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Tuesday, December 3, 2002:   We know that drinking and driving can lead to potentially fatal outcomes, but now there's revelations that drinking can also lead to financial disaster...so put down the credit card, and step away from the cash register with your hands in plain view: Dr. Kristin Kassaw, a psychiatrist from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, warns that "alcohol and credit cards just don't mix, because drinking impairs judgment, decreases inhibitions and encourages impulse buying."  Play it safe(r): The next time you have a few drinks, don't head to the mall, the casinos or the Internet with a wallet full of credit cards!     It's not false hope...but a new resource might make the difference between life or death for those of you who are dealing with a potentially fatal medical condition! A recent article in The Wall Street Journal by Tara Parker-Pope spotlighted medical search services as a powerful new tool to help patients find the latest information about their disease: "For prices ranging from $195 to $550, these services will research any health problems and provide customers with a detailed report listing standard and cutting-edge treatments, medical experts, clinical trials and alternative therapies." Here are the services listed, and what they provide:     www.thehealthresource.com  covers conventional, experimental and alternative treatments. Price range? $295 - $395     www.cancerdecisions.com  a/k/a Moss Reports is geared towards more alternative and experimental therapies. Price? $297     www.canhelp.com  recommends doctors in other countries. Price range? $400 - $550     www.findcure.com a/k/a Schine On-Line offers detailed reports-including clinical trials-by region. Price? $195     www.canceradvisors.org lists clinical trials compiled by oncologists. Price? $400   Wanna see a list of service comparisons and critiques from someone who's a cancer-survivor? Check out Steve Dunn's website for more insight that I can offer.     Share the wealth!  Tell your friends, family and co-workers about the most reliable source of insight and ideas available to man: ...And get 'em to sign up for the [free] weekly Dose of Dover newsletter; sign up right here on our award-winning website!     Finally! Radio Shack's about to make your life a little easier as they decide-after 81 years-to be less intrusive: Their advertising tag-line for the last few years has been: "You've got questions, we've got answers." But when you asked one of their sales associates why they needed your name and address every time you went into one of their 7,000 stores, all you ever got was a deer-in-the-headlights, glazed-over look and no answer! Radio Shack CEO Leonard Roberts finally pulled the plug on what had been an 81-year tradition at the world's largest electronics retailer. Wanna know more?     United Airlines is heading for the bankruptcy ropes...are you at risk of losing your frequent flier miles?  Naw, I don't think so.  Through all of the turbulent times in the airline biz the last few years, nobody's gotten screwed out of their precious miles...yet.  Ben's best advice?  Do nothing...especially since United's in a frequent flier/code-sharing agreement with a handful of other airlines that will honor your miles.  But if you're hell-bent on insuring your miles, you might wanna check this site out for more options from the insurance side of the equation.....     Now that we've got Thanksgiving outta the way, why not start setting your sites on New Year's Resolutions that you can actually keep? Al Roker did it...Carnie Wilson did it and even I took the plunge: Gastric bypass surgery is saving and improving thousands of lives every year; if you're morbidly obese, or know someone who is [a pretty good statistical chance considering that 1 out of 3 Americans is obese] then why not do something about it, once and for all?     You're officially on the clock: Looking for a holiday gift you can afford this year?  What about a unique gift that won't be recycled/re-gifted before the wrapping paper hits the floor?  Then check out Ben's Holiday Picks 2002 list and get to work.     Speaking of statistics, 700,000 Americans will have their identities stolen in 2003; wanna lower your chances of being one of them? Then quit committing the #1 sin on the victim's list! Unless you've been in a coma or hiding in a cave somewhere in the Middle East in the last couple of weeks, you had to have heard the latest: Add 30,000 new victims to the Identity Theft victim list, and it wasn't even their fault!  Indulge me as I try to save you from yourself...     - Pull out your purse or wallet...and locate your Social Security Card: Oh...you don't carry one anymore? Good! It's nice to see you're learning.     - Now do me one more favor, and pull out your health insurance card: That's your big mistake-due-jour, kids. Carrying this card is an invitation for trouble!  Before you fire off a nasty e-mail to tell me that you "have to carry that card in order to get proper healthcare..." save your energy:     - If you're going to visit a doctor for the first time, then go ahead...carry your card! But once you check in, fill out all of their forms, jump through all of their hoops and let them photocopy your precious card, take it out of your wallet and store it at home in a safe place [preferably a locked file cabinet drawer], since you won't be needing it again anytime soon.     - Same goes for the pharmacy: Once they've got your info-in almost every case-you won't be needing your card again.   "But Ben! What happens if I'm in a car accident or other health-related emergency?" Relax...you can't be denied health care in an emergency situation. Get your problem fixed and your situation under control, then settle up with the business office as soon as the dust settles. Remember: 99 times out of 100, your Social Security Number is plastered across the front of your health insurance card, and serves as yet another example of the laziness of the insurance and health care industries.     