According to eMarketer, the number of registered Internet domains is now more than 10 million, and if this is just the embryonic stage, we shudder to think what will happen when this thing hits puberty. MORE POWER CENTERS

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has been handed the daunting task of wresting domain-name power away from Network Solutions. As such, it is responsible for certifying new domain name companies. Toughest of all, however, it is trying to bring peace to the fractious relationship between the U.S. government, domain name registration companies, and the contentious Internet public. “It’s like an embassy from the UN trying to create peace with Germany, Japan, and the United States [during World War II],” says Richard Forman, president and CEO of register.com.

ICANN is run by a 19-member international board of directors, nine of whom are appointed by industry insiders. In an effort to create a Net democracy, the corporation plans to hold an online global public election for the nine at-large directors in March. Once registration processes are ironed out, the board must address infrastructure issues such as the introduction of new generic top-level domains such as .shop, .news, and .sex.

Usurping the incumbent Network Solutions (NSI) has been a Herculean endeavor. After a six-month test period with a handful of new competitors, the market opened to its first taste of competition. ICANN, NSI, and the U.S. government hashed out new terms that left just about everyone moderately satisfied. “Nobody got what they wanted,” says NSI spokesperson Brian O’Shaughnessy, “but everybody got what they needed.”

In fact, commissions deter many would-be investors from ever buying stocks — a big mistake since, over the long haul, stocks outperform most other types of investments. Yet there’s a nifty way around this dilemma; it’s a DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plan), offered by hundreds of companies to existing shareholders.

Through a DRIP, you use your dividends to buy more shares (or partial shares) of the same stock, without using a broker. DRIPs are not only an easy, painless, cheap way to accumulate stock, they are also a great way to save, especially if you’re the type (and who isn’t?) who spends your dividend checks, frittering away that money without even realizing it.

Getting started

* You must already own at least one share of the company’s stock.

* Once you are a shareholder, request a DRIP from the company’s headquarters.

* After the paperwork is processed, all dividends that your stock earns will be reinvested automatically in additional shares of that company’s stock.

* Some companies charge a nominal fee ($2.50-$5) when you buy or sell through a DRIP; other charge zippo; none charge what a broker would charge.

A wide array of companies provide DRIPs, including many blue chips. And numerous public utilities have the plan. For a complete list, consult Standard & Poor’s “Directory of Dividend Reinvestment Plans” at your library

REINVESTING DIVIDENDS
In addition to allowing automatic reinvestment of your dividends, more and more DRIPs now come with extras.

A handful let you buy your first share directly from the company, bypassing a broker entirely. McDonald’s, for example, makes buying a piece of its golden arches simple, if you meet its $1,000 minimum requirement. Or, if you allow McDonald’s to take a minimum of $100 out of your bank account every month (by automatic debiting), even the $1,000 minimum is waived. Mobil will allow you to buy your first shares directly for just $250, and Procter & Gamble for $100.

Many companies let you buy more shares by check. Procter & Gamble is one firm that lets those who sign up for its DRIP make annual cash payments from $100 up to $1,200 a year; Scherling-Plough, $25 to $36,000 a year; and Charles Schwab, $25 to $5,000 per month. This technique helps you stockpile shares much, much faster than if you rely solely on dividend reinvestments.

Many companies will make automatic monthly withdrawals from your bank account so you can buy more shares. Sign on. You can’t spend what you don’t touch. The approach is also a painless way to dollar-cost average — i.e., buy equal dollar amounts of a stock at regular intervals. When the stock’s price is down, you wind up with more shares, thus lowering your average cost.

With some companies, your dividends buy additional shares at a 3% to 5% discount from the current market price.

DRIP tips
If you already own stock in a company you like, call the Shareholder Relations Division and ask if it has a DRIP and, if so, how many shares you need to own to enroll. With some, one share opens the tap; with others it may be 15, 50 or 100.

Select stocks very carefully. These programs are unquestionably best for long-term investors, not for active traders. Go for those with above-average dividends.

And a note of caution: Selling a DRIP stock often takes time. Many companies require notice in writing.

Nor can you control precisely when you buy additional shares. Some companies reinvest optional cash payments only around dividend payment time; others do so on a set schedule. The problem with this is that you don’t have the choice of waiting until the stock goes down in price to buy it.

And the IRS will tax your dividends as income, even if you reinvest them… so hang on to those year-end tax statements that you receive from each DRIP plan.

Nancy Dunnan, also known as Cash flo, has written “Dun & Bradstreet Guide to Your Investments 1997″

The now retired Marine lieutenant-colonel’s defence in the Iran Contra scandal was torpedoed by old E-mail that directly implicated him. Messages he thought had been deleted were kept by the White House on backup tapes.

As soon as investigators learned of their existence, the tapes were subpoenaed as evidence and found to contain informal messages by Mr. North outlining his role.

Such an occurrence is no longer isolated. Many companies are finding that E-mail messages sent by staff members in the past can have implications in the future. In a greater number of situations, smart lawyers have discovered that E-mail archives can be a treasure trove of damning evidence.

And it’s no wonder, given the informality of the tool. While E-mail is a wonderfully efficient means of communicating, it can also presents a real problem in terms of how it is used. Quite simply, people will say things in an E-mail message that they might not otherwise commit to paper, or that might contradict official company policy.

As a result, E-mail messages can easily be misconstrued in a legal situation, or provide evidence that the position taken within an organization on a certain issue belies what the company says publicly.

Some companies attempt to deal with this smoking gun by trying to ensure that E-mail messages are regularly deleted. But the Internet has undermined such efforts. Once an employee sends a message outside the organization, it may be shared with any number of people and kept in E-mail archives.

So what can a company do? First, senior managers in every enterprise, large or small, need to carefully assess their policy with respect to the storage of E-mail.

If the company is not faced with any particular legal reason to keep E-mail, it should consider deleting messages on a regular basis and ensure that employees don’t keep them on their own systems. In addition, companies should educate staff that the informality and tremendous external reach of E-mail means that caution should be used when dealing with sensitive or contentious issues.

People in many organizations know how to formalize E-mail policies. Human resource professionals deal with the challenges that the Internet presents to corporate policies.

They have developed knowledge regarding E-mail archival and usage policies. Also, many lawyers across the country have accumulated expertise in guiding companies through the E-mail minefield.

Admire children’s creativity
Nothing supports children’s artistic development more than your genuine interest in what they are doing. Instead of asking, “What’s that?” (which conveys that the art fails to communicate), comment on a particular aspect of your children’s drawing, painting or sculpture. “I see you chose a lot of red here.” “Tell me about how you formed this with clay.” “Your painting must have taken a long time!” Keep comments positive, encouraging, specific and nonjudgmental, and your young artist is likely to blossom.

Hang children’s artwork prominently
Many families use magnets on their refrigerator to display children’s recent artwork. Where else in the house has so much traffic? Other popular places to hang art are windows, bulletin boards and hallways. Displaying the art is sure to add points of color and delight for all who visit your home — and it honors your children’s creativity.

Collect the favorites
You might want to fill a grocery bag, an album or a big box with children’s artwork (be sure to label and date it). Just think what fun your family will have in a few years as you reminisce about all the good times children had when they were younger. Point out how children’s perceptions and skills changed as they matured artistically, so that they can take pride in growing up.

Frame special pieces
Some work is just too priceless to put away — such as an early marker drawing of your family or a viewpoint that only a child could portray. “Cloudburst” and “A fish with one poop falling out” are two toddler paintings that hang in my office. Surprise a caring adult with a framed print of your child’s work. Imagine how your family will treasure that piece as time goes by!

Philippa, a part-time journalist and self-described “mistress of the V-words: vicariousness and voyeurism,” writes erotic fiction. Philippa’s friends are Helen, a feminist scholar; photographer Julia; and fashion editor Chantal. The 30-something group gathers to gossip about their sexual liaisons (or fantasies — the reader never knows for sure). Later, Philippa sifts through the intimate details of her friends’ wicked tales for the tastiest erotic nuggets.

Feeding and screwing are endlessly intertwined in “Eat Me.” At a supermarket, a female exhibitionist caresses and then inserts into various orifices a banquet of fruits and vegetables. A sip of coffee is orgasmic. Clothes are peeled away like artichoke leaves.

Katty Drow’s characters run their mouths provocatively but, unfortunately, they don’t have much to say. References to feminist theory, AIDS, Naomi Wolf and Tom Cruise give the book a satirical potential that’s never fully developed. Yet even the weakest stories and silliest fantasies offer witty repartee, making this slim, outrageous volume surprisingly irresistible.

“Sex, sex, sex. Do you think we talk about it too much?” asks Helen. After reading this amusing book, my answer is no. What makes “Eat Me” refreshing is that the well-written erotica is never nasty or mean. While the stories may not add up to a novel, the lusty yarns will surely satisfy prurient appetites.

Good question. Sometimes there are things you want to wear, but you know you probably shouldn’t. I’d say a clingy leopard print dress would fall solidly into this category. I don’t think it’s a question of whether it would look good on you. It’s more a matter of the look you’re going for. Leopard print has a bad reputation — kind of like the bad girl in high school. But, that said, it’s certainly been getting some popular hype lately. (Like everything else, leopard undergoes a renaissance every few years.) Madonna’s been spotted in it — not that that is an indicator of class by any stretch of the imagination.

My advice on leopard and other animal prints is to use them as accentors rather than as main pieces. Maybe a leopard scarf with a black sweater or a leopard-trimmed coat. The other way I see animal prints fitting into the scheme of things is if they show up unexpectedly. I’d say a leopard dress that doesn’t cling would reduce the Peg Bundy factor to an acceptable level. And your look will be more current anyway.

To blanket all aspects of modern life, When.com has teamed with more than 20 content partners. The companies hand their event data over to Usually for free-in a bid to drive traffic and sales.

“There is all this data being typed in by Webmasters around the world,” says the 36-year-old Barnett. “We knew that by writing an automated program we could sweep through their databases every day, every hour, and get new information. That’s what people want-information that’s accurate, up-to-the-minute, and applicable to what they want right now.”

