COLD WEATHER AND GETTING SICK

Does cold weather make you sick? 

Growing up, your mom may have warned you to stay out of the cold if you wanted to avoid getting sick. But you've probably dismissed that advice as an old wives' tale. After all, viruses and bacteria are what make you sick-not the weather. Right? Turns out, your mother may have been right all along. At least, that what the results of a new study seem to imply. (But here are 5 things your parents taught you that are wrong .) Researchers from Sweden and Scotland collected over 20,000 nasal swabs over a 3-year period to detect respiratory illnesses. Then, they analyzed local weather data. The researchers discovered that outbreaks of respiratory infections like the flu and respiratory syncytial virus-a virus that causes cold-like symptoms-began during each year's first low-humidity, below-freezing week. In other words, the winter chill kick-started flu season. Viruses-like those that cause flu-travel in liquid particles, which survive better in dry, cold climates, the authors theorize. This type of air absorbs extra moisture, leaving the particles light enough to stay airborne. That means they're more accessible for someone else to breathe in-and catch something from. So yes, you are more likely to get sick when it's cold out. But there are other reasons at play as well, says pulmonologist Gustavo Ferrer, M.D., author of Cough Cures and founder of Cleveland Clinic's Cough Clinic in Miami. One factor? As air temperatures drop, your mucus secretions increase. As a result, you might have noticed yourself coughing, sneezing, and blowing your nose more over the past few weeks, even if you're not actually sick. But if you are sick, mucus acts as a prime vehicle for virus transfer. So if you sneeze and send droplets of mucus flying, you're transmitting a greater number of virus particles into the air. And the cold, dry air of winter leaves the bugs more easily accessible to the next unlucky guy who breathes in that area. That's why it's especially important to take measures to keep yourself safe when winter rolls around: Wash your hands, stay hydrated, and avoid close contact with sick people when you can. (These are the 4 best ways to prevent a cold .) But your mom's other piece of advice-bundling up to avoid sickness-might not be as helpful as she thought. When you're warmer, you do produce less mucus, so you're less likely to infect others, says Dr. Ferrer. When it comes to your own health, though, no piece of clothing can protect you-unless it's literally covering your nose and mouth and preventing you from breathing any bugs in.  Still, you don't want to be the one guy who gets the whole office croaking. If you're sick, make it your mission to avoid inflicting the same fate on others: Cough and sneeze in your elbow to prevent spraying your germs all over, says Dr. Ferrer. And don't be afraid to take a sick day. 

GOOD ADVICE FROM OUR FEARLESS LEADER-JANET FORD

Many of us are between 65 and death, i.e. old. My friend sent me this excellent list for aging . . . and I have to agree it's good advice to follow. I'm particularly interested and in tune with #19.

1. It’s time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Don’t just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get it. Remember there is nothing more dangerous than a son or daughter-in-law with big ideas for your hard-earned capital. Warning: This is also a bad time for investments, even if it seems wonderful or fool-proof. They only bring problems and worries. This is a time for you to enjoy some peace and quiet.

2. Stop worrying about the financial situation of your children and grandchildren, and don’t feel bad spending your money on yourself. You’ve taken care of them for many years, and you’ve taught them what you could. You gave them an education, food, shelter and support. The responsibility is now theirs to earn their own money.

3. Keep a healthy life, without great physical effort. Do moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well and get your sleep. It’s easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of your medical and physical needs. Keep in touch with your doctor, do tests even when you’re feeling well. Stay informed.

4. Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other. The key goal is to enjoy your money with your partner. One day one of you will miss the other, and the money will not provide any comfort then, enjoy it together.

5. Don’t stress over the little things. You’ve already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, but the important thing is the present. Don’t let the past drag you down and don’t let the future frighten you. Feel good in the now. Small issues will soon be forgotten.

6. Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor and remember: “A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection.”

7. Be proud, both inside and out. Don’t stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist, keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well-maintained on the outside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong.

8. Don’t lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style. There’s nothing worse than an older person trying to wear the current fashion among youngsters. You’ve developed your own sense of what looks good on you – keep it and be proud of it. It’s part of who you are.

9. ALWAYS stay up-to-date. Read newspapers, watch the news. Go online and read what people are saying. Make sure you have an active email account and try to use some of those social networks. You’ll be surprised what old friends you’ll meet. Keeping in touch with what is going on and with the people you know is important at any age.

10. Respect the younger generation and their opinions. They may not have the same ideals as you, but they are the future, and will take the world in their direction. Give advice, not criticism, and try to remind them that yesterday’s wisdom still applies today.

11. Never use the phrase: “In my time.” Your time is now. As long as you’re alive, you are part of this time. You may have been younger, but you are still you now, having fun and enjoying life.

12. Some people embrace their golden years, while others become bitter and surly. Life is too short to waste your days on the latter. Spend your time with positive, cheerful people, it’ll rub off on you and your days will seem that much better. Spending your time with bitter people will make you older and harder to be around.

13. Do not surrender to the temptation of living with your children or grandchildren (if you have a financial choice, that is). Sure, being surrounded by family sounds great, but we all need our privacy. They need theirs and you need yours. If you’ve lost your partner (our deepest condolences), then find a person to move in with you and help out. Even then, do so only if you feel you really need the help or do not want to live alone.

14. Don’t abandon your hobbies. If you don’t have any, make new ones. You can travel, hike, cook, read, dance. You can adopt a cat or a dog, grow a garden, play cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, golf. You can paint, volunteer or just collect certain items. Find something you like and spend some real time having fun with it.

15. Even if you don’t feel like it, try to accept invitations. Baptisms, graduations, birthdays, weddings, conferences. Try to go. Get out of the house, meet people you haven’t seen in a while, experience something new (or something old). But don’t get upset when you’re not invited. Some events are limited by resources, and not everyone can be hosted. The important thing is to leave the house from time to time. Go to museums, go walk through a field. Get out there.

16. Be a conversationalist. Talk less and listen more. Some people go on and on about the past, not caring if their listeners are really interested. That’s a great way of reducing their desire to speak with you. Listen first and answer questions, but don’t go off into long stories unless asked to. Speak in courteous tones and try not to complain or criticize too much unless you really need to. Try to accept situations as they are. Everyone is going through the same things, and people have a low tolerance for hearing complaints. Always find some good things to say as well.

17. Pain and discomfort go hand in hand with getting older. Try not to dwell on them but accept them as a part of the cycle of life we’re all going through. Try to minimize them in your mind. They are not who you are, they are something that life added to you. If they become your entire focus, you lose sight of the person you used to be.

18. If you’ve been offended by someone – forgive them. If you’ve offended someone - apologize. Don’t drag around resentment with you. It only serves to make you sad and bitter. It doesn’t matter who was right. Someone once said: “Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.” Don’t take that poison. Forgive, forget and move on with your life.

