who they are and where they live are intrinsically linked.

Targeting Millennials where they live ensures that your message is being heard.

Millennials Congregate in Heavily Hispanic Markets
Designated Market Areas	Index
Top Markets  (Millennials represent 34% more of the adult population of than in measured markets overall)
Bakersfield, CA	134
El Paso, TX	131
Salt Lake City, UT	130
Harlingen, TX	126
Fresno, CA	121
Least Likely Markets (The Millennial population in Fort Myers, FL is 25% lower than in measured markets overall)
Fort Myers, FL	75
Tampa, FL	81
West Palm Beach, FL	83
Harrisburg, PA	88
Toledo, OH	91
Source: Scarborough USA+ Study, November 2012

Millennials are more likely than any other generation to have diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds; 43% of Millennials identify as a race or ethnicity other than white as compared with 38% of Generation X and 26% of Baby Boomers.

Millennial Heritage
	Millennials		GenerationX		Baby Boomers
	% of Population	Index	% of Population	Index	% of Population	Index
Non-Hispanic
White	57%	83	62%	89	74%	107
Black/African    American	13%	119	11%	104	11%	102
Asian/Other	9%	150	7%	122	5%	82
Hispanic	21%	149	20%	139	10%	72
Source: Scarborough USA+ Study, November 2012

AOL debuted chat rooms in the mid-1990s when the oldest Millennials were just 10 years old. They are the first generation to be raised with constant access to digital networking. Today, Millennials spend just over 82 minutes a day on social networking activities, 32 minutes longer per day than the average adult. It is an ingrained part of their lives that has become even more prevalent with the continued advancements in wireless technology.

Millennials Are Extremely Social
In the past 30 days, Millennials…	Index
60% Visited a Friend’s Profile/Page	155
52% Commented on a Friend’s Post	164
49% Updated Their Status	209
48% Sent a Message or Email	149
41% Posted Picture(s)	181
39% Posted that They "Like" Something	176
39% Watched a Video	187
35% Updated Their Profile	211
24% Used IM	216
17% Followed or Became a “Fan"	192
Source: Scarborough USA+ Study, November 2012

Partially due to their lifelong ease of access to information, Millennials are the first American generation to expect news and current events to come to them. Though Millennials will thoroughly investigate stories that interest them, they expect news outlets to first reach out to them. When asked how they found out about recent major news events, Millennial responded identically – social media.

By leading with recognizable brand instead of putting emphasis on platform, marketers can reach Millennial audiences in a way that resonates most with the ways in which they already consume news. Millennials are 53% more likely than all U.S. adults to feel that social networking websites are very important for finding information about news or other current events.

Millennial News Consumption Media
Media	Index	% of Respondents
Read a newspaper in the past week (print or e-edition)		52%
Used the internet for local news (past 30 days)	118	34%
Used the internet for national news (past 30 days)		30%
Visited a newspaper website (past 30 days)		28%
Used a mobile device to read a newspaper (past 30 days)	156	18%
Source: Scarborough USA+ Study, November 2012

Millennials are nearly twice as likely as all U.S. adults to watch or download TV programs online and more than half of them subscribe to cable. Millennials are 18% more likely than all U.S. adults to have used VOD in the past 30 days. When advertising to this consumer through television, make digital media a part of your marketing mix, suggests the report.

Millennials and Television

Television Viewing (Past 30 days)

35% visited a broadcast TV website (Index 117)

27% watched or downloaded TV programs online (Index 196)

41% own a DVR

30% used Video on Demand in the past 30 days (Index 118)

25% use VOD for TV shows (Index 125)

Broadcast Networks (Watched past 7 days)

FOX 57%

ABC 55%

CBS 48%

NBC 39%

CW 18%

Cable Networks (Watched past 7 days)

ESPN 28%

History 26%

Discovery Channel 26%

TBS 25%

Source: Scarborough USA+ Study, November 2012

A glossary of Millennial terms:

• OMG – “Oh my gosh!” Used by Millennials to express disbelief.
• Do it Up – To do something with purpose. To be serious or motivated.
• Just Sayin’ – A phrase stating their own opinion, not a fact.
• Drop a Pin – To meet at a location not familiar to the group, they will place a digital pin in a Google map and text said map to the group of friends.
• Totes – An abbreviation of the word “totally.”
• Crazy – As a modifier, “crazy” means “very” or “many.”
• Hit Me Up –Use to mean “contact me.”
• Moves Like Jagger – Cool
• Not Feelin’ It – Disinterest or disapproval.
• Word. – Means “the truth was spoken.”
• Say What? – “Please explain it to me.”

