Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Each individual has to decide whether it is worth your time and effort to plan and use coupons. These are some of the highlighted points in regards to coupon clipping.

Pro’s of clipping coupons:

  •  If the product is something you use anyway. This is a big one because it is easy to get carried away when you are clipping away. If you do not eat yogurt from a tube, don’t clip that coupon!
  •  If the product is something you planned on trying anyway. Using a coupon is the best way to go in this instance. If it is something new on the market, chances are there is a coupon for it, or there will be one soon enough.
  •  Can the product be substituted for something you normally use? This can save you money, if you keep an eye on items like this. Little savings really do add up. Think about all the little things you grab at Wal-mart that seem so cheap. That is why we all spend more there than any other store!
  •  Also, keep a look out for when an item goes on sale at the store and try to combine that with a coupon. Only if it is something you would use anyway, of course.

Con’s of clipping coupons:

  •  Purchasing many different items just because you have a coupon will not save you money.
  •  If the store brand version of that item is cheaper than the one you have a coupon for, even with the coupon.
  •  Internet coupons can be a waste of time, especially recently. Many stores are no longer accepting these because they are often fraudulent.
  •  If you buy the newspaper only for the coupons it is possible you are wasting more money than you end up saving with the coupons.

The most important thing is to pay attention while you shop. Try to plan your meals around your local grocery store’s weekly sales. Buy store brands. Stock up on things that will not go bad that you know you will use if there is a great sale. These things alone can save you a substantial amount of money on your weekly grocery bill.
PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles are more worried about Michael Vick's injured leg than another attack on his dogfighting past.

Fox analyst Tucker Carlson gave the harshest critique of Vick's past yet, saying the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback "should have been executed" for his gruesome dogfighting crimes.

Carlson was guest hosting for Sean Hannity's show on Fox News Channel on Tuesday night when he made the remarks. He led a panel discussion about President Barack Obama commending the owner of the Eagles for giving Vick a second chance after his release from prison. Vick served 18 months in federal prison for running a dogfighting ring.

"I'm a Christian, I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances," Carlson said on the show. "But Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did [it] in a heartless and cruel way. And I think, personally, he should've been executed for that. He wasn't, but the idea that the president of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs?"

Pamela Browner White, the Eagles senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, said the team had no comment.

Eddie Murphy is the latest victim of the death hoax rumor mill.

Twitter exploded today with tweets that the Beverly Hills Cop funnyman had supposedly died.

We are happy to report that…

RELATED: Aaron Carter died on Twitter, too!

Murphy is sooo not dead.

A website called Global Associated News posted a story claiming that Murphy died in a freak accident while snowboarding in Zermatt, Switzerland during a vaction with family and friends. "Witnesses indicate that Eddie Murphy lost control of his snowboard and struck a tree at a high rate of speed," the report reads.

Murphy was reported to have died on impact.

"Trust me, Eddie is very much alive and well," the actor's rep assures us, "and definitely not in Switzerland snowboarding."

Turns out the same exact article was posted on the website about Owen Wilson. And he, like Murphy, is alive and has not been snowboarding in Switzerland.

A disclaimer on the site (in very fine print, of course) says the stories are fake and intended "for the purpose of entertainment."

Spreading false rumors that someone is dead is entertaining? We think not.

Reese Witherspoon's ice is hot.

We just got the 411 on her megablingy engagement ring…

MOBILE: Get the free Live From the Red Carpet app for iPad, iPhone and iPod

The Oscar winner's talent agent beau, Jim Toth, popped the question with a 4-carat Ashoka diamond set on a pavé diamond and platinum band.

Toth worked closely with the William Goldberg Diamond Corporation to design the ring.

He is said to have been inspired by the story of the original Ashoka diamond owned by Ashoka the Great, India's emperor from 304 to 232 B.C. who is known for, among other things, his Buddhist faith and promotion of love and compassion.

Less than 10 percent of rough diamonds possess the potential to become an Ashoka-cut diamond with 62 displayed facets and rounded corners.

Sounds stunning!
Australia captain Ricky Ponting is out of the last Ashes Test in Sydney after fresh problems emerged with his injury.

Ponting first fractured the little finger of his left hand during the third Test in Perth and played in Melbourne with it heavily strapped.

But an X-ray on Wednesday revealed it had been damaged again during his side's defeat in the fourth Test.

Vice-captain Michael Clarke will take over in Sydney next week, with Usman Khawaja coming in for his Test debut.

The setback now means Australia must attempt to square the series without their figurehead and best batsman of the last decade.

England retained the Ashes on Wednesday after beating the Australians by an innings and 157 runs in the fourth Test at the MCG with a day to spare.

The news completes a miserable few months for Ponting, who scored only 113 runs in eight innings in the series with an average of 16.14 and faced a barrage of criticism in his own country for his team's dismal performances as well as his own form and personal conduct.

"I'm devastated to tell you the truth, it was the news I was dreading," said Ponting, who broke the finger attempting a catch during the third Test in Perth. "During the game I didn't think I'd done too much more to it."

With Clarke taking over as skipper for the Sydney showdown which starts on Sunday night UK time, other Australian changes see the introduction of Pakistan-born batsman Khawaja, 24, and Doug Bollinger replacing another injury victim, Ryan Harris.

