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  • David Hyland
  • Member Since Oct 24th, 2006

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Mom With Stage 4 Breast Cancer Denied Custody of Kids in Bitter Battle {ParentDish}

May 11th 2011 6:45PM This is just disgusting. The standard for these proceedings is ordinarily focused on "the best interest of the child". Are we headed towards a world that blames a victim for her cancer diagonsis and then does a double whammy by taking away her children? Who are we?

How to Choose a Great Middle Name {ParentDish}

Apr 21st 2011 3:58PM
Using family surnames is a really good default position. I was a junior but was never called "Jr." I have always been known as my middle name. If it were my choice, I would have had my mother's maiden name as my middle name mainly because her parents had three girls and one son who died within two days of his birth in the 1920s. It's too late now to change it but sticking an initial at the begining of one's resume looks really pompous.

Six Ways to Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rates {WalletPop}

Feb 12th 2011 12:49PM
Getting card companies to lower interest rates on existing accounts is obviously a good idea. If they refuse, though, be careful about applying for new credit cards with teaser rates. Each time you ask for new credit, you risk your FICO score going down and making it more difficult or, ultimately impossible, to get a good rate. Cutting up cards after you transfer balances to a new card is also a no-no. Part of your FICO score is related to the amount you have available to borrow vs. what percentage you have already used. Keep the account and stick the card in a drawer. If you are a long-term customer at a large bank and have some cash parked there, ask to speak to a representative about consolidating all of your credit needs to one bank. They may do so without a formal credit check. Once you have established those new accounts, then it could make sense to cancel the other accounts. Beware, however, that another plus on your FICO score relates to how long you have held accounts - the longer, the better.

Couture Spring 2011: Most Outrageous Looks {Stylelist (Main)}

Feb 1st 2011 7:34PM
This exchange is hysterically funny, led - for the most part - by a group of amateur, recliner chair critics who lack any understanding of the industry. Of course the clothes are over-the-top. Of course they are generally unwearable. That entirely misses the point. These are ideas and I guarantee you that your local women's clothing stores, within one season, will have borrowed from the general themes and created wearable, off-the-rack clothes for average sized women. For those who have decided that gay men who are designers do not "know women's bodies", I can only say this: straight men who like women who look beautiful owe a huge debt of gratitude to those designers unless, of course, these straight guys think they actually know a thing about fashion.

Emptying the Nest: Q&A With Author Dr. Brad Sachs {ParentDish}

Jan 30th 2011 5:17PM
I was rather unceremoniously bounced out of my childhood bedroom weeks after I finished undergaduate school and had a job offer in NYC, 5 hours away from my ancestral home. It made all the difference in the world. There are things I can do today that I could never have done my family had I stayed where I grew up. I know it hurt my parents but they never flinched. Kick us out. You won't be sorry.

The Ultimate Guide to Interviewing {AOL Jobs}

Jan 29th 2011 9:38AM
Although there is nothing new here, each piece of advice is valuable. Unless you are going to work alone, hiring managers want to know how you will fit in with other staff. Will you show up on time every day and not whine when you have to work later than you thought? Will you refrain from belittling colleagues that you believe lack your experience or special talents? Will you actively listen and actively respond to what you hear? Can you accept professional criticism without becoming sullen and aloof? They will want to know you are reasonably well organized, dress appropriately, speak properly and have enough humility and sense of humor to leave the interviewer with the idea that he or she would have no fears about sending you solo to a client lunch. Universities can be helpful in offering practical advice in business manners but it won't help if all the candidate gets out of it is a cookbook. You have to be that person, not pretend to be that person. You won't fool people for very long if you are pretending.

How Bob Lutz made four auto journalists his "Secret Weapons" at GM {Autoblog}

Jan 26th 2011 7:19PM
Lutz was absolutely right. The old mantra to explain why Americans buy Asian, German and other nameplates was that American cars were simply undesirable in their design, residual value and their reliability. Reliability has largely been fixed. Residual value will follow. The big problem that remained was design and the materials used in their interiors. The new line up is well-designed and largely devoid of cheap looking plastic and poor ergonomics. They also have a lock on OnStar. If I were in the market looking for a new car right now, I would certainly consider a GM vehicle. My only criticism is branding/naming. Foreign manufacturers keep name plates reasonably stable. GM is all over the place. Everyone knows what "BMW 5 series" means. Other than resurrecting old names (Malibu, etc.), GM's identity fix - once the design and confidence issues are resolved - is to get consumers to think about what a new Malibu looks like without seeing a photograph.

