| Lose the heavy load on your credit cards
It's not just that third helping of plum pudding that could be weighing you down. Millions of Australians will also have overindulged on their credit cards and now need ways to shed the excess. Assess the damage DO you know what you owe on your cards or even what the interest rate is? Lisa Montgomery from non-bank lender Resi says most people don't. "With credit readily available and with the growing popularity of automated payment options such as direct debit facilities, Australian borrowers have become more complacent and mechanical about debt," she says. "As a result, debt levels have tended to become less visible." Change this by gathering your statements and writing down what you owe and what rate of interest you're paying. Don't panic IF the figures horrify you, don't just bury your head in the sand and hope it will all go away.
Today's Letters: Higher ed aims at the bottom line
I have held research appointments at several major universities in the country and in Europe. I also took a sabbatical at the University of South Florida for a year and taught courses at Hillsborough Community College. So I have a unique comparative perspective on the problems of education and research. Melanie Hubbard has it right on the button, and her article is long overdue. I bet USF and HCC have adjuncts teaching 70 percent of the credit load. Not only are they vastly underpaid and exploited, but they also get pressured and stressed from the students, who demand grades and advancement, and from the administration, which treats them like temporary workers without benefits, offices or respect. It's all about the bottom line. Students aren't paying for an education; they're paying for a degree.
The Green Kitchen: Risotto under pressure
Vent the steam immediately, remove lid. Stir. Leave with lid slightly ajar to finish cooking for 2-3 minutes. Tough, eh? Sometimes, saving fossil-fuel energy means saving your own energy, too. If you think that bit of verdancy is easy, check out this. Ages ago, my friend and colleague Aggie MacKenzie told me you can cook pasta as follows. Bring water to the boil, put in pasta, stir and bring back to the boil, cover the pot and turn the heat off. The pasta, she said, would be ready in the time specified on the packet. I didn’t get round to trying Aggie’s method till my hands fell upon a copy of a new book called 50 Ways to Save Water & Energy by Siân Berry (Kyle Cathie, £5.99). Ms Berry uses the same method, and that reminded me to try it on some penne.
Seinfeld’s Kramer Ruins Career With Racial Insults (UPDATED)
There's an old line: "When I told people I wanted to be a comedian, everyone laughed at me. Today, I'm a comedian, and no one's laughing at me now!" Was that written for Seinfeld's "Kramer," Michael Richards? Richards, a veteran comic actor, sketch comedian and longtime cutting-edge comedian unleashed racial-epithet crammed rant onstage at The Laugh Factory, sparking a firestorm that will most certain downsize — if not virtually destroy — his career. Yes, he'll still have his Seinfeld residuals. But so much for product endorsements, major Hollywood parts or a new TV show. He is now damaged goods. The story was broken via a video posted on Harvey Levin's great show biz news site TMZ.com: Michael Richards exploded in anger as he performed at a famous L.A.
NOON EDITION: Broadway takes a break, delays at airports, and stocking ...
Broadway producers and stagehands talked through the night, but adjourned at 7 this morning with no agreement in place to end the 16-day strike. Spokesmen for both sides said the parties will take a 12-hour break and return to the bargaining table at 7 tonight. Neither side will have further comment, said Local 1 spokesman Bruce Cohen.As the strike entered its third week, representatives for the League of American Theatres and Producers, the nonprofit representing management, and Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees negotiated for almost 24 straight hours, beginning Sunday morning. The two are trying to find common ground to end the strike, which began Nov. 10 and has shuttered 26 plays and musicals. Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger .
Jeff Thelen's Blog
Hi everybody. I'm back from really slacking off from the blog over the holidays. This week, it's just a few random thoughts. How many people are sick at your home, office or school? Seems like everyone in this newsroom is fighting some sort of bug right now. My symptoms are a sore throat, tiredness and aches and pains. I have no congestion, but my nose only runs at night. Wierd, isn't it? Alison Struve blows her nose so much she sounds like a foghorn. Stephanie Luisier and chief photographer Randy Bise both have that "sick sound" when they talk. Was it just me or did the Badgers seem a little unfocused and unprepared for their bowl game? Perhaps it's the long layoff between their last regular season game and the contest on January 1. It was a sort of a fun game to watch, even if it was rather sloppily played.
13 tips to save money on your next cruise
Wave season — the time of year when most cruises are booked — is just ahead. It runs from January to about mid-March, and because everyone's out there buying a floating vacation, there are lots of deals to be had. But the 2008 wave season promises to be a little different than past ones. Coming off a year in which the industry trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) expected to welcome a record 12.62 million cruise passengers, an increase of about a half-million guests over 2006, there's trouble on the horizon. .
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