Maybe not "widespread panic" but certainly not widespread buying . . .

Stock Alert

Delivered on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at 09:09 AM

NAS:RMBS 29.60 ( 4.00%) (08:54 AM) below yesterday's closing price.

Prices delayed. Confirm all data with your broker before trading.

Song of the day

Tough decision today ... yeah, right.

"Down" by Widespread Panic (2001)

Widespread Panic -- Don't Tell the Band

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Humor - Valuable Mr. Frog

The Mr. Frog bloggers are being proactive - they have prepared for the care of Mr. Frog under dire circumstances. He will have his own "green room" and it looks padded too!

The Croaker Blog Options Traders, realizing how valuable one specific frog is to their livelihood, wanted to make sure that a certain type of "buffer zone" was available for the Flip-Flopping and Two-Faced Frog (Rana bipolaris croakerii).

Read The Croaker Blog here.

Hat tip to Mr. Frog and the bloggers.

Rambus rewards its employees

Last week it was noted that Ms. Stark, a Rambus VP, cashed out some of her Rambus options, taking home a pre-tax profit of $1,623,793.

Ms. Stark is a well compensated employee:

Rambus reported in its proxy statement last year that in 2004 Ms. Stark received $225,000 in salary, $259,279 bonus and an additional 85,000 options.

Perhaps this year, Ms. Stark will spring for the pizza at the annual shred party?

Come on Ramboids, laugh a little. It won't do any good to cry after the stock took a dive post insider dumps . . .

Rambus insider sales . . .(corrected)

The continuing series: (as time allows, I will catch up with the insider sales)

Samir Patel is a Rambus Engineering VP who co-leads the development and deployment of memory interface and logic interface products.

I am guessing that Mr. Patel is a very fine gentleman and a very hard worker. Mr. Patel rang the cash register like a post holiday sale at Walmart. By my quick calculations, Mr. Patel pocketed a pre-tax gain of $1,829,394 on January 24, 2006.

Ms. Patel cashed options that vested as far back as 2000. Rambus will report the sales as costing at total of 1.82 cents per Rambus share.

You may view Mr. Patel's Form 4 linked here.

No comment from Rambus.

Corrected 2.2.06 Samir Patel instead of Patel Samir. Please accept my apologies Mr. Patel.

Song of the day (yesterday)

OK, after being stuck downtown for a long time, we hopped on the
expressway for awhile. It seems like we've exited and we are, once again,
stuck in ................

"Crosstown Traffic"

by The Jimi Hendrix EXperience (1968)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience -- Electric Ladyland

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Decoding Revelation - Empiricum

Continuing on with my investigations of mysteries that do tickle our imaginations, it is now time to deal with biblical writings and prophecies that may find some relevance to current and future events without the aid of a dummy or luminols and cast aside all the dramatics.

This article deals on The Revelation of Jesus Christ according to John, The Divine.

In Revelation 13:18, John said:

***This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. It's number is six hundred sixty-six."***

Throughout the ages, theologians have tried to interpret the vision of John formulating different theories. The following provide a good discussion of these theories and are of recent vintage:

Book of Revelation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Understanding The Book of Revelation

bible.org: Interpretive Models for the Book of Revelation as a Whole

In his article, Gary Leupp discusses Revelation as it relates to Bush and Iraq:
Gary Leupp: Apocalypse Now.

But what if these theories are wrong in their interpretation of the number 666 and does not refer to the beast but, rather, to a certain date... such as JUNE 6, 2006, which is just over 5 months from now?

What will happen on that day other than the anticipated release of the last sequel of the book Left Behind ?

What if the Church deliberately "edited" the earlier interpretations as it did in the case of Mary Magdalene in order to make Christianity more saleable to the world? In the same manner that the Roman Catholic Church may have tried to hide the existence of a woman pope? AOL News - Did a Woman Serve as Pope in the Ninth Century?

This article is written purposely NOT to cause alarm or panic to Treowth readers but to hopefully put on guard all the people charged with our security and safety for any eventuality that may happen on June 6, 2006, knowing the fanaticism of terrorists on numbers, such as 911. Recall that in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, there were "theories" that the terrorists probably picked the date and the place either from one of Microsoft's fonts or Nostradamus' writings due to the mention or appearance of "twin towers."

If what may happen on June 6, 2006, is not a human-created event, could it be a celestial event?

Signed prints available

F.A.I.D. - Freitag Nach Eingeweiht-Dump

Friday's action - in case you missed it

Insiders reported their sales the day before and the market beat Rambus up under heavy volume . . . and Rambus Corporate said, well nothing . . . .

Daily Stock Quote Notification

Rambus Inc. (RMBS - NASD)
Closing Price $ 32.02
Opening Price $ 34.65
Previous Close $ 34.92
Change -2.90

Last Trade Jan 27 4:13PM
Volume 10,562,100
Day Low $ 30.50
Day High $ 34.74

Rambus, director reports that he cashed out in 2005

Another installment of the continuing series:

Director Abraham Sofaer did a "me too" and sold some shares - but in 2005.

Mr. Sofaer reports, in a Form 4 filed 1/27/06, selling a total of 1441 shares in 2005 for which he reportedly paid zip, as in nada. The sales occurred at the end of the each of the final three quarters in increments of 358, 620 and 463. No listing of the disposal prices.

And yes, I am sure that Mr. Sofaer is a very fine gentleman and a very hard worker . . .

You may review Mr. Sofaer's Form 4 linked here.

Rambus song of the day

"Whiplash" by Roomful Of Blues

Roomful Of Blues -- Dressed Up To Get Messed Up

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Rambus, another insider rang the register

The continuing series:

Laura Stark, Rambus VP in charge of the platform solutions group and leader of the product management and customer solutions teams. I am guessing that Ms. Stark is a very fine gentlewoman and a very hard worker.

Ms. Stark rang the cash register and then rang it some more and more and more to the tune of $1,623,793 this week cashing in options.

Ms. Stark cashed options that vested as far back as 2001.

Rambus will report that sales as costing at total of 1.62 cents per Rambus share.

You may review Ms. Stark's Form 4 linked here.

No comment from Rambus.

Rambus insiders sell - stock falls 7+%

Apparently it was not only the insiders that locked up recent portfolio gains . . .

The first of what apparently will be a continuing series:

Michael C. Schroeder, Rambus VP of Human Resources. . .

I am guessing that he is a very fine gentleman and a very hard worker. Mr. Schroeder rang the cash register to the tune of $285,588 this week cashing in options.

Mr. Schroeder acquired at $18.04 and disposed at $34.35 a total of 17,500 shares.

Rambus will report that sale as costing 28/100 of one cent per Rambus share.

Mr. Schroeder reported that he still owns 132,500 derivative securities.

You may review Mr.Schroeder's Form 4 linked here.

No comment from Rambus.

Humor

From crazyapplerumors.com

Monday, January 23, 2006
Mac Users Report Strange Sound Coming From New iMacs.
As users receive the first batch of Intel-based iMacs, many are reporting their reactions to the new machines online.

A growing number are reporting that, like other Macs in the past, the Intel Core Duo iMacs suffer from a severe fan noise problem.

But Apple has gotten out in front of this charge, and says that the sound users are complaining about is not the sound of the fan.

"To the untrained ear, it might sound like a high-pitched whine, similar to the noise a fan might make," said Peter Mehring, head of Apple hardware engineering. "But that's not at all what it is.

"It's the sound of the Intel processor having fun."

Indeed, upon closer inspection, it does appear that the sound in question is actually that of the Intel processor, as Apple's recent advertising indicates, having the time of its life.

