adviceforthemasses

Elevator hack

2011-11-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

R U on the National Do Not Call List?

2011-09-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

To prevent unwanted calls, you can call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON .. It takes about 20 seconds.
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

The truth about penny auctions

2011-04-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

The truth about penny auctions

Q. Lately I've been seeing online ads for incredibly inexpensive gadgets. I'm talking about iPads and SLRs for less than $200. The site in the ads is called QuiBids. I've also seen similar ads for BidHere and a few others. The deals look fantastic, but I'm sure there's a catch. How can these sites offer such cheap products?
-Jim from Lexington, KY

A. These ads are all over the Internet, Jim. They promise the hottest gadgets at rock-bottom prices. But, as with many things online, they're not really quite what they seem. So you're smart to be skeptical.
The sites you mentioned run so-called penny auctions. What a cute name. It almost sounds like you're going to get the bargain of a lifetime. Penny auction sites have blossomed in the last few years. There are now more than a hundred of them online.
Let me explain how these auctions work. The site has an item that it is auctioning. The bidding starts at $0. Every bid only adds one or two cents to the price of the item. So you can have a hundred bids and still have a $1 item.
That's why you'll see ads for $50 iPads or $200 Macbooks. Even with thousands of bidders, the final price can be very low. As you might suspect, plenty of people are drawn to these sites.

Unfortunately, penny auctions aren't quite so cut-and-dried. There are several catches you should know about.
The first catch is that bids aren't free. Depending on the site, you'll pay between $.50 and $1 per bid. If you bid 20 times, you just paid the site $10 or $20.
Some sites are up-front about this charge. Other sites hide the bid fee behind chips or tokens. You don't really consider what you're spending.

Sites also differ in what happens after the bid. Many sites keep all the bid fees. Other sites let you apply some of the fees to future auctions. For example, you may be able to apply 20 percent of your bid fees to offset future bids. Sound nice? It's really just a trick to get you to come back and drop more cash.
You might also get a credit toward buying the object you were bidding on. Of course, you will be paying much more than you would elsewhere.
The second catch is the bidding process. There is no set time limit on the auctions. Whenever someone bids, it adds 15 seconds to the auction time.
That makes it easier to get caught in an unending bidding frenzy. What's the big deal, though? You're only bidding pennies, right? Oops, go back and look at the first catch again.
The third catch is that winning an auction doesn't win you the item. You've simply won the opportunity to buy the item at the auction's ending price. Typically, nothing you've put into the auction so far goes toward the purchase.
Here's an example. Let's say you have the final bid on an iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi (retail $500). The closing bid price is $50. That means there were 5,000 bids at one penny per bid.

Let's say the bid fee was $1 per bid. First of all, the auction house just made $5,000. That's an important thing to keep in mind. These sites earn thousands from a single item.
Now let's say you bid 300 times in the auction, which isn't unreasonable. You've paid $300 in bid fees. To get the iPad, you now have to pay the $50 final purchase price.
That's a total cost of $350. Congratulations, you saved $150 on your iPad. That isn't quite the deal you were initially expecting, was it?
However, $150 is $150, right? That's still some savings. Doesn't that make it worth it?
Not really. The odds of actually winning are slim. It's like joining a high-stakes poker game. Expect to lose a lot of money before you win.
You may eventually win big, but you're going to lose money first. You just have to hope it balances out in the end.

It doesn't help that there are a lot of penny auction pros around. They have years of penny auction experience. They're like professional card sharks when it comes to bidding.
Plus, remember how I mentioned a bidding frenzy? What if you had unthinkingly made 500 bids on the iPad? Your total cost for the auction would have been $550. You'd be paying $50 over the iPad's retail price. Even winners can come out losers on these sites.

That's why many people compare penny auctions to gambling. It pushes the same buttons in your brain. People with addictive, risk-taking personalities should steer clear.
In fact, I recommend everyone steer clear of penny auctions. The overall risks aren't worth the eventual rewards. You will ultimately end up disappointed. You're better off spending your time searching price-comparison sites for the best deal.

How Undersea Cables Are Laid

2011-01-13T10:31:00.001-08:00

99 Ways To Save

2010-08-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

AARP MAGAZINE July/August 2010

Super Saver’s spectacular win n a muddy track at the Kentucky Derby may have been just the right message for Americans who themselves are still battling the muck of an up-and-down economy. Millions are looking for ways to shave dollars and dimes from their daily expenses. For a lively list of tips, go to www.aarp.org/savemoney. Here are the first 99:

HOME
I Use up to 60 percent less energy by boiling water in a microwave rather than on an electric stovetop. When you do use the stovetop, make sure pots and pans fully cover the heating element. A 6-inch pan on an 8-inch element translates to an energy waste of more than 40 percent.
2 Improve freezer efficiency by keeping the thing as full as possible—with bags of ice, for instance. But keep a 1-inch open space on each side of the interior for better air exchange.
3 Lower your thermostat in the winter. For each degree that you drop, you cut your heating bill by 3 percent. To feel more comfortable at low er temperatures, place pans of water near heating outlets or radiators. Water-filled air retains heat better, and the added humidity reduces itch ing and dry skin.
4 MIx your own garden dirt. Those “enriched” bags of soil boost flower and veg etable growth—at about $8 a bag. Instead, for each one part of dirt or topsoil mix in about two parts of compost— shredded from leaves and branches and available for free at many municipal recy cllng centers.
5
toilet by putting a plastic bottle full of water, weighted with pebbles, In your tank.
6 Get a rain barrel. Con nected to your home’s storm gutters, it will collect water for lathr use on your lawn, vegetable garden or car.
lStop that dripping faucet. Sixty drips a minute will waste about 6,428 gallons of water per year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
B Shower quickly and save. A 15-minute shower a day costs about $310 a year, even with a low-flow shower head. Cutting the time by a third will save about $100 annually.
9 Buy torn bags of mulch. Home centers usually set these torn bags aside, then sell the day’s mishaps at a big discount. Your best chance to get these deals is at the end of a weekend shopping day. Bring duct tape to close them, and a tarp to keep your car trunk clean.
10 Rent that extra room or space in your garage, base ment, backyard. Visit spare foot.com or storeatmy house.comto list its avail ability and your asking price for free. SpareFoot gets a transaction fee equal to half the first month’s paid rent (a spare bedroom can fetch $150 a month). The site also sells legally vetted ease agreements for $19.
11 Save on printerink by using the Century Gothic font, which a recent study showed consumes about a third less ink than industry-standard Anal. That saves about $20 a year for a home user printing 25 pages a week.
12 Do it yourself or hire someone? You can get es-timates of the difference in cost for a home improvement project at diyornot.corn, as well as advice on whether you should go it alone.
13 Get your castoffs picked up for free by more than 60 nonprofit furniture banks nationwide. (Your items generally need to be in good condition.) Find one near you at nationalfurniturebank.com.
14 Boost your knowledge with free online college courses. (You may need to buy books or download special software.) Yale, MIT and Stanford are among dozens of universities offering no-cost knowledge. Visit education-portal.com and click on “OpenCourseWare’ for a list of offerings by topic.
15 Sell your junk, but first get an idea of what it’s really worth by going to itaggit.com, an online “blue book” for pack rats and collectors. The site analyzes recent sales at online markets.
16 Free photo editing on-line is available at citrify.com, where your uploaded photos can be tweaked with nifty ef-fects like teeth-whitening and wrinkle-removing. Pixorial.com provides free video online editing and up to 10 gigabytes of free storage.
17 Sell your books. At cash4books.net or seliback yourbook.com, you type in an unwanted book’s ISBN numberto get an offer. If you like what you see, fill out a prepaid mailing label, box the books and send them off. Payment comes by check or as a credit to your PayPal account.
18 Volunteer techies give free advice on common com puter problems at fixya.com.
19 Don’t dump, recycle. Join the local bulletin board at freecycle.org and post what you want to give away or something you’re looking for. No money changes hands, and your unwanted stuff won’t add to a landfill. If there’s no group in your area, the web-site tells how to set one up.

HEALTH
20 Ask Doc for a discount. Before your appointment, visit healthcarebluebook.com or call a local health insurer to find out what it pays area doctors for a similar consulta tion or test. Then aim for that number, which is usually lower than the doctor’s charge. Try to negotiate directly with the doctor—not office person-nel—in person and before treatment is given.
21 Get dental work for a fraction of the cost from dentist-supervised students at a dental school. Find a school at ada.org by clicking on “Dental Schools:’ For low-cost, federally funded care, go to www.nidcr.nih.gov and click “Finding Dental Cane!’
22 Request an itemized bill when you’re hospitalized. A daily bill helps you track whether you’re getting the medical supplies, drugs and services that have been de termined necessary for your treatment, and to cry foul if they haven’t been provided, It also lets you spot and protest outrageous charges, such as $30 for a “thermal therapy kit” that is really just an ice bag.
23 Bringyour own drugs. Some hospitals quadruple the price you would normally pay for prescription and over-the- counter medications, so find out in advance what you’ll need and get them yourself. But ask the hospital if it will allow this. Many hospitals don’t.
24 Free treatment and medication may be available if you qualify for a medical study for a chronic condition such as diabetes or allergies. Find studies at clinicaltnials.gov or call local medical schools. Check the study’s credentials.
25 the price of your hearing aid, which typically sells at a retail markup of almost 120 percent. Most of the 15 percent of people who ask for such a deal get one.

SHOPPING
26 “Scratch and dent” stores sell groceries and ap pliances discounted by 50 percent or more. They buy up truckloads of items that are damaged, are near or beyond their sell-by dates or season (think Halloween in Novem ber), or just didn’t sell well. Go to andersonscountrymarket.net/directory for a state-by-state list.
27 Save cellphone minutes by skipping long-winded voice-mail greetings and instructions. Press * when calling Verizon customers, the number 1 for Sprint users, or the # sign for AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers. If you’re not sure of the provider, try this order: 1, then * then #. When you hear a beep, you’ve got the right one.
28 Trade in electronics like old celiphones and com puters at wireflytradeins .com or tigerdirect.cexchange .com and get a charity write off. cash or gift cards. Costco, Best Buy and Sears also have electronics trade-in programs.
29 To save on groceries, check out mygrocerydeals .com, where you can compare prices in supermarkets in your area by product, category or store. Another site is grocery gukie corn. You must register to e:-e sites, but both are
30 Buy gift cards for up to 30 percent off their face value at plasticjungle.com, giftcard rescue.com and giftcards again.com, where the cards are sold by gift-getters who don’t want them.
31 Group-coupon websites prove there’s power in num bers. Provide your e-mail and city and you’ll get a daily local offer, If a set number of people sign up, you get the deal. Sites include groupon.com, social buy.com, scoopst.com and angieslist.com.
32 See plays for free by volunteering as an usher. Many theaters will let you see the show if you help with the paying patrons. Check with your local theater, and wear comfortable shoes—you may end upstanding for the per formance.
33 Yard sales in your area can be found at yardsaletreas uremap.com. The site tracks sales that have been posted on craigslist.com, then gives you the when, where and driving directions.
34 owner’s manuals are often missing when you buy bargain electronic devices or appliances at online auctions or garage sales. Manufactur ers may charge for the manu als, but you can get many for free at retrevo.com, manuals online.com or usersmanual guide.com.
35 Get rewards for online shopping from ebates.com. You register and then click to visit any of about 1,000 part ner retailers. You can collect a reward of from 1 to (very occa sionally) 40 percent of your purchase amount. The money arrives as a check or a credit to your PayPal account.
36 Promotional codes can get you discounts of up to 50 percent when you check out at online shopping sites. Though some codes are for returning loyal customers, others are up for grabs—you just have to know where to find them. Try these websites: retailmenot.com, coupon chief.com, currentcodes.com and freeshipping.org.
37 great stuff at secondhand shops. Donations are often local, so head for thrift stores In wealthier neighborhoods. Find stores at thethriftshopper.com or thrift-shop-directory.com.
Also, shop early in the week— many donations come in over the weekend. And watch for hidden bargains. Thrift stores often set prices by category, say, $3 per shirt no matter what the brand.
38 AvoId high ticket prices for plays, concerts, sports matches, exhibits and other events in eight major U.S. cities by getting a free membership at goldstar.com. This online seller of half-price tickets levies a service charge that averages about $4.50 per ticket. The theater chooses the seats. Other websites such as ticketloot.com can also get you through the doors at a lower price.
39 Keep your eyes glued to the register at the super market. Some stores have a “scan guarantee policy:’ which means you get the item for free or at a discount if the price the register displays is higher than the real price.
40 Take advantage of discounts offered through “your” organizations. MA, AFL-CIO unions, AARP and college alumni associations are among many groups that offer savings. Read their mail ings closely and check their websites.
41 Need a phone num ber? Call 1-800-GOOG-411, give your location, and speak a name or business category. You’ll get a list of matches, and the service then will dial your choice. The big advan tage over 411: It’s free.

TRAVEL
42 Find free Wi-Fl hot spots, particularly useful when you travel, atjiwire .com. The searchable site lists almost 300,000 hot spots, both free ones and those that charge, in 144 countries.
43 Kids eat for free—or at a discount—at dozens of chain restaurants. But check ahead, because often kids must be under a certain age, or you must order from special menus at specified times. Find spots at familyfriendly america.com and coupondivas .com—whether you’re on the road or at home.
44 Get group airfares by putting together at least 10 travelers on carriers, including Southwest, United and American. Also ask tour operators and cruise lines about deals for groups.
45 Join a B&B club and pay $10 to $20 for a room, with breakfast, in the homes of travelers like you. In return, you offer your spare room to people on the road. Call Evergreen Club at 1-800-962- 2392 or Affordable Travel Club at 253-858-2172. Of course, be careful when you allow strangers into your house.
46 AvoId booking fees by using a computer. Virtu ally every U.S. airline adds a hefty surcharge if you book by phone or at a ticket counter.
47 Free admission to more than 100 museums, zoos and science centers is yours on the first weekend of each month if you have a Bank of America ATM, credit or check card. Get details at museums .bankofamerica.com.
48 Older train riders get discounts in the U.S. and Canada. Amtrak cuts 15 percent off most fares for riders 62 or over, while Via Rail Canada offers 10 percent off
the full adult fare fortravelers over 60.
49 DrIve for free by signing up at autodriveaway .com for cars that need to be relocated. There’s no rental charge, only a $350 refund able deposit, and the first tank of gas is free. Also call rental car companies about one-way deals to relocate their vehicles.
50 For free sightseeing excursions—with a local resi dent’s educated perspective— in select cities around the globe. visit globalgreeternet work.info. There’s also the new europetours.eu, which offers no-cost walking tours with locals in European cities and Israel. For similar offerings, call the chamber of commerce in your destination.
51 If predawn flights are getting tiresome, check out sleep-and-park packages that combine a night at an airport hotel, a shuttle to the terminal and parking at the hotel for 7 to 14 d ;. These deals often cos t the as park-
the full adult fare fortravelers over 60.
49 DrIve for free by signing up at autodriveaway .com for cars that need to be relocated. There’s no rental charge, only a $350 refund able deposit, and the first tank of gas is free. Also call rental car companies about one-way deals to relocate their vehicles.
50 For free sightseeing excursions—with a local resi dent’s educated perspective— in select cities around the globe. visit globalgreeternet work.info. There’s also the new europetours.eu, which offers no-cost walking tours with locals in European cities and Israel. For similar offerings, call the chamber of commerce in your destination.
51 If predawn flights are getting tiresome, check out sleep-and-park packages that combine a night at an airport hotel, a shuttle to the terminal and parking at the hotel for 7 to 14 d ;. These deals often cost the as park-the full adult fare fortravelers over 60.
49 DrIve for free by signing up at autodriveaway .com for cars that need to be relocated. There’s no rental charge, only a $350 refund able deposit, and the first tank of gas is free. Also call rental car companies about one-way deals to relocate their vehicles.
50 For free sightseeing excursions—with a local resi dent’s educated perspective— in select cities around the globe. visit globalgreeternet work.info. There’s also the new europetours.eu, which offers no-cost walking tours with locals in European cities and Israel. For similar offerings, call the chamber of commerce in your destination.
51 If predawn flights are getting tiresome, check out sleep-and-park packages that combine a night at an airport hotel, a shuttle to the terminal and parking at the hotel for 7 to 14 days. These deals often cost the as parking at the airport. Parksleepfly.com, stay123.com, and parkingaccess.com let you compare rates.
52 Birdlng overseas? Log on to birdingpal.org. It will link you up with a birciwatcher who’ll happily share the ornithological wonders of the country you’re visiting.
53 Flying with luggage? Ship it ahead instead, using a ground service like FedEx or UPS. Most big airlines charge up to $25 one way to check a second bag, and more for additional or overweight bags. Calculate whether shipping makes sense for you at fedex .com or ups.com.
54 It’s not always true that online prices are cheap est. Often you can save a lot by negotiating with a human.

CARS
55 For cheap gas, you can compare costs at a variety of websites. A few sources: gas buddy.com, gaspricewatch .com and autos.msn.com/ everyday/gasstations,aspx.
To locate low-cost stations selling alternative fuels in your area, visit altfuelprices.com.
56 Just 10 seconds of idling your car’s engine uses as much gas as restarting it. Two minutes uses enough fuel to drive a mile. So turn your engine off.
57 Buying a car? Contact the dealership’s Internet sales department to ask for the “best quote” (which could be lower than posted website prices). These sales reps often have more negotiating room, because commissIons are of ten based on number of cars sold, not value of the deal.
58 Fuel efficiency drops about an average5mpgfor each 10-mile speed increase over 55mph. Jackrabbit starts and stops reduce it an addi tional 3 mpg.
59 Facing car repairs? First visit repairpal.corn to find out what the job should cost. The site gives free quotes based on surveys of thou sands of shops.
60 Forevery extra pounds it carries, your car can lose ito 2 percent of fuel efficiency. Remove unneeded items from your trunk, Planning a road trip? To estimate the cost, enter the vehicle year, make and model at fuelcostcalculator .com or costtodrive.com.
62 To find the price the dealer pays for the car you want to buy, visit truecar.com or the True Market Value sec tion of edmunds.com. When buying new, haggle up from the dealer’s invoice. When buying used, start negotiating at $1,000 to $2,000 below the asking price.
63 To learn about problems and repair costs concerning the car you are thinking of buying, go to car comp!aints.com. There you’ll find out what owners of that model have to say.
64 An existing car lease maybe key toadeal foryou. Find a driver who wants to end a lease early without pay ing the balance due or early termination penalties. If you assume the lease, you can avoid the usual hefty downpayment. Websites such as leasetrader.corn and swap alease.com connect the two sides of such deals.
65 “No-haggle” dealer ships may ease stress, but experts say their cars typically sell for $500 to $1,000 more than at a dealer who actually deals. Go to a traditional kind of lot and stand your ground.
66 Save $20 an hour and pay less for parts by going to an independent mechanic. Service by a qualified independent is unlikely to invalidate your car’s warranty. But read it carefully, follow the maker’s maintenance recommendations and keep records of service.

TAXES
67 Sell stock and mutual fund shares. Selling equities at a loss cuts your tax liability by offsetting capital gains, but this year you might consider selling winners. After 2010, the maximum capital gains rate is scheduled to go up to 20 percent, from 15 percent.
68 Max out on employer matches of IRA or 401(k) contributions, or you could be leaving money on the table.
69 Free online calculators can help you make decisions on tough money issues like retirement, investing and insurance. At choosetosave.org, operated by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, you can find several specialized number-crunchers.
70 Get a tax credit of up to $1,500 by installing qualify ing energy-efficient windows, doors, a water heater or roofing. Do the work by the end of 2010, but if you did it last year, check if you are still eligible. Find details at energystar.gov.
71 If you turn 70 1/2 this year, you’ll have to take money out of your 401(k) or IRA by April 1, 2011. Do it this year, not next. Some experts say income tax rates may rise next year, which would mean a bigger bite out of your withdrawal.
72 Book time this summer with your tax preparer, who may give you a better rate during the slow months. Aim at getting a tax-cutting plan in place for the rest of the year.
73 Redeem that bond. The Treasury says that $17 billion worth of U.S. Savings Bonds no longer earn interest but remain unredeemed.
74 Owed money? The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators is holding almost $33 billion of unclaimed stocks, bank accounts and other as sets. Go to missingmoney.com or unclaimed.org to see if any of it has your name on it.

INSURANCE
75 Bundle insurance. If you roll your homeowner’s, automobile and any liability coverage into a package with the same company, you may save between 5 and 15 per cent of what it would cost to purchase separate policies.
76 Consider dropping collision coverage if you can af ford car repairs or replace cars frequently.
77 If you carpool, have low mileage, or commute by rail and park your car at a sta tion, discounts may be avail able from your auto insurance company. The same Is true for teenage drivers who get good grades.
78 Nonsmokers, exercisers and people who maintain a healthy weight can enjoy as much as a 50 percent saving on life insurance.
79 Pay annually, rather than in installments, and you could save as much as 8 per cent by avoiding fees.
80 A homeowner’s re duction of up to 10 percent is often available for people 55- plus because they may spend more time at home and can better monitor and maintain their property.
81 Think about raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000 to save up to 15 percent on a homeowner’s premium.
82 Inventory your pos sessions annually and adjust your coverage. If you gave away expensive jewelry, remove that rider, which typically runs $1.75 to $2 in premiums per $100 in annual coverage.
83 Long-term policy hold ers may earn a cut in premi ums of as much as 10 percent. But that discount may come after years of increases, so check if you might do better elsewhere.
84 SecurIty improve ments such as an alarm or fire sprinkler system may cut your homeowner’s insurance cost.
85 Standard amounts of insurance are worth checking out. For example, a $250,000 life insurance policy may have a lower premium than a $200,000 policy simply because the company’s stan dard policy is $250,000.
86 Consider ditching a second or third car—along with 33 to 40 percent of your premium.
87 safe-driving course may get you auto insurance discounts of up to 10 percent. Washington, D.C., and 36 states mandate discounts for people who take a course. which usually costs between $10 and $30. Ask your agent—restrictions may apply.

