America's Top 5 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants

by Health.com

on Wed Oct 6, 2010 10:53am PDT

By Tracy Minkin and Brittani Renaud

Who hasn't unwrapped a sandwich while driving down the highway or pulled a hard U-turn into a fast-food joint on the way home from a late meeting or soccer game? We practically live in our cars, so we need quick food, and please, we'd like it to be healthy.

Well, guess what: We surveyed the nation's 100 largest fast-food chains, as defined by the number of locations, and found many are creating menus that look more and more like what we'd cook ourselves (if we had the time)—from nutritious soups and healthy salads to fresh whole grains and sensible desserts. Even better: They're offering good-news Mexican, Asian, and Mediterranean fare.

Using criteria that was created with the help of our expert panel, we scored the chains on such factors as the use of healthy fats and preparations, healthy sodium counts in entrees, availability of nutritional information, and the use of organic produce to determine the 10 highest-ranking restaurants.

One big surprise: A traditional fast-food chain, McDonald's, cracked our top 10. Sure, it's the home of the Big Mac, but did you know it also serves a mean yogurt-and-granola parfait? Here, the standouts that are making grabbed food healthy food.

1. Panera Bread

Over 1,230 locations nationwide (and in Canada)

This bakery-cafe-based eatery wowed our judges with a comprehensive menu of healthy choices for every meal. "Variety makes it easy for everyone to choose healthy," praises registered dietitian and panelist Marisa Moore. What does that mean for you? For starters, you can pick from two whole-grain breads for your sandwich and have an apple with it instead of chips (though the chips are fine, too—they can be baked!). Half-size soups, salads, and sandwiches make it a cinch to control portion size. Also, most of the chicken is antibiotic- and hormone-free, a rarity for large chains.

Panera also won top honors for kid fare, dishing out RD-approved crowd-pleasers like squeezable organic yogurt, PB&J (with all-natural peanut butter), and grilled organic cheese on white whole-grain bread.

We love: Delicious, nutrient-packed combos like a half–Turkey Artichoke on focaccia bread with a bowl of black bean or garden vegetable soup.

Danger zone: Sticky buns and cheese danishes are on display at the counter.

2. Jason's Deli

206 locations in the West, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South

How did this up-and-comer snag second place? Largely because of its devotion to organic food: About one-fifth of all its ingredients are organic, from blue-corn tortilla chips and whole-wheat wraps to field greens and spinach. Plus, its creative salads—like the Nutty Mixed-Up Salad with organic field greens, grapes, chicken breast, feta cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, pumpkinseeds, raisins, and organic apples—make you actually want to order the greens.

Our judges applauded the portion-control option: Reduced sizes of, say, a stuffed baked potato, are $1 less. Jason's menu also highlights ultrahealthy sandwiches and provides the nutitional info.

We love: Being able to build any sandwich on an organic whole-wheat wrap.

Danger zone: High-sodium counts on some sandwiches; if sodium is a concern, stick to the ultrahealthy choices.

3. Au Bon Pain

280 locations nationwide

A pioneer in healthy fast food, Au Bon Pain serves up sandwiches, soups, salads, and hot entrees made with whole grains, veggies, and hormone-free chicken.

New this year: Portions, a 14-item menu of nutritious small plates—from appetizers like apples, blue cheese, and cranberries to salads like chickpea and tomato—all of which are less than 200 calories. Another impressive feature: Au Bon Pain provides on-site nutritional information via computer kiosks, so before you even order you know each option's calories, fat, and sodium. "It's a great way to empower customers," praises judge Amy Jamieson-Petonic.

We love: Yummy low-cal soups, from Jamaican Black Bean to Fire Roasted Exotic Grains and Vegetables.

Danger zone: The sodium counts can get high if you don't pay attention.

4. Noodles and Company

204 locations in West, Midwest, South

Noodles and Company isn't your typical greasy Asian food-court joint. In fact, it goes beyond Asian fare and cuts out the grease (only healthy soybean oil is used in sauteing). Here, you choose from three food types: Asian, Mediterranean, or American, then within each style, pick from four noodle bowl options. Lean proteins—hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken, beef, shrimp, and organic tofu—can be added, too.

The result? Tasty combos like Japanese Pan Noodles with broccoli, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, Asian sprouts, and sauteed beef. Also key: "You don't have to chow down on a giant bowl of noodles. You can opt for a small portion," says judge Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, Health's Senior Food and Nutrition Editor. The small Bangkok Curry bowl has just 250 calories.

We love: The whole-grain linguine—usually hard to find when eating out.

Danger zone: The desserts. The only options are two kinds of cookies and a Rice Krispy Treat bar that checks in at 530 calories and 19 grams of fat!

5. Corner Bakery Cafe

111 locations in West, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South

What sets Corner Bakery apart? A fantastic breakfast menu, which is rare in the quick-serve world. We love the Farmer's Scrambler: eggs scrambled with red and green bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, potatoes, and Cheddar cheese. (It's only 260 calories when ordered with egg whites.) There's also Swiss oatmeal, a chilled European breakfast cereal made with rolled oats, green apples, bananas, currants, dried cranberries, low-fat yogurt, and skim milk.

But Corner Bakery also has healthy salads, sandwiches, and soups made with whole grains, fresh, lean meats, and vegetables, as well as great portion-controlled combinations that make limiting calories a no-brainer.

We love: Healthy oven-roasted chicken that comes on most pastas and salads.

Danger zone: You have to go to their Web site to get nutritional info.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/americas-top-5-healthiest-fast-food-restaurants-2397396

The Easiest Financial Lesson You'll Ever Learn

by Daniel Indiviglio

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Saving and investing wisely is not an easy achievement. How much do you need to save for retirement? Where should you put your money? There are thousands of financial advisors who offer differing opinions on these matters. But if there is one utterly clear maxim of saving for retirement it's this: contribute at least enough money to your 401(k) to maximize your employer's contribution.

Much to my shock and dismay, 39% of 401(k) participants don't follow this totally noncontroversial advice, according to a new study by Financial Engines, via the NY Times Bucks blog. That's crazy. Here's why maxing out your 401(k) is the biggest financial no-brainer you'll ever encounter.

When your company promises to match some contribution to a 401(k), it's like giving you a raise. Refusing the match is like telling your company that you don't want extra money. Imagine an example where you make $1,000 per paycheck. Now imagine if your company agrees to match 50 cents per dollar up to 6% of your 401(k) contribution per paycheck. That means you can put up to $60 per paycheck into your 401(k) and your company will also contribute $30.

Did you see what just happened? You got a 3% raise. Sure, you had to contribute $60 of your gross income as well, but this money just becomes savings -- something you will surely need some day anyway. Unless you are one of the few people who believe Social Security alone will be sufficient to allow for a pleasant, comfortable retirement at a reasonable age.

Moreover, that $60 you contribute doesn't reduce your take home pay by 6%, because it's taken pre-tax. For example, let's say after all taxes are taken, your income would normally have been 30% lower. If you didn't contribute to your 401(k), your after-tax income would be $700. If you contribute $60 pre-tax, however, your after-tax income is $658 -- only $42 less, instead of $60. This is the second reason why it's so great to contribute to a 401(k): you can delay taxes on that money, so you won't feel like you're saving as much as you actually are.

Let's reflect on this scenario where you contribute to your 401(k) as described above. Your after-tax income declines by $42, but you save $90. This is one of the best deals you'll ever get, and it's virtually impossible to beat.

Let's consider poor reasons not to contribute enough to receive your full employer match:

I Want More Freedom Investing

Maybe you don't like your employer's 401(k) plan. You hate mutual funds. You think you can do better on Scottrade. Good luck with that. In the example above, imagine if you decided to shun your 401(k) and invest $42 (the difference in after-tax income) from each paycheck yourself instead. You would need an investment that would more than double your money -- even if you saved your 401(k) as pure cash. The return would have to be 114% to get $90.

I Worry About Losing Money in the Market

Investing is hard, so this is a fair point. But you would have to do incredibly poorly to lose more than you gain from your 401(k) match. For that $90 savings to decline below your $42 contribution, it would have to decline by more than 53%. Even from the Dow's peak prior to the financial crisis to the bottom it hit in early 2009, the market lost less than 50% -- and that's about as bad as it gets. Moreover, you can generally diversify your 401(k) holdings to include stocks, bonds, and cash.

I Can't Afford to Contribute That Much

Saving isn't a financial constraint: it's a choice. Unless you're living very near the poverty line, then it's possible to find ways to cut expenses. And slicing 4% off your take home pay won't require most people to dramatically change their lifestyle. Go out to dinner less often or wait until a movie comes out on video to see it. Move a few miles further out of town to get a cheaper rent. Remember, you aren't actually lowering your income by contributing to a 401(k); you just don't spend as much of your money immediately. In fact, you're actually implicitly increasing your income by maximizing your employer's match.

I Don't Want My Savings Tied Up

If you need to get at your 401(k) money for some reason before you retire, you will get hit with a penalty and be forced to pay taxes on it immediately. That means the money is essentially tied up. But this isn't a good reason to fail to contribute up to your full employer match.