19. If you have a strong belief, savor it. But don’t waste your time trying to convince others. They will make their own choices no matter what you tell them, and it will only bring you frustration. Live your faith and set an example. Live true to your beliefs and let that memory sway them.

20. Laugh. Laugh A LOT. Laugh at everything. Remember, you are one of the lucky ones. You managed to have a life, a long one. Many never get to this age, never get to experience a full life. But you did. So what’s not to laugh about? Find the humor in your situation.

21. Take no notice of what others say about you and even less notice of what they might be thinking. They’ll do it anyway, and you should have pride in yourself and what you’ve achieved. Let them talk and don’t worry. They have no idea about your history, your memories and the life you’ve lived so far. There’s still much to be written, so get busy writing and don’t waste time thinking about what others might think. Now is the time to be at rest, at peace and as happy as you can be!

APPLE IOS PRIVACY AND SECURITY

Apple: You share iCloud data, and we'll make iPhones smarter The company believes privacy is important, but services like Siri work better when a company can analyze real-world data. by Stephen Shankland January 27, 2017.  

Apple's iOS 10.3 software describes how Apple wants to gather iCloud data to improve services.  Apple long has argued in favor of customer privacy , but the company wants to do more with your personal data so services like Siri voice recognition can get smarter. A new option in its iOS 10.3 software , released earlier this week for beta testing, asks iPhone and iPad users to share iCloud account data. iCloud services include file storage, email, calendars, photo management, password synchronization, and music and video library management. Privacy is a thorny issue for tech companies. It sounds nice in principle, but it's technically complicated. And until an FBI investigator arrives , we're more likely to care about how well our phones steer us around traffic and flag important messages than we are about whether a tech company's data center is peering into our personal lives. Apple argues it's possible to have both good services and good privacy. Indeed, it touted privacy even with earlier versions of iOS that already gather data about how we use iPhones and iPads. "Analysis of data from your iCloud account is undertaken only after the data has undergone privacy-preserving techniques such as differential privacy," a new analytics section of the phone's privacy settings says. "Analysis of such data will allow Apple to improve intelligent features such as Siri and other similar or related services. Privacy has been a point of pride for Apple in its attempt to get its products to stand out . In 2015, Chief Executive Tim Cook criticized companies like Google that are " gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it. But guess what -- that sort of data can improve driving directions, spam filtering, speech recognition, movie recommendations, autocorrect typing predictions and many other advanced services that make phones so useful. In today's artificial intelligence era , those services are increasingly important. Apple uses technology called differential privacy that statistically muddies data sets to obscure details about individuals while still benefitting from the ability to analyze that user data. In earlier versions of iOS, Apple sought "diagnostic and usage information" to improve products and services, but now Apple is specifically calling out usage of iCloud account data and offering a little more detail on how sharing can improve "language models and other intelligent features. 

HAVE A FEW LAUGHS

Friends

When I was little I had imaginary friends and I used to play with them 

all the time. Actually, they were real people. I just imagined they were 

my friends.(From Steve Bradford.)

Spirited Bidding

A man had just bought a parrot at an auction after some very spirited 

bidding."I suppose that bird talks?" he said to the auctioneer. "Talks!" 

was the reply. "Who do you think was bidding against you?"

Just Sign Here

I was signing the receipt for my credit card purchase when the clerk 

noticedI had never signed my name on the back of the credit card. She 

informed me that she could not complete the transaction unless the card was 

signed. WhenI asked why, she explained that it was necessary to compare 

the signatureI had just signed on the receipt. So I signed the credit card

in front of her. She carefully compared the signature to the one I had 

just signed on the receipt. As luck would have it, they matched.

Meeting Schedule

Mr. Frobisher always scheduled the weekly staff meeting for four-thirty 

onFriday afternoons. When one of the employees finally got up the nerve 

to ask why, he explained. "I will tell you why. I've learned that's the 

only time of the week when nobody wants to argue with me."

Just Asking...

Little Johnny asked his Grandma how old she was. Grandma winked and 

answered,"39 and holding." Johnny thought about that and then asked, "And 

how old would you be if you let go?

EVER WONDER WHY COMPUTER VICES ARE MOSTLY FEMALE

Technology Why Your Cell Phone Sounds Female BY JESSI HEMPEL.  

Ask Siri if she's a woman. Go ahead; try it. She'll tell you she's genderless. "Like cacti. And certain species of fish," she might say. So is Amazon's Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana, Samsung's S Voice, and Google Now. But, man, do they ever sound a lot like women. Culturally, we think of them as ladies too. (In Old Norse, Siri translates to "a beautiful woman who leads you to victory.") We assign female pronouns to them, and, in turn, they fold feminine turns of phrase into their robotic and occasionally inane answers to our requests. If we prize gender diversity in other areas of daily life, why does our tech sound so female? It would be easy to credit-or fault-male designers, perhaps influenced by science fiction. (Interesting fact: In the original Star Trek TV series, the voice of the Federation's onboard computers was supplied by creator Gene Roddenberry's wife, Majel Barrett.) But the biggest reason for the female phone fixation rests in social science. "Research indicates there's likely to be greater acceptance of female speech," says Karl MacDorman, an associate professor at Indiana University who specializes in human-computer interaction. MacDorman and his team played clips of male and female voices to people of both genders, then asked them to identify which they preferred. The researchers also measured the way participants responded to the voices. In a 2011 paper, they reported that both women and men said female voices came across as warmer. In practice, women even showed a subconscious preference for responding to females; men remained subconsciously neutral. Why the bias? Stanford University communications professor Clifford Nass, said that people tend to perceive female voices as helping them solve their problems by themselves, while they view male voices as authority figures who tell them the answers to their problems. We want technology to help us, but we also want to be the boss of it, so we are more likely to opt for a female interface. This inclination suggests that companies will make a better impression on a broader group of customers with a woman's voice. But not just any voice. It has to align with a brand's personality. For help with that, companies often turn to Greg Pal, vice president of marketing, strategy, and business development at Nuance Communications, which licenses its library of more than 100 voices. Pal insists that some brands choose male speakers. He turned on his iPhone and pulled up the Domino's Pizza app, which has an assistant, Dom. He sounded like my high school English teacher-­educated and helpful but not overbearing. That's about right for a brand attempting to appeal to guys ordering pies before the big game. As voice technology improves, though, designers say diversity will too. Many devices already let you customize a voice interface. Homer Simpson can tell you where to take a left on your GPS device. And Siri can become a sir, if you take the time to reprogram. Want to know how to do it? Ask her. She'll tell you in her uniquely warm, helpful-­and female-tone. 

