Ramdom News Articles 2011

In here I will post news atricles. Here is the first one for this year

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5 Ways to Make Your Dishwasher Last Longer
Wise Bread, On Monday January 3, 2011, 11:36 am EST

Dishwashers have a life cycle of about 15 years. But with good care and maintenance, it's possible to make your dishwasher last longer and perform more efficiently. Here are five strategies for getting more from your dishwasher.

[In Pictures: 12 Money Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes]

Filter checkups

Filters are located in the interior of a dishwasher's floor and are designed to trap or catch food scraps. It's important to make sure that the filters are clean after every load, according to an expert from a national appliance retailer. (See also: Do you really need soft water?)

Rust alert

Tines--a dish rack feature--hold plates, bowls and cups in place. Broken tines can leave rust stains on dishes or fall off and damage the pump. Watch out for tines that are damaged or nicked. Repair faulty tines with rack repair kits, which can be purchased in hardware stores or from the repair section of appliance stores. It's also possible to buy replacement racks for your dishwasher.

Spray safety

Examine the spray arms, which can be found on the ceiling or floor of the dishwasher. Food and detergent can clog the holes on the spray arm. This buildup can block the even distribution of water during the clean cycle.

[Visit the U.S. News My Money blog for the best money advice from around the web.]

Food disposal

There's no reason to clean your dishes before stacking the dishwasher. Large food leftovers should be scrapped from dishes, but don't overdo it. Clear away chicken nuggets, but don't fuss over dried ketchup on the plate. The process will preserve energy, effort and water.

Quick cycle

Dish-washing cycles are often extended until the appliance is filled with hot water. The dishwasher will continue to run water until the water temperature is warm enough start a new wash cycle. Use less energy and water by giving your dishwasher a head start. Here's how to shorten the process, according to one appliance expert: Before you turn on the dishwasher, run hot water for 10 seconds in the sink next to the dishwasher. This strategy heats the water in the pipes and shortens the running time of the dishwasher.

Sharon Harvey-Rosenberg is a special financial news contributor for Wise Bread. She is the author of "Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save Money" and a contributing author to "10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget."

Source: finance.yahoo.com

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Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know
by Stacy Johnson
Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Huffington Post recently put up a story called You're Out: 20 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade. It's a great retrospective on the technology leaps we've made since the new century began, and it got me thinking about the difference today's technology will make in the lives of tomorrow's kids.

've used some of their ideas and added some of my own to make the list below: Do you think kids born in 2011 will recognize any of the following?

Video tape: Starting this year, the news stories we produce here at Money Talks have all been shot, edited, and distributed to TV stations without ever being on any kind of tape. Not only that, the tape-less broadcast camera we use today offers much higher quality than anything that could have been imagined 10 years ago -- and cost less than the lens on the camera we were using previously.

Travel agents: While not dead today, this profession is one of many that's been decimated by the Internet. When it's time for their honeymoon, will those born in 2011 be able to find one?

The separation of work and home: When you're carrying an email-equipped computer in your pocket, it's not just your friends who can find you -- so can your boss. For kids born this year, the wall between office and home will be blurry indeed.

Books, magazines, and newspapers: Like video tape, words written on dead trees are on their way out. Sure, there may be books -- but for those born today, stores that exist solely to sell them will be as numerous as record stores are now.

Movie rental stores: You actually got in your car and drove someplace just to rent a movie?

Watches: Maybe as quaint jewelry, but the correct time is on your smartphone, which is pretty much always in your hand.

Paper maps: At one time these were available free at every gas station. They're practically obsolete today, and the next generation will probably have to visit a museum to find one.

Wired phones: Why would you pay $35 every month to have a phone that plugs into a wall? For those born today, this will be a silly concept.

Long distance: Thanks to the Internet, the days of paying more to talk to somebody in the next city, state, or even country are limited.

Newspaper classifieds: The days are gone when you have to buy a bunch of newsprint just to see what's for sale.

Dial-up Internet: While not everyone is on broadband, it won't be long before dial-up Internet goes the way of the plug-in phone.

Encyclopedias: Imagine a time when you had to buy expensive books that were outdated before the ink was dry. This will be a nonsense term for babies born today.

Forgotten friends: Remember when an old friend would bring up someone you went to high school with, and you'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them!" The next generation will automatically be in touch with everyone they've ever known even slightly via Facebook.

Forgotten anything else: Kids born this year will never know what it was like to stand in a bar and incessantly argue the unknowable. Today the world's collective knowledge is on the computer in your pocket or purse. And since you have it with you at all times, why bother remembering anything?

The evening news: The news is on 24/7. And if you're not home to watch it, that's OK -- it's on the smartphone in your pocket.

CDs: First records, then 8-track, then cassette, then CDs -- replacing your music collection used to be an expensive pastime. Now it's cheap(er) and as close as the nearest Internet connection.

Film cameras: For the purist, perhaps, but for kids born today, the word "film" will mean nothing. In fact, even digital cameras -- both video and still -- are in danger of extinction as our pocket computers take over that function too.

[Minivans Making a Comeback]

Yellow and White Pages: Why in the world would you need a 10-pound book just to find someone?

Catalogs: There's no need to send me a book in the mail when I can see everything you have for sale anywhere, anytime. If you want to remind me to look at it, send me an email.

Fax machines: Can you say "scan," ".pdf" and "email?"

One picture to a frame: Such a waste of wall/counter/desk space to have a separate frame around each picture. Eight gigabytes of pictures and/or video in a digital frame encompassing every person you've ever met and everything you've ever done -- now, that's efficient. Especially compared to what we used to do: put our friends and relatives together in a room and force them to watch what we called a "slide show" or "home movies."

Wires: Wires connecting phones to walls? Wires connecting computers, TVs, stereos, and other electronics to each other? Wires connecting computers to the Internet? To kids born in 2011, that will make as much sense as an electric car trailing an extension cord.

Hand-written letters: For that matter, hand-written anything. When was the last time you wrote cursive? In fact, do you even know what the word "cursive" means? Kids born in 2011 won't -- but they'll put you to shame on a tiny keyboard.

Talking to one person at a time: Remember when it was rude to be with one person while talking to another on the phone? Kids born today will just assume that you're supposed to use texting to maintain contact with five or six other people while pretending to pay attention to the person you happen to be physically next to.

Retirement plans: Yes, Johnny, there was a time when all you had to do was work at the same place for 20 years and they'd send you a check every month for as long as you lived. In fact, some companies would even pay your medical bills, too!

[Watch: Toddler Can Name U.S. Presidents]

Mail: What's left when you take the mail you receive today, then subtract the bills you could be paying online, the checks you could be having direct-deposited, and the junk mail you could be receiving as junk email? Answer: A bloated bureaucracy that loses billions of taxpayer dollars annually.

Commercials on TV: They're terrifically expensive, easily avoided with DVRs, and inefficiently target mass audiences. Unless somebody comes up with a way to force you to watch them -- as with video on the Internet -- who's going to pay for them?

Commercial music radio: Smartphones with music-streaming programs like Pandora are a better solution that doesn't include ads screaming between every song.

Hiding: Not long ago, if you didn't answer your home phone, that was that -- nobody knew if you were alive or dead, much less where you might be. Now your phone is not only in your pocket, it can potentially tell everyone -- including advertisers -- exactly where you are.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

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Surprising New Uses for Dryer Sheets
by Real Simple Magazine, on Thu Jan 6, 2011 12:13pm PST


Hidden tricks behind the laundry room's most valuable product


Dryer Sheet as Iron Cleaner


Remove gunk from the soleplate of an iron. With the setting on low, rub the iron over the dryer sheet until the residue disappears, and you're left with a pristine press.


More New Uses:

New Uses for Kitchen Items

Laundry New Uses for Old Things

Dryer Sheet as Shoe Freshener

Roll up one sheet per slipper, sneaker, or loafer, insert, and forget about stinky shoes. (Bonus uses: Toss them in hampers, on closet shelves, in diaper bags.)

More New Uses:

Surprising Cleaning New Uses

Ironing New Uses for Old Things

Dryer Sheet as Static Stopper


Stop static cling on clothes—or tame flyaway hair—by rubbing a sheet over the problem area.

More New Uses:

New Uses for Things in the Bathroom

New Uses for Baking Soda


Dryer Sheet as Sawdust Clearer

An easy way to keep the work area clean. Saw dust at a work station sweeps up so fast with one pass of a used fabric softener sheet.


More New Uses:

Cooking New Uses for Old Things

Surprising Uses for Your Dishwasher

Dryer Sheet as Thread Detangler
To prevent tangles, run a threaded needle through a sheet before you begin stitching.


More New Uses:

New Uses for Clothing

Beauty New Uses

Dryer Sheet as a Scum Buster

Remove obstinate soap buildup from glass shower doors by sprinkling a few drops of water onto a used fabric-softener sheet and scrubbing.

More New Uses:

New Uses in the Car

New Uses for a Plastic Bag


Dryer Sheet as a Drawer Sachet

If fabric-softener sheets make your clothes smell nice in the dryer, just think about what they could do in your dresser. Slip a few fresh ones between folded clothes.

Read the Rest:

Surprising New Uses for Dryer Sheet



Don't Miss

23 Cooking Uses for Your Microwave

Source: shine.yahoo.com

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Weight Loss After 40: Why It's So Hard -- and What Works
By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com
Tue, Jan 04, 2011



Every year, it s​eems, the needle on the scale is a little harder to budge. You cut back on portion size; you say, "No, thank you," to dessert; you sign up for an aerobics class -- and yet your jeans size goes up and your energy level goes down. What's going on?

Starting in our early 40s, our bodies go through a series of changes that affect the very core of our being. Thanks to hormonal and other changes, the very growth rate of our cells slows down. Some of these changes are the result of the natural aging process. It's just something we have to learn to work around.

Sometimes, though, something's gotten off track, metabolically speaking, and there's an underlying medical issue that needs to be dealt with before the usual weight-loss measures will have any effect. Here's a ten-step plan for understanding the challenges that prevent weight loss over 40, and for learning how to overcome them.

Seven Foods That Help You Lose Weight

1. Get to know your body's new biological rhythms -- and adjust to them.

In long-ago times, older didn't necessarily mean plumper. Think of those icons of the American prairie, the sinewy pitchfork-wielding farm couple pictured in American Gothic. But today, those of us over 40 face a twofold challenge: We're living longer, and we're no longer out there pitching hay to the cows at 5 a.m.

When it comes to burning calories, it's a fairly simple equation. What goes in must be burned off, or it sticks to our ribs. Acquiring weight is absurdly easy -- eating just 100 extra calories a day (100 more than what your body burns) will lead to a nine- to ten-pound weight gain over the course of a year, experts say. How much is 100 calories? Not a lot: A can of Coke contains 155 calories, a chocolate bar more than 200. Of course, that cola or chocolate chip cookie is no problem if we're walking or running it off. But after 40, our activity level tends to decline, too. So the challenge is to bring the two into balance.

Look back over the past year, and think about when your weight s​eemed to be holding steady and when it s​eemed to be trending slowly upward. What were you doing during the good weeks? What sabotaged you the other times? Make a list of what works for you, and what throws you off. Your own healthy habits in the past are the ones most likely to work for you now.

2. Eliminate underlying metabolic conditions.

Would it surprise you to know that thyroid problems strike as many as one out of five adults over age 40? The most common of these is hypothyroidism -- an underactive thyroid -- and hypothyroidism is one of the primary reasons many people over 40 can't lose weight. The thyroid is a tiny gland that produces hormones that regulate metabolism, and when it's underactive, so is everything else. Think of low thyroid as having your internal thermostat set too low. Symptoms include feeling cold all the time, poor circulation in the hands and feet, clammy hands, tiredness and lethargy, hair loss (including eyebrows and eyelashes), and weight gain -- despite real attempts to exercise and eat well.

If you suspect an underactive thyroid may be undermining your metabolism, the first step is to call the doctor and ask for a thyroid test. But beware: The first-line thyroid blood test, known as the TSH, is notoriously unreliable. And doctors are busy arguing about what's "normal" anyway. As of 2003, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists began recommending that the cutoff for normal TSH should be 3.0 versus the older standard of 5.5, but this news hasn't reached many labs or doctors. And lots of endocrinologists think having a TSH between 1 and 2 is ideal for maintaining normal body weight and function.

If your TSH result is above 3.0, make sure your doctor knows about the new recommendation. And ask for further testing; there are a number of additional tests that many experts believe give more accurate readings of thyroid function.

3. Adjust your eating habits for maximum energy.

Your goal at this stage in your life is to keep yourself feeling full without succumbing to the temptation to eat like you could at age 20. One strategy recommended by internist Julie Taw, MD, of Englewood, New Jersey, is to eat more frequently but to consume less at each sitting. An added benefit of eating this way is that it's easier to keep your blood sugar steady, so you don't have the peaks and valleys that contribute to fatigue.

Here's the rule: Try eating five to six small meals a day, and don't go more than three or four hours without eating. For example, you might eat a healthy breakfast before you leave for work, then have a nonfat yogurt in the late morning. Then instead of eating a big pasta lunch and spending the afternoon in a stupor, eat a light lunch and spend the rest of your lunch break taking a brisk walk. An afternoon snack of trail mix and an apple keeps you from needing the 4 p.m. sweet treat and makes it easier to avoid overeating at dinner.