First, some 401(k) plans allow leeway for when a true emergency hits, where the penalty won't apply. Second, even if a penalty does apply, will it really be greater than your employer match? In the example above, a 10% penalty tax would apply beyond the usual income tax that you would have paid anyway on the income that you contributed. For the example, that penalty would be $9, and you would also need to pay something like $9 in taxes on the employer's contribution. But your employer contributed $30. So again, even if you try to get at your money early, you're still $12 ahead by maximizing your employer contribution.

If you don't already contribute enough to your 401(k) to maximize your employer match, then you should. It's easily the smartest, easiest financial decision you'll ever make. You may want to ultimately save more than that through other methods, but this is the bare minimum saving that you should do.

Daniel Indiviglio is a staff editor at TheAtlantic.com, where he writes about credit markets, regulation, monetary & fiscal policy, taxes, banking, trade, emerging markets and technology. Prior to joining The Atlantic, he wrote for Forbes. He also worked as an investment banker and a consultant.

http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/111003/the-easiest-financial-lesson-youll-ever-learn?mod=retire-401k

Last-Chance Beaches

7 Endangered beaches to see before they're destroyed

By Peter J. Frank

Picture the gorgeous beach you spent a week on this summer.

Now picture that same beach next summer, destroyed. Perhaps it eroded so much that there's barely room to spread out a towel. Maybe a colossal concrete hotel is being built where the sand dunes used to be. Maybe it has been coated with a slick of spilled oil. Hopefully, your slice of paradise will remain well preserved. But at many beaches around the world, nightmares like these are coming true (just ask anyone who lives on the Gulf Coast).

We've selected seven beach destinations around the world in danger of disappearing forever due to forces such as erosion, pollution, rising sea levels, reckless overdevelopment, and sand mining. But there are hundreds more. If we don't curb global warming, insist on sustainable development, and protect the world's beaches against pollution and mismanagement, the idyllic shorelines we cherish will be preserved only in memory.

The Maldives

With postcard-ready beaches, unblemished coral reefs, and some of the world's most luxurious resorts, the Maldives are for many a once-in-a-lifetime destination. But the island nation's own lifetime may itself be cut drastically short: Rising sea levels all but doom this string of 26 low-lying atolls in the Indian Ocean, unless the rest of the world acts—quickly—to curb global warming.

With an average elevation of just four feet, the Maldives may, according to some scientists' models, be submerged before the end of the century. Other coastal geologists believe that the islands, which are composed principally of coral, can regenerate more quickly than the water level rises, and that wave action can build up the islands. But rising ocean temperatures—another symptom of global warming—inhibit coral growth, and few Maldivians seem prepared to sit back and take that chance.

If you go: The Marine Lab at the Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru resort does serious scientific research on marine ecology, coral recovery, and endangered species. Guests can visit the lab and join biologists on dives.

Goa, India

Despite having a coastline that extends over 4,300 miles, India doesn't attract nearly as many visitors to its beautiful beaches as to its temples and palaces. Perhaps that explains why those beaches are so neglected: According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, about 25 percent of India's coastline faces "serious erosion" caused by everything from rising sea levels to the removal of sand dunes to the construction of hundreds of new harbors.

Goa, the former Portuguese colony turned hippie enclave turned chic resort destination, may be where the problem is most visible: The state's entire 63-mile coastline is eroded, and some beaches have lost as much as 65 feet of landmass in recent years. Matanhy Saldana, a social activist and former Goa tourism minister, points to multiple causes, including the construction of a massive naval port and the destruction of vegetation along the shore. At popular Candolim beach (pictured), a ship abandoned after it ran aground in June 2000 is acting as a giant jetty, pulling sand away from the shore. The state recently appealed to the national government for help funding anti-erosion projects, but Goan activists contend that development is taking precedence over ecological matters.

If you go: Many of Goa's great beaches, including Velsao, Cansaulim, Utorda, and Miramar, are unaffected by erosion. The brother-and-sister owners of the charming Vivenda dos Palhaços guesthouse in Majorda, South Goa, will help steer you to the highlights.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Phu Quoc, a sleepy tropical island off Vietnam's southwest coast, in the Gulf of Thailand, is 220 square miles of near-empty white-sand beaches, unpaved roads, and simple bungalow-style guesthouses, with a population unperturbed by the forces of mass tourism. The handful of foreign visitors who've been there say it's the exact opposite of places like Phuket—and yet, "the next Phuket" is exactly what the Vietnamese government is hoping Phu Quoc will become.

A master plan unveiled by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in May 2010 envisions a world-class tourism center with an international airport (already under construction), cruise ports, casinos, a business and finance hub, and seven million tourists by 2030. That's quite a change from the 162,000 visitors the island received in the first eight months of 2009. The government insists that sustainability and preservation are part of the plan.

If you go: Mango Bay, on Long Beach, maintains the low-key Phu Quoc vibe with 31 bungalows made from local materials and furnished with mosquito-netted four-poster beds and solar showers.

Saugatuck Dunes, Michigan

Saugatuck is only 90 miles by boat from Chicago, but a visit to the classic resort town is like a step back in time. Among its many charms are beaches distinguished by the rare freshwater dunes formed by the waves of Lake Michigan. "Right now, you can see the dunes very much as Europeans saw them 200 years ago," says David Swan, president of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance. Yet they may be in peril. The issue: a development proposed for a parcel of beachfront just outside the gates of Saugatuck Dunes State Park.

While the developer maintains that preserving the local culture and ecology are its top priorities, critics contend that the plan to build about 30 homes, a nine-hole golf course, a 66-slip marina, and a small hotel and condos heralds a drastic and deplorable change. Among the worries: The hotel's nine-story tower would forever alter a landscape that has drawn artists for centuries, and the construction will harm the fragile ecology of the 200-foot-high dunes. Local zoning laws prohibit anything of the scale being proposed, but the developer has filed a series of lawsuits to change them. In response, Saugatuck residents recently voted to raise taxes for a legal defense fund. Meanwhile, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Saugatuck Dunes on its 2010 list of the country's most endangered historic places, and the developer has threatened to sue for defamation. Much of the shore remains protected, including Oval Beach, its best-known stretch, and an adjacent parcel the developer sold back to the municipality and state for conservation. But the rest of the shoreline—and the future of the town—hang in the balance.

If you go: Stay at the Sea Suites Boat & Breakfast, an inn located on a 105-foot houseboat docked right outside town. It has four large air-conditioned suites with private baths, and a hot tub on the top deck.

Morocco, North Africa

You'd think that a desert country like Morocco would have enough sand for everyone. But at least a few parties feel the need to steal sand from Morocco's Atlantic beaches. Yes, steal it—by literally bulldozing dunes, trucking the sand away to make cement, and leaving behind ugly lunar landscapes.

Coastal Care, a U.S.–based environmental organization that advocates for the world's beaches, has found destructive sand mining operations in over 30 countries, as far afield as Cambodia, Jamaica, and Australia. But its co-founder, Olaf Guerrand-Hermès, believes that the situation is worst in Morocco, where hundreds of miles have been mined for decades, particularly along the stretch of Atlantic coast between Tangier and Casablanca. Outside the small seaside towns of Larache and Kenitra, for instance, dunes have been completely bulldozed. According to Guerrand-Hermès, who has a home in the area, the sand-mining business is run by a syndicate second in size only to Morocco's drug mafia. The Moroccan government has designated Larache as a target for major resort development, but the large-scale removal of sand makes the beaches unsuitable for tourism. It also ruins turtle and seabird nesting areas and exacerbates erosion problems by removing nature's defenses against storms.

If you go: The northern Moroccan coast—a stretch Budget Travel has called the "next French Riviera"—is still being discovered by visitors. Asilah is known for its restored whitewashed walls and narrow streets; less-polished Larache has a bustling medina and still-intact beaches. Stay at the Hotel Al-Khaima, just outside Asilah and directly across from a gorgeous stretch of sand.

Mullins Bay, Barbados

Most islands in the Caribbean suffer erosion to a certain degree, much of it from natural causes. Barbados, a country dependent on tourism, knows it needs to protect its beaches, but some of its attempts to do so end up making matters worse. Local environmental activists contend that in several places along Barbados's west shore—the famed Platinum Coast, lined with luxury hotels, condos, and expensive homes—erosion has been exacerbated by the construction of seawalls and groins.

On the island's northwest coast, sunbathers used to be able to walk from the popular beach bar on Mullins Beach north for several miles up the sandy shore. Now, there are only impassable boulders, sea walls, and crashing surf. The author of the local Mullins Bay blog blames the construction of three stone groins at St. Peter's Bay, a new condominium development a quarter mile north of Mullins Beach. Installed ostensibly to help build up the beach there, the structures have sapped the adjacent shoreline of sand. Surprisingly, Barbados's Coastal Zone Management Unit, a government agency charged with controlling erosion, approved the groins. It maintains that global warming is the main culprit in the island's erosion problem. Rising sea levels and severe storms certainly play a role, but to protect its shoreline, Barbados also needs to balance the demands of development and preservation.

If you go: Barbados's east coast is less developed but not unfamiliar with the power of the sea. The Crane Resort owes its pink sand beach and spectacular cliff-top position to the waves that crash onto the shore.

