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So Megan McArdle wrote a long post attacking Elizabeth Warren as a scholar. What's surprising is how little "there-there" there is to her critique. I would love to see nomination hearings based around how expansive of a definition to use for medical bankruptcies and watching Warren rip the face off of Senators when it comes to empirical methods. I doubt it is going to come to this, but I'll go ahead and respond. (I've been waiting for part two to respond, which I assume may not show up.)
Because that isn't what this is about. It's about giving the impression that Warren is a weak scholar. Given that Warren is considered "the leading authority in the country on bankruptcy law," being called a hack by McArdle, of all people, is something. Especially when we get a gem of a major screwup like this right out the door in the post:
Megan McArdle, blog post: 2. The response rate on their survey was only 20%. Given the deep shame surrounding bankruptcy, you have to worry that they got an unrepresentative sample. And how is that sample most likely to be unrepresentative? Well, one pretty likely way is that people who went bankrupt through no fault of their own–folks who got whacked by large and unpayable medical bills or a business closure–were more likely to respond than the people with drug or alcohol problems, profound depression that left them unable to work, compulsive gambling issues, and so forth….
Katie Porter, comments: Also, I would like to correct the misstatement, I believe of a commentator, that Ms. McCardle reproduces in her article above, that the response rate to the survey was 20%. The response rate was right at 50%, or just under that, depending on the exact metric for response rate used. More detail on the response rate for the written survey, as well as on the bias checks that were performed for sample selection bias, is also available in the above articles.
Megan McArdle, comments: They had a 50% response rate on the questionnaires, but by the time you got to the interviews, they were down to 20%. It's in the article.
I have no idea what to make of this. Megan opens her critique by saying that there's a massive bias in the data sample implied by the low response rate of 20%. A commenter politely responds that the response rate is 50%. She is very polite as the 50% is on the front page of the 2009 study. Megan then says she meant the interview rate.
Nobody is perfect, especially on the blogs. I've messed up data on this blog before, I've confused terms that I knew but didn't catch in a proofread, and I've used data and terms that I thought meant one thing that turned out to mean another thing. Anytime someone points this out I correct it, or pause and double-check what I thought, or quietly ditch using that information. Humility is usually the best antidote to being a hack.
But notice how Megan just keeps on going. This is one of the major planks of her argument, that the sample is corrupted, and when someone points out that what she stated was factually incorrect she just changing the terms and keeps on going as if she what she wrote wasn't wrong. How is a reader supposed to read this? Did she mean to say interview rate in the beginning? Does she think that a 50% response rate is too low? Useless without a 50% interview rate? Did she know at the time of writing the difference between the two terms? Does she want to reconsider her argument?
(It's pretty similar to the classic McArdle instance of "It wasn't a statistic–it was a hypothetical" when it came to US profits of pharma.)
Which is a shame. Like the hypothetical case there's no pause, no reflection, so as a reader I just want to assume bad faith and move along.
But I won't. Let's continue.
Causes, Contributes
"4. Their methodology is quite explicitly designed to capture every case where medical bills, or medical loss of income, coexist with some other causal factor–but the medical issues are then always designated as causal in their discussion…If you're a plumber who has a stroke, you may well end up in bankruptcy simply because you lose income while you can't work (the medical bills may or may not play a large causal role)."
Another problem Megan has with Warren's research is that Megan believes it says medical debt is the cause of bankruptcies instead of something that contributes to bankruptcies. Instead of simply being a contributor among many multi-causal problems Megan states that Warren believes that medical debts are the sole cause ("always designated as causal") instead of a contributor among a multi-causal set of items.
Is that true? Let's look at the title of the paper that kicks off this line of research: "Illness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy." (my bold, italics, and underline.) It's in the #@$%@# title that it's a contributor and not the sole cause!
From the abstract of the 2007 paper Megan hates: "Our 2001 study in 5 states found that medical problems contributed to at least 46.2% of all bankruptcies…CONCLUSIONS: Illness and medical bills contribute to a large and increasing share of US bankruptcies." (my bold, italics, and underline.)
This may look like a little nitpick but it is important: bankruptcies are multi-causal, and as far as I can tell Warren's research has always emphasized this. Certainly the titles and conclusions of her paper place emphasis on this. Megan is trying to imply a con job, that Warren is an ideologue who manipulates her results and her conclusions to be stronger than they deserve. That's not true.
Data Data Everywhere
There's a lot of this: "The authors have an odd tendency to ignore what the respondents themselves say. 32% of those surveyed about their 2007 bankruptcies–not 62%–reported that 'medical problem of self or spouse was reason for bankruptcy.'"
Notice what is going on here. Warren and her co-authors realize that there are a lot of ways to interpret the data and, ethically, put the data out there so others can disagree and make counter-arguments. All the data results are there. Megan does make these counter-arguments but gives off the impression that something is being hidden, or a sneaky move is being made.
Which gets to the bigger complaint Megan has about the paper: "As I discussed at the time, early 2007 is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad time to do any sort of study on bankruptcy… Bringing me to my next point: the paper thoroughly obscures the point that by their own calculations, the number of medical bankruptcies fell quite dramatically between 2001 and 2007."
I still don't get this complaint. There was an absolute overhaul in the way bankruptcy is carried out in 2005. Comparing the absolute numbers before and after wouldn't be an apple-to-apples comparison. You can argue that no valid research could possibly done and that any empirical statistics should never be carried out on post-2005 data, which is what I think Megan argues, or that you acknowledge the data limitations, do your best to compensate and provide additional information, which Warren and the rest do under the section "Changes in the Law", and carry on. I'm in the second camp.
I'm in Delaware.
"A pretty convincing paper argues that the single best predictor of bankruptcy is simply how much debt you've accumulated–not income, job loss, divorce, or what have you."
This paper Megan finds convincing is a study of the population of the state of Delaware. Delaware. Nevermind that it puts together Delaware bankruptcy records with data from the Survey of Consumer Finance in a way designed to exacerbate data differences and corrupt instruments, which is a major problem. Are we comfortable thinking that Delaware can substitute in for the nation, especially when we have a representative nationwide sample with a 50% response rate like the one Warren uses?
And as Thomas Levenson points out:
But as McArdle completely failed to acknowledge, Zhu does so while using somewhat more stringent standard for counting medical expenses as a factor in bankruptcy than other scholars employed — as he explicitly acknowledges. He concedes the continuing significance of medically -induced bankruptcy. He acknowledges what he believes to be a weak underweighting of that factor (because some people pay for medical expenses on credit cards). And he notes that a number of other studies, not limited to those co-authored by Warren, come to different conclusions.
In other words: McArdle correctly describes one conclusion of this paper in a way that yields for its readers a false conclusion about what the paper itself actually says.
Megan herself says that she thinks health care costs contribute to a real number of bankruptcies. The question is how to best go about defining what constitutes a health care cost related bankruptcy. If you read McArdle's post you would think that they use similar data and use similar methods but find different results. Instead, the study she likes uses Delaware and a consciously described more exclusive definition.
How you rate bankruptcy rates from medical conditions is going to be a function of how strictly you define a medical bankruptcy. Zhu has a higher-filter than Warren's, so these results aren't surprising. I could see using a stronger filter than Warren's. The question is whether or not Warren's filter is a good one. If you read Warren's 2009 paper you see that her results are robust to alternative specifications: "Adopting an even more stringent threshold for medical debts (eg, eliminating those with medical debts below 10% of family income) would reduce our estimate by <1%."
That Zhu paper is part of a dialogue that Warren started about the role of medical debt in bankruptcy. It's weird for Megan to call Warren a hack but then applaud Zhu's paper: it's all part of the same continuum of research. If she likes Zhu's paper she should thank Warren for starting the discussion.
Data Undercounting
Before moving on I want to point out that the coolest new research is that the 2007 data Warren uses is probably undercounting medical debt significantly. From Jacoby and Holman's Managing Medical Bills on the Brink of Bankruptcy:
This paper presents original empirical evidence on financial interactions between medical providers and their patients who go bankrupt. We use a nationally representative sample of people who filed for bankruptcy in 2007 to compare two popular but hotly contested methods of measuring medical burden. By applying both methods to the same filers, we find that nearly four out of five respondents had some financial obligation for medical care not covered by insurance in the two years prior to filing as measured by the survey method. The court record method paints a different picture, with only half of the cases containing identifiable medical debt, and of substantially more modest amounts. We test several theories to explain the discrepancy and find we can account for it to a significant extent by filers' methods of managing medical bills that make it difficult or impossible for the court record method to detect them. For example, we find the highest rates of mortgage and credit card use for medical bills among respondents with the largest discrepancies between the survey method and the court record method. Respondents who report medical bills as a reason they filed for bankruptcy mortgaged their homes for medical bills at nearly four times the frequency of other filers, and were about a third more likely to use credit cards for medical bills. We also find disparities by age, sex, race, and housing tenure that skew the court record measure. Our findings suggest that the advice offered by experts in "medical practice management" reduces providers' financial exposure from patient liabilities. One implication of this "success" is that the court record method of measuring medical bills should not be used on a standalone basis to measure the impact of medical bills on financially distressed families. Also, the court record method should not be used to refute survey estimates of medical burden in debates over health care or bankruptcy reform.
It look like the 2007 data that Warren uses for the 2009 paper undercounts medical debt. The creditors from bankruptcy aren't always clear on what is and is not medical debt so these authors hit the data to re-examine it. So the results are probably stronger. Cool.
Two-Income Trap
If you made it this far, I feel terrible for you. I feel like Virgil leading you through a Glibertarian Inferno.
As far as I can tell, Megan thinks the book Two-Income Trap is a good book. She has three critiques:
1) "The first is that Warren simply fails to grapple with what her thesis suggests about the net benefits of the two-earner family." I'm not sure I understand what this means. I think, and there's certainly nothing in the book to discount this, that Warren believes women having careers is a major net benefit both to women themselves and society as a whole. (Warren is a pretty accomplished person, after all.)
