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La Casa de Botellas, created by the Alfredo Santa Cruz family in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, was constructed from thousands of PET plastic bottles, and was designed as “a tool for promoting ecological and social responsibility.” The surprisingly sturdy structure features a Tetra pack roof, doors and windows made from CD jewel cases — and the interior boasts beds, coffee tables and couches, all created entirely from used plastic. While no one in the Santa Cruz family is an architect or engineer, they are doing their part to save the planet by providing free home building courses in Latin American countries “to address both trash and housing scarcity.” Read more about the elements of design and the construction of La Casa de Botellas at Inhabitots.

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

La Casa de Botellas, created by the Alfredo Santa Cruz family in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, was constructed from thousands of PET plastic bottles, and was designed as “a tool for promoting ecological and social responsibility.” The surprisingly sturdy structure features a Tetra pack roof, doors and windows made from CD jewel cases — and the interior boasts beds, coffee tables and couches, all created entirely from used plastic. While no one in the Santa Cruz family is an architect or engineer, they are doing their part to save the planet by providing free home building courses in Latin American countries “to address both trash and housing scarcity.” Read more about the elements of design and the construction of La Casa de Botellas at Inhabitots.

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

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Electronic Arts is launching a number of big titles in the coming fiscal year that should get gamers excited, according to the company’s conference call with analysts today.

EA typically announces titles during its quarterly calls to get gamers frothing and to give analysts guidance about its expected financial performance. Those titles could always be delayed, but EA has been shipping more games on time than it used to.

During today’s conference call, EA chief operating officer John Schappert ticked off a number of titles that should set tongues wagging, including some mysterious titles in the fourth fiscal quarter that ends March 31, 2011.

One of them is a first-person shooter game coming from Epic Games, the maker of the Gears of War and Unreal shooting games. There will also be new titles in that quarter based on EA’s existing franchises: DeadSpace, EA sports fighting, the Sims, Spore, Hasbro, Need for Speed simulation, and Dragon Age: Origins.

In the fall quarter (third fiscal) that ends on Dec. 31, 2010, EA plans to ship Crysis 2, a sequel to a hot-selling shooting game; a Need for Speed action driving game; a Harpy Potter game, presumably based on the upcoming movies (there are two of them) based on the final book in the series; and the Sims 3 for the consoles.

EA also expects that its digital titles will create a splash. In the coming year, online-based games are expected to generate $75o million in the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2011. That’s up more than 30 percent compared to the current fiscal year. At the same time, EA chief executive John Riccitiello said he did not see any evidence that digital online games are causing core gamers to spend less time with PC and console games.

Big digital online games coming in fiscal 2011 include Tiger Woods Online (which has launched in beta form), Fifa Online, and Need for Speed World. The latter is an online version of EA’s popular racing game.

EA believes that packaged goods games — those sold in retail stores — will shrink across the industry by 3 percent in the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2011. (That could change if there are hardware price cuts and the new motion controllers from Microsoft and Sony spur overall software sales). But with the growth in digital games, EA believes the overall game business will grow 8 percent during the same period.

In the second fiscal quarter that ends Sept. 30, 2010, EA expects to ship its new Medal of Honor game, which will take on Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 franchise. Schappert said he saw the Medal of Honor demo last week and (predictably) believes it is looking great. In that second fiscal quarter, EA also will ship All Points Bulletin, a massively multiplayer online game that is akin to a free-for-all version of Grand Theft Auto. All Points Bulletin is being developed by venture-funded Realtime Worlds.

In the first fiscal quarter, EA is shipping Skate 3, the skateboarding game that has taken the top title in the category away from Activision Blizzard’s Tony Hawk franchise.

EA will be supporting both the new Microsoft Project Natal motion-control system and the Sony PlayStation wand-like device (reportedly called Arc). Schappert said EA will have games available at launch for those systems. EA isn’t talking about games for those devices yet, but my guess is that a sequel to EA Sports Active, which ships in the fall of 2010, will use motion controls. Previously, EA Sports Active shipped only on the Nintendo Wii, which pioneered motion controls on a console.

Schappert said it is possible that hardware prices may be cut during the year as platform owners try to reduce manufacturing costs and pass on the savings to users and as platform owners try to stoke demand for games. EA’s BioWare division is also working on an MMO based on Star Wars, dubbed the Old Republic. There is no launch date scheduled for that game yet, but EA is assuming it will not ship in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.

As to current titles, EA starts selling Dante’s Inferno, an original title where you play a knight who goes into Hell to retrieve his beloved Beatrice, tomorrow. EA saw 3 million downloads of a demo, partly due to a strong response yesterday to its Super Bowl commerical advertising Dante’s Inferno.

