October 24, 2003

The May Report: 10/24/2003: HyRadix gets funding; Discover Card IT and
marketing layoffs; Karl on China; launch of OkayAmigo.com

Editor and publisher: Ron May, ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com,
773-525-3944.
__________________
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

— HyRadix receives investment
— Briefly noted, by Ron May
— News Tidbits from a TMR writer

1. ‘Karl on China’
“Getting Back to Normal in the Heartland: China and Its Role In Your Future”

2. OTHER (Events)
2a. Sunday, Oct. 26: Pho meeting (“technology-meets-music” issues)
2b. Monday, Oct. 27: Chai Tech Professional Networking rescheduled October
meeing
2c. Weds., Oct. 29: Exec. Club of Chicago: Half=day high tech conference
featuring Rudy Puryear (moderator); speakers including Jack Noonan (SPSS),
Michael Sands (Orbitz); Catherine Brune (Allstate)
2d. Thurs., Oct. 30: IBIO: “Breakfast with German Life Science”
2e. Tues., Nov. 11: ICCA: Panel on state of Chicago IT consulting market
2f. Weds., Nov. 12: CADM: workshops at Bob Stone education day

3. COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
3a. Liquid Generation newsletter introduces new teen dating site, OkayAmigo.com
3b. Overview of Commonwealth Capital Advisors

4. Links of Interest
4a. Conference on how Michigan universities can play bigger role in tech
commercialization
[Editor's note: Ron May here. I thought this article was particularly
interesting given all the talk about how Illinois lags behind Michigan and Tom
Churchwell's experience in Kalamazoo.]
_________________
The Scoop section:
______
HyRadix receives investment

From VC Buzz:

HyRadix
175 West Oakton Street
Des Plaines IL 60018
yRadix Receives Investment

DES PLAINES, IL – HyRadix Inc., developer of hydrogen generation technology
for fuel-cell, hydrogen-vehicle refueling, and industrial applications, has
received investment. CDP Capital Technology Ventures and Sud-Chemie In. led
the round. Proceeds will be used in development.

CDP Capital
1981, avenue McGill College,
Montrial QC H3A3C7
Canada
Fuel-Cell Firm H
_________________
Briefly noted, by Ron May

* For once, I have a “normal” health problem: the flu. I don’t know if that is
what I would call it actually but I got zapped — with a head cold, fever, dry
heaves, and a bad cough on Sun/Mon/Tues and really haven’t shaken it all week.
But I was feeling much better late Thursday. I missed a few events this week
that I wanted to attend and am behind on everything. When these things hit, you
just have no energy. I wanted to go to the Evanston ITEC symposium on Tuesday
night. If anyone was there who could possibly give us a synopsis of the key
points made, I would greatly appreciate it.

Today, I am planning to attend an open house in Oak Brook for Rosetta Wireless
and am riding out there with Bob Binder from mVerify, so I have to leave home
by no later than 1:15pm and that will be the time of the last report for today.
The second report (upcoming) includes reader comments and my general briefly
noted remarks on a variety of subjects including a chance encounter last
weekend with Josh Schneider (now Metnick) who tells me that he is not the only
person who has changed his name. Apparently, Marshall Wieland, also formerly of
AIS and Epigraph, has changed his name as well, I believe to Stanton. Name
changes come in bunches?

The third report, and I am segregating it out a bit, is about CSC and the
history of their litigation over outsourcing as well as more info. on the
Motorola deal and how it came about. There continues to be a strong increase in
subscribe requests from this topic (I can only surmise.) I did a random check
for five non-weekend days in late September and early October. TMR was
averaging seven subscription requests a day for a total of 35 over five days.
During the week of October 13th to 18th, after the Motorola story was
introduced on Friday, October 10th, the subscribe requests shot up to 22 per
day for a total of 110. That trend has continued this week and I have not even
been publishing.