What she points out is that as a rising costs for certain goods (health care, education, and housing in particular) there isn't a safety net if one income is lost via illness, divorce, or death via the family's work structure. As someone familiar with risk management it makes perfect sense.
2) "Warren kind of waves her hands and mumbles about social programs and more supportive work environments. There is no possible solution outside of a more left-wing government."
I completely grant that this books identifies a major problem for the economic security of the middle class but doesn't completely solve it. True. Is that a serious knock? It is also true to me that the obvious solution is something like single-payer health care and free college. But one could also imagine a solution of a Hong Kong style health care, or more competition/consolidation of health care across state lines. I don't think those are good solutions, but maybe you do. If the right wants to become relevant again, addressing these insecurities is incredibly important.
Side note: Is Warren a crazy left-winger? As Thomas Levenson brings up in a must-read beatdown of that post, Warren's essential final point in the book is that "…families need to safeguard themselves". If you read this story from her money-planning guide "All Your Worth" she advises a family to be clearer in separating discretionary from non-discretionary spending and budgeting accordingly. Is this the sound of the proletariat seizing the means of production? Comrades: rise up and plan your monthly budget in a smarter way!
3) "Warren argues that housing consumption hasn't actually increased much in the last few decades: by less than a room per house." Housing price increases have vastly outstripped housing price consumption; housing prices have tripled since 1987. That easily surpasses a 20% increase in housing consumption, and that's all that's necessary for Warren's point to carry. Ed Glaeser's work actually supports Warren's point. If housing supply is inelastic, then of course as populations grow the price of housing will be bid up. But again, if this is the biggest attack on the book I think it's safe to declare it a victory.
I actually came across Warren from this 2005 issue of The Boston Review, where Warren argued against the myth of overspending contra people like Juliet Schor and others who thought Americans were on a luxury fever trip. Warren pointed out that people actually spend less on clothing that they used to as a result of globalization and technology, but that the real squeeze on middle-class families came from increases in health care, education and housing.
This made me prepared for the wave of "consumption inequality isn't that bad" arguments that washed over the internet last year. Because if you just look at discretionary spending, they are right! People get more cheaper. But if you look at the whole picture of what constitutes middle-class security, it is actually getting much more expensive. Now the big paper quoted by the consumption inequality camp only looked at discretion income. Christian Broda and John Romalis's "The Welfare Implications of Rising Price Dispersion" is mostly about food. When pieced together, the idea that people are eating cheaper food to keep discretionary spending tight, are eating cat food to pay for health care, is a much different picture than simply looking at how cheap you can get a nice stereo.


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It's been hard holding out all week to share my very special adventure to Halfway, Oregon with you. Halfway is located halfway between the equator and the North Pole. Though the town easily boasts more animal inhabitants than humans (the population rests at less than 400!), it's big on charm. This town is the type of place that I really didn't think was still in existence; people smile and wave as you pass by, there seems to be a dog sitting in the back of every pickup truck and with barely a wi-fi or cell phone signal to be found, there's a noticeable sense of peace you just can't find in the city.
I guess I should mention the main reason I was visiting Halfway: my best llama friend (BLF) Nigel lives there at Wallowa Llamas. We've met on many occasions and when his trailer broke down and he wasn't able to make it to Portland a few weeks ago, my friend Joey & I hatched a plan to make the six hour drive to visit him. Joey & I hit the road bright and early last Saturday morning and drove through canyons and valleys for what seemed like an eternity.
We passed through many small towns along the way and pulled over to rest at this RV park. In case you can't read the back of that truck, one license plate holder says, "On hot days, I go topless." A sign on the right reads "Flea Market Fanatic." And the crown jewel? A faux license plate that reads, "Forget 911. I dial .357" placed inside a holder that says, "My other vehicle is a school bus." Haha!
We pulled over somewhere near Baker City so I could get this shot. Such a cool sign!
Onward we went, so far out into the country that our GPS dropped out. We blindly drove down miles of gravel roads, trying to find Wallowa Llamas.
We pulled in and the owners of Wallowa, Raz & Louise came out to greet us and lead us to Nigel. Most people don't drive six hours just to visit one llama but they know how much I adore Nigel! I'd already spotted Nigel from up the driveway — he's a pretty striking fella. I noticed that he was in a pen with another dark llama and I asked if he had a twin. Louise was like, "No, that llama is named Thing 1. He looks just like Thing 2." Thing 1 and Thing 2?!! Best llama names EVER!
As we walked Nigel down the meadow, we passed a group of baby llamas. They were really inquisitive and kept putting their faces up in my camera. The real star of the bunch was Nigel's first baby, Rhubarb (above)!
As we passed the guy llamas, they seemed quite jealous; they didn't understand why Nigel was prancing around with two ladies while they were fenced in. They paced back and forth, following our every move. Some llamas have all the luck in life!
Llamas have a bad reputation for being ornery and spitting. The guys can be especially aggressive. Nigel isn't typical at all. He let me put my arm around him, posed for the camera and when I talked to him, he made a cute humming sound. He's very, very sweet.
After we said goodbye to Nigel, Raz & Louise, we headed back down the miles of gravel roads to get gas. I love how everything in Halfway is frozen in time.
One of the other reasons we wanted to visit Halfway was to stay at the Clear Creek Inn, a quaint bed & breakfast on a 160 acre cattle ranch. We pulled up and found out that we were the only guests. Within 15 minutes of arriving, we were handed a fresh baked jar of cookies and the keys to the entire place. How's that for service?! I honestly was dumbfounded by this place. We stayed in the Captain's Quarters (what a name!!!) and had three beds and a private porch.
The grounds of Clear Creek feature a pond, multiple orchards, a huge garden, a rope swing and some of the original structures. Everything is placed just so-so. I felt like we were on a movie set!
We wandered along the grounds, enjoying every moment of silence. One thing I'm still working on is just being in the moment and being okay with that. Without cell phone reception, I was able to block out instagram-ing and tweeting everything I saw. It was so amazing to just take in all of my new surroundings.
Did I mention that Clear Creek also boasts a huge dining room, a library (!) and an industrial-sized kitchen? This place was seriously over-the-top. And still, it got even better. The next morning, we were served homemade stuffed french toast for breakfast and handed a pile of cookies for the road. Unbelievable! I wish I could have stayed for a week.
Halfway was exactly what I needed. It was the perfect escape from a lot of the stress and pressure I've been feeling this year. A weekend full of llamas and a dreamy bed & breakfast miles away from most civilization totally changed my perspective on what I considered to be 'country life.' I've never felt so relaxed. It's a truly magical place that I'l never forget. And yes, I'm already counting down until I can return next year, hopefully with a group of friends to share the experience with. This is a place that you can't just keep to yourself; it deserves to be shared.
Have a great holiday weekend!

subset: commoncrawl


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7b. (The Taking Of Arms By Cuchulain And) The Slaying Of The Three Sons Of Necht Scenè Is Now Told Here
"The little lad performed a third deed in the following year," said Fiachu son of Firaba." What deed performed he?" asked Ailill.
"Cathba the druid was with his son, namely Conchobar son of Ness, imparting learning to his pupils in the north-east of Emain, and eight eager pupils in the class of druidic cunning were with him. That is the number that Cathba instructed. One of them questioned his teacher, what fortune and presage might there be for the day they were in, whether it was good or whether it was ill. Then spake Cathba: "The little boy that takes arms-- this day shall be splendid and renowned for deeds of arms above the youths of Erin land the tales of his high deeds shall be told forever, but he shall be short-lived and fleeting."
Cuchulain overheard what he said, though far off at his play-feats south-west of Emain; and he threw away all his play-things and hastened to Conchobar's sleep-room to ask for arms. "All good attend thee, O king of the Fene!" cried the little lad. "This greeting is the speech of one soliciting something of some one. What wouldst thou, lad?" said Conchobar. "To take arms," the lad made answer. "Who hath advised thee, little boy?" asked Conchobar. "Cathba the druid," said the lad. "He would not deceive thee, little boy," said Conchobar.
Conchobar gave him two spears and a sword and a shield. The little boy shook and brandished the arms in the middle of the house so that he made small pieces and fragments of them. Conchobar gave him two other spears and a shield and a sword. He shook and brandished, flourished and poised them, so that he shivered them into small pieces and fragments. There where were the fourteen a suits of arms which Conchobar had in Emain, in reserve in case of breaking of weapons or for equipping the youths and the boys-- to the end that whatever boy assumed arms, it might be Conchobar that gave him the equipment of battle, and the victory of cunning would be his thenceforward-- even so, this little boy made splinters and fragments of them all.
"Truly these arms here are not good, O Conchobar my master," the stripling cried. "Herefrom cometh not what is worthy of me." Conchobar gave him his own two spears and his shield and his sword. He shook and he brandished, he bent and he poised them so that tip touched butt, and he broke not the arms and they bore up against him, and he saluted the king whose arms they were. "Truly, these arms are good," said the little boy; "they are suited to me. Hail to the king whose arms and equipment these are. Hail to the land whereout he is come!''
"Then Cathba the druid chanced to come into the tent, and what he said was, "Hath he yonder taken arms?" Cathba asked. "Aye, then, it must be," Conchobar answered. "Not by his mother's son would I wish them to be taken this day," said Cathba. "How so? Was it not thyself advised him?" Conchobar asked. "Not I, in faith," replied Cathba. "What mean'st thou, bewitched elf-man?" cried Conchobar to Cuchulain. "Is it a lie thou hast told us?" "But be not wroth thereat, O my master Conchobar," said the little boy. "No lie have I told; for yet is it he that advised me, when he taught his other pupils this morning. For his pupil asked him what luck might lie in the day, and he said: The youth that took arms on this day would be illustrious and famous, except that he would be fleeting and short-lived." "That I avow to be true," spake Cathba. "Good indeed is the day, glorious and renowned shalt thou be, the one that taketh arms, yet passing and short lived!" "Noble the gift! " cried Cuchulain." Little it recks me, though I should be but one day and one night in the world, if only the fame of me and of my deeds live after me!"
