Lifelong Learning

Going Green – Update 08.23.24

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A quick rundown: First, in the middle of the month, news broke that Superpedestrian was shutting down just 18 months after raising $125 million in fresh funding. A few days later, Micromobility.com, formerly known as Helbiz, was delisted from Nasdaq for failing to maintain a share price above $1. Then came the biggest shockwave of all: Bird, the largest e-scooter company in the U.S. with a one-time valuation of $2.5 billion, filed for bankruptcy.

E-scooter companies are going bankrupt. That should alarm you even if you hate them —https://www.fastcompany.com/91005446/e-scooter-companies-are-going-bankrupt-that-should-alarm-you-even-if-you-hate-them

TBH I never understood this e-scooter thing from the very beginning.

Maybe I’m too risk adverse.

UCLA-led research finds that scooter injuries nearly tripled across the U.S. from 2016 to 2020, with a concurrent increase in severe injuries requiring orthopedic and plastic surgery over the same period.

The study, which compared national trends in scooter and bicycle injuries during the period, also found that costs to treat those injuries rose five-fold, highlighting the financial strain these injuries pose to the healthcare system — a finding that “underscores a critical juncture for discerning the underlying causes of injuries and informing policies for injury prevention,” the researchers note.

University of California – Los Angeles Health Sciences. “Hospitalizations for scooter injuries nearly tripled in the US between 2016 and 2020, UCLA-led research finds.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 January 2024 — https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240109121215.htm

Turkey’s Koc Holding said it revoked an agreement with Ford Motor and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution for a joint venture to produce battery cells for commercial electric vehicles…LGES said the three companies had mutually agreed to scrap the plan due to the current pace of consumer electrification adoption.

Ford’s joint battery cell plant in Turkey is scrapped — https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/ford-battery-plant-turkey-dropped-slow-ev-adoption

At the end of Q3 2023, Hertz told investors that significant price cutting during the year had “resulted in lower EV residual values, increasing vehicle depreciation expense and negatively impacting salvage cost.” Additionally, its rental EVs were damaged or crashed more often, and the much higher cost of repairs for Tesla vehicles—on average about 20 percent higher than other EVs—has meant that Hertz’s Teslas earn it less money per vehicle than its other rentals.

Consequently, it’s selling off 20,000 EVs over the course of this year. Currently, the company has over 700 EVs for sale, including 35 Chevrolet Bolts, four Kia EV6s, a single BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf, and then 673 Teslas—552 Model 3s and another 121 Model Ys.

Hertz is selling 20,000 used EVs due to high repair costs — https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/01/hertz-is-selling-20000-used-evs-due-to-high-repair-costs/

There is a reason for such unusually rapid depreciation. It is precisely because the device is in need of a new battery – and the cost of that battery is (in this case) in the range of $13,000-plus. Not counting the cost of the installation.

Don’t Buy a Used EV — https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2024/01/12/dont-buy-a-used-ev/

In Indonesia, nickel extraction is causing environmental and social devastation.

The dirty road to clean energy: How China’s electric vehicle boom is ravaging the environment — https://restofworld.org/2022/indonesia-china-ev-nickel/

Over the past few years, as Tesla built out its gigafactory near Berlin, it cut down around half a million trees.Kayrros, a company that analyzes satellite images using AI, made the calculation. Tesla cleared around 813 acres of forest between March 2020 and May 2023, according to the analysis. Tesla cut down 500,000 trees to build its German gigafactory

So going green is good?

Low Magnesium Levels Do What?

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Scientists from the University of South Australia measured blood samples from 172 middle aged adults, finding a strong link between low magnesium levels and high amounts of a genotoxic amino acid called homocysteine. University of South Australia. “Low magnesium levels increase disease risk.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/08/240812123307.htm (accessed August 13, 2024).

Journal Reference:

Varinderpal S. Dhillon, Permal Deo, Michael Fenech. Low magnesium in conjunction with high homocysteine increases DNA damage in healthy middle aged Australians. European Journal of Nutrition, 2024; DOI: 10.1007/s00394-024-03449-0

Whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, bananas, avocados and dark chocolate are magnesium-rich foods.

    This Is a Post For Old People – Move More, Take Vitamin D, Statins are not Evil

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    Quotes are taken from summaries of three different studies. Source: Statins, Vitamin D, and Exercise in Older Adults – Medscape – July 26, 2024. https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/statins-vitamin-d-and-exercise-older-adults.

    On a personal level I’ve been taking a low dose statin forever, 100 IU Vitamin D3 and a multivitamin daily, need to move more, Fexofenadine prn, and still not a vegan or drive an EV.

