Up Up And Away At The Gas Pump - How do you save at the pump?

Up Up And Away At The Gas Pump

Gas prices have edged up a few cents over the past two weeks despite a drop in crude oil prices, according to the Lundberg Survey. The average price of a gallon of regular is $3.39. The average price is 3 1/2 cents higher than what the survey found two weeks earlier. In the three weeks leading up to the survey two weeks ago, the price rose just over 12 cents – so in the last two weeks, prices have slowed down their rise, Lundberg said. The average price is 28 cents higher than it was a year ago. Of the cities surveyed Friday, Salt Lake City had the lowest average price, at $2.94. The highest was in Los Angeles, at $3.71. Here are average prices in some other cities:

Atlanta	$3.44	St. Louis	$3.29
Boston	$3.46	Denver	$2.95
Miami	$3.51	Portland, Oregon	$3.43
Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$3.26

Spending As Much On Java As Commuting - What is your morning addiction?

Spending As Much On Java As Commuting

Coffee keeps the American workforce moving forward, and it comes with a hefty price tag as a new study shows that the average worker spends almost as much on coffee every year as they do on commuting to and from their job. According to Accounting Principals’ latest Workonomix survey, the average American worker is shelling out more than $20 a week on coffee, for a yearly average of $1,092. Commuting costs for the average worker come out to around $1,476 per year. Younger workers (ages 18-34) are paying almost about $10 more per week on coffee than their 45-and-older counterparts ($24.74 vs. $14.15, respectively). Another huge expense for the American worker is lunch, with 66% of the workforce opting to buy their midday meal rather than pack one. This comes at an average cost of around $37 a week. The 18-34 age group is paying a lot more for lunch than the 45+ worker as well, ($44.78 vs. $31.80, respectively).

1 In 5 U.S. Adults Suffers Mental Illness

1 In 5 U.S. Adults Suffers Mental Illness
Nearly 46 million American adults have had a mental illness in the past year, a new government report shows. Almost 30% of those aged 18 to 25 experienced a mental illness, twice as many as those aged 50 and older at just over 14%. And more women than men suffered a mental illness in the last year, 23% vs. nearly 17%, according to the report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. According to the report, some 11.4 million adults suffered from serious mental illness in the past year, which is defined as an illness that affected a person’s ability to function normally. Mental illness doesn’t just affect people, but also takes an economic toll – about $300 billion in 2002, the researchers said. Mental illness also accounts for more disability in developed countries than any other illness, including cancer and heart disease, according to the World Health Organization.

Man With Two Hearts Survives Double Heart Attack

An Italian man with two hearts – one his own, one a donor heart – was resuscitated via a defibrillator when both organs developed irregular heart rhythms, a case study reports. The study in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine chronicles the life-saving measures used in 2010 to save the 71-year-old, who received the donor heart in 2003. He had also received a pacemaker in 2001. The heart was implanted in a heterotopic procedure, which means the patient keeps his heart and receives a donor heart. The new heart is connected to the original organ to create a double heart, which offers some advantages: it offers the old heart a chance to recover, and if the donor heart is rejected and fails, it can be removed. After the man was admitted to the hospital, doctors administered drug therapy in an attempt to correct his dysrhythmia, only to have the medicine shut down both of his hearts. Doctors then were able to successfully use a defibrillator to revive both hearts simultaneously. He’s now reportedly doing well with his two functioning hearts.

FBI Hacked After Piracy Charges

FBI Hacked After Piracy Charges
Shortly after the U.S. Justice Department filed online piracy charges against megaupload.com and related sites, hackers said they took down the FBI’s site. Efforts to access fbi.gov were unsuccessful last night. The hacker group Anonymous claimed via Twitter it had hacked into the FBI and record label sites in retaliation for the indictment against megaupload for alleged piracy of copyright material. The piracy allegedly generated $175 million in criminal proceeds and an estimated $500 million damage to copyright owners, officials said. Seven people and two corporations – Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited – have been indicted on charges of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement and conspiring to commit money laundering. The indictment alleges the involved websites unlawfully reproduced and distributed infringing copies of copyrighted works, including movies – often before their theatrical release – and music, television programs, electronic books, software.