"Another day one of them asked of the druids for what that day would be propitious. "The one that mounts a chariot to-day," Cathba answered," his name will be renowned over Erin for ever."
"He mounted the chariot. He put his hands between the two poles of the chariot, and the first chariot he mounted withal he shook and tossed about him till he reduced it to splinters and fragments. He mounted the second chariot, so that he made small pieces and fragments of it in like manner. Further he made pieces of the third chariot. There where were the seventeen a chariots which Conchobar kept for the boy-troop and youths in Emain, the lad made small pieces and fragments of them and they did not withstand him. "These chariots here are not good, O my master Conchobar," said the little boy; "my merit cometh not from them."
"Where is Ibar son of Riangabair?" asked Conchobar. "Here, in sooth, am I," Ibar answered." Take with thee mine own two steeds for him yonder, and yoke my chariot." Thereupon the charioteer took the horses and yoked the chariot. Then the little boy mounted the chariot. He shook the chariot about him, and it withstood him, and he broke it not. "Truly this chariot is good," cried the lad, "and this chariot is suited to me."
"Prithee, little boy," said Ibar, "come out of the chariot now and let the horses out on their pasture." "It is yet too soon, O Ibar," the lad answered. "Only let us go on a circuit of Emain to-day and thou shalt have a reward therefor, to-day being my first day of taking arms, to the end that it be a victory of cunning for me."
"Thrice they made the circuit of Emain. "Leave the horses now to their grazing, O little boy," said Ibar. "It is yet too soon, O Ibar," the little lad answered; "let us keep on, that the boys may give me a blessing to-day the first day of my taking arms." They kept their course to the place where the boys were. "Is it arms he yonder has taken?" each one asked. "Of a truth, are they." "May it be for victory, for first wounding and triumph. But we deem it too soon for thee to take arms, because thou departest from us at the game-feats." "By no means will I leave ye, but for luck I took arms this day."
"Now, little boy, leave the horses to their grazing," said Ibar. "It is still too soon for that, O Ibar," the lad answered. "And this great road winding by us, what way leads it?" the lad asked." What is that to thee?" Ibar answered. "But thou art a pleasant wight, I bow, little lad," quoth Ibar. "I wish, fellow, to inquire about the high-road of the province, what stretch it goes?" "To Ath na Foraire ('the Ford of Watching') in Sliab Fuait it goes," Ibar answered. "Wherefore is it called 'the Ford of Watching,' knowest thou?"
"Yea, I know it well," Ibar made answer. "A stout warrior of Ulster is on watch and on guard there every day, so that there come no strange youths into Ulster to challenge them to battle, and he is a champion to give battle in behalf of the whole province. Likewise if men of song leave the Ulstermen and the province in dudgeon, he is there to soothe them by proffering treasures and valuables, and so to save the honour of the province. Again, if men of song enter the land, he is the man that is their surety that they win the favour of Conchobar, so that songs and lays made for him will be the first to be sung after their arrival in Emain." "Knowest thou who is at the ford to-day?" "Yea, I know," Ibar answered; " Conall Cernach (' the Triumphant'), the heroic, warlike son of Amargin, royal champion of Erin," Ibar answered." Thither guide us, fellow, that so we reach the ford."
"Onwards they drove into sight of the ford where was Conall. "Are those arms he yonder has taken?" asked Conall. "Of a truth, are they," Ibar made answer. "May it be for victory and for triumph and first wounding," said Conall; "but we think it too soon for thee to take arms, because thou art not yet capable of deeds. Were it surety he needed, he that should come hither," he continued, "so wouldst thou furnish a perfect warrant amongst the Ulstermen, and the nobles of the province would rise up to support thee in the contest." "What cost thou here, O Conall my master?" asked the lad. "Watch and ward of the province, lad, I keep here," Conall made answer.
"Do thou go home now, O master Conall," said the lad, "and leave me the watch and guard of the province to keep here." "Say not so, little son," replied Conall; "thou art not yet able to cope with a goodly warrior." "Then, will I keep on to the south," said the little boy, "to Fertas ('the Bank') of Loch Echtrann for a while; champions are wont to take stand there; perchance I may redden my hands on friend or on foe this day." "I will go, little boy," said Conall, "to save thee, that thou go not alone into peril on the border." "Not so," said the lad. "But I will go," said Conall; "for the men of Ulster will blame me for leaving thee to go alone on the border."
"Conall's horses were caught for him and his chariot was yoked and he set out to protect the little boy. When Conall came up abreast of him, Cuchulain felt certain that, even though a chance came to him, Conall would not permit him to use it. He picked up a hand-stone from the ground which was the full of his grasp. He hurled it from him from his sling the length of a stone-shot at the yoke of Conall's chariot, so that he broke the chariot-collar in two and thereby Conall fell to the ground, so that the nape of his neck went out from his shoulder." What have we here, boy?" asked Conall; "why threwest thou the stone?" "It is I threw it to see if my cast be straight, or how I cast at all, or if I have the stuff of a warrior in me." "A bane on thy cast and a bane on thyself as well. E'en though thou leavest thy head this time with thine enemies, I will go no further to protect thee." "'Twas what I craved of thee," answered he; "for it is geis amongst you men of Ulster to proceed, after a mishap has befallen your chariots." Conall turned back northwards again to the Ford of Watching.
"As for the little boy, he fared southwards to Fertas Locha Echtrann. He remained there till the end of the day and they found no one there before them. "If we dared tell thee, little boy," spoke Ibar, "it were time for us to return to Emain now; for dealing and carving and dispensing of food is long since begun in Emain, and there is a place assigned for thee there. Every day it is appointed thee to sit between Conchobar's feet, while for me there is naught but to tarry among the hostlers and tumblers of Conchobar's household. For that reason, methinks it is time to have a scramble a among them." "Fetch then the horses for us."
The charioteer fetched the horses and the lad mounted the chariot. "But, O Ibar, what hill is that there now, the hill to the north?" the lad asked." Now, that is Sliab Moduirn," Ibar answered. "Let us go and get there," siad Cuchulain. Then they go on till they reach it. When they reached the mountain, Cuchulain asked, "And what is that white cairn yonder on the height of the mountain?" "And that is Finncharn ('the White Cairn') of Sliab Moduirn," Ibar answered. "But yonder cairn is beautiful," exclaimed the lad. "It surely is beautiful," Ibar answered. "Lead on, fellow, till we reach yonder cairn." "Well, but thou art both a pleasant and tedious inquisitor, I see," exclaimed Ibar; " but this is my first journey and my first time with thee. It shall be my last time till the very day of doom, if once I get back to Emain."
"Howbeit they went to the top of the hill. "It is pleasant here, O Ibar," the little boy exclaimed. "Point out to me Ulster on every side, for I am no wise acquainted with the land of my master Conchobar." The horseman pointed him out Ulster all around him. He pointed him out the hills and the fields and the mounts of the province on every side. He pointed him out the plains and the dûns and the strongholds of the province. "'Tis a goodly sight, O Ibar," exclaimed the little lad. "What is that indented, angular, bordered and glenny plain to the south of us?" "Mag Breg," replied Ibar. "Tell thou to me the buildings and forts of that plain." The gilla taught him the name of every chief dûn between Temair and Cenannas, Temair and Taltiu, Cletech and Cnogba and Brug ('the Fort') of Mac Oc. He pointed out to him then the dûn of the three sons of Necht Scenè ('the Fierce'):
Foill and Fandall and Tuachall, their names; Fer Ulli son of Lugaid was their father, and Necht from the mouth of the Scenè was their mother. Now the Ulstermen had slain their father; it was for that reason they were at war with Ulster."
But are those not Necht's sons, that boast that not more of the Ulstermen are alive than have fallen at their hands?" "The same, in sooth," answered the gilla. "On with us to the dûn of the macNechta," cried the little boy. "Alas, in truth, that thou sayest so," quoth Ibar; "'tis a peril for us." "Truly, not to avoid it do we go," answered Cuchulain." We know it is an act of great folly for us to say so, but whoever may go," said Ibar," it will not be myself." "Living or dead, go there thou shalt," the little boy cried. "'Tis alive I shall go to the south," answered Ibar," and dead I shall be left at the dûn, I know, even at the dûn of the macNechta."
"They push on to the dûn. And the little boy sprang out of the chariot onto the green. Thus was the green of the dûn, with a pillar-stone upon it and an iron band around that, and a band for prowess it was, and there was a writing in ogam at its joint, and this is the writing it bore: 'Whoever should come to the green, if he be a champion, it is geis for him to depart from the green without giving challenge to single combat.' The lad deciphered the writing and put his two arms around the pillar-stone. Just as the pillar-stone was with its ring, he flung it with a cast of his hand into the moat, so that a wave passed over it.
"Methinks," spake Ibar, "it is no better now than to be where it was. And we know thou shalt now get on this green the thing thou desires", even the token of death, yea, of doom and destruction!" "Good, O Ibar, spread the chariot-coverings and its skins for me that I may snatch a little sleep." "Woe is me, that thou sayest so," answered the gilla; "for a foeman's land is this and not a green for diversion." The gilla arranged the chariot-coverings and its skins under Cuchulain, and the lad fell asleep on the green.
