Wangtang Clan http://wangtang.posterous.com stuff from the wangtang clan! posterous.com Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:01:08 -0700 Blocked by the Great Firewall http://wangtang.posterous.com/blocked-by-the-great-firewall http://wangtang.posterous.com/blocked-by-the-great-firewall I can't connect to Facebook or Twitter out here in Beijing. On the plus side, I'm planning on seeing the real Great Wall sometime this trip. :)

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:59:01 -0800 My organizational nightmare... http://wangtang.posterous.com/my-organizational-nightmare http://wangtang.posterous.com/my-organizational-nightmare Getting my home office in shape for a productive '09. Consolidated my stacks of business cards I've gotten from various trips and conferences over the past 3 years. Even with my CardScan I'm not sure what to do... Insanity.

Photo

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:01:00 -0800 The Zune Bug http://wangtang.posterous.com/the-zune-bug http://wangtang.posterous.com/the-zune-bug

Here's the offending code for Zune bug that's been causing the mysterious hangs. Can you find it without looking at the solution?


//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//
// Function: ConvertDays
//
// Local helper function that split total days since Jan 1, ORIGINYEAR into
// year, month and day
//
// Parameters:
//
// Returns:
//      Returns TRUE if successful, otherwise returns FALSE.
//
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOOL ConvertDays(UINT32 days, SYSTEMTIME* lpTime)
{
    int dayofweek, month, year;
    UINT8 *month_tab;

    //Calculate current day of the week
    dayofweek = GetDayOfWeek(days);

    year = ORIGINYEAR;

    while (days > 365)
    {
        if (IsLeapYear(year))
        {
            if (days > 366)
            {
                days -= 366;
                year += 1;
            }
        }
        else
        {
            days -= 365;
            year += 1;
        }
    }


    // Determine whether it is a leap year
    month_tab = (UINT8 *)((IsLeapYear(year))? monthtable_leap : monthtable);

    for (month=0; month< 12; month++)
    {
        if (days < = month_tab[month])
            break;
        days -= month_tab[month];
    }

    month += 1;

    lpTime- >wDay = days;
    lpTime- >wDayOfWeek = dayofweek;
    lpTime- >wMonth = month;
    lpTime- >wYear = year;

    return TRUE;
}

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:15:00 -0800 Will the real Mark Thomas, please stand up? http://wangtang.posterous.com/will-the-real-mark-thomas-plea http://wangtang.posterous.com/will-the-real-mark-thomas-plea

Could this be him?

0000039443_350

Honors/Associations
American Bankruptcy Institute, Member

That's not a good sign for MWY... The layoffs and studio closures began this week, and things look pretty grim.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:24:00 -0800 Blagojevich is screwed http://wangtang.posterous.com/blagojevich-is-screwed http://wangtang.posterous.com/blagojevich-is-screwed
The Chicago Tribune reports that IL Governor:
Blagojevich is accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, including alleged attempts by the governor to try to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife.

We need to add "vacant Senate seats" to this list:
www.cracked.com/sites/cracked/images/favicon.gif&source=http%3A//cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/funpages/cms_content/16862/video_16862_480x360.flv&demand_show_replay=true&TITLE=5%20Things%20You%20Shouldn%27t%20Be%20Able%20to%20Buy%20on%20eBay&height=37&demand_related=1&demand_preroll_source=http%3A//cdn-www.cracked.com/sites/cracked/images/videoplayer/Pre-Roll1b.swf" />

Robert Grant
, FBI special agent in charge of the Chicago office, said the arrest of Blagojevich should serve as notice that "business as usual will no longer be tolerated. That selling your office for personal gain is a thing of the past."

So, selling offices in Chicago politics used to be business as usual. Guess it fits with the stereotype. ;)

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:13:00 -0800 Oops! We are stealing from Ukrainian arms traders... http://wangtang.posterous.com/oops-we-are-stealing-from-ukra http://wangtang.posterous.com/oops-we-are-stealing-from-ukra
I've been catching up on this whole crazy Somali Pirate saga. When I first heard the stories, it summoned imagery of  5 determined ex-fishermen in crappy little speedboats with AK-47s, a grappling hook, (and the most important factor, nothing to lose), pulling up and hijacking ships 1000 times the size of theirs...
This Wikipedia List shows a list of ships that have been attacked.