Next Story: New material could turn your car’s body into a giant battery Previous Story: LEDs take the spotlight with flurry of recent, positive news

THQ, the publisher of UFC Undisputed and WWE video games, this afternoon reported it had eked a $542,000 profit, a penny a share, on sales of $357 million for its third quarter ended Dec. 31.

Just a year ago, the Agoura Hills game company looked like it might have been down for the count. It lost $192 million, also on $357 million in sales. THQ marshaled its resources, or perhaps pared them down, and launched a turnaround plan. The idea: cut costs, focus on just a couple of hard-core games and build on its strength in wrestling games and games for smaller kids.

So how's it going?

So far, so good. The company slimmed to 1,800 employees, down from 2,400 just 14 months ago. Once the No. 3 publisher, THQ is now No. 4 after Activision, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft Entertainment. But it seems to be finding a better groove in the lighter weight category, where it can pick its battles more selectively. Those cuts paid dividends; THQ turned a profit last quarter on the same revenue it took in a year ago, when it posted a massive loss.

"They've turned it around," said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. "The question is whether they can grow revenue."

Brian Farrell, THQ's longtime boss, insists the answer is yes.

"We've gained market share, and we're ramping up our digital games initiatives," Farrell told Wall Street analysts during a conference call, saying the company is "positioned for growth."

Key to THQ's plan is to test out new games online first where development costs are lower, via Facebook or downloads on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. If the titles get traction, the game gets moved up the food chain as a bigger-budget disc-based console franchise.

It's a smart strategy, Pachter said. Though the digital download and online games business is still small, it's growing fast. Any upside, however minor, could move the needle for THQ, where "every little bit means a lot," Pachter said.

– Alex Pham

Curves is a gym that has experienced phenomenal growth. Curves gym for women has more than 9,000 locations worldwide, in more than 35 countries. One out of every four health clubs is a Curves. According to the Curves Member Guide by Gary Heavin, Curves is the ninth largest franchise in America. Please note that when the term “franchise” is used, it is referring to all franchises, including hotels, restaurants, etc. To give you some idea of how many Curves Gyms for Women there are, consider this: there is 1 Curves location for every 2 McDonald's locations. Curves is even in the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's largest fitness center franchise.

Curves is obviously right for a lot of women, but is it right for you? Here's the scoop on Curves to help you determine if it is right for you:

Registration Fee

Curves has a $150 registration fee. However, at various times of the year, that fee is either reduced, or dropped all together. For example, each year around the first of March, they have a canned food drive. People who bring in a bag of canned goods for the local food bank may join, without paying the $150 registration fee.

No New Year's Specials

I called Curves to find out if they were running any specials for New Years. I was told they were not. I then asked if that was the same for all Curves nation wide, and was told that it was. So it doesn't look like you'll be in luck at the moment if you're looking for some type of discount this time of year.

Monthly Cost

The cost of Curves varies, depending on location. Monthly costs are between approximately $30 and $50 per month. This seems to be mostly dependent on which state you live in and the overall cost of living there. Here in the Denver area, I pay $34 per month for my Curves membership. Curves in states with a higher cost of living such as California will run you $50 or slightly more per month.

Contract

Curves requires a 1-year contract. Most Curves will take the monthly fee directly out of your checking account each month. After the first year, you may maintain your membership on a month-to-month basis.

How it Works

The Curves system is very simple. It is circuit training, using hydraulic machines. Because the machines are hydraulic, the more repetitions done, the more resistance there is. This way the machines adjust to the strength level of each woman.

The machines are set up in a circle (more like an oval shape). They have a mixture of machines. Half of the machines work upper body and the other half work lower body. In between each machine is a “recovery board.” Participants stay on either a machine or a recovery board for 30 seconds, until they are prompted by a recording to “change stations.” (A station is either a machine, or a recovery board.) On the recovery board, women either run in place, dance, or do any other type of aerobic exercise they want.

As a result of the quick movement from machine to recovery board, to machine to recovery board, etc., in addition to doing weight training, you also get an aerobic workout at Curves.

Depending on the specific Curves, women go around the circuit either two or three times. (Some Curves have fewer machines. Those smaller Curves locations require three trips around the circuit. The Curves I go to has more machines and therefore only requires two trips around the circuit. )

Every eight minutes, women are prompted to move away from their station and check their heart rate.

Once women have gone around the circuit either two or three times, they move to a stretching area and spend about five or six minutes doing some stretching exercises.