Standout Shoes for the New Year - Rachel Zoe's Picks {Stylelist (Main)}

Jan 21st 2011 6:51AM
Shoe #3 bears a striking resemblance to the orthopoedic shoes an elderly neighbor of ours wears. Our neighbor no longer thinks about whether her legs look longer in heels but if Shoe #3 had that affect, I believe most women of any age would also say that it made their ankles look fat and fear someone coming up with a wheel chair to help them out. Rachel Zoe has an eye - mostly trained on size 0-2 female celebrities who could make almost any garment look great. I'm sure average sized women can get some sense of fashion direction from Ms. Zoe and want to look their best just as much as celebrities do but since I understand the average to be a 12 or 14, I'd find a friendly, honest person at a department store to help find a dress or shoes that make that individual look her best. My 70 year old mother - a 10 - found a gay male version of Zoe at a major department store (for free) and, because she generally looks quite a bit younger than her age, is a bottle blonde and wears make-up to go to bed, he ran to her and said, "you're mine, come with me". (She doesn't exactly live in Beverly Hills.) He forced her to try a couple of dresses she would not likely have chosen for herself and at the end looked like a size 6, essentially bombing her back to when she was 55 - no airbrushing required. She was pretty delighted, I have to say. By the way, the dresses were both under $200. I'll bet she could do something similar for under $100 but hey, the guy has to make a commission. If you are a size 0-6, forget about Ms. Zoe and wear what you like. You'll look good in almost anything. I have seen some very, very beautiful women who are a size 1X and even 2X. They're beautiful because they are confident, are honest with themselves about their "problem" areas and buy something flattering when they see it rather than when they need it, mainly because it's harder to find things that are attractive in their size. Guys? If you are under 6 feet tall and are not rail thin and are still wearing double breasted jackets, stop it. You look like Napoleon. If your waist is larger than a 32 (and you are wearing them 2 inches under your navel where they belong, not 7 inches under your gut like some guys), dump the pleats. Get a good haircut and smile occasionally. Consider getting your back waxed and getting noticeable hair out of your nose and ears. You'll look better than you have in years and your wife, spouse or partner will thank you. It will cost you practically nothing. Sometimes it's the things we don't do that make more difference than things we do.

Tiger Mom, Amy Chua's Daughter Defends Her {ParentDish}

Jan 18th 2011 7:59PM
We can rarely have it both ways. Most teachers will tell you that intense parental involvement in the academic and social lives of their children are a good predictor of their future success. My parents weren't Asian, weren't wealthy and did everything to boost me and my sister. I think it worked. Negative comments are expected on AOL. I suspect the root of those comments is regret, jealousy, embarrassment and in some cases, racist garbage that gets us nowhere very fast.

My Grandson's Meltdowns Are Wearing Us Out! {ParentDish}

Jan 18th 2011 6:29AM
After ruling out long-term psychological/pyschiatric issues, many parents seem to have better success by being extremely consistent about the consequences of wild misbehavior whether at home or in public. My cousin and her husband, like many other parents of their generation, do not use corporal punishment but, instead, use a "naughty step" where they bring the child to cool off for a few minutes until he or she is ready to come to the parent, apologize and get praise and a hug for saying "I'm sorry" or "I love you". It's tough to watch at first because the child usually gets up and needs to be led back several times, at least at first. My cousin's four year old is now a pro at this. She's a good little girl most of the time but gets overwhelmed (some adults could use a naughty step as well; most are in Congress) or is more tired or hungry than the parents realize. I suppose if you live on one level, you can get a naughty chair but for some reason that doesn't sound so appealing since you have a semi-permanent piece of furniture in your house that is associated with punishment even when the child is behaving perfectly. I think my own parents lucked out with me and my sister. I doubt it had anything to do with generational differences but I could be wrong. I can count on one hand the number of times I recall being spanked and I'm sure my sister would say the same but for us, I think what helped us was being taken almost everywhere our parents went and for whatever reason, the expectation of good behavior sort of sunk in. Recently, I was in a restaurant and a kid of about 5 dropped the f-bomb (the parents probably need to rethink their own vocabulary or their babysitters' choice of language when they think they are out of the kid's hearing range). The father looked at the kid, winced, covered his ears and said "ouch, that word hurts my ears; we don't say that word", took him away from the table and stuck him on step at the restaurant for a couple of minutes. Apologies came and the kid returned and was well behaved. Miracle? Maybe. Worth a try? Definitely.