WDSU Parade Tracker puts Carnival in the palm of your hand

In 2010, WDSU introduced New Orleans to the "Parade Tracker" -- a hyper-local app that?gave smart phone users the?ability to see exactly where a parade was, and to know when it would be arriving at their location.?The response was overwhelming, and each year since, technological and design upgrades have enhanced the experience.

The development of this app and the parades included therein has come by leaps and bounds.

In 2012, the WDSU Parade Tracker followed 31 parades (10 more than the year prior). In early 2013 -- for the next Carnival -- the number will jump to more than 50, with expansion to areas well outside New Orleans.

It's no easy task -- and pulling it all together is a feat of technology, creativity and roll-up-your-sleeves hard work. Tracking all those parades requires permission from each individual "krewe" to?allow our Parade Tracker vehicle at the head end of their lineups of floats, bands and dance teams.

Then, our two-person tracking?squads take their positions and?deploy their?GPS systems to update each parade's location in real time. The tracking duo?also?sends along breaking information via text. If a?parade stalls or weather prompts a cancellation, users of the Parade Tracker app know right away.

When a parade is re-scheduled because of weather concerns (as often happens), the Parade Tracker updates, even re-plotting the route, when necessary.

Long before the first float rolls, users can use the Parade Tracker to make their plans. The app includes routes, dates and times. The news feature offers coverage of topics related to Carnival season -- helpful stories for locals and visitors alike.

The 2012 version of the app was ranked among the top 10 travel apps in the iTunes App Store throughout Carnival season.

There is no charge for the app on either operating system. Check out the 2012 edition, here for your review. We also hope you'll check back for a peek at the 2013 version of the Parade Tracker, coming in early January.

The Parade Tracker app was built from the ground up by WDSU TV and Calliope Digital, both based in New Orleans.

Source: http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/WDSU-Parade-Tracker-puts-Carnival-in-the-palm-of-your-hand/-/9853400/17696640/-/2c5ly/-/index.html?absolute=true

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Prevent Contracting Athlete's Foot from Health Club Locker

By NNT Featured Publications- December 21, 2012

www.cedarsole.com

It is very common to contract athlete?s foot infection from public places, such as locker rooms in health clubs, fitness center exercise equipment, communal showers and indoor swimming pools. Once contracted this fungus is very difficult to eliminate, and causes many other negative side effects.

This athlete?s foot fungus, also known as Tinea Pedis, is very contagious and causes embarrassing chronic foot odor. It also causes itching, peeling and cracking of skin, stinging and burning, and discoloration of toe nails. The fungus attaches itself to the inner lining of shoes, which can ruin perfectly good shoes in a short period of time. Many people exercise in public health clubs. This environment is where the fungus flourishes. Experts say that people should not go bear footed in these places.? That alone will not prevent contracting athlete?s foot. A simple, safe and natural athlete?s foot cure is to put Cedarsole inserts in all of your shoes.

The fungus is not only in the locker room. It also lives on the exercise equipment.? Most people don?t realize that this fungus is contracted through contact with fingers as well. Exercise equipment is typically not cleaned after every use with a cleaner which eliminates the fungus producing bacteria. After coming in contact with these bacteria, it can be transferred from the fingers to the feet. It will then thrive on the feet and in shoes as that is typically a moist environment, which the fungus needs to spread and grow. By using Cedarsole inserts to prevent contracting athlete?s foot, the feet and shoes will become dry not allowing the bacteria to live.

These Cedarsole inserts are made of 100% natural Lebanon cedar.? This cedar has a resin which kills the bacteria, so that even shoes which already have bacteria inside will become bacteria and odor free. Over 400,000 satisfied customers are using Cedarsole inserts today, which makes it fast, simple and inexpensive chronic foot odor and natural athlete?s foot cure once and for all with no side effects.? They are extremely thin and comfortable in shoes. These leave-in inserts are designed to be worn in all shoes, and typically last up to 4 months depending on frequency of use.? Imagine being able to use the same pair of socks all day, not having to use any creams, antifungal powders, vinegar or having to wash your feet several times per day, or use whatever other remedy which people have been trying to use for years to eliminate chronic foot odor!? You will feel comfortable and safe knowing you can take off your shoes at anytime without worrying about embarrassing odor.? Buy using Cedarsole inserts you can work out at your favorite health club and take a shower in the locker room without worrying about contracting athlete?s foot.