All total, it takes around 30 minutes to go through the circuit the appropriate number of times and to do the stretching exercises. Three times per week is the recommended frequency, but members are permitted to go more or less frequently, as desired.

Amenities

Although there may be exceptions, Curves gyms for women do not generally have showers, but have small changing rooms.

Weighing and Measuring

When a woman joins Curves, she is weighed and measured, and her percent of body fat is determined. Then, monthly (or however often the woman desires), she is weighed and measured again. This information is recorded and kept in the woman's record, so she can see her progress month after month.

No Men Allowed

As you may have gathered, Curves is a gym exclusively for women. That is a big part of the appeal for a lot of the women who choose to join, who are more comfortable working out in a gym where only other women are present.

Personal Touch

Curves gyms for women are much smaller than a gym such as Bally or 24-Hour-Fitness. In fact, only a dozen or so women can exercise at one time. Because of this, the women who go regularly tend to get to know each other and develop friendships. It is a social time for many women.

The staff also goes out of their way to chat it up with the women at the gym, always say hello when you enter, goodbye when you're leaving, etc.

They also come up with games and other little contest to make it fun for the women who go.

Locations

Since there are so many Curves, it would be impossible for me to list all of them. But take a look at the list below to see how many Curves gyms for women there are in each state. My guess is that there is a Curves somewhere near you!

Alabama – 102

Alaska – 19

Arkansas – 51

California – 741

Colorado – 116

Connecticut – 78

Delaware – 22

District of Columbia – 6

Florida – 351

Georgia 196

Hawaii – 30

Idaho – 41

Illinois – 317

Indiana – 172

Iowa – 108

Kansas – 62

Kentucky – 97

Louisiana – 84

Maine – 49

Maryland – 148

Massachusetts – 156

Michigan – 322

Minnesota – 177

Mississippi – 47

Missouri – 154

Montana – 22

Nebraska – 42

Nevada – 44

New Hampshire – 57

New Jersey – 207

New Mexico – 45

New York – 346

North Carolina – 229

North Dakota – 16

Ohio – 304

Oklahoma – 69

Oregon – 110

Pennsylvania – 364

Rhode Island – 30

South Carolina – 103

South Dakota – 29

Tennessee – 133

Texas – 434

Utah – 59

Vermont – 25

Virginia – 191

Washington – 166

West Virginia – 58

Wisconsin – 200

Wyoming — 22

Electronic Arts is launching a number of big titles in the coming fiscal year that should get gamers excited, according to the company’s conference call with analysts today.

EA typically announces titles during its quarterly calls to get gamers frothing and to give analysts guidance about its expected financial performance. Those titles could always be delayed, but EA has been shipping more games on time than it used to.

During today’s conference call, EA chief operating officer John Schappert ticked off a number of titles that should set tongues wagging, including some mysterious titles in the fourth fiscal quarter that ends March 31, 2011.

One of them is a first-person shooter game coming from Epic Games, the maker of the Gears of War and Unreal shooting games. There will also be new titles in that quarter based on EA’s existing franchises: DeadSpace, EA sports fighting, the Sims, Spore, Hasbro, Need for Speed simulation, and Dragon Age: Origins.

In the fall quarter (third fiscal) that ends on Dec. 31, 2010, EA plans to ship Crysis 2, a sequel to a hot-selling shooting game; a Need for Speed action driving game; a Harpy Potter game, presumably based on the upcoming movies (there are two of them) based on the final book in the series; and the Sims 3 for the consoles.

EA also expects that its digital titles will create a splash. In the coming year, online-based games are expected to generate $75o million in the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2011. That’s up more than 30 percent compared to the current fiscal year. At the same time, EA chief executive John Riccitiello said he did not see any evidence that digital online games are causing core gamers to spend less time with PC and console games.

Big digital online games coming in fiscal 2011 include Tiger Woods Online (which has launched in beta form), Fifa Online, and Need for Speed World. The latter is an online version of EA’s popular racing game.

EA believes that packaged goods games — those sold in retail stores — will shrink across the industry by 3 percent in the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2011. (That could change if there are hardware price cuts and the new motion controllers from Microsoft and Sony spur overall software sales). But with the growth in digital games, EA believes the overall game business will grow 8 percent during the same period.

In the second fiscal quarter that ends Sept. 30, 2010, EA expects to ship its new Medal of Honor game, which will take on Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 franchise. Schappert said he saw the Medal of Honor demo last week and (predictably) believes it is looking great. In that second fiscal quarter, EA also will ship All Points Bulletin, a massively multiplayer online game that is akin to a free-for-all version of Grand Theft Auto. All Points Bulletin is being developed by venture-funded Realtime Worlds.