"Then came one of the macNechta onto the fair-green, to wit, Foill son of Necht. "Unyoke not the horses, gilla," cried Foill." I am not fain to, at all," answered Ibar; "the reins and the lines are still in my hand." "Whose horses are those, then?" Foill asked. "Two of Conchobar's horses," answered the gilla; "the two of the dappled heads." "That is the knowledge I have of them. And what hath brought these steeds here to the borders?" "A tender youth that has assumed arms amongst us to-day for luck and good omen," the horseboy answered, "is come to the edges of the marshes to display his comeliness." "May it not be for victory nor for triumph, his first-taking of arms," exclaimed Foill. "If I knew he was fit for deeds, it is dead he should go back northwards to Emain and not alive!" "In good sooth, he is not fit for deeds," Ibar answered; "it is by no means right to say it of him; it is the seventh year since he was taken from the crib. "
"The little lad raised his face from the ground and drew his hand over his face, and he became as one crimson wheelball from his crown to the ground. "Aye, but I am fit for deeds!" the lad cried. "That pleaseth me well," said the champion; "but more like than what thou sayest, meseemeth, thou art not fit for deeds." "Thou wilt know that better if we go to the ford. But, go fetch thy weapons, for I see it is in the guise of a churl thou art come, and I slay nor charioteers nor grooms nor folk without arms."
The man went apace after his arms. "Now thou shouldst have a care for us against yonder man that comes to meet thee, little lad," said Ibar. "And why so?" asked the lad. "Foill son of Necht is the man thou seest. Neither points nor edges of weapons can harm him." "Not before me shouldst thou say that, O Ibar," quoth the lad. "I will put my hand to the lath-trick for him, namely, to the apple of twice-melted iron, and it will light upon the disc of his shield and on the flat of his forehead, and it will carry away the size of an apple of his brain out through the back of his head, so that it will make a sieve-hole outside of his head, till the light of the sky will be visible through his head."
"Foill son of Necht came forth. Cuchulain took the lath-trick in hand for him and threw it from him the length of his cast, so that it lighted on the flat of his shield and on the front of his forehead and carried away the bulk of an apple of his brain out through the back of his head, so that it made a sieve-hole thereof outside of his head, till the light of the sky might be seen through his head. He went to him then and struck off the head from the trunk. Thereafter he bore away his spoils and his head with him.
"Then came the second son out on the green, his name Tuachall ('the Cunning') son of Necht. "Aha, I see thou wouldst boast of this deed," quoth Tuachall. "In the first place I deem it no cause to boast for slaying one champion," said Cuchulain; "thou shalt not boast of it this time, for thou shalt fall by my hand." "Off with thee for thine arms, then, for 'tis not as a warrior thou art come." The man rushed after his arms. "Thou shouldst have a care for us against yon man, lad," said Ibar. "How so?" the lad asked. "Tuachall son of Necht is the man thou beholdest. And he is nowise misnamed, for he falls not by arms at all. Unless thou worstest him with the first blow or with the first shot or with the first touch, thou wilt not worst him ever, because of his craftiness and the skill wherewith he plays round the points of the weapons."
"That should not be said before me, O Ibar," cried the lad. "I will put my hand on Conchobar's well-tempered lance, on the Craisech Neme ('the Venomous Lance'). It will light on the shield over his belly, and it will crush through his ribs on the farther side after piercing his heart in his breast. That would be the smiting cast of an enemy and not the friendliness of a fellow countryman! From me he shall not get sick-nursing or care till the brink of doom."
"Tuachall son of Necht came forth on the green, and the lad laid his hand on Conchobar's lance against him, and it struck the shield above his belly and broke through the ribs on the farther side after piercing his heart within his breast. He struck off his head or ever it reached the ground.
"Then came the youngest of the sons forth on the green, namely, Fandall son of Necht. "Fools were the folk who fought with thee here," cried Fandall. "How, now!" cried the lad. "Come down to the pool, where thy foot findeth not bottom." Fandall rushed on to the pool. "Thou shouldst be wary for us of him, little boy," said Ibar. "Why should I then?" asked the lad. "Fandall son of Necht is the man whom thou seest. For this he bears the name Fandall ('the Swallow'): like a swallow or weasel he courseth the sea; the swimmers of the world cannot reach him."
"Thou shouldst not speak thus before me, O Ibar," said the lad. "Thou knowest the river that is in our land, in Emain, the Callann. When the boys frequent it with their games of sport and when the water is not beneath them, if the surface is not reached by them all, I do carry a boy over it on either of my palms and a boy on either of my shoulders, and I myself do not even wet my ankles under the weight of them."
"They met upon the water and they engaged in wrestling upon it, and the little boy closed his arms over Fandall, so that the sea came up even with him, and he gave him a deft blow with Conchobar's sword and chopped off his head from the trunk, and left the body to go down with the stream, and he carried off the head and the spoils with him.
"Thereupon Cuchulain went into the dûn and pillaged the place and burned it so that its buildings were no higher than its walls. And they turned on the way to Sliab Fuait and carried the three heads of Necht's sons with them.
"When they came to Sliab Fuait they espied a herd of wild deer before them. "What are those many cattle, O Ibar, those nimble ones yonder?" asked the lad; "are they tame or are they other deer?" "They are real wild deer, indeed," Ibar answered; "herds of wild deer that haunt the wastes of Sliab Fuait." "Ply the goad for us on the horses into the bog, to see can we take some of them." The charioteer drove a goad into the horses. It was beyond the power of the king's overfat steeds to keep up with the deer. The lad got down from the chariot and as the fruit of his run and his race, in the morass which was around him, he caught two of the swift, stout deer. He fastened them to the back poles and the bows and the thongs of the chariot.
"They continued their way to the mound-seat of Emain, where they saw flocks of white swans flying by them. "What are those birds there, O Ibar?" the lad asked; "are yonder birds tame or are they other birds?" "Indeed, they are real wild birds," Ibar answered; "flocks of swans are they that come from the rocks and crags and islands of the great sea without, to feed on the plains and smooth spots of Erin." "Which would be stranger to the Ulstermen, O Ibar, for them to be fetched alive to Emain or dead?" asked the lad." Stranger far, alive," Ibar answered "for not every one succeeds in taking the birds alive, while they are many that take them dead." Then did the lad perform one of his lesser feats upon them: he put a small stone in his sling, so that he brought down eight of the birds; and then he performed a greater feat: he threw a large stone at them and he brought down sixteen of their number. With his return stroke all that was done. He fastened them to the hind poles and the bows and the thongs and the ropes and the traces of the chariot.
"Take the birds along with thee, O Ibar," cried the lad to his charioteer. "I am in sore straits," answered Ibar; "I find it not easy to go." "What may it be?" asked the lad. "Great cause have I. The horses have become wild, so that I cannot go by them. If I stir at all from where I am, the chariot's iron wheels will cut me down because of their sharpness and because of the strength and the power and the might of the career of the horses. If I make any move, the horns of the deer will pierce and gore me.
"Ah, no true champion art thou any longer, O Ibar," said the lad; "because of the look I shall give at the horses they will not depart from the straight way; at the look I shall give at the deer they will bend their heads in fear and awe of me; they will not dare move, and it will be safe for thee e'en though thou goest in front of their horns."
"Thereupon they went on till they reached the fair plain of Emain. It was then Lebarcham, the watch in Emain Macha, came forth and discerned them, she, the daughter of Aue ('Ear') and of Adarc ('Horn.') "A single chariot-fighter is here, coming towards Emain Macha," cried Lebarcham, "and his coming is fearful. The heads of his foes all red in his chariot with him. Beautiful, all-white birds he has hovering around in the chariot. With him are wild, untamed deer, bound and fettered, shackled and pinioned. And I give my word, if he be not attended to this night, brood will flow over Conchobar's province by him and the youths of Ulster will fall by his hand." "We know him, that chariot-fighter," spake Conchobar; "belike it is the little gilla, my sister's son, who went to the edge of the marches at the beginning of the day, who has reddened his hands and is still unsated of combat, and unless he be attended to, all the youths of Emain will fall by his hand."
"And this was the counsel they agreed to follow: to let out the womenfolk to meet the youth, namely, thrice fifty women, even ten and seven-score bold, stark-naked women, at one and the same time, and their chieftainess, Scannlach ('the Wanton') before them, to discover their persons and their shame to him." Thereupon the young women all arose and marched out, and they discovered their nakedness and all their shame to him. The lad hid his face from them and turned his gaze on the chariot, that he might not see the nakedness or the shame of the women.
Then the lad was lifted out of the chariot. He was placed in three vats of cold water to extinguish his wrath; and the first vat into which he was put burst its staves and its hoops like the cracking of nuts around him. The next vat into which he went boiled with bubbles as big as fists therefrom. The third vat into which he went, some men might endure it and others might not. Then the boy's wrath went down. "Thereupon he came out, and his festive garments were put on him.
His comeliness appeared on him and he made a crimson wheel-ball of himself from his crown to the ground. Seven toes he had to each of his two feet, and seven fingers to each of his two hands, and seven pupils to each of his two kingly eyes, and seven gems of the brilliance of the eye was each separate pupil. Four spots of down on either of his two cheeks: a blue spot, a purple spot, a green spot, a yellow spot. Fifty strands of bright-yellow hair from one ear to the other, like to a comb of birch twigs or like to a brooch of pale gold in the face of the sun. A clear, white, shorn spot was upon him, as if a cow had licked it. A fair, laced green mantle about him; a silver pin therein over his white breast. A hooded tunic of thread of gold about him. And the lad was seated between the two feet of Conchobar, and that was his couch ever after, and the king began to stroke his close-shorn hair.
"A mere lad accomplished these deeds at the end of seven years after his birth," continued Fiachu son of Fiarba; "for he overcame heroes and battle-champions at whose hands two-thirds of the men of Ulster had fallen, and these had not got the revenge on them until that scion rose up for them. No need then is there of wonder or of surprise, though he came to the border, though he slew one man or two men or three men or four men when now are fulfilled his seventeen years at the time of the Táin Bó Cúalnge."
Albeit gladness, joy and happiness was the part of the men of Ulster for that, sorrow, grief and unhappiness was the part of the men of Erin, for they knew that the little lad that had done those deeds in the time of his boyhood, it would be no wonder if he should do great deeds of valour in the time of his manhood.
