The set-top box has become the most hated device since HBO adopted Videocipher, and it appears to be on its way out.
Predictions of its death are rising by the earnings call. But what might be dying is not so much the device as the way the device was originally envisioned. The set-top box as protector of content and changer of channels is probably dead--or sucking in its last breaths.
The home gateway, its next iteration, is alive, well and worming its way into residences. At least that seemed to be the underbelly of the messages coming out from a variety of sources last week.
Time Warner Cable's (NYSE: TWC) Glenn Britt took pride in explaining how his MSO's true purpose in life is to deliver high-speed broadband services and again proclaimed that advanced consumer electronics were going to kill the set-top box. Maybe not tomorrow, he was cautious enough to say, but the end is near.
Ken Morse, CTO of Cisco's (Nasdaq: CSCO) Service Provider Technology group, speaking at a Light Reading-sponsored conference, made Scientific-Atlanta veterans shudder when he announced that "Set-tops are clearly moving to the point where they are either a piece of software that lives in another device or they're virtualized totally in the cloud."
And Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI), a company built on cable boxes--the bread and butter of the former General Instrument--now made it clear that it's mostly involved with building and selling cellphones.Cable boxes admittedly make money but, as Chairman-CEO Sanjay Jha made clear during an earnings conference call, Motorola's focus is bigger than a box on top of the television set and its R&D efforts are going towards "investing in the transformation to an all-IP network and cloud-based multi-screen consumer experiences."
So that's it. The cable box is dead. The FCC doesn't need to worry about opening it up because those who use it and build it don't want it. It's an artifact from the past: a way to change channels, to protect content that's now freely available from the Internet and multiple other sources, and to extract a monthly fee from consumers who hate the device with a passion usually reserved for the New York Yankees.
The problem with writing that obituary is that as long as pay TV provides make the effort to protect their content--and because it is pay TV they will always make an effort to protect content--something will have to do the job. It may not be a set-top box as configured today, but frankly, those monstrous consumer electronics devices that cable operators have been providing to their subscribers are hardly set-top-sized boxes anyway. When was the last time you saw a cable box sitting on top of flat screen TV?
If sitting on top of a TV is the criterion, cable "set-tops" have been dead longer than unmetered Internet access. That's not the point. To protect the service and to facilitate new services, there must be a device between the TV and the viewer. It could be a gaming box--certainly Microsoft is looking at TV yet again. It could be a computer or some other such device fueled by Google or Apple. It could be a tablet or a telephone. It might not be a set-top box--but then again it might be the latest iteration of a set-top box--a "home gateway" that controls not only the television but the computer, the tablet and other devices around the home.
The guess here is that the set-top is going to go the way of the converter box. It will still be there in some form; it will just have another name and, eventually, its own standard or loathing.--Jim
Source http://www.fiercecable.com/
Showing posts with label frafficc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frafficc. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
How I spend my money
By using these strategies and tactics, I've reduced my monthly expenses significantly. But I still make mistakes.
Last month I shared a new financial framework I've been developing, one that stresses earning, spending and saving as the building blocks of personal finance. Then I elaborated by sharing how I make money. Now I'm turning to the other half of the basic personal-finance equation: spending. Or, more precisely, the lack of it.
Instead of talking about theoretical ways to cut costs, I'm going to share the things that Kris and I do (or have done) in our own lives to put frugality and thrift into practice.
StrategiesThough I could (and will) list some of the individual tactics I've used to reduce spending, they're less important than the broader strategies I've implemented. These strategies are the guiding principles that frame the way I look at spending. From them, I'm able to develop specific habits to help me pinch my pennies.
Try the 50-30-20 budget
Here are a few of the strategies I've developed:
I practice conscious spending. I write a lot about conscious spending, by which I mean the intentional decision to buy (or not buy) any given thing. I used to be a compulsive spender. I'd just buy whatever I wanted -- often without reason. Mostly, I've mastered that. Now when I buy, I buy with purpose. (Or try to, anyhow.)
I avoid recurring costs. A few years ago, I had subscriptions to three newspapers, a couple of online computer games, and a dozen magazines. I had a monthly phone bill, a cable bill, and a bill for the Internet. I had hundreds of dollars in recurring costs each month. Gradually, I've cut these costs to the essentials. I've ditched the home phone and the cable television. I've canceled the computer games and most of the periodicals. I've learned to avoid subscription fees whenever possible.
I try to be patient. It used to be that when I wanted something, I wanted it now. I'm still like this, really, but I've learned the power of patience. I use the 30-day rule to make sure I'm not buying on impulse. And if I really want something, I consider practicing predatory shopping -- waiting for the bargains and extreme markdowns so I can save big bucks.
I avoid the middle. Lately I've come to realize that "the middle" is where I used to waste a lot of money. Mid-quality and mid-priced stuff is often a poor deal. Instead, I try to buy at either end. If I know I'll use something often, I pay for top quality. (I still try to find it on sale, of course.) Otherwise, I try to buy used (or low quality). One example is my wardrobe. I built much of it from inexpensive clothes found at local thrift stores. The rest of my clothes are more expensive, higher-quality items. (The key concept here? I'm getting great "cost per use" on the things I buy. When I bought from the middle, my cost per use was high.)
I've reduced my exposure to advertising. Though listed last, this may be most important. Radio, television, newspapers and magazines are all vehicles for marketing. They're there to persuade you to buy. When I was exposed to a steady diet of this stuff, I bought. I couldn't help it. (And neither can you. You, with no training, are no match for corporations that spend millions of dollars learning how to persuade people to buy.)