YOUR TIPS
People can be quite ingenious. Here are a dozen tips from savers around the country.
88 Look at each $1 bill you get and note the letter of the alphabet in the circle on the left half. (These seals denote Federal Reserve regions and run from A to L) Save bills with a letter of significance to you for specific purposes, such as C for a gift for Carol, or B for a new bicycle. You can easily save $500 or more a year without missing a dollar here and a dollar there. —Leita Spears, Waldron, Ark.
89 Freeze your credit cards—literally. Soak them in water and put them in the freezer to prevent you from using them. —Kip Kiebke, Hart ford, Conn.
90 Round up in your checkbook. When I write a check for $13.63, I write it as $14.00 in my checkbook. I do the same thing with debits. At the end of the month, I calculate my savings and transfer that to an online savings ac count. The change really adds up, and since I don’t see the money, I don’t spend it. —Dawn Carrington, Charleston, SC.
91 Wait 24 hours before you buy anything that costs more than $100. If you still want it the next day, buy it. Most of the time, you’ll forget what it was. —Marcia Brixey, Silverdale, Wash,
92 Don’t buy canned goods at the grocery until at least half of the ones on your shelf are gone. I find that I often don’t use the cans at the back of the shelf just be cause I can’t see them. —Balika Haakanson, Kodiak, Alaska
93 Keep condiment packages given to you when you eat takeout food. Don’t steal them, but save them. They add up. —Anna M. Aquino, Kissimmee, Fla.
94 Suy the huge popcorn at the movies for about $6. A small bag is about $4, so instead of buying four small ones, we buy one huge bag, split it and save $10. —Cathie Ericson. Wilsonville, Ore.
95 Take online surveys from legitimate market researchers in your spare time and make $100 or more a month. —Tricia Meyer, Indianapolis
96 Stick with basic recipes when you cook. New ones almost always add costs for new spices, specific cuts of meat and other fancy ingredi ents or equipment you’ll never use again. —Tonya Gustafson, Seattle
97 GO barefoot more. You’ll buy fewer shoes. —Jan Patenaude, Marble, Colo.
98 Turn off call waiting. It saved me $5 a month, or $60 a year. —John Ulzhelmer, Atlanta, Ga
ones, we buy one huge bag, split it and save $10. —Cathie Ericson. Wilsonville, Ore.
95 Take online surveys from legitimate market researchers in your spare time and make $100 or more a month. —Tricia Meyer, Indianapolis
96 Stick with basic recipes when you cook. New ones almost always add costs for new spices, specific cuts of meat and other fancy ingredi ents or equipment you’ll never use again. —Tonya Gustafson, Seattle
99 Make all your kids wear white socks. When they lose a sock or wear a hole in it, keep the other as a spare. With three kids, it saves our family about $40 a year. -Julie Parrish, West Linn, Ore.

The AARP Bonus

We’ve given you 99 savings tips. Here are even more ways to stretch your dollar with your AARP mernber.shIp, plus lifestyle programs available to everyone on health, fitness,jobs and retirement.

CLICKING FOR COUPONS The AARP Grocery Coupon Center, powered by Coupons.com, offers on line coupons for food and beverages, household items and health products (grocerycouponcenter.com).

HOME IMPROVEMENT
Learn about AARP’s tips on low-cost home modifications and no-cost ways to improve energy efficiency, plus save money and make your home more comfortable and beauti ful (aarp.org/homeupdates).

GOING PLACES
The AARP Travel Center, powered by Expedia, features domestic and inter national vacation packages, cruises, flights, hotels and rental cars. Receive
discounts from most AABP Travel hotel and car providers, plus extra onboard credits on select cruises. No airline or cruise booking fees (1-800-675-4318; expedia-aarp.com).

DISCOUNTS DAILY
Receive up to 50 percent off on prod ucts from national chains such as Target.com, Sears, Kmart and hun dreds of other participating retailers online at Everyday Savings Center, powered by Next Jump. Discounts are available on everything from electron ics and books to apparel and furniture (everydaysavingscenter.com/deals).

PARK AND FLY
Save 10 percent at more than 130 off-site discount airport parking facilities operated by Park Ride Fly USA nationwide. Complimentary services include “curb-to-curb” shuttle service to and from the air port, valet and/or self-parking and luggage assistance (1-877-503-7275 toll-free; parkridefiyusa.com/aarp).

DISHING UP DEALS
Save 20 percent off your check every day from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Denny’s restaurants by showing your AARP card’. Also, coffee for you and your guests is a dollar, 24/7 (1-800-733-6697; dennys.com).

BE A BETTER DRIVER
AARP offers the nation’s first and larg est driver refresher course in the class room and online at a discounted rate for members. In some states, finishing the course may save you money on insurance premiums (1-888-227-7669 toll-free; aarp.org/drive).

CAR AND HOME COVERAGE
If you insure your home and auto with the AARP Auto and Homeowners Insurance Program from The Hart ford you’ll receive up to a 10 percent discount on your homeowner’s insur ance rates and an additional 15 percent on your auto insurance coverage (1-800-689-9089, code 440160; anrp.thehartford.com/msb).

Darren LaCroix Living your dream

2010-07-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

The fun theory

2010-06-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

Police Do Not Have a Speeding Ticket Quota

2010-06-15T05:50:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine is a cop and I’ve been lucky enough to go on a few ride-along trips with him. It’s pretty interesting to get a firsthand look at the job of a police officer. It gives you a lot of respect for the tough job they do.

When they’re not responding to calls, they’re doing paperwork and enforcing speed limits. On one particular ride-along, we spent a couple of hours trying to catch speeders. This was of great interest to me since I am a chronic speeder.

The first thing I wanted to know, what is the deal with quotas?

He said they don’t have a quota. Although, he added that if he didn’t write any tickets then it wouldn’t look like he was doing his job. Also, there are some cops who are trying to get promoted and write a lot of tickets, so if the other cops don’t write a fair amount of tickets then they come across as slackers. So, while there isn’t an official quota, these are the reasons why cops are driven to write tickets.

There are many tools that cops use to catch speeders. There are two speed measuring technologies, doppler radar and laser (aka Lidar, Ladar and “Laser Radar”). Doppler radar technology is the same technology that is used by meteorologists to analyze clouds and predict weather patterns. It’s also used at many stores to control automatic doors. Doppler radar units for law enforcement, come in many varieties: hand-held, vehicle mounted and automated photo-radar.

Laser speed tools for police only come in hand-held models. Although, similar technology is also used by the military and airports to accurately monitor air traffic movement. In fact, there are many other uses for this technology too. One of the newer uses is in wind power farms to measure incoming wind so the turbine blades can be adjusted for best performance and to prevent damage to the equipment in heavy winds.

Both, doppler and laser technologies have advantages and disadvantages. Laser speed guns are extremely accurate and are effective at great distances. They’re also very fast, which is bad for radar detector users — laser detection doesn’t give much time to slow down before your speed is detected. Because they are so accurate, they are only available as hand-held units.

Doppler radar systems are available as hand-held units and vehicle mounted systems. Doppler radar is not very accurate, it can have a wide beam spread that can be as wide as four lanes of traffic at 200 meters (650 feet). That’s great when there are few cars on the road, you can’t miss. It also means the technology can be mounted in the front and rear windows for automatic readings as the officer is driving around — the units will automatically read the speed of traffic in front of and behind the vehicle.

Because the beam covers so many lanes, it means that many vehicles can be picked up at once. If the officer is not properly trained, it is easy to make an error and suspect the wrong vehicle of speeding. Because of the way the technology works, larger and faster objects often take precedence in speed readings. When the large object is a nearby airplane, the 300 mph reading is an obvious error. When the object is a semi truck in the opposite lane traveling faster than a small car in oncoming traffic, the 20 mph difference may be less obvious and lead to officer error.

Neither radar technology works in a perpendicular manner, so if you’re traveling from side to side in front of a speed unit, it cannot read your speed. They only work when you are either getting closer or further away. When a speed reading is possible, the most accurate reading is when the device is directly in front or behind your car. The further to the side the speed gun, the lower the reading will be. That’s why you will often see speed traps on corners of the highway, this allows the officer to get directly in front of your car and achieve the highest and most accurate speed reading. The element of surprise is also important, anytime you come over the crest of a hill, look at the bottom of the hill for a speed trap.

License Plates and Headlights Make You Visible to Traffic Radar

2010-06-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

There are two primary types, laser and tradition (Doppler) radar. Even if you have a radar detector, laser is the most difficult type of radar to avoid getting caught by. Laser radar gives officers a near instant reading on your speed, so you don’t have time to slow down before they get a reading on you.

Your best defense is prevent the laser beam from bouncing back to the radar gun. The front license plate and your headlights are the most reflective thing on the front of most vehicles. If you’re not required to have a front plate in your area, get rid of it.

The next best thing is laser jamming, although it’s not legal in all places. But, if it is allowed in your area then you can buy laser jamming or scrambling units which prevent the radar gun from receiving a laser signal that it can use to measure your speed.

If laser jammers are not allowed, you have some other options. You can get plate covers and headlight treatments to help reduce the amount of laser light that is reflected back to the radar gun.

All of these tips should help you avoid some speeding tickets.

The Secret Powers of Time

2010-06-15T05:14:00.001-07:00

Quad Abuse

2010-05-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

The cab ride

2010-05-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

Cab Ride

I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a
frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across
the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's
stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat
with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as
if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was
covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on
the counters. In the corner&nb sp; was a cardboard box filled with
photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the
suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.
'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother
treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab,
she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through
downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way
to a hospice'.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I
don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I
don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the
meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed
me the building where she had once worked as an elevator
operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had
lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a
furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had
gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular
building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness,
saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly
said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.It was a low
building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that
passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They
were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must
have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The
woman was already seated in ; a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto
me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.

'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.
Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a
life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove
aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could
hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or
one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then
driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more
important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great
moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in
what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTL Y WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID,
~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we
might as well dance.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

2010-05-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

Your attitude towards life defines not only who you are, but the quality of life you are after.

Whatever it is that has been bugging you, Doesn't seem so bad anymore, does it? If only we all could have the spirit that this little boy has!

The Story of Bottled Water

2010-04-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

What to take to bed with you

2010-04-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

Put your car keys beside your bed at night

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, your Dr's office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across.. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around. After a few seconds, all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him.. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.

3D Technology in 2010

2010-02-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

George Carlin - We are part of Nature

2010-02-10T04:19:00.001-08:00

Claim: The price of generic drugs can vary widely from one pharmacy to the next.

2010-01-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

True.

Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2003]
On Monday night (July 22), Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo . . . three thousand percent!

Mr. Wilson did a thorough research, and checked out all the major drugstore chains, discount chains, independent pharmacies, and even checked on some Canadian pharmacies. So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.

For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. They gave the link to Costco, which I will include here, so that you can go and check prices for yourself. www.costco.com Costco Online pharmacy

I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get it's online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Compazine, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08.

I would like to mention, that although Costco is a "membership" type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in.

Origins: As the popularity of this e-mail attests, the fact that one can find a wide disparity in drug prices from one pharmacy to the next was apparently surprising news to many people. And there's probably some truth to the notion that because we tend to view generic drugs as great "money-saving" alternatives to brand drugs, we often don't consider that the mark-up on generics can vary widely from one retailer to the next.

The basic facts laid out in the message quoted above are true. Steve Wilson, a reporter with WXYZ-TV in Detroit, conducted an investigative study into the cost of generic drugs at various pharmacies and other retail drug outlets and found quite a disparity between the highest and lowest prices

charged for certain generic drugs. For example, the Prescription Drug Price Comparison Chart available in conjunction with Wilson's report shows that a one-month supply of Fluoxetine HCL (the generic for Prozac), which wholesales for $1.48, varied in retail price from a high of $92.24 to a low of $9.69 just within the Detroit area.

Comparison shopping applies to generic drugs just as much as it does to food, clothing, DVDs, automobiles, or any other product. Those willing to do some hunting around get the best prices, and many drug comparison sites are available on the web to help consumers compare the costs of various drugs at different retail outlets before submitting their prescriptions (although medical insurance or HMO restrictions may limit which pharmacies a covered patient can use). Price differences between pharmacies can't necessarily be chalked up to nothing more than mere greed, however — some pharmacies offer additional levels of service (such as staying open 24 hours a day) and have to recoup the costs of those additional services by charging higher prices.

Although we can't guarantee that Costco always has the lowest prices on generic drugs, it is generally true that their pharmacy will fill prescriptions for non-members (but be prepared to pay by cash or ATM card rather than check).

Later versions of this message had the following table added to the beginning:
BIG RIP-OFF

The Cost of Prescription Drugs

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries.

In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America. The chart below speaks for itself.
Brand Name
of Drug Consumer Price/100 tabs Cost of General
Active Ingredients Percent Markup

Celebrex 100 mg $130.27 $0.60 21,712%
Claritin 10 mg $215.17 $0.71 30,306%
Keflex 250 mg $157.39 $1.88 8,372%
Lipitor 20 mg $272.37 $5.80 4,696%
Norvasc 10 mg $188.29 $0.14 134,493%
Paxil 20 mg $220.27 $7.60 2,898%
Prevacid 30 mg $44.77 $1.01 34,136%
Prilosec 20 mg $360.97 $0.52 69,417%
Prozac 20 mg $247.47 $0.11 224,973%
Tenormin 50 mg $104.47 $0.13 80,362%
Vasotec 10 mg $102.37 $0.20 51,185%
Xanax 1mg $136.79 $0.024 569,958%
Zestril 20 mg $89.89 $3.20 2,809%
Zithromax 600mg $1,482.19 $18.78 7,892%
Zocor 40mg $350.27 $8.63 4,059%
Zoloft 50mg $206.87 $1.75 11,821%
This chart is of dubious accuracy and has little relevance (other than an inflammatory one), as far more goes into the retail pricing of drugs than the raw cost of their active ingredients. Pharmaceutical companies expend money on the research and development costs of creating the drugs, plus the overhead costs of manufacturing, marketing, and shipping them; as well, pharmacies must sell drugs for more than their wholesale prices in order to cover the overhead costs of store operations (including pharmacists' salaries).

Avoiding airline baggage fees

2010-01-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

The nation's airlines are looking for more ways to get in your pocket. The latest effort by Delta and Continental involves raising baggage fees to the point that they may exceed some tickets!

The first checked bag will be $25 ($23 if you do it online) and the second somewhere in the $30 range depending on airline.

Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, still has no baggage fees. Nor will this discount airline charge you to change a trip once you've booked. Perhaps that's why Southwest keeps gaining more market share while the full-fare airlines watch their shares shrink.

Think Southwest is crazy? Well, they must be crazy like a fox. Customers who may be on the cusp about taking a trip are probably more likely to book because they know they won't get hit with a fee to change a ticket.

Nobody knows if Southwest will continue with no baggage fees, but it certainly has made for some strong imaging for them. You can see their "no baggage fees" commercials on constant rotation during the NFL playoff games.

But what if Southwest doesn't serve the markets you need? There's still one way to avoid baggage fees on the full-fare airlines: Don't check a bag!
Just be sure you follow the carry-on rules of your airline to the letter.

Extend Your Laptop’s Battery Life

2010-01-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Laptops tend to lose their charm quickly when you’re constantly looking for the nearest power outlet to charge up. How do you keep your battery going for as long as possible? Here are 15 easy ways to do so.

1. Defrag regularly - The faster your hard drive does its work – less demand you are going to put on the hard drive and your battery. Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging it regularly. (but not while it’s on battery of course!) Mac OSX is better built to handle fragmentation so it may not be very applicable for Apple systems.

2. Dim your screen – Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice.

3. Cut down on programs running in the background. Itunes, Desktop Search, etc. All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life. Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery.

4. Cut down external devices – USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery.

5. Add more RAM - This will allow you to process more with the memory your laptop has, rather than relying on virtual memory. Virtual memory results in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Note that adding more RAM will consume more energy, so this is most applicable if you do need to run memory intensive programs which actually require heavy usage of virtual memory.

dvd

6. Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD - As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used. Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones.

7. Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient.

8. Take care of your battery – Exercise the Battery. Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-On battery completely discharge. (Discharing is only for older batteries with memory effects)

9. Hibernate not standby – Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does. Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down.

temp

10. Keep operating temperature down - Your laptop operates more efficiently when it’s cooler. Clean out your air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner, or refer to some extra tips by LapTopMag.com.

11. Set up and optimize your power options – Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect).

12. Don’t multitask – Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery. Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3’s, set your mind to one thing only. If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed!

13. Go easy on the PC demands – The more you demand from your PC. Passive activities like email and word processing consume much less power than gaming or playing a DVD. If you’ve got a single battery charge – pick your priorities wisely.

14. Get yourself a more efficient laptop - Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries. Picking up a newer more efficient laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix.

15. Prevent the Memory Effect - If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ – Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which do not suffer from the memory effect.

Bonus Tip #1: Turn off the autosave function. MS-Word’s and Excel’s autosave functions are great but because they keep saving regular intervals, they work your hard driver harder than it may have to. If you plan to do this, you may want to turn it back on as the battery runs low. While it saves battery life in the beginning, you will want to make sure your work is saved when your battery dies.

Bonus Tip #2: Lower the graphics use. You can do this by changing the screen resolution and shutting off fancy graphic drivers. Graphics cards (video cards) use as much or more power today as hard disks – Thanks Andrew

Update 7/7/07: Bonus Tip #1 to give caution about turning off autosave, tip #8 to change information about discharging batteries – thanks to all who pointed it out. Added Bonus tip #2, Tip #1 to add in clause in regards to Mac OSX, Tip #1 about the spinning of hard drives – thanks to all who pointed it out

Great uses for coffee filters

2010-01-10T12:55:00.001-08:00

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree/Store for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through&nb sp; the drainage holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.

21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..

25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
[][]

OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS TOO.

What You Need to Know About Big Box E-Tailers

2010-01-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

Fewer hassles, more choices. But watch out for shipping charges that can offset your discounts.
By Thomas M. Anderson, Associate Editor
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, February 2010

1. No jockeying for parking, no mega cart. BJ’s Wholesale Club (www.bjs.com), Costco Wholesale (www.costco.com) and Sam’s Club (www.samsclub.com) match the low prices at their brick-and-mortar stores. That saves you the hassle of finding a space in a crowded parking lot on Saturday morning. Plus, you can use online tools to pull up previous orders and create shopping lists.

2. Membership has its privileges. For $45 a year, you can become a member of BJ’s Inner Circle; a Gold Star or Business membership at Costco is $50; and Sam’s Club charges $40 for new Advantage members. (Nonmembers may buy items online if they pay surcharges ranging from 5% to 15%.) And all three extend their rebate programs for top-tier memberships to online purchases. A BJ’s Rewards membership ($80 a year) entitles you to a 2% rebate on all purchases, up to $500 annually. Costco’s $100-a-year Executive members also earn a 2% rebate, up to $500. Sam’s Club Advantage Plus members ($100 a year) earn a tiered rebate, up to 2%, on purchases worth up to $1 million per year.

3. The Web is an even bigger box. A warehouse club’s Web site typically carries 80% more products than the local store does -- though not the perishables, such as bananas and salad fixings. BJ’s specializes in consumer goods. Sam’s Club caters to entrepreneurs by providing special supplies for small businesses. Costco’s strategy is to provide an inventory of high-quality products and eclectic items, such as a man-size safe from Cannon ($850 including shipping). Prices usually reflect what you’d pay in the club’s store, plus shipping costs.

4. You can stock up discreetly on products that you’d rather not be seen carting out of a store in large quantities. For example, Costco sells prescription drugs online (it’s the only one of the Big Three that does). In a survey of pharmacies in 2008, Consumer Reports found that Costco had the cheapest prescription prices. Costco also sells wine online (in fact, the store is the world’s biggest retailer of Dom Pérignon champagne). The catch? Costco.com delivers wine only to addresses in California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.

5. No coupons required. Each warehouse-club site has a section for items that are on sale that day -- no coupon necessary. Among recent offers that beat other top online deals by at least $100: a 47-inch Philips flat-screen HDTV ($998 at BJs.com, shipping included) and a Reebok CrossWalk treadmill ($600 at Costco.com, including shipping). The member coupons you receive in the mail may also be used online.

6. But watch out for the shipping. Unfortunately, the sites don’t tell you how much shipping will cost before you add an item to your online cart. “Shipping costs add to the confusion about shopping online at warehouse clubs,” says Michael Clayman, editor of industry newsletter Warehouse Club Focus. But some sale offers -- with or without a coupon -- waive the shipping. Larger items and more-fragile products may cost more to send. If you don’t like the price, you can cancel the transaction at checkout. As is usually the case with online shipping, you’ll save if you’re willing to wait for delivery.

The Most-Overlooked Tax Deductions

2010-01-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

1. State sales taxes. Although all taxpayers have a shot at this write-off, it makes sense primarily for those who live in states that do not impose an income tax. You must choose between deducting state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes. For most citizens of income-tax states, the income tax is a bigger burden than the sales tax, so the income-tax deduction is a better deal.

