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A New Gadget

I don't usually do much 'internet business' stuff on my blog, but you may have noticed this poor baby has gotten a little neglected while I pay closer attention to other pages on my website
http://www.productsandservices.com . A very good teacher that I have taken some classes from as I start my new life transition from brick and morter to cyberspace has developed a new course on blogging. (Hopefully help make mine more informative and better reading. LOL.)

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

  • The best blogging techniques.
  • How to get traffic to your blog.
  • How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free. Hopefully you'll be able to 'read' a difference here!

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Why Death Visits During The Holidays...

I think by the time you get to be my age, you have probably lost at least one friend or a relative sometime around the holidays. Personally, I always thought suicide rates were definitely up this time of year due to people getting so depressed and stressed. Not enough money for gifts, too many bills, loneliness, etc. The holidays have a way of accentuating all of these.

Some think it's due to the colder climate. Shoveling snow is definitely not a year round exercise!

Then there's always the alcohol related auto accidents resulting in highway deaths. All the holiday parties, people drinking more due to depression, etc. Although this time of year is know for excess food and alcohol, the following may surprise you. It did me.

1. National statistics show that suicides are actually lower during the holiday season, while deaths due to heart disease go up.

2. Climate has little if anything to due with death during this time of year. Dr. Robert A. Kloner, a cardiologist at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, and his research team examined L.A. County death records of 220,000 people who died of heart disease over a 12-year period. In a paper published in the journal Circulation, they reported that heart disease deaths were 33% higher in December and January than they were from June through September -- even in Southern California's consistently mild climate.

3. Despite the winter holidays' reputation for revelry, more people die on our nation's roads due to drinking and driving during summer holidays than during those during the colder months, according Dr. Michael Garr, associate professor of sociology at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Ironically, the holiday most noted for drinking -- New Year's -- has the smallest number of alcohol-related deaths at 61 in 2001. Thanksgiving and Christmas had significantly fewer deaths, too, only 77 and 81, respectively.

I find the information above so totally shocking compared to what we normally believe. Come to find out the biggest culprits in the Holiday Death Toll, may be ourselves and the very medical facilities we count on to save our lives. It turns out that during the holidays, besides the fact that we eat and drink too much and exercise less, we tend to put off going to the doctor for what ails us. We tend to get so busy and just figure we will visit our friendly M.D. after the holidays are over and things start slowing down. For many, that's too late.

We also have a tendency to have so many things on our minds, that many forget to take their medication. This can have dire consequences in some cases because many medications have to be discontinued a little at a time. Quitting medications all of a sudden can actually bring on the very thing they are meant to protect us from.

Due to the above and the consistent spike in deaths, doctors have labeled Christmas, the 26th and New Year's Day the "Holiday Effect" or "Merry Christmas Coronary" and "Happy New Year Heart Attack."

The second culprit according to studies, is the quality of care we get if we have to go to a hospital over the holidays. According to Duke University Medical Center researchers, heart attack patients admitted to U.S. hospitals during the winter holidays have higher mortality rates than those admitted during the rest of the year. The researchers found that during these holiday hospitalizations, patients were less likely to receive the same care they would normally receive if they were admitted any other time of the year. Patients were less likely to be prescribed aspirin as well as beta blockers at admission and/or at discharge. They also were less likely to receive major procedures necessary to open blockages, etc.

To make sure you're around long after singing "Auld Lang Syne" I offer up the following tips.

1). While holiday eating and drinking are especially pleasant this time of year, use some control and common sense, especially if you normally follow some special diet (low fat, low cholesterol, etc.). Don't use the holidays as an excuse to blow off your exercise program. With all the stress and busy-ness during this time of year, use it as "Me Time", giving yourself a chance to regroup.

2). If you are feeling bad or something is "out of whack" see your doctor. There is nothing so important to do this holiday season if you're not around to see another one.

3). Make sure to keep up with all medications. Enough said. I don't think the prescription said "take a break from these for as a Christmas Present". LOL.

4.) If you're going to be traveling, make sure you know where to get medical care if necessary at your destination. Studies show the exceptions to the "holiday effect" seems to be during the years of 1973 and 1981. Holiday travel was down during these years due to an embargo in 1973 and a recession in 1981. Once again, don't put off seeing your doctor before you go. He's familiar with your history and may be able to help you have a safer and much more pleasant trip.

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Our Share in Decommercializing Christmas

I think we all agree Christmas gets more commercialized every year. They’re putting Christmas items in the stores before we’re even thru with Halloween. They’re playing Christmas Music before Thanksgiving, and the stores are so worried about the bottom line, they’re opening at midnite and 4 am the day after Thanksgiving. This year the “Christmas Sales” were starting in October. More and more of us hate Christmas every year due to the stress of making everything perfect for every one around us.

Christmas giving should be a time of joy and happiness. Instead it’s so easy to fall into “the trap”.
We’re running all over trying to find the perfect gift for those we love, spending more and more that we can’t afford. The credit card companies love us! Then there’s the feeling of embarrassment when someone gives us an expensive gift and we cannot reciprocate in kind. The mothers and fathers are both working, and the children only know what they see on TV. As parents work longer hours to pay for just the necessities, our children don’t learn what it’s like to bake with there mothers and give to the neighbors. Heck, a lot of us don’t even know our neighbors unless our children go to school together.

I would say we all need to get back to the ‘true meaning of Christmas’, but we all know what would happen if there were absolutely no gifts involved. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure the Whos in Whoville are the only ones in the world that can have all their Christmas trees and Christmas gifts stolen by the Grinch and still sing. LOL.

This year let’s see what we can do to bring back the love of Christmas, the quality time we spend with loved ones, and remember how much fun it is to give with thought more than money.

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