INSPIRING STORY-YOU CAN DO IT

Google Doodle honors disability rights activist Ed Roberts Monday's Doodle honors one of the pioneers in the disability rights movement. Tech Culture by Dan Graziano January 23, 2017.  

Up Next At Trump's inauguration, tech sputters Google Google celebrated what would have been the 78th birthday of disability rights activities Ed Roberts on Monday with a new Doodle.  Roberts contracted polio at the age of 14 and was a paralyzed from the neck down. For the next 43 years, he used a wheelchair and had to sleep in an 800-pound iron lung at night. The activist, however, didn't let his disability stop him from pursuing dreams, such as earning a college degree. Roberts became the first student with severe disabilities to attend the University of California at Berkeley, where he helped others by creating the Physically Disabled Students Program. "Roberts went on to earn his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from Berkeley, and later returned to lead the Berkeley Center for Independent Living, which inspired many similar centers around the US," Google noted in a biography of Roberts . "In 1976, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him director of the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and in 1983 he co-founded the World Institute on Disability. Roberts died on March 14, 1995. He was 56 years old. . 

DRIVERLESS CAR UPDATE

Tesla activates second-gen Autopilot features, with a catch Some cars may need adjustments, according to CEO Elon Musk, and the features err on the side of safety.  by Andrew Krok January 23, 2017.    @ 

Up Next New 2018 Buick Enclave expected at the New York Auto Show When Tesla started producing and delivering cars equipped with its second-generation Autopilot hardware, many common features were deactivated. That's finally changing -- but it'll be a slow process. Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed.  Autopilot came online late last week for cars equipped with the second generation of Autopilot hardware. HW2, as Musk calls it, turns on additional cameras and sensors in anticipation of an eventual rollout of Level 5 autonomy, which is completely driverless. Enlarge Image HW2 applies to all cars produced on or after October 19, 2016. Emme Hall/Roadshow Musk also urged caution, however. Some cars will need a camera angle adjustment, but owners will easily know if their cars require it, because the car won't complete a calibration and may throw an error. As Autopilot becomes available to HW2-equippped Teslas, only certain features will be activated. This first phase includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and Autosteer, which helps keep the car in its lane.  Autosteer will only activate below 45 mph, because it's "needed most" in heavy traffic. One of the reasons for the low speed setting is likely safety. Tesla escaped the recent NHTSA investigation into Autopilot unscathed, and it was actually praised for the measures it took to improve driver awareness in the wake of the fatal accident that spurred the investigation. By preventing more drivers from letting Jesus take the wheel at higher speeds, Tesla can keep a close watch on the system's performance in a more controlled environment. As time goes on, Tesla will collect more and more data about its system performance, at which point it will increase the speed limit on Autosteer. At that point, additional systems are likely to come online, as well. Tesla is using its own image-processing and machine-learning systems for HW2-equipped cars, so it's probably wise for it to take baby steps. . 

A GOOD SOUNDING POTATO RECIPE

PARMESAN RUSSET POTATO WEDGES

3 large russet potatoes

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. freshly shredded Parmesan

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Favorite dressing, for dipping

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cut potatoes into wedges. Add to baking sheet and top with olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper. Toss until fully coated, then flip skin side down.
3. Top with Parmesan and bake until deeply golden and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Garnish with parsley and serve with your favorite dressing for dipping.

WATCHING OUT FOR THE FLU

This is exactly when you're more likely to catch the flu. 

Cases of flu are on the rise, according to a recent statement from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and experts are warning that this year's flu season will be worse than last. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Virology is shedding some light on exactly how cold weather and the spread of viruses are linked. It turns out, seasonal flu outbreaks first appear each year about a week after the winter's first cold spell-or at least that's what happened in Sweden, over the course of three years when researchers tracked weather patterns and the prevalence of the virus. During that time, researchers collected more than 20,000 nasal swabs from people seeking medical care in and around the city of Gothenburg, and analyzed them for influenza A and other respiratory viruses. Then they compared those findings with weather data from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. A surprisingly consistent pattern emerged: Each year, the first really cold week-with low humidity and temperatures below freezing-seemed to trigger the spread of flu!)  "We believe that this sudden drop in temperature contributes to 'kickstart' the epidemic," said lead author Nicklas Sundell, a researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy and infectious diseases specialist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.  "Once the epidemic has started, it continues even if temperatures rise. Once people are sick and contagious, many more may become infected. Airborne particles containing liquid and virus-from a sneeze, for example-can spread more easily in cold and dry weather, say the study authors. Dry air absorbs moisture from the particles, shrinking them and helping them stay in the air longer and travel longer distances. The study found that some other common respiratory infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus and coronavirus, followed similar, temperature-driven patterns. But others, like rhinovirus (one cause of the common cold), did not seem to be affected by the weather or season.  Sundell said that better knowledge of outbreaks based on weather may help doctors and public health experts know what's coming-and communicate those risks to the public. "If you can predict the start of the annual epidemics of the flu and other respiratory viruses, you can use this knowledge to promote campaigns for the flu vaccine," he said. Hospital emergency departments could also prepare in advance, he added, for increased numbers of sick patients. Of course, cold weather isn't the only prerequisite for flu epidemics to take off. "The virus [also] has to be present among the population, and there have to be enough people susceptible to the infection," Sundell explained. And the flu obviously still spreads in climates that are warm year-round, says Nirav Patel, MD, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Saint Louis University, who was not involved in the new study. "Clearly then, the temperature drop is important, but perhaps not the only factor," Dr. Patel said.  He also points out that the study was only able to show a correlation between weather and flu timing in one particular region. "We'd need to see this replicated in other climate areas to assess whether this is a consistent phenomenon or is unique to influenza in Sweden," he wrote. Still, he says the findings are "definitely intriguing, and should be explored further. In the meantime, he'll continue recommending the same things he's always recommended for preventing the spread of flu-regardless of the temperature outside: covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, washing your hands frequently, and getting an annual flu shot. 

PREPARING FOR A FUTURE MANNED TRIP TO MARS

NASA study paving way for human travel to Mars.  