These are just five of the broader concepts I use to guide the way I spend. In turn, these broad strategies lead to individual tactics I use to practice frugality and thrift. And what are those tactics? Let's look at a few.
TacticsSometimes people want to know if I follow my own advice. "Do you really do all the things you write about?" they ask. Well, I don't do all of them, but Kris and I try to do as many as possible. I've already mentioned the 30-day rule and "predatory shopping." Here are some other tactics I use to keep costs low:
I drive as little as possible. When the weather turns nice in Portland, Ore. -- which it will do eventually, right? -- I bike or walk for errands. And I'm still trying to make the bus a part of my routine. Biking and walking don't just save me money; they also help me stay healthy. (I just wish we lived in a more walkable neighborhood.)
We share with friends and neighbors. The real millionaire next door and I have a pretty good system going. I use his pruning ladder; he uses my greenhouse plastic. He fixes our flagpole; Kris bakes him cookies. He mows our lawn in spring; I mow his lawn in summer. And so on. I do this sort of thing with other friends, too. By sharing tools and resources, only one of us has to own any particular item.
When possible, I buy used. Not everything is available used. And sometimes I'm not patient enough to wait for what I want. But there are plenty of times when I'm able to find books and CDs and DVDs and clothes and furniture for cheap, either at the local thrift store or on Craigslist. For example, some of my best yard tools were bought for just a buck or two at estate sales.
I don't watch television or listen to the radio. I don't say this to be "holier than thou." It's a choice I've made. It gives me more free time, but it also means I'm exposed to fewer ads. (Kris and I do get shows via iTunes, but they're commercial-free.)
A tactic from my wife: "When I used to read the catalogs that came in the mail, I'd always find something to buy. Now, though, I've taken myself off most of the mailing lists, and I automatically dump any catalogs that still come into the recycling. I buy a lot less stuff because of this. When I need something, I look at the appropriate catalog. Otherwise, I don't let myself be tempted."
We grow (and preserve) some of our own food. If you follow our garden project, you know that Kris and I have berry plants, fruit trees, herbs, and a vegetable garden. You also know that Kris makes prize-winning pickles and preserves. We don't save a lot of money this way -- but we do save some. Since we (especially Kris) enjoy this activity, it's also a hobby that gives us back something for our time and efforts.
When it makes sense, we buy in bulk. There are some things we use all the time. If we can buy in bulk for less -- and if the items won't spoil -- we stock up. Kris also avoids buying a lot of prepackaged ready-to-eat foods; buying the quality ingredients to make our meals from scratch is cheaper. To save time and effort, we sometime cook in bulk and freeze portions for later. Again, cooking and baking are a hobby here, so we don't mind the loss of convenience foods as we cut costs. (Plus we think our stuff is tastier!)
We keep our furnace thermostat at 58 degrees. When I'm home during the winter, I bundle up. (Well, to be honest, I take a lot of hot baths too. But mostly I bundle up.) In the evening, we bump the temperature to 64 or 66. (We don't have air conditioning, so during the summer we simply open the windows and sweat on the really hot days.)
We use a clothesline -- when the weather cooperates. Kris rigged up an improvised clothesline one summer. Then we found a carousel line at an estate sale (which I carried home, walking two miles). When it's warm, this saves us a few bucks per month on electricity. Plus it prolongs the life of our clothes.
We're gradually learning more about DIY home maintenance. I'm not afraid to call in an expert, but I'm also learning that there are some projects we can do ourselves. I have a feeling this summer will be full of them, actually. It's been a while since we focused on home maintenance.
We cut services we don't use. It can be tempting to keep your landline or cable TV, even though you don't use them much. But I found that one of the best ways to improve my cash flow was to kill these services. I've never missed them.
I self-insure whenever possible. I have high deductibles on our insurance policies, which lowers our premiums. Instead, I have extra money in my emergency fund to cover minor problems. I save the insurance for catastrophic needs. (This also means I don't buy extended warranties -- except on laptop computers.)
These are just some of the things we do to keep our costs down. To be honest, I wish we did more. There are so many ways we could trim our spending. It's tough to keep them all in mind in day-to-day life, though. (Which is why it's so important to develop high-level strategies. It's easier to remember a handful of basic strategies than to remember dozens of individual tactics.)
Calculator: Is your budget in balance?
Note: I want to stress that we don't cut costs on everything. We're frugal, yes, but we're frugal with a purpose. We use these tactics to curb our spending on the things that aren't important so that we can spend on the things that do matter to us. For the past two years, of course, that's meant travel. But for me, it also means my gym. And my Mini. And my Portland Timbers tickets. And we support our city's many excellent restaurants by splurging on excellent dining. I choose to spend less on some things so that I'm able to spend more on others.
Victory?By using these strategies and tactics, I've reduced my monthly operational expenses significantly, freeing money to be put into savings or used for other priorities. But I'm far from perfect. I still spend money on things that I shouldn't, and I still make mistakes.
How do your finances stack up?
I recently subscribed to The Economist, for instance. I love the magazine, and in theory, a subscription is a fine idea. Reality is different. I paid something like $120 for 52 weekly issues. That's a lot of money, and it hurt to write the check. It hurts even more to see that I'm not reading the issues as they arrive. They stack up next to my recliner. Once a month, I spend maybe 10 minutes flipping through the stack before sticking the pile in the recycling bin. It's like recycling money. I'd be better off buying the occasional issue on the newsstand.
So, as I say, there are lots of little areas left for me to improve on. And that's fine. I've made a lot of progress, and I'm willing to be patient as I continue to master the art of spending.
