Get rich with no risk. The classic business pitch is usually too good to be true - unless you're talking about the student loan business. Student loans, which banks and other lenders avoided in decades past, have become a creditor's dream. Their product is desperately needed, the multibillion-dollar market is growing like gangbusters, and if things go south, lenders can turn to the government for a bailout. The federal government estimates that college students and ... [full story]

Multi-tasking is like living at half attention. "It's OK if it involves things that you do routinely in your life," said Chris Perrow, a professional organizer and president of Perrow Systems in Stow, Ohio. "If you are making dinner, talking on the phone and wiping down the counter, it is multi-tasking at its best.   DOING IT ALL - When you try to do two things at once, you end up doing both half as well, ... [full story]

The Republic of Cyprus has a lot in common with the mosaics found in the second century House of Dionysus, an archaeological site near Pafos. Both are colorful with many intricate parts and a pleasure to view. The mosaics have all the colors of Cyprus: the blue of the Mediterranean Sea, the greens of the Troodos Mountains, the browns of the sandy beaches and the warm colors of the setting sun, plus they represent Cypriot ... [full story]

Fresh from its winter sojourn in Central America, the burrowing owl is now actively renovating its new digs. Its twisting and turning underground lair may have originally housed a prairie dog, tortoise, ground squirrel, rabbit, skunk, armadillo or even a badger. But the tunnels need a special owlish touch - an insulative lining of shredded, dried horse manure or cattle dung.The owl's taste in decor may seem unique and bird-brained, but it is not ... [full story]

"Saturday Night Live" is a show where one expects to see the most famous of the famous in the pop world: Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West. The Shins?   INDIE ADORATION - The Shins made a guest appearance on 'Saturday Night Live' earlier this year. CNS Photo courtesy of Sub Pop. How did The Shins get on "SNL" earlier this year? We're talking about an indie band without any hit singles, a band that ... [full story]

With nearly 1,200 islands sprinkled throughout 26 sun-baked atolls in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are the last great outposts of tropical perfection. Movie stars, beach bums, scuba junkies and Asia- and Caribbean-weary Europeans have been flocking here for the better part of a decade. Americans are just beginning to discover these slice-of-paradise islands southwest of India, so get there fast.   SURROUNDED BY WATER - An aerial view of the Soneva Gili Resort in Maldives ... [full story]

No two ways about it, these things are cool ... literally. Chances are your child will get a cold or upper respiratory tract infection this year. And lets face it, basic humidifiers are not very attractive. They look like medical machines. Introduce Crane Adorable Humidifiers. These cool mist humidifiers disguise the awkward apparatus to look like a variety of animals and sports balls. You can help your child clear a stuffy nose with numerous design ... [full story]

Recently, the BBC conducted a TV poll for the "100 Greatest Britons in History." The winner, no surprise, was Winston Churchill. The runner-up was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Who?   CITY ICON - The Clifton Suspension Bridge's main 702-foot span links the steep cliff sides of the Avon Gorge, 250 feet above the Avon River. CNS Photo by Joan Scobey.    OLD BRISTOL STATION - The free-standing, vaulted Passenger Shed in the Old Bristol Station was the biggest single ... [full story]

Termites eat and tunnel into wooden structures. Because they are hard to detect, the damage can be expensive by the time they are discovered. If a structure has become infested, additional action must be taken. [full story]

Richard Gere is a charming sleaze ball in "The Hoax," the new film from Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom. It is the mostly-true tale of New York writer Clifford Irving, who conned his way into selling a biography of the notoriously reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes in the 1970s. The catch is, he is faking the whole book. Or most of it, anyway.   RICHARD GERE - Richard Gere plays sleazy writer Clifford Irving in the drama 'The ... [full story]