These, accordingly, are some of the youthful exploits of Cuchulain on the Raid for the Kine of Cualnge, and the Prologue of the Tale, and the Names of the Roads and the March of the Host up to this Point.
The Story proper is this which follows now.


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Should Stay-at-Home Spouses Get Their Own Credit Cards?
By AnnaMaria Andriotis
*** begin quote ***
An effort to loosen credit-card standards for stay-at-home spouses would seem to benefit millions of consumers, but critics say the change could actually push some families deeper into debt and derail their finances.
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed loosening regulations to make it easier for the nation's more than 16 million stay-at-home spouses to qualify for credit cards, largely undoing more stringent requirements put into place in October 2011. Prior to then, consumers could sign up for a credit card by stating their household income, even if all of that income came from their spouse. But the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act required the Federal Reserve to amend several lending provisions for credit card issuers, including a new rule that issuers had to ask for individual income on a credit card application, and could no longer rely on household income.
If enacted, the CFPB's proposal would allow credit card issuers to ask card applicants 21 and over for income to which they have a "reasonable expectation of access," which could include a spouse's salary. The bureau says it's aware of several issuers that have denied card applications from otherwise creditworthy individuals based on the applicant's stated income.
Not everyone agrees that this problem would outweigh the benefits. Some say the old rules were more fair for consumers. "Stay-at-home parents shouldn't be penalized because they don't personally bring in income," says Scott Bilker, founder of DebtSmart.com.
*** end quote ***
Having had a spouse pass, maybe I am a little sensitive to this issue.
I see this area fraught with issues over and above the very real and present danger that the couple may get into credit card debt.
The value of a two income family is that, if properly diversified by company (i.e., both spouses don't work for the same big company) as well as by locale (i.e., dad works on Wall Street and mom works on Broad Street in a different sector), then that provides a lot of safety. As long as they "live" on one income, then they are relatively insulated when one of them loses their employment. (Notice I said "when"; not "if"!)
There is a HUGE danger when the two checks are not "independent". Or, if they need both to "live".
(Either of those cases are a much bigger problem than the risk being explored here!)
The stay at home spouse, for whatever reason, was deemed the "lesser of two evils". Maybe, most likely, they earned less and the loss of income is substantively made up for by the lack of day care costs. Net of taxes, commuting, lunches, and "wear 'n' tear", the couple decides to forgo some income, which when net of costs is considered, isn't so bad.
From my pov, this has several risks to this approach.
Number One is that the stay at home spouse's skills will "age" badly. For all intents and purposes, I'd guesstimate the spouse's renetry rate at just the minimum burger flipper wage. "Everyone" can go to MickeyD's?
Life insurance is a hidden expense in this equation. Having had a dependent spouse, much of my fiscal planning was around if I got hit with the proverbial Mack Truck, what does she do?
One, that I've seen but not experienced, is what happens if the stay at home spouse — male or female — gets divorced. The TV prototypical example is Doc X who gets married in med school; typically to a nurse. Becomes a big doc and has an affair with the sexy secretary. Stay at home spouse is <crude vernacular for the act of procreation>. The stay at home spouse is muchly at the mercy of the working spouse.
I'm not sure how you handle these things.
I'm sure the working spouse would be insulted at any suggestion that the stay at how spouse would be eft high and dry.
Sorry, but it has to be considered.
Stay at home spouse BEFORE they agree to become the "wife" (boy or girl):
(1) Need life insurance that names them as the beneficiary and lock it in stone;
(2) Need a legal document that outline any promises or expectations (written by a pre-divorce lawyer); and
(3) Funds on deposit in the "stay at home" person's name that can't be touched. (Think Titanic's lifeboat).
Too many people — gay or straight — married or living together — traditional or non-traditional — don't think outside the box.
I write this not for the adults, but for the children who always seem to get the short end of the straw.


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Ohio State notebook: Brian Hartline ready to prove himself
Sitting in the University of Phoenix Stadium a few days before the national title game, Brian Hartline looked like he knew something few others did.
Maybe the Ohio State wide receiver did.
A few days later, Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez announced they were leaving for the NFL. Hartline knew he would have an opportunity to be a starting wide receiver for the Buckeyes this season. He also knew he had to stay healthy and put in the work.
On Saturday against Youngstown State, Hartline will take his spot opposite Brian Robiskie and try to do what Ginn and Gonzalez did: Be better than the previous guy.
"Ted and Gonzo were great, and now it's our turn," the 6-foot-3, 180-pound redshirt sophomore said. "There's an anxiety to get out there and do it. We both know we can play.
"It's more of a competition thing (with Ginn and Gonzalez). I don't think there's anything wrong with that. What they did was remarkable. When Santonio (Holmes) left, they were saying the same things about Teddy and Gonzo. ... You want to be better than the past guys."
Hartline caught the first pass last season against Northern Illinois. He caught 17 passes in all for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
Robiskie caught 29 balls for 383 yards. Ginn and Gonzalez combined to catch 110 passes for more than 1,500 yards.
"I'm a little less nervous now," Hartline said. "My nerves always came from trying to find playing time. When you get to the point where you know you're going to play, the nerves take care of themselves. The coaches know what we can do and who they want. There's no reason for me to be nervous."
That and a Quarter
Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer is offering to eat dinner with a fan — in exchange for $1 million as part of a fundraising project to renovate Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. For $1 million, a Gator fan can eat with Meyer and break down film. Asked what he could fetch from a Buckeye fan for dinner, Jim Tressel laughed. "A buck-fifty," he said.
Penguin Fan
Tressel said he roots for Youngstown State 99.9 percent of the time. The rare occasion is Saturday. "Youngstown State is like home," Tressel said. "Other than this Saturday, I hope they win 'em all. ... I remember when Earle Bruce called on my behalf over there. I remember in his calm way, he said, 'YOU CAN WIN THERE!' He was right. He knew more about them than I did, because he spent time in Salem."
Freshman Frenzy
Count on freshman WRs Dane Sanzenbacher and Taurian Washington to play against the Penguins. Don't be surprised if Canton South's Devon Torrence gets on the field, too. Torrence was switched to receiver two weeks ago and is making daily progress toward playing. "Even though he started a few days late on the offensive side, he's going to be impactful," Tressel said.
What Size Are You?
Because his suit was at the cleaners, senior co-captain Kirk Barton had to call an old friend to borrow a suit. T.J. Downing, who graduated from OSU, made a 45-minute drive back to Columbus to drop off a suit so Barton could attend Tuesday's lunch. Barton managed to work Downing's name into one answer. That was the deal for borrowing the suit. The answer? "My diet's a lot better," Barton said. "I cut out junk food and going to Hooters with T.J. Now I'm going to Subway by myself."
Tressel said the offense won't differ much from last year other than he didn't expect to run as many four- and five-receiver sets because he wanted to keep at least one tight end on the field ... Former Massillon QB Justin Zwick is working for a Columbus television station doing sports commentary.
Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or email@example.com.


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Pols: Texas is Hispanic model
Texas politicians said Thursday that the Lone Star State offers key insight into the Hispanic vote, a demographic that has been the subject of considerable discussion — especially among Republicans — in the wake of the election.
"Texas is a way forward to show that you can be very conservative and talk about the issues that Hispanic small business people and people who want their kids to get a good education embrace," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) on CNN's "Starting Point." "I get a very large percent of Hispanic votes, as did George W. Bush. It's doable for sure at a national level if we kind of follow the Texas model."
Hutchison's comments come as some Republicans call for a broader GOP tent. As Election Night wound down, conservatives from both the grassroots and establishment wings of the GOP demanded a more inclusive approach to Hispanic voters. Hutchison said her state is a model for that kind of position.
"We are a Republican state, definitely a red state, and we do have an outreach to Latinos," she said. "Our next senator from Texas [Ted Cruz] is going to be a Latino Republican. The reason is, we are talking about the issues and including them in our leadership."
Karl Rove, the GOP strategist with close ties to Texas, who this cycle was behind a major super PAC, admitted that Republicans "have a problem with Latinos," but added that the national GOP has something to learn from the Lone Star State.
"Here in Texas we routinely get 40 percent of the Latino vote, because why? We have a lot of Latino Republicans in the leadership of our party," Rove said Thursday afternoon, on "America Live with Megyn Kelly." " They are conservative, we are conservative, the party's conservative. But they make sure the arguments are made in the Hispanic communities with voices to which they will pay attention."
He said that political encouragement from one Hispanic person to another is more persuasive than when it comes from "some Anglo."
"We have lots of local elected Republican officials who are Latinos and they make the arguments in a persuasive way." Rove said. "It's hard to have some Anglo go make the argument to a largely Latino community. That's why we have to have a diverse party and diverse leadership."
Julian Castro, the Democratic mayor of San Antonio, said that while the Latino community shares the concerns of "every other community in the United States," the GOP can't appeal to that growing demographic without becoming a "bigger-tent party."
"What it means for Republicans is that they have to become a bigger-tent party," Castro said. "They can't toe the line of the Tea Party and expect that they're going to be able to appeal to Latinos or to other groups."
He also predicted that within "six to eight years," the large Latino population in Texas could push turn the deep-red Lone Star State blue, if the Democratic "groundwork" there improves.
"There's groundwork that needs to be done in Texas that simply hasn't been done," Castro said. "I think when you have that groundwork and when you have the right candidates to excite folks, then you're going to start to see probably progress. Within the next six to eight years, I believe Texas will be at least be a purple state if not a blue state."


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How do you know that your vendor, supplier, or service provider will be around in a few years' time? It is depressing to buy a 3-year support agreement and think that you're covered in the event that something goes wrong, only to find out that the company just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Maybe they will be acquired by a stable company and still operate the business unit you care about, maybe not.
Not to be alarmist, but we do need to pay attention to where we're purchasing IT equipment, especially in these financial times. You should learn how to quickly assess whether or not a company is stable, in trouble, or even worse before signing a multi-year agreement.
