KNIGHT WATCH

WHERE DO GOOD IDEAS COME FROM?

“The Really, Really Free Market” movement started during the anti-globalization protests in 2004. It was a way to create something positive beyond protesting. Now these markets have spread from California to Georgia to New York. Usually occurring once a month, people bring bags of stuff. Others take bags of stuff away. There’s everything from clothes and furniture, to books and toys, to paper products and cleaning products. There are services like counseling, dental advice and haircuts. There’s donated food. No money changes hands. There’s no bartering. The Really, Really Free Market movement is recycling that recycles spirit.

Pastor Devires of Fair Haven Ministries in recession-battered Michigan raised his congregation’s spirits by preaching about Jesus’ Parable of the Talents. Then he took $5,000 in $100 bills from his pocket and asked at least 25 volunteers to take the money and multiply it to serve the poor. Among other things, the money was used for a chili cook-off, dog washing and jewelry making. Three parishioners turned their $100 into $12,000 hosting a family weekend at a gymnastics club. That money went to a boy recently diagnosed with brain cancer. Even in a recession we can still multiply.

The recession hasn’t kept Dante Hesse from running his small, organic diary farm in Ghent, New York. Twice weekly he sells his milk at New York City farmers markets. Because customers line up to pay $5 a quart before he’s set up his stand, he’d like to build a processing plant in his barn to make butter and cheese. For that Hesse needs $700,000 – unlikely in a credit crisis – especially as he rents his barn and land and has no collateral. Instead Hesse is turning to his customers, offering 6% interest for a loan of $1,000. Hesse has a successful business and hopefully can milk it.

With the help of 26 elementary school children with shovels, rakes, pitchforks and wheelbarrows, first lady Michelle Obama got to the business of breaking ground on the White House grounds for a produce garden. The first harvest was expected by late April 2009 and was to include spinach, broccoli, various lettuces, kale, collard greens and herbs. What is planted next will rotate with the seasons. According to assistant White House Chef, Sam Kass, some of the produce will be cooked in the White House kitchen and some will be given to a local soup kitchen. Now that’s being democratic!

WHEN WILL WE EVER LEARN?

According to the Pew Research Center, the total population of the U.S. corrections system – probation, parole, jail and prison – exceeds 7.3 million. That’s 1 out of every 31 U.S. adults. Two-thirds of offenders are on probation or parole and the average, annual cost of managing each one is $1,250-$2,750. The average, annual cost of managing a prisoner is $29,000. That’s why 90% of corrections spending is spent on prisoners. New community supervision strategies for low-risk offenders have proven to reduce recidivism by as much as 30%. Crime doesn’t pay – we pay for crime.

Today many people would think it was a crime not to wash their hair every day, but before 1908 women usually washed their hair once a month. In 1908 the New York Times published a column saying it was alright to shampoo twice a month. Decades later TV marketing convinced people daily washing was healthy for hair. Now Americans wash their hair on average 4.59 times a week – twice as much as Italians and Spaniards - and according to dermatologists, that’s too much. Too much washing can damage hair by stripping it of beneficial sebum oil. Dermatologists recommend washing hair 2-3 times a week – hair-raising advice for many Americans.

San Diego State University did a hair-raising study which looked at the number of tanning salons per capita in 116 of the largest U.S. cities. Charleston, West Virginia had the highest density of salons with 18 for 53,000 people; Pittsburgh was second with 93 for 350,000; and Akron was third with 57 for 217,000. In spite of the dangers of UV rays – skin cancer, immune suppression and eye damage – an average of 1 million people use tanning salons a day, with 70% being females ages 16-29. Obviously, 1 million people a day don’t think the dangers are “tan-gible”.

Because of the dangers of smoking, China’s health minister has urged doctors and medical workers to quit smoking to set an example for others. According to the China Preventive Medicine Association, 56.8% of China’s doctors smoke – the highest percentage in the world. Now the Association has launched a campaign to make medical schools, hospitals and associations smoke-free by 2010. Considering China is the world’s largest tobacco market with approximately 350 million smokers who buy 2 trillion cigarettes a year, the doctors are going to have to set a very good example or the Association’s plans could go up in smoke.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM OLD STUFF?