Source http://money.msn.com/
Last month I shared a new financial framework I've been developing, one that stresses earning, spending and saving as the building blocks of personal finance. Then I elaborated by sharing how I make money. Now I'm turning to the other half of the basic personal-finance equation: spending. Or, more precisely, the lack of it.
Instead of talking about theoretical ways to cut costs, I'm going to share the things that Kris and I do (or have done) in our own lives to put frugality and thrift into practice.
StrategiesThough I could (and will) list some of the individual tactics I've used to reduce spending, they're less important than the broader strategies I've implemented. These strategies are the guiding principles that frame the way I look at spending. From them, I'm able to develop specific habits to help me pinch my pennies.
Try the 50-30-20 budget
Here are a few of the strategies I've developed:
I practice conscious spending. I write a lot about conscious spending, by which I mean the intentional decision to buy (or not buy) any given thing. I used to be a compulsive spender. I'd just buy whatever I wanted -- often without reason. Mostly, I've mastered that. Now when I buy, I buy with purpose. (Or try to, anyhow.)
I avoid recurring costs. A few years ago, I had subscriptions to three newspapers, a couple of online computer games, and a dozen magazines. I had a monthly phone bill, a cable bill, and a bill for the Internet. I had hundreds of dollars in recurring costs each month. Gradually, I've cut these costs to the essentials. I've ditched the home phone and the cable television. I've canceled the computer games and most of the periodicals. I've learned to avoid subscription fees whenever possible.
I try to be patient. It used to be that when I wanted something, I wanted it now. I'm still like this, really, but I've learned the power of patience. I use the 30-day rule to make sure I'm not buying on impulse. And if I really want something, I consider practicing predatory shopping -- waiting for the bargains and extreme markdowns so I can save big bucks.
I avoid the middle. Lately I've come to realize that "the middle" is where I used to waste a lot of money. Mid-quality and mid-priced stuff is often a poor deal. Instead, I try to buy at either end. If I know I'll use something often, I pay for top quality. (I still try to find it on sale, of course.) Otherwise, I try to buy used (or low quality). One example is my wardrobe. I built much of it from inexpensive clothes found at local thrift stores. The rest of my clothes are more expensive, higher-quality items. (The key concept here? I'm getting great "cost per use" on the things I buy. When I bought from the middle, my cost per use was high.)
I've reduced my exposure to advertising. Though listed last, this may be most important. Radio, television, newspapers and magazines are all vehicles for marketing. They're there to persuade you to buy. When I was exposed to a steady diet of this stuff, I bought. I couldn't help it. (And neither can you. You, with no training, are no match for corporations that spend millions of dollars learning how to persuade people to buy.)
These are just five of the broader concepts I use to guide the way I spend. In turn, these broad strategies lead to individual tactics I use to practice frugality and thrift. And what are those tactics? Let's look at a few.
TacticsSometimes people want to know if I follow my own advice. "Do you really do all the things you write about?" they ask. Well, I don't do all of them, but Kris and I try to do as many as possible. I've already mentioned the 30-day rule and "predatory shopping." Here are some other tactics I use to keep costs low:
I drive as little as possible. When the weather turns nice in Portland, Ore. -- which it will do eventually, right? -- I bike or walk for errands. And I'm still trying to make the bus a part of my routine. Biking and walking don't just save me money; they also help me stay healthy. (I just wish we lived in a more walkable neighborhood.)
We share with friends and neighbors. The real millionaire next door and I have a pretty good system going. I use his pruning ladder; he uses my greenhouse plastic. He fixes our flagpole; Kris bakes him cookies. He mows our lawn in spring; I mow his lawn in summer. And so on. I do this sort of thing with other friends, too. By sharing tools and resources, only one of us has to own any particular item.
When possible, I buy used. Not everything is available used. And sometimes I'm not patient enough to wait for what I want. But there are plenty of times when I'm able to find books and CDs and DVDs and clothes and furniture for cheap, either at the local thrift store or on Craigslist. For example, some of my best yard tools were bought for just a buck or two at estate sales.
I don't watch television or listen to the radio. I don't say this to be "holier than thou." It's a choice I've made. It gives me more free time, but it also means I'm exposed to fewer ads. (Kris and I do get shows via iTunes, but they're commercial-free.)
A tactic from my wife: "When I used to read the catalogs that came in the mail, I'd always find something to buy. Now, though, I've taken myself off most of the mailing lists, and I automatically dump any catalogs that still come into the recycling. I buy a lot less stuff because of this. When I need something, I look at the appropriate catalog. Otherwise, I don't let myself be tempted."
We grow (and preserve) some of our own food. If you follow our garden project, you know that Kris and I have berry plants, fruit trees, herbs, and a vegetable garden. You also know that Kris makes prize-winning pickles and preserves. We don't save a lot of money this way -- but we do save some. Since we (especially Kris) enjoy this activity, it's also a hobby that gives us back something for our time and efforts.
When it makes sense, we buy in bulk. There are some things we use all the time. If we can buy in bulk for less -- and if the items won't spoil -- we stock up. Kris also avoids buying a lot of prepackaged ready-to-eat foods; buying the quality ingredients to make our meals from scratch is cheaper. To save time and effort, we sometime cook in bulk and freeze portions for later. Again, cooking and baking are a hobby here, so we don't mind the loss of convenience foods as we cut costs. (Plus we think our stuff is tastier!)
We keep our furnace thermostat at 58 degrees. When I'm home during the winter, I bundle up. (Well, to be honest, I take a lot of hot baths too. But mostly I bundle up.) In the evening, we bump the temperature to 64 or 66. (We don't have air conditioning, so during the summer we simply open the windows and sweat on the really hot days.)