Your goal is the opposite of the starvation approach to dieting -- you want to trick your body into feeling satisfied and well-fed at all times, though the total amount you're eating is less.

4. Time your eating to take advantage of your body's natural rhythms.

Don't like to eat breakfast? Sorry, but there's no way around this one; eating a good breakfast is one of the key habits experts have identified that keeps thin people thin. When members of the National Weight Control Registry (people who have maintained a weight loss of 30 pounds for between one and six years) were surveyed, 78 percent reported eating breakfast every day and almost 90 percent reported eating breakfast at least five days a week. This was one of the only factors researchers identified that those in the registry had in common!

5. Trick your metabolism with fat-fighting foods.

I know you've heard it before, but it's true: It's really not just about how much you eat, but how much of which foods. There are plenty of healthy foods you can eat all you want of -- and no, that doesn't mean stuffing your fridge with celery sticks, 1970s-style. Instead, make a few simple tweaks to your diet, incorporating foods that actually fight fat instead of those that trigger it. Then eat other foods in moderation, and you should be OK.

6. Make muscles an ally in your weight-loss campaign.

There's one thing the exercise gurus have gotten right: The more muscle mass you have, the more effectively your metabolism burns calories. But sad to say, a natural tendency of aging is to lose muscle, gradually replacing it with fat. So in order to enlist the calorie-burning abilities of muscle, we do have to work at it.

A common misconception, though, is to mix up muscle-building with aerobic exercise. Both are good, but the aerobic part -- though it does burn calories -- isn't what we're talking about here. What you really need to focus on for long-term benefit is basic strength training. Buy some hand weights, a bar, and some stretch bands, and channel your high school gym teacher. Make it as pleasant as possible; work out while you watch the evening news or your favorite sit-com. Slowly and gradually build up those biceps, abs, deltoids, and glutes, and you'll have some key allies in your fight to prevent age-related weight gain.

7. Get more sleep to burn more calories.

As any perimenopausal woman or hardworking man over 35 can tell you, sleep gets ever more elusive as you age. It's not just that we're busier and more stressed. We also have multiple physical issues, from back pain to snoring to night sweats, any of which can interfere with getting a good night's sleep.

Yet, paradoxically, getting a good night's sleep is one of the keys to losing weight, says neurologist David Simon of the Chopra Center in Carlsbad, California. In recent years, significant research has shown that lack of sleep is directly connected to weight gain because of the actions of two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, that control hunger and satiety, or feeling full. When you're sleep deprived, your ghrelin levels increase at the same time that your leptin levels decrease. The result is more craving, less feeling full. Add to that the fact that sleep-deprived people often crave "energy" foods, which tend to be sweet or salty, and you can see how small changes in your routine can add up to big weight gain.

Lastly, there are tantalizing new studies suggesting that our bodies may be more metabolically active while we sleep than previously thought. So the longer we sleep, the more we rev up our inner fat-burning engines. (You still shouldn't snack late at night, though. Researchers also believe that calories eaten late in the evening are processed less efficiently than those consumed during the day, no matter how active our nighttime metabolism.)

Add these all together and you can see a pattern emerging: The older we are, the harder it is to get a good night's sleep -- and the less we sleep, the more likely it is we'll gain weight. What to do? Take steps to combat sleep problems and your waistline will benefit, too.

8. Strike up a healthy relationship with your sweet tooth.

If you're dying for a sweet treat, give it to yourself, savoring it slowly so it registers fully with your brain's pleasure sensors. A trick that many experts recommend: Cut the treat in half before you start eating, carefully wrapping the second half up to "save for later." You may or may not want it -- sometimes if you eat the first half slowly and consciously enough, you'll feel satisfied. But knowing it's there if you do plays a nice trick on your brain, which tends to crave things it perceives as being in short supply.

Also, don't try to substitute artificially flavored sweets. Researchers have recently discovered that artificial sweeteners fail to trigger the body's natural satisfaction response. So eating that 100-calorie artificially sweetened cookie only adds to your problems; you'll keep on wanting the real cookie, so the 100 calories you just ate were in vain.

9. Forget dieting. Instead, focus on your fuel-to-energy ratio.

If, like most 40-somethings, you're packing some extra pounds, you've probably made plenty of resolutions to go on a diet. You've also probably figured out by this point in your life that diets rarely work, and neither does suddenly embarking on a strenuous new exercise regimen. There's a good reason that sudden, drastic changes don't lead to long-term weight loss, and may even lead to a rebound. Have you noticed that your weight tends to stay fairly constant week to week, even if one day you go on a junk food binge and the next day you're fairly good? Nature designed us with optimum abilities to maintain a steady metabolic rate, because it helps us weather food shortages and sudden demands on our energies.

Unfortunately, this means that when you've gradually gained weight over time, your body has adapted to the new weight and now does its best to hold onto it. So here's what you do: You make slow, gradual adjustments to each end of the equation. And you -- and only you -- decide which end of the fuel-in, energy-out equation to emphasize and when.

10. Make slow, realistic changes in tune with your lifestyle.

Let's say you want to lose ten pounds. To do so right now, you'd have to eat nothing at all for about 2 weeks, or jog for 51 hours, or walk for 126 hours. Not only would it be impossible, attempts like those would send your body into starvation-mode metabolic slowdown, sabotaging your efforts.

But you could also, much more effectively, set out to lose one to two pounds a week for the next five to ten weeks. Remind yourself that you are the only one in charge of tuning up your metabolic engine. Decide whether you prefer to focus your energies on cutting down the number of calories you're consuming, or on upping the number you're burning. Most likely, you'll strike a balance between the two that suits you. If adding three half-hour walks a week is relatively painless for you, that's a good choice. If going outdoors in ten-degree weather is singularly unappealing and you wouldn't be caught dead in a gym, then focus on dietary changes instead.

Your primary goal should be making small, gradual lifestyle changes that you can incorporate into your daily routine and stick with over time. That's the ultimate secret to combating over-40 weight gain.

Source: health.yahoo.net

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10 Things Your Skin Says About Your Health
By Paula Spencer, Caring.com
Tue, Jan 04, 2011


If skin were merely a sausage casing for the rest of you, it wouldn't be nearly so useful. An organ itself (your body's largest in terms of both weight and surface area), skin protects against invasive bacteria, regulates body temperature, and picks up information from the stimulation of touch, pressure, pain, heat, and cold. Little wonder, then, that when there's something wrong with you on the inside, your skin sometimes sends up the first warning flare.

18 Things Your Feet Say About Your Health

"Diabetes, for example, is generally a silent disease, but it can lead to distinct changes to the skin. So the skin may in fact be the first indicator of what's happening," notes dermatologist Amy Newburger, MD, of Scarsdale, New York, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology.

Here's the skinny on ten dermatologic oddities worth watching for in yourself or someone you love.

Red flag: Yellowish skin, orange palms and soles

What it means: The cartoonish skin hues of carotenemia can be the unfunny result of an underactive thyroid gland -- hypothyroidism -- which causes increased levels of beta-carotene in the blood. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant, found in fruits and vegetables, that normally gets processed by the thyroid. When there's a thyroid problem, the gland doesn't metabolize the vitamins as quickly, so beta-carotene accumulates. You can also get Technicolor skin due to beta-carotene buildup thanks to a diet heavy on carrots, carrot juice, sweet potatoes, and squash.

More clues: The skin of someone with hypothyroidism also tends to be dry and cold, and sometimes more pale than yellowed. Feeling tired, sluggish, weak, or achy are the main symptoms, along with possible unexplained weight gain. Women over 50 most often develop hypothyroidism.

What to do: Carotenemia caused by a skewed diet isn't serious and resolves itself when a broader range of foods is consumed. Hypothyroidism, however, is a medical condition that can lead to such complications as heart problems, so a combination of skin changes plus fatigue warrants attention from a doctor.

Red flag: Breaking out in hives in the sun

What it means: Being truly allergic to the sun is pretty rare (although this kind of immune system response can happen in some people). A more likely explanation for going outside on a sunny day and coming back with an itchy rash that looks like hives or eczema is having taken a photosensitizing drug. A chemical in the medication causes changes that increase the person's sensitivity to light.

"It's common in the Northeast to have no problem all winter long, and as soon as the weather gets nice and folks are outside less bundled up, the rash appears," says Newburger.

More clues: The rash is limited to sun-exposed areas, including the forearms, the neck, and, less commonly, the face. It can feel worse and last longer than a sunburn. It doesn't matter whether you're fair-skinned or dark-skinned; anyone can have a photoreaction. One of the most common drug culprits: thiazide diuretics (Hydrodiuril, Dyazide), which are a first-line treatment for hypertension. Other meds that can produce this effect include antihistamines, tetracycline, the antiaging and antiacne drug tretinoin, and tricyclic antidepressants. Two different people can react quite differently to the same drug. Or you may have no reaction one time but a severe reaction later.

What to do: Check the labels of your prescription medications. Look for phrases such as "May cause chemical photosensitivity." Use a high-SPF sunscreen or sunblock but know that this may not prevent the rash; the best advice is to wear sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat, cover the skin, and limit sun exposure. Tell your doctor, too; a switch in medicines may prevent further rashes.

Red flag: Long dark lines in the palm

What it means: A palm-reading mystic might have her own interpretation, but to a physician, a deepening of the pigment in the creases of the palms or soles is a symptom of adrenal insufficiency, an endocrine disorder. Also known as Addison's disease, the name comes from its discoverer, physician Thomas Addison. Its two most famous victims include President John F. Kennedy and -- it's thought -- the writer Jane Austen.

More clues: Hyperpigmentation may also be visible around other skin folds, scars, lips, and pressure points (knees, knuckles). Addison's sufferers have low blood pressure, which falls further when the person stands. Salt loss can lead to a craving for salty food. The disease affects men and women equally but is found most commonly between ages 30 and 50.

What to do: It's important to mention this visible symptom to a doctor, as skin changes may be the first symptoms seen before an acute attack (pain, vomiting, dehydration, and loss of consciousness, a cascade known as an Addisonian crisis). Lab tests to measure cortisol (which is produced by the adrenal gland) provide a diagnosis.

Red flag: Large, dusky blue leg veins

What it means: Some of your veins are no longer working properly when you spy ropy, blue-to-purple lines snaking up your legs. Venous disease -- a.k.a. varicose veins -- can be a mere cosmetic annoyance or can cause pain, cramping, and difficulty walking. Veins rely on one-way valves, like shutters, to keep blood circulating; when they stop working, blood leaks back into the vein and pools there.

More clues: Varicose veins are sometimes mistaken for spider veins, a weblike network of smaller blue or red veins closer to the skin's surface. Varicose veins tend to be larger, darker, and sometimes raised, with a twisted appearance. (The name comes from the Latin varix, or "twisted.") Half of all people over age 50 have varicose veins, especially women. They often first appear in pregnancy.

What to do: Exercise, compression stockings, and avoiding constricting postures (like crossing your legs when seated) can help ease discomfort, but they won't make varicose veins disappear. Not all faulty veins cause problems. However, if the veins cause pain or become warm and tender to the touch, tell your doctor. Severe venous insufficiency can lead to dangerous blood clots. Treatments with good success rates include sclerotherapy (injecting a solution to shut the vein) and surgery -- also options if you just can't bear how your legs look at the beach.

Red flag: Brownish spots on the shins

What it means: The fronts of the legs along the shins tend to bang and bump into things a lot. For someone with diabetes, the damage to the capillaries and small blood vessels that are characteristic of the disease will cause them to leak when traumatized, leading to brown discoloration known as diabetic dermopathy.

More clues: The brownish patches may also be rough, almost scaly (although they don't open up), and tend to form ovals or circles. They don't hurt. Another common skin change of diabetes to look for: An open, unhealed sore on the foot. Diabetics lose the perception of pain, temperature, and touch on their feet, making them unlikely to notice common foot blisters -- which then go untreated and may become infected.

What to do: There's no health danger from diabetic dermopathy, and no need for treatment. But if someone who hasn't been diagnosed with diabetes shows these signs, it's worth checking for other signs of diabetes, such as thirst, excessive urination, tiredness, or blurry vision.

Red flag: Persistent rash that you want to scratch raw

What it means: Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) -- clusters of small, ferociously itchy blisters that show up repeatedly in the forearms near the elbows, the knees, the buttocks, the back, or the face or scalp -- are a hallmark of celiac disease, or an allergy to gluten. As many as one in four people with celiac disease have DH.

More clues: The rash appears on both sides of the body. Itching and burning are so intense you can hardly quit scratching. People with DH don't usually have the digestive symptoms of celiac disease, but they're intolerant of gluten just the same. DH often shows up between ages 30 and 40, and most often in people of northern European heritage.

What to do: Report the rashes to your regular doctor or a doctor who specializes in skin disorders to evaluate and rule out other causes. Blood tests and a biopsy of tissue from the small intestine are used to diagnose DH. A gluten-free diet for life is usually advised to keep symptoms at bay; this includes banishing foods, beverages, and medications that contain wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes oats. Drugs may help control the rashes.

