HWW &
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE CAR SHOPPING!
™
H E A LT H Y W E A LT H Y & W I S E
EXCLUSIVE
HOW NOT TO WRECK YOUR
retirement
ITALY IN 2008 EXPERT RICK STEVES ‘ favorites
Wolfgang Puck’s
simple & DELICIOUS FETTUCCINE
PLUS: DIABETES, U.S.A. $3.99 CANADA $5.99 FOREIGN $6.99 w w w. h w w m a g a z i n e . c o m
INSULIN, & WEIGHT GAIN
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise
welcome,
This month we’re bringing you the finest cuisine and travel topics from our very favorite experts. Rick Steves piques our travel inklings with the top Italian spots to see in 2008. Another mouth-watering dish is served by chef favorite Wolfgang Puck. This time it’s a simple-to-make fettuccine, his own rendition of a tasty pasta that you’re sure to love. Don’t miss Dr. Pickett’s essential advice for optimum health and stay informed on the side effects of some common medications.
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enjoy,
table of
contents
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3 Medicine Cabinet MARY PICKETT, M.D.
4 Auto Scene JIM MATEJA
5 The Lord of the Dance DAVE BARRY
6 Retire Smart: How (Not) to Wreck
Your Retirement HUMBERTO & GEORGINA CRUZ 8 Ask the Builder: The Point of Primer TIM CARTER
HEALTHY, WEALTHY, & WISE
9 Fettuccine Wolfredo WOLFGANG PUCK’S KITCHEN
10 The Best of Italy 2008 RICK STEVES’ EUROPE
12 Games & Puzzles
14 The Savings Game: Saving Money
8
Can be Simple - Even Fun! HUMBERTO CRUZ 15 Smart Collector & Pets! DANIELLE ARNET
16 Top 6 Color Sites MARCO BUSCAGLIA
2
STEVE DALE
6
Volume 15, No. 3 James Erickson, Editor in Chief Ashli Sprinkel, Marketing Director Rachel Honan, Art Director
Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise is published monthly by Erickson Marketing Communications, 1020 Shipping St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 Subscribe for $19.95 per year, $3.99 per issue. Call (800) 311-1390 for subscription information. Statement of Purpose: Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise is designed to inspire and assist readers in taking the best care of their families, their finances and their health. To this end, it includes the best work of the finest writers, packaged in an attractive and enjoyable format. © 2008, Erickson Marketing Communications. May not be reproduced without permission. Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise is meant for informational purposes only. The stories contained within reflect the individual views of the authors and do not represent the opinion of Erickson Marketing Communications, or its affiliates. Consult with a physician before making changes in diet, activity level, or changing lifestyles.
Q. A.
Medicine Cabinet | HW&W
BY MARY PICKETT, M.D.
Does insulin cause weight gain? I started taking
insulin in July and gained 15 to 20 pounds in three months.
It doesn’t seem quite fair, but it’s true. Weight gain can cause
type 2 diabetes, and treatment for diabetes can cause weight gain. If you think this may put you into a vicious cycle, you are right. Still, when you consider weight gain and diabetes one piece of the story at a time, it makes some sense. When you gain weight, you become more resistant to the effects of insulin. Insulin can’t deliver glucose into your cells very efficiently if you are resistant to it, so glucose accumulates in your blood and spills into your urine. You really must treat diabetes, or you will quickly become dehydrated and ill. But if you treat diabetes with supplements of insulin, your body can store all of that glucose and the calories that come along with it. Insulin is not the only medicine for diabetes that can lead to weight gain. Any of the medicines that allow your body to produce more insulin (such as glipizide, glyburide, or other medicines in the “sulfonylurea” group) can cause weight gain as well. So can drugs such as rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos). These drugs help your fat cells to respond more sensitively to insulin, and in the process the drugs prevent these cells from wasting to a smaller size. One medicine that treats diabetes does
not result in weight gain. This is metformin (Glucophage). Metformin improves your sensitivity to insulin throughout the body, particularly within your liver. Your liver is a major player in your balance of calories, since it turns into a “bakery” of sorts in between your regular meals, manufacturing extra glucose out of raw ingredients. Metformin prevents you from manufacturing so much of this extra glucose in your liver between meals. Doctors use the hemoglobin A1C test as a measure of good sugar control. Most guidelines suggest a target level of 7 percent or less. However, this may not be practical for many people with diabetes. Using such a strict target might result in significant weight gain if you are increasing your doses of insulin or other diabetes medications to bring down blood sugar levels. The best way to deal with a hemoglobin A1C test over target is to get more exercise and reduce your caloric intake. Start slow. Take a few extra steps and stairs and cut a couple of hundred calories. From there, do a little more physical activity each day. Check your blood sugars. They should come down and so should your weight. Mary Pickett is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University where she practices and teaches Primary Care Internal Medicine. She is a Lecturer for Harvard Medical School and a Senior Medical Editor for Harvard Health Publications. Some areas of special interest include drug interactions, drug side effects, musculoskeletal problems, diabetes, and women’s health.
