Thursday, September 27, 2007

Alcohol Linked to Cancer in Women

American researchers led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., revealed their findings at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona. They found that all types of alcohol, including wine, beer or liquor all equally increase the risk of breast cancer in women. There's not really good news when a study like this comes out, but if there were some, it's that cancer risk increases based on consumption--something that's controllable.

Again, regardless of the alcohol, women who had less than one drink a day showed no difference in their risk. Women who had one or two drinks a day increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 10 percent. Women who had more than three drinks a day raised their risk by a whopping 30 percent.

Researchers analyzed the drinking habits of 70,033 women of various races and asked them questions during health exams between 1978 and 1985. By 2004, 2,829 of these women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Three drinks or more a day is a pretty significant number, but even one drink a day on average makes this study very frightening. To read the full article on MSNBC, click here.

Man Hikes 40 Miles To Save Wife

Talk about going the distance. And in record time too. While hiking on Glacier Peak in Snohomish County, Washington, Max Tenscher and his wife, Roxanne, were enjoying the day on another one of their outings. But this outing would leave Roxanne with torn ligaments in her knee and unable to move. Her husband, a nurse, left his wife with food, water and equipment and went for help. When asked the decision to leave his wife behind Tenscher said, "it's a decision that you re-think over and over again." He hiked 40 miles to Stehekin, located on the northwest edge of Lake Chelan and found help. In sickness and in health as we like to say. To see the Hover's discuss their ordeal, click here

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Journey Man Dilemma

Okay, so I'm a little slow watching TV, but that's what a DVR is for, right? Anyway, I just caught the premier episode of Journey Man on NBC and man did it have a great philosophical hitched dilemma. Kevin McKidd of Rome fame plays the main character, Dan Vasser. Dan inexplicably travels back in time and finds himself following a complete stranger. In these journeys back, Dan runs into his old fiance, who has since died. Dan, however, is now married, but is presented with an opportunity to relive some of his old-time romance. What do you think? Would it be cheating if he hooked up with his now deceased fiance while traveling back in time? You can find out what he decides to do by watching the episode. It's available for free on NBC.com, click here.

111 Across: "Will You Marry Me?"

Aric Egmont of Cambridge, Massachusetts had plotted for months. And it happened. A long time fan of the Boston Globe Sunday magazine crossword puzzle, Egmont contacted the writers and asked if they would grant him a special request; to allow one of the answers to read "Will You Marry Me?" His girlfriend Jennie Bass, also a fan of the crossword, sat down with Egmont on that Sunday and began to fill in the answers. When she came to 111 Across she was presented with the clue "Generic Proposal." Luckily for Egmont, his girlfriend is good and filled the question mark inside his head with a "YES." Congratulations! For more click here.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Housing Market Gets Worse

It's hard to believe, but new numbers coming in have confirmed that the month of July saw that steepest price drop in homes in 16 years. This information is according to S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. This article from MSNBC says sales of existing single-family homes dropped by 4.3 percent in August from July according to the National Association of Realtors. And sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate 5.5 million units a year, the slowest pace since August 2002. With all this negative talk, there is some silver lining for some. According the the S&P data, five cities witnessed prices rising--Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas, Portland, Ore., and Seattle. Even with this news, however, it was also revealed that growth is slowing. Atlanta and Dallas are close to moving into negative territory, S&P said.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Politician Wants Marriages to End at 7 Years

In Germany, a politician, Gabriele Pauli who is standing for the leadership of Bavaria's Christian Social Union--sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats--has suggested that marriages expire after 7 years. Pauli says once the 7 years are up, couples need to decide is they want to extend the marriage for another 7 years or if it has expired. I guess that's one way to deal with the seven year itch. If you were curious about Pauli's personal history and how it may affect her views, she's bee divorced twice. Click here for the full article.

No Butts About It

The rules of the workplace are changing. Employers are now able to determine what personal habits and lifestyle choices, even those unrelated to what you do at work, an individual makes in a move to cut heath-care costs. Smokers may lose their job or not even be considered. High cholesterol candidates may pay higher premiums for their insurance. Even high blood pressure, body mass and glucose levels are up for inspection. For more on how companies are trying to control your life after the whistle blows, click here

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Get Your Wine On

Are you a wine lover? Well, now you can play with it. Beginners Wine DS for the Nintendo DS is launching to help wine lovers and particularly those just getting into wine, make the right selection. The game goes over a lot of the basics, including step-by-step instructions on choosing a bottle for a romantic dinner, and how to correctly swirl a glass when wine tasting. The game is slated to hit store shelves Nov. 15 to coincide with this year's release of Beaujolais Nouveau, a globally popular seasonal French wine. So cheers!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

New Census Data On Marriage

FIrst, since the Census is a little slow getting data out, we're talking 2004 numbers. Did you know that 57% of married women have been married for at least 15 years? And of that group, 6% have been married for 50 years! Who says marriage is dying. Okay, so the numbers are down from where they once were. back in the 1950s, the number of couples lasting 15 years was nearly 80%. Get the full specs of the data here.

Wash Those Mitts

We're not saying to go "Howard Hughes" when washing the hands, guys but a study by researchers who "spy on people in public restrooms," (don't ask me what that means, AP Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione wrote it) says that one-third of men don't bother to wash their hands after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women. The study was based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. So, next time you're in the bathroom, gentlemen, wash those hands... someone may be watching. Anyway, for the full article about people who study people who do and don't wash their hands in public restrooms click here.