New roll for parents in toilet-training kids
Leave it to consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. to come up with a product we never knew we needed.
On Tuesday, the Dallas-based company unveiled its newest line: Cottonelle for Kids. It includes kid-themed toilet paper and watermelon-scented moist wipes that the company says will “help parents teach their kids ages 4-to-9 good bathroom and hygiene habits.”
The toilet paper is printed with pawprints and drawings of Cottonelle’s Labrador puppy mascot on every fifth sheet so kids will know where to tear. Kimberly-Clark said in a press release that one of the biggest complaints it encountered in a survey of parents was that their kids used too much toilet paper.
Pulling a snow job on Xcel a bad idea
Tempting though it may seem, leaving your natural-gas meter buried by snow is not a good way to avoid exorbitant energy costs by keeping meter readers in the blind.
Xcel Energy already is a step ahead of you. Most of their customers’ meters are read remotely, so even a layer of snow won’t hide your consumption total.
Now that you’re resigned to pay the bill, why not clear the snow off the meter? It’s a good idea, Xcel says. Excessive snow buildup can disrupt the proper flow of gas, and even worse, create gas buildup, which can have explosive consequences.
Another tip from Xcel: If you live in mountain communities, where snowfall has reached epic proportions, check your intake and outtake vents to make sure they’re not covered. Improper ventilation can lead to dangerous carbon monoxide levels.
Honesty the best policy on resumes
Who can an employer trust? Only about half those who submit resumes to them, according to ResumeDoctor.com. In a 6-month study the company checked dates of employment, job titles and education on more than 1,000 resumes that came from entry-level to executive-level job seekers. The study found 42.7 percent contained one or more significant inaccuracies, and 12.6 percent contained two or more inaccuracies. Fudging your background can be a big mistake because employers generally check a job-seeker’s dates of employment and role at a company, said Brad Fredericks, co-founder of ResumeDoctor.com. “Surprisingly, these are the most common details for a job seeker to exaggerate,” he said in a release.
Online classes help ease impact of 9/11
Regis University and the National University of Ireland at Galway are a match made in cyberspace. The schools offer online Irish Studies and computer science programs that are available worldwide. Distance learning is an important component of the Denver-based college’s curriculum. More than 6,000 adult students are enrolled in Regis’ distance programs, many of them strictly online.
“A formal higher education in the United States has always been popular with students from other countries,” said Regis spokeswoman Kristen Blessman. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept, 11, 2001, foreign enrollment on U.S. campuses has dropped to its lowest levels since 1971, according to the Society for College and University Planning, a decline that many credit to tougher visa regulations. But worldwide, the demand for a U.S. education remains high, Blessman said.
“The solution is partnerships with universities abroad and offering it all online.”
Regis’ Rueckert-Hartman School for Health Professions is also discussing a partnership with a university in China.
Women’s pay still lags despite degree gains
March is Women’s History Month and a chance to roll out some trivia. There are 149.1 million women in the United States, compared to 144.5 million men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Young women between the ages of 25 to 29 are more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher than men, 31 percent versus 26 percent. An earnings gap still exists, however. Women age 15 years or older working full-time, year-round earned 77 cents for every $1 their male counterparts made in 2004. But that gap continues to shrink over time and more women are signing paychecks. Women owned 6.5 million businesses in 2002, generating receipts of $940.8 billion and employing 7.1 million people, according to the Census Bureau.
Security top priority at dating-gaming site
A new gaming-meets-dating site is all about fantasy and role-playing, but there’s one shred of reality that players aren’t encouraged to toy with – their criminal past.
Sentry, a background screening company, will be policing the game “Naughty America” and giving players the chance to verify and advertise their felony-free status. It’s a feature the game’s designers hope will pull in the female players needed to make the site a success. For Sentry, it’s a doorway into a virtually untapped market – online gamers taking real-world risks. The game allows users to create virtual adult situations and – if things heat up – make it reality.