To get fast, safe and a 100% guaranteed cure for athlete?s foot and chronic foot odor: www.cedarsole.com

Source: http://www.nationalnewstoday.com/health-and-fitness/prevent-contracting-athlete%E2%80%99s-foot-from-health-club-locker-room-natural-100-effective-cure-insole-inserts.php

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Clean and Green: How to Make Laundry Rooms Ecofriendlier--and Healthier

Besides choosing the right detergents, switching out energy-hungry washers and driers, also makes financial sense

laundry room CLEANER CLEANING: Three steps to a healthier, greener laundry room: Use natural detergents free of harsh chemicals, dyes and perfumes; lose the fabric softener in favor of vinegar; and swap out your old equipment for EnergyStar-rated appliances. Image: iStockPhoto/Thinkstock

  • Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

    Read More??

Dear EarthTalk: How can I have a greener, healthier laundry room??Billie Alexander, Topeka, Kans.

While there are many ways to green one?s laundry room, one place to start is with detergent. Luckily, in 2009 the federal government phased out phosphates, harsh chemicals that help break down minerals and loose food bits during the wash cycle, because their presence in waste water causes algae blooms in downstream waterways. But mainstream detergents still often contain the surfactant nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE), which researchers have identified as an endocrine-disrupting estrogen mimic, meaning exposure to it can cause reproductive and other human health problems. Bleach, a corrosive chemical known to burn skin and eyes on contact and damage lungs when inhaled?and which can react with ammonia to produce toxic gases?is also a common ingredient in detergents.

Sarah van Schagen tested and reviewed six leading eco-friendly detergents for Grist Magazine. To qualify for consideration, each needed to be ?free and clear? of dyes and perfumes and also ?concentrated? in order to save water, packaging and extra carbon emissions from transport. The contestants included detergents from Earth Friendly Products, Biokleen, Mountain Green, Planet, Seventh Generation, and All. Each did a respectable job getting clothes clean and smelling fresh, with most performing just as well as mainstream brands. Seventh Generation Free & Clear was the overall winner for its combination of eco-friendly ingredients, good stain fighting, pleasant but not ?perfumey? scent and low price.

Another way to green the laundry room is to lose the fabric softener. Mainstream varieties, whether dryer sheets or liquid, contain harmful chemicals like benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer), benzyl alcohol (an upper respiratory tract irritant), ethanol (linked to central nervous system disorders), limonene (a known carcinogen) and chloroform (a neurotoxin and carcinogen). Many dryer sheets also contain tallow, a processed form of beef or mutton fat.

?You can avoid these health risks, the animal fat and the waste simply by using vinegar to soften your clothing,? reports Josh Peterson of The Discovery Network?s Planet Green. ?Add 3/4 cups of vinegar to your final rinse cycle and your clothes will come out soft.? And since vinegar ?is ludicrously inexpensive when compared to fabric softener,? consumers can save money and the planet at the same time.

Of course, swapping out that old water-hogging, energy-gulping washing machine for a new model that meets federal EnergySTAR standards will save lots of electricity and water. EnergySTAR certified washing machines use about 20 percent less energy and 35 percent less water than regular washers, and also have greater capacity so it takes fewer loads to clean the same amount of laundry. Their sophisticated wash systems flip or spin clothes through a stream of water and rinse them with repeated high pressure spraying instead of soaking them in a full tub of water. Likewise, replacing an older clothes dryer with a newer EnergySTAR model will help reduce your household?s electricity consumption. And if you live in a place with a mild and often sunny climate, ditch the dryer altogether and hang your clothes to dry outside.

CONTACTS: Biokleen, www.biokleenhome.com; Earth Friendly Products ECOS, www.ecos.com; Mountain Green, www.mountaingreen.biz; Planet Inc., www.planetinc.com; Seventh Generation, www.seventhgeneration.com; All Laundry, www.all-laundry.com; Grist Magazine, www.grist.org; Planet Green, planetgreen.discovery.com; EnergySTAR, www.energystar.gov.