You can jack around when it comes to buying everyone presents, but you're gonna shoot yourself in the foot if you wait too long for hotel or condo accomodations.  Unless, of course, you use the ultimate weapon in the war of balancing your travel budget:  There's no such thing as paying the "rack rate" or not being able to find a hotel room or condo as long as you check in with Hotels.com.     The FBI has been known to subpoena borrowing histories from libraries and movie rental histories from Blockbuster. But who else is compiling "lists" about your personal habits that could come back to haunt you? It's called techno-profiling, and it's something you really need to be aware of. If you have a TiVo (TV programming recording device) or you've bought a book from Amazon.com or a CD from CDNow.com, there's a high-probability that there's a reasonably-extensive techno-profiling file that could possibly come back to haunt you in the future. Wanna read more about it?   Ben's Bottom Line: Personally, I could care less. The only subversive activities I engage in are in public on the radio, in my newspaper columns, TV segments and posted for everyone to read on my website...so I could care less about any lists that Big Brother's putting together on my activities. But this is information you need to know about and is clearly worth noting: If you don't want certain things about your private life revealed, you'd better change your buying (or renting) habits in an effort to fly under radar. Cash-for now anyway-is still king...as are alias e-mail address, alias credit card and bank accounts, alias...     I know this is gonna be a reach (especially after surviving another lonnnnnng holiday weekend with certain friends or family members), but if you want to make 'em smarter than they appear to be [sounds like the disclaimer on the passenger-side/side-view mirror, doesn't it?]:  Help them help themselves, and give 'em the link that keeps on giving: Click here to sign-up for Ben's free weekly Dose of Dover newsletter.  To quote the late great Sen. John Blutarsky: "Don't cost nuthin'....."     Here's some calendar trivia you'll take to your grave, thanks to me: Anytime a month begins on a Sunday (like today being December 1st) then that month will have a Friday the 13th. Okay...so this may not be a cure for cancer or a road map for finding Osama, but it's just another nugget-of-knowledge that you can use to impress your friends or family with sometime in the future...and it's especially good knowledge if you're triskaidekaphobic.     Wanna stretch your gift bucks a little further over the next few weeks?     - Check out www.bizrate.com, a great on-line resource that'll help you do some comparison shopping-it even lists 144 free shipping offers [and that's up 31% from last year's listings]. Free shipping? Free gift wrap? Look at all of the dough you're gonna save!     - Spend some time in your local pawn shops: Lots of great deals on all sorts of stuff...take back control of your TV set and keep the kids occupied in their rooms by buying a cheapo TV and VCR/DVD player for a fraction of what you'd pay new. Gotta Kurt Cobain  wannabe in your world? [Oops, bad example.]   Okay then, how about an aspiring John Bonham, Keith Moon, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Hutchence, or Wendy O. Williams? Forget those examples, too: Maybe it's a chance for the kid to develop some natural skills and snag a music scholarship down the road: Musical instruments for aspiring musicians can be had for affordable prices. And all sorts of electronics (you're gonna need mics and amps for those electric guitars!), computers, portable DVD players, used CDs, jewelry, sports equipment...you name it. Pawn shop inventories change constantly, and they'll usually extend a warranty on items sold (or let you return them within a set period of time) if you ask and get it in writing before you leave the store. And no...just because it's in a pawn shop doesn't mean it's stolen.     -  If you're looking for other gift ideas (like my favorite item this holiday season from fattowels.com), check out the special 2002 Holiday Gifts picks section.     The listeners always write: Here's an e-mail from Marjie on the subject of on-line shopping deals: "Ben: Here' a great resource...join Ebates.com. It costs nothing to join and you get cash back when you purchase from any of the stores once you do buy. They also give all the information and particulars on companies affiliated with them regarding discounts, free shipping, etc. Plus their rebates vary from 1% upward...and some offer coupons to be used on their websites." [Thanks for the tip, Marjie!]     Rebates! One of the biggest come-ons in retailing and potentially, one of the most deceptive: You're out spending dough on gifts with an eye on cashing in on those rebate offers to lower your cost, but how do you force them to pay off? Three things you can do:     1.    Review past articles on this topic already up on the website by clicking on this link.     2.    Check out a website that I'm still doing my due diligence on www.wheresmyrebate.com     3.    Tune in to the next entertaining-and-informative edition of The Benjamin Dover Show, Sunday, December 8, 2002.  I'll cover this subject in much greater detail, so no matter where you are, the Internet let's you experience the fastest 2 hours in the history of talk radio.  Synchronize your watches and put it on your calendar: 6-8a (Hawaiian Time)  8-10a (Pacific Time)  9-10 am (Mountain)  10 am-12 noon (Central)  11 am-1 pm (Eastern)  4-6 pm (GMT)  9-11 pm (Baghdad time) on KFI-AM/640, Los Angeles!