I think it is legitimately a big story, one that eventually some major media
may pick up on. The contract with CSC is $160MM a year for ten years, for a
total of $1.6B. The contract does not include application development, but does
include data center and network operations along with the entire desktop
function. But there are some curious missing numbers here. Motorola spends
about $2B a year on IT, so this contract would appear to be off by a factor of
what — ten? Why is so little — relatively — being spent on such a large
contract?

This is only the beginning of an investigation and hopefully some of the new
subscribers can shed some light on what was and is going on.

* As far as “news” is concerned, last night at dinner I ran into a guy who
works for Discover Card who told me that they laid off marketing and IT people
on Thursday, but have not announced yet to the employees how many were cut. In
IT, about 15% of the IT staff has been consultants and they were all cut,
according to my source who does network support at Discover. I hope to get more
on this.

* In this report, I have included the newsletter from Liquid Generation that
announces the launching of their new teen dating site, www.okayamigo.com. They
are starting this off as a free site but do eventually plan to charge for it.

* Steve Lundin tells me that he followed through on the eBay scam issue and
that a USA Today reporter spoke to the people Steve put him in touch with and
filed a story on it. It has not been published yet. The people at eBay security
did finally call Steve after first telling him to contact their corporate
attorney and they are claiming that there was a site that the identity thief
was using called “Fisher” to hoodwink the real seller. Steve says he is not
buying this because it does not acknowledge that the problem appears to be with
eBay’s own software. Steve is saying that it was eBay’s software that had its
passwords hacked and security compromised. It will be interesting to follow
this. Meanwhile, Lundin is still out $1,084 for that digital camera he did not
get. Lundin has offered me all the documentation on the people who were also
taken, and I have no problem printing it, but does it “prove” that the problem
started with eBay? Logically, it did, and at the very least, it would appear
that eBay has not learned to use the phone.
__________________
News Tidbits from a TMR writer

Sprint Posts 3Q Loss
money.cnn.com/2003/10/23/news/companies/sprint.reut/index.htm

Apple Has Sold 1 Million Songs on iTunes for Windows
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story
nes_dc_2> &u=/nm/20031020/wr_nm/tech_apple_itunes_dc_2

Tokki Corporation and Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation Install OLED
Deposition System at Universal Display Corporation
biz.yahoo.com/bw/031021/215163_1.html

Intel Publishes WiFi Hotspot Database
story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story
&u=/zd/
20031021/tc_zd/110292

Gates Offers Small Businesses Some Advice: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates
has advice for small businesses who want to grow up to be just like
Microsoft: Create a vision about which your employees are excited; hire the
best talent; and be willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term
gains.
www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,4248,1361053,00.asp

U.S. SENATE APPROVES ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION: Includes 5-Year Prison Term for
‘Predatory’ E-mail Marketing
www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=39019
_________________
1. ‘Karl on China’
“Getting Back to Normal in the Heartland: China and Its Role In Your Future”

19 October 2003

As I read Wednesday’s (15 October) The Wall Street Journal, I began to suspect
that I had been sent the Asian edition instead of the Midwestern edition
judging by the number of articles on China.

Unlikely you say here in the Heartland? Well, consider the articles with
titles such as:

· “Solving China’s Logistics Riddle”
· “China Takes Steps To Quiet Critics of Trade Policies”
· “China Launches Manned Spacecraft”
· “Bush to Pressure China and Japan Over Currencies”
· “Sales Squeeze in China”
· “Chinese Puzzle: Spotty Consumer Data”
· “China Raises Status of Private Firms”
· “Steel Prices Rise on Strong Demand” (a better title would have been
“China’s Appetite: A Booming Chinese Economy Drives World-wide Demand For
Steel”)

I won’t even mention the ones in the Financial Times, which are just as
numerous and informing.

How did we get to this point and what’s going on?

