Davis' News

27 April 2007

My partner, Joan Dyer, does the first of two surgeries to remove two different cancers tomorrow, April 28. I will provide news about that surgery for her friends at http://fyberspace.biz/joan.

27 April 2007

The 100th Anniversary meeting of the Eastern Communication Association ended yesterday, April 26. As the chair of the Communication and Technology Interest Group, I am pleased to report that all participants in the seven scheduled Communication and Technology sessions attended the convention and that our panels were generally both excellent and well attended. Thanks to all who participated in reviewing and presenting papers and panels in the Communication and Technology Division this year. It is your efforts that continue to advance research on new media and technologies within the field of communication.

27 April 2008

My son Sam, a professional musician in Portland, OR, is now playing upwards of 15 gigs a month and is now earning his living entirely from performance. You can find information about his upcoming dates at http://sam.foulger.info.

27 April 2008

For those of you who have been here before, this will have a different look than my news page has had for the last eight years or so. I'm now able to manage it from my private wiki, which should help to make entries more timely, as I no longer need to edit a web page to make changes.

Archival News items

• It's no secret that the stock market is down ... very down. It won't stay there. Indeed, it has risen in recent weeks. The question is no longer when the recovery will start, but how long it will take and what companies will do well over the long term. The short answer, I imagine, is most of them. All they have to do is continue to find ways to do business and time will heal most of them. That makes index funds a great place to put your money now, but there are many beaten down sectors, including real estate, financials, and now the oil industry, that should significantly recover over the next few years. Two companies that I'm invested in, RAS and AFN, cross over between two of these sectors. Both are doing particularly badly in the stock market right now (although the stock price of both is unrealistically low compared to the results they are getting. Both have reorganized somewhat recently. AFN is merging with Cohen and Company and will, in the process, give up its REIT designation. The current head of RAS, Daniel Cohen, is leaving RAS to focus his attention on that new combined company. The moves are probably good for both companies. Daniel is the head of Cohen and Company, started AFN, and has an excellent management team in place at RAS. His departure will reduce overhead at RAS while leaving it well positioned to execute its business. Combining AFN with Cohen and Company adds value for AFN shareholders and frees AFN to pursue a more diversified investment strategy in today's undervalued market.
• I've moved. I'll be distributing my new address to anyone who I think needs to know. There's a lot of work to do before the place will be entirely functional, but the walls are almost entirely painted and I now have a functional, if incomplete, work environment. The apartment has stunning views of New Jersey and the Hudson River. Between the hawks and the passing boats, I've never had more consistent use for a pair of binoculars.
• In January I traveled to China as a part of the Brooklyn College Study Abroad program, teaching a section of Intercultural Communication to CUNY students. Its been fun. I've been seeing things I never thought I'd see in my lifetime, including the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta soldiers. It was amazing.
• There is a great picture of my daughter online holding a newish Colnago bicycle over here head. She lives in Chicago and I don't see much of her, so its nice to have this to share.
• My nephew, Noah, and her girlfriend Sarah are getting married in July. I am really looking forward to their wedding.

Courses taught at Brooklyn College in previous semesters: