My path is my path. I may share it with others but I walk it alone.

My best year, month, day, minute, second is now, always now.

I work out to be as strong and healthy as I can.

Family counts for me and and I count for them.

Experience is my guide, not my chains.

I act when I know I should.

My fuel is food that is fresh, natural, and real.

Honor is my foundation – my word is my bond.

I know how to fight. You may be younger, faster and stronger. You may even win. But you’re going to be one hurting son-of-a-bitch if you do.

If I get knocked down, I will get up. Again, and again and again.

Death is approaching. I accept it, but I’m sure as hell going to fight it.

My pulse is racing again as I write this post and re-live what happened to me a few weeks ago.

We all should know by now that distracted driving is a no-no. If you are driving and get distracted and have an accident, it is not an “oopsy daisy” – it is an entirely preventable mess that you got yourself (and probably someone else) into.

I recently was walking and came up to an intersection. I waited until the walk sign flashed, then looked both ways and started to cross. To my left I heard some tires chirping, and here came this asshole turning left and coming right at me. I was about a third of the way across the crosswalk, and I stopped dead in my tracks and looked right at the driver. He did not make eye contact with me as he hurtled by me, so I did the very foolish thing and kicked his car in the back panel as hard as I could. I think I got his attention, because he braked and then made an immediate left into a parking lot, and he and his friend came to pay me a little visit. I stood waiting for him on the other side of the crosswalk. He was obviously livid; I could tell he was looking for a confrontation. However when he got up to me he was a good deal shorter and skinnier than I, so he thought better of a physical confrontation. Very impolite words were exchanged between the two of us, and in the end I turned and walked away.

Not my proudest moment of course, but I wondered what I would have happened to me if he had hit me with his car. he probably would have felt pretty bad about running the red light and hitting a pedo, and he probably would have been charged. But who would have had the shittier end of the stick? I enjoy eating turkey dinner as much as the next person, but I sure as hell don’t want to be eating stuffing and gravy through an IV.

My point is simply about how blasé we are in Western society about distracted driving (and using phones when driving in particular).

If you like research, below is an excellent pub put out by the National Safety Council. It’s a bit dated (2010), but the research is solid, and speaks specifically not just to cell phone use, but also why hands-free is no better.

As the National Safety Council states on their site, an estimated 1 in 4 car crashes involves cell phone use. What an abhorrent waste for something that is so easily avoided. Calls kill.

Below is the NSC research paper on the perils of hands-free driving. Even if you only read the first summary page in the document below, you will be enlightened. Please wake up and smell the coffee.

Resources:

National Safety Council – Understanding the distracted brain (pdf)

National Safety Council on distracted driving.

Poking fun at Rotten Ronnies is old school, and John Oliver pulls no punches. McPukes recently had their CEO step down, due in large part to ever-slumping sales that Ronald can’t seem to tun around.

Heart disease, paid independent ‘investigative’ reporting, purported labor code violations and pink slime are all on the menu! Take your hearts meds and enjoy!

Scraped from the Internets, so we are not claiming to be the authors of this, but the sources provide additional info that is worth checking into!

Definitive Answer To 10 of Your Biggest Health Questions

1. Does olive oil prevent heart disease?
Short answer: Yes

The health benefits of olive oil come from the presence of polyphenols and antioxidants that reduce the risk of heart diseases and cancers.  To get these healthy compounds, you should buy good-quality, fresh “extra-virgin” olive oil, which has the highest polyphenol content.

Most commercially available olive oils have low levels of polyphenols associated with poor harvesting methods, improper storage, and heavy processing.

2. Do sugary soft drinks lead to diabetes?
Short answer: Yes

The majority of health research is stacked against sugar-sweetened soda.

A large 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks per day increased their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 83% compared to those who consumed less than one of these beverages per month.