A group of NASA-funded researchers are poised to enter an isolated geodesic dome on a remote Hawaii volcano to study human behavior in long-term space exploration, including a planned voyage to Mars. The six scientists enter their new home Thursday on the Big Island's Mauna Loa volcano for an eight-month stay. The team will have no physical contact with people in the outside world and will work with a 20-minute delay in communications, the time it would take for an email to reach Earth from Mars. The study will assess the psychological difficulties associated with living in isolated and confined conditions for an extended time. The project is designed to help the U.S. space agency send humans on long space voyages including to Mars by the 2030s. "We're hoping to figure out how best to select individual astronauts, how to compose a crew and how to support that crew on long-duration space missions," principal investigator Kim Binstead, a University of Hawaii science professor. She said NASA's timeline is realistic unless the agency is "directed to do something different by the new administration. Trump's transition team did not respond to an emailed request for comment on NASA's plan. Leading the crew is mission commander James Bevington, a freelance space scientist who has acted as a visiting researcher for the International Space University. The other team members include engineers, a computer scientist, a doctoral candidate and a biomedical expert. They were selected from a group of 700 applicants that went through cognitive and personality tests as well as extensive interviews. "When I started, my biggest fear was that we were going to be that crew that turned out like Biosphere 2, which wasn't a very pretty picture," Bevington said. Biosphere 2 was a 1990s experimental greenhouse-like habitat in Arizona. It housed different natural ecosystems and a small crew in an effort to understand what would be needed for humans to live on other planets. The experiment quickly spiraled out of control as the habitat failed to maintain safe levels of carbon dioxide and the crew grew discontent. The latest HI-SEAS mission is the third round of research funded by NASA, which has dedicated over $2 million to the Hawaii project. Previous missions focused on food requirements and crew cohesion. "Mars is one of the best places in the solar system to look for signs of past or current life," said Binstead, adding that would be the most significant scientific discovery "of all time. Furthermore, man-made disasters or natural catastrophes such as an asteroid hit could force a human exodus from Earth, she said. "Right now, all of our eggs for life are in one basket. I think it's a good overall strategy for us as a species to spread out further. The researchers will wear devices around their necks that measure their moods and proximity to other team members. They'll also use virtual reality devices to simulate familiar and comforting surroundings they wouldn't have access to while living on Mars. They will wear space suits whenever they leave the compound to conduct daily tasks including geological and mapping studies. The crew eats mostly freeze-dried foods that have a long shelf life. Some canned food and lightweight snacks are also brought in, including one of Hawaii's favorites. "Spam gets quite popular," Binstead said. Occasional resupply deliveries are recovered with a robot in order to maintain the crew's isolation. The 1200-square-foot simulated space home has small sleeping quarters for each member as well as a kitchen, laboratory and bathroom. The University of Hawaii operates the facility called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS. There are a number of other Mars simulation projects around the world, but the Hawaii project has been receiving federal funding for several years and is unique, the university says, because of its accessibility, weather and Mars-like geography, tucked away on a rocky, red plain below the summit of the world's largest active volcano. 

SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT

Off Balance 

I'm not saying that the customer service in my bank is bad, but when I went in the other day and asked the clerk to check my balance, she leaned over and pushed me. 

Oops 

My six-year-old grandson called his mother from his friend Charlie's house and confessed he had broken a lamp when he threw a football in their living room. "But, Mom," he said, brightening, "you don't have to worry about buying another one. Charlie's mother said it was irreplaceable." 

Mistakes 

One day, an employee received an unusually large check. She decided not to say anything about it. The following week, her check was for less that the normal amount, and she confronted her boss. "How come," the supervisor inquired, "you didn't say anything when you were overpaid?" Unperturbed, the employee replied, "Well, I can overlook one mistake — but not two in a row!" 

Things I've Learned 

• I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."
• I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
• I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
• I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
• I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
• I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
• I've learned that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
• I've learned that money doesn't buy class.
• I've learned that under someone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
• I've learned that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
• I've learned that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
• I've learned that the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
• I've learned that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
• I've learned that one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
• I've learned that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
• I've learned that it is best to give advice in only two circumstances — when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.
• I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF A COLD SHOWER-BURRR

Can a cold shower really benefit your hair, skin and metabolism? By Jessica Migala Published January 14, 2017.  

A blast of chilly water may do the body good-but are the shivers worth it? Of all the beauty trends out there right now, this one might take the cake: searches for "cold showers" are up 75% on Pinterest, according to the social platform. Proponents claim the brrr-inducing temps help increase metabolism, boost mood, and even lead to healthier skin and hair. But showers aren't just about getting clean (hello, relaxation!) , so a cold one better offer real perks. But does it? Well... maybe. First, let's talk beauty benefits. In terms of your hair, "the cold will flatten the ruffled cuticles and lock in moisture to prevent breakage," says Jessie Cheung, MD, a dermatologist in the Chicago area. Cold water will initially help constrict blood vessels in your skin to temporarily tighten pores and decrease redness and puffiness, she adds. What's more, cold temperatures boost circulation (it's your body's way of keeping warm). For your face, that might mean a healthy glow.  A cold shower is also said to help boost mood, but the evidence for this is slim. One study from the International Journal of Circumpolar Health looked at the practice of "winter swimming," which is popular in Finland. Their findings suggest that regularly taking a dip in cold water (the participants swam four times a week) might improve energy and overall well-being. And a 2007 study published in Medical Hypotheses found that short 2-3 minute cold showers may help relieve depressive symptoms-but the researchers noted more widespread studies on this are needed. There has been some emerging research suggesting cold temperatures may stimulate brown fat, a type of fat that burns extra calories. In a small 2014 study, men exposed to a cold environment had an increase in brown fat volume as well as corresponding fat metabolic activity. But again, there's not enough research to suggest that taking cold showers can lead to weight loss. The real benefits may come from avoiding super-hot showers in the first place. Hot water might feel good, but it does a number on your skin and hair, explains New York City-based dermatologist Lance Brown, MD. "Hot water will strip away some of the natural, protective oils that your skin makes," he says, which can leave skin feeling dry and itchy and possibly exacerbate skin conditions like eczema. This is especially problematic during the winter months, when cold air outside and dry heat inside naturally make skin more parched.  The good news: "You don't need to be in the cold for too long to see skin and hair benefits," says Dr. Cheung. "A short blast-aim for at least 10 seconds-at the end of your shower will do. If that's just not going to work for you, don't feel guilty about skipping the cold shower altogether. Dr. Brown recommends short, 10-minute showers in lukewarm or mildly cold water. Lather up with a gentle, fragrance-free soap, pat your body dry with a towel, and follow up with a moisturizer on still-damp skin. Enjoy the glow! 

LOOKS LIKE LADIES REALLY MAY BE COLDER NATURED THAN MEN

There's a scientific reason women are always colder than men By Amy Schlinger Published January 15, 2017. 