"It's the weirdest thing I've ever heard," said new iMac owner Don Revis. "But when I turned off all the other electronics in the room and put my head right up next to my iMac, I could hear that the sound - which I had thought was a fan - is actually a tiny little voice going 'Wheeeeeeeeee!'

"It's kinda... creepy... actually..."

Revis' story was confirmed by several other users who say that while the processor most commonly makes a prolonged "Wheeeeeee!" sound as if riding a roller coaster, it also laughs, titters, giggles, chortles, and otherwise expresses its joy at being part of a Macintosh.

So far, however, no one has made the point that the source of the sound does not necessarily matter, that it's still annoying.

"Well, if it's the Intel processor just having a good time because it's in a Mac..." Revis said, "I guess I can't complain about that.

"I mean... hasn't the Intel processor suffered enough?"

Read more crazy apple rumors here:

Microsoft & red ink

The Home and Entertainment group of Microsoft bled and bled a lot in 2005. For the year ending December it lost $293 million and when looking at just the final six months of 2005, the loss was $449 million.

Microsoft losses money - at least initially - on the sale of each Xbox 360 which was launched Q4 in 2005.

Read Microsoft's financial press release linked here.

Song of the day

Suddenly, we're bombarded with big-time insider sales again. Do Rambus
officers have any regard whatsoever for their shareholders.

Or .... do they simply .....

"Take The Money And Run"
by The Steve Miller Band (1976)

Steve Miller Band -- Fly Like an Eagle

Submitted by FinzToRite . . . you just knew his iPod would have this one!

Rambus insiders exercise options & more options

Ramboids, a long-suffering bunch, gagged on their iced Kool-Aid this afternoon as their computers screamed "incoming SEC filing, incoming, incoming" . . . seven times!

Two questions . . .

1) Will Rambus communicate with its shareholders on the topic?

2) Does Rambus need an on staff physician? (This from a member of the Pinehurst Thread who would dearly love to get in line for some of those options.)

Samsung v Rambus - VA

January 18, 2006

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF CONFERENCE CALL
BEFORE THE HONORABLE ROBERT E. PAYNE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

DIANE J. DAFFRON, RPR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 25


APPEARANCES: (All via telephone)
Brian C. Riopelle, Esq.
McGUIRE WOODS LLP 901 East Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)775-1084

David J. Healey, Esq. WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES
700 Louisiana, Suite 1600 Houston, Texas 77002
(713)546-5111
Counsel on behalf of the Plaintiff

R. Braxton Hill, Esq. CHRISTIAN & BARTON
909 E. Main Street, Suite 1200 Richmond, VA 23219
13 (804)697-4100
Gregory P. Stone, Esq.
Daniel Beck, Esq. MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP
355 South Grand Avenue, 35th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071-1560 17 (213)683-9100
Counsel on behalf of the Defendant


(The proceedings in this matter commenced at 5:00 2 p.m.)

THE COURT: Hello.

MR. RIOPELLE: Hello, Your Honor. Samsung and Rambus.

THE COURT: All right. Starting with counsel for the plaintiff, who is here for whom, please?

MR. HEALEY: David Healey from Weil Gotshal for the plaintiff.

MR. RIOPELLE: Brian Riopelle from McGuire Woods for the plaintiff.

MR. STONE: Gregory Stone and Daniel Beck from Munger, Tolles & Olson for the defendant, Your Honor.

MR. HILL: Braxton Hill from Christian & Barton on behalf of Rambus, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Thank you. I understand we need to reschedule this hearing that was set for Thursday, the 19th. And I'm sorry for the loss, Mr. Stone, of Judge Burns. He was a mighty fine fellow and a fine judge.

MR. STONE: Thank you, Your Honor. I appreciate that.

THE COURT: Mr. Healey, as I understand it, you have some surgery, and we need to look past what date, gentlemen, to find a suitable date to argue?

MR. HEALEY: Your Honor, this is David Healey. My surgery is January 25. I'm available before that, but after the 25th I think to be safe I have to schedule it for sometime after February 10.

THE COURT: All right. I'm not pushing you. I want you to understand that. I have available most of the day January the 23rd, but when I'm undergoing surgery, I don't particularly want to be out of town the day before.

MR. HEALEY: My surgery is not until the 25th. So the 23rd is fine with me. I'm agnostic, Judge. I'm happy to do it before the surgery or after the period where I need to be at home. To accommodate the Court's schedule, I'm happy to do it on the 23rd.

THE COURT: It doesn't make any difference to me. You gentlemen pick.

MR. STONE: Your Honor, I have a conflict on the 23rd. My preference would be to put it as soon as we could after Mr. Healey's surgery if everybody is agnostic about it.

THE COURT: That's fine.

MR. STONE: I don't want to push the recovery. Maybe we could do it, if the Court's schedule would allow it, Monday, February the 20th.

THE COURT: That's Presidents' Day and that's a court holiday. I'll be here, but the rest of the court won't.

MR. STONE: Would the 21st work?

THE COURT: I can do the 21st in the afternoon, say, around 1:30.

MR. HEALEY: That will be fine with me, Your Honor.

THE COURT: Does that suit everybody?

MR. STONE: That's fine.

THE COURT: Now, Mr. Healey, if it is necessary to change that, we can just adjust it to accommodate your recuperation. All right. For now it will be at 1:30 on the 21st. Have you all, Mr. Healey, thought about Rambus's invitation to revisit whether you want to accept the
attorneys' fees proffer that they made? And I assume Mr. Stone would include upping the ante to current day fees, but I don't know that he did that. You-all need to reflect on that offer.

MR. HEALEY: I will double check with my client, Your Honor, but I believe we prefer to go forward, but I will double check with my client and notify the Court if there is any change.

THE COURT: All right. Is there anything else you all need to deal with? I sent you an order saying that, when we were having this hearing on the 19th, that if you wanted to argue the issue of the exceptional case, you could do that, in view of the decision in Hynix v. Rambus. Does anybody need any additional briefing by virtue of that situation?

MR. STONE: Not from Rambus's perspective, I don't think, Your Honor.

MR. HEALEY: Your Honor, we're happy to address that live at the hearing. If you prefer briefing, obviously we'll provide briefing.

THE COURT: No, I don't want to generate any more fees. February 21 then. I'll see
you at 1:30.

MR. HEALEY: Thank you, Your Honor.

THE COURT: All right. Good luck on your surgery.

MR. HEALEY: Thank you, sir.

THE COURT: All right. Take care.

MR. STONE: Thank you, Your Honor. Bye-bye

THE COURT: Bye.
I, Diane J. Daffron, certify that the foregoing transcript is a correct record of the proceedings taken and transcribed by me to the best of my ability.

DIANE J. DAFFRON, RPR, CCR DATE

Courtesy of Mike of the Pinehurst Thread.

Body of Evidence (Part II) - Empiricum

"BONBINI TO ARUBA!"

Those were probably the very first words Natalee Holloway heard from an Aruban when she and her class graduating friends landed in that little paradise island. Regrettably, she was not able to leave Aruba to tell her own story in her own words. Or did she?

The Natalee Holloway and George Smith IV cases have so many similarites bonded by one common element: no corpus delicti, as the term is loosely used. But there may be one astounding difference: Natalee might be alive ! Let's examine the "facts" as we know it through the media.

