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Embrace Life Public Service Announcement.
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Category: health & fitness
things getting worse → Canadians
Statscan found that 18 per cent of adult Canadians, about 4.4 million people, were classified as obese in 2009, up from 15 per cent in 2003.
We’re still getting fatter.
With less leisure time to exercise.
* One in five Canadian adult feels “caught in a time crunch,” experiencing high levels of time pressure
* That number is on the rise: the proportion of those who said they were in a time crunch grew to 19.6 per cent in 2005 from 16.4 per cent in 1992
* The average proportion of our waking lives devoted to social and leisure activities dropped by 20 per cent between 1998 and 2005
* A much higher proportion of females than males reported time pressure in 2005 — 22.7 for women, 16 per cent for men
* More than one in four employed Canadians were responsible for the care of an elderly dependent, and one in five (16.8 per cent) had responsibility for both child care and elder care in 2009
* The proportion of Canadians worked non-standard hours (weekends, evenings, nights, rotating shifts jumped from 23 per cent in 1992 to 29 per cent in 2009 …
… for the first time in 2 centuries, Canadians can expect to die earlier (younger) than their parents. …
Update – This article, linked by Chopbox, seems to contradict the one above: Life expectancy in Canada nears 81
youngest ever to climb Everest
It’s easy to criticize the parents for letting their “child” do something so dangerous.
But this kid is no rookie. He’s already completed 6 of the 7 summits. In December he’s scheduled to attempt Vinson Massif in Antarctica.
Dave Adlard climbs Mt Ranier
If I live to be 100, I may never see a better day to climb, especially on the fickle Mt. Rainier.
…
Click through to my hiking blog to read the lengthy trip report.
KFC – Quadruple Down sandwich
I couldn’t resist.
… two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel’s Sauce. …
It’s as disgustingly delicious as it looks!
… the sodium content is high — a whopping 1,380 milligrams — more than a half-teaspoon’s worth of salt. For comparison’s sake, the American Heart Association recommends people eat less than 1,500 mg of sodium in an entire day.
Considering the rising consciousness on healthy eating — from rules that will require calorie counts on menus nationwide to Jamie Oliver teaching kids in West Virginia to make better food choices — it was pretty gutsy of KFC to market a product that sandwiches bacon and mayo-based sauce between two pieces of fried chicken.
Still, KFC’s new creation might surprise you a little on the nutritional front. At 540 calories, the Double Down, though not exactly a dieting food, is 90 calories lighter than McDonald’s Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich. …
UPDATE – Is it really 540 calories? Or more like 1190 calories?
This crime against humanity will not be sold in Canada. America’s rank as the most obese major nation is safe, for now.
And just in case Wendy’s wants to challenge, KFC has this “sandwich” in the lab …
(via This is why you’re Fat)
why I bought carrot sticks …
Christmas day I weighed a svelte 160lbs. I had just gotten back from a 17-day hike around Mt. Everest.
By March I was feeling about as svelte as the Baron Harkonnen.
I blame this guy.
Do you know Jack?
The “founder, CEO, and ad spokesman, … a savvy, no-nonsense businessman”.
Though I’d likely never entered any of his fast food joints in my life, on a one month driving trip in March, my parents and I were in them constantly.
Jack in the Box is the best of the McDonalds clones, in my opinion.
For one thing, the newer franchises list the caloric content of each item prominently. It could not be more transparent.
My go to meal there is the Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, not the combo. That’s less than $5 and a satisfying lunch or dinner.
I know what you’re thinking: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
I’ve never worried much about nutrition in my lifetime. What I eat seems to make very little difference. But, perhaps, getting older, I’ll experiment with nutrition.
Instead of eating Werther’s (100cal for 3 candies) while driving, I’ll snack on baby carrots. Or Craisens. (Can you buy craisens without added sugar?)
Instead of the tasty, fairly nutritious, fast, inexpensive Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, I’ll shop for unprocessed goods at Whole Foods Market.
Leave a comment if you’ve healthy fast food to recommend. Thanks.
Their business model is to buy the same stuff as Costco, repackaged with old fashioned green labels. And, conspicuously, the catch word “Organic”.
That way they can charge twice the price.
I’d avoided grocery stores like Whole Foods in the past. But picked up some Organic granola. (Is it really any better than regular granola?)
By the way, If you’re ever looking for pretentious California superwomen, look for them at Whole Foods. By the pained expression on their faces, you know they’re disappointed by everything in the Universe.
sustainable Health Care?
Initially keen on following the American Health Care reform process, … I eventually lost interest.
Once the bill was signed I waited on two sources to dissect the result:
• Slate Political Gabfest audiocast
• Economist magazine audiocast
On Slate, the post-mortem by John Dickerson, David Plotz, and William Saletan was terrible, their worst broadcast yet.
Economist was good, perhaps the best summary I’ve heard to date.