Gulf of Mexico

While BP's Deepwater Horizon well was spewing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico this summer, predictions for the area's beaches were dire: sand covered in tar, sea life destroyed, water too toxic for swimming. The reality, thankfully, has turned out to be much less horrific. While there are still occasional reports of tiny tar balls or dead birds on beaches in the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—and the full impact of the oil spill on the Gulf's ecology is still unknown—most of the region's beaches are still in good shape. But the Gulf's beaches are still under grave threat from the perception that the problem is much, much worse.

Respondents to a recent survey by Travelocity erroneously believed that the spill had affected locations as far afield as Cancún, the Florida Keys, and Miami, which is on the Atlantic Coast (landlocked Orlando was cited by 4 percent). "It reminds me of Mexico last year, when the border cities were having issues with drug-related violence, but the negative perceptions affected destinations all around Mexico," says Genevieve Shaw Brown, senior editor of Travelocity. Estimates of the economic impact on tourism are forthcoming, but innkeepers, fishing captains, and rental agents are already calling 2010 the "lost summer."

If you go: Many Gulf Coast hotels are guaranteeing an oil-free vacation: If a beach is closed within 20 miles of where you're staying, and you prefer to cancel, they'll refund your money. Participating hotels are listed at www.travelocity.com/oilspillinfo.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35816900

America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes, 2010

In these neighborhoods $4 million homes are the norm

By Francesca Levy

Forbes.com 

Sep 27, 2010

Los Angeles has always been home to some of the world's most expensive real estate. But forget Beverly Hills, 90210: The new hot spot for multimillion-dollar mansions is Duarte, 91008.

Bradbury, California (91008)

Duarte, Calif., home to the 91008 ZIP code, is a small suburb northeast of downtown LA, near the Los Angeles national forest. The median cost of a house in this tony town is a whopping $4,276,462, making it the most expensive housing market in the country. It ranks No. 1 on Forbes' annual ranking of America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes.

A scant 1,391 people live in 91008 ZIP code, and only 12 homes are currently on the market. So a single high-priced listing (like the mammoth nine-bedroom, built this year, that's selling for $19.8 million) is enough to skew the median price skyward.

The ascent of Duarte--for which the 91008 ZIP was created since 2000, to accommodate a growing population--shows that wealth is still drawn to big cities, even if their postbubble housing prices have dropped.

Beverly Hills, California (90210)

"In the big California markets there is essentially a chronic shortage of homes," says Mike Simonsen, CEO of Altos Research, a Mountain View, Calif., firm that tracks housing market data. "For the number of people that might want homes, there's always an order of magnitude fewer homes available than there are in Midwest, for example." More than half the locations in our ranking of America's 500 most expensive ZIP codes are in California.

Alpine, New Jersey (07620)

The median price of America's high-end homes continues to slide, but not as fast as it did last year. Our index of 500 high-end ZIP codes saw the average home price fall 5%, to $1.2 million, from the same time last year. In 2009 the markets on our list saw a 7% price drop.

About 35% of the ZIP codes in our index saw median prices increase or stay flat, but that's likely because more high-priced homes are coming on the market, while more affordable housing continues to falter. 

"The year-over-year price changes we're seeing here aren't necessarily the change in price for your house, if you have a house in this area," says Simonsen. "It's a change in the mix of homes on the active market."

Atherton, California (94027)

Real estate trends are highly localized. Most cities are a collection of dozens of mini housing markets, so we bore down to the granular level to find out what neighborhoods are really on the rise.

Altos Research collects data on more than 20,000 ZIP codes; we asked it to rank them all to find the 500 most expensive in the country. Altos ranked each ZIP on the median asking price for single-family homes and condominiums, weighting the price based on the mix of homes in the market.

New York, New York (10014)

On the ZIP code level some housing markets contrast dramatically with their surroundings. Miami, for example, where housing prices have plummeted and foreclosures continue to mount, still contains some of the most expensive homes in the country, with four ZIPs on the list, including 33109, in the No. 37 spot. This ZIP code, for celebrity enclave Fisher Island, boasts a median home sale price of $2,295,291. 

Montecito, California (93108)

In Nevada, a state with 14% unemployment and the highest level of foreclosures in the country, there's still one ZIP on the list: Lake Tahoe's 89451, which takes the No. 389 spot.

Our index points to a slowing slide in the high-end market, but if a wave of foreclosures hits homes at the luxury level, as some experts predict it will, that slide could accelerate.

"We have yet to see mortgage defaults climb aggressively into higher-priced homes, but there are some signs that those could hit in next twelve months," says Simonsen. "If those mortgage resets drive inventory at the higher end, that would cause major problems."

America's Top 10 Most Expensive ZIP Codes

No. 1: 91008

Duarte/Bradbury, California

Median Home Price: $4,276,462

This newly-built nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom, 10,486-square-foot mansion with two swimming pools, a spa, gym, screening room, library and wine cellar, is on the market for $4,680,000. It's just across the city limits from Duarte, but still in the 91008 ZIP. Sheng Development has the listing.

No. 2: 94027

Atherton, California

Median Home Price: $4,010,200

This remodeled mid-century four-bedroom, four-bathroom, 4,010-square-foot ranch with a cathedral ceiling, fireplace, media room, 2-car garage and gardens sells for $4,488,000. It is listed with Alain Pinel.

No. 3: 90274

Rolling Hills, California

Median Home Price: $3,892,456

This sprawling five-bedroom, four-bathroom, 4,320-square-foot compound atop a hill with two fireplaces and a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean is selling for $3,999,000. Shorewood Realtors has the listing.

No. 4: 07620

Alpine, New Jersey

Median Home Price: $3,814,885

This seven-bedroom, five-bathroom colonial-style home with a double-height foyer, expansive lawn and three-car garage is on the market for $3,950,000. It is listed with Plawker Real Estate.

No. 5: 10014

New York, New York

Median Home Price: $3,785,445

This one-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,500-square-foot loft in a full-service building with views of the city is on the market in Manhattan's West Village for $2,049,000. Clickit Realty has the listing.

No. 6: 90210

Beverly Hills, California

Median Home Price: $3,684,150

This five-bedroom, four-bathroom 4,700-square-foot Mediterranean-style home features a pool, large deck and views of the surrounding mountains costs $3,695,000. It is listed with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Beverly Hills.

No. 7: 10065

New York, New York

Median HomePrice: $3,626,001

This two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium on Manhattan's Upper East Side, occupying a full floor and featuring access to a private garden, gym and garage is selling for $975,000. Fenwick Keats Goodstein has the listing.

No. 8: 94920

Belvedere/Tiburon, California

Median Home Price: $3,283,269

This three-bedroom, 4-bathroom 4347-square-foot Spanish-style stucco home in the section of 94920 that's in neighboring Tiburon offers views and a fireplace and sells for $3,195,000. William J. Smith has the listing.

No. 9: 10012

New York, New York

Median Home Price: $3,221,371

This downtown three-bedroom, two-bathroom with two terraces and a washer/dryer goes for $1,500,000. It is listed with Eychner Associates.

No. 10: 93108

Santa Barbara/Montecito, California

Median Home Price: $3,151,220

This four-bedroom, four-bathroom stucco home in Montecito with cathedral ceilings, two fireplaces and a pool is on sale at $3,250,000. It is listed with Prudential California Realty.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-most-expensive-zip-codes-2010.html

The World's Most Beautiful College Campuses

Kenyon College

Gambier, Ohio

Mike Evans, a principal at Norfolk, Va., design firm Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, says to be beautiful a campus must have a "signature campus space as a carrier of the campus brand." At Kenyon College, that space is "Middle Path," a 10-foot-wide footpath that serves as the Gothic hilltop campus' central artery. More than just a trail, it's a village green for the tight-knit campus community. Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, who teaches 17th-century poetry at Kenyon, says the college, both isolated and pastoral, is "a small place to think big thoughts."

Oxford University

Oxford, England

Teaching within Oxford's stone walls dates as far back as the 11th century, and the school is considered a paradigm for all college campuses. With its labyrinth of quads, cloisters, and archways, it evokes elegance and tradition at every turn. "Its monastic roots and the spectacular quality of its buildings make it an architectural wonderland," says David Mayernik, associate professor at Notre Dame's School of Architecture. The famous Radcliffe Camera, built in 1737 as a Science Building, and now a hushed reading room for students, is "the most covetable university building in the world."

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

This classic American campus is "straight out of central casting," says architect Natalie Shivers, who has been guiding the prestige Ivy Leaguer through an ambitious expansion plan. Princeton's style is pure Collegiate Gothic; most of it executed in gray stone covered in, yes, ivy. As imposing as these old stone structures are, the campus keeps life on a "human scale" by preserving green spaces and "walkability," says Shivers. "Everything on campus is within a 10-minute walk." Sinuous footpaths, archways, plazas--all are designed to inspire spontaneous discussion and learning.

Scripps College

Claremont, California

The total plan of this women's college, founded in the 1920's, has always called for artistic connection between buildings and landscape. Together, architect Gordon Kaufmann, in collaboration with landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout, created a distinctively Southern Californian blend of Mission Revival-inspired architecture and landscape, which is lovely, evocative and intact. An expert in deciduous trees, Trout planted rows of liquid amber trees to give the students "a sense of autumn" come fall. He also peppered the campus with tulip trees, sycamores, almond and orange trees, as well as rare shrubs.

