Kathy 813, I'm logged in and have FireFox and I still get the ad. When you downloaded FF did you also download the extension ADBLOCK? Scissors, I'm logged in and I have firefox and adaware. It is ADBLOCK that you want with FF. You should also have AdAware, it is Anti SpyWare. Have any of you contacted Tamara and expressed your displeasure? Sue

I am no longer seeing that blank space where the ad had been so maybe that means it is gone? I too use firefox with adblock plus and easylist I never see any of the ads or the error messages.

More median musings posted just today: Since coming to Phoenix 1976, I have moved several times. Generally speaking, I have bought too high and sold too low, but all the while I, along with many others, have been fascinated (strictly as an observer and not at all as an investor) by housing price trends. For the past year, newspapers, including the Republic, have run repeated articles that make two points: the housing inventory (supply) has seen a dramatic rise (from 3,000 units to over 35,000 units in Phoenix) while median housing prices have not fallen or even have continued to rise. The front page of the Republics Real Estate Section now has a box that is entitled "How much has your home appreciated?"--and it is shown in median home prices by zip code. Yet, with a couple of minor exceptions, there has been scant attempt to explain this apparent contradiction of the law of supply and demand--that is, prices are supposed to fall, not rise, when supply goes up. This shrugging of shoulders is particularly curious because the explanation is not a difficult one. It is the lumping together of all houses into "one inventory" that misleadingly hides that housing prices are falling, and perhaps by a substantial amount (and not by the mere 3.5% most recently reported). By way of illustration, assume that: (i) in 2004, 100 houses sold and the median price was $250,000, meaning half sold above that amount and half below; and (ii) then in 2005, again 100 houses sold and the median price was 10% higher or $275,000does that mean housing prices went up? Absolutely not. Heres why: If in 2004, 50 houses sold for $249K and 50 sold for $2 million, the median would be $250K; and then if in 2005, there were 49 houses that sold for $220K, one for $274K, and the other 50 for $1 million, and, assuming the 100 houses in 2004 were comparable in every way to the 100 houses in 2005, the overall median housing prices would rise 10% from $250K to $275K while, in reality, the price of all but one house would have fallen dramatically. Another way to state it is this: As the ratio of expensive homes to lower-priced houses sold increases, median prices over the entirety of the housing stock will rise even if prices on all individual houses are falling. In sum, the supposed conundrum is a result of using a median housing price measure because it measures only in the aggregate and fails to take account of what happens to any single house or any reasonably close-priced houses. As Justin Lahart put it in the 11/30 Wall Street Journal, the "median price gauge"is "plucked from a large pool of prices based on home sales" that "can be skewed by changes in the composition of the pool." In other words, it is misleading to talk about "the housing market" as if $2M homes were in the same market (interchangeable with) $200K homes, because they are not. The bottom-line is that misleading metrics should be avoided, and it is wrong to use median house sale prices to reach any conclusion about price trends in housing values. And even a zip-code analysis will not remedy the problem, as illustratively seen by the radically different housing-stock mix in 85007 (stretching from the Palmcroft area to below Buckeye Road). The bad news: Median housing prices likely are understating the severity of the housing slump. The good news: The Fed likely is not looking at median housing prices in assessing the severity of the housing slump.

Here is the craft page so far. I added the wall decor nanacherie. No, you don't have to be a member its just a web page of KT information through the years. Lots of recipes, photos, websites & fun stuff. Its NOT a message board. It's totally Non-profit. You can email me your ideas or just post them here at the Kitchen Table. I would love to see your crafts so include a picture & I'll have a photo page of your crafts. All you have to do is type in at Google "KT gathering place" and it will take you right there. *Suggestions and people are always welcome* Here is a link that might be useful: Craft page