Oh there's a big surprise! That's an incredible - I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die of not surprise! - Iago (from Aladdin)

From the Washington Post article, "How Rich People Spend Their Time" -

"People who make less than $20,000 a year, for example, told [Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist] Kahneman and his colleagues that they spend more than a third of their time in passive leisure -- watching television, for example. Those making more than $100,000 spent less than one-fifth of their time in this way -- putting their legs up and relaxing. Rich people spent much more time commuting and engaging in activities that were required as opposed to optional. The richest people spent nearly twice as much time as the poorest people in leisure activities that were active, structured and often stressful -- shopping, child care and exercise."

I wouldn't say that I "hate" people who watch a lot of TV, but it sort of disgusts me. Maybe that's putting it a little strongly. Hate the sin, love the sinner. Some smart dude said that once. I feel sorry for them, really. George Carlin, the late comedian, said this in an Esquire article once - "I wish that we could measure how much the potential of the mind to expand has been stunted by television." So do I, George. So. Do. I.

Men's Whealth

Well, well, well. Men's Health now has a section called "Men's Wealth". I know, they totally forgot the "h" in "whealth". Also called "Fit Investor", the section has everyday personal finance tips. I think it's new, but I haven't checked the site in a while.

Something I read today was a piece urging people to trade in their debit cards for ATM cards that don't have the debit capability. The author makes the point that you should really just use cash or a credit card, and I agree. The risks of fraud and transaction fees are too great. Read that article here, if you like.

Consumer Value Stores and the New Whealthwatchers.com

That's what "CVS" stands for. Bet you didn't know that.

I bet you also didn't know that CVS now marks with an "F" each item on your receipt that is HSA or FSA eligible. That is to say, it's tax-deductible if you own a Health Savings Account. I didn't know that either, until I received an excited phonecall about it from my future sister-in-law. I did know the CVS thing, though. I win.

Here's an article about it.

Oh, don't get confused by the fact that Publix puts an "F" next to all the food items on your grocery receipt.

Also, check out the new look of whealthwatchers.com. It's under construction, but it looks pretty awesome.

We're Number 2! We're Number 2!

Australia has actually beaten us at something other than croc wrestling and boomerang making -

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23893557-662,00.html

Thank You for Flying and Not Smoking

My brother, his fiancee and I flew from New York to Miami yesterday. One of their suitcases was weighed down with loot from her wedding shower, and after throwing it on the scale, it was determined by the airline dude that there would be an additional charge of $50 since the bag weighed more than 50 pounds.

Well, they took some stuff out of that bag and put it in a lighter one, but as we walked away, my brother said "well, I weigh a lot less than many of the passengers on this plane". That's a very good point, and as I have said for years, that is exactly the kind of thing people should expect (along with lawsuits against fast food restaurants for serving unhealthy food, or denying entrance to those restaurants for the obese) And it's already being considered by the airlines. Pretty hard to imagine weighing the passengers at check-in though, isn't it? Or is it (they did it in the 1970s)? This is all related as the nation and world struggle to balance growing prosperity and consumption with diminishing resources and new challenges in our global marketplace.

Here's an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about some of the anti-smoking policies employers are enacting. In the past few years, employers have tried to encourage employees not to smoke with positive incentives, but in many cases those have turned to punitive measures. In a case mentioned in the article, an employer even told employees they had to stop smoking or they would be fired. He enforces that policy by having their blood tested at random. He has even gone so far as to monitor their spouses, as well.

Woof Woof Makes for Less Wah Wah

Today I was thinking about how great it makes me feel to see my brother's and fiancee's dog, Charlie, and how that reinforced the fact that I think everyone should have a pet. This is from the heading above the video on WebMD that I watched -

"From easing depression to lowering triglycerides, spending time with a pet can boost physical and emotional health."

http://www.webmd.com/video/pets-health-see-spot-feel-happy

So, you don't even need to own one if you can get to spend regular time with someone else's pet. That's like being an uncle. It's a pretty sweet gig, let me tell you.

By the way, triglycerides are basically fat, in chemical form, in your plasma. Excessive amounts affect your heart in similar ways as cholesterol (the bad kind). Please correct me, if I'm wrong, all you people who read this wonderful blog.

Red Bull Gives You Pvoblems

The Health & Science section of the International Herald Tribune has another example of a correlation that doesn't necessarily suggest a cause and effect relationship. However, if you are a parent, you should know that if your kid drinks Red Bull, he's probably doing a lot of stuff he's not supposed to.

"Energy Drinks Linked to Risky Behavior Among Teenagers"

"In March, The Journal of American College Health published a report on the link between energy drinks, athletics and risky behavior. The study's author, Kathleen Miller, an addiction researcher at the University of Buffalo, says it suggests that high consumption of energy drinks is associated with 'toxic jock' behavior, a constellation of risky and aggressive behaviors including unprotected sex, substance abuse and violence."

