Six-year-old Indian boy eyes 100-car 'limbo-skate'

London, January 3 : A six-year-old Indian boy, Aniket Chindak is hoping to enter the record books after 'limbo-skating' under 57 cars in less than a minute.

Aniket has already created an unofficial world record by squeezing himself under a row of 57 four-wheel drive cars in 45 seconds.

With legs split, chest bent forward and chin almost skimming along the road, Aniket is no more than eight inches above the ground when he vanishes under the vehicles in Belgaum, India.

The wonder-kid, who started skating when he was 18-months-old, is now training for four hours a day and plans to break his world record of 57 cars with a 100-car skate in New Delhi.

"I first saw a girl skate under a car on television two years ago and decided to learn how to do it myself. It took three months before I could get my body in the right position," the Daily Record quoted Aniket, as saying."Since then, I have skated under lots of cars and have never hurt myself.

"The hardest thing is to go fast enough before I bend down because that's how you can skate under so many cars at once. I think it will be very difficult for anyone to beat 100 cars," he added.

According to his father, Ramesh, the skating marvel covers 60-miles twice a week in practice and sulks when he is told to finish.

"Aniket was always very flexible but for limbo-skating you need strength as well," Ramesh said. "It took him a while to condition his body to hold the correct position. Now his battle is to get the speed and control for 100 cars.

Five High-Paying Careers in Two Years or Less

Feel like the absence of a bachelor's degree on your resume is forcing you to settle for a second-rate job? With today's myriad opportunities to earn certificates and associate degrees, you can change your career, your salary, and your life in just a short amount of time.

Check out these five high-paying careers -- no bachelor's degree required!

1. Dental Hygienist

Employment of dental hygienists is projected to grow much faster than average for all occupations through 2014, ranking among the Bureau of Labor Statistics' list of fastest-growing occupations.

To practice in a dental office, hygienists must earn an associate degree or certificate from a school accredited by the American Dental Association Commission of Dental Accreditation. A base of biology, chemistry, and math courses are advised, and program coursework will include clinical, laboratory, and classroom instruction.

Median annual earnings: $58,350.

2. Fashion Designer

In this creative field, an inherent artistic ability and eye for detail, color, balance, and proportion are necessary. Ingenuity is key, as are sewing, pattern-making, and sketching abilities.

Designers usually hold at least a two-year associate degree in fashion design or fine arts. They must be knowledgeable about textiles, ornamentation, fabrics, and fashion trends, and exhibit communication and presentation skills, problem-solving abilities, and the willingness to work occasional long hours and travel to trade and fashion shows.

Median annual earnings: $55,840.

3. Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

Also known as ultrasonographers, diagnostic medical sonographers can specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, abdominal or breast sonography, or neurosonography.

A strong background in math and science is recommended, as associate degree coursework will include anatomy, physics, and physiology. A good bedside manner enables the sonographer to explain complex procedures to patients and reassure those who fear the health matters the testing may reveal.

Median annual earnings: $52,490.

4. Forensic Science Technician

You've seen the TV shows -- these professionals collect and analyze physical evidence and document laboratory methods and findings. Computer skills and attention to detail are crucial as collection and processing of materials must be spot-on to safeguard evidence.

Forensic science technicians should develop a strong base in math and science as preparation for their associate degree, typically earned in applied science or science-related technology. Coursework will include laboratory work and hands-on learning. Once in the field, technicians can choose to specialize in a certain type of analysis or examination.

Median annual earnings: $44,010.

5. Paralegal

Lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, but they often delegate tasks to paralegals, also called legal assistants. Paralegals help prepare for trials, hearings, and meetings; investigate facts; identify appropriate laws and decisions; and, after analyzing and organizing information, prepare and present reports of their findings.

Most paralegals have an associate degree in paralegal studies, however, intensive certification programs are also available and can often be completed in just a few months.

Median annual earnings: $39,130.

All salaries listed are median annual earnings based on 2004 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Last Minute Low-Cost New Year's Bash

Should you get that sudden urge to throw a swanky 11^th-hour New Year’s gathering, not to worry. You and your guests can rock the night away and glide right into 2008 with these easy breezy tips.

