Nearly one-third of U.S. homeowners have no mortgage

What mortgage meltdown?While millions of Americans have suffered the angst of lost homes, equity and pride, nearly a third of...

Read More..

The Internet of Things Has Arrived — And So Have Massive Security Issues

Internet. Things. Add the “Of” and suddenly these three simple words become a magic meme — the theme we’ve been hearing all week at CES, the oft-heralded prediction that may have finally arrived in 2013.While not devoid of hype and hyperbole, the Internet of Things (IoT) does represent a revolution happening right now. Companies of all kinds – not just technology and telecommunications firms...

Read More..

‘Argo,’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ win at Critics Choice

(Reuters) – Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage drama “Argo,” “Lincoln” star Daniel Day-Lewis and “Zero Dark Thirty”‘s Jessica Chastain were among big winners at the Critics Choice Movie Awards on Thursday, taking honors for best picture, actor and actress, with Affleck nabbing the prize for best director.The all-star “Silver Linings Playbook” swept the comedy awards, winning best comedy film, best comedy...

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: Taking a Zen Approach to Caregiving

You try to help your elderly father. Irritated and defensive, he snaps at you instead of going along with your suggestion. And you think “this is so unfair” and feel a rising tide of anger.How to handle situations like this, which arise often and create so much angst for caregivers?Jennifer Block finds the answer in what she calls “contemplative caregiving” — the application of Buddhist principles...

Read More..

Official Urges Greater Accountability by Euro Members

BRUSSELS — Olli Rehn, the European Union commissioner in charge of the euro currency, on Friday defended the bloc’s austerity policies and urged legislators to pass a law that would let him push countries even harder to shore up their finances. Signaling little let-up in the need for wrenching adjustments in Europe, Mr. Rehn also issued warnings to a wide range of countries — including...

Read More..

Irvine City Council overhauls oversight, spending on Great Park

Capping a raucous eight-hour-plus meeting, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to overhaul the oversight and spending...

Read More..

Disk Jockey: Hear Your Favorite Theme Songs Played by a Floppy-Drive Orchestra

While making music with computers is nothing new, it’s rarely quite so literal as the melodies of Youtube user MrSolidSnake74, who transformed eight floppy disk drives into an orchestra of MIDI magic. In the gallery above, you can hear his arrangements based on popular themes from Super Mario Bros, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Mega Man, Star Trek: The Next Generation,...

Read More..

TNT Orders Dick Wolf Series “Cold Justice”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – TNT has ordered eight episodes of a new procedural from “Law & Order” boss Dick Wolf, the network said Wednesday.The series bears the working title “Cold Justice” and is billed as an “unscripted procedural drama.” It will follow Texas prosecutor Kelly Siegler and Yolanda McClary, a crime-scene investigator for the Las Vegas Police Department, as they help local law-enforcement...

Read More..

Flu Widespread, Leading a Range of Winter’s Ills

It is not your imagination — more people you know are sick this winter, even people who have had flu shots. The country is in the grip of three emerging flu or flulike epidemics: an early start to the annual flu season with an unusually aggressive virus, a surge in a new type of norovirus, and the worst whooping cough outbreak in 60 years. And these are all developing amid the normal winter...

Read More..

Daily Stock Market Activity

Stocks rose on Wall Street at the opening of trading on Thursday as stronger-than-expected exports in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, raised hopes for a more robust recovery in the global economy this year. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index added 0.4 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.5 percent in morning...

Read More..