Picture it: you're out for a walk during the fall and you're wearing a down jacket while your male companion is in a vest. Or you're in the office shivering under a blanket and wishing you had a space heater while your male coworkers lose layer after layer. As it turns out, there are actual, scientific reasons why that's the case. Read on for the evidence you need the next time you want control of the thermostat: 1. Women have higher core body temperatures than men. This one seems counterintuitive, but stay with us. A study done by the University of Maryland School of Medicine published in the JAMA Network] found that while body temperature does vary from person to person, day to day, women's body temperatures were consistently higher than than male counterparts. So that should mean we'd be warmer then, right? Wrong! When your body is used to being warm, colder air feels even cooler to the body. 2. Women on birth control have even higher core body temperatures. All of the above goes double if you're using hormonal birth control. Hormones affect your body temperature, though you may not notice it. So because birth control affects female hormones, it can also raise your body temperature even further, making you more sensitive to the cold. 3. Women have colder extremities than men. The first thing you'll often hear women say when noticing how cold they are: their hands and feet are freezing . This is real too: according to a study published in the UK Medical Journal The Lancet , women's hands and feet are colder than men's by a few degrees . If your hands and feet are suffering, it's unlikely the rest of you feels warm and toasty. 4. Women have slower metabolic rates than men. This one stinks for two reasons: According to an article published in the Journal of Applied Physiology , men have a metabolic rate about 23 percent higher than women. Your metabolism is the rate at which you burn food to fuel the body, and as a by-product of that process, you heat up the body . So women's bodies are colder than men because our metabolisms are slower- and it's the reason we can eat fewer cookies without gaining weight. Womp. 5. Building temperatures are set based on male metabolic rates. Your office really is out to get you- at least temperature-wise. According to research published in the journal Nature , most workplaces thermostats are set based on a model developed in 1960s, which only takes into account male metabolic rates (presumably because at the time there weren't many women there to complain.) Not cool, office managers. Pun intended. 

UNSOLVED MEDICAL ISSUE-MAYBE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP

Thanks to AI, computers can now see your health problems By Megan Molteni Published January 14, 2017.  

Patient Number Two was born to first-time parents, late 20s, white. The pregnancy was normal and the birth uncomplicated. But after a few months, it became clear something was wrong. The child had ear infection after ear infection and trouble breathing at night. He was small for his age, and by his fifth birthday, still hadn't spoken. He started having seizures. Brain MRIs, molecular analyses, basic genetic testing, scores of doctors; nothing turned up answers. With no further options, in 2015 his family decided to sequence their exomes-the portion of the genome that codes for proteins-to see if he had inherited a genetic disorder from his parents. A single variant showed up: ARID1B. The mutation suggested he had a disease called Coffin-Siris syndrome. But Patient Number Two didn't have that disease's typical symptoms, like sparse scalp hair and incomplete pinky fingers. So, doctors, including Karen Gripp, who met with Two's family to discuss the exome results, hadn't really considered it. Gripp was doubly surprised when she uploaded a photo of Two's face to Face2Gene. The app, developed by the same programmers who taught Facebook to find your face in your friend's photos, conducted millions of tiny calculations in rapid succession-how much slant in the eye? How narrow is that eyelid fissure? How low are the ears? Quantified, computed, and ranked to suggest the most probable syndromes associated with the facial phenotype. There's even a heat map overlay on the photo that shows which the features are the most indicative match.  "In hindsight it was all clear to me," says Gripp, who is chief of the Division of Medical Genetics at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware, and had been seeing the patient for years. "But it hadn't been clear to anyone before. What had taken Patient Number Two's doctors 16 years to find took Face2Gene just a few minutes. Face2Gene takes advantage of the fact that so many genetic conditions have a tell-tale "face"-a unique constellation of features that can provide clues to a potential diagnosis. It is just one of several new technologies taking advantage of how quickly modern computers can analyze, sort, and find patterns across huge reams of data. They are built in fields of artificial intelligence known as deep learning and neural nets-among the most promising to deliver AI's 50-year old promise to revolutionize medicine by recognizing and diagnosing disease. Genetic syndromes aren't the only diagnoses that could get help from machine learning. The RightEye GeoPref Autism Test can identify the early stages of autism in infants as young as 12 months-the crucial stages where early intervention can make a big difference. Unveiled January 2 at CES in Las Vegas, the technology uses infrared sensors test the child's eye movement as they watch a split-screen video: one side fills with people and faces, the other with moving geometric shapes. Children at that age should be much more attracted to faces than abstract objects, so the amount of time they look at each screen can indicate where on the autism spectrum a child might fall. In validation studies done by the test's inventor, UC San Diego researcher Karen Pierce,1 the test correctly predicted autism spectrum disorder 86 percent of the time in more than 400 toddlers. That said, it's still pretty new, and hasn't yet been approved by the FDA as a diagnostic tool. "In terms of machine learning, it's the simplest test we have," says RightEye's Chief Science Officer Melissa Hunfalvay. "But before this, it was just physician or parent observations that might lead to a diagnosis. And the problem with that is it hasn't been quantifiable. A similar tool could help with early detection of America's sixth leading cause of death: Alzheimer's disease. Often, doctors don't recognize physical symptoms in time to try any of the disease's few existing interventions. But machine learning hears what doctor's can't: Signs of cognitive impairment in speech. This is how Toronto-based Winterlight Labs is developing a tool to pick out hints of dementia in its very early stages. Co-founder Frank Rudzicz calls these clues "jitters," and "shimmers:" high frequency wavelets only computers, not humans, can hear. Winterlight's tool is way more sensitive than the pencil and paper-based tests doctor's currently use to assess Alzheimer's. Besides being crude, data-wise, those tests can't be taken more than once every six months. Rudzicz's tool can be used multiple times a week, which lets it track good days, bad days, and measure a patient's cognitive functions over time. The product is still in beta, but is currently being piloted by medical professionals in Canada, the US, and France. If this all feels a little scarily sci-fi to you, it's useful to remember that doctors have been trusting computers with your diagnoses for a long time. That's because machines are much more sensitive at both detecting and analyzing the many subtle indications that our bodies are misbehaving. For instance, without computers, Patient Number Two would never have been able to compare his exome to thousands of others, and find the genetic mutation marking him with Coffin-Siris syndrome. But none of this makes doctors obsolete. Even Face2Gene-which, according to its inventors, can diagnose up to half of the 8,000 known genetic syndromes using facial patterns gleaned from the hundreds of thousands of images in its database-needs a doctor (like Karen Gripp) with enough experience to verify the results. In that way, machines are an extension of what medicine has always been: A science that grows more powerful with every new data point.

NOT SO GOOD NEWS FOR US STEAK EATERS

Sorry, steak lovers: Red meat linked to gut condition By Sara G. Miller, Published January 11, 2017.  

