Advice

Thirty-seven percent of women polled rely on friends and family for retirement planning advice, according to a survey released today by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. That's great if your friend or relative is investment guru Warren Buffet or a financial whiz. Otherwise, you could be just following in a friend's moves - mistakes and all. Catherine Collinson, president of the center for retirement studies, says she was surprised by how many women rely on friends and family for retirement-related information.

From the Maryland Lottery: "An excited Pennsylvania couple arrived at Lottery Headquarters today, accompanied by legal counsel, to claim their $128.8 million Powerball prize. The elated twosome, who chose to remain anonymous, had the only winning ticket for the Christmas Eve drawing. The couple's Quick Pick Powerball numbers of 14, 16, 30, 51, 52 and Power Ball 19, matched all five white balls and the red Power Ball to win the second-largest jackpot ever hit in Maryland. " From a September Hancock column on people who won $109 million in Powerball, who also eventually chose to stay anonymous: "We've heard from a couple" who say they own the $109 million Powerball ticket sold in Abingdon last week, says Carole Everett, spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery.

Having learned the tough lesson that my taste in clothing, jewelry and even toys does not match that of anyone in my family, I often retreat to my fallback gift: books. My choice for the young women in my life right now is "Why We Broke Up," written by Daniel Handler with wonderful illustrations by Maira Kalman. A couple is breaking up, and she sends him a letter and a box filled with totems from their love adventure, each one carrying a clue about why they broke up. Totally cool.

Temperatures are a little too warm for snow, but Maryland rarely goes a season without some of the slippery white stuff. So, it's best to be prepared. About 1 million people fall every year and about 20,000 die from their injuries, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Don't be too confident, says Mike Ross, author of “The Balance Manual” and exercise physiologist at Gottlieb Center for Fitness in the Loyola University Health System.

Women in Business will hold a breakfast Friday, Jan. 13 from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. at Homewood Suites by Hilton, 8320 Benson Drive, in Columbia. Fashionistas, photographers and business professionals will offer advice on how to best present yourself as a professional. The featured speakers are Marilyn Johnson, Marilyn Johnson Sewing and Design Studio, in Laurel; Nancy Goldblatt, Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore; Macy's Dress for Success; Martha Rhoades-Spivey, MRS Photography; Joyce Rhine, Completing your Business Profile Kit; and Success in Style, helping women return to the workplace.

On Monday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said that linebacker Ray Lewis, who has missed two straight games with a toe injury, was “probably the guy that's furthest away” from playing on Sunday among injured Ravens. “Ray has a sprained toe, turf toe kind of thing, so those are a little more unpredictable,” Harbaugh said. “I'm hopeful. I've used that word before. I think he's got a real good chance but we'll just have to see how it goes.” Ravens legend Jonathan Ogden, whose career was shortened by a toe injury, said Lewis shouldn't rush back.

Certainly, the Piscataway must have been among the Native Americans who understood The Way of the Heron. They lived along the shores, too. They inhabited land at the edges of the Chesapeake in what became Southern Maryland. They must have noticed how the great blue heron, stalking fish in the marshes, got along with other birds - even the teasing red-winged blackbird - and from that observation came a whole feast of philosophy about the peaceful life. The Way of the Heron, Evan Pritchard says, is an ancient Algonquin teaching, and he knows it well enough that he can share its timeless wisdom easily with those who are open to it. Mr. Pritchard, a descendant of Algonquin-speaking people, is the director of the Center for Algonquin Culture in New York, a professor of Native American history at Marist College, a teacher of philosophy and ethics, and the author of several books, including, "Native American Stories of the Sacred" and "No Word For Time, The Way of the Algonquin People.

Bill Clinton has some advice for Democrats heading into the 2012 elections, and you don't have to read very far into his new book to realize that what he has to say should be of particular interest to the current occupant of the White House. The former president thinks President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats have the right policies but have done a poor job of getting their message out. Mr. Clinton is worried that if that doesn't change, the Democrats will face another Republican shellacking like the one they endured in 2010.

In Natalie Webb's letter of Nov. 4 ("Don't ban soda, choose moderation"), she writes that, rather than telling kids not to drink sodas, "we need to help them understand how all foods and drinks can fit into a healthy eating plan. " The problem is, sodas are loaded with empty calories that are almost immediately stored in the body as fat, they have no nutritional value and thus have absolutely no place in a "healthy eating plan. " As a registered dietitian, she should know that consuming the 10 teaspoons of sugar (not to mention the caffeine)

Dr. Lewis B. Newberg, a retired ear, nose and throat specialist who turned his personal battle with sleep apnea and snoring into a book in which he combined humor and practical medical advice for those similarly afflicted, died Oct. 22 of heart failure at his Edgewater home. He was 72. The son of a businessman and a homemaker, Dr. Newberg was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Jamaica, N.Y., where he was a graduate of public schools. After earning a bachelor's degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, he earned his medical degree in 1964 from the Chicago Medical School.