The day of reckoning has arrived. Your leadership skills need an overhaul, Here are 10 types of bosses from Business week. Are you any of these? Or maybe your boss.

1. Don’t Know Your Job

You’re the invisible man, the one who doesn’t delve into the details or pitch in. You insulate yourself, telling us it’s “not my job” and to “just do it.” We know your dirty secret: You’re out of touch. It’s time to step away from your precious spreadsheets and get your hands dirty. You can’t channel talent, time, and tools if you don’t know how they’re already being deployed.

 2. Don’t Listen

We’ve seen it all. You fiddle with your BlackBerry (RIMM) when we’re speaking. You interrupt constantly to make your points. And you roll your eyes and grow impatient—unless you’re talking. No matter, you disregard our input anyway. So we’ve given up; we don’t come to you anymore. And we both suffer for it. If you want to succeed, rebuild that goodwill. It’ll require time and toil, but the best relationships always do.

 3. Closed-Minded

You’re gifted and accomplished, the best and brightest. And that has made you susceptible to pride. Now, you’re quick to reach conclusions. Everything is one-sided, with no room for discussion, differences, or dissent. You may view yourself as all-knowing, but conditions change. And talent doesn’t stand for “my way or the highway” for long. Pride goeth before a fall. Question is, can you open up and adapt before then?

 4. Poor Preparation

Another emergency meeting. Drop what you’re doing, they need it now. We’re changing direction and working late again. It’s always last minute, make it up as you go along. Maybe it fosters teamwork and creativity sometimes, but you can only cry wolf so many times. In reality, the unexpected drama reflects your inability to set expectations, plan ahead, and think it through. And it’s just wearing us down.

 5. Not Building Skills

“People are our most important asset.” Well, it’s empty rhetoric here. Maybe you want to be hands-off or encourage self-reliance. Whatever the intent, you’re not helping us grow. And that’s your real job as a manager: to broaden our outlook, push us beyond our comfort zones, exemplify the corporate values, and focus us on learning, serving, persevering, leading, and advancing. Don’t take that responsibility lightly.

 6. Overzealous

History remembers the tyrants but rarely the subjects who did the heavy lifting. It’s no different here. You’ve created a divide-and-conquer atmosphere, all stick and no carrot, where everyone should be the same workaholic reflection of you. Eventually, your bullying and rah-rah intensity produces one question: “Why?” You may think we should be in “for life,” but what are you giving back in return for that blind loyalty?

7. Don’t Maintain Discipline

All the workers come and go as they please, living according to their own rules. No one knows who is where or doing what, and the result is chaos. Maybe you want to be our buddy—or experience how a sweat shop atmosphere fosters only resentment. Either way, coddling does no favors to anyone. Like it or not, you need to set rules and hold people accountable.

 8. Never Heard of Tact

You always remind us that we’re replaceable and working at your pleasure. Yes, it’s your legendary bluntness. Your talent and tenure shields you from scrutiny. Sadly, your lack of self-awareness results in everyone—superiors and reports—maligning or marginalizing you. Brains take you only so far; eventually, you’ll need to build and nurture relationships. And that requires people skills: listening, charming, understanding, and compromising. Think you’re up for that?

 9. Lack Influence

It’s funny how we’re usually last to get face time and resources. Our mission is vital and performance exceeds expectations. You’d like to believe it’s jealousy, but maybe the messenger is undercutting the message. Look at your variables: appearance, body language, and speaking and writing styles. Do you always convey the image of a polished professional who can work in a team and get the job done? If you can’t, you’ll never get anyone’s ear.

 10. Blindside Us

Ah, there’s nothing like a surprise. Whether you’re singling us out in public or ambushing us in private, you’re not afraid to render judgments and deliver lectures. Despite our advanced degrees and track records, you still treat us as servants. Instead of dropping the news all at once, give us fair warning when our performance doesn’t meet expectations. Always take action immediately—and discreetly.

 They accepted the Lifetime Acheivment award on behalf of their late father…

Yesterday I posted the Walmart commercial…check this one for Minute Maid….

I missed this during the Saints/Vikings game last weekend.