Red flag: Purple stains or splotches

What it means: What looks a bit like a bruise, is often mistaken for a bruise, but tends to hang around longer because it's not exactly a bruise? Purpura (from the Latin for "purple"), or leaking blood vessels under the skin. It has several possible causes, ranging from a bleeding disorder to scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). But in adults over age 65, in whom it's common, the main explanation is thin skin, often made even more fragile by years of sun damage and weakened blood vessels. Then the condition is known by the unfortunate name of senile purpura.

"A substantial excessive intake of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, vitamin E, or ginkgo biloba, which older adults often take to boost memory, can worsen the condition," says dermatoligst Newburger. So can blood thinners, such as coumadin, alcohol, and steroids.

More clues: A classic bruise tends to turn black and blue following an injury. With purpura, in contrast, there doesn't need to be any trauma; the discoloration starts as red and turns purple, persisting longer than a bruise before fading or remaining brownish. The purple skin doesn't blanch (fade or lose color) when you press it. Purpura can cover large patches of skin or show up as small purple speckles called petechiae. No matter what the size, the purple areas are most common on the forearms, legs, and backs of the hands.

What to do: Extensive or persistent bruises should always be evaluated by a doctor, as should someone who seems to bruise easily. It's important to rule out underlying causes such as a bleeding disorder.

Red flag: Intense itchiness without rash

What it means: Feeling itchy in more than one specific spot can have many causes, but when there's no accompanying visible skin change, it may be pruritis, one of the first symptoms of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph system). In fact, it's known as the "Hodgkin itch" (the two main types of lymphoma being Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma).

More clues: The itchiness is more intense than that caused by ordinary dry skin. It can be felt generally or, most commonly, in the lower legs. Less often, the skin also looks reddish and inflamed. Another common symptom of both Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, collarbone, or groin. (Note that lymph nodes can swell because of common infections as well.)

What to do: Report persistent, intense itching to your doctor.

Red flag: Pallor, especially with blue-tinged nails

What it means: Severe anemia, a blood disorder, can show up as pasty, paler-than-usual skin on the face and palms. Anemia can be the result of iron deficiency, chronic blood loss from bowel disease, or ulcer disease, among other reasons. Iron-deficient anemia is sometimes seen in people over age 70, who may no longer prepare nutritious meals or have interest in eating them because of depression or other health problems.

More clues: Unlike merely having a pale complexion, the pallor of anemia tends to affect the usually-reddish tissues of the mouth, gums, and lips, too. Look for nail beds to be very pale, almost bluish. Other symptoms include being quick to tire, headaches, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

What to do: Consult a nutritionist or doctor. Over-the-counter or prescription iron supplements usually correct anemia caused by a nutritional deficiency. It helps to eat more iron-rich foods (red meat, egg yolks, dark leafy green vegetables, dried fruit), especially in tandem with vitamin C (as in orange juice) for best iron absorption. Cooking in an iron skillet adds iron, too.

Red flag: Tingling skin followed by a rash on only one side of the face or body

What it means: An often painful condition called (herpes zoster) announces itself in this distinctive way. Shingles is caused by the same virus that gives people chicken pox. In eight out of ten people who get chicken pox, the virus retreats to the body's sensory nerves and stays there. But stress, infection, certain medications (such as those used in chemotherapy and after transplants), or an aging immune system can reactivate the virus years later, producing shingles.

More clues: A burning sensation and sensitivity to touch often precede the shingles rash by days or weeks. (Or, in some lucky people, the pain may be mild.) The rash itself first looks like raised red bumps, not unlike chicken pox, appearing in a band or strip on the trunk, legs, face, neck -- but only on the left or the right side. Within a few days, the bumps turn into fluid-filled pustules, which crust over a week to ten days later.

What to do: See a doctor as soon as you feel the pain, if you suspect you're in a high-risk group. Starting antiviral medication within 72 hours of the rash's appearance can reduce the severity of the disease and lower your odds of developing a complication called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). In PHN, the searing pain of shingles can continue for weeks, months, or even years. People older than age 70 are most likely to develop PHN, but anyone can.

And if the idea of fluid-filled pustules makes you hope you never get shingles, ask your doctor about the newish (2006) shingles vaccine, which the CDC recommends for all adults over age 60.

Source: health.yahoo.net

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Where You Might Not Shop In 2011
By Tom Van Riper, Forbes.com

Don't tell Borders or Liz Claiborne that the retail business is getting healthy. Despite years of industry cachet, both lose money, tout share prices in the single digits and just couldn't close down stores fast enough in 2010.

Chalk it up to fierce competition and customers' continued refusals to part with cash very easily, even as they loosen the purse strings a bit. Things are certainly less bleak. The latest results from the Commerce Department show that sales rose 6.6% for all retailers in 2010, the best year-over-year result since 1999. Wall Street has been responding. The S&P Retail Index is 23% higher than a year ago.

In Pictures: Where You Might Not Shop In 2011

The downside: the sales increase came off a low base, thanks to the disaster of 2009, and the 0.6% rise in December sales over last year was less than expected. Customers are paying with cash, not credit cards, an indication that they're still watching money closely. And given all the stores that are still closing doors, it's clear that some of the excess capacity from the go-go years is still around. Ask an industry expert about the current state of retail, and the feeling is better, but not great.

“You can't tell me it's good,” says Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a New York-based retail consultant and investment bank. “Given that Wal-Mart is down for six straight quarters, that Target missed [profit expectations] by a mile, and that Best Buy had a major earnings miss, how well can retail be doing?”

Borders Group, delaying payments to publishers and distributors as it struggles to refinance its debt, shut down approximately 200 of its Borders and Waldenbooks stores in 2010. With book readership declining in general and Amazon snagging a lot of the remaining business, things aren't easy for traditional booksellers. Rival Barnes & Noble recently completed the shutdown of its low-volume B. Dalton unit, once a staple of shopping malls across America. The last 50 B.Dalton stores were closed this past year.

Apparel sales are doing better these days, but that doesn't mean there's room for everyone. Not when so many players are out there competing for dollars that consumers are still parting with cautiously. TJ Maxx just shut down its A.J. Wright discount line, taking all 162 stores with it. Bebe Stores closed its PH8 unit at a cost of 48 stores.

And Liz Claiborne, struggling with losses selling through its outlet stores, shut them down altogether (87 in all) in favor of putting out their product through J.C. Penney and QVC. “They really had no choice,” says Davidowitz. “This at least gives them some cash flow for awhile.”

Meantime, in case there was any doubt about the influence of Netflix and iTunes on the entertainment front, movie and music sellers Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Trans World Entertainment's F.Y.E unit have all been high-tailing it out of many U.S. towns. Movie Gallery, which once boasted almost 5,000 stores, completed the liquidation of its remaining 2,400 units last summer.

Not that every store closing is a bad thing. Some companies are effectively using targeted closures to their advantage. Casual apparel chain Abercrombie & Fitch has shut down approximately 60 combined flagship and Abercrombie Kids locations, about 10% of its total. The downsizing is serving the company well: Comparative sales at the remaining stores have improved and analysts have upped their per-share earnings estimates significantly for the January quarter.

Sometimes less is more. Just don't tell that to Blockbuster.
Blockbuster

Stores closed: 955

Percentage of total: 23.6%

Netflix is winning the online movie rental war, and Blockbuster can’t seem to close stores fast enough to get out from under its crushing debts. The company hopes to reignite interest with self-serve kiosks. We’ll see.

Liz Claiborne

Stores closed: 87

Percentage of total: 100%

The struggling apparel chain shuttered its branded stores and is now trying to make it work by selling through JC Penney and QVC. By getting goods out cheaper, the move at least gives the company a short-term lifeline.

A.J. Wright

Stores closed: 162

Percentage of total: 100%

The TJ Maxx discount line is shutting its doors for good, effective in February. The company plans to convert slightly more than half the shuttered units into TJ Maxx, HomeGoods or Marshalls stores, though more than 4,000 job cuts are still expected.

Borders

Stores closed: Approximately 200 (analyst estimate; company won’t confirm)

Percentage of total: 28%

Sinking revenue has Borders scrambling to refinance its debt and delay payments to publishers. Many analysts doubt its viability going forward.

Quizno’s

Stores closed: Aproximately 1,000 (analyst estimate; company won’t confirm)

Percentage of total: 22.7%

Struggling as a higher-priced alternative to Subway, the sandwich chain began putting mini-stores into gas stations to boost market share. Upscale fast sandwiches are a tough position in a down economy.


Jones Apparel

Stores closed: 173

Percentage of total: 18.4%

The fashion chain, with brands including Evan-Picone, Nine West and Ann Klein, is seeing margins squeezed by higher materials costs. Analysts say footwear and accessories are its best bets going forward.

F.Y.E.

Stores closed: 99

Percentage of total: 17.6%

Most of the planned store closings for the music and DVD seller are still in progress. Parent Trans World Entertainment saw a 20.2% year-over-year sales drop during its latest quarter. In the age of iTunes, the music business is a tough grind for many others.


Click Here To See The Full List Of Places Where You Might Not Shop In 2011

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Quote :

18 Things You Can Get Rid of Today
by FamilyCircle.com, on Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:57pm PS

Overtaken by stuff? These mom-tested strategies will have you cleaning house in no time.

By Diana Reese

Just Say No to Too Much Stuff

Stuff. For many of us it's worse than any four-letter word. That's because "stuff" can weigh you down and
hold you back, says Gail Blanke, author of Throw Out Fifty Things. And, in the end, much of what we accumulate in life isn't all that important. As Marilyn Bohn, author of Go Organize!, points out, "No one ever says, 'I wish I'd kept more stuff.'"

Still, getting rid of our discards can be a challenge. Carla Eskelsen, a mom in Farmington, Utah, admits she had trouble letting go of stuff until she figured out how to manage her "pioneer DNA." Once she figured out that donating and recycling "honored" her pioneer ancestors, she found it much easier. "It's about sharing and blessing others instead of keeping it all for yourself," she says. Here's how you can share and bless others with all of your stuff—and end up with a cleaner, more peaceful home while you're at it.

1. Kitchen Utensils

Is your utensil drawer so full you can barely open and close it? You're not alone. When Robin Austin started cleaning her kitchen in preparation for a move, she found she had plenty of duplicate utensils, the result of a new marriage that combined households and six kids. Many of us also buy new utensils but forget to get rid of the old.

Here's a smart way to figure out what you're really using, from Motherboard Mom Jeanne Smith, Overland Park, Kansas: Toss everything—all the spatulas, rubber scrapers, pie servers, and so on—into a box. As you use a utensil from the box, put it back in the drawer. After a month, check what's left in the box. Keep those once-a-year items that remain in the box, like a turkey baster or candy thermometer. But donate the rest.

2. Coffee Mugs

Another item many moms find hogging valuable cupboard space: coffee mugs. "We had over 20 coffee mugs," says Kansas mom Dawn Schnake. She and her husband each chose four mugs to keep and donated the rest to a church rummage sale.

"Even if you received something as a gift, it's okay to let it go," says organizer Marilyn Bohn. "You only need to keep what works for you."

3. Plastic Containers

Mary Pankiewicz, owner of Clutter-Free and Organized in east Tennessee, suspects that plastic containers have a secret life (probably hanging out with those AWOL socks and hangers). How else can you explain why so many lids and bottoms don't match up? She suggests holding a "lid party" to match up those errant tops and bottoms. Pankiewicz recently took her own advice. "I had 25 lids with no bottoms and six bottoms with no lids," she says. After swapping with friends, she recycled the rest of the mismatched items.

4. Little-Used Kitchen Stuff

When was the last time you used that Bundt pan? If it was months ago, maybe you should give it to a friend. That's what Suzy Ayres and a pal did when they performed a joint kitchen cleanup. They took everything out of their cabinets and only put back what they used regularly. "The things that we left out that didn't get used much, we had to choose. If we put one thing back in the cabinet, we had to pick one thing to donate," Ayres says. The two also traded items: "She had lots of muffin pans and I didn't."

An added bonus to the plan: They now know what's in each other's kitchens, and don't need to buy some of those rarely used items, like a Bundt pan. "We've been trading the same ice bucket back and forth for years," Ayres says. "I can't even remember who it belongs to!"

5. Vases

Got vases from the last three Valentine's Day bouquets? Take them back to the florist, says Marla Cilley, who lives in Transylvania County, North Carolina, and runs the flylady.net, an Internet site devoted to housecleaning and organization.

"It takes away your creativity and takes over your mind," Cilley says.

6. Food

Cupboards full of food you're not sure you're going to use? Some solutions:

•Check the expiration dates on everything in your pantry, fridge, or freezer. If it's about to expire, put it on the menu for that week, says professional organizer Bohn.

•Motherboard Mom Dawn Schnake gives her sons what they call "muffin pan snacks" to get rid of those almost-empty bags of cereal, crackers, and chips. She fills each of the 12 muffin cups with a different snack and throws in some veggies, cut-up fruit, and cheese cubes. "The boys think they've sat down to a feast," she says—and she gets her pantry cleaned out.

•If you know you're never going to use an item—and it's still good—give it to your local food pantry.

•Have an "Eat Out of the Pantry or Freezer" week, says Marla Cilley, flylady.net. You'll be surprised at how creative you can get with your menu planning when you're only using the ingredients on hand. She also suggests this as a way to inspire creativity and frugality: "When you throw away food, imagine you're throwing dollar bills in the trash can!"

