PetSugar

Calling all Beauty Product Junkies - 2007 BEST LIP GLOSS VOTE!

audreystar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:38:34 -0800

Best of 2007 Polls have begun on Bellasugar. Let your voice be heard!!

Vote for your favorite lip gloss for 2007.

Calling All Beauty Product Junkies: Best of 2007 All in One Palettes.

audreystar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:14:49 -0800

Don't forget to vote and make your voice heard! Second Bellasugar poll for Best of 2007. I actually haven't tried any of the choices so I had to vote other.

http://bellasugar.com/854892

Calling all Beauty Product Junkies! Don't forget to vote for Best Eyeshadow of 2007

audreystar — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 08:09:11 -0800

http://bellasugar.com/864693

Best Celebrity Style of 2007 (more fab, than Fab's)

syako — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:46:29 -0800

Fab put together her (blah) list of the best celeb style of the year. I couldn't stand by and watch these Rachel Zoe-ites take the crown. Here's my list of fabulously daring celebs with style. You pick who is number one!

(Source: 1. The Sartorialist, 2. Pop, 3. Pop, 4. Pop 5. Pop)

Best Album 2007

angelbeauty — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 10:59:48 -0800

Hilary Duff - Dignity
Leona Lewis - Spirit
Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad
Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing
Britney Spears - Blackout
Jennifer Lopez - Brave

Five myths about the U.S. Postal Service

liliblu — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:51:56 -0800

What are your thoughts on the United States Postal Service?
By John E. Potter
Sunday, February 28, 2010
For 235 years, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered your mail in snow, rain and dark of night. However, tough market conditions are creating new challenges for our business. Misconceptions about the future of our enterprise abound; dispelling these myths will show that we can continue to deliver the mail.