Stanford University

Palo Alto, California

Architects like Aaron B. Schwartz, Principal and Director of Perkins Eastman, an international design firm, praise Stanford for staying "cohesive" despite extensive growth, and for always respecting and staying loyal to "its initial design precepts." New additions like the Science and Engineering Quad manage to gracefully blend modern and technological elements with the timeless, elegant aesthetics of the campus' early California Mission Revival architecture. Architect Mike Evans lauds the campus' "continuity of materials, color and scale" over time. The campus also scores big points for its dramatic entrance via Palm Drive, its romantic Spanish red-tile roofs and myriad patches of green.

Trinity College

Dublin, Ireland

Norfolk, Va., architect Mike Evans says Trinity is like Oxford, "only gentler, and on a more human scale." The most celebrated structure on the campus, which was founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1592, is the Old Library. Some have called the library's main chamber, known as the Long Room, a "cathedral of the book" because of its timbered barrel-vaulted ceiling and shelving that resembles side chapels of an old baroque church. The Long Room is also where the famous Book of Kells (an illuminated holy manuscript circa 800) is kept under lock and key. Over the years, architects say, the college has quietly pursued an enlightened policy of commissioning architecture from some of the best architects in Ireland and Britain.

Tsinghua University

Beijing, China

Our panel of architects says natural setting plays a big part in assessing a campus' beauty. In that regard, this campus is blessed: Founded in 1925, Tsinghua sits on the former site of the Qing Dynasty's royal gardens. Many of Beijing's most notable historical sites, like the Summer Palace, are close by. The campus is peppered with artificial ponds where stone benches and floating lotus blossoms inspire reflection. The landscaping and many of the buildings are traditional Chinese, but the campus also boasts many Western-style edifices, such as the quad and auditorium: T. Chuang, the university's principal architect, was a 1914 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

United States Air Force Academy

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Kevin Lippert, publisher of the Princeton Architectural Press, known for its Campus Guide series, picked this campus because it is "a masterpiece of mid-20th-century American Modernism, rather than something in the traditional Collegiate Gothic or Oxford style." He adds: "Many of the buildings are clad in aluminum, suggesting the skin of airplanes, and the Cadet's Chapel there is often called one of the most beautiful buildings in America, collegiate or otherwise." The multidenominational chapel, pictured, was designed so that different religious services can be held simultaneously without interference. 

Courtesy of The United States Air Force Academy

University of Bologna

Bologna, Italy

Arguably the oldest university in the Western world, the University of Bologna's actual "campus" is the city of Bologna itself, says David Meyerick, who teaches at Notre Dame's School of Architecture, and is currently designing a campus in Switzerland. "What the university lacks in personal identity, it makes up for in being inextricably tied to its environment," says Meyerick. Many European universities tend to be "embedded" in their home/host cities, which can be "a great advantage when the environment is an important, beautiful city whose origins date back well before the Roman Empire."

University of California, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Housed on a former ranch perched above the Pacific, the UCSC campus offers open meadows, redwood forests and panoramic ocean views. Architect Natalie Shivers says the California campus' buildings and "circulation networks" for both cars and pedestrians "are carefully designed and tucked into the natural landscape" to preserve both the environment and the vistas. It's no wonder students like to study outdoors and that the campus has created 100 points of wireless access throughout the grounds.

University of Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio 

Architecture students at UC (established in 1870) need only step outside the classroom to observe some of the more cunning modern architecture of their day. Kevin Lippert, publisher of the Princeton Architectural Press, says the school has positioned itself for the 21st century with a wholly renovated campus. Its master plan showcases major architectural works by Michael Graves, Peter Eisenman and Frank Gehry, among others.

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Thomas Jefferson said his proudest achievement was creating this campus in 1819. Jefferson believed that real learning could only happen in an "academical village" setting, and toward that end, he designed the campus around an imposing rotunda with a great lawn at its feet and 10 neo-classical pavilions (classrooms) lining the green. Professors' quarters were directly above the classrooms, so that discussions--and learning--could happen organically and freely. The Lawn is considered one of the great architectural achievements of the 19th century, symbolizing the harmony between professor and student and university and landscape. Today the university also features major architectural works by McKim, Mead & White, Michael Graves and Billie Tsien.

Wellesley College

Wellesley, Massachusetts

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., this serene liberal arts college for women, on the edge of Lake Waban near Boston, is considered the crowning jewel of the prestigious "Seven Sisters" campuses. Architect Natalie Shivers says both "the historic and contemporary have always been beautifully integrated with the natural topography." And a recent master plan only reaffirms "the key role the natural landscape plays in the character of the campus." To wit: Paramecium Pond, (pictured) edging a rich, botanical garden through which travels a stream fed by nearby waterfall.

Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut

From a purely architectural standpoint, "Yale University has more show-stoppers than all the campuses on the list," says architect Shivers, even if the mix is less cohesive than others in the League, like Princeton and Harvard. Some of these more iconic buildings include Ingalls Rink by Eero Saarinen, the Art and Architecture Building by Paul Rudolph, and Louis Kahn's Art Gallery and British Art Center. Many other Gothic and Colonial Revival structures have delightful quirks and surprises. Landscaped spaces--quadrangles, courtyards between buildings, plazas--abound, offering lots of "getaways" for a decidedly urban campus.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/31/beautiful-campuses-lifestyle-education-colleges-10-university-architecture_slide_2.html

What Not to Say When Pulled Over by a Cop

by Jennifer Waters

Sunday, September 19, 2010

In what he calls an "educational video" that's widely circulated on YouTube, comedian Chris Rock offers advice on what to do when you get pulled over for a traffic violation.

"Obey the law" he says. "Stop immediately" and "stay in your car with your hands on the wheel." Finally, "if your woman is mad at you, leave her at home. There's nothing she'd like to see more than you getting your [you-know-what] kicked."

It's a dead-on spoof of a hard truth: Respect authority. If you don't, you increase the odds of a pricey ticket.

"Everything in that video is absolutely true," said Sgt. Matthew Koep of the South Plainfield, N.J., Police Department. "It's funny, but it's accurate."

Citizens who are generally law-abiding are likely to come into contact with the police only under two circumstances: If you're a crime victim or you get pulled over for a traffic violation.

Police officers are not out to make your life miserable, but to make sure you're following the rules of the road and not endangering yourself or those around you.

With a few exceptions, and an egregious traffic violation is top among them, cops aren't mandated to write tickets. Most would rather send you on your way with a friendly warning -- that can save you time and money.

But handle the situation with an aggressive or arrogant attitude and you can expect to squeeze an expensive court date into your busy schedule.

Play Nice

First rule: don't argue.

"I get this all the time," said Karen Rittorno, a nine-year veteran with the Chicago Police Department. "'What are you stopping me for? I didn't do nothing.' If they try to take charge of the traffic stop, they're not going to get out of it without a ticket," she said. "We ask the questions, not them."

Accept that the police have caught you doing something that's against the law, such as speeding or gliding through a stop sign.

"All we do is react to what people do when you pull them over," said Dennis Fanning, a homicide detective and veteran officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. "We don't instigate the stuff, but we will react to you. The situation will escalate or de-escalate depending on how that person reacts."

To argue with cops is akin to calling them idiots. Don't do that. "That's implying that I pulled you over for no reason and that bothers me," Koep said.

Keep It Honest

Don't lie, either. Cops are trained to note the human characteristics of lying, including twitching and looking to the left, and they know the right questions to ask to suss out the truth.

Fanning estimates that nine out of 10 people lie to him. "It's an attack on our intelligence," he said.

Moreover, the truth can set you free. Koep recalled an incident when he pulled a young guy over for speeding.

"He looks straight at me and says, 'You know, officer, I wasn't even paying attention. I just had the best date of my life. I just met my future bride. I'm just on cloud nine right now.'

"The guy was completely serious," Koep said. "How are you going to write that guy up after that? Who makes that kind of stuff up?"

Of course, don't use pejoratives when addressing the police, unless you're eager for a ticket. But other words may backfire, too. Rittorno works in a crime-ridden section of Chicago where the majority of people she pulls over for traffic violations don't have licenses or insurance, she said.

"So I get a lot of, 'I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean it, sweetheart,'" she said. "I hate being called 'baby' or 'sweetheart.' I'm 'officer' to you.''

The police don't like being talked over, either. "Be polite," said Chicago Officer Mike Thomas. "You have your rights as a citizen, too, but it doesn't do you any good to talk while he's talking."

Cops know that people are nervous when they get pulled over, and they expect a certain amount of jumpiness when they approach a car. Rittorno even admitted she's intimidated in the same situation. "I'm the police and I get scared if I get pulled over," she said.

But did you know they're on edge, too? You know who they are, but they don't know whether you're a good guy or a bad guy. "The only thing on his mind when he approaches you is safety," Thomas said. "You know you don't have a gun in your lap, but the officer doesn't know it."

Rittorno, for one, said she assumes everyone has a gun. "I'm always on 10," she said, referring to her high level of vigilance. "I take it down depending on their demeanor or what I see."

Stay Calm

When those headlights go on, it's best to pull the car to the right, stay in the car, turn the interior lights on if it's dark and put your hands on the steering wheel.

Don't make any quick movements, and don't turn to grab your purse or put your hands in your pocket or under your seat to retrieve your license -- until the officer instructs you to. Then, do it slowly.

Don't move to open the glove box either, until directed. And do that slowly, too. Let the police shine a light inside the box before you reach in. Many criminals hide guns in glove boxes.

