For parents, novice and veteran alike, the best part of the day is when the house is quiet, as the kids sleep soundly in their beds. It’s a time of relaxation and recovery from the day’s busy events. But one thing’s for sure, there’s not enough of that nighttime peace and quiet happening. Kids, scientists say, need much more sleep than they get. And who are we kidding; parents need that time of rest just as much as kids!

While the exact amount of sleep needed can vary based on individual needs, there are certain guidelines parents can easily follow to make sure their kids get the rest they need. Age is a major factor to consider when putting your baby to sleep. Use the following as a guideline for how much sleep your child should get on average:

1-4 weeks old require 15-16 hours of sleep per day. Newborns need the most sleep. Unfortunately for parents, newborns tend to have erratic sleeping patterns since they’ve not yet developed a regular sleeping habit. Let your newborn sleep in short 1-2 hour bursts on and off throughout the day, until they can develop their circadian rhythm, or biological clock.

1-12 months old require 12-14 hours of sleep per day. After about the first or second month, your baby will develop more regular sleeping patterns. Confusion between day and night typically wears off by this time, so babies sleep for longer periods (up to 6 hours) at nighttime. For most infants, 15 hours of sleep is ideal.

For the 1 million homeowners who lost their homes due to foreclosures, the announcement of a $25 billion landmark settlement felt like winning the jackpot. Five U.S. banks were accused of mortgage abuse and settled to pay up. The new foreclosure agreement, though not a cure for the current abysmal housing market, can buffer the efforts to help borrowers who lost their homes after the housing bubble burst. 

The crimes

The federal-state settlement originates in the abuse that occurred after 2008. An ongoing federal investigation found that mortgage service companies failed to document foreclosures properly. They used controversial practices, such as robo-signing and mortgage abuse. In these practices, lenders fraudulently dressed up loan modifications. Investigators also found that banks failed to offer borrowers viable alternatives to foreclosure, and illegally filed documents in bankruptcy courts.

Outline of the deal

The five major U.S. banks involved in the foreclosure settlement include Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial. The bank responsible for the largest amount owed to borrowers is Bank of America, at $11.8 billion. Wells Fargo and JP Morgan follow, each with $5.3 billion owed. 

Have you ever watched a science fiction movie, observed something really cool, and said, “I wish that were real”? You’d be surprised to know how many things that were made up on television have become realities. Here are some useful and some useless but cool ones.

Hydrogel Lenses

These contact lenses are not just cool because they change color, but for the reason why they do so. They contain tiny nanoparticles that react with human tears and change color based on a person’s glucose levels. This can alert diabetics to their blood sugar levels without drawing blood.

The Sleep Box

The sleep box is exactly what the name implies - a box for sleeping. It can be used at airports or other places where you may be stuck spending some time. It is large enough to hold a bed and an LCD television, and also provides luggage space. It has wireless access in case you want to work in private.

What is a mentor?

A mentor is essentially someone who has more experience in business than you. A mentor can help you navigate the difficult waters of starting a business, owning a business, business strategy, and everything in between. For an entrepreneur, a mentor can give advice, provide networking connections, or simply be a friend when things get rough. 

Why is it important to have a mentor?

For your own sanity and the health of your business, investing both your time and thoughts into a mentor relationship can be worthwhile. Remember, a mentor is someone who is essentially a soundboard; a person who you talk to about those important decisions before you make them; someone who wants you to succeed and does whatever they can to help you achieve your goals; and encourages you to pursue your goals while advising ways to avoid conflict or friction. The following are five easy steps to find the perfect mentor.

Step 1: Reach out to your family and friends for advice, or seek connections that could become possible mentors. Relatives and friends are your closest network, and you should certainly pick someone who you deeply trust and respect to guide you in your business. 

Even with the shortened season, fans will still have a chance to enjoy their favorite players in the NBA All-Star game.  It is set for February 26, 2012 in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center.  The center is the home of the Orlando Magic and this is the second time the city gets to host the All-Star game.  The first was 20 years ago when Magic Johnson came back to play after being diagnosed with AIDS and won the MVP trophy for the game.

This year, starting players were picked by fan votes with them having the choice of two guards, two forwards, and one center.  Reserve players were then picked by head coaches in their own conferences.  However, a coach could not pick his own player.  The reserves have two guards, two forwards, and one center, with two extra players in any positions.

Notable Players of the Eastern Conference

Several names are in the running for the season’s MVP award as expected.  Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James are three of the top starters for the eastern conference.  They are joined by Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony.  There are 3 first time selections on the reserves.

President Obama announced last week that he was asking the Justice Department to create a task force to investigate lenders who gave loans to new homeowners prior to the debt crisis. The task force is supposed to find out if there were abusive or illegal lending practices. Those found guilty would be required to compensate the victims by contributing to the housing relief program.

Those Who Agree

There are many who are in support of this task force. Predatory lending practices provided loans to people who could not afford them, and are seen as the primary cause for the housing crisis. The term “predatory lending” refers to the unscrupulous and illegal practices used by many lenders while creating a loan.  

There are many behaviors that are categorized as predatory, and resulting in borrowers signing a loan they cannot afford. Some of these include:

-Failing to tell the borrower that the price of the home is negotiable

-Failing to clearly disclose the terms of the loan

Some people make New Year’s resolutions to get rid of them, while others make a fresh start on their birthday - whatever time of year you choose to make a change, everyone wants to break a bad habit. The trouble is that people often fail to permanently get rid of the annoying bad habit. Here are some tips to improve your chances of being successful.

