WWE suspends 10 wrestlers for violating policy on steroids and other drugs
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- World Wrestling Entertainment has suspended 10 of its wrestlers for violations of a policy that tests for steroids and other drugs, the company said Thursday.
Stamford-based WWE says it issued suspension notices based on independent information from the prosecutor's office in Albany County, N.Y., which has been investigating illegal steroid sales.
Neither the WWE nor the Albany County district attorney's office would comment on the suspended wrestlers' identities Thursday. No criminal charges were filed, they said.
Under a WWE wellness policy instituted last year that requires tests for steroids and other drugs, a wrestler faces a 30-day suspension without pay for a first violation, a 60-day suspension for a second violation and firing for a third violation. Performers are tested at least four times per year.
"We are very actively working to eradicate the use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs in the WWE," WWE spokesman Gary Davis said. "Today's action is part of that effort."
WWE officials met this month with New York prosecutors investigating illegal steroid sales. Albany County prosecutor P. David Soares' office has said that pro wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed his family before hanging himself in June, and other WWE wrestlers had been clients of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla. Investigators say Benoit had a steroid and other drugs in his system at the time.
When Soares' office began investigating the illegal sale and distribution of controlled substances, he said, his office sought the help of WWE after a number of its wrestlers appeared on customer lists of clinics connected with Signature Pharmacy.
Nine people, including three current or former physicians, have pleaded guilty, most affiliated with Internet and phone-order companies that filled orders for anabolic steroids and growth hormones through Signature and sent drugs to customers around the country, including Albany County.
Signature's owners have pleaded not guilty.
The Benoit case prompted the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to ask WWE to turn over any information it has on steroid and drug abuse in pro wrestling. The committee has not yet scheduled a hearing on the case.
WWE said the company's practice has been to not release the names of suspended wrestlers, but the company has notified performers that starting Nov. 1 the names of those suspended for violating the policy will be made public.
WWE has about 160 wrestlers. WWE shares closed Thursday at $14.80, down 21 cents.
Friday, August 31, 2007
MORE GOOGLE 8-31-07
SAN FRANCISCO - Internet search leader Google Inc. on Friday began hosting material produced by The Associated Press and three other news services on its own Web site instead of only sending readers to other destinations.
The change affects hundreds of stories and photographs distributed each day by the AP, Agence France-Presse, The Press Association in the United Kingdom and The Canadian Press. It could diminish Internet traffic to newspaper and broadcast companies' Web sites where those stories and photos are also found — a development that could reduce those companies' revenue from online advertising.
Mountain View-based Google negotiated licensing deals with the services during the past two years to resolve disputes over whether the search engine had been infringing on their copyrights by displaying snippets of their content on its Web site.
The new approach won't change the look of Google News or affect the way the section handles material produced by other media. Google also said it isn't altering its formula for finding news, so the material from the AP and other services won't be elevated in the pecking order of its search results.
Although Google already had bought the right to display content produced by all four services affected by the change, the search engine's news section had continued to link to the sites of other Web publishers to read the stories and look at the photographs. For example, a Google News user who clicked on an AP story about the latest developments in Iraq would be steered to one of the hundreds of Web sites that also have the right to post the same article.
That helped drive more traffic to the Web sites of newspapers and broadcasters who pay annual fees to help finance the AP, a 161-year-old cooperative owned by news organizations.
Now, Google visitors interested in reading an AP story will remain on Google's Web site unless they click on a link that enables them to read the same story on other sites. Google doesn't have any immediate plans to run ads alongside the news stories or photographs hosted on its site, but company officials aren't ruling out the possibility in the future.
AP and the other news services already receive an unspecified amount of money from Google for the rights to their content. Google said it isn't paying anything extra to host the material.
Although the change might not even be noticed by many Google users, the decision to corral the content from the AP and other news services may irritate publishers and broadcasters if the move results in less traffic for them and more for Internet's most powerful company.
A diminished audience would likely translate into less online revenue, compounding the financial headaches of long-established media already scrambling to make up for the money that has been lost as more advertisers shift their spending to the Internet.
Google has been the trend's biggest beneficiary as its search engine emerged as hub of the Internet's largest advertising network. In the first half of this year, the 9-year-old company earned $1.9 billion on revenue of $7.5 billion.
Several other major Web sites, including Yahoo, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, have been featuring AP material for years within their sites. Google has an even larger potential audience because its search engine handles more than half of the online search requests in the United States.
However, despite Google's dominance in search, its news section lags behind the industry leaders. In July, Google News attracted 9.6 million visitors, trailing Yahoo News (33.8 million visitors), MSNBC (24.5 million), AOL News (23.9 million) and CNN (22.5 million), according to comScore Media Metrix.
Echoing a familiar refrain, Google believes its users will be better served if the content from the AP and other news service stays on its site.
With the new approach, Google reasons readers won't have to pore through search results listing the same story posted on different sites. That should in turn make it easier to discover other news stories at other Web sites that might previously have been buried, said Josh Cohen, the business product manager for Google News.
"This may result in certain publishers losing traffic for their news wire stories, but it will allow more room for their original content," Cohen said.
For its part, the AP intends to work with Google to ensure readers find their way to breaking news stories on its members' Web sites, said Jane Seagrave, the AP's vice president of new media markets.
In recognition of the challenges facing the media, the AP froze its basic rates for member newspapers and broadcasters this year and already has committed to keeping fees at the same level next year.
That concession has intensified the pressure on AP to plumb new revenue channels by selling its content to so-called "commercial" customers on the Web. Those efforts helped the not-for-profit AP boost its revenue by 4 percent last year to $680 million.
"AP relies on its commercial agreements to help pay the enormous costs of covering breaking news around the world, ranging from deadly hurricanes and tsunamis to conflicts like the war in Iraq," Seagrave said.
The change affects hundreds of stories and photographs distributed each day by the AP, Agence France-Presse, The Press Association in the United Kingdom and The Canadian Press. It could diminish Internet traffic to newspaper and broadcast companies' Web sites where those stories and photos are also found — a development that could reduce those companies' revenue from online advertising.
Mountain View-based Google negotiated licensing deals with the services during the past two years to resolve disputes over whether the search engine had been infringing on their copyrights by displaying snippets of their content on its Web site.
The new approach won't change the look of Google News or affect the way the section handles material produced by other media. Google also said it isn't altering its formula for finding news, so the material from the AP and other services won't be elevated in the pecking order of its search results.
Although Google already had bought the right to display content produced by all four services affected by the change, the search engine's news section had continued to link to the sites of other Web publishers to read the stories and look at the photographs. For example, a Google News user who clicked on an AP story about the latest developments in Iraq would be steered to one of the hundreds of Web sites that also have the right to post the same article.
That helped drive more traffic to the Web sites of newspapers and broadcasters who pay annual fees to help finance the AP, a 161-year-old cooperative owned by news organizations.