Aruba is a tropical island the size of the state of New Jersey. It is, indeed, One Happy Island in the Caribbean. Aruba, like the rest of the caribbean islands, is noted for its crystal clear turquiose waters and pure white sandy beaches. This is significant in our mental search for Natalee as one of the "theories" advanced by the pundits is that she is probably dead and anchored in the surrounding waters of Aruba. I find that a very unlikely scenario. Like the Grand Cayman islands, Aruba is a scuba diver's paradise. Also, since May last year, Aruba has been hit several times by hurricanes that churned the ocean floor in that area so much so that if Natalee was anchored beneath she could have resurfaced. Besides, the immediately surrounding beach areas was searched by the Equusearch team from Texas with no positive results.

Another "area of interest" is the dunes. Again, I find this scenario as unlikely as dunes shift and "whirl" through natural forces which make it a very unlikely place to bury and hide a human body.

The other scenario given by the pundits is the "garbage dump" scenario. Again, I find that yet another unlikely scenario. If, indeed, Van Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers are the only suspects, I do not think that they are the types who can stomach the stench of that area.

So what may have happened?

Reconstructing the "facts" from what we have learned from the media from the moment Natalee and her friends were in "Carlos 'N' Charlie's" restaurant and bar onto the beach and the boat ride, there is a strong psychic feeling in me that she was transferred to another boat and shipped out in the wee hours of dawn to ... perhaps Venezuela where Hugo Chavez rules ... or even Costa Rica which has no extradition treaty with the United States !!!

Regrettably, Natalee and her wonderful parents and families and friends are receiving a dutch treat in this case.

****
Any Donkey apologizes to Readers and Empiricum for the delay in posting. It has been an extremely busy week . . .

Song of the day (yesterday)

The Wizard of the Pinehurst Thread, Joe McE, has called for a settlement
for 1597 straight days. By now, it's almost as if we're ......

"Itchin' For It" by Bill Perry (2001)

Bill Perry -- Fire It Up

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Rambus patent issued in 11 months

This is a continuation patent:

United States Patent 6,990,042

Stark, January 24, 2006

Single-clock, strobeless signaling system

Abstract
A signaling system includes a signaling path, a master device coupled to the signaling path, a slave device coupled to the signaling path, and a clock generator. The slave device includes timing circuitry to generate an internal clock signal having a phase offset relative to a clock signal supplied by the clock generator, the phase offset being determined at least in part by a signal propagation time on the signal path.

Inventors: Stark; Donald C. (Los Altos Hills, CA)

Assignee: Rambus Inc. (Los Altos, CA)

Appl. No.: 053884

Filed: February 10, 2005

Hat tip to FinzToRite for the link.

Song of the day

So far, in 2006, we are .......................

"Shakin' The Hard Times Loose"

by The Tommy Castro Band (2001)

Tommy Castro Band -- Guilty of Love

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Body of Evidence (Part I) - Empiricum

Leaving the realm of Rambushire for a moment and sending to the dry clean my old but still flashy woolen pin-striped three-piece suit, it's time to don my plaid jacket, a tobacco pipe, a hat and a magnifying glass in hand.

Let's go sleuthing!

During the past few weeks there have been some loud (and I mean literally loud) and deafening debates aired on TV over the disappearance of George Smith IV in the Mediterranean honeymoon cruise with his wife, Jennifer Hagel Smith, aboard Royal Caribbean's "Brilliance of the Seas."

The ship's captain in command at the time of the incident but who has since "retired" is of the opinion that there was no foul play and that he believes that Smith accidentally fell overboard while under the influence of alcohol. Several TV "pundits" that include the talk show hosts and their guests have offered several theories but not one explained or theorized on the implication and significance of the blood on the canopy.

My THEORY on the matter is that there probably was a scuffle inside the Smith cabin which was a continuation of a "bad blood" as a result of an argument among Smith, his wife and a few passengers at the bar. (The cruise ship has several bars: one at the tower, by the atrium, and also by the pools. There has been no official statement or report as to which one.) Some passengers have stated that at the bar Jennifer was so drunk that she was reportedly leaning on the shoulder of one of the customers. This caused an argument between the Jennifer and George and Jennifer kicked George on the groin.

The photograph that shows the extent of the blood splashed on the canopy suggests that Smith was perhaps stabbed in his cabin causing blood stains in the carpet which was reportedly later removed and replaced. While Smith was bleeding and perhaps still alive, the assailant or assailants threw Smith overboard onto the water. Unfortunately, Smith landed on the canopy, instead. The assailant(s) rushed down perhaps using the nearest elevator which could be the one that is located in the mid-section of the ship leading to the theater, gift shop and the casino. (The ship has several elevators. Also, the canopy referred to here is probably one of the canopies that anchor the lifeboats underneath.)

The time that takes the assailant(s) from the cabin to the canopy including the wait for the elevator probably explains the amount of blood shown on the canopy. The shape and form of the blood stain also tends to show that the blood was coming from the torso and dripping and seeping down the thighs. If Smith accidentally fell overboard and landed on the canopy, as the captain claims, the body part that probably would bleed would be the head. But the extent, shape and form of the blood stain would belie that claim.

The questions now are:

--- why was the carpet removed and replaced so soon?
--- if an employee (or employees) of the ship is not directly or indirectly involved, why will RC not identify the assailant(s)... if it knows?
--- without casting aspersion, was the body eventually thrown overboard FROM the canopy or was it perhaps brought to a freezer for later disposition?

(Disclosure: I had the good fortune of cruising in the Caribbean with this particular ship, Brilliance of the Seas, two years ago. But this experience, by itself, does not qualify me to be a forensic expert in the criminology sense. I just engage occasionally with a different type forensics... the debating type.)

TOMORROW: The Natalie Holloway case.

Rambus board authorizes more repurchase of shares

Up to an additional five million shares over an undefined period of time of its own stock may be repurchased.

"Our ongoing stock repurchase program demonstrates the confidence we have in our company and shows our commitment to deliver long-term stockholder value," said Harold Hughes, president and chief executive officer at Rambus.

Read the press release at Rambus.com linked here.

Song of the day

Before January 4, 2006, at certain times, I really thought ......

"All I Need Is A Miracle"

by "Mike + The Mechanics" (1985)

Mike + The Mechanics -- Mike + the Mechanics

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Song of the day

Just twenty cents this week. You can almost say RMBS behaved like ......

"Acadian Driftwood" by The Band (1975)

The Band -- Northern Lights-Southern Cross

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Victory is at hand?

From the Rambus Yahoo! board:

This is it by: sjsjs1111
(64/M/Amherst NH)

Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy

"I just fired the rest of my dry powder "

-- Stuart Steele

Photograph courtesy of FinzToRite.

Song of the day (Yesterday)

To celebrate the life of Wilson Pickett. Sadly, he passed away on January 19, 2006.

Will it be Hynix or Samsung that comes to the table ...............

"In The Midnight Hour" (1965)

Wilson Pickett -- The Very Best of Wilson Pickett

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Pundits predict PS3's progress

Although Sony officially doesn't comment, analysts are suggesting:

1) Sony Playstation 3 will be delayed in its launch - Summer in Japan, November in North America and March 2007 in Europe.

2) When launched, there will be shortages - fewer units than Xbox 360's launch with 1 million total units available.

3) Limited software - Sony's Kaz Hirai has stated that 4000 development units shipped.

4) Manufacturing challenges - Cell processor, Blu-Ray.

Any Donkey visited a Gamestop yesterday and inquired about making a deposit for a PS3. No can do. Gamestop is not accepting deposits until Sony announces an official launch date.

Read an article about PS3's pundits at Gamasutra linked here.

Hat tip to Joe of the Pinehurst Thread.

Pipe dreams?

AMD's PE Ratio at close of market on 1/18/06 was just under 334. This company IMHO, is one mistake away from flushing itself. Mind you, I am wishing no ill will. In fact just the opposite for many reasons.

RMBS has a PE Ratio under 120.