We use a clothesline -- when the weather cooperates. Kris rigged up an improvised clothesline one summer. Then we found a carousel line at an estate sale (which I carried home, walking two miles). When it's warm, this saves us a few bucks per month on electricity. Plus it prolongs the life of our clothes.
We're gradually learning more about DIY home maintenance. I'm not afraid to call in an expert, but I'm also learning that there are some projects we can do ourselves. I have a feeling this summer will be full of them, actually. It's been a while since we focused on home maintenance.
We cut services we don't use. It can be tempting to keep your landline or cable TV, even though you don't use them much. But I found that one of the best ways to improve my cash flow was to kill these services. I've never missed them.
I self-insure whenever possible. I have high deductibles on our insurance policies, which lowers our premiums. Instead, I have extra money in my emergency fund to cover minor problems. I save the insurance for catastrophic needs. (This also means I don't buy extended warranties -- except on laptop computers.)
These are just some of the things we do to keep our costs down. To be honest, I wish we did more. There are so many ways we could trim our spending. It's tough to keep them all in mind in day-to-day life, though. (Which is why it's so important to develop high-level strategies. It's easier to remember a handful of basic strategies than to remember dozens of individual tactics.)
Calculator: Is your budget in balance?
Note: I want to stress that we don't cut costs on everything. We're frugal, yes, but we're frugal with a purpose. We use these tactics to curb our spending on the things that aren't important so that we can spend on the things that do matter to us. For the past two years, of course, that's meant travel. But for me, it also means my gym. And my Mini. And my Portland Timbers tickets. And we support our city's many excellent restaurants by splurging on excellent dining. I choose to spend less on some things so that I'm able to spend more on others.
Victory?By using these strategies and tactics, I've reduced my monthly operational expenses significantly, freeing money to be put into savings or used for other priorities. But I'm far from perfect. I still spend money on things that I shouldn't, and I still make mistakes.
How do your finances stack up?
I recently subscribed to The Economist, for instance. I love the magazine, and in theory, a subscription is a fine idea. Reality is different. I paid something like $120 for 52 weekly issues. That's a lot of money, and it hurt to write the check. It hurts even more to see that I'm not reading the issues as they arrive. They stack up next to my recliner. Once a month, I spend maybe 10 minutes flipping through the stack before sticking the pile in the recycling bin. It's like recycling money. I'd be better off buying the occasional issue on the newsstand.
So, as I say, there are lots of little areas left for me to improve on. And that's fine. I've made a lot of progress, and I'm willing to be patient as I continue to master the art of spending.
Source http://money.msn.com/
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Make Money From The Stock Market With These 7 Free How To Videos.
OnlingTradingCash.com announces the release of 7 free videos that assist investors with making money from the stock market.
(Celina, TX - April 29, 2011) - OnlineTradingCash.com has released 7 free videos for investors that want to learn how to ma
(Celina, TX - April 29, 2011) - OnlineTradingCash.com has released 7 free videos for investors that want to learn how to ma
Online PR News – 30-April-2011 –OnlingTradingCash.com announces the release of 7 free videos that assist investors with making money from the stock market.
(Celina, TX - April 29, 2011) - OnlineTradingCash.com has released 7 free videos for investors that want to learn how to make money from the stock market and cash in no matter if the market is Bullish or Bear. "Stock and options trading are a great vehicle to make a full time income from home if you know what you are doing", comments Mike Meares, owner of OnlineTradingCash.com.
"That is why my company put together 7 outstanding videos that walk through how many home grown investors are making money from the stock market." These videos are offered from his site located at http://www.onlinetradingcash.com.
Mike went on to say, "there are many people that want to learn how to use the Stock Market as a vehicle to make a monthly income, but they are nervous because of all of the so-called risks. Building a trading business and managing by the numbers helps reduce these risks greatly and can provide a simple method to making money monthly and even daily."
As a matter of fact, one of the videos covers the four risk that one needs to be concerned with and how to avoid them. Each video provides insider information that provides insight money making stock and option trading strategies for the non-professional.
Making Money From The Stock Market Videos That Are Included For Free.
- Stock Trading as a Business.
- Profitable Positions.
- What is the Goal of the Stock Option Trading Business?
- The 4 Risks of this Business and How To Avoid Them.
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- How To Make Money in the Stock Market
- How to Make a Guarantee Profit By Locking in Profits.
- Market are in Turmoil and How To Profit From It.
All of these stock market and option trading videos are delivered online on high speed servers. The quality is outstanding and the information is enlightening. Visit http://www.onlinetradingcash.com to get instant access to these videos.
Source http://www.onlineprnews.com/
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Mobile home park residents challenge rent control changes
CAPITOLA -- The city has received a petition calling for the repeal of recent changes to its rent-control ordinance, and if the signatures are confirmed, the City Council will have to approve the repeal or allow Capitola voters to decide.
A decade-long battle between the city and mobile home park owners over rent control seemed to reach a crescendo March 18, when the council voted to amend its ordinance, allowing for incremental rent increases and total decontrol when a current resident leaves the park. The decision was driven by a desire to reach a settlement agreement with Ron Reed, the owner of Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park, who had filed two lawsuits.
But the park's residents had one last recourse, filing a petition challenging the amended ordinance. They went door-to-door gathering signatures, and five minutes before the 5 p.m. Mondaydeadline they delivered the petition to repeal the changes to the city clerk. The residents gathered 875 signatures, well over the 400 required.