COMMENTARY:   Are you conducting research about the Generation Y or Millennial generation?  If so, I recommend that you read my expansive blog posts about the Millennial generation by clicking HERE.   I also recommend that you read Scarborough's "Millennials: OMG: Getting Inside The Millennial Mind" below: 

Scarborough Millennials Infographic from turk5555

 

Courtesy of an article dated December 12, 2012 appearing in MediaPost Publications Research Brief

NEWDEALDESIGN'S NFC COURT CHALLENGES THE BARRIERS TO WORKING OUT AT A GYM, WITH A FREE OPEN-AIR MODULAR WORKOUT COURT

The NFC court is a modular, rapidly deployable, outdoor gym (Click Image To Enlarge)

WE KNOW OBESITY IS AN EPIDEMIC, BUT GYM MEMBERSHIPS ARE EXPENSIVE. SO MAYBE WHAT WE NEED ARE NEW GYMS.

There are a lot of reasons not to go to the gym. The membership is pricey. It’s far away. You have no idea how to use half the equipment anyway. It’s yet another place you’re going that’s inside.

The National Fitness Campaign’s (NFC) court, designed by NewDealDesign, challenges each of these barriers to working out at a gym. It’s a low-cost, open-air space that is constructed in factories, then modularly assembled on-site in just half a day. The idea is that any community could set up, customize, or relocate a gym in a public space--without any money at all. Communities can actually request a gym to arrive for free, and locals needn’t buy memberships.

The NFC court uses passive equipment structures--resistance training--to enable workouts without lots of weights and complicated moving parts (Click Image To Enlarge)

The NFC court's most innovative aspect may be its business model -- The gym is free to bring into a community. Corporations subsidize the cost (Click Image To Enlarge)

How? The NFC courts are corporately subsidized. The platform is pursuing a model in which businesses can use the space as an advertisement, subsidizing community fitness while scoring some solid PR in the process. It’s actually an old idea, one that started by Mitch Menaged back in 1979. It was quite successful. The decade-long, international campaign reached 4,000 cities in three countries. Now, Menaged, along with Sam Lucente, is launching the idea again, updated with 30 years of innovation. The first NFC has arrived in San Francisco already, and more than a dozen others are planned for the area in 2013.

 

The design concerns of such a project are numerous.

• Materials had to be durable enough to withstand outdoor weather. 
• The components had to be easily transported, assembled, and even rearranged. 
• The equipment had to offer a full body workout for all fitness levels.

Off-the-shelf solutions wouldn’t work, so NewDealDesign brought on seven personal trainers to help develop and test what’s all-new (or highly modified) equipment. What they quickly decided on was to ditch weights--they’re heavy, and they’d be difficult to tether to the platform--and rely on a body’s own mass for resistance training. But while exercises like pull-ups may offer a great workout, not everyone can do a pull-up. The solution? Make exercises tweakable by designing equipment to work with various postures and grips. Then, put many of the hardest exercises along the structure’s single wall.

The NFC court does not charge memberships, meaning it doesn’t cost anyone $50 a month to not use their gym membership (Click Image To Enlarge)

The NFC court comes with a  podcast, developed by personal trainers, that will take you through the whole workout circuit (Click Image To Enlarge)

NewDeal Director Gadi Amit explains. 

“The wall was a major enabling factor, allowing us to hang devices, but also give a few steps for people who are weaker or not trained enough to come onboard and enjoy the space.  You can lessen the stress level by standing on slats, then slowly reduce the support of your legs.”

Menaged and Lucente developed prototypes in a basement near NewDealDesign’s HQ, also bringing in trainers to constantly test and assess the designs. Once the NFC was complete, the trainers turned the circuit workout into a seven-minute podcast, so any couch potato can show up to be guided through each exercise by a virtual personal trainer. The idea is kind of like a museum audio tour, that is, if museums could give you 20-inch biceps.

COMMENTARY:   I like the NFC court's overall simplistic, modular and modern design, durability, and ability to provide the user with a complete body workout.  This is not an exercise court designed to build bulging muscles, but to provide a good, solid aerobic workout that each individual can customize for their specific needs, requirements and limitations.  The free cost is a big plus.  This sort of remends you of some of the beach exercise courts that I have seen in Rio De Janeiro around Leblon and Ipanema beach.  If NFC can get enough corporations to buy into the advertiing concept, I think they can gain traction very quickly.  

