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.
Friday, August 24, 2007
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
Friday, July 27, 2007
GUIDE TO CREDIT CARDS 7-27-07
Your 5-minute guide to credit cards
Credit cards do have some benefits, but it's easy to get into financial trouble if you rely on them too much. Here are more than a dozen tips for using cards wisely.
Use a credit card wisely and you can reap benefits like cash back, bonus points and airline miles, not to mention a better credit score. Use it unwisely and you could end up under a mountain of debt.
The No. 1 rule is: Pay off your balance every month. Otherwise, you'll pay interest on your purchases. Paying the balance takes discipline. About 40% of households carry credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.
Protect your good name (and score)
Make your payments by the date -- and time -- they're due. Late fees are $29 or more. A couple of late payments will trigger an interest rate increase. Because late and missed payments lower your credit score, the interest rate can go up on your other credit cards and for future loans as well. (See "7 fast fixes for your credit score.")
Limit the number of cards you have. Experts recommend having two to six cards. Applying for lots of cards can hurt your credit score. Conversely, closing several credit cards at once will trigger a decrease in your score. (See "1 in 7 Americans carry 10 or more cards.")
Read the fine print. Know the interest rate you will be charged, the grace period for paying your debt before interest kicks in and your credit limit. Does your company use two-cycle billing? (Better look, because two-cycle billing means you could pay interest even when you carry no balance.) Also, almost half come with a "universal default" clause, allowing an increase in your interest rate if you are late paying any other bill. (See "Credit card companies' evil tricks.")
Negotiate. If your credit score is 700 or above, you may be able to get a lower interest rate or get the company to drop a late fee. (Estimate your credit score.)
Don't exceed 30% of your credit limit. Credit bureaus don't care if you pay off your balance each month. They're interested in how much of your available credit you use. If it's excessive, your credit score will drop.
The devil in the details
Credit card companies market different types of cards, featuring low interest, rewards or other benefits. Be careful about the terms, which are subject to change.
If you're transferring a balance to a new card with lower interest, find out how much will the company will charge for the transfer. Urge that it be done electronically so you don't accumulate interest on both the old and new accounts. Low-interest introductory offers may apply only to the balance transfer and not to new purchases.
Reward cards that provide dividends like rebates and airlines miles sound too good to be true, and can be. The higher interest rate charged by most reward cards can more than offset the reward if you carry a balance. Reward offers can change with little notice and may come with budget-busting conditions -- for instance, you have to spend a certain amount to earn the reward.
Convenience? Sometimes
If you buy a defective item or protest a charge, your credit card company is obligated to investigate. If your card is stolen, you're liable for no more than $50 for unauthorized charges.
Other "services" offered by credit card companies have potential drawbacks.
Contactless credit cards make it even easier to purchase items because you don't need to swipe your card or hand it to a cashier. But thieves can scan the info on your card. You can buy a signal-blocking sleeve or make one out of aluminum foil. (See "New credit cards allow hands-free theft.")
Don't use "convenience" checks your credit card company sends you unsolicited in the mail. They're costly -- with a fee of 3% or 4% of the amount you write, plus high interest rates with no grace period -- and don't provide the consumer protection you get when you make a purchase with your credit card. (See "Dangerous checks in the mail.")
Credit card protection insurance generally covers only the minimum payment if you become disabled or unemployed, and interest continues to build on your outstanding balance.
Using a credit card issued by a department store you frequent can entitle you to cardholder discounts, but limit yourself to one card. Each department store account you open reduces your credit score.
Getting back in the game
Getting and using a credit card could be the easiest way to re-establish credit if yours has gone sour. But getting back into the credit game comes with potential hazards.
Cards issued to those considered credit risks come with interest rates in the 18% to 22% range and low spending limits. Such cards sometimes have extra fees hidden in the fine print. (See "Credit cards for the desperate.")
Don't take the bait when companies want to issue you one low-limit card after another. You can find yourself back in debt, paying late fees, over-limit fees and high interest rates on multiple cards.
If you've fallen off the wise-spending wagon, seek counseling from a nonprofit credit-counseling agency certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Tired of unsolicited offers of pre-approved cards? Call 1-888-5 OPT-OUT.
Credit cards do have some benefits, but it's easy to get into financial trouble if you rely on them too much. Here are more than a dozen tips for using cards wisely.
Use a credit card wisely and you can reap benefits like cash back, bonus points and airline miles, not to mention a better credit score. Use it unwisely and you could end up under a mountain of debt.
The No. 1 rule is: Pay off your balance every month. Otherwise, you'll pay interest on your purchases. Paying the balance takes discipline. About 40% of households carry credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.