Organize Your Pantry

7. Spices

They don't mold and don't appear to go bad, but spices don't last forever, not even cayenne pepper. (Cinnamon's an exception to the rule.) "Dried is one thing, tasteless is another," says organizer Blanke. Give your spices the smell and taste test and if they've gone bland and boring, dump them. To find out how old your McCormick or Schilling brand spices are, go to http://mccormick.com/Spices101/HowOldSpices.aspx. And when you buy new spices, mark down the date on the package with a Sharpie.

8. Receipts

Computers were supposed to usher in a paperless society, but it hasn't happened quite yet. "Most of us are still drowning in paper," says organizer Pankiewicz. She suggests an annual cleanup. Check with your accountant about how long to keep important papers like tax returns but, in general, materials that support tax returns (receipts and so on) can be tossed after seven years.

9. Magazines

Do you have a stack of magazines by your bed that you haven't read? If two months have passed and they're still sitting there, consider donating them to a retirement home, hospital, doctor's office, or school. Many take magazines for art projects (if not for reading material). If, like former magazine editor Cherie Spino, a mom of four in Toledo, Ohio, you "can't throw a magazine away without reading it," do the flip-and-rip. Spino rips out recipes or articles she wants to keep and throws the rest into the recycling bin. She's putting the recipes in a binder.

Organizer Bohn suggests tearing out articles and putting them in a folder you can grab when you know you'll be sitting and waiting (think doctor's office). Or, if you're a tech-lover, you can get many popular magazines as an app for your phone or electronic reader.

10. Mail

It's a common bad habit: Grab the mail, flip through it for anything interesting, and then set it on "the pile" that accumulates until the day you start searching for overdue bills. "Scan and stand" is the system recommended by organizer Pankiewicz. "Standing is the trick," she says. Don't be tempted to sit down: Bring in the mail. Leave your coat on. Find a place by the wastebasket, recycling bin, or shredder, and stand and handle each piece of mail. Put bills in a basket or pretty gift bag, take magazines to where you read them, scan any newsletters and bulletins for important information, and discard the rest. "Your goal is to make the mail disappear," she says.

Clearing Paper Clutter

Source: shine.yahoo.com

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75 Surprising Expiration Dates
By Maya Kukes and Lisa Smith Keate, RealSimple.com

A handy keep-or-toss guide to 75 foods, beauty products, and household goods.

Food

Brown sugar
Indefinite shelf life, stored in a moistureproof container in a cool, dry place.

Chocolate (Hershey bar)
1 year from production date

Coffee, canned ground
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 1 month refrigerated

Coffee, gourmet
Beans: 3 weeks in paper bag, longer in vacuum-seal bag (after this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume)
Ground: 1 week in sealed container

Coffee, instant
Unopened: Up to 2 years
Opened: Up to 1 month

Diet soda (and soft drinks in plastic bottles)
Unopened: 3 months from “best by” date.
Opened: Doesn't spoil, but taste is affected.

Dried pasta
12 months

Frozen dinners
Unopened: 12 to 18 months

Frozen vegetables
Unopened: 18 to 24 months
Opened: 1 month

Honey
Indefinite shelf life

Juice, bottled (apple or cranberry)
Unopened: 8 months from production date
Opened: 7 to 10 days

Ketchup
Unopened: 1 year (after this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume)
Opened or used: 4 to 6 months (after this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume)

Maple syrup, real or imitation
1 year

Maraschino cherries
Unopened: 3 to 4 years
Opened: 2 weeks at room temperature; 6 months refrigerated

Marshmallows
Unopened: 40 weeks
Opened: 3 months

Mayonnaise
Unopened: Indefinitely
Opened: 2 to 3 months from “purchase by” date (after this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume)

Mustard
2 years (after this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume)

Olives, jarred (green with pimento)
Unopened: 3 years
Opened: 3 months
Olive Oil

[b[Olive oil[/b]
2 years from manufacture date (after this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume)

Peanuts
Unopened: 1 to 2 years unless frozen or refrigerated
Opened: 1 to 2 weeks in airtight container

Peanut butter, natural
9 months

Peanut butter, processed (Jif)
Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 6 months; refrigerate after 3 months

Pickles
Unopened: 18 months
Opened: No conclusive data. Discard if slippery or excessively soft.

Protein bars (PowerBars)
Unopened: 10 to 12 months. Check “best by” date on the package.

Rice, white
2 years from date on box or date of purchase

Source: shopping.yahoo.com

Quote :

Ex-Minn. governor sues over body scans, pat-downs

By AMY FORLITI, Associated Press Amy Forliti, Associated Press – Mon Jan 24, 8:26 pm ET
MINNEAPOLIS – Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura sued the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration on Monday, alleging full-body scans and pat-downs at airport checkpoints violate his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Ventura is asking a federal judge in Minnesota to issue an injunction ordering officials to stop subjecting him to "warrantless and suspicionless" scans and body searches.

The lawsuit, which also names Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole as defendants, argues the searches are "unwarranted and unreasonable intrusions on Governor Ventura's personal privacy and dignity . and are a justifiable cause for him to be concerned for his personal health and well-being."

According to the lawsuit, Ventura received a hip replacement in 2008, and since then, his titanium implant has set off metal detectors at airport security checkpoints. The lawsuit said that prior to last November officials had used a non-invasive hand-held wand to scan his body as a secondary security measure.

But when Ventura set off the metal detector in November, he was instead subjected to a body pat-down and was not given the option of a scan with a hand-held wand or an exemption for being a frequent traveler, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said the pat-down "exposed him to humiliation and degradation through unwanted touching, gripping and rubbing of the intimate areas of his body."

It claims that under TSA's policy, Ventura will be required to either go through a full-body scanner or submit to a pat-down every time he travels because he will always set off the metal detector.

Ventura, who was Minnesota governor from 1999 through 2002 and is now the host of the television program "Conspiracy Theory," did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Napolitano said in December that the new technology and the pat-downs were "objectively safer for our traveling public."

The U.S. Attorney's Office did not immediately return an e-mail message seeking comment Monday.

The TSA's website says there are nearly 500 full-body scanners in use at 78 airports. The scanners show a traveler's physical contours on a computer screen that's viewed in a private room. Faces aren't shown, and the person's identity is supposedly not known to the screener reviewing the images.

Not all travelers are selected to go through the scanners, but the TSA requires people who decline to submit to pat-downs that include checks of the inside of their thighs and buttocks.

Source:news.yahoo.com

Quote :

The When-to-Do-Everything Guide.
by Woman's Day, on Wed Jan 19, 2011 11:31am PST

By Kimberly Fusaro

News flash: You don’t have to spend your lunch break waiting in line at the DMV. No, you can’t add extra hours to your day (if only!) but you can use the hours you have more efficiently. In an effort to help you tackle that never-ending to-do list, we reached out to planning and productivity experts to get their take on the best time to visit the dentist, get a customer service rep on the phone and more. Follow their guidelines and you’ll breeze through your day—and maybe even find yourself with a few spare minutes to relax at night.

Before 8 a.m.: Exercise
The longer you put off exercising, the less likely you’ll be to actually do it, says registered dietitian and certified wellness coach Elizabeth Di Biase. Once other responsibilities get in the way, the best-laid plans to exercise often go out the window. And since most exercisers hit the gym later in the day, you're likely to score more space and available machines in the a.m. “Plus, research has shown that morning exercisers stick to their exercise plan more often than those who exercise later,” she says. Photo: Shutterstock

Before 9 a.m.: Place Online Orders
Get your Internet shopping done early in the day, suggests Paul Shrater, cofounder of e-commerce company Minimus.biz. “An order placed earlier in the day has a better chance of getting filled the same day and onto the shipping dock at the company’s warehouse,” he says. Photo: Thinkstock

After 9 a.m.: Call Customer Service
Give customer service reps a few minutes to have their coffee, too, urges professional organizer Sarah Long. If you call right at 8 a.m. (or whenever the business opens), they’ll be scrambling to answer your call while dealing with messages from the night before. Just make sure to get someone on the phone before noon, because everyone else will be calling during their lunch break. Also, try calling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, after the customer service reps have had a chance to put out fires from over the weekend. Photo: Thinkstock

Before 11 a.m.: Go to the DMV
Most people try to squeeze in a visit to the DMV (and post office and other state or government agencies) before work or on their lunch break, says time coach Elizabeth Grace Saunders. If you can sneak away from the office, beat the crowds by dropping in midmorning. Photo: Thinkstock

After 11 a.m.: Make Dinner Reservations
If you call your favorite restaurant first thing in the morning, you’ll probably speak with a waitress or busboy or someone who’s doing meal prep. To finagle a reservation, try calling just after 11 a.m., when maître d's generally arrive, suggests productivity expert Neen James. Generally, the person in charge of reservations is the only one who can rearrange the books to accommodate you, so don’t waste your time dealing with the rest of the staff. If you can’t get through at 11, try back around 4—after lunch is over, but before the dinner rush begins. Photo: Thinkstock

Before Noon: Meet for Lunch
Get your important lunch dates in early, suggests Saunders. If you meet clients between 11 and 12, before the lunch rush, the restaurant staff will be relaxed and more eager to serve you. You’ll also be able to land a choice table without waiting. Photo: Shutterstock

After 1 p.m.: Go to the Doctor or Dentist
Dentists generally reserve the earliest appointments for emergency patients, and lots of doctors spend their mornings doing rounds at a hospital, so it’s easy for either to already be behind schedule when they start officially seeing patients around 9 a.m. Instead of asking for the first appointment of the day, professional organizer Geralin Thomas suggests requesting the first slot after lunch, which is generally when doctors and dentists have “caught up” from their morning. Photo: Thinkstock


Discover other ways to reduce the amount of time you spend in the waiting room.

After 5 p.m.: Reach Senior-Level Executives
Lots of execs have “gatekeeper” assistants manning the phones from 9 to 5. If you feel your messages aren’t being relayed to the head honcho, such as a store’s manager or a business’s owner, try calling after the assistants have gone home for the day suggests Shrater. Many higher-ups get to work early and leave late, so if you call after-hours, you’ll have a shot at bypassing the assistant. Photo: Thinkstock

After 6 p.m.: Fuel Up Your Car
The worst possible time to buy gas is when you’re running late in the morning, when everyone else is fueling up, says James. (Even if you’re not running late in the morning, the long lines at the gas station will likely push you into running-late territory!) Make a habit of checking your gas gauge when you leave work at night. If it’s below a quarter-tank, swing by the gas station on your way home. Photo: Thinkstock

After 9 p.m.: Buy GroceriesIf someone else can tend to the kids, head to a 24-hour supermarket late at night, suggests Teri Gault, founder of The Grocery Game, who shops for groceries even later—around 11 p.m. “It’s just me and the workers who stock the shelves,” she says. “They’re listening to music and having fun, and there’s someone to help me in every aisle.” If you can’t make it to the market at midnight, try a weekday afternoon. Just avoid the grocery store on the weekend, when people are shopping for the week, and right after work, when everyone’s picking up last-minute things for dinner. Photo: Shutterstock

After 10 p.m.: Get Tech Support
When your Internet router’s down or your computer’s on the fritz, consider calling tech support in the middle of the night, suggests Gault, who says she built The Grocery Game between the hours of 12 and 4 a.m. Lots of tech-minded companies offer 24-hour support—by catching the staff “when they’re bored,” Gault says you can get one-on-one attention for as long as you feel like talking. Photo: Thinkstock



Original article appeared on WomansDay.com.

Related Articles at WomansDay.com

Quote :

6 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Alzheimer's and Dementia
By Sarah Baldauf, US News Thu, Jan 27, 2011

We all want to dodge the Alzheimer's bullet. And lucky us, Mother Nature has counterbalanced the power of our hard-wired genes by allowing multiple lifestyle choices to greatly influence our aging. Read: Your destiny is not fated; you do have some control. Yes, genes are powerful forces, but they "are not even the dominant factor" for the vast majority of people, says Paul Thompson, professor of neurology at the University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine. Here are some actionable factors that can help your brain stay healthy over the long term.

1. Physical activity

Research from the University of Illinois has suggested that regular aerobic activity—like running, walking, or bicycling, which require oxygen to produce energy—may do a better job of protecting brain function than nonaerobic activity, which does not recruit oxygen and uses short bursts of motion (golf, tennis, and lifting weights). Reaping the cognitive benefits of pumping oxygen- and sugar-rich blood to the brain won't require high intensity exercise, says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. The Alzheimer's Association advises picking activities you like and doing them regularly for at least 30 minutes a day.

2. Weight control

The heavier a person is, the more likely he or she may be to develop Alzheimer's. Thompson published research that found that the brains of older individuals who were obese (with a body mass index over 30) had approximately 8 percent less brain volume than subjects of normal weight (BMI between 18.5 and 25). When brain-volume loss reaches about 10 percent, Thompson says, symptoms like memory trouble or confusion appear. Earlier studies have suggested that people who are obese in midlife have a threefold increased risk of developing Alzheimer's, and those who are overweight (considered a BMI between 25 and 30) have a twofold increased risk. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that with added pounds, fat gets deposited in the brain and narrows blood vessels that deliver fuel, Thompson theorizes. Over the long term, brain cells die and vital connections and volume are lost.