Men who regularly eat red meat have a higher risk of developing an inflammatory bowel condition called diverticulitis than men who don't have much red meat in their diet, a new study finds. The men in the study who ate six or more servings of red meat weekly were 58 percent more likely to develop diverticulitis during the 26-year study than the men in the study who ate the least amount, which was 1.2 servings weekly on average. Diverticulitis occurs when the wall of a person's gut bulges out from its usual position and forms a small sac - called a diverticulum - and this sac becomes inflamed, according to the study.  Although such bulges can happen anywhere in the gut, they're most common in the large intestine. Diverticulitis leads to about 210,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States, and the total cost of treating patients with the condition is more than $2 billion, the researchers said. (In severe cases of diverticulitis, people may need intravenous antibiotics or surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic .) However, it's not entirely clear what causes the condition, and what puts someone at risk for developing it, the researchers said in the study. The research was led by Yin Cao, a research fellow in nutrition at the Harvard University T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Some risk factors for diverticulitis include smoking, taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (or NSAIDs ) and a lack of physical activity. However, little is known about what dietary factors, beyond not eating enough fiber , may play a role, according to the study. In the study, the researchers analyzed data collected from more than 46,000 men enrolled in the ongoing Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Every two years, the men in the study filled out questionnaires about their medical histories and any illnesses they had, and every four years, they completed a questionnaire to give researchers a sense of their diets. None of the men included in the study had problems related to diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease or a gastrointestinal cancer at the beginning of the study. In the dietary questionnaires, the men were asked several questions about their meat intake, including how often they ate red meat, processed red meat, poultry and fish. During the 26-year follow-up period, 764 men developed diverticulitis, the researchers found. Aside from finding the link between red meat and an increased risk of diverticulitis, the researchers also found that other types of animal protein were associated with a decreased risk of diverticulitis. For example, substituting one serving of red meat with a serving of fish or poultry was associated with a 20 percent lower risk of developing the condition during the study period, the researchers found. The researchers noted that men who reported eating more red meat also smoked more, took NSAIDs more often and did less vigorous exercise than men who reported eating less red meat. However, the link between red meat and diverticulitis remained even after the researchers accounted for these other risk factors. The study did not prove there is a cause-and-effect relationship between eating more red meat and developing diverticulitis. However, there are several hypotheses for why red meat may play a role in diverticulitis. For example, higher red meat intake is linked to higher levels of chronic inflammation , which may increase a person's risk for the condition, the researchers said. In addition, red meat intake may alter the gut microbiome in a way that increases a person's risk, they added. Though processed red meat is often implicated in health problems (for example, bacon made headlines in 2015 when the World Health Organization linked the processed meat to cancer ), unprocessed red meat was found to be the major driver of the link between red meat and diverticulitis, the researchers said in the study. Compared with processed meat, unprocessed meat, such as steak, "is usually consumed in larger portions, which could lead to a larger undigested piece in the large [intestine] and induce different changes" in the gut microbiome, the researchers said. Another hypothesis for unprocessed red meat's role is that the higher cooking temperatures used to prepare the food may also influence gut bacteria or inflammation levels, they said. However, these factors need to be studied further, they added. The study had limitations, including that the men reported their own red meat intake, according to the study. In addition, because the study included only men, it is unclear if the results also apply to women, the researchers said. 

GREAT DOG STORY

Dog stays with owner for 20 hours after man breaks his neck in Michigan Published January 12, 2017.  

While most of Michigan and the country were out celebrating on New Year's Eve, a northern Michigan man was lying in the snow - paralyzed after he slipped and fell. But his faithful dog saved his life.  The man, known only as Bob, was watching football on New Year's Even and waiting to watch the ball drop. When his game went to commercial, he ran out to get some wood for his fire. He was wearing only long johns, slippers, and a shirt for the 15-foot walk. Suddenly, he slipped and fell, breaking his neck. He doesn't have any close neighbors, so when he was yelling for help, the only help he got was his best friend - Kelsey, his golden retriever. "I was screaming for help, but my nearest neighbor is about a quarter mile away and it was 10:30 p.m., but my Kelsey came," Bob told McLaren Hospital. "By morning, my voice was gone and I couldn't yell for help, but Kelsey didn't stop barking. Temperatures dropped to 24 degrees that night, and there was Bob, lying in the snow with Kelsey by his side. He said she kept him warm by lying on top of him. She also licked his face and hands to keep him awake. "She kept barking for help but never left my side," Bob said. "She kept me warm and alert. I knew I had to persevere through this and that it was my choice to stay alive. At hour 19, Bob lost consciousness. Kelsey kept barking and finally, a neighbor heard her. "She was letting out this screeching howl that alerted my neighbor," Bob said. "He found me at 6:30 p.m. on New Year's Day. According to McLaren Northern Hospital, who told Bob's story, he was hypothermic, with a core body temperature under 70 degrees Fahrenheit, in atrial fibrillation, and had a C4-C5 disc herniation. The disc herniation was in his neck and was compressing the spinal cord, causing weakness or paralysis in his legs. The emergency department worked to stabilize him and get him to start healing. Bob said it was Kelsey who saved his life that day. "I was surprised to find out that I didn't have any frost bite," Bob said. "I am sure it was because of Kelsey's determination to keep me warm and safe. The good news, he's already got use of his extremities, according to Chaim Colen, MD, Neurosurgeon at McLaren Northern Michigan. "I immediately took the patient back to the operating room for decompression of his spinal cord and stabilization. After the surgery, miraculously, he started to move his extremities with greater strength. Since the surgery, Bob is motivated to heal and get back to his farm. He will need intense physical and oc'cup'ational therapy to regain strength and function - but he is on the road to recovery, all thanks to his heroes. "Kelsey kept me warm, alert, and never stopped barking for help. Dr. Colen saved my life and ability to move. They are truly heroes and I will be eternally grateful. 

HANDBOOK FOR 2017

words to the wise!!!!

"Life's tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid."

-John Wayne

 

Of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most.

Health

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2016.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile! 

   Personality:

 

    11. Don't compare your life to others... You have no idea what their journey is all about.

    12. Eliminate negative thoughts and things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive and in the present moment.

    13. Don't overdo. Know your limits.

    14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

    15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

    16. Dream more while you're awake!

   17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

   18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

   19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others. 

   20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

   21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

   22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are part of the curriculum; they appear and fade away but the lessons you learn last a lifetime.

   23. Smile and laugh more.

   24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

 

    Society:

 

   25. Call your family often.

   26. Each day do something good for others.

   27. Forgive everyone for everything.

   28. For a learning experience, spend some time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 8.

   29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

   30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

   31. Your job won't take care of you when you're sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

 

     Life:

   32. Do the right thing!

   33. Get rid of everything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

   34. God heals everything. 

   35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

   36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

   37. The Best is yet to come.

   38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

   39. BE HAPPY EACH DAY!

HAVE A GOOD LAUGH OR TWO

Sermons & Grass 
"Nature is a gift from God and every blade of grass is a sermon," a preacher told his summertime congregation. The next day, the minister was mowing his lawn when a member of the church who had heard the blade of grass illustration came along. The parishioner stood and watched his pastor mow for a while. Then, nodding his head in approval, he said, "Way to go, Pastor, cut 'em short." 

