Oil-rich Abu Dhabi pumped $10 billion into its indebted neighbor Monday, sending stocks soaring and sparing Dubai and the rest of the Emirates federation the humiliation of an imminent default by one of the struggling Arab boomtown’s star companies.
Read more of Dubai’s $10B bailout by Abu Dhabi calms fears (AP)…
Michelle Duggar, reality show mom from “18 and counting” has given birth to her 19th child! Wow! 19 kids equals loads of laundry, many hours of refereeing, and lots and lots of cooking. She and her husband decided to let God dictate how many children they should have. They live in a sprawling 7,000 square foot house and have plenty of room to continue to grow. The fact that they are debt free, and have corporate sponsors, such as Discovery Networks helps to insure that the children have the resources and supplies they need for their everyday life. They have been on numerous talk shows and have had 1 book published, ‘The Duggars: 20 and Counting’
The children’s ages range from 21 to 4 days old, and all their first names begin with the letter J. They use a buddy system to help manage the kids and keep them on track. One older sibling, is assigned one younger sibling, and helps with homework, or picking out what the little one will wear, and even spending quality play time with them. Michelle and Jim-Bob consider all their kids “a gift from God” and they acknowledge that having 19 kids is not for everyone.
Whenever I have tuned into that show, I always wonder how they can always look so happy and together, with all the chaos. I truly believe it takes some special people to be able to handle all those kids with such love and patients.
For more on today’s hottest stories, check out our top searched list. What other big stories happened today? Let us know! Come back for tomorrow’s Hot Searches and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates. Are you curious what is hot in the Europe, check out the UK Hot Searches.
Hot Searches for December 14, 2009
1. Julianne Hough - Hanging with new friend Jared Followill from Kings of Leon
2. BJ Penn - Retains lightweight UFC championship title
3. Mark Ingram - Crimson Tide running back wins 2009 Heisman trophy
4. Accenture - Global consulting firm cuts sponsorship deal with Tiger
5. Annise Parker - Houston’s first openly gay mayor
6. Dexter Season Finale - Ending is quite a shocker!
7. Duggar Baby - Number 19 born by C-Section, weighing only 1lb, 6oz.
8. Meteor shower - Geminids shower peaks last weekend
9. Mt. Hood Hikers - Rescuers find 1 dead and still looking for 2 others
10. DeMarcus Ware - Cowboys linebacker hospitalized with a sprained neck
More: Learning baby toys, toy stores, early childhood education, Discovery network
AP - The seizure in Thailand of some 35 tons of war weaponry from North Korea and the arrest of five foreigners charged with illegal possession of arms may prove a blow to efforts by the United States to negotiate a halt to Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, observers said Sunday.
Read more of NKorean weapons seizure could affect nuke talks (AP)…
Golf, for the most part, is an expensive game. Between clubs, balls, green fees, and lessons, the total adds up quickly. Over the years, I’ve found many ways to save on this ridiculously frustrating, yet addicting game.
Equipment
You don’t need to spend top dollar on clubs to get great equipment. For example, a Big Bertha graphite set will cost you $700 new, but if you purchase them used, you can get them for less than $100 for the same set. Many people believe that it’s important to use the same ball, but that says nothing about the need to get them new. If you get cosmetically imperfect balls that work just as well, you can knock 30% off the price. Even better, purchase balls that are logo overruns and get high quality balls for a fraction of their retail price. No boxes with those, but you won’t need them anyway.
Another great way to save money on equipment is to shop at discount sporting goods stores. Equipment from the previous season often ends up here and you can save 50% and more. Shoes, clubs, bags, and balls all appear on these shelves for a fraction of the price you would pay at the big chain stores.
Green Fees and Rentals
The most expensive time to golf is in the early part of the day, weekends and holidays. At these hours people swarm the golf course and the rates shoot up. Opt for later hours during the week, which courses often call twilight and super twilight hours. You may not finish 18 holes, but you will get the twilight discount, which could sometimes be as little as 20% of the full price. Weekday tee times are cheaper as well, and if you can get out of work for a few hours, a round of golf is much more reasonably priced.
Skip the golf cart and hoof it for even bigger savings. Part of the reason you are golfing is, presumably, to enjoy being outside. Walking gives you time to shake off that bad drive, chat with your friends, and get some exercise as well.
If you play a lot, consider getting a membership. The savings in green fees will likely pay off, so do the calculations. Additionally, you don’t have to play at the fancy clubs. Many townships have a local course that is just fine for regular play. Improve your skills at a less expensive course and ask for gift certificates for the high priced clubs for your birthday. And speaking of birthdays, some clubs offer birthday discounts, so ask around (I know at least one club near where I live where I can play on my birthday for free).
Golf Vacations
Golfing vacations are increasingly popular. Some of these trips hit the best courses in the country; others travel to great golfing locations around the world. Go off season. The savings are tremendous when the season ends and resorts are trying to fill rooms. They offer great bonuses, like massages and carts free of charge just to get you to come. Search the internet and you can find some terrific deals and packages.