The Most Important Meal of the Day (Revisited, Again)

ThirdAge has some ideas for a healthy breakfast -

• A bowl of steel-cut oatmeal topped with fruit and walnuts.
• A bowl of high-fiber, whole-grain cereal such as Fiber One, Shredded Wheat, or Cheerios with milk and sliced banana, strawberries, blueberries or other fruit.
• Six or 8 ounces of 1 percent yogurt with blueberries and sunflower seeds.
• A whole-grain English muffin with peanut butter.
• A one egg plus one egg white or egg substitute omelet with whole-grain toast and orange slices.

I guess it's important to cut your oatmeal with steel, so if you do it yourself, check your tools. I'm weird and just buy Quaker Oats at the supermarket. Thanks to the internet, I just looked up what "steel-cut oats" are -

What are Steel Cut Oats and how are they different from other types of Quaker® Oats?

Steel Cut Oats are whole oats that have not been rolled into flakes. Instead, they are cut approximately into thirds. Cooking time is 30 minutes and the texture is heartier than rolled oats. Steel Cut Oats are also known as Scotch Oats, Pinhead Oats (in Great Britain because they resemble the size and shape of the head of large pin) and Irish Oats.

Quaker® Old Fashioned Oats are whole oats that have been rolled to flatten them. Quick Quaker® Oats and Quaker® Instant Oats are made from Steel Cut Oats that have been rolled a little thinner than Old Fashioned Oats so they cook faster.

All forms of Quaker® Oats, including Steel Cut, Old Fashioned, Quick, and Instant Oats are whole grains. That means they are equally nutritious because they supply all parts of the oat grain including the bran, endosperm and germ. The different size and shape of the oats only affects the cooking time and texture.

Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa, Ma Ma Coo Sa, You're a Vegetable

There's a great article in today's New York Times about how to best prepare different vegetables to optimize their healthfulness. They discuss the fact that it's important to make sure that the vegetables taste good, since the taste is a major deterrent to eating them for many people. A little salt and pepper, some oil and vinegar, etc. can even make broccoli haters happy. I've witnessed the phenomenon with my own eyes.

This is an important point -

"'There is a misperception that raw foods are always going to be better,' says Steven K. Clinton, a nutrition researcher and professor of internal medicine in the medical oncology division at Ohio State University. 'For fruits and vegetables, a lot of times a little bit of cooking and a little bit of processing actually can be helpful.'"

If They're Banning It in Turkey...

Smoking, that is. From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune -

"Citing the burden they place on taxpayers who pay for government workers' health insurance, Sarasota County officials announced Monday that they no longer will hire smokers."

They are coming down hard, even banning smoking on public beaches.

It is legal in Florida to refuse to hire someone who smokes.

POTUS HSA

Thanks to our friend Dr. Eiber for the heads-up.

President Bush has a Health Savings Account -

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/05/show-me-the-mon.html

The Science of Sleep

Very interesting stuff on Time.com. People who sleep too little (fewer than 6 hours/night) or too much (more than 9 hours) are less healthy than people who sleep juuuuuust the right amount (7 to 8). Normal sleepers drink and smoke less, are of healthier weight and have lower rates of depression. As usual, there is no proof of a cause-and-effect relationship, but it's good to know this stuff if you're trying to take control of your life and move in a better direction.

Columbia University sleep researcher, James Gangwisch -

"We're getting to the point that they may start recommending getting enough sleep as a standard approach to weight loss and the prevention of obesity."

As my brother Mark says, "if you're not exercising or getting enough sleep, then you have your priorities screwed up". Which reminds me that I read in Forbes last night that the average American household watches 8 hours of TV a day! That horrifies me.

One last thing. "The Science of Sleep" is a great movie. Especially if you like weird European movies that employ several languages at the same time (English, Spanish, French, in this case).

Cinco de Mayo

It's approaching fast, mis amigos. In honor of the Mexican holiday that is only really celebrated in the US, I am posting Five Things Happy People Do from Oprah.com and WebMD. We all know how much I love WebMD. And everybody likes Oprah.

I especially liked the following one, which reminded me of how often I heard "must be nice" when working construction. I also hear that a lot from anchors on CNBC who probably make a pretty good living, but are always talking about billionaires, and feel relatively poor in comparison.

"They avoid 'if only' fantasies."

"If only I get a better job -- find a man -- lose the weight -- life will be perfect. Happy people don't buy into this kind of thinking."

"The latest research shows that we're surprisingly bad at predicting what will make us happy. People also tend to misjudge their contentment when zeroing in on a single aspect of their lives -- it's called the focusing illusion. In one study, single subjects were asked, 'How happy are you with your life in general?' and 'How many dates did you have last month?' When the dating question was asked first, their romantic lives weighed more heavily into how they rated their overall happiness than when the questions were reversed."

"The other argument against 'if only' fantasies has to do with 'hedonic adaptation' -- the brain's natural dimming effect, which guarantees that a new house won't generate the same pleasure a year after its purchase and the thrill of having a boyfriend will ebb as you get used to being part of a couple. Happy people are wise to this, which is why they keep their lives full of novelty, even if it's just trying a new activity (diving, yoga) or putting a new spin on an old favorite (kundalini instead of vinyasa)."

This Sucks

I'm only posting this because I thought that my title was a funny, albeit obvious, one.

