Make the most of being jobless!

You've got to be active -- both physically and mentally -- to be at your best, expert says.

(CNN) When Martin P.* was laid off from his job as a marketing vice president, he embarked on a two-year job search and still came up short.

Brian Smith recently experienced a 51-week lapse between steady employments. Lisa Wetherby was out of work 17 long months before finding full-time work and Domenick DeMarco has been unemployed for 10 months to date.

That’s a long time to be out of work. So what exactly does one do during that time off?

“Do something, anything, especially something new or something [you've] not had time to do in the past,” urges Laura George, author of “Excuse Me, Your Job is Waiting.” “Doing something enjoyable gets brain cells firing, creates a new paradigm, brings in new people and improves morale and overall well-being.”

1 in 5 Teens Engaging in ‘Tech’ Sex

Sex tech

One in 5 teenagers say they’ve electronically sent or posted online nude or semi-nude images of themselves, which may be fueling a more casual attitude toward sex, according to a “Sex and Tech” survey released this week by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com.

About 22 percent of teen girls, including 11 percent of those between the ages of 13 and 16, and 18 percent of teen boys say they’ve shared racy photos of themselves and these racy images are also getting passed around: One-third (33 percent) of teen boys and one-quarter (25 percent) of teen girls say they have had nude/semi-nude images — originally meant to be private — shared with them, the online survey of 1,280 teens and young adults found.

British may ban ‘happy hour’

British may ban ‘happy hour’ as drink deaths rise.

Happy Hour

LONDON (AP) – Britain is considering a ban on “happy hour” discounts at bars and restaurants to curb drinking, a spokesman said Saturday, as health advocates warned that a rise in liver-related deaths among young people may signal a future epidemic.

Health officials will decide on whether to ban the happy hours – designated times for discount drinks – once an independent policy review is published in coming weeks, a health department spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

Developing Your Own Investing Style

Financial paper - Credit: iStockPhoto.com

(AskMen.com) A couple of weeks back, the news was flooded with reports of Warren Buffet’s investments in General Electric and Goldman Sachs. Mr. Buffet is undoubtedly one of the greatest investors to walk the face of the planet, so how wrong can you go by just blindly following his lead? Well, if you do not share Warren’s investment strategy or have his time horizon, you can find yourself in a chaotic world where you are feeling out of control of your investments, and potentially falling into a bad decision that can cost you a lot of money.

For example, if you are looking to save for retirement over the next 30 years (long-term, value investing), you will need a totally different investing style than if you are looking to put some extra money in your pocket each week by trading (momentum or short-term day trader).

Sartorial Details to Climb the Corporate Ladder

Getty Images

(Asylum.com) Going to work unshaven, wearing jeans and sneakers, is pretty much ideal, as far as we’re concerned. Alas, dress tends to reflect character, and this look pretty much signals loud and clear, “I don’t give a s**t.”

“The U.K.’s #1 Personal Branding Authority” Lesley Everett would like to help in this department. Her book “Drop Dead Brilliant” is basically a style guide for how to present yourself at work. The main message is that if you are aware of how you are presenting yourself, you can use your appearance to project a stylish confidence that will get you a promotion over some other guy who buys his suits at K-Mart.

A lot of the stuff that Everett suggests is fairly intuitive. “Your messages of personal values, standards and abilities — what you stand for — will be strongly projected through your personal image and how you present yourself,” she starts one chapter. “Just as companies spend millions of dollars on packaging and marketing to attract us to a product and make us want to buy, you must invest effort in your own personal presentation to ’sell’ yourself.”

‘Meh’: new word for indifference enters English dictionary

AFP/Getty Images/File – Characters perform on stage at "The Simpsons" Panel during the 2008 Comic Con in San Diego

LONDON (AFP) – “Meh”, a word which indicates a lack of interest or enthusiasm, became the latest addition to the Collins English Dictionary on Monday.

The word, which beat hundreds of other suggestions from members of the public, will feature in the 30th anniversary edition of the dictionary, which is to be published next year.

Though the word apparently originates from North America, Collins said it was now widely used on the Internet, and was increasingly seen in British spoken English.

Pudgiest pets compete in slimming contest

Fat Cat

LONDON (Reuters) – Eight of Britain’s fattest pets are to embark on a 100-day diet and fitness regime in a bid to crowned this year’s pet fit club champion.

The seven dogs and one cat, who are all more than 30 percent overweight and weigh a combined total of 191 kg (30 stones), were picked by veterinary charity PDSA who are running the slimming contest.

The animals, who need to lose a total of 74 kg to reach their ideal weight, will be put on specially tailored diet and exercise programs.

The pet who achieves the biggest percentage weight loss and best follows their new regime will be crowned champion, winning their owner a pet-friendly holiday.

Citigroup job cull to hit 75,000

Citigroup Cuts

US bank Citigroup has announced plans for about 52,000 new job cuts, on top of 23,000 cuts already made this year.

Citigroup said the 75,000 job cuts represented a reduction of about 20% of its staff, leaving it with 300,000 jobs worldwide “in the near term”.

The cuts will come from redundancies, the sale of units and natural wastage, the bank said.

Citigroup has lost more than $20bn (£13.6bn) in the past year because of the global financial crisis.

Condom ringtone, ads push sales in India

Condoms

NEW DELHI (AFP) – A media campaign featuring a mobile phone ringtone that sings “condom condom” has pushed up sale of the contraceptive by 85 million in six months, India’s AIDS control body said Friday.

The campaign, which included television and radio advertisements, reached 150 million men, especially migrant workers who frequent sex workers.

“There are still huge problems in promoting condom usage. Sex workers tell us that men would rather pay more than use a condom,” Sujatha Rao, the chief of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), told reporters.

Ten jobs that pay $80,000 a year

Pharmacists have an annual mean income of more than $88,000.

(CNN) Who hasn’t looked at his or her paycheck and imagined how much better life would be with a lot more numbers after that dollar sign?

Inevitably, a wise soul — usually a parent — tells you that no amount of money will solve your problems.

Of course, you respond, “Let me find out for myself.”

If your annual income hovers around the national median of $40,690, you’re in the company of millions of Americans. As gas prices, housing costs and other everyday expenses continue to creep up, earning more money isn’t just some daydream you harbor in vain. It’s a reasonable solution to financial woes and a good way to plan for your future.

To assist your search for financial bliss, we’ve put together the following list of jobs that earn twice as much as the national median income.