Now, Google visitors interested in reading an AP story will remain on Google's Web site unless they click on a link that enables them to read the same story on other sites. Google doesn't have any immediate plans to run ads alongside the news stories or photographs hosted on its site, but company officials aren't ruling out the possibility in the future.
AP and the other news services already receive an unspecified amount of money from Google for the rights to their content. Google said it isn't paying anything extra to host the material.
Although the change might not even be noticed by many Google users, the decision to corral the content from the AP and other news services may irritate publishers and broadcasters if the move results in less traffic for them and more for Internet's most powerful company.
A diminished audience would likely translate into less online revenue, compounding the financial headaches of long-established media already scrambling to make up for the money that has been lost as more advertisers shift their spending to the Internet.
Google has been the trend's biggest beneficiary as its search engine emerged as hub of the Internet's largest advertising network. In the first half of this year, the 9-year-old company earned $1.9 billion on revenue of $7.5 billion.
Several other major Web sites, including Yahoo, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, have been featuring AP material for years within their sites. Google has an even larger potential audience because its search engine handles more than half of the online search requests in the United States.
However, despite Google's dominance in search, its news section lags behind the industry leaders. In July, Google News attracted 9.6 million visitors, trailing Yahoo News (33.8 million visitors), MSNBC (24.5 million), AOL News (23.9 million) and CNN (22.5 million), according to comScore Media Metrix.
Echoing a familiar refrain, Google believes its users will be better served if the content from the AP and other news service stays on its site.
With the new approach, Google reasons readers won't have to pore through search results listing the same story posted on different sites. That should in turn make it easier to discover other news stories at other Web sites that might previously have been buried, said Josh Cohen, the business product manager for Google News.
"This may result in certain publishers losing traffic for their news wire stories, but it will allow more room for their original content," Cohen said.
For its part, the AP intends to work with Google to ensure readers find their way to breaking news stories on its members' Web sites, said Jane Seagrave, the AP's vice president of new media markets.
In recognition of the challenges facing the media, the AP froze its basic rates for member newspapers and broadcasters this year and already has committed to keeping fees at the same level next year.
That concession has intensified the pressure on AP to plumb new revenue channels by selling its content to so-called "commercial" customers on the Web. Those efforts helped the not-for-profit AP boost its revenue by 4 percent last year to $680 million.
"AP relies on its commercial agreements to help pay the enormous costs of covering breaking news around the world, ranging from deadly hurricanes and tsunamis to conflicts like the war in Iraq," Seagrave said.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
PLANET FORMATION THEORY 8-30-07
Planet formation is a story with a well-known beginning and end, but how its middle plays out has been an enigma to scientists-until now.
A new computer-modeled theory shows how rocky boulders around infant stars team up to form planets without falling into stars.
"This has been a stumbling block for 30 years," said Mordecai-Marc Mac Low, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, of planet formation theories. "The reason is that boulders tend to fall into the star in a celestial blink of an eye. Some mechanism had to be found to prevent them from being dragged into a star."
The solution: Together, many boulders can join to fight a cosmic headwind that otherwise would doom them.
Truckin' boulders
The stuff of rocky planets originates in an accretion disk, or collection of gas and dust that circles around a newborn star. Over time the dust particles bunch together and form large boulders, but eventually they meet "wind" resistance from the disk's mist of gas.
"They see a headwind. It's deadly and drags them into the star," Mac Low told SPACE.com.
Modeling the turbulence within the gas, however, showed that boulders can team up and form planets.
"Turbulence in the disk concentrates boulders in regions of higher pressure," Mac Low said, noting that such a disturbance is enough to enable the boulders to fight the dooming headwind.
"If the gas is sped up, the boulders don't see a headwind. By getting the gas going with them they conserve energy and stay in orbit."
Mac Low compared the effect to a chain of semi-trucks driving down a highway. Each boulder is like a semi-truck "pushing" the gas in front of it, creating a friendly pocket of air behind it that other semis can travel in without using up as much fuel. "The end of the story is that enough boulders gather together, gravity takes over and they collapse into planet-like bodies," Mac Low said.
Mac Low and his colleagues' findings will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature.
Pulverizing problem
Although Mac Low and his colleagues kept planet-forming boulders safe from the gravitational clutches of stars in their simulation, he noted that many questions remain.
"There are enough uncertainties that [planet formation] is not going to be an open and shut case any time soon," he said. "We don't know how that collapse into a planet actually occurs. You've got thousands, millions of boulders swarming together like a bees. In my nightmares I imagine that they grind each other down to dust and it all goes away."
Despite the problem, Mac Low is confident the theory will hold up to future scrutiny.
"All that material is gravitationally bound together, so we think it's likely that it will form large objects," he said. Running the computer simulation, in fact, formed tight boulder clusters as large as the dwarf planet Ceres (formerly known as the asteroid Ceres).
Alan Boss, an astrophysicist with the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., said that the theory is attractive despite the caveat.
"Overall, the calculations present an encouraging approach to understanding how something happened that we know must have happened, at least for the terrestrial planets," Boss said in an e-mail. How giant planets form yet another question. One idea is that gas coalesces around a rocky, or terrestrial planet. Boss, however, thinks the gas giants collapse from a knot, much in the manner of star formation.
Mac Low and his team plan to address the mystery of how boulders collapse into planetesimals, or protoplanetary chunks of rock, in the future.
A new computer-modeled theory shows how rocky boulders around infant stars team up to form planets without falling into stars.
"This has been a stumbling block for 30 years," said Mordecai-Marc Mac Low, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, of planet formation theories. "The reason is that boulders tend to fall into the star in a celestial blink of an eye. Some mechanism had to be found to prevent them from being dragged into a star."
The solution: Together, many boulders can join to fight a cosmic headwind that otherwise would doom them.
Truckin' boulders
The stuff of rocky planets originates in an accretion disk, or collection of gas and dust that circles around a newborn star. Over time the dust particles bunch together and form large boulders, but eventually they meet "wind" resistance from the disk's mist of gas.
"They see a headwind. It's deadly and drags them into the star," Mac Low told SPACE.com.
Modeling the turbulence within the gas, however, showed that boulders can team up and form planets.
"Turbulence in the disk concentrates boulders in regions of higher pressure," Mac Low said, noting that such a disturbance is enough to enable the boulders to fight the dooming headwind.
"If the gas is sped up, the boulders don't see a headwind. By getting the gas going with them they conserve energy and stay in orbit."
Mac Low compared the effect to a chain of semi-trucks driving down a highway. Each boulder is like a semi-truck "pushing" the gas in front of it, creating a friendly pocket of air behind it that other semis can travel in without using up as much fuel. "The end of the story is that enough boulders gather together, gravity takes over and they collapse into planet-like bodies," Mac Low said.
Mac Low and his colleagues' findings will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature.
Pulverizing problem
Although Mac Low and his colleagues kept planet-forming boulders safe from the gravitational clutches of stars in their simulation, he noted that many questions remain.