The IRS has tables that show how much residents of various states can deduct. But the tables aren’t the last word. If you purchased a vehicle, boat or airplane, you get to add the state sales tax you paid to the amount shown in the IRS tables for your state, to the extent that the sales-tax rate you paid doesn’t exceed the state’s general sales-tax rate. (Download IRS tables in .pdf format here).

The same goes for any homebuilding materials you purchased. These items are easy to overlook, but they could make the sales-tax deduction a better deal even if you live in a state with an income tax. The IRS even has a calculator on its Web site to help you figure the deduction, which varies depending on the state where you live and your income level.

2. Reinvested dividends. This isn't really a deduction, but it is a subtraction that can save you a bundle. And this is the break that former IRS commissioner Fred Goldberg told Kiplinger's a lot of taxpayers miss.

If, like most investors, your mutual fund dividends are automatically used to buy extra shares, remember that each reinvestment increases your tax basis in the fund. That, in turn, reduces the taxable capital gain (or increases the tax-saving loss) when you redeem shares. Forgetting to include the reinvested dividends in your basis results in double taxation of the dividends -- once when you receive them and later when they’re included in the proceeds of the sale. Don’t make that costly mistake. If you’re not sure what your basis is, ask the fund for help.

3. Out-of-pocket charitable contributions. It’s hard to overlook the big charitable gifts you made during the year, by check or payroll deduction (check your December pay stub). But the little things add up, too, and you can write off out-of-pocket costs incurred while doing good works. For example, ingredients for casseroles you prepare for a nonprofit organization’s soup kitchen and stamps you buy for your school’s fundraising mailing count as a charitable contribution. If you drove your car for charity in 2009, remember to deduct 14 cents per mile.

4. Student-loan interest paid by Mom and Dad. Generally, you can only deduct mortgage or student-loan interest if you are legally required to repay the debt. But if parents pay back a child’s student loans, the IRS treats the money as if it was given to the child, who then paid the debt. So, a child who’s not claimed as a dependent can qualify to deduct up to $2,500 of student-loan interest paid by Mom and Dad. And he or she doesn’t have to itemize to use this money-saver.

5. Moving expenses to take your first job. Here’s an interesting dichotomy: Job-hunting expenses incurred while looking for your first job are not deductible. But moving expenses to get to it are. And you get this write-off even if you don’t itemize. If you moved more than 50 miles, you can deduct the cost of getting yourself and your household goods to the new area -- including 24 cents per mile for driving your own vehicle for a 2009 move -- plus parking fees and tolls. The same holds true for any new job you take.

6. Military reservists’ travel expenses. Members of the National Guard or military reserve may tap a deduction for travel expenses to drills or meetings. To qualify, you must travel more than 100 miles from home and be away from home overnight. If you qualify, you can deduct the cost of lodging and half the cost of your meals, plus 55 cents per mile for 2009 for driving your own car to get to and from drills. In any event, add parking fees and tolls. You get this deduction regardless of whether you itemize.

7. Child-care credit. A credit is so much better than a deduction; it reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. So missing one is even more painful than missing a deduction that simply reduces the amount of income that’s subject to tax.

If you pay your child-care bills through a reimbursement account at work, it's easy to overlook the child-care credit. Although only $5,000 in expenses can be paid through a tax-favored reimbursement account, up to $6,000 (for the care of two or more children) can qualify for the credit. So, if you run the maximum through a plan at work but spend even more for work-related child care, you can claim the credit on as much as $1,000 of additional expenses. That would cut your tax bill by at least $200.

8. Estate tax on income in respect of a decedent. This sounds complicated, but it can save you a lot of money if you inherited an IRA from someone whose estate was big enough to be subject to the federal estate tax.

Basically, you get an income-tax deduction for the amount of estate tax paid on the IRA assets you received. Let’s say you inherited a $100,000 IRA, and the fact that the money was included in your benefactor's estate added $45,000 to the estate-tax bill. You get to deduct that $45,000 on your tax returns as you withdraw the money from the IRA. If you withdraw $50,000 in one year, for example, you get to claim a $22,500 itemized deduction on Schedule A. That would save you $6,300 in the 28% bracket.

9. State tax paid last spring. Did you owe tax when you filed your 2008 state tax return in the spring of 2009? Then, for goodness’ sake, remember to include that amount in your state-tax deduction on your 2009 return, along with state income taxes withheld from your paychecks or paid via quarterly estimated payments.

10. Refinancing points. When you buy a house, you get to deduct in one fell swoop the points paid to get your mortgage. When you refinance a mortgage, though, you have to deduct the points over the life of the loan. That means you can deduct 1/30th of the points a year if it’s a 30-year mortgage. That’s $33 a year for each $1,000 of points you paid -- not much, maybe, but don’t throw it away.

Even more important, in the year you pay off the loan -- because you sell the house or refinance again -- you get to deduct all as-yet-undeducted points. There’s one exception to this sweet rule: If you refinance a refinanced loan with the same lender, you add the points paid on the latest deal to the leftovers from the previous refinancing--and deduct the amount gradually over the life of the new loan.

11. Jury pay turned over to your employer. Many employers continue to pay employees’ full salary while they serve on jury duty, and some require employees to turn over their jury pay to the company coffers. The only problem is that the IRS demands that you report those fees as taxable income. To even things out, you get to deduct the amount you pay to your employer.

But how do you do it? There’s no line on the Form 1040 labeled Jury fees. Instead the write-off goes on line 36, which purports to be for simply totaling up the deductions that get their own lines. Add your jury fees to the total of your other write-offs and write “jury pay” on the dotted line.

12. Property-tax deduction for nonitemizers. This break, new in 2008, also works in 2009, but millions of taxpayers who claim the standard deduction may miss it. Normally, to write off property taxes, you must itemize deductions. But this new rule lets homeowners who don’t itemize boost their standard-deduction amount -- by up to $500 if they’re single and up to $1,000 if they’re married and file a joint return -- to account for property taxes paid during 2009. You’ll need to include extra paperwork -- a Schedule L -- with your 2009 tax return to get this break.

13. Casualty-loss deduction for nonitemizers. For 2009, taxpayers who claim the standard deduction can add casualty losses to their standard-deduction amounts -- if the loss occurred in a presidentially designated disaster area. Also, the casualty-loss deduction for losses in presidentially declared disaster areas is not subject to the usual reduction equal to 10% of your adjusted gross income. If you suffered such a loss, be sure you let Uncle Sam help you out by lowering your tax bill. As with the property-tax deduction for nonitemizers, you’ll need to file a Schedule L with your return to pump up your standard deduction to include the loss.

14. Hope credit for college juniors and seniors. Parents of college kids know the $2,000 Hope credit is just for the first two years of college; after that, the lower Lifetime Learning credit applies. But wait! That’s not how it works for 2009. Instead, the credit has been renamed, increased and expanded. It’s now called the American Opportunity Credit, and it will rebate up to $2,500 for each qualifying student for the first four years of college. The full credit is available to individuals whose modified adjusted gross income is $80,000 or less, or $160,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return. The credit is phased out for taxpayers with incomes above those levels. The income limits are higher than last year’s. (More on the American Opportunity Credit here.)

15. Making Work Pay credit. You’ve probably been enjoying the fruits of this credit via reduced payroll tax withholding since spring 2009. But to lock in your savings–by reducing your tax bill by $400 if you’re single or $800 if you’re married and file a joint return–you’ll need to actually claim the credit on your 2009 tax return—and you’ll use brand-new Schedule M to do so. The credit is equal to 6.2% of your earned income, capped at $400 or $800. For single filers, it starts phasing out at $75,000 of adjusted gross income and dries up at $95,000. The phase-out zone for couples is $150,000 to $190,000.

16. Sales-tax deduction for new vehicles. If you bought a new car, truck, motorcycle or motor home after February 16, 2009, and before the end of the year, you can deduct the sales tax paid -- up to a maximum purchase price of $49,500 per vehicle -- either as an itemized deduction or, if you claim the standard deduction, as a supercharged standard deduction. The benefit begins phasing out for married couples with adjusted gross income over $250,000 and singles with AGI over $125,000, and it is completely gone for single filers with AGI of $135,000 or more and joint filers with AGI of at least $260,000. Nonitemizers need to file a Schedule L with their return to get the benefit; itemizers who elect to deduct state income taxes will claim the car sales tax as a separate itemized deduction.

17. Credit for energy-saving home improvements. The tax credit equal to 10% of the cost of energy-saving home improvements is increased to 30% for 2009 and 2010, up to a maximum of $1,500 in the two-year period. The credit applies to biomass fuel stoves, qualifying skylights, windows and outside doors, and high-efficiency furnaces, water heaters and central air conditioners. The dollar limit on a particular type of improvement, such as the $200 cap on the credit for windows, has been repealed, so don’t limit yourself to the old rules. Finally, there’s also no dollar limit on the credit for qualified residential alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines. Your credit can be 30% of the total cost of such systems.

18. Break on the sale of demutualized stock. Taxpayers won an important court battle with the IRS in 2009 over the issue of demutualized stock. That’s stock that a life insurance policyholder receives when the insurer switches from being a mutual company owned by policyholders to a stock company owned by stockholders. The IRS’s longstanding position was that such stock had no tax basis, so that when the shares were sold, the taxpayer owed tax on 100% of the proceeds of the sale. But after a long legal struggle, a federal court ruled that the IRS was wrong. The court didn’t say what the basis of the stock should be, but many experts think it’s whatever the shares were worth when they were distributed to policyholders. If you sold stock in 2009 that you received in a demutualization, be sure to claim a basis to hold down your tax bill.

19. Home-buyer credit. We put this last on the list because it’s hard to imagine any taxpayer missing this big a tax break. But the rules changed late in the year, so snafus are certain. For most of the year, only first-time home buyers qualified for this credit. A “first-time buyer” is defined as someone who didn’t own a home in the three years leading up to the purchase of a new home. But big changes apply to homes purchased after November 6, 2009. First, in addition to the $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers, there’s a $6,500 credit for longtime homeowners, those who continuously owned a home for at least five of the eight years leading up to the purchase of a new home. The new law also increases how much buyers may earn and still claim the credit. For deals closed before November 7, the right to the first-time buyer credit gradually disappears as adjusted gross income rises between $75,000 and $95,000 on single returns and between $150,000 and $170,000 for married couples who file jointly. For purchases after November 6, the phase-out zones–for both the $8,000 credit and the $6,500 credit -- are $125,000 to $145,000 for singles and $225,000 to $245,000 for married couples. More questions? See FAQs on the Home Buyer Tax Credits

Is Constant Innovation Dangerous? See Ancient Rome

2009-12-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Archaeologist Sander van der Leeuw discusses the dangers of constant innovation. "Every innovation creates a cascade of new challenges," he says, which shifts a society's focus to short-term thinking. He warns China is currently "addicted to innovation," but praises the bustling nation for its focus on long-term thinking.

Helpful winter hints

2009-12-29T06:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some helpful hints that could make your winters easier to deal with ...

Keep your headlights clear with car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights - lasts 6 weeks.

Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This one trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.

Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on it's way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water---preventing water from freezing!

Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber.

Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe if off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.

De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!

Hope these hints help even just one time

45 lessons of life

2009-12-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

Fix a Scratched CD

2009-12-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Sometimes pulling out an old CD from your music archive reveals some discs haven't fared well in the passage of time. CDs are vulnerable to fingerprint smudges, a bit of dried syrup from the time you spilled that Coke in the car, perhaps even some scratches from the time that CD disappeared under the passenger's seat three years ago.

If you've got some CDs that are well past their prime (and no, we don't mean that perfectly unblemished Spice Girls disc you've been hiding from your friends), fear not. There are ways to get that disc spinning again so you can transfer the music or data to a more respectable media, like MP3s.

The first thing to try with your potentially damaged CDs is a PC. Many times a CD that's too mangled to work in a car stereo will work just fine in your (much faster) computer CD/DVD drive. In addition, CD/DVD computer hardware and ROM software error-recovery differs by brand; a high-quality player will play discs which freeze or skip on a lower-quality one.

This article is a wiki. If you still buy CDs and want to help people restore their music collection, hop on and improve this article.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Polish
* 2 Repairing scratches
* 3 Recreate
* 4 Future Outlook

Polish

If you've got a disc that won't play, start with the simplest solution: give it a gentle, but thorough cleaning.

Take a damp, lint free cloth (the cloth used to clean eyeglasses works very well) and starting in the center of the CD, wipe to the outside edge in a straight line. The direction of the polishing is important, don't wipe in circles, and don't wipe randomly. Move in a straight line, center to edge.

Now that you've got all the surface blemishes off, give the CD another try. Still no luck? Well, read on.
Repairing scratches

If polishing alone doesn't work, chance are your CD is scratched. See if you can find the offending scratch -- hold your CD up to the light and check it from different angles.

CD's read from the inside out to the edge so you may be able to locate the scratch that's causing the problem based on which tracks skip. Obviously if you CD has data rather than music this method won't work.

Once you've found the scratch there are a few ways you can repair it. However, before we get started, be aware that some of these methods can actually damage the disc even more so. Use them only as a last resort.

Polish the CD Two popular ways of polishing out scratches include using toothpaste (get the kind with baking soda in it) and Brasso. In either case apply a thin layer to the scratched area and wipe from the inside out to polish out the scratch. Although popular in internet postings, the brand of toothpaste may matter, and the toothpaste or Brasso abrasive will replace scratches with finer ones, possibly making the problem worse. A low-cost commercial solution such as Allsop 'DVD Scratch Repair" (about $3 retail -- www.allsop.com) provides extremely fine abrasive fluid and a fine polishing cloth which always will improve the playing; the cloth alone may improve results with toothpaste or Brasso.

Wax the CD Along the same lines as the toothpaste method, you can try applying a very thin coat of vaseline, car wax or shoe polish to the scratched area. Caution: Wax may be difficult to remove and may make further polishing attempts more difficult.

Professional Refinishing Unless the scratch is very deep the above methods should work. If they don't you can always try having your CD refinished by a professional service. Consult your local music store or try searching for CD refinishing in your favorite search engine.

Audio CD Scratches For some CD's that are scratched and skipping, you can use iTunes to import the CD and attempt to fix some of the scratches. To do this go to the Preferences -> General -> Import Settings and make sure that "User Error Correction when Reading Audio CD's" is ticked. For a badly scratched CD it may take a LONG time to read it (possibly hours for one disc) but it can make some CD's quite listenable.

Meguire's Deep Crystal (cleaning system) Paint CleanerPersonally, the best product I have ever found to restore BADLY damaged CD's and DVD's is Meguire's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, which is part abrasive and part high quality carnauba wax. It is applied by 2-3 drops onto the offending disc. Spread it thin on the whole disc or just where you see scratches. Allow it to dry completely and then buff in a circular motion while checking that it is indeed polishing the scratches out. Some people may say to wipe from the center out, and that is OK for cleaning some discs, but with this product I would recommend a soft, lint free, dry cloth, such as a microfiber towel burnishing/polishing in small circular motions. With this cloth or towel you will obtain the best results by polishing in small circular motions. The reason for this is because not all scratches will be fill-able only moving from the center towards the outside of the disc.

(ALWAYS INSURE YOUR CLOTH OR TOWEL IS ABSOLUTELY CLEAN FIRST: You don't want new scratches added)

Because this product is for Automotive use, and is clear coat safe, it has minimal buildup and may require several repetitions of the above steps to completely restore your disc. This makes it much safer than household abrasives such as Brasso or Toothpaste. As many as 12-15 coats may be needed for VERY badly damaged data discs or DVD's, but so far with patience it has proven to be the right solution for all but cracked discs, which are best replaced with new discs.
Recreate

If you're dealing with an audio CD, here's an interesting option.

This may not be legal in some countries but where it is legal you can download all the tracks in the highest quality you can find and recreate the CD. Find 320Kb/s MP3 versions, or better yet, lossless versions, and use a CD burning program that can create audio CDs to recreate the CD.

Optionally scan the front of the original and print it on a CD sized sticker.

I know for US citizens this might sound as ridiculous illegal advice but in for example The Netherlands this is perfectly legal.
Future Outlook

The future of CDs looks like it is set to mirror that of the Dodo circa 1660. While music, movies and data storage devices of the future will have their own set of problems, at least we won't have to resort to toothpaste to recover lost tunes.

The trade off is the lack of a physical medium to show off to your friends as a sign of music superiority. In other words, no more fancy album art. In many ways the album is going the way of the Dodo as well. The record industry is increasingly focusing on singles rather than congruent records.

Don't fear, Pink Floyd fans (and other fans of congruent, thematic concept albums). Online MP3 stores, like Apple's iTunes store, are starting to bundle album art and even extra songs and video with downloadable albums. While you still can't frame your favorite MP3, at least you can watch the behind the scenes making of it. Better yet, you don't have to worry about scratching your MP3 like you can a compact disc. If you lose your music, chances are, in the future, your music store will replenish the music you bought from them for you at little or no cost.

How to change a VW Genetator-Alternator Fan belt!

2009-12-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

Don't try this at home!

Secrets Of Nonverbal Communication

2009-11-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

Body language can speak more strongly than words. Make sure you say the right things with it.In 1961, when Joe Navarro was 8, the Bay of Pigs invasion happened six miles from his home in Cienfuegos, Cuba, and his family fled to Miami. The boy knew no English, so he relied on careful observation of his peers, neighbors and teachers to figure out how things were done in his new country.

That close reading of nonverbal clues turned into a lifelong pursuit. Navarro, 56, worked for 25 years as a counterintelligence special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and since 2003 he has been a consultant to the Energy and State Departments and the Institute for Defense Analysis, in Washington. His latest book, Louder Than Words: Take Your Career from Average to Exceptional with the Hidden Power of Nonverbal Intelligence, applies all his knowledge to the business world. Navarro believes that fluency in nonverbal communication can be as powerful a tool as masterful negotiating techniques or expert salesmanship. The starting point, he says, is what he calls "personal curbside appeal." Project yourself as a confident, welcoming person, and your clients, colleagues and bosses will be attracted to you, keen on doing business with you and on promoting you within your organization.

Curbside appeal has several components, starting with looks. Tidy, neat, conservative clothes are preferable, Navarro says. A good rule of thumb: mirror, don't shock. "Observe how upper management dresses, and follow their lead," he advises. "Casualness can kill credibility." Unless, that is, you work in a place where the top brass wear jeans and polo shirts, like, say, CBS Studios in Hollywood, where Navarro recently discovered he was the only person in a suit.

Even when the dress code is jeans, make sure they are not ripped or stained. Not only will trim clothes impress others; they will help you do a better job, Navarro maintains. "What we wear shapes our behavior and prepares our body and mind for what we need to do," he writes. "In the workplace, you put on the attire of a warrior for business, and that's your persona." One thing he insists on is polished shoes, in good repair. "Men often wear scuffed or worn-down shoes that subvert the effort they spent on the rest of their appearance," he writes.Gestures go a long way in conveying your personal message. One of the most appealing: Stand with your head slightly tilted and your hands clasped, and with a smile and a gaze that meets the other person's. The head tilt exposes the neck and says, "I am listening, I am comfortable, I am receptive," Navarro says. By contrast, if you touch your neck or cover the dimple at the base of it, you're saying you are uncomfortable, insecure or concerned.Sit back comfortably in a chair, with your hands interlaced behind your head, and you project control and dominance. But it can be a little much, too. In a meeting avoid it, unless you're the senior person there.

Steepling your hands means you are strongly confident in the message you are about to deliver. Also, aiming your thumbs up conveys a sense of confidence. Navarro likes it when fingers are interlaced and thumbs are aimed up. Hiding your thumbs--in your pockets, say--gives the impression you are insecure.

Navarro also stresses the importance of making a strong, positive impression on first meeting. This involves blending all his tips and putting them into action. The well-dressed, tidy employee or boss makes eye contact, smiles, gets up from behind his or her desk, approaches the guest either from a slight angle (men prefer this) or directly (which women like better) and extends a hand to shake in what Navarro describes as "a firm but easy grip, lasting a few seconds." Avoid the overly tight squeeze, the pump or any wrist torque, he advises.

FBI agents devote a lot of energy to establishing rapport with people, Navarro says. When he left the bureau six years ago, he was stunned to discover how many business people were clueless about forging effective nonverbal connections. "I wrote the book to give people that nonverbal edge," he says.

A Natural AND Cheap Alternative to Dishwasher Detergent

2009-11-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

By HappySlob

By jove, I think I may have GOT it. Dishwasher detergent is one of those annoying necessities that I could never quite embrace using. But, I'm finally pleased with the results of two ingredients that seem to be getting my dishes good and clean, minus the chemicals.

I pour regular table salt (or I've also used baking soda) into the detergent openings in the dishwasher door, and then pour about a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide over the salt until it's a bit sludgy and slushy. Close the door and give it a whirl.

I really want to know what you discover from using this! Do you like it as much as dishwasher detergent? I'm still working on improving this all the time, so please do share if you tweak it and like the results even more.

The Recovery Plan – Get Rid of All the Motivational Speakers

2009-08-21T16:53:00.001-07:00

On the subject of my post Dos and Don’ts of Talking to a Person who is Looking for a Job. Anyone caught delivering motivational speeches or a strategic advice of any sort should be rounded up to protect the public. With all the motivational speakers off the streets there is a hope for the economic recovery.

Let me explain. The rules of the game changed so dramatically that whatever script the motivationlists have been reading from, ain’t no longer working. The best motivational speakers are trying to convince themselves, hoping that repeating whatever carp there are saying, will improve their chances of actually believing in the bs. Most of them never held a regular job. And even if it worked for them personally in the past, as I wrote, there is a new game in town. More importantly there are certain truths that don’t report to change, despite the depression and the recession. As always and forever only three things are still working – cash, contacts or real leads. If a motivational speaker doesn’t include any on the three in the no power / no point presentation, they might as well shove it. Take the bastards off the streets now, protect the society! With ten million of them off the streets and off the tweets there might be just enough jobs for the rest of us.

