Getting Paid What You Are Worth: Embracing Entrepreneurship

In a recent study conducted by the White House, women are still earning less than male counterparts in traditional work environments.

For most of us, traditional employment pays the bills; an obvious plus. What traditional employment also does, for women, however, is give them the short end of the stick when it comes to pay, according to ABC News and a White House report. In fact, not only do women earn less for doing the same job as male counterparts, the divergence of women to men ratios for high paid positions is a 29 percent deficit. While many employers are forward thinking, and accept women in the workplace, there is still less pay for equal work overall. Until the traditional work environment catches up to a female's true ROI (return on investment), it might be time for women to do some embracing of entrepreneurship in order to earn what they are worth.
1. Crafts
I know many women who are skilled with their hands. Consider making hair bows, embroidering, teaching a scrap booking class or creating something that you can sell at either a craft venue or online using websites like Ebay or Amazon.com. Who knows? A part time hobby could turn into a full time venue. Think big. Dream bigger. Remember companies like Apple and Facebook started out small, in a garage. Talk to people in that industry, start selling your services, and the sky is truly the limit.
2. Blogging
Blogging is a fantastic way to earn extra money and you do not have to leave your day job to do it. Consider writing about things you know. Are you an HR guru? Use a blog to create talking points for other professionals, or even start a personal blog. Websites like Blogger and Wordpress help you set up blogs and monetize them so that they earn you money, even while you are sleeping. Everyone has something to say, speak up. You never know who is reading. Perez Hilton and Reality Steve had to start somewhere too. Writing consistently is essential, and makes you better at honing your craft. Blogging for many, turns into a thriving full time job.
3. Selling Your Wares
Perhaps you work part time or full time selling Pampered Chef products, Avon, Mary Kay, or Tastefully Simple. Whatever your wares, consider expanding your list of potential buyers. Think outside the box. Post your sale items on Amazon.com or Ebay for sale. This deflates overhead for the cost and time of "parties" and is a terrific way to increase income while embracing the entrepreneur inside of you.
4. Career Changes
For some ladies, it might be time to consider a career change. It is a well-known fact that women in independent and nontraditional work environments often surpass earnings of male counterparts, truly earning what they are worth. Save up, invest in a franchise, look into network marketing or consider a career in real estate. Sometimes being paid what you are worth requires outside of the box thinking and a leap of faith, but that is how you embrace entrepreneurship and establish your own worth.

Four Surprising Ways to Attract the Opposite Sex

You've done all the "tricks" you've learned in Cosmo magazine. But your Man-Catching Mojo is still missing something. Perhaps you're overlooking some really simple things.

Hair extensions? Check. Fake lashes? Check. High heels? Little black dress? Great smile? Check, check, and check. You've done all the obvious things to get guys' attention. And so far, it's worked—kinda. There is a chance that you're wondering how your "less obvious" gal pal ends up scoring all the hot, available guys. There's nothing wrong with going all out to enhance your assets. But if you want to attract men under all sorts of circumstances, you might be overlooking a few key elements of female seduction. Try some of these surprising tricks.
Take longer, slower strides.
What's the big hurry? With a relaxed expression and a casual gait, you'll look introspective. Men whose eye you catch won't feel that they must skip to catch up with you—making it much easier for them to start up a conversation with you. You'll also love that the longer strides help your legs look longer. When you walk a bit slower, you appear in control of your stride. And confidence = sex appeal.
Wear red lipstick.
Want to really make an impact? Keep the rest of your make-up light and dewy. Then finish off the clean yet polished look with a pop of red. This works well on days when your outfit is extremely casual. The red lip says: "I've got a wild, seductive streak"—even when you're dressed down. In general, the color red is both whimsical and designed to get people to notice the wearer. Have fun with it.
Skip the big purse.
Have you ever noticed how much you tend to fidget when you're carrying a purse? You're either adjusting its straps, swinging it...or constantly rifling through it. Handbags, as wonderful as they are to look at and carry around, can be a distraction. The next time you head to the mall, or on weekend errands, sport a clutch—or better yet---go empty handed. If you're typically attached to the hip with your bag, you'll probably feel "naked" and perhaps a bit self-conscious at first. But after a time, the freedom will begin to look good on you.
Be nice to other people.
Your mother had more than one reason for nagging you about always being on your best behavior. You never know when someone will be watching you. Salty remarks, snide looks, and other things you thought no one was paying attention to, could be what keeps that guy in the bookstore from approaching you. Contrary to popular belief, men actually like women who are nice and respectful of others. This quality in and of itself can take you from a "6" to a "10" in the mind of the hot guy checking you out.