EarthTalk? is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=2f0d45b5fd7faefa4b432609e1f651a6

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Angels trade 1B-DH Morales to Seattle for Vargas

FILE - In this May 29, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Angels Kendrys Morales (8) reacts after breaking his left ankle while jumping onto home plate after hitting a grand slam to win their baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, in Anaheim, Calif. The Angels have traded power hitter Morales to the Mariners for left-hander Jason Vargas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this May 29, 2010, file photo, Los Angeles Angels Kendrys Morales (8) reacts after breaking his left ankle while jumping onto home plate after hitting a grand slam to win their baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, in Anaheim, Calif. The Angels have traded power hitter Morales to the Mariners for left-hander Jason Vargas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 29, 2012, file photo, Los Angeles Angels' Kendrys Morales poses in a baseball uniform in Tempe, Ariz. The Angels have traded power hitter Morales to the Seattle Mariners for left-hander Jason Vargas. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2012, file photo, Seattle Mariners' Jason Vargas poses in a baseball uniform in Peoria, Ariz. The Los Angeles Angels have traded power hitter Kendrys Morales to the Mariners for left-hander Vargas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

(AP) ? The Los Angeles Angels got the pitching depth they wanted. The Seattle Mariners got the power-bat they so desperately needed.

Two foes in the AL West found a way to work together Wednesday when the Angels traded switch-hitting slugger Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners for left-hander Jason Vargas, filling needs for both teams.

The 29-year-old Morales became expendable after the Angels agreed to a deal last week with free agent slugger Josh Hamilton. The Angels had been looking for a pitcher after losing Zack Greinke and Dan Haren to free agency and trading Ervin Santana.

The Angels added a left-hander to their rotation, while Seattle got a hitter than can instantly take a spot in the middle of its order.

"We were going to try and come up with some type of offense and I think this worked out in a positive way," Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "Both players are at the end of their contracts."

Getting Vargas reunites the lefty with his former Long Beach State teammate Jered Weaver at the top of the Angels' rotation. The duo played college ball together in 2004 and now will be counted on in helping make the big money the Angels spent on Hamilton and Albert Pujols last season pay off.

"I'm back home in California now," Vargas said. "It's perfect."

Vargas grew up in Southern California where his father coached high school baseball. He used to watch his second cousin, infielder Randy Velarde, play for the Angels in the late 1990s.

Vargas led Seattle in wins last season, going 14-11 with a 3.85 ERA and pitched a career-high 217 1-3 innings. The 29-year-old is 36-42 with a 4.09 ERA in four years with the Mariners.

"Jason was what we were looking for on the market this year: just a steady reliable left-hander who can go out there. He's got a history of pitching a high volume of innings and clearly I think we make ourselves a little bit better just in that we don't have to face him because he's given us fits," Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said. "So we're thrilled to make the deal. We feel like this makes us a better, more complete and balanced team."

In his career, Vargas is 5-4 with a 2.65 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched against the Angels.

A flyball pitcher, Vargas is excited to have an outfield that includes Rookie of the Year Mike Trout and Hamilton.

"Those guys out there behind me is outstanding," he said.

Morales hit .273 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs last season after missing the entire 2011 season after breaking his leg early in 2010 while celebrating a game-ending grand slam against the Mariners. Morales was at his best later in 2012, hitting .275 with 11 homers, 28 RBIs and an OPS of .827 over the final two months. Among its regular starters, no Seattle hitter had an OPS higher than .738 for the 2012 season.

Morales said his leg got progressively stronger through last season and has felt 100 percent during offseason workouts.

"It's allowing me to work this offseason for the first time since about two years back," Morales said through an interpreter. "Following workouts and what I'm doing, I'm feeling no pain, no inflammation. So at this point I would say I feel 100 percent."

Morales could quickly become the most productive hitter in the Mariners lineup. He would have led Seattle in home runs and been second in RBIs last season and could be even more potent with the Mariners bringing the fences closer in the outfield.

In 34 career games at Safeco Field, Morales is a .292 hitter with a .904 OPS, seven home runs and 23 RBIs.

"I thought it was a situation where we could acquire a middle of the lineup bat, and a switch hitter. And here is a guy who played in this division, here is a guy who knows the American League. I thought that was really good," Zduriencik said.

Zduriencik said the conversations with Dipoto became serious on Tuesday morning and the deal was wrapped up by midday on Wednesday.

The acquisition of Morales will instantly boost Seattle's offense but also creates a log-jam of with catcher/designated hitter Jesus Montero and first baseman Justin Smoak. Morales started just 28 games at first base last season, but Zduriencik said they are confident he could play in the field. He's also hopeful that Montero comes to spring training ready to be the everyday catcher.

