Brentwood International

Anyone who has worked in an office environment knows that meetings are inevitable. And they also know that many of these gatherings seem to serve no purpose. In fact, executives surveyed by Robert Half said that 28 percent of meetings are a waste of time. 

Here are a few signs that your meeting could be a time waster -- and suggestions for how to correct that:

1. You've left nothing out. Ask yourself if each person who's attending has a stake in the majority of items on the agenda. If not, then you either need to trim the list of invitees or revise the plan.

2. You've invited everyone you can think of. Often, people are invited as a courtesy instead of out of necessity. A lengthy participant list also may indicate that you are trying to accomplish too much in a single meeting.

3. The meeting runs longer than an hour. Having people sit in a meeting for longer than an hour is asking a lot. Plus, it's likely that attendees will start to lose focus as the gathering runs on.

4. There are too many visual elements. Visuals, such as PowerPoint slides, can be effective for simplifying more complex ideas or reinforcing information. But they can also bog down the discussion. Instead, distribute the visual elements to attendees before the get-together, so everyone has time to review them.

5. They're becoming a habit.
If you have regularly scheduled meetings, you may want to step back and determine if it's necessary to continue doing so.

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The obsession started years ago after a challenge from his wife: Could finance manager Ron Douglas, an avid cook and Kentucky Fried Chicken fan, really crack the code to the best-kept culinary secret in the country? After several attempts, the Long Island, N.Y., man says he may know the 11 herbs and spices in KFC’s recipe  — and now he's sharing the secret with the world. 

Douglas, 34, began his quest by searching the Internet for clues to the recipe. He found that there were thousands of people looking for directions to help them duplicate their favorite restaurant meals at home. 

Here's a list of seven hiding spots that should beat all but the most determined thieves. 

1. The Freezer: Wrap your cash in aluminum foil and stick it in a ziplock bag.
2. Picture Frames: Slice apart the cardboard backing and insert the cash.
3. Under Heavy Things: Place the cash in an envelope and slide it under the corner of something heavy, like a piano or entertainment center.
4. Soup Cans: Why buy one of those fake-bottom cans when you just re-use one of your own?
5. Fake Plants: Put the cash in a ziplock bag and bury it in the fake soil of one of your fake plants.
6. Books: Improve the worst book in your collection with a knife. Hollow out the core and hide the cash inside.
7. Toys: Hide the cash in an old toy your kids don't use anymore, and bury the toy at the bottom of the toy chest.

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Professor John Bell said the  Institute of Sustainable Resources had worked with a Canberra-based company Dyesol, which is developing transparent solar cells that act as both windows and energy generators in houses or commercial buildings.

He said the solar cell glass would make a significant difference to home and building owners' energy costs and could, in fact, generate excess energy that could be stored or onsold.

Professor Bell said the glass was one of a number of practical technologies that would help combat global warming.

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It's not too unusual to hear stories of married couples who met online.   But it IS unusual when that couple that meets online and marries also has the same name.   In this case, it's a guy from Texas named Kelly Hildebrandt and a gal from Florida named Kelly Hildebrandt. 

In three months, they're getting married.   "We get a couple of the same reactions," the Florida Kelly said, "Usually, it's like that's so awesome and totally different, I've never heard a story like that, or... (stunned look)"  Kelly Hildebrandt met Kelly Hildebrandt when Kelly, the girl, looked up her own name on Facebook.

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Some Visa cardholders were surprised to find that recent purchases cost them a little more than expected — $23 quadrillion, plus change.

In New Hampshire, Josh Muszynski said he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and when he later checked his account online found that he had been charged  the 17-digit number — a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500.

Visa said a technical glitch caused the trouble, but it did not say exactly how many accounts were affected.

Visa later elaborated that "fewer than 13,000" transactions were affected.

A Visa representative said affected customers will have any overdraft fees removed.

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The first airline for pets has taken to the skies  -  offering all the creature comforts missing from a normal passenger flight.

Pet Airways will fly between five major cities  -  New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. The $250 (£150) one-way fare is comparable to pet fees at the largest U.S. airlines, some of which refuse to take animals during the peak holiday season.

About 50 animals can fit on each flight. They will be escorted to the plane by attendants that will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight.

The pets are also given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks.

Do you use a sock puppet to secretly keep track of your frenemies?

Plan to spend your staycation watching vlogs and webisodes? Or perhaps you plan to signal a flash mob for a quick bite of shawarma.

If you're not entirely certain what all that means, turn to the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, which has added about 100 new words that largely reflect changing trends in American society. 

Some words that just now made the cut have been around for generations. The term "sock puppet" — a false online identity used for deceptive purposes — was tracked to 1959 but has taken on new popular use with people using fake IDs on social networking sites.

Some words, such as "staycation," have become so popular the dictionary could not ignore them, Morse said. Staycation refers to staying home for vacation and has gained popularity as the economy worsens.

Researchers often keep track of words over many years. One to watch: prepone.

The word is commonly used in India among English-speaking Indians and refers to the act of arranging for an event to take place earlier than originally planned — the opposite of postpone.

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Dozens of turtles, presumably on a mating spree, shut down a runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport Wednesday morning for 35 minutes, causing flight delays of an hour and a half.

The 78 diamondback terrapins were picked up, put into a pickup truck and removed from the runway, said John Kelly, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. They were originally spotted around 8:30 a.m. by a pilot, who radioed the tower.

There has been a surprising amount of half-shell news in the last year around the city. A two-headed one was stolen in Brooklyn last August. And a 60-pound tortoise showed up in the Bronx in April.

These turtles were 8 to 10 inches long and weighed 2 to 3 pounds. Mr. Kelly volunteered a number of turtle puns, saying the morning phenomenon was perhaps an ultimate example of “slow, sweet love.”

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