1. The Postal Service wastes taxpayer dollars.
The Postal Service, reorganized in 1971 as an independent agency of the executive branch, operates as a commercial entity. We rely on the sale of postage, mail products and services for revenue.
A small annual appropriation from Congress reimburses the USPS for free mail for the blind and absentee-ballot mailing for overseas military personnel. Otherwise, we have not received taxpayer funds to support postal operations since 1982; in fact, though we're often described as "quasi-governmental," we're required by law to cover our costs.
2. The Postal Service is inefficient.
Ten years ago, it took 70 employees one hour to sort 35,000 letters. Today, in that same hour, two employees process that same volume of mail. Though the number of addresses in the nation has grown by nearly 18 million in the past decade, the number of employees who handle the increased delivery load has decreased by more than 200,000.
According to the U.N.-affiliated Universal Postal Union, we deliver nearly half of the world's mail. The World Economic Forum, host of the annual summit of global power players in Davos, Switzerland, consistently ranks the U.S. Postal Service among the top 4 percent of more than 120 nations' and territories' postal services.
But keeping operating costs down is the greatest testament to efficiency. Since 2002, the Postal Service has cut its costs by $43 billion, including by $6 billion in 2009. These savings have come through workforce and overtime reduction, the renegotiation of more than 500 supplier contracts, the consolidation of facilities, the closing of administrative offices, and cuts in travel expenses and supply budgets.
Despite such efforts, the Postal Service was added to the Government Accountability Office's "high-risk list" last July to help put it on a more sustainable financial path. The GAO assessment, with which we agree, accurately reflects the Postal Service's fiscal condition, but the announcement also noted that many of the actions we've taken to reduce costs should continue.
We've also asked Congress to eliminate the statutory requirement that we deliver mail six days a week. A switch to five-day delivery would help us save more than $3 billion a year while still devoting appropriate resources to delivering the mail.
3. Mail is not reliable.
Independent quarterly surveys conducted by IBM confirm that the Postal Service has achieved record reliability levels. In the last quarter of 2009, on-time overnight delivery of single-piece first-class mail was at 96 percent for the fifth straight quarter, an agency best.
We're not only punctual, we're trusted and secure. According to the Federal Trade Commission, as little as 2 percent of identity crimes occur through the mail. Theft of a wallet or purse is responsible for 5 percent -- meaning your documents are safer in the mail then they are in your pocket.
4. The USPS is not environmentally friendly.
There's no way around it: Delivering mail uses fossil fuels, and mail often produces paper waste. Still, the Postal Service is greener than you think. As long as consumers and businesses use physical mail, we're committed to finding ways to process it responsibly.
Our fleet of 44,000 alternative-fuel-capable vehicles is one of the largest in the world and includes electric, three-wheeled electric, hybrid electric, ethanol, fuel-cell, biodiesel and propane technology. More than a half-billion packages and envelopes that we provide free annually are recyclable and made of environmentally friendly materials. The quality of the raw materials in our packaging, including tape and labels, makes the USPS the only shipping company to meet the stringent eco-design and manufacturing standards set by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry in its Cradle to Cradle program.
Last year, we recycled more than 200,000 tons of paper, plastics and other waste -- the equivalent of saving 1.67 million barrels of oil, according to an online Environmental Protection Agency calculator. There are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified post offices, a 2.5-acre green roof on a major facility in downtown Manhattan, solar photovoltaic building systems and other sustainable building designs in use across the country.
Still, saving the environment doesn't begin and end with the Postal Service. That's why we encourage our customers to "read, respond and recycle." In 8,000 post offices nationwide, signs remind P.O. box customers to open their mail, take whatever action is necessary and place the waste in our recycling bins. The EPA reports that standard mail represents less than 2.1 percent of the material in our nation's landfills. (By comparison, disposable diapers represent 2.2 percent, glass beer and soft-drink bottles 3 percent, and yard trimmings 6.9 percent.)
5. The USPS can't compete with the private sector.
The Postal Service can and does compete. Our closest competitors, UPS and FedEx, don't threaten our business; as two of our biggest customers, they help build it. Our competition pays us to deliver more than 400 million of their ground packages every year in residential areas and on Saturdays. In turn, the USPS contracts with UPS and FedEx for air transportation to take advantage of their comprehensive air networks.
Although stamp prices have increased about 33 percent over the past 10 years, this increase is in line with inflation. By comparison, private carriers raised their prices by as much as 60 percent between 1999 and 2009. The Postal Service is, and has always been, a bargain.
It's no secret that the Postal Service has been losing money since 2007. What are not well known are the financial demands of the Postal Reform Act of 2006 -- demands not faced by the private sector. Though the USPS is self-supporting, its finances are tied to the federal budget because postal employees participate in federal retirement plans. In 2006, Congress required that the USPS prefund 80 percent of future postal retiree health benefits. This will cost more than $5 billion a year through 2016. No other federal agency or private company carries such a heavy burden.
Without the prefunding requirement, the Postal Service would have been better able to weather the recent recession. In 2008, prefunding contributed to a loss of $2.8 billion. Without it, we would have been $2.8 billion in the black.
Though we operate in a difficult legislative and economic environment, we are prepared to forge ahead. On March 2, we are releasing our plan for future financial viability and greater business flexibility -- a plan that will keep the Postal Service thriving for years to come.
John E. Potter is postmaster general of the United States.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022504888.html?hpid%3Dopinionsbox1&sub=AR