Here is a pretty crazy one: On September 25th, Somali Pirates hijack the MV Faina, then shortly afterwards discover that it is loaded with: "33 battle tanks and large supply of grenade launchers and ammunition", headed, possibly illegally, to Kenya or Sudan.

Maybe I've watched too many Hollywood movies, but it seems to me that stealing from Ukrainian arms dealers is something that James Bond or Batman does, not a bunch of guys on a dinghy dressed in rags and bandannas... and certainly, not by accident. The self-awareness (or lack thereof) displayed by these pirates is pretty astounding... Their "spokesman" Sugule Ali:

He said that so far, in the eyes of the world, the pirates had been misunderstood. "We don't consider ourselves sea bandits," he said. "We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard." 

So, after discovering this possibly illegal payload, the decided to demand a ransom of $35 million. Maybe they realize that they're potentially dealing with the Russian Mafia, maybe it's being surrounded by the US Navy, or maybe they are just starting with a high bid, but they quickly lower their ransom demands. Last report I've seen is it's down to $3.5 million.

If you ask me, the Ukranians should have just sent Les Grossman in to negotiate:

Anyway, it's a crazy world these days, and while I browsing around on this topic, google adsense seems to have outsmarted itself, serving up an ad that reads "Great Somalia Vacation Rates! Plan your Getaway Today and Save." Somehow, I don't think they're getting many click-throughs...

...and here is an actually well written account of the situation.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:29:00 -0800 My near death experience in Shanghai 2007 http://wangtang.posterous.com/my-near-death-experience-in-sh http://wangtang.posterous.com/my-near-death-experience-in-sh

So, I was catching up with some friends' blogs, and my buddy Sean recounts the time we almost died in Shanghai, much more eloquently than I could have. It's even a cliffhanger in two parts!

Part 1 and Part 2 

Here's the SPOILER:

"Because this woman, as gleeful and enthusiastic as she was to be motoring us about, was a lunatic. We would squeeze into lanes that did not exist, squished in between a bus and an enbankment, and she was just smile away. She'd put the car in park and scoot up on top of the steering wheel to wipe away a leprechaun-hand sized corridor of visibility through the fogged up windshield. And I gotta tell ya, there's a part of me that was really charmed by all the effort.

Until she skidded into an intersection like she was performing the stunt routine for a Goodyear Aqua-tread commercial and Froggered us halfway through ten lanes of terrifying cross traffic. That we are, ass-a-kilter pointed at a forty five degree angle inside of the far-easts largest intersection. And traffic is just racing by. Well, that is until one car wasn't as agile as the others in swimming right around us. And slammed on his own breaks and fucking hit us.

So what does she do? "Oh no, I've been in a car accident, I hope my patrons and the other vehicle are all right!" That's what a sane person would think. She fucking  giggles. Yep, a shrill little giggle and then she slowly drags our car out of the intersection like some sort of retarded four-wheeled sloth. And away we went.

So that's how we almost died."

BTW, Sean screamed like a girl... actually, so did I.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:01:00 -0800 Mark Thomas is... LEX LUTHOR? http://wangtang.posterous.com/mark-thomas-is-lex-luthor http://wangtang.posterous.com/mark-thomas-is-lex-luthor

Now I think that maybe he's an evil mastermind genius.

Let's review:

1) Mark Thomas buys 87.2% of Midway for $100k. 
    2008-12-01 Form SC 13D/A - Stock Purchase Agreement 

STOCK PURCHASE AGREEMENT, dated as of November 28, 2008 (this "Agreement"), among NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS, INC., a Maryland corporation (the "NAI"), SUMCO, INC., a Delaware corporation ("Sumco"), SUMNER M. REDSTONE ("SMR" and, collectively with NAI and Sumco, the "Sellers") and ACQUISITION HOLDINGS SUBSIDIARY I LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the "Purchaser"). 

A.           The Sellers, collectively, own approximately 87.2% of the total issued and outstanding shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share ("Common Stock"), of Midway Games Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company").

B.           Each of the Sellers wishes to sell to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser wishes to purchase from the Sellers, the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the Sellers, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein.