In the first fiscal quarter, EA is shipping Skate 3, the skateboarding game that has taken the top title in the category away from Activision Blizzard’s Tony Hawk franchise.

EA will be supporting both the new Microsoft Project Natal motion-control system and the Sony PlayStation wand-like device (reportedly called Arc). Schappert said EA will have games available at launch for those systems. EA isn’t talking about games for those devices yet, but my guess is that a sequel to EA Sports Active, which ships in the fall of 2010, will use motion controls. Previously, EA Sports Active shipped only on the Nintendo Wii, which pioneered motion controls on a console.

Schappert said it is possible that hardware prices may be cut during the year as platform owners try to reduce manufacturing costs and pass on the savings to users and as platform owners try to stoke demand for games. EA’s BioWare division is also working on an MMO based on Star Wars, dubbed the Old Republic. There is no launch date scheduled for that game yet, but EA is assuming it will not ship in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.

As to current titles, EA starts selling Dante’s Inferno, an original title where you play a knight who goes into Hell to retrieve his beloved Beatrice, tomorrow. EA saw 3 million downloads of a demo, partly due to a strong response yesterday to its Super Bowl commerical advertising Dante’s Inferno.

Next Story: New material could turn your car’s body into a giant battery Previous Story: LEDs take the spotlight with flurry of recent, positive news

THQ, the publisher of UFC Undisputed and WWE video games, this afternoon reported it had eked a $542,000 profit, a penny a share, on sales of $357 million for its third quarter ended Dec. 31.

Just a year ago, the Agoura Hills game company looked like it might have been down for the count. It lost $192 million, also on $357 million in sales. THQ marshaled its resources, or perhaps pared them down, and launched a turnaround plan. The idea: cut costs, focus on just a couple of hard-core games and build on its strength in wrestling games and games for smaller kids.

So how's it going?

So far, so good. The company slimmed to 1,800 employees, down from 2,400 just 14 months ago. Once the No. 3 publisher, THQ is now No. 4 after Activision, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft Entertainment. But it seems to be finding a better groove in the lighter weight category, where it can pick its battles more selectively. Those cuts paid dividends; THQ turned a profit last quarter on the same revenue it took in a year ago, when it posted a massive loss.

"They've turned it around," said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. "The question is whether they can grow revenue."

Brian Farrell, THQ's longtime boss, insists the answer is yes.

"We've gained market share, and we're ramping up our digital games initiatives," Farrell told Wall Street analysts during a conference call, saying the company is "positioned for growth."

Key to THQ's plan is to test out new games online first where development costs are lower, via Facebook or downloads on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network. If the titles get traction, the game gets moved up the food chain as a bigger-budget disc-based console franchise.

It's a smart strategy, Pachter said. Though the digital download and online games business is still small, it's growing fast. Any upside, however minor, could move the needle for THQ, where "every little bit means a lot," Pachter said.

– Alex Pham

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Now that you’re ready to take on the real world, you’re going to have to take on a few responsibilities. One in particular is managing your finances. Whether you’re saving up or working endlessly to pay the bills, you’re going to need a good way to keep up with what you earn.

One of the first things that I did when I went to college was open my own bank account. I was excited about it because I’d officially have money to my name, plus I’d get to pick out some of those designer checks. Best of all, my parents had no say in how I could spend it.

Over my three years in college so far, I’ve worked several part time jobs, but earlier this year I took a full-time job as a bank teller, and I gained a lot of insight on how to better keep track of my finances. More importantly, I realized that a lot more people experience financial trouble at some point than let on. In my experience, I’ve seen that this problem usually starts at the beginning of the accountholder’s relationship with the bank. Maybe that particular customer forgot to read the fine print in the disclosures or didn’t ask the banker any important questions when asked if they had any.

My job was mainly working as a teller, but I also was responsible for opening accounts when new customers came along. With both of these experiences behind me, I can give a few tips on what you should look for and pay attention to when opening an account, and I can offer a few tricks that I use to budget my finances.

The town I first went to college in had a limited amount of options as far as financial institutions were concerned. I didn’t do much research prior to opening my account, but it turned out that it wasn’t necessary; the credit union I had an account with for the two years I was there worked out perfectly for me. When choosing your bank, keep in mind what is convenient for you. If you travel often, perhaps a nationwide bank such as Bank of America or Wells Fargo will best suit you. Visit your prospective banks first and ask for a brochure, or speak to a personal banker if you have the chance. Find out the hours, locations and maintenance fees for an account.

