Reply to @Accipiter: Nope, he didn't!

Hi Accipiter- speaking of "reasonable percentages", the fact of the matter, as acknowledged above, is that some 35% of the messages posted have been "off-topic". Along comes a few folks who say, in effect, "I don't like that, so I think that you 35% of the population should no longer have any say here."
Seems to me that 35% is a pretty respectable minority, and it's interesting that some mindsets evidently feel that minorities have no business posting here. Attitudes like that sometimes make me wonder what country I'm in.
Take care- OJ

Reply to @Accipiter: I have never actually seen one myself but my sister reports that she has. I will have to do some checking into their numbers. A few of the rarer species have been dwindling in recent times, the Ocelot is now hardly ever seen in the wild but when I was a child they were fairly populous.

Reply to @Old_Joe:
Thanks so much for the kind words.
Accipiter has programming skills that far exceed my own, as well as a great understanding of what folks here might want to see. I'd be foolish not to accept, with gratitude, any expertise he's willing to provide.

Hey there kiddo- never forget that YOU have contributed a fantastic amount of time, thought, energy and plain hard work to this site too. The techs may work in the background, but without them, not much works at all...
BTW, one of the things that I really appreciate is how you have extended your horizon to allow technical input from folks like Accipiter also. A whole lot of class there, I think, and a class product, too. Thanks so much for your help and patience on this!

Reply to @kevindow: I've always rather more thought of it as our site, than mine. The discussion boards benefit hundreds of people - they drive three-quarters of site traffic except right at the beginning of the month - but derive their vitality from the passion, generosity and intelligence of ten or twenty people who are here every day. Accipiter and Chip have done remarkable work under the hood, but they've done it because they know how important this is to us all.
So I'm honored by the recognition and glad to accept the congratulations, but I have a really exceptionally clear sense of what it means to be part of a community and of a communal venture.
David

Dear friends,
My February essay is posted, along with three new fund profiles. The funds are Bretton, Matthews Strategic Income and Grandeur Peak Global Opportunities. I had occasion to chat with a WSJ reporter over the past couple months, and he'd solicited a list of the three best new fund launches since July and the 8 or 10 best tiny funds. Since I mentioned Matthews and Grandeur Peak, I thought I should share some of the reasoning behind the recs.
Other highlights:
a celebration of a couple milestones - our 2000th discussion thread and 50,000th reader
discussion of three site upgrades - Chip has constructed a compact, updated alphabetical list of all of our fund profiles, Accipiter launched the endlessly-cool Summary program and Junior Yearwood is going to lead a "best sites on the web" project for us. More on that soon.
a small rant about the quality of data available on the web (another fund with a massive portfolio goof, another programming screw-up by the SEC)
a couple stories on the theme "look past the numbers," focusing on Matthews Asian Growth & Income and Oceanstone Fund.
As well as miscellaneous other delights.
For what interest it holds,
David

Reply to @Accipiter: Credit where due: Actually, Maurice thought of it, right up there at the very top of the page. Nice going, Mo!
Maybe we should call this effect the Maurician Space Warp, in honor...

Reply to @Accipiter: Sure thing, boss. Standeth by...

Reply to @Accipiter: Yeah, that's pretty much the way that I see it too. Carry on, carry on.

Just to be clear, is the problem when you're using the Vanilla board software (this stuff) or Accipiter's program?
Chip is trying to make it home through an ice storm and faces a pretty treacherous drive. I'm sure she'll look in tonight once she's safely settled.
David

Reply to @Accipiter: Well, as Max noted, he is a great one for the correct "pigeonhole".

Bee, how you do that? Very cool! This would have been a big help when I was working with Accipiter on the summary page setup. Is there some way you can show or send me the formatting that allows you to include this in your post?
Add: Hadn't noticed your "how to" video post but unfortunately that one doesnt seem to work. Maybe take a screenshot of your html language and post that?
Add 2: Well, great minds and all that... you did that about the same time as I posted. Visited the Jing site- unfortunately my older Mac OS can't support the app. :-((
Thanks for the info, anyhow. Maybe someday...

Reply to @Accipiter: Thanks for the follow-up... I didn't have this link logged yet. This really was a simple problem I knew how to calculate easily before. It was just one of those nights where I was so tired that I couldn't think straight. I've been spending half my time every night just trying to fix Estate problems my sister has been causing, so brain maxed out lately.

Reply to @Accipiter: THANKS SO MUCH, Accipiter! This was driving me crazy
I had the 467.847 shares mentioned above, so am glad ST's figures are correct. I wonder what happened to M*s figures? They do show the $156.73 added as a SEPARATE entry on 12-29-11.

Reply to @Accipiter: Thanks for the clarifications, Accipiter... I enjoyed your descriptions of the design ideas.
Re US News... I was confused, and then I realized you were thinking I accessed this site from FE or Navigator. I didn't... I accessed it from my own link.

Reply to @Accipiter:
Good to know that was fixed - thanks (I used an actual ETF in my search, not "ETF"). I haven't compared Falcoln Eye with Navigator. They seem very similar so not sure how much difference, but I really like that FE shows which searches do NOT have any entries (which Navigator doesn't seem to), as saves me the trouble of clicking on those links.
P.S. Not sure what you mean by the US News site not getting to etf. They do have etf searches as option, and showed the few I checked.

Reply to @chip: Well, there you go.... one of the reasons I love this site - THANK YOU! A wealth of information in the Commentary - including the exact answers I was looking for, by amazing coincidence. Re The Street... if I had known it was that loud, obnoxious guy on CNN that I always instantly switch channels away from, I would have discarded his opinion immediately (why does he have to yell?). And, with the low opinion of Zacks, looks like the US News site won't be as helpful as I was hoping. I love the idea of accumulating ratings from different sources (or just giving total ratings with breakdowns like the old MaxFunds did - but not if the ratings they include are not ones I would pay any attention to. This whole extensive section showing results from M*, Kiplinger, SmartMoney, etc.'s recommendations vs. results very interesting - I really love these type of analysis.
I also loved the update to stock/bond portfolio allocation percentage differences in returns. One of my favorite links recommended here is the Merriman chart - all these type reinforce my comfortableness with a very conservative portfolio since I don't need the extra gains to have to take the extra risks.
I always look at the 2-4 funds David briefly mentions worth taking a look at - and I especially like your full reviews (i.e., RNDLX, RPHYX, etc.) and would love to see more of those. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DAVID, for this great site!
P.S. I keep forgetting about the MFO Home Page and Commentaries. Couldn't tabs for these be placed at the top of these discussions? Would also maybe remind some viewers to donate when they can. Thank you, Anna, for such a nice design job on the Home page... very simple and easy to read! And THANK YOU ACCIPITER for Falcoln's Eye and the new Navigator, GREAT TOOLS! (Note: I tried entering ETF in Navigator, but nothing happened after enter)
P.P.S. There was a great picture yesterday on the Home page that isn't there now. Really cute child and appealing looking man. Who are they?

Hi Accipiter,
I assume this new program will have a linkage from the "Resources" drop down, yes?
"Anyone interested in an ETF navigator"............
Hmmmmm......that thought passed through the brain cells when I was testing the De'Scramble.
Knowing that you enjoy the work and challenge, I would be a fool to say no to a similar etf program.
Sure wish there was a way to buy you a cup of coffee or otherwise...........
Thank you again,
Catch

Reply to @Accipiter: Fixed now.