Protect your good name (and score)
Make your payments by the date -- and time -- they're due. Late fees are $29 or more. A couple of late payments will trigger an interest rate increase. Because late and missed payments lower your credit score, the interest rate can go up on your other credit cards and for future loans as well. (See "7 fast fixes for your credit score.")
Limit the number of cards you have. Experts recommend having two to six cards. Applying for lots of cards can hurt your credit score. Conversely, closing several credit cards at once will trigger a decrease in your score. (See "1 in 7 Americans carry 10 or more cards.")
Read the fine print. Know the interest rate you will be charged, the grace period for paying your debt before interest kicks in and your credit limit. Does your company use two-cycle billing? (Better look, because two-cycle billing means you could pay interest even when you carry no balance.) Also, almost half come with a "universal default" clause, allowing an increase in your interest rate if you are late paying any other bill. (See "Credit card companies' evil tricks.")
Negotiate. If your credit score is 700 or above, you may be able to get a lower interest rate or get the company to drop a late fee. (Estimate your credit score.)
Don't exceed 30% of your credit limit. Credit bureaus don't care if you pay off your balance each month. They're interested in how much of your available credit you use. If it's excessive, your credit score will drop.
The devil in the details
Credit card companies market different types of cards, featuring low interest, rewards or other benefits. Be careful about the terms, which are subject to change.
If you're transferring a balance to a new card with lower interest, find out how much will the company will charge for the transfer. Urge that it be done electronically so you don't accumulate interest on both the old and new accounts. Low-interest introductory offers may apply only to the balance transfer and not to new purchases.
Reward cards that provide dividends like rebates and airlines miles sound too good to be true, and can be. The higher interest rate charged by most reward cards can more than offset the reward if you carry a balance. Reward offers can change with little notice and may come with budget-busting conditions -- for instance, you have to spend a certain amount to earn the reward.
Convenience? Sometimes
If you buy a defective item or protest a charge, your credit card company is obligated to investigate. If your card is stolen, you're liable for no more than $50 for unauthorized charges.
Other "services" offered by credit card companies have potential drawbacks.
Contactless credit cards make it even easier to purchase items because you don't need to swipe your card or hand it to a cashier. But thieves can scan the info on your card. You can buy a signal-blocking sleeve or make one out of aluminum foil. (See "New credit cards allow hands-free theft.")
Don't use "convenience" checks your credit card company sends you unsolicited in the mail. They're costly -- with a fee of 3% or 4% of the amount you write, plus high interest rates with no grace period -- and don't provide the consumer protection you get when you make a purchase with your credit card. (See "Dangerous checks in the mail.")
Credit card protection insurance generally covers only the minimum payment if you become disabled or unemployed, and interest continues to build on your outstanding balance.
Using a credit card issued by a department store you frequent can entitle you to cardholder discounts, but limit yourself to one card. Each department store account you open reduces your credit score.
Getting back in the game
Getting and using a credit card could be the easiest way to re-establish credit if yours has gone sour. But getting back into the credit game comes with potential hazards.
Cards issued to those considered credit risks come with interest rates in the 18% to 22% range and low spending limits. Such cards sometimes have extra fees hidden in the fine print. (See "Credit cards for the desperate.")
Don't take the bait when companies want to issue you one low-limit card after another. You can find yourself back in debt, paying late fees, over-limit fees and high interest rates on multiple cards.
If you've fallen off the wise-spending wagon, seek counseling from a nonprofit credit-counseling agency certified by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Tired of unsolicited offers of pre-approved cards? Call 1-888-5 OPT-OUT.
FREE CALORIE COUNTER 7-27-07
Hey gang as you may or may not know our country is getting fatter and fatter by the day. I personally have taken many steps to make sure I stay in shape and eat healthy. I would like to pass along some information to those interested in losing weight, getting in shape, eating and living a healthier lifestyle.
I came accross a website I have found very helpful. Its a free diet and fitness website: www.MyFitnessPal.com. This free website has a cool CALORIE COUNTER to help you keep track of the calories you eat. There is also a free DIET JOURNAL that will help you lose weight, track meals and exercise quickly and easily. It also helps you create a FREE DIET PROFILE which is fast and easy to use and will teach you the nutritional contents of what you are eating, and consequently, how you can make better food choices. The site is 100% free - no credit card is ever required. This is the BEST calorie counter I've tried by far. It's fast and easy — and it's completely FREE! So, take a minute and check it out. Come on its FREE! :-)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
QUADRUPLE SUNSETS 7-26-07
Astronomers have spotted a dusty disk in a four-star solar system that could be home to a planet in the making.