I loved the using San Francisco's Marina Green as a backdrop to demonstrate the NFC court and test bed.  It's a great place to hangout and soak in the liberal San Francisco culture.  If they can incorporate free WIFI at each NFC court, then they will really have a social watering hole.  Just love it. 

Courtesy of an article dated December 12, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

APPLE CEO TIM COOK SAYS THAT YOUR NEXT iMAC COULD BE MADE IN THE USA BEGINNING IN 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook visits the Foxconn plant in China as part of the review process to insure working conditions have improved and Apple vendor requirements are being adhered to (Click Image To Enlarge)

When Apple makes headlines for its manufacturing practices, it’s rarely a headline that makes Cupertino look good. The company has come under fire in the past year for its reliance on the manufacturing giant Foxconn, which had a string of suicides at one of its plants, and where there have occasionally been reports of unsafe working conditions. The New York Times, for instance, wrote an investigative report into the “human costs” of the iPad back in January; iPhone manufacture even became the unlikely subject of a controversial, and ultimately discredited, work of quasi-reported theater (see “Mike Daisey, Storyteller,” and “An (Actual!) Look Inside Foxconn”). But for those who thought Apple would continue to exclusively rely on manufacturing abroad, Apple CEO made a surprising announcement on “Rock Center with Brian Williams” today. Starting in 2013, said Cook, a line of Macs would be manufactured in the US. Cook did not elaborate or specify just which line.

The announcement followed recent reports that some of the new iMacs that went on sale last Friday bore the unusual words, “Assembled in USA.” In the past, it has been more typical to see “Assembled in China”–though not uncommon for certain products, like made-to-order Macs.

In a way, Cook’s announcement is not totally surprising; at the All Things D conference in May, he had announced that he wanted a product to be made in the U.S. It would seem like the recent “assembled in USA” lines are a step in that direction, and that Cook is planning to deepen that commitment.

 

A good deal more information about Cook’s thinking in this regard can be found in Bloomberg Businessweek, which published a lengthy interview with Cook this week. Cook pointed out (as he did to Brian Williams) that both the processor and the glass on iPhones and iPads are made in the U.S. (See “Your iPhone’s Brain Might Be from Texas.”) And he clarified that when he says he’d like to “make” Macs in the US, he’s talking about more than assembly:

“It will happen in 2013. We’re really proud of it. We could have quickly maybe done just assembly, but it’s broader because we wanted to do something more substantial. So we’ll literally invest over $100 million. This doesn’t mean that Apple will do it ourselves, but we’ll be working with people, and we’ll be investing our money.”

A follow-up question on whether Apple had a duty to be patriotic elicited a thoughtful response: Cook said that he felt Apple did have a “responsibility to create jobs.” He appeared to outline a philosophy that suggested that Apple had that responsibility, indeed, wherever it sold its products:

“Over 60 percent of our sales are outside the United States. So we have a responsibility to others as well.” 

He chooses a more hollistic way of measuring job creation, which means that he considers a person who makes a living as an iOS developer to have had a job created by Apple, even if that person is working for herself. (Again in its iEconomy series, the Times has shown how making that living is sometimes easier said than done.) The Businessweek interview is required reading in full for anyone interested in Tim Cook, Apple, and the future of American manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg also reports that Foxconn itself will be expanding some of its manufacturing operations into North America, due to demand among customers that more products be made domestically.

COMMENTARY:   It will be a very long time before I trust anything that Apple says concerning its manufacturing vendors in China.  For over a decade, under the steady iron hand of then Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, Apple did everythig to keep the identity of its overseas vendors in China absolutely secret.  Nobody knew who they were until word got out of the numerous plant worker suicides at Foxconn International, the sweatshop conditions endured by its plant workers, and unsafe working environment that hundreds of thousands of Foxconn plant workers were exposed to.  Foxconn is Apple's largest outsourced manufacturer in China, and is responsible for assembling the iPhone, iPod and iPad.  In 2010,when the late Steve Jobs was questioned by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisherabout from All Things Digital about Foxconn in front of a live audence at a D8 conference in San Francisco, he said,

"Oh, sure, yeah.  We're pretty on top of that.  Foxconn is not a sweatshop.  When you go to this place, um.  It's a factory, but my gosh, they got restuarants, and movie theaters and swimming pools.  For a factory, it's a pretty nice factory."