Driven by factors such as:

· Globalization
· Technology
· Trade Liberalization
· Relative Wage Rates
· Economic Downturns

?we have been witnessing the shifts in the center of gravity in the world
economy from developing countries to emerging markets in recent decades.
Consider the waves:

· Electronics and automobiles to Japan in the late 1940s to early 1980s
· Semiconductors to Taiwan and South Korea in the late 1970s to early
1980s
· Manufacturing to China which started in the late 1980s
· Emerging shift of IT services to India which started in the early
2000s with corporate Y2K initiatives

In a nutshell, global manufacturing has been shifting to Asia Pacific.
Consider the following specifics:

· The U.S. companies that are shutting down and moving to China and
other countries tend to be large, profitable, well-established companies,
primarily subsidiaries of publicly-held, U.S.-based multinationals including
such familiar names as Mattel, International Paper, General Electric, Motorola,
and Rubbermaid.
· U.S.-based multinational corporations shifting production to China are
not simply targeting a Chinese market. Companies such as La Crosse Footwear
(winter boots), Lexmark (printers), Motorola (cell phones), Rubbermaid
(cookware and storage products), Raleigh (bicycles), Cooper Tools (wrenches),
Mattel Murray (Barbie doll playhouses), and Samsonite (luggage), may have moved
their production to China, but still intend to serve a U.S. and global market.
· At one time the majority of production shifts into China have been
concentrated in relatively low-skill, low-wage jobs in light manufacturing
industries such as apparel and textiles.
· U.S. firms are increasingly investing in more complex, higher-end
industries in China, including petrochemicals, machinery, finance, metals, and
electronics and electrical equipment.
· An increasing percentage of the jobs leaving the U.S. are in
higher-paying industries producing goods such as bicycles, furniture, motors,
compressors, generators, fiber optics, clocks, injection molding, and computer
components.

Nowhere is this shift in manufacturing better illustrated than in the
electronics industry, which I have seen up close and personal:

· The electronics industry, driven by demands for products that are less
expensive, smaller, and lighter, has been shifting manufacturing to the
Asia/Pacific region for cost-effectiveness.
· The trend to outsource electronics contract manufacturing will allow
China to become one of the world’s leading IT markets with its low-cost
resource advantages and its interaction with worldwide vendors and outsourcing
partners.
· The U.S.-China trade deficit is highest and increasing the fastest in
electronics and electrical equipment, the industry with the greatest number of
U.S.-China production shifts and the industry with the highest level (roughly
1/3) of foreign direct investment in China by U.S. firms.

When are these shifts going to end and we can get back to normal?

But, when were things ever ‘normal’ in the post World War II era? I would
submit that change has always been the norm and the rate of change is only
accelerating. Consider what Gartner, an analyst firm which tracks trends in
technology, has to say about offshore outsourcing:

“?unlike previous instances of globalization – in textiles, products and
manufacturing – the latest round (in the knowledge economy) is occurring almost
instantaneously over a vast and sophisticated communication network. This has
enabled business, projects, tasks and jobs to be transferred to virtual
workforces across the globe quickly and transparently – a trend that is
occurring so rapidly as to disorient entire professions, societies and
organizations.”

Bob Evans, editor in chief, Information Week magazine also hit the nail on the
head:

“As economic, political, and technological forces continue to shape a more
truly global economy, (offshore outsourcing) will become not the exception but
rather the norm. But we all need to remember that the goal isn’t offshore
outsourcing; rather, offshore outsourcing is a means to a very different end,
and that end is reasonably priced new sources of innovation and quality.”

Future columns will address the stakes and consequences in this global
competition. I hope to get some answers at next week’s 45th Annual Conference
of the American Association for Chinese Studies, where I will be a discussant.

