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.

About Boomers Brigade

The term Boomers has become the "politically correct" generic term for Senior Citizens, ergo the name of the blog. Its intent is to provide interesting and informative articles that are of special interest to older Americans.
I am currently in the process of fine tuning the template and the style of data presented therein, so be patient. I'm also trying to fine tune the content of the articles, eg. sale items, free items, medical related articles and the like.
I will try desperately to stay away from politics since we seem to be getting a 24/7 overload of the stuff.
Frank J. Boll

"The Cheapskate" - CNET Money Savings News

The Best Money-saving Tips Of 2012 From "The Cheapskate"
2012 was hellish in a lot of ways, but it was a good year for saving money.
Indeed, as any regular reader of The Cheapskate or CNET's Marketplace knows, you could count on finding a good deal -- often a great deal -- pretty much every single day.
Of course, some of the best money-saving advice applies all year round, not just on a particular day. With that in mind, I've rounded up some of my favorite thrifty tips from 2012. (It probably goes without saying that most of them will work just as well in 2013.)

Rich Broida writes one of my favorite Daily Deals blog about tech gear called "The Cheapskate", and I thought I would share his latest post with you.
The deals, and discussions of bargain can sometimes get quite technical, so his blog is generally not recommended for the uninitiated. This particular blog is very generic, and therefore helpful for Boomers who don't usually shop for technical deals.
Although I gave up being a 'road warrior' many years ago and only use a low tech cell phone, I found the reference to budget smart phones very helpful.
Enjoy!

UK To End Doctor's Office Visits

End Of The Doctor's Surgery | UK News Express

A BID to save nearly £3billion by slashing appointments with a doctor and treating patients via computer will put lives at risk, ministers were warned.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is planning a technological revolution that could spell the end of the traditional doctor’s surgery.

A new system of “virtual clinics” is being planned in which GPs connect with patients via iPads and Skype, an idea that NHS bosses are importing from India.
The reforms would save £2.9billion “almost immediately” and improve the lives of most patients, for example by avoiding the need to find child care during appointments, Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said last week.

I ran across this article in one of the online UK papers that I read from time to time. I like to see what's going on in Europe, because I've found that generally we follow suite on many of their "social experiments." With all of the discussions on health care that we've had recently, I'm sure that the coming year will be focused on the cost of implementation of the new laws. Cost saving measures will have to enter any discussion of funding.

Agree or not, the UK plan to use "virtual office visits" is certainly a viable way to cut costs on many levels. For the physicians; smaller staff, less office space requirements, more efficient use of time, all add up to cost savings. For the patients, it saves commuting costs, parking fees, office waits, etc. As an added benefit, the "visit" is conducted in the relaxed and comfortable environment of the patients home. This removes anxiety and stress from the whole process.

What is lost is the personal doctor/patient relationship.
Maybe.
In urban areas, more and more people are using the services of Teaching Colleges and large Cooperative Medical Practices which are not conducive to personal interaction. These facilities rely heavily upon mechanization, and factory like efficiency to move a patient from doctors exam to blood test, X-Ray, and CTScan units. Their main thrust is through-put, not "bed side manner."
I'm not passing judgement on whether this type of medical care is a good thing or not, I'm just trying to put the Skype "virtual office visit" into perspective. I do, however, think that this type of care is the future of modern medicine, and that the days of Marcus Welby M.D. are long gone.
    

To find out more information about how to set up Skype for conferencing between computers, click on this highly informative link:
Use Skype To Connect With Grandchildren

DIY White Castle Hamburgers

White Castle Sliders - A How To From The Big Red Kitchen:
Long before Himself and children, my roommate Sara and I would make the trek to White Castle’s for some sliders or Gut Busters as we liked to call them. Piping hot and smelling so good we could down two or three before our brain knew what was happening and made us slow down. Kinda like Krispie Kreme Hot and Nows. Those days are far away and so is the nearest White Castle, therefore I have resorted to making my own. I have tried the frozen kind but I prefer fresh.

Belly Bombs, Gut Busters, WC's, Greasers, or what ever you called them, this recipe link is for you.
As soon as I found this recipe, I emailed it to everyone I knew who didn't live next to a White Castle "hamburger joint". The response was overwhelming thanks. White Castles tend to invoke that kind of reaction. We've all eaten them at one time or another, and although we refer to them with unflattering names, we love them.

I lived in New York for most of my life, and North Carolina is the first area I've lived in where there wasn't a WC within striking distance.
I bought my first microwave for the sole purpose of heating up frozen Belly Bombs that I used to buy in Lynbrook L.I. (next town over from Valley Stream). My apartment in Woodside Queens had one on the corner, and two within a 5min. drive. When I lived at home in Bayside (also in Queens) we had one which was a good stretch of the legs, but I was young at the time, so it was a Nothing Burger (pun intended).

Try the recipe, and share the results with your friends. 
I enjoyed them, but a few of my uninitiated southern neighbors are still complaining of "heartburn." What a bunch of Wusses.  

