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The Road to Wellness: Week 1

Ah, the South. The smell of the pine trees, the thrill of a cool evening after a storm, and … the fried food. I like to joke with friends in other parts of the country that even the vegetables are chicken-fried. The unfortunate part—for the weight conscious, at least—is that it isn't much of a joke.

The Road to Wellness, Week 7

<b>: Fruits For Our Labors</b>

Ms. D is a fan of the book "The Healthy Hedonist," by Janet Bridgers, which, while it may have a title that scares off some of our fundamentalist-leaning friends, need not be feared. The "hedonism" here is simply an approach to a lifestyle that says you don't have to be on a strict diet in order to be healthy. Chocolate, an evening drink and even guacamole are allowed as occasional indulgences. In fact, the book's approach—that getting healthier should be a bit more fun—is the approach I need this week.

The Road to Wellness, Week 9

<b>Getting Well Again</b>

This past week has been a challenge for wellness—both Ms. D and I have been under the weather, she more so than I. That's meant relatively little exercise and, while we continue to try to eat healthily, the focus has turned to managing and recovering from our illnesses.

The Road to Wellness, Week 8

<b>'Uncombining' Your Meals</b>

Adding more discipline to your diet means that the occasional indulgence is more satisfying. That's how things felt when we settled into some decadent desserts after a fine Italian dinner at Amerigo the other night to celebrate Ms. D's birthday. She even gathered up half her key lime pie to bring home with her—partly out of a sense of extending the pleasure, partly in a show of strength in the face of temptation and mostly because they gave her nearly half of the damn pie.

Ah, the Cloud

You're probably getting good and tired of hearing about "the cloud"—and no one could blame you. The problem is, it's not going away.

10/9: Markets Down 7 Percent…Again

The Dow lost 678 points to close down 7.33 percent and under 8,600, while the NASDAQ lost 5.47 percent and ended down below 1,650. The markets experienced their seventh straight day of losses, closing at their lowest levels since 2003. While the Bush administration announced that it may take over some banks to stem the crisis and open up credit markets, the move didn't appear to change attitudes on Wall Street.

10/31 Markets End Up for the Week

The Dow ended up again on Friday, the first time it's been up for two days in a row in the month of October. CNNMoney headlined their story Strong End to a Brutal Month, leading with: "Stocks rallied Friday, capping off a strong week at the end of one of the worst months in Wall Street history." The Dow began October at 10,831 and ended at 9325, according to CNN.

[Tech Tip] CRM Isn't Just for Sales Anymore

If you've ever worked in sales, there's a good chance you're familiar with some sort of Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, software. CRM software essentially enables you to enter contact information for people that you deal with and the businesses you attempt to sell to.

10/22 Stocks Hit Again Over Earnings Woes

The Dow dropped more than 500 points today settling a little over 8500 as weak earnings and a continued drop in oil prices drove recession woes. Intra-day the Dow was down nearly 700 points; the 500 point drop today (which would have been called "Black Something-Day" if it'd happened 12 months ago -- it was the Dow's 7th worst point drop) represents nearly 6% of the index's total.

Create a ‘Club Newsletter' for your Biz or Group

I am surprised when I find a local business or organization—restaurant, retailer, non-profit—that isn't using an email newsletter service to reach their loyal customers and clients. Email newsletters offer a wonderful opportunity to follow up with clients, reminding them of sales, trunk shows, happy hours, bands, giving opportunities and more.

Gannett To Cut Another 10 Percent in December

On Tuesday, Gannett Company, the corporate parent of the Clarion-Ledger, announced sharply lower earnings and their intention to lay off another 10 percent of their Newspaper division workforce in early December. The layoffs come just months after another round of layoffs affected 3 percent of employees in August.

12/13 Dow Recovers Nearly Five Percent

Thursday trading saw the Dow careen back up at the close, presumably on bargain hunting and the sense that a Dow of 8,000 (which it reached briefly) is a floor for this bear market. The real story, however, was intraday trading...there were 911 points between the Dow's low and high. It closed up 552 points, it's third greatest point gain in history.

Markets Tumble Another 5 Percent

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled an interest rate cut and acknowledged long-term challenges to the state of the economy, but it couldn't keep the Dow from losing another 5 percent, the NASDAQ nearly 6 percent and many bank stocks from taking a huge hit. The markets have experienced their worst five-day point drop ever, with the Dow losing nearly 12 percent of its value.

10/16 And, Dow Back Up Again…But Recession Fears Still Loom

The Dow was down as much as 360 points today in intra-day trading but ended up 400 points or nearly 4.7 percent. Some of the rally seemed to be a result of oil prices that have dropped to almost half of their record high earlier in the year; those numbers withdrew some short-term inflationary fears and helped send airline stocks up.

11/6 Markets Down Two Days Running

After losing over 500 points yesterday in the wake of the American presidential election win by Senator Barack Obama, the Dow is down another 440 points in mid-day trading. CNN Money says the sell-off is accelerating on concerns that falling oil prices and problems in the U.S. auto industry will be harbingers for a longer recession.

Hope Community Credit Union Merges with American Savings

[verbatim release] JACKSON, Miss., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Hope Community Credit Union (HOPE) and American Savings Credit Union (ASCU) announced today that the two organizations are joining in a merger transaction. The merger became effective January 1.

Apple Posts Strong Quarter; Yahoo! Cuts Jobs

The NASDAQ eagerly awaited reports from two stalwart tech stocks after the bell rang today. Apple offered up one of its best quarters in its history, but with unsteady guidance for fiscal Q1 2009. (Apple's first fiscal quarter of each year corresponds with the holiday quarter, calendar Q4 2008.) Apple posted revenue of $7.9 billion and a profit of $1.14 billion, compared to $6.22 billion and net quarterly profit of $904 million in the year ago quarter.

10/21 Markets ‘Sell' on Recession Fears

The DOW stayed above 9000 today, but still dove over 230 points, down 2.5 percent, with the market focused on some tough earnings reports from banks and financials. Deep into earnings season, fears have turned to recession, even as credit markets appear to be loosening somewhat.

11/26 Dow Continues Up Going into Holiday

The Dow has been up for four straight days, apparently responding to action taken by the Barack Obama transition team as it names its cabinet and bevy of advisors, along with hints that a solution for ailing automakers may be in the works.

11/10 Dow Dips Under 8,900

While the dip wasn't as dramatic as in weeks past, the Dow did fall less than a point today lead by U.S. automotive stocks that are taking a hit as they seek a government handout from the government. GM is warning that it's running low on operating capital, while Ford's stock is trading at $1.93, down 4.5 percent.