3. Mental challenges

No, it's not just about doing sudoku—though puzzles do fall into the category. The brain's ability to reorganize neural pathways with new information or experiences means it's regularly changing; we can even generate new brain cells. But you need to work it. The general guideline, says Neil Buckholtz, chief of the dementias of aging branch at the National Institute on Aging, is regularly engaging in "some kind of new learning that challenges you." No one knows exactly what works, though population research has shown that having more years of formal education seems to be protective. Folks with lots of schooling can still get Alzheimer's, but the disease may appear later. From that, some extrapolate that lifelong curiosity and learning may have benefits.

4. Social connections

Research has found that people with larger social networks, while they had similar amounts of the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's as did more isolated people, were less affected cognitively. And separate research suggests that psychological distress over the long term significantly raises a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's. Thies predicts that science will eventually reveal that "this kind of interaction stimulates the brain to make new connections" that perhaps help compensate for decline. To get a threefer, try learning the intricate steps of the tango in a dance class with your friends.

5. Healthy diet

"What we have pretty good evidence for is that a diet higher in vegetables and lower in fat is [protective,]" explains Thies. While the evidence doesn't offer up any recipes for success, the general recommendation is to get plenty of veggies and fruits with dark skins, like spinach, beets, red bell peppers, onions, eggplants, prunes, blackberries, strawberries, red grapes, oranges, and cherries, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Some evidence suggests green, leafy cruciferous vegetables, in particular, are helpful. Eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial. So may some nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, and pecans, that have high levels of vitamin E, an antioxidant. Research published in the Archives of Neurology suggested that the Mediterranean diet appears to be protective against Alzheimer's. Some animal research has shown that curcumin, which is in the curry spice turmeric, suppresses the buildup of beta-amyloid, a main component in the harmful plaques in the Alzheimer's-afflicted brain.

6. Chronic disease control

Buckholtz notes that "high blood pressure in old age is a very strong risk factor for developing Alzheimer's later on, but if you can keep the blood pressure down, that decreases your risk." And a study published in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders found that people in their 40s who had mildly elevated cholesterol were at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's later in life. A sizable body of evidence suggests that type 2 diabetes and heart disease affect the brain and perhaps the development or severity of Alzheimer's.

Source: health.yahoo.net

Quote :

Foods that Promote Happiness
By Dr. Maoshing Ni Jan 21, 2011

If you’re feeling as blue as the skies above, you will be happy to know that a few spoonfuls of the right foods may turn that frown upside down! Whole foods contain vital nutrients that provide both physical and psychological benefits. Read on to discover which foods contain those mood-boosters to help you smile your way to longevity.

Fun with Folate

Eat folate-rich foods: Leafy greens like kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, bok choy, legumes, sunflower seeds, oranges, melons, beets, and fortified whole grains

Why? Folate, also know as folic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is necessary for cell division, DNA synthesis, and healthy blood cell production. Research at the University of York and Hull York Medical School has found a link between depression and low levels of folate. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for men and women is 400 micrograms and 600 micrograms for pregnant women. To keep you smiling, increase your intake of folate-rich foods. A cup of cooked lentils provides 90% of the RDA of folic acid. Plus, the fiber and protein will satisfy you longer, stabilize blood sugar, and also promote a better mood. Additional bonuses: Folate can also decrease homocysteine, an amino acid that is linked to heart disease. Low levels of folate can cause anemia, while pregnant women must increase their folate levels to prevent fetal neural tube deficiencies.



Boost Your B6

Eat B6 foods: bananas, chicken breast, garlic, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, sunflower seeds, broccoli, red bell peppers, watermelon, avocados, and potatoes

Why? Vitamin B6 plays a role in red blood cell metabolism, protein metabolism, and synthesis of neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. It also helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and increases the amount of oxygen carried to your tissues. Low levels can lead to an increase of homocysteine, anemia, headaches, and depression. The RDA for adults from age 19 to 50 is 1.3 mg/day and approximately 1.6 mg for individuals over 50. The next time you’re feeling down, grab a banana and munch your blues away!



Go Fish!

Eat omega-3-rich foods: fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and herring, flaxseeds, walnuts, and algae

Why? DHA omega-3 essential fatty acid maintains healthy brain function and is vital for fetal brain and eye development. Current research also demonstrates the association between intake of omega-3 fatty acids and depression. A meta-analysis study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that depression was significantly improved in patients with unipolar and bipolar disorders after taking three daily fish capsules for eight weeks. Eat the oily fish listed above -- a 3-ounce serving of salmon contains between 1.1 - 1.9 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. Supplementing with high quality fish oil capsules may be an alternative if you don’t consume fish on a regular basis. Vegetarian sources of omega-3 can be found in flaxseeds, walnuts, and algae. Toss a tablespoon of sunflower seeds or walnuts into a creamy cup of unsweetened low-fat yogurt for a mega mood boost!



Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Eat good carbs: whole grains, fruits, vegetables

Why? Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Whole grains, fruits, and veggies supply us with prolonged energy, fiber, and multiple nutrients that our bodies need for optimal health. Good quality carbohydrates can also trigger serotonin synthesis. Recognized as the “happy hormone,” serotonin is an important neurotransmitter that affects our mood and sleep. The next time you feel blue, instead of reaching for that bag of chips or sugary cookies, opt for unrefined, unprocessed carbohydrates that will provide you with sustained energy and an improved mood. Toss that muffin and enjoy a whole grain cracker with a tablespoon of natural nut butter for a delicious and uplifting snack!

You can find many more ways to live to 100 in Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to Be 100, which is now available on Kindle. Also, check out my new book Secrets of Longevity 8-Week Program, a journal that offers the best healthy habits to live to 100.

You can find many more ways to live to 100 in Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to Be 100, which is now available on Kindle. Also, check out my new book Secrets of Longevity 8-Week Program, a journal that offers the best healthy habits to live to 100.

I hope you eat foods for many long, happy years. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

—Dr. Mao

This blog is meant to educate, but it should not be used as a substitute for personal medical advice. The reader should consult his or her physician or clinician for specific information concerning specific medical conditions. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that all information presented is accurate, as research and development in the medical field is ongoing, it is possible that new findings may supersede some data presented.


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Discover a high-quality water filtration system that will provide you with pure, healthy water.

Order Dr. Mao's new book Second Spring: Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age.

Learn hundreds of ways for living a long and happy life with Dr. Mao's book Secrets of Longevity.

Find out amazing ways you can naturally increase your energy and heal common ailments in Secrets of Self-Healing, Dr. Mao's landmark book on natural healing.

Source: health.yahoo.net

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Organizing Computer Files Can Save Sanity, Speed Your PC

Some believe the ability to search your hard drive makes organizing computer files a useless endeavor. However, allowing your computer to become as cluttered as a desk piled with paper has consequences.

Holding on to accumulated files, photos and e-mails you no longer need can eventually lead to a slowdown of your operating system and make finding what you need difficult and time-consuming. Keeping the files on your computer in order will allow you to gain access to them more quickly, while getting rid of what you don’t need can shave time from your PC’s operation.

“If you frequently find yourself letting files clutter your computer's desktop, or if you spend time arranging files in a deep, complicated hierarchy of fine-grained folders, it's time for a revamp,” writes Gina Trapani in one of her posts at LifeHacker.com. “Remember, with simplicity comes effortlessness. A few simple but flexible buckets can get your bits and bytes under control so you can spend less time moving files around and more time getting work done.”

Whether by date, description or a combination of both, setting up your hard drive should be done in a way that makes sense to you and gets your desktop and hard drive cleaned up and organized. No matter how you choose to accomplish it, organizing your computer files will save you time, sanity and very likely speed your computer’s performance.

Taking Inventory

The whole process of organizing your computer isn’t that much different than cleaning the garage. The good news is that you won’t sneeze from all the dust or get super sweaty in the process. But, basically, you need to assess what you have and decide what to get rid of and what to keep and where to put the stuff you want to keep so you’ll be able to find it and get to it quickly and easily.

You may not want or need to keep everything that is stored on your computer. And you may even decide to store some of your files externally on a zip or travel drive, or via other online cloud computing sources.

“The trash can, or in this case the trash/recycle bin on your computer, can be your best friend,” writes Kalynn Bardolph in an article on the subject at HowStuffWorks.com. “If you don't need it, trash it. Free yourself from the clutter of old files and pictures. Deleting things can free up a lot of memory on your computer and leave you feeling a little less overwhelmed about organizing the rest of your files.”

Organizing files by category may help, such as sorting photos and images and then moving on to documents. If you decide to transfer some or all of these images, you might consider using SugarSync, which allows you to securely organize images, remove system-draining files from your hard drive and access them anywhere. You can also automatically back up, organize and share your photos with family and friends through SugarSync.

Also, keep an eye out for duplicate images that can be deleted.

Details, Details

It’s important to know the difference between program files and personal files. Program files come from programs and applications you've installed on your computer, such as Microsoft Office. Personal files are those you have created to store data such as pictures, documents and spreadsheets and the ones that should be organized and backed up.

You might consider creating subcategories for images, music or documents and further organize them by date or project name. The Windows operating system includes tools to help you find and edit files. The "My Computer" function and the "Windows Explorer" function both allow you to look for files and edit their names or locations.

Once you’ve sorted and purged, you’re ready to create folders to further streamline your computer files. You can even create a shortcut on your desktop to the folders you use most often to save time and keep your desktop clean. Many sources suggest a clean desktop improves overall PC operation.

Beyond documents and images, organizing bookmarks can be a worthwhile investment in time savings down the road. HowStuffWorks.com points out that if it is taking you longer to find the bookmark than it would be to search for it manually, it's time to reorganize. You can organize bookmarks similarly to how you would organize related files on your hard drive, in folders and subfolders. If you need more help, there is a great Firefox tutorial to Organize Bookmarks. If you use Internet Explorer, there is also a good Microsoft article to Organize Favorites.

Finally, Microsoft.com offers these additional tips to manage your files better:

Use Documents. In Windows 7, the Documents feature is actually a virtual library. You can customize the Documents library (in addition to the Music, Pictures, and Videos libraries that are also included by default) in Windows 7 to group files and folders from any location on your computer—without actually moving them. Or you can build your own libraries to easily organize your files.

Adopt consistent methods for file and folder naming. Develop a naming scheme for the kinds of files you create most often and then stick to it.
Keep names short. Even though Windows lets you use long file names, that does not necessarily mean you should. Long file names are harder to read. Let your folder structure do some of the naming.

Separate ongoing and completed work. To keep the Documents folder from becoming too unwieldy, use it only for files you're actively working on. As a result, you can reduce the number of files you need to search through and the amount of data you need to back up. Every month or so, move the files you're no longer working on to a different folder or location, such as a folder on your desktop, a special Archive folder, a flash drive, an external hard disk drive, or even a CD.

Store like with like. Restricting folders to a single document type (or predominantly one type) makes it easier for you to find files. For example, with all your graphics in a single folder—or in a single library in Windows 7, it's easy to use the Filmstrip view and slide show feature in Windows Explorer to find the right picture for your newsletter.

You can also use libraries in Windows 7 to group files together for easier searching without moving them into the same place, or use the “Arrange by” command to sort files by criteria such as author, date modified, and type.
Avoid large folder structures. If you need to put so many subfolders in a folder that you can't see all of them at a glance, consider creating an alphabetic menu.

Quickly get to the items you use every day. Jump Lists, a fun new feature in Windows 7, are lists of recently opened items, such as files, folders, or websites that are organized by the program that you use to open them. You can use a Jump List to open items, and you can even pin favorites to a Jump List.

Consider storing documents online. To further organize your files, access them from multiple locations and save space, there are several options for online document and image storage, including Snapfish, Flickr, GoogleDocs, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 or SugarSync.

– Deanna Glick

Source: daol.aol.com

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4 Mistakes Everyone Makes When Fighting Ab Flab
By Lucy Danziger and the staff at SELF Feb 17, 2011

There are a lot of things you can do to help melt stubborn belly fat that probably won't come as a surprise to you—you know, the typical cut-calories, get-regular-cardiovascular-exercise type of advice. But what you don't do can be just as key to finally achieving that firm, flat tummy. Get to know these sneaky belly bulgers so you can steer clear of them and trim inches off your waistline fast.

Parking in front of the TV
The occasional DVR-athon can be just what the doctor ordered, but people who tuned in for two or more hours daily had weaker ab and back muscles (by up to 10 percent) than those who viewed less than two hours, regardless of their overall activity level, researchers from the University of Oulu note. An hour of tube time is fine, especially if it motivates you to hit the gym. Schedule your workout to coincide with your favorite dramedy or reality show, and then tune in while you log some miles on the treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike.

Stressing out
Feeling frazzled and frantic? Increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, a result of chronic worry, lead to excess stomach fat, research shows. To de-stress and weigh much less, learn to breathe. When you're on edge (or feel like you're about to be), slowly inhale through your nose, counting to four. Then exhale from your mouth for a count of eight. Repeat until refreshed.

Diving into that darn bread basket!
Those fluffy white rolls? They're your flat-ab foe! When staring down a breadbasket, check its contents before digging in. If you see whole grains, go for it—in fact, feel free to enjoy 3 ounces a day. (One slice of whole-wheat bread or 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice are each 1 ounce.) Dieters who did so lost more stomach fat than those who merely cut calories and ate refined grains, a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals.

