They say education is a gift that stays with you a lifetime. For too many students, it seems like their student loans may last just as long! Starting one's career with a mountain of debt is not a good way to begin that important phase in life.
The good news is that grads can learn about Student Loan Consolidation and get out from under that huge burden. I've had friends who had good-paying jobs, but they had to work a second job just to keep on top of all their bills, and their student loan was a big part of that.
Many grads could make their lives a lot easier by learning more about Student Loan Debt Consolidation. It won't make the debt go away, but it will make it a lot easier to manage.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
"Robochick" Astronaut in Diapers Nabbed in Murder Bust!
Ground Control to Major Tom: One of our astronauts is insane! NASA does all kinds of physiological tests on astronauts... but maybe they should concentrate on doing more of a "check-up from the neck up"?
Lisa "Robochick" Nowak, a mission specialist who was working with the Space Shuttle's robotic arm, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder for driving 900 miles to allegedly confront and murder her romantic rival. Nowak is 43, married, and has three kids, but apparently was in love with fellow spaceman William "Billy-O" Oefelein.
She drove from Houston to Orlando, where the other woman lives, and had in her possession a BB gun, a steel mallet, a knife, rubber tubing, and pepper spray. And she was wearing a trenchcoat and wig, and a diaper to avoid those time-consuming potty breaks on the drive down. Well, those are all the things that I take with me on a trip to Orlando!
She apparently confronted the woman she thought was her rival--Colleen Shipman, who she believed was romantically involved with Billy-O. The Robochick was said to have confronted Shipman (who doesn't seem to have a catchy nickname) at her car at the Orlando airport, and sprayed something at her. It may have been the pepper spray, or it could have been robopiss from her diaper.
Robochick was let out of jail on bail and ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device. No word on whether she had to wear a diaper or whether she had potty privileges at home.
Danger, Will Robinson! Please get Ms. Robochick the help she needs, so she can return to work... at a nice desk job on the ground, of course.
Lisa "Robochick" Nowak, a mission specialist who was working with the Space Shuttle's robotic arm, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder for driving 900 miles to allegedly confront and murder her romantic rival. Nowak is 43, married, and has three kids, but apparently was in love with fellow spaceman William "Billy-O" Oefelein.
She drove from Houston to Orlando, where the other woman lives, and had in her possession a BB gun, a steel mallet, a knife, rubber tubing, and pepper spray. And she was wearing a trenchcoat and wig, and a diaper to avoid those time-consuming potty breaks on the drive down. Well, those are all the things that I take with me on a trip to Orlando!
She apparently confronted the woman she thought was her rival--Colleen Shipman, who she believed was romantically involved with Billy-O. The Robochick was said to have confronted Shipman (who doesn't seem to have a catchy nickname) at her car at the Orlando airport, and sprayed something at her. It may have been the pepper spray, or it could have been robopiss from her diaper.
Robochick was let out of jail on bail and ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device. No word on whether she had to wear a diaper or whether she had potty privileges at home.
Danger, Will Robinson! Please get Ms. Robochick the help she needs, so she can return to work... at a nice desk job on the ground, of course.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Love Means Never Sending Another Boring Valentine's Day Card
If you care enough to send a birthday, Valentine's, or other card to a friend or loved one, why would you send them some bland, generic greeting?
I always send cards that are humorous or off-color (umm, unless it's condolences on someone's death, that is). They're fun, friendly, and definitely are going to be remembered long after those cards with sunsets and sappy poetry have been put out for recycling.
Egreetings.com has a large selection of free, funny Valentine's Day eCards that you can send. While many people opt for the sappy, silly, sugary cards for their significant others, I look at it this way: Do I really want to be involved with someone who doesn't have a sense of humor?! Check out their new "Cupid's Pickup Lines" and other Valentine cards and see if you don't agree.
But hey, to each his own. Even if you opt for sending a sappy card to your snug-'ems cookie-puss, Egreetings.com has plenty of other funny and risque eCards for birthdays, anniversaries, and just about any other occasion you can think of.
You can personalize any card with your own message and pictures. And if you're feeling commitment-phobic around Valentine's Day, you'll be glad to know that can get a free 30-day trial membership to send unlimited eCards. After that a yearly subscription is only $13.99. If only all relationships were that simple...
If you're an Egreetings member you can schedule eCards to arrive on a specific date, so you'll always get cards out on time. Sending eCards can save time and money too, as opposed to buying and mailing paper greeting cards. Give it a try!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: Rock 'n' Rollers, Getting Older
Yes, the headline refers to David Bowie's old song, Changes:
"Hey, look out you rock 'n' rollers... Pretty soon now you're gonna be getting older."
I was reminded of this by last month's landmark for Mr. Bowie himself: Yes, Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, has turned 60. He gave up the flaming red spiked hair and the heavy make-up long ago, but he continues to make innovative and interesting music. Along with acting and producing music.
While Bowie's 60th got a fair amount of ink in the press (and electrons on the Internet?), Patti Smith reached the same milestone with much less fanfare. And like Bowie, she's been through many changes and is still putting out music that matters.
