When you live in California, it’s always another year of drought. No matter how many deluges of flooding rain you’ve waded through during the winter, the following summer you can’t water your lawn because of draught.

Every weatherperson I could find on the radio, television, internet and newspaper yesterday predicted rain for Los Angeles today. A huge storm was moving in last night and lasting all through today and into tomorrow. I was ready. I went to the market. I didn’t have my hair blown out. I bought my kids those dreaded new rain coats and gotten rid of the ones they’d grown out of three years ago. I wanted to wake up to the sound of raindrops falling into my swimming pool.

But I woke up to find my pool deck dry as dust. Not a drop had fallen in the night and I doubted there would be any rain today at all. And I had actually turned off my sprinklers for this. A person’s lawn could go yellow waiting for a flood with misinformation from the weathergirl on channel 9.

They must do it to play psychological games with those of us who are thirsty in these draught-ridden states. Where do they get their information from anyway? Those silly maps they stand in front of? And those grey clouds outside are getting lighter every minute – the sun will probably pop out and I didn’t have my hair blown out. I suppose my dopamine reward system has been deprived of its anticipated tweaking and my wish for a quiet afternoon reading in front of the fireplace with rain falling outside will have to be replaced by a hairdresser appointment.

Am I thinking too fast for my own good? I don’t know – I can’t slow down enough to think – of the answer.

The rapid pace of information constantly assaulting our brains challenges our ability to pay full attention to any one thing. Our email, twitters, texts, and instant messages pressure us into quick responses that lead us to sacrifice detail and accuracy. Radio and television announcers speak in time-compressed sentences leaving us with mere ideas of what they are saying. Many people are replacing depth and subtlety in their thinking with quick mental facts that may only skim the surface. The mental clutter, noise and frequent interruptions that assail us further fuel this frenetic cognitivestyle.

Our high-tech revolution has plunged us into a state of continuous partial attention, which software executive Linda Stone describes as continually staying busy – keeping tabs on everything while never truly focusing on anything. Continuous partial attention differs from multitasking, wherein we have a purpose for each task, and we are trying to improve efficiency and productivity. Instead, when our minds partially attend, and do so continuously, we scan for an opportunity for any type of contact at every given moment. We virtually chat as our text messages flow, and we keep tabs on active buddy lists (friends and other screen names in an instant message program) – everything, everywhere is connected through our peripheral attention. Although it seems intimate having all our pals online from moment to moment, we risk losing personal touch with our real-life relationships and may experience an artificial sense of intimacy compared to when we shut down our devices and devote our attention to one individual at a time. But still, many people report that if they’re suddenly cut-off from someone’s buddy list, they take it personally, deeply personally.

When paying partial continuous attention, people may place their brains in a heightened state of stress. They no longer have time to reflect, contemplate or make thoughtful decisions. Instead, they exist in a sense of constant crisis – on alert for a new contact or bit of exciting news or information at any moment. And, once people get used to it, they tend to thrive on the perpetual connectivity. It feeds their egos and sense of self-worth, and it becomes irresistible.

Neuromaging studies suggest that this sense of self-worth may protect the size of the hippocampus – that horseshow-shaped brain region in the medial temporal lobe, which allows us to learn and remember new information. Dr. Sonia Lupien and associates at McGill University studied hippocampal size in healthy 20 to 26 year-olds, and older 60 to 84 year-old volunteers. Measures of self-esteem correlated significantly with hippocampal size, regardless of age. They also found that the more people felt in control of their lives, the larger their hippocampus.

But at some point, the sense of control and self-worth we feel when we maintain partial continuous attention, tends to break down – our brains were not built to maintain such monitoring for extended time periods. Eventually, the endless hours of unrelenting digital connectivity can create a unique type of brain strain. Many people who have been working on the Internet for several hours without a break, report making frequent errors in their work. Upon signing off, they notice feeling spaced-out, fatigued, irritable, and distracted, as if they are in a digital fog. This new form of mental stress is threatening to become an epidemic.

Under this kind of stress, our brains instinctively signal the adrenal gland to secret cortisol and adrenaline. In the short run, these stress hormonesboost energy levels and augment memory, but over time they actually impair cognition, lead to depression, and alter the neural circuitry in the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex – brain regions that control mood and thought. Chronic and prolonged techno-brain burnout can even reshape underlying brain structure.