"There are enough uncertainties that [planet formation] is not going to be an open and shut case any time soon," he said. "We don't know how that collapse into a planet actually occurs. You've got thousands, millions of boulders swarming together like a bees. In my nightmares I imagine that they grind each other down to dust and it all goes away."
Despite the problem, Mac Low is confident the theory will hold up to future scrutiny.
"All that material is gravitationally bound together, so we think it's likely that it will form large objects," he said. Running the computer simulation, in fact, formed tight boulder clusters as large as the dwarf planet Ceres (formerly known as the asteroid Ceres).
Alan Boss, an astrophysicist with the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., said that the theory is attractive despite the caveat.
"Overall, the calculations present an encouraging approach to understanding how something happened that we know must have happened, at least for the terrestrial planets," Boss said in an e-mail. How giant planets form yet another question. One idea is that gas coalesces around a rocky, or terrestrial planet. Boss, however, thinks the gas giants collapse from a knot, much in the manner of star formation.
Mac Low and his team plan to address the mystery of how boulders collapse into planetesimals, or protoplanetary chunks of rock, in the future.
20 MONEY RULES TO WEALTH 8-30-07
Money Magazine collected the best advice from some of the smartest investors (and other people) who have ever lived.
1. Be humble
When you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it--this is knowledge.
--Confucius
Investing is a big bet on an unknowable future. The mark of wisdom is accepting just how unknowable it is. Granted, that's not easy. Our brains are built to think the future will be like the near past. And we're too ready to act on the predictions of pundits, who are no more clued in than we are about what lies ahead.
Being humble in the face of uncertainty keeps you from costly mistakes. You won't jump on yesterday's bandwagon. And before you invest, you'll be more likely to ask a key question: "What if I'm wrong?"
2. Take calculated risks
He that is overcautious will accomplish little.
--Friedrich von Schiller
The returns you get are proportionate to the risk you take. This is a fundamental law of the markets. It's why five-year CDs typically pay more than six-month ones and why you're disappointed if your emerging markets fund does no better than its stodgy blue-chip stablemate. History unequivocally supports this "no free lunch" principle. Going back to 1926, stocks (high risk) have paid more than government bonds (medium risk), which in turn have beaten low-risk Treasury bills.
Among many, many other things, this law suggests:
- To earn returns high enough to build true wealth, you have to put some of your money in risky assets like stocks--the only investment to handily beat inflation over time.
- If a financial salesperson tries to tell you his product offers a high return with no risk, get that claim in writing. Then send it and his business card to the SEC.
3. Have an emergency fund
For age and want, save while you may; no morning sun lasts a whole day.
--Benjamin Franklin
The first step in constructing any serious financial plan is to create an emergency cash fund--ideally, three to six months' living expenses--stashed in a low-cost ultrasafe bank account or money-market fund. Without this financial cushion, any unexpected expense can derail your long-term plans.
These days, happily, that emergency stash won't just sit idle. Top bank accounts like the one at UFB Direct (888-580-0049) and perennially competitive money funds like Vanguard Prime (800-851-4999) now pay more than 5%.
4. Mix it up
It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not to venture all his eggs in one basket.
--Miguel de Cervantes
Nothing can break the law of risk and reward, but a diversified portfolio can bend it. When you spread your money properly among different asset types, a rise in some will offset a fall in others, muting your overall risk without a commensurate drop in return. It's the closest thing to a free lunch there is in investing. To make the alchemy work, you must load up on assets whose up and down cycles don't run in sync: stocks (both U.S. and foreign, as well as large-company and small), bonds (of varying maturities), cash, real estate and commodities.
5. It's the portfolio, stupid
Asset allocation...is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return.
--Gary Brinson, Brian Singer and Gilbert Beebower
Most investors concentrate on trying to choose the best stock and pick the perfect moment to buy or sell. It's a waste. What really matters to your long-term returns is asset allocation--that is, how you split up your portfolio.
Since researchers dropped this bombshell 20 years ago, experts have debated the size of the asset-allocation factor. Some say it accounts for 40% of the variation in investors' returns; others (like the original researchers) say 90%. But no one refutes that it's major.
6. Average is the new best
The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.
--Warren Buffett
Here's the logic behind index funds, which aim simply to match the return of a market index: The average fund in any market will always earn that market's return (because in aggregate investors are the market) minus expenses. Since index funds match the market but have much smaller expenses than other funds, they will always beat the average fund in the long run. It's hard to argue with the math, and history bears it out (see the performance stat at right). Besides, if the Greatest Investor of Our Time believes that index funds are superior for most investors, shouldn't you?
7. Practice patience
It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!
--Edwin Lefevre
This blunt warning was issued in Lefevre's 1923 fictional memoir, reportedly based on legendary trader Jesse Livermore and treated by many financial advisers like the Bible. Some 77 years later, behavioral finance professors Terrance Odean and Brad Barber's research into transactions by some 66,000 households between 1991 and 1996 found that those who traded least earned seven percentage points a year more than the most frequent traders. Moral: Once you arrange your assets into your ideal allocation, don't tinker. Rebalance once a year to keep your mix on track, but otherwise, listen to Livermore and sit tight.
8. Don't time the market
The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.
--Peter Lynch
It would be so nice, wouldn't it, to sell before every market downdraft and then get back in just as the good times roll again. But it's too hard to pull off. Nobody knows when markets will turn (see Rule No. 1). And when they do, they tend to move in quick bursts. By the time you realize an advance has begun, most of it's over. Miss that initial stretch and you'll miss out on most of the gains. The lesson: The surest way to investing success is to buy, then stick to your guns.
9. Be a cheapskate
Performance comes and goes, but costs roll on forever.
--Jack Bogle
If you choose a fund that eats up 1.5% a year in expenses over one that costs 1% (let alone the 0.2% that index funds may charge), your fund's return will have to beat the other's by half a point a year just for you to come out even. Past returns are no guarantee of the future, but today's low-cost funds are likely to stay low cost. Buying them is the only sure way of giving yourself a leg up.
10. Don't follow the crowd
Fashion is made to become unfashionable.
--Coco Chanel
Or, as the legendary financier Sir James Goldsmith has said, "If you see a bandwagon, it's too late."
In the late 1990s, there was no more fashionable bandwagon for investors than Firsthand Technology Value fund. It returned 23.7% in 1998, but investors really piled into it after it rocketed an incredible 190.4% in 1999. But by then, the bust of 2000 was about to unfold, and Firsthand was soon to become as passé as plaid trousers. The result was a chilling example of the perils of following the herd: While the fund posted a respectable 16% annualized gain over the four years through 2001, the average shareholder in the fund actually lost more than 31.6% a year.
11. Buy low
If a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen to me.