"What's going to cause the situation to get worse is for the fear factor to rise in that officer," Koep said. "The officer is more likely to cut you a break as long as you can reduce that fear. …If you're friendly with me, not arguing or denying what happened, that lowers the fear factor and will make me a lot more cooperative with you."

Don't boast about who you know, either. That can infuriate cops. They consider it a veiled threat to their livelihoods. Fortunately, most municipalities have laws in place to insure that an officer is not fired or reprimanded for ticketing, say, the mayor's daughter.

Finally, never try to buy off a cop. "In those instances where they've offered me a bribe," Fanning said. "I loved making those arrests."

Jennifer Waters is a MarketWatch reporter, based in Chicago. 

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110666/what-not-to-say-when-pulled-over-by-a-cop

Study uncovers every possible Rubik's Cube solution

August 12 10:40 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – An international team of researchers using computer time lent to them by Google has found every way the popular Rubik's Cube puzzle can be solved, and showed it can always be solved in 20 moves or less.

The study is just the latest attempt by Rubik's enthusiasts to figure out the secrets of the cube, which has proven to be altogether far more complicated that its jaunty colors might suggest.

At the crux of the quest has been a bid to determine the lowest number of moves required to get the cube from any given muddled configuration to the color-aligned solution.

"Every solver of the Cube uses an algorithm, which is a sequence of steps for solving the Cube," said the team of mathematicians, who include Morley Davidson of Ohio's Kent State University, Google engineer John Dethridge, German math teacher Herbert Kociemba and Tomas Rokicki, a California programmer.

"There are many different algorithms, varying in complexity and number of moves required, but those that can be memorized by a mortal typically require more than forty moves."

One may suppose God would use a much more efficient algorithm, one that always uses the shortest sequence of moves; this is known as God's Algorithm. The number of moves this algorithm would take in the worst case is called God's Number. At long last, God's Number has been shown to be 20."

The research, published online, ends a 30-year search for the most efficient way to correctly align the 26 colored cubes that make up Erno Rubrik's 1974 invention.

"It took fifteen years after the introduction of the Cube to find the first position that provably requires 20 moves to solve," the team said. "It is appropriate that fifteen years after that, we prove that twenty moves suffice for all position."

Using computers lent to them by Google -- the company won't disclose how many or how powerful they are -- the team crunched through billions of Cube positions, solving each one over a period of "just a few weeks."

The study builds on the work of a veritable pantheon of Rubik's researchers, starting with Morwen Thistlethwaite who in 1981 showed 52 moves were sufficient to reach the solution from any given Cube position.

By May 1992, Michael Reid showed 39 moves was always sufficient, only to be undercut a mere day later by Dik Winter, who showed 37 moves would work.

Rubik's enthusiasm extends not only to God's number, but the speed with which the tricky puzzle can be solved.

The current world record holder is Dutch Erik Akkersdijk who successfully solved the puzzle in just 7.08 seconds.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/study-uncovers-every-possible-rubik-s-cube-solution/1407748

The Popularity Issue

by Business Week

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Popularity is not a state of grace. In business, it is treasure hard-won on the battlefields of product development and marketing, then leveraged or squandered or stolen back. Most of the products and ideas showcased here—the stuff we buy, sell, and otherwise consume the most—owe their status in part to aggressive sales tactics, from knocking on doors to strong-arming grocers to gain the best shelf space. In its most potent and permanent form, however, popularity transcends sales pitches, advertising, fads, and maybe even conscious choice. One rarely reads or talks or thinks about peanut butter, yet Jif has eaten Skippy's lunch for 20 years, a sustained level of popularity that the iPhone can only dream about. While Jif rolls on, the iPhone—the most buzzworthy product of the last decade—will probably take its place amid the Palm and the Walkman in the great closeout bin in the sky. In short, if we have to think about a purchase, it's in a precarious position. The things we rarely pause to consider are the ones that stay on top.

In the following slides, you'll read about the churches we visit and the junk food we eat, the sneakers we wear, the Web videos we e-mail to each other, and the prescription drugs we take. Some is stuff we legitimately adore, such as Nike Air Force 1s or cuddly Labrador retrievers. Some make us scratch our heads—who buys a white car? Oh, you did? Sorry. See, that's another thing about popularity. Everybody has an opinion, and to some degree everybody defines himself against the mainstream. A few of the things we use the most are the ones we love the least, like Facebook, which according to ForeSee Results holds an approval rating close to that of the IRS. Our mission here is not to judge but to use the best available methodology—it varies widely from item to item—to determine the winners of the never-ending popularity contest that is the American economy. Your taste may differ. In fact, we're sure it does.

Car Color: White

Are we a color-blind continent? Fully 17.8 percent of cars sold in North America last year were white—the No.1 choice, according to the annual DuPont Global Automotive Color Popularity Report. Black, the No.2 color, scored a close second with 17 percent, having climbed six points since 2005. Silver, the global favorite, placed third in North America, totaling 16.7 percent of sales. —Caroline Winter

Item at Walmart: Banana

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News), which registered $405 billion in sales last year and is the largest retailer in the world, sold more bananas than any other single item.

Job: Sales Clerk

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is brutally honest describing the job of retail salesperson in its 2010-11 Occupational Outlook Handbook: "Advancement opportunities are limited," workers "often stand for long periods," and many "work evenings and weekends, particularly during peak retail periods." Then there's the pay: a 2009 annual median of $20,260, 61 percent of that for all jobs. Still, it's the most popular job in America, based on the 4.2 million people who were being paid to do it in May 2009, when the BLS conducted its survey. Next are cashiers (3.4 million), general office clerks (2.8 million), food preparation and serving workers (2.7 million), and registered nurses (2.6 million). Eyeing the list for jobs that sound more fun, we find bartenders (490,000 being paid for the work at survey time), actors (40,000), athletes and sports competitors (14,000), and models (1,510). Then again, most of us lack the cheekbones to model or the jump shot to play in the NBA. As a means to a weekly paycheck, retail salesperson really does deserve its No. 1 ranking. —Peter Coy

Cereal: Honey Nut Cheerios

Honey Nut Cheerios made their debut in 1979 as a supporting player in the General Mills (NYSE: GIS - News) cast, and two decades later it overtook the star. Launched by a team that included then-Chief Executive Stephen Sanger, it was the first of 10 extensions of the venerable Cheerios brand, which now include MultiGrain, Banana Nut, and Yogurt Burst. In 2008 it finally became the top-selling cereal in the U.S.; last year it sold 102 million units (not counting sales at Wal-Mart), according to research firm SymphonyIRI Group.

In part, Honey Nut Cheerios owes its success to the U.S. Hispanic market, the fastest-growing demographic. Marketing targeted to Hispanics touted the cereal's cholesterol-fighting benefits and helped boost sales to them by 65 percent over the past three years. The brand was also likely helped by a Latino preference for sweeter products, according to the Latinum Network in Bethesda, Md. The product comes by its sweetness the old-fashioned way—it really does contain honey—although it uses "natural almond flavor," not actual nuts. —Matthew Boyle

Runners-Up

2. Cheerios 

3. Post Honey Bunches of Oats

4. Kellogg Frosted Mini Wheats 

5. Kellogg Frosted Flakes

Chip: Lays

With nearly a billion dollars in annual sales, Lay's market share dwarfs that of its rivals, according to SymphonyIRI Group. Founded in 1932 in Nashville, Tenn., by Herman Lay, the brand went national in 1965, the year parent company Frito-Lay merged with Pepsi to form a food and beverage giant that uses its size to command space on the crowded snack shelf.

Competitor Kettle Foods is on the ascent, thanks to high-end chip flavors such as Spicy Thai and New York Cheddar. Sales last year totaled $250 million from 12 countries. In February, Diamond Foods (NasdaqGS: DMND - News) bought Kettle for $615 million, but compared with Lay's, Kettle is just one chip in the bag. —Matthew Boyle

Runners-Up

2. Wavy Lays 

3. Ruffles 

4. Pringles Super Stack 

5. Utz

Fish: Shrimp

Yes, the FDA classifies shrimp as a fish. And yes, the former special occasion appetizer is now America's mainstay seafood. On average, Americans ate 4.1 pounds of shrimp in 2008, according to the National Fisheries Institute, beating canned tuna by nearly 50 percent. The crustacean has been king for nearly a decade; from 1980 to 2008 the amount of shrimp consumed by Americans nearly tripled. "It's the expanding availability and affordability," says the NFI's Gavin Gibbons. —Sommer Saadi

Runners-Up

2. Canned tuna 

3. Salmon

4. Pollock 

5. Tilapia

Dog: Labrador

Labrador retrievers are the most popular purebred dogs in the country, according to American Kennel Club statistics. The family-friendly pooches have reigned for the past 19 years, though German shepherds are gaining favor—they overtook Yorkshire terriers for No. 2. Golden retrievers and beagles hold the fourth and fifth spots. Of the top five, only the Yorkie is not used for law enforcement and homeland security tasks, such as border patrol, bomb and narcotics detection, and searches for missing people. —Caroline Winter