Public vs. Private
Publicly traded companies are more transparent than private companies. You can easily find financial data and get a good idea of at least the likelihood that the company will be around in a few years. We aren't trying to make a stock purchase decision, so this research is less rigorous, but just as important.
If you're dealing with a private company, perhaps a small VAR that offers extremely good deals on things you generally purchase direct, you are not as well equipped to conduct a health assessment of the company. None of their financial data is public, and they will not share it with you.
A few things to consider when you cannot substantiate claims, or even as a good starting point with public companies, are:
- How long have they been in business?
- What strategic partnerships do they have with various manufacturers?
- How many customers do they have, and are they eager to share stories about similar situations to help you make purchasing decisions?
- How are they viewed in the marketplace; do they have mostly repeat business?
- Are they willing to put you in contact with some of their existing customers?
Additionally, the single most important way to keep on top of issues is by reading the news. Don't believe everything you read, but if reports paint a picture of doom and gloom, use them as a starting point or alerting system. Once you realize that you must dig deeper into a company, do so.
At this point, if you're dealing with a private company, it is possibly time to jump ship. Negative media coverage, layoffs or even unsatisfied customers mean that the company is likely struggling. Talk to them, and see what they say.
If you're dealing with a publicly traded company, the fun is just beginning.
Assessing Financial Health
Financially stable companies don't fail in the event of an economic downturn. There are certain indicators that should turn on warning beacons, but you need to know what to look for, and how to interpret it.
Financial ratios are good indicators of broad concepts such as whether a business is carrying excess debt or inventory and whether their operating expenses are too high. They are not gospel, but they do indicate that you should look more closely, perhaps even at competitors in the same industry for comparison.
For the sake of understanding, we'll talk about a four common ratios and how they are calculated, but you will not likely need to calculate them yourself. Financial sites list these, and many variations of each, for easy retrieval.
Current Ratio
The current ratio is a liquidity test, i.e. how easily a company can pay debts as they come due. It is: current assets / current liabilities
The result is called working capital. If a company can cover its debt 2x with cash on hand, it's generally considered in good shape. This may vary by industry, but in general, a 2:1 ratio here is fine.
Net Profit Margin
There are many measures of profitability, but a good quick and dirty one is the Net Profit Margin: net profit / total sales
This shows how much profit is derived from every dollar of sales, and consequently how well the business is managing expenses. Again, it really needs to be compared to peers in the same industry. More often, it's used as a trending tool: a downward trend means that business is slow, and the company has not responded properly.
Accounts Payable Turnover
The Accounts Payable Turnover ratio shows how often a business pays its debts in full: Cost of Goods Sold / Accounts Payable
If this number increases it means that the company is hoarding cash longer, likely because it is having trouble meeting its obligations. Of course, a one-time upward movement could indicate a change in policy with some large accounts.
Debt to Equity
Debt to equity shows how much a company has borrowed versus how much investment money it has. It is: debt / equity
This number should be fairly low, and an upward trend indicates that a company has taken on debt recently. If it remains high, the company may be unable to acquire new debt in the future. You can also take a look at the company's corporate bond rating to see how available debt is to them.
How often do we get new numbers? Are these ratios accurate? Both are fine questions, and the answer to both is, "remember, these are indicators not decision making rules." We get new numbers each quarter, when a company files its 10-Q with the SEC.
The ratios are accurate as long as we keep in mind what the ratios are really telling us, but there are caveats. Some ratios lag behind the actual state of the company. They can be manipulated, and due to the craziness of accounting laws, it can get quite confusing. If you stick to using the ratios as a quick verification test, you'll be fine. Definitely do some more reading in this area if you're interested, though. A good starting point is, "Company failure or company health?—Techniques for measuring company health" which explains some of these ratios and their shortcomings.
There are tons of other financial ratios. You aren't buying a company's stock, we said, but you do need to quickly assess its health. A book on company valuations or stock purchasing can certainly be helpful.
The takeaway is really: if any of these numbers are alarming, do more research. Likewise, if a piece of news is alarming, peruse these ratios to quickly substantiate or debunk the story.
When he's not writing for Enterprise Networking Planet or riding his motorcycle, Charlie Schluting is the Associate Director of Computing Infrastructure at Portland State University. Charlie also operates OmniTraining.net, and recently finished Network Ninja, a must-read for every network engineer.


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A group of 14 people were huddled around a mini baccarat table at Atlantic City's Golden Nugget casino in August, when something strange started to happen. The same sequence of cards was dealt twice—then a third time, and a fourth, and so on. Gamblers aren't dumb: they upped their bets from the minimum $10, and kept upping it as the same card sequence kept coming and coming. By the end, after 41 consecutive winning hands, the gamblers were up a total of $1.5 million—and casino security was convinced they were witnessing a heist.
The winners were questioned—in one Brooklyn man's case, he was woken up in the middle of the night, physically restrained by security, and held in his room without food or water for eight hours while his belongings were searched. They found nothing and had to let him go.
The casino shortly found out what had happened, and it was much less sinister, if even more unbelievable. They had recently purchased a shipment of playing cards from a Missouri manufacturer, who was supposed to send the cards thoroughly shuffled. This shipment was defective: the cards were completely unshuffled, and the Golden Nugget had put them into play without checking them. The Golden Nugget is suing the card manufacturer, naturally—but they're also suing the gamblers, claiming they shouldn't have to pay out their winnings.
Says Benjamin Dash, the lawyer representing the gamblers:
"The Golden Nugget appealed to gamblers to come in and play games licensed and sanctioned by the state of New Jersey," he said. "My clients did exactly that, and then were denied their winnings. There is absolutely no law in New Jersey that would permit the Golden Nugget to declare the game illegal because it failed to provide shuffled cards."
But in a lawsuit filed against the 14 gamblers in July, that is exactly what the casino seeks, citing state gambling regulations requiring all casino games to offer fair odds - to both sides.
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time an Atlantic City casino has failed to shuffle its cards. In December, a dealer at the Trump Taj Mahal failed to turn on the shuffling machine, and played for 3.5 hours with unshuffled cards. In that case, the casino was fined and nine employees fired, but there was no attempt to withhold the gamblers' winnings.
But, then, the Golden Nugget wasn't Atlantic City's lowest-revenue casino in 2011 for no reason.


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Andrea Mitchell Tosses Softballs to Wendy Davis, Presses Her About Running for Governor
MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell has been leading the charge in support of Texas state senator Wendy Davis' efforts to block a popular abortion regulation bill in the Texas legislature. Despite the fact that the legislation will soon be signed into law by Texas Governor Rick Perry, MSNBC has been championing her as the new face of the Democratic Party.
During an interview with Senator Davis on July 10th, Mitchell provided softball question after softball question to promote Davis' abortion agenda. The MSNBC host began the segment by framing the issue in pro-abortion terms, "Texas statehouse Republicans rolled over the opposition today approving new abortion restrictions." [MP3 audio here.]
The journalist, who advocates for a woman's "right to choose" on a regular basis, deliberately chose to frame the debate in favor of abortion activists, when she could have easily said that the Republican legislature passed a popular pro-life bill into law. Instead, Mitchell began her interview by pleading with Davis to continue her fight:
Clearly the opposition was rolled over. This wasn't a day where you could launch a filibuster. Is there anything else legislatively that you can do to stop this from going through the senate?
Mitchell's decision to describe a popular abortion safety bill as one that "rolled over the opposition" then enabled Davis to rail against the Republican controlled Texas legislature:
The real attempt of this bill isn't to address that issue at all; it is to close 37 of the 42 clinics that function in the state of Texas today.
After Davis lamented that many of the state's abortion clinics might not be able to raise the money necessary to meet the new safety standards required in Texas, Mitchell then groaned that:
Texas already has a very large population of women who rely on Planned Parenthood and other public resources because of a lack of other facilities. So this is going to have a big affect on women's healthcare beyond abortion.
Nowhere in her interview did the NBC host bother to challenge Davis' objections to the bill, instead allowing her to go on a long rant about how the Republicans are causing a:
Stepping back in time in the state of Texas and be at a place once again where women who have resources and the ability to access this care will continue to be able to receive that much like we saw back in the 1950s.
The veteran MSNBC host concluded her strategy session by asking Davis about her future in Texas, suggesting that:
The last woman Democratic governor was Ann Richards. The last, I think, Democratic senator from Texas was all the way back in 1961 replacing LBJ when he became vice president. Are you thinking about statewide office? Are you thinking about running for Governor?
In fact, Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen served from 1971 through 1993. Considering that Mitchell has been covering politics for NBC since 1978, one would think she might know that.
See relevant transcript below.
Andrea Mitchell Reports
July 10, 2013
1:00 a.m. Eastern
ANDREA MITCHELL: Good day. I'm Andrea Mitchell in Washington. Overriding shouts of protests from the gallery Texas statehouse Republicans rolled over the opposition today approving new abortion restrictions by a vote of 96-42. The bill now goes on to an almost certain passage in the senate.
JODIE LAUBENBERG: My goal in this bill is to stop abortions at five months based on the pain, based on the science and technology that we have today that we did not have 40 years ago. That is my purpose.
CAROL ALVARADO: You are putting an undue burden on women, wouldn't you agree?
LAUBENBERG: Representative Alvarado you're going on the premise that abortion clinics will close. I disagree with you. I do not believe they will close. There's nothing in this bill that mandates or forces them to close.
MITCHELL: Joining me now is the woman who stopped the bill cold two weeks ago putting the debate the debate on the national stage. Texas state senator Wendy Davis. Senator Davis, thank you so much for being with us. Thanks for joining us today. Well, your reaction to the vote. It happened an hour ago. Clearly the opposition was rolled over. This wasn't a day where you could launch a filibuster. Is there anything else legislatively that you can do to stop this from going through the senate?