Four Surprising Truths About 'Bad Boys'

The edgy, brooding artist you just met might seem mysterious. But the real mystery lies in just how 'normal' he really is...

We all love bad boys. Men with sleeve tattoos and lip piercings. Edgy guys with intimidating stares and dark pasts. They come in all sorts of packages. But they all represent the same thing: the challenge of taming a wild soul. Perhaps it's the idea of having something you're not supposed to have. It's the ultimate hand-in-the-cookie-jar sensation that comes along with capturing the attention of an enigmatic man. But if you've happened to get up and close and personal with one, you'll be amazed by a few discoveries ...
They're not so tough.
You might be surprised to find that the tough guy you've started seeing is deathly afraid of mice. This may not seem like such a big deal. But if you don't know Mr. Tough Guy so well yet, you might wonder whether his machismo is just an act. It is at this point that you discern between quirks and true character flaws. Sure, your guy probably has exactly what it takes to protect you in your hour of need. But that doesn't mean you won't first be shocked by his intense fear of spiders.
They like romance, too.
Your hunky roughneck might seem like the type to fling you over his shoulders like a Neanderthal. But your rough and tumble guy just might surprise you with slow caresses and tender pillow talk. When the two of you are alone, he knows that no audiences exist (one hopes)—and he can fully embrace the affectionate aspect of your relationship. We might have programmed our brains to believe that tough guys don't have feelings. But when you discover how deeply some of those feelings run, it's hard not to be smitten.
They weren't always bad boys.
Guess what? The man candy with the ripped abs and bad boy attitude might have been the school bullies' prime target in ninth grade. And that edgy drummer you met last weekend? Oh yeah, he was a "band nerd." (Not that there's anything wrong with band nerds.) It's kind of hard to say exactly how these oft-overlooked boys turned into such brooding male muses. But dig a little deeper into your stud's past, and you'll discover the little nugget of innocence that lies beneath his rugged exterior.
They marry nice girls.
Have you ever thumbed through a gossip magazine, only to stumble upon your favorite hunky actor—on the arm of his amazingly innocent-looking wife? Sure, she's cute. But she's not exactly whom you imagined your man of steel to claim as his soul mate. This is perhaps the thought that any of Jesse James' exes had when they realized he was marrying Sandra Bullock. (The same sentiment might have existed when Valerie Bertinelli married Eddie Van Halen in the 80s.) It is true that edgy, brooding men do hook up with sexy, mysterious women; they also marry them. But there is something about that counterbalance that makes settling down that much sweeter.

Best Ways to Break Your Credit Card Habit

Maxing out your credit cards can put you in a weak financial position and contribute to debt overload. Use some of these tips and strategies to break your credit card habit!

Do you find yourself charging purchases instead of paying with cash, more often than not? Even though credit cards can make it convenient to make a purchase online or offline, it's easy to forget to pay off that balance in full before the billing cycle ends. You could be paying much more than you realize in interest charges as a result. Maxing out your credit cards can put you in a weak financial position and contribute to debt overload. Use some of these tips and strategies to break your credit card habit!
Leave Home without Them
One of the simplest ways to break your credit card habit is to stop giving yourself access to the card altogether. Leave the cards at home. Better yet, store them away in a safe or a safe filing cabinet so you don't even have the option to pop them into your wallet when you leave the house. You might feel uncomfortable - even anxious - about leaving your cards at home when you head off on that next shopping trip, but you'll remove the temptation to charge purchases to a credit card altogether.
Review Your Personal Budget
If you can no longer charge a single dollar on a credit card, how much disposable income do you have to buy things you want? Do you even know how much cash you have available for your weekly expenses and day-to-day purchases? Take some time to review your personal budget and determine how much cash you actually have at your disposal each week. What types of purchases are most important to you? Now that you're responsible for spending only money that you have earned, what types of things do you really want to buy?
Making purchases with a credit card can give you a false sense of security when buying things. For many people, it's easy to overlook the real value of an item and forget about shopping for the best price. When you start paying for everything with cash, you may just start to make more informed decisions and become a more conscientious shopper.
Remind Yourself that Credit Cards Aren't "As Good as Cash"
If you don't have the cash to buy something, credit cards aren't "free money" - even though they can feel like a safe cash cushion. Don't use credit cards to fuel a shopping addiction. Every purchase you make that doesn't get paid off before your billing cycle ends will be subject to interest charges. Leave that balance on your card for a few months and you could end up paying a high price even for the smallest item. If you want to go on a shopping spree, create a list of things you want and set some limits on how much you are going to spend. Remind yourself that credit cards can't be spent as freely as cash! Credit card spending comes at a price.
Plan Your Purchases
Whether you're shopping for a new computer, designer shoes or a new vacuum cleaner, make a list of your "wants" and "needs" and make a plan to purchase them with cash by a specific date. Being specific about your purchasing goals and prioritizing your "wants" and "needs" can make you think twice about splurging and pulling out that credit card. Set some savings goals so that you can get what you want with your own, hard-earned cash. Whether this means dipping into your savings account or just setting aside more money for something over several weeks, create a plan that works for you and steer clear of credit card charges altogether.
Reward Yourself for "Credit Card Free" Weeks
Positive reinforcement can help you stay committed to breaking the credit card habit. Credit card spending can be just like any other addiction, so you may need to set up a rewards system to keep yourself on track. Treat yourself to something you've been putting off for a while (purchasing with cash, of course) or enjoy a free activity in the neighborhood. Find ways to reward yourself or just keep a log of your successful weeks so that you can look back and see the progress you've made.

