About a week ago, I got this provocative fortune in a cookie at a Chinese restaurant. It’s not often that you get interesting admonitions from Panda Express, but this one got us talking. My wife and I couldn’t think of many things that we had done that were “scary” over the last 5-10 years (a blue moon is once every 30 months, on average). … Continue reading Scary Fortune
Have you heard about the “U” shaped happiness curve? It’s the output of psychology research across ages. It suggests that people are happiest when they are younger, lose some of that happiness in middle-age, and then get it back as they get older. Here’s a plot of the curve, with the colors representing 7 different studies of happiness by age. There has been a lot … Continue reading Happiness “U”-Curve
Audiobooks are apparently having a big surge in popularity. Ten years ago, only 15% of Americans had listened to an audiobook, but now it’s over 50%. Revenue for audiobooks has exploded over +300% over the same period, driven by new streaming options. I’m a bit late to the trend. I’ve written before about my (mostly failed) strategies to overcome my ADHD and read more books … Continue reading Dropping Into Audiobooks
I continue to be a bit obsessed with learning about air conditioning, since our central air unit went out in our vacation place in Florida last week. We’re back home in Minnesota now, and have had a few hot days here, too. Our air conditioning is happily chugging along, set at about 72° – day and night. I know people who keep it much warmer … Continue reading Air Conditioning & Energy Costs
I ran across this chart from Business Insider this week and thought I would share it. I’m not sure the actual veracity of the research that went into the “according to science” claim, but it seems reasonable. I have heard before that “life satisfaction” is U-shaped. It’s high when you are young (listed here as 23 years old) and again when you are older (69 … Continue reading Peak Performance …
I just left the eye doctor after having a ‘Capsulotomy’. It’s a 30 second procedure to clear up some cloudiness from the Refractive Lens Exchange surgery I had done 3 years ago. Related: The Eyes Have It Given today’s visit, I thought it would be a good time to provide an update on lens exchange. In sort, it is an amazing (but expensive) procedure. For … Continue reading Looking Back at Lens Exchange
File this under “Healthful Habits” in retirement … We went to another big concert on Friday night – ZZ Top & Lynyrd Skynyrd in a double-header event outside at a nearby casino. It was a great show and we had great seats – very close to the main stage and the booming speakers. For the second straight concert, I brought some foam earplugs that I … Continue reading Wait, What?
Last night, my Mom sang in a choir concert with friends at her Senior Living Center. We missed it, as we are halfway across the country – taking a car to our FL condo. Still, the rest of our family was there and my brother shared photos of the event. It got me to reflecting on aging. Aging is an inevitable part of the human … Continue reading Recipe For Aging
I recently heard about the Galleri cancer detection test from a friend who receives care at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. This groundbreaking test is revolutionizing how we approach cancer screening, offering a comprehensive and non-invasive way to detect over 50 types of cancer – at a very early stage – through a simple blood draw. The test works by analyzing DNA fragments in the … Continue reading Galleri – Cancer Detection Test
They say that in Spring, “hope springs eternal”. I wish I could be so optimistic right now. Spring is frankly my least favorite of all the seasons. Particularly this time of spring – from mid-March to the end of April. In Minnesota, this time of year is still cold, wet, and desolate. We get a few nice days in April, but generally it’s not ‘outside’ … Continue reading Spring Showers
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