"There wasn't much else we could do," said Surf and Sand resident Shirley Hill, 80. "Either we get the petition signed and let the people vote on whether they want this mobile home park to stay here or not, or we file a lawsuit. We are mostly low-income people. We can't afford a lawsuit."
Mayor Dennis Norton said there was "no chance" the council would repeal the changes, and if the petition is verified, the issue will be left up to Capitola's voters.doesn't have any support except for some people in the mobile home parks," Norton said. "The community doesn't support it, and if the ordinance is repealed, we would be facing millions of dollars in litigation costs again. Then we will have to start by cutting major services that affect all our residents to find the money."
Councilman Sam Storey was not as quick to rule out a repeal, saying the council would have to review the issue again once the petition is verified.
Both the city clerk and city attorney will review the petition to ensure signatures were gathered appropriately. Also, the county elections department will check the signatures to make sure they come from registered Capitola voters.
Reed, like many mobile home park owners, has argued that rent control prevents him from getting a fair return on the property his family has owned for more than five decades. The changes to the ordinance were implemented to reach a settlement with Reed, whose two lawsuits challenge the city's decision to deny an application to close the park and the city's denial of an application to subdivide the mobile home park.
Capitola has spent more than $1.22 million to defend its rent-stabilization ordinance against various lawsuits, City Manager Jamie Goldstein said. About a third of the money for that defense has come from a mobile home administrative service fee paid by Capitola's mobile home park residents.
Reed was seeking $27 million in damages, a staggering figure for a city that has an operating budget of $12.3 million for 2010-2011.
The Surf and Sand residents' attorney, William Constantine, said the city is likely to win the two lawsuits based on previous court decisions, and that the cost of going to trial is not as steep as the $1 million the city projects.
The majority of Surf and Sand residents pay between $260 and $400 in monthly rent. Under the agreement, all rents would jump to at least $475 while low-income residents would be offered a minimum of a 34-year lease and rents will go up based on the consumer price index each year.
Moderate income tenants would have their rents raised to market level over an eight-year period.
If a resident terminates the lease and leaves the park, rent for that space could be raised to fair market value. Because the owner could raise rents to market level once a coach is sold, residents say all equity in their homes is lost because potential buyers would balk at both a high rent and a mortgage.
"There are a lot of people's lives involved here," said Surf and Sand resident Jack Alsman. "A lot of people don't have other places to go. I'm 65 and my plan when I bought this place in 1982 was to retire here. I'd probably be forced out of here if the ordinance stands."
Source http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/The Last Place She Expected to Be
“I’m beginning to feel more and more like I’m in the wrong place,” my mother said.
As was so often the case, she was the first to note this out loud, although my brother Michael and I knew it and were alternately pretending otherwise and making random stabs at solving the problem. In consultation with an elder care lawyer, my brother tried to make sense of New York State Department of Health regulations involving assisted living, “enriched” housing and adult care homes. Which was my mother actually in? We didn’t have a clue.
And why were they prohibiting us from hiring private-duty help for her or from even providing her with a wheelchair so she could get to meals and to the bathroom without falling?
Unbeknownst to us, we had chosen for my mother an assisted living facility licensed to provide extra care in only one way: We could sign a new lease for “enriched” housing, at monthly prices ranging from $150 to $1,150 on top of her current rent. This would buy her up to 10 hours a week of personal care, although she could never receive more than four consecutive hours.
Otherwise she was on her own or one of us had to be with her. Anyone needing more attention than that was expected to move to the on-campus nursing home. That place made me shudder and eventually prompted an epiphany on elder care.
When shopping for an independent living, assisted living or continuing care retirement community, focus on the nursing home that is either affiliated with or part of the facility. If you can’t imagine your mother or father winding up there, look elsewhere. This requires that you imagine the worst-case scenario, which nobody wants to do. But only by doing that can you be sure your parent will be spared moving to a completely new setting every time her condition deteriorates.
“Aging in place” is the mantra of elder care, ideally at home or in one facility that will serve your needs forever. It rarely happens. Things change. In the trade, moves are known to cause “relocation trauma,” physically and emotionally, for the frail elderly person, already sick and scared, and for the adult children, who must orchestrate everything.
As my mother deteriorated in her assisted living facility, I got her three hours a week of personal care. It wasn’t nearly enough. Many nights she couldn’t make it to the dining room on her walker. But getting her the wheelchair she needed would put her on the fast track to the unthinkable nursing home there.
Was there a chair we could borrow on difficult days, I asked? The facility had two, I was told. One had to be kept in the office for emergencies, and the other could be borrowed by signing up for it during regular business hours, a day in advance. So I would have to know by 5 p.m. Tuesday, say, that my mother was going to need the chair to get to dinner on Wednesday. Or maybe Wednesday’s dizzy spell counted as an emergency? But no. The emergency chair had to stay in its place. It all had a “Catch-22” quality.
I didn’t sign up for more hours of help because I was worried about money. The idea of going broke haunted me. At night, when I couldn’t sleep, I calculated when she would run out of money, then calculated when my brother and I would run out of money if we had to pay all the bills.
Consumed by worry, I felt work was the one safe place — but only so long as I wasn’t at my desk, where the phone rang incessantly. My sturdy, independent mother was now in perpetual meltdown. She was petrified, losing control of everything all at once, humiliated, enraged. The mood swings from sweet-and-grateful mom to it’s-all-your-fault mom destabilized me as nothing ever had before. I had reached a point of desperation. I needed help.