Chinese Rabbit: Yearly

Rabbit Overview

Ah ... it feels good to be home, doesn't it? The Year of the Metal Rabbit should be a welcome shift after dealing with the Tiger in 2010. In your home sign, you'll have a lot to look forward to. With 11 favorable months and only one unfavorable, you can probably count your eggs before they hatch and eat dessert before dinner. Your talents and assets should shine brightly with the Rabbit's influence. Are you ready to reap the rewards of your creative genius? Do you want recognition for your contributions? You might get all of that and more if you plot your course wisely. Bring forth a bit of bravery. Stand tall and proud. Claim what's rightfully yours.

Rabbit Rating

71% (11 favorable, 1 unfavorable)

Rabbit Career

If last year was a bit shaky, you'll probably find yourself on solid ground. Did you make some progress in your career? If so, expect it to continue. Burning the midnight oil could help you get that promotion you've been striving for. Or, you might think of the next big thing. Does your job description feel limiting? It's possible you'll create your own position and make more money. Think about what you bring to the table. Use your lucky days to make a case for yourself to your boss. You might be the only one around who can do the job.

Rabbit Relationships

If you're a typical Rabbit, nothing makes you happier than order and harmony at home. This year might find you settling down and cozying up for the long haul. If you're attached, relationships could move into more stable territory. Still single? You might meet a partner with some serious lasting potential. Make sure you're being ultra sensitive to your partner's needs -- the Rabbit can be emotionally squeamish. Are you ready to commit? It could be time to move in together or buy a home. In any case, enjoy what should be a peaceful year for you and your loved ones.

Rabbit Health

Are you feeling spunkier than usual? The Year of the Rabbit might bring out your inner animal. A renewed sense of vigor might make you feel more alive in the coming months. Use your extra energy to help tend to those around you. Do your friends and family practice good eating habits? You might need to lead by example and promote your healthy lifestyle. Be on guard against mental fatigue or anxiety. With so much happening this year, make plenty of time for rest and relaxation.

Rabbit Wealth

You may not have the business savvy of the Snake, but your creative genius is probably an untapped moneymaker. What can you do this year to turn your talent into a profit? The coming months will deliver a boatload of Triple Metal days -- where the year, month and day element all align. Since Metal is the element most closely associated with wealth, get ready to roll the dice! You'll also have some Triple Rabbit days early in the year, and those should be mighty favorable too. You might have to step out of your comfort zone to start a new venture or change careers, but luck is on your side.

Cannot afford to match India militarily: Pak Defence Minister

Islamabad: Pakistan cannot afford to match the induction of modern weaponry by India, which possibly has a greater capacity to sustain a war, Pakistani Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar has said.

“If we only try to match them (India) militarily and buy the sort of armament which they have, we will probably not be able to afford it,” Mr. Mukhtar said.

Explaining his contention, he noted that India’s economy is “six to seven times bigger than” Pakistan’s and its trade volumes were “five to six times greater.”

“The capacity of India and Pakistan to fight was for 20 to 22 days. Now India has inducted a lot of armaments, may be they can last for 45 days, we will not be able to do so,” Mr. Mukhtar said in an interview to BBC Urdu.

He was responding to a question on whether the projection of India as Pakistan’s greatest enemy was the root of the country’s problems.

Mr. Mukhtar noted that the two countries were taking steps to improve relations in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

“Slowly the process of meetings has started. People are going across the border. Nobody had ever thought they could walk suitcase in hand to Amritsar via Wagah but that is the reality now and it is happening,” he said.

