KNIGHT WATCH

ARE WE MORE ALIKE OR UNLIKE?

Lefties and righties are different. A study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science examined the “body-specificity hypothesis” – which means how we make decisions and communicate is influenced by our physical bodies. Right-handed people tended to view things on the right-hand side of pages as more positive and lefties preferred things on the left-hand side. When right-handers spoke, they were likelier to gesture about positive subjects with their right hand and gesture about negative subjects with their left hand. For left-handers it was the opposite. Nevertheless, although 90% of the population is right-handed, it doesn’t mean they are more “in the right”.

Dog and cat people are different too. According to the American Pet Products Association, 62% of U.S. households had a pet in 2012. Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households had at least 1 dog and 33% of U.S. households had at least 1 cat. A major University of Texas study found people who defined themselves as “dog people” were more extroverted, more agreeable and more conscientious than self-described “cat people”. Cat people were supposedly less traditional, more creative and more neurotic. However, the study didn’t find canine lovers were more “dogmatic” or that feline lovers were more “catatonic”.

Rich people are more unethical. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, more than 1,000 people from all walks of life participated in 7 experiments. For example, drivers with shinier, newer and more expensive cars were less likely to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. College students who saw themselves as higher on the socioeconomic ladder were likelier not to correct a cashier’s mistake in their favor. The study’s findings held even after considering age, sex, ethnicity, religion and political affiliation. However, the study didn’t find ethics could be routinely measured on a “Rich-ter scale”.

Most people who have their first child after age 40 – 80% of women and 70% of men – thought the best time to have children was in their 30’s - but circumstances had interfered. According to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction, older parents thought being more emotionally prepared was the biggest advantage. Other advantages included more success and flexibility in their career and greater financial security. The biggest disadvantage was having less physical energy, as well as having a smaller family than they’d wanted and feeling stigmatized for being older parents. Regardless, parenting is for the young at heart.

 

WHY CAN'T CHILDREN BE EASIER TO GROW?

Children are still eating too much sugar. According to a 2012 study by the National Center for Health Statistics, most added sugars come from home – homes at all income levels. Also, most added sugars come from foods – not beverages. The good news is consumption of added sugars has declined among teenagers – from 22% of their total calories to 17%. However, that’s still higher than federal dietary guidelines, which recommend intake of added sugars and solid fats be 5%-15% of daily caloric intake. Parents need to read food labels. If that doesn’t work, they need to read the riot act.

Too much sugar is causing too many cavities in preschoolers. According to a 2012 New York Times’ article, dentists nationwide are seeing preschool-age children with multiple cavities. Dentists attribute this to parents not brushing their children’s teeth twice daily. Either parents don’t understand the need or their children resist. Other contributing factors are sweet snacks and juices. The sugars in juice and breast milk are especially harmful at bedtime because the mouth’s natural cleaning processes are less active during sleep and sugars erode the thin enamel on children’s teeth – and having cavities filled isn’t a “fulfilling” experience for young children.

Active video games don’t increase children’s physical activity. In a study published in Pediatrics, 38 children ages 9-12 were given 2 active video games and 38 children were given 2 inactive video games. For 12 weeks they recorded playtimes and wore accelerometers to measure acceleration and exertion. Unfortunately, children given active video games weren’t more active. Either they didn’t play the games intensely enough or they were less active at other times of the day to compensate for their playtime. Because the CDC recommends children have 1 hour of physical activity daily, I recommend parents play hide-and-seek with television remote controls.

Smoking among America’s youth has reached epidemic proportions – so said a 2012 report by the Surgeon General’s office. More than 600,000 middle school students and 3 million high school students smoke and 80% of high school-aged teens are expected to smoke as adults. Every day an estimated 3,800 children smoke their first cigarette and 90% of these new smokers start smoking before age 18. Smoking kills more than 1,200 people a day and every tobacco-related death is replaced by 2 new smokers under age 25. Cigarette companies deny that they target-market children. However, cigarette companies hide behind a “smoke screen”.

 

ARE WE BITING OFF MORE THAN WE CAN CHEW?

