Hope we see you there!

This year, which I believe is most talented season ever, is somewhat different in that the producers did not limit their usual restriction to 6 of each gender; rather it was talent related. I do think some of those who did not make it through were good enough to be on the show but still those selected are goo.  I started out loving Danny Gokey, still do and think he will do well. Lil Rounds is a disappointment. She dresses the part but her singing is not what it should be. I think she lost herself along the way.

Kris Allen, Matt and Allison are really good and don’t seem to get the fan support they should. Still I don’t think it matters; I think each of them will get music contracts. The surprise to me is Adam Lambert. I actually like him both funky and softer style. Last night, he blew me away. Thankfully, youtube always comes through so I can provide the video for you.

So do you watch Idol? Why? Thoughts?

Our team recently wrote a book coming out this July, Old is the New Young, Erickson’s Secrets to Healthy Aging. The authors did a whole segment on the brain and memory with a test for your memory. More about that to come soon. But I took a comment from the book that dispels the myths about the aging brain: “healthy aging brains may have essentially the same number of neurons as younger brains, although some larger neurons may decrease. These neurons can only multiply forty to sixty times before tiring out forever and they tend to regenerate at a slower rate than other cells”.

What exactly causes the changes in your brain function, like memory loss, as you age? The most recent research points to changes in the efficiency of your brain’s chemical connections. In addition, amounts of certain brain chemicals may also decrease, affecting your processing speed. But ALL of us, no matter what age, sometimes just have too much on our minds and we don’t focus. That is why there are times we just don’t remember where keys are, or where we are going. This is usually very transient or temporary and within minutes we remember.

There is another condition where memory loss can occur that lasts longer but is not necessarily permanent. We did a feature article on this in our monthly newsletter, The Erickson Tribune. If you don’t receive this, you can find it on line at www.EricksonTribune.com , look up the Your Health Section to find out more. I have excerpted some of the April issue article on Transient Amnesia here:

“Most people think memories are made on vacations and family reunions, but if you ask a neurologist, memories are made in the frontal and temporal areas of the brain. Because memory involves so many interwoven brain functions, virtually any type of damage or disease anywhere in your brain can cause amnesia.

“Amnesia is memory loss,” says James L. Bicksel, M.D., a neurologist in McLean, Va. “When you form a new memory, there’s a particular neurological circuit [chain of events] that happens. If that doesn’t take place, you won’t remember anything. If the brain is in the process of making memories and something interrupts it, the memory doesn’t fully get made,” says Bicksel.

“If you have a head injury, concussion, stroke, or seizure, it’s common to not remember the five or ten minutes before that because the memory of it was never properly formed,” he continues.

Symptom or sickness?
“Amnesia can be a symptom of a number of different conditions,” says Mary Gonzalez, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., B.C., mental health specialist at Ann’s Choice, a community by Erickson in Warminster, Pa. “It can be caused by migraines, seizures, or a transient ischemic attack.”

Also known as a warning stroke or mini stroke, a transient ischemic attack (TIA) occurs when a blood clot temporarily clogs an artery and part of the brain doesn’t get the blood it needs. A TIA produces stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. However, TIAs can be important predictors of stroke, so you should not ignore them.

“Amnesia may be seen in people with epilepsy,” says Austin Welsh, M.D. “Seizure activity blocks the making of any new memories in the brain.” With seizures, there is a loss of oxygen. With a loss of oxygen, you won’t make memories. Transient epileptic amnesia is a medical condition that involves a mix of anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

“Amnesia can also be seen in people with severe emotional trauma—people who have lived through a war or witnessed horrific things,” says Welsh. Dissociative amnesia, also called psychogenic amnesia, can be triggered by a stressful life event. The memories are buried deep within the person’s mind and cannot be recalled.

“With psychogenic amnesia, people have made a memory of the event, but with transient global amnesia, memories are never imprinted. They just aren’t there,” says Gonzalez.

Frightful, yet harmless
Each year transient global amnesia (TGA) affects about 23 of 100,000 Americans over age 50. TGA is a sudden, temporary loss of memory that cannot be attributed to a more common neurological condition—such as a head injury, epilepsy, TIA, or stroke. On average, TGA lasts between four and eight hours and resolves within 24 hours.2

About half of all TGA starts just after a physically or emotionally stressful incident. Among the triggering events commonly reported are sudden immersion in cold or hot water, strenuous physical activity, sexual intercourse, medical procedures, or emotional distress. If you have migraines, your risk of TGA is significantly higher than someone without migraines.