This was happening, he said, “in spite of the fact that wars were fought, there were problems on the border and the Mumbai incident”.

Asked why an incident like the Mumbai attacks occurred whenever relations improved between the two countries, Mr. Mukhtar said: “It is very unfortunate that such incidents happen and they should not happen. But there are players who are behind these incidents.”

He did not give details about such elements but said some of them had been arrested and put on trial.

Matters would improve when “we decide that religion and politics should not be mixed together”, he said. “Let them go side by side. There should be no restrictions on religion which is between me and my God.”

NASA Envisions Alien Worlds

NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC-Caltech)

Out of the Dust, a Planet is Born
In this artist's conception, a possible newfound planet spins through a clearing, detected around the star CoKu Tau 4 by the Spitzer Space Telescope, in a nearby star's dusty, planet-forming disc. The possible planet is theorized to be at least as massive as Jupiter, and may have a similar appearance to what the giant planets in our own solar system looked like billions of years ago.

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NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)

Hubble Spots Possible New Moons Around Pluto
The artist's concept above shows the Pluto system from the surface of one of the candidate moons. The other members of the Pluto system are just above the moon's surface. Pluto is the large disk at center, right. Charon, the system's only confirmed moon, is the smaller disk to the right of Pluto. The other candidate moon is the bright dot on Pluto's far left. Click image for full resolution.

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ESA/C.Carreau

Steaming Hot Planet
This artist's impression shows a gas-giant exoplanet transiting across the face of its star. Infrared analysis by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of this type of system provided the breakthrough.The planet, HD 189733b, lies 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. It was discovered in 2005 as it transited its parent star, dimming the star's light by some three percent.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

Fantastic Four Galaxies with Planet
This artist's concept shows what the night sky might look like from a hypothetical planet around a star tossed out of an ongoing four-way collision between big galaxies (yellow blobs). NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spotted this "quadruple merger" of galaxies within a larger cluster of galaxies located nearly 5 billion light-years away.Though the galaxies appear intact, gravitational disturbances have caused them to stretch and twist, flinging billions of stars into space, nearly three times as many stars as are in our Milky Way galaxy. The tossed stars are visible in the large plume emanating from the central, largest galaxy. If any of these stars have planets, their night skies would be filled with the monstrous merger, along with other galaxies in the cluster (smaller, bluish blobs).This cosmic smash-up is the largest known merger between galaxies of a similar size. While three of the galaxies are about the size of our Milky Way galaxy, the fourth (center of image) is three times as big. All four of the galaxies, as well as most other galaxies in the huge cluster, are blob-shaped ellipticals instead of spirals like the Milky Way.Ultimately, in about one hundred million years or so, the four galaxies will unite into one. About half of the stars kicked out during the merger will fall back and join the new galaxy, making it one of the biggest galaxies in the universe.

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NASA/ESA/G.Bacon(STScI)

Exoplanet HR 8799b
This is an artistic illustration of the giant planet HR 8799b.The planet was first discovered in 2007 at the Gemini North observatory. It was identified in the NICMOS archival data in a follow-up search of NICMOS archival data to see if Hubble had also serendipitously imaged it.The planet is young and hot, at a temperature of 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. It is slightly larger than Jupiter and may be at least seven times more massive. Analysis of the NICMOS data suggests the planet has water vapor in its atmosphere and is only partially cloud covered. It is not known if the planet has rings or moons, but circumplanetary debris is common among the outer planets of our solar system.

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NASA/JPL

Chemical Soups Around Cool Stars
This artist's conception shows a young, hypothetical planet around a cool star. A soupy mix of potentially life-forming chemicals can be seen pooling around the base of the jagged rocks. Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope hint that planets around cool stars - the so-called M-dwarfs and brown dwarfs that are widespread throughout our galaxy - might possess a different mix of life-forming, or prebiotic, chemicals than our young Earth.

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ESA

Huygens on Titan
In 2005 the robotic Huygens probe landed on Titan, Saturn's enigmatic moon, and sent back the first ever images from beneath Titan's thick cloud layers. This artist's impression is based on those images. In the foreground, sits the car-sized lander that sent back images for more than 90 minutes before running out of battery power. The parachute that slowed Huygen's re-entry is seen in the background, still attached to the lander. Smooth stones, possibly containing water-ice, are strewn about the landscape. Analyses of Huygen's images and data show that Titan's surface today has intriguing similarities to the surface of the early Earth.