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HW&W | Auto Scene
auto scene
by Jim Mateja
Q.
In your review of the 2008 Ford Taurus you noted it was rated at 17 m.p.g. city/24 m.p.g. highway.
That’s close to the rating on my 1986 Chevy Caprice with a V-8, a less aerodynamic and much heavier car. This reflects very poorly on fuel efficiency advancements U.S. automakers have made over the years. G.F., SPRINGFIELD
A.
How perceptive, G.F. How could an auto industry with the skills to create a Caprice with drum brakes and lap belts and all be unable to dramatically improve mileage in 20 years in a car like Taurus with fuel injection, disc brakes with anti-lock, lap/shoulder belts, front and side air bags with side curtains, stability control with traction control and all-wheel-drive. We should write Congress and demand they wake up and return Caprice to showrooms and put Taurus to rest.
Q.
Your review of the Infiniti EX35 says it beeps and lightly applies the brakes if it detects a center line has been crossed. Such a system may not have allowed a driver to avoid me last winter. I was driving southbound on a two-lane road. A car was approaching in the northbound lane when a vehicle pulled out in front of it. The two collided, and the northbound car headed toward me. I was able to go between both cars. If the brakes of the car that was forced over the center line automatically applied, I would have been involved in the collision. Brake application without “contacting” the driver could lead to problems. D.S., LOMBARD
4
A.
It’s called the Lane Departure Prevention system — not Stop the Car in an Instant system. It doesn’t jam on the brakes. It’s, as you say, light, temporary braking to pull or nudge your car back into the proper lane. You can drive the car to avoid a pending impact. Just how much “contact” does a car have to give a driver to allow him or her to place the phone back in its holder, unplug the iPod, put the designer water bottle in its holder and focus instead on the danger at hand? Send questions about cars and trucks to Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 700 N. Milwaukee Ave., Suite 135, Vernon Hills, Ill. 60061-1523, or send e-mail, including name and hometown, to jmateja@tribune.com.
Humor | HW&W
The Lord
of the Dance
Doesn’t Have Anything on Me
DAVE BARRY
I
am not a fan of ballet. Now, before you members of the Dance Community get your leotards in a bunch, let me stress that I KNOW I AM WRONG. I know that ballet is a beautiful artistic form that requires great dedication and skill. I’m just saying that I, personally, would rather watch a dog catch a Frisbee. My problem — and it’s MY problem, NOT ballet’s problem — is that, because I am culturally unsophisticated, all ballet looks to me like — even though I know there is MUCH more to it — a troupe of mincing mimes. Whatever the ballet plot is about — love, hate, joy, sorrow, the Russian Revolution, measles — the reaction of the dancers is: “It’s MINCING time!” Granted, it is an extremely high caliber of mincing, coupled with some impressive prancing. A non-graceful, out-of-shape layperson like myself could not in a million years prance like that. If I, in my current weight class, were to attempt to launch myself into the air and land on my tippytoes, I would have to be minced off the stage by ballet paramedics. So I admire the skill involved. It’s just that, after I have watched dancers mince around for, say, eight minutes, I have had my ballet quota for that particular decade. The only time I truly enjoyed ballet was years ago, when I attended a performance at a display garden where the stage wings were formed by thick, high hedges. At one point — I estimate it was 14 hours into the performance — a male dancer and
a female dancer were onstage doing the Mince of Passion, and the male did what a man must do in BalletLand to show a woman that he truly loves her; namely, hoist her over his head. He then attempted to prance offstage with her, but her tutu apparently obscured his vision, and he pranced her, headfirst, smack into the shrubbery. She went in as far as her shoulders. The male had to yank her out, back up, re-aim, and prance off, trying to maintain an expression of passion, though you could tell from the female’s face that the affair was OVER. I wanted to shout: “Encore!” I know that, because of this column, I will receive many angry (yet fragrant) letters from ballet lovers. As a veteran columnist, I even know what these letters will say. “Dear Berry,” they will say. “As a member of the Dance Community, I am appalled by the ignorance of your ignorant column, which only reveals how ignorant you are, you ignoramus. For you to so ignorantly ignore the beauty of ballet, not to mention making light of the potentially career-ending tragedy of a shrub-related injury, only underscores the ignorance of your ignorant ...” And so on. Well, guess what, ballet lovers? You don’t have to write! I am already being punished, severely, for not liking ballet. My daughter has decided, at age 2 1/2, that all she wants is to be a ballerina. She has a tutu, which she wears with everything, including her pajamas. She likes to mince and twirl, and she expects her mother and me to mince and twirl with her, with our hands over our heads, ballet-style. We do this a LOT. “Pirouette ‘Til You Puke,” that is our motto. We took Sophie to see a real ballet, and she loved it so much that she had to get up and twirl in the aisle. I even enjoyed some of it, although not the costumes worn by the male dancers, which left nothing to the imagination, if you know