What pissed me off about the Steve Jobs interview is how Jobs discounted the Foxconn suicides, comparing them on a percentage basis to the suicide rates in the U.S.  Jesus, what a heartless punkass.  I didn't hear a single comment of remorse or condolesences to the loved ones and families of those who committed suicide.  His comments were without any emotion, almost unremorseless.  That interview is below:

  

I have written nearly a dozen blog posts relating to Foxconn International, and through my efforts and the news media in general, Apple is finally taking actions and measures to improve working conditions and tightened controls at all of its outsourced overseas vendors.  If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to read all my blog posts about Foxconn International:  October 12, 2011, October 15, 2011, November 7, 2011,  January 31, 2012,  March 3, 2012, March 29, 2012, March 30, 2012, April 2, 2012, August 14, 2012, September 25, 2012, and November 16, 2012.  

In a blog post dated November 16, 2012, I reported that Foxconn International had plans to replace 1.2 million plant workers in China with production robots.  This process has already begun, with 30,000 robots expected to be installed by the end of 2012, and another 200,000 robots to be installed in 2013.  Having said this, it would not surprise me if Apple automates the prouction of an iMac using robots in order to keep costs down.  If Tim Cook is serious about proucting an iMac in the U.S., I wonder if Apple will be a job creator, or job destroyer. 

Click Image To Enlarge

Courtesy of an article dated December 6, 2012 appearing in MIT Technology Review

HOW BANGLADESH FIGHTS FLOODING FROM RISING SEA LEVELS DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING BY BUILDING SCHOOLS THAT FLOAT

Using the rivers to transport information, health care, and energy is a brilliant idea--independent of the dire circumstances--comparable to the invention of the car, or the building of the railroads (Click Image To Enlarge)

MOHAMMED REZWAN IS HEADING UP A NONPROFIT THAT BUILDS SCHOOLS AND HOMES THAT FLOAT.

Climate change is getting a lot of attention in America this fall, thanks in part to the havoc wreaked upon New York by Hurricane Sandy. But that’s nothing compared to its effects on low-lying Bangladesh, which has struggled with global warming-induced floods for years now. Bangladesh now endures two annual floods, leaving millions of people without access to clean water, electricity, and other basic amenities for huge portions of the year.

 

Since the rising tides of global warming won’t be slowing down anytime soon, a group called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha has come up with an incredibly simple alternative: build homes, health care offices, and schools that can float. Founded by a Bangladeshi architect named Mohammed Rezwan in 2008, the nonprofit runs a fleet of almost a hundred boats that offer education to kids and their parents, as well as access to libraries, health care, and information about agriculture and financial management.  One young student says.

“I like the floating school.  During the Monsoon, water is everywhere. Everything is shut down. Only the floating school comes around at that time, right up to our doors.”

Rezwan, speaking over email, compares the program to a cross between a school and a school bus.

Rezwan says that Shidhulai is reaching 1,657 students right now (Click Image To Enlarge)

The number is likely to grow--scientists say that nearly 20% of the low-lying country will be underwater by 2030 (Click Image To Enlarge)

What’s fascinating about Shidhulai is the technology it’s actively developing to help families in the lowlands.  Writes the nonprofit.

“Issues like this need local solutions by local people.”

Rezwan oversees a small army of engineers and technicians, who manufacture everything from PV panels to bicycle-powered pumps. He’s developed a warning system for floods, and three different types of solar-powered lamps, which are given to families for free if their kids attend school on a regular basis. The batteries can be used to light homes or charge cell phones, and they can be recharged at the boats on a weekly basis. Rezwan also designs the boats, he explains,

"To adjust to any equipment configuration as well as to protect the electronic equipment from inclement weather, even during the height of the monsoon."

Each school boat has Internet, a laptop, and a small library.

Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha runs a fleet of 88 boats that offer education, health care, and connectivity to flood-stranded Bangladeshi families (Click Image To Enlarge)

The nonprofit was founded by an architect named Mohammed Rezwan, who designed the boats, along with several solar-powered systems and lamps (Click Image To Enlarge)

The shift has ended up offering new opportunities to people who otherwise would have little access to these types of services (Click Image To Enlarge)

Shidhulai also focuses on improving families’ access to farming techniques. Rezwan created a system he calls "solar water farming," which lets stranded villagers harness solar power to continue feeding themselves even without access to land or fertilizer.

He tells Co.Design.