Munching late-night
I like dessert as much as the next gal, but if you're trying to tighten up your tummy, it's best to pass up that scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream and all other P.M. snacks. Your body may not burn nighttime nibbles as efficiently as it does those you eat during the day, a study of high-fat diets in the journal Obesity finds. Declare "last call" two hours before bed. "If you're really hungry, have a 150-calorie snack," says SELF contributing expert Janis Jibrin, R.D. If not, sip tea, cut the lights and bid farewell to the fridge until morning.

For the ultimate guide to fat-burning foods and moves check out the Jumpstart Diet.

Source: Healthyahoo.net

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Bananas: The ultimate hunger buster.
by Health.com, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:36am PST

By Shaun Chavis

Ever grab a snack but then feel hungry again 20 minutes later? Next time, reach for a banana. It’s loaded with Resistant Starch (RS), a healthy carb that fills you up and helps to boost your metabolism. Slightly underripe medium-sized bananas have 12.5 grams of RS—more than most other foods. Ripe bananas give you 4.7 grams of RS, still enough to keep hunger pangs away. Check out these tasty ways to work in this wonder food.

Health.com: 8 reasons carbs help you lose weight

Banana "Ice Cream"
Peel, slice, and freeze 1 small banana. Place frozen banana pieces in a blender with 3 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk; blend until thick. Top with 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts.

Banana Salsa
Make a quick salsa with 2 diced peeled bananas, 2 tablespoons minced red onion, 1 tablespoon minced cilantro, 1 teaspoon minced serrano or jalepeno pepper, juice of 1 lime, and brown sugar and salt to taste. Use it to top fish or pork tacos, jerk chicken, or jerk pork.

Health.com: 8 tasty taco recipes

Broiled Bananas
Slice 1 peeled banana in half lengthwise. Put banana pieces, cut sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the banana pieces with 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and broil on high until the sugar bubbles and the bananas brown (about 2–3 minutes). After broiling, sprinkle with cinnamon—or drizzle with 1 teaspoon rum for an extra-special treat.

Health.com: Surprising health benefits of cinnamon

Coffee and Banana Smoothie
Place 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 cup 1% low-fat milk, 1/2 cup cold black coffee, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1/2 cup ice in a blender. Blend until smooth—and enjoy.

Health.com: 11 healthy milk shakes and smoothies

Tropical Fruit Salad
Make a fruit salad with 1 sliced peeled banana, 1 sliced peeled kiwi, and 1/2 diced peeled ripe mango. Squirt juice of 1/4 lime over the salad, and serve.

Source: shine.yahoo.com

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8 Steps to Get Your Financial Life in Order
Jane Bryant Quinn Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Do you have "frugal fatigue?" You're not alone. Pinching pennies becomes exhausting, year after year. You dream of breaking free and buying everything in sight.

But tiresome as budgets are, consumers haven't quit them yet. You threw some money around in December, when credit card use bumped up for the first time since the 2008 financial collapse. Then remorse set in. Consumers slashed their credit-card spending in January by 6.4 percent at an annualized rate, the Federal Reserve reported this week.

That fits with what the National Foundation for Credit Counseling is seeing on the ground. In a recent NFCC survey, two-thirds of consumers said that they're sick of having to question every dollar they spend, but have no choice. Incomes are virtually flat, employers aren't calling the long-term jobless back to work, and the cost of critical purchases such as health insurance and gasoline are leaping up. Only 5 percent of the people questioned said that they couldn't stand to keep living under fiscal restraint, and intended to spend more. About 8 percent said they didn't need to be particularly frugal. They hadn't cut spending and were doing fine.

The rest -- about 20 percent of the consumers -- overcame their frugality stress in the old fashioned way: they changed their lifestyles so they could live comfortably within the incomes they had. They found this new life so positive that they said they'd never go back, reports Gail Cunningham, a spokesperson for NFCC.

If you're sure that your financial troubles are temporary, it pays to pinch the pennies until the dollars start rolling back in. But the story is different if you see little hope of raising your income by enough to make your current expenses each to cover. Emotionally, making big changes is hard to do. But the faster you reinvent your life, the more money you'll have in your pocket and the sooner you'll be able to save again.

Your two largest expenses are probably your home and your consumer debt (plus health insurance, if you're not on a company plan). Your first step is to quit adding to debt -- put your credit cards on deep freeze and pay bills with cash or a debit card. Then follow these steps:

1. If you live in an apartment, check comparable rents in your neighborhood.

They've dropped in many parts of the country. If you find that you're paying more than the market requires, show your landlord proof and ask for a rent reduction. If the answer is no, move.

2. If you own a home and it's salable, sell.

Put any net gain into savings and investments, and find an apartment to rent. You'll be saving the high cost of maintaining a house, as well as tax and insurance bills.

Don't hold onto a house because you think you "need" the mortgage interest deduction. Financially, you're far better off without it. As an example, say that you're paying $1,000 in interest, in the 25 percent tax bracket. The taxpayers cover $250, leaving $750 as your net cost. Now imagine that you have no mortgage and $1,000 in income. You'll pay $250 in taxes, leaving you with $750 in your checking account. Losing the mortgage gives you more money to spend.

3. Restructure your credit card debt.

Move some of it to a new card with a zero-rate promotional offer. Don't use that card for purchases right away. Instead, concentrate on repaying this debt within the promotional period. You might also move debt from a high-rate card to one that's charging a lower rate.

4. Start a debt-repayment avalanche.

Get the latest bill for each of your credit cards, to see which one is charging you the highest rate (some cards have two rates, one higher than the other). Pay the minimum on the lower-rate cards and put all the rest of the money toward knocking off the high-rate debt. When that card is clean, move on to the next one.

Some people prefer to start by repaying the card with the smallest debt, even if its interest rate is low, for the pure pleasure of eliminating an annoying bill. Do whatever works. But you'll get the most bang for the buck by tackling the high-rate card first.

5. If you have savings, put all but a token amount against credit card debt.

Keep only $500 or $1,000 for unforeseen expenses. Consumers often don't realize the enormous return on investment they get from cleaning up their credit cards. For example, say that you're paying interest at a rate of 18 percent. Every payment you make against that debt gives you a guaranteed 18 percent return on your money. If you're paying a penalty interest rate of 24 percent, every payment equals a 24 percent investment gain. Where else could you get a yield like that, and totally safe?

6. If you have money in a 401(k) retirement plan and your job is safe, consider borrowing against it.

In theory, I consider these plans inviolable -- never to be touched. In practice, it makes sense to use them if they can help you rightsize your life. The transaction will look like this:

You'll borrow from the plan at 1 to 3 percentage points over the bank prime rate, which is currently 3.25 percent. So the loan might cost you 5.25 percent. You'll repay credit card debt at 18.25 percent, for a 13 percent gain. Typically, you'll have to repay the 401(k) loan over five years, with the payments deducted from your paycheck automatically. The interest you pay goes right back into your account, so you're paying t to yourself.

There are two financial downsides. First, you're repaying the loan with after-tax dollars. When you eventually take money out of the 401(k), those dollars are taxed again. But you're probably still ahead, thanks to the savings on your credit card bills. Second, you'll lose any appreciation that would have accrued to the money you borrowed. You can minimize this risk, however, by arranging to borrow against only the bond portion of your plan, leaving the stock portion exposed to any gains.

If you leave your job, and part of the loan is still outstanding, you'll have to repay it right away, in full. If you can't, the remaining loan will be treated as a withdrawal. You'll own income taxes on the money and a 10 percent penalty if you're younger than 59 1/2. So this loan is for someone who is pretty sure that his or her job is safe.

7. If you're one of the lucky 78 percent of homeowners who have equity, you could -- potentially -- pay off your credit card debt with a new home equity loan.

But the argument isn't as compelling as it is for loans against 401(k)s. Ideally, you're aiming for a paid-up home when you retire. That will cut your cost of living, give you access to a reverse mortgage for extra cash, and provide money needed for long-term care. A home equity loan might make that impossible.

8. If you don't have health insurance, any major illness could put you into bankruptcy.

Try for a high-deductible policy, or see if you (or your kids) qualify for Medicaid or the children's program, Schip. If insurance companies won't take you because of a medical condition, try for a place in the high-risk pools set up by the new health reform act. We're a long way from equal access to medical care, let alone care at an affordable price. But if you cut other expenses, you just might be able to afford good health.

This article is part of a series related to being Financially Fit

Source: financiallyfit.yahoo.com

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What to Eat for Healthy Hair and Nails
by Woman's Day, on Wed Mar 2, 2011 11:55am PST


By Olivia Putnal

No doubt you know that eating healthy is good for you in a plethora of ways—it can decrease your risk of disease, improve your immune system, increase your energy levels and even affect your sleeping habits. But did you know certain foods can improve the way you look, too? Read on to find out which nutrients will give your hair and nails extra luster, strength and shine.

Biotin/Vitamin H

Biotin (a.k.a. vitamin H) can improve hair that is splitting or thinning as well as strengthen weakened nails. Taken with zinc and the corticosteroid clobetasol propionate, biotin has even been used to treat alopecia, an autoimmune skin disease marked by the loss of hair. Nina DiBona, RD, dietitian and nutritionist at the Sports Club/LA in Boston, agrees. “A deficiency in biotin may result in brittle hair or even hair loss.” An easy way to remember: The H in vitamin H stands for “haar and haut,” which means “hair and nails” in German, DiBona notes.


Foods to Try: Bananas, beans, cauliflower, eggs, lentils, peanuts and salmon.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

To get shinier hair, introduce more omega-3s into your diet, which “help support scalp health and may give your locks extra luster and shine,” according to DiBona. The three active ingredients—alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid—are all essential fatty acids and "are important components of the stratum corneum, which is the outermost layer of the epidermis that contains keratin and has water-holding capabilities. Deficiency in essential fatty acids can result in dry scalp or dandruff," she says.


Foods to Try: Eggs, flaxseed, fish oil, mackerel, salmon, sardines, spinach, tuna and walnuts.
Find a delicious protein-packed dish to make for dinner tonight.

Protein

Protein intake is important for many reasons, notably when it comes to hair and nails. Both "are made of structural proteins known as keratin, so adequate dietary protein is important for providing the building blocks for growing strong hair and nails,” explains DiBona. Lean meats are the easiest way to pack protein into your diet—just make sure to steer clear of any that are overly fatty.


Foods to Try: Chicken, eggs, lean red meats, lowfat dairy, nuts, seafood, soybeans and whole grains.


Vitamin A

“Vitamin A helps produce a conditioning substance for the scalp known as sebum, which keeps hair looking and feeling healthy,” says DiBona. In addition to these beauty benefits, this vitamin contributes to better eye health and immune system function, which keeps you vital and strong from head to toe.


Foods to Try: Apricots, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, Cheddar cheese, egg yolks, mangoes, oatmeal, spinach and sweet potatoes.

Zinc

Zinc is another nutrient active in helping the immune system function properly, and DiBona also notes that it plays an important role in the formation of your connective tissues. "Zinc is a component of hundreds of enzymes in the body, some of which regulate the body’s ability to make new proteins that will become building blocks of healthy hair and nails," she says. "Alopecia, hair dryness and brittleness can be signs of zinc deficiency."


Foods to Try: Cashews, green beans, lean beef, lobster, oysters and soybeans.

Source: shine.yahoo.com

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden dead, Obama says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced Sunday.

"Justice has been done," Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington.

Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.

"The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children," Obama said.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden.

A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, "USA, USA."

Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring bin Laden to justice "dead or alive" for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people, but never did before leaving office in early 2009.

U.S. officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist was killed in the Pakistani town of Abbotabad and his body recovered.

Having the body may help convince any doubters that bin Laden is really dead.

He had been the subject of a search since he eluded U.S. soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan in 2001.

The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan.

While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his militant Islamist views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway.

Besides September 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks -- including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen.

(Writing by Steve Holland; editing by David Storey)

Register with The Baltimore Sun and receive free newsletters and alerts >>

Copyright © 2011, Reuters

Source: www.baltimoresun.com

I'm happy about this news, but there is also going to be more people out there to come after us. I hope for right now there where be no after math of this.

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NY-born twin friars die on same day at age 92

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Identical twins Julian and Adrian Riester were born seconds apart 92 years ago. They died hours apart this week. The Buffalo-born brothers were also brothers in the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor. Professed friars for 65 years, they spent much of that time working together at St. Bonaventure University, doing carpentry work, gardening and driving visitors to and from the airport and around town.

"It was fun to see them, just quiet, gentle souls," Yvonne Peace, who worked at the St. Bonaventure Friary for nearly 21 years, said Friday.

They died Wednesday at St. Anthony Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., Brother Julian in the morning and Brother Adrian in the evening.

Both died of heart failure, said Father James Toal, guardian of St. Anthony Friary in St. Petersburg, where the inseparable twins lived since moving from western New York in 2008.

"It really is almost a poetic ending to the remarkable story of their lives," St. Bonaventure spokesman Tom Missel said. "Stunning when you hear it, but hardly surprising given that they did almost everything together."

Julian and Adrian Riester were born Jerome and Irving on March 27, 1919, to a couple who already had five daughters. They took the names of saints upon their ordination in the Catholic church.

"Dad was a doctor and he said a prayer for a boy," Adrian once said, according to St. Bonaventure. "The Lord fooled him and sent two."