But everyone has been laughing about it. Pretty funny...or scary?

Yesterday I posted the tax forms for you to download. NOW the important part of what you can now deduct on those forms!

You’ll find lots of new deductions, credits and expanded eligibility rules when you prepare your 2009 tax return.

There’s no denying that 2009 was a challenging year for millions of Americans. But filling out your 2009 tax return could bring some welcome relief in the form of a big refund. There are a slew of new and expanded tax breaks for home buyers and car buyers, college students and their parents, homeowners who installed energy-efficient improvements, and the unemployed. Together, these tax savings are expected to boost average tax refunds above last year’s level of about $2,800, says IRS spokeswoman Nancy Mathis. The sooner you file, the sooner you’ll get your money back.

Here are highlights of what’s new for 2009 tax returns.

Education Credit

More parents and students can use a federal education credit to offset part of the cost of college under the new American Opportunity Credit. The maximum $2,500 credit is available to eligible taxpayers who paid at least $4,000 in qualified college tuition, fees and required course materials, including books, in 2009. The full credit is available to individuals with incomes up to $80,000, phasing out above that level and disappearing completely at $90,000. (For married couples filing jointly, the full credit is available to those with incomes up to $160,000 and disappears above $180,000.) Those income limits are higher than under the existing Hope and Lifetime Learning credits.

If you claim the credit and owe no tax, you may receive a refund of 40% of the credit, up to a maximum of $1,000 for each eligible student. Other education credits are not refundable. The American Opportunity Credit can be applied only to expenses paid during the first four years of college. Graduate students are not eligible for this new credit, but they still qualify for the Lifetime Learning credit, of up to $2,000 per household, or a tuition-and-fees deduction of up to $4,000. (A credit, which reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar, is more valuable than a deduction, which merely reduces the amount of income that is taxed.)

Parents of some college freshmen and sophomores should bypass the new American Opportunity Credit and opt instead for the supercharged Hope Credit available to students in Midwestern seven states affected by 2008’s flooding disaster (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin). The top credit on 2009 returns for qualified students is $3,600.

Home-Energy Credits

If you weatherized your home or bought alternative-energy equipment in 2009, you may qualify for either of two expanded home-energy credits, regardless of your income.

You may claim a credit worth 30% of the cost of eligible home improvements on your principal residence, up to a maximum $1,500. The cost of certain high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning systems, water heaters and stoves used for home heating qualify for the credit, along with labor costs for installing them. The cost of energy-efficient windows, doors, skylights and insulation also count, but installation costs do not. You would have to spend at least $5,000 to qualify for the full $1,500 credit.

A second tax credit is designed to spur investment in alternative-energy equipment, such as solar electric systems, solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines, in new and existing homes. The credit is worth 30% of the cost, including installation, with no cap on the amount of the credit.

Home Buyer’s Credit

If you bought your first home in 2009, you may be able to claim a tax credit worth 10% of the cost of the house, up to a maximum $8,000, subject to income eligibility rules. You are considered a first-time home buyer if you, or you and your spouse, didn’t own a principal residence for at least three years before purchasing a house in 2009.

Different income eligibility limits apply depending on when you bought the house. If you purchased it before November 7, 2009, you are eligible for the full first-time home buyer’s tax credit if you are single and your income didn’t top $75,000 or if you are married and your joint income didn’t exceed $150,000. The credit phases out for individuals with incomes up to $95,000 and married couples with joint incomes up to $170,000, disappearing above those income levels.

Income Eligibility Limits

Limits are higher for those who bought homes on or after November 7, 2009. And a new 10% credit, with a maximum of $6,500, is available to longtime homeowners who bought a new principal residence on or after that date. The full home-buyer credits are available to individuals with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with joint incomes up to $225,000. The credit is phased out for individuals with incomes up to $145,000 and joint filers with incomes up to $245,000 and disappears for those with incomes above those levels.

Taxpayers claiming either credit on their 2009 returns must use the new Form 5405, “First-Time Homebuyer Credit”. If you claim the credit, you cannot file your 2009 tax return online; you must print it out and mail it to the IRS. See more details in our FAQ on the home-buyer credits.

