Aging Baby Boomers Becoming Roommates

First there was Felix-and-Oscar. There were The Golden Girls. Such arrangements--adults living with adult roommates--are about to get less comic and more common, say experts on housing and on the aging of the Baby Boom.

Rachel Caraviello, vice president of Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA), says that nationally there are about 130,000 households where the cohabiters are aged 50 or older, and where they have no familial relationship or romantic connection.
Caraviello views these arrangements as one more manifestation of the “sharing economy”.  Here, one party typically is house-rich but cash-poor; and the other has money or services to contribute.
(Original Article)

I was a little taken back by the tone of this article. The author seems to be of the opinion that unrelated adults sharing living expenses is a new phenomenon, peculiar to today's economy.
I remember a time when it was very common for friends and acquaintances to pool their resources so as to live a more comfortable life. Most of my friends who moved out of their parents house after High School or College had apartments with roommates to offset the cost of rent and utilities. It was also a way for them to enjoy a kind of extended family and ease the transition to adulthood.
As a Yuppie, it was also de rigueur for a group of friends to rent a ski house for the winter, and then later "Summer in The Hamptons."

Is the author out of touch with what goes on in the real world, or is it me?
Your thoughts?.
  

This Website Compares All the Different Phone and Carrier Combinations for You

WhistleOut.com

For the average Boomer out there, it’s next to impossible to keep up with everything that is going on right now in the Cell Phone industry.
Luckily, you don’t have to.

 A brand new website called WhistleOut that just launched allows users to find the best available plans from every big U.S. wireless carrier. According to the site, nearly 80,000 different wireless plan combinations are stored in its data base for comparison.

You start by selecting the number of lines on your account and then choosing a phone model. There’s also a separate cellphone finder tool, in case you’re having trouble choosing a handset.
Next, you input how many voice minutes you use each month on average, as well as how many messages you send and receive and how much data you want. Finally, you can pick a target price range for monthly service, choose between prepaid or postpaid plans, and select your current carrier.
The result is a fantastic comparison of any and all service plans that might suit your needs from 16 different carriers.
WhistleOut is well-made and incredibly useful, and you can find it here.
(Original Article)

Naps Linked With Higher Risk Of Death

Middle-age and older adults who take daytime naps may be at increased risk of dying, a new study from England suggests.

In the study, people ages 40 to 79 who napped daily, for less than an hour, were 14 percent more likely to die over a 13-year period, compared to those who did not nap. Longer naps were linked with a higher risk: people whose daily naps lasted an hour or more were 32 percent more likely to die over the study period.

The findings held even after the researchers took into account many factors that could affect people's risk of death, such as their age, gender, body mass index (BMI), whether they smoked, how much they exercised, and whether they had certain pre-existing medical conditions (such as diabetes, cancer or asthma).
(Story Continues)

I was surprised at the conclusions of this study. I've taken naps on and off through out my adult life, and I'm still going strong at 70. Currently I take a nap in the early afternoon and it lasts anywhere from one nano second to 15 minutes; the average being 10 min. but who's counting.
Every time I see a dubious study like this, I always think of the old Woody Allen classic, Sleeper. The one where he wakes up after 200 years of suspended animation only to find out that greasy hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes are health food.
I have a feeling this study will be debunked over time too.

Feel free to post your "napping routine" along with any other comments you have on the subject.

Everyday products you're using wrong

Sure, the way you use Reynolds wrap, eat from a Chinese takeout box, chow down on Greek yogurt and pour ketchup totally works ... but this video is about to make you see things a bit differently.
Even though it's been floating around the net for a few days, I thought I'd share it with you just in case you missed it. Plus, it's been so long since I've embedded a video in one of my posts, I just had to see if I still knew how to do it.
Enjoy!

Exercise And Dementia

Exercise plays a 'significant role' in reducing risk of dementia, long-term study finds: (Original Article)

The Cardiff University study which began with 2,235 men from Caerphilly in 1979 found factors including diet and not smoking had an impact on preventing illnesses developing in older age. However exercise had the single biggest influence on dementia levels.
The researchers found the five factors that were integral to helping avoid disease were regular exercise, not smoking, low body-weight, healthy diet and low alcohol intake. People in the study who followed four of these had a 60% decline in dementia and cognitive decline rates, with exercise named as the strongest mitigating factor. They also had 70% fewer instances of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, compared with people who followed none of the factors.