see “Lord of the Dance” page 7
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HW&W | Retire Smart
Retirement is such a hot topic these days that mass-circulation magazines and Web portal sites are forever filled with lists of Things You Positively Must Do or Avoid for a Happy and Secure Retirement.
By Humberto & Georgina Cruz
Begin cultivating your dreams for retirement now, because it takes more than a fat bank account to
6
guarantee happiness.
One big problem with these lists is that most are put together by people who work full-time and can’t speak from experience. Another is the almost myopic focus on money, as if a fat bank account alone would guarantee a happy retirement. So, allow us to present our updated “Five Things That Will Absolutely Wreck Your Retirement Even if You Have Money to Spare” list, based on years of observation and recent research. Have nothing to do or look forward to when you get up in the morning. Some people focus on work so much during their careers that they fail to develop other meaningful interests. Retirement, after a short honeymoon period, leaves them bored and unsatisfied. A recent survey by Financial Freedom, a major reverse-mortgage lender, found 39 percent of seniors who planned to return to work after retiring did so mostly because they were bored. Solution? Start cultivating interests before retiring. If already retired, write a list of at least 100 things you want to do (places to go, people to see, books to read, golf courses to master, for example), advises Paul Merriman, a financial adviser in Seattle who counsels mostly retirees. “Make sure you know what will get you motivated each morning,” he says. “Then give yourself ways to pursue those things.” Refuse to engage in new activities because you are too old, it’s too hard, or it takes “too long.” With that attitude, you are sure never to learn how to speak a new language, play a musical instrument or create a digital photo album, for instance. But you will still get older. Become intolerant and abusive. With nothing else to do all day, you may find
yourself “compelled” to respond to letters to the editor at your local newspaper that espouse political, social or even religious views different from yours. While as journalists we applaud this exercise of free speech, we have been appalled at the personal attacks that permeate the letters page in our local newspaper in Vero Beach, Fla. The paper itself has carried columns referring to the “mean spiritedness” and “glow-in-the-dark toxicity” of these back-and-forth attacks. Ignore your spouse or significant other. For couples, retirement is – or should be – a game for two. Both partners don’t always want to do the same things in retirement. One may dream of traveling, for instance, while the other prefers to stay at home. One may not even want to retire while the other does. Without willingness to compromise, many conflicts will result. But most of all, there has to be communication. A survey conducted by Richard Day Research for Fidelity Investments this year found that in more than 30 percent of married couples born between 1937 and 1964, husbands and wives gave completely different answers when asked what age they would retire, their expected lifestyle in retirement and whether they intended to continue working past retirement age. More alarming, many failed to give matching answers when asked what their spouse would say, showing a serious lack of communication. Or, alternately, stifle and hound your spouse or significant other. Few things will sour a marriage more quickly than the new retiree (by our anecdotal evidence, usually the husband) who fills his empty time by following the spouse around the house all day. Couples need to give each other space and pursue individual activities from time to time so they can enjoy their time together that much more. According to the Financial Freedom survey, 20 percent of seniors who preferred to keep working in retirement said the main reason was because their spouse was driving them crazy. Humberto and Georgina Cruz are a husband-andwife writing team who work together in this column and communicate about their retirement plans. Send questions or comments to GVCruz@aol.com.