Tune Up the Takeout Forget about slaving in the kitchen. Simply order up an array of nibblies (pizzas, pastas and salads) from your favorite Italian restaurant. Italian is always a crowd-pleaser and tends to be easy on the wallet. If you have the time, put out a buffet of gourmet toppings (grated cheese, sliced olives, etc.), so guests can enhance and customize their selections.

Go Crazy with Cocktails Create a signature drink and give it a fun name like "New Year's Nirvana." Try mixing champagne, ginger ale, and mango juice; serving mixed juice and wine drinks is more cost effective than straight champagne or wine. Be sure to offer yummy non-alcoholic drinks such as mango spritzers for designated drivers and others.

Set the Scene with Silver Deck your home in silver accents. Drag out silver platters, pitchers, and trays to hold food, candles, and other goodies. Hit your local home or drugstore to load up on holiday items-- silver ball ornaments, tinsel, and so on--at heavily discounted after-Christmas sales.

Prepare Party Props Hop on over to the local party store for silver balloons, horn blowers, and confetti to ring in the new year with a smile. Stock up on paper plates, napkins, and utensils in silver, as well.

Make a Mood Light candles all around your home to create a magical midnight mood. Stick with white votives--more affordable than pricey pillar candles, and less messy than drippy tapers. Best to place them out of reach so your guests don't accidentally knock anything over as they get their grooves on!

Load Your Pods No need for a pricey DJ when you live in the age of the MP3 player. Create a fresh mix of tunes to carry you through the night. Get the party started with upbeat cocktail music from the likes of Madeleine Peyroux, Diana Krall, and Harry Connick Jr. Then crank it up with a fresh mix of danceable tracks from Fatboy Slim, Bloc Party, Gwen Stefani, and Ja Rule. Finally, add some mellow mood music for those late-night stragglers: Travis, Thievery Corporation, Aimee Mann, Chris Isaak and Mazzy Star.

Send Kisses and Wishes Send guests off with a bag of treats for an ultra-sweet new year. Fill small silver or white bags with Hershey's Kisses and enclose a tiny handwritten card containing your wish for them for the new year.

5 Top Ways to Stay Skinny in the Season of Temptations

Honestly, eggnog’s the least of it. In this busy tizzy of a season, it’s the grab-and-go foods you swore off only yesterday--the morning doughnut, the Whopper at the mall, the bag of chips that mysteriously fell into your grocery cart--that get to your hips.

Your choices: 1) Say what-the-hey, splurge, and pray. 2) Splurge and do an extra hour on the elliptical trainer (but who has time!). Or 3) find some wiggle room. We’d opt for number three every time, so here are our top 5 eat-and-run treats.

1. Munchy and crunchy: potato chips
This one’s a snap: Walk right past the Pringles and grab a bag of Baked Lay’s Original Chips. Not only are Baked Lay’s worth eating but lots of chips lovers actually like them better than the original (less grease, more crunch). The BBQ flavor gets singled out especially. And you’ll save 50 calories and almost 10 grams of fat per ounce!

2. Soft and sweet: a cream-filled, chocolate-frosted Krispy Kreme doughnut
When something inside of you has to have a) chocolate and b) a Krispy Kreme, order three of their Glazed Chocolate Cake doughnut holes instead. For a much smaller tab--160 calories instead of 350, and 8 grams of fat instead of 20--you can still get your fix!

3. Solid and Satisfying: Snickers
This may not sound like it will satisfy your candy-bar craving, but trust us. Instead of a 2-ounce Snickers bar--with its 280 calories and 14 grams of fat--rip into a Chocolate Chunk Quaker Chewy Low-Fat Granola Bar. The stunning difference: The granola bar packs 110 calories and a measly 2 grams of fat. Can you feel your waist shrinking already?

4. Thick and juicy: a quarter-pounder
You’re driving by a string of fast-food joints when a burger attack strikes. Choose Burger King and order a Whopper Jr. While the fat content of fast-food burgers is basically the same across the board--about 20 grams each--BK’s unofficial quarter-pounder beats the competition otherwise: 370 calories, versus 410 for a quarter-pounder at McDonald’s and 430 for one at Wendy’s (with no cheese). Hold the mayo on your BK burger to knock off almost another 100 calories.