--Warren Buffett
The best Dow stocks of the past 10 years don't include Microsoft or Intel. But Caterpillar (Cat) makes the cut with a 212% return. In 1997, in the midst of tech madness, the market was so bored by the company's industrial-machinery business that investors paid just $11.50 for each dollar of earnings. If the stock's current value of 16.1 times earnings is right, that's nearly a 30% discount. Smart investors didn't need to foresee the coming construction boom. They only needed to call a bargain a bargain and trust the market to eventually wise up.
12. Invest abroad
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
--St. Augustine
Over the 10 years through 2006, a portfolio split 80%-20% between U.S. and international large-cap stocks would have returned an average 8.4% a year, roughly the same as a portfolio invested 100% in domestic stocks. But because U.S. and foreign markets partially offset one another's ups and downs, the global portfolio was 4% less risky than the all-American (see Rule No. 4). Most Americans have less money in foreign funds than the 15% to 25% experts recommend. But you don't have to be like most Americans.
13. Keep perspective
There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.
--Harry Truman
When the Dow sheds 300 points in a day, it's natural to feel doomed. And when the market surges, it's easy to be convinced that stocks have entered "a new paradigm," to echo a bubble-era phrase. Don't delude yourself. As Sir John Templeton notes, "The four most expensive words in the English language are, `This time it's different.' "
To keep your perspective, remember:
- In every bull market since 1970, stocks have dropped by 10% or more at least once. Average time to get back to even: 107 days.
- Over time, markets tend to stick close to their long-term trends, called "regression to the mean." Manias and panics never last.
14. Just do it
It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.
--Eleanor Roosevelt
Financial planning is an unnatural act. The brain is wired to make us undervalue long-term goals and exaggerate the cost of short-term sacrifice. Yet studies show that people who do even a little retirement planning had twice the savings of those who did almost none. Heed the words attributed to Mrs. Roosevelt by doing the following:
- Set concrete, attainable goals. "I'll pay an extra $100 a month on my credit card" is more likely to succeed than "I'm going to get my act together."
- Then commit. Tell someone your plan and agree to a penalty--you'll do your spouse's chores for a month if you haven't saved $10,000 extra by June.
15. Borrow responsibly
As life closes in on someone who has borrowed far too much money on the strength of far too little income, there are no fire escapes.
--John Kenneth Galbraith
Face this truth: If you let them, lenders are only too willing to advance you more than is good for your family. Mortgage banks and credit-card issuers don't care if your monthly payment makes it impossible for you to sock away money in your 401(k) or fund your kid's 529 plan. You need to set your own rules, including:
- No credit-card debt. Period. It's never okay to pay 15% to borrow for consumption.
- Borrow only to buy assets that appreciate. A home, yes. Education, sure. A vacation, a fancy dinner or even a 50-inch flat-screen TV? No way.
16. Talk to your spouse
In every house of marriage there's room for an interpreter.
--Stanley Kunitz
Your most important financial partner isn't your broker. It's your spouse--you know, the one who probably owns half of all you do and whose fate is inextricably linked with yours. But research shows that spouses often don't agree on even such basic info as their income and savings. Wake-up call: To make smart decisions, you need to talk, and if you're like most couples, to do a better job at it.
- Men: Don't assume she doesn't care about this stuff. She does. But you need to lay off the jargon and speak English.
- Women: Don't just leave it all to him. At a minimum, know where the key papers are and how your money is invested.
- Both: Focus on goals, not on being right. It's not a contest.
17. Exit gracefully
Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
--Pablo Picasso
Despite the words he reportedly uttered, Picasso was willing to die without planning his estate. It took years for his heirs to reach a settlement with French authorities. Although you may not have masterpieces to bequeath, you have no excuse not to take elementary steps to make life easier on those you'd leave behind. Covering the basics shouldn't cost more than $1,500.
To find a lawyer, ask friends and colleagues for recommendations or get referrals online at the website of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. For tips on dividing emotion-laden personal belongings--more often the flash point for family tension than money or big-ticket items--check out the website Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate?
18. Pay only your share
The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.
--John Maynard Keynes
It's all well and good to put time into choosing the right investments. But being conscious of taxes puts money in your pocket too (at least it keeps it from being taken from your pocket, which amounts to the same thing), and the payoff is swift, certain and there for the taking. So take full advantage of tax-deferred benefits at work, like 401(k)s and flexible spending accounts. Stick with tax-efficient investments like index funds. And claim every deduction you're entitled to. According to the Government Accountability Office, taxpayers who could itemize but chose not to ended up overpaying by $450. Don't be one of them.
19. Give wisely
The time is always right to do the right thing.
--Martin Luther King Jr.
Granted, Dr. King did not have money on his mind when he spoke these words. But they also ring true in your financial life, since giving back is always the right thing. Still, there are more right and less right ways to do it.
- Look beyond the headlines. It's fine to give money to disasters like the tsunami, but don't forget about smaller charities that go wanting.
- Don't give over the phone. Telemarketers often take a cut of 50% or more.
- Focus. Identify a cause that really speaks to you. Then devote most of your energy and charitable dollars to the organizations that best support it.
20. Keep money in its place
A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
--Jonathan Swift
People who say they value money highly report that they are less happy in life than those who care more about love
Friday, August 24, 2007
VICK CARDS ON EBAY 8-24-07
Take some trading cards picturing a disgraced NFL superstar. Add some dog slobber and teethmarks. What do you get? The most valuable Michael Vick cards — by far — on eBay, that's what.
Collector Rochelle Steffen of Cape Girardeau, Mo., gave every Vick card she owned to her dogs and let them go to town on the images of the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting charge Monday.
Once Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, were done worrying them, nearly two dozen $1-$10 cards were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.
As of Thursday evening, the highest bid on the lot of 22 cards had risen to $455 and more than 2,000 people had viewed the posting. Seventy-seven people already have bid on the auction, which ends Sunday.
The next-most expensive Vick cards — well-preserved specimens from his rookie year — were going for less than half the price of the gnawed ones.
"If I would have had some of his super-duper ones, they would have been right in the mix too," Steffen said Thursday.
She plans to donate the winning bid money to the humane society of the bidder's choice.
Since Vick was indicted on federal dogfighting charges last month, former fans have donated Vick jerseys to dog shelters, while others have tried to cash in by selling Vick T-shirts and chew toys for dogs.
"I'm not angry toward him; my anger is toward anyone who would do this to animals," said Steffen, a college student and artist who wrote a note accompanying her auction to explain it was artistic expression.
"I mean no harm to anyone involved with this auction," she wrote.
Vick said through a lawyer this week he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.
Steffen's cards join a collection of newly released items on sale. T-shirts are being sold online with slogans that say "Ignorance Breeds Ignorance. Neuter Mike Vick," and "ConVICKt" and others that show dogs urinating on footballs and jerseys.
A few fans also have released "Free Vick" shirts.
The St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team known for campy promotions, gave out Vick chew toys Tuesday to the first 15,000 fans with some game proceeds going to the Humane Society. Fans got the St. Paul pig mascot with a No. 7 printed on the back and a tag around its neck with Vick's picture.