I had no right to expect someone to fix in short order a situation that had been deteriorating for months. But one day, in a conference room at a geriatric care management agency, that is essentially what I asked. At the table were one of the owners and a social work supervisor. I told them our story, of choosing an assisted living facility that could neither fill my mother’s needs nor let me hire someone to fill them. I told them I was coming unglued.
The two professionals agreed that the most important task was to find an appropriate facility. First, however, they’d broker a deal for her to get the help she needed in her current situation: they’d instruct her assisted living facility that safety laws, and my mother’s changed status, required 24-hour care and a wheelchair until we could find a suitable new home. Michael and I would go look at a highly regarded nursing home and an assisted living facility that accepted residents with live-in aides and wheelchairs.
They explained the pros and cons, financial and otherwise, of a nursing home versus an assisted living apartment with 24/7 help. They seemed to be leaning toward a nursing home because there, should my mother run out of money, as she likely would, her care would be paid for by Medicaid. In an assisted living facility, someone who can’t pay her own way must leave.
Things moved quickly now, but without that heady, anything-is-possible rush I remembered from the weeks surrounding my mother’s return to New York from Florida. Nine months had chastened all three of us.
I wouldn’t say we were smarter, only that we knew how much we didn’t know. Also, we were well on the way to changing our definition of success. My mother was never again going to have the life she had in Florida. She was never again going to be self-sufficient, independent of her children’s interference, and we were never again, until her death, going to be free of the responsibility for her well-being. Three people who were family more in name than in fact, not estranged but certainly distant from each other’s day-to-day lives, were now working in harness, our goal a safe harbor in which my mother might live out her dwindling days.Michael and I went to see the Hebrew Home for the Aged, on the banks of the Hudson River in Riverdale, N.Y. We intended to look at a small assisted living building on the main campus, even now clinging to the reluctance of adult children to “put away” their parents. But it was already inadequate to her needs.
Instead we toured the skilled nursing floors, each with 48 residents, two R.N.’s and six certified nurse aides. The admissions director, unbidden, said the ratio of aides to residents was “never enough.” Her honesty was appealing.
Our next stop was another assisted living facility, also in Riverdale, run by a corporate up-and-comer in the field. This was one of their newer properties, less than half full. A pushy sales person offered a discount on a one-bedroom apartment, with room for a live-in aide, $3,295 a month, rather than the list price of $3,650. Warning bells went off. The speil continued, but we weren’t listening.
Our minds were made up. Hebrew Home it would be. This was the most important decision we had made so far, and my brother and I found ourselves utterly in harmony, led to it as we were by my mother’s clear head. Rather than balk at our clumsy efforts to be good children, she had given us permission to do the unthinkable. She would go to a nursing home after all.
Source http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/
D.R. Horton profit rises on tax benefit
(Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc (DHI.N) reported higher-than-expected margins on Friday as the economies of scale associated with being the biggest U.S. homebuilder helped to offset weak home-buying demand.
Horton's gross margins of 16.2 percent are helping it make money despite stiff price competition from cut-rate foreclosures and short sales that are depressing housing prices as the downturn nears its fifth anniversary.
Margins were down from last year's 18 percent, but still higher than most analysts expected.
Horton, which has operations in 26 states, reported earnings of $27.8 million, or 9 cents per share, for the second quarter ended March 31, up from $11.4 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts had expected a loss of 5 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The profit included a tax benefit of $59.2 million because of a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service that allows them to stop paying a certain reserve, spokeswoman Jessica Hansen said.
Without one-time items like the tax ruling, the company would have reported earnings in-line with Wall Street's expectations, wrote Wells Fargo analyst Adam Rudiger.
Second-quarter revenue fell 18 percent to $733 million, and orders declined by 23 percent to 4,943 homes. In 2005, a peak year for homebuilding, the company sold more than 21,000 homes in the Southwest alone.
Orders are a leading indicator for builders, which do not recognize revenue until they close on a home.
LONG SLOG, EASIER COMPS
U.S. single-family home prices fell for the eighth straight month in February, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller composite index, which showed a year-over-year decline of 3.3 percent for 20 cities.
Horton says the road to recovery will be a long and tough slog.
"The homebuilding industry over the next two to three years will be very similar to what it has been for this year, with the potential for slight improvements but not significant improvements," said Chief Executive Officer Don Tomnitz on a conference call with analysts.
Investors give Horton's management a premium for being more realistic and accurate in its assessment of the duration and severity of the downturn, said FBN Securities analyst Joel Locker.
The company's business model focuses on lower-end homes for first-time homebuyers, which means it benefited more than many of its peers from the federal home buyer tax credits that expired a year ago.
As a result, Horton faced difficult comparisons that will ease in the second half of the year. In its second quarter last year, orders rose 55 percent.
The easing of those comparisons in the second half of the year sets the company up for an improved perception of its prospects that should translate to gains in share price, said ITG analyst Demir Gjokaj.
"This is going to be the last quarter for Horton for truly bad trends" in revenue and order declines, he said. "From now on, it'll be slow growth."
Shares of Horton were up 2.9 percent at $12.45 during morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source http://www.reuters.com/Friday, 29 April 2011
Google Shortener and Its Affect on SEO
We have witnessed the shot in popularity of social media between all age groups in recent years. And it is evident that even Google has gone social!
Bangalore, Karnataka -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/28/2011 -- Google has already implemented “real time search” on its search engine where twitter feeds appear on the search results. By this, it is apparent that social media content should be optimized just as any other online marketing content. Google is using twitter and facebook links as ranking symbols!For instance look at its list of acquisitions:
• Video Sharing: YouTube
• Social Networking: Orkut
• Blogging : Blogger.com
• Image Sharing: Picasa
• Wiki: Knol
• Social Search: Aardvark
Also we can consider Google Buzz which acts as a social network inside Gmail and Google Wave project.