"As long as we create competition and as long as we have these pieces in spring training we'll see what happens," Zduriencik said. "I don't have the exact answer. We've certainly talked about a lot of scenarios and feel very comfortable that there will be enough at-bats to go around for all these guys but at the end if you've added a piece that you think makes your club better, that's just better."

Morales and Vargas each are eligible for salary arbitration and can become free agents after next season. Morales made $2,975,000 and Vargas $4.85 million last year.

___

AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-19-Angels-Mariners%20Trade/id-47fd6261aeff4dffb912095c811a2561

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Google Music gets iTunes-like 'match,' but free

4 hrs.

Google has updated its music storage and streaming service with a handy new song-matching?feature pioneered by Amazon and Apple?? but unlike those companies' services, Google's is free.

Apple launched its "iTunes Match" service just over a year ago, which for $25 a year would scan your music library and offer to replace your own music files (wherever they came from) with Apple's own. Amazon began offering a similar service in July, for the same price but with a limited free option.

Google's service, which launched as Google Music last year and was?later?renamed Google Play Music, let you upload your songs to the cloud but lacked the matching feature?? until Tuesday.

Users can now let the service scan their library and assemble an online version of it using Google's own version of the?tracks. No need to upload gigabytes of MP3s; Google just verifies the artist and album and makes it available for you to stream to any supported devices (or through the Web app) in 320?kbps quality?? that's higher than the 256 kbps Amazon and Apple offer.

Best of all, the feature is totally free, and if you're already using the service, you don't need to do anything: Google is?already looking through the tracks you've uploaded and making high-quality versions available.

So if you're not paying, who is? Apparently, Google: All Things D reports that Google is cutting checks up front to music makers instead of giving them a piece of whatever they charge users.

One caveat: The high-quality versions of the songs can't be downloaded for local use?? only streamed online. So if you had visions of replacing your old 1999-era,?96?kbps CD rips with shiny new tracks freshly formed by Google, you're in for a disappointment.

The feature was announced in this Google+ post.?You can use the service by logging into or creating a Google account and going to the?Music app.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/google-music-gets-itunes-match-function-free-1C7662757

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Merck KGaA, Oncothyreon hit as cancer vaccine fails

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - An experimental lung cancer vaccine from Germany's Merck KGaA failed to improve survival in a pivotal study, dealing a blow to the company and the high-risk field of using vaccines to fight tumors.

Stimuvax, which Merck licensed from U.S. biotech firm Oncothyreon, failed to increase overall survival in the Phase III clinical trial, the German chemicals and pharmaceuticals group said on Wednesday.

The trial's coordinating investigator, Frances Shepherd of the University of Toronto, said the result was disappointing, although she said "notable treatment effects were observed in certain subgroups of patients".

While this could mean that Merck might conduct more studies to try and find particular groups of patients who would benefit from the treatment, industry analysts were skeptical that Stimuvax had any future.

"Despite potential positive effects in subgroups, we consider the drug dead," said Deutsche Bank analyst Holger Blum.

The trial was testing Stimuvax on more than 1,500 patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors could not be completely removed via surgery and whose disease had at least stabilized following chemoradiotherapy.

Merck said it would discuss the data with experts and regulatory authorities over the coming months.

Helvea analyst Odile Rundquist, who cut her price target on Merck by 2 euros to 97 euros a share, said the setback for Stimuvax was another blow for Merck's pharmaceutical division following recent disappointments with cancer drug Erbitux and the earlier failure of cladribine in multiple sclerosis.

Merck shares fell 3.3 percent to 98.22 euros by 1145 GMT, while Germany's blue-chip DAX index was up 0.2 percent. The market impact was limited by the fact that many Merck analysts had not included Stimuvax sales forecasts in their financial models, given the risky nature of the project.

The news is a much bigger setback for the German company's small U.S. partner Oncothyreon, whose shares fell 70 percent in premarket trading on Nasdaq.

Stimuvax is one of a number so-called therapeutic cancer vaccines being developed by drug companies to fight tumors by stimulating the body's immune system.

The first such vaccine was approved two years ago but Provenge for prostate cancer, made by Dendreon, has met with limited success, due to management missteps and doctors' reluctance to adopt the difficult-to-administer therapy.

A number of other cancer vaccines are in development that analysts believe may be more successful, including a product from GlaxoSmithKline against melanoma and lung cancer which is set to report clinical trial results next year.