Advice from Hugh MacLeod – Ignore everybody

2009-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

I often speak and write about the puzzlement of advice. It is difficult to give and receive advice. Most of advice we receive from friends and strangest is either clueless or irresponsible. In fact closer and more trusting we are to people, more likely it is that we will be misled by a bad advice from them. A trusting guidance from friends usually results in a lasting damage. In this light with particular interest I read the sketch of the of the forthcoming book by Hugh MacLeod Ignore everybody:

“The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you. When I first started with the cartoon-on-back-of-bizcard format, people thought I was nuts. Why wasn’t I trying to do something more easy for markets to digest i.e. cutey-pie greeting cards or whatever? You don’t know if your idea is any good the moment it’s created. Neither does anyone else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And trusting your feelings is not as easy as the optimists say it is. There’s a reason why feelings scare us.

And asking close friends never works quite as well as you hope, either. It’s not that they deliberately want to be unhelpful. It’s just they don’t know your world one millionth as well as you know your world, no matter how hard they try, no matter how hard you try to explain.

Plus a big idea will change you. Your friends may love you, but they don’t want you to change. If you change, then their dynamic with you also changes. They like things the way they are, that’s how they love you- the way you are, not the way you may become.

Ergo, they have no incentive to see you change. And they will be resistant to anything that catalyzes it. That’s human nature. And you would do the same, if the shoe was on the other foot.

With business colleagues it’s even worse. They’re used to dealing with you in a certain way. They’re used to having a certain level of control over the relationship. And they want whatever makes them more prosperous. Sure, they might prefer it if you prosper as well, but that’s not their top priority.

If your idea is so good that it changes your dynamic enough to where you need them less, or God forbid, THE MARKET needs them less, then they’re going to resist your idea every chance they can.

Again, that’s human nature.

GOOD IDEAS ALTER THE POWER BALANCE IN RELATIONSHIPS, THAT IS WHY GOOD IDEAS ARE ALWAYS INITIALLY RESISTED.

Good ideas come with a heavy burden. Which is why so few people have them. So few people can handle it.”

Hitchens on Religion

2009-08-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

Christopher Hitchens gives a talk in Canada on Free Speech in November 2006.

The Three Things worth Doing in Life

2009-08-21T06:06:00.000-07:00

by Ben Atlas on 08/08/2009
Hugh MacLeod tweeted yesterday: “Three things worth doing in life: Breeding, loving and learning. Everything else is filler…” I will take this aphorism for a spin.

1. Breeding – Offspring and fertility. A woman’s life long obsession with being attractive, the confidence of being able to arouse a man. A man’s sense of self worth depending on his ability to meet the challenge.
2. Loving – the intoxication and the yearning. The “loving” is never complete if unrequited. “Speed” Levitch said it must be reciprocal. Love is about being loved, about validation of what you are. Loving includes being respected, the accolades and appreciation. If you love a man or a god and they don’t love you back, you can’t put a check mark here.
3. Learning – Trying to understand your place in the universe, an opportunity to satisfy the natural thirst, an opening to quench the curiosity. The desire to travel and see the world. By no means is this a textual manipulation.

I have never met a person who had all three in the bag. If you imagine the world as a puzzle and the goal of the game to line up all three, the jackpot is theoretical. The vast majority of people manage only one of the three life essentials. There are a small number of the lucky bastards who lined up two of those. But the fascinating human condition is that even if a single goal is at bay out of the three, humans are in a state of constant agony, like a chronic plain, the realization that a defining component of life is missing. They constantly think about it and if you are a friend you have the privilege of always hearing about it. Perhaps the wisdom is the recognition of the bargain, and if you managed to score two of the three, acceptance of your luck. Just like at the end of his remarkable speech Alain de Botton says that “every vision of success has to admit what it is loosing out on”.

When people say “money is not important” they mean it isn’t amongst the three essential goals of life but no one ever argued that money indeed can facilitate all three. Or on a more nuanced level the traditional “bazaar” is treated in the Middle Eastern cultures as an elaborate ruse to cover up the transactions in the intangibles, the ritual of pretending to trade in physical objects. Pay respect to haggling, a breeding dance with love and knowledge.

P.S. I was thinking where creativity fits into the scheme. I have to say that creativity is a part of learning. People dance, paint, write code, do scientific research, play ball, all in order to think. These are the rosary beads of learning. As McLuhan said an artist confronts “present as his material because it is the area of challenge to the whole sensory life.” This is the process of learning and occasionally there is a byproduct, a breakthrough of discovery.

Michael Pritchard's water filter turns filthy water drinkable

2009-08-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Too much of the world lacks access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it -- inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds. An amazing demo from TEDGlobal 2009.

Jonathan Drori: Why we're storing billions of seeds

2009-05-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

In this brief talk from TED U 2009, Jonathan Drori encourages us to save biodiversity -- one seed at a time. Reminding us that plants support human life, he shares the vision of the Millennium Seed Bank, which has stored over 3 billion seeds to date from dwindling yet essential plant species.

Dan Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?

2009-05-29T04:07:00.000-07:00

Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that well be miserable if we dont get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things dont go as planned.

Alan Webber 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self."

2009-05-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

The 90-10 Principle

2009-05-19T02:32:00.000-07:00

Aging-Moments of Reason

2009-05-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

Peeling a potato the easy way!

2009-04-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

Refusing to Forgive: 9 Steps to Break Free

2009-04-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Refusing to Forgive: 9 Steps to Break Free
By Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.
April 15, 2009
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/2009/04/refusing-to-forgive-9-steps-to-break-free/

I see it every day. We all hold grudges against other people who we feel have hurt or offended us in some way or another. We even hold these grudges for people who aren’t even alive anymore. We do this with the false idea that somehow we are making them suffer by being hurt and angry with them. Now, there is nothing wrong with being angry with someone, but it is how we express this anger that makes all the difference on us and our relationships . What is a grudge anyway? May it is harboring ill feelings toward another in the need to settle a score.

Let’s try a little experiment. Think of someone in your life right now (maybe not the most extreme person) who you are absolutely holding a grudge against right now. There is no way you are willing to forgive this person right now for their actions. Picture that person and hold onto that unwillingness to forgive. Now, just observe what emotions are there; Anger, resentment, sadness? Also notice how you are holding your body right now, is it tense anywhere or feeling heavy? Now bring awareness to your thoughts; are they hateful and spiteful thoughts?

Most people who I do this with find this to be an uncomfortable experiment that elicits feelings of tension, anger, and thoughts of ill will toward the other person. This is not conjuring these feelings out of nowhere; this is just bringing to light what is already within stirring around. There is a common misperception that forgiveness means condoning the act of the other person. Forgiveness simply means releasing this cycle of torture that continues to reside inside.

Forgiving does not mean forgetting or condoning! Forgiveness is for the person who was perpetrated, not the perpetrator. It is saying, “I have already been offended against, I am going to let go of this so I don’t continue to be burdened by it.” You have already been tortured once, why continue letting this torture you by holding onto it with the erroneous belief that holding onto it is somehow hurting the other person. The practice of forgiveness has been shown to reduce stress, anger, and depression and support many aspects of well-being and happiness.

Like many things, this is easier said than done depending on the person and level of offense. In his book, Forgive for Good, Fred Luskin, Ph.D. lays out 9 steps to forgiving for you!

Know exactly how you feel about what happened and be able to articulate what about the situation is not OK. Then, tell a trusted couple of people about your experience.

Make a commitment to yourself to do what you have to do to feel better.
Forgiveness is for you and not for anyone else.

Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation with the person that hurt you, or condoning of their action. What you are after is to find peace. Forgiveness can be defined as the “peace and understanding that come from blaming that which has hurt you less, taking the life experience less personally, and changing your grievance story.”

Get the right perspective on what is happening. Recognize that your primary distress is coming from the hurt feelings, thoughts and physical upset you are suffering now, not what offended you or hurt you two minutes - or ten years -ago. Forgiveness helps to heal those hurt feelings.

At the moment you feel upset practice a simple stress management technique to soothe your body’s flight or fight response.

Give up expecting things from other people, or your life, that they do not choose to give you. Recognize the “unenforceable rules” you have for your health or how you or other people must behave. Remind yourself that you can hope for health, love, peace and prosperity and work hard to get them.

Put your energy into looking for another way to get your positive goals met than through the experience that has hurt you. Instead of mentally replaying your hurt seek out new ways to get what you want.

Remember that a life well lived is your best revenge. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, and thereby giving the person who caused you pain power over you, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you. Forgiveness is about personal power.

Amend your grievance story to remind you of the heroic choice to forgive.

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist and conducts a private practice in West Los Angeles. Check out Dr. Goldstein's acclaimed CD's on stress prevention, depression, and addiction -- "They are so relevant, I have marked them as one of my favorites on a handout I give to all new clients" ~ Psychiatrist. If you're wanting an interactive program to find relief from anxiety and stress, check out Dr. Goldstein's progressive online behavioral change program in Aliveworld. Dr. Goldstein is also available for private psychotherapy.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

2009-04-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

What Billionaires Have In Common

2009-04-11T08:13:00.001-07:00

What do billionaires have in common besides a lot of money? Forbes magazine decided to find out, and did an in depth analysis of the 657 self made billionaires on their list from a few months ago. Amongst the things they analyzed are the billionaire’s parents, education, job, and social standings.

Some of the surprising common traits they found are:

September Birthdays

Of the 380 self-made American tycoons who have appeared on the Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires in the past three years, 42 were born in September–more than in any other month. Maybe that’s because September is the month the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans is published.

Tech Titans Who Dropped Out of College

Forget everything your guidance counselor told you: You don’t have to go to college to be successful. More than 20% of the self-made American moguls on the most recent list of the World’s Billionaires never finished college. Many of them made their fortunes in tech. Among them: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, (Oracle) and Theodore Waitt (Gateway).

Skull and Bones

Several current and former billionaires rounded out their Yale careers as members of Skull and Bones, the secret society portrayed with enigmatic relish by Hollywood in movies like The Skulls and W. Among those who were inducted: investor Edward Lampert, Blackstone co-founder Steven Schwarzman and FedEx founder Frederick Smith.

49 Things Every 18-Year-Old Should Know

2009-04-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

1) "If you are buying something that you will use often and for a long time, never go cheap. You'll end up replacing it sooner or paying more in maintenance costs than if you had spent more on good quality in the beginning. Plus, you'll enjoy the nicer product throughout its lifetime, rather than cringing every time you use something that is falling apart." -- bretts

2) Don't spend money on a credit card that you can't afford to pay back. The interest and late payments can put you in a hole that can take you years to pay back.

3) Compound interest is your friend. Saving even a relatively small percentage of your income each year, starting at 18, can leave you in much better shape by the time you're ready to retire.

4) If you're working with someone who can be bargained down on a price, it seldom hurts to try. The exceptions may be someone of exceptional talent, someone you're going to have to work with on a regular basis, or someone whose help you're going to need in a timely manner.

5) Try to keep enough cash to pay your bills for at least six months in reserve. It will make your life immeasurably easier if your car breaks down, you have a surprise medical expense, or you get an opportunity to get a fantastic bargain.

6) Dogs are fantastic animals. They deserve to be called man's best friend. But, if you are under the impression that you just need to buy a collar and a bag of dry dog food every month and you're set, you're in for a rude awakening. Dogs tend to be much more expensive and time consuming than you'd think.

7) "Don't have any children or get married until you can support and love yourself first." -- D-Vega

8) "Don't trade your vehicle in on a new one just a couple of years after buying it. Pay it off and ride it until (the wheels fall off), all while putting that car payment in the bank." -- The_Muck_Man

9) College is a lot more work than high school and your job will be a lot more work than college was.

10) Start looking for a new job BEFORE you quit your old job.

11) Don't take any job that only pays commission unless you're either an expert salesman or ready to spend months working without pay to gain the skills you need to become an expert salesman.

12) Ideally, you should choose something you love to do so much that you'd do it for free and find a way to make it into a career.

13) When asking for a salary, always have a figure you want in mind -- and then ask for significantly more than that number. That way, you may get more than what you want and even if you don't, you have a better chance of getting the amount you had in mind than if you had blurted it out right off the bat.

14) There's no shame in taking any honest job.

15) Getting fired or laid off isn't the end of the world. To the contrary, a lot of people, myself included, have moved on to bigger and better things after being laid off or fired.

16) If you're not happy with the job market, the government, or the schools in your area, remember that you can always move to another city or another state. Lots of Americans do just that every year.

17) "I wish that I had known to check the oil in my vehicles and to have changed it regularly. It would have saved a lot of money that I spent on repairs -- directly due to my lack of changing the oil per the mechanic." -- Ann H.

18) Lefty loosey, righty tighty. Turn it to the left to loosen it and to the right to tighten it.

19) Don't ever open a hot radiator cap or you can get seriously burned.

20) Here are 3 keys to keeping a reasonably clean house: don't leave any dishes in the sink overnight; every time you have a full load of clothes, wash 'em, and take out the trash every time the can is full. You do those things, wipe up your messes, and vacuum when the floor gets filthy, and you'll keep things reasonably neat.

21) If you use a computer even semi-regularly, it's worth your time to take a typing class.

22) It's not enough to buy a gun and stick it in a drawer like a lucky talisman. You need to learn to use the gun.

23) When you move, sell, throw away, and give away as much as possible or you'll just end up moving boxes from one closet, where they have been sitting for five years, to another closet, where they'll be sitting for the next five years.

24) Don't ever loan your friends money if you want to keep them as friends. After all, if they were good with money and were likely to pay you back in a timely manner, they probably wouldn't need the loan in the first place. If they really need the money, you want to help them, and you can afford it -- just give it to them.

25) Women should never allow a boyfriend to take naked pictures. If it's on film, you shouldn't be surprised if it goes public in one form or fashion after a break-up.

26) When men have a problem and they tell you about it, they want to know how to fix it. When women have a problem and they tell you about it, they just want you to listen.

27) If you ever get arrested, don't say anything until you talk to a lawyer.

28) If you don't know the agenda of the people you're getting your news from, then you don't have the information you need to know if what they're telling you is true.

29) Government is a necessary evil. It's best to keep its tentacles out of your life and out of our society as much as possible.

30) "When you're 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you're 40, you don't give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you're 60, you realize nobody's been thinking about you at all." -- Daniel Amen

31) Trust your instincts. They're usually right.

32) If you think a doctor's wrong, don't hesitate to ask for a second opinion. Your health is vitally important and doctors make mistakes just as often as anyone else.

33) Don't ever say anything that may offend someone who is going to be serving you food. You never know what they may stick in it when you're not looking.

34) If you get into a business deal with someone who goes to unusual lengths to convince you of how honest or Christian they are, watch your wallet and make sure you have an iron clad contract. They "doth protest too much."

35) "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." - Jim Rohn

36) If you want to do something exceptional, don't expect anyone to believe you can do it until you've done it. Unless you're already perceived as exceptional, most people won't believe in you. That's doubly true for the people who know you best and have therefore seen you at your most mediocre, like your parents, family, and friends.

37) If you don't feel like you're being treated fairly by a company, don't hesitate to ask for a manager. Oftentimes, a manager has gotten to where he is in a company because he is good at pleasing customers like you in the first place.

38) "You are not invulnerable and you are not going to live forever. You can (make) mistakes at 18 that you will have to live with for the rest of your life." -- Don_cos

39) Nobody owes you a living.

40) You are not a victim.

41) If you just assume that every conspiracy theory is wrong without even examining it, you will be right 99.99% of the time.

42) "It's likely that whatever challenges you have faced in your life currently could have been avoided but some better decisions upstream." -- Anonymous

43) At a minimum, keep a basic "to do" list, a schedule, and a budget.

44) "Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better." -- Pat Riley

45) "If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what's the point?" -- Rick Warren

46) Ironically, successful people tend to fail a lot more than unsuccessful people. They also tend to ask a lot more questions.

47) You beat 50% of the people by just showing up. You beat another 40% by working hard. The last 10% is a dogfight in the free enterprise system.

48) There are at least six key areas of your life: health, career, romantic, social, money, and religion. If you neglect any one of those areas, it will harm you in the other areas and keep you from being as happy as you can be otherwise.

49) When trying to decide between two closely matched alternatives, always have a bias towards action. In the long run, it'll lead to your having a lot more experience, great stories, and a richer, fuller life.

Marcus Luttrell: "I'm Not a Hero"

2009-04-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

After Marcus Luttrell lost his teammates in Afghanistan, he made a promise.

Kris Carr: Be the Author, Not the Victim

2009-04-04T07:55:00.001-07:00

Despite her cancer, Kris Carr stays healthy by controlling what she eats, drinks, and thinks.

How To Make Your Own Laundry Detergent (liquid and powder).

2009-03-24T06:04:00.001-07:00

How To Save Money By Making Your Own Laundry Detergent - video powered by Metacafe

1: How To Make Your Own Soda. Cheap, quick and easy.

2009-03-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

How to Make Your Own Soda - video powered by Metacafe

VCR Hack!

2009-03-03T05:53:00.000-08:00

Don't throw out that old VCR! Hack it to find all kinds of goodies inside!

Good advice

2009-02-10T20:20:00.001-08:00

'Out of print' has lost its meaning

2008-12-30T17:52:00.000-08:00

'Out of print' has lost its meaning

I see the phrase from time to time in book reviews.

"It is out of print and difficult to find."

Not.

Reviewers who write stuff like this need to wake up and smell the 21st century.

Here is where you can locate those "out of print and difficult to find" books:

•AddALL— www.addall.com/

•BookHq— www.bookhq.com/

•BookFinder— www.bookfinder.com/

•Abebooks— www.abebooks.com/

I've long since lost count of the number of times I've purchased books that were "unobtainable" for reviewers and writers who said as much.

Must be priceless to see their faces when they open the package.

No matter — for me, it's just something I like doing.

How to Get Rid of Ants

2008-09-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

Few pests are harder to get rid of than ants once they've established themselves in your home. If you're tired of stumbling upon a swarm of ants on a regular basis, you'll need to make a concentrated effort to keep these uninvited guests away. This article will review every course of action available to you--why it works, whether it's safe around pets and kids, and how to do it properly. == Steps == Shut down the ant buffet. The reason ants are coming into your humble abode is because it's a free-for-all (or at least it was at some point in the past, and they're hoping it might be again). The cleaner you keep the house, the less they'll have to eat, and the more they'll look elsewhere for goodies. Wipe down all surfaces. Tables and counter tops should be regularly sprayed and cleaned with a mild bleach or vinegar solution. Sweep, mop and vacuum regularly. Put food in air-tight containers. This has the added bonus of keeping the food fresher. Keep the sink clean: no dirty dishes, no standing water for ants to drink, no food in the drain. Put pet food bowls in a slightly larger bowl and add some water to the larger bowl, creating a moat around the pet food that the ants can't cross (too bad you can't put one of those around your house!). A lone ant brings home the bacon--or in this case, the cat foodSquish the scouts. Colonies regularly send out lone ants to check for food sources. If you see an individual ant strolling across your coffee table, don't let it make it back to the nest alive. It'll tell the colony where you spilled the apple juice. If the scout made it back to the nest and brought back some friends, they'll be following a scent trail, single file. Unless you're ready to bait them as described below, kill them all. Quickly. Spray the trail with all purpose cleaner or a bleach solution, then wipe it up with a wet paper towel. Only do this if you can get them all, however, because spraying like a mad man might encourage them to split up, go home, and establish new colonies.[1] For a less hands-on solution, vacuum them all up, then vacuum some talcum powder or diatomaceous earth to finish them off. Barricade your home. Since ants are tiny, they can find thousands of tiny doorways into your residence. Some of them of are easy to identify; others will only be discovered when there's a parade of ants of marching through them. Seal windows, doors, and any cracks the ants crawl through with caulk. An additional benefit with this is better temperature control and lower energy bills. Plus, it's the least risky method when kids or pets are involved. Line suspected entryways with deterrent substances. Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that kills ants by pulling all the moisture from their bodies. Since it's so absorbent, however, it's only effective in dry environments.[2] You also don't want anyone in the house (pets included) sniffing it up. Talc in various forms is presumed to deter ants, although the mechanism is poorly understood.[3] Tailor's chalk and baby powder usually contain talc and can be used to create a barrier for ants. Regardless of which form of talc you use, keep in mind that there are concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of talc,[4] although baby powder is used by many parents nonetheless.*Many sources recommend using normal chalk, but this is made of gypsum, not talc, and could be the result of confusion with "ant chalk" (an insecticide that looks just like normal chalk; outlawed in the US in the '90s, but still sold in Chinatowns illegally).*Some baby powder brands are made of corn starch and will not work effectively against ants. Check the ingredients. Cornmeal can be used as a weapon against ants, and it's not poisonous to people or animals. Ants eat it and after consuming water, the cornmeal swells inside their digestive organs, causing them to die.[5] Dried clovesYou can also apply scents and substances that ants simply don't like for various reasons: vinegar, peppermint oil, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, whole cloves, and bay leaves. Some of these might be harmful to pets and irritating to curious children. Excavated ants' nestBring down the nest. If ants continue to raid your home, you're going to have to raid theirs--except that you're too big to get inside. If you're able to locate the nest, however, you can pour several gallons of boiling water into it and that'll be that. But if you don't know where they're coming from, your only alternative is to bait them. Commercial bait product at workPick your poison. Mixing boric acid powder or borax with sugar water is the most common bait (that is what a popular commercial ant poison, Terro, basically consists of). Boric acid affects ants both externally (when in powder form; similar to diatomaceous earth) and internally (when ingested).[6] The ants bring the poison (borax or boric acid) with them to the colony and spread it around. If you get the quantity and timing just right, you can wipe out a large colony, but it might take several weeks to a few months.[7] A bait that's too strong will kill the ants before they make it home, and a bait that's too weak will only weaken the colony temporarily, so here are some recipes that people have had success with:*1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons boric acid[8]*3 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar and 4 teaspoons of boric acid.[9] Remove any deterrents (from previous steps) and wait for the ants to show up. Don't lure new ants with the bait; you could attract new colonies.[10] Once there's a trail, place the bait next to it (not on it, or else you'll interrupt their march home). If you have pets and/or children around (see Warnings below) put the bait in a jam jar. Screw the lid tightly and seal with adhesive tape. Pierce two or three small holes in the lid, and smear the outside with a little bit of unpoisoned bait. If you're concerned about the jar getting knocked over and the poisoned bait spilling out, loosely pack the inside with cotton balls.[11] Just to cover all the bases, leave out some peanut butter bait as well (peanut butter mixed with borax or boric acid powder). Ants' cravings vary depending on the needs of the colony (sometimes they want sweets, sometimes they want something oily)[12] so providing both will increase the likelihood that they'll take the bait. Give them as much fresh bait as they'll take, replenishing it as needed, and let them bring it back to their nest (no squishing or killing!). Once they've had their fill, remove all bait; you don't want to attract a neighboring colony.