Sadly, a couple of my favorite artists who are no longer living also had birthdays recently. Warren Zevon, the Excitable Boy himself, died several years ago. And the birthday of the great gospel and pop singer/songwriter Sam Cooke also occurred in January. Forutnately his music lives on, and a couple of recent books about him give great insight about the man, his music, his role in directing his career, and the still-mysterious circumtances surrounding his death.
"Hey, look out you rock 'n' rollers... Pretty soon now you're gonna be getting older."
I was reminded of this by last month's landmark for Mr. Bowie himself: Yes, Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, has turned 60. He gave up the flaming red spiked hair and the heavy make-up long ago, but he continues to make innovative and interesting music. Along with acting and producing music.
While Bowie's 60th got a fair amount of ink in the press (and electrons on the Internet?), Patti Smith reached the same milestone with much less fanfare. And like Bowie, she's been through many changes and is still putting out music that matters.
Sadly, a couple of my favorite artists who are no longer living also had birthdays recently. Warren Zevon, the Excitable Boy himself, died several years ago. And the birthday of the great gospel and pop singer/songwriter Sam Cooke also occurred in January. Forutnately his music lives on, and a couple of recent books about him give great insight about the man, his music, his role in directing his career, and the still-mysterious circumtances surrounding his death.
Create Your Own Podcast with Free Hosting
Podcasting is one of the greatest technology innovations in recent years, in my opinion. Anyone from major news organizations to garage rock bands to ordinary people in their own bedrooms can create audio and video programs, and have them downloaded by listeners all over the world. I've become hooked: I now subscribe to over 25 podcasts.
One of the biggest costs in creating a podcast is hosting--that is, paying a provider to supply the storage space and downloading capability for your podcasts. That cost just went down to zero with a new Free Podcast Hosting offer. Mypodcast.com is now offering free membership for podcasters including free podcast hosting, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth.
If you're thinking of starting a podcast, you'll definitely want check out this offer. With free hosting, you can spend your money on other things--like those cool new microphones and recorders!
One of the biggest costs in creating a podcast is hosting--that is, paying a provider to supply the storage space and downloading capability for your podcasts. That cost just went down to zero with a new Free Podcast Hosting offer. Mypodcast.com is now offering free membership for podcasters including free podcast hosting, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth.
If you're thinking of starting a podcast, you'll definitely want check out this offer. With free hosting, you can spend your money on other things--like those cool new microphones and recorders!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Viacom: Hey YouTube, Take Down Those 100,000 Videos of Ours You're Using!
The folks at YouTube may be quite busy if Viacom Inc. is serious about ordering the video-sharing site to remove all Viacom content. Viacom estimates that approximately 100,000 clips from its programs are on YouTube, and the most-viewed clips are snippets from Jon Stewart's hip and happening Comedy Central program "The Daily Show". YouTube contains video content of all kinds that his uploaded by its users, from homemade band demos to TV show exerpts and commercials, and mash-ups of songs accompanying film clips.
Media watchers have speculated that Viacom's order is just a negotiating tactic to help further a deal with YouTube regarding payment for video content. Viacom wants to be paid for including the media giant's content on YouTube. The Wall Street Journal reports that while Viacom had previously allowed short clips to be included on YouTube. But it had asked YouTube to take down full episodes of TV shows that appeared on the video site.
Viacom and YouTube had been trying for months to reach a distribution agreement but talks had failed. The Journal reported that "Viacom executives said privately they had determined that the marketing boost they once believed YouTube provided them has proved to be a mirage."
YouTube's CEO refuted this, however, noting in an interview with the Journal that other media companies such as NBS and CBS had reached partnership agreements with YouTube.
"Viacom claims that the roughly 100,000 clips it ordered removed accounted for 1.2 billion video streams," the Journal said. "Viacom also has provided YouTube with a list of all of its programs and ordered the Web concern to keep Viacom content off the site in the future."
When Google bought YouTube last year a big question mark was what the popular site would do about its huge catalog of work that violated copyright laws in some form or another.
This may be a battle between old media and new media, or just a negotiating ploy. We'll all have to see what the next move is, and that will probably come from somebody's legal team.
Media watchers have speculated that Viacom's order is just a negotiating tactic to help further a deal with YouTube regarding payment for video content. Viacom wants to be paid for including the media giant's content on YouTube. The Wall Street Journal reports that while Viacom had previously allowed short clips to be included on YouTube. But it had asked YouTube to take down full episodes of TV shows that appeared on the video site.
Viacom and YouTube had been trying for months to reach a distribution agreement but talks had failed. The Journal reported that "Viacom executives said privately they had determined that the marketing boost they once believed YouTube provided them has proved to be a mirage."
YouTube's CEO refuted this, however, noting in an interview with the Journal that other media companies such as NBS and CBS had reached partnership agreements with YouTube.
"Viacom claims that the roughly 100,000 clips it ordered removed accounted for 1.2 billion video streams," the Journal said. "Viacom also has provided YouTube with a list of all of its programs and ordered the Web concern to keep Viacom content off the site in the future."
When Google bought YouTube last year a big question mark was what the popular site would do about its huge catalog of work that violated copyright laws in some form or another.
This may be a battle between old media and new media, or just a negotiating ploy. We'll all have to see what the next move is, and that will probably come from somebody's legal team.
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