X Games Champ Sarah Burke Dies After Skiing Accident

X Games Champ Sarah Burke Dies After Skiing Accident
Freestyle skiing legend Sarah Burke – a 4-time X Games gold medal winner – died yesterday from injuries sustained during a recent skiing accident. The 29-year-old Canadian crashed during a training session at the Park City Mountain Resort superpipe in Utah on January 10th. Burke went into cardiac arrest shortly after the accident but was resuscitated and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery to repair a tear in a major artery. But her injuries proved to be too severe and she was placed on life support. Sarah’s publicist confirmed she died yesterday, surrounded by her family and loved ones. She is survived by her husband, fellow freestyle skier Rory Bushfield.

Obama Makes First Trip To Disney World - Think this is help the country?

Obama Makes First Trip To Disney World
President Barack Obama, in a visit to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, yesterday, joked it was nice to meet a world leader “who has bigger ears than me.” It was Obama’s first trip to the Florida theme park, press secretary Jay Carney said. With Cinderella’s castle as a backdrop, Obama spoke to an audience of about 150 people, including Disney employees, members of several unions and local politicians on Disney’s Main Street. “It’s always nice to meet a world leader who has bigger ears than me,” said Obama, of a planned meeting with Mickey Mouse. He added it was rare for him to do something that would make his daughters jealous. Obama spoke about tourism and travel initiatives he planned to implement by executive order to make the United States “the top tourist destination in the world” and to signal “America is open for business.”

Many Teen Moms Surprised By Pregnancy - How do you get pregnant?

Many Teen Moms Surprised By Pregnancy
A new CDC study suggests a lot of teenage girls are clueless about their chances of getting pregnant. In a survey of thousands of teenage mothers who had unintended pregnancies, about a third said they didn’t use birth control because they didn’t believe they could get pregnant. CDC researchers interviewed nearly 5,000 teenage girls in 19 states who gave birth after unplanned pregnancies in 2004 through 2008. About half of the girls said they were not using any birth control when they got pregnant. Some of the teen moms were asked what kind of birth control they used: Nearly 20% said they used the pill or a birth control patch. Another 24% said they used condoms. Only 13% said they didn’t use birth control because they had trouble getting it. Nearly a quarter said they did not use contraception because their partner did not want them to. 

Russia Talks Permanent Moon Base - Would you want to spend a few months?

Russia Talks Permanent Moon Base
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos says it is in talks with European and U.S. partners about creating permanent manned research bases on the moon. “We don’t want the man to just step on the moon,” Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said yesterday. “Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas,” he said, and “we are now discussing how to begin [the moon’s] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency.” Popovkin mentioned two options, to “either to set up a base on the moon or to launch a station to orbit around it.” Russia is proceeding with plans to send two unmanned missions to the moon by 2020, the Luna Glob and the Luna Resource, Popovkin said.

Sinking Ship: Jump Or Wait?

Sinking Ship: Jump Or Wait?

Age matters when it comes to making a decision to try and swim to safety or wait for help if your found yourself on a sinking cruise ship. A Poll Position survey asked, would you choose to stay on the sinking ship hoping help would come, or would you jump into frigid waters to try and swim to safety. The choice of 42% of respondents was to jump in the water to try and swim to safety, 29% said they would stay on the ship hoping help would come, 29% had no opinion. Young people were more likely to swim for it while older Americans said they would wait for help. In the 18-29 year old age group, 63% said they would jump into the water and try to swim to safety, 15% would wait for help, 22% had no opinion. Among Americans 65 and over, 45% would stay on the sinking ship hoping for help, 24% said they would jump in the water to try and swim to safety, 31% did not offer an opinion. Among men, 43% said they leap into the water and swim for it, 29% would stay on the ship and hope for help, 28% offered no opinion. Women offered close views with 41% saying they would jump into the frigid water to try and swim to safety, 30% said they would stay on the sinking ship hoping for help, 30% did not have an opinion.

Best Places To Work - Where is your dream job?