How to Separate an Egg

2008-08-05T05:26:00.001-07:00

Sometimes recipes call specifically for egg whites or yolks; other times you might want to skip the cholesterol in egg yolks. Either way, you should know how to separate the white from the yolk. Here are some ways to do that.
Steps

1.
Beaten egg whites
Beaten egg whites
Purchase fresh eggs if you can. The membrane that encloses the yolk weakens over time so the fresher the eggs, the "tighter" the yolk. [1] Also, fresher eggs have stronger proteins, which will make for stiffer whites (if that's what you're going to be using them for).
2.
Ready for cracking and separating
Ready for cracking and separating
Chill the eggs. Since the yolk is less likely to break when it's cold[2] make sure you're working with chilled eggs. If the recipe calls for egg whites or yolks at room temperature, however, you'll need to let them sit after separating, or work more carefully with eggs that are already at room temperature.
3. Use one of the methods described below to separate the eggs.
4.
Put the previously separated whites and yolks in a separate bowl (or individually in half shells in the carton) so that if you end up with a messy crack down the line, you don't get shell shards all over your previous hard work.
5. Freeze any unused whites or yolks in small containers, labeled with how many whites or yolks are stored.[2]

Shell Transfer Method

1.
How to crack an egg. Be sure to place the egg so the middle of the egg hits the bowl's edge.
How to crack an egg. Be sure to place the egg so the middle of the egg hits the bowl's edge.
Imagine a line going around the "fattest" part of the egg--that is where you want to make the cleanest crack you can manage. The key with this method is to avoid cracking the egg unevenly, as this can make it difficult for the yolk to switch to the smaller side.
2.
Hitting the egg against bowl edge
Hitting the egg against bowl edge
Crack the egg open at about the halfway mark. You can do this by hitting the egg swiftly against the sharp edge of a bowl (a curved or round edge will result in a more jagged, messy crack).

You can also crack the egg gently on a flat surface, in which case it's more difficult to get an even break, but you're less likely to end up with small pieces of shell floating around[3] and the yolk is better protected, since breaking the shell against an edge pushes the pieces inwards, possibly piercing the yolk.[4]
3.
The egg is cracked a little
The egg is cracked a little
Hold the egg so that the cracked part is facing up.
4.
Pry open
Pry open
Pry open the egg gently, catching the yolk in half of the shell. Do this above a bowl, making sure no part of the yolk or the shell falls in.
5.
Let white slide in
Let white slide in
Switch yolk to empty shell side
Switch yolk to empty shell side
Let the white slide into the bowl. Take the eggshell half with the yolk sitting in it and switch the yolk to the other half, making sure it doesn't fall into the bowl or "melt". Repeat this about three times, switching from side to side as the white continues to drip into the bowl.

Hand Method

1.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands with soap (preferably non-scented), and rinse. If any of the oil from your hands get into the whites, they will not fluff.[5]
2. Crack the egg over your hand (palm facing up). You might need someone to crack it for you, unless you can crack an egg with one hand.
3. Let the whites drip through the spaces between your fingers until all that is left is the yolk in your hand.

Funnel Method

1. Have someone hold a funnel over a bowl (or put it in a bottle if no one can hold it for you).
2. Crack the egg over the funnel. The whites should pass through the small opening while the egg yolk remains in the funnel.
3. If whites become trapped above the yolk, gently move the funnel around so that the yolk doesn't block the small opening and the whites can slip past it.

Separator Method

1.
Crack into a separator. (This bowl has a wide slot in one side.)
Crack into a separator. (This bowl has a wide slot in one side.)
Carefully crack the egg into the separator.
2.
Pour off the whites through the slot.
Pour off the whites through the slot.
Let the egg separator contain the yolk while the whites pour off through the slot.

Tips

* Although you could discard the yolk, a better idea is to use any of the yolks created this way to make an egg dish (like homemade mayonnaise) or for cakes. Try to have two recipes in mind before you crack the eggs open.
* If eggshell falls into the egg whites, scoop it out with a teaspoon or another larger piece of the egg shell.
* If you're beating the egg whites, such as for a meringue, make sure no yolk gets in. Any bit of yolk in egg whites will cause them not to foam.
* Seperator method can be performed with a simple slotted spoon. Just crack the egg on top of the spoon, with bowl beneath to catch the whites, and shake gently.

Warnings

* Wash your hands before and after handling raw eggs to avoid any possible bacterial contamination. Clean surfaces that come into contact with the eggs.

How to Tell Time Without a Clock

2008-08-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

For many people, knowing the correct time is vital to everyday life. If you're in an unfamiliar environment without any kind of clock, however, figuring out the time could be a matter of safety and survival. Without a clock or watch, finding the exact time may not be possible, but you can figure the approximate time using the sun, moon or stars.
[edit] Steps
Sun Position

1. Make note of the position of the sun. If you're in the northern hemisphere, face the south; if you're in the southern hemisphere, face north. (If you don't have a compass, use one of these techniques.) In other words, look at the equator--that is the line the sun generally follows in the sky. It always rises in the east (which is to your left if you're facing south, to your right if you're facing north) and sets in the west.

* If the sun is in the exact center of the sky, it's exactly noon. A nickname for this is "high noon" because the sun is at its highest at noon and the time will be 12:00 PM, but this assumes no daylight saving time, and that you're in the middle of your time zone. For instance, in Salt Lake City, Utah (US), "high noon" is actually at 1:30 PM in the summer because there's an hour added by daylight saving and another thirty minutes added because the city is that time distance (west) away from the center of the time zone.[1]
* If the sun is not in the exact center, you will have to do more figuring. If it is morning, the sun will be in the eastern half of the sky. If it is afternoon, the sun will be in the western half. You can use fractions to divide the sky into hours, and find the approximate time.
2. Estimate the number of hours between sunrise and sunset. This varies depending on the season and location. Winter days are shorter than summer ones: about ten and fourteen hours, respectively. Spring and fall days tend to be about twelve hours long, especially close to the equinox (late March or late September).
3. Divide the sun's path into segments. If you're looking towards the equator, you can imagine the sun following an imaginary arc from east to west, beginning and ending at the horizon, even if it's obscured. Visualize dividing that arc into equal segments; the number of segments should equal the number of hours in the day. If you know there are twelve hours in a day, you would divide the arc into twelve equal parts, six on the eastern half and six on the western half.

* If you're having trouble visualizing the sky in segments, you can use your hand or fist to "measure" segments. Going hand over hand, count the amount of fists from one end of the arc to the zenith (the highest point of the sky). Take that number as half of a day. For instance, if you counted 9 fists, and you know the day is 12 hours long, nine fists would be equal to six hours. To figure out how much time each fist represents, divide the number of hours by the number of fists. One fist, then would equal 6 divided by 9 - or about 2/3 hours (40 minutes). This is your hours-per-fist.
4. Determine which segment the sun is in. Starting in the east, count how many segments there are before you get to the segment that the sun is in. That will tell you how many daytime hours have passed. The segments that the sun hasn't touched yet indicate how many daytime hours are remaining. If you know the time of high noon, sunrise, or sunset in your area, then you can approximate the current time.

* Using the Salt Lake City example given earlier, let's say there are fourteen segments (because it's summer) and the sun is on the ninth segment (from the east). The eighth segment (right after the highest point) begins at 1:30 PM. The ninth segment begins one hour after that, so if the sun is in the ninth segment, it's probably between 2:30 and 3:30 PM. If the sun was in the sixth segment, the time would be between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. With practice, you'll be able to estimate time without consciously dividing the sky.
* If you used the fists method, count the number of fists from the eastern end of the arc to the sun. Multiply that number times the hours-per-fist measurement. Let's say you counted three fists from east to west. Three hours times forty minutes equals 120 minutes, or two hours. So it's been two hours since sunrise. If you know the time of sunrise in your area and season, you can approximate what time it is.

Reading the Moon[2]

1. Find the moon. If the moon is full, stop here and follow the instructions for telling time based on sun position. If it's a new moon (i.e. you can't see the moon) this technique will not work.
2.
Imagine the moon is a circle divided into vertical strips. The number of vertical strips equals the number of hours in the night, with the first hour at the right edge and the final hour at the left edge. As discussed earlier, the number of nighttime hours can vary by season and location. Let's assume twelve hours, beginning at 6 PM and ending at 6 AM, for now.
3. Read the moon from right to left, following an imaginary horizontal halfline. Look for where that line intersects the border between light and dark. Make note of which strip that intersection is in. If as you read from right to left, the moon goes from light to dark, that strip where the intersection is located tells you when the moon will set in the west (moonset). If the transition is from dark to light, then you can determine when the moon will rise in the east (moonrise).

*
In this instance, the intersection is at 8 PM, and the transition from right to left is from light to dark. This tells us that the moon will set in the west at 8 PM.
*
This moon will set at about 7-8 hours after sunset. If sunset is at 7 PM, you can expect moonset at 2-3 AM.
* If the moon is just a tiny sliver on the right, it sets within an hour or two since the night began. If you see it, you're probably within the first hour or two of nighttime, since the moon hasn't set yet.
* If the moon is just a tiny sliver on the left, it rises within an hour or two before dawn. If you see the moon in this phase, you can expect the night to be over within one or two hours.
4. Observe the moon's position in the sky. Divide the moon's path into segments, as described for the sun above. For the purposes of this example, let's assume twelve equal segments for twelve hours in the night.

* If you know the moonrise time, estimate how many hours (segments) it already passed since it rose in the east. Add those hours to the moonrise time to get your current time. If you know the moon rose at 9PM, for example, and it's right in the middle of a 12 hour path, that means it's completed 6 hours since it rose at 9 PM. 6 hours after 9 PM is 3 AM.
* If you know the moonset time, estimate how many hours (segments) it has to go before it sets in the west. Let's say you know the moon will set at 2 AM in the west. If the moon is positioned about 2 segments away from the western end of the arc, that means it has two hours before it sets. Two hours before moonset (2 AM) is 12 AM (midnight).

North Star Clock

1. Locate the Big Dipper constellation. You'll only be able to do this in the northern hemisphere and if the skies are clear. In the summer, the Big Dipper will be closer to the horizon.
2. Determine the raw time. The two pointers in the Big Dipper (the two stars furthest away from the handle) are in line with the North Star (Polaris). This line is like a clock hand, with Polaris at the center of the clock; as you look North, 12 is at the top of the clock, and 6 is at the bottom. When you imagine this clock, what time is it? Let's say the "hand" falls at 2:30. This is the raw time.

Image:Star_clock_196.jpg
3. Add one hour for every month after March 7. Likewise, subtract one hour for every month before March 7. If it's May 7, two months after March 7, then you'd add two hours to your raw time, making it 4:30. To be more exact, add or subtract two minutes for every day after or before the 7th, respectively. If it's February 2, it's one month and five days before March 7, so you'd subtract one hour and ten minutes from 2:30 (making it 1:20).

* The reason we focus on March 7 is because the star clock always reads 12:00 at midnight on this date, so this is our "base" date, and we have to "adjust the clock" for any other date.
4. Double the time.
5. Subtract the time from 24. If the time from the previous step is more than 24, then subtract it from 48. We do this because the clock actually goes backwards (counterclockwise) and this subtraction corrects for that. The result will be the real time, given in military time. That means that if your result is more than 12, you can convert it to PM.
6. Correct for daylight saving time and time zone variation. If daylight saving time is in effect, add an hour. If you live close to the western edge of your time zone, add a half hour. Likewise, if you live on the eastern edge of your time zone, subtract half an hour. Now you know the time!

[edit] Tips

* If you have the time and materials, you can build a temporary sundial with which to tell time.
* Telling time based on the position of the sun becomes more difficult if you are in a region where the difference between daylight hours and nighttime hours can be dramatic, such as if the sun doesn't set at all for part of the summer. Scandinavians and tribes in the Americas used "daymarks"--they associated the position of the sun in relation to a fixed landmark with a certain time of day.[3]
* Don't forget to correct for daylight saving time.
* Don't stress out about exact numbers. Because of latitude and longitude, the numbers might not be exact anyway. Just use this as a handy estimation tool when you're on a hike or out in your backyard.

How to Chill a Drink Quickly

2008-07-02T03:25:00.000-07:00

Steps

1.
Take the temperature of the drink. This step is optional; once you open a can, this method won't be as effective. If this is your first time trying it, though, it may be interesting to record how drastically the temperature can change.
2.
Fill a bowl with water and add ice to it. Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water. A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb.
3.
Add table salt to the ice. A small handful should do. Adding salt lowers the melting temperature of the ice.
4.
Place your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them all around. By stirring, you're using forced convection to speed the transfer of heat out of your drink and into the ice water solution.
5.
Wait two minutes. Take the temperature of one of the drinks - the temperature should have fallen dramatically in a very short time. If it needs more time chilling, stir the remaining drinks in the salted ice water for another minute or two.
6.
Enjoy your cold drink. It should now be about the perfect temperature to quench your thirst.
Tips

* This will work with just about any drink, in a conveniently sized can or bottle.
* This method is amazingly better than merely adding ice cubes to the glass of warm coke. Placing ice cubes directly into the drink causes it to become diluted and lose its fizz and snappy flavor.
* Smaller containers will chill more rapidly than large containers because the smaller ones have much more surface area in contact with the cold water per unit volume.
* If you don't have salt, then plain water plus ice is still more effective than ice alone at chilling containers. This is because the liquid water is a better heat conductor than air (many times better), and the ice by itself can't cover much of the container's surface.
* If you want a cold drink immediately and happen to have an extra CO2 gas fire extinguisher laying around, there is another, faster way. By blasting your can of soda with the extinguisher for only a few seconds, your drink will be icy cold. This only works with CO2 extinguishers which leave no residue as others will leave you with nothing more than a drink covered in fire retardant powder, stale water, or a mess of foam. However, it is recommended that you save your extinguisher for a true emergency.
* If you do not have extra clean water available, using ice alone and stirring it and the drinks around in the ice is still better than just putting the drinks in an ice chest with ice still in the bag with the drinks sitting on top or in a refrigerator. Air which is less dense than water can not absorb and conduct as much heat away from the containers compared to water.
o So to have cooler air circulating among the pieces of ice, try putting the bowl in a bag and tie it closed, and then swirl the bowl a little every 15 to 30 seconds to stir the drinks.
* Make sure to at least rinse the can top in clean, potable water before you drink the beverage. The salt that may be left on the can lid may cause the beverage to taste very salty.

Warnings

* Carbonated cans may become pressurized after rapidly stirring in the ice water. Opening cans before the carbonation has a chance to settle may cause an overflowing mess.

7 Simple Rules For How to Take A Nap

2008-06-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Birds do it, bees do it (we think), even educated monkeys do it. So let’s do it, people. Let’s fall asleep. (The musical portion of this blog is over; thanks for indulging.) But seriously: we’ve talked about the whys of taking naps on the blog before — they improve mood, creativity, memory function, heart health, and so much else — but never, to my knowledge, have we discussed how to take a nap. In fact, whenever we write about naps, we always get a few comments from people claiming they’re unable to nap during the day; they just can’t fall asleep, or when they do nap they wake up groggy and unable to work. In that case, read on, my sleepy friends.
1.

The first thing you should know is, feeling sleepy in the afternoon is normal. It doesn’t mean you had a big lunch, or that you’re depressed, or you’re not getting enough exercise. That’s just how animals’ cycles work — every 24 hours, we have two periods of intense sleepiness. One is typically in the wee hours of the night, from about 2am to 4am, and the other is around 10 hours later, between 1pm and 3pm. If you’re a night owl and wake up later in the morning, that afternoon sleepiness may come later; if you’re an early bird, it may come earlier. But it happens to everyone; we’re physiologically hardwired to nap.
2.

Naps provide different benefits depending on how long they are. A short nap of even 20 minutes will enhance alertness and concentration, mood and coordination. A nap of 90 minutes will get you into slow wave and REM sleep, which enhances creativity. If you sleep deeply and uninterruptedly the whole time, you’ll go through a full 90-minute sleep cycle, and recoup sleep you might not have gotten the night before (we’ve all heard it a million times, but most of us don’t get enough sleep at night).
3.

Try not to sleep longer than 45 minutes but less than 90 minutes; then you’ll wake up in the middle of a slow-wave cycle, and be groggy. I used to hate taking naps during the day for just this reason — I would always wake up in a fog. My problem was I hadn’t yet perfected the art of the 20-minute catnap.
4.

Find a nice dark place where you can lie down. It takes about 50% longer to fall asleep sitting up (this is why red eye flights usually live up to their name), and be armed with a blanket; you don’t want to be chilly. You also don’t want to be too warm, which can lead to oversleeping. (There was a kind of urban legend circulating when I was a kid: don’t fall asleep in the sun, or you’ll never wake up. Not true — but you might wake up three hours later with a ripe sunburn.)
5.

White noise can help you fall asleep, especially during the day when construction crews, garbage trucks, barking dogs and other noisy awake-world things can conspire to destroy your nap. Keep a fan on, or turn on a nearby faucet for a pleasing rushing-river sound. (Just kidding about that last one.)
6.

Don’t nap too close to bedtime, or you might not be able to fall asleep later. Remember, your inbuilt sleepy window is sometime in the early to mid-afternoon — try to nap then.
7.

Quit that silly job where they don’t let you take naps during the day.

Safety: Check your tires

2008-06-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is very important. Please watch the video.

Aged Tires: A Driving Hazard?
ABC News went undercover and found retailers selling aged tires as brand new. Learn how to decipher the code on your tires to determine its real age.

I urge you all to take the time to look at this 9 minute video on tires and share with others.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897&affil=ktvx

How Long Can You Store Gasoline?

2008-06-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

Q: I have several five gallon cans of gasoline in my garage that are to be used in a generator in case of a power failure. They have been there for several years as well as a tank full in the generator. Can this gas go stale?
-- C. S. Legum,
Norfolk, Va.

A: Gasoline does degrade or become "stale" during storage. How long it remains viable depends on several factors including the container and conditions in which it has been stored. The gas in your garage is long past its due date, though, especially if it was stored without the addition of a chemical stabilizer.
[Me and My Car storing gasoline]
Associated Press
Many folks store gasoline, as seen here after Hurricane Katrina. But gas can go stale after a few months.

I know it is tempting to use the fuel, especially with prices so high at the pump. Indeed, many times I have poured gasoline of questionable vintage into the tanks of cars, motorcycles and of course, the lowly lawnmower. Several years ago I inherited a roto tiller with a tank that had been half full for years. Of course, it started on the first pull and has run well ever since. Still, the instructions for outdoor power equipment like mowers, snow blowers and chain saws often recommend draining the tank if you don't plan to use the machine for a several months.

The American Petroleum Institute recommends taking old gas to an approved disposal facility after, at most, two years of storage. But the gas may have degraded beyond safe use by then. To be safe, the trade group says, you should avoid storing gasoline from season to season. For example, if you fill the gas can in the spring you should use its contents before the end of the year.

I haven't had any fuel-related problems. But I have heard enough tales of woe from people who have that I now avoid storing gasoline for more than a few months and always add a stabilizer to the container.

How to choose a pineapple

2008-06-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Nobody really knows how to tell if one is ripe — you see people sniffing and pressing them, and listening to how they sound when thumped.

Now comes Jean Paul Polo of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the "Quick Tips" feature of the latest issue (July/August 2008) of Cook's Illustratedmagazine, with the following advice:

"With one hand, gently tug at a leaf in the center of the fruit. If the leaf releases with little effort, the pineapple is ripe. If the leaf holds fast, choose a different pineapple. Conversely, avoid pineapples with dried out leaves and a fermented aroma — the fruit may be overripe."

FunFact: Pineapples do not continue to ripen once they've been picked.

Credit card rewards are a real rip off

2008-06-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

What has your rewards card done for you lately? Not much most likely.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- You got burned with frequent flier miles, which were nearly impossible to redeem and hardly worth the hassle, so credit card issuers turned to other kinds of incentives to entice you to charge more. But most rewards programs aren't much better, and consumers are still eager to sign up for them despite the same old traps.