5. Brunch-y and Beautiful: eggs Benedict
It’s weekend brunchtime and you’re itching to whip up your famous cardiac-arrest special--two eggs, English muffin, Canadian bacon, Hollandaise sauce, the whole delicious disaster. You don’t want to know. You do? Okay. A classic eggs Benedict recipe comes to 892 calories and 72 grams of fat. Just as satisfying but a lot less scary is this version from Easy Home Cooking magazine that's only 237 calories and 6 grams of fat. If you also make the English muffin whole wheat, you’re practically a model of virtue!

In this case virtue is not its own reward. Regularly sidestepping all those calories could have you buying smaller belts (or little black dresses) in no time. Plus, eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthful unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

Signals of a Liar

Body Language

"Signals of a Liar"

In order to spot a liar, use a person's usual behavior as a measuring stick to see if they're stretching the truth.
But when it comes to reading a person, body language speaks volumes. There are some gestures and mannerisms to look out for in order to catch a liar, so long as they differ from the person's regular actions.

Lying Gestures
· rapid eye movement
· crossed arms
· constant fidgeting
· eyes focused to the right (indicates use of the creative side of the brain)
· eyes focused firmly on an object
· rubbing eye
· eyes either wide open or partly shut
· legs crossed when seated
· legs not planted firmly on the ground when seated
· holding an object or gripping ankle, knee, or skin of a crossed leg when seated.
· touching face, such as lips, cheeks, chin, nose, etc.
· playing with hair
· tugging ear
Although we've always been taught that lack of eye contact is a dead giveaway of a liar, it's not necessarily evidence as we have been conditioned to look another in the eye when it comes to business and sports, in order to psych-out our opponent. We have almost been raised to be good liars.
Many of the aforementioned gestures such as the ear tugging, eye rubbing, mouth covering, and nose tapping can point to a liar as the liar's body language is saying, "I can't believe what I'm saying!"
While body language can be a good indicator of a liar, a person's unconscious mannerisms aren't always reliable. It's your job to play detective and put the puzzle pieces together, by using the subject's speech.

Emotional Gestures & Contradiction
• Timing and duration of emotional gestures and emotions are off a normal pace. The display of emotion is delayed, stays longer than it would naturally, then stops suddenly.
• Timing is off between emotions gestures/expression s and words. Example: Someone says "I love it!" when receiving a gift, and then smile after making that statement, rather than at the same time the statement is made.
• Gestures/expression s don’t match the verbal statement, such as frowning when saying “I love you.”
• Expressions are limited to mouth movements when someone is faking emotions (like happy, surprised, sad, awe, )instead of the whole face. For example; when someone smiles naturally their whole face is involved: jaw/cheek movement, eyes and forehead push down, etc.

Interactions and Reactions
• A guilty person gets defensive. An innocent person will often go on the offensive.
• A liar is uncomfortable facing his questioner/accuser and may turn his head or body away.
• A liar might unconsciously place objects (book, coffee cup, etc.) between themselves an Verbal Context and Content
• A liar will use your words to make answer a question. When asked, “Did you eat the last cookie?” The liar answers, “No, I did not eat the last cookie.”
•A statement with a contraction is more likely to be truthful: “ I didn't do it” instead of “I did not do it”
• Liars sometimes avoid "lying" by not making direct statements. They imply answers instead of denying something directly.
• The guilty person may speak more than natural, adding unnecessary details to convince you... they are not comfortable with silence or pauses in the conversation.

• A liar may leave out pronouns and speak in a monotonous tone. When a truthful statement is made the pronoun is emphasized as much or more than the rest of the words in a statement.
• Words may be garbled and spoken softly, and syntax and grammar may be off. In other words, his sentences will likely be muddled rather than emphasized.

Other signs of a lie:
• If you believe someone is lying, then change subject of a conversation quickly, a liar follows along willingly and becomes more relaxed. The guilty wants the subject changed; an innocent person may be confused by the sudden change in topics and will want to back to the previous subject.

Find your soul mates through body odour

An American dating company claims to have discovered the first scientific way of finding true romance - body odour!

The dating company, ScientificMatch.com, says that the body odour is the main source of attraction.