...an aggregate purchase price of $100,000 (the "Purchase Price") to be allocated among the Sellers...

2) Mark Thomas' newly formed company - AHSI, LLC, receives a $70M IOU from Midway from NAI, Inc.
    2008-12-01 Form SC 13D/A - Participation Agreement 

PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT (this "Agreement"), dated on November 28, 2008 by and between National Amusements, Inc. ("Grantor") and Acquisition Holdings Subsidiary I LLC ("Participant").

... Grantor, subject to the terms and conditions thereof, agreed to make advances and loans (the "Loans") to the applicable Borrower or Borrowers under such Credit Agreement from time to time in an aggregate amount not to exceed at any time outstanding (i) $30,000,000 under the Secured Facility and (ii) $40,000,000 under the Unsecured Facility.  Capitalized terms used in this Agreement and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Secured Facility...

... Grantor hereby sells, grants, conveys and transfers to Participant, and Participant hereby purchases, acquires and receives from Grantor, an undivided interest and participation in (a) 100% of all of the Loans made by Grantor..." etc.

3) This triggers an EVENT.
    2008-12-04 Form 8K - Current Report 

Item 2.04 Triggering Events That Accelerate or Increase a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement.
The change in control transaction described below in Item 5.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference (the "Transaction"), has certain consequences with respect to the Registrant's 6.0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 (the "6.0% Notes") and 7.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (the "7.125% Notes," and together, the "Notes"). Specifically, the Transaction constitutes a Fundamental Change for purposes of Section 3.09 of each of the Indenture, dated as of September 19, 2005, between the Registrant and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (the "Trustee"), relating to the 6.0% Notes, and the Indenture, dated as of May 30, 2006, between the Registrant and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, relating to the 7.125% Notes (together, the "Indentures"). Pursuant to Section 3.09 of the Indentures, upon the occurrence of a Fundamental Change, the Registrant is required, within 20 days of the occurrence of the Fundamental Change, to send to each holder of the Notes a notice (the "Fundamental Change Repurchase Notice") regarding the occurrence of the Fundamental Change. The Registrant will be required to specify in the Fundamental Change Repurchase Notice a date (the "Fundamental Change Repurchase Date"), not later than 30 days from the delivery of the Fundamental Change Repurchase Notice, on which holders of the Notes will have the option to require the Registrant to repurchase their Notes at a price, payable in cash, equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest. Based on current market conditions, the Registrant expects that all holders of the Notes will elect to require the Registrant to repurchase their Notes in accordance with the procedures outlined above. The Registrant has already received a notice from an investor in each of the 6.0% Notes and 7.125% Notes.
If all of the holders of the Notes exercise their repurchase right under the Indentures, the Registrant would be required to purchase the Notes at a repurchase price of 100% of the principal amount of the Notes, which would equal $150 million. If this were to occur, the Registrant does not believe, on the basis of its current liquidity, that it would have the ability to satisfy its obligation with respect to the repurchase of the Notes. A failure to satisfy its obligations with respect to the repurchase of any of the Notes on a Fundamental Change Repurchase Date would constitute an Event of Default under the Indentures, which would permit the Trustee under each Indenture or the holders of 25% of each series of the Notes to declare all of the Notes of that series immediately due and payable.
A failure of the Registrant to satisfy its obligation to repurchase Notes on a Fundamental Change Repurchase Date would also have consequences under (i) the Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of February 29, 2008, between the Registrant and certain of its affiliates, as borrowers and National Amusements, Inc. ("NAI"), as lender (the "Loan and Security Agreement"), (ii) the Unsecured Loan Agreement, dated as of February 29, 2008, between the Registrant, as borrower and NAI as lender (the "Unsecured Loan Agreement") and (iii) the Unsecured Subordinated Loan Agreement, dated as of February 29, 2008, between the Registrant, as borrower and NAI as lender ((i),(ii) and (iii), collectively the "NAI Agreements"). Specifically, NAI would have the ability in such a circumstance, under the terms of the NAI Agreements, to declare all amounts outstanding under the NAI Agreements immediately due and payable. There is currently approximately $90,000,000 principal amount outstanding under the NAI Agreements. If these amounts were declared immediately due and payable, the Registrant does not believe, on the basis of its current liquidity, that it would have the ability to satisfy its obligations to repay these amounts.
Item 5.01 Changes in Control of Registrant.
The information disclosed in this Item 5.01 is based entirely on information contained in a Schedule 13D/A, dated December 1, 2008, filed with the SEC by Mr. Sumner Redstone, NAI and Sumco, Inc. and the exhibits thereto.
On November 28, 2008, each of Mr. Sumner M. Redstone, NAI and Sumco, Inc. (collectively, the "Sellers") entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the "Stock Purchase Agreement") with Acquisition Holdings Subsidiary I LLC (the "Purchaser"), pursuant to which the Sellers sold to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser purchased from the Sellers, all of the shares of common stock, $0.01 par value (the "Common Shares") of the Registrant beneficially owned by the Sellers immediately prior to such sale, representing, collectively, approximately 87.2% of the total issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Registrant. Concurrently with the execution of the Stock Purchase Agreement, NAI and the Purchaser entered into a Participation Agreement (the "Participation Agreement"), pursuant to which NAI granted to the Purchaser, and the Purchaser acquired from NAI, (i) an undivided interest and participation in certain of the loans and advances made by NAI, whether before or after the date of the Participation Agreement,pursuant to the Loan and Security Agreement and the Unsecured Loan Agreement and (ii) all of NAI's right, title and interest in, to and under the Loan and Security Agreement and the Unsecured Loan Agreement including guarantees, collateral, pledges, distributions, claims and causes of actions against the borrowers thereunder, all on the terms and conditions set forth in the Participation Agreement. The consideration paid by the Purchaser for the interests acquired under the Stock Purchase Agreement and the Participation Agreement was $100,000. The Registrant does not have knowledge as to the Purchaser's source of these funds. MT Acquisition Holdings LLC is the sole member of the Purchaser. The President of MT Acquisition Holdings LLC is Mark Thomas.