About 85 percent of U.S. households participate in at least one rewards program, according to a study released Monday by Consumer Reports. And though rewards do spur consumers to spend more, the study found that confusing rules and restrictions make most reward cards more trouble than they're worth.

"They make it 100 times more complicated," said a former marketing executive at CitiCards, referring to the popular rewards programs. For example, when you read the fine print, you might find that some rewards are limited to certain brands, or expire if not used within a certain timeframe.

Of the different reward cards available, the most popular programs are cash back, where customers receive a percentage of expenditures back in either a check or money off of their next bill. Other reward cards rack up "points" which can be redeemed for various items, or offer people discounts at certain hotels, stores, restaurants and gas stations.

And while cash back, gas and grocery rewards credit cards can offer some relief for costly essential items, they often carry higher annual percentage rates than traditional credit cards, Consumer Reports said. Looking at some of the more generous credit card rewards programs, the study found that rates varied from 9.74% to as much as 19.99%.
What do you think of your credit card rewards?

"If the rates are high, the cost to carry a balance will often erase any savings the rewards program may offer," said Amanda Walker, senior project editor at Consumer Reports.

Some reward cards also carry annual fees, making it even less likely that consumers will come out ahead. And even the more generous programs have limits on how much consumers can earn in rewards, not to mention looming deadlines by which the rewards must be used.

And in addition to the complicated rules, fees and higher interest rates, customers are leaving unused rewards on the table. More than 41 percent of reward cardholders either rarely or never even bother to use their rewards, said a 2006 survey by GMAC Mortgage and Harris Interactive.

To avoid the pitfalls and get the most back from your card, Consumer Reports offers these tips:

Consider where you shop. Opt for cards that will earn rewards at stores and services you use most often, or offer savings on items that you actually buy regularly. Airline and hotel discounts, for example, are not particularly useful for those who aren't frequent travelers.

Project your spending. Figure out how much you're likely to spend, and translate that into cash back or points, depending on which program your card uses. For points, figure out how many you need to get the rewards you want. Make sure to subtract the annual fee, if your card has one. If you realize that you'd have to spend a small fortune to earn only a tiny reward, try another card.

Favor cash back. Points often end up unused - a plus for the credit card companies who got you to spend more without having to give you anything in return. But cash back accumulates without you actually having to do anything. Plus, Consumer Reports found that cash back cards tend to offer better rewards than point equivalents.

Skip credit if you carry a balance. If you don't pay your bills of in full, you may want to pass on the rewards cards altogether. Because rewards cards often have higher interest rates, you may end up paying much more in interest than you reap in rewards.

Do the math on do-good programs. Do-gooders might be enticed by cards that give rewards to charity. But they usually pay very low rates - about 25 to 50 cents for every $100 you charge. You're probably better off going with the cash back, and then sending money to a charity yourself. You'll end up with a larger donation - and a tax deduction.

Use airline miles fast. If you do still use airline miles and manage to save up enough for a trip, make sure to use them right away. Airlines are always changing their redemption rules, and considering how much the big carriers are struggling these days, holding onto unused miles can cost you.

Avoid temptation. Research has shown that credit card customers are tempted to charge more in order to earn points toward a reward such as new digital camera or set of golf clubs. But overspending for a "freebie" often doesn't pay.

Five Secret Japanese Tricks to Make Life Better

2008-06-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

In Japan, there's an organic, non-commercial cure for almost anything. It's a tradition that blossomed in the post-WW2 era when people had to save money and space for economic reasons. Today, this habit of utilitarian thriftiness paired with a quirky national sensibility has spawned a phenomenon called urawaza—a collection of offbeat life hacks and unmapped shortcuts. It's also the subject of my new book, Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan. Keep reading for excerpts on how to silence a crying baby, get rid of splinters, swim backward, make grass greener, and easily clean up egg yolk... all using common household objects.

1. How to make a baby stop crying
Dilemma: Sure, the baby's cute. But why won't he stop crying?
Solution: The secret to stop a crying baby lies in making the sound you produce during the mouthfeel stage of wine tasting.
Why this works: When babies are still in the womb, the noises they can hear are limited to those in the 6000-8000mHz range. The sound you make when you slosh the liquid behind your lips during wine tasting takes place at about 7000mHz, reminding the baby of a time when the world around was peaceful and the whirs and stirs inside Mommy's tummy soothed him back to a sleepy state.

2. How to get rid of surface splinters
Dilemma: You have dozens of little splinters in your hands and arms from helping your little brother with his secret wooden fort. Isn't there a way to get rid of them without having to pluck each and every one out with tweezers?
Solution: Dip your finger in a tub of liquid glue and smear it all over the problem area. Once it dries, peel it off, just the way you used to when you were a bored little kid in arts-and-crafts class. The splinters will come right out along with the peeling glue!
Why this works: Surface splinters are hard to get out not because they're deeply embedded but because they're tiny and hard to grasp even with the daintiest of fingers. The sticky glue serves a function similar to a lint roller when the glue is applied evenly across the splintery surface of your skin. Plus, it's super fun to peel glue off your hands.

3. How to clean up spilled egg yolk
Dilemma: The egg was supposed to crack in the pan—not on the floor. Now there's gook all over the linoleum.
Solution: Sprinkle some table salt on the spilled egg and wait ten minutes for it to soak in, then sweep the egg yolk right off the floor with a broom.
Why this works: The salt dissolves the lipoproteins in the egg yolk, which changes its texture from gooey to nongooey, making it easier to clean. (Bonus: Brian Lam of Gizmodo shows us how.)

4. How to make the grass green again
Dilemma: You got a new puppy, and now your once beautifully green lawn has bare brown patches all over it from dog pee.
Solution: Pour some beer on the problem areas, making sure the foam's covering all the naked spots. The grass will be greener in no time.
Why this works: Beer has fermented sugars in it, which can act as natural fertilizer. The dying grass will feed on these sugars, detrimental fungi will die, and your lawn will start looking normal again.

5. How to swim backward
Dilemma: Your breaststroke is weak, your dives all end up as belly flops, and you can't even do half a somersault without getting water up your nose. You need some kind of skill that will set you apart from the rest of the pool party this summer—but what?
Solution: Learn how to swim backward! When you flex your feet instead of pointing them while holding onto a kick board, your body will chug through the water in reverse gear.
Why this works: The direction you advance in the water depends on which way you're kicking. When you kick away from your body—which is essentially what you appear to be doing when you flex your feet—you reverse the body's inclination to go forward. It takes a little bit of practice, but once you perfect it, the whole party will be wide-eyed with wonder at your newfound skill.

Become the Memorial Day Grill Master [Grilling]

2008-05-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day marks the start of the serious grilling season, and there's no better weekend to try your hand outdoor cooking, or bolster your established grill master game. Luckily, mastering your outdoor culinary skills is a lot more simple than it seems, given the right tools, a little preparation, and a few tips on technique. Take a look at some tips on getting the right gear, turning out great meals, and even preparing for uncooperative weather, after the jump. Photo by Another Pint Please....
Get the right tools

* chimney_starter_scaled.jpgLump charcoal or briquettes?: This is one of those endless, both-sides-are-right-and-wrong debates (kind of like Mac vs. PC), but there is some fairly common ground. As The Virtual Weber Bullet puts it:

The general consensus is that lump tends to burn hotter than briquettes, but not as long or as consistently. Some lack of consistency is to be expected, given that the content and piece size varies within an individual bag and between bags.

Personally, I recommend briquettes for anyone just starting out with their grill, as lump can be finicky in lighting. Of course, you can save yourself a lot of effort and frustration by investing in a chimney starter, which you can also use for flash-cooking. Photo by Joshua Thompson via WikiMedia.
* Choosing a gas grill: Ignore the BTUs and heat for the most part—unless you really need to cook a whole bird or roast this weekend, most grills have got your steaks and burgers covered. Consumer Reports' blog recommends bringing a magnet with you to gauge the quality of steel used to contain the heat. If the magnet sticks, it's likely a cheaper grade that will rust more easily. Feel free to give a test model a few shoves and shakes, as an unstable grill is a recipe for serious problems.
* grilling_tools_scaled.jpgMulti-use utensils: The three-tool grilling sets you see at big-box stores have all you'll need for basic grill work, with long-handled versions of a spatula, tongs, and a carving-type poker. A long-handle brush would be your next purchase, and then a grilling basket and skewers when you start branching out. Make sure your tools feel heavy and firm in your hands, as clumsy handling create the kind of BBQ stories you don't want repeated. Photo by rick.

Getting ready

* Clean that grill: If there's black crust on the grill bars, you need to get it off to ensure no-stick cooking and easy food flipping. If you're feeling strong, wad up some aluminum foil and go to town on that stuff. For seriously stuck grime, you could also try popping the grill in the oven to bake off the stubborn bits.
* homemade_sauce_scaled.jpgMake your own sauce: Most of the pre-bottled sauces you see on grocery shelves are over-sweetened, and none match the taste of homemade. Making your own isn't that difficult, either. Use one BBQ Recipe Secret's three sauce bases as a starting point, and build your own flavor ideas into them. It'll give you something to talk about while you're waiting for the ribs to finish. Photo by Jason McArthur.

Hone your technique

* Use a cheat sheet: Experience is the best indicator for knowing the precise moment to yank your food off the rack, but Real Simple offers a super-helpful cheat shet you can print and bring to this culinary test (Original post). Here's a sample that covers the basics of red meat and sausages:cheatsheet_scaled.jpg
* grilled_chop_scaled.jpgBBQ Chicken: As my fellow editor Adam can attest, eHow's technique for grilling whole or partial chicken results in some juicy bird. The basics: Oil the grill, cook the chicken uncovered slightly off the heat center, and, for Pete's sake, don't put your sauce on until the last few minutes.
* Perfect burgers: Our commenters don't necessarily agree on cooking great burgers, but they do have some common wisdom to share. Use meat that's as close to room temperature as possible for even cooking. Don't press them on the grill, unless you like your meat dry. And the best "secret" to great burgers is buying good meat, preferably ground by a butcher while you watch.
* steak_osmosis.jpgSeriously salt your steak: Got filet mignon dreams for the weekend, but only a Quarter-Pounder budget? Buy a cheap cut of "choice" meat, then salt, salt, salt the heck out of that thing—for only one hour before grilling, and then pat it dry. By doing so, your salt is breaking into your meat and loosening some of its protein strands, making it hold flavor better and cut like the steakhouse commercials of your dreams (Original post).
* Let it rest: You'll be eager to slice open your tender steak or succulent chicken, but you'll lose a lot of juicy flavor if you do so. As the food techies at Cook's Illustrated point out, cutting into your food right off the grill releases a significant amount of juice, which would be re-absorbed for better succulence if you let it sit a few minutes.

Recover from a rain-out
All that planning, cleaning, and purchasing, and Mother Nature calls an audible on your perfect grill day? You're not finished yet. As the New York Times' food guru and cookbook author Mark Bittman points out, your oven broiler can sub in for your grill with a little prep-work, with results almost as satisfying. Brown your meat in the pan, roast or braise it slowly, then use the broiler to give it that grill-like finish. Check out his oven-based pork ribs or brisket recipes if you need convincing.
Document your success
grilled_chop_scaled.jpgWhen you've put all this effort into creating a great fire-cooked feast, you'll want more than just compliments to remember it by. Break out your digital camera (or pass it off to a trusted friend) and follow these tips to take some great grilling shots

fart machine

2008-04-25T10:46:00.001-07:00

Try Brokered CDs for Higher Rates

2008-04-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

Try Brokered CDs for Higher Rates

By Mark P. Cussen on certificates of deposit

By Mark P. Cussen
First Interstate Bank

Thanks to the FDIC, millions of Americans are able to sleep peacefully at night, knowing that their savings are protected by government-backed insurance. Since the thirties, certificates of deposit have become synonymous with safety of principal. Bank customers who shop for CDs concern themselves only with the rates and terms that are available.

Unfortunately, the safety that comes with FDIC insurance comes with a price. Will Rogers once said, “It’s not the return on my money that concerns me, it’s the return of my money.” This famous saying exemplifies the attitude of many bank customers. While CDs are among the safest types of investments available, their rate of return is correspondingly low. If interest rates are around 5%, then that is about what you can expect a short term CD to pay. While longer term and jumbo CDs can pay slightly more, it is very difficult to see much real growth from them over time.

However, there is another option available for those seeking higher rates on their guaranteed investments. Unbeknownst to many CD buyers, many brokerage and investment firms offer CDs that are every bit as safe and secure as those found in banks. While these CDs do differ from their cousins in the banking system in some respects, they are still FDIC insured up to $100,000 per CD owner. Furthermore, this type of CD generally pays a higher rate than bank CDs, and they often contain other features, such as put or call options that allow either the buyer or the issuer to redeem the certificate prematurely without penalty. For example, a brokered CD with a 20-year maturity could be “puttable” at a premium, such as $105, after five years, if the buyer so desires. That means that five years from now, if rates have gone up and the buyer wishes to move the money in this CD to another one, then he or she will receive $1,050 in return for each thousand dollars that was originally invested. Therefore, a $100,000 CD holder will see a return of $105,000 on the principal-in addition to the five years of interest the holder received. Call features give the issuer the same privilege. Brokered CDs can also be bought and sold in the secondary market like any other type of bond. However, the FDIC guarantee will only apply for investors that either hold their certificates to maturity or redeem them in a put or call transaction. If the certificate is sold prematurely in the secondary market, then the owner may receive more or less than his original investment, depending on market conditions. But those who hold their CDs to maturity or call will be safe.

Alarming report on how children don't usually hear fire alarms

2008-03-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Remove Pet Hair from Anything [Cleaning]

2008-03-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Remove Pet Hair from Anything [Cleaning]

By Tamar Weinberg on Pets

hairball_kitty.jpgIf you've got hairy pets in the house, you know what it's like to live with a permanent coating of fur on everything. Web site wikiHow suggests ways to clean and remove pet hair—at least until your pet comes around again. One tip is to use water and the palm of your hand:

Lightly dampen the palm of your hand. Wipe the pet hair off in a downward motion. The hair will ball up and stick to your damp hand.

Rubber gloves or latex gloves are also great pet hair removers, as well as a spare FedEx pouch.

Busting Myth, People Turn More Liberal With Age

2008-03-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Busting Myth, People Turn More Liberal With Age

By Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Staff Writer

posted: 2008-03-10 9:20 a.m. ET
New research has debunked the myth that people become more conservative as they age. Credit: stock.xchng
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New research has debunked the myth that people become more conservative as they age. Credit: stock.xchng

The stereotype of a cranky old man, set in his ways, getting more conservative by the day, is an enduring one. But new research has debunked the myth that people become more conservative as they age.

By comparing surveys of various age groups taken over a span of more than 30 years, sociologists found that in general, Americans' opinions veer toward the liberal as they grow older.

"All the evidence we have found refutes the idea that as people age their attitudes become more conservative or more rigid," said Nicholas Danigelis, a sociologist at the University of Vermont. "It's just not true. More people are changing in a liberal direction than in a conservative direction."

Detailed study

Danigelis and collaborators Stephen Cutler of the University of Vermont and Melissa Hardy of Pennsylvania State University analyzed data from the U.S. General Social Surveys of 46,510 Americans between 1972 and 2004. While the surveys did not provide data for the same individuals at different stages, they represented snapshots of the changing attitudes of respondents in different age cohorts over time. The researchers corrected for the fact that the age groups at different survey times are made of up new members with unique baseline opinions.

The surveys assessed attitudes on politics, economics, race, gender, religion and sexuality issues. In some cases, such as racial issues and questions of civil liberties for communists, the researchers measured a greater change toward liberalism in older people than in younger people.

"What we believe has happened, at least for the race relations, is that the older group, starting out at a position of significantly more negative feelings, had further to go," Danigelis told LiveScience.

If people really become more liberal as they age, why does common wisdom hold the opposite to be true?

People might find an average 60-year-old to be more conservative than an average 30-year-old, Danigelis said, but beware of extrapolating a trend. The older person, for example, might have started off even more conservative than he or she is now.

Danigelis also blamed the misconception on pervasive negative attitudes toward the elderly in our country, and stereotypes that depict seniors as rigid, ornery and set in their ways.

"If you look at any greeting cards about getting older you’ve got a wonderful lecture about age stereotypes," he said. "My colleague continues to cut out cartoons about getting old and trying to teach old dogs new tricks."

The study was published in the October 2007 issue of the journal American Sociological Review.

In the future, the researchers hope to investigate whether similar trends occur in other cultures and societies.

"There are international surveys that might allow you to do a similar study," Danigelis said. "Our gut feeling is yes but we haven’t tested that and we hope to."

Excellent Attorney's Advice

2008-03-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE

Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate Attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card Accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access t o it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home Phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to Call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a Photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my Wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(S) ordered an Expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had A credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number From DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card Numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit Providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an Investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations Immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over The Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your Credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by Phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the Credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, etc., has been stolen:

1.) Equifax: 800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 888-397-3742
3.) Trans Union : 800-6807289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 800-269-0271

How to Fly Through Airport Security

2008-03-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

ly Through Airport Security
From Wired How-To Wiki

You might as well check your dignity curbside. Soon you'll be shoeless and flustered, spilling comics across the floor as you dig your MacBook from the depths of your duffel. But take a deep breath, frequent fliers: It is possible to pass security with your ego intact. Here's how.

1. Do recon online. Security delays vary widely by concourse and terminal. Go to tsa.gov to find average wait times. If you're not checking bags, print your boarding pass at home and head to the fastest line. (Be sure your gate is accessible from that security checkpoint.)

2. Carry a messenger bag. The topside flap gives easy access to your laptop and Ziploc of liquids and gels while the pockets provide plenty of storage for alarm-trippers. As soon as you get in line, tuck your belt, wallet, keys, watch, and phone into the sack.

3. Wear laceless shoes. And holeless socks. Just think of all the foot fungi of travelers past. Or don't.

4. Go! After you pass ID screening, make a beeline to the shortest x-ray queue. Don't wait to be directed, and don't hesitate to bypass dawdlers. Not only will you get there faster, you'll keep the whole line moving.

5. Use only two bins. Place shoes, coat, and toiletries in the first bin; laptop in the second; followed by the messenger bag. Keep the roller on the floor, where it's easy to manage, until the last minute.

6. Dress strategically. Don your coat and shoes while waiting for your bags. Put on your belt and watch at the gate.

It's never enough... teachings!

2008-03-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's never enough... teachings!

By Alla Staroseletskaya

One of my coworkers sent me a message with a HIGH VALUE teachings. Please try all of them.

1. If you peel a banana from the bottom you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how all the primates do it.
2. Separate your bananas when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen much faster.
3. Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. The cheese will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
4. Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
5. Add a teaspoon of water when sautéing ground beef. It w ill help to pull the grease away from the meat.
6. To make terrific scrambled eggs or omelets add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, or Fat Free Half and Half before beating them.
7. For a super brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Get set for a wonderful minty frosting.
8. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and add at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic
9. Leftover snickers bars from Halloween or Christmas make a delicious dessert. Simple chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
10. Reheating Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy microwave pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
11. Easy Deviled Eggs.Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw the bag away when done for an easy clean up.
12. Expanding Frosting. When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You will also be eating less sugar and calories per serving.
13. Reheating Refrigerated Bread. To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
14. Newspaper Weeds Away Start putting wet newspapers in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Put layers around the plants, overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic but they will not get through wet newspapers.
15. Broken Glass Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
16. No More Mosquitoes Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
17. Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
18. Flexible Vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
19. Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Put a pin in the leg seams of your slacks and -- ta da! -- static is gone.
20. Measuring Cups Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
20. Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
21. Reopening Envelope If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
22. Conditioner Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
23. Goodbye Fruit Flies To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it with a 1/2 inch of Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
24. Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
25. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took t he filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

How To Block Caller ID

2008-03-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

How To Block Caller ID

Information on blocking and un-blocking your Caller ID Number when dialing out

* Summary
o Per-Call-Blocking
o Permanently Block Caller ID
* Federal Legislations
* Per-Call-Blocking
* Permanently Blocking Caller ID
* Blocked Caller ID and Toll-Free Numbers
* Software to block calls on caller id information

Summary

Per-Call-Blocking:

* USA: Dial *67 before you dial the number. If you have Caller ID blocked permanently, dial *82 to unblock for a given call.

There are many software products on the market that can block certain calls depending on their Caller ID information. We have information about around ten such products, some of which are free. Click here to see the list.

How Retailers Trick You in to Buying Stuff You Don’t Need (and How to Fight Back)

2008-03-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Consumers shopping habits have been put under a microscope and analyzed by the retail industry in order to maximize sales.

Shoppers have been as thoroughly studied as lab rats and the research has resulted in scientifically proven approaches to influence shopper’s emotions, to heighten their insecurities and to trick them in to buying things they don’t need or want.Joe Consumer has put together 10 of the most common retail tricks, along with tips for how to avoid being taken in. While some of these things may seem like common sense, each is a reaction to a specific tactic retailers use to get you to buy just one more thing.
My, that’s a big basket you’ve got there

retail-tricks-shopping-carts.pngStores have hundreds of enormous shopping carts parked conveniently at the entrance. Once you have selected something, you’re more likely to “find” additional items - after all, that empty space in the cart is just begging to be filled, you must have something else you can buy, right?

Tip: If you can skip the cart and make do with a basket, you’ll reduce the temptation to over buy. If you can get by without the basket, even better!
Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Vanity mirrors slow you down and keep you looking, but there is more than meets the eye. Most people can’t help but check themselves out, and who’s 100% satisfied with what they see? Making you more self-conscious helps you see new items as a solution. You are more likely to buy, when you’ve walked out of the house in something less flattering than what’s on the rack in front of you.