When you decide on a bank, make sure to bring your driver’s license and Social Security card with you. If you have recently moved from another state, your banker will probably also ask you for a proof of residence for the state that they’re in.

When giving your information to the banker, make sure that all of it is accurate. Don’t be afraid that the bank will bombard you with junk mail or over-the-phone solicitation; in fact, many banks mention this in their disclosures. They typically don’t mail out anything or call anyone if it’s not important. The bank will need your current address so that your bank statements or any other sensitive information is not sent to an old or erroneous address. Also, you will need to provide a working telephone number in case the bank observes suspicious activity on your account.

When opening your checking account I would also recommend that you open a savings account, especially if you are unsure of your job security, or simply if you’re planning on making a large purchase or going on vacation. Set some ground rules for yourself from the start. Ask yourself: “What am I saving up for? Under what conditions can I withdraw from my account? Deposit either a set percentage or a fixed amount from each paycheck into your savings account. When I first opened my savings account, I would deposit between $25 and $50 from each paycheck. On the next payday, I would deposit the remainder of my checking account balance into savings so that I would start off fresh.

Listen carefully when your banker goes over the disclosures. Misunderstanding the disclosures is the most common culprit of future account problems. Once you sign the relevant paperwork you legally acknowledge that you are aware of the terms and conditions of the account and agree to adhere to bank policy. The banker will go over fees, policies and your rights. Some of the most common fees are maintenance and insufficient fund fees. Maintenance fees are typically debited automatically at the end of the month or at the end of the statement cycle, depending on the bank. Insufficient fund fees are incurred each time a debit is attempted when the funds for that transaction are unavailable. This is more commonly known as “bouncing” a check. On the other hand, overdraft fees are incurred when the transaction goes through but the account becomes overdrawn as a result. Many banks will offer overdraft protection after a relationship has been established between the accountholder and the bank.

Once you open the account, you will likely have the option of ordering checks and an ATM card. When you order your checks, it is not recommended to put your driver’s license number and phone number on them in case they’re stolen. If the merchant needs it you can always add it then. In the event that the checks are stolen the driver’s license and phone number are mainly what vital information merchants ask for. The person who steals your checks then has their work cut out for them.

Maybe this is just characteristic of bankers, but I’ve found using my debit card quite helpful in keeping track of my money. I typically don’t carry cash. These days, debit cards are accepted just about everywhere you go; many banks offer ATM cards with the MasterCard or Visa logo. You see where your money is going if you use your debit card primarily for your purchases. Upon reviewing my recent transactions in my check ledger one day, I realized that I spent more money on things that I didn’t need than I thought. You can learn so much about your spending habits from your check register and cut down on the things that you don’t necessarily need.

Another word of advice is to keep careful track of each transaction made on your account. Never rely on the balance given to you online or over the phone, especially if you have checks yet to clear the account; those will not post for several days. They go through a days-long process through the Federal Reserve in order to clear. Whenever you make a purchase, document it in your check register to ensure that you don’t find any surprises in the next few days. Only you know what checks you’ve written, online purchases you’ve made, and so forth, so they may not be posted to the account immediately.

If you lose track of your checking account your bank can call and inform you that you owe them money. Some customers forget about their accounts after a while and may go in the negative after a check they forgot they wrote clears. In this case, the bank can let you know and warn you that if it is not taken care of the account will be charged off. Your account is charged off when you allow your account balance to remain negative for a certain amount of time. Banks determine a time frame in which you are no longer likely to pay off that balance. After this, the account is closed, sent off to collections and will show up as an unpaid closure if you attempt to open a new account at another bank.

Hopefully this has given you some insight on opening your own account. I hope my tips on budgeting your money helped out as well. I know it hasn’t sounded like the most exciting thing in the world, but it has to be done. I don’t want anyone to be left in the dark about what goes on with their money. Good luck and happy hunting!

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Dallas Mavericks Blog – Dallasnews.com's Dallas Mavericks coverage includes the latest <b>news</b>, notes, commentary, analysis, blogs, e-mail newsletters, photos and videos of the Mavericks.

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Dampier out against Denver; Martin not playing for Nuggets <b>…</b>

Dallas Mavericks Blog – Dallasnews.com's Dallas Mavericks coverage includes the latest <b>news</b>, notes, commentary, analysis, blogs, e-mail newsletters, photos and videos of the Mavericks.

Transcript of <b>News</b> Conference by President Obama — Politics Daily

<b>NEWS</b> CONFERENCEBY THE PRESIDENTJames S. Brady Press Briefing RoomFebruary 9, 2010; 1:38 PM EST THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I.

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