According to the founders, ScientificMatch.com is the first service to use its DNA matching to link somebody to that perfect someone.

The service asks its members to submit a DNA sample, the saliva-swab normally used in paternity or drug testing, and then examines it to compute their ideal partner.

The company said that in analysing the use of DNA, the immune system genes would identify compatible match from people with different immune systems.

According to ScientificMatch.com, "a natural odour you'll love, with whom you'd have healthier children and a more satisfying sex life."

"The fact is, we love how other people smell when their immune systems are different from ours - they smell sexier," the company added.

Members are charged close to 1,000 pounds for the service, and are also asked complete a questionnaire on their 'fundamental, core values' so they can be matched to people who share their beliefs, a process the company equates to "soul matching, or values matching".

Obesity reduces chances of pregnancy

Obesity was already known to be a risk factor for anovulation - an absence of ovulation. Now, a new study has revealed that it also reduces the chance of spontaneous pregnancy in women who are subfertile but ovulating normally.

The study looked at the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the probability of pregnancy in women with no obvious fertility problems and who had been trying, unsuccessfully, to fall pregnant for a year.

It was found that for every BMI unit above 29 kg/m2, women were four per cent less likely to conceive as compared to women with a BMI between 21-29 kg/m2. Very obese women (BMI 35-40) had a probability of pregnancy that was between 26 and 43 per cent lower than women with a BMI between 21-29.

"This reduction in fertility is comparable to the increment of one year in female age. This study tells us that not only obese women with anovulation have lower chances of conception, but also obese women with a regular cycle. Given the increased prevalence of obesity, this is a worrying finding," said Dr Jan Willem van der Steeg, a medical researcher in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the lead author of the study.

As women in developed countries are tending to have their babies later in life, a woman aged 30 or over, who is also obese, would have an even greater reduction in her chances of becoming pregnant.

Dr van der Steeg and his colleagues investigated the effects of obesity on spontaneous pregnancy in 3,029 subfertile couples between 2002 and 2004 in 24 hospitals in The Netherlands.

The women had to be ovulating and have at least one, correctly functioning fallopian tube; the men had to have a normal semen analysis. A fertility history and other details, including height, weight and smoking habits were taken into account at the beginning of the study and the couples were followed until pregnancy or the start of fertility treatment within 12 months.

They found that obese women had a statistically significant lower probability of spontaneous pregnancy.

The researchers have suggested that a possible explanation of the relationship between BMI and pregnancy probability is the hormone leptin that regulates appetite and energy expenditure and is secreted by fatty tissues.

"It is possible that obese women may have disturbed hormone levels, which decrease the chances of successful fertilisation and implantation. The level of leptin in the body is positively related with the amount of fat in individuals without any mutations in their leptin regulation genes. Leptin levels are increased in obese people, suggesting a relative resistance to leptin. It is unclear whether or not obesity causes a resistance to leptin or vice versa. There is evidence that leptin may influence the process of steroid production by the ovaries," Dr van der Steeg said.

Dr van der Steeg believes that obesity is a factor in the increasing numbers of couples seeking fertility treatments.

"Nowadays, one out of six couples will deal with subfertility once in their life. Adult obesity levels have increased four-fold over the last 25 years, with two-thirds of adults deemed overweight," he said.

"Therefore, we would advise women to lose weight. Although the effect on better fertility is not proven, it is shown that the chance of a serious complication during pregnancy and labour is reduced," he added.

'Danger: Avoid Death' Label Wins Award

A warning on a small tractor that reads "Danger: Avoid Death" has been chosen as the nation's wackiest warning label by an anti-lawsuit group.

The Wacky Warning Label Contest, now in its 11th year, is conducted by Novi-based Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch as part of an effort to show the effects of lawsuits on warning labels.


The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch awarded the top prize in its 11th annual wackiest warning label contest to this gem from a compact tractor. The group runs the contest to highlight the absurd effects of frivolous lawsuits.


Kevin Soave of Farmington Hills, a Detroit suburb, won the $500 grand prize for submitting the winning label.

The $250 second place was given to Carrianne, Jacob and Robby Turin of Greensburg, Pa., for a label they found on an iron-on T-shirt transfer that warns: "Do not iron while wearing shirt."