---
Summary
Mark Thomas buys shares in MWY for $100k.
Today's MWY chart:

MWY  - Midway Games Inc. (NYSE)


0.28 -0.02 (-6.67%)  Dec 4 4:03pm ET
Open:  0.34
High:  0.34
Low:  0.22
 
Volume:  409,164
Avg Vol:  152,000
Mkt Cap:  25.80M
Disclaimer

After Hours: 0.25 -0.03 (-10.71%)  Dec 4 4:07pm ET
As of right now, with a market cap of 25.80M, 87.2% is worth $21.34 MILLION ...
He is also now owed $70 Million in loans by Midway ...
This triggers an EVENT which sets in motion the following:
1) Midway now has 30 days to buy back $150M in Notes, money which it does not have right now.
2) If it doesn't, these Notes become immediately due and payable. (Not sure exactly what that means... and if that means it's more than $150M... ?? )
2) This further triggers an event that allows NAI to collect on $90M in debt, immediately due and payable. Of this $90M in debt, Mark Thomas controls $70M of this.
This seems to give Mark Thomas quite a bit of leverage, and puts quite a bit of pressure on Midway now, but I'm not quite sure how it all works out... Definitely seems like evil genius material though.

January will be an interesting month, eh?
Lex

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:50:00 -0800 Midway's Batman or Underpants Gnomes? http://wangtang.posterous.com/midways-batman-or-underpants-g http://wangtang.posterous.com/midways-batman-or-underpants-g
"Wanted: Information on Mark Thomas, head of Acquisition Holdings Subsidiary I LLC.

His identity is like Batman's: unknown. Everyone in the gaming metropolis is buzzing about who Thomas, the man who Friday agreed to pay $100,000 for an 87% stake in Midway, the publisher of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, actually is. Here are some bare-bones facts:

  • Thomas wants to be a passive investor, said Peter Kolevzon, an attorney with Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, the New York law firm that is representing Thomas in the transaction.
  • Thomas is the primary investor and beneficiary of the generically named Acquisition Holdings Subsidiary.
  • He does not intend to be on Midway's board. Nor does he plan to get involved in the management of Midway despite his huge stake in the Chicago company, Kolevzon said.
  • He is a U.S. citizen, city unknown.
  • He is not granting interviews.

Bruce Wayne may be the Dark Knight, but is this Thomas character Midway's white knight?

...