Humor | HW&W
Lord of the Dance continued from page 5
what I mean, and if you don’t, what I mean is they looked like they were smuggling dead squirrels in their tights. I don’t want my daughter seeing that! Do these guys spend so much on eyeliner that they can’t afford a pair of shorts? After the performance, the dancers went to the lobby to meet the audience, thrilling Sophie, who got some of them to sign her program. She now believes this is an integral part of ballet. At home, after we twirl for a while, she announces that she is going to the “lobby,” which is my closet, and she waits there, in her tutu, until we bring her a pen and a paper to “sign.” So this is how I am being punished for not liking ballet: I spend my days twirling and mincing, then standing in a closet, getting an autograph from somebody who can’t write. Ballet lessons loom ahead. I am now facing years of ballet-watching, and I frankly don’t know how I’m going to get through it. Because these tights really itch. Write to humor colmnist Dave Barry in care of The Miami Herald, One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132. ©2008, T.M.H. distributed by Tribune Media Service, Inc.
Crossword Puzzle
ANSWERS (FROM P. 13)
7
HW&W | Ask the Builder
The Point Of
Primer?
By Tim Carter
The instructions on the can of paint I am getting ready to use say to use primer paint on bare wood. Is that really
necessary? It seems like a waste of time. What are the benefits of using paint primer? I feel the paint company just wants another sale and they are trying to slow me down. I have never used primers before, and the paint I use seems to hold up. If you do convince me, is there a special primer I should use? JANE G., AZ
Dear Jane:
I am sure the things you painted before survived the lack of primer, but I am here to tell you that the finished product would have been much better had you used one. Paint primers are very necessary, and they serve several very important functions. A paint primer is a special paint. It is formulated to do several mission-critical things, the least of which is create a superior bond to the object being painted. Keep in mind that most paints are really glues with color in them. In other words, when applied correctly to the right things, paint can stick or adhere to something for a very long time, just as any glue you would apply out of a bottle. The chemists who work for paint companies formulate primers so they are very sticky. They grab onto surfaces like briars to your pants. What’s more, the dried surface of many primers is formulated to bond physically and chemically to the finish paint if you apply the finish paint within 24 hours of applying the primer. Certain primer paints also serve two other functions; they seal a porous surface and they even out the texture of the object so the finish paints think they are being applied over a sheet of see “Primer” page 11
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PRIMER TIPS After painting bare wood with a water-based primer, the wood may seem rougher than before you started. This frequently happens for two reasons; the water in the paint can raise the grain of the bare wood and you feel some of the coarse pigments in the paint. For truly professional results, you need to lightly sand the primer before you apply the first coat of finish paint. The primers sand very easily, so it will not be a chore to do this task. Try to recoat the primer with a finish coat of paint within 12 hours, if at all possible. The sooner you cover the primer with finish paint after you have passed the minimum recoat time period, the better the bond will be between the two paints. Be sure to read the label instructions of the primer and follow those to the letter. If it says to apply the primer to a clean, dry surface, it means it. Clean means washing the surface with soap and water if necessary to remove dirt, oils, grease, tree sap and so forth.
fettuccine
{
Wolfgang Puck’s Kitchen | HW&W
Wolfredo with Mascarpone Cream Sauce
I hope the recipe will stick in your own kitchen. It’s easy to make, and also easy to add your own variations. I use dried fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti instead of the traditional fresh noodles. You can feel free to go wild by topping the pasta with grilled, broiled, or sauteed chicken breast or shrimp. In other words, feel free to keep messing with a classic, just as I did!
