Yes, absolutely. I was lucky enough to file back when you could still discharge private student loans; unloaded $3k from a particularly evil company (that still called and threatened my family years later!) The one thing to say for government loans is that there's a lot of options for relief, particularly IBR and…

It's probably worth noting here that student loan debts aren't usually forgiven in bankruptcy. But these are interesting points...I've never really considered this side of it.

You missed the biggest Debt trap: Credit cards.

I once had an old farmer say "Pay as you go, then you don't owe."

Wisest words ever.

I'm a huge fan of bankruptcy. Weird thing to say I guess. I filed for bankruptcy when I was young, after getting in trouble with credit cards. I learned my lesson, was still punished by it at the time, got my fresh start, and now it's 10 years later, my credit score is awesome and I have a huge amount in savings. I'm…

I never did one of those payday loans but I've had myself deep into credit card debt in my younger years. About $30,000 to be exact. Mostly from buying dumb crap that is long gone now. Now I'm debt free, except for the mortgage. I went to my credit union and took out a consolidation loan to merge all of my…

With regards to Payday loans, note that not all of them are created equal. Internet Payday lenders are often foreign, unregulated, and do not follow many state laws. Brink & Mortar lenders are almost always regulated and follow state laws about their lending practices.

If you're trapped by payday loans or considering attempting settlement because you can't afford to pay off your debt, consider bankruptcy. It's a relatively quick process that can eliminate most debts and in the long run your credit may be rebuilt faster than by continuing to struggle with paying debts you can't…

What's even more wonderful, that makes science work even if every single scientist was a self-serving asshole willing to falsify discoveries for fame and profit.

This is why I love science .. you're a genius and you have a brilliant idea .. well, there are about two hundred other geniuses who can't wait to shoot it down and watch it burn in flames.

Impressive, but the real question is "what projection is he using there?"

His southern hemisphere is a bit out of scale (e.g. in actuality Australia is the same size as the continental US) but it's still mighty impressive.

I was thinking, Durantesaurus.

I would have gone with Schnozasaurus rex

Right???? That is just one of the signs you're playing for the wrong team... "Yah, Wilhelm, the screams are getting to be a bit much, be a dear and buy some geese to cover up the sounds of people dying horribly"

The whole discovery is horrible, but the added detail of raising the geese to cover up their screams really made my stomach twist.

A long, long time avo my baby died.in utero. Your excellent piece of writing made me cry, yet feel at peace with letting the hospital cremate her. After 32 years, I finally know what happened to her and I am at peace with it. Thank you for thus.

What about the online Taleo databases that we are all required to retype our information into? How should one handle these?

rule 1: cosmic sans

Cover letters are also important. My favorite bad one? A photo copy of a hand written letter that said, "I'm sure you'll understand that since I'm captain of the field hockey team, I don't have time to write individual cover letters." I understood that field hockey was more important than getting a job at our company.…