Digging in the Kenyan desert scientists found what they believe are the oldest, humanlike footprints – footprints that were embedded in mud 1.5 million years ago. The footprints are approximately a men’s shoe size 9, providing a height of about 5 feet 9 inches – most likely Homo erectus. The prints give compelling evidence of a long stride, an arch giving spring to the step and toes in alignment to absorb weight as the foot rolled forward. According to anthropologists, the evolution of the foot was crucial to becoming human. It allowed people to run for food – and then for office.

Paleontologists in Peru found the cranium of a bird that lived 10 million years ago. This species had a wingspan of 19.7 feet and fed mostly on fish from the Pacific Ocean. Because of the inefficiency of its wings, the bird had trouble taking off from the ground and needed an elevated site. However, teeth at the front of its beak enabled the bird to chew in flight. Bad design didn’t cause this bird’s extinction 2.5 million years ago. According to the paleontologists, it couldn’t survive the climate change. It seems the danger from climate change isn’t an idea that’s for the birds.

Canadian researchers claim to have discovered the smallest North American dinosaur. “Hesperonychus elizabethae” was a 4.4 pound carnivore that roamed 75 million years ago. Standing 1.6 feet tall, the creature ran on two legs, had dagger-like teeth and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on its second toe. Its prey were insects, small mammals and perhaps baby dinosaurs. The Hesperonychus’ bones were found in storage at the Royal Tyrrel Museum. According to one of the researchers, searching through museum storage is very productive. “People collect stuff much more quickly than they can process” – which sounds like many attics and basements.

Paleontologists in Kansas discovered a fossilized brain inside a 300-million-year-old iniopterygian fish, an extinct relative of modern ratfish or ghost sharks. Fossilized brains are rare and this is the oldest. Although it provides a detailed look at prehistoric brain structure, the brain shows little connection to the shape of the braincase. Thus researchers may have to rethink earlier assumptions about the shape and structure of the missing brains in previous specimens. With limited information about early vertebrate brains, researchers believe “the evolution of the brain lies at the core of vertebrate history” - and that doesn’t sound fishy to them.

WHEN DOES TRIVIA BECOME NEWS?

The 2007 U.S. birth rate was the highest ever – 4.3 million – Utah with the most births and Vermont with the least. Although the birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, teen birth rates increased the second year in a row and births to unwed mothers were at an all-time high 40%, with more than three-quarters of mothers being 20 or older. With U.S. women averaging 2.1 children and fertility rates higher for all races, the country’s experiencing a “baby boomlet”. However, the lowest U.S. birth rate occurred during the Great Depression, so will birth rates recede in a recession?

The recession affected the Pew Research Center’s dividing states into 2 types. Magnet states attract newcomers – relatively few people living there were born there.  Eighty-six percent of Nevadans are from out of state. Arizona, Arkansas and Florida are also magnetic. Sticky states have strong traditional cultures or distinctive features that make people want to stay. Seventy-six percent of people born in Texas have stayed. California, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin are sticky too. Some states are both – especially in the South and West. They grow, but retain a high number of native-born. The down economy, however, is making all states stickier.

Michael Phelps, winner of a record-breaking 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, got into a sticky situation and lost his Kellogg’s endorsement after a picture of him smoking marijuana appeared in the media. Nevertheless, the winning continued. A San Francisco food bank, experiencing reduced donations because of the economy, received a donation from Kellogg’s. Four pallets – over two tons – of corn flakes and frosted flakes with Phelps’ picture on the boxes were delivered. It was another win/win situation. The food bank was thrilled with a donation low-income people can use and Kellogg’s no longer felt boxed in.

According to a study published in “Applied Cognitive Psychology” doodling can keep you from feeling boxed in. Because the brain is designed to constantly process information, doodling provides enough cognitive stimulation during a boring task to prevent the brain from manufacturing its own material – daydreams – which requires a lot more brain energy. In the study volunteers were asked to listen to a long, boring tape of a telephone message. When questioned about what they remembered, the doodlers remembered 29% more than the non-doodlers. Because doodling doesn’t distract from concentration, the world is a safer place. President Obama is a doodler.