Approximately 16.8% of food Americans eat is imported. That’s according to 2012 data from the Department of Agriculture. Twenty years ago it was 11.3%. Twenty-five percent of orange juice and 85% of apple juice are imported. About 50% of fresh fruit comes from other countries. Eighty-six percent of shrimp, salmon, tilapia and other fish and shellfish come from other countries too. Foods that can be easily stored are likeliest to be imported - such as 44% of dry peas and lentils. Cranberries are one of the few foods that are 100% American – and that’s reason for “thanks-giving”.

The Marine Stewardship Council puts their blue label on seafood that comes from fisheries meeting rigorous standards promoting responsible, sustainable catches. The MSC program works with fisheries, processors, distributors and retailers so customers know where and how the seafood was harvested. The goal is to ensure harvesting doesn’t contribute to over-fishing and that seafood is labeled correctly so consumers know what they are buying. As of 2012 about 14% of global fisheries had been MSC certified; and stores like Costco, Target and Wal-Mart are increasing their sustainable seafood selections. The big-box stores are thinking “outside the box”.

Eating fruits and vegetables makes us more attractive. A study published in PLoS ONE monitored the fruit and vegetable intake of 35 Caucasian undergrads for 6 weeks and measured their skin color changes. The carotenoids in fruits and vegetables are distributed by the blood stream to the skin, causing it to take on a slight reddish-yellow hue. In a separate experiment the researchers asked 24 undergrads to look at people’s photographs. They thought people whose faces had a reddish-yellow hue were healthier and more attractive looking. So, if we don’t eat more fruits and vegetables, we may be “eating humble pie”.

And then there’s vodka. Vodka isn’t just for cocktails anymore. When sprayed in shoes, it removes musty smells. When a few drops are mixed with a teaspoon of sugar, it prolongs freshness in cut flowers. When mixed with an equal amount of water, put in a reusable plastic bag and frozen, it soothes sore muscles. Vodka can remove fabric stains caused by ink, grass and many foods. It can remove mould and mildew from tile and caulk when scrubbed after 30 minutes. Soaking in vodka removes rust from screws. That’s a good suggestion to end with because mixing vodka with orange juice provides a “screwdriver”.

 

IS THIS SERVICE WITH A SMILE?

Pet insurance is a growing service, with there being 11 providers in 2012. The majority of providers offer different levels of coverage. Basic plans protect against accidents and illnesses and cost approximately $15/month. The most comprehensive plans include annual exams, blood work and vaccines and cost approximately $75/month. Whether basic or comprehensive, most plans reimburse 80%-90% of the claim. Interestingly, in the U.S. dogs are insured 4 times more often than cats. Perhaps more interestingly, only about 1% of U.S. pets are insured compared to 20% of pets in the U.K. Obviously, Brits are more willing to spend “petty cash”.

Rear-view cameras will be federally mandated in all new vehicles by the end of 2014. Between 2006 and 2010 drivers in ever-bigger vehicles killed 448 children in backing-up accidents – more than double than in the previous 5 years. It’s called “bye-bye syndrome”. When children run out to say goodbye to relatives and friends, drivers don’t see them. For a five-foot-8-inch driver the average rear blind zone is 13 feet in a mid-size sedan, 19 feet in a large SUV and 24 feet in a pickup truck. By installing rear-view cameras we can look forward to saving 112 lives a year.

“Wheelz” is a peer-to-peer, car sharing company on Stamford University’s campus. Car owners set the price for strangers to “borrow” their car and receive at least 60% of that price. Customers are screened to make sure their driving records are clean and sign up through Facebook to prevent anonymity. A card held to a windshield sensor gains access to the car and keys are in a box in the glove compartment. In 2012 there’s a growing shift among Americans from owning assets to purchasing a service that achieves the same goal. That’s why founder Jeff Miller continues to “Wheelz and deal”.

“Taxis on Patrol” is a program in Denver, Colorado in which taxi drivers work with police. After drivers for Metro Taxi are certified via a safety-training program, they are notified via a bulletin system on their fare screen to keep an eye out for specific vehicles. The drivers also report assaults, drunk drivers, hit-and-run’s – any crime they see. In the 14 months since the program was started in 2011, more than a thousand reports have been made to the police. Because the program is spreading to other cities, cabs we try to catch may be trying to catch criminals.