Let us consider url shortening service widely used on twitter which limits its content to 140 characters and in facebook status updates where 420 characters is the limit.
Whether shortened links used in your webpages are a threat to Search Engine Optimization? Or is that just a misinformation? Do URL shorteners pass anchor text?
Check the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMkltd6dZzU
Google’s Matt Cutts addressed the issue in a recent video posted to Google’s Webmaster Help YouTube channel stating – “Custom URL shorteners are essentially just like any other redirects”. He explains- “If we try to crawl a page, and we see a 301 or permanent redirect, which pretty much all well-behaved URL shorteners (like bit.ly or goo.gl) will do, if we see that 301 then that will pass Page Rank to the final destination.” He continues. “The Page Rank will flow through. The anchor text will flow through, and so I wouldn’t necessarily worry about that at all.”
Being reassured on that let us now dwell more on URL shortening and beyond social media.
1. Your website traffic definitely depends more than only on url keywords!
Consider our browsing behavior. Mostly we find new sites through search engines. But once finding that - if we are to visit it again, we either bookmark it or enter it directly in the address-bar if we remember the url. There is also autocomplete option on our browsers. So featuring a keyword in the url is not a mandatory rule for getting high traffic.
2. Make your links manageable and pretty
If your website has lot of affiliate links, you do not want a messy page there. Url shortening is not only the option but becomes a necessity at this point.
3. Use 301 redirects!
This is interpreted as moved permanently! Refer what Matt Cutt has explained. If you have to change the file names or move the pages around this is considered as safest option. Also it preserves the link juice for your website and never upsets your internet marketing strategy.
4. Using short urls for short term links
Links on twitter tweets and the ones in SMS marketing are meant for short term visibility. If you are using shortened links on your blog or website where a more descriptive link would drive long term traffic you are doing it all wrong!
There is plenty of url shortening service providers out there. Make use of them well where you need very little effort but as and only when the situation demands.
Soppnox solutions has always stood apart for its capability and quality in SEO Services. Be it search engine optimization services for websites, online marketing, pay per click campaign management, social media marketing, internet marketing, web analytics Soppnox expertise in all these areas to cater to the varied needs of its valued customers.
Source http://www.sbwire.com/
The Status Of Search Engine Optimization: April 2011 Edition
As you may or may not know, I have been practicing search engine optimization since 1996. I have seen quite a few changes in the industry. There have been a lot of major changes, like when Google first showed up on the scene, using links as an SEO factor...
...(we had previously been concentrating only on on-page factors such as meta tags), and we have had minor updates that have really only been "blips" on the radar. So, right now, in April 2011, what is the status of Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization
So, what should you focus on right now, today, in April 2011? What has changed? Really, nothing has changed in a major way. It's still business as usual. Build a quality web site, with lots of good informational content about your subject, publicize the content (properly) on other web sites, get links from other web sites to ALL of your content, and you will be just fine. Create a site that is good for your users and something that they like, and the search engines will reward you for it.
In other words, quit chasing the Google algorithm and worrying about all of the "minor" SEO tweaks that you could be doing and worry more about the fact that you're not creating great content on your web site. That said, there are "best practices" that you still need to adhere to:
- Search engine friendly web design
- Unique content
- Make sure your on-page factors are in check (i.e., proper title tags, meta tags, heading tags, alt tags, etc.)
- Add good content to your site on a regular basis
- Do proper publicity for your content (use social sites, link building, and press releases when appropriate).
Google Panda Update
As you have probably heard, Google has updated their algorithm yet again, with this latest round of updates called the "Google Panda" update. I can honestly say that my major "sites" and the majority of the web sites that I do SEO for have not seen major rankings decreases because of the Google Panda update. But again, I believe that is mainly because of the five factors I just named above (Search engine friendly web design, unique content, on-page factors, adding content, proper publicity).
There are, though, a lot of good resources (perhaps too many) online that are talking about the Google Panda update, and many of the factors that you should start looking at (a checklist, so to speak). I have taken some time to look at what people are saying, and have narrowed it down for you a bit. To save some time.
Webmasterworld has a great update thread here on Google Panda, that is worth reading. If you don't have the time to go through over 15 pages of chatter, here are the major points:
"" User behavior: G gathers it from Chrome, Toolbar, etc. and factors it in. Eg. bounce rate (back to the SERP they came from) " was listed twice and has spawned many rumors so far.
" Reading levels: If you go to "Advanced search", you can filter SERPS by "reading level". Think about it, test it!
" Bad templates: Too many pages using one single template (WordPress like) could cause GBot nausea.
" Internal links devalued, only external really count
" Thin pages cause substantial bigger problems for a domain
" Duplicate content snippets on your page cause substantial bigger problems
" Too many external named links "widget keyword" instead of "more..." (eg) cause penalties
" Missing positive reviews from the usual review sites count as a minus the (low) quality of a link destination could backfire on the quality score of the link source
" missing certificates/page seals of organizations (BBB maybe?) could give a missing signal
" Content above the fold: implying that G renders the page and estimates the content quality early shown
" Text blocks with an (ancient) date of publication could catch a devaluation
" Spelling and grammar: errors might get you sacked
" Technical elegance gives extra points (loading speed, clean HTML)"
Seobook also chimed on Google Panda:
"Here's a stab, based on our investigations, the conference scene, Google's rhetoric, and pure conjecture thus far:
" A useful document will pass a human inspection
" A useful document is not ad heavy
" A useful document is well linked externally
" A useful document is not a copy of another document
" A useful document is typically created by a brand or an entity which has a distribution channel outside of the search channel
" A useful document does not have a 100% bounce rate followed by a click on a different search result for that same search query .