Richard Goodnow of Lancaster, Mass., earned the $100 third-place prize for a label on a baby stroller featuring a small storage pouch that warns: "Do not put child in bag."

Contest organizer Bob Dorigo Jones says the silly labels reflect how broken America's civil justice system is.

"Predatory lawyers know they can file ridiculous lawsuits against innocent product makers and blackmail them into a cash settlement - even in cases in which a user has ignored common sense," Dorigo Jones said in a statement Wednesday.

Those who oppose the contest say that while some warning labels may seem silly, even dumb warnings can do good. They have a warning of their own: Don't be so quick to laugh at labels that help save lives.

Honorable mention went to Cyndi LaMonde of Traverse City for a label on a letter opener that says: "Caution: Safety goggles recommended."

Ann Marie Young of Fillmore, N.Y., took the second honorable mention for a warning she found which cautions users: "The Vanishing Fabric Marker should not be used as a writing instrument for signing checks or any legal documents."

The group selected a list of finalists and listeners of WOMC-FM's Dick Purtan show chose the winners.

M-LAW president Bob Dorigo Jones published many of the submissions to the contest in 'Remove Child Before Folding, The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and Wackiest Warning Labels

How to avoid overeating on the job

Watch out for Snack Platters and Food Pushers

Between coworker birthday cakes, shared holiday-party leftovers, staff meetings with Danishes, and pizza-fueled late-night work sessions, it's easy to blow your diet while on the job. But it doesn't have to be.

"People are most successful in healthy eating when they can control their environment, as opposed to being in a negative environment and trying to control themselves," says nutritionist Katherine Tallmadge, author of "Diet Simple."

Take Control

Figure out which food temptations you can control.

If you're the boss, you can tell the person who orders food to bring a platter of fruit instead of cookies to the staff meeting, and ask your staff to stash junk food in drawers.

Not the boss? No problem. Consider these tips:

* Join the office snack committee. "Lobby for fresh fruits and veggies instead of baked goods," says Tallmadge.

* Plan ahead. If your office doesn't have a snack committee, or you don't want to be on it, you can still ask ahead what food will be provided for this week's late-night work session or staff meeting.

"Lots of people have to do this -- diabetics, people with food allergies, vegetarians -- so don't feel self-conscious," counsels Elisabetta Politi, a dietitian and nutrition manager at the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center.

* Share the health. Be an example to coworkers and set out a bowl of fruit on your desk and invite others to enjoy it. It could start a healthy trend, according to Tallmadge.

* Talk to coworkers. You may not have authority, but you can still ask coworkers to stash their candy and junk food in their drawers instead of leaving it out. Most people won't mind, says Politi.

Resist Food Pushers

You may run into resistance from people who not only won't comply with your requests, but will also undermine your diet by actively tempting you with food you don't want.

With these food pushers, your best bet is to not engage.

"When you tell a food pusher you can't have something, that you're on a diet, you're giving a double message -- you're saying, 'I really want it, talk me into it,'" Tallmadge says. "It's always best to simply say, 'No, thank you,' and then compliment lavishly the food she brings that is healthy."

The situation could be more difficult if the food pusher is a friend, and you used to eat junk food together. Politi advises that you two focus on the things you can do together that don't involve food.

"It's not about giving up friendships," she says. "Go for a walk with her and have meals with people who make healthy choices."

Be Flexible

Finally, the biggest challenge to a dieter's will power often comes from an all-or-nothing attitude, Politi warns. So don't fall into it.

"Look at it in perspective: You have 21 meals in every week," she says. "A few slices of birthday cake a month are no big deal. Most people have at least two meals a day they can control. Focus on that."

'Mathlete' smashes human calculation record: museum

LONDON (AFP) - The world's fastest human calculator on Tuesday broke his own record for working out a 200-digit number using nothing but brain power to produce the answer in just over 70 seconds.
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Alexis Lemaire, a 27-year-old Frenchman, correctly calculated the 13th root of a random 200-digit number from a possible 393 trillion answers.

The so-called 'mathlete' produced the answer of 2,407,899,893,032,210 in 70.2 seconds, beating his previous record of 72.4 seconds, at London's Science Museum.