Over half of Economist analysts feel that having the bill passed is slightly better than it not having passed. It’s a “marginal improvement“.
The complaint of Economist magazine is that the biggest problem was not addressed in the bill, the ludicrous cost of Health Care in the U.S.A. … It’s more expensive than anywhere else in the world, with no evidence that the service is any better.
… In spite of the amount spent on health care in the U.S., according to a 2008 Commonwealth Fund report, the United States ranks last in the quality of health care among developed countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000, ranked the US health care system 37th in overall performance and 72nd by overall level of health (among 191 member nations included in the study). International comparisons that could lead to conclusions about the quality of the health care received by Americans are subject to debate. The US pays twice as much yet lags other wealthy nations in such measures as infant mortality and life expectancy, which are among the most widely collected, hence useful, international comparative statistics. …
What America has gained with the bill passing, perhaps they’ve lost in making the nation even more divided than ever between Democrat and Republican. Recent polls still show over half of Americans against the Obama bill.
I highly doubt the Republicans will ever repeal what’s been gained, but they should if they believe even 20% of what they’ve been saying to the media. (I made a special trip to bypass Searchlight, Nevada the other day.)
What should the Americans have done?
Here’s the Rick McPlan:
1) All citizens must have Health insurance. Failure to do so results in an escalating series of warnings, fines and stints in a “work camp”.
2) All insurance companies must offer to insure any citizen. None can be declined for any reason. Any insurance company not wanting to do business in the nation, we show the door.
3) Private companies can offer any Health Care product … under license.
4) Phase out government health care services over 20 years, or so.
… Let the free market sort it out. But with a good safety net for anyone and everyone willing to pay for insurance.
Obviously a percentage of the population are too incompetent or stupid to ever get themselves insured. They’ll be cleaning highways and removing graffiti for the rest of their lives. (That’s the biggest downside to my scheme, so far as I can see.)
Switzerland is the nation, so far as I’ve heard, most closely using this kind of simplified scheme. (It’s the second most expensive in the world, though.)
Should the Americans simply have adopted the Canadian model? … HA!
God no. Ours is totally unsustainable over the long term.
8,920km Baja road trip
Mom, Dad, Pete and myself arrived safely back in Parksville, B.C. after a month. No major problems. How about that?
It was our first time driving to Baja, California, an epic adventure.
We toured the peninsula right to Cabo. Then crossed to the mainland via the surprisingly good La Paz to Los Mochis ferry.
Returning via Needles, California, we visited my Uncle Bob Moore and his wife Lydia.
… note that his Flames flag is not yet at half mast. Incidentally, Needles is like many parts of California, an economic disaster. You could buy a mobile home in Bob’s river front park for $10,000. Pay $300/month rent. Play golf year round outside your door for $600/year.
Prices have dropped to almost zero. Yet nothing sells in Needles, CA. If you cross the river into Arizona, fuel prices drop from $3.60/gallon to $2.60/gallon.
The most beautiful sections of our driving tour, I thought, were the stark deserts of northern Baja and Nevada.
Driving to Baja is one of those epic trips that we’ll look back at fondly, while doggedly insisting that we’d never do it again.
Actually, I’ll be headed back to La Paz by air later this Spring for final installation of 3 new dental bridges. I’ve got temporaries now.
health care anger
I’ve just arrived back in the U.S.A. after several weeks not following the insanely convoluted American political process on that debate.
… A USA Today/Gallup poll showed a plurality now favored the new law — yes, favored. After months of Republicans saying Democrats were going against the will of the people, a plurality — 49 to 40 percent — said passing the bill was “a good thing,” …
NY Times Opinion piece – House of Anger
The people have spoken. A small majority think that the Health Care legislation is an improvement.
That’s democracy.
Suck it up, buttercup.
Why are opponents so ungracious in defeat?
As Colbert would say, “WHY DO YOU REPUBLICANS HATE DEMOCRACY“?
I respect the opinions of those against the Bill. But I have no tolerance for anyone who breaks the law in frustration over losing the vote.
Lock ’em up.
I must love the dentist
As a kid I had a horrible dentist. And rotten teeth.
I shunned dentists and avoided their haunts.
Older and wiser, two years ago I flew twice to Mazatlan for major dental work.
Last year I got some work done in Kathmandu.
Over the last week in La Paz, Mexico I’ve spent some quality time with my new dentist, Dr. Lorenia Estrada.
… at least 6 extractions, 5 fillings, 3 long temporary bridges, more …
At times lying back in the chair, trying to relax, trying even to sleep, I believe I turned into Patty Hearst. It was Stockholm syndrome, for sure.
I started to get emotionally attached to my captors. My punishment flashed me back to earlier in the day, floating on an air mattress in the outdoor hot tub at the hotel pool. The dentist’s harsh light reminded me of the tropical sun between palm fronds.
Am I going mad in the Apocalypse Now sense of the word?
Rick McCharles 