 

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The best city for singles is Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2012 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine ranked cities on such things as how many households were single versus married, whether those households were affluent enough to date and what a date might cost. Ann Arbor was #1 because the University of Michigan is located there and more than 50% of the population was single. Also, the average household income was $59,065 and the cost of a date was $24. Bloomington, Illinois was second followed by Santa Cruz, California; Baltimore, Maryland; and Los Angeles, California. It seems these are “single-minded” cities.

The worst city for renters is New York City. That’s according to the 2012 rent-to-income ratios in 40 major U.S. cities, which were determined by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. High rents are supposedly due to a combination of reasonably high household income, job growth, home ownership cost and the trend toward density. In NYC the rent-to-income ratio was 52%. Los Angeles was second with 36% followed by San Francisco with 33%, Miami with 29% and Detroit with 28%. Rent is the past tense of the verb rend – meaning to tear apart – which seems appropriate for these rent-to-income ratios.

Hawaiians have the best sense of overall well-being. In 2011 Gallup conducted phone surveys from a random sample of 1,000 people a day for 350 days. Those surveyed were asked questions about physical health; lifestyle behaviors; emotional health; work environment; basic access to health care and food; and life evaluation. The residents of North Dakota had the second best sense of overall well-being followed by the residents of Minnesota, Alaska and Utah. West Virginia was the state ranked last in well-being. West Virginia is the “Mountain State” and the results of this survey are “one more mountain to climb”.

A very unscientific CNNGO report in 2012 attributed the 7 deadly sins to U.S. cities. Gluttony/Chicago: home of the world’s biggest food festival. Sloth/Indianapolis: nicknamed “Naptown”. Pride/Miami: according to a Living Social survey, its citizens rated themselves a 7 or above in attractiveness. Greed/Las Vegas: $10 billion of the nation’s $60 billion of gaming money is spent in Nevada. Lust/Portland, Oregon: rated the most promiscuous city by OkCupid. Envy/Philadelphia: because it’s not New York City; Boston; or Washington, D.C. Wrath/Detroit: rated the most sleep-deprived city by the CDC. However, I’m sure these cities think there’s an 8^th deadly sin – “the sin of omission”.

 

CAN'T HEALTH TOURISM START AT HOME?

Cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of men and women worldwide. The key preventions are smoking cessation; control of cholesterol, blood pressure and weight; and exercise. In fact, exercise helps to control cholesterol, blood pressure and weight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly – but you don’t have to do it all at once. You can break that time into 10-minute segments and still benefit. To quote a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, “If you don’t find time for exercise, you will have to find time for disease”.

A study published in JAMA found women are likelier not to have chest pain when they have heart attacks. When data from 1.1 million heart attacks was analyzed, 42% of women didn’t have chest pain when they were admitted to the hospital compared to 31% of men. Also, 15% of women died in the hospital compared to 10% of men. Thus it’s especially important for women to know the other symptoms of heart attack – shortness of breath, nausea and pain in the jaw or back. However, as women age their symptoms are more like men’s - maybe another reason it’s called “menopause”.

Colon cancer is the second leading cancer killer of men and women in the U.S. and fourth worldwide. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found those who had precancerous growths removed during colonoscopies had 53% lower risk of colon cancer death than expected in the general public. In another Journal study participants were given colonoscopies or stool blood tests. Colonoscopies found advanced growths in twice as many participants and less serious growths in 10 times as many. Considering 143,000 new cases of colon cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2012, colonoscopies are the “bottom line”.

Thankfully, our pets make us healthier. A study published in 1980 found heart attack patients who owned pets lived longer than those who didn’t. Another early study showed petting one’s own dog reduced blood pressure. More recently studies done at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine found interacting with animals increased our level of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin helps us feel happy and trusting, but it also has long-term health benefits. Because it affects the body’s readiness to heal and to grow new cells, oxytocin predisposes our bodies to be healthier. So … reach out and pet something.

 

DO BRIGHT IDEAS GLOW IN THE DARK?