Let’s say a person is a fan of the band U2. When Bono and the boys release a new album, an alert will pop up on the calendar. Click on the note, and the user jumps to a link on N2K’s Music Boulevard site where the album can be purchased. Additional links allow the customer to buy other band-related promotional material, such as T-shirts and remixed singles. When U2 comes to America to promote the record, When.com will alert customers to concert dates and how to get tickets, thanks to Pollstar, a national concert promotion firm. And if guitarist The Edge decides to do an online chat, a heads-up from Web broadcaster RealNetworks lets the fan know when and where to plug in.

Ordering quality medical scrubs is a excellent gift to yourself. discount nursing uniforms have become so prevalent.

Essential oils offer a quick and painless way to end Foot odor.

For stinky shoes place a few drops of tea tree essential oil on a tissue. Add a few drops of either Lavender or Lemon essential oil and place the tissue inside of your shoe. Yes, make one tissue for each shoe.

Try this powder to help ward off the stinky foot:

Combine 2 Tablespoons of Baking soda with 3 drops of Sage essential oil and 3 drops of tea tree essential oil.

Generously powder feet after bathing and before you put your shoes on.

You might want to sprinkle some of this powder in your shoes too.

One last thought- Shoes made from man made materials tend to smell much more than real leather shoes.

This tingly rush feels like a jolt of electricity shooting through your veins. Many women are shopping junkies. That’s right! They need their fix just as much as that heroine addict that hangs out in dark alleys. The only difference is that we hang out at shopping malls, Walmart, Kmart, strip malls, or anywhere else that they are having a sale.

Anyhow, back to my illustrious sister-in-law. If I sound a little bitchy and cutting in my writing, it is because I am not a big fan of my dear, beloved (this is sarcasm*g*) sister-in-law who shall remain nameless for everyone’s protection. My sister-in-law is one of these high as a kite shoppers, though. She takes vacation days just to go shopping on the shopper’s holidays. I can hear you asking- What are the “shopper’s holidays”? Well, here is a list:

1. The Friday after Thanksgiving:

This is the Olympics of shopping for a shopaholic. They even have a strategic game plan. Most of these shoppers make a list of stores to hit. Since many places offer special bonus deals early these brave souls venture out as early as 5 A.M. on this post-holiday morning. These professional shoppers do not return home with their trophies until midnight sometimes!
2. The Moonlight Madness Sale (These are usually during the 5 days preceding Christmas):

Many stores offer special deals at midnight or even later to get the shoppers in for their 24-hour sales.
3. The Day After Christmas Sale

o This is the ONLY sale I still do go to for savings. You can save 50%-90% off of everything! I get my Christmas wrap, bows, cards, decorations, lights, and much much more on this day!

o You can buy toys ahead for birthdays or even Christmas the next year at the same savings!
o This is a once a year sale that beats all others. You can save on EVERYTHING.

Unlike most women, I am not an avid shopper. I used to be an addict. I am now proud to say that I have pretty much kicked the habit. My name is Kathi and I am a reformed shopaholic! I found out that there is a ten-step program for shoppers too.

1. Have kids- less money to spend
2. Decide to be a stay at home mom. You will even have less money to spend
3. Buy a Pet- they will mess in the house if you go shopping too much
4. Bring your mother-in-law shopping with you. I believe they call this aversion therapy
5. Bring your kids with you- this is a great deterrent too. When you have a three-year-old twisting on the clothes rack and going round and round like it is a merry-go-round, you will find that it is much too embarrassing to be in the mall.
6. Go to a store that has terrible customer service. If you get into a few shouting matches with the manager, you will be less tempted to go shopping. This is more aversion therapy.
7. Warning: Only do this if you are desperate:

Try on swimsuits. Looking into one of those mirrors could scare the hell out of Pamela Anderson!
8. Bring your husband shopping with you. His whining and pouting will make you want to go home as soon as possible.
9. If #8 does not work, bring your husband to Circuit City or Best Buy. He will spend so much money that you will have none left to go shopping!
10. Go to a store with a more energetic shopaholic. You will be so tired and so broke that you will swear off shopping forever or at least until the next big SALE!

If none of these methods work, you are a shopaholic and you should seek help immediately!

1. The Friday after Thanksgiving:

This is the opening ceremony of the Christmas shopping season- the Olympics- for a true shopaholic. They even have a strategic game plan. Most of these shoppers make a list of stores to hit. Since many places offer special bonus deals early these brave souls venture out as early as 5 A.M. on this post-holiday morning. These professional shoppers do not return home with their trophies until midnight sometimes!
2. The Moonlight Madness Sale (These are usually during the 5 days preceding Christmas):

Many stores offer special deals at midnight or even later to get the shoppers in for their 24-hour sales.
3. The Day After Christmas Sale

* This is the ONLY sale I still do go to for savings. You can save 50%-90% off of everything! I get my Christmas wrap, bows, cards, decorations, lights, and much more on this day!

* You can buy toys ahead for birthdays or even Christmas the next year at the same savings!

* This is a once a year sale that beats all others. You can save on EVERYTHING.