The Atlanta Humane Society also has reported former Vick fans mailing in jerseys — often accompanied by financial contributions and letters of outrage over the charges. Those former fans have suggested the Falcons jerseys become animal bedding or rags to help scrub up the messes that dogs leave behind. Other branches of the Humane Society have said they'll take donated Vick items to resell on eBay.
Steffen said she hopes to bring more attention to the abuse of animals involved in dogfighting activities.
"The money donated to local shelters makes this whole idea of selling the cards worthwhile," she said.
Collector Rochelle Steffen of Cape Girardeau, Mo., gave every Vick card she owned to her dogs and let them go to town on the images of the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal dogfighting charge Monday.
Once Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, were done worrying them, nearly two dozen $1-$10 cards were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.
As of Thursday evening, the highest bid on the lot of 22 cards had risen to $455 and more than 2,000 people had viewed the posting. Seventy-seven people already have bid on the auction, which ends Sunday.
The next-most expensive Vick cards — well-preserved specimens from his rookie year — were going for less than half the price of the gnawed ones.
"If I would have had some of his super-duper ones, they would have been right in the mix too," Steffen said Thursday.
She plans to donate the winning bid money to the humane society of the bidder's choice.
Since Vick was indicted on federal dogfighting charges last month, former fans have donated Vick jerseys to dog shelters, while others have tried to cash in by selling Vick T-shirts and chew toys for dogs.
"I'm not angry toward him; my anger is toward anyone who would do this to animals," said Steffen, a college student and artist who wrote a note accompanying her auction to explain it was artistic expression.
"I mean no harm to anyone involved with this auction," she wrote.
Vick said through a lawyer this week he will plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.
Steffen's cards join a collection of newly released items on sale. T-shirts are being sold online with slogans that say "Ignorance Breeds Ignorance. Neuter Mike Vick," and "ConVICKt" and others that show dogs urinating on footballs and jerseys.
A few fans also have released "Free Vick" shirts.
The St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team known for campy promotions, gave out Vick chew toys Tuesday to the first 15,000 fans with some game proceeds going to the Humane Society. Fans got the St. Paul pig mascot with a No. 7 printed on the back and a tag around its neck with Vick's picture.
The Atlanta Humane Society also has reported former Vick fans mailing in jerseys — often accompanied by financial contributions and letters of outrage over the charges. Those former fans have suggested the Falcons jerseys become animal bedding or rags to help scrub up the messes that dogs leave behind. Other branches of the Humane Society have said they'll take donated Vick items to resell on eBay.
Steffen said she hopes to bring more attention to the abuse of animals involved in dogfighting activities.
"The money donated to local shelters makes this whole idea of selling the cards worthwhile," she said.
AVOIDING ADULT WEIGHT GAIN 8-24-07
How do you feel about gaining 10 to 20 pounds? Researchers say that most Americans probably will within the next ten years if they continue their current exercise and eating habits. In fact, the average American gains one to two pounds a year throughout much of adulthood. Yet studies show that healthy eating and exercise habits can prevent or minimize this weight gain.
Although adult weight gain is common, you shouldn’t consider it normal or healthy. Middle-age weight gain increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. In one study, for every two pounds men gained their risk of developing diabetes in the next 10 years rose by over 7 percent. A waist increase of over one inch during 10 years correlated with 20 percent of the new diabetes cases in that study.
Weight gain damages your joints, too. When normal-weight young adults become overweight, their risk of developing a form of arthritis (osteoarthritis) of the knees requiring surgery rises three-fold.
The worst consequence of overweight may be the greater risk of several cancers, especially colon cancer and post-menopausal breast cancer. A gain of more than 45 pounds during adulthood doubles the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer, while smaller weight gains can raise the risk by 20 percent. For breast cancer survivors, weight gain lifts the risk of cancer recurrence and death from 35 percent for small increases to 64 percent for larger gains (about 17 pounds).
The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans stresses the importance of preventing weight gain. For years, the American Institute for Cancer Research has recommended that adults gain no more than 11 pounds after reaching adulthood.
Keeping Off the Pounds
Changing your balance of calories by 100 fewer calories a day – by consuming less or exercising more – would probably be enough to prevent any gradual yearly weight gain. One report says you may have to decrease calorie consumption by 100 calories day and add 2,000 steps, or a 15-to-20-minute brisk walk to avoid weight gain. Two easy ways to cut 100 calories from your day are to replace a cup of pasta with vegetables at dinner or choose fruit instead of chips when you lunch or snack.
Studies consistently show that activity level is a key influence on your weight. One study shows that a 30-minute brisk walk three days a week may be enough to reduce weight gain by close to a pound a year. To prevent weight gain altogether, another study suggests that 45 to 60 minutes a day of walking, yard work or similar activity may be needed.
Of course, your eating habits matter, too. One large study looked at middle-aged men and women at a healthy weight who ate relatively high amounts of raw vegetables, fruits and whole grains and less processed meat, high-fat dairy products, and butter or margarine. It was found that the participants either maintained their weight or gained much less weight than people who followed the opposite eating patterns. Other studies have shown that whole grains, as well as vegetables and fruits, can independently reduce weight gain and waistline increases. In a study of middle-aged women, those who increased their vegetable and fruit consumption the most had 28 percent less risk of a major weight gain than those who cut back the most on these nutritious foods.
To switch to a plant-based diet built around vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, gradually make small changes that you can sustain. Combine these changes with exercise to further reduce your chance of adult weight gain and its health risks.
Although adult weight gain is common, you shouldn’t consider it normal or healthy. Middle-age weight gain increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. In one study, for every two pounds men gained their risk of developing diabetes in the next 10 years rose by over 7 percent. A waist increase of over one inch during 10 years correlated with 20 percent of the new diabetes cases in that study.
Weight gain damages your joints, too. When normal-weight young adults become overweight, their risk of developing a form of arthritis (osteoarthritis) of the knees requiring surgery rises three-fold.
The worst consequence of overweight may be the greater risk of several cancers, especially colon cancer and post-menopausal breast cancer. A gain of more than 45 pounds during adulthood doubles the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer, while smaller weight gains can raise the risk by 20 percent. For breast cancer survivors, weight gain lifts the risk of cancer recurrence and death from 35 percent for small increases to 64 percent for larger gains (about 17 pounds).
The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans stresses the importance of preventing weight gain. For years, the American Institute for Cancer Research has recommended that adults gain no more than 11 pounds after reaching adulthood.
Keeping Off the Pounds
Changing your balance of calories by 100 fewer calories a day – by consuming less or exercising more – would probably be enough to prevent any gradual yearly weight gain. One report says you may have to decrease calorie consumption by 100 calories day and add 2,000 steps, or a 15-to-20-minute brisk walk to avoid weight gain. Two easy ways to cut 100 calories from your day are to replace a cup of pasta with vegetables at dinner or choose fruit instead of chips when you lunch or snack.