After attending St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, the brothers were turned away by the military because of their eyesight, the university said. One had a bad left eye, the other a bad right eye.

Eventually they joined the friars of Holy Name Province in New York City. They received separate assignments before reuniting at the seminary at St. Bonaventure from 1951 to 1956. After serving parishes in Buffalo for 17 years, they returned to St. Bonaventure in 1973 and spent the next 35 years there.

They had separate rooms in the friary but one telephone extension that rang into both, Peace recalled. It was usually the more talkative Adrian who answered, though Julian possessed a quiet authority. They never said who was born first.

"Brother Julian was like the big brother. Brother Adrian would defer to him," Peace said. "They picked up one of our friars at the airport one time and the friar said, `Can I take you to dinner?'

"Brother Adrian looked at Brother Julian and said, `We aren't going to dinner?' `No, we'll go home,'" Peace said. "So that was it. No discussion, no contradicting. `No, we aren't going today.'"

Funeral services are scheduled for Monday at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Church in St. Petersburg. Afterward, the brothers' bodies will be flown to Buffalo and buried Wednesday at St. Bonaventure Cemetery, across the street from the university.

Source: news.yahoo.com

How to Escape the Middle-Class Squeeze
Rick Newman, On Tuesday September 13, 2011, 3:45 pm EDT

Most Americans don't need to be told this, but the middle class is struggling.

In case any skeptics remain, new data confirm the downward mobility of the typical family. The Census Bureau's annual report on income and poverty shows that median household income in 2010 was $49,445, after adjusting for inflation, a 6.4 percent drop in purchasing power since 2007. The typical family's take-home pay is now at 1996 levels. Those figures don't include the value of employer-provided health insurance, which has made up an increasing share of total compensation in recent years. Still, the number of Americans without health insurance rose to nearly 50 million in 2010, the highest number on record. And the percentage of Americans living in poverty rose to 15.1 percent, the worst level since 1993. All of those numbers would be worse if not for billions of dollars in temporary tax breaks and government aid for the unemployed.

[See 10 ways to create jobs.]

So if you feel like you're falling behind, you're not imagining things--and you've got plenty of company. The fading fortunes of the middle class are probably the top factor fueling vast dissatisfaction with government and a pervasive sense of national decline. But this gloomy trend isn't irreversible, and it's worth noting that real income levels in 1983--at the tail end of another rough downturn--were at the same levels as they were in 1969, 14 years earlier. What came next were the Reagan-era tax reforms and two decades of steady improvement in household income.

It's also important to remember that nobody is captive to national trends. Every individual has the ability to improve his or her own fortune, no matter how the rest of American society is doing. Some people are waiting for Washington policymakers to fix the problem, but if you'd rather take matters into your own hands, here are seven ways to get ahead, even in an unforgiving economy:

Make sure you have the right skills. A mismatch between the skills employers need and the skills Americans have is perhaps the biggest problem in the U.S. labor force. There are roughly 2 million unemployed construction workers, for instance, and lesser-skilled assembly-line jobs disappear daily. But many employers can't find enough good salespeople or customer-service reps, and there's a shortage of plumbers, electricians, and welders in some places. A lot of people figure they're better off waiting for jobs in their field to return instead of learning something new. But this is a deadly, outdated mentality in an economy that's changing with record speed.

[See what to expect from the stagnant economy.]

Many lost jobs will never come back, and workers who can't acquire the new skills that are in demand are the ones who are truly doomed. The top 10 job trends tracked by job site Indeed.com, for example, all involve social media and other forms of technology that didn't exist 10 years ago. It's not always easy figuring out what employers want in your field or region of the country. But if you aggressively ask around, network with informed people, join the right interest groups, and do detailed research, you'll have a lot more focus than somebody who does a few Google searches each day. Even a little familiarity with hot skills like data mining, Web programming, or certain areas of technical manufacturing will enhance your appeal as a candidate for a raise, promotion, or open job.

Get the right education (or make sure your kids do). Too many college grads get degrees in soft disciplines like arts, literature, and social sciences, while there's a shortage of math, science, and engineering grads. A college degree is as important as ever, with consulting firm McKinsey predicting that by 2020, there will be a shortage of 1.5 million college graduates in the United States. But all diplomas aren't created equally, and if you're not learning stuff that employers are willing to pay for, then you may not be getting the best return on your education investment. Good technical schools and community colleges are also a valid alternative to college for many teenagers, especially if they teach marketable skills and offer internships at local businesses. Mid-career people should also be ready to go back to school or get whatever training or instruction is necessary keep up with technology or get an edge over other workers.

[See who will benefit from the slowing economy.]

Reduce your dependence on government. Anybody who relies on government subsidies of any kind is living on borrowed time. Deep cost cutting at every level of government seems inevitable, and that will affect welfare, Social Security, and Medicare recipients, homeowners claiming a mortgage-interest deduction, municipal workers relying on government pensions, and many others. Anybody whose livelihood is dependent on "discretionary" federal spending--such as funds devoted to arts, parks, highway construction, community development, and dozens of other nice-to-have things--should make backup plans, because this is the type of spending that seems most likely to get whacked over the next few years.

Get used to starting over. Oldthink: You'll have a stable career in a single field: Newthink: You might have three or four careers over the course of your working life, as you respond to rapid changes in the workplace and the global economy. Getting fired or laid off can often seem like a setback from which you'll never recover. But there's ample evidence that one key determinant of success is how well you respond to tough challenges. Determination and resilience can even be more valuable than a high IQ or a fancy degree. Steve Jobs was famously fired from the computer company he founded, spending more than a decade in exile before he returned to Apple and transformed it into the world's most accomplished technology company. His most important lessons came from failing and starting over. Most people aren't as brilliant as Jobs, but they can still benefit from the vital learning that hardship often produces.

[See what we can all learn from Steve Jobs.]

Get more involved in your kids' schooling. One upsetting but inevitable trend is a decline in school budgets in many communities, even affluent ones. Education budgets are often tied to property tax receipts--which have fallen along with home values--and state and federal aid, which is drying up in many localities. At many schools, cutbacks mean fewer teachers and counselors and less money for sports, activities, and enrichment programs. Parents should fight to make sure education funds in their communities are spent on teachers and kids, not on buildings and administrators, but they should also get as involved as possible in their kids' schooling: Talk regularly with teachers to monitor progress. Oversee homework. Make sure your kids are in the best possible programs, instead of relying on counselors to do it. Yeah, it's a burden for working parents who are tired at the end of the night. But we've also gotten used to the dubious idea that learning is something to be completely outsourced to the education establishment. Meanwhile, research shows that kids whose education transcends school and continues in the home perform better.

Save more and buy less. Many Americans are trying to live more frugally--but our commitment is wobbly. The savings rate, for instance, is now 5.2 percent, which is better than the near-zero levels of a few years ago, but probably not high enough. Saving 10 percent of your income is a good target, and more can't hurt. Americans have also been paying down record levels of debt, but still owe far more than historical averages. Paying off debt and building savings is crucial, because doing so provides a cushion during rough times that many people lack. That provides the kind of flexibility that's sometimes needed to try something new--which might have better long-term prospects but require a temporary cut in pay--or even move to an area where job prospects seem better. Too much debt and lack of financial flexibility, by contrast, can promptly land you in quicksand when trouble hits.

[See how the debt fiasco damaged the economy.]

Reduce your own living standards. The net effect of falling incomes for many people is a lower standard of living, which can be characterized in many ways: More work, more stress, less money, less free time, less stuff, and falling satisfaction. But a lower standard of living doesn't need to be disastrous, and many people make the mistake of clinging to every gizmo, convenience, and club membership they've ever enjoyed, as if entitled to such things in perpetuity. Better to get rid of unneeded appurtenances on your own, while you have some choice about how to spend your money.

A lot of people have found that simpler living is a luxury in itself, especially if it eases the anxiety that comes with paying dozens of bills each month or being in debt. A lot of things that technically represent a "lower standard of living"--an older car, a smaller house, fewer restaurant meals--don't really change our lifestyles all that much. Forcing yourself to adjust to minor changes before it's absolutely necessary enhances self-sufficiency and makes cutbacks easier to swallow when there's no choice. But if you do it on your own, you might just avoid the squeeze altogether.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Why Are TV’s Top-Rated Shows Ignored at the Emmys?
by: Tom O'Neil, Goldderby.com

Strangely, there's something missing from the list of TV shows most popular with Emmy voters: the programs most popular with all TV viewers. Why weren't "NCIS," "The Mentalist," and "Burn Notice" nominated in top categories?

Police procedurals used to cop lots of major Emmys. "NYPD Blue," "Hill Street Blues," and "Law & Order" even won Outstanding Drama Series, but the newer "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" hasn't even been nominated for that top prize throughout its 12 hugely popular TV seasons. What gives?

Police procedurals have fallen out of favor at the Emmys as new cable channels have grown in prominence, offering voters more snobbish options like HBO's "The Sopranos" (winner of Outstanding Drama Series in 2004) and AMC's "Mad Men" (2009, 2010, 2011) than they see on broadcast TV. As usual, cable shows dominate the newest list of nominees for Outstanding Drama Series, claiming four of the six spots: "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO), "Dexter" (Showtime), "Game of Thrones" (HBO), and "Mad Men" (AMC).

[Photos: Check out photos of this year's Outstanding Drama Series nominees.]

Most pundits are betting on "Mad Men" to repeat or "Boardwalk Empire" to rule. But even if "The Good Wife" (CBS) or "Friday Night Lights" (NBC/DirecTV) delivers a rare win for broadcast TV, it will be because those shows have elitist appeal, too.

There's just no getting around highfalutin pretension in Hollywood. It's no small coincidence that the biggest winner in Emmy history, with 37 awards, is a TV show about two effete brothers bickering over opera and vintage wines ("Frasier"). On the drama side, before the recent romp by "Mad Men," the biggest champ was one of the tube's highest-class shows ever, "The West Wing," which won Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row (2000-2003).

Meantime, some of the greatest series in TV history without an ounce of snob appeal never got nominated for a single Emmy, not even in the lowly tech categories: "The Brady Brunch," "Melrose Place," "Gilligan's Island," "Green Acres," and "The Munsters."

[Related: See the full list of this year's Emmy nominees and vote for your favorites.]

The Emmys aren't alone in this bias. The same snub occurs at the Oscars where indie artsy movies like "The King's Speech" (2010) and "The Hurt Locker" (2009) have ruled in recent years. Big box-office blockbusters rarely get nominated for the top prize, even when critics heap rapturous reviews upon them. The Oscars felt the sting of public outrage when "The Dark Knight" wasn't nominated for Best Picture of 2008, so the academy expanded the list to 10. That didn't help, though, so now Oscar leaders will try new tricks to whip up interest and excitement.

At the Emmys in 2009, TV academy leaders responded to a similar crisis by expanding the list of nominees to six from the usual five. Because of a close vote, seven contenders actually got nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, but the extra room didn't accommodate the Nielsen hits. Instead, "Breaking Bad" (AMC) broke in, much to everyone's astonishment, and HBO's "Big Love" got in even though it reaped no nominations in other major categories.

In the end, maybe nothing can be done and TV's top shows should stop striving for golden statuettes and be happy with all of the gold they pull in from ad dollars thanks to those 24-karat TV ratings. The most successful series in the history of international TV was never nominated for a single Emmy back in the U.S. -- "Baywatch" -- but its producers never expected one and probably, in the end, didn't care.

Source: awards.tv.yahoo.com

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7 Kitchen Tricks You Should Know
by Kaboodle.com, on Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:47pm PDT

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Ironically, many of the following tricks for fixing common kitchen dilemmas aren’t widely known. But tuck them in your proverbial apron and you’ll have a far easier time resolving the following problems next time you face them:

1. How to Open Stubborn Pistachios

Pistachios are way too expensive to waste. Yet many of the delicious roasted nuts arrived in shells with little to no opening. Rather than attempting to bite them open or ruin your nails in a struggle you can’t win, next time try this foolproof method for opening stubborn shells: Take one half of a shell, stick it into even the littlest opening of an unopened pistachio, and turn the shell half like a key. The pistachio will pop right open!

2. How to Easily Remove Egg Shells Dropped into Eggs

It happens to all of us: You crack open an egg and a tiny piece of its shell falls into the bowl along with the raw egg. If you’ve tried to get it out with your finger or a spoon, you know the slippery dilemma you face. Next time, wet your finger with water before attempting to fish it out. You’ll be shocked at how easily it can be grabbed and eliminated.

3. How to Make Burnt Pots Look New Again

Considering how much a nice set of pots and pans costs, you’d expect them to be easy to clean. But even the best stainless steel cooking gear gets black with use and cooked-on remnants. If you’ve attempted to scrub them clean you have probably succumbed to the notion that they will never glisten again. But, if you spray pots with oven cleaner and leave them for a couple of hours the grime will wipe right off! Likewise stainless kettles.

Gadgets That Make Cooking More Fun

4. How to Refresh Crystallized Honey

You know that jar or bottle of honey that’s hardened and crystallized on your shelf? It can easily be brought back to its easy-to-pour glory if you let it sit for 15 minutes in boiling water that has cooled for five minutes.

