|
|
CURRENT TOPICSTHERE ARE HOT NEW DEVICES AT THE MALL You're hot. Or at least warm. And stores like it. An estimated 1,000 retailers from tiny boutiques to Macy's, Inc. have installed heat sensors to monitor shoppers' paths. The idea is that store owners can see through residual heat signatures exactly what their customers are looking at up close. They can tell what they pick up. They can see the highest traffic areas in their stores. That's good information that allows store managers to put popular items in lower traffic areas. This way shoppers don't get all bunched up in one small area. One such system by Prism Skylabs, Inc., is made to track people's movements in real time. Prism Skylabs combines video from security areas with software to build flow charts of people's movements. It uses heat maps to show which products get picked up more frequently than other CAN'T AFFORD TO HIRE AN MBA? IT COSTS MUCH LESS TO RENT ONE A massive corporation can pick up the phone and call its Nerd Department and have 20 guys in blue jeans working a computer project in an hour. In a small business, a problem like that probably means the boss has to learn a new skill. Unless... Unless the boss takes advantage of the fantastic new resources online that offer help from pointy headed nerds and MBAs for not so much money. These days you can contract with an MBA to price your products, draw your logo, or do a variety of business calculating including financial modeling, competitive analysis and marketing for a fraction of what a consulting company would charge. One of the new companies is Skillbridge. Two-thirds of the 300 freelancers listed on Skillbridge have an advanced degree. To get listed on Skillbridge, professionals submit their resumes to be evaluated. When a company lists a job, the site comes back with a list of specialists who have been singled out because of their experience. Companies pay a commission of 10 to 20 percent. For smaller companies this is gold. Their services are especially popular with startups, small businesses, and companies on lean budgets. The companies can choose someone who is hyper specialized and work with them only for the exact amount of time they need. HourlyNerd charges $25 to $75 an hour to rent out one of their investment bankers, MBAs or nerds. For even lower prices, try Odesk.com for contractors based around the world. THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO SHOP FOR A USED CAR New car buyers are making news as sales in 2013 were on track to exceed 15 million vehicles. There are about that many trade ins hitting the market, and many dealers have had to cut prices on these used cars. For shoppers who like to buy a car that's a couple of years old that's good news. The average used car sold for $15,617 at the end of the third quarter of 2013 which was the lowest price since the same quarter in 2009, according to Edmunds.com, the car pricing website. Another reason more used cars are on the market: Cheap lease deals in 2010 are expiring and the leased cars are coming back to be sold as used cars. Drivers who held out during the recession and kept their older cars running are now ready to buy again. Auto loan interest rates are still low and lenders are lending. One caution, prices of some late model used cars are still close to the price of a new car so it might make more sense to buy new. At Adesa Analytical Services they also predict that, as more cars pour into the used car market, all prices will be a little cheaper. HIT AND RUN CRASHES, INCLUDING ALCOHOL RELATED PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES, ARE RISING The number of car traffic deaths has fallen, but hit and run deaths are up by double digits. Overall, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, traffic deaths are down dropping 4.5 percent in a three year period ending 2011. But, chillingly, during the same period, hit and run deaths were up by nearly 14 percent. Some parts of the country are especially vulnerable to this trend. In Los Angeles, there are about 20,000 hit and runs each year, according to LA Weekly. Of those 4,000 result in injuries or death. In 2009, 48 percent of the city's crashes were hit and run compared with 11 percent nationally. A Harvard School of Public Health study showed that hit and run accidents tend to occur on the weekends and at night, two time periods when drivers are likely to be drinking. The researchers also found that half of hit and run drivers who are identified are likely to have had a previous arrest for driving while intoxicated. Government has responded to the increase in numbers by trying to stiffen penalties for leaving the scene of an accident. In Florida, lawmakers are considering a mandatory jail sentence. In California, the statute of limitations was lengthened from three years to six years. One former Missouri police dispatcher founded the website deadlyroads.com after coming upon a gruesome hit and run one morning. The site, dedicated to the victims of car murder, notes that sharks kill about 10 people a year worldwide. Hit and run drivers kill more than 10 people every three days in the United States. Pedestrians who have been drinking should be careful to walk where drivers expect to see them, like on the sidewalk and at intersection crossings.
BURNS FROM HOT STOVES ARE MORE OF A PROBLEM Emergency room doctors say injuries from hot stoves are increasing. ERs are seeing about five Americans an hour with scalds or burns. Young children are being injured by stove tip overs because stoves are not fastened to the floor as they should be. People age 60 and over are twice as likely to trip over a stove drawer or another part of the appliance. Researchers in Columbus, Ohio, used a national injury survey database to analyze nonfatal stove injuries in the United States from1990 to 2010. The research included electric, gas, and wood or coal burning stoves. Microwaves, toaster ovens and barbecues were not included. Just over half of those injured were women. Patients 19 years old and younger accounted for 41 percent of the injured, and children under age 5 comprised 26 percent of this group. More than half of the injuries were caused by contact with a hot stovetop followed by a hot stove door and a stove interior. Muscular sprains and strains were the most common injury in people age 40 to 59 who were using the stove. According to the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, most stove injuries could be prevented with proper installation, common sense cooking attire and using children's safety gates. NUTRITION AND FITNESS—A FOCUS ON MIDDLE YEARS LEADS TO LATER REWARDS We often wonder what our health will be like when we grow older. Will our plans for the future have to change? Whether you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s or beyond, researchers have found that you do have some control over your future. Their studies, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, November of 2013, show that what you eat and drink in middle age can lead to living well past age 70 with fewer physical and cognitive problems. Though you've heard diet advice before, knowing that it will make you healthier in years to come makes it more important. The researchers followed 11,000 middle age women for 15 years. They found those in the group with the healthiest diet had a 34 percent greater chance of healthy aging, free of chronic diseases and with no major cognitive or physical impairment. Those who focused on the Mediterranean diet had a 46 percent greater likelihood. That group of eating habits includes eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, polyunsaturated fatty acids, olive oil, and nuts. It also recommends consuming less red meat, processed meat and sweetened beverages. A moderate alcohol intake is recommended for those who approve of it.
BY BLENDING CONVENTIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES MAYO CLINIC TELLS HOW TO BUILD A HEALTHIER HEART A healthy heart is essential for longevity and an active life. The Mayo Clinic and Gaiam, the alternative health and wellness experts, have teamed up to bring you an integrated plan to help you maintain a healthy heart and live life to the fullest. Gaiam is a lifestyle brand that also has products geared toward healthy living. Gaiam is well known for fitness products, especially those relating to the practice of yoga. This three step action plan combines techniques that are helping many improve their heart health.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT ... A PAIN IN THE NECK It's not an irritating person we're talking about here, it's that annoying neck discomfort or pain you get from too much hunching over when you're driving, using a computer or doing a project at a workbench. Because your head weighs 6 to 10 pounds, your neck has quite a job to keep it balanced on top of your body. That job falls to muscles, spine bones and tissues. Doctors quoted in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter say it's no wonder that about 10 percent of adults have neck pain at one time or another, often frequently. Self care steps include:
|