New-Vehicle Purchases

If you bought a new car, light truck, motorcycle or motor home on or after February 16, 2009, through the end of the year, you may be able to deduct the state or local sales tax or excise tax you paid on the vehicle on your 2009 tax return. The deduction is limited to the tax you paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of the vehicle, but there is no limit on the number of qualifying vehicles.

To qualify for the full deduction, your income can’t top $125,000 if you are single or $250,000 if you are married filing jointly. A partial deduction is available for individuals with incomes between $125,000 and $135,000 (and between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers). The deduction is available whether or not you itemize your deductions. If you claim the standard deduction, file the new Schedule L (”Standard Deduction for Certain Filers”). If you itemize your deductions, you can claim the deduction for the sales tax on your vehicle purchase on either line 5 or line 7 of Schedule A.

Jobless Benefits

Unemployed workers are allowed to exclude the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009.

I found this interesting info on Investopedia..Most people will say they are interested in saving money. Money saved from one area can be spent in another area. Or even better, the money can actually grow as an investment for the future. But despite the benefits of putting some money away, most people take a passing interest in actually doing it. As young adults, they don’t think much about retirement; then, as adults, credit card debt becomes a way of life.

But the tough economic times that hit the U.S. in 2007 through 2009 were a wake-up call for many people, causing the public’s view of saving to shift. If you’d like to make regular saving a part of your life, read on to find out how to conquer the first step: finding that extra money.

You can begin by paying attention to these top money wasting activities.

1. Convenience Stores

Many people don’t think about the mark-up they pay for convenience store items. Here’s a hint: it’s huge. This is because these stores don’t purchase food in the large quantities that a grocery store does and also because they make you pay more for the convenience they provide. So, unless it’s an emergency situation, avoid shopping at convenience stores. The premium you pay for convenience is not worth the assumed convenience you get. For example, a Coke at a convenience store might cost you a dollar, while you can go to the grocery store and buy a 12 pack for $4. If you tend to pull over for a drink, buy a 12-pack and keep it in your car. If you visit convenience stores often, the annual savings of cutting out these visits can be tremendous.

2. Cell Phone Plans

Take the time to check your monthly cell phone bill - you may be paying more than you need to. If you are using fewer minutes than your monthly plan allows, switch to a lower-rate plan. If you are using more minutes than your monthly allotment, then upgrade to a higher minute plan. Before making any changes to your plan, sit down with a list of your cell phone company’s offerings and compare and determine which plan provides the most value based on your needs. Most cell phone companies charge 40 to 50 cents per additional minute, so going over your allowed minutes by 100 minutes one month will cost you $40 to $50 in that month alone. With many minute plan upgrades costing $10 to $20 a month, they’ll easily pay for themselves.

You should also scan through your cell phone plan for added features like text messaging and mobile internet. If you aren’t really using these features, get rid of them - they’re costing you money each month!

3. Soft Drinks

This one is a sneaky money waster. Not only does ordering beverages along with a restaurant meal boost your total expenses, but soft drinks also have one of the highest markups of any restaurant item, and thus provide lower value for your money. Consider a typical family of four that eats out twice a week at fast casual restaurants (typical for a middle class family even today). Assuming an average price of $1.50 for a fountain soft drink, that totals $12 a week, $48 a month, $624 a year. Just cutting out this one item from your meal could mean significant savings that could go into something much more productive, such as a retirement savings plan. If you invest $624 at the market average of 9% a year every year, you would have almost $32,000 at the end of 20 years. So dine out, but opt for water!

4. Unnecessary Bank Fees

Many people unknowingly pay a lot to their banks in the form of fees. If you don’t know what fees your accounts are subject to, spend a few minutes finding out. Some banks charge ATM fees for using another bank’s ATM, for example. These can be as high as $5! This amounts to a 25% one-time fee for a $20 withdrawal. The key with this type of fee is simply knowing about it. You would be better off using a credit card to make the purchase.

Go back and examine the rules governing your checking and savings accounts. Many people have accounts with a fixed number of withdrawals and deposits per month. You would be better off with an account maintenance fee of $10 a month than getting hit with two or three different fees a month.