Some investors had already been wary about prospects for Stimuvax after Merck said in March the trial would be continued and final data would be presented later than expected, raising doubts over its success.

"Given the history of the drug's development with postponements, discontinuations and break-ups we are not surprised about today's outcome," DZ Bank analyst Peter Spengler said.

(Editing by Erica Billingham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merck-kgaa-cancer-drug-stimuvax-fails-stage-trial-084519774--finance.html

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HOLMBERG: Why the perception of more murders when ... - WTVR 6

Posted on: 11:07 pm, December 19, 2012, by Raymond Hawkes and Mark Holmberg, updated on: 11:28pm, December 19, 2012

RICHMOND, Va (WTVR)- The horror in Newtown and in Aurora this year, and the day-to-day drumbeat of murders and other violence that we report and many of you share in your social media circles has many of us believing we?re seeing a significant spike in violent behavior.

But the opposite is true.

If you look at mass shootings ? defined by the FBI as claiming four or more victims ? ?the numbers of incidents and the number of victims has been, on average, steady and, in the past decade, declining. ?(Read a noted criminologists analysis here: http://boston.com/community/blogs/crime_punishment/2012/08/no_increase_in_mass_shootings.html)

Mental illness resulting in devastatingly violent eruptions is far from a new problem.

Criminologist Grant Duwe, author of ?Mass Murder in the United States?, ?says mass killings peaked in 1929 ? in the midst of gangsters and the start of the Depression.

Two years earlier, in 1927, was the worst school massacre in US History. Farmer Andrew Kehoe, upset at his pending ?foreclosure, used dynamite to blow up part of the Bath Consolodated School in Michigan, killing 45 and injuring 58 others, nearly all the victims were children in the second to sixth grades.

It?s far from the only time that explosives were used to commit mass murder, as we saw in Oklahoma City.

The US murder rate? in general has been on the decline since the spike in the early to mid-90s, when crack cocaine invaded US cities. We?ve been seeing murder rates in the past couple of years that we haven?t seen in 50 years and a steady and drastic improvement since the 1700s. http://www.bjs.gov/content/homicide/tables/totalstab.cfm and ?http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime/murdermain

Even firearm murders have been steadily declining.

Richmond?s murder rate is literally one-quarter of what is was in 1994, when we had a 160 slayings in the midst of crack cocaine madness.

It was 120 in 1995, 72 in 2000, 86 in 2005 and 41 in 2010. So far this year, the city has seen 41.

FBI uniform crime statistics show other kinds of violent crime have also steadily slowed. (http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/june/crimes_061112/crimes_061112)

Yes, violent crime in the United States is a horrific problem, much worse here than most other first-world nations. But the improvement has been real and steady.

The reasons remain unclear, although most experts point to an aging demographic, shifts in drug use, stiffer sentences for violent criminals and changes in our culture, such as better protecting those in violent relationships.

So why this perception that we?re a much more dangerous society now? Is it the way we report the stories, and repeat them on social networks? Is it our fascination with the dark side of life?

I often think of Patricio ?Pach? Torres, a teen-aged honor student shot to death in 1993 during a wilding incident at the Richmond Coliseum while picking up a friend there. His ?saying: ??Love is stronger than fear.?

My guess is, we?re living in a more fearful society.

Source: http://wtvr.com/2012/12/19/holmberg-why-the-perception-of-more-murders-when-the-opposite-is-true/

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Santa Speaks: What College Football Teams Are Getting for Christmas in 2012

Merry Christmas, boys and girls! Ho, ho, ho!

Have you been good this year? Of course you haven?t, but Santa?s far too busy looking for BCS National Championship tickets on StubHub to dig any deeper. Oh, and did you know that you can get into the Orange Bowl for around the same price as foot-long sandwich and a bag of chips at Subway?

That?s what you?ll be receiving if you?re on the ?Naughty? list this year, so consider yourself warned. Ho, ho, ho!

Being the college football fanatic and tailgating devotee that I am?North Pole University is just horrible at recruiting, and I blame this weather?I?ve decided to spend a good chunk of my time this year in our shop watching film of every team in the country.

After hours of film study with my elves, I stumbled upon the following conclusion: There were a lot of naughty teams this year, and by ?naughty? I mean ho, ho, horrible! My best elf thought that bit would work; please let me know if it did. His job depends on it.

