Archive for July, 2009

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Fans rejoice — football season only weeks away

All of us football fans out there are rejoicing — the new football season is only weeks away. (Caveat, when I say “football,” I’m talking about American football, not the sport the rest of the world calls football but we in the U.S. knows as “soccer”!)

I thought about making some stereotypical wisecracks here about “football wives,” etc. But I would never do that. One of the most avid NFL fans I know is my wife. She’s a very knowledgeable follower of NFL and college football. She and I both revel in Mizzou Tigers football on Saturdays and KC Chiefs football on Sundays throughout the season. Heck, she’s even been following the “will he/won’t he” controversy surrounding former NFL QB Brett Favre with me. Turns out Favre’s choice was “he won’t” — come out of retirement for a season with the Minnesota Vikings, that is.

(I wouldn’t go so far as admitting publicly that I’ve been known to attend a particular church because the scheduled Sunday services work well with NFL scheduling. Nope. I’d never say that. Nope.)

At any rate, in times of economic recession and bemoaning our “broken” U.S. health care system, maybe a little sports escapism is a good thing. Gotta take a break once in awhile, and what better way than through sports, hobbies and collecting, reading, hiking and outdoor living, and all those “non-news” ways to enjoy life.

So take a break. And be sure to join me and my family as we cheer the Mizzou Tigers and KC Chiefs through another season!

New school year probably means doing some moving

Ah, the joys of each new school year in America. I remember them well, both as a student and as a parent of students, and none of those memories move me quite as much as, uh, well, the NON-joys of moving the kids from home to on-campus housing.

I realize the end of July is not traditionally the time we think about a coming school year. But given the complexities of today’s college/university world, more and more parents’ thoughts turn to moving and moving tips earlier each summer.

So, if you’re in the mood to think ahead to the new school year (I highly recommend such forethought especially for parents of first-time college students!) let me give you the single biggest moving tip I learned from installing our two kids (now adults) into dorms and dorm life. Ready? Here it is: Enlist as many of your kids’ friends as possible to help with the heavy-lifting, then try to stay out of the way.

Uh, come to think of it, as our kids reached college age and beyond, that seems to be advice I found myself offering and following more and more: Oversee the heavy-lifting and try to stay out of their way.

Probably some profound philosophical insights there, but I can’t quite put my finger on ‘em??

I thought peanut butter was the perfect food — but peanut allergies rise

From my earliest memories back in the 1950s (yes, I am that old), I remember eating peanut butter. Of course, peanut butter wasn’t my first food, but it had to have been an early addition to my diet. I can clearly remember as a very young pre-schooler enjoying a treat with my Mom: She would make us both peanut butter and honey (or even just sugar) sandwiches that we’d eat together lying across the bed looking at comic books.

Now I understand doctors are warning parents not to introduce peanuts into kids’ diets too early, because that might lead to peanut allergy problems. The same study tells me the peanut allergies have doubled in the last 10 years.

I am astounded. I have no scientific training or background that qualifies me to understand or explain such studies. I still make peanut butter a major part of my diet. And the only food I can imagine that’s as “American” as apple pie would be — peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The study makes some good points. For one thing, giving kids peanuts or peanut butter when they’re too young and they can’t communicate with you if the allergens might be irritating their mouths or throats. So that seems a sensible reason to hold off until the children are able to talk about a bad food reaction.

I still don’t understand why peanut allergies have doubled in the last decade. And as a peanut lover, that concerns me. Is there a risk that I could open a jar of Jif and suddenly find, after all these years, that I’m now allergic??

I don’t get it. Ah, well, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the papers.

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Obama birth certificate story put to rest for all but nuts out there

I swear, one of the most insane, nutty issues surrounding President Obama has got to be the paranoia surrounding his birth certificate. Here’s a video you need to see. It SHOULD put the matter to rest for all but the real nuts out there. For those folks, you couldn’t possibly present enough evidence. But for the rest of us, this should do it:

Tiny bit of good news about U.S. housing market in June stats

There seems to be at least a tiny bit of good news about the U.S. housing market showing up in government stats for June.

The devastated housing markets of the nation, from California in the West to Outer Banks foreclosures in the East, has been blamed (along with Wall Street) as one of the major “triggers” that launched our current economic recession. So obviously it was good news when the Commerce Department recently released statistics that new home construction in June was up slightly for the first time since last November.

Even a casual look at the news from any section of the nation will show you that the housing industry is still in a major funk. Millions of people are “upside down” on their mortgages, many of them people who have done well at home ownership but are suffering because of the market in their towns and cities turning down in a major way.

A ray of hope shining in the darkness of the recession? Maybe. Sure can’t hurt. Little by little we seem to be climbing out of this economic mess.

Key to U.S. health care needs: Attacking obesity

Over the last few weeks, with health care reform such a crucial message in America, I’ve seen suggestions for dealing with a very important health care need: attacking obesity in America. And if you’re like me (by the way, I am in that obese category myself), you’ve probably seen, heard, or read about everything from weight loss supplements (latest I’ve seen is for something called Avesil) to an eggs-and-tomatoes diet (which my grandmother actually put me on waaaayyy back in the mid-1950s).

Tell me, honestly, what works or has worked for you? This is directed at all of you out there who share the obesity “load” (couldn’t resist that pun, sorry) with me. All you skinny people out there needn’t comment (though you’re always welcome to comment). If, like me, you’ve tried a wide range of weight loss supplements and diet plans, I’d love to hear 1) what you’ve tried, and, 2) what’s worked. No getting around it, the only thing that’s ever worked for me has been 1) taking in less calories every day, and, 2) getting off my seat and onto my feet every day.