Studies consistently show that activity level is a key influence on your weight. One study shows that a 30-minute brisk walk three days a week may be enough to reduce weight gain by close to a pound a year. To prevent weight gain altogether, another study suggests that 45 to 60 minutes a day of walking, yard work or similar activity may be needed.
Of course, your eating habits matter, too. One large study looked at middle-aged men and women at a healthy weight who ate relatively high amounts of raw vegetables, fruits and whole grains and less processed meat, high-fat dairy products, and butter or margarine. It was found that the participants either maintained their weight or gained much less weight than people who followed the opposite eating patterns. Other studies have shown that whole grains, as well as vegetables and fruits, can independently reduce weight gain and waistline increases. In a study of middle-aged women, those who increased their vegetable and fruit consumption the most had 28 percent less risk of a major weight gain than those who cut back the most on these nutritious foods.
To switch to a plant-based diet built around vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, gradually make small changes that you can sustain. Combine these changes with exercise to further reduce your chance of adult weight gain and its health risks.
NEW SEA CREATURES DISCOVERED 8-24-07
A submerged mountain ridge beneath the North Atlantic Ocean has revealed a new crustacean species and oodles of other life forms, ranging from polka-dotted glass squid resembling beach balls to grim viperfish with teeth like ice-picks.
The finds were made by a team of 31 scientists during a five-week expedition to explore life along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge using remotely operated vehicles equipped with digital cameras and other technologies.
The "underwater eyes" surveyed regions from a half-mile to 2 miles (800 to 3,500 meters) deep and revealed distinct habitats, with colorful carpets of sponges and corals covering the rocky cliffs, and starfish, brittle-stars, sea cucumbers and burrowing worms taking residence in the softer sediments. Above the ridge, fishes, crabs, squid and shrimps foraged for food.
On the western side of the underwater ridge, the scientists, led by Monty Priede of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, discovered swarms of what could be a new species of Ostracod, or seed shrimp. The shrimp-like animal camouflages itself in the murky waters between depths of 164 and 656 feet (50 and 200 meters) with its see-through body.
As with the seed shrimp, the appearance and lifestyle of all the ridge's wonky creatures are a perfect fit for deep-sea life. The jewel squid, for instance, sports lopsided eyes to keep an eye out for predators (like the viperfish) both above and below.
“It is like surveying a new continent half way between America and Europe," Priede said. "We can recognize the creatures, but familiar ones are absent and unusual ones are common. We are finding species that are rare or unknown elsewhere in the world.”
The scientists still have extensive work to do studying the collected creatures along with physical data from the region.
"The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is still relatively unexplored so this voyage will have played a vital role in expanding our knowledge of the biodiversity of the region," said Steve Wilson, director of science and innovation for the Natural Environment Research Council in Wiltshire, England, which funded the expedition.
The finds were made by a team of 31 scientists during a five-week expedition to explore life along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge using remotely operated vehicles equipped with digital cameras and other technologies.
The "underwater eyes" surveyed regions from a half-mile to 2 miles (800 to 3,500 meters) deep and revealed distinct habitats, with colorful carpets of sponges and corals covering the rocky cliffs, and starfish, brittle-stars, sea cucumbers and burrowing worms taking residence in the softer sediments. Above the ridge, fishes, crabs, squid and shrimps foraged for food.
On the western side of the underwater ridge, the scientists, led by Monty Priede of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, discovered swarms of what could be a new species of Ostracod, or seed shrimp. The shrimp-like animal camouflages itself in the murky waters between depths of 164 and 656 feet (50 and 200 meters) with its see-through body.
As with the seed shrimp, the appearance and lifestyle of all the ridge's wonky creatures are a perfect fit for deep-sea life. The jewel squid, for instance, sports lopsided eyes to keep an eye out for predators (like the viperfish) both above and below.
“It is like surveying a new continent half way between America and Europe," Priede said. "We can recognize the creatures, but familiar ones are absent and unusual ones are common. We are finding species that are rare or unknown elsewhere in the world.”
The scientists still have extensive work to do studying the collected creatures along with physical data from the region.
"The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is still relatively unexplored so this voyage will have played a vital role in expanding our knowledge of the biodiversity of the region," said Steve Wilson, director of science and innovation for the Natural Environment Research Council in Wiltshire, England, which funded the expedition.
82-MINUTE SENTENCE 8-24-07
LOS ANGELES - Nicole Richie was released from jail Thursday after serving 82 minutes of a four-day sentence for driving under the influence of drugs.
The reality show star, who checked into a women's jail at 3:15 p.m., was released at 4:37 p.m. "based on her sentence and federal guidelines," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Maribel Rizo said without elaborating.
Under a federal court mandate to manage jail overcrowding, arrestees sentenced to 30 days or less for a nonviolent offense are usually released within 12 hours, the sheriff's department said in a statement.
Under the guidelines, Richie was "treated in the same manner as other inmates with a similar sentence," the statement said.
Richie, 25, was originally sentenced to 96 hours in jail, but that was reduced to 90 hours because of time served when she was arrested.
Richie arrived at jail with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley and her boyfriend, Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden. Her time at the Century Regional Detention Facility was spent getting booked, including taking a mugshot and submitting her fingerprints, Holley said.
She didn't reach her jail cell.
"She was really treated like any other inmate," Holley said. "I think every inmate in her position, with that type of charge, would have been treated as she was."
Just hours before Richie did her time, Lindsay Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanor drunken-driving and cocaine charges for two arrests in the last four months. Attorney Blair Berk arranged a plea bargain and Lohan was sentenced to one day in jail, 10 days of community service and must complete a drug treatment program. She was also fined and placed on 36 months probation.
Richie served her 82 minutes at the county jail in suburban Lynwood, the same place her "The Simple Life" co-star Paris Hilton was housed for nearly three weeks after she was convicted of driving on a suspended license while on probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
Richie was arrested on Dec. 11, 2006, after witnesses reported seeing her black Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle headed the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank. The California Highway Patrol said they found her parked in the car pool lane.
Richie pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor DUI charge in a deal with prosecutors that helped her avoid a potential year in jail because it was a second driving-under-the-influence conviction.
Her first conviction was in 2003 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Richie, the daughter of Lionel Richie, told authorities after being arrested in December that she had smoked marijuana and taken the prescription painkiller Vicodin, a CHP officer said at the time. No drugs were found on her or in her car.
The reality show star, who checked into a women's jail at 3:15 p.m., was released at 4:37 p.m. "based on her sentence and federal guidelines," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Maribel Rizo said without elaborating.
Under a federal court mandate to manage jail overcrowding, arrestees sentenced to 30 days or less for a nonviolent offense are usually released within 12 hours, the sheriff's department said in a statement.
Under the guidelines, Richie was "treated in the same manner as other inmates with a similar sentence," the statement said.
Richie, 25, was originally sentenced to 96 hours in jail, but that was reduced to 90 hours because of time served when she was arrested.
