Bluegoat, what do you mean? Not quite understanding. I use an app that sends me a daily map showing when, where and time of crime and from that, it’s possible to see trends. For example, the university campus in our suburb is almost always very safe but in other areas, there are daily incidents. I’m checking out a part of the city as well, where my (naive) youngest might be living this summer just to see where crimes tend to occur. It’s no guarantee but the info is easy to see on a map and does help guide our decisions at times. (On my phone and having quote problems.)

The resources wasted? What do you mean by that? The pd request their help for free or very low pay and it helps them.

This is a conversation we’ve had often in our house. My husband’s PhD is in statistics from UChicago and the youngest is studying theoretical math, economics and the statistical application of both of those subjects to social sciences. (In fact, police departments have hired the students to analyze data.) What my husband strongly believes is that if risk can be easily removed to keep a person safe, then you do so. If it’s easy to gather info about crime and then make a judgment that fits your level of comfort to add a bit more safety, then it’s not such a bad idea. When we check crime statistics wherever we’re going, we don’t weigh it against heart attack risk. It’s very much a personal decision colored by perceptions and past experiences.

It’s in response to those who were dismissing a poster’s safety concerns about walking in her city in Canada at night. I mentioned Chicago, NYC and a suburb of about 80,000, places I know personally, and used examples to illustrate how others might not feel safe walking around their homes. Plenty of smaller communities deal with similar issues as well. My former reservation town, population 3,000, and surrounding towns have serious crimes now, mostly drug-related, especially after the oil industry moved into the areas. I have friends and relatives who no longer allow their children to roam freely as a result. So safety issues can affect decisions people make in the smaller towns as well.

Chicago’s violence is serious enough to put into place the Safe Passages Routes for students walking to school. They are walked by trained adults whose responsibility is to help protect them from violence. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-cps-safe-passage-shootings-2017-htmlstory.html In summer many of these kids don’t go out to play much because of neighborhood gang violence. Very sad. We didn’t own a car for 10 years and use our current car infrequently. I probably walk 5-6 miles per day just running errands. My husband bikes a lot, sometimes 30-50 miles and the occasional century. We don’t have problems fitting in exercise. I can see, though, how people living in areas of higher crime might opt to not walk.

I live in Chicago and Evanston and have had my purse snatched once in the Loop at noon at McDonalds while holding it and another time someone attempted to steal it in front of the old Bergdorf on Michigan. There are certain areas I won’t go, period, because the crime is often serious and unpredictable. Other places I won’t travel to at night. South Evanston/North Chicago does see a number of shootings and knifings, sometimes random. A year ago, a med student was robbed and knifed while walking with two friends on Sheridan Rd, a major street, in Chicago near Loyola. It was fatal. There are serious crimes committed nightly and even during the day in those areas. Even today in Chicago, a police officer was fatally shot in the head in the Loop at 2 pm at the Thompson Center. My best friend was murdered in NYC when she walked home around 11 pm. Murdered for the $26 in her purse. Crime occurs there, too. You can’t protect yourself all of the time, but I don’t give a flying fig if someone is offended that I might choose not to travel through areas I feel are unsafe.

We rarely take our car to the grocery stores which are all within a few blocks. Much easier to walk. IKEA sells a foldable rolly cart for not too much. It only holds one bag plus a little more. Does the trick for me but usually I just use a large tote that I can carry over my shoulder.

Years ago we drove to Quebec 1,000 miles away. Amazingly it went well.

I’m on my phone and can’t quote easily but regarding genetics, what I’ve read is that epigenetics do play a role but they are changeable. There may be other studies that I haven’t read, though. https://www.genomeweb.com/epigenetics-research/twin-study-reveals-epigenetic-onoff-switch-obesity

I agree. I’m not saying it’s either/or. But it certainly isn’t as simple as CICO which has been touted as the answer for decades despite not working for many, many people.

Individual hormones, the microbiome and circadian rhythm all figure into weight, probably more so than calories. I don’t think portion control is as important as what a person eats (and when and how often) and how it affects their body.

I believe CICO does not fully explain whether a person is prone to obesity. Example: my husband, even when sedentary, can eat a lot of calories and not gain weight. He can consume 4,000 calories per day for months and stay very slim. Conversely some people eat 1500 calories per day, exercise and have difficulty losing. There is more to this than meets the eye and that is the individual biochemistry of our bodies. I follow the advice of scientists Rhonda Patrick, Cynthia Kenyon, Valter Longo, Thomas Seyfried and Jason Fung. It takes time to do certain things but it’s really not difficult or unsatisfying.

Yes, several decades ago pensions were affected by ERISA which led to no choice but to phase out many private pension plans.

Rules about collecting pensions and rehiring are often complicated and vary from plan to plan. Some rehired retirees do not continue receiving their pension after being rehired. It just depends how things are written up. Keep in mind that the employees pay into their pension funds. They receive less of a salary because a portion goes toward funding their pensions. It’s also not unusual for military to accept a job after retiring and draw both a pension and a salary. I don’t have a problem with that.