On the credit side of the ledger, he gets 87% of a video game publisher that owns the Mortal Kombat franchise. Midway also had $10.5 million in cash and $21.6 million in receivables as of its last quarter, ended Sept. 30. He also gets a $70-million I.O.U. that Midway once owed to National Amusements -- Midway's payments on that loan will now go to Thomas.

On the debit column, Midway has $150 million in outstanding loans, not including the $70 million it will owe Thomas. It also has a payroll of about 900 employees that it is struggling to meet. Last quarter, the company lost nearly $76 million on $51.4 million in revenue."

--------

This all seems kind of bizarre. 

Phase 1) Buy company that is saddled with debt, bleeding cash for $100k and "Be a passive investor" i.e., "Don't do anything"
Phase 2) ???
Phase 3) PROFIT!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_(South_Park_episode)

Mortal_kombat_batman

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:47:24 -0800 Tijuana Drug War: http://wangtang.posterous.com/tijuana-drug-war http://wangtang.posterous.com/tijuana-drug-war Over 350 people killed since September in Tijuana, including decapitations. Mostly drug cartel related, but it is oddly not covered much in the news - I guess it's not as psychopathically sensational as the crazy Mumbai terrorism.

 http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-tijuana2-2008dec02,0,...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:28:00 -0800 Midway Sold for $100k! Ouch! http://wangtang.posterous.com/midway-sold-for-100k-ouch http://wangtang.posterous.com/midway-sold-for-100k-ouch

Best headline:
Sumner Redstone’s Black Friday Sale: Unloads Midway Games for Spare Change, Tax Benefit 
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20081201/sumner-redstones-black-friday-sale-unloads-midway-games-for-spare-change-tax-benefit/

You think you got a good deal on an HDTV last week? Talk to Mark Thomas, who just picked up videogame company Midway games for 99 percent off on Friday. The seller: Sumner Redstone, who is desperately trying to sell off everything except his shares in CBS and Viacom in order to restructure a looming debt load. 

First email I saw this morning:
http://www.edge-online.com/news/midway-sold-00012-share

Gameindustry.biz coverage:
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/redstone-sells-midway-for-100-000

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:55:07 -0800 Bush and Obama magazine cover http://wangtang.posterous.com/bush-and-obama-magazine-cover http://wangtang.posterous.com/bush-and-obama-magazine-cover My brother's comment: "you don't want the guy that controls the nuclear button boozing out of control."

Photo

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:29:00 -0700 “How do you kill that which has no life?” http://wangtang.posterous.com/how-do-you-kill-that-which-has http://wangtang.posterous.com/how-do-you-kill-that-which-has
...and I thought I played too much WoW:
Gamer juggles over 30 Warcraft characters

Screen001

Also, a mildly amusing guild application. Bit too long tho'.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:53:00 -0700 Midway getting crunched http://wangtang.posterous.com/midway-getting-crunched http://wangtang.posterous.com/midway-getting-crunched

Midway Games Backer Sees Credit Crunch, Possible Ramifications

Midway Games Backer Sees Credit Crunch, Possible Ramifications A credit crunch surrounding media mogul Sumner Redstone may cause considerable problems for publisher Midway Games (This Is Vegas), in which Redstone owns over 85 percent of stock through his companies National Amusements and Sumco.

Last week, National Amusements, which is privately owned by Redstone, sold $233 million worth of shares of its stock in CBS and Viacom at only 60 percent of the value it was targeting.

It was then revealed that National Amusements is attempting to refinance $1.6 billion in debt -- currently, the company is facing a December deadline to repay $800 million of that sum, leading some to connect the stock sale and the impending loan issue.

Much of the blame for the company's troubles has been placed at the feet of Shari Redstone, Sumner Redstone's daughter, who serves as president of National Amusements (as well as chairwoman of Midway's board of directors) and whose movie theater chain expansion is said to have been extremely costly.

But, according a Los Angeles Times report and another game-specific story by Variety, this may not tell the whole story, and there may be knock-on effects to Midway in the longer-term.

The publications report that significant cash infusions from National Amusements have been needed to keep perpetually-ailing Midway in business, with amounts estimated to be up to $130 million. Midway recently disclosed a $40 million loan from NAI in order to manufacture and ship their holiday titles.