Source http://www.searchnewz.com/
5 Environmentally Friendly Home Updates Everyone Should Know How to Complete
This is guest post by Lou Manfredini, Ace Hardware's home expert. Lou is a nationally recognized home and do-it-yourself expert who has an energetic and entertaining personality. Lou is a master at giving tips on greening your home, home maintenance, home projects that can save you money, and do-it-yourself projects in a way that even the most novice do-it-yourselfer can understand. He has authored five DIY books and hosts a nationally syndicated TV program called House Smarts as well as The Mr. Fix It Show, Chicago's number one Saturday morning radio program.
Turn your eco-friendly "to-do" list into a "to-done" list with these five simple, yet impactful, home updates. The changes below can be easily incorporated into your regular routine, so you can help the environment without giving up your weekend.
Stop using CFL bulbs. Most people are surprised by this one, but while CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) use less electricity than conventional bulbs, LED is by far the better choice. Sylvania, Phillips and GE all make LED bulbs that look like conventional options and give off great light while using a fraction of the electricity.
LED lights cost approximately $20-$49 each, and can last up to 50,000 hours - or up to 6 times longer than CFLs. In addition, LED bulbs contain no mercury, so disposal and breakage are less hazardous. Next time you need a light bulb, defy convention and reach for an LED.
Use No VOC or Low VOC paint. Traditional paints contain chemicals that emit toxic fumes during application and as the paint dries. Advances in technology have made it possible for paint manufacturers to create vibrant, durable paints that emit little to no toxic gas.
Look for brands such as Benjamin Moore, Royal by Ace Paint, and Sherwin Williams for great Low VOC and No VOC paint options that don't sacrifice quality or safety.
Install a water filter on your kitchen faucet. You will be amazed at how attaching a small unit to your kitchen faucet will improve the overall taste and quality of your drinking water. Look for one that screws directly onto the end of your faucet and allows you to switch the filter on or off.
This critical feature extends the lifespan of your filter by letting you switch to regular tap water for washing hands or doing the dishes. Brita, Culligan and Pür all offer quality faucet filters for around $25.00-$35.00. This small investment will more than offset the cost of not buying bottled water and the planet will thank you for eliminating all of that plastic.
Try the new organic fertilizers. Natural lawn care has vastly improved in recent years and you can now stay green in more ways than one. Depending on where you live, you can find companies like Miliorganite, Ringer and Jonathon Greene that offer full lines of natural products to help your garden grow with little-to-no impact on our environment. These products are just as easy to apply as chemical options, if not easier. So go green and get back to enjoying your yard quickly and safely.
Switch to earth-friendly cleaning products. This one takes no time at all - just switch over as you run out and eventually you will have a healthier home. Almost all of the major cleaning product manufacturers have developed greener options for the home, some better than others.
You want to know what you are getting, so check out the ingredients to be sure you have more than simply "natural ingredients." In my experience, Seventh Generation, Green Works, and Mrs. Myers are solid choices for your home. Bonus? No lingering chemical smells!
See, that wasn't hard. Five simple changes to things you are already doing and the earth will breathe a little easier as a result.Source http://uk.ibtimes.com/
Keep the conversation going
I was new in town and newly divorced. After working as a reporter post-college, I'd been a stay-at-home mom for more than a decade. Now I was a single mom needing to make money to support my family — and my most recent skill was organizing bake sales.
“Why don't you work at a newspaper again?” said a longtime friend. “That's what you like doing.”
Make an appointment with the editor, my friend said. Don't ask for a job. Instead, explain your situation, say you want to get back into newspapers and ask for advice.
So that's why, almost 15 years ago, I was nervously heading into the TimesDaily office of Executive Editor Kathy Silverberg — and heading out a few minutes later with a job.
At first, that job didn't bring me back to the newspaper office much: I wrote articles about local businesses for advertisements and special sections.
Then, Kathy asked me to work part time doing things nobody else liked doing: Writing weddings, logging in calendar events, retyping columns. But I loved it.
I enjoyed being part of the newspaper family. My identification badge became a prized possession.
Soon I was part-time permanent. Then full-time temporary. And finally, permanent full time. With each move, I wrote more and typed less. A couple of years after my first timid walk into the newsroom, I was a real reporter.
And, amazingly, I was a columnist, too.
I remember I'd written some column-like articles for the Lifestyle pages and felt that tingle you get that means “This is a good thing.” I'm not sure my then-editor everofficially approved a column — one day I simply said, “Here's my column” and she said, “OK. Thanks,” and that was that.
I'm eternally grateful she said “OK,” because writing this column has been an honor, a privilege and an incredible amount of fun.
But, sadly, this is my last one for the TimesDaily.
There's only one thing left to say: Thank you.
Thank you for spending time with me every week. Thank you for the messages. Thank you for hanging with me through weddings, graduations and band-booster meetings. Thank you for the shoe shopping, the football games and the tips on husband training.
Thank you for being there during laughter, tears, celebrations and losses.
Plenty of adventures are ahead, so visit my blog, Coffee with Cathy, at cathylwood.wordpress.com. Pour a cup, sit down and let's keep the conversation going.
You won't believe what 3-year-old grandson Capt. Adorable said the other day.
Source http://www.timesdaily.com/
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Contact Details-
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