Richie arrived at jail with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley and her boyfriend, Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden. Her time at the Century Regional Detention Facility was spent getting booked, including taking a mugshot and submitting her fingerprints, Holley said.
She didn't reach her jail cell.
"She was really treated like any other inmate," Holley said. "I think every inmate in her position, with that type of charge, would have been treated as she was."
Just hours before Richie did her time, Lindsay Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanor drunken-driving and cocaine charges for two arrests in the last four months. Attorney Blair Berk arranged a plea bargain and Lohan was sentenced to one day in jail, 10 days of community service and must complete a drug treatment program. She was also fined and placed on 36 months probation.
Richie served her 82 minutes at the county jail in suburban Lynwood, the same place her "The Simple Life" co-star Paris Hilton was housed for nearly three weeks after she was convicted of driving on a suspended license while on probation for an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
Richie was arrested on Dec. 11, 2006, after witnesses reported seeing her black Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle headed the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank. The California Highway Patrol said they found her parked in the car pool lane.
Richie pleaded guilty in July to a misdemeanor DUI charge in a deal with prosecutors that helped her avoid a potential year in jail because it was a second driving-under-the-influence conviction.
Her first conviction was in 2003 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Richie, the daughter of Lionel Richie, told authorities after being arrested in December that she had smoked marijuana and taken the prescription painkiller Vicodin, a CHP officer said at the time. No drugs were found on her or in her car.
KEYS TO MEETING WOMEN 8-24-07
Most men think there's a magic word they can say to get a woman to talk to them. while there is no such "magic word," there are three keys to communicating with a woman that work every single time.
This is not earth-shattering stuff. What I'm about to teach you is a simple approach that has worked every single time I or one of my students have used it.
Here are the three simple steps to communicating with a woman:
Step 1: Observe What She Is Doing. Take the example of a woman standing behind you in line at the supermarket unloading her groceries. What is she putting on the conveyor belt? If she's behind you in line at Starbucks, what is she ordering? What is she eating?
Notice everything she's doing. Let the environment give you something to say.
Most guys think of something to say that's so random it makes absolutely no sense in a woman's mind.
Most guys think of something to say that's so random it makes absolutely no sense in a woman's mind. Women actually make fun of these guys and say, "You won't believe what he actually came over and said to me."
Step 2: Act on the Observation. In order to properly act upon the observation, you need to open her up and evoke a feeling. For instance, if a woman is ordering a double espresso, the thing to talk about is usually the first thing that comes to your mind.
A typical guy might say, "Do you like coffee?" which leads to a yes or no answer. A man who is 100 percent present will look at her and say, "Rough night last night?" or "Busy day ahead?" What you're trying to do is stay inside her head and remain in her current thought process.
It's much easier to have a conversation based upon things she's already experiencing. A woman will share something that's already going on in her head.
Another example: you're standing at a bar and see a woman ferociously texting someone while standing there by herself. You can walk over and make an assumption like "Is your friend late?" This will in turn open up a conversation based upon feelings and emotions.
Women are emotional creatures. They want to bond with you emotionally.
Women are emotional creatures. They want to bond with you emotionally. They don't want to bond with you randomly. This leads us to Step 3.
Step 3: Listen to What She Has to Say. In order to have good conversation and bond with a woman, you need to listen to what she says. If you listen to her, you will know what to say next. It's called a conversation for a reason.
A lot of men always think about what to say next, or they have a script in their head about what to say next. That's not a conversation -- that's a bad screenplay.
For example, I was standing with a couple of clients on a corner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There was a woman standing there by herself with a suitcase, obviously waiting for someone to pick her up for a weekend getaway. So what did these two guys do? They observed and they asked her:
Guys: "So where are you going?"
Girl: "New Jersey."
Immediately one of them says, "New Jersey? I'm from Tampa."
That's not a conversation. That is a guy changing the subject to talk about himself. He doesn't care about her right off the bat.
That's not a conversation. That is a guy changing the subject to talk about himself. He doesn't care about her right off the bat. The correct thing to say in this situation is this:
Guy: "Where in Jersey are you going?"
Girl: "The shore for the weekend."
Now, in turn, the two guys can keep her present in her head about the weekend and ask her about her trip.
Guys: "Which beach?" or "Wow, how long are you staying there?"
If they listen and stop thinking about how to amuse her by telling her they're from Tampa, they'll actually connect with her and have a conversation about the shore, vacations -- and who knows where the conversation might go.
Men complicate things for no reason. There are no magic lines that you can say, but in reality if men just talked to women like they talk to their closest friends, they would have amazing conversations. Men just need to relax and listen to what women are saying.
Do this and you're going to have great conversations. It's that simple! Get out of the house, observe, react and listen!
This is not earth-shattering stuff. What I'm about to teach you is a simple approach that has worked every single time I or one of my students have used it.
Here are the three simple steps to communicating with a woman:
Step 1: Observe What She Is Doing. Take the example of a woman standing behind you in line at the supermarket unloading her groceries. What is she putting on the conveyor belt? If she's behind you in line at Starbucks, what is she ordering? What is she eating?
Notice everything she's doing. Let the environment give you something to say.
Most guys think of something to say that's so random it makes absolutely no sense in a woman's mind.
Most guys think of something to say that's so random it makes absolutely no sense in a woman's mind. Women actually make fun of these guys and say, "You won't believe what he actually came over and said to me."
Step 2: Act on the Observation. In order to properly act upon the observation, you need to open her up and evoke a feeling. For instance, if a woman is ordering a double espresso, the thing to talk about is usually the first thing that comes to your mind.
A typical guy might say, "Do you like coffee?" which leads to a yes or no answer. A man who is 100 percent present will look at her and say, "Rough night last night?" or "Busy day ahead?" What you're trying to do is stay inside her head and remain in her current thought process.
It's much easier to have a conversation based upon things she's already experiencing. A woman will share something that's already going on in her head.
Another example: you're standing at a bar and see a woman ferociously texting someone while standing there by herself. You can walk over and make an assumption like "Is your friend late?" This will in turn open up a conversation based upon feelings and emotions.
Women are emotional creatures. They want to bond with you emotionally.
Women are emotional creatures. They want to bond with you emotionally. They don't want to bond with you randomly. This leads us to Step 3.
Step 3: Listen to What She Has to Say. In order to have good conversation and bond with a woman, you need to listen to what she says. If you listen to her, you will know what to say next. It's called a conversation for a reason.
A lot of men always think about what to say next, or they have a script in their head about what to say next. That's not a conversation -- that's a bad screenplay.
For example, I was standing with a couple of clients on a corner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There was a woman standing there by herself with a suitcase, obviously waiting for someone to pick her up for a weekend getaway. So what did these two guys do? They observed and they asked her:
Guys: "So where are you going?"
Girl: "New Jersey."
Immediately one of them says, "New Jersey? I'm from Tampa."
That's not a conversation. That is a guy changing the subject to talk about himself. He doesn't care about her right off the bat.