Going For A Record 

A woman meant to call a record store but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead. "Do you have 'Eyes of Blue' and 'A Love Supreme'?" she asked. "Well, no," answered the puzzled homeowner. "But I have a wife and eleven children." "Is that a record?" she inquired. "I don't think so," replied the man, "but it's as close as I want to get." 

The Teen 

A mother takes her son to a psychiatrist and says, "Doctor, I'd like you to evaluate my 13-year-old son." "He's suffering from a transient psychosis with an intermittent rage disorder, punctuated by episodic radical mood swings, but his prognosis is good for full recovery." "How can you say all that without even meeting him?" "Didn't you say he was 13?" 

Honeymoon's Over 

The day after a young couple had returned from their honeymoon, the bride called her mother in a panic. "What's the matter, dear? Was the honeymoon dreadful?" "No, but oh, Mama! As soon as we got home, he started using the most horrible language! Horrible four-letter words!" "Darling, shhhh," said her mother. "Calm down and tell me what he said that was so awful." "Oh, Mama, it's so embarrassing," cried the still sobbing bride. "He said words like 'cook,' 'iron,' 'wash' and 'dust!'" 

A New Year Prayer for the Elderly 

God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones that I do, And the eyesight to tell the difference.

PETS REALLY CAN GET THE FLU

How to protect your pet from the flu Published January 09, 2017.  

Believe it or not, your pet can get the flu - just like you. And, it turns out - it's pretty common. One recent study in Ohio found 30 percent of cats had been infected with the flu virus. The symptoms are the same as the ones humans face: breathing difficulty, runny nose and fatigue. Often, pets catch the flu from their owners. Here's what you can do to reduce Fluffy and Fido's chances of getting sick: Wash your hands Cover your mouth when coughing Update your pet's vaccines Get a flu shot Pets can also get viruses from other animals, so keep an eye on your best friend's 'friends. 

DO YOU DO ENOUGH EXERCISE

It's all good: Any exercise cuts risk of death, study finds Published January 09, 2017.  

People who pack their workouts into one or two sessions a week lower their risk of dying over roughly the next decade nearly as much as people who exercise more often, new research suggests. Even people who get less exercise than recommended have less risk than folks who don't break a sweat at all. "If someone is completely inactive, the best thing they can do is even getting out and taking a walk," said Hannah Arem, a health researcher at George Washington University. For people who think they don't have enough time for small amounts of exercise to matter, the results are "encouraging or perhaps motivating," she said. She had no role in the study, but wrote a commentary published with the results Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Here are some things to know. HOW MUCH EXERCISE DO WE NEED? U.S. and global guidelines call for 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week, ideally spread out so you get some on most days. That's based on many previous studies suggesting a host of benefits beyond the risk of premature death that this study measured. HOW THE STUDY WAS DONE Researchers at Loughborough University in England used surveys by trained interviewers on nearly 64,000 adults in England and Scotland from 1994 to 2008. By last year, 8,802 had died. Participants were grouped according to how much exercise they said they got the preceding month: -Inactive (no leisure time exercise), 63 percent. -Regular exercisers (meet the guidelines), 11 percent. -Weekend warriors (get the recommended weekly amount but in one or two sessions), 4 percent. -Insufficiently active (get less than the recommended weekly amount), 22 percent. RESULTS The risk of dying was about 30 percent lower in weekend warriors and insufficient exercisers versus those who were inactive. Regular exercisers lowered their risk a little more, by 35 percent. Any amount of activity helped cut the risk of dying of heart disease by about 40 percent, compared to being a couch potato. DOES THIS MEAN THE GUIDELINES ARE BUNK? No, independent experts say. Exercise has many other benefits such as helping to prevent dementia, depression, high blood pressure, unhealthy sleep patterns and diabetes. Some of these effects are short-lived, so exercising more often gives more of them, Arem said. "I don't know that we're ready to say, based on this study, that people shouldn't try to exercise more than that if they can," said Dr. Daniel Rader, preventive cardiology chief at the University of Pennsylvania. "People who exercise more regularly report that they feel like they have a better quality of life," among other benefits, he said. Still, the results are "quite fascinating and a bit surprising" on the "dose" of exercise needed for benefit, Rader said. "Even if you only have time to do something once a week, this study would suggest it's still worth doing. CAVEATS TO THE STUDY More than 90 percent of the participants were white, so results may differ in other racial or ethnic groups. Exercise was only assessed at the start of the study and could have changed over time. The biggest limitation is that observational studies like this can only suggest exercise and health risks may be related; they cannot prove the point. 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PROTEIN

The do's and don'ts of protein By Kristen Dold Published January 05, 2017. 

You can be really, really clueless about nutrition and weight loss and still know this: Protein is a freakin' saint. It's satiating as heck (bolstering your willpower against nefarious 3 p.m. 'cup'cakes), it keeps your hair lush and leonine, and of course it builds strong muscles (so you can lift semi-heavy things and not offend people at the beach). But there's a lot of protein noise and weirdness out there (eyes on you, creepy protein water), which makes knowing when and how to eat it very confusing. With the help of The Rock (just kidding: only two incredibly smart food experts) we've sorted through the details so you can start using protein to burn off your belly and whittle out some triceps grooves. Don't: Eat it all in one sitting. We don't store protein the way we do with carbs or fat, so wolfing down a massive steak dinner tonight doesn't cover you for tomorrow morning's CrossFit session, says sports nutritionist Chris Mohr. To stay topped off throughout the day, aim for around 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal, which is about the size of your palm if you're having meat, or a 'cup' of Greek yogurt, or three eggs. (If you're anal, Mohr says the recommended amount of protein is .25 grams of protein per pound of body weight per meal. Enjoy your calculations.) Do: Eat a protein snack (around 10 grams) within 30 to 60 minutes after a tough workout, says Chicago Blackhawks nutritionist Julie Burns. You just ripped up some muscle fibers and they need fuel to rebuild and grow. Don't: Only eat protein like a crazy paleo addict puppet. (No, you're the puppet.) If gobs of meat and fish start pushing fruits, vegetables and grains off your plate, you're going to miss out on key vitamins and minerals that give you energy and protect you from catching a slimy cold. Do: Get the majority of your protein from whole foods like eggs, chicken, fish, red meat, nuts, and dairy. (It's rare for anyone eating a Western diet to have too little protein because we're gluttons.) If you want to boost your intake with a protein supplement, go for whey protein, which is the easiest for your bod to digest and make use of. (Vegans, Burns says, can choose pea, chia, or rice protein blends.) Look for a brand that has the fewest ingredients. Don't: Get lazy if you're a vegan or vegetarian, since plant proteins aren't complete (meaning they lack one or more amino acids needed to build up muscles.) You're special and have to get protein from a variety of sources (quinoa, beans, nuts, tofu, etc.) to hit the mark. Don't: Eat a bunch of protein bars on top of meals if you're trying to lose weight because they're super caloric, and then you'll just get fat and they don't even taste good. 