WENDY DAVIS: Well, it will come over to the senate now, and it's expected that we may hear it as early as Friday, perhaps Saturday or Monday. And clearly with so many days left in the second called special session, filibustering the bill would require a super-human feat that none of us is capable of unfortunately.
MITCHELL: So this is going to become law and the real effect I wanted you to just respond to what that house member was saying because while there's nothing literally in the bill that would close those clinics, requiring them to have surgical facilities would, in effect, close those clinics.
DAVIS: That's right. The clip that you played, she was talking about one piece of a four-part omnibus bill and the piece that she was talking about out, that 20-week issue, is one that affects 0.57% of abortions that are taking place in Texas today. A vast majority of those taking place where severe fetal abnormalities or the health of the mother are at risk. The real attempt of this bill isn't to address that issue at all; it is to close 37 of the 42 clinics that function in the state of Texas today. Governor Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst tweeted that out, that he was very pleased that that would be the outcome of the bill and the reason that it will occur is because the standards that are required to become an ambulatory surgical center, to require that doctors that who perform these services have admitting privileges within 30 miles of a hospital, within 30 miles of the clinic and also to severely restrict medicinal abortions that are occurring today through the use of RU-486 will severely constrain women's access. We are a huge state and the fact of the matter is that these clinics will not be able to afford to adhere a surgical center standard requirement and even those that will ultimately raise the money to do it will likely take a very long time in order for the new facility standards to be met. A few years ago when Texas imposed on a 16-week and longer gestational period, this standard, it took about 2 and 1/2 years for five clinics to come up to the standards that are required under that. So we know it's going to have a very devastating outcome particularly on women in our rural communities who don't have the resources or the ability to travel and will likely see a stepping back in time in the state of Texas and be at a place once again where women who have resources and the ability to access this care will continue to be able to receive that much like we saw back in the 1950s. But women without those resources are going to turn, unfortunately, to dangerous and very unhealthy alternatives.
MITCHELL: And Texas already has a very large population of women who rely on Planned Parenthood and other public resources because of a lack of other facilities. So this is going to have a big affect on women's healthcare beyond abortion.
DAVIS: Most definitely. In 2011 the Republican-led legislature cut dramatically services for family planning and well women care through these family service clinics all over the state of Texas and over 50 of them closed within just a few short months of those budget cuts. It left about 150,000 women without access to care that had been receiving their only source of health care at those facilities. And many more of those facilities now will close under the provisions of this bill. And it really highlights the irony; the hypocrisy of what it is that republicans are up to here. If what we truly care about is decreasing the abortion rate in the state of Texas and I believe that uniformly people believe that that's a goal that we should all strive toward, to take away family planning services and to assure that women without resources who live in these remote areas of Texas are going to see higher rates of unplanned pregnancies will only do nothing but create a higher Medicaid birth rate. Right now it costs the state about $1.3 billion a year for those births. So it's not even a fiscally prudent thing to do, but it's an inhumane thing to do, to force women into a situation where they literally have no control over their own bodies, over their destinies. It's big government at its worst intruding into some of the most private decision making of course that we possess under our constitutional liberties.
MITCHELL: I want to ask you about Governor Perry because he has now announced that he is not going to seek another term sparking a lot of speculation that he's going to re-enter the presidential race in 2016. This is what he said about you back on June 27th when you were in the middle of the filibuster.
RICK PERRY: She was a teenage mother herself. She managed to eventually graduate from Harvard Law School and serve in the Texas senate. It's just unfortunate that she hasn't learned from her own example, that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters.
MITCHELL: What was your response to that?
DAVIS: It was an unfortunate statement by the governor, and I really think that it demeaned the high office that he holds. I'm in elected office. I've been through some really tough campaigns and I have tough skin and it didn't upset me for me but it upset me to see the callous attitude that had toward women who face these very, very tough choices and women like me who were very young perhaps when they experienced this challenge. I made a choice to raise my child and she's 30 years old and I'm so proud of her and so fortunate that I had the ability to make a choice and also had incredible opportunities in Texas to lift myself up by my boot straps and move into a better life for myself and my daughter, but not every woman has the opportunities in front of her that I had and I think for him to say that really shows a callous disregard and a complete lack of understanding for the challenges that women face, particularly if they cannot access family planning services and prevent an unplanned pregnancy in the first place.
MITCHELL: Now as you know, the political odds in Texas, it has been a solidly Republican state. The last woman Democratic governor was Ann Richards. The last, I think, Democratic senator from Texas was all the way back in 1961 replacing LBJ when he became vice president. Are you thinking about statewide office? Are you thinking about running for Governor?
DAVIS: There's talk about that and, of course, I'm looking down the road at whether that's the right thing for me to do, whether it's the right time for the state. As it relates to this particular issue I am finding that it's not one that cuts across party lines. There are many people who are coming to the capitol and testifying who have been showing up at the rallies who are sharing their stories that they are Republican, that they have long Republican voting histories but that they see this as an intrusion in their liberty and their decision making in a way that they find reprehensible. So I think this issue itself actually cuts across those lines. And there are opportunities for statewide conversations to be had about whether there should be alternatives, whether there should be a conversation in a general election for people to make a decision about the kind of leadership they want to see in the state of Texas. As I said I have a few days at least left in the special session, and we are fully engaged in the battle that's before us. When we complete that I'll have time to really sit back and reflect on whether that's the right thing to do.
MITCHELL: Wendy Davis. Well, we hope you'll come back and talk to us again when you make your decisions and thank you very much for being with us today.
DAVIS: Thank you, Andrea.
-- Jeffrey Meyer is an intern with the Media Research Center.


text: Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; CBlacklist has a deprecated constructor in /homepages/36/d92821605/htdocs/cpsabari/scripts/sb_blacklist.php on line 6 Warning: session_start(): Cannot start session when headers already sent in /homepages/36/d92821605/htdocs/cpsabari/index.php on line 11 Warning: strpos(): needle is not a string or an integer in /homepages/36/d92821605/htdocs/cpsabari/index.php on line 31 Warning: strpos(): needle is not a string or an integer in /homepages/36/d92821605/htdocs/cpsabari/index.php on line 37 Sab's world Goodbye 2007, Welcome 2008 Sunday, December 30, 2007, 09:43 AM - General yet another year is coming to an end. nothing spectacular achieved, as usual. hope it changes next year. no new resolutions for the next year. the usual one (cut down junk food) is still in my list but i'm sure it would not last more than week or two given my past history. will make this a short post by wishing everyone in this world a very happy new year. may all your wishes come true (as long as it is not to harm others) :)this is sabs signing off, probably after the last post of this year. | ( 2.9 / 177 ) back home sweet home Saturday, August 18, 2007, 03:21 PM - Personal finally, my india vacation has come to an end. yes, it got over two days back with my family and i reaching back US day before yesterday night. onward journey was good, vacation was fun but the return journey plagued with multiple delays were not at all fun. had a full family gathering (after a very long gap) at my place (trivandrum) during my entire stay there (close to 3 weeks). caught up with many friends whom i've not seen for several years. spent the remaining time in bangalore (wife's place).never before in my life, i might've gotten fed up with food like in this vacation. ate too much yummy food that i've put on 8.5 lbs in these 3 weeks (no exaggeration). cant blame parents, cant blame the restaurants, cant blame the bakeries, cant blame in-laws - everyone provided awesome food (junk included liberally) :) in all possibilities, i was on a 6000 calorie a day diet instead of the required 2000 calorie diet ! and for the spoiler, the annual mud run is coming in a month and i need to get back in shape to particpate.i had written about the low cost airlines in one of my prev postings. finally flew with them and had a very rough patch with the ground staff there. these kidos at the check-in counter think that they run the airlines. they were so rude just cuz we had just 3 kg in excess for all the 4 passengers together. they were not considerate inspite of us travelling with 2 little kids and given the fact that we had an onward international journey where the baggage allowances are three times their limit. anyways, it is a lesson learned that if you save money on something, you probably will sacrifice on quality. and guess what my prized purchases (to bring back to US) this time were - a few packs of 'naaranga muttai' and the orange colored 'unda muttai' :) those who grew up in kerala as kids will know what these are. i will probably add pics of both for the people who dont really know or recollect it. the difference in price ? about 800%-1000% than what i used to pay as a little kid (probably 25-30 years ago) !!! its time for me to conclude this post. i will write more about this vacation later. till then, this is sabs signing off, cursing the jetlag making him wakeup at 2:00 in the morning ! :) | ( 3 / 1732 ) no proof reader at economic times ? Friday, July 13, 2007, 07:39 AM - Humor seen in today's (13th july 2007) economictimes.com. probably he was running too fast inside the court room and had brake down rather than breaking down? :)this is sabs signing off .. | ( 3 / 1037 ) from house surgeon to insurgent .. Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 09:53 PM - Politics indians generally are not known to participate in terrorism outside of india. but the recent bombing of glasgow airport by a bangalorean has changed that equation forever. dr. kafeel ahmed, from bangalore, is supposedly (using the word supposedly since it is proclaimed that 'innocent until proven guilty') the brain (did he really have brains??) behind this attack. the moron did not practise well (i know there cannot be rehearsals for suicide missions !!) and he was left almost fully burnt at the scene. all along we (indians) were happy that behind most of the international terrorism, it would be a pakistani or someone from the middle east and that it would cause a backlash against them by the world in general. now we have lost our standing. people say poverty coupled with illiteracy breeds terrorism. is that really true ? many in the 9/11 attacks are .. oops.. were from elite families in their respective countries and were well educated. same here also. a doctor who is supposed to save common man from death is planning and executing bomb attacks aimed to kill innocent air travellers ! all in the name of religion ?? where in the world would this end up ? this is sabs signing off with a deep sigh .. hoping someone will someday inject some wisdom to those people who think killing innocent non-believers is the shortest way to reach GOD. | ( 2.9 / 186 ) low cost ?? Wednesday, June 20, 2007, 11:32 PM - General last week, we had to make a reservation in one of the 'low cost' airlines in india for some domestic travel. the fares advertised were atrociously low .. this one was for just Rs. 24 from bangalore to trivandrum. however, once the reservation is made, we get to know the 'actual' cost .. here is the break up ..COACH - 24.00 INR (INR = ruppees)Special Service Request 1.20 INRFuel Surcharge 900.00 INRPassenger Service Fee 225.00 INRCongestion Surcharge BLR 150.00special service request ?? what the heck is that ? we never asked for it ! but anyway, if they want to make us feel 'special' for rs. 1.20, so be it :)fuel surcharge ?? more than 37 times the airfare ? shouldn't that be the part of actual advertised airfare ?passenger service fee .. another name of tax .. quite understandable but again 900% of the airfare ? congestion surcharge .. 