When Rambus collects its due pot-of-gold, I would like to send the AMD shareholders an invitation to join the Rambus party.

Let's combine Rambus post litigation earnings with the exuberance of AMD shareholders . . .

Photograph courtesy of CoastalArtsLeague.com.

Song of the day

Did somebody say "Rambus $100"?

"Don't Say Never"

by The Shafran-Klegseth Band (1999)

The Shafran-Klegseth Band -- Relentless Blues

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Tate, Rambus COB, gives up options

In a filing with the SEC (1/16/06), Rambus announced that Geoffrey Tate, Chairman of the Board of Rambus Inc. agreed to cancel an aggregate of 665,000 unvested options to purchase common stock of RMBS and 500,000 unvested common stock equivalents of RMBS held by him.

Further:
This action was taken by Mr. Tate unilaterally in connection with his wishing to conform his compensation going forward as a non-employee Board member of the Registrant to the Registrant’s current policies with respect to Board and executive compensation.

Hat tip to Geoffrey Tate.

Stunned, simply stunned.

You may purchase the hat here.

Ramboids - "Savvy investors"

That is how The Motley Fool describes those who "spotted the possibilies before anyone else."

Yup, everybody likes a winner, particularly when it is their winner.

The Motley Fool article can be found linked here.

Hat tip to Joe for the article link.

IBM beats earnings expectations

For the last three months of 2005, IBM earned $1.99 per share, this after taking a 10 cent and two cent per share hit for its pension freeze and accounting change during the quarter. Analysts had predicted $1.94 per share.

Reportedly,

the real hardware star was the microelectronics division, which was a laggard in previous years but saw sales leap 48 percent in the fourth quarter. The group makes chips for video game consoles and other high-end applications.

Read an AP article at SiliconValley.Com linked here.

Hat tip to Joe for the link.

Microsoft patents auto playlist generator

United States Patent 6,987,221

Platt January 17, 2006

Auto playlist generation with multiple seed songs

Abstract
The present invention relates to systems and/or methods that generate playlist(s) for a library or collection of media items via selecting a plurality of seed items, at least one of which is an undesirable seed item. Some of the seed items are desirable indicating that a user prefers additional media items similar to the desirable seed items and others are undesirable indicating that the user prefers additional media items dissimilar to the undesirable seed items. Additionally, the seed items can be weighted to establish a relative importance of the seed items. The invention compares media items in the collection with the seed items and determines which media items are added into the playlist by computation of similarity metrics or values. The playlist can be regenerated by adding desirable seed items to the playlist and removing media items from the playlist (e.g., undesirable seed items).

Inventors: Platt; John C. (Bellevue, WA)

Assignee: Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, WA)

Appl. No.: 158674

Filed: May 30, 2002

Hat tip to FinzToRite for the link.

Song of the day

Time's tickin' away .......

"Tick Tock" by The Vaughan Brothers (1990)

The Vaughan Brothers -- Family Style

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Remembering Clarence Allen's victims

From the SacBee.com:

Allen was serving a life sentence at Folsom State Prison for ordering the strangulation of 17-year-old Mary Sue Kitts when he hatched a plan to kill eight witnesses to the crime in anticipation of a new trial.

He enlisted inmate Billy Ray Hamilton, who was about to be paroled, according to the state attorney general's summary.

Schletewitz was shot in the forehead at close range. White was shot in the neck and chest. Rocha, who was sobbing, was shot through her heart. Rios escaped into the women's restroom, but Hamilton caught up with him and shot him in the face. Rios was the lone survivor.

By the time the execution began after midnight, about 300 protesters remained, braving the chilly night.

Douglas White, Age 18. Bryon Schletewitz, Age 27. Josephine Rocha, Age 17.

Hat tip to the Sacramento Bee for placing the photographs online.

Ramboid graffiti - please call maintenance

Joe McE, is a Rambus long, long and founding father of the Rambus Pinehurst Thread.

Rambus is a registered trademark of Rambus, Inc.

Hat tip to Musicman Arts for the washable graffiti.

Gonzales & Hatch - Empiricum

A new TV action series?
No. It is the latest vaudeville duo now doing their acts in our nation's capital. Their performance is so poor that they will not even get nominated for next year's Golden Globe award.

Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General, a former counsel to GWBush and a Harvard Law School alumnus, and Orrin Hatch, a former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and was once mentioned as a possible nominee for a justiceship in the US Supreme Court, both appeared yesterday in Larry King's never-so-dull TV talk show defending Bush's constitutional transgressions.

Gonzales & Hatch both hold the view that Bush's domestic spying program is within the law and the Constitution anchoring their arguments on the "inherent power" of the President as commander-in-chief and a 9/11 congressional resolution.

This argument is ridiculous if not laughable!

Since when did the National Security Agency become a part of the "armed forces of the United States" that the President is their commander-in-chief? Even granting just for the sake of argument that the congressional "resolution" authorized Bush to use such "necessary force" to deal with "our enemies" responsible for the 9/11 attack, is an unlawful surveillance a "necessary force"? Or does the Resolution simply refers to MILITARY ACTION? Most importantly, since when can the US Constitution be amended simply by IMPLICATION? By the word of mouth of the vaudeville duo? What happened to the right and duty of the States to ratify any amendment to the Constitution?

It is respectfully submitted that the Constitution should be narrowly construed in accordance with its letter and spirit. In case of any "conflict" between several provisions, the matter should be resolved in favor of rights of the individual citizens for whom the Constitution is established in the first place. The Constitution was established to prevent and forestall the assumption of power by a monarch... a tyrant! Thus, it established a principle of separation of powers and checks and balances FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CITIZENRY. And these principles will endure over the onslaught of a power grabbing executive.

It is sad when Gonzales & Hatch, with their brilliant legal minds, simply reduce themselves as spin masters and apologists for the Bush administration!

Rambus Patents - "Two-fer"

United States Patent 6,988,044

Batra, et al. January 17, 2006

Bus line current calibration

Abstract
Disclosed herein is a method and system for calibrating line drive currents in systems that generate data signals by varying line drive currents and that interpret the data signals by comparing them to one or more reference voltages. The calibration includes varying the line drive current at a transmitting component. At different line drive currents, a receiver reference voltage is varied while the transmitting component transmits data to a receiving component. At each line drive current, the system records the highest and lowest receiver reference voltages at which data errors do not occur. The system then examines the recorded high and low receiver reference voltages to determine a desirable line drive current.

Inventors: Batra; Pradeep (Santa Clara, CA); Rutkowski; Rick A. (Sunnyvale, CA)

Assignee: Rambus Inc. (Los Altos, CA)

Appl. No.: 409033

Filed: April 8, 2003

****

United States Patent: 6,987,823

Stark, et al. January 17, 2006

System and method for aligning internal transmit and receive clocks

Abstract
A circuit defining a second system clock in a system comprising a master connected to one or more slave devices via a channel, the channel communicating an externally generated first system clock towards the master. The circuit comprising a delay locked loop circuit configured to receive the first system clock and a second phase feedback signal as inputs and to generate a transmit clock signal. A 90 degrees block configured to receive the transmit system clock and to generate a 90 degrees phased shifted version of the transmit clock signal. An output driver circuit configured to receive the 90 degrees phased shifted version of the transmit clock signal and to generate the second system clock. A first phase detector configured to receive a receive system clock and the transmit system clock and to generate a first phase feedback signal. A delay element configured to receive the first system clock and the first phase feedback signal and to generate a delayed first system clock. A second phase detector configured to receive the delayed first system clock and the second system clock and to generate the second phase feedback signal.