“When transient global amnesia happens, people suddenly can’t form new memories and can’t remember where they were. People will feel confused and ask questions like, ‘What am I supposed to be doing today?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ Usually, it only happens one time in a person’s life. Less than 25% of people will have a recurrence,” explains Bicksel.

If you or someone you love suddenly can’t remember basic things, you should see a doctor immediately.

I am on Facebook also. I found 2 former college friends and 2 former high school friends. Maybe the rest are dead. Maybe they just aren’t into Facebook. I don’t go to Facebook everyday but like the wall writing and pictures. Oprah had a show on Facebook and has her own page; I joined as a “fan”, no friends. Mark Consuelos was on and said he wanted more friends so I found him and sent him a message to join his friends. He never responded. I guess I wasn’t the type of friend he was looking for….who knows?

Since reading the story on MSNBC that a “few million “seniors are on Facebook, I have decided to go back today to search for more of my friends. Of course, I will wait till after work is over!

Seriously though, social networking is a great way for people who cannot get out to stay socially engaged. A new Swedish study shows that people who are socially active and not easily stressed may be less likely to develop dementia. We will be reporting on that study in the June issue of the Erickson Tribune.

 Here is the story from MSNBC: “Grandpa Added You as a Friend
Computer savvy seniors are not just getting online to read the daily news or send email to family and friends. They are also discovering social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace, which their grandchildren and children are using to share pictures and interests. Facebook estimates that it has a few million users over the age of 65, while MySpace has approximately 6.7 million. Seniors see social networking as a way to check up on their grandkids and occupy their free time, including restless nights. Younger generations have accepted older family members being online, as it gives them a way to learn things they might not have otherwise known about them, like where or how their grandparents met, their stories about war or what their pastimes and passions are. Although there are some preservations about seniors seeing things online that might be offensive or surprising, they seem to be in general agreement: “At my age, nothing shocks me!” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29619075/  “

Recently one of our health reporters for the Erickson Tribune did a story on Sinus issues. Elizabeth Janney is the author and I am reprinting some of the article here for those of you who are among this elite group (don’t you love it when people give a good name to a bad problem?) of sinus sufferers.

Pockets in the face: Turning sinusitis inside outOften we don’t notice something until it breaks. Or, in the case of the sinuses, until they clog. Sinuses are air-filled pockets within the bones of the face. Nobody knows for sure why we have them, but there are several speculations. “The most commonly accepted theory is that the sinuses act as a protective barrier for the brain against facial trauma,” says Amber Luong, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of otorhinolaryngology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “It is also thought that the sinuses serve as a chamber for vocal vibrations. They may contribute to the humidification and warming of inhaled air too. In addition, they can serve as a buffer from rapid temperature change between inhaled air and sensitive structures like the tooth roots. Finally, the sinuses may reduce the weight of the front of the skull.”

 
Stopped up: Sinusitis occurs when the lining of the nose swells. The inflammation could be the result of allergies, irritants (e.g., smoke), dental infections, growths in the nose, or the common cold. Once the lining has swelled, mucus—which coats and protects the sinuses and nasal cavity—has a hard time traveling through the sinuses.  “Normally, we produce quite a bit of mucus, but we don’t notice it because it drains,” says David Hauswirth, M.D., assistant professor in the division of allergy medicine at Ohio State University in Columbus. “When the drain gets blocked, it can be a setup for an infection.”

The major symptoms of sinusitis are thick nasal discharge that is yellow or green; facial congestion, heaviness, pressure, or pain; decreased sense of smell/taste; and impaired ability to breathe through the nose. Other signs are bad breath, headache, ear pain, fatigue, cough, and dental pain. “Often a person’s upper teeth will hurt because the sinuses in the cheek become inflamed and infected, so they bump up against the top teeth,” says Hauswirth.
New research has also shown that some aches and pains can be attributed to sinusitis.

