Boohoob Tube

I think that's one of my most clever titles yet. Don't mind if I pat myself on the back.

TV might make you sad. Or maybe if you're sad you just watch more tv. It's probably one of those vicious circles. That's my guess. Those are the worst. Well, maybe when people say "equally as" or "myself" (when they mean "I"). Those are worse. Or when people put celery in tuna salad. I hate that.

TV provides an escape from reality and if you're not so crazy about your reality, a pretty quick and easy way out is to dive into the glamorous lifestyle of someone whose job or adventures are something about which you would only dream. You know, like Ocean's 11 or James Bond.

If you're stressed out about something, you might put it off to be entertained by a comedian who makes you laugh and forget about your worries. Well, when the show's over you have the same problem, but instead of doing something about it, you've put it off and not taken any steps to correct it. We're all guilty of this from time to time, but there are definitely people out there who need to snap themselves out of it and live.

This is bumming me out. I'm going to go watch the Ricky Gervais special that I dvr-ed on Saturday night.

From MSN Health & Fitness -

Short-term pleasure, long-term malaise

"These conflicting data suggest that TV may provide viewers with short-run pleasure, but at the expense of long-term malaise," said researcher John Robinson, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, College Park.

In this scenario, even the happiest campers could turn into Debbie-downers if they continue to stare at the boob-tube. The researchers suggest that over time, television-viewing could push out other activities that do have more lasting benefits. Exercise and sex come to mind, as do parties and other forms of socialization known to have psychological benefits.

Get a Job

Monster has some tips for how to land one during a recession. Hopefully we aren't in the throes of a depression. I might have to post something else in that case.

Eight Tips for Job Hunting During the Recession

I can say that after receiving hundreds of applications for a job I posted, and then interviewing about 8 of those people, that the suggestions made in the Monster article would have helped some of the applicants a great deal.

I like this one, in particular -

Stay Positive

The most important thing when searching for a job in tough economic times is to retain a positive attitude, says Carol Vecchio, founder and executive director of Centerpoint Institute for Life and Career Renewal in Seattle. “Even in a job market with 10 percent unemployment, there’s 90 percent employment,” she says. “There is an average of over 3 million jobs available in the US per month -- and each job seeker is looking for one. Those are pretty good odds.”

HSA 2009

These are the new minimum deductibles and annual contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts in 2009.

Minimum Deductible -

Individual $1,150
Family $2,300

Annual Contribution Limit -

Individual $3,000
Family $5,950

If you're 55 or older, there's an additional $1,000 catch up contribution you can make to your HSA.

The maximum out-of-pocket amounts have been increased to $5,800 and $11,600. That's the entire in-network exposure you can have in a health insurance policy that is HSA-qualified.

You're Covered

^{This is a fairly recent Florida Statute that you should know about. Dependents are now covered until age 25 (and possibly extended to age 30), as long as they meet the requirements that historically have applied to university students.}

¹627.6562 Dependent coverage.--

(1) If an insurer offers coverage under a group, blanket, or franchise health insurance policy that insures dependent children of the policyholder or certificateholder, the policy must insure a dependent child of the policyholder or certificateholder at least until the end of the calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 25, if the child meets all of the following...

Read the entire statute here.

Super Stretch

I'm amazed that the most popular article on the New York Times website is not about Obama. It's about stretching. I learned back when I was playing squash in college that "static stretching" was considered no good anymore by those in the sports medicine world. Things like touching your toes and pulling your leg behind your butt.

But most people do not know that. You should really only stretch after sports. Beforehand you need to warm up your muscles and tendons. This is a great article and has some examples of "dynamic stretching", the kind you should be doing. Silly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html?em

It'd Be A Good Start...

From Wall Street Journal's Health Blog -

"In a comment published online by the Lancet today, four physicians with the American Academy of Family Physicians argue that more attention should be paid to the dwindling ranks of primary-care docs. They write:

Our system is riddled with unconscionable disparities–geographical, socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial–in health care and health status, which could all be mitigated by consistent access to a medical home. A medical home is a health-care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their physicians. So, what we really need in this country is universal access to primary care.