6 times the airfare .. since when is the sky congested with aircrafts that they have to charge everyone a congestion charge ? or are their aircrafts 'driven' through the narrow roads from bangalore to trivandrum to keep the costs low ? :)having said all this, i'm still happy that the total is just rs. 1300 which is probably cheaper than a rail ticket for the same destination !! let more people start making use of these low cost airlines so that they have a steady revenue and hence do not have to go bankrupt or increase their charges. let the common man fly whenever he wants to. go low cost airlines !this is sabs signing off for today. | ( 2.9 / 1334 ) Next page >> Links HomeContact MeStatsAbout MeAlbumsCricketPoliticsMusicGuestbookLogin My mud run videos 20062007 Friends My orkut profileSilent Yogi RajeshBiju KPAjith Prasad a.k.a PlayDude Calendar « November 2007 » SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930 Categories General Personal Humor Politics Technology Search Most Recent Entries Goodbye 2007, Welcome 2008back home sweet homeno proof reader at economic times ?from house surgeon to insurgent ..low cost ??forced bachelor ...i'm alive ..rape for sale ?secularism ?letter from saddam .. © www.cpsabari.com 2006-2010 - Page generated in 0.0166 seconds | Site Views: 5694 since Sep 11, 2006 2:30 pm


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Twenty-five years or so ago, when I first started travelling on business, there were very few other women on those early morning air commutes. Today women represent nearly 50% of business travellers, and hotels around the world are trying to determine what will keep women happy. It's an important question because women are nearly twice as loyal to a hotel as men. Said one senior executive who logs 70 – 80 room nights a year, "When I find a hotel that make me feel welcome and safe, I'll return again and again – even if they are a little more expensive and a little further from my meeting place."So what do women want? Apologizing in advance for only being able to answer this question in terms of hotel stays, here are their/our top desires… assuming that all the business necessities (fax, internet connectivity in the room and/or WiFi, meeting rooms, access to printing, business newspapers delivered to the room, etc.) have already been met.1) Top notch security. Many women like the idea of having a floor that can only be reached with a key card; it doesn't have to be an all-female floor, but non-residents should not be able to gain access. Under the security heading, women include having well-lit, monitored parking garages with intercoms, valet parking and escort service to parking lots. Many hotels have their bell staff escort women to their rooms late at night. The front desk staff can help by giving women rooms near the elevators so they don't have to walk down long, isolated hallways, especially ones that turn corners – and keeping these room numbers confidential at check-in. It can be as simple as pointing to the room number, rather than saying it aloud.2) Clean, fresh smelling rooms. Most hotels have this one well in hand, but hotels making a special effort to cater to women add woman's magazines, fresh flowers and pot pourri for the bathroom when the room is made up. Cupboards are stocked with plenty of hangers, including skirt and camisole hangers and padded ones, too. "Chick flicks" get included in their movie line-up; one hotel chain also offers yoga and guided visualization options.3) Inviting bathrooms. Women expect bathrooms to be pristine. They are far more particular than men about this. This means no errant hairs on the floor (check the corners, because women do), no grit in the tub or smudges on the mirrors. Many hotels are starting to install curved shower curtain rails so that the shower curtains can be kept far from the body (and are less likely to grow mold). As well as being tastefully appointed, there should be good light (for putting on make-up application), a full length mirror on the door, outlets that will take a curling iron, and a good quality hair dryer with a cord long enough to permit styling in front of the mirror. Important to both men and women: The shower should have enough pressure to remove hair conditioner. It is very frustrating (and not a great way to start the day) trying to wash long hair when the hotel has installed a water miser! Hotelier hint: Cleaning staff should be instructed to leave the extra towels in the bathroom when there is a single female guest. Women need one towel for their hair, one for their body, another for their hands when putting on make-up… you get the picture, I'm sure.4) Attractive amenities. This means milled soaps in the bathroom, shampoos and conditioners that don't have a sports scent, thicker towels, generously proportioned and fluffy bathrobes. Some hotels have introduced a spa line for their female guests to a very positive reception.5) Locked cupboard "mini bars". Women travellers tell us that they would like a mini bar equivalent stocked such necessities as pantyhose (queen size and regular), tampons, panty liners – things that you can't just run out and pick up when you run out, or need unexpectedly.6) Sports Centres. In addition to having well-lit, well-secured gym facilities, some hotels are providing secure jogging tracks. Not only do women want to feel safe when they use the gym, they want to feel welcome. This means making sure the facility is kept clean and well-stocked with towels, cool water, Kleenex and anti-bacterial spray for the machine handles. It also means including exercise balls, floor mats and lighter free weights in the equipment line-up.7) Food and Finer Fare. Women prefer bistro or café style restaurants to noisy sports bars; they also like to have lighter fare to choose from whether they are dining in the restaurant or ordering room-service. As for the actual dining experience, women can feel uncomfortable being reminded of their single diner status. "Will anyone be joining you this evening?" is preferable to "Eating alone?" Being seated against a wall can also make women feel more at ease when dining alone – as can a little extra attention from the wait staff. One idea is for hotels to establish a single diner's website where guests can make arrangements to dine with someone else. Or perhaps to ask single diners if they would like to be joined by someone.8) Last but not least: To be treated courteously and professionally. Hint to Hoteliers: Women in their 40′s have the highest expectations for hotel service delivery – and yet are the most likely to receive second-rate service from hotel staff (and yes, this takes into account that they register more complaints because they are pickier!). Suggest your staff pay a little extra attention to this group because they are less price-sensitive and more likely to refer your property to colleagues.
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Partner Links


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Program Coordinator - Working with Seniors
Average Hours Per Week: 9
As a Part Time Program Coordinator with Portfolio Resident Services, you will be an integral member of the nation's leading provider of comprehensive services to residents of affordable multi-family apartment communities. Our team of over 200+ Community Activity Coordinators ate impacting lives at more than 300 communities throughout Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Illinois, Kansas, Virginia and Colorado, through our Good Neighbor Program – a creative and diverse program that provides learning enrichment, life skills and cultural diversity.
The Program Coordinator facilitates the Good Neighbor Program, through a variety of activities/classes on-site, as well as marketing the program to the residents and reaching out to community partners for financial support.
Program Coordinators can expect to provide services such as but not limited to bingo, recreational activities, health and nutrition resources, computer classes, social events and financial literacy classes.
Who is the ideal candidate?
A self-starter who thrives in an independent environment is well organized, learns fast, self-disciplined and able to multi-task. Ideally, someone who is very outgoing, enthusiastic and has a heart for their community.
Essential Functions:
- Design, plan, create and post monthly calendars and flyers to advertise activities and program offerings on-site.
- Oversees program offerings and activities, recruit's volunteers/community partners, providing resources and donations that respond to specific areas of need and serve to accomplish the organization's mission.
- Provide a welcoming and inviting atmosphere to all residents.
- Enlist residents' support and participation with program planning and activities.
- Solicit donations and work with community partners.
Experience and Qualifications Desired
- Must be available to work 2-3 days per week; Hours are 9am-2pm (Monday- Friday)
- Relevant experience in education, social work, non-profit or a related field; Volunteer experience will be considered.
- Experience with senior citizens in various capacities.
- Must have home computer, access to email and capability to do light printing.
- Bachelor's degree or degree in progress desired.
- Ability to work independently without supervision.
Click to here to learn more about PRS.


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Just by reading the title you guys can tell I am a newbie to Java, so I won't try to sound smart. I would appreciate it if you guys can help me with a few questions I have regarding the three programs above.
I am trying to start a second career (actually it is what I started back in College but got side tracked) and I have some questions. I just purchased a book (Java for beginners) based on the advise of the IT guy in my office who has written programs in C and Java in the past. I already know XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and a some XML, so should I give Java a shot or should I try something perhaps easier like PHP? I know that there are some significant diferences between the three and that is why I am writting here, so hopefully you guys can break it down for me. Thanks in advance for your


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Poll: Ayotte sees post-gun-vote dip
Sen. Kelly Ayotte is facing a backlash after voting against the background checks proposal last week.
The New Hampshire Republican has a 44 percent approval rating and a 46 percent disapproval, according to a Public Policy Polling poll released Wednesday. That's a net 15 percentage point drop since October, the last time PPP polled on her when she had a 48 percent approval and a 35 percent disapproval.
"Gun show background checks are pretty universally popular in New Hampshire," PPP noted in its release, "and Kelly Ayotte is facing some serious backlash from voters in the state for voting against them last week."
( Also on POLITICO: Giffords group hits McConnell, Ayotte)
Fifty percent of New Hampshire voters say Ayotte's voting 'no' on the legislation to expand background checks will make them less likely to support her in a future election — only 23 percent saw it as a positive. She's up for reelection in 2016.
PPP polled 933 New Hampshire voters between April 19 and April 21, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
But the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and local news affiliate WMUR-TV released a poll Wednesday that found she has a 50 percent approval rating, with a 25 percent disapproval. UNH had her at a 44 percent approval in October.
( PHOTOS: Hollywood and guns: A love story)
UNH polled 507 New Hampshire adults between April 4 and April 9, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.