WHO HAS ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS?

Lampreys are fish that attach to other fish or marine mammals with suction-cup-like mouths and feed on their blood. In the Atlantic lampreys are parasites. In the Great Lakes they’re predators. By killing off large predator species, lampreys have completely changed the ecosystem. A team from Michigan State University has developed a perfume from pheromones male lamprey release to attract females during mating season. The team is using this perfume to attract females into traps. Because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spends $20 million annually to control lampreys, this perfume could have the sweet smell of success.

Seventeen previously unknown species of reptiles and amphibians were successfully discovered in the rainforests of eastern Tanzania by Italian and Tanzanian scientists. The region’s ecosystem has been under threat from fire, logging, collection of wood for fuel and land clearance for cultivation. To deter future damage, the government and local villagers have outlined steps to improve conservation. One step is reducing the unsustainable methods of growing cardamom, a cooking spice that’s an important cash crop for the region. Tanzania now has the opportunity to reverse forest loss and environmental degradation by taking outlined steps in the right direction.

By wanting to be the first environmentally sustainable airline, Air New Zealand took steps in the right direction by completing a 2-hour test flight of a Boeing 747-400 that had one engine powered by a 50-50 blend of oil form jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. Most biofuels freeze at cruising attitudes, but jatropha oil – already used to make biodiesel – has a lower freezing point than jet fuel. Not only can jatropha oil reduce the carbon footprint of jet fuel by 25%, it can be grown on poor land with little water – not competing with land for food production – “plane” facts all airlines should consider.

It’s a fact the glitz of Atlantic City is going green. With 13,321 photovoltaic panels on the convention center roof, Atlantic City has the largest, single-roof, solar-panel array in the U.S. According to authorities, the panels will produce an average of 26% of the convention center’s energy and will save an estimated $4.4 million over 20 years. In greener terms, the panels will avoid the release of about 2,349 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – which is the equivalent of reducing oil consumption by 4,958 barrels annually. Based on this, Atlantic City has made a winning bet.

WHY DOESN'T GOOD HEALTH MAKE NEWS?

According to a study done by Colorado University and Boston’s Children’s Hospital, listening to iPods and MP3 players at high volume can lead to hearing loss. Listening through earbuds or in-ear headphones for 90 minutes a day at 80% volume is safe for long-term hearing, but at 70% volume one can safely listen for 4 ½ hours a day. However, the risk of permanent hearing loss can increase with just 5 minutes a day at full volume. It’s estimated that 7%-24% of users listen at risky levels - and it’s teens who especially need to listen to the risks.

According to the American Medical Association, some salt is necessary to regulate blood pressure and assist muscle and nerve function; but too much can cause hypertension, heart disease and stroke. In the past 4 decades salt consumption has doubled because of processed and restaurant food. On average Americans consume 9-12 grams daily – that’s 3,600-4,800 milligrams – and that’s twice the government recommendation. The AMA says 150,000 premature deaths could be prevented yearly if Americans halved their salt intake. By reducing intake by 1 gram daily, 200,000 lives could be saved in a decade. These numbers shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 811 overweight adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 diets. The diets were healthy twists on popular commercial diets, containing different levels of fat, protein and carbohydrate. The participants were asked to cut 750 calories a day from their diet, exercise 90 minutes a week, keep an online food diary and meet regularly with diet counselors to chart their progress. What the 2-year study found was the reduction in weight and waist size was similar in all four diets. What counts in dieting is calorie counts.

According to a report in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, a well rounded exercise routine can help offset the effects of aging. For best results the routine should include 5 types of activity: aerobic to raise heart rate; strengthening to maintain muscle mass; stretching to boost flexibility; balance to improve coordination; and “core stability” training, which focuses on trunk muscles. Studies show regular exercise can lower risks of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, as well as boost immune function, alleviate fatigue and reduce the risk of disability in older adults. It all starts with exercising - good judgment.