Worldwide Vacation: France

If the French seem irritated by foreigners, they have good reason. Their country is the world's most popular travel destination by far. For each of the past five years, France has attracted at least 19 million more tourists than its closest competitor, according to U.N. World Tourism Organization statistics. Last year 74.2 million visitors streamed into the land of supermodel First Ladies and Camembert—and that after a 6.3 percent dip caused by the financial crisis. Being the most popular doesn't equal bringing in the most cash, however. The U.S. and Spain—which battle back and forth for the No.2 and No.3 favored spots—both earn more from international tourism than France does. Last year the U.S. made $94.2 billion and Spain $53.2 billion, while France saw $48.7 billion in tourism revenue. When it comes to spending on travel, Germans dominate: In 2009 the country of 82 million spent $80 billion on travel. (And Paul Krugman claims they're not doing enough to stimulate the global economy.) Americans, in second place, spent $73 billion. —Caroline Winter

Runners-Up

2. U.S 

3. Spain 

4. China 

5. Italy

Lipstick: Revlon

ColorStay, ColorBurst, Super Lustrous—all popular choices from Revlon (NYSE: REV-RI - News), America's go-to brand of lipstick. Over the past year Americans spent more than $300 million to beautify their lips in supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchandise outlets excluding Wal-Mart, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago market research firm. Nearly a third of that went to Revlon, which began applying itself to cosmetics in 1932 with an opaque nail polish. Its best-selling lipstick, a pinkish hue called SoftSilver Rose, retails for $7.99 —Sommer Saadi

Sneaker: Nike Air Force 1

Air Force 1, released in 1982, was the first basketball shoe to include Nike's (NYSE: NKE - News) Air technology, which embeds airbag cushions in the soles of the shoes. But the sneaker's success came largely off the court, as a fashion accessory embraced first by the hip-hop community and now by just about everybody.

Nike did not anticipate this level of popularity. The company largely stopped making AF1 after one year and didn't resume full-scale production until almost two decades later, when it was brought back by popular demand. Now it's a staple product; the all-white, low-cut version has been the best-selling sneaker in the U.S. since 2007; overall the brand sold 11 million pairs in 2009 for more than $1 billion, according to researcher Sports One Source. It has also become a blank slate for designers to experiment with different themes, materials, and color combinations. About 1,700 versions have been produced, using everything from 18-carat gold to chenille, to straw, to crocodile skin. Nike, in Beaverton, Ore., touted the shoe's hip-hop credibility for AFI's 25th anniversary in 2007, commissioning a song featuring Kanye West. It keeps up a rigorous series of limited editions dedicated to such things as Black History Month and the five boroughs of New York (the latter released just last month). Oh, and some people still wear them to play basketball. —Matt Townsend

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110348/the-popularity-issue

The Worst-Paying Jobs for Doctors

by Tara Weiss and Seth Cline

Monday, July 19, 2010

Don't go into family practice if you're in it for the money.

When Ted Epperly entered medical school in 1976, he did so with a scholarship from the U.S. Army. In return he committed to serving for four years in the Army after graduating from the University of Washington. It meant he wouldn't have the crippling student loans that burden many new doctors, so he was free to follow his dream of becoming a family practitioner instead of a cardiologist, the more lucrative specialty he was also considering.

"I didn't have large loans, so my choice became about what I wanted to do," he says. Today he is president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "As I went through school I realized I loved the continuity of care that primary care physicians can offer. I could see patients through their whole lives. Since I didn't have large loans to pay, I could do what I wanted and have a calling. It became a no-brainer."

Not many doctors have that luxury, since the average medical school student owes $140,000 in loans at graduation. That's a major reason not many doctors are becoming primary care physicians: They earn the lowest salary of all physicians, according to the medical search and consulting firm Merritt Hawkins & Associates' 2010 Review of Physician Recruiting Incentives.

At $180,000 for pediatricians and $175,000 for family practitioners, primary care providers make an awful lot less than the typical orthopedic surgeon, who makes $519,000, or a urologist, who earns $400,000, according to the Merritt Hawkins data. That disparity has contributed to a serious shortage of primary care doctors. The American Medical Association predicts a shortage of 35,000 to 40,000 primary care physicians by 2025.

Why do primary care physicians make less than specialists? One reason is they simply don't bring in the same amount of revenue per doctor, according to a Merritt Hawkins survey of hospital revenues. The 114 hospitals that participated in that survey reported that primary care physicians brought in an average of $225,383 less per year than specialists, between 2002 and 2010.

One reason for that is the medical profession's fee structure. Medicare and private insurers cover medical expenses based on valuations provided by a committee of the American Medical Assocation that assigns every medical task a "relative value unit" based on the skill and expertise required to perform it. If your work as a doctor expends more relative value units, you generally end up earning more, so the committee's assessment is very important.

"The group that sets the standard for this is composed of doctors, mostly specialists," says Phil Miller, vice president of communications at Merritt Hawkins. "Some people say because this group is made up of mostly specialists, they weight their own work more." The committee doesn't rate the primary care physicians' face-to-face interactions with patients as highly as procedures that specialists perform, so primary care physicians end up earning less.

Family practitioners earned $16,000 less in 2009 than certified registered nurse anesthetists, registered nurses who have worked in the field for at least one year and then return to school for 24 to 36 months to qualify for a master's degree. That's a lot less training than the four years of medical school, one year of internship and then residency you have to go through to become a primary care physician.

"You're talking about twice as much money to be a specialist, a better perceived lifestyle and more time off," says Tommy Bohannon, senior director of development and training at Merritt Hawkins.The AMA predicts that the shortage of internists will get worse as baby boomers age and require additional medical attention.

The AMA and the American Academy of Family Physicians are discussing several possible ways of addressing the shortage. They include offering scholarships to students who go into and stay in primary care, and loan forgiveness for primary care physicians who work in underserved areas.

Epperly also suggests distributing National Institutes of Health grants, a large source of funding for public medical schools, based on how many primary care physicians the schools produce. "If your percentage of primary care physicians is low, you don't get as much of that money," he says.

There has been talk of creating more places for students in medical schools, but that would take a long time to have an effect, since those students need not just four years of medical school but also a one-year internship, about three years for a residency and maybe three to five years of regular practice before they reach their full effectiveness. As a result, Bohannon says, there can't be a real increase in supply before about 2030.

Still, getting more primary care physicians out there is crucial for improving Americans' health, Epperly says: "Studies show that if you have a regular primary care physician to go to, your health will be better and your costs will be lower, because the treatment can be preemptive. If I've cared for you for 10 years, you can call about a question and not need to come in. I connect the dots for you for your health care. That's what we're missing in our system."

1. Family Practice

Average salary, 2009-2010: $175,000

2008-2009: $173,000

2008-2009: $172,000

2006-2007: $161,000

2. Pediatrics

Average salary, 2009-2010: $180,000

2008-2009: $171,000

2008-2009: $159,000

2006-2007: $159,000

3. Internal Medicine

Average salary, 2009-2010: $191,000

2008-2009: $186,000

2008-2009: $176,000

2006-2007: $174,000

4. Family Practice with Obstetrics

Average salary, 2009-2010: $200,000

2008-2009: $184,000

2008-2009: $184,000

2006-2007: $159,000

5. Hospitalist

Average salary, 2009-2010: $208,000

2008-2009: $201,000

2008-2009: $181,000

2006-2007: $180,000

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110106/the-worst-paying-jobs-for-doctors?mod=career-salary_negotiation

Quote of the Day

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

-Unknown

Estée Lauder: the line of beauty

By Drusilla Beyfus

Published: 12:01AM BST 10 May 2008

Between 1962 and 1987 the 'Estée Lauder woman' was exemplified by a succession of five models in a groundbreaking advertising campaign shot by Victor Skrebneski. Twenty-one years on, Drusilla Beyfus talks to the key players

The reissue of the book Five Beautiful Women is a reminder of an advertising campaign that broke new ground, ran for 25 years and helped to shape the fortunes of Estée Lauder, the founder of the US-based cosmetics empire currently quoted as worth $5 billion. It was an exercise in inspired puffery. Focused on a series of high-glamour black-and-white photographs of models posing in ritzy or romantic surroundings, the campaign sold Lauder's products in newspapers and magazines from 1962 to 1987.

In the 1960s the major beauty houses usually diffused their advertising by using a variety of images shot by different photographers. Estée Lauder had her reasons for parting company with that practice. Together with the brand's New York advertising agency, AC&R, they dreamt up the concept of 'the Estée Lauder woman'. Lauder comments in her autobiography, 'She was one kind of woman, always, even though she could be rich, poor, younger or older. She was classic. That never changed.'

A decision was taken to personify the brand's products in the likeness of this fiction. The campaign would use the same model in its advertising photography over a run of years. Each of the exemplars projected a different kind of physical beauty, though they had much in common. Caucasian women, they are slender but not excessively thin, graced with elegantly long necks, trusty high cheek bones and classically regular facial features. Although a smiling face is thought of as being part and parcel of US product advertising, few of the Lauder lovelies succumb to a parting of the lips. A characteristic expression is of cool don't-mess-with-me reserve.

Consistency was essential in the visuals and this was the responsibility of the Chicago-based photographer Victor Skrebneski, who was assigned to shoot the pictures throughout. In an interview in Town & Country magazine, he said, 'I love to design photographs, to consider the proportions of the figure, the space around it, the edge of the picture.' Among his best-known sitters are Audrey Hepburn, Orson Welles, Vanessa Redgrave, Fred Astaire, and among younger members, Jasmine Guinness.

