Robert Occhialini

Nineteen years ago, Jennifer Courter set out on a career path that has since provided her with a steady stream of lucrative, low-stress jobs. Now, her occupation -- mathematician -- has landed at the top spot on a new study ranking the best and worst jobs in the U.S. - Mitchell Tsai via Bookmarklet

The study, released Tuesday from CareerCast.com, a new job site, evaluates 200 professions to determine the best and worst according to five criteria inherent to every job: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. - Mitchell Tsai

According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions -- indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise -- unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren't expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching -- attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber. - Mitchell Tsai

And there's the rub -- a feeling of powerlessness can trigger irrational responses that exacerbate financial problems. - Mitchell Tsai via Bookmarklet

"Among those who got chance to affirm something central to their identity, their perceptions of patterns returned to normal -- whereas those who did not get a chance to affirm values still saw patterns that were not there," says Whitson. - Mitchell Tsai

Rucker agrees, adding that a sense of power can be restored by having a close friend affirm what they value about you: "It's not enough to think to yourself why you're good -- you need others pouring in support for you." - Mitchell Tsai

The real estate market is so awful that buyers are now scooping up homes for as little as $1,000. There are 18 listings in Flint, Mich., for under $3,000, according to Realtor.com. There are 22 in Indianapolis, 46 in Cleveland and a whopping 709 in Detroit. - Mitchell Tsai

In Detroit for instance, Century 21 Villa owner Randy Eissa has a three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow of about 1,000 square feet listed at just $500. It's a nice place with lots of light, but it needs a total rehabilitation inside, which Eissa estimates will cost between $15,000 and $20,000. But that's not bad, considering that the home last sold for $72,000 in late 2007, according to Zillow.com. - Mitchell Tsai

With prices this low, lenders aren't looking to make any money on these deals. They just want to get these houses off their books, so they don't have to bear the cost of maintaining them and paying property taxes. In fact, the $500, $1,000 or $3,000 that a buyer forks over often goes straight to the real estate brokers as a commission. And often the lenders have to kick in extra cash to make it worthwhile for a realtor even take the listings, according to Eissa. - Mitchell Tsai

Most of these $1,000 homes can be renovated relatively inexpensively, and buyers can actually get government help to finance these repairs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a special loan program for just such purchases. He adds that there may also be grant money available from the $4 billion Neighborhood Stabilization Program http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/0..., which was a part of the massive housing rescue bill passed by Congress in July, to assist buyers with grants for down payments. - Mitchell Tsai

Bridgeway Blue-Chip 35 Index, Bridgeway Ultra-Small Company Market, DFA Emerging Markets Value I - Mitchell Tsai

Since taking the helm of the sleepy textile business 44 years ago and turning it into arguably the strongest conglomerate on the planet, Buffett and his managers have grown the book value per A share from $19 to just over $77,500, as of Sept. 30. This translates to a 20.7% annualized increase in book value since 1965, versus a mere 9.6% annualized return in the S&P 500 (including dividends) over the same time period. - Mitchell Tsai

Buffett warned back in 2003 that derivatives were "financial weapons of mass destruction" that are "time bombs, both for the parties that deal in them and the economic system." Given all that has transpired in 2008, these statements--and Berkshire's actions--look especially prescient. While American International Group , Ambac (NYSE:ABK), and other competitors now wallow in bankruptcy or near-bankruptcy, Berkshire is as financially healthy as ever. - Mitchell Tsai

Beyond derivatives, Berkshire also avoided excessive leverage back when credit was flowing a little too easy and asset prices were too high. In mid-2007, the opening salvos of the credit crisis were being shot across the subprime mortgage market, and many financial firms were levered to the hilt. Yet Berkshire had $47 billion--over one third of its equity at the time--in cash and cash equivalents, most of it unencumbered. By practicing prudence and patience earlier in the decade, Berkshire was in a position to put large amounts of capital to work in 2008. - Mitchell Tsai

In other words, rather than blowing its ammunition hunting squirrels a few years ago, Berkshire has been able to shoot the proverbial elephants now walking by. - Mitchell Tsai

None of those, except Web 2.0, are Web 2.0 buzzwords lol - most of them are gamer terms actually! - Chris Saad

If th heel of a fot is in pain to the point where it can't hang in a freeform position or it can't be walked upon, what does this mean? Topics: health, wellness - Ⓝ〄ⒶⒽ ⒹⒶⓋⒾⒹ ⓈⒾⓂ〄Ⓝ

"I thought her op-ed was lucid and persuasive." - Dave Winer

yeah...type ping.fm in mobile safari. Then, save it to your home screen - shaun mclane

I've tried Nambu (right after they dropped the price--ghetto!) and it is pretty solid this far. I use it mainly for FriendFeed though (although the Ping UI looks pretty good. - darnell via Nambu

http://ping.fm/iphone/ ? - LouCypher

"Never have I loved a team more or felt more kinship with my fellow fans than when our team goes down in flames after a season of great ups and downs." - Dave Winer via Bookmarklet

Watch this story. - Brandon J. Mendelson

I'm sort of wondering the same thing - jesse wright

Well, it's billed as an identity management system, a place you can pool everything you consider "you" online and then connect it granularly with others (ie, you get to choose what you want or don't want to share with them). The email is a bonus and an even better one is that it works as an openid system (since that's becoming the new means of authentication for all things web)... - Brandon Jones