Inventors: Stark; Donald C. (Los Altos Hills, CA); Kim; Jun (Redwood City, CA); Sidiropoulos; Stefanos (Palo Alto, CA)

Assignee: Rambus Inc. (Los Altos, CA)

Appl. No.: 499025

Filed: February 7, 2000

Hat tip to FinzToRite for the links.

IdahoStatesman.com notes RMBS v. MU

Not much new from potato land, except, well Rambus, those pesky fruit fly-like nerds from California have filed yet another lawsuit against all that is good - Micron.

In what could be a straight guy's lead in, it is reported:

If Rambus wins the lawsuit, analysts have predicted that Micron, Idaho's largest private employer, could end up paying millions of dollars in royalties.

Whether or not that is funny, depends on who peels your potato.

The reader can almost hear the writer's giggles when reading:

Rambus claims it fell victim to a group of conspiring memory chip firms that drove its technology out of the mainstream industry.

No mention of the fact that Micron is "cooperating" with a federal investigation on DRAM price fixing, which cooperation is hoped* to keep top Micron executives out of the slammer.

*Disclosure. Any Donkey is not a member of that prayer band.

Read the IdahoStatesman.com linked here.

Hat tip to Joe for the link.

Song of the day

"High Flyin' Baby"

by Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers (2001)

Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers -- Beyond the Source

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Soldiers to do battle with help of Cell?

The modern soldier can go to battle with the help of Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., PowerBlock 200 (pictured left), which will provide an ability to "access and control vast arrays of deployed sensors in real time." PowerBlock(TM) 200 -- the third member of Mercury's Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (BE) processor-based family of hardware products, and the first rugged device designed with the Cell BE processor.

Mercury's press release further states:

The PowerBlock 200 processing appliance is designed to deliver the raw compute power needed to propel the vision of network-centric warfare from the research laboratory into the field. At 200 GFLOPS, the processing capacity of the PowerBlock 200 rivals that of 12-20 PowerPC(R) processors or 45 Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 processors -- in a COTS-deployable ATR chassis about the size of a toaster.

Mercury asks:

Imagine mobile military personnel accessing real-time, fused, high-resolution, cross-battlefield sensor data. Imagine displaying dynamic 3D, interpretive views of the battlefield in real time within every vehicle.

View Mercury's press release linked here.

Cell Broadband Engine is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. MultiCore Plus, PAS, PowerBlock, and TATL are trademarks of Mercury Computer Systems, Inc.

Photograph courtesy of Mercury Computers Systems, Inc.

Hat tip to Joe for the the link to Mercury's press release.

Microsoft Xbox 360 - supply disaster

Microsoft continues to release information revealing the shortfall of supply of Xbox 360 in North America. To date, only 600,000 units have been sold in the U.S., with a target of 4.5 - 5.5 million units by the end of June.

Pre-Christmas deliveries, angered many of the Xbox faithful who did not receive the Xbox 360 for which they had made a deposit until after Christmas or not even yet. Any Donkey's son made a deposit at a national game store in June - plunking down the balance after the official release - and was not able to pick up his system until after Christmas.

Ramboids are hoping that Sony is learning from Microsoft's plethora of bad press . . .

Read a short article at theinquirer linked here.

Hat tip to Joe for the link.

Rambus sues Micron in California (Updated)

U.S. District Court Judge Kent Jordan in Wilmington, Delaware, lifted (1/13/06) an order that prevented Rambus from proceeding with the Delaware case or filing new patent suits against Micron.

Without delay, Rambus filed suit against Micron in U.S. District Court in Northern California claiming that Micron is placing products in the marketplace that infringe Rambus patents. This suit targets DDR2, GDDR2 and GDDR3 and other memory devices.

Taipei Times posted a Bloomberg article (1/15/06) linked here.

SignOnSanDiego quoting the Rambus Press Release reports in part:

"While we prefer to resolve issues outside of the courtroom, we believe we have a strong patent position, including patents that issued in the past four years that must be defended appropriately," Rambus attorney John Danforth said in a statement.

SignOnSanDiego linked here.

Indlawnews linked here reports:

Such memory, known as DRAM, is a $30 billion-a-year market, and Rambus thinks its patents entitle it to royalties of about 3 per cent on such products.

Rambus Press Release linked here.

Rambus v. Micron complaint (N. D. CA 2006) linked here.

***
Updated - more links to articles:

The Register (1/16/06 ) linked here.

NewKerala.com (1/15/06) linked here. (Daniel of the Pinehurst Thread notes this is India's top online newspaper.)

Song of the day

I was shootin' the breeze with a friend called me last night.

During the conversion, he asked, "How's your Rambus investment?".

I said,

"It's All Coming Back" by Keb' Mo' (2000)

Keb' Mo' -- The Door

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Song of the day

"Oh, What A Feeling"

by Atlanta Rhythm Section (1976)

Atlanta Rhythm Section -- Red Tape

Submitted by FinzToRite.

The Main Event - Empiricum

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, Treowth Productions proudly presents....

THE MAIN EVENT!

The protagonists need no further introduction and the Tale of the Tapes was seized without warrant.

Without further ado, in the green corner, from Silicon Valley, California, and fighting all over the world fully armed and shielded in shining armor ... RAMBUS, INC.!

In the red corner, from potatoland, Idaho, and fighting naked without armor and defenses left... MICRON, TECHNOLOGIES!

This is a multi-round-gladiator-type match in Delaware, California and Europe.

Play-by-play announcers and commentators for the match:

---for Rambus: EMPIRICUM (self-appointed, unless there are other volunteers)

---for Micron: Dave Parker (unless earlier fired and terminated)

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..........................

Song of the day

We'll send one out to the Rambus shorts.

"Time To Burn" by Jake Andrews

Jake Andrews -- Time to Burn

Other Rambus Short tracks on the album:
-- Too Sorry
-- Nobody's Fault But Mine
-- It All Passed Me By
-- The Hard Way
-- Cry baby

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Rambus sent FTC Judge Whyte's Findings

Federal Trade Commission
Docket No. 9302
In the Matter of Rambus Incorporated

January 5, 2006

Notice of Filing of Ruling in Related Case Regarding Issues Raised in Complaint Counsel's Motion for Sanctions.

Docket linked here.

Filing linked here.

Hat tip to Joe for the link.

Sirius Satellite Radio

And the very well fed wonder why the masses bristle when "W" talks about lowering tax rates for the top "earners"?

From USA Today linked here:

In case his $100 million-a-year contract wasn't enough, Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) has freed Howard Stern to make even more serious cash by immediately selling his $191 million in stock.

You don't like Howard Stern? Full Of Shyte doesn't either and the blogger isn't shy about saying so. Please be warned that the site is well, crude, crass, demented, racist, homophobic, perverted, "R" or "X" rated - I don't know where the line is drawn these days - and at times, not the least bit funny. Okay, I laughed, but only once. Full Of Shyte linked here.

Rambus Daily Stock Quote Notification

Daily Stock Quote Notification

Rambus Inc.
(RMBS - NASD)
Closing Price $ 33.72
Opening Price $ 32.98
Previous Close $ 32.20
Change 1.52

Last Trade Jan 12 4:13PM
Volume 21,593,800
Day Low $ 32.16
Day High $ 33.90

What a pleasant week it has been . . .

Hat tip to Rambus Investor Relations for the friendly little emails.

If you aren't receiving News By Email from Rambus, sign up is linked here.

Song of the day

"Gonna Move"

by Susan Tedeschi (2000)

Susan Tedeschi -- Wait for Me

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Rambus partner -Mentor

Mentor Graphics announced that it had a good Q4 with bookings and revenues at record levels. Electronic News reports:

The company said, three product categories set new quarterly and yearly bookings and revenue records – IC Design to Silicon, Integrated System Design, and New and Emerging Products.