Best celebs in 2007

dirrtyhoney — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:07:21 -0800

These are the pictures of best celebs and hardest worker in 2007

View Slideshow ›

MooreCo Recalls Ergonomic Office Chairs Due to Fall Hazard

tdsollog — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:41:58 -0800

MooreCo Recalls Ergonomic Office Chairs Due to Fall HazardNEWS from CPSCU.S. Consumer Product Safety CommissionOffice of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 19, 2010Release # 10-110 Firm's Recall Hotline: (888) 446-5161CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908 MooreCo Recalls Ergonomic Office Chairs Due to Fall HazardWASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.Name of Product: Spine Align and Posture Perfect Ergonomic Office ChairsUnits: About 700Manufacturer: MooreCo Inc., dba Balt & Best-Rite Manufacturing, of Temple, Texas.Hazard: The legs of the chair can break, posing fall hazard to the user.Incidents/Injuries: The company has received five reports of the legs of the chairs breaking, resulting in three minor injuries and in the aggravation of an existing back injury.Description: This recall involves the Spine Align and the Posture Perfect Ergonomic Office Chairs with model numbers 34571 and 34556 respectively. The base of the chair is made of hard plastic and the chair has no marks or labels. Chairs bearing marks or labels are not included in this recall. The model number is found in the packaging.Sold through: Catalogs and online by United Stationers, Staples, S.P. Richards, and W.B. Mason from December 2007 through October 2009 for between $320 and $650. Manufactured in: South KoreaRemedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled chairs immediately and contact MooreCo for a free repair or a replacement chair.Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact MooreCo toll free at (888) 446-5161 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit the company's Web site at www.chairrecall.comTo see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10110.html

Pics - Before, Now, and Goal

abbyjo — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:17:06 -0800

This was October of 2007 at Chimney Rock in NC. If I wasn't at my heaviest then, I was within 15 pounds of it...
I had my surgery (LAP Band with Dr. Scott Bovard of Wake Forest, NC - bovardbariatrics.com - they're the BEST!) on 12/10/08, and now I look like this:
This was taken less than a month ago at a musician friend's show, backstage - I'm a makeup artist and was helping him and his dancers out for their public debut! (if you're in the Raleigh area, catch SIR CHRISTOPHER and his crew again on Valentine's day at The Brewery on Hillsborogh St.)
My goal is to lose another 60-ish pounds... or more. The smallest I remember being was 127 in junior high, and to get there would be incredible! But, for now, my *more realistic* goal is to get to 165, which is what I weighed when I graduated from high school:
Overweight, but only just, and look how defined my waist was! Starting my training for the City of Oaks Marathon will help me literally walk my butt off

Best of the Week - Looking back on Thailand Trip

tdamji — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:49:45 -0800

Hope everyone's year is going well so far! I am finally back in Canada and settled in to my new apartment. I thought the end of the first week of classes would be a great time to start-up my Best of the Week posts again. This week I have some pictures from my recent trip to Asia (between November 7 and December 17), with a focus on Thailand. There will be more pictures to follow, though...

School Life
I'm liking my classes so far this semester. Its a bit hard to say how they'll ultimately be though, since I've only had a few (or 1) of each.

Best Looking So Far: Upper-Year seminar on Indigenous Art of North America (which is the subject of my major) and maybe the Contemporary and historical issues in Aboriginal Health class

Worst: The Earth Science class (dealing with volcanoes, earthquakes etc) that is required for Arts degrees. Luckily, there aren't any labs, so perhaps it won't be so bad.

Home Life
As I said: we have settled in to our new place nicely now. I really like the area where we live and getting to university is really easy. We have been going shopping just about everyday to the Indian stores, Chinese/Asian stores, hardware stores, electronic stores etc. and it is a little exhausting! I can't wait until we have pictures/paintings up on our walls and have gotten in to more of a rhythm with school and all. Luckily, through multiple switches, I was able to ensure that I have Friday completely off (along with the weekend of course). yay!

Travelling Life
We really loved Bangkok! It was one of the best parts of our trip for sure. I especially loved all the food, like the Papaya Salad and Green Curry, but also the stuff we ate at Dosa King - which sold amazing dosas of course, and also the all-vegetarian Italian restaurant. Basically, the city was a vegan paradise. I can't wait to go back (and eat and eat and eat). We visited some Wats and other cultural sites, went shopping a lot (cheap, well-made clothes! we barely bought anything in New Zealand, where we wereon exchange for 8 months - as you may remember), ate well, took a day trip to Ayuttaya (site of many former capitals), went on a few river rides on both a touristy boat to the main Wats and also a locally-used boat through the canals that was quite exciting, and watched some movies for only $3 CDN.

Some highlights shown in pictures:

the rest can be found here. Next week: Malaysia!