Athiest Spam Bot

I can't say that I am all that keen on the revamped Blogger.

Orange Sherbert is Growing Out of My Bin

At least it gives me a chance to post an image from my new phone.

United American Healthcare Corporation (UAHC)

The United American Healthcare Corporation (Nasdaq:UAHC) is a tiny micro-cap company that is involved in management, consulting and financial services for the healthcare industry in the United States. Up until last year, the company was contracted by two customers to provide healthcare services. Unfortunately, the provider of these contracts (the State of Tennessee) has renegotiated with other entities to provide these services, leaving UAHC with no customers and no revenue as of the end of December 2009.

Since the cancellation of these contracts last year, management have been engaging in exploring "strategic alternatives" or to elaborate in their own words.

"During this review, all feasible options are being considered, including pursuing a joint venture or other strategic partnership, completing a strategic acquisition or merger, or liquidating our assets. Further, it is important to note that the exploration of strategic alternatives includes all industries that satisfy the three primary objectives, not solely the healthcare industry." From the most recent 10Q.

Reading between the lines, I don't think it would be unreasonable to conclude that management have too much confidence in their ability to continue in the healthcare industry. If logical consequence was to follow, the company would be liquidated, with the remaining assets being distributed to shareholders. Unfortunately for shareholders however, management appear reluctant to follow this path (which is natural self-preservation, given they would lose their jobs, sizeable salaries and benefits). Judging from a recent 13D filing from Strategic Turnaround Equity Partners (9% owners of common stock of UAHC and on the Board of Directors), it would seem that not only are management reluctant to liquidate, but hostile to the idea of shareholders taking control of the company.

"Dear Gentlemen:

As you are aware, Strategic Turnaround Equity Partners, LP (Cayman) and its affiliates (“STEP”), own approximately 9% of the common shares of United American Healthcare Corporation.

As you know, November 6, 2009 will be the one year anniversary of the Company’s last Annual Shareholders Meeting. Since the filing of our Preliminary Proxy on September 11, 2009 it is our strong belief that management and certain members of the Board of Directors including the Chairman and the Chairman of the Governance Committee have taken steps to intentionally delay the setting of a date for the 2009 Annual Shareholders Meeting. Furthermore, later that same day the Company issued a press release announcing the release of its year end results. The Company also announced that:

“It would not host an investor conference call for the fourth quarter and full year results in an effort to reduce costs and conserve resources.”

This was the first time in 10 years that management did not hold a quarterly or year-end investor call.

We believe that this is nothing but a ruse and smoke screen to avoid accountability to shareholders. Management and the Board are well aware of shareholder dissatisfaction from various 13D filings and past investor calls. It is obvious that management does not want to answer shareholders’ questions to explain a loss from operations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 of $8.7 million compared to a loss from operations of $1.9 million in the previous fiscal year. We believe that with such significant losses management has a greater obligation to hold an investor call. The last investor conference call this Company held was almost 6 months ago on May 7, 2009.

If management was so concerned about reducing expenses, they would have implemented many of our suggestions over the past 18 months which would have saved the Company significant sums of money including the elimination or reduction in bonuses, salaries and investment banking fees. Rather than focus on this, management decided to save $1,000 on an investor conference call!!! A company that is concerned about saving money does not have executive offices in 4,000 sq. ft. of luxury office space with art adorned walls for 4 people, including 2 administrative. If management truly wanted to have a conference call they could have set up a free call at www.freeconferencecall.com. If asked, our fund would have underwritten the cost of a conference call for the sake of good corporate governance so that shareholders have a forum to ask questions of management.

As we have stated in the past, the Board and management of the Company are obligated to manage in the best interests of all of the shareholders. In our opinion management and various members of the Board seek to avoid accountability to shareholders and maintain the status quo.
Furthermore, if the Company sent notice of an Annual Shareholders Meeting today, it would make it the latest that notice has been sent to shareholders in over 10 years. This is not right and a breach of your duties to the shareholders.

This must change and the shareholders of United American Healthcare Corporation demand the setting of the date of the 2009 Annual Shareholder Meeting immediately.

Very truly yours,

Strategic Turnaround Equity Partners, LP (Cayman)"

When a situation like this occurs, it is often up to the inititive of shareholders to user their voting rights as owners of the business to force the issue. Often in these situations however, shareholders are fragmented, and there is no single voice, with a large enough bloc of voting rights to demand that management liquidate, rather than plundering the remaining assets of the company for themselves. In this case however, things are different, and even as of yesterday (November 24th, 2009) the situation is looking more promising for shareholders as per the following 13D filed by activist investor, John M. Fife, who is now 10.31% owner.