Read the Electronic News brief article here.

Find Mentor Graphics on the Rambus partners page here.

Hat tip to Joe for the news linked.

Frog Blog road kill?

Mr. Frog's friends have posted a "help wanted" for a lawyer.

I am thinking that the best lawyers are working for Rambus. Maybe in a few days, they will have some free time on their hands and with pockets stuffed with "greenbacks" they will volunteer to help the Frog bloggers?

This post is not intended to annoy anyone . . .

Read the Frog blogger's request for help linked here.

Sony Playstation 3 Price - Deal or Steal?

Sony Consumer Entertainment (Sony) declinations to comment on the expected retail price of its date undeclared release of Playstation 3 (PS3) has not stemmed speculation.

Chris Morris in this week's column of Game Over at CNN Money.com comments on his recent survey of game developers concerning the expected release price of PS3.

There wasn't universal consensus, though. Some predicted the price would be closer to $450, others said they wouldn't be surprised if it was as high as $600. $700 was mentioned by a couple of developers, though even they said the number seemed unreasonable. And one game maker felt Sony would try to stay in line with Microsoft, offering the PS3 for just $399.

Bleeding edge technology like the Blu-Ray drive that Sony has announced it will include in PS3 is expensive. It has been reported that Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Consumer Entertainment, told attendees of a 2005 corporate meeting "it'll be expensive."

Chris Morris has suggested that Sony is "head faking" the competition and consumers by allowing a high price - as compared to Microsoft's Xbox 360 - to circulate. Similar to what occurred before Sony's PSP was launched.

Analysts, journalists and even publishers were wildly grasping for a solid clue about the launch price of the handheld device. (Atari's CEO even publicly proclaimed he expected the PSP to sell for $500.)

PSP launched at $249 - expensive but far less than the mind set Sony allowed. "$249, what a deal! I was expecting in the neighbor of $500 . . ."

Read Chris Morris here.

Hat tip to Gamespot.com for the ongoing updates linked here.

Yesterday Donkey - Today Shorts

Yesterday Any Donkey gave blood and tested for the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. The blood was real and red and the cause was worthy. Please see post below.

Today, Rambus shorts continued to give blood as Rambus closed at $32.20, up $3.89 for the day. The blood was real and green and the cause was worthy.

Congratulations to Ramboids.

Song of the day

It's a joint effort today. JamesRWood and I looked at RMBS just a few times today and saw that it has almost doubled in the New Year.

Simultaneously, we said ............

"I Like It Like That" by The Dave Clark Five (yes, we're that old)

Submitted by FinzToRite & JamesRWood.

WR Hambrecht Targets Rambus at $38

Reuters reports that WR Hambrecht has targeted Rambus at $38.00 by year end (2006). Analyst Daniel Amir believes Rambus has potential . . .

The litigation has potential to generate some $936 million in revenue, or about six times what Rambus took in last year, WR Hambrecht said in a note to investors in which it upgraded the company. Rambus develops and licenses technologies that improve the performance of computers.

$936,000,000? Why not $1,000,0000,000? Is that the 99 cent sale? Tip of the iceberg buddy.

Hang on for the ride.

Hat tip Daniel OL of the Pinehurst Thread for the link.

Rally Time Monkey - New Rambus Employee

I don't tire of this monkey . . . . Rally Time Monkey

Any Donkey gave blood

and submitted an additional splash for testing as a potential donor for the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry (Registry). To date, the Registry has provided more than 18,000 transplants for patients who did not have a matching donor in their families.

It was easy and the registration fee was paid by M-Audio.

Please consider joining Any Donkey and more than 5,000,000 other potential donors on the Registry. You may have an opportunity to save a life.

Read more about the process posted at Treowth here.

Read more about M-Audio here.

E-mail me if you have any questions.

Hat tip to M-Audio.

Hat tip to Blogan for the link to M-Audio.

Hat tip to Larry for joining Any Donkey on the Registry today. You the man.

Dedication Song

This is for Mr. Frog, who is feeling unloved on the Yahoo! Rambus board . . .

The "Real" Fleetwood Mac

"Spare Me A Little Of Your Love"

From the music collection of FinzToRite.

Song of the day

"Big Change Is Gonna Come"

by The Peter Green Splinter Group (1999)

Peter Green Splinter Group -- Destiny Road

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Rambus quote

One day, Rambus will be in your toothbrush. - Joe McE, cira 1998

That day is drawing closer and closer . . .

On the Gillette site is press release from June 6, 2005:

Oral-B Triumph's brushheads are also embedded with a microchip that communicates with the brush handle's onboard computer, providing feedback in 13 languages via an easy-to-read digital display. Oral-B Triumph's Smart Technology recognizes each user's brushhead as unique, allowing it to track usage and alert the user when it's time to change specific brushheads to ensure optimal cleaning for the entire family. During use, the brushhead also notifies the user every 30 seconds to brush another mouth quadrant, as well as when the recommended two minutes of total brushing time have passed.

Read the press release linked here.

Here is a link to a patent for another programmable toothbrush unit that will remind users to brush.

Did James Frey fool Oprah, Any Donkey & 3.5 million others?

An investigation by The Smoking Gun casts doubt on the accuracy of author James Frey's Million Little Pieces (Pieces). Mr. Frey has hired celebrity law firm Lavely & Singer to "communicate" with The Smoking Gun. Read he letter here linked at The Smoking Gun.

Pieces catapulted onto best seller lists shortly after Frey appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2005 and has reportedly sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.

The Smoking Gun alleges:

Book Club" author's best-selling nonfiction memoir filled with fabrications, falsehoods, other fakery, TSG probe finds.

Read about The Smoking Gun's detailed investigation linked here.

Any Donkey read and reviewed Pieces only a couple days ago after several friends read and suggested I add it to my reading list. One, a dentist, questioned the Frey's veracity in describing the dental procedures he endured.

Interesting. Interesting indeed.

Micron adds to its RDRAM portfolio

Perhaps simply adding weight to the patent portfolio and doing it in a area that has a chance of having value in a cross license agreement.

A possible later benefit:

Lookie see, we wanted RDRAM to succeed. We thought it was the best solution. We even kept doing research . . . please, pretty please, don't make us pay Rambus hundreds of millions of dollars for colluding to to kill RDRAM.

***

United States Patent 6,986,084.

Cooper, et al. January 10, 2006

Apparatus and method for reducing test resources in testing DRAMS

Abstract
An apparatus and a method are disclosed for reducing the pin driver count required for testing computer memory devices, specifically Rambus DRAM, while a die is on a semiconductor wafer. By reducing the pin count, more DRAMs can be tested at the same time, thereby reducing test cost and time. One preferred embodiment utilizes a trailing edge of a precharge clock to select a new active bank address, so that the address line required to select a new active address does not have to be accessed at the same time as the row lines.

Inventors: Cooper; Chris (Boise, ID); Giam; Siang Tian (Singapore, SG); McBride; Jerry D. (Biose, ID); Gatzemeier; Scott N. (Boise, ID); Ayres; Scott L. (Meridian, ID); Brown; David R. (Allen, TX)

Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc. (Boise, ID)

Appl. No.: 879437

Filed: June 29, 2004

Hat tip to FinzToRite for the link.

No Rambus patent issued this week

Hat tip to FinzToRite for the email.

Page doesn't announce Google PC at CES

Any Donkey previously wrote about the rumored Google PC that some believed Google co-founder Larry Page would announce when he spoke last Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show. No Google PC or Google Cube.