In the meantime, begin your homework at www.ft.com/china and start making your
own judgments about China and its role in your future.
_______
Karl L. Buschmann is an international management professional based in the
Chicago area, who is an authority on “Marketing with a Global Flair.” He plays
a leadership role in China Sourcing Services (www.chinamfgsourcing.com), which
leverages relationships in the machining and tooling industry, and China
Business Sources (www.chinabiz88.com), which sponsors China Business
Exploratory Trip 2003. Karl is a frequent lecturer on China-related aspects of
the globalized US economy, offshore outsourcing, international marketing, and
manufacturing. Karl visited Chairman Mao’s birthplace during his visit of
August – September 2003 and was declared a ‘true revolutionary’ for having
eaten the hot and spicy food of Hunan Province. He can be contacted at
kbuschmann@ChinaMfgSourcing.com.
_________________
2. OTHER (Events)
2a. Sunday, Oct. 26: Pho meeting (“technology-meets-music” issues)
Subj: Reminder – Pho – Chicago gathering Sunday, October 26, noon
Date: 10/20/2003 3:50:10 PM Central Daylight Time
From: sjones@uic.edu (Steve Jones)
To: afta@midway.uchicago.edu (Dave Aftandilian), brian@planetshwoop.com
(Brian Sobolak), dcahr@gcd.com (Darren Cahr), charles@ktime.com (Charles
Clutter), ctatum@tribune.com, dwpark@uic.edu (David Park), EGwinn@tribune.com
(Eric Gwinn), gmackintosh@kwicker.com (Greg Mackintosh), griffin@onehouse.com
(Jim Griffin), jazz77@aol.com (Richard Swack), jmascarenhas@secondcycle.com (D
John Mascarenhas), jmerecki99@yahoo.com (Jason Merecki), jmschimmel@yahoo.com
(Jackie Schimmel), Jazz77@aol.com (Rich Swack), jim@jimpyfer.com (Jim Pyfer),
kparks@soundies.com, mmdenk@gsb.uchicago.edu, mptorres@gsb.uchicago.edu,
msangin2001@kellogg.nwu.edu (Martina Sangin), mscohen91@yahoo.com (Marc Cohen),
nathan@artisticnetwork.com (Nathan F Syfrig), nmcclave2001@kellogg.nwu.edu
(Norman McClave), onepresence@yahoo.com (Bruce Montgomery),
patrickvidell@hotmail.com (Patrick Videll), paulhank@pipeline.com (Paul
Hletko), PKanzer@aol.com (Paul Kanzer), podrazik@ameritech.net (Wally
Podrazik), richard_doherty@ameritech.net (Richard Doherty), ronaldmay@aol.com
(Ron May), seascubba@interaccess.com (Amy & Scott), sjones@uic.edu (Steve
Jones), skip@mojam.com (Skip Montanaro), slnebolsky@welshkatz.com (Nebolsky,
Shannon), ssherman2001@kellogg.nwu.edu (Steve Sherman), zrosen@uiuc.edu (Zack
Rosen)

The October Pho-Chicago gathering will be Sunday, October 26 at noon
at Pho 777.

Here’s the inpho:

Pho 777
1065 W Argyle St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 561-9909

If you come by L it’s the Argyle stop on the Red Line, and the
restaurant is just to the east of the L tracks. By car, it’s a
half-block east of Broadway on Argyle (maybe 1/4-mile north of
Lawrence).

Pho is an occasional (roughly monthly in the case of Pho-Chicago)
social brunch gathering to discuss “technology-meets-music” issues.
The group was started in L.A. by Jim Griffin over two years ago and
has since expanded into sub groups in urban centers across the U.S.
and Europe. The purpose of it when it began, as now, is to have a
“safe” space (that is, no reporting, backstabbing, greediness, etc.,
all conversation kept to those gathered and not disseminated) to
discuss new music media technology, business, law, and so on.

Feel free to forward this message to interested parties. And let me
know if you want to be taken off the Chicago announcement list (or
put on it if it was forwarded to you).

Looking forward to seeing you there,
Sj
___________________
2b. Monday, Oct. 27: Chai Tech Professional Networking rescheduled October
meeing
From: Bruce Malter
Subject: Chai Tech – rescheduled October meeting
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 12:01:06 -0500

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DATE

Chai Tech Professional Networking
Chicago Chapter
Monday, October 27
6:30 pm to 9 p.m.
Weinger JCC
300 Revere Drive
Northbrook, IL 60062

Chai Tech is a Jewish professional’s forum for person to person technology
industry networking, community service, and developing social
relationships.