Breast-feeding rates are at their highest in the last 20 years. That's good news for babies. But not for daddies : ( ...kidding of course! I'm just full of them today.

"Experts attributed the rise to education campaigns that emphasize that breast milk is better than formula at protecting babies against disease and childhood obesity. A changing culture that accommodates nursing mothers may also be a factor."


Here's an Associated Press article about it.

NYT Health

There's a great article in today's New York Times on the wide range of health benefits you get from regular exercise -

You Name It, and Exercise Helps It

The article points out how great it makes you feel to exercise, and I suspect that people who do not, think that exercising is really unpleasant. I always say that the hardest part about going to the gym is the trip over there. The actual working out is enjoyable. Afterward, you feel like a million bucks.

Besides the misconception that working out is unenjoyable (yes, that's a word), many people say they don't have time. Well, if you watch 3 hours of television a night, then you're lying.

Health = Wealth

"It's the health-care version of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer."

Holding My Breath

Though HR 5719 will likely pass the Senate.

I like to consider myself an independent/libertarian, but I get so pissed off at Democrats that I am clearly a Republican. To add insult to injury, my congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R], has voted in favor of HR 5719, sponsored by the traitorous Charles "Charlie" Rangel [D]. See, he calls himself "Charlie" so he seems more folksy. It's like he's just one of your buddies, you know? He's not some b.s. artist who lives in a mansion in DC, or anything.

I hope she appreciates my voting for her in the last election. It won't happen again. If you'd like to see how your congressperson voted, check out GovTrack.

Stop HR 5719!

Check out this website. If you have any interest in keeping Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) around, you should call your congressperson and urge him or her to vote against HR 5719, which passed the House Ways and Means Committee last week and is going to a full House vote tomorrow. Basically, a company called Evolution Benefits lobbied to have a provision sneaked into the bill that would require substantiation of claims (proof that HSA dollars are spent on authorized products and services) at the risk of being fined by the tax man. It will cost HSA administrators tons of money and ruin HSAs.

The reason that Evolution Benefits did so is that they have a patented system that rejects unauthorized purchases for Flexible Spending Accounts (far inferior cousins of HSAs) and they have argued that HSA owners are making lots of unauthorized purchases with their cards which don't require substantiation. Account holders already must hold onto receipts in case they are audited and already must file with the IRS to show where their HSA dollars are being spent.

So, it comes as no surprise that some greedy businessmen are trying to get the government to shove more regulation down our throats so they can make a buck. Please call your congressperson and ask him or her to vote no on 5719! If you don't know who your congressperson is, shame on you, first of all, but you may find out at http://whoismyrepresentative.com/. Isn't the internet great? Also, feel free to call Evolution Benefits at 860-678-3400/5560 and tell them to go to hell.

I've also just learned that the White House might actually veto something if this passes the House. You may call the White House Comment Line at 202-456-1111 and ask that President Bush support the health of HSAs and does indeed veto it, should it pass.

What a great country.

Vroom Vroom, Beep Beep

This article was just posted on AOL, but the information is rather dated, it seems. Since engines and motor oil are better made than they were in the past, it turns out you don't need to change it every 3,000 miles, as was long the case. Now, every 7,500 miles will suffice. According to AOL Autos contributor, Tom Torbjornsen -

"Ford Motor Company has followed GM into the extended oil change interval march. Four months ago (March of this year) Ford announced that they are revising engine oil change intervals to every 7500 miles. The reason? Quoting the article from the Associated Press dated March 22nd, 2007:

'Not only are modern oils better, modern engines are also better. You don't have carburetors metering poorly on winter mornings, tolerances are a lot tighter, and operating temperatures are typically a little hotter, helping to cook off the junk that accumulates in the oil. Ford contends that its customers prefer a set amount of miles between changes. The automaker also cites the environmental benefits that come from less waste oil, monetary savings, as well as extensive tests as positive aspects of the new recommendation.'"

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

This comes from an article that my brother sent me over a year ago, and that I've just read. He sends me a lot of emails. I've mentioned this before.

Richard Carlson, who has a website called Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, makes an excellent point about happiness. He uses the following metaphor -

"Here's a good way to look at it. Suppose you live in Miami and you wanted to take a road trip to New York. So you get in the car and head West. The question is, where would you end up? The answer, of course, is that you could end up in many locations depending on how far you drove, but by no means would you end up in New York! You're going the wrong way!"

So, if you are surrounded by things (and thoughts) that make you unhappy, then you probably aren't going to be happy. I guess if you started out by driving west and then hit the Pacific, you could turn around and eventually make it to New York, but it would take a lot longer than first identifying the direction in which you should head and then going there.

This post is kind of cheesy. Sorry. To make up for it, I will say that the aforementioned website reminds me of those Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey that they used to have on SNL. What ever happened to those? Here are some of my favorites -

"You know one thing that will really make a woman mad? Just run up and kick her in the butt. (P.S. This also works with men.)"

"How come the dove gets to be the peace symbol? How about the pillow? It has more feathers than the dove, and it doesn't have that dangerous beak."

"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it."

Almost forgot my all-time fave-

"Whether they ever find life there or not, I think Jupiter should be considered an enemy planet."