“Bodily pain is not listed as a symptom of chronic sinusitis in general medical texts, and as a result, patients are sometimes diagnosed with unrelated conditions like arthritis or depression,” says Alexander Chester, M.D., clinical professor at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “We found [in a comprehensive study] that the daily experience of bodily pain was much more common in people with sinusitis than in the overall population. Confirmation that aches and pains occur with sinusitis is a relief to many people who thought they had two separate illnesses.”

Getting a diagnosis: Since the symptoms can be attributed to many other problems, how do doctors pinpoint sinusitis? “Right now, sinusitis is still a clinical diagnosis, meaning we talk to people, we get the symptoms, and we decide,” Hauswirth says. People who think they may have sinusitis should be prepared to describe what is going on and how long they have been experiencing symptoms. “Usually after seven days of having a stuffy nose, we consider sinusitis,” says Erickson Health physician Shaveta Kotwal, M.D.

In addition to listening to the account of the problem, the physician may use a small nasal telescope to see inside the person’s nose. In some cases, a computerized tomographic scan (CT scan) of the nose and sinuses may be necessary.

Sinus relief
“We typically treat the symptoms with nasal saline and decongestants, Tylenol, antihistamines, and nasal steroids,” says Kotwal. “If symptoms aren’t getting better once a week has passed, we start people on antibiotics. Antibiotics are usually given for 10 to 12 days, and that should make it better.”

People who have sinusitis and are waiting out the pain may want to reconsider. “If it is not treated and it doesn’t get better, there can be complications,” says Kotwal. “It can spread to the bone and the rest of the face, killing tissues there. It can also spread to the skull area, causing meningitis. If symptoms don’t get better within a week, people should go to the doctor.”

Clear out your sinuses at home
° Blow your nose
° Inhale steam
° Drink six to eight glasses of water a day
° Use a saline nasal wash

Kanye West: Sings well, nice looking guy. But why does he wear his pants down on his butt (tush, rear end) with a towel hanging down? Is the towel to be used in case of a mishap with excrement? DId you see him on Idol last night? What was he thinking? New trend? A true meshuga syndrome? Though for the life of me could not find a photo with his pants down and his backside towel to post here (maybe there’s a reason for that)

Bernard Madoff and wife: Suffering from MEGA Meshuga Syndrome complicated by a severe dose of greed and pomposity leading to terminal ending. What was he thinking? and his wife has almost 70 million bucks put away that was hers? Spare me. Launch the Meshuga police and put them both away. Take her money and give it back to those they stole from.

Michael Steele: no superman here. A man who suffers from Meshuga Syndrome complicated by delusions of grandeur who would trade integrity to become the Uncle Tom of the RNC and demonstrate his ability to be a chameleon at best. No truth, no substance, no back bone,  meshuga(in my humble opinion).

Chris Brown: I would say what was he thinking but its beyond thinking, its raw emotion and inablity to control that emotion. He, in my opinion, suffers from Meshuga Syndrome in its very worst sense.

Octomom and most especially her doctor both suffer from Mesghuga syndrome. All the children should be exempt from this constant barage of garbage. They are innocent and we should all pray that they have all they need to grow up healthy and happy.

I could list a boatload of political pundits and others; but I grow weary. So got a nomination for the Meshuga Syndrome Award? Come on, tell us…who and why, you can do it!

I am very impressed with the rate of response President Obama has created since just after the election. I don’t recall any president working as hard as quickly as he. I applaud him and his efforts and ultimately I believe we will all be okay. But the push to get information out in government speak is a little much for me (don’t worry, I will share the overload with you). I have a much simpler plan of action to get the economy going.

Here’s what I think we should do: first, buy stocks.  Yes, buy stocks. Banks, especially big ones are not going away. And for a buck a share, if you buy $50 worth, you invest in their futures and when they go back up, and they will, you will have a nice nest egg.

Next, buy something. Yes I know times are tough but in most places, with most things, it’s a buyers market. So name your price and buy something you NEED. But buy something. Show you have confidence in the US and in President Obama. Use coupons but buy something, anything. It may keep someone from losing their job. And it will help to raise the consumer confidence index or whatever those super egoes use to tell us how bad things are. Let’s fool them. Let’s do something dramatic and screw up their predictions. I know the stimulus plan will work. Take advantage of its contents. But act now to start making a difference.