Chai Tech seeks to provide a framework to promote a Jewish presence in the
technology community, explore the role of Judaism in our business lives,
and bring shared values to the workplace.

OCTOBER’S SPEAKER

Les Multack will speak on how to protect your PC from virus’. worms and
anything else that can be damaging. Les has been a System Integrator and
consultant for over 20 years. He was the first independent pc system
integrator to provide LANS to the law office community. In addition, his
clients included an almost equal amount of small to midsize companies
thereby providing well over 200 network installations in a 15-year period.
Some of Les’ local clients have been Standard Oil, JUF, Chicago Fire
Department Fund, Standard Parking, Empire Carpeting, Merrill Lynch, Chicago
Housing Authority, the RTA and others.

Currently, Les has started a new company called TechDoc, which will provide
complete IT solutions and support for small businesses at cost effective
prices. Initially, TechDoc will bring high bandwidth to the building. If
you are interested in this for your building or just the on-site service
then Les (TechDoc) can be reached at 847-722-1720 mobile or 847-729-8480
desk. His office is at 950 Milwaukee Avenue, Suite 221, Glenview, IL.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on Chai Tech please contact chaitechchicago@yahoo.com
call 847-540-5943 or visit groups.yahoo.com/group/chaitechchicago/
__________________
2c. Weds., Oct. 29: Exec. Club of Chicago: Half=day high tech conference
featuring Rudy Puryear (moderator); speakers including Jack Noonan (SPSS),
Michael Sands (Orbitz); Catherine Brune (Allstate)
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 15:24:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: Executives’ Club of Chicago
To: mike@themayreport.com
Subject: Executives’ Club of Chicago half-day High Tech conference

The Executives Club of Chicago
cordially invites you to join us
for a half-day High Tech conference

Realizing Your IT Full Potential:
Executive Suite & It s Your Move

and

the Chicago CIO of the Year Award
presented in cooperation with AITP Chicago

High Tech Conference Speakers

Removing Barriers to Business Flexibility
Catherine S. Brune
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Allstate Insurance Company

Strategic Sourcing: Finding the Right Capability
at the Right Cost from the Right Source
Lauralee Martin
Global Chief Financial Officer
Jones Lang LaSalle

Value Assurance: Ensuring Hard Business Results
from IT Investments
Jack Noonan
President and Chief Executive Officer
SPSS

ROI is Dependent on Smart Marketing Decisions
and Even Smarter Technology
Michael Sands
Chief Marketing Officer
Orbitz

Moderated by

Rudy Puryear
Director and Head of Information Technology Practice for the Midwest
Bain & Company

Hilton Chicago, International Ballroom South
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
__________________
2d. Thurs., Oct. 30: IBIO: “Breakfast with German Life Science”
From: Rosenmichaels@aol.com
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:37:36 EDT
Subject: IBIO Event
To: ron@themayreport.com

Ron:
Can you run this event in one of your next newsletters?
Many thanks and best regards,
Michael

Michael S. Rosen
tel: 847-275-6506
_______________
IBIO’s “BREAKFAST WITH GERMAN LIFE SCIENCE”

Come here about the 3rd largest pharmaceutical and biotech market in the world:
GERMANY! Here from one of the largest German Pharma companies, biotech
companies and VC’s!
WHAT: IBIO’s “Breakfast with German Life Science”
WHEN: Oct. 30th 7:45am – 11:00am
WHERE: University of Chicago – Gleacher Center (450 Cityfront Plaza
Drive, Chicago)
HOW: www.ibio.org or call John Conrad at :
312-201-4519
HOW MUCH: $30 members; $50 non-members (includes continental breakfast)
____________________
2e. Tues., Nov. 11: ICCA: Panel on state of Chicago IT consulting market
From: Wayne Stellmach
To: “‘ron@themayreport.com‘”
Subject: Upcoming panel discussion on the state of the Chicago-area I.T.
consulting market
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 11:53:09 -0500