Instead, Page promoted the $100 laptop that Google and others intend to distribute to 100 million children worldwide. The Google Cube - apparently not under development - is pure rumor. Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell.

Page also demonstrated Google's new downloadable on demand Video Store and discussed some of its content providers including, CBS, National Basketball Association, British ITN, music videos from Sony BMG, and independent film producer Greencine.com.

tgdaily.com reports:

Page's keynote was refreshingly different, entertaining and casual - but in the business world this may not be enough anymore for Google in the not too distant future.

Read an article about Larry Page's speech by Scott M. Fulton, III and Wolfgang Gruener posted at tgdaily.com linked here.

Will Hynix appeal?

Fifty percent of of Treowth's voting readers believe that Hynix will appeal Judge Whyte's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

Hat tip to abc.net for the photograph - linked here.

Rambus's Eulau cashing options

Rambus Chief Financial Officer, Robert K. Eulau has exercised some of his options and then sold the corresponding shares.

How many you ask? How about 45,000?

Profit per share ranged from $17.5 - $13.37.

Top selling price? $23.60.

Kenny Rogers might suggest that Mr. Eulau left over $200,000 on the table when he folded a winning hand.

Mr. Eulau's Form 4 linked here.

Song of the day

"Powerful Stuff"

by The Fabulous Thunderbirds (1989)

The Fabulous Thunderbirds -- Powerful Stuff

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Eight is Wild! - Empiricum

There being no news that came out today concerning Rambus, today's trading action can simply be interpreted as an explainable and justifiable delayed reaction by investors, including institutional funds, to last week's dual blockbuster news: the AMD licensing and Judge Whyte's ruling.

It should be noted that the holidays were just gone by and most investors were strapped of cash ... until last Friday, the first payday of the year. It is very palpable how most investors waited in anguish last weekend to put their money once again on Rambus.

It is of no surprise to this writer that the Rambus share of stock acted the way it did today. In fact, it's been previously posted here on Treowth by this writer that a positive ruling from San Jose, CA, would catapult Rambus back to $28... in accordance with the rule "EIGHT IS WILD."

It will be of no surprise either when the FTC will affirm Judge McGuire's ID that Rambus will get back to $38 under the same rule.

When all is said and done in CA and DE, Rambus should be back to $78 !!!

As always, JMHO.

Again, Rally Time - Rambus

Rally Time Monkey . . .

Adult industry drives innovation (Update)

The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week shared the town with the Adult Video News' annual Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE). It seems inappropriate to write that CES and AEE were in bed together, but it is a fact that the adult entertainment industry does some driving of the technology innovation - at least from the back seat.

Money, money, money. Adult Video News estimates that consumers spent $12.6 billion on adult entertainment in 2005 with $4.3 billion in adult video rentals, $2.5 billion in internet sales and $2.0 billion at dance clubs.

High Definition (HD) movie production. Lurid Entertainment, winner of the 2005 Best HD production, shoots all its production in the 1080-interlace mode, and releases in both 780-progressive and standard versions. On-line only content and adult content only set top boxes. Interactive content and remotely controlled toys.

Read a Reuters are article here and another one at Hexus.net by Bob Gerson here.

***
Update: Due to expressed reader concern about the topic, Any Donkey has removed a couple links within the post. Thank you for reading. Any Donkey.

Please Read - Save a life

Join the National Marrow Donor Program.

Stop - this doesn't involve a big needle being jammed into your hip. Please keep reading . . .

In tribute to 11-time Grammy winning saxophonist Michael Brecker, M-Audio will pay for the testing of as many people as possible at any National Marrow Donor Program center.

The Screening involves only a blood test to identify your tissue type—which is completely different than blood type. It’s easy to get screened at any donor center of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Find the nearest center linked here.

The cost for the test is generally $40 to $95, but the fee will be waived if you tell the center you are getting tested in connection with M-Audio. Testing is already free for several minority groups. Below are links for some minority groups:

If you are an African American please follow this link to the African American Health Advisory Committee for additional information.

If you are a Jewish American please follow this link to the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry for additional information.

If you are Latino or Hispanic please follow this link to Icla da Silva Foundation for additional information.

M-Audio states:

Testing only takes a couple of minutes and, at worst, is as painless as giving blood. Blood is drawn for testing and a consent form is filled out. In some instances, a buccal swab (a sterile Q-tip which is rubbed along the wall of your inner cheek to collect cells) is used.

If you match and are asked to donate the process:

As a result of new technologies, the term “bone marrow transplant” is in part a misnomer. In earlier years, marrow had to be extracted from a donor’s marrow. Today, at leading cancer centers like Memorial Sloan Kettering, the collecting process rarely occurs this way. A donor is simply connected to a machine through an IV that separates and harvests the blood stem cells from the donor’s blood before the blood returns to the donor through a second IV. Instead of being tethered to a machine for a few hours, some still prefer direct marrow collection—where medical technology has also improved. Following anesthesia, marrow—which continually replenishes every 4-6 weeks—is withdrawn using fine hollow needles in the hip. The donor may be sore around the area of the withdrawal for a few days.

Hat tip to Blogan for the link.

Hat tip to M-Audio linked here for additional information about the program.

Photograph of Michael Brecker courtesy of M-Audio.

Follow the Amazon link to listen to samples of Mr. Brecker's music.

Crumb, must have been a cousin . . .

Good Read - A Million Little Pieces (Updated)

If you or somebody close to you has a problem with alcohol or substance abuse, A Million Little Pieces (Pieces) is a book to put on your list of must reads. In fact, if you have ever wondered how an individual thinks who is an abuser or what happens in rehab, this book will provide you with some insight.

Author, James Frey, at the age of 23 had been an alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three. Fortunately for him, he had family and friends who did not give up on him. Pieces follows Frey’s six week stay in rehab as he faces his demons.

It is a startling story.

Five stars.

***

Update: (1/10/06) The Smoking Gun reports that its investigation cast doubts about the accuracy of Frey's Pieces. Any Donkey posts here.

Song of the day

Why not another dedication? Let's send one out to "The Banditos".

I've always preferred that term over "Amigos".

Lately, the thinking is that you're ....

"Running Out Of Time"

by The Climax Blues Band (1975)

Climax Blues Band -- Stamp Album

The album contains another track that has been submitted as a candidate for Rambus LTL Theme Song:

"I Am Constant"

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Song of the day

The Rambus situation looks like it's changing quite a bit.

We'll probably hear a lot of ..............

"Shoulda Coulda Woulda"

by The Duke Robillard Band (1991)

The Duke Robillard Band -- Turn It Around

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Grande, please

Your mailbox is full of them - emails that cherished senders hope will make you, laugh, reflect, foster inspiration, encourage you to act (usually via guilt) or warn you of some danger. In addition, this time of year recycles the self improvement emails.

A Pinehurst Thread member sent me a list of rules for the New Year. One in particular caught my eye:

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a "decaf grande half-soy, half-lowfat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low and one NutraSweet," ooh, you're a huge asshole.

I only discovered Starbucks about three years ago. I had secretary who liked Starbucks and she liked to get out of the office. She would offer to run out and "pick us up a Starbucks" - of course, I was buying. Not really being into coffee, but wanting to avoid an update of the latest drama in her life, I would respond with a "sure."

It was habit forming. The first time I walked into a Starbucks to order for myself, I thought I was in church. People were speaking in tongues!

I am an idiot . . . let's see, how does it go . . . type, size, product, adds . . . maybe . . . heck. When I order it is borderline panic. I stand in line and repeat the mantra to myself - type, size, product, adds - while thinking, "crumb, I am going to get to the front of the line with a zillion caffeine starved addicts behind me and I will softly give her my order and then she will loudly respond "did you mean . . . ?" repeating my order in a different sequence. Crumb! I am an idiot . . .