INGREDIENTS
2 strips smoky bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup good-quality canned
chicken broth
1/2 cup mascarpone 3/4 pound fresh fettucine 1/4 cup freshly grated
Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leafed (Italian) parsley, plus more for garnish
Chef Wolfgang Puck’s TV series, “Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class,” airs Sundays on the Food Network. Also, his latest cookbook, “Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy,” is now available in bookstores.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you make the sauce. For the sauce, put a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and saute until it starts to turn brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Pour off excess fat from the pan. Add the olive oil. Let it heat briefly, then add the butter and, when it is only partially melted, quickly add the cream and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Spoon in the mascarpone and whisk as it melts and the sauce becomes smooth and creamy. Set the sauce aside, covered to keep it warm. When the pot of water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until it is al dente, tender but still slightly chewy, following the manufacturer’s suggested cooking time. In a colander set over a bowl in the sink, drain the pasta, saving 1/4 cup of its cooking water. Add the pasta, still slightly dripping, to the pan of still-hot sauce. Stir in the Parmesan, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of parsley. Toss the pasta well, adding little by little enough of the reserved cooking water to help the pasta and sauce blend together more easily. Using a pasta server or tongs, transfer the pasta to individual heated pasta bowls or plates, mounding it attractively. Garnish with more parsley and serve immediately.
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HW&W | Travel Europe
byRickSteves
TheBestof
B
Italy in 2008
ella Italia, my favorite country in Europe, is a wonderful work in progress. Here’s a look at what to expect in 2008. Italy is gung-ho for restricted traffic zones in its city centers. This is great for pedestrians, but not for drivers who are finding $100 fines in their mail when they arrive home. If you drive in Rome, Florence, Milan, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Orvieto or Verona - in restricted areas marked by a Zona Traffico Limitato sign - your car’s license plate will be photographed and you can be fined without ever being stopped by a cop. Pay attention to signs, get parking advice from your hotelier, and park outside restricted areas.
“
with the pope, those passed away with John Paul II - Pope Benedict XVI doesn’t do them. It’s a good time to be a fan of ancient Rome. On Palatine Hill, the Augustus Rooms, four newly restored rooms in a house from the era of Emperor Augustus open in March 2008 (entry included in the Colosseum/Palatine Hill ticket). At Trajan’s Forum, a new Museum of the Imperial Forum just opened, offering ancient artifacts and computers showing how the forum was built. Nearby, a small part of Nero’s Golden House has reopened, but it’s in a sad state of ruin - more historically significant than interesting. And travelers are rediscovering the Ara Pacis - the first-century “Altar of Peace” built by Emperor Augustus to kick off the Pax Romana. It’s wonderfully displayed in a state-of-the-art exhibit housed in a starkly modern building - the first new construction in Rome’s old center since 1938.
From Milan to Rome, Italy is working hard to spiff up its sights
ROME: With a revolution brewing
among the throngs of tourists stung by the Vatican Museum’s stingy hours, the museum has agreed to stay open longer in 2008: Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (last ticket sold at 4:00 p.m.); as usual, it’ll be closed on Sunday except for the last Sunday of the month, when it’s free and open 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (last ticket sold at 12:30 p.m.). While some Catholics would love a private audience
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”
Florence: If you’re planning a visit
to the Uffizi Gallery, the more-popularthan-ever showcase of Italian Renaissance paintings, reserve a ticket and entry time at least a month ahead (to avoid the two-
hour-long ticket-buying line at the gallery). The simplest option is to ask your hotelier to make the reservation (most will do this for free or for a small fee). You can try to make the Uffizi reservation yourself by phone (from the United States, dial 01139-055-294-883), but the line is often busy, and once you get through, it seems that they almost enjoy keeping you on hold and then disconnecting you.