Great article for all you Boomers who are worried about the dreaded "Senior Moments" becoming permanent. According to the study, it appears that a simple regiment of diet and exercise is the best way to keep physically fit and stay mentally healthy.

I wonder how many Pounds Sterling (£) Cardiff University spent on this study that only verifies something we already knew about our body. Just like a car, you have to regularly maintain it and take it out on to the expressway occasionally to "blow out the carbon."

I hope the article will inspire many of you to improve your quality of live by getting  out there and exercise on a regular basis.
Who knows, maybe you'll start remembering where you left your car keys.

Vitamins For Alzheimers

Vitamin B Could Stave Off Alzheimers Disease:
Elderly people could stave off Alzheimer's disease by taking Vitamin B supplements because they reduce brain shrinkage associated with the disease by up to 90 per cent, a study suggests.
Consuming vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid can lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid linked to shrinkage of the brain in conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

This article struck a chord with me, so I thought I would post it for my fellow Boomers.
I've been using vitamin supplements since I was a child, my mother started me on them because I was a fussy eater. I kept using them in adulthood because I never ate well balanced meals, and felt that they would augment my poor diet.
I took a lot of ribbing from friends and family who felt that vitamin supplements were "just pissing money down the drain." Well I proved them wrong. After many years of smoking, drinking, and carousing around, I have reached the ripe old age of 69. I passed my last physical with flying colors and I feel just fine. I do a 2 1/2 mile walk most mornings. I just loaded a Dual Boot Android-Linux Operating system on my test computer, and finished the daily crossword puzzle without a dictionary.

Now if I could only find my damn car keys.....................


   

Reuters Survey: Social Media Rudness

Friendships Cut Short On Social Media As People Get Ruder:
Rudeness and insults are cutting online friendships short with a survey on Wednesday showing people are getting ruder on social media and two in five users have ended contact after a virtual altercation.
As social media usage surges, the survey found so has incivility with 78% of 2,698 people reporting an increase in rudeness online with people having no qualms about being less polite virtually than in person.

This is a very interesting article that says a lot about today's society.
The rudeness described in the article spills over into our daily lives, at the mall, the supermarket and most evidently on the road.
My take on the issue is that people today are more like undisciplined children, never crossing the threshold into adulthood. Just like children, they seem to have no awareness of their surroundings, they act like five year old's who see something they want and run straight at it, totally unaware of anything in their path. They lack the social graces that are usually obtained as part of the maturing process from child, to teen, and finally adulthood.
Some of my friends call it "Arrested Development", others call it the "Me Generation." Whatever it is, there are a lot of people who are going to be in for a rude (pun intended) awakening when they are forced into adult hood by the impending economic collapse. 

Boomers Push Doctor-Assisted Dying

Boomers Push Doctor-Assisted Dying in End-of-Life Revolt - Bloomberg:
Claudia Burzichelli doesn’t want to die like her dad. Nine years ago, her father, already afflicted with Parkinson’s, killed himself with a gunshot to the head days after his release from a hospital where he had been treated for a heart attack.
Burzichelli, 54, now suffering from kidney and lung cancer, is haunted by her father’s violent death, even more so as she contemplates her own mortality. She hopes to find a more peaceful way to end her life, if it comes to that.
“On those days when I’ve struggled to breathe, when I think about the stresses on my family, I would hope that I might have more options than starving myself or taking my life in a violent way,” she told a panel of New Jersey lawmakers during a hearing in February on a bill to legalize assisted dying. “It comforts me to think there could be a process, a way to offer options that would not hurt my family.”

This is an idea whose time has come, and Boomers should start discussing the issue  honestly and openly.

