"Murphy was an optimist!"
Deep Thoughts May 15, 2012 12:23 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Health, MentalToo much happening in the head; too little happening through the fingers.
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Arrow to the Knee! May 3, 2012 1:10 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Exercise, Food, HealthI’ve earned my knee socks. That’s right, I’ve been Scoutborged. With Noah working up the ranks in Boy Scouts and Evan having begun scouts as a Tiger scout, I find myself a leader in both Cubscouts and Boy Scouts and Cathy has earned her Scout Widow badge. In June, I will be going on an adventure with Noah to hike in the Canyons of Utah for 9 days (with no cell phone or Internet!) This past weekend, Amy, Evan and I toured and slept overnight in The Lost Sea Caverns. The Weekend before that, Evan and I hiked for miles around Camp Buck Toms, slept over night, and came home with ticks. The weekend prior to that I slipped while doing yard work and torqued my knee. And today, three weeks later, my knee is still tender, hurts to touch, and I cannot put much weight on it.
So, I just paid $25 to have my doctor tell me I’m out of shape. End of story. So to celebrate, I decided to go to Cookout and have a cheese burger with onions, french fries, and hush puppies..MMMMMMmmm. While waiting for my food, I look around the joint and every morose soul there is 2 to 3 times my overweight size. They don’t speak or smile. Slow Jesus rock emanates loudly from the store speakers. For a moment, I consider leaving the five dollars and change worth of heart disease on the counter to escape quickly. In weakness, I grab the food and Cheer Wine float, return to work, and joined a gym.
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State of Me May 2, 2012 11:27 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Health, MentalFrustration level 99
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State of Me April 24, 2012 2:49 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Health, MentalToo stressed.
Frozen.
Locked up.
Overwhelmed.
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It’s all over now April 19, 2012 9:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Health, MentalI must be knocking on death’s door.
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My best friends: me, myself and I April 18, 2012 9:48 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, MentalI talk to my computer. It responds better when I do. My friends and family look at me sideways and pause to make sure I’m not addressing them; I’m talking to myself. Aloud. With purpose. They ask, "are you feeling okay?" They think, "he’s flown over the cuckoo’s nest!
In a recent study published in Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, psychologists Gary Lupyan (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Daniel Swingley (University of Pennsylvania) conducted a series of experiments to discover whether talking to oneself can help when searching for particular objects. … It was found that speaking to themselves helped people find the objects more quickly.
[Source, Science Daily, It Doesn't Mean You're Crazy – Talking to Yourself Has Cognitive Benefits, Study Finds]
[Derived from Source, AlphaGalileo Foundation, It Doesn't Mean You're Crazy – Talking To Yourself Has Cognitive Benefits, Study Finds]
[Original Source, Taylor & Francis Group, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology - Self-directed speech affects visual search performance]
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This is why they hurt you March 6, 2012 10:49 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Mental, Of Interest"Women Happier in Relationships When Men Feel Their Pain"
ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2012) — Men like to know when their wife or girlfriend is happy while women really want the man in their life to know when they are upset, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.
The study involved a diverse sample of couples and found that men’s and women’s perceptions of their significant other’s empathy, and their abilities to tell when the other is happy or upset, are linked to relationship satisfaction in distinctive ways, according to the article published online in the Journal of Family Psychology.
[Source, Science Daily, Women Happier in Relationships When Men Feel Their Pain]
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Split down the middle March 5, 2012 10:03 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, MentalI can’t tell if I’m miserable or having a blast.
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Mental Me January 12, 2012 2:12 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Health, MentalThe stress is far too great today.
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Protected: That hollow feeling in the chest September 27, 2011 1:59 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Mental, Philosophy, PoetryYup..that’s me July 15, 2011 4:49 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, HumorI’ve had very similar conversations with my doctor.
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Too tired? Too busy? Muster the energy and time. Read a book to your child. July 8, 2011 10:26 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Education, Evan, Family, Health, Mental, Of Being DadTake a moment and read this story in The New York Times. In short, a doctor tells of a 74 year old patient who couldn’t get his medicines correct.
Mr. M was a typical new patient: 74, with diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol. He had some prostate enlargement and back pain. His bag of pill bottles was depressingly bulky. I spilled the bottles out at our first visit, sorting them by disease. … Mr. M didn’t remember the names of all the medicines … Mr. M was clearly still confused about his medicines…
[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]
In the end, we learn that Mr. M is illiterate, unable to read either Spanish or English. The story would be similar to many other stories of illiteracy leaving us emphatic, but emotionally disconnected, had it not been for the last paragraph.
My kindergarten-age daughter is just beginning to read, and she is taken aback with delirious joy each time a few random letters suddenly form a word that matches real life. It’s a painstaking process for her, but as I watch her I think about how this skill has powerful ramifications for her health and longevity. It’s a gift, really, one that I’d long to transfer to Mr. M if I could.
[Source, NYT, A Problem in Following Doctor’s Orders by DANIELLE OFRI, M.D.]
I know that joy! My son has become quite the avid reader. He no longer wants to be the listener; he wants to be the one who reads aloud. And I too wish I could give that gift to Mr. M.
Remember, they are never too old to participate in reading with you; whether you are the listener or the reader, make time to sit with your child and a book.
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Senior Health Care Solution – according to Maxine June 14, 2011 8:10 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Politics, Touchy SubjectsSo you’re a sick senior citizen and the government says there is no nursing home available to you – what do you do?
Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot 4 politicians – not necessarily dead!
Of course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating, and all the health care you need! New teeth – no problem. Need glasses, great. New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart? All covered. (And your kids can come and visit as often as they do now).
And who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you that they cannot afford for you to go into a home.
Plus, because you are a prisoner, you don’t have to pay any income taxes anymore.
IS THIS A GREAT COUNTRY OR WHAT?
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The US Healthcare System is the Best in the World! June 13, 2011 11:19 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Economy, Health, Politics, Touchy Subjects, United States, World PoliticsWell, actually it’s ranked 37th.
Evidence that other countries perform better than the United States in ensuring the health of their populations is a sure prod to the reformist impulse. The World Health Report 2000, Health Systems: Improving Performance, ranked the U.S. health care system 37th in the world…
It is hard to ignore that in 2006, the United States was number 1 in terms of health care spending per capita but ranked 39th for infant mortality, 43rd for adult female mortality, 42nd for adult male mortality, and 36th for life expectancy. These facts have fueled a question now being discussed in academic circles, as well as by government and the public: Why do we spend so much to get so little?
[Source, , ]
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And all this time I thought I was an American May 23, 2011 4:00 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Holiday, MentalApparently, I’m European!
"Americans maximize their… [happiness] by working, and Europeans maximize their [happiness] through leisure," he found.
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