Owing more than a nod to Hollywood lighting effects and film-still poses, the shoots went flat out for the aspirational. Whether location or studio, a whole slew of fashions in living were called on and called in: impressive houses, designer dresses from the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Halston and Valentino, remarkable accessories and interior design details with an emphasis on collector's level art, both antique and contemporary. In my telephone interview with Skrebneski, he recalled, 'The photographs caused a lot of public comment. People were interested in everything in the picture. The designers whose dresses were shown did quite a lot of business and I was always being asked where we had got hold of an item of decoration.'

Interestingly for such ephemera, the portfolio had an afterlife. It was thought that the pictures communicated more than segments of powder and paint time. A selection of the shots was first published in hardback in 1987 with an introduction by Hubert de Givenchy.

Despite the fact that no reference is made in the book to the products that the shots promoted, the pictures tell the story of changes in beauty trends. Broadly, the line travels from one look as the look of the day to chameleon-like choice. Phyllis Connor (1962-67) has broomstick Elizabeth Taylor eyelashes, pale lips outlined and neat hair; Karen Harris (1967-1970) is given panda-like eye make-up, fine arched brows and a beehive; Karen Graham (1970-1980) features naturalistic make-up, a clean brow and softly curled hair; Shaun Casey (1981-1985) advances the cause of naturalism illustrating a light blusher, soft lipline and gentle eyeliner; Willow Bay (1985-1987) introduces many different appearances from high-style, grown-up grooming to the illusion of a look that is nature's own.

Graham features on the cover and has the greatest number of portraits in the book. According to Lauder's reminiscences she was picked from more than a thousand faces on the grounds that she possessed 'that indefinable air known as class'. As it happened this chimed with Graham's own modelling ambitions. She told me, 'The image I was trying to create for myself as a model was one of classic elegance and all those settings fed right into the persona I was working towards.' In Skrebneski's view, Graham had 'the young Bette Davis look. The wonderful thing about her was that she always knew what to do.'

'Victor and I had similar goals,' Graham told me. 'I felt confident with him. No matter what I was wearing or what pose, I knew he would take a photograph of me that I would be pleased with. There was an era even in beauty photography that was showing dark shadows and lighting that was anything but flattering to the model. Victor was never caught up in that track of decadent realism and the druggy look.' In retrospect, she believes that the factor that dates the pictures most tellingly is the hairstyles.

None the less, critics may argue that the set-piece glamour poses and lush consumerism of the pictures amount to little more than conventional retro. Certainly the shots are distant from what was going on in the creative fields in beauty and style photography, particularly as far as the portrayal of women's sexuality was concerned. It was an era when metaphors for femininity and stylishness took on a harder edge and many limits went out of the studio window.

Rising above such esoteric considerations, the Estée Lauder woman lives on most prominen tly in the real-life persona of Aerin Lauder, the granddaughter of Estée. Aerin, born in 1970, is now the head of global advertising for the company and recently appeared in the promotional images for its new fragrance, Private Collection. Shot by the British photographer Craig McDean in a high-glam style, the image has many affinities with the Beauties shots. As to the attribute of feminine beauty that the book's title celebrates, surely little has changed in terms of its power since Helen of Troy, as the recent Carla Bruni-Sarkozy effect suggests.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/3364885/Estee-Lauder-the-line-of-beauty.html

10 Jobs With Great Return on Investment

Liz Wolgemuth

On Thursday April 15, 2010, 12:24 pm EDT

A college degree was once a kind of insurance against high tides of unemployment, but this downturn took plenty of white collar, degree-necessary jobs with it. What's more, it's no longer a given that an advanced degree will launch you into the upper echelon of earners.

Consider that a student could invest in a master's degree in anthropology, reasonably expecting to make the median wage for an anthropologist, about $54,000. The middle 50 percent of anthropologists and archeologists earn between $39,200 and $70,980, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another student could invest in an associate's degree in radiation therapy and expect to earn a radiation therapist's median wage of $72,900 (the middle 50 percent of radiation therapists earn between $59,050 and $87,910.)

It's true that many workers do not choose their occupations based on the money they expect to earn from the investment in education, training, and time. They follow their interests and passions, and see their career as a calling. But the recession has turned many dreamers into pragmatists. For those who feel pressure to make the most of their education, here are some careers that offer major bang for the buck.

Radiation therapist

--Most common degree: Associate's

--Median pay: $72,910

More than half of cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy, which involves high doses of radiation aimed at killing cancer cells, and, according to the National Cancer Institute. (Radiation is also used in lesser doses to capture images of the body through an X-ray.) Radiation therapists don't prescribe doses for patients, but they give patients the treatments--putting them in the proper position and running the machine. Employment in the occupation is expected to grow by nearly a third between 2008 and 2018, as advancements make radiation safer and more widely prescribed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest paid 10 percent of radiation therapists made more than $104,350 last year.

Dental hygienist

--Most common degree: Associate's

--Median pay: $66,570

It's no surprise that the healthcare field is home to several careers that offer the best pay and opportunities for the education required, given that the healthcare industry has faced steady increases in demand despite the recession. Dental hygienists examine patients' gums, perform cleanings, take X-rays, and in some states even administer anesthesia. Most of the 301 accredited dental hygiene programs in the United States grant associate's degrees. As with other healthcare occupations, dental hygienists need a state license to practice, so exams are also part of the deal.

Respiratory therapist

--Most common degree: Associate's

--Median pay: $52,200

Few jobs have the kind of growth projections as the respiratory therapist occupation. Employment is expected to jump more than 22 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Respiratory therapists help care for patients with lung or heart disorders, most often working in hospitals, but they are increasingly in patients' homes, medical equipment supply companies, or skilled nursing facilities, according to the American Association for Respiratory Care. Part of the reason earnings are high in the profession has to do with respiratory therapists' ability to constrain costs, says Sam Giordano, chief executive of the association. The healthcare system puts a lot of value on a respiratory therapists' ability to treat patients and help physicians determine when a treatment is no longer called for--increasing the quality and timeliness of decision-making, Giordano says. Respiratory therapists can also help patients avoid ventilator-associated pneumonia by weaning them off the ventilator more quickly.

Powerhouse electrical repairer

--Most common degree: Vocational training

--Median pay: $61,040

This category includes electricians who work on electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and relays. Job titles might also be relay technicians or power transformer repairers. Most repairers work for utility companies, where the average wages are $61,330. For many of these jobs, an associate's degree in electronics and some professional certifications are preferred.

Air traffic controller

--Most common degree: Long-term, on-the-job training

--Median pay: $111,870

This may be one career where high stress equals high reward. Controllers work in traffic control towers, radar rooms, or en route centers, handing off your flight as it passes through their airspace. While employment growth should exceed 13 percent between 2008 and 2018, there will be many more job opportunities as about half of the nation's controllers are expected to retire this year, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

Petroleum engineer

--Most common degree: Bachelor's

--Median pay: $108,020

When it comes to jobs for which the typical degree is a bachelor's, only airline pilots earn more than petroleum engineers. For one thing, engineers' salaries reflect the technical skills required, says Margaret Watson of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. But the salaries are also a result of supply and demand, as there are relatively few graduates in petroleum engineering--some enter the field with degrees in other engineering disciplines, as well--and demand is expected to increase as more engineers reach retirement age. The job also comes with a great deal of responsibility, as engineers may work on multimillion dollar projects. Petroleum engineers have options, according to the Society of Petroleum Engineers: They can help design and oversee drilling operations; work on optimizing production processes; and become reservoir engineers. While some petroleum engineers work for energy giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron, others may consult or work for the government.

Nuclear power reactor operator

--Most common training: Long-term, on-the-job training

--Median pay: $73,320

Nuclear power reactor operators might start their careers as plant equipment operators while they become familiar with the operations. In fact, reactor operators need at least three years of experience working in a power plant--including at least one year in a nuclear plant. To earn the right to control the equipment as reactor operators, they must be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Employment of nuclear power reactors is expected to grow by 20 percent between 2008 and 2018.

Transportation inspector

--Most common training: Work experience in a related occupation

--Median pay: $55,250

Transportation inspectors make up a broad group, including aircraft inspectors, cargo inspectors, and motor vehicle emissions inspectors. Employment for this group is expected to jump more than 18 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Aircraft inspectors often get their start as aircraft mechanics, and while mechanics can learn their trade on the job, it's more common to attend an FAA-certified Aviation Maintenance Technician school for one to two years.

Subway operator

--Most common training: Moderate-term, on-the-job training

--Median pay: $53,220

Subway and streetcar operators generally work for public transit agencies. Very often, the first step for operators is to work as bus drivers within that transit system. Training programs for subway and streetcar operation can last as long as six months and are followed by exams. Employment of subway and streetcar operators is expected to jump about 19 percent between 2008 and 2018.