"[The system includes] floating beds made of water hyacinth (to grow vegetables), a portable circular enclosure created by fishing net and bamboo strips (to raise fish) and floating duck coop powered by solar lamp.  It has a recycling system--duck manure is used as fish foods, old water hyacinth beds are sold as organic fertilizer, and the sun energy lights up the duck coop to maintain the egg production."

 

Rather than wondering whether they should be building homes near the river (as New Yorkers are now doing), Shidhulai is actively building homes on the river. Rezwan says that 46 of its 88 boats are being converted into climate shelters for displaced families. The shift has ended up offering new opportunities to people who otherwise would have little access to these types of services. Using the rivers to transport information, health care, and energy is a brilliantly simple idea, despite the dire circumstances. After all, breakthroughs in transportation usually go hand-in-hand with education and economic growth.  Rezwan says. 

”It’s helping people adapt to the changing climate.  And at the same time, it’s teaching them how to protect the environment and use the natural resources.”

332 schools were destroyed in the 2007 floods. Rezwan’s idea? Let’s put the schools on the river (Click Image To Enlarge)

Each of the floating schools has an Internet-connected laptop, as well as a library (Click Image To Enlarge)

Shidhulai also offers adult education, ranging from agriculture to financial management (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY:   It's just incredible how a country like Bangladesh, in spite of its extreme povery, is still educating its children through shear creativity and resourcefulness.  Schools that float is a great idea, and it works, in spite of incredible disadvantages.  This is somethig that entire world can learn from.

Courtesy of an article dated December 8, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

LAUNCHED IN 1977, NASA'S VOYAGER I IS NOW 11 BILLION MILES AWAY, LEAVING OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, TO ENTER INTERSTELLAR SPACE

Voyager 1 (Click Image To Enlarge) 

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region at the far reaches of our solar system that scientists feel is the final area the spacecraft has to cross before reaching interstellar space.

Scientists refer to this new region as a magnetic highway for charged particles because our sun's magnetic field lines are connected to interstellar magnetic field lines. This connection allows lower-energy charged particles that originate from inside our heliosphere -- or the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself -- to zoom out and allows higher-energy particles from outside to stream in. Before entering this region, the charged particles bounced around in all directions, as if trapped on local roads inside the heliosphere.

The heliopause marks the outerost edge of our solar system's heliosphere before entering interstellar space (Click Image To Enlarge)

The Voyager team infers this region is still inside our solar bubble because the direction of the magnetic field lines has not changed. The direction of these magnetic field lines is predicted to change when Voyager breaks through to interstellar space. The new results were described at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco on Monday.

Voyager spacecraft showing major subsystems (Click Image To Enlarge)

Edward Stone, Voyager project scientist based at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena said.

"Although Voyager 1 still is inside the sun's environment, we now can taste what it's like on the outside because the particles are zipping in and out on this magnetic highway.  We believe this is the last leg of our journey to interstellar space. Our best guess is it's likely just a few months to a couple years away. The new region isn't what we expected, but we've come to expect the unexpected from Voyager."

The Voyager cover protects the Gold Record ans is made from aluminum with an electro-plating of the isotope uranium-238, which has a half-life of 4.51 billion years. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Voyager's Gold Record is a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth (Click Image To Enlarge)

Explanation of Voyager Recording Cover Diagram (Click Image To Enlarge)

Since December 2004, when Voyager 1 crossed a point in space called the termination shock, the spacecraft has been exploring the heliosphere's outer layer, called the heliosheath. In this region, the stream of charged particles from the sun, known as the solar wind, abruptly slowed down from supersonic speeds and became turbulent. Voyager 1's environment was consistent for about five and a half years. The spacecraft then detected that the outward speed of the solar wind slowed to zero.

 

The intensity of the magnetic field also began to increase at that time.

Voyager data from two onboard instruments that measure charged particles showed the spacecraft first entered this magnetic highway region on July 28, 2012. The region ebbed away and flowed toward Voyager 1 several times. The spacecraft entered the region again Aug. 25 and the environment has been stable since.

 

said Stamatios Krimigis, principal investigator of the low-energy charged particle instrument, based at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.

"If we were judging by the charged particle data alone, I would have thought we were outside the heliosphere.  But we need to look at what all the instruments are telling us and only time will tell whether our interpretations about this frontier are correct."

Spacecraft data revealed the magnetic field became stronger each time Voyager entered the highway region; however, the direction of the magnetic field lines did not change.

Data from Voyager 1 show an abrupt drop in solar ions (top) at the same time that the spacecraft detected an increased number of cosmic rays (bottom) from interstellar space (Click Image To Enlarge)

Leonard Burlaga, a Voyager magnetometer team member based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md said.