Beacon Hill Forest started in 2009 as a final project for a permaculture design class – permaculture being the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable. The forest/park is now going to be a reality in the middle of Seattle. A grant provided a certified designer, a local utility provided a 7-acre plot and local support provided $100,000. In 2012 a 1.75-acre test zone will be planted with a variety of fruit-bearing perennials. The goal is to provide the working-class residents of Beacon Hill the opportunity to pick their own fruit. This is “seed money” at work.

The sidewalks of Bellingham, Washington are made of toilets. Four hundred old toilets provided by the Bellingham Housing Authority were ground into a mixture called “poticrete”. The project, which was designed in 2010 and completed in 2011, cost about $850,000. That’s about the same amount of money as if the typical gravel concoction had been used. However, because the mixture was 25% poticrete and only 75% recycled asphalt and gravel, there were 2 environmental benefits. The toilets wouldn’t take up space in a landfill and less gravel was taken from the ground. Now residents are donating old toilets. They have been “toilet-trained”.

Plan UK is a non-profit that helps children in third-world countries. For its 2012 “Because I’m a Girl” campaign to help girls in developing countries get an education, Plan UK used face-recognition technology in a billboard located in London’s West End. A high-definition camera scanned the facial features of passers-by with 90% accuracy. Men didn’t see the complete 40-second video that promoted the campaign. They were directed to the non-profit’s website. The purpose of this was to show men “a glimpse of what it’s like to have basic choices taken away”. Hmmm, don’t men think that marriage does the same thing?

A new way to fix receding hairlines was reported in the Archives of Dermatology – leg hair. Hair taken from the back of necks is usually thicker than hair growing somewhere above the eyebrows and creates a coarse, fake-looking hairline. However, hair from the thighs, knees and calves is thinner and meshes better with frontal head hair. Approximately 80% of transplanted leg hair grows successfully; and because it’s removed diffusely, there aren’t telltale patches left on legs. Happily for women, leg hair only has to be stubble-length to be transplanted so they can get a “leg up” on receding hairlines too.

 

IS WORK A FOUR-LETTER WORD?

The unhappiest jobs are agriculture and mining. The online site CareerBliss asked more than 43,000 employees nationwide to evaluate 9 factors affecting job happiness. They included relationship with their boss and co-workers, work environment, compensation, growth opportunities, daily tasks and control over their work. The employees evaluated each one on a 5-point scale and indicated how important each was to their overall happiness. Agriculture and mining scored 3.76. Software, internet and nonprofits scored 3.81. Media, entertainment and retail scored 3.85. The happiest job is government, which scored 4.07. Working for Uncle Sam must be like working in a family business.

Executives are unhappy too. A 2011 survey of 3,900 business executives worldwide by the consulting firm Accenture found only 42% of executives were satisfied with their job. That’s down slightly from 2010. However, only 24% were looking for a new job outside their company and 8% were planning to start their own business. The rest were staying put or looking for another job in the same company. Their biggest complaint was being underpaid followed by too many hours, too much work and no opportunity for advancement. It seems those higher up the company ladder are just as “wrung out”.

The number of women planning to get a Masters in Business Administration was its highest in 2011. Women were 41% of those taking the Graduate Management Admission Test, a requirement for most MBA programs. It was the sixth, consecutive year the number increased. The number of men decreased for the third, consecutive year. Unfortunately, female MBA’s graduating in 2000-2011 and working full-time made only 81% of what their male counterparts made. In 2011 women held only 14% of executive positions and 16% of board seats at Fortune 500 companies. Considering women make up half the U.S. workforce, is there a “men-tal block”?

Because Americans are unhappy workers, you’d think they would be happy tourists. However, a 2012 travel behavior study by LivingSocial found Americans are the world’s worst-behaved tourists. Among 5,600 respondents in 16 countries – including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the U.K. - Americans had the least tolerance and open-mindedness. Forty percent of Americans admitted they had stolen from hotels – towels (28%) and bathrobes (8%) - as well as pillows, remote controls, sheets and Bibles. Americans’ biggest travel complaints were airlines losing luggage (21%), bad weather (21%) and getting very lost (16%). Obviously, Americans have to “work at” being better tourists.