5. Magazines

If you’re the type of person who likes to occasionally pick up your favorite magazine from the local grocery store or newsstand, consider getting an annual subscription. Even if you don’t want the magazine every month, a couple of issues at the newsstand are enough to cover the entire annual subscription. For example, a 26-issue subscription to Forbes Magazine will cost you less than $25, while one issue at the newsstand costs $5.

This is from Prevention magazine. I know when I don’t get at least 7 hours sleep I am a little slow the next day…How about you?

1. You crave junk food

Too-little sleep may throw off hormones that regulate appetite, increasing a taste for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods and causing you to want more calories than your body needs. After going without enough sleep for 2 nights, people in one study had more of the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin and less of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin.

Over time, this can lead to weight gain. In studies of identical twins, University of Washington researchers found that those who logged 7 to 9 hours a night had an average body-mass index of 24.8—almost 2 points lower than the average BMI of those who slept less.

Beware of these “health” food imposters
2. You become a germ magnet

People who get less than 7 hours per night are 3 times likelier to catch a cold, according to a JAMA study. Other research found that sleep-deprived men failed to mount the normal immune response after receiving flu shots. They had only half as many disease-fighting antibodies 10 days after the vaccination, compared with men who were well rested. That’s because sleep boosts immunity; too little impairs it.

10 worst things for your immune system
3. You’re less able to metabolize sugar

It’s the fuel every cell in your body needs to function. After just 6 days of sleep restriction, people develop resistance to insulin, the hormone that helps transport glucose from the bloodstream into the cells, say University of Chicago researchers. In another study, tests showed that participants who slept fewer than 6 hours a night and claimed to be “natural short sleepers” couldn’t metabolize sugar properly. This could lead to type 2 diabetes, a serious, on-the-rise chronic condition.

12 ways to never get diabetes
4. You’re in a never-ending stress storm

The University of Chicago study also found that inadequate shut-eye caused levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, to spike in the afternoon and evening—increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose and raising the risk of hypertension, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Aside from posing future health problems, the cortisol-induced alertness comes at an inopportune time—when you should be winding down your day or sleeping.

See 7 ways to outsmart stress cravings
5. You’re in a foul mood and your brain feels foggy

After a restless night, your reaction time decreases, making driving (among other activities) dangerous. Chronically tired people are also less happy. “Sleep and mood are regulated by the same brain chemicals,” says Joyce Walsleben, PhD. This can raise the risk of developing depression, but probably only for those already susceptible to the illness.

Secrets to being happy
6. You look older

As anyone who’s pulled an all-nighter can attest, the consequences—pasty skin and dark circles—aren’t pretty. “Even worse, increased cortisol levels may slow collagen production, promoting wrinkles,” says Jyotsna Sahni, MD, a sleep medicine doctor at Canyon Ranch in Tucson.

On the flip side, there’s a good reason they call it beauty sleep. “Hormonal changes boost blood flow to the skin, brightening it overnight,” says Melvin Elson, MD, a clinical professor of dermatology at Vanderbilt School of Nursing. Skin temps are higher, too, so age-fighting potions seep deeper for better results. And even though you’re resting, your skin is hard at work. Studies show that cell turnover is 8 times faster at night, softening wrinkles.

5 ways to turn back the clock while you sleep
7. You feel achy

It’s no surprise that chronic pain (like that from back problems or arthritis) can make you toss and turn. But getting too little rest can cause or intensify pain, creating a vicious cycle. In one study from the Johns Hopkins Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, director Michael Smith, PhD, awakened healthy young adults for 20 minutes every hour during an 8-hour period for 3 days in a row. The result: They had a lower pain tolerance and suddenly developed more pain during a lab test that exposed them to a cold stimulus.

Worst habits that hurt your back
8. You have a higher cancer risk

Exercise helps prevent cancer, but getting too little shut-eye may cancel out its protective effect, concludes a new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study. Researchers tracked nearly 6,000 women for about a decade and found that workout buffs who slept 7 or fewer hours per night had a 50% greater chance of developing cancer than exercisers who got more Zzzs—similar to the risk of nonexercisers.