Are you a master Twitterer? Do your friends or kids punch their PDAs while eating and driving? I could swear my teenager was texting in her sleep.

A new study suggests that constant texters may be sacrificing accuracy for expediency. One of the convenient features of our handhelds – the program that figures out the word we want to use before we finish typing it – maybe be part of the problem. And, the new research suggests that frequent texting may even rewire the brains of young people.

Dr. Michael Abramson and associates, an epidemiologist at Monash Universtiy in Melbourne, Australia studied over 300children aged 11 to 14 and found that kids who used mobile phones performed faster on a battery of cognitive tests but they also made significantly more errors. The bottom line is that frequent use of the devices makes kids fast and sloppy.

This is likely a problem for middle-aged and older digital immigrants as well. Todays’ rapid pace of information constantly assaulting our brains challenges our ability to pay full attention to any one thing. Our laptops, fax machines and instant messages pressure us into quick responses that lead us to sacrifice detail and accuracy. Radio and television announcers speak in time-compressed sentences leaving us with mere ideas of what they have said. Many people are replacing depth and subtlety in their thinking with quick mental facts that only skim the surface. The mental clutter, noise and frequent interruptions that assail most of us further fuel this frenetic cognitive style.

Though we think we can get more done when we divide our attention and multitask, we are not necessarily being more efficient. Studies show that when our brains switch back and forth from one task to another, ourneural circuits take a small break in between – a time-consuming process that reduces efficiency. It’s not unlike closing down one computer program and booting up another – it takes a few moments. With each attention shift, the brain’s frontal lobe executive centers must activate different neural circuits.

Dr. Gloria Mark and associates at the University of California, Irvine, studied the work habits of high-tech office employees and found that each worker spent an average of only 11 minutes per project. Every time a worker was distracted from a task, it took them 25 minutes to return to it. Such distractions and interruptions not only plague our work environments, but they also intrude upon our leisure and family time. The bottom line is that despite people’s perception that they are doing more and at a faster pace when they multitask, the brain seems to work better when implementing a single sustained task, one at a time.

Some particular combinations of tasks, however, do appear to improve mental efficiency. This included performing a task while also listening to music. Neuroscientists have found that some surgeons perform stressful non-surgical laboratory tasks more quickly and with increased accuracy when listening to their preferred musical selections. Music appears to enhance the efficiency of those who work with their hands. Music and manual tasks activate completely different parts of the brain; thus, effective multitasking sometimes appears to involve disparate brain regions. However, if you are working while listening to music you do not like, it may be distracting and decrease the efficiency of your multitasking.

Multitasking has become a necessary skill of modern life, but we need to acknowledge the challenges and adapt accordingly. Several strategies can help, such as striving to stay on one task longer, and avoiding task switching whenever possible. We can also learn and build multitasking skills with practice.

When we think of addiction, most of us think of alcoholism or drug abuse. But the easy access, anonymity, and constant availability of the Internet, email, texting, chatting and twittering has led to a new form of compulsive and dependent behavior – techno-addicts. The same neural pathways in the brain that reinforce dependence on substances can reinforce compulsive technology behaviors that are just as addictive and potentially destructive. Almost anything that we like to do – eat, shop, gamble, have sex – contain the potential for psychological and physiological dependence.

Whether we’re watching TV, playing an interactive video game, or simply searching online for an old movie title, our brains and other organs automatically react to the monitor’s rapidly changing, staccato stimuli: heart rate slows, brain blood vessels dilate, and blood flows away from major muscles. As we continue staring at the screen, this physical reaction helps our brains focus on the incoming mental stimuli, and the constant flow of visual stimuli can shift our orienting responses into overdrive. Eventually, however, rather than continued mental stimulation, we begin to experience fatigue. After a computer or video marathon, our concentration abilities often decline, and many people report a sense of depletion – as if the energy has been “sucked out of them.” Despite these side effects, computers and the Internet are hard to resist, and our brains can get hooked rapidly – especially young ones. Sales of video games world-wide are stronger than ever.