A computer was used to produce a random 200-digit number before he sat down to calculate the answer in his head.

The museum's curator of mathematics, Jane Wess, said: "He sat down and it was all very quiet -- and all of a sudden he amazingly just cracked it.

"I believe that it is the highest sum calculated mentally.

"He seems to have a large memory and he's made this his life's ambition. It's quite remarkable to see it happen. A very small number of people have this extraordinary ability; nowadays there is only a handful."

Lemaire, who attends the University of Reims in northern France, began demonstrating his prowess by finding the 13th root of a random 100-digit number but gave up trying to improve his performance when he calculated an answer in under four seconds in 2004.

Like an athlete, he trains his brain daily for the far harder task of finding the 13th root of 200-digit numbers.

The forbidden office romance

Does Office Romance Get a Bad Rap?



Is office romance too hot to handle? You might think so watching the current Red Cross scandal unfold, in which Mark Everson, the organization's married president, was forced to resign because of his affair with a subordinate. But Stephanie Losee and Helaine Olen, the co-authors of Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding — and Managing — Romance on the Job, argue that offices are happy hunting grounds for singles in search of relationships. TIME's Andrea Sachs caught up with the two journalists on their book tour in New York:

TIME: Why does looking for love in the office have such a bad name?

Helaine Olen: People always hear the horror stories about love on the job. They don't hear how successful it is. When we began to research the book, we were as shocked as anyone to discover that about half of all Americans at some point in their career will date on the job, and one in five of them will end up in a long-term relationship. But that news doesn't get out there. The news that gets out there is when a scandal happens.

Doesn't the Red Cross situation prove that it's still too risky to get involved with someone in your own office?

Stephanie Losee: What this proves is that a leader's personal conduct is more important than any success he has in leading the organization. And I think that is a problem in our society right now. What the board did when they fired him was signal that all of his wins as head of the Red Cross, the way in which he has turned around the organization, the six months of good notices that he had received, not to mention the 18-month investment that the board made in the hiring process trying to find just the right person for the job, was less important than his distasteful personal behavior. There was another way to signal their disapproval than firing him and starting over. They could have sanctioned him. They could have signaled their public disapproval...There are a lot of CEOs out there who lose hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder money, and they're not fired. But if they have an extramarital affair — goodbye, Charlie.

You each married men who you worked with. What were your stories?

HO: I had this horrific cubicle in the hallway. I was in book publishing, and you know the conditions are terrible, and he had an office and I was terrifically envious of this. He kept threatening to leave, so we became friendlier and friendlier. People actually thought we were dating, but we were not. I was accosted in the hallway at least twice that I can recall by people accusing me of lying about the situation. I actually thought it was sort of funny because for a while I was dating somebody else in the same office. We did not start dating until I left the job. Not because of any principle about it. But as soon as I left, I realized how much I missed him. We stayed in touch and one thing led to another.

SL: What happened with my husband Tom and me is not dissimilar to what Helaine and what so many of the people we interviewed said. We, too, started out as friends. Tom was interested in a romantic involvement immediately. I was not, because he was not my type. So we became very good friends. We were accused of being involved before we were. We were friends for probably three months and then one night we kissed and six days later he asked me to marry him. He proceeded to ask me to marry him a good 20 or 30 times in the following months until I finally said yes. He grew on me.

Is it ever necessary for one person to leave the company?

HO: I think it's necessary if you feel it's too much [togetherness]. About six percent of people ultimately stay together [in the same workplace]. I think ultimately people want some separation. That being said, that doesn't mean they leave the company. A lot of times, people just transfer to different departments or move onward. On the other hand, that doesn't mean they have to, either. I've worked in offices where people stayed in the same place and worked together really, really well.

SL: We've found that a very high percentage of people who work together do leave, but when we asked them why they were leaving, most of it was caused by their circumstances. A lot of the women left the office because, having found a husband and gotten pregnant, they were going on maternity leave. And in another large portion of the couples we talked to, one of them left because they were twentysomethings and the job movement among twentysomethings is very high.

What about Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill?