1.  Analyze Your Bad Habit.

Before you can get rid of a bad habit, you have to know why you do it in the first place. For instance, if you want to quit watching too much television, you have to know why you do it. Are you bored in the evenings? Do you automatically turn it on when you walk in the door? By understanding why you do certain things, you can figure out how to break the habit.

2.  Decide on a Replacement.

It is much easier to break a bad habit if you replace it with a good one. Using the example mentioned above, instead of watching television you could read a book or pick up a hobby. A bad habit can leave a void in your life. Filling this void with a new habit will make it much easier to give up an older one.

Since the dawn of the DIY revolution, people everywhere have taken a liking to fixing things on their own. While a computer is a nuanced system of electronics and hardware, you don’t have to be a mechanic to repair many common computer problems. 

1. Computer Won’t Turn On

Be sure the computer is plugged into the power supply. If you receive no activity from the computer even when it’s plugged in, you may have a problem with the power supply unit on the computer. The power supply unit is a metal box located in the back of the computer to which the power cable is connected. To remove the unit, unscrew it from the back of the computer and disconnect the wires. Take it to an electronics store and purchase a replacement with the same wattage. 

2. Computer Is Slow

There are three probable causes of your computer’s slow behaviour - a fragmented disk, spyware activity, or a defective disk. Run ScanDisk to determine if there are any disk errors. Then run the Windows Disk Defragmenter program to improve the performance of your hard disk. Your computer could be running slow because of malware applications abusing your computer’s memory.

Feng Shui is an old Chinese system designed to improve one’s life by arranging things according to the laws of nature.  Many people use this idea to design their homes.  If you are interested in creating an oasis in your home using Feng Shui, here are some tips to help you.

1.  Get Rid of Clutter.

One of the most important things you can do to establish a sense of peace inside your home is to get rid of excess items that you don’t use or love.  This is not just a principle of Feng Shui; it pertains to any type of design you use.  However, it will help to create more energy in your home, which is the basis of Feng Shui.  You will be able to find things you need easier and won’t be dragged down by mounds of stuff.

2.  Create Quality Light.

Light improves energy whether it is artificial or natural.  Make sure you have access to good lighting in the rooms of your home.  If you have several windows, use light curtains that can be opened to allow natural light into the room.  If you have a room that does not have much natural lighting, buy lamps and bright lighting.  

If you want to know whether you should spend your money on a song, or if you are curious about a new band, or just want to know how cool your playlist is, here are the best websites for music reviews.

Billboard

This site has reviews, but its best feature is the charts that indicate how popular a certain album is. This site is also great for finding news and articles related to the music industry. Use this site if you are looking to find out information on pop, hip hop, rap, or country music.

Alternative Press

Alternative Press (AP, or AltPress, as it is sometimes known) provides reviews on alternative music (and all its subcategories). The reviews are honest, and sometimes brutal. You will find reviews for most of the music in the alternative genre.

Spin

If you want to get the scoop on the newest Indie music that no one has heard about yet, this is the site for you. Spin tends to prefer those bands that are new, up and coming, and that almost no one knows about.

If you phone always seems to be on your desk across the room or buried at the bottom of your purse, you may want to change the amount of time your phone rings so you have enough time to get to the phone and answer it. Or, if you are screening your phone calls and do not want hear your phone ring but do not want to turn your phone off, you may prefer if your phone does not ring as long. Now there is a way where you can change the length of your ringtone to better fit your needs. Here is a step by step guide to help you change how long your phone rings before going to voicemail depending on which U.S. carrier you use.

AT&T and T-Mobile

If you would like assistance changing the length of your ring, you can call customer service and have them do it for you. If you would like to do it yourself though, you can change it by following the steps below using the phone you would like to change:

You probably already know that listening to your ear buds or headphones on maximum volume can cause hearing loss. However, new data from Injury Prevention shows that people are starting to suffer injuries from listening to their headphones while crossing the street.

The data shows that the number of serious injuries and deaths to people walking while listening to their headphones has tripled in seven years in the United States. Between 2004 and 2011, there were 116 crashes involving pedestrians who were wearing headphones, 81 of which resulted in deaths. Between 2004 and 2005 there were just 16 such cases, but by 2010 - 2011, there were 47 cases. 55 percent of the victims were struck by trains, while the other 45 percent were struck by cars, buses, trucks, tractor trailers, or bicycles. The majority of the victims (68 percent) were male and the median age was 21 years. The data excludes cases that involve mobile phones, including hands-free phones.

Listening to portable devices, like portable audio cassette players, compact disc players, and even boom-boxes is not unheard-of. However, more people are starting to buy and stay plugged into their phones and portable devices all the time. Such devices tend to grow on people, so it feels normal to be constantly plugged-in. However, it is not the best idea to be plugged-in while walking. Ear-buds or headphones can cause sensory deprivation. 29 percent of the crash cases involved a warning that was not heard.

If you are looking for a unique gift for the golfer in your life, you will find many cool gadgets that they will enjoy using. There is something for the serious golfer who dreams of being a pro, as well as for the person who doesn’t care what his handicap is.

SensoGlove

Regardless of whether your golfer is serious about their game or just learning the sport, the SensoGlove can be a helpful tool. It has tiny sensors placed in different areas of the glove that will monitor your grip. The glove has a digital monitor that will analyze the pressure of your swing to make it more accurate. If you press too hard, an alarm will go off to make you loosen your grip.

Twilight Supernova

This is a fun gadget if your golfer doesn’t know when to quit in the evening. It is a professional quality ball that has an LED light so you can see it in twilight. After you hit it, it will flash for eight minutes to allow you to find it. The battery lasts for up to three hundred hits, or about forty hours.