 

CAN'T LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT?

EBV – Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans – was started in 2007 by Mike Haynie, a former Air Force officer and presently a professor of entrepreneurship at Syracuse University. EBV is a free, 2-month, training program teaching veterans everything from business and marketing plans to creating their own website and logo; and as of 2012 seven more business schools are participating. Since 2008 more than 400 veterans have completed the program and 70% have started their own business. However, in 2011 five hundred veterans applied; but there was room for only 35% of them. We need more participating business schools – more boot “camp followers”.

Anthony Bravo Esparza, aka “Dreamer”, is a 67-year-old, Army veteran who has a barbershop/trailer on the VA parking lot in West Los Angeles. He offers veterans a haircut and a safe and friendly place to hang out to help them ease back into civilian life. Dreamer cuts hair for 200 veterans a month at little or no charge – “whatever you got, we’ll make a deal”. Dreamer’s deals have included rubber band balls and washers; but no one has ever been turned away. Because Dreamer’s goal is to help veterans move forward, he explains “That’s why we come our hair backwards”.

Reverend Patricia Anderson Cook of Mt. Healthy United Methodist Church in suburban Cincinnati offered a drive-thru Ash Wednesday blessing, in which a cross of ashes was placed in the center of the foreheads of people of all faiths to usher in the season of Lent. The Reverend’s goal was to provide the service to busy people, as well as people who might be intimidated to walk into a church. However, a more traditional Ash Wednesday service was provided in the church. Of course, if the drive-thru blessing wasn’t successful, the Reverend could give it up for Lent next year.

Corey Brooks, a Chicago pastor, camped out on an abandoned motel roof for 94 days to bring attention to its being “a magnet for drugs, crime and violence”. He came down only to speak at funerals for young men killed by violence in his community. The pastor’s goal was to raise $450,000 to buy and tear down the motel. A donation from director Tyler Perry surpassed his goal - $463,000 – and a local donor contributed $85,000 toward building a community center where the motel is. Although the pastor is back on the ground, people won’t stop “looking up to him”.

HOW IS CHANGE CHANGING US?

The largest group of smartphone owners is 24- to 34-year- olds. According to a Nielsen survey of more than 20,000 mobile customers, 66% of that age group had smartphones in January 2012. Eighty percent of those in the same age group who bought a new phone in the previous 3 months bought a smartphone. It was 50% among those under age 65. However, when income was factored in, people 55-64 making over $100,000 were almost as likely to have smartphones as those 35-44 making $35,000-$75,000. Older subscribers with higher incomes were likelier to have smartphones – apparently an example of “smart money”.

Very religious people rated higher on Gallop’s 2012 “well-being scale”. Gallop defined well-being on a variety of emotional and physical health indexes. Very religious Jews scored highest in well-being – 72.4, with very religious Mormons a close second – 71.5. In comparison moderately and non-religious Jews scored 68 and moderately and non-religious Mormons scored 63. Overall, Mormons were the most religious group with 73% identifying themselves as very religious. Among Protestants it was 50%, Jews 46.5%, Muslims 46% and Catholics 43%. Or maybe you believe as Thoreau did – “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads”.

Contrary to popular opinion, working mothers enjoy working. That’s according to a 2012 poll of 1,000 women with children under age 18 that was conducted by Care, an online caregiver resource. Supposedly, 78% of working mothers enjoyed working and 50% said their working set a good example for their children. The poll also found 77% had a significant other who helped raise the children and 89% said their significant other supported their career. Unfortunately, 75% of the companies that employed the mothers didn’t provide childcare benefits. Regarding the benefit of childcare, most companies give employees only the “benefit of the doubt”.

Home health aides get the least amount of sleep. That was the finding of a 2012 study commissioned by a mattress company and based on a survey for the National Center for Health Statistics. Based on the average sleep per night for people in a wide range of professions, lawyers got the second least amount of sleep followed by police officers, physicians and paramedics, and economists. In order of increasing amounts of sleep construction workers were fifth preceded by bartenders, sales representatives, and hairstylists. According to the study, logging workers got the most sleep – verifying the idiom “sleep like a log”.