VENICE: The Clock Tower on St. Mark’s Square has finally opened, giving visitors a close-up look at the clock innards, as well as expansive views of the square and beyond from the terrace. Unfortunately, you can only see it with a reservation-only guided tour (12 euros, includes Correr Museum). You can make the reservation in person at the Correr Museum, from the States by dialing 011-39-041-520-9070, or online at www.museiciviciveneziani.it. The glorious dome of Venice’s La Salute Church will likely be covered in scaffolding in 2008. The proposed 10-year, multi-billion-dollar Moses Project, designed to protect Venice from flooding through the use of underwater barriers, was funded several years ago ... but construction has yet to begin. Meanwhile construction is under way on the Grand Canal’s new, ultra-modern fourth bridge, made of glass, steel, and stone. The Calatrava Bridge will connect the Santa Lucia train station with Piazzale Roma as early as this summer, if it’s finished on time. In nearby Vicenza, 2008 promises to be a great year as the town celebrates the 500th birthday of Palladio, the homegrown architectural genius (www.andreapalladio500.it). MILAN: Reservations to see Leonardo
da Vinci’s Last Supper still book up long in advance. It’s better to book by phone than online: If you call, you’ll have a greater selection of days and time slots to choose from, since their user-unfriendly website doesn’t reflect cancellations (from the United States, dial 011-39-02-8942-1146, see “Travel Europe” page 12
Primer
Ask The Builder | HW&W
continued from page 8
glass. If you were to look at the surface of the wood you are about to paint under a microscope, you would be surprised at how rough it really is, even after you have sanded it. What’s more, depending upon the species of wood you are painting and its grain pattern, you can have widely varying levels of porosity between the light-grained springwood and the darker grain bands of summerwood. If you were to paint over wood without a primer, you might be able to see these grain bands, as the finish paint would look dull over the light-colored springwood but glossier over the darker bands of wood. This happens because the paint soaks into the light-colored springwood. Primer-sealer paint seals the surface of wood so the finish paint does not soak into it. This allows you to have even gloss over the wood that is painted. Many paint primers for wood have lots of dense pigments in them that act as microscopic liquid-spackling compound. The pigments fill in all of the low spots in the wood so the finish paint will look like satin. Modern primers are often waterbased and dry very rapidly. Some can be recoated with finish paint in less than an hour. Using a primer will actually speed up the job, not slow you down. I urge you to always use a primer if the label on the paint can recommends it. In fact, pay attention to what primer they say to use, as the primers are often formulated to work with specific finish paints. I can assure you that you will achieve better-looking and longer-lasting results if you use primers, no matter if you are painting bare wood, metal, plastic or just about any surface — even ceramic tile! All of Tim’s past columns and videos are available at AsktheBuilder.com. Discover answers to thousands of questions. Subscribe to get FREE alerts each time a new video or column is uploaded. © 2008, TMS, Inc.
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HW&W | Games & Puzzles
challenge yourself
SLAPSTIX
I am kind of a paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.
4
sudoku 6
6 7 3 3 1 7 3 8 9 1 5 8 5 4 9 6 8 2 6 5 8
Magicword: Collection Jumbles: HITCH AIDED PETITE AROUSEJumbles Answer:A conversation at a sports bar can become this – “SPIRITED”
Travel Europe continued from page 11
www.cenacolovinciano.org). Milan’s new Museum of Art and Science offers a hands-on look at Leonardo’s work - sketches, paintings, and models of inventions - during the 20 years he spent in Milan. The cathedral’s Duomo Museum is still under renovation and may be closed for the first part of 2008, as is the train station (expect chaos until the dust settles,
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9 2 8 4 6
HOW TO PLAY SUDOKU (Answers on page 15.)
Sudoku is setup on a 9x9 grid, split up into 3x3 grids called “regions”. Some numbers are already given. The object of the game is to fill in the other boxes, each with a single-digit number (1-9), until the entire puzzle is filled. The only rules are that a number cannot appear more than once in a row, column, or region.
and even after that). From Milan to Rome, Italy is working hard to spiff up its sights, draw more tourists, and keep the gelato-slurping masses moving as smoothly as possible. It’s hot, crowded, expensive, and well worth the effort. Write to colmnist Rick Steves in care of The Miami Herald, One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132. ©2008, T.M.H. distributed by Tribune Media Service, Inc.
Games & Puzzles | HW&W
Crossword Puzzle
Answers can be found on page 7.
ACROSS
1 Poetic tentmaker? 5 Where most of us are? 9 Lawn makeup 14 Justice Black 15 Displays of fauna 16 French textile center 17 Ulysses 20 Food scrap 21 “O don fatale” or “Vissi d’arte” 22 Rained in fine drops 23 Type of diver 25 Lacoste or Levesque 26 Part of TGIF 27 Ice mass 28 Calf location 31 Make amends 34 Retarding force 35 Produced 36 “Ulysses” 39 Very dry 40 Cedar Breaks state 41 Pavlov and Reitman 42 Water damage 43 Feds 44 J.H.S. subj. 45 Chicago nine
46 Caricature 50 Forward 53 Port city of Pennsylvania 54 Mai __ cocktail 55 Ulysses 58 Think alike 59 Warsaw, for one 60 Furnish, for a time 61 Acts the bookworm 62 Stage signals 63 Humanistic disciplines
DOWN
1 1977 George Burns film 2 Razor-billed auk 3 Striped gem 4 Silver or Wood 5 Portuguese islands 6 Capital of Bulgaria 7 Greek letter 8 Gray shade 9 Applying epoxy 10Dishwasher cycle 11 Dismounted 12 __ gin fizz 13 Dispatch 18 Experiences
19 Materialize 24 Yearned 25 Stick ‘em up! 27 Ferry of Roxy Music 28 Volcanic flow 29 Earthly paradise 30 Styling products 31 lightly open 32 Tropical root 33 Overlook 34 Showers affection 35 Film 37 Mix up 38 Buffalo coin 43 Pretenses 44 New Orleans pros 45 Boxed in? 46 Instant 47 Web-footed mammal 48 Pass out 49 Discovers 50 Bellow 51 Border 52 Pianist Hess 53 Jacob’s twin 56 Vert. bars on goods 57 Neighbor of Tenn.