The Chicago Chapter of the Independent Computer Consultants Association (ICCA)
announces the following presentation for "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />November 11,
2003: />

AN I.T. CONSULTING MARKET UPDATE

Staff augmentation firms have great insight into the state of the IT market,
skill-sets in demand, current rates, client hiring needs, and various staffing
programs at key clients. On November 11th, leading Chicago-area staff
augmentation firms will share this information with attendees. Consultants can
also learn how to best work with staff augmentation firms to obtain projects.

The panel will consist of Jim Chomko, VP Business Development, Solving IT, Tedd
Gagen, President, InfoStaff, and Tim Waterloo, President, Oak Enterprises.
Independent consultant Lori McClellan will moderate the session, which will
include audience questions. This promises to be an open and candid discussion
touching on many aspects of the IT consulting market.

The ICCA (www.icca.org) is a not-for-profit association dedicated to
professional development opportunities and business support programs for
independent computer consultants.
——————————————
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Time: 5:30pm – 9:00pm

Location: Hackney?s, 1514 E Lake Ave, Glenview, IL

Cost: Advance registration: $30 members, $40 non-members. ($5 additional if
at the door)
Includes networking, dinner and presentation. Advance
Registration Deadline: November 7, 2003

Register by phone at 800-779-8911; by fax at 847-358-7639; by email at
LoriBMcClellan@comcast.net
__________________
2f. Weds., Nov. 12: CADM: workshops at Bob Stone education day
From: RHCS@aol.com
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 11:15:43 EDT
Subject: Catching Up
To: ron@themayreport.com

Ron,

We in the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing are very glad when we see the
report up and running, because that tells us that you are back in the “thick of
it”–whatever “it” might be!

I’m pleased to tell you that the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing’s Bob
Stone Education Day will be held on Wednesday, November 12, from 8am for
registration and 9am to 5 p.m. for the sessions, at The Westin Hotel, 909 N.
Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

These workshops are expressly designed for intermediate direct marketers, often
a neglected segment for programs that cater either to entry-level or senior
professionals. The all-day program will include sessions on digital marketing,
market research, winning tactics, integrated e-communication, emerging market
segments, privacy, database marketing, client-agency relationships, marketing
ROI, dm creative evaluation, and Six Sigma. Plus, a luncheon talk on business
bleeps and blunders.

Including a continental breakfast, luncheon, and reception, the cost is only
$149 for CADM members and $169 for non-members, prior to November 11. On site,
the cost rises $20.

Much more information is available at www.cadm.org, or at (312)849-2236 x25.

Try to stop in, Ron.

Regards,
Rosalie Harris
CADM Public Relations Consultant
_________________
3. COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
3a. Liquid Generation newsletter introduces new teen dating site, OkayAmigo.com

[Editor's note: Ron May here. I had to cut some of this newsletter because I
was afraid it would set off some of the spam filters, not that there was
profanity, but there were words that might cause problems.]

Subj: LiquidGeneration Newsletter
Date: 10/18/2003 12:33:34 PM Central Daylight Time
From: newsletter@liquidgeneration.com (LiquidGeneration Newsletter)
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Friends and Lovers! Slippy Jenkins here!

Introducing the 2ND website by the fabulous minds who brought you
LiquidGeneration: OkayAmigo.com.

At OkayAmigo.com you can find a date, meet a friend or start a community. And
it’s as easy as your mom. OkayAmigo is unlike any other dating website. It’s
all about fun. It’s for people who are young and fed up with the online dating
scene, or for people who have never tried it before. Online dating is no longer
for your creepy neighbor with the comb-over; it’s for people just like you:
people who are fun, exciting and know how to have a good time.

And it’s not just a dating website. At OkayAmigo you can meet a friend or start
a community of people who share your similar interests. Just imagine starting
your own “We Hate Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez” community where you can share
pictures, chat on a message board and organize events with other members.

