::Friday, August 29, 2003::
make kids smarter
..instead of all day elmo and lizzie all-nighters on TV, introduce your kids to BrainPOP on the internet. this amazing site is all you need to make education fun with flash-animated flicks about the workings of the world and practically anything worth learning. you can even watch two movies a day free of charge and if your kid is not interested, there's always your own self to educate. not a wholly bad idea!
::Thursday, August 28, 2003::
Ahh-nold!
..Arnold finally laid out his plans for California after being criticized as a brainless version of Ronald Reagan. here's what the Terminator had to say..
::Wednesday, August 27, 2003::
raising teens 101
..all parents have been teens once so it should be easy to handle them come the time of their rebellious years, right? wrong! handling teens take a lot of art, humanity and a little bit of luck. experts weigh in on how to raise your kids.
travel smart
..if you want to travel hassle-free, it pays to know the circumstances surrounding the airline industry these days. here's good advice on how to travel smart, from the choice of airline tickets to other tricks of the trade.
::Monday, August 25, 2003::
french fries to go?
..find out how the French get away with eating bread and cheese and yet stay slim..
smart, healthy drinking
..you may not realize it but everytime you join your friends for a happy hour, you are actually putting on serious calories..and i mean SERIOUS! check how the bottle in your hand is holding up to standard calories.
::Sunday, August 24, 2003::
car-buying blues
..getting excited to buy the car of your dreams? you might want to step back, relax and do the math first before plunging into it and throwing away money in the process. here are buying tips to avoid..
house in a box
..it's official! prefab houses are the new craze these days. manufactured housing is now the chic alternative to high-valued construction headaches. prefab houses now come in design chic too.
::Saturday, August 23, 2003::
martian invasion
..on August 27, at exactly 5:51 EDT, Mars will be closest to the Earth at any time in more than 60,000 years. this phenomenon will not happen again until 2287. earthlings, it's time to greet our celestial visitors! take out those binoculars..
::Wednesday, August 20, 2003::
hot jobs
..here's a rundown on the Top 5 current job prospects. maybe it's time to shift gears..
::Monday, August 18, 2003::
invest in college education
..choosing a college is no fun anymore with the difficulties in landing you a job afterwards. college-bound kids should view their education as smart investing with actual returns based on the picks and choices they make and not like a four-year long summercamp. here's top advice for what to take for your college education.
::Sunday, August 17, 2003::
common 'scams and shams'
..here are new scams and shams that you may not have noticed but have been dogging people everyday according to bcentral.com:
restaurant rip-offs: you charge your meal with plastic and put in a certain amount of tip but the waiter changes it after you leave adding a dollar or two.
tip: always keep your receipts at least a month's cycle and check your credit card statements against the receipts. call management for overcharging and call the credit card company too.
email impostors: you get an email that looks like a legitimate one coming from merchants such as eBay or PayPal asking you to update your personal and private information. you complete the information and by sending it, you just fell into the scam called "phishing" where online thefts steal your identity.
tip: never reply to any email asking you to give out any personal and private information even if it looks like it's coming from a company that you transact with. if you are not sure or if they tell you problems with your account, call the company over the phone instead.
checks in the mail: sneaky marketing ploys now routinely give you $2 or $2.50 dollar checks to encash and sometimes these checks are really genuine.
tip: always question everything coming in the mail and never fail to read the fine print. cashing in on those checks means you've just accepted a membership to a club with a high annual fee or just accepted a loan with outrageous terms.
restaurant rip-offs: you charge your meal with plastic and put in a certain amount of tip but the waiter changes it after you leave adding a dollar or two.
tip: always keep your receipts at least a month's cycle and check your credit card statements against the receipts. call management for overcharging and call the credit card company too.
email impostors: you get an email that looks like a legitimate one coming from merchants such as eBay or PayPal asking you to update your personal and private information. you complete the information and by sending it, you just fell into the scam called "phishing" where online thefts steal your identity.
tip: never reply to any email asking you to give out any personal and private information even if it looks like it's coming from a company that you transact with. if you are not sure or if they tell you problems with your account, call the company over the phone instead.
checks in the mail: sneaky marketing ploys now routinely give you $2 or $2.50 dollar checks to encash and sometimes these checks are really genuine.
tip: always question everything coming in the mail and never fail to read the fine print. cashing in on those checks means you've just accepted a membership to a club with a high annual fee or just accepted a loan with outrageous terms.
::Saturday, August 16, 2003::
coz breaking up..is so very hard..
..turns out there's a scientific basis why break-ups are bad on one's health. look at it this way - who says depression won't hurt you?
refi blues
..even if you've locked in your low mortgage rate, rising interest rates can still blow it all away. here's why..
avenue q hits broadway
here's one smart musical that finally moved to broadway after a successful run downtown. this is one broadway show that real new yorkers shouldn't miss!
::Tuesday, August 12, 2003::
deadly weight-loss ways
..with the hype media is putting on obesity, it's no wonder many people especially in Hollywood-obsessed America are doing everything to reduce weight. most of these techniques, unfortunately, are proving to be risky and costly too. here's why..
job-search blues
..we're all familiar with the harrowing experience of searching for a job - high-fees and job searches leading to nowhere. fortunately, there are still legitimate job searches out there that give good advice and might just land you the dream job you've been waiting for.
::Monday, August 11, 2003::
bad habit to break
..it's not only what you eat but also how you eat that maybe contributing to your gaining weight.
::Sunday, August 10, 2003::
home negotiation 101
patient-rights
..check this out..some good advice about your rights as a patient. it pays to know what you or what you cannot do especially when going to your doctor for a routine check-up. with all the information that's available in our hands through the internet, there's no excuse for acting like an idiot especially when your health is concerned.
'passion'-ate controversy
..if the "Passion" is so honest and true to the Gospels, why is Mel Gibson limiting it to select viewers? this move only fuels the speculation that it is not accurate and is plagued with anti-Semitism. the Second Vatican Council in 1965 has already condemned the collective blaming of Jews for the death of Christ. it didn't help that the actor is part of a traditionalist sect of Catholics that doesn't recognize the Pope and rejects the sweeping reforms made by the Council. put the two together and you're on to something there.
::Thursday, August 07, 2003::
"men are from mars, women..er.. for men"?
..such is the implication of this study that seems to ignore the age old concept of free will and personal responsibility. just because more men cheat than women doesn't make cheating justifiable. the phrasing of the question is misleading enough that it that the answer obviously yields a number greater than one. studies like this only reinforces the dominant role men still play over women that is a bane to modern society.
::Friday, August 01, 2003::
'28 days later' encore
..can't say enough of '28 days later', the sleeper hit of 2003. its innovative marketing - focusing on a targetted market and repeat audience, the movie is blowing away the competition.
where are the jobs?
..looking at the overseas outsourcing of tech jobs should remind the U.S. that it will not have total monopoly of the world market. history gives us examples of breakthroughs and market upheavals that don't necessarily favor a single country but in fact levels the playing field in the markets. the dominance of India in terms of the software market and the rise of China because of its productive and cheap labor force will balance out the dominance of the U.S. of course, tell that to the ordinary American who just lost his/her job and that's hard to fathom.