DO BETTER STUDIES MAKE BETTER PEOPLE?

In a British study 197 male, amateur golfers – all good players - were questioned about the amount of support they received from peers, pre-game confidence and factors that could cause them stress. After analyzing their performances, it was found that when playing under stress, social support could improve performance by nearly 1 shot per round of golf. For players with the lowest levels of support, stress deteriorated performance up to 3 shouts per round. Because the researchers believe social support would be relevant in other sports and aspects of life, we should keep a supportive eye on the ball.

A study done at the University of Pittsburgh looked at rates of chronic health conditions and death among participants of the Women’s Health Initiative Study, which has followed more than 100,000 women ages 50 and over since 1994. What they found after 8 years of follow up was women who are optimistic about life are 14% less likely to die of any cause than women who are pessimistic and they are 30% less likely to die from heart disease. Optimists are also less likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes or to smoke. Obviously, we should be optimistic about being optimistic.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index is a study that surveyed more than 350,000 people and found that Utah, Hawaii and Wyoming are the happiest states to live in. The 15-minute survey included 42 core questions that rated such variables as mental, physical and economic health, as well as eating and exercise habits, work environment, access to basic necessities, community involvement and feeling safe. At the bottom of the happiest state list were Mississippi, Kentucky and West Virginia. However, since Utah had only 69.2 points out of a possible 100, Disneyland must still be the happiest place on earth.

A study done at Rice University found humans can smell fear. While male participants watched neutral, slapstick and horror movies, gauze pads collected sweat from their armpits. Females, who have a better sense of smell then men, had the pads held under their nose as they watched images of faces, which changed from happy to neutral to fearful. The women were more likely to interpret ambiguous faces as fearful when they were smelling the fear/horror movie sweat. Because humans rely primarily on sight and hearing, smell comes into play only when the other senses are less certain about something – which certainly makes sense.

Is It Treasure Or Trivia?

Although the Energy Act of 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time from early March to November 1st, no studies have shown it saves real energy. Although one Energy Department study showed electricity use declined .03%, most comprehensive studies show people drive more during DST – increasing energy consumption. The sale of charcoal for barbeques also increases during DST. So do gardening and golfing businesses. Nevertheless, despite the lack of energy saving and having to adjust clocks and co-ordinate flight times with non-DST parts of the world, DST survives because we feel it lights up our lives.

Barbie dolls have lit up the lives of girls for 50 years. Every second three people in the world buy a Barbie doll, making her the world’s  #1 fashion doll and toy. Now Mattel has built its first “House of Barbie” in Shanghai. The multi-million-dollar, six-story, hot pink store was built there as Mattel aggressively pursues developing markets. Barbie’s first flagship store offers more than 100,000 Barbie products for children and adults, a Barbie café, and for older customers there’s a spa and a cocktail bar. Nevertheless, Barbie’s U.S. sales have been down an average of 12% for the past 5 years as Mattel toys with new ideas.

Snoring isn’t new. In fact, it becomes more common as we age. By age 60 more than half of adults snore. Snoring is the result of air moving through narrowed or floppy, soft passages in the mouth, throat and nose. Sometimes the air is obstructed by oversized tonsils or uvula. Men are twice as likely to snore because of fat distribution. Men usually gain weight in the neck, upper torso and abdomen. Fat in the neck can constrict airway passages and lead to increased snoring. Women usually gain weight in the hips and thighs –creating “thighs” of relief that men snore more.

According to autograph dealer Stuart Lutz, John F. Kennedy’s signature is worth more than any other modern U.S. president’s. It’s worth $2500 if it just says “happy birthday”. Second in value are Ronald Reagan’s signatures, which start at $750. Third are Bill Clinton’s signatures signed when he was president, which are worth $500 or more; and fourth are George H.W. Bush’s signatures on presidential letterhead, worth $300-$500. As for Obama’s slightly illegible signature, after his inauguration his signature averages in the high hundreds – with one exception. President Obama’s signature on the stimulus packages is worth trillions.

SHOULD YOU MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS?