Insufficient sleep may cause hormonal and metabolic disturbances linked to cancer risk, erasing the benefits of exercise.

Fight cancer with food

I saw this article recently…It is a statement for all guys!! We are not as dumb as we may look!!

WASHINGTON— Women may think of men as primitive, but new research indicates that the Y chromosome _ the thing that makes a man male _ is evolving far faster than the rest of the human genetic code.

A new study comparing the Y chromosomes from humans and chimpanzees, our nearest living relatives, show that they are about 30 percent different. That is far greater than the 2 percent difference between the rest of the human genetic code and that of the chimp’s, according to a study appearing online Wednesday in the journal Nature.

These changes occurred in the last 6 million years or so, relatively recently when it comes to evolution.

“The Y chromosome appears to be the most rapidly evolving of the human chromosomes,” said study co-author Dr. David Page, director of the prestigious Whitehead Institute in Cambridge and a professor of biology at MIT. “It’s an almost ongoing churning of gene reconstruction. It’s like a house that’s constantly being rebuilt.”

Before men get too impressed with themselves, lead author Jennifer Hughes offers some words of caution: Just because the Y chromosome, which determines gender, is evolving at a speedy rate it doesn’t necessarily mean men themselves are more evolved.

Researchers took the most detailed examination of the Y chromosome, which females do not have, of both humans and chimps and found entire sections dramatically different. There were even entire genes on the human Y chromosome that weren’t on the chimp, said Hughes, also of the Whitehead Institute.

The two-year research took twice as long as expected because of the evolutionary changes found, Hughes said.

There is a bit of a proviso to the comparison to other chromosomes. While all human and chimp chromosomes have been mapped, only two chimp chromosomes have been examined in great detail: Y and chromosome 21. Yet, there’s still enough known to make the claim that the Y is the speediest evolver, Hughes and Page said.

Until recently the Y chromosome was considered the Rodney Dangerfield of genetics, especially because it had fewer genes than other chromosomes. A few years ago some researchers even suggested that the Y chromosome was shrinking so that in 50,000 years it would just disappear _ and so would men.

“The story is not as cut and dried as many would have liked to predict,” Hughes said. “It’s kind of fun to say that men are going to die out, but the science is proving _ now that we’ve got data _ that that’s not true at all.”

For job seekers without a four-year degree, breaking the $25-an-hour barrier can be a challenge. But with more technical certification and associate’s degree programs than ever, many well-paying career options are accessible in a broad range of industries.

The following is a list of lucrative careers for those without a four-year degree, presented with median annual salary data from PayScale.com. That figure is then broken down to an hourly rate by dividing by 2080, the typical number of working hours in a year, according to PayScale.

1. Sales director
“If you are interested in a career change, but do not want to commit to further education, consider a sales career,” says Sharon Reed Abboud, the author of “All Moms Work, Short-Term Career Strategies for Long-Range Success.” Sales directors oversee sales staff to help meet objectives, plan and implement sales programs, and work to maintain budgets, among many other duties. While formal training is not a requirement for this position, sales experience and an outgoing personality are vital, according to Abboud. “Successful sales persons can often have the opportunity to climb the career ladder to increasingly lucrative management positions,” she explains.

Sales director: $91,900/ $44 per hour

2. Security administrators, computer network
“As technology increases its reach, cyber crime is becoming a major concern for companies,” says Debra Yergen, author of the “Creating Job Security Resource Guide.” Security administrators work to prevent, troubleshoot, and repair security breaches while educating network users on cyber safety. Certification or relevant experience is essential to entry to this field, especially in absence of a four-year degree.

Security administrators, computer network: $72,000/ $35 per hour

3. Elevator installer/repairer
Elevator assembly, installation and maintenance are the main responsibilities of this position. Participating in an apprenticeship program coupled with paid on-the-job training is the standard, and workers must pass a licensing exam. Union membership is typically required by employers, and unions can help to ensure “an excellent salary, benefits, and pension,” says Marky Stein, author of “Get a Great Job When You Don’t Have a Job.”

Elevator installer/repairer: $67,100/ $32 per hour