This means, that we now have a significant catalyst that can force the liquidation of the company (Strategic Turnaround Equity Partners - 9% owners, John M. Fife - 10.31% owners, value investor Lloyd I. Miller, III - 9.7% and activists WC Capital Management - 10.8%) link. With management holding small amounts of stock (circa 15%), there should be no impediment to a liquidation.

The pertinent question at this point, would be to evaluate the liquidation value of the company against the current share price. Going from the last 10Q, we can see that the balance sheet of UAHC is simple to understand, has few liabilities and is comprised mainly of cash and cash equivalents.

Cash and cash equivalents - $9,747 (million)
Marketable securities - $3,922
Accounts receivable — State of Tennessee, net - $12
Interest receivable - $57
Other receivables - $708
Prepaid expenses and other - $135
Property and equipment, net - $94
Marketable securities — restricted - $2,370
Other assets - $486
Total Assets - $17,531

Total Liabilities - $3,863

Shareholder Equity - $13,668 or $1.68 per share
Market Cap - $7,730 or $0.95 per share

While it's unlikely that the full value of shareholder equity would be realised in the event of liquidation, the 75% difference between book value and market value offers a huge margin of safety.

I believe that UAHC at, or near current prices offers good value. I am currently initiating a position.

Jon Lord - Exclusive!

Money is tight - pennies on the floor.

Sept 24th, 2009

Broken Down Nissan Skyline

Oh dear.

The Changeling

It's only taken a year, but I've finally gotten around to putting up a review of the Mike Oldfield biography, The Changeling.

In one word, I suppose you could call label it as disappointing, for a number or reasons.

Firstly, without even reading a page of the book, it's clear that we wouldn't be getting a major exposé on his relationship with Richard Branson, as the book is published by Virgin Books. By dealing with Branson, he effectively gagged himself from discussing his long and highly publicised dispute with Virgin. If you read between the lines though, it's clear that the animosity between Oldfield and Branson has not been completely forgotten.

Another disappointment was the writing style that Oldfield engages in. Too often, when Oldfield is describing events of his past; they end up as rambling, stream of consciousness-type meanderings that often fall short in detailing the event itself. It's obviously not fair to expect him to compare with James Joyce, but I do think he could have done more research in backing up his sources.

While his childhood is covered reasonably well and his Tubular Bells piece is quite well done; everything after that feels rushed, fuzzy and written as an afterthought. It struck me that Oldfield had lost a bit of interest himself in the story at this stage, but was obliged to complete it for finality.

Overall, it's an interesting read for Oldfield fans; but completely avoidable otherwise.

Interesting fact I never knew: The name of his album Ommadown, is actually a bastardization of the Irish word for idiot, amadán.

ISEQ Stock Market Crash - Again

It's at a time like this that I'm reminded of our great statesman, Patrick Bartholomew Ahern. He imparted this bit of wisdom on us last year.

"Bank of Ireland shares are €3.80 today. Now if I meet you here next year, or the year after, do you seriously think Bank of Ireland shares will be €3.80? I'd go out and buy Bank of Ireland shares . . . that's what I'd do,"

Bank of Ireland share price today - 40 cent.

I suppose he was half right.

Willie O' Dea at Dell HQ in Texas

Willie O' Dea, snapped in Texas while trying to persuade Michael Dell to keep Dell jobs in Limerick.

Christmas Grinch Refuses Tickets for Late, Late Toy Show

Budget Reaction

Zeig Heil Motherfuckers!!

"Clap for Trap"

So, Ireland are playing Cyprus at home tonight in what's an eagerly anticipated clash. I noticed that the FAI have initiated a campaign for supporters to get behind the new manager.

"The Football Association of Ireland today (Sunday) announced that EA Sports will give out 33,000 inflatable giant hands to Irish fans at Wednesday evening’s World Cup qualifier in Croke Park (7.45om). The hands call on fans to ‘Clap for Trap’ and will be distributed before the game.
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said: “The game against Cyprus is our first World Cup qualifier at home. It will be very important for all of our fans to get behind us on Wednesday night. Irish fans really will be our twelfth man and I hope everyone makes their voice heard on Wednesday night”. Tickets for the World Cup qualifier match are still available through www.ticketmaster.ie and from ticket booths at Dalymount Park (opening hours Mon & Tue 12.00 – 20.00, Wed 10.00 – 17.00)."

I personally wouldn't wish "The Clap" on my worst enemy.