According to CareerBuilders annual survey on absenteeism, 34% of workers played hooky. Among those, 30% wanted to relax; 22% wanted to sleep; and 9% wanted to skip a meeting, spend time working on an overdue project or avoid an angry boss or colleague. When it comes to employers, 31% checked up on employees who called in sick and 18% fired workers who missed work without a legitimate reason. The good news is 65% of employers thought wanting a mental health day was a legitimate reason. The other 35% of employers might need a mental health day themselves.

According to Sageworks, a firm that tracks the financial performance of private companies, dentists had an average profit margin of 17% in 2008 – higher than any other business. There are supposedly 3 reasons for this. First, people concerned about losing their jobs used their dental insurance while they still had it. Second, people with limited or no dental insurance skipped routine checkups to save money, which often resulted in having dental problems requiring expensive procedures. Third, stress-induced teeth grinding caused an increase in fractured teeth. Obviously, dentistry is a business that doesn’t mind the bite of a recession.

According to a federally funded study, 878 General Electric employees who wanted to quit smoking were divided into 2 groups. In the group paid not to smoke – up to $750 after 12 months – 15% were tobacco-free a year later – 3 times as many as in the non-paid group. The paid group also had 4 times as many people complete a smoking cessation program. In 2010 this program will be offered companywide. Because GE spends $50 million annually on extra costs for smoking employees, it expects to recoup the program’s cost in 3-5 years – not see it go up in smoke.

According to statistics, bar sales are down and liquor sales are up. Whether it’s beer, wine or distilled liquor, Americans drink an average of 2.5 gallons of alcohol a year; and that statistic hasn’t changed in decades. People don’t drink less alcohol in hard economic times. They drink at home to save money. To attract customers bar owners are considering such things as laser lighting, social networking, karaoke and video games. A Wisconsin bar owner put on a “polar plunge”, serving drinks to customers who jumped into a nearby icy river. Maybe that bar owner understands the cold facts of doing business in a recession.

WHO DECIDES IF IDEAS ARE GOOD?

In a program to improve border security, Texas sheriffs erected surveillance cameras along the Rio Grand River and connected them to “Blueservo’s” Web site. Forty-three thousand people from Texas to Australia have now become virtual Texas deputies looking for drug smugglers and illegal immigrants. When people spot suspicious activity, they click a button on the Web site and write a report that’s sent to the corresponding sheriff’s office. Since the $2 million program was started in November 2008, 1500 pounds of marijuana have been seized and 30 incidents of illegal crossings have been stopped – making the program literally borderline successful.

In 2008 Thailand’s successful tourism industry was severely damaged by political unrest. In 2009 the country’s Tourism Authority introduced a new cocktail it hopes will help bring tourists back to Thailand. The “Siam Sunrays”, winner of the competition for a national cocktail, consists of vodka, coconut liqueur, chili pepper, sugar, lime juice, lemon grass and ginger. The concoction is shaken – not stirred – then strained into a glass and served with soda water over ice. Although this drink supposedly tastes like Thailand in a glass, the idea of a cocktail improving tourism is a bit hard to swallow.

Then there’s the more than 200 schools now offering a doctoral program for nurses – conferring the title “doctor nurse”. For nursing students beginning the program right after college, getting this advanced degree takes about 6 years. Although there is some overlap in knowledge, doctors diagnose and treat and doctor nurses focus on family, support and community. The first exam to certify doctor nurses was given in November 2008. The next certification exam is schedule for October 2009 - unless a group of disapproving physicians can stop it. For some doctors it seems sharing the title doctor with qualified nurses is something else hard to swallow.

Finally, through collaboration between the FINRA investor education foundation and the American Library Association, libraries around the country are getting grants to set up programs and train librarians to teach people about investing. Since 2007 grants have gone to libraries including Athens, Georgia; Fargo, North Dakota; and Riverside, California. The Newton Free Library in Newton, Massachusetts used its grant to set up a retirement planning club for women. The various programs are aimed at people of all ages and incomes and make use of videos, the Web and even traveling vans. It’s overdue, but it won’t be fined.