Self-proclaimed Internet addicts report feeling a pleasurable mood burst or “rush” from simply booting up their computer, let alone visiting their favorite websites – just as shopping addicts get a thrill from scanning sale ads, putting their credit cards in their wallets, and setting out on a spending spree. These feelings of euphoria, even before the actual acting out of the addiction occurs, are linked to brain chemical changes that control behaviors ranging from a seductive psychological draw to a full-blown addiction. The brain-wiring system that controls these responses involves the neurotransmitter dopamine, a brain messenger that modulates all sorts of activities involving reward, feeling good, exploration and punishment.

Dopamine is responsible for the euphoria that addicts chase, whether they get it from methamphetamine, alcohol, or Internet gambling. The addict becomes conditioned to compulsively seek, crave and recreate the sense of elation while off-line or off-drug. Whether it’s knocking back a few whiskeys or betting on the horses, dopamine transmits messages to the brain’s pleasure centers causing addicts to want to repeat those actions – over and over again, even if the addict is no longer experiencing the original pleasure and is aware of negative consequences.

The mental reward stimulation of the dopamine system is a powerful pull that non-addicts feel as well. Studies of volunteers enrapt in addictive video games show that gamers continue to play on despite multiple attempts to distract them. The dopamine system allows them to tolerate noise and discomfort extremely well. Previous research has shown that both eating and sexual activity drive up dopamine levels. Even checking email can become a compulsive behavior that’s hard to stop.

It is not the technology itself that is addictive, but rather the specific application-of-choice. People can get hooked on Internet searching,online dating, Web shopping, porn sites, on-line gambling, or even checking their email. Even if you are not addicted to the Internet or any other technology, you may be struggling with its enticement. Ask yourself if this is an issue for you, a family member or friend, then consider what you can do to get help.

I’ve known her longer than any other friend – since the third grade. We may not jaw on the phone everyday, or even go out to dinner every month, but when we do get together we connect like no time has passed at all. We either laugh our heads off or cry our eyes out – sometimes both. There are no secrets too embarrassing to tell because we already know the unspeakable about each other.Childhood misadventures, college antics, dating fiascos, family woes, kid-raising traumas – nothing is secret between us. I cringe when I think of the horrid things she could tell my husband about me.

And now her husband has cancer. Not the friendly kind you can treat and live with for 30 years, but the pancreatic kind that makes your wife a widow in 12 weeks. But he’s already beaten the odds and lived through eight months of chemo. And they’re about to travel from Los Angeles to Baltimore to have the remaining tumor taken out by a surgeon who is world renowned in removing pancreatic tumors. When I heard they were schlepping there, I remember thinking that with all the fine doctors in Los Angeles, why would they turn their lives and their kids’ lives upside down by going to Baltimore for the surgery and recovery? She always was a little nutty…

Then came the call. “My friend Lilly was supposed to come, but something came up,” my friend said. Now no one was coming with them. No one would sit with her in the hospital and hold her hand and say it’s going to be okay. No one would go get her coffee and a candy bar too – what the hell. Her parents were dead and her brothers were “indisposed,” as were her husbands’ entire family. Other than their kids, she would be sweating it out in that hospital – across the nation – alone. Shit. “I’m coming,” I heard someone with my voice say. I looked around to make sure I’d heard that right. She was ecstatic, “Are you sure? Gary won’t mind? Can you take off work? Will your kids be okay? I can’t believe it! I need you so much! Thank you so much!”

There was no turning back. I booked a ticket to Baltimore. Blowing off work was a given. My daughter would have to drive my son around (which she hates) and my husband would have to figure out dinner for a few nights. But as the day approached, instead of dreading it, I found myself looking forward to it. I was glad I was going. I would get her more coffee and candy bars than she could swallow, dammit. Besides, if I didn’t go, I’d be calling non-stop anyway. And I’ve learned by now that some opportunities come up in life when putting yourself out there for someone else makes your own life more meaningful – if you can just recognize those moments in time. And if you don’t seize those opportunities, they’re gone forever – you may never get another chance to make things right with an elderly parent, or spend more time with your children while they’re young, or go to Baltimore to hold your friend’s hand.

And his surgery was a walloping success. They had to check the charts to make sure they had opened up the right patient because they could hardly see a dot on his pancreas. We all celebrated together when they told us he might outlive us all. And my friend and I had those candy bars and a bunch of champagne too. She needed me to share her joy and relief. And even if things had gone the other way, she would have needed me – even more. I was there. And I feel great.