Greta, I just read that Rhonda Patrick (scientist who runs Found My Fitness) had her mother take 9 grams of organic beet root powder (Activz brand) to help lower her blood pressure. As a bonus, her mother's migraines went away. Might be worth considering. https://www.foundmyfitness.com/news/s/xgeesp/drinking_beetroot_juice_prior_to_exercise_makes_brains_of_older_adults_perform_more_efficiently_and_similar_to_a_younger_brain A little more information about beets and what they do in our body: https://www.instagram.com/p/BUaFDPZATek/?hl=en

Yes, they have “their†experts, spin doctors who sell the scheme to the ignorant and gullible public who applaud what essentially will not benefit them. The powers that be and those who support them financially behind the scenes are the ones who profit. Politicians and their votes are largely bought.

We live in Chicago/Evanston. Oak Park has a cool vibe and it’s pretty easy to get into the city from there. Safety depends on the locations of stations and stops and if you’re walking around those areas. Uber and Lyft are all over. The other night we were in Lincoln Park waiting for the 22 or 36 bus and probably 75% of the cars on Clark were Uber/Lyft.

Much, much better to work on her health. I hope she makes good progress. My son do-si-dos but is steadily improving. Btw, I’ll just throw this out there, but you might be interested in the book The Good Gut by Justin and Erica Sonnenburg. They’re husband and wife immunologists at Stanford who study the microbiome and run a lab. We just ordered the book the other day but they also have a blog and an interview with scientist Rhonda Patrick. http://sonnenburglab.stanford.edu/ https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/the-sonnenburgs http://www.microbiomeinstitute.org/blog/2015/4/21/episode-5-of-the-microbiome-podcast-diet-and-its-impact-on-our-microbiota-and-health-with-drs-erica-and-justin-sonnenburg Good luck!

I did a quick search and found this: Unfiltered ales contain yeast, proteins, B vitamins and traces of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme formed during fermentation. The latter two help with the breakdown of acetaldehyde, the chemical that causes DNA damage. So maybe unfiltered, weak ales were not as damaging.

I know two guys who drank this much daily. One was a Lt. Colonel in the Army and another was a bright computer scientist who became addicted to crack. He dealt with both problems and is sober now. Yeah, they hide it but eventually it takes a toll and it’s not so easy to hide the effects.

People were forced to fast years ago due to scarcity of food. Fasting kills off damaged cellular bits and eating again causes growth of new stem cells. So that might have helped years ago.

When alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde, the acetaldehyde causes DNA damage in stem cells that is difficult to repair. The DNA blueprint changes which means new cells can be changed for the worse, too. Additionally, some people lack enzymes to help break down the acetaldehyde so it stays in their body even longer. During pregnancy, personally I wouldn’t/didn’t drink. Some Duke articles: https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-5-alcohol-and-babies/content-any-amount-of-alcohol-during-pregnancy-can-result-in-fasd/ https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-5-alcohol-and-babies/content-how-does-alcohol-get-to-the-fetus/ https://sites.duke.edu/apep/module-5-alcohol-and-babies/content-cognitive-and-behavioral-problems-resulting-from-fetal-alcohol-exposure-to-sensitive-brain-regions/

A very close friend of mine is a pediatrician in Alaska who works extensively with families affected by alcoholism and FAS. I don’t know if she’s seen more cases, though. Having grown up on a reservation, I saw kids with FAS often enough and also mothers who drank excessively throughout their pregnancy. Our young neighbors would drink until they passed out and were not aware their toddlers were roaming alone outside. It also had the highest number of adolescent deaths due to drunk driving in the US, at least back then. Personally, I don’t see alcoholism as a character flaw but an illness that often arises from untreated mental and emotional issues. I think many mothers feel stressed, isolated and unsupported. Booze is socially acceptable, touted as healthy (even though it can seriously damage health) and offers a temporary break.

Interesting. Have you tried a ketogenic diet for a period of time? Maybe a device could help? The Cefaly came out a few years ago and I believe there are some newer ones as well. https://www.google.com/search?q=migraine+device&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

My husband used to get migraines with aura at least 1-2 times per week for years. He would have to leave meetings until they passed and if driving, he’d have to pull over. His maternal grandmother also had migraines mostly during her reproductive years that would go away during her period, while pregnant and after menopause. I belong to a fasting group online (a Dr. Jason Fung group) and read how a number of fasters’ migraines went away after doing water, plain tea and coffee fasts. So dh did a series of 2-day fasts — maybe 4 altogether — and they went away completely. He’s been migraine free for at least six months. We both are starting up 2-day fasts again but just for general health. Valter Longo and Thomas Seyfried are researchers who use fasting as a treatment for cancer and autoimmune diseases if you want to investigate more. Basically fasting kills off or recycles damaged subcellular parts and when you eat again, new stem cells are created that can be used throughout the body. (Autophagy, mitophagy, etc.) If you were to try this, it’s best to learn how to properly fast (Fung’s book or blog is good) and start with short fasts of 18-24 hours. Triggers for dh were beer and peanut butter which he gave up for awhile but can have now with no problem.