Anyways, Santa is here to help, and I?m bringing your teams in need of a Christmas boost to help turn things around in 2013. I?ve decided not to get Alabama anything in 2012 despite the 455-page Christmas list Nick Saban shipped to the North Pole. They appear to be doing just fine without my help.

No, Nick, you will not be getting ?all of Steve Spurrier?s recruits,? and I have no idea what ?Jadeveon Clowney 2? is. You are, however, getting The Notebook Blu-Ray you asked for a few years ago. Mrs. Claus absolutely loves hers.

As for what you can expect for your team this year, here?s what is on the way.?

Ho, ho, ho.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1450450-santa-speaks-what-college-football-teams-are-getting-for-christmas-in-2012

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Why Stocks Are A Risky Long-Term Investment | Personal Finance ...

Earlier this fall, the?SEC?accused a well-known personal finance expert, Ray Lucia, of misleading investors and ordered him to stop making false claims.

My reaction to this was twofold: (1) I?m glad my column is obscure enough that the SEC?has no interest in me, and (2) this guy was advertising surefire investment gains based on a common fallacy promoted by lots of other smart people who should know better.

Maybe you believe in it, too. But you shouldn?t and here?s why:

The fallacy is that investing in the stock market is less risky over long periods than short periods. It?s not. It?s riskier.

This is not just my opinion; it?s a mathematical fact well known to academic finance experts and options traders, supported by historical evidence, and largely ignored by the public and financial advisors alike.

There?s a Hole in the Bucket

Ray Lucia?s investment strategy, used by his advisory practice and promoted on his radio show and in a series of bestselling books, is called Buckets of Money. It?s mostly aimed at people at or near retirement.

The concept is that you separate your retirement savings into three buckets for short-term, medium-term, and long-term (15+ years) spending needs.

The short-term bucket is invested in low-risk assets like short-term bonds, CDs, and savings accounts; the long-term bucket gets risky stuff like stocks and real estate.

(The medium-term bucket gets somewhat risky or more illiquid assets, like longer-term bonds and fixed annuities.)

The idea is that you withdraw your spending money from the first bucket and periodically replenish the first bucket from the second and the second bucket from the third.

If the market tanks, you can wait it out until it recovers, because you have bucket three hermetically sealed off from the rest of your money, and everyone knows the stock market always does well over long periods, like 15 years.

Now, to be clear, the?SEC?didn?t have any problem with the strategy itself; they accused Lucia of overstating how well it would have performed historically. But this ?buckets? idea, which is also promoted by lots of people other than Lucia, is fatally flawed.

It?s flawed because there?s no guarantee the investments in the third bucket will perform well over 15 years or any period of time, no matter how long.

Moshe Milevsky, author of?Are You a Stock or a Bond?,?analyzed?the bucket strategy in 2006, long before the?SEC?became interested in Lucia.

?If you are unlucky enough to earn a poor sequence of initial returns,? he wrote, ??bucketing? your retirement income is not a guaranteed bailout.?

?Great,? you may be saying. ?I won?t put my money in buckets. Sounds complicated, anyway.?

Sorry, but if you combine all your assets into the same bucket, you?re probably still making the same mistake.

No positions in stocks mentioned.

Source: http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/personal-finance/articles/Why-Stocks-are-a-Risky-Long/12/18/2012/id/46776

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Military Abortion Amendment Is Included In Final Defense Bill

A bipartisan conference committee of House and Senate members approved an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill on Tuesday that will extend the insurance coverage of abortion to military women who have been raped.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's (D-N.H.) amendment to the defense bill lifts a decades-long ban on abortion coverage for military rape victims. Since 1981, military women have not had the same level of health coverage that civilian employees, Medicaid recipients, and even federal prisoners receive from their government-issued insurance plans. High-profile supporters of the amendment include former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Senate unanimously passed the amendment in early December, but the House version of the defense bill did not include a similar amendment. A bipartisan conference committee that included Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) agreed on Tuesday to include the amendment in the final version of the bill approved by both chambers.

?With the inclusion of my amendment in the final defense bill, we?ve made an important step to restoring equity to military service women,? Shaheen said in a statement. ?After three decades of a policy that discriminated against women who put their lives on the line for us, I?m proud of my colleagues in both Houses of Congress and of both parties who are going to allow us to right this wrong."

The House is expected to vote on the final version of the bill later this week.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/military-abortion-amendment_n_2324969.html

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