That's not a conversation. That is a guy changing the subject to talk about himself. He doesn't care about her right off the bat. The correct thing to say in this situation is this:
Guy: "Where in Jersey are you going?"
Girl: "The shore for the weekend."
Now, in turn, the two guys can keep her present in her head about the weekend and ask her about her trip.
Guys: "Which beach?" or "Wow, how long are you staying there?"
If they listen and stop thinking about how to amuse her by telling her they're from Tampa, they'll actually connect with her and have a conversation about the shore, vacations -- and who knows where the conversation might go.
Men complicate things for no reason. There are no magic lines that you can say, but in reality if men just talked to women like they talk to their closest friends, they would have amazing conversations. Men just need to relax and listen to what women are saying.
Do this and you're going to have great conversations. It's that simple! Get out of the house, observe, react and listen!
CHICKS LOVE CAVEMEN 8-24-07
Guys with bulldog-like faces have been chick magnets throughout human evolutionary history.
A recent study of the skulls of human ancestors and modern humans finds that women, and thereby, evolution, selected for males with relatively short upper faces. The region between the brow and the upper-lip is scrunched proportionately to the overall size of their heads.
Among the men who fit the bill: Will Smith and Brad Pitt.
In a past study, researchers found a similar facial pattern in chimpanzees, with males having relatively shorter and broader faces compared with females, controlling for body size.
Men with "mini mugs" might have been most attractive to the opposite sex and thus most likely to attract mates for reproduction, passing along the striking features to the next generation and so forth, said lead study author Eleanor Weston, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
"The evolution of facial appearance is central to understanding what makes men and women attractive to each other," Weston said. "We have found the distance between the lip and brow was probably immensely important to what made us attractive in the past, as it does now."
Whereas past studies have suggested facial symmetry and facial masculinity play roles in this game of desire, none have provided evidence of an evolutionary shaping of male and female faces.
"I think it's a very nice approach," said Randy Thornhill, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico, referring to the study. Though not involved in it, Thornhill agrees with the finding that certain facial features evolved due to sexual selection.
Facial coordinates
The researchers calculated certain facial coordinates on 68 males and 53 female skulls from a contemporary native southern Africa population ranging in age from infant to 30 years old. Measurements included distances between the point between the eye brows and upper lip and from cheekbone to cheekbone.
Weston and her colleagues also examined facial data from fossil hominin skulls dating back to 2.6 million years ago, unearthed in Kenyan deposits as part of the Koobi Fora Research Project IV. These skulls represented five species: Homo erectus, Homo ergaster, Paranthropus boisei, Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus. These facial coordinates were then compared with the contemporary coordinates.
In spite of their bulkier bodies (about 15 percent more massive than women's bodies), and similarly broader faces, men have upper faces similar in height to women's faces, the scientists found. But compared with the rest of the head, a guy's mid-face is compressed. The differences held throughout human history.
A simple ratio of upper face length to broadness could serve as a proxy for facial attractiveness, the scientists say in a report on their research published in the online journal PLoS ONE.
Masculine appeal
The scientists are not certain why today's distinctive male face and its proportions evolved.
"A shorter upper face does serve to exaggerate the size of other face features such as the flare of the cheeks and the size of the jaw, but this might not be why it developed," Weston told LiveScience. "Rather the shorter [and] broader the male face the more ‘masculine’ and the less ‘feminine'—based on biological face changes that take place during growth and development—the individual becomes," she said.
Also, this facial development was accompanied by a shrinking of guys' canine teeth, so men appeared less threatening to competitors, yet attractive to mates.
While the scientists who authored the current study examined skulls and did not specifically study how modern faces fit the findings, the Natural History Museum press officers applied Weston's findings to a "quick and dirty" survey of photos of celebrities.
They came up with a list of stars with masculine faces, listing them from most to least masculine according to facial dimensions: Will Smith, Peter Andre, Justin Timberlake, Thierry Henry, Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Johnny Depp and Kanye West
A recent study of the skulls of human ancestors and modern humans finds that women, and thereby, evolution, selected for males with relatively short upper faces. The region between the brow and the upper-lip is scrunched proportionately to the overall size of their heads.
Among the men who fit the bill: Will Smith and Brad Pitt.
In a past study, researchers found a similar facial pattern in chimpanzees, with males having relatively shorter and broader faces compared with females, controlling for body size.
Men with "mini mugs" might have been most attractive to the opposite sex and thus most likely to attract mates for reproduction, passing along the striking features to the next generation and so forth, said lead study author Eleanor Weston, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
"The evolution of facial appearance is central to understanding what makes men and women attractive to each other," Weston said. "We have found the distance between the lip and brow was probably immensely important to what made us attractive in the past, as it does now."
Whereas past studies have suggested facial symmetry and facial masculinity play roles in this game of desire, none have provided evidence of an evolutionary shaping of male and female faces.
"I think it's a very nice approach," said Randy Thornhill, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico, referring to the study. Though not involved in it, Thornhill agrees with the finding that certain facial features evolved due to sexual selection.
Facial coordinates
The researchers calculated certain facial coordinates on 68 males and 53 female skulls from a contemporary native southern Africa population ranging in age from infant to 30 years old. Measurements included distances between the point between the eye brows and upper lip and from cheekbone to cheekbone.
Weston and her colleagues also examined facial data from fossil hominin skulls dating back to 2.6 million years ago, unearthed in Kenyan deposits as part of the Koobi Fora Research Project IV. These skulls represented five species: Homo erectus, Homo ergaster, Paranthropus boisei, Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus. These facial coordinates were then compared with the contemporary coordinates.
In spite of their bulkier bodies (about 15 percent more massive than women's bodies), and similarly broader faces, men have upper faces similar in height to women's faces, the scientists found. But compared with the rest of the head, a guy's mid-face is compressed. The differences held throughout human history.
A simple ratio of upper face length to broadness could serve as a proxy for facial attractiveness, the scientists say in a report on their research published in the online journal PLoS ONE.
Masculine appeal
The scientists are not certain why today's distinctive male face and its proportions evolved.
"A shorter upper face does serve to exaggerate the size of other face features such as the flare of the cheeks and the size of the jaw, but this might not be why it developed," Weston told LiveScience. "Rather the shorter [and] broader the male face the more ‘masculine’ and the less ‘feminine'—based on biological face changes that take place during growth and development—the individual becomes," she said.
Also, this facial development was accompanied by a shrinking of guys' canine teeth, so men appeared less threatening to competitors, yet attractive to mates.
While the scientists who authored the current study examined skulls and did not specifically study how modern faces fit the findings, the Natural History Museum press officers applied Weston's findings to a "quick and dirty" survey of photos of celebrities.
They came up with a list of stars with masculine faces, listing them from most to least masculine according to facial dimensions: Will Smith, Peter Andre, Justin Timberlake, Thierry Henry, Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Johnny Depp and Kanye West
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