HO: That's sexual harassment. First, no means no. And if you can't take no for an answer, you'd better not be dating in an office. That is non-negotiable. But second, sexual harassment is to a greater extent a crime of power. It's not necessarily about dating someone in the office. One of the things we found very intriguing this summer is that Clarence Thomas' autobiography came out in tandem with the Isaiah Thomas mess here in New York. One thing stood out to us. In both cases, the guys tried to defend their position, their indefensible position in my view, by claiming not that Anita Hill or Anucha Browne Saunders was a slut wearing short skirts and behaving provocatively. In both cases, they tried to denigrate the woman's job performance and claim that the women were incompetent, and this was how they were trying to cover up their incompetence.

What about the idea that feminists have fought for progress in the office and this reduces women to sexual objects?

HO: I would argue the exact opposite. Being able to have an office romance is a sign of equality. If you see yourself as equal and you don't see yourself as a victim, that is precisely when you can have a romance with a co-worker...To some extent, office dating is a sign of women's strength, not of women's weakness.

Say you've decided to take the plunge. How do you express interest in somebody in a safe way?

HO: Just because it's called an office romance doesn't mean you should conduct it in an office. So our first bit of advice is to get it outside. You don't really want to ask somebody out on a date over their desk. Oftentimes these relationships are so enmeshed before they become romantic that you usually have quite a few opportunities of being alone with the person outside the office to ask. Do not in any circumstance use e-mail or IM. E-mail is not your personal property. It is the corporation's property. It is not private. Like a diamond, it lasts forever.

SL: One thing I think is important is not to be coy or cute. People who are afraid of rejection tend to couch their expression of interest in a joke or try to make light of it. I think what they do is they leave themselves more open to misinterpretation. So I think being both subtle and direct is the best way to go. And you have to transmit through your tone, through your voice, and through your body language that you are absolutely willing to take no for an answer so that you both feel comfortable after a no might be given.

And breakups?

HO: The hard one. Our best bit of advice is to talk about the breakup very early on in the relationship. It�s almost the equivalent of a pre-nup. When it is a theoretical possibility, you can actually lay ground rules because you've fallen in love and you can never see this happening to you. And so that's really the best time to talk about how you'll behave. If you break up, keep it out of the office. Whatever you do, don't bring your co-workers into it. Do not have arguments in the office. Do not reveal personal information. Do not engage in vendettas. Certainly do not put stuff on e-mail. Don't cry in the office. Cry at home, don't cry in the office.

What if you fall in love in the office with someone who is married?

HO: A huge, huge no-no. I would say that's probably a bad idea, whether it takes place in an office or not. But certainly in an office, please, please don't go there.

Hidden costs of big TVs

Big TV = Big Electric Bill

Are you sizing up your home in the hopes of filling it with a brand-new big HDTV screen this holiday? Not so fast. Following in the tradition of SUVs, the bigger the package, the bigger the guzzler. SUVs guzzle gas; large-screen TVs guzzle electricity.

But it's not just the size of the screen that affects energy usage; it's the technology used inside. One sobering chart comes from CNET.

The chart looks at the energy consumed by 80 different HDTVs. While there are many differences from brand to brand, one size to another, and the technology used, a few trends become really obvious.

Sort the list by the technology being used—LCD, plasma, or rear-screen projection—and you'll see LCD having a distinct advantage in requiring less power, although part of the reason for this is that LCD sets tend to be small to medium sizes, with a few exceptions. But if you sort it by cost per square inch, there's no question that rear projection is the energy-efficient winner.

It's no surprise that when you sort the list by the size of the screen, the bigger screens generally consume more power. But I was surprised to see how efficient rear-screen projections are. If you're energy-conscious but thinking big, you should be thinking rear projection.

Plasma generally consumes twice as much power as rear projection at a given size, and in the larger sizes, that often works out to over $100 per year more to operate a plasma set. (The chart is based on 10.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, which was the national average in 2006, according to the Energy Information Administration. Here in NYC, we pay a lot more than that, so the difference between plasma and the rest is even more per year.)

One of the worst performers was the Panasonic TH-58PZ700U, using 609.53 watts per hour in "on" mode, costing a user almost $200 annually, assuming eight hours of on time per day. Come down a bit in size and the Vizio, a 42-inch plasma, only uses 190 watts per hour.