I contributed this weekend. I bought 2 pari of shoes at Payless and bought a couple items at Target.You know, I am starting to feel better already. Who needs Dancing with the Stars? Who needs American Idol? Let’s unite to show we, the people, have the power to make change (and didn’t we start that in November?).

I am sure there are many of you who think I have lost my mind. Maybe you are right. Would love to prove you wrong.

Ok, so now, let me give you some information sites to enable the sharing of overload to all:

The Congressional Research group is out in force publishing info today. Here is just some of that:

Have a 401K? Want to know what adjustments are being made as result of economic downturn? The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008: An Overview
January 29, 2009 :”In December of 2008, Congress unanimously enacted the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) (P.L. 110-455), which makes several technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-280) and contains provisions designed to help pension plans and plan participants weather the current economic downturn. “

Here’s some more light reading :Lawmakers incorporated the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1), the economic stimulus bill that the President signed into law on February 17, 2009 (P.L. 111-5). The HITECH Act is intended to promote the widespread adoption of health information technology (HIT) to support the electronic sharing of clinical data among hospitals, physicians, and other health care stakeholders

Yet More: The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit: An Economic Analysis
+ Social Security Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
+ Tax Cuts on Repatriation Earnings as Economic Stimulus: An Economic Analysis
+ Small Business Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
+ Troubled Asset Relief Program and Foreclosures
+ Preserving Homeownership: Foreclosure Prevention Issues
+ Proposed Funding for Workforce Development in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009
+ Causes of the Financial Crisis
+ Financial Market Intervention
+ Economic Stimulus: Issues and Policies
+ Funding for Education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5)

You can find links to the above, courtesy of Docuticker

If you decide to take a break during all this reading, you could buy some coffee at Starbucks, or just buy a share of stock (about the same price these days).

Let’s deal with American Idol first. I used to really love that show as the epitomy of a “so-called nobody” becoming a big talent (those with talent but no access to star achieving success). Over the years, like some of us, it has become the same old, same old. And its manipulative processes to achieve what the rulers (producers, judges) want, is so obvious now. It sort of represents what Wall Street CEOs tried to achieve…..money, notoriety, fame, etc, but with less negative connotation. The judges and producers have made a fortune off the winners (and losers). Maybe they have become corrupted too.  Its not the same and even with the so-called return of the wild card episode, the manipulative manufacturing of promotion of people the show wants to win, is overpowering what the show was at its finest. Alas, to me and millions of others, it is no more the feel good show. Instead it has become an example of what happens when people get greedy and feel omnipotent. It has become the symbol of Wall Street and all that is bad within our current economy/politics. They are losing viewers. Their demographics were wide in the beginning with the over 40 crowd dominating now. Maybe they no longer want to appeal to both youth and those in the over 55 crowd; maybe they think we no longer have disposable income to spend on CDS or on their advertisers (Coke and Ford, primarily).  Still they are holding on to a significant share of viewers with other shows beginning to catch up or hold their own against Idol.

For me, I have switched to Biggest Loser, a true feel good show that demonstrates commitment to healthy living with real people. Is there drama, sure. Is there product placement that drives me crazy since it give crediblity to products by their mere placement in the actual show. But the people on the show, the real people (like Idol performers used to be, though now they are in the minority with former record label wannabees taking over), are relateable, as are the hosts and trainers. Not so on Idol.

So now, let’s transition to some FUN! You should spend some time laughing each day. Laughing produces a chemical in your body that literally makes you feel better. And it’s really good for you. So here’s some fun sites to visit and smile/laugh at….feel free to add your own.

I read the Mashable blog and some of these were attained through that blog. Here is a feel good site (providing you like animals) http://www.cuteoverload.com/. If you get bored and are looking for some easy to view/read humor, try bored.com. Here’s a sample: Old assets never die, they just depreciate
Old astronauts never die, they just go to another world
Old bakers never die, they just lose their dough
Old bankers never die, they just lose interest.
Old bankers never die, they just want to be a loan
Old businesses never die, they just get consolidated
Old butchers never die, they just meat somewhere else

Old computer people never die, they just lose their memory
Old computer programmers never die, their computers have fatal errors
Old computer programmers never die, they just byte the dust
Old editors never die, they just go out of print
Old hypochondriacs never die, they just imagine it
It goes on and on and on……………………!

There is more to come. But for now, I have to actually get back to my real job!