An even better idea is to coax a few of your golfing buddies to come along on the trip. Sharing a room reduces costs for everyone, and you all get a break from work while enjoying something you really like.
Just because golf has long been associate with the rich doesn’t mean you have to be wealthy to enjoy it. Shop around, use your money wisely, and get out there while still saving money.
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- Personal Finance Readers Saving Poll Results
- Being friendly makes you rich
Read more of For Golfing Enthusiasts, Saving Money Can Be Tough…
The House passed the most ambitious restructuring of federal financial regulations since the New Deal on Friday, aiming to head off any replay of last year’s Wall Street failures that plunged the nation deep into recession.
Read more of Major makeover of Wall Street regs passes House (AP)…
There’s nothing Super about the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore. The defending NFL champions lost their fifth straight and had their playoff hopes thrown for a loss by the lowly Cleveland Browns, who ended a 12-game skid against their bitter rival by beating the Steelers 13-6 on Thursday night in subzero wind chills.
Today I tried to both send and receive faxes through my new Ooma VoIP phone system. I used a Brother MFC-7340 multi-function printer and my Ooma is connected via cable modem.
While fax is not officially supported, there is a section with several tips in the Ooma Support Knowledgebase, which I highlighted below. In short, connect your fax machine directly to the Hub, and dial *99 before your fax number. Both sending and receiving worked perfectly for me on the first try. I’m very impressed!
While the ooma system is not guaranteed for Fax transmissions, it often works successfully, provided you follow these simple instructions:
1. For the best results, make sure your Fax machine is connected to the back of the ooma Hub or Telo unit, not the ooma Scout. The fax machine should be plugged into the “PHONE” port of the ooma device. If you plan on using a phone handset with the ooma Hub or Telo, you can use a splitter to connect a phone handset and the fax machine to the ooma device.
2. Dial the prefix *99 before you dial an outgoing Fax call. Please note that you may need to insert a pause or two in the dialing sequence after entering the *99 prefix and before entering the Fax number.
If you are still unable to send or receive a Fax, try the following additional steps:
1. Disable “ECM” (i.e., “Error Correction Mode”) on your Fax machine.
2. Decrease the transmission or baud rate.
3. Reduce the number of pages that are sent per fax.
4. Decrease the desired image quality of the fax.
5. Discontinue any large file downloads (for receiving faxes) or uploads (for sending faxes).
Facebook has changed their privacy settings in an attempt to allow users to have more control over who sees their information. The new controls allow the user to specify their settings for each piece of content, from pictures to updates, to who they want viewing their page.
There is also an option to allow customization of groups of friends, so they would receive only certain updates, such as “work buddies”, or “family”. To make these privacy changes, users must log on to review and update those settings. Facebook is hoping that this will bolster confidence in their site and make users want to use their service more. With so many networks out on the web these days, and the large number of people who use them, it is important to feel that information is secure. Who better to monitor and make sure that the information obtained on the web isn’t used for the wrong purposes that the user himself.
For more on today’s hottest stories, check out our top searched list. What other big stories happened today? Let us know! Come back for tomorrow’s Hot Searches and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates. Are you curious what is hot in the Europe, check out the UK Hot Searches .
Hot Searches for December 10, 2009
1. Obama accepts Nobel - Obama accepts prize and defends US Wars
2. Chris Cuomo - Leaving ABC for 20/20 gig
3. Tyler Perry - His mom who was inspiration for Madea character dies
4. Biggest Loser Winner - Danny Cahill sheds 239, most in show history
5. Barbara Walters - 10 most fascinating people of the year show aired
6. Seabrook Explosion - Tank explodes at Houston plant
7. Facebook Privacy Settings - turns over more privacy control to user
8. As The World Turns - CBS cancels after 54 years
9. Top Chef Winner - Michael Votaggio beats out his brother for title
10. Russian Missile Test - failed 8th test, could have caused swirling lights
more: social networks, online social networks, business social networks, mobile social networks, social networking tools
One of my favorite Christmas time movies is called Undercover Christmas. It is such a great movie and is going to be played on TV this year as a part of the holiday theme.
I love this movie because it is so great for people to see. There is a waitress who turns in her millionaire boyfriend for tax fraud. After doing this she has a man who is in charge of protecting her. He has to go home to see his family for Christmas time and she agrees to go along. They pose as boyfriend and girlfriend. His parents don’t seem to be super thrilled about his choice in a girlfriend.
It is a super cute love story that everyone needs to see around Christmas time. I love that the waitress is so mischievous and feisty. It is pretty funny to see the way that she acts towards everyone. I am pretty sure she doesn’t really want to be there.
It’s been a whole year since I watched it last and I am very excited to have the opportunity to watch it again. I am sure that many people agree with me on this. Hopefully everyone can enjoy watching it on TV this year as I am sure that I will.
AP - The sleek, bullet-shaped spacecraft is about the size of a large business jet — with wide windows and seats for six well-heeled passengers to take a thrill ride into space.
Read more of Virgin Galactic unveils commercial spaceship (AP)…


on NKorean weapons seizure could affect nuke talks (AP)