“He stopped short, Mommy, right in front of me,” my daughter blurted through the phone. I knew from the moment she called me “Mommy” that something was up.

She continued, “I braked but I couldn’t stop…”

“And?” I was forced to ask.

“We had an accident.” She croaked, her voice breaking into a sob.

“Was anybody hurt?” I asked, concerned.

“No,” she replied. “You know I love you.”

“So, you rear-ended the guy,” I said, getting angry. “What was he driving?”

“A taxi,” she managed to get out through her victimized whaling. “Can we talk about it when I get home? I’m on my way.”

My mind was spinning with the possible dollar amounts my insurance might go up now that my 17 year-old had been at fault in an accident. Goodbye Louboutan shoes, goodbye… I’ll be too old to wear you when this is over.

When Rachel got home she had a renewed sense of confidence, “I got his information, Mom, and I took pictures with my phone!” Unfortunately, she had only taken down the other drivers’ first name and phone number, and the photos were of her car, not his.

“Rachel, honey, we have your car. We know the damage. It’s the other guy’s car we need the photo of to make sure he doesn’t damage it worse after your accident.” Her slight nod and faraway look gave me slim hope that she understood. Raising a teenage daughter is definitely not mentioned in What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

Rachel told me that the damage to the taxi was almost nothing, so I decided to call the guy and see if we could settle this without involving insurance companies. He was more than happy to go that route. In fact, in the two hours since the accident, he claimed to have gotten three estimates on repairing his fender, the cheapest one being an even $500, which, of course, he insisted on receiving in cash if I wanted to keep my insurance company out of it.

My business manager faxed over a release she kept on file for clients with teenage drivers. She advised me to get the cabbie to sign the form before handing over the cash.

The drop point was set for the next day – Denny’s at noon, the back booth in the corner. I thought of wearing a fedora and a rose in my lapel, but my t-shirt didn’t have a lapel and I wasn’t sure anybody still sold fedoras.

I got to Denny’s early, and I was halfway through my pancakes when I spotted him approaching my booth. I knew immediately from his triumphant smirk that my daughter had been scammed. This guy must troll Westwood, stopping short in front of little college girls whose daddy’s would pay cash.

He sat down and asked for the money. He was surprised when I pulled out the release form and said “Why does it have to be so complicated? Why not just say your girl hit me, you paid $500, and you will never sue me?”

“Because I am paying you. You’re the one that has to agree not to sue me.” I said exasperated.

“No, no, no,” he said. “You could come back in ten months and sue my company for injuries.

“Fine,” I said. Forget the money I have in my purse and just go. Call my insurance company and have a good time doing it. Goodbye.” I went back to my pancakes and tried not to look at him to see if he was going call my bluff.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “Just write on that paper that you won’t sue me either.” I flipped both of our copies over and wrote that we wouldn’t pursue any litigation against him. He was satisfied and we both signed. I gave him the money and expected him to leave, but that’s when he went into a diatribe: “You know your girl hit me hard. She didn’t put on her brakes. She pushed me into traffic. And worst of all, my back has been hurting ever since.”

I had to control my laughter. He sure picked a strange time to start complaining – after we had just signed full releases. Luckily my phone rang and I told him I had to take it, goodbye. He left quickly, probably to go out and troll for his next mark.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Hi, Mommy?” my daughter asked.

“Yes…” I said with trepidation.

“You know I love you…” she said.

Like most people, I find it incredibly annoying when I recognize a face but can’t remember the name that goes with it. The problem only gets worse as we age. Research has found that approximately 85 percent of middle-aged and older adults share this frustrating memory challenge.

A very common reason we have trouble remembering people’s names – sometimes only seconds after being introduced – is that we are not paying attention in the first place. Fortunately, for those of us who take solace in being “good with faces,” there are many easy strategies to improve our ability for remembering names.

I find it helpful to repeat the person’s name during an initial conversation, or to comment on how the person reminds me of someone else I know with the same name. If a person has a complicated name, I ask them to spell it – sometimes just visualizing an image of the name spelled out will fix it into my memory. If I repeat the name when saying good-bye, that also makes it easier to remember later. To get the information into our memory banks, we need to rehearse it to some extent.