Tip: Wear something that looks good on you while you shop, and avoid mirrors unless you’re already trying something on. Not only will you feel more confident and buy less, you’ll generally get better service too.
Buy in bulk and save?

retail-ticks-buy-in-bulk.pngMisleading bulk sales are another retail favorite. There’s no difference between $5 each and the four for $20 on sale, except that you just might end up with three more than you wanted. Also, products sold in different volumes and weights often have prices that are chosen to confuse you. Shoppers tend to look at $10.49 for 48 ounces and think it’s the equivalent of $4.99 for 24 ounces even though it’s not -you’re paying more for less! Most grocery stores and pharmacies are required to provide per unit pricing signage, but these often don’t reflect sale prices.

Even when it is actually cheaper per unit to buy in bulk, it doesn’t mean you should! Do you really need a gallon of mayonnaise, or 1000 clothes hangers?

Tip: Compare unit prices, use that calculator on your cell phone, and don’t buy more than you can use, no matter the “savings”.
How did they stack all those boxes like that?

Those towering displays of intricately stacked boxes are called power displays, and they are meant to be speed bumps to slow you down and distract you from finding what you came for. Stores like Ikea have taken this to a whole new level. Their layout is specifically designed to require every shopper at least momentary exposure to every major showroom and floor, which increases the chance that you’ll come out with more than what you came in for.

Tip: Look for shortcut signs to areas of choice & beeline to the checkout.
To get to the cheese, you have to get through the maze

retail-ticks-hide-the-essentials.pngMilk, bread, restrooms — all the essentials — are all in the back of the store, because they’re staples that everyone needs, and relatively low margin. Putting them there forces you to check out other merchandise along the way. Getting them first can help you stick to your list.

Tip: Beeline to the back and work your way forward.
Bargain bins and going-out-of business sales

We all love feeling like we got a good deal, but don’t be fooled! While some stores pay their clerks to be obsessive about precisely-folded sweaters on display, others actually pay them to make sure the displays are just a bit little messy, because shoppers interpret that (often unconsciously) as a cue that other people thought it was a deal too. Others retailers are known to have annual moving sales, year end sales and re-opening sales that just amount to taking their leftovers off hangers and dumping them into clearance bins.

Tip: Evaluate the value of a “bargain” objectively, not by how wrinkled it is.
Oooh, something smells amazing!

retail-tricks-something-smells-amazing.pngStores and restaurants love to stimulate your appetite with provocative sights and smells. Grocery stores capitalize on hungry consumers by offering free samples, but this isn’t charity any more than the smell of freshly baked bread is an accident. These are signals to excite you and tempt you into buying foods that are likely no better for your financial health than your physical health.

Tip: Eat before you shop, or if you’re out shopping for the day, pack a water bottle and a snack!
Save even more with our charge card!

There’s a reason why department stores so cheerfully help you afford that overpriced indulgence with a discount on with a store charge card - they make the money later. You’re much more likely to buy big impulse items if you don’t have to count the dollars out the wallet you are holding.

Tip: Pay in cash. Going to the ATM and physically seeing your bank balance gives you that extra time to consider.
Retailers love to put children to work “helping” you find things

retail-tricks-kids-help-you.pngManufacturers advertise to children aggressively, so kids are primed to seek out products they have been exposed too. Stores know that catching a kid’s attention is a great way to get distracted parents to fork over cash for an impulse buy, and they purposefully put colorful, fun, shiny items within their reach.

Tip: Try to leave the kids at home, or have someone watch them. People tend to shop more efficiently without partners and friends, too.
Checking out? One last thing…

Drinks, candy, gum, media – all right by the checkout counter. This section is convenient in part because it is compact and limited, but it also means you can’t compare prices, and may not get your favorite brand.

Tip: Ask yourself if you actually need it, or if it’s worth your place in line to compare prices.

How to Read Music

2008-03-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

How to Read Music

It's certainly possible to play music without being able to read it, just as it's possible to be able to speak without being able to read or write. In both cases, the person who cannot read or write is missing out on an opportunity to comprehend and communicate better. Learning to read sheet music can improve your grasp of music theory, enable you to play music you've never heard before, and allow you to more easily relate your musical ideas to others. The skill can take a while to master, but the basics are laid out for you here. == Steps ==..... Study the staff. There are five lines and four spaces, each of which represents a single note. The space above or below any given line corresponds to the note above or below it on the scale. Identify the clef. The first symbol written on a staff (the five lines on which the notes are written) is the clef, and it tells you which lines and spaces on the staff correspond with which notes. The two most common clefs are the treble clef and the bass clef. Treble or G clef with G noteTreble clef: The treble clef, also known as the G-clef because it circles the line for the G note) is used in writing music for most musical voices (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and tenor), most woodwind instruments, stringed instruments (violin, guitar) and high brass instruments such as the trumpet. It also typically corresponds to the notes played with the right hand on the piano. The notes played on the lines of the treble clef staff are, from bottom to top, E, G, B, D, F. The order of these notes can be remembered with the use of mnemonic phrases such as Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. The spaces between the lines, from bottom to top, correspond to the notes F, A, C, E, a sequence which, obviously, spells "FACE." Bass clef or F-clef with F noteBass clef: The bass clef, also known as the F-clef because it defines the line for the F note between two dots, is used for lower-pitched instruments such as the bassoon, the bass, and low brass instruments such as the trombone and tuba. The piano part played by the left hand is also usually written with a bass clef. The notes played on the lines of the bass clef staff are, from bottom to top, G, B, D, F, A. This order can be remembered with the aid of phrases such as Good Burritos Don't Fall Apart. The spaces between the lines, from bottom to top, correspond to the notes A, C, E, G. The mnemonic device All Cows Eat Grass may help you remember the order of these notes. Determine the key signature. Directly to the right of the clef there may be one or more flat or sharp symbols before the notes begin. This group of symbols is called the key signature. If there are no so such symbols, then the key signature is "natural" (neither sharp nor flat). Key signature in A-flat-major and f-minorA flat symbol on a line or a space tells you that all notes on that line or space should be played flat (one semitone lower than they would otherwise be played.) Thus a flat symbol on the line of the staff that corresponds to "B" would indicate that all "B" notes in the piece should be played as "B-flats," which are halfway between "A" and "B". The symbols that look like lowercase letter "b"s are flats. Key signature in B-major and g-sharp-minorA sharp symbol tells you that all notes on that line or space should be played a semitone higher than they would otherwise be played. The symbols that look like number or pound symbols are sharps. The key signatures progress in what is called the "circle of fifths"; that is, each key is a musical interval of one fifth from its neighboring key. In key signatures containing flats, the name of the key is the flat to the left of the last flat. A key signature with four flats, B, E, A, D, for example, is the key of A flat. The exception to this rule is the key of F, which has only one flat. In keys containing sharps, the name of the key is one step above the last sharp; for example, if there are three sharps, F, C, and G, the name of the key, one step above G, is "A". Notes can also be designated flats or sharps by flat or sharp symbols placed right before them within the piece of music. In this case, only the corresponding notes in that measure (see next step) are modified. Natural signs cancel a flat or a sharpIf the key signature tells you that all "B" notes, for example, should be played as "B-flats," a natural sign can be used before a single "B" note to indicate that that particular note and other "B" notes in that measure should be played as "B," not as "B-flat." Time signature highlighted in blueObserve the time signature. To the right of the key signature, if a key signature is present, will be the time signature (also known as the meter signature). The time signature typically consists of two numbers, and it looks like a fraction. It may stay constant throughout a piece of music, or it may change from time to time throughout a piece. A bar line or measure lineThe top number determines how many beats are in a measure or bar (a measure is defined by vertical lines, or bar lines, that run perpendicular to the staff). For instance, if the time signature is 3/4, there are three beats in a measure. The bottom number in the time signature determines what kind of note gets one beat. This number is most commonly 4, which means that a quarter note (see next step) gets one beat. It may also be 2, which means that a half note gets one beat. 4/4 time is so common that it is sometimes designated with the letter "C" ("common") in the time signature instead of with a fraction. Likewise, 2/2 time is sometimes designated by the letter "C" with a line running down through it. More complex time signatures may have an 8 or some other number on the bottom, but these are beyond the scope of this article. Play the notes and rests in relation to the time signature. Now that you know which lines and spaces correspond to which notes (thanks to the clef), you can read the piece from left to right. The symbols will either represent notes or rests. Rests indicate silence, so they do not designate any pitch; they are typically always placed in the same position on the staff. A variety of symbols are used to indicate the duration of a note or rest relative to other notes or rests.Notes:Rests: A whole note or semibreve appears as a circle on the staff in a measure and generally is worth as many beats as the measure contains. Thus when there are 4 beats per measure (as in 4/4 time) the whole note is worth 4 beats, while in 3/4 time, which has 3 beats per measure, the whole note is worth 3 beats. You will notice when you read the sheet music that generally if there is a whole note in a measure, there aren't any other notes, because the whole note takes up all of the beats available in that measure. An exception may occur in irregular time signatures, such as 5/4, where a whole note may designate five beats unless it is accompanied by another note or notes--typically a quarter note--in the same measure, in which case it would be worth 4 beats. Whole rests look like dark rectangles hanging down off the second line from the top of the staff and are worth the same duration as whole notes. You can remember that whole rests come DOWN from the line because it's like a hole was dug. Half notes or minim are worth 1/2 the duration of whole notes. They appear as an empty circle with a straight line dropping down off the left side or going up off the right side. In 4/4 time, a half-note receives two beats. Half rests look like dark rectangles sitting on top of the third line from the top of the staff and are worth the same duration as half notes. These can be differentiated from whole rests because the half rest looks like a top hat--hat and half sound similar. Quarter notes or crotchet are worth 1/4 the duration of whole notes. They look like solid circles with a straight line coming off of them (as in the half notes). In 4/4 time, quarter notes are worth 1 beat. Quarter rests are designated by a unique symbol that looks something like a bird flying sideways. They are worth the same amount of time as quarter notes. Sometimes they are represented by a symbol that is the mirror image of an eighth rest, shown later. Eighth notes or quaver are worth 1/8 the duration of whole notes. In 4/4 time, they are worth half a beat, so two eighth notes equal 1 beat, the equivalent of a quarter note. A single eighth note looks like the quarter note, but has a single "tail" that drops straight down or straight up and then curves back up or down toward the solid circle. Two or more eighth notes together are connected by a single bar at the bottom or top, instead of having "tails." Eighth rests look a little like a leaning stick figure person cut in half vertically and holding his head in his outstretched hand. Or like a stylized number 7 with some kind of growth--hopefully it's benign--on its top left end. They are worth the same duration as an eighth note. The one in this picture is actually a sixteenth rest, therefore having two bars on the top. Sixteenth notes or semiquaver are worth 1/16 the duration of whole notes.In 4/4 time, they are worth a quarter of a beat (four of them together make a single beat). A single sixteenth note looks like the eight note, but with two "tails" instead of one. When they're connected, it's with two bars, not one. A dot next to the note or rest means that it should be lengthened half of the note's duration. A dot next to a whole note means that the note should be played for the duration of a note and a half (depending on the time signature; if the whole note is four beats, then a whole note with a dot next to it is held for six beats). A dot next to a half note means that the note should be held for the duration of 3/4 of a note.[1] There are notes and rests of shorter durations than eighth notes and eighth rests, and these are designated by other symbols. Rests longer than whole rests may also be designated by a bar running through more than one measure with a number on top. The number indicates the number of measures of silence and does not necessarily correspond to the number of measures through which the symbol actually runs. Pay attention to how the notes are played together or in succession. D-minor triadFrequently you will see two or more notes "stacked" on top of each other on the staff. This is a chord, and indicates that all the notes should be played at the same time. Chords may only be played on polyphonic instruments (instruments on which you can play two or more notes independently or as a chord) such as the piano and guitar. If there is an arc connecting one note's circle to another note's circle, this is a tie, a slur, or a phrase mark. A tie occurs between two notes of the same pitch, and means that the notes are connected and should be held out for the total duration of the tied notes. A slur occurs between two (usually) different notes, and means that the notes should be voiced or articulated as little as possible. A Phrase mark generally is used over a series of notes, and means that you should play them continuously without a break in the musical thought. This is can also be referred to as legato.[2] If you see notes with dots over or under them (not next to them) play or sing them in a shortened fashion, leaving some silence between the notes so that they are detached from one another. This is referred to as staccato.[2]

VOIP: lower phone costs on Net

2008-03-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

Say hello to lower phone costs on Net

Internet calling has improved so much and become so inexpensive, it's a good time to try some of the services
By James S. Granelli, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
The cost of phone calls has been dropping for years, but there's still a lot of room to push prices down to pocket change -- if you're not afraid to make calls through your computer.

A growing number of calling services take advantage of the technology known as voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP. Thanks to continuing technological improvements, the plans are easier to use than ever and can save you a boatload of money on long-distance and, particularly, international calls.But don't rely on the plans as your only phone service: Most don't provide emergency 911 calling, and there can be other drawbacks as well.

You might not know it, but you're probably already using VOIP: It's the same technology that AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. use to handle your long-distance calls, and it's the backbone in the so-called digital-calling plans offered by cable TV giants like Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc.

The cost savings of VOIP has allowed upstart phone-based firms, including Vonage Holdings Corp. and Packet8, to compete against the big players, even though they don't own the lines to your home.

VOIP technology breaks up voice into data packets and sends it, like e-mail, over high-speed lines without the need for a lot of expensive hardware that phone companies use.

Scores of computer calling operations -- Skype Ltd., SightSpeed Inc. and Gizmo Project among them -- don't think those entrenched phone companies are passing the true savings of VOIP on to consumers.

And such companies as Mobivox Corp. and ISkoot Inc. believe that's especially true in the higher-priced mobile-phone industry, so they are bringing the same free and low-cost calls to cellphones.

"Costs of calling are dropping to free," said Andy Abramson, an industry and marketing consultant who has tested all the major VOIP operations.

Consumers might pay a basic access charge -- "an admission fee," Abramson called it -- for a connection or a basic calling plan, but they don't have to pay more just to talk to someone around the corner or around the world.

Neal H. Shact, chief executive of telephone services company CommuniTech Inc., recalled a visit to Paris two years ago when he spent $1,000 on cellphone calls.

"Two weeks later, I went to Sweden and used Skype through my laptop for even more calls and I didn't spend the whole $12 I had paid for," he said.

But the VOIP companies are businesses too and have to make a profit to continue offering service.

They typically make their money by selling extras, such as voice mail, extended voice and video recording, and international and nationwide calls to nonmembers.But even those prices are low: $30 a year for Skype customers to reach any number in North America and about 2 cents a minute for most providers to reach home phones in many countries.

The growing popularity of the programs has helped persuade two mainstream cellphone carriers -- T-Mobile USA Inc. and Britain's Mobile3 -- to create ways to let customers make calls and send messages without using their minutes.

T-Mobile uses software that links to high-speed Wi-Fi networks for free calls, messaging and data, and Mobile3 joined Skype on a new phone to allow free Skype-to-Skype calls on the cellular network as well as unrestricted Skype Chat messaging.

"All of these services give you a glimpse of what we are capable of doing if those who control the high-speed pipes into our homes aren't limiting access to what we want to use," said Marcelo Rodriguez, CEO of Voxilla Inc., a San Francisco company that provides information on Internet technologies.

For computer phone plans, the costs are so low that it's worthwhile to play with a number of them to see how they can cut your long-distance and international bills.

And with Skype, SightSpeed and a few others, free video is thrown in, as long as you want to sit in front of a computer and a webcam.

Setting up the calling programs is usually easy.

For the most part, you need only what many folks already have: a computer, an Internet connection and a headset with a microphone. Depending on the service, you might not need the computer or the headset once the programs are set up.

Skype, SightSpeed, Gizmo and others can be downloaded free from their websites. You'll have to register a user name and a password, much like you do for online banking and other services.

Some drawbacks

Sound quality can fluctuate from excellent to so-so, and calls can be dropped, albeit far less than with cellphones.

If you're looking for free calling, you'd better get your friends and relatives to use the same program you're using because nearly all of them allow free calling only among members.

Some drawbacks may be more in the eye of the beholder. If you spend a lot of time in front of the computer, then it may not be much of a stretch to use it to make a call.

If you have a laptop, you can take your calling plan with you. Computer-based calling plans usually don't offer mobile service. For that, you need programs like Mobivox and ISkoot.

If you want to see your grandchildren across country, then you'll be happy to sit by the computer as you talk to them and watch them. Video also can be used with a webcam on a laptop to walk around a house and show relatives -- or prospective buyers -- what it looks like.

But with some exceptions, video quality is poor. SightSpeed has won awards for its delivery, and Skype is close behind. Other services can give the impression of old-time movies: You hear "hello" well before you can see a grainy hand waving at the other end of the connection.

Other drawbacks to computer calling plans come with the high-tech territory. Voice is, after all, a program, much like Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat, so glitches can occur.

Some employers may have firewalls that block workers from using the programs at the office. And getting help can be difficult: Most companies don't even have a phone number to call for tech support, leaving you to the mercy of online forums, chat rooms and help sites.

Growing market

Though VOIP has been around for a few decades, the founders of Skype Technologies, now owned by EBay Inc., gave it mass appeal four years ago. The world's most popular Internet calling program says it has an average of about 10 million users online at any time and 30 million to 40 million members who use the program daily.

The overall VOIP market just for cable TV companies and independents like Vonage soared from 6.5 million households in mid-2006 to 11.8 million at the end of June, representing more than 10% of the total telephone market, according to TeleGeography Research. By the end of the year, phone-based firms should have 15.2 million customers.

TeleGeography estimated that Skype alone has 17.8 million registered U.S. subscribers, about 5.3 million of whom are active users. Free Skype-to-Skype calls accounted for 28 billion minutes of talking, half of which were international calls, and the operation handled 4.1 billion minutes of paid Skype-to-phone calls worldwide.

"There's no question that Skype is moving a ton of calls," said Stephan Beckert, research director at TeleGeography. "But the incumbent phone companies shouldn't lose any sleep over it. There were 300 billion minutes in total of cross-border traffic in the industry this year."

Though Skype and similar services aren't threatening the major phone and cable companies yet, they are "pointing to the direction of future phone service," Beckert said.

Shact of CommuniTech agrees, saying, "Skype really was a game changer."

The key? It was simple to install and easy to use. And it introduced the concept of free calling worldwide.

Through numerous upgrades, Skype remains one of the easiest programs to install and use. Just go to the company's website and download the program for either Microsoft or Apple operating systems. Create an account with a user name and a password, and you're ready to make calls.

You can use the program to search for friends and family already using Skype, or you can buy credit online and make calls to conventional phone lines here or abroad.

SightSpeed, Gizmo and others work similarly.

Jonathan Bernstein is such a big fan of SightSpeed that he's now a beta tester with ideas on how to develop the program for business use.

Bernstein signed up this year to call his son in Florida but wound up instead using it more for his Sierra Madre-based crisis management firm, where it has become a videoconferencing tool that lets him train clients and provide other help. SightSpeed can replace expensive conferencing hardware, he said.

"In a crisis, all the written words you put out in press releases are not as good as an effective speaker who can be seen in a video right after a crisis hits," he said.

Rates for calls

For basic calling, there are no "gotchas." The programs won't let you use services that cost additional money without prompting you to buy credit first.

But you still have to be on the lookout, especially for the costs of calling folks in other countries who are using conventional phones. The sites typically have a detailed list of how much you'll pay.

Though rates may start as low as 1.9 cents a minute to land lines in Canada, China, Germany, Britain and other developed nations, they are much higher elsewhere. Gizmo Project, for instance, charges 33.4 cents a minute for a call to land-line numbers in Afghanistan.

You also have to be careful about calling cellphones in foreign countries, most of which charge the calling party for the entire cost of the call. In the U.S. cellular world, the caller and the person being called share the costs. VOIP calls reflect those rates.

SightSpeed, for instance, charges 2 cents a minute for calls to U.S. and British land-line numbers and to U.S. cellphones, but the price for calling a cellphone in Britain is 22 cents a minute.

Those international cellphone calls are where Mobivox, ISkoot and a host of others -- such as Jajah Inc., Raketu Communications Inc., Rebtel, TalkPlus Inc., Jangl Inc. and Jaxtr Inc. -- can make a mark.

A few, particularly ISkoot, work mainly with smart phones, those more-expensive business-oriented handsets like BlackBerrys that are gaining fashion with consumers. That's mainly because you need a cellphone that allows you to download needed software.

But Mobivox, Jajah and others can be used with most cellphones or land-line phones.

Los Angeles resident Angela Choi said she used Mobivox regularly to call her boyfriend in Toronto.

"My phone bill used to be $400 a month, and now it's down to $100," she said.

10 Things Your Tax Preparer Won't Tell You

2008-02-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

10 Things Your Tax Preparer Won't Tell You
by Janet Paskin
Thursday, February 21, 2008
provided by YAHOO NEWS

1. "A big name doesn't always mean better service."

Roughly 135 million Americans file tax returns, and of those, two-thirds pay for help. While solo acts like CPAs and so-called enrolled agents have plenty of clients, almost 20% of taxpayers go through a big franchise like H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt or Liberty Tax Service to get their refund — last year an average $2,255 per return. Problem is, tax preparation and advice depend on the preparer, and in a system of franchises, that means thousands of seasonal employees and limited quality control.

The results can be dangerous. When staffers from the Government Accountability Office went undercover to get returns done by the big chains, they found "nearly all of the returns prepared for us were incorrect to some degree," according to the report. Worse yet, recently filed lawsuits allege that the owners of 125 Jackson Hewitt franchises cost the government $70 million in tax fraud and created an environment "in which fraudulent tax-return preparation is encouraged and flourishes," according to the Department of Justice. Jackson Hewitt says it stands behind its compliance procedures as well as its nationally standardized educational curriculum.