13
HW&W | The Savings Game
Saving Money
can be
Simple-
by Humberto Cruz
I
Even Fun!
feel good that, by saving regularly and staying clear of credit card debt, my wife, Georgina, and I could quit fulltime work in our 50s and enjoy a fun-filled semi-retirement. And even though our combined incomes never put us beyond the middle income-tax bracket (if that high), we built a seven-figure nest egg that keeps growing thanks to the magic of compounding. My point, after reading a new survey on Americans’ savings habits, is that most don’t understand how simple — and yes, fun — saving can be. Admittedly, it can be tough to save if you face large regular or unexpected expenses or have low or unreliable income, the factors most often mentioned. But social and psychological factors also play a big role, based on the survey by Opinion Research Corporation for the Consumer Federation of America and Wachovia Corporation. Of more than 2,000 adult Americans, 17 percent said they cannot save at all and another 35 percent said they are not saving enough. Among this combined group, 37 percent said “impulse spending” was a barrier to saving. “Spending to feel good” was cited by 29 percent; “social pressure from friends or family” by 20 percent; “trips to the mall” by 15 percent, and “playing the lottery or gambling” by 8 percent. Not surprisingly, 42 percent said credit cards make it difficult to save and 60 percent reported having large consumer debt. Georgina and I never had those problems. Our families came to the United States from Communist Cuba in the 1960s, leaving all material possessions behind. No impulse spending for us when every penny went for basic necessities. In the Consumer Federation/Wachovia survey, among Americans who don’t save at all or not enough, impulse
“
buying is a problem for 46 percent of those making at least $75,000 a year compared to 32 percent of those making below $35,000. Solutions? Leave the credit cards at home when going to the mall and volunteer your time to help others so you don’t need to spend to feel good. Also, set up automatic transfers from your checking account into a savings or investment account. Georgina and I got started by automatically depositing $100 a month into a mutual fund, increasing the amount regularly as our finances improved and watching our balance grow, thanks to compound interest. In the survey, “knowledge of interest compounding” beat all other choices for incentives to saving, including access to workplace retirement programs, savings accounts with a 5 percent interest rate, automatic transfers from checking to savings, and encouragement from family and friends. Unfortunately, the survey stated incorrect-
37 percent said ‘impulse spending’was a barrier to saving
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ly that savings of $200 a month compounding at 5 percent a year for 30 years would grow to more than $300,000. Given those numbers, 80 percent of the people who don’t save at all or not enough said that would be important information in persuading them to save. In reality, it would take 40 years, not 30, to accumulate the $300,000. But it hardly matters. After I noticed the mistake, this and related questions, with the correct numbers, were asked of a similar group. This time, the percentage that said the information was important in getting them to save was even higher, at 83 percent. “That doesn’t surprise me,” said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the consumer federation. “Most people underestimate the power of compound interest.” The point: “We want to get that message out to more Americans. Small amounts of savings can add significantly over time,” said Kathryn Black, Senior Vice President for Wachovia. Looking over our portfolio, I know that’s true. Write to Humberto Cruz at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or via email at a.askhumberto@aol.com. © 2008, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
DANIELLE ARNET
In “Auction Action” you had a golf club. How do I find collectors or appraisals for my five hickory-shafted clubs? ED, WILLIAMSBURG, VA.