But the most effective method for remembering names and faces uses three basic memory skills I call: LOOK, SNAP, CONNECT. First, make sure you really take the time to focus on the name (LOOK). Then, creates mental snapshots (SNAP), visual images of the name and the face. Finally, CONNECT the name snap with the face snap by creating additional images so you can easily retrieve the information later.

Here’s how it works: to create a visual snapshot or SNAP for the face, pick out a facial feature that may be easy to remember. Look at the person’s face and search for the most distinguishing feature, whether it is a small nose, large ears, unusual hairdo, or deep dimples. Often the first outstanding feature you notice is the easiest to recall later.

To create the name SNAP, note that all names can be placed into two groups: those that have meaning and invoke visual images, and those that don’t. Names like Katz, Brooks, Carpenter, Bishop, Siegel, White, or Silver all have a meaning that can bring an image to mind. When I meet Mr. Siegel, I think of a sea gull, and I see a couple of cats playing together to help me remember Mrs. Katz. When I meet a Bill for the first time, I might see a dollar bill. A Democrat might instead first see our former president, Bill Clinton. Meeting Ms. Lincoln might make you think of a Lincoln Continental automobile, or the Lincoln Memorial.

Other names that have no immediate meaning may require additional mental effort to remember, but the names or the syllables and sounds within them can be associated to a substitute name or sound that does have meaning. By linking these substitute words together, you can create a visual image that works. For example, the name George Waters could be remembered through an image of a gorge with a stream of water rushing through it. The word or syllable substitutes do not need to be exact. Frank Kaufman could become a frankfurter being eaten by a coughing man. I sometimes see a famous person with the same name. So Angela Shirnberger becomes Angelina Jolie wearing shined shoes and eating a burger.

In the final step, you merely CONNECT, in your mind’s eye, the name to the face by creating a mental image involving both of your visual snapshots: the SNAP for the distinguishing facial feature and the SNAP for the name. If Mrs. Beatty has prominent lips, her face snap might be her lips and her name snap might be Warren Beatty. CONNECT them by visualizing Warren Beatty kissing her on the lips (but don’t tell Annette Bening). The images and substitute words don’t have to be perfect – just close enough to jog your memory. The process of thinking up the images and making the connections will usually fix them into memory so you never have to forget a name or face again.

I was savoring my ritual cappuccino across the street from my dentist’s office as I did every time I went there, when this incredibly handsome young guy sat down two tables over. Our eyes met and he smiled seductively. I practically choked on my biscotti. I could have sworn I knew him from somewhere… But it wasn’t the gym… He sipped his sparkling water and gave me a little wave. I felt myself blushing like a teenager. Where the heck could I know him from? He was so young. And I have been married a long time.

Oh my God, I thought, as he started to walk over. Could this amazing hunk possibly be hitting on me? Ridiculous. No way! I could be his mother. Thank God in heaven I just had my teeth cleaned.

He grinned broadly and said, “Hi! Remember me?!” I was at a complete loss. I was definitely going to have my memory checked. He went on, “I’m Andy!” Andy Carter!” Carter… Carter… from the tennis club? He continued, “I was on your son’s basketball team in middle school.” I sat there frozen with an absurd smile on my face and a sudden urge to evaporate into thin air.

Age reminders happen to everyone at some point. It could be as simple as the appearance of a single grey hair, the first time someone calls you “ma’am,” or perhaps walking into a room and forgetting the reason why. None of us can stop time, but we can slow down the aging effects – and sometimes even reverse them. Can anyone here spell BOTOX?

A mere 100 years ago, people were lucky to live beyond the age of 40. Now, modern medical science is striving to keep us alive well into our nineties and beyond, and most people say they want to live as long as possible. But who wants to live to be 100 without their health, vitality, and faculties intact? And frankly, who wants to look 90, when you can be taken for a strapping 84? That’s where lifestyle choices come in. The key to healthy longevity, according to UCLA aging specialist Dr. Gary Small, is to keep it all together – our brains, our bodies, and our attitudes.

For our brains, he suggests keeping them young and agile with puzzles and other challenges such as learning a foreign language or taking up a new hobby like painting. For our bodies, it’s the old ‘use it or lose it’ theory – a 10 to 20 minute walk each day is enough to keep the cardiovascular system in shape. Of course, more is better. And attitude, well, it’s like the old Jefferson Airplane lyric, “You’re only pretty as you feel.”