Furthermore, family conflict may be exacerbating the problem -- a loan was taken for a $240 million settlement payout to Sumner Redstone's son Brent.

Meanwhile, Shari Redstone and her father have notoriously long been said to be in continued disagreement about Midway's direction. Since 2005, Shari Redstone has controlled National Amusements' investment in the publisher.

Midway's shares have plummeted since climbing to $23.25 at the end of 2005, and have traded under $3.00 for nearly all of 2008; the stock closed today at $1.03. Gamasutra will update as more information about possible effects on Midway's financing come to light.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:39:00 -0700 Retweets http://wangtang.posterous.com/retweets http://wangtang.posterous.com/retweets
Some good links in the past week.

Vinod Khosla - VC interview about the next boom:

Paul Graham - Why to start a Startup in a bad economy:

Andrew Lahde - Fuck you Wall Street.
also here:
and since it is so compelling, I'm posting it here:

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life — where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management — with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant — marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

More on the economy:

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:47:00 -0700 F*&k Microsoft http://wangtang.posterous.com/fandk-microsoft http://wangtang.posterous.com/fandk-microsoft
So, my Sony Vaio running Windows XP has been unable to boot for the past week. I happened to update to SP3 right before my current trip to Asia. On the flight over to HK, the VAIO died. At first, it would boot up, and flash a blue screen error, which would be unreadable because it flashed by so fast. Then, it started just hanging on the Safe Mode menu screen. Without access to a second computer, I was pretty much hosed.

So, last night, after arriving at my sister's place in SG, I downloaded a boot disk program  (http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm), and today I went out and bought some CD-RWs so I could actually make one.

After running the boot disk, somehow, the PC started booting back into the blue screen flash rather than just hanging. Using my digital camera, I was able to catch the error:

Registry cannot load the hive(file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE

A quick google seach turns up:

So, using the boot disk, I execute the following commands in the boot disk's version of Explorer:

copy C:\windows\system32\config\software C:\windows\tmp\software.bak
delete C:\windows\system32\config\software
copy C:\windows\repair\software C:\windows\system32\config\software

Now, I can boot to Windows, but I get a bunch of SQL server errors, and it doesn't load my desktop properly and seems to run really slow... I'm glad I can get to my data, but this is such a pain in the ass. Luckily I have my 250gb WD passport to copy files over to.

I'm going to use my sister's PC to work this week now that I have access to my data, and wait until I get home to backup and restore this stupid machine. First a dead nVidia video card, now this... I got a VAIO because it was the "closest thing to a Mac but still a PC", but I think I'm going to have to make the switch soon and just get the real thing. With the VAIO, the biggest similarity to a Mac seems to be the price premium I paid for it. Grrr...

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:13:37 -0700 3,000-acre Camp Pendleton wildfire spurs evacuations - Los Angeles Times http://wangtang.posterous.com/3000-acre-camp-pendleton-wildf http://wangtang.posterous.com/3000-acre-camp-pendleton-wildf Hrm... Hopefully this doesn't spread...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pendleton15-2008oct15,0,5080804.story

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:09:00 -0700 Sarah Palin's Facebook http://wangtang.posterous.com/sarah-palins-facebook http://wangtang.posterous.com/sarah-palins-facebook
Haha

Palinxy5

Retweeting @killregrets: bahahaha.. Sarah Palins Facebook  http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/7827/palinxy5.jpg

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang
Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:47:54 -0700 Hot Brazilian Woman in Toyota commercial http://wangtang.posterous.com/hot-brazilian-woman-in-toyota http://wangtang.posterous.com/hot-brazilian-woman-in-toyota
Funny commercial (and seeing how Posterous does with video)

Brazilia.wmv Watch on Posterous

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Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:12:45 -0700 JPMorgan to buy WaMu - Sep. 25, 2008 http://wangtang.posterous.com/jpmorgan-to-buy-wamu-sep-25-20 http://wangtang.posterous.com/jpmorgan-to-buy-wamu-sep-25-20 http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/25/news/companies/JPM_WaMu/index.htm?postversion=2008092519&iref=topnews


Sent from my iPhone

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/406722/yuan.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10xPjPT3kgF Yuan Wang wangtang Yuan Wang