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NASA/ESA/G. Bacon(STScI)

Flaring Red Dwarf Star
This is an artist's concept of a red dwarf star undergoing a powerful eruption, called a stellar flare. A hypothetical planet is in the foreground. Flares are sudden eruptions of heated plasma that occur when the field lines of powerful magnetic fields in a star's atmosphere "reconnect," snapping like a rubber band and releasing vast amounts of energy equivalent to the power of 100 million atomic bombs exploding simultaneously.Studying the light from 215,000 older red dwarfs collected in observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers found 100 stellar flares popping off over the course of a week.

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NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)

Super-Hot Planet with Unique Comet-Like Tail
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of a baked object that could be called a "cometary planet." The gas giant planet, named HD 209458b, is orbiting so close to its star that its heated atmosphere is escaping into space.Observations taken with Hubble's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) suggest powerful stellar winds are sweeping the cast-off atmospheric material behind the scorched planet and shaping it into a comet-like tail.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

This Planet Smells Funny
Giant planet GJ 436b in the constellation Leo is missing something--and that something is swamp gas. To the surprise of astronomers who have been studying the Neptune-sized planet using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, GJ 436b has very little methane--an ingredient common to many planets in our own solar system. This artist's concept shows the unusual, methane-free world partially eclipsed by its star.Models of planetary atmospheres indicate that any world with the common mix of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, and a temperature up to 1,000 Kelvin (1,340 degrees Fahrenheit) should have a large amount of methane and a small amount of carbon monoxide. But at about 800 Kelvin (or 980 degrees Fahrenheit), GJ 436b it does not. The finding demonstrates the diversity of exoplanets and the need for further study.

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NASA/Kepler Mission/Dana Berry

An Imagined Canyon on Planet Kepler 10-B
The daytime temperature is expected to be more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than lava flows here on Earth, hot enough to melt iron! Many years ago, before Kepler launched, members of what became the Kepler team built a robotic telescope at Lick Observatory to learn to do transit photometry-- detecting drops in brightness of stars when planets pass in front of them. We called it the Vulcan Telescope, named after the hypothetical planet that scientists in the 1800's thought might exist between the Sun and Mercury. A planet that might explain the small deviations in Mercury's orbit that were later explained with Einsteins theory of general relativity.Vulcan is the god of fire in Roman mythology, a name befitting of a world so close to the Sun. The artists rendering of Kepler-10b is reminiscent of that hypothetical planet Vulcan. The Kepler team came full circle in its quest. We know that we've only begun to imagine the possibilities.

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NASA/Kepler Mission/Dana Berry

Imagined View from Planet Kepler 10-B
Kepler-10b orbits one of the 150,000 stars that the Kepler spacecraft is monitoring, a star that is very similar to our own Sun in temperature, mass and size, but older with an age of over 8 billion years, compared to the 4-and-1/2 billion years of our own Sun. It is one of the brighter stars that Kepler is monitoring and about 560 light years from our solar system, which means when the light from this star began its journey toward Earth, European navigators were crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in search of new horizons. Today, we are still exploring and our crow's nest is a space telescope called Kepler. One day, the oceans we cross will be the galaxy itself, but for now, we imagine the worlds we discover by putting all that we have learned from our observations and analyses into the fingers of artists.Kepler-10b must be a scorched world, orbiting at a distance that is more than 20 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our own Sun, with a daytime temperature expected to be more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.The Kepler team has determined that Kepler-10b is a rocky planet, with a surface you could stand on, a mass 4.6 times that of Earth, anda diameter 1.4 times that of Earth.

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12 babies die at govt hospital, WB CM orders probe

Kolkata, Jun 30 (PTI) Twelve babies died at a state-run hospital here, triggering protests by locals and relatives, which prompted the West Bengal government to order an enquiry into it.
Superintendent of B C Roy Hospital for Children, D Pal told PTI that most of the 12 babies were either pre-mature or suffering from septicemia or low-birth weight problems. The medical institute is considered to be the largest referral paediatric hospital in the eastern region.
"Most of these babies were brought in a moribund stage," he said.
However, unconfirmed sources said 17 babies died at the hospital in the last 48 hours.
"I have come to know that the babies were brought to the hospital at the last stage and that the cause of death was not enteric disease. I have ordered a probe and asked the authorities to submit a report to me," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, told reporters here.
Aggrieved over the deaths, family members and locals barged into the main building of the hospital alleging medical negligence, police said.
The agitators also blocked the hospital road and were later chased away by policemen.
The superintendent also said, "There were some disturbances in the hospital compound in the morning, but the situation is normal now."
Earlier in September 2002, there were protests in the same hospital when 14 children died of broncho-pneumonia and gastro-enteritis.