"We are in a magnetic region unlike any we've been in before -- about 10 times more intense than before the termination shock -- but the magnetic field data show no indication we're in interstellar space.  The magnetic field data turned out to be the key to pinpointing when we crossed the termination shock. And we expect these data will tell us when we first reach interstellar space."

Voyager 1 and 2 were launched 16 days apart in 1977. At least one of the spacecraft has visited Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object, about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) away from the sun. The signal from Voyager 1 takes approximately 17 hours to travel to Earth. Voyager 2, the longest continuously operated spacecraft, is about 9 billion miles (15 billion kilometers) away from our sun. While Voyager 2 has seen changes similar to those seen by Voyager 1, the changes are much more gradual. Scientists do not think Voyager 2 has reached the magnetic highway.

The Voyager spacecraft were built and continue to be operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. The Voyager missions are a part of NASA's Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

COMMENTARY:   NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region between our solar system and interstellar space. Data obtained from Voyager over the last year reveal this new region to be a kind of cosmic purgatory. In it, the wind of charged particles streaming out from our sun has calmed, our solar system's magnetic field has piled up, and higher-energy particles from inside our solar system appear to be leaking out into interstellar space.    Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena said. 

"Voyager tells us now that we're in a stagnation region in the outermost layer of the bubble around our solar system.  Voyager is showing that what is outside is pushing back. We shouldn't have long to wait  to find out what the space between stars is really like."

-

Although Voyager 1 is about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometers) from the sun, it is not yet in interstellar space.  In the latest data, the direction of the magnetic field lines has not changed, indicating Voyager is still within the heliosphere, the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. The data do not reveal exactly when Voyager 1 will make it past the edge of the solar atmosphere into interstellar space, but suggest it will be in a few months to a few years.

-

After 35 years of space travel, the twin Voyager planetary probes are nearing the very edge of Earth’s solar system. They will become the first man-made objects to travel between the stars.

Voyager 2 was launched first, on Aug. 20, 1977. Voyager 1 followed on Sept. 5, 1977. This was done because Voyager 2 would travel on a shorter path and would arrive at each planet ahead of Voyager 1.

Each Voyager spacecraft carries a golden record attached to its hull. The record is a 12-inch (30 cm) gold-plated copper disc containing sounds and images of Earth. If the Voyagers are eventually found by alien life forms, a diagram engraved into the record cover explains how to play the record.

As of mid-2012, both Voyager space probes are on the outskirts of our solar system, in a region called the “scattered disc.”  Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object at about 11 billion miles from Earth, twice as far as the dwarf planet Pluto. The Voyagers are expected to soon cross the heliopause, considered the boundary between Earth’s solar system and interstellar space. Both Voyagers continue to radio data back to Earth, and their nuclear batteries, though weakening, continue to provide electrical power.

Courtesy of a press release dated December 3, 2012 issued by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, NASA and an article dated December 4, 2012 appearing in Scientific American Blog

RUSSIAN ALEXEY MOLCHANOV SETS NEW CWT FREEDIVING WORLD RECORD AT SUUNTO VERTICAL BLUE AT DEAN'S BLUE HOLE

Alexey Molchanov poses after setting a new CWT freediving world record at Suunto Blue Dive at Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island Bahamas (Click Image To Enlarge)

It is the world's deepest blue hole of its kind. Plunging to 203m (666ft) just a few metres from the shore, Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas is an awe-inspiring natural wonder. It's also the perfect venue for the sport of freediving. Last month it was home to the Suunto Vertical Blue, the largest freediving event of its kind. It saw 56 athletes from 21 countries battling to reach incredible depths on a single breath of air.

Close-up view of Dean's Blue Hole, Bahama Islands (Click Image To Enlarge)

Over ten days, two world records and 65 national records were broken in the course of 252 individual dives. On the first day of the competition on November 21, Ashley Futral Chapman (USA). broke the Constant No-Fins (CNF) women's world record with a dive to 67m in 3'15. The North Carolina native dived without fins and used a modified breastsroke technique to achieve her third world record. 

Dean's Blue Hole, Bahama Islands (Click Image To Enlarge)

The Russian freediver Alexey Molchanov raised the bar to a new level with a world record dive to 126m in Constant Weight (CWT), in a time of 3'46. This is the discipline of diving with just a monofin for assistance.

