I first blogged about dopamine on 1 June. Now, there’s more research demonstrating other aspects of our lives that it affects. However, some of the researchers were not looking at the issues from a dopamine point of view. [Their loss is my gain- or yours in your quest for knowledge.]
Americans pay a steep price for “brand name” drugs, yet our generics are among the cheapest in the world. But, we also have know that our very same “brand name” drugs are cheaper when purchased almost anywhere else in the world. As the internet (some of us really were around when it began- when you had to know a series of what seem like arcane numbers to reach your destination) grew and got simpler, we found that we could buy those drugs for less money than we could from our local pharmacy. But should we?
For the last two decades, Americans have been taking statins, among the most widely used drugs in the world, with the aim of getting their cholesterol numbers down to target levels. Right now, some 24 million Americans are prescribed statins at a cost of some $ 14 billion annually. Statins are considered useful therapy because they block liver enzymes that produce cholesterol; there may be ancillary actions from taking statins, as well.
I just had the wonderful experience of having two of my three children, my son-in-law, and my fifteen month old grandson sharing a baseball game (his very first, I might add) with me. While I love baseball (ok, maybe just the Phillies), I love my children more- much more. And, my 15 month old grandson reminded me of something very important during that game. Of course, as is true for every parent and grandparent, I recognize that my grandson is very smart. He has an extensive vocabulary. While he pointed out “ball”, “flag”, among his many other words, he saw something I forgot was actually found in center field. “Tick Tock,” he said. No one really knew that he knew the word for clock- but he recognized what it was.
Continue reading Time Management- and Vision, Mission, and Goals
Today is the First of July- so that means that another part of the healthcare insurance reform that was passed this year starts to provide benefit.
Continue reading Healthcare.gov is LIVE today
We are on the road to recovery in health care- or are we? This year we passed two bills: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  (known as the “Senate bill”), and the “House Bill”, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872). However, neither of these bills really reformed healthcare- but they did address the healthcare insurance issue.
Continue reading Health care reform? We need to change our thinking, too…
Last week, I differentiated between what is our Vision, Mission, and Goals. We tend to focus on those goals- we have something in mind, hone in on it, and drive relentlessly to complete it. We put together these goals to achieve the success we desire in our lives. Others may have goal(s) in mind, but life (or lassitude) helps divert them (or us) from focusing and completing that goal in a reasonable amount of time (and reasonable is in the eye of the beholder). But, we all understand that we need to develop goals, plan to achieve them, and get what we want from life.
Continue reading More about Vision, Mission, Goals- the order of development is critical
In the personal and professional sense, a vision is a view for the future. Of course, that is what the prophets provided us in the bible- but, in today’s day and age, none of us are prophets, and no one (who does not want to be committed) will certify that Hashem/The Lord/G-d/Allah has provided them such information.
Continue reading Vision, Mission, Goals
I keep reading that more people should be starting their own businesses, mostly in reaction to the current employment levels. I am certainly not against the foundation of new enterprise- but there needs to be an acknowledgment of the pitfalls involved. Most new businesses fail within the first three years- so it’s not a panacea, it won’t (necessarily) solve your financial dilemnae.
Continue reading So you want to start your own business? Are you really ready?
You might think that when we (start to, continue to ) invest in new energy-producing alternatives, we will solve our “big oil” problem. NOT! We need gasoline and/or diesel fuels for the foreseeable future. Our transportation system relies on liquid-based fuels. Yes, we can convert these vehicles to electricity (with major improvements to the existing technologies), but the transition will be much slower than you would think. If we had sufficient supplies of electric vehicles (and they were reliable) and outlawed (not likely at all) the sale of all gasoline powered vehicles tomorrow , it would be at least 10 years before there would be a noticeable drop in gasoline consumption. (Consumers don’t trade in all their cars every year, consumers buy used cars, etc.)
Continue reading Big Oil- can’t live with them, can’t live without them (at least, for now)