How about it, America, what can we do about the obesity attack to help ourselves with the health care crisis?

Looking for online MBA? Take a look at The University of Scranton

It’s been awhile since I’ve done specific “Useful Website” posts here, but I was looking at some online study options and found an excellent possibility if you are specifically looking for an MBA online: The University of Scranton. They’re located (no surprise here) in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but that really doesn’t matter for an online MBA degree, does it?

What does matter about the online MBA from The University of Scranton is this: They offer superior courses, instructors, and a very fine looking website, all the things you’re looking for in an online degree — and most of all, their online MBA is fully accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). According to information on their website:

“The University of Scranton’s business school, the Kania School of Management, is one of only 7% of worldwide educational institutions offering business degrees that have achieved the distinction of accreditation by AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Our Online MBA is one of the few offered by accredited schools that is available completely online.”

The University of Scranton’s online MBA website further explains in their excellent FAQ that you do NOT need an undergraduate business degree to qualify for the MBA program online, and you can complete the program in about two years — a year less, they say, than other online MBA degree programs. To add to all that, their program has been rated as one of the Top 15 by The Princeton Review, and it seems to me you’ve got a winner.

If you’re looking for an online MBA, I would highly recommend you take a look at The University of Scranton’s online MBA degree.

Why can’t the U.S. provide health care for all citizens from cradle to grave?

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report dated June 21, 2000, the U.S. has the 37th best health care system in the world. That report shows us below small nations and some large, industrialized ones. We beat out Cuba (39) and we were way ahead of China (144). But the highly industrialized nations above us included France (1), Italy (2), Spain (7), Japan (10), Norway (11), the United Kingdom (18), Sweden (23), Germany (25), Israel (28), Canada (30), Finland (31), Australia (32) … well, anyway, you get the idea.

I didn’t find a more current ranking, but I doubt it has changed all that much.

I remember reading a statement by some historian, or possibly it was a politician, that went something like this: “Americans pay for the finest health care in the world — we just don’t get the finest health care in the world.” Or something like that. The point, and I agree with it, would be this: We should be embarrassed at our failure to provide basic, quality health care to all of our people.

Admittedly, many nations with better health care rankings have less population. But most of them, too, have less national wealth, tax revenue, the just-plain-MONEY it takes to provide universal health care. So why can’t the U.S. provide health care for all citizens?

Call me a socialist on this matter if you want, but I truly think we could do something like expand present government systems to include EVERYONE in adequate health care from the cradle to the grave. Certainly the present Medicare/Medicaid model has flaws, but it works. At least, the Medicare part works well for most citizens over 65. Why not work from that and expand it? I just don’t get it. But I bet there are a lot of smarter people than I out there who DO get it.

Frankly, I believe if we cannot have a country where everyone who needs/wants a job with a decent living wage has one, where all our citizens have adequate, safe housing and nutrition, and all have adequate health care from the cradle to the grave — then we’re not spending our money on the right things. We need to back up and reshuffle our priorities and get ‘em right.

Ah, well, what do I know? I’m just a guy who reads the papers.

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Maybe lowly fruit holds some keys to U.S. obesity epidemic

It’s always been a very lucrative market in America (probably worldwide?) to sell weight loss products. Over the years, there’s impressive evidence that there are weight loss supplements that work — some probably better than others, some probably cheaper than others.

But now there’s a lowly fruit which, according to some reports, may hold some keys to solving the U.S. obesity epidemic. And my wife’s going to have mixed feelings about this one: it’s a grapefruit derivative. First, let me explain about my wife. She absolutely loves grapefruit. The bad news is — she’s on a prescription drug which specifically disallows grapefruit or grapefruit products. Bummer for her.

But there could be good news here for many of us doing the old weight loss dance. I happen to like grapefruit myself, though I can’t see myself using a weight loss product which I would need to keep a secret from my wife. Nah, seriously, she’s really good about it. I occasionally enjoy a grapefruit-based soft drink in her presence and she doesn’t even glare at me. So maybe I’ll give grapefruit a chance.

Do you still read newspapers? How? How often?

Some years ago, shortly after Gutenberg invented movable type or thereabouts, I worked for seven years as a newspaper copyeditor. (Those seven years were the best 10 years of my working career — if you get what I mean.) At that time, my colleagues and I, rushing to put out two issues daily at a mid-sized metropolitan paper, could not have imagined the current, sorry state of the newspaper industry. Which brings me to my question for you: Do you still read newspapers? If so, how do you read them, and how often?

Daily newspapers delivered to your home are becoming as old-fashioned quaint as town square parks with shinny gazebos are in most areas. (Yes, I actually grew up in a small town with a central courthouse square that actually had a gazebo. See how quaint I am??) In our city, we still have that newspaper where I worked (sort of), but its major presence is becoming more and more online.

Personally, I sit down to breakfast most mornings with my lovely wife and we chat, read through that local paper in actual hand-held, page-flipping format. I also go to the paper’s website during the day and check out stuff. I go to the New York Times, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Denver Post, and several other newspaper websites on most days. Hey, I’m a news junkie, what can I say?

What’s your news habit like? Do you mostly check Yahoo and/or various newspaper sites and get most of your news online? Or are you a cable TV news junkie? Post a comment and let us know.

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