Khawaja, a left-hander who plays for New South Wales, has a first-class average of 51.70 and will be the first Muslim to play for Australia.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has been named as vice-captain for the match, while Cameron White will take on that role for the one-day and Twenty20 internationals.

With Ponting now 36 and Australia's next Test match not scheduled to take place until August 2011, there must now be a real possibility that his long and stellar Test career could be at an end.

Ponting has played for his country 152 times in the longest form of the game and recorded 99 wins, and while he will hope to be part of the Australian team for the one-day World Cup this spring, the selectors may decide to rebuild the Test team without him.

With Ricky being unavailable we are sure that Michael and Brad will lead this Australian side with great professionalism and the full support of the team

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch

Team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: "Ricky Ponting had a repeat X-ray after the fourth Test which showed evidence that the fracture of his fifth finger has moved during the course of the Melbourne Test.

"As such he needs to commence treatment immediately to achieve a satisfactory outcome. The treatment options include surgery or aggressive splinting and immobilisation of the injured finger. A decision on the treatment option will be made in the next 24 hours after further consultation with the hand specialist.

"His return to cricket will be based on how quickly the fracture heals and he will hopefully commence training in the later part of the Australian summer. He is expected to be fully fit for the ICC Cricket World Cup."

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said there was disappointment at failing to win back the Ashes but they were looking forward to the challenge of trying to level the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"With Ricky being unavailable for this match we are sure that both Michael and Brad will lead this Australian side with great professionalism and the full support of the team as we strive for a victory in Sydney," Hilditch added.
"We look forward to Ricky completing his recovery and leading this team to a fourth successive World Cup on the sub-continent at the completion of the Australian summer."
India were today dealt a massive blow ahead of next month's one day match series against South Africa with aggressive opener Virender Sehwag ruled out due to a shoulder injury.

Sehwag, who had nursed a shoulder injury a few months ago as well, will be replaced by Rohit Sharma in the squad for the five-match series starting in Durban on January 12.

"Virender Sehwag has been advised to withdraw from the ODI series against South Africa to tend to his shoulder. Rohit Sharma will replace him in the squad," the Board Of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) said in a statement.

"Murali Vijay will stay back in South Africa for the ODI series, as the 17th playing member of the squad," Board secretary N Srinivasan added.

The previous shoulder problem had forced the 32-year-old out of the ICC World Twenty20 Championships in May.

India is currently playing a three-Test series against the Proteas, which is locked 1-1 after the visitors notched up an 87 run win in the second Test yesterday.

The third Test will be played from January 2 in Cape Town.
(CNN) -- From an explosion of social games and iPhone apps to the rise of motion controls, cloud computing and retro revivals, 2010 has been a year of surprises and revelations for gaming enthusiasts.


But it's also been a generous one to PC and home console owners, with dozens of gob-smacking titles available for almost every system.

Between the launch of long-awaited epics such as "Gran Turismo 5" and "BioShock 2," and the return of heavyweights such as "NBA Jam" and "GoldenEye 007," choosing the year's top 10 titles is a Herculean task.

It's doubly so when you consider how subjective every player's list is, with one man's "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm" another's "Fallout: New Vegas."

That said, here are the 10 games that most captured my attention this year, whether through technical innovation or sheer thumb-waggling goodness.

Which ones make your own personal best list? Be sure to write in and let us know in the comments section below.

1. "Heavy Rain" (Sony, PlayStation 3) -- An interactive thriller that raises the bar for adventure gaming by injecting genuine choice and emotion into its suspenseful nonlinear narrative. It features storytelling that's every bit as gripping and cinematic as anything Hollywood produces.

Interval Licensing LLC, a small research company set up by Allen in 1992, originally filed a broad patent suit in federal court in Seattle in August, but Judge Marsha Pechman dismissed it on the grounds that it did not specify any actual products or devices. The revised suit was filed by Interval on Tuesday.

Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, claims Interval was central to research and development of technology in the Internet arena in the 1990s, amassing more than 300 patents and providing research assistance to Google.

In the suit, Allen's firm claims four of its patents -- chiefly related to the way Web data is sorted and presented -- have been infringed by a number of successful companies.

The first patent concerns the generation of data related to information being browsed. Interval claims Google uses this technology to match advertisements from third parties to content being displayed, while AOL's sites use it to suggest items related to news stories.

Interval claims Apple's iTunes service uses the technology to suggest music based on a user's searches, and that eBay Inc, Facebook, Netflix, Yahoo Inc and Office Depot's sites have also infringed the patent in the way they direct users to related content.

The second and third patents concern relaying information on a computer screen in a peripheral, unobtrusive manner, such as in an instant messaging box or overlay.

Interval claims its patent has been infringed by features in AOL's Instant Messenger, Apple's Dashboard, Google Talk and Gmail Notifier, Google's Android phone system and Yahoo Widgets.

The fourth patent concerns alerting web browsers to new items of interest based on activity of other users. Interval claims AOL uses this technology on its shopping sites, while Apple's iTunes uses it to recommend music.

Interval claims eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, Staples Inc, Yahoo and Google's YouTube all have infringed the patent in the way they suggest content to users.

Interval has asked the court for damages and a ban on products that use the disputed patents.

The case is C10-1385 MJP in the U.S. District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle.