Lock your phone to prevent data breaches
Your phone is essentially a one-stop shop for your data and, if stolen or exposed to identity thieves, can compromise your identity and financial accounts. People are using smartphones for more of their digital needs, but even if you don’t use mobile banking or financial apps, your phone could store sensitive data from online shopping, social networking, games and more. An unsecured... READ MORE
Greenwich Village: Still cool to hang out
As a teenager in New York City in the gritty 1970s, I often hung out in Greenwich Village with friends. There was nothing cooler than buying a tie-dyed T-shirt in some little shop, or listening to a guitar-playing hippie in Washington Square Park. As an adult in the complicated 21st century, I can still recommend the Village as a magical place to spend a day, but its charms are different ... READ MORE
Making the most of your donor dollars
This year’s seemingly endless string of natural disasters has inspired countless acts of heroism and generosity. But as the year-end giving season begins, some philanthropy experts worry that a phenomenon known as “donor fatigue” could affect individuals’ willingness to support other worthwhile causes. Many global crises don’t get much news coverage in the U.S. For example,... READ MORE
NIH offers tool to locate alcoholism help
The phone calls come — from fellow scientists and desperate strangers — with a single question for the alcohol chief at the National Institutes of Health: Where can my loved one find good care to get sober? The government recently released a novel online tool to help — the Alcohol Treatment Navigator — which provides access to directories of alcohol treatment providers and a list ... READ MORE
Couriers transport gift of life
The snowflakes fell fast and furious, blanketing roads, shuttering runways and canceling Jim Frison’s flight. But what might be merely an inconvenience for some was a matter of life and death in this case. Frison was gripping a bright blue cooler containing recently donated bone marrow on its way to a cancer patient, and it was Frison’s job to get it there. With just 48 hours to... READ MORE
Beautiful books for everyone on your list
Books that take readers pictorially to unique places and times are fun to peruse. They also make great gifts. Many books that are received as gifts become treasured keepsakes, especially if a thoughtful and heartfelt inscription is added. Moreover, a book of photographs with accompanying text can be enjoyed repeatedly and at greater leisure than a visit to a museum exhibit. Here are... READ MORE
34th Street retains its miraculous charm
No doubt you’re familiar with the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street — a classic featuring a young Natalie Wood that challenges you to suspend disbelief and embrace the idea that Santa Claus is real. But you probably didn’t know there’s a musical theater version, penned by Meredith Willson, composer of The Music Man. The show debuted to mixed reviews in 1963 and was originally ... READ MORE
Engaging performances for the holidays
Dazzling lights, Christmas carols, Hanukkah’s greatest hits, Santa on a fire engine, twirling dolls, mice, soldiers and snowflakes, and one department store miracle are among the events on tap for county residents this holiday season. The annual Symphony of Lights — whose 300,000 or so bulbs will illuminate more than 100 larger-than-life animated and stationary holiday creations —... READ MORE
Caribbean sugar, sand and sightseeing
“Stay to the left. Stay to the left.” Those words became my often-repeated mantra when driving during a recent visit to an intriguing pair of sister Caribbean islands. Because St. Kitts and Nevis share a common British heritage, steering a vehicle on the left side of the road is one vestige of the mother country’s lingering influence. Fortunately, St. Kitts and Nevis, two... READ MORE
Calculating the true cost of divorce at 50+
You’re sitting across the kitchen table from your spouse, when she informs you that she wants to separate. After decades of marriage, you’re facing divorce.While becoming unwillingly single can be difficult at any stage of life, splitting up after the age of 50 can be doubly devastating, because you have a limited amount of time to financially recover before retirement.According ... READ MORE