Government Guaranteeing Irish Deposits

Imagine a man walks into a VHI health insurance office. The man looks pale. almost sickly you'd say. His back is bent and he walks to the desk with a stoop. He then tells the clerk at the desk, he'd like to sign up for some health insurance and with that, he lets out a loud, rattling cough. The clerk at the desk asks him, "Ok, before we approve you, we need to know if you have any prior health conditions". The sickly looking man tells the clerk everything is fine, infact things couldn't be better. The clerk then happily rubber-stamps the application form and the man is now covered.

It sounds ridiculous, but this is exactly what the Irish government has done by acting as insurer for the Irish banks. Without even looking at the loan books of the banks, we have given an assurance that we will cover any potential liabilities that may arise from them.

Cork City Dole Queue

Defrauding the Passport System is Easy

After losing my passport a few months, I finally got around to getting the documentation together to make my new application.

So, off I head into the local Garda station, form, birth cert and photos in my sweaty little hands. After sitting next to a bare-footed hobo, half doused in pant, I was finally summoned to the desk. The conversation goes a little something like this . .

Me - "I'd like to get my passport and photos signed please"
Garda - "Ok, have you got your form, passport and photos?"
Me - (passes documents) "Yes, here they are"
Garda - "Ok, have you got a photo ID?"
Me - (frantically searching) "Umm, all I have on me is an old college ID"
Garda - "I'm sorry, I'll need to see a valid picture ID. Have you got your old passport, national age card or driving licence?"
Me - "I don't have an age card, I don't drive and as it says on the form, I've lost my old passport"
Garda - (passing a form) "You can apply for the national age card then"
Me - "Right, what do I need to apply for that?"
Garda - "Birth certificate, passport photograph and picture ID"
Me - "Oh, like a college ID?"
Garda - "Yes"
Me - "So what you're say is, my college ID isn't good enough to get a passport but it is good enough to get a national age card which in turn can get me a passport?"
Garda (a little confused) - "I'm sorry, but we're really clamping down at the moment"

I was then explaining this to a colleague at work. He thought it was pretty strange that I even needed to produce a form of ID, he offers to drive me to another Garda station where he got his application done without the need for photo id. We go, I walk in . . .

Me - "I'd like to get my passport and photos signed please"
Garda - (sitting at a computer on what looked like Bebo) "Wait a minute"
Garda - (a few minutes later, comes over, signs everything and without a word sits back down)
Me - (leaving, amazed) "Umm, cheers Garda"

I honestly thought that the days of the gombeen Garda were finished; evidently, they're not. I'm also amazed that in a world where identity fraud is so prevalent, that there doesn't seem to be any standards or defined process in obtaining a passport. Even with the first Garda, there was absolutely nothing to stop me from producing any sort of mickey mouse id to obtain a national age card fraudulantly. Is it any wonder the public has lost respect for the Gardai when they're so careless and negligent?

Bebo Fools Incriminating Themselves

From RTÉ News

Students urged to start house hunt Wednesday, 6 August 2008 15:56

Third level students in Dublin are already being urged to find a place to live for the upcoming academic year as soon as possible.

Leaving Certificate results are not being released until next week.

However, the Union of Students in Ireland say 90% of rentable student properties in the city will be gone by the end of this month.

It is warning that students risk being forced into staying in B&Bs unless they start searching for accommodation soon.

21-year-old I****e M****n from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, who is studying at Trinity College, says every year it is a struggle to find accommodation for the college term.

'Last year I looked for eight weeks, couldn't find anything. I even contemplated getting a place with no windows - it was €550 a month,' she said.

Ms Moylan said that many people would pay €500-550 to rent in Dublin city centre, or around €450 for a shared room.

'This year a lot of my friends were rejected from campus accommodation, as was I, so that made it even more difficult, because in fourth year you're kind of banking on getting on campus.'

Students need to be 'on the ball' - USI

She urged students to start looking early. 'Once September hits, everyone gets back from America or wherever they were on holidays and everyone starts looking, it's so hard to find a place.

'And also a lot of places don't take students - they'll only accept professionals so if you find a place now you just take it, and you pay the extra couple of months' rent.'

USI President Shane Kelly said some problematic accommodation remains around the city. 'We hear from students who are trying to rent in places where they have an outside toilet or a toilet shared between 15 apartments.'

But he said that while such situations still existed, they were only experienced in a minority of cases.

He said students were already on the look for places for next year, and added that the search would intensify after the Leaving Certificate results are issued.

'So really people need to be on the ball now if they're trying to find a decent accommodation close to where they're thinking of studying,' he said.

Naoise McNally of property website Daft.ie says there is approximately double the amount of rented property on the market compared to last year.

She said that this should make it easier for students to find a property, and added that rents were falling.