It's Been A Long Time

Over the years I have avoided joining in on the "Social Media" craze of  Twitter, Face Book, and LinkedIn because I thought they were a silly waste of time and effort. As a matter of fact I still do. However, life plays tricks on you when you least expect it, and sometimes makes you do things you normally wouldn't do.


Case in point -
I just received an email request from an old friend of mine inviting me to connect with him on LinkedIn (what ever the hell that meant). It turned out that the only way to add any comments, recommendations or referrals to his profile, was for me to establish a LinkedIn account of my own. Against my better judgement I forged ahead and created an account.
While building my profile I found a spot to add my Blogs and Web Sites.
As I added Boomers Brigade to the list I realized I hadn't posted in over two years, so I figured this would be a good time to bring the old blog back to life again. I've always enjoyed posting here, and regret that I ever let the blog lapse.

As I said, life plays tricks on you when you least expect it, and sometimes makes you do things you normally wouldn't do.

Micro Car Museum

An Amazing Collection Of Micro Cars On Display:

What is a "MICROCAR"? The Museum Collection is primarily focused on Microcars in the late 1940's- pre-1964 range with Engine sizes of 700cc or less (many are 250cc and 50cc) and 2 doors or less.

This is a must see Web Site for all those Boomers who are interested in old cars.
When I was young I remember seeing some of these tiny cars (Issetta and Honda S600 comes to mind) but I never realized the history behind them or their engineering significance.

Be sure to check out both the Virtual Tour and the Videos links, they are incredible. The pictures may bring back some memories, although some of the cars were very rare and only produced in Europe.
Enjoy!

Your Technical Survival Kit Survey - LifeHacker

What's in Your Awesome Backpacks: 
"Earlier this week, we asked you what's in your backpack? You shared, and here are five that we thought were pretty great.


With so many bags we couldn't include them all but aimed for a variety, so be sure to check out the Original Post post to see them all. What were some of the most popular items in your bags? Laptops, phones, MP3 players, flash drives/hard drives, notebooks, writing implements, reading materials, snacks, condoms, and keys—but everyone had their own personal touch, like the following five bags:"

I ran across this article while browsing one of my favorite web sites LifeHacker, and thought it would be as interesting to you as it was to me. It's amazing the amount of things today's Road Warriors carry in their "back packs." The pictures in the article are a story in and of themselves.

Although I'm retired, and don't do the dreaded daily commute any more, I still carry a fully loaded Timbuk2 Messenger Bag (pictured above) around with me. I use it for volunteer work, library visits, and general appointments that require me to sit around and wait for any length of time. I fill the TB2 with the same type of goodies I used to carry on a daily basis for work, the the LIRR round trip, and business travel.
Determined to be on the correct side of the Digital Divide, I've replaced my Day Runner with a NetBook, and added some more modern technical goodies like a Digital Camera, Cell Phone, and the ubiquitous spare batteries, cables, chargers, etc. needed to support them.

I must admit that after reading the article I'm tempted to upgrade to a Back Pack, but knowing me I'll only put more junk in it. I also think my 66 year old back would strenuously object to the added load.

Since we Boomers don't carry around Back Packs, the question becomes:
What's Your Daily Tote, and What Do You Carry In It?

Internet hoaxes - TechRepublic.com

Top 10 sites to debunk Internet hoaxes | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com:
"Has this ever happened to you? You’re busy working on an intense project when someone in the company excitedly forwards you one of those stupid urban legend chain mail spams asking if it is true. Or worse, they simply forward it to everyone in the company without checking with you first."

Although this article originates from a technical newsletter put out by TechRepublic, I thought the Boomers out there would enjoy the Debunk Tips.
It is well written and despite the fact that it starts out referring to IT procedures, once it gets into the 10 choices of debunking web sites it's POE (Plain Old English) reading from there on.

Block A Number From Calling Your Cellphone

What's the Best Way to Block a Number from Calling My Cellphone?:

"Dear Lifehacker,
I'm receiving tons of unwanted calls per day. My carrier suggests that I change my number, but I don't want to do that. Is there anything else I can do?

Signed,
Endless Ringing"

Lifehacker comes to the rescue again.

In the old days, when I worked for the phone company, we used to get customer complaints like this all the time. I can't tell you how many times I would refer cases to the Annoyance Call Bureau for resolution. Then, it was only an annoyance, now it costs you money.

Today there are better solutions. Try Lifehacker's suggestions to end your unwanted cell phone calls.
Worst case scenario, you will be introduced to Google Voice which is a great product in and of itself.

Food For Emergencies

The Top Foods You Should Keep In Case Of An Emergency:

"Fueling your body during an emergency is very different from your everyday diet. Because you’ll probably expend more energy than you normally would, you should eat high-energy, high-protein foods. And because you have a limited supply, the higher-quality foods you eat--and the less of them--the better. “In a disaster or an emergency you want those calories,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University . “You want some nutrients and some fiber—something to keep your diet normal.”"

Between Hurricane Season, the Mexican Invasion, The War Between The States, and Global Financial Collapse, I thought this article would be of great interest to you all.