I had a near miss with liver cancer (misdiagnosis, thankfully).  The first thing that came to my mind after I was told I had a cancerous tumor, was how to end it all quickly, and with dignity.
I spoke to quite a few friends, and none were surprised at my concerns about wanting to avoid a long drawn out terminal illness. Our conversations were very matter of fact, because all of us had loved ones who "died the long death", and no one wanted to go that way.
All of the discussed options were centered around "self induced exits". No thought was given to Doctor-Assisted EOL because apparently it's time had not come. People were still not comfortable with the negative images of a Dr. Kavorkian solution. Why, I don't know.
On the other hand guns, noose, going for a drive in the desert and never coming back, were all acceptable solutions.
Go figure.

Please read the article, mull it over in your mind, and most importantly, talk about it with your friends.
It truly is an idea whose time has come.

The Cost Of A New Hip

Availability of Consumer Prices From US Hospitals for a Common Surgical Procedures

We randomly selected 2 hospitals from each state (plus Washington, DC) that perform THA (Hip Replacement), as well as the 20 top-ranked orthopedic hospitals according to US News and World Report rankings. We contacted each hospital by telephone between May 2011 and July 2012. Using a standardized script, we requested from each hospital the lowest complete “bundled price” (hospital plus physician fees) for an elective THA that was required by one of the author's 62-year-old grandmother. In our scenario, the grandmother did not have insurance but had the means to pay out of pocket. We explained that we were seeking the lowest complete price for the procedure. When we encountered hospitals that could provide the hospital fee only, we contacted a random hospital affiliated orthopedic surgery practice to obtain the physician fee. Each hospital was contacted up to 5 times in efforts to obtain pricing information.
Results  Nine top-ranked hospitals (45%) and 10 non–top-ranked hospitals (10%) were able to provide a complete bundled price. We were able to obtain a complete price estimate from an additional 3 top-ranked hospitals (15%) and 54 non–top-ranked hospitals (53%) by contacting the hospital and physician separately. The range of complete prices was wide for both top-ranked ($12 500-$105 000) and non–top-ranked hospitals ($11 100-$125 798).
Conclusions and Relevance  We found it difficult to obtain price information for THA and observed wide variation in the prices that were quoted. Many health care providers cannot provide reasonable price estimates. Patients seeking elective THA (Hip Replacement) may find considerable price savings through comparison shopping.

This is truly an amazing article from The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) regarding how medical costs vary from hospital to hospital, and how difficult it is to get up front costs for procedures.
The bottom line, only 45% of the top-ranked hospitals and 10% of those randomly selected were able to provide such a price after five attempts each.
Worse, the range of the procedure in cost was from $11,100 to $125,798, with top-ranked hospitals neither being the low or high bids, but having representation near the endpoints of both (12,500 and 105,000.)
In any other sort of business this sort of price obfuscation and game-playing would either put the provider out of business or lead to criminal racketeering prosecution.  But it doesn't here, because we have all been "conditioned" to allow it.
I live in Durham, NC and Duke Medical Center has gone CAT Scan crazy; every doctor recommends one for the slightest ailment, and they are EXPENSIVE! Most people shrug when you bring the subject up, and they claim that "it's done to be on the safe side." I'm convinced that at worst it's a revenue generating tool, and at best a cost-shifting ruse.
Receiving a bill from any hospital these days is a nerve wracking experience because you have absolutely no idea as to what they billed you for or how much you have to pay.

Tech Myths | Life Hacker - Money

Six Common Tech Myths That Cost You Money
Ever scoff at someone for buying refurbished? Or found yourself dropping $40 on an HDMI cable? We all hear (and spread) tech myths to mostly harmless ends, but in some cases those myths end up costing you a lot of money. Here are a few of the worst offenders.
Technology myths spread through a number of channels. Perhaps it's as simple as a retailer pushing overpriced products, or it's the stigma of not buying something brand new. With that in mind, let's save some money and debunk the myths that steal your hard earned cash from your wallet.

It looks like I'm on a electronic gadget money saving roll. This time the savings tips are from a non-tech oriented zine called LifeHacker. Each of the Tech Myths are explained in easy to understand language, and can save you quite a bit of money over the course of the new year.
The beauty of LifeHacker articles is that they include reader input at the end. I've found that the comments can be just as informative as the article itself, so don't miss reading them.