'They're not dropping by huge amounts in nominal terms - we're talking about 2% across the board - but it does vary significantly from region to region and from area to area in the city.'
The USI said that while there were more properties on the market, demand for rental housing had also increased.

I've underlined the pertinent bit in bold. Googling the young Ms. I****e M****n reveals the young lady has a Bebo page! Lots of pictures of boozing and a nice little anecdote about having to get the firemen out because some of her friends decided it would make a super spot for a mosh pit.

All I can say is, little wonder she should have trouble finding a place to stay!

Her bebo.

The ActionScript 3.0 Documentation is Muck

Imagine, you're relatively new to Flex. You try to create an array of objects. From your Java days, you remember the java.util library contains ArrayList, which fits the bill perfectly. Now, you go to the Flex documentation, mx.collections, expecting to find something similar. The LiveDocs contain nothing, so you try Google, which give the suggestion of using mx.collections.ArrayList.

Hold on, didn't you just read the ActionScript documentation and there was no mention of ArrayList? For fun, you try importing mx.collection.ArrayList, creating an ArrayList, populating it and then print the length of the array.

import mx.collections.ArrayList;
import mx.controls.Alert;

var theList : ArrayList = new ArrayList();
theList.addItem(new Object);
theList.addItem(new Object);
theList.addItem(new Object);

Alert.show(theList.length.toString());

Surprisingly, this compiles and outputs 3 as the expected result, despite the fact there is no documentation to suggest it would work.

Well Done Munster

Legend.

Where Are They Now? Sean Thornton

He's only just turned 24, but it seems like Sean Thornton has been around the football scene for years now.

He started his career at Tranmere Rovers but it wasn't long before the highly-talented youngster was quickly snapped up by Sunderland. In his debut season, he was regarded as one of the few positives in the dismal 02/03' season where Sunderland scored what was then a record low of 19 points for the season. The high point of the season for Thornton came when he scored this cracker against Chelesa while still only 18 years of age.


After an impressive first season, his form dipped badly and he was eventually off-loaded to League one side, Doncaster Rovers. It was clear that then manager, Mick McCarthy was tired of his off-field boozing. Here's a few choice quotes about Thornton from the Sunderland forum, readytogo.

• "Loads of talent and potential but threw it away. He was spotted in the Hollymere, slumped over his pint with a baseball cap pulled over his face."


• "He still owns the house next door to me. Our other neighbour looks after the gardens. Really nice lad, loved Sunderland AFC and the local people/area. He just couldn't keep off the drink."
  
• "He once tried to nick a staff taxi off me when I worked at the Derry. He told the driver he'd pay him double to take him to Liquid, he was sound with me like)."

Despite putting in a Man of the Match performance to know Aston Villa out of the League Cup, he soon fell back into bad habits after a promising start at Doncaster. He's now at his present club, Leyton Orient where the now married Thornton was spotted on the razz in Ibiza.

(Didn't even take the ring off the finger!)

godhatesireland.com

With the economy going down the shitter, maybe the Westboro Baptist Church were right after all!

Buying Stocks With Sharewatch

Buying shares in companies listed on the ISEQ index is a pain.

First of all, not only do you have to deal with the 1% government stamp duty on all purchases, but you also have to pay some pretty hefty execution fees.

Secondly, you've got to decide whether you want your shares to be held electronically, or whether you want the actual paper certificates. To have the shares held electronically, then you'll have to pay an annual fee. By holding the shares yourself, you don't have to worry about paying the annual charges.

Finally, you've got to decide if you intend on regularly buying and selling stocks. If you intending on trading often, then you need to choose a broker who has low execution costs (each time you execute a buy or sell order, you will incurr a fee). With this in mind, the small-time Irish investor has two realistic broker options.

1. Sharewatch offer a small trades, execution-only service, that let's you purchase shares for a flat rate fee of €50 with no annual fee. If you're like me, and don't intend of trading regularly, then it makes sense to choose a broker with no annual fee. The shares are issued in paper form, so they can be stuffed in a drawer until you're ready to cash out. I've personally used Sharewatch and found them to be quite speedy and efficient. You simply transfer your cash to their bank, call them up, buy your shares and give them your details. A few days later, you get your sweaty little hands on your very own share certificates.
2. NIB on the otherhand will hold shares electronically and charge an annual fee of €40, regardless of what trading activity occurs on your account. The upside of using NIB though, is that each time you trade, you're only charged €20. If you're making several trades a year, an NIB share account makes a lot more sense than paying €50 a trade with Sharewatch.

In short, if you plan on trading often, then the NIB offer is about the best in the market at present. If you're like me though, and simply want to make a very occasional trade, then Sharewatch is your only man.