T
hat club made the column because it was a piece of history that dated from the 1700s, the earliest days of golf. From a noted private collection, it sold for an astounding bit of money. Golf is an old game, and there is a collector market for certain old balls, trophies, tees, autographs, costumes, scorecards and art related to the game. Many aspects of the sport are collected. There is a secondary market in lesser clubs, too, but not all old clubs are collected. A good first stop in finding value is eBay or even Google for a search. Look by name and date to see if there is a track record for your clubs. That should provide a general idea. If that yields promising results, dig deeper. Yes, some clubs have resale value. Does that make them collectible? Maybe. On www.golfforallages.com, Texas golf collectibles expert Chuck Furjanic has a helpful link on club values. The hard truth is that fewer than 5 percent of all woodshafted clubs have any value beyond being decorative or playable. Ronald O. John, author of a book on golf collectibles, told us that collectors deal in narrow niches of the market, and it is their wants that drive the market. Resale or secondhand clubs are quite another market. FYI: John’s book is “The Vintage Era of Golf Club Collectibles” (Collector Books, $29.95). Collectors swear by Pete Georgiady’s books on clubs, including “Wood Shafted Golf Club Value Guide,” available on amazon.com. His “Antique Golf Collectibles,” with Richard Walker, is $29.95 from Collector Books. Membership in the Golf Collectors Society is at golfcollectors.com. Send e-mail to smartcollector@comcast.net or write Danielle Arnet, c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY. 14207. © 2008, TMS, Inc.
E
ver since pet foods began
to kill animals in the spring, I stopped taking chances and began to prepare my own food for my three cats. I found a recipe I like on a Website, but that’s been exhausting. Is it safe to return to normal cat food? D.H., TAMPA, FLA.
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n truth, the pet food recalls affected only a very small percent of pet food brands. Still, the threat was real; pets died or were sickened as a result of the tainted food. Dr. Kathryn Michel, veterinary nutritionist and associate professor of nutrition at the University of the Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia, points out that cooking food for pets is certainly possible. However, be careful. For starters, recipes vary wildly, and many that are posted on the Internet — and even published in books — may be nutritionally inadequate. Over time, Michel fears that some pets on home-cooked diets will display serious, even life-threatening, nutritional abnormalities. Also, as you point out — cooking for pets can be a laborious task in a culture where increasingly we don’t prepare daily fresh meals for themselves. Michel says the incidents of illness due to eating the tainted food went away many months ago. “I have no doubt that manufactured pet food is safe to eat,” she says. “In fact, because the pet food companies are now being so very careful, to avoid, God forbid, any problems, I’d argue pet foods are now safer than ever.” Write to Steve at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY. 14207. Send e-mail to PETWORLD@AOL. com. Include your name, city and state.© 2008, TMS, Inc.
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ANSWERS (FROM P. 12)
Ask the Experts | HW&W
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STEVE DALE
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COLOR MARCO BUSCAGLIA
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PINK AND BLUE
‘THE WIZARD OF OZ’
http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/history/chronology.cfm For many of us, our understanding of colors goes back as far as our first Crayola box. By the time we received our box of 64, we were practically crayon aficionados. Read up on Crayola’s history on their Web site.
http://www.colormatters.com/vis_bk_white.html It’s one of those standard questions you think you know the answer to: Is black or white is a color? OK, it’s not in the “chicken or egg” league but you can be sure plenty of barroom brawls began over a casual discussion of “absence of color.” Well, leave it to the experts at colormatter.com to come up with the definitive answer. Well, sort of. http://people.howstuffworks.com/gender-color.htm Girls in pink and boys in blue — it’s one of those cliches that new parents can’t escape. But why do we insist that each gender has some sort of genetic right to a certain color? Check out the How Stuff Works Web site for some insight into this age-old question.
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http://r0k.us/graphics/SIHwheel.html Interested in the various shades of color? Wonder how you can affect the look of something by adjusting the hue, intensity or shade of a certain tone? Visit this interactive color wheel, move your mouse around a bit and find out.
http://colorvisiontesting.com/online%20test.htm Have trouble picking out the blue M&Ms for your obsessive-compulsive roommate? Do you see red when your friends see purple? Maybe you’re incapable of telling your wife you like how her new sweater brings out the blue in her eyes. If this sounds like you, you may be colorblind. Check out the self-test at colorvisiontesting.com for a basic exam and more information. http://www.wendyswizardofoz.com/FAQ00037.htm Although it is often mislabeled as the first movie filmed in color, there were a few films that preceded it. Still, the movie is certainly one of the most notable early movies to use a full color palette. Now if we could just get to the bottom of those drunken Munchkin rumors.