Alexey Molchanov after completing world record CWT 126 meter freedirve (Click Image To Enlarge)

 

Mid-competition the Suunto Vertical Blue looked set to turn into a clash of the titans as just minutes after Molchanov's dive, organizer and Suunto ambassador William Trubridge sought to recapture the record. 

On this occasion, the multiple record-breaker made a technical mistake and turned back too early. Two days later Trubridge made another attempt but in the end the fates were not on his side.

However, by diving to 121m on the penultimate day of the competition he achieved a new national record for New Zealand.

William Trubridge back from a deep 121 meters dive and a new record for New Zealand (Click Image To Enlarge)

 

Each freediver accrued points for each dive during the competition and Trubridge also finished top of the overall rankings.

Afterwards he said:

"I'm a bit disappointed with my own performances but given the enormity of Suunto Vertical Blue I can't be too disgruntled. The results speak for themselves. We had the most performances of any depth competition ever and I have had more athletes tell me that this was the best comp they've ever attended!"

"Alexey, Ashley and many other athletes all gave outstanding performances."

He added:

"I will take a break at Christmas and get back into training in January.  One of the surprises of the competition was the Japanese freediver Tomoka Fukuda who achieved a national record of 65m in Free Immersion (ascending and pulling on a rope) as well as an 80m dive in CWT despite the fact she's only been competing for a year. "

Alena Zabloudilova - another national record of 90 meters (Click Image To Enlarge)

Ashley Futral chapman wins the bronze medal for overall freediving (Click Image To Enlarge)

Other national records fell to France, Britain, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico, Israel, Tunisia, Finland and Venezuela.

The Suunto Vertical Blue champions for 2012, Men - William Trubridge (gold), Alexey Molchanov (silver) and Robert King (bronze), Women - Alena Zabloudlova (gold), Ashley Futral Chapman (silver) and Tomoka Fukuda (bronze) - Click Image To Enlarge 

Overall Winners Men and Women

Women:

• Gold: Alena Zabloudilova (Czech Republic)
• Silver: Ashley Futral Chapman (USA)
• Bronze: Tomoka Fukuda (Japan)

Men:

• Gold: William Trubridge (NZ)
• Silver: Alexey Molchanov
• Bronze: Robert King (USA)

The overall winners each received a Suunto D6is and a wetsuit from Orca. Suunto, the world's leading dive computer brand, is the official depth gauge used at all AIDA World Record freedive attempts. Mika Holappa, Dive Business Unit Director at Suunto, says:

"With so many of the world's top athletes taking part and so many fantastic World and National Records, Suunto Vertical Blue has been an amazing festival of freediving and we are proud to have been involved. William Trubridge should be congratulated not only for his inspiring dives but for organizing such a successful event."

William Trubridge, organizer, added:

"What makes Vertical Blue so special is that it gives the athletes free reign to mine their aquatic potential. If you left your diamonds in the basement of a 40-story skyscraper that flooded up to its roof then these guys could freedive down the lift shaft and collect them for you. The deepest dives last in excess of four minutes, but that's not four minutes of holding your breath in your bathtub — it's four minutes of propelling yourself through the water column, while combatting pressures that would crush a soccer ball to the size of a tennis ball and which exert mind-numbing narcosis on neural circuitry. It's four-minutes that takes place in another dimension, where time is drawn out into an eternity — an eternity that lasts but a single breath."

Suunto Vertical Blue 2012 - Women's Final Ranking

Click Image To Enlarge

Suunto Vertical Blue 2012 - Women's Final Ranking

Click Image To Enlarge

IMAGES AND VIDEO

A selection of high res images from the Suunto Vertical Blue can be downloaded at the following link: media.z3om.net/Suunto/press_suuntoVB.zip

All images are free for editorial use in connection with the Suunto Vertical Blue. We only ask that you send us a copy or link to any published article. Shots beginning SV should be credited ©zooom.at/samovidic.com, otherwise underwater shots as ©IgorLiberti as per filename. 

A selection of the record dives are available on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/VBFreediving

Breathe, a documentary by nine-time Emmy award-winning producer Martin Khodabakhshian, follows Trubridge as he explorers his physical limits. A limited number of preview DVDs are available upon request.

More results and reports can be found on www.facebook.com/verticalblue and www.deeperblue.com.