Best Places To Work

Fortune has released its list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the U.S., and Google nabbed the top spot. The Internet giant jumped three spots from its No. 4 ranking last year to land at the top of the list. “Everything was up at Google last year – revenue, profits, share price, paid search clicks, hiring – and so, too, was employee love,” Fortune said of Google. “The search giant climbed three slots in our ranking to reclaim the top spot. The reason? Employees rave about their mission, the culture, and the famous perks of the Plex: boccee courts, a bowling alley, eyebrow shaping (for a fee) in the New York office. Then there’s the food: some 25 cafes companywide, all gratis.” Fortune noted that Google has 18,500 U.S. employees, posted a job growth rate of 33% last year, and logged $29.3 billion in revenue in 2010. The Top 10 on the list:

1. Google	6. NetApp
2. Boston Consulting Group	7. Camden Property Trust
3. SAS Institute	8. Recreational Equipment (REI)
4. Wegmans Food Markets	9. CHG Healthcare Services
5. Edward Jones	10. Quicken Loans

Young Drivers Prefer Electric Cars - Are you ready to "Plug" in??

Young Drivers Prefer Electric Cars

A new survey finds that most Gen Y consumers (aka “Millennials”) have a high affinity for green, eco-friendly vehicles versus any other type of car. Researchers at Deloitte found 59% of Gen Y respondents preferred alternative power. Hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles won over 57% of respondents, and pure battery electric vehicles got 2% of the vote. Vehicles with a traditional gas-only power train were preferred by only 37%. Fuel efficiency is the biggest appeal. In fact, 49% of Gen Y customers are willing to pay an extra $300 for each mile per gallon of improvement they can get out of a hybrid, according to the survey. Besides fuel efficiency, young drivers want cars packed with technology, like touch screens and smartphone applications. Deloitte forecast 25% of new vehicles sold this year and 40% of cars sold in the next decade are likely to be purchased by a Gen Y’er, comprising about 80 million Americans. For many, it will be their first-ever car purchase and a chance for manufacturers to create repeat loyal customers.

America’s Favorite Actors - Who is your favorite All time Actor?

America’s Favorite Actors

Johnny Depp has topped Harris Interactive’s Favorite Movie Star poll for a second year in a row. Clint Eastwood tied for second place with Denzel Washington. Age, region, gender and political party and leanings mean different favorite actors. Men cite Clint Eastwood as their favorite while women say it is Johnny Depp. Echo Boomers (age 18-34), Gen Xers (age 35-46) and Baby Boomers (age 47-65) all say Johnny Depp is their favorite actor while for Matures (those aged 66 and older), George Clooney is their favorite. Those who live in the East, Midwest and West all say Johnny Depp is their favorite while for Southerners, their favorite is Clint Eastwood. Johnny Depp is also the favorite actor for both Republicans and Independents, but Democrats say Denzel Washington is their favorite actor. There is finally something that Liberals and Conservatives agree on – Johnny Depp is their favorite actor however, for Moderates it is Denzel Washington. America’s Top 10 Favorite Movie Stars:

1. Johnny Depp	6. George Clooney
2. (Tie) Clint Eastwood	7. Sandra Bullock
2. (Tie) Denzel Washington	8. Harrison Ford
4. Tom Hanks	9. Will Smith
5. John Wayne	10. Adam Sandler

Emily Post Relative Offers Flu Etiquette - What is the best home remedy?

Emily Post Relative Offers Flu Etiquette
More than 80% of U.S. adults say someone with the flu should cancel obligations, but 64% say they should go about their business, a survey found. As part of its “Are You That Guy?” influenza education campaign, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases is partnering with the Emily Post Institute to remind Americans to contain the flu. “While people recognize that the flu virus spreads easily, they admit to tossing proper etiquette aside when they have the flu,” said Anna Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post and co-author of the 18th edition of the “Emily Post’s Etiquette” book. One-third of people surveyed said they would call their doctor if they suspected the flu. In the workplace, Post advises employees to tell their boss right away they need to get to the doctor. During air travel, if you are seated next to someone with the flu, Post said it’s OK to consider saying: “I can see you’re not feeling well -- would you mind covering your mouth when you cough? Thanks.”

Ozzy Osbourne Sponsors Colonoscopy Contest - Ready for that Reality show?

Ozzy Osbourne Sponsors Colonoscopy Contest
Ozzy Osbourne is teaming up with CBS for a contest in which the winner gets a trip to New York City to get a colonoscopy. Osbourne’s wife, Sharon, says her life was saved by a colonoscopy that Ozzy urged her to get. The winner of the CBS Cares Colonoscopy Sweepstakes will get a trip for two to New York City, including a hotel for three nights overlooking Central Park and a colon screening with a colon cancer expert from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. The winner will be selected by random drawing in early April. Details and rules are at www.CBSCares.tv.