3. Do nuts make you fat?
Short answer: No

As much as 75% of a nut is fat. But eating fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat. The bigger factor leading to weight gain is portion-size. Luckily, nuts are loaded with healthy fats that keep you full. They’re also a good source of protein and fiber. One study even found that whole almonds have 20% less calories than previously thought because a lot of the fat is excreted from the body.

4. Is walking as effective as running?
Short answer: Yes

Studies have shown that how long you exercise ­ and thus how many calories you burn ­ is more important. Than how hard you exercise. Running is a more efficient form of exercise, but not necessarily better for you.

A six-year study published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology in April found that walking at a moderate pace and running produced similar health benefits, so long as the same amount of energy was expended.

5. Is drinking fruit juice as good for you as eating fruit?
Short answer: No

Calorie for calorie, whole fruit provides more nutritional benefits than drinking the pure juice of that fruit. That’s because when you liquefy fruit, stripping away the peel and dumping the pulp, many ingredients like Fiber, calcium, vitamin C, and other antioxidants are lost.

For comparison, a five-ounce glass of orange juice that contains 69 calories has ..3 grams of dietary fiber and 16 milligrams of calcium, whereas an orange with the same number of calories packs 3.1 grams of fiber and 60 milligrams of calcium.

6. Are all wheat breads better for you than white bread?
Short answer: No

Not all wheat breads are created equal. Wheat breads that contain all parts of the grain kernel, Including the nutrient-rich germ and fiber-dense bran, must be labeled “whole grain” or “whole wheat.” Some wheat breads are just white bread with a little bit of caramel coloring to make the bread appear healthier, but don’t be fooled by brown bread.

7. Does coffee cause cancer?
Short answer: No

Coffee got a bad rap in the 1980’s when a study linked drinking coffee to pancreatic cancer, however the preliminary report was later debunked. More recently, health studies have swung in favor of the caffeinated beverage.

Coffee has been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer, and even suicide.

8. Do eggs raise cholesterol levels?
Short answer: No

Although egg yolks are a major source of cholesterol ­ a waxy substance that resembles fat ­ researchers have learned that saturated fat has more of an impact on cholesterol in your blood than eating foods that contain cholesterol.

“Healthy individuals with normal blood cholesterol levels should now feel free to enjoy foods like eggs in their diet every day,” the lead researcher from a 25-year University of Arizona study on cholesterol concluded.

9. Can yogurt ease digestive problems?
Short answer: Yes

Our digestive tract is filled with microorganisms ­ some good and some bad. Yogurt contains beneficial bacteria, generically called probiotics, that helps maintain a healthy balance.

Probiotics can relieve several gastrointestinal problems, including constipation and diarrhea. Certain brands of yogurts, like Activa by Dannon, are marketed exclusively to treat tummy issues.

10. Is red wine better for you than white wine?
Short answer: Yes

Red wine contains much more resveratrol than white wine, an antioxidant found in the skin of grapes that has been shown to fight off diseases associated with aging.

Do some additional digging, and have a productive and relaxing March!

23andMe is a self-described biotechnology company that offers the service of testing a bit of your genetic material (saliva) for a fee of about $200 to give you some insight into your genetic profile. This would include finding out things like what diseases you may be prone to, your genetic heritage and what medications you may be sensitive to.

For a quick overview of the company, Wikipedia is always a nice first stop!

Scientific American offers up a cautionary tale about the collection (and use, or misuse) of crowd-sourced genetic data, and argues that 23andMe’s offering is a way to hoard your personal data.

On the other side of the coin, CBC News (Amanda Lang) had a short 6 minute interview with the CEO of 23andMe to give the official backdrop to their services. Apparently over 700,000 people have already taken part in the service, and some have apparently found some lost relatives as part of the process using the service.

23andme is positioning themselves as a way to not only help individuals understand their genetic history, but they are also hoping to use the aggregate data in a crowd-sourced genetic database for future drug advances and understanding. If you are curious about your past (and a bit about your future), it may be worth checking out. But remember – once you know something, you can’t un-know it