WINTER TIME AND THOSE PESKY CHAPPED LIPS

7 mistakes that are making your chapped lips worse Published January 04, 2017. 

Chapped lips are the scourge of the winter season. (Actually, it might be a tie between that and slushy sidewalks.) By mid-winter, we're either biting off the dead skin (it's weirdly satisfying), brushing away flakes, or giving up and accepting that we're just going to have to save the matte liquid lipstick for March. Even if you do take the initiative and stock up on your favorite balm , you might find that it's still not enough-because it's not. There are other, sneaky factors making your chapped lips worse, and you won't find the solution in a tube. We asked the experts to explain exactly why your lips are so dry and chapped-and what you can do about it. Using the Wrong Formula That lip-plumping balm isn't doing you any favors, since many of the formulas contain irritating ingredients (which is often how they plump your lips in the first place). "Cooling lip products that contain ingredients like menthol or camphor can cause skin inflammation and dryness," says Joshua Zeichner, M.D., dermatologist and director of Cosmetic & Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. If you're really suffering, Zeichner recommends going with fragrance- and flavor-free formulas.  The more basic it is, the better off you'll be. Wearing Lipstick 24/7 If you're one of those people who cannot be seen without your signature red lipstick, we apologize in advance. Lip color is not exactly a priority in the winter months, since if you have chapped lips, you need re-up on the balm whenever you head outdoors. "Wear it while you sleep and also apply before stepping outside," advises Joanna Vargas, a celebrity facialist in NYC. "This protects the lips-then, you can always apply a color once you arrive wherever you're going. Or go with a tinted lip balm.  Doubling Down on Balm As with sangria and snow, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. If your lips are under a constant layer of heavy lip balms, you could be doing more harm than good. "Constant, chronic use of occlusive lip balms may initially help your lips, but they may interfere with the ability for your lips to function properly," explains Zeichner. Basically, dryness sends a signal to your lips that they need to produce more moisture. If you're layering on balm 24/7, you could lose those cues and your lips won't produce as much oil as they should-kicking off a cycle of chapped lips. Too Much Scrubbing If you've ever peeled dead skin off your lips, you probably know the value of a good lip scrub. But if you're using it on a nightly basis, you're actually worsening the situation. "Don't overdo the exfoliation," says Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D., a dermatologist and founder of Capital Laser & Skin Care in Washington, D.C. "Once a week is good, or you risk irritating your lips and making them even drier. Blasting the Heat On a sub-zero day, it's perfectly understandable to if you want to nurse a warm drink and sit next to your heater. But heat's a big offender when it comes to drying out everything, from your skin to your hair to, yes, your lips. It's even worse if you have a cold and are breathing out of your mouth (because congestion is real). Together, the two can seriously dry out lips, says Zeichner. Your best bet if you have your heater on full blast is to use a humidifier, which releases moisture back into the air. Licking Your Lips This seems kind of obvious: If your lips feel dry and you're stuck without your go-to balm-also known as the fourth circle of hell-moistening your lips by licking them seems like it could be a decent fallback. Not so, as it happens. "Licking your lips if they're dry just makes the problem much worse," says Tanzi. "Not only does it lead to increased dryness, but it can actually lead to a type of eczema if you do it excessively. The only thing worse than chapped lips? Lips with eczema.  If your lips are chapped, it means that the skin barrier there is in rough shape-literally and figuratively. According to Zeichner, spicy foods compromise the skin barrier even further, which only makes your chapped lips worse . Plus, spicy foods have a tendency to burn, and the last thing you want is to feel the burn when your mouth already hurts. Stick on the mild side until your lips have healed-or winter's coldest months have passed. 

IS EARWAX A PROBLEM FOR YOU

The do's and don'ts of removing earwax safely Published January 04, 2017.  

Sticking a cotton swab in your ear on the regular may offer what feels like sweet relief from seemingly impacted wax, but experts say the practice isn't only unnecessary- it's also risky. "Patients often think that they are preventing earwax from building up by cleaning out their ears with cotton swabs, paper clips, ear candles, or any number of unimaginable things that people put in their ears. The problem is that this effort to eliminate earwax is only creating further issues because the earwax is just getting pushed down and impacted further into the ear canal," Dr. Seth R. Schwartz, of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, which released new guidelines Tuesday, said in a news release. "Anything that fits in the ear could cause serious harm to the ear drum and canal with the potential for temporary or even permanent damage. In the updated guidelines, Schwartz and his colleagues write what the organization and other experts have long said: that earwax helps clean, protect and oil ears. During the ear's natural cleaning process, jaw motion and growing skin in the ear canal helps push earwax from inside the ears toward the ear opening, where bathing or flaking leads to earwax removal. Small matter like dirt and dust prevents earwax from burrowing into the ear and affecting hearing and comfort. In some cases, that cleaning process doesn't work, causing earwax to accumulate and partly block the ear canal. Such impaction occurs in an estimated one in 10 children, one in 20 adults, and more than one-third of geriatric and developmentally delayed individuals, according to the organization. Impacted earwax often leads to itching, tinnitus, hearing loss, ear pain, a feeling of fullness in the ear, odor coming from the ear, cough, or change in hearing aid function. These signs may signal a need for help from a medical professional, who can help identify safe solutions for earwax removal, and further address ear pain, drainage or bleeding. As a rule of thumb, the organization advises against putting anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. "There is an inclination for people to want to clean their ears because they believe earwax is an indication of uncleanliness," Schwartz said in the release. "This misinformation leads to unsafe ear health habits. 

A LITTLE HUMOR FOR THE NEW YEAR

New Year's Resolutions 

• My new years resolution is not to shovel snow. Since I'm gonna be in Florida, I feel pretty good about it.
• If you make a New Year's resolution to eat a healthy diet, and you keep it, you won't actually live longer, but it will seem longer.
• Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.
• My new year's resolution is to get better at pretending to know the words to Auld Lang Syne.
• A new year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. 

Fitness Resolutions Over The Years 

2011: I will get my weight down below 180. 
2012: I will watch my calories until I get below 190. 
2013: I will follow my new diet vigorously until I get below 200. 
2014: I will try to develop a realistic attitude about my weight. 
2015: I will work out 5 days a week. 
2016: I will work out 3 days a week. 
2017: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week. 

New Year's Wishes 

• May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs, and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count, and your mortgage interest not rise.
• May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastroenterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber, and the IRS.
• May you find a way to travel from anywhere to anywhere during rush hour in less than an hour, and when you get there, may you find a parking space.
• May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them.
• May God bless you with every happiness, great health, peace, and much love during the new year and all those that follow.