I relate to the above "New Rule". . . except, that I think I actually might know what that "coffee" might be . . . except, well, is that order in the right sequence? Crumb, crumb, crumb.

I know I am not alone.

Here is a link to a site created by a former Starbucks employee - Starbucks Drinks Simplified (Kinda).

This blog, Starbucks Gossip, has a post discussing a 22 page how-to-order coffee manual.

Thought for the day

Man who drive like hell, bound to get there.

Please be careful out there!

Hager adjusts portfolio

Yesterday, I noted that Fred Hager had alerted his readers to the fact that on Wednesday he adjusted a couple portfolios and purchased Rambus leaps. Nice call Mr. Hager.

Mr. Hager, wanting to ensure his model portfolio results are obtainable by his readers - if they follow along - adjusted the carrying value (on paper).

We performed the transaction this way in order to establish the end of day close for Portfolios C and D. However, the ruling has made a huge difference in the way you were able to perform the transaction, so we are modifying the purchase prices to reflect the price of the Leaps at the open of today's trading.

We still favor all the transactions and simply wish to make sure that the performance in the portfolios is consistent with what you were able to do as well.

Hat tip to Mr. Hager. You could have easily taken the paper profit and padded your stats.

Mr. Hager's site linked here.

Rambus - Schaeffers might be watching . . .

Rambus Rises On Ruling
Rambus (RMBS) gapped up this morning and closed 20.34 percent higher at 22.23, after a federal judge ruled the company did not unlawfully destroy evidence in its patent litigation with Hynix Semiconductor (HXSCL). Rambus could be a stock to watch this month, as it is slated to release earnings on Monday, January 16th. Looking back over the past five earnings reports, I notice that the stock has missed once and matched once, but it has beaten the estimate three times, by very substantial margins.

Find out about a free subscription from Sachaeffers here.

Rambus marches on - Empiricum

In the wake of the thunderous and resounding Rambus victory yesterday, the courtrooms in Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C., were jolted upon formal receipt of Notice of the the decision by Judge Whyte. (Samsung v. Rambus update. and Micron v. Rambus update.)

In the case of Judge Payne, perhaps he is pondering on how, upon advice of counsel for Samsung, he might go around Judge Whyte's preemptive ruling --- in the same manner he did with respect to the CAFC's monumental ruling.

It is difficult to read Judge Kent Jordan's mind. Does he have any mixed feelings on the Whyte ruling? As he is also preempted by Judge Whyte's ruling, is Judge Jordan sending a thank you note for making his job easier?

In the case of the FTC complaint counsel, perhaps he had a good drink last night as his case is practically rendered moot and academic. Yes, indeed, the decisions of the district federal courts do have a binding, or in the minimum, a persuasive effect. CC might argue that the causes of action are different in the different venues. But that argument is a stretch! He should remember that Chief Judge Stephen McGuire himself has clearly ruled that there was no actionable or wrongful spoliation by Rambus --- a finding that Judge Whyte in essence just affirmed.

In sum, all the defenses forwarded and litigated by the 4 Amigos have crumbled like a house of cards and now we should see the domino effect. Yes, it is time for the Amigos to fold 'em.

Undoubtedly, Rambus cleared a major hurdle yesterday and will continue to march on to total victory, vindication and as Tabrizi feared "domination".

(n.b.: consistent with its bureaucratic manner of dealing with important matters, the FTC website contains no info on any Rambus filing yesterday or today: Docket No. 9302 - In the Matter of Rambus Incorporated)

One last note: it should emphasized that Whyte's Findings & Conclusions entered yesterday do not become final until after the 30th day.

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Any Donkey adds: "Smells like . . . victory" - Thank you Mr. Duvall.

Song of the day

Felt like a dedication today. Let's send this out to "TeamGreekSalad".

They must be just a bit dejected today. All that bashing for nothing.

What a shame.

For Moshe, Yern, NicDaReal Greek and the ultimate loser, P Blues ...............

"Don't Go Away Mad" by Little Village (1992)

Little Village features Ry Cooder, Jim Keltner, Nick Lowe and John Hiatt.

Little Village -- Little Village

Submitted by FinzToRite.

Rambus, who pulled the quick trigger? (Corrected)

Curious minds wonder who got lucky?

After hours trading follows:

Time Price # Shares
16:34 $ 18.55 100
16:14 $ 18.47 900
16:13 $ 18.51 200
16:13 $ 18.51 100
16:13 $ 18.51 100
16:13 $ 18.51 200
16:13 $ 18.51 100
16:13 $ 18.51 100
16:13 $ 18.51 100
16:13 $ 18.51 100
16:08 $ 18.53 100
16:08 $ 18.53 100
16:05 $ 18.53 196
16:03 $ 18.40 135,656
16:02 $ 18.51 200
16:00 $ 18.51 200
16:00 $ 18.48 154
16:00 $ 18.50 100
16:00 $ 18.50 1,730
16:00 $ 18.48 100

Curious minds wonder.

****

Post corrected 9:45 AM (West Coast)

Hat tip to BennettMI for the Instant Message & MSABA for posting the correction on Yahoo! MSABA's post linked here.

Rambus - Hager & Currin

Rick Currin, CurrinResearch.com for Hager Technology Team penned a pre-market release:

In what can easily be characterized as a clear victory for Rambus, Judge Whyte ruled that Rambus did not commit the offense of unlawful spoliation warranting dismissal of their patent case against Hynix...

The release continues in the typically Hager-esq fashion.

One has to admire unflagging devotion.

In an alert from the Hager Technology Team just yesterday:

We are purchasing 100 contracts of Rambus 2008 $30 Strike LEAPS. Symbol: (WWOAF.X).

Nice call.

Here is a link to Hager's site.

Here is a link to CurrinResearch.

Rally time monkey

This link is compliments of Joe of the Pinehurst Thread . . . members of the thread knew this one was coming . . .

Rally time monkey linked here.

Rambus press release

The official Rambus press release:

Rambus Wins First Phase of Hynix Trial
Judge rejects motion to dismiss; patent trial to proceed

LOS ALTOS, California, United States - 1/5/2006

Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS) today announced that the judge in the patent infringement matter with Hynix Semiconductor has denied Hynix’s request to dismiss Rambus’ case based on unclean hands and document spoliation following a two-week evidentiary hearing. Among other things in the ruling, the Honorable Ronald Whyte held, “the court concludes that Rambus did not engage in unlawful spoliation of evidence.”

In a 42-page ruling, Judge Whyte determined that Rambus should be allowed to argue the merits of its patent infringement position against Hynix for SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 SDRAM memory products. The date for that trial has been set for March 6, 2006.

Read the press release linked here to Rambus.com

Early reports of Rambus victory

Mercury News dot com headlines its blurb:

Rambus patent suit vs. Hynix can proceed

. . . reports in part:

Ken Nissly, a lawyer for Hynix, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment from Bloomberg News. Park Hyun, a Hynix spokesman in Seoul, said he couldn't immediately comment.

Will now, isn't that surprising.

Read the short article at MercuryNews.com linked here.

Hat tip to FinzToRite for the link.

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Forbes reports in part:

Following a three week hearing in October, Whyte's 42-page ruling now allows Rambus to now take its claims against Hynix to trial in March. “We are pleased with this ruling and look forward to proceeding to the patent phase of our case,” said Linda Ashmore, a spokeswoman for Rambus.

Read the Forbes article linked here.

Hat tip Joe