OkayAmigo has cool features like video and audio profiles, chat rooms, funny
profile questions and private email. It also has never-before-seen features
like the Black Book, where you keep track of all the people you want to get to
know in that “freaky sort of way.” One of the most unique features on
OkayAmigo is its Devil and Angel ranking system, which ranks how innocent or
nasty you are according to how you filled out your profile. Check out my
profile. I am one nasty slut!

For a short period of time OkayAmigo will be FREE. It will also be in Beta
Testing. As we work to populate our service with gazillions of people, be sure
to come back often because the website is always growing.

If you like what we do at LiquidGeneration, then you’1l no doubt love
OkayAmigo. Join Now.

-The Honorable Slippy Jenkins

OKAYAMIGO.COM: The new website by LiquidGeneration. Find a date, meet a friend
and start a fabulous community. Or just avoid your creepy roommate.
www.liquidgeneration.com/thru/nThru.aspx?1154557,159,618
ARE YOU AS DUMB AS JESSICA SIMPSON?: We all know Jessica Simpson is dumb, but
are you as dumb as Jessica Simpson? Find out now! Jessica’s husband, Nick
Lachey, is the host, and you and Jessica are the stupid contestants!
www.liquidgeneration.com/thru/nThru.aspx?1154557,159,616
We hope you enjoyed our weekly update. We have sent it to you with great love
and caring. However, if you’d rather not receive future e-mails of this sort
from LiquidGeneration.com, please click here:
___________________
3b. Overview of Commonwealth Capital Advisors
From: “Charles D. Dreher”
To: Ron@TheMayReport.com
Subject: CCA’s Abridged Company Overview…
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 09:58:08 -0500

RON,

Sorry…Sometimes I get carried away….Below you will see a shortened company
overview with two optional paragraphs.

I have tried to sign on to your paid newsletter at your web site but was
unsuccessful as well as being able to post a job opportunity.

Best Regards,

Charles

Commonwealth Capital Advisors (CCA), an investment banking advisory firm,
produces the Financial Architect® series of ?Transactional Tools? to Enhance
and Expand the Practices of Other Professional Service Providers.

The Company is comprised of Managing Directors located throughout the United
States. Our Managing Directors include individuals from the Investment
Banking, Securities Brokerage, Legal, Accounting, and Marketing professions.
Most of us are entrepreneurs who have successfully raised capital for other
start-up, early stage, and seasoned companies, as well as for our own
companies. Collectively, we have over 147 years of experience in business
organization deal structuring, securities offering document production, and
capital procurement through the solicitation and sales of securities.

Professionals that act as service providers to the small to mid-size business
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___________________
4. Links of Interest
4a. Conference on how Michigan universities can play bigger role in tech
commercialization
[Editor's note: Ron May here. I thought this article was particularly
interesting given all the talk about how Illinois lags behind Michigan and Tom
Churchwell's experience in Kalamazoo.]
_____
Rick Haglund, Ann Arbor News

Top state officials and academic leaders have been talking for years about
how universities can play a bigger role in boosting Michigan’s economy. And
it’s usually been just that – talk.
But with the state’s economy in a nosedive, there’s a new urgency to
identify university research that could be transformed into new products and
businesses. The process is commonly known as commercialization or technology
transfer.

“It comes down to two things: jobs and the economy,” Gov. Jennifer Granholm
said at her University Summit on Economic Development and Collaboration in
East Lansing last month.

Some 200 university presidents, state officials and business leaders
attended the day-long summit, held at a time when many are questioning
Michigan’s economic future.

The state has lost 170,000 of its bedrock manufacturing jobs in just the
past three years as companies have moved jobs offshore in search of lower
wages and production costs. Low-skilled service jobs are being replaced by
new technologies. And even engineering jobs are moving to China and India.

Policy-makers say it’s becoming critical for universities to develop ideas
and research that can be more quickly spun off into jobs in life sciences,
information technology, homeland security and advanced manufacturing.