For more information, contact:

Tarquin Cooper (zooom productions)

[email protected], cell: +436645449241

COMMENTARY:   

About William Trubridge 

Freediving is in Trubridge's blood. Born in Britain, the first few years of his life were a nomadic existance sailing around the world on his parents' yacht before the family settled in New Zealand. He learnt to swim at the age of 18 months, and was freediving to 15m by the age of eight, competing with his older brother to see who could bring back a stone from the deepest depth. But it was not until he was 22 that he discovered competition. Since then the 32-year-old has broken numerous freediving records. He was the first man to break the 100m depth barrier completely unassissted — without the use of fins, rope or weights in 2010. He also holds the record for ‘Free Immersion’ — 121m — where divers descend and ascend by pulling on a rope. In 2011 and 2012 he received the World's Absolute Freediving Award (WAFA), which ranked him as the world's top freediver.

In April 2010, William Trubridge broke a free-diving world record in a blue hole       reaching a depth of 92 metres (302 ft) without the use of fins (Constant Weight Without Fins).  I learned about the dangerous sport of freediving and New Zealander William Trubridge's amazing world record he had set in this sport and instantly became a fan.  In a blog post dated October 18, 2011, I recounted the story of how William Trubridge on December  14, 2010, set a new CWT freediving world record of 101 metres at Dean's Blue Hole on a single breath using only his hands and feet for propulsion.

Russian Alexey Molchanov Sets A New CW Freediving World Record

Russian freediver Alexey Molchanov has done it again. On the last occurring Saturday in November, Alexey improved upon his own World Record in Constant Weight (CWT) by one meter to set the plate a little deeper to 126m at Suunto Vertical Blue 2012.

In a clash of the “Neptunes”, extraordinary depth announcements made by both William Trubridge and Alexey Molchanov stunned the freediving community as both athletes announced they would dive to an unimaginable 126m in CWT on the very same day. A coin toss ensued, which Molchanov won and down the line first he did go. Freedivers and fans around the world could almost be heard audibly gasping in unison as they wondered to themselves: Who will take the world title? Which champion will successfully hit the mark nearly 420 feet into the abyss of Dean’s Blue Hole? Might one of these competitors black out?

Anticipation also ran high amongst the spectators on the shore and at the surface at the event in the Bahamas as the gazed upon the two aquatic gladiators warming up simultaneously on opposite sides of a smaller platform.

In the end a a failed alarm foiled Trubridge’s dive and the formidable but humble host of the last stop on the AIDA world cup acknowledged Molchanov’s incredible performance,

“Alexey Molchanov set an amazing world record of 126m this morning, but I couldn’t join him today.”

Alexey was very calm on the main dive platform as he collected his thoughts and composed himself for an epic descent. As he gently slipped into the water and moved over to the line, everyone watching knew that either way history was about to be made.

Wearing no dive weights, a golden wet-suit, a simple nose clip and no protective eye equipment Alexey successfully complete his dive to 126m in 3 minutes and :46 seconds. Capable of a breath-hold in excess of 8 minutes and :31 seconds, barring any equalization issues Molchanov has the capacity to go even deeper.

About Dean's Blue Hole

Dean's Blue Hole is the world's deepest known blue hole with seawater.  It plunges 202 metres (663 ft) in a bay west of Clarence Town on Long Island Bahamas.

White sand beach next to Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island Bahamas (Click Image To Enlarge) 

Blue hole is a term which often is given to sinkholes filled with water, with the entrance below the water level. They can be formed in different karst processes, for example, by the rainwater soaking through fractures of limestone bedrock onto the watertable. Sea level here has changed: for example, during the glacial age during the Pleistocene epoch (ice age), some 15,000 years ago, sea level was considerably lower. The maximum depth of most other known blue holes and sinkholes is 110 metres (360 ft), which makes the 202 metres (663 ft) depth of Dean's Blue Hole quite exceptional.

Aerial view of Dean's Blue Hole (dark blue area in top of bay inlet), Long Island Bahamas (Click Image To Enlarge)

Dean's Blue Hole is roughly circular at the surface, with a diameter ranging from 25 to 35 metres (82–115 ft). After descending 20 metres (66 ft), the hole widens considerably into a cavern with a diameter of 100 metres (330 ft).

Some water-filled sinkholes are deeper than Dean's Blue Hole, Zacatón in Mexico (335 metres (1,099 ft)) and Pozzo del Merro in Italy (392 metres (1,286 ft)) among them. Dean's Blue Hole though is the deepest known sinkhole with entrance below the sea level.

Courtesy of a press release dated December 7, 2012 issued by Tarquin Cooper for Zoom Productions for Suunto Vertical Blue, an article dated May 10, 2011 appearing in Droompleken, and an article appearing in Vertical Blue News