Prosthodontist

--Most common degree: First professional

--Median pay: More than $166,400

Prosthodontics has come a long way since George Washington's wooden teeth. Today, prosthodontists use sophisticated techniques and materials to replace missing teeth or restore damaged ones, as well as work on jaw and joint problems. The prosthodontics education starts with dental school and tacks an extra three years in an ADA-accredited graduate program. The educational requirements are of a similar breadth as those for physicians, but employment of prosthodontists is expected to jump nearly 28 percent between 2008 and 2018. (You might make more focusing on teeth, too. Consider that the median income for family and general practitioners is $157,250.)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-Jobs-With-Great-Return-on-usnews-4256113474.html?x=0

10 Things Human Resources Won't Say

by Jim Rendon

Thursday, April 22, 2010

1. "We're Squeezed Too."

There was a time when human resources departments handled every staffing need at a company, from hiring and firing to administering benefits and determining salaries. But HR's role has begun to change significantly as departments have shrunk at companies across the board. According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management, the profession's largest association, the head count at the average HR department fell from 13 in 2007 to nine in 2008. "HR departments are under pressure like never before," says Steve Miranda, the society's global HR and integration officer.

As much of what was once HR's domain increasingly gets outsourced, human resources is regrouping to help show top management how it can add to the bottom line, says Tony Rucci, former chief administrative officer at Cardinal Health and a professor at the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. Though that may seem like an odd role for a department that doesn't make or sell anything, strong HR departments are now focusing on boosting productivity by helping employees better understand what's expected of them and by showing managers how to be more effective.

2. "We're Not Always Your Advocate..."

Employees often turn to HR if they're having problems with a manager, but they don't always come away satisfied. In 2007, Ronica Tabor was interviewing for a better sales job at tool manufacturer Hilti North America when, she says, the interviewer told her that women had to work harder than men to learn to use and sell tools and that she should check with her husband about applying for the job. Tabor says she turned to HR with "high hopes" they'd keep the interviewer from doing this with others. But Tabor's attorney says she was "made ineligible for promotion for another year" and left the company. She is suing Hilti in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, alleging gender discrimination. A Hilti spokesperson says the company's investigation found that Tabor wasn't qualified for the opening and that Hilti doesn't discriminate. "Our HR process did work," says the spokesperson.

Still, employees should realize that HR answers to the company, says Lewis Maltby, director of the National Workrights Institute, an employee-rights organization. "HR is a spear carrier for the boss," he says.

3. "...But We Can Help Your Career."

Human resources managers do much more than handle employment agreements, medical forms and 401(k) paperwork. They can also have a hand in helping to retain and promote top talent -- i.e., you. J.T. O'Donnell, a former HR manager and the founder of online career-development company Careerealism.com, says it's a good idea to be in touch with someone in the department. Employees often want to avoid HR, O'Donnell says, "but you really should do the opposite." Molly John credits HR with helping her get promoted to partner at Ernst & Young last year, after she participated in an HR-sponsored program assigning senior partners as mentors to promising junior employees. Without it, she says, "I would not have been promoted so soon."

Seymour Adler, a senior VP with HR management firm Aon Consulting, says one way to be recognized for your work is to keep human resources in the loop -- say, by sending your HR manager an occasional e-mail to let her know how you've been contributing to the company's success. That kind of connection could help land you a promotion when positions open up or even keep you off the chopping block during the next round of layoffs.

4. "Want the job? Then You'll Want to Get to Know Us."

With unemployment hovering around 10 percent, HR managers are inundated with responses for every job posting. In fact, some companies are hiring outside firms to post jobs and sort through resumes, presenting only a dozen or so qualified candidates for consideration. How to make the cut? Be sure your resume and cover letter highlight the skills asked for in the job posting; HR tosses applications that don't meet all the basic criteria. And ask yourself what in your background fits the company's needs, says Mike Wright, senior vice president of outsourcing sales with Hewitt Associates.

Another angle: Approach an in-house recruiter or hiring manager before they post a position. Try using business-oriented social-media sites like LinkedIn.com to meet contacts, says O'Donnell. Judi Perkins, founder of FindThePerfectJob.com, says she found most of her clients jobs this way. When you score an interview with HR reps, take it seriously -- you never know how much say they have in the process. And ask them what qualities they look for in employees. "You really need to sell them on your abilities," says O'Donnell.

5. "Yes, Facebook Can Get You Fired."

Employees like to think that what they do on their own time is their own business, but that's not always the case. According to a 2009 survey by the American Management Association and the ePolicy Institute, 27 percent of companies have policies about what employees can post on personal blogs. "You have to think about whether this will come back to haunt you," says Nancy Flynn, executive director of the institute. That never occurred to Nate Fulmer, a warehouse manager for chemical supplier Environmental Express. Fulmer and his wife made fun of a local church sermon in a podcast they posted online in 2005. Fulmer says it got so much attention, his boss listened to it, thought it was offensive and fired him. "I was so blindsided," he says. (A company spokesperson says the firm has new ownership and can't comment on employee matters.)

According to Flynn's survey, 2 percent of companies have dismissed employees over the content of personal social-networking pages. Flynn recommends employees check company policy before posting anything online and steer clear of potentially offensive content, even if it has nothing to do with work.

6. "In Some Companies, We're Not Very Useful at All."

it seems that every company has a different approach to human resources. For some, it's nothing more than an administrative job, involved with hiring and firing, benefits and not much more. These firms may have a dysfunctional work environment with high turnover, Perkins says, where employees can often feel trapped. By contrast, companies with strong HR departments have been shown to do better financially, says Rucci. Empowered human resources reps can also help guide employees through their careers.

How to tell the difference? For one, see whom HR reports to. If it's the CEO, that's good, says Maltby. If HR managers are in the field, getting to know employees and how the company works, that can be another key, says LaRhonda Edwards, an employee-relations panel member with the Society of Human Resource Management. One way to suss out a human resources department's effectiveness is to ask the manager interviewing you how HR operates and what it has done to help her achieve her goals. If she doesn't have an answer, it's "not a good sign," Rucci says.

7. "You're Not Paranoid — We are Watching You."

Companies want to make sure you're working most of the time, not sending joke e-mails to your buddies. Half of organizations in the ePolicy Institute survey banned the use of personal e-mail on the job, and more than one in four reported firing employees for misusing the Internet. In many companies, HR works with the information-technology department and the legal team to develop policies for electronic communication. These policies aren't a secret. Edwards says she makes a big effort to walk new employees through computer-use and e-mail policies, and they must sign forms saying they're aware of them.

Many companies employ software that sifts through e-mail looking for curse words or sexually explicit language. IT monitors Web usage and can see every site an employee visits. In fact, anything you do via the company's server—most activity on an office computer, including personal e-mail -- is subject to review by your boss. Firings over these issues are on the rise, says Flynn. In 2009, 26 percent of companies reported terminating employees for violations of e-mail policy, up from 14 percent in 2001. "Employees should act as if the boss was looking over their shoulder," says California employment mediator Michelle Reinglass.

8. "Read the Fine Print."

When you take a job, you may be agreeing to more than you know. In the fine print of employment agreements, employee handbooks and job applications, many companies include a mandatory arbitration clause -- meaning that you agree to give up your right to take any dispute to court, even if the employer has broken the law. Instead, the case goes to an arbitrator, who decides it privately, and "the grounds for appeal are extremely limited," says Donna Lenhoff, an attorney with the National Employment Lawyers Association. Lenhoff estimates that more than 30 million Americans are bound by arbitration clauses at work.

Employers -- particularly those in financial services, health care and pharmaceuticals -- often favor arbitration because it keeps costs down and cases out of the headlines, says Manesh Rath, a partner at the law firm Keller & Heckman. But, says Lenhoff, arbitration seldom works out well for employees. A recent study found that arbitrators decided in favor of employees just 30 percent of the time, and when the individual arbitrator had worked previously on a case with the employer, the employee won only 12 percent of the time. Reinglass says employees can often fare better in court. "Someone on a jury might relate to your experience in a way that an arbitrator may not," she says.

9. "We Know More About You Than You think."

these days companies do a lot more than look over a pile of resumes and call a few references before hiring a new employee. They bring in outside firms to dig into an applicant's background and verify education and employment histories, and they will often even search criminal records and credit reports. According to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 53 percent of companies have conducted credit checks on their employees. Companies are concerned that "if you have a lot of financial pressure, you might not act in the best interest of the company," says Wright.

Another survey, conducted in 2007 by HR Focus magazine, found that 86 percent of firms performed criminal background checks during the hiring process, and it has been estimated that nearly two-thirds of companies test job applicants for drug use. But not everyone thinks such measures are extreme. If anything, employers don't dig deeply enough, says Rath: "An employee with a problem with a previous employer or criminal record will try to hide it."

10. "We Love Tests."

Job seekers today have so much experience packaging themselves, with tailored resumes and rehearsed answers, that companies turn to tests to find out more about what makes them tick. A 2009 survey by research firm IOMA found that 26 percent of companies conducted personality, psychological or integrity tests on applicants. Job seekers may also be asked to take a test to quantify their creativity. What's more, insurance companies are pushing businesses to screen for traits like risk-taking, a quality the underwriter would not appreciate in, say, an applicant for a forklift-driver position.

But testing does have its problems. Rucci says that the most important indicator of future success on the job is past performance. Counter to that, HR managers sometimes distance themselves from the hiring process by relying on tests rather than performance appraisals. "There was a time when someone would say, This is the best-qualified candidate, based on their record," says Maltby. "Now it's tests, and no one takes responsibility for the decision."

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http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109371/10-things-human-resources-wont-say?mod=career-worklife_balance