5. How to Soften Hardened Brown Sugar

Brown sugar hardens as its moisture evaporates over time in the cupboard. But you can easily re-moisturize it by placing the open sugar bag in a microwave with a cup of water next to it and zapping it on high for three minutes. Or you can place the sugar in a bowl, cover the sugar with a double layer of wet paper towels, and then cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and let it stand overnight.

6. How to Remove Stains from Wooden Cutting Boards

Can rings and wine and strawberries stains don’t help the style of your cutting board. To get out stains, try sprinkling the board with salt rubbing it with lemon. For more stubborn stains, try an abrasive antibacterial kitchen cleaner and scouring pad. For the toughest, reach for sandpaper! And of course wash thoroughly afterward!
Beautiful Clocks for Every Room

7. How to Salvage Overripe Fruit

Fruit is expensive, yet it goes bad so quickly and easily. But you don’t need to toss your bruised or overripe bananas, peaches, or strawberries. The minute you see your fruit going bad, wash it, slice it, peel it (in the case of bananas) and freeze it in sealable bags. Then you have instant smoothie or pie makings anytime!

Source: shine.yahoo.com

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Top 10 Things You Never Want to Hear at Work
| Power Your Future – Mon, Sep 19, 2011 1:24 AM EDT

by Steve Tobak

Whoever came up with the expression, "It's better to give than to receive," must have been talking about bad news.

Of course it's awful to deliver bad news, no doubt about it. But having been on both sides of the equation more times than I care to think about, I'd have to say that, given the choice, I'd rather not be on the receiving end.

Unfortunately, there is an awful lot of bad news being delivered these days. And I hate to say this, but so sooner or later, you're probably going to end up on the wrong end of it. When that happens, you're going to wish you had some warning because, well, you know what they say, forewarned is forearmed.

To that end, here are 10 phrases that, when you hear them, you can be pretty sure that what follows isn't going to be good. And while knowing what's coming won't buy you much time, you'd be surprised how many cycles the brain can process when it's racing in panic mode.

After all -- and this is important, so pay attention -- how you respond can make a big difference in whether people think of you as a consummate professional or a child throwing a tempter tantrum.

Top 10 Things You Never Want to Hear at Work

1. We've got a crisis on our hands. Don't be fooled by the implication of shared responsibility. That's just a euphemism. Make no mistake; you're on the receiving end of the message because you're the one they're counting on to handle the crisis or die trying.

2. There's no easy way to say this. Guess what? There's no easy way to hear it, either. This can precede any number of events, from you're about to get fired or your top employee is quitting on you to your biggest customer is bolting for your top competitor. It's all bad.

3. Why don't you take some time off? This particular question can either precede or follow some really unpleasant news, like one of your employees has filed a sexual harassment claim against you or "I'm afraid you're burning out and I don't want to have to fire your butt."

4. All your meetings have been cancelled. This is where you say, "What do you mean all my meetings have been cancelled?" to which your admin replies, "What can I say, nobody wants to meet with you." They could be customers, the media, employees, whatever, you're now officially insignificant. Never a good thing.

5. Did you really just say that? Lots of people, especially public figures, have heard that one right after they think something that wasn't supposed to actually come out of their mouths, usually while the mic is on, the tape is rolling, or the boss is on the receiving end.

6. I accidentally deleted it. It's gone. You may not have pulled the trigger but the fact that you're on the receiving end means that, whatever it was -- probably a pitch or report you worked on for weeks -- you're the one who's going to suffer because of someone else's screw-up.

7. Do you really think your presentation went well? That's when you ask, "Was it really that bad?" and the other person replies, "Um … sorry to tell you this, but you'll be lucky if they don't cancel your whole project."

8. Can I have a word with you in private? Not that good news is always delivered in public, but even when someone wants to chat with you about something innocuous, he won't say it like that. He'll opt for something like, "Where can we talk?" or "You're not gonna believe what I heard."

9. Um … how long did it take you to do that? That's usually followed by something like a recommendation that you do it over and way, way better if you want to keep your job.

10. You've been served. Not much you can do about this one, considering you've already blown it by answering yes to the magic question, Are you [your name]? Whether you're served at work or not, it really doesn't matter. You're going to wish it never happened.

Did I forget to say that I've either said or heard every single one of these lines? In some cases, both. It's true. And you know I've never been a process server.

More From Bnet.com:

Source: finance.yahoo.com

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Companies Where Employees Are Losing Hope
by Douglas A. McIntyre Monday, September 19, 2011

Some companies become so badly damaged because of changes in the competitive markets or due to poor management decisions that their employees lose hope. This may be due to the fact that they believe the corporations that they work for have little future, or that they will be laid off as their employers try to save these corporations.

This loss of hope is exacerbated by the state of the economy. A person who is fired now likely will find it extremely hard to find new work. Nearly 6 million Americans have been out of a job for more than half a year, which means that work is scarce either because companies have never recovered from the recession or because firms are concerned that a new recession has started to choke the economy.

It is impossible to know whether the employees at a very badly run company have completely lost hope in their situations. However, this is highly likely in certain corporations. Layoffs have already started at many of these companies, sales have fallen, or Wall St. has passed a verdict they have faltered badly or failed.

24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of companies that are in deep trouble. This is based on share prices, layoffs, analysts' reports about their futures of these firms and the extent to which they have missed Wall St. predictions about earnings-per-share or are likely to in future.

1. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) recently released earnings, and they were much worse than Wall St. expected. Net income fell to $177 million, or EPS of $0.47, for the quarter ended Aug. 27, down from $254 million, or EPS of $0.60, last year. Analysts expected EPS of $0.52, according to a survey by FactSet. Best Buy dropped its forecast for the year. It took this action because of concerns about TV and phone sales, along with worry about the economy. Best Buy has had a string of earnings failures, due primarily to its failure to do well online. Best Buy recently said its website would carry items from third-party stores to expand its attraction to shoppers. This did nothing to improve the perception that investors have of the company. Fitch downgraded Best Buy in June. The company's shares are off 30% in the last year. Shares of rival Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN - News) are higher by 60% for the same period.

2. Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM - News) posted earnings recently that show its sharp decline has accelerated. Several analysts now believe the RIM BlackBerry smartphones will be no more than a "niche" product in a market it controlled almost completely four years ago. The bad earnings news took shares down from $29.54 to $23.93 in one day. RIM's stock is off almost 50% in the past year, while shares in rival Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL - News) are higher by more than 40%. RIM shipped only 200,000 units of its PlayBook tablet PC last quarter. Expectations had been for a number more than three times that. RIM revenue fell by 10% in the most recent period to $4.2 billion — a horrible situation for a company that was one of the most well-known growth stories for five years. EPS fell to $0.63 from $1.46. The consensus among the media and Wall St. is that RIM has almost no chance to recover. The company has already started to cut costs. It said in July it would lay off 10.5% of its workforce.

3. Talbots (NYSE: TLB - News) shares traded above $17 in May a year ago. They now trade at $3 after dipping to $2.25 recently. After the company released earnings two weeks ago, research firm Sterne Agee downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy." And the retailer posted results that were worse than expected. The corporation's quarterly loss from continuing operations was $37.4 million, or $0.54 per share, compared to last year's income from continuing operations of half a million, or $0.01 per share. The failing retailer said it expects to close about 110 stores in total, including 15 to 20 consolidations, through fiscal 2013. The corporation's chief creative officer, Michael Smaldone, was fired as earnings were announced. Oddly, Talbots did not have a replacement when it took this action.

4. Hewlett-Packard (NASDAQ: HPQ - News) announced earnings on August 18, and its shares promptly dropped to a 5-year low. HP also revised earnings forecasts down. Management said it may spin off the firm's PC division, the largest in the world. So far, there are no takers. HP also discontinued its Palm operating system, which it bought only a year ago, and its tablet PC product. Investors believe, almost universally, that CEO Léo Apotheker does not have the strengths of his predecessor Mark V. Hurd, who was pushed out for ethical lapses. Wall St. seems certain that HP will lay off more people in addition to the sharp cuts it made in 2009 and 2010. It is generally accepted by analysts who cover the company that it has begun to lose the battles against Dell (NASDAQ: DELL - News), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL - News), and SAP (NYSE: SAP - News) .

5. The U.S. Postal Service may be more troubled than any large public company in America. The organization said it may lose as much as $10 billion this year. It teeters on the brink of insolvency. Its workers' compensation liability is more than $12 billion. The USPS management has suggested it shutter thousands of individual post offices, layoff as many as 200,000 workers, and close over 250 service centers. Another suggestion by management is that delivery be cut to five days a week. The rise of the use of e-mail and private air freight companies Fedex (NYSE: FDX - News) and UPS (NYSE: UPS - News) has doomed the old post office model. No one should expects that the suggestions of executives at USPS will go unchallenged. The American Postal Workers Union most likely will strike to fight the job cuts. Individual Congresspersons will press to keep offices open in their districts.

6. Nintendo's once nearly insurmountable lead in the video console sector has been lost, and its sales have fallen further and further behind rivals Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - News) and Sony (NYSE: SNE - News). The rise of the Google (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) Android operating system has also encouraged video game publishers to make more products that run on that platform. The 2010 market share of Nintendo DS fell from 70% in 2009 to 57%. Nintendo's growth has also been damaged by the rise of the iPad and iPhone. The future is even grimmer. "iSuppli predicts Nintendo will sell 70 million 3DS gaming systems by 2015, a figure that is 21 million less than the 91 million in sales racked up by the original DS at the same point in its sales cycle," according to the Unofficial Apple Weblog. Nintendo announced an unexpected quarterly loss on July 28, and its shares plunged 20%. The stock is down from a 52-week high of 26,780 yen to 11,850 yen. In late 2007, shares reached 80,000 yen.

7. Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO - News) was one of the world's greatest tech companies not long ago. Long-time CEO John Chambers made a series of decisions to expand Cisco beyond its core router business then. Very few of them paid off. Part of his plan was to diversify into the consumer electronics business, which weakened Cisco's overall earnings strength. The company now makes TV set-top boxes, Linksys wi-fi hardware and home video-conferencing products. Chambers has been forced to reverse course, sell or cut back these operations and lay off 6,500 workers to make up for the losses caused by the diversification. Chambers's job status is still in question. He lowered Cisco's revenue forecasts recently to a growth rate of 3% to 5% for the next three years. Cisco's newer businesses are not its only challenge though. The company has barely kept pace in the router business with China-based Huawei Technologies and Juniper (NYSE: JNPR - News). In April a year ago, shares in Cisco traded for $28. The number is $16.50 now.

8. Eastman Kodak's (NYSE: EK - News) run as a public company may be over soon. That would put the jobs of many of its 18,000 employees in jeopardy. Analysts think Kodak's patents may be worth much more than that the company. Kodak has begun the process to find a buyer for these patents. MDB Capital Group told Bloomberg that the digital-imaging patents owned by Kodak may be valued at $3 billion in a sale. A sale of patents could mean Kodak will not keep all of its divisions. Second quarter sales at the company were down 5% in the past quarter to $1.5 billion. Kodak lost $179 million in the same time period. Its Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group sales dropped 14% to $369 million for the quarter. This is the area of the company's business where it would be logical to start the next phase in a long line of lay-offs. Kodak's cash position has become desperate. It has $957 million on hand compared to $1.624 billion at the end of the second quarter a year ago.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

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Thu Sep 22 09:13am EDT
Runner carries injured foe half mile to help in middle of race
By Jonathan Wall

Josh Ripley didn't have to stop. Running in a recent cross country meet for Andover (Minn.) High, the junior varsity runner was making his way through the trail at the Applejack Invite when he heard a loud scream during the first mile of a two-mile race. Most of the other kids running didn't pay much attention to Lakeville South runner Mark Paulauskas, who was writhing in pain at the time, as they passed by.

The only person who decided to pay attention was Ripley. As an Anoka-Hennepin school district release reported, Ripley immediately noticed Paulauskas holding his bloody ankle. Then, instead of running back and calling for help, he did the only thing he could think of: He carried the injured runner a half mile back to coaches and family members.

"I didn't think about my race, I knew I needed to stop and help him," Ripley said in the school district release. "It was something I would expect my other teammates to do. I'm nothing special; I was just in the right place at the right time."

It was a good thing Ripley had the foresight to carry Paulauskas so he could be rushed to the emergency room. When Paulauskas arrived at the hospital, doctors realized he had been accidentally spiked by another runner's shoe during the race. The injury required 20 stitches and a walking boot to keep the wounded area from opening up.

Andover cross country coach Scott Clark couldn't believe what he heard when word got to him that Ripley was carrying another runner back to the starting line.

"Then Josh comes jogging into view carrying a runner," Clark said. "I noticed the blood on the runner's ankle as Josh handed him off to one of the coaches from Lakeville. Josh was tired and you could tell his focus was off as he started back on the course."

Amazingly, the story gets even better from there.

After dropping Paulauskas off with his coaches, Ripley proceeded to go back and finish the race -- even after carrying a kid for a half mile on the running trail. Admittedly he was a bit winded, but still completed the course as scheduled.

It's safe to say the average athlete would have taken a breather and called off the rest of the race after such a harrowing and intense experience. Luckily, Ripley is clearly not the average athlete. Fittingly, he'll be honored at a school board meeting next week. Talk about an incredible example of sportsmanship.

Source: rivals.yahoo.com