“I detected a general feeling (at the university summit) that we need to be
doing more and we need to be doing it faster,” said David Hollister,
director of the new state Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

Granholm’s university summit explored dozens of ideas for accelerating tech
transfer, from having a day to honor university researchers to smoothing
bureaucratic roadblocks in moving research from the lab to the market.

But there was wide agreement that the biggest roadblock in technology
transfer is the cultural mind-set within universities that downplays the
importance of commercializing research.

Nothing short of a cultural transformation can get universities and
businesses working more closely to create technologies that will spawn jobs
and fresh economic activity in the state, state officials and entrepreneurs
say.

Some argue that Michigan has become too comfortable living off the fortunes
of the auto industry and isn’t changing its economic policies fast enough to
replace lost manufacturing jobs.

“We are too satisfied with the way things are here in the Midwest,” said
Bill Orabone, an Ann Arbor entrepreneur who has created several business
from university research. “We’ve missed the boat. We have to move faster. We
cannot accept this mediocrity.”

Others say the universities themselves must become more excited about
turning research in their ivory towers into products and businesses that
will make Michigan a more attractive state for business investment.

“The universities must see this as a core function,” said Jeff Padden,
president of Public Policy Associates, a policy group based in Lansing.

Too often, university researchers themselves are ambivalent, or even hostile
toward doing research that could lead to a profit-making business, critic
say. Many academics fear the profit motive could taint their academic
mission.

But that’s beginning to change. Universities have recruited a number of new
presidents, including University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman,
Western Michigan University President Judith Bailey and Central Michigan
University President Michael Rao, who are pushing their universities to play
a stronger role in turning their research into innovative businesses.

U-M, the state’s largest research university, reported Thursday that
revenues it received from licensing technology its researchers developed
totaled $9.1 million in the 2003 fiscal year ending June 30. That’s a 60
percent increase from the previous year.

The university also said it signed 76 new licensing agreements with
corporate partners in 2003, up 25 percent from a year ago.

“We want to be a player in economic development,” said Michael Boulus, who
heads the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan. “There’s a new
spirit and attitude in the universities.”

One example of that new spirit is the U-M’s new $100 million Life Sciences
Institute, which is researching possible cures for asthma, diabetes and
other chronic diseases.

Rather than having biologists, chemists and other scientists work apart from
each other as is typical in an academic setting, the institute is bringing
them under one roof to work in teams. The idea is that collaboration will
help scientists make faster progress in developing drugs and therapies to
combat serious diseases.

There will be a strong emphasis on transferring research from the institute
to the health care market in the form of new drugs and treatment therapies,
said Alan Saltiel, the institute’s director.

“I feel pretty strongly that we can’t do research in a vacuum,” he said.
“You have to commercialize this research in the marketplace or it won’t do
any good.”

Technology transfer isn’t just for big research universities, such as U-M.
Even smaller universities, such as Central Michigan, have set up mechanisms
to identify research with business potential and finance its
commercialization.

And Saginaw Valley State University is transferring business knowledge to
local companies through its Center for Business and Economic Development.

Anthony Lee, licensing director of Delphi Corp., the world’s largest auto
supplier, said at Granholm’s summit that 30 percent of the academic research
Delphi licenses comes from small universities.

Boulus and Hollister said they will be sitting down in the next several
weeks to discuss advancing several policy recommendations from the summit.

Among them will be streamlining internal university policies to speed
technology transfer. They’ll also talk about creating a science and
technology commercialization function at the Michigan Economic Development
Corp., the state’s economic development agency.

Boulus said university and state government leaders also will discuss
creating incentives for professors to commercialize more of their research.
Those incentives could include financial awards or making commercialization
a criteria for getting tenure.

Universities and policy-makers must be held accountable, Boulus said, if
this new emphasis on technology transfer is to produce tangible results.

“Hold our feet to the fire,” he said. “We intend to show some advancement in
this area.”
____________________
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END OF REPORT.