The most random category in the table was the standby power. Standby ranged from 0.3 watts on the Panasonic TH-58PZ700U to 76 watts for the Sharp LC-65D90U. In between were TVs of all sizes and technology, in no obvious order. Most units were under 5 watts in standby, but there were about a dozen above 5 watts. It's one thing to consume a few hundred watts while you or your family is being entertained. It's quite another when you're sleeping and so is your TV, chewing up 76 watts all night long.

NOVEC, a not-for-profit distributor of energy in Virginia, posts this chart showing the average watts used by screens of the same size, just different technology.

Average Television Power Consumption Rate

* Plasma: 328 watts
* Rear-projection: 208 watts
* LCD: 193 watts
* CRT: 146 watts

Bad enough when your own monthly bill takes a hike, but as more and more people buy larger and larger screens, the impact will be felt. According the National Research Defense Council as told to The Christian Science Monitor, by 2009, when half of all new TV sales are expected to be extended- or high-definition digital sets with big screens, TV energy use will reach about 70 billion kilowatt-hours per year nationwide—about 50 percent higher than at present.

If you have any tips to share for greening your TV watching, jump right in.

5 reasons to job hunt now

According to conventional wisdom, there's no worse time to search for a job than when the year is winding down. But sometimes conventional wisdom isn't entirely accurate.

The truth is that the end of the year may be the best time to find a new job. Here are five reasons:

1. You face less competition. Buying into popular theory, many job seekers halt their quests for employment in November and December, choosing to save their efforts for when the calendar changes. But take a glimpse at the want ads, and you'll see that employers haven't stopped looking for talent. With fewer candidates vying for the same number of positions, you may have an edge over the competition, unlike no other time during the year.

2. More employers are hiring. Many firms, especially retail companies, increase their hiring efforts in winter to meet rising demand for their products and services. Even though seasonal jobs are often temporary, many hiring managers view these positions as extended, on-the-job interviews and offer full-time employment to promising hires.

3. Companies have budget surpluses. Some employers hire new workers at the end of the year because they have not yet used all of the funds they set aside earlier for adding new personnel. If the hiring managers don't increase headcount during the final two months, they may lose that portion of their budgets and be unable to bring aboard new employees at all.

4. It may be easier to secure an interview. Things often slow down at the end of the year due to vacations and the winter holidays. As a result, hiring managers may be less busy than usual and have more time to review your resume or call you in for an employment interview.

5. You'll get a jump on things. Even if some firms wait until the beginning of the year to add headcount, that doesn't mean they've stopped collecting resumes and considering candidates. By submitting your application materials now, you'll be first in line when the hiring process gets in full swing again.

As 2007 comes to a close, remember that employers are always on the lookout for strong professionals, especially in fields such as accounting and finance and information technology, where skilled workers are in short supply. That means there's no wrong time to look for your next job, no matter what conventional wisdom says.

Robert Half International is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 350 offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. For more information about our professional services,

4 tips to stop a dog's obsessive barking

Curb Out-of-Control Barking

A common problem canine caretakers face is uncontrollable or obsessive barking. Here are a few suggestions for handling it.

Follow through. If you give your dog a look, a sound, or a physical correction to tell him to stop his barking, he might stop for an instant, wait until you relax ... then go right back to barking. The dog's body relaxes, but his brain stays on alert! So be patient. Wait until your dog gives you complete and total submission before you go back to what you were doing.

Calm down. Many people get so irritated with the constant barking that their own frustration level rises. While this is understandable, you can't expect your dog to follow you. Animals simply don't follow anxious, angry, or frustrated leaders. Instead your dog will mirror your energy. If you're frustrated, then he's frustrated, and when he's frustrated, it makes sense for him to bark. To effectively correct your dog, you need to control your own frustration first.

Make your claim. If your dog is barking repeatedly in the presence of a specific stimulus, it's important to let the dog know that you "own" that object, person, situation, or place. Use your calm-assertive energy to make your claim.

Exercise your dog! Often dogs develop problem barking as a result of pent-up energy. So make sure your dog has the right amount of exercise for his energy level. Your dog should be relaxed, calm, and submissive before you put him in a situation that's likely to trigger barking.