Using the infrared eyes of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers spotted the swirling disk around a pair of stars in the quadruple-star system HD 98800, located 150 light-years away in the constellation TW Hydrae.
If a planet did form in the disk, its sky would be bathed in the light of four suns. One pair of suns would blaze brightly, while the other pair, gravitationally bound to the first pair, would appear as little more than faint pinpoints of light.
The finding will be detailed in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
So-called "circumstellar" disks like the one that rings HD 98800 can be the birthplace of planets. Most disks are smooth and continuous, but Spitzer detected a gap in the HD 98800 disk that could be evidence of one or more immature "protoplanets" carving out lanes in the dust.
"Planets are like cosmic vacuums,' said study team member Elise Furlan of the NASA Astrobiology Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. "They clear up all the dirt that is in their path around the central stars."
Quadruple sunsets
The researchers spied two separate belts of material in the circumstellar disk. One belt sits at 1.5 to 2 astronomical units (AU) from the binary stars and likely consists of fine dust grains. The other is located about 5.9 AU away from and is probably made up of asteroids or comets. (One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the sun.) A swath of near-empty space separates the two belts, inside of which a budding planet might roam.
Alternatively, the researchers think the gap could be caused by a gravitational tug-of-war between the system's four stars. The other two stars are also doubled up, and the two binary pairs are separated by about 50 AU-slightly more than the distance between our sun and Pluto.
"Typically, when astronomers see gaps like this in a debris disk, they suspect that a planet has cleared a path," Furlan said. "However, given the presence of the diskless pair of stars sitting 50 AU away, the inward-migrating dust particles are likely subject to complex, time-varying forces, so at this point the existence of a planet is just speculation."
Not uncommon
The stars that make up each stellar doublet orbit around each other, and the two pairs circle one another as well.
Worlds with multiple sunsets are not uncommon. Astronomers used to think that strong gravitational forces from multiple stars might interfere with planet formation, but recent surveys have revealed that the dusty debris disks that function like nurseries for new planets are as common around double star systems as they are around single ones. A few triple-star systems are even known.
"Since many young stars form in multiple systems, we have to realize that the evolution of disks around them and the possible formation of planetary systems can be way more complicated and perturbed than in a simple case like our solar system," Furlan said.
Using the infrared eyes of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers spotted the swirling disk around a pair of stars in the quadruple-star system HD 98800, located 150 light-years away in the constellation TW Hydrae.
If a planet did form in the disk, its sky would be bathed in the light of four suns. One pair of suns would blaze brightly, while the other pair, gravitationally bound to the first pair, would appear as little more than faint pinpoints of light.
The finding will be detailed in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
So-called "circumstellar" disks like the one that rings HD 98800 can be the birthplace of planets. Most disks are smooth and continuous, but Spitzer detected a gap in the HD 98800 disk that could be evidence of one or more immature "protoplanets" carving out lanes in the dust.
"Planets are like cosmic vacuums,' said study team member Elise Furlan of the NASA Astrobiology Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. "They clear up all the dirt that is in their path around the central stars."
Quadruple sunsets
The researchers spied two separate belts of material in the circumstellar disk. One belt sits at 1.5 to 2 astronomical units (AU) from the binary stars and likely consists of fine dust grains. The other is located about 5.9 AU away from and is probably made up of asteroids or comets. (One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the sun.) A swath of near-empty space separates the two belts, inside of which a budding planet might roam.
Alternatively, the researchers think the gap could be caused by a gravitational tug-of-war between the system's four stars. The other two stars are also doubled up, and the two binary pairs are separated by about 50 AU-slightly more than the distance between our sun and Pluto.
"Typically, when astronomers see gaps like this in a debris disk, they suspect that a planet has cleared a path," Furlan said. "However, given the presence of the diskless pair of stars sitting 50 AU away, the inward-migrating dust particles are likely subject to complex, time-varying forces, so at this point the existence of a planet is just speculation."
Not uncommon
The stars that make up each stellar doublet orbit around each other, and the two pairs circle one another as well.
Worlds with multiple sunsets are not uncommon. Astronomers used to think that strong gravitational forces from multiple stars might interfere with planet formation, but recent surveys have revealed that the dusty debris disks that function like nurseries for new planets are as common around double star systems as they are around single ones. A few triple-star systems are even known.
"Since many young stars form in multiple systems, we have to realize that the evolution of disks around them and the possible formation of planetary systems can be way more complicated and perturbed than in a simple case like our solar system," Furlan said.
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