2. "You wouldn't believe what I get away with."

Complaints about tax preparers, including allegations of inaccuracies and returns that weren't filed on time, are up 80% in the past five years, says the Council of Better Business Bureaus. But when it comes to the IRS policing problem preparers, "the lifeguard is asleep," complains Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who took the agency to task for inaction last April. (The IRS had no comment.) Less than 1.5% of returns get audited, and while that may pacify nervous taxpayers, audits are the primary way to catch bad tax pros. The GAO found that a year after it reported poor preparers by name to the IRS, the agency had failed to audit a single one.

Professional organizations, like the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Enrolled Agents, pack even less of a wallop because they often wait for the IRS to act. Then the AICPA will strip membership and report bad accountants to the relevant state-licensing group, says Tom Ochsenschlager, the association's VP of taxation. How to find out if your CPA's been disciplined? Visit the agency's web site at aicpa.org/TheCPALetter.

3. "You'd be better off without me."

Maybe you're hiring a tax preparer because you've got better things to do with your weekend or numbers make you dizzy — more power to you. But if you're hiring a pro because you think he's smarter than you, think again. On average tax preparers make more mistakes, and costlier ones, than Josie Taxpayer does. According to a study of IRS data, 56% of professionally prepared returns showed significant errors, compared with 47% of those done by the taxpayer. And audited taxpayers who used preparers owed an average of $363, while those who filed themselves owed $185.

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Of course, tax preparers often see more-difficult returns, which could lead to more errors. But the bottom line? "For one W-2, mortgage interest and a couple of kids, TurboTax is just fine," says Kerry Kerstetter, an Arkansas CPA. If, on the other hand, you're attaching a schedule for self-employment income or capital losses, consider getting help. And even then, if a return is made complicated by a one-time event — say, the birth of a child or the acquisition of a rental property — you might need only one year's worth of advice. "If nothing changes, you should be able to copy it from year to year," says Ochsenschlager.

4. "What are my qualifications? Well, I'm real good at Sudoku."

Every April, Sen. Grassley calls IRS officials before the Finance Committee to grill them on taxpayer protection. He's increasingly concerned about unethical, unlicensed tax preparers and what he calls "sharks in the water." "Anyone can call himself a tax preparer," Grassley laments. Many do. There's no mandatory national licensing, and Oregon and California are the only states that require tax pros to take a test. That means as many as 600,000 tax preparers are unregulated, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, the taxpayer assistance wing of the IRS. Some may set up shop in a local real estate office, but many work for the big chains: H&R Block alone hires 120,000 people to prepare returns through tax season.

Translation: There's no universal standard for qualification. Licensed preparers, who are usually CPAs or enrolled agents, are tested and must meet ongoing education requirements. Unlicensed preparers do neither. In general that's fine — no harm, no foul. But in the worst case scenario — say, a tricky audit — only a pro with a license (or a lawyer) can represent you before the IRS. At stores like H&R Block, you'll pay extra for representation.

5. "If it's February, you're too late."

A savvy tax pro may be able to cut your tax bill or juice your refund. But don't expect to find one come Feb. 1. From that point through April, tax pros are generally too busy to talk to new clients. So if you don't already have a preparer lined up, by the time you actually have your W-2s in hand, "you're not going to get good service," says Frank Degan, an enrolled agent in Setauket, N.Y. "In the fall, though, tax preparers will give you their full attention." That means you should be talking to tax preparers in October and November. They'll have time to answer questions, look over your old returns and suggest changes.

Not only that, but talking to a tax pro in the fall means you still have time to plan. If you wait until you have all your W-2s, you've locked in all your income for the year. But in the fall a good preparer can help you figure out ways to manipulate your income by increasing your 401(k) contributions, deferring a bonus until the new year or taking taxable losses. Wait until spring and a professional can help you make small decisions, like whether to itemize or think about different deductions, says Bob Scharin, an analyst with Thomson Tax and Accounting, but you've lost most of your flexibility.

6. "You hired me, but your return is being done by some guy in India."

Some accounting firms have begun outsourcing return preparation, says Rich Brody, a University of New Mexico accounting professor. That means your data might be sent as far away as India — or as close as a local H&R Block, since the chain contracts with CPA firms to do returns. Either way, your accountant isn't obliged to tell you. "It's very scary," Brody says. "Your most sensitive information may have gone halfway around the world, and you have no idea." Indeed, sending Social Security numbers, names, addresses, birth dates and account numbers overseas electronically makes some people uneasy. For while the origins of identity theft are often hard to pinpoint, says Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, returns contain so much "in one bright, shiny package — that's a great gift to the identity thief."

The number of outsourced returns is still small, but they're becoming increasingly common. An overseas company can process a return overnight for as little as $50, much less than a CPA's hourly rate. CCH, which provides such services, estimates that 240,000 returns will be outsourced in 2008 — up 20% from 2007.

7. "Taxes, shmaxes — let me see what else I can sell you."

The real money in tax prep has nothing to do with 1040 forms and W-2s. For the big-chain preparers, as well as your local accountant, the register really lights up only when they persuade you to take a loan, open a retirement account or buy insurance.

Chances are you don't need what they're selling, but the sales pitch may blur the issue. GAO staffers reported that when they visited the big-chain tax preparers, loans were described as "options" or "bank products"; on one visit a customer was asked to sign a loan application without being told what it was. Worse, these extras can do more harm for consumers than good: More than 80% of those who opened an "Express IRA" at H&R Block, for example, paid more in fees than they earned in interest, according to a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general. (H&R Block says most Express IRA accounts opened between 2001 and 2005 have yielded "positive net tax savings benefits and interest earnings," even as the company "has lost money operating this program.") CPAs, too, are in the sales game, ever since the AICPA allowed members to sell insurance products. When commissions can be $20,000, says Terry DeMuth, an insurance wholesaler in California, "it's easy to get greedy."

8. "If I screw up, I'll pay up."

Worried about an audit? H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt are happy to ease your mind — for a price. Both offer the option of buying a souped-up guarantee that promises to cover any back taxes you owe, plus interest, fees and penalties. Here's what they don't say: You don't need the extra protection. If it turns out you owe back taxes, the big chains' basic (read: free) guarantee already covers fines, penalties and interest. Many CPAs and enrolled agents will do the same; they often have insurance for that very purpose. Just be sure to ask about it before one does your return.

But what about the back taxes? True, they could amount to a bigger expense than the fines and penalties, which may be why some chains can sell that extra guarantee. But H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt will cover you only up to $5,000 and exclude the most complicated returns. If you're tempted, know there may be an unintended consequence: If someone pays your taxes, the IRS considers that taxable income. In other words if you buy the guarantee, and H&R Block ends up paying your back taxes, expect to get a 1099 next January.

9. "Tax preparation is an art, not a science."

A recent law tightened penalties for tax preparers who play fast and loose with the tax code, taking far-fetched positions because they know 99% of returns never get audited. That said, for anyone with a complicated or unusual financial life, there's still lots of wiggle room, says Kerstetter, the CPA: "It's about 10% black, 10% white, and everything else is in the middle."

Chances are good you have room to maneuver if you have income in a category the tax code treats flexibly — you're self-employed, for example, or own rental property. Ditto if you've earned big capital gains or incurred high or unusual medical expenses. In short, Kerstetter says, if you're attaching a schedule to your return, a good tax preparer will pay for himself.

Now, that may mean raising a red flag with the IRS, and a good preparer should explain if he's taking risky positions, says Fred Giertz, of the National Tax Association. If you can't stomach the specter of an audit, you'll want a pro to err on the side of caution. And think twice before paying someone to look for loopholes if your income picture is relatively simple. "If you've got one W-2, you don't need someone fancy," says Kerstetter. "There's not a lot we can do for you."

10. "You could find a much better deal if you'd only shop around."

There's no standard price for doing taxes. Some preparers charge by the hour, others by the form; either way the cost depends on where you live, the complexity of your situation and the qualifications of your tax pro. Consider: The average H&R Block customer pays about $150; a CPA may charge 15 times that. Jay Adkisson, a California lawyer who specializes in helping people protect their assets, says, "People rely too much on word of mouth; they don't shop prices." If they did, they might be surprised. A licensed local pro may not cost much more than a national chain. Nadine Smith, an enrolled agent in Florida, charges by the form, and a simple return could cost just $200 — not much more than what you might pay at a big chain.

Even among franchises prices vary. The return that cost $90 to prepare at one big store cost more than three times that at another, according to the GAO study. To be fair, it may be hard to know what your return will cost before the preparer actually spends time on it. Ask for estimates using last year's return — that'll give you a point of comparison to find the best price.

Men's RULES, Very IMPORTANT!!!

2008-02-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

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Surprising Expiration Dates

2008-02-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

Surprising Expiration Dates
A handy, who-knew guide to 77 foods, beauty products, and household goods
Surprising Expiration Dates
Keate
Certain items in your house practically scream “toss me” when their prime has passed. That mysterious extra white layer on the Cheddar? A sure sign it needs to be put out of its misery. Chunky milk? Down the drain it goes.

But what about that jar of olives or Maraschino cherries that has resided in your refrigerator since before the birth of your kindergartner? Or the innumerable nonedibles lurking deep within your cabinets and closets: stockpiled shampoo and toothpaste, seldom-used silver polish? How do you know when their primes have passed?

With help from experts and product manufacturers, Real Simple has compiled a guide to expiration dates. These dates are offered as a rough guideline. The shelf lives of most products depend upon how you treat them. Edibles, unless otherwise indicated, should be stored in a cool, dry place. (With any food, of course, use common sense.) Household cleaners also do best in a dry place with a stable temperature. After the dates shown, beauty and cleaning products are probably still safe but may be less effective.

Food
# Beer

Unopened: 4 months.

# 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

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

# Salad dressing, bottled

Unopened: 12 months after "best by" date
Opened: 9 months refrigerated

# Soda, regular

Unopened: In cans or glass bottles, 9 months from "best by" date
Opened: Doesn't spoil, but taste is affected

# Steak sauce

33 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

# Tabasco

5 years, stored in a cool, dry place

# Tea bags (Lipton)

Use within 2 years of opening the package

# Tuna, canned

Unopened: 1 year from purchase date
Opened: 3 to 4 days, not stored in can

# Soy sauce, bottled

Unopened: 2 years
Opened: 3 months (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)

# Vinegar

42 months

# Wine (red, white)

Unopened: 3 years from vintage date; 20 to 100 years for fine wines
Opened: 1 week refrigerated and corked

# Worcestershire sauce

Unopened: 5 to 10 years (After this time, color or flavor may be affected, but product is still generally safe to consume.)
Opened: 2 years

For more information, see:
How to Protect Your Produce
How to Save an Open Bottle of Wine

Household Products
# Air freshener, aerosol

2 years

# Antifreeze, premixed

1 to 5 years

# Antifreeze, concentrate

Indefinite

# Batteries, alkaline

7 years

# Batteries, lithium

10 years

# Bleach

3 to 6 months

# Dish detergent, liquid or powdered

1 year

# Fire extinguisher, rechargeable

Service or replace every 6 years

# Fire extinguisher, nonrechargeable

12 years

# Laundry detergent, liquid or powdered

Unopened: 9 months to 1 year
Opened: 6 months

# Metal polish (silver, copper, brass)

At least 3 years

# Miracle Gro, liquid

Opened: 3 to 8 years

# Miracle Gro, liquid, water-soluble

Indefinite

# Motor oil

Unopened: 2 to 5 years
Opened: 3 months

# Mr. Clean

2 years

# Paint

Unopened: Up to 10 years
Opened: 2 to 5 years

# Spray paint

2 to 3 years

# Windex

2 years

# Wood polish (Pledge)

2 years

For more information, see:
The Right Way to Throw Out Medicine, Paint, Batteries
Earth-Friendly Cleaning Products

Beauty Products
All dates are from the manufacture date, which is either displayed on the packaging or can be obtained by calling the manufacturer's customer-service number.

# Bar soap

18 months to 3 years

# Bath gel, body wash

3 years

# Bath oil

1 year

# Body bleaches and depilatories

Unopened: 2 years
Used: 6 months

# Body lotion

3 years

# Conditioner

2 to 3 years

# Deodorant

Unopened: 2 years
Used: 1 to 2 years
For antiperspirants, see expiration date

# Eye cream

Unopened: 3 years
Used: 1 year

# Face lotion

With SPF, see expiration date. All others, at least 3 years

# Foundation, oil-based

2 years

# Foundation, water-based

3 years

# Hair gel

2 to 3 years

# Hair spray

2 to 3 years

# Lip balm

Unopened: 5 years
Used: 1 to 5 years

# Lipstick

2 years

# Mascara

Unopened: 2 years
Used: 3 to 4 months

# Mouthwash

Three years from manufacture date

# Nail polish

1 year

# Nail-polish remover

Lasts indefinitely

# Perfume

1 to 2 years

# Rubbing alcohol

At least 3 years

# Shampoo

2 to 3 years

# Shaving cream

2 years or more

# Tooth-whitening strips

13 months

# Wash'n Dri moist wipes

Unopened: 2 years
Opened: Good until dried out

Randy Pausch reprising his "Last Lecture"

2008-02-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

How To Help Someone Who Is Choking

2008-01-27T06:51:00.001-08:00

How To Help Someone Who Is Choking

It is a serious matter when someone chokes and there is no one at hand in the near vicinity appropriately trained to help them. A person's life can depend on whether you know what to do. Everyone should be knowledgeable or familiar with the Heimlich method, however many obstructions can be dislodged before this procedure is used. Even children have the capacity to respond with help, when it becomes apparent that someone is in distress.

Symptoms of choking include:

1. A person cannot speak or cry out.
2. Turning blue (cyanosis) from lack of oxygen.
3. Desperately grabs at his or her throat.
4. Exhibiting a weak cough, and labored breathing producing a high pitched noise
5. The person has any or all of the above, and then becomes unconscious.

Universal sign of choking: If you ever find yourself in this situation, alert those around you by making the universal sign of choking (left). If you witness someone showing this sign or one similar in which you suspect choking, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.

After calling 911, attempt to dislodge the object by using the Heimlich maneuver (below). If you have not been trained to use this maneuver, most restaurants have a poster that details the procedure. The best solution is to be trained in CPR. A CPR course also includes foreign body airway obstruction (choking) training.

Helping someone who is choking:

It is always important to remain alert and avoid panicking. Someone's life may depend on your assessment, judgment and action.

1. Encourage the person to cough first, slapping the upper back with the heel of your hand with measured hard blows (5 to 20 times) - children with more care. The back slap essentially will create a pressure that will often help to expel the blockage.

2. Abdominal thrusts, used in the Heimlich procedure, can cause damage (cracked ribs, bruising) if not properly applied to the right area. The person performing the procedure, should stand behind the one who is choking and using their hands to exert pressure on the bottom of the diaphragm, compressing the lungs, exerting an upward pressure on the object lodged in the trachea, forcing it out. For pregnant women or obese people chest thrusts can be used in a modified form by placing the back of the hand on the chest rather than the abdomen.

3. If alone, abdominal thrusts can also be done using the back of a chair in the same manner, applying pressure to the diaphragm.

4. If a patient is unconscious, CPR should be done with chest compression and artificial respiration. Once conscious, the obstruction should be at the mouth and can be removed by turning the patient, allowing gravity to do the rest. Finger sweeping can induce vomiting which can also be a problem.

These procedures are appropriate for adults. Young children and infants are different. Training for this should be learned from a medical person in programs designed to address this.

This article was written by Jon Percepto from Eclectic Commons.

Being a Good Parent

2008-01-27T06:37:00.000-08:00

Being a Good Parent

Too many times I have seen parents who think that because they have brought children into the world, that fact alone is enough to claim that they should have the respect of those children. Respect is something that needs to be earned. If you expect, as a parent, to have the respect of your children, then you have to earn it from them just as you have to earn it in life from others.

Frequently, having children becomes the thing to do as a natural course of events in life. We start as part of a family, we grow up, mature, develop relationships, and define our own family, with children becoming a part of that cycle.

Some people feel that having children is a way to leave something behind when they are no longer here, a way of propagating their genes, their essence, their existence with a mark. If having kids is your personal mark, then its also the responsibility of parents to make sure that the mark they do leave behind is a good one. Because that mark will always reflect who they have been parented by. It is the personal responsibility of parents to be parents and not transfer the responsibility onto someone else such as the school, or some other person or institution. Children should grow up well because of their parents, rather than in spite of their parents.

Children deserve to be accepted for who they are. They should not have to prove anything to anyone for existing. They should not be expected to do anything or to have to be anything other than what they are - unique human beings that are mold-able by the forces they are subjected to. The initial forces they are in contact with are the parents, and it's the parents who have the responsibility of instilling the first concepts of personality from which all other perceptions will be affected by: Is the world a trust-able place or not? How the parents conduct themselves in the beginning of their child's life will determine this primary perception that will influence everything the child feels, thinks and does for the rest of his or her life. The responsibility is clear. It lies with the parents and no one else. To deny this is to deny your personal responsibility as a parent and to put the very emotional health of your child at risk.

I come back to this primary perception again and again and will continue to do so in the future, because it is this concept that all other perceptions will be an outgrowth of. Is the world a trust-able place or not? If in the first few days of life the child perceives that the world he inhabits is a safe place, one that is nurturing, supportive, giving and loving, then the child will feel trust. He will respond to his/her environment in kind, and his growth will reflect this. If not, his lack of growth will also reflect this. Everything he does and feels will be focused through that mistrust. He will have difficulty feeling comfortable with others or with himself. He will have problems forming intimate relationships. He will cling to one or both of the parents because his view of his world will be that it is a threatening place, and one where he needs to defend and protect himself from at all costs. If he doesn't then the world will reject him. His feelings of his own worthiness will take the form of worthlessness. All this from that one perception of the world, all affected solely by the way his parents relate to him in the initial stage of his life.

Too often I have seen instances where the TV becomes the baby-sitter for children whose parents complain they have no time. They both work, they have two jobs. If it's not one thing it's another, but the bottom line is the parents don't have the time to spend with their children for whatever excuse they may make, it still results in the same effect: children growing up without the proper supervision. When the children begin school, parents feel relieved because now the kids are away from the home and in some magical process where they will transform into social human beings by the process of being in contact with others.

When parents have stress and pressures, too often they expect the children to understand, even though young children do not have the perceptual capability to comprehend stresses parents are experiencing. Often those stresses are so compounded that ultimately the parents may take it out on the children in the form of abuse, emotional neglect or some other harmful way that adds to accumulated mistrust the child already may have about the world he inhabits.

No one is expecting parents to be perfect. We all have problems. But if you transmit to your children that they are loved, accepted and wanted in whatever way you can, and give them the supervision, guidance and discipline when they truly need it, then their growth will reflect it.

But if things do not go well with your children, no matter what age they are, nothing you do in life will ever feel right. Joy, satisfaction, happiness will always be a glass half full and the reasons that things didn't go right with your children will haunt you over and over again, even as you assert, "I did the best I could."

This post was written by Jon Percepto from Eclectic Commons.

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you
cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go
swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves
also the bow that is stable.
-Khalil Gibran

Living Up To Your Full Potential

2008-01-27T06:26:00.001-08:00

Living Up To Your Full Potential

As I review the successes and failures of my life, I often wonder whether I have lived up to my true potential? I'm not even sure what that means; Is it what I think my potential should be? Or is it the expectations that have been placed on me by others? These questions come up repeatedly as I reflect where I am going.

When I was in school, I thought my goal should be to become educated, find a useful way to express whatever intelligence and creativity I had, and become some kind of positive and contributing member of society. At least that's what I thought I should be doing based on how I was interpreting society: be a good person; don't do bad things; learn the laws and boundaries; live within and by them.

Then I learned that society (reality), didn't deal equally with everyone. Those that came from more wealthy economic backgrounds had a head start in just about every area you can imagine. People who did not fit into the general mold of what was defined as "normal", were treated differently and often with discrimination. Society tended to have varieties of expectations towards different people at different times, creating double standards.

What I ultimately concluded is that success has nothing to do with living up to true potential. Success was directly related to my ability to interpret not just what society was literally saying but what it was transmitting within the subtext of its messages. Not everyone understands subtext at the same time or in the same way, and those that do so faster tend to be the ones that get ahead because they are able to size up what society expects from them and give it back, before others. This gets them the attention, the pat on a back, and the proverbial gold star.

When children are referred to as a geniuses, it's not that they are more gifted with abilities than others, but are capable of doing things much earlier then the majority of other children within their age group. Walking at 6 months as opposed to the normal 10-13 months is considered a sign that a child has developed a mastery over their physical coordination quicker than others his age. Talking in complete sentences at 18 months would certainly qualify a child, by most, to be a genius. Reading at that age would also raise eyebrows that a child is meant for great things.

Genius is not about ability as much as about timing. The earlier you are able to cognize what reality expects of you and demonstrate it, defines pretty much how society will label you as smart or slow, capable or not, competent or not.

Trying to define what true potential means is really a quest that is more a distraction from defining what society really wants or expects. It would be more fruitful to simply focus initially on what society wants as its potential for you, or from you, give it what it's asking for to get its approval. Then develop your talents for your own sake, through an individual search for self realization, rather than spending a lifetime wondering whether you have lived up to what you think your true potential should be.

This post was written by Jon Percepto from Eclectic Commons.

Living Up To Your Full Potential

2008-01-27T06:26:00.000-08:00