    The study found that among older adults aged 75-84, initiation of statin therapy led to a 1.2% risk reduction in major CVD over a 5-year period. For older adults aged 85 and greater, initiation of statins had an even larger impact, leading to a 4.4% risk reduction in major CVD over a 5-year period. The study found that there was no significant difference in adverse effects including myopathy or liver dysfunction in both age groups.

    For older adults aged 75 or greater, empiric vitamin D supplementation is recommended because of the possible reduction of risk in all-cause mortality in this population. Of note, this was a grade 2 recommendation by the panel, indicating that the benefits of the treatment probably outweigh the risks. The panel stated that vitamin D supplementation could be delivered through fortified foods, multivitamins with vitamin D, or as a separate vitamin D supplement.

    The study found that participants who were more sedentary were less likely to age healthfully, with each additional 2 hours of TV watching per day associated with a 12% reduction in likelihood of healthy aging. Light physical activity was associated with a significant increase in healthy aging, with a 6% increase in the likelihood of healthy aging for each additional 2 hours of light activity. Each additional 1 hour of moderate to vigorous activity was associated with a 14% increase in the likelihood of healthy aging. These findings support discussions with patients that behavior change, even in small increments, can be beneficial in healthy aging.

    More Random Thoughts on Retirement – Memorial Day 2024

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    JP Morgan data showing expectations vs. reality on the timing of retirement:

    Source: When Life Forces Your Hand – https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2024/05/when-life-forces-your-hand/

    Memorial Day 2024

    The Boss once again is outside in the yard doing her thing. I’m inside doing my thing, drinking coffee, reading, writing. One of my addictions is staying current with the news and this post popped up in my RSS feed. At my age it doesn’t take much prompting for me to reflect on retirement. The Road to 70 is nearly complete. Soon I’ll be writing the next chapter of life The Road to 75. Dear Reader, if this sounds “old”, it is.

    Critical thinking and understanding risk are the cornerstones of what I do. So when I have an opportunity to validate or repudiate the key assumptions in my plans I am in my Happy Place. When I decided not to retire several years ago my personal mantra focused on the following two critical variables in my retirement planning:

    Stay healthy.

    Find a willing employer.

    Number One. I just had my annual wellness checkup. Bloodwork normal. Tendency towards obesity curtailed. Blood pressure elevated on two readings. Per Doctor’s orders I bought a BP machine and started keeping a log. All of my readings at home have been normal. A little white coat effect and the excitement of seeing my physician (Redhead Effect)…all good.

    Number Two. Don’t underestimate how essential having or finding an employer who will pay you to work as you get older. Too many of us know the feeling of being cast out to the street for becoming too “old”.

    As I prepare to write the next chapter it’s time to revisit and revise the two most important goals that got me to where I am. After some considerable time and effort here are my revised goals for the next five years.

    Stay healthy.

    Keep working for my current willing employer.

    Happy Memorial Day.

    Another Reason to Exercise (your brain)

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    Group-based trajectory modeling identified four groups of distinct occupational cognitive demands according to the degree of routine tasks in the participants occupations during their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. The researchers analyzed the link between these trajectory groups and clinically diagnosed MCI and dementia in participants in the HUNT4 70+ Study (2017-19). Additionally, the researchers accounted for important dementia risk factors such as age, gender, educational level, income, overall health, and lifestyle habits from assessments made in 1984-86 and 1995-97.  Within age groupings the researchers looked at such occupations as primary school teacher, salesperson, nurse and caregiver, office cleaner, civil engineer, and mechanic, among others.

    After adjusting for age, sex, and education, the group with low occupational cognitive demands (the high RTI group) had a 37 percent higher risk of dementia compared to the group with high occupational cognitive demands. Occupations That Are Cognitively Stimulating May Be Protective Against Later-life Dementia — https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/occupations-are-cognitively-stimulating-may-be-protective-against-later-life-dementia

    Link to the study abstract – https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209353

    I hope my spouse doesn’t read this or she’ll never let me retire.

    Enough

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    In the pursuit of “fine” to “great,” we chase products. Through no fault of our own, we fall prey to messaging from social media users, algorithms, and expert marketers, urging us that this shampoo or this rug will shift the scales toward enoughness. “This is how the marketplace continues to work,” says Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, “which is by amplifying our inadequacies and insecurities.”

    Baked into these social platforms is a natural ecosystem for comparison. In the past, people weighed themselves against celebrities in the media and those within their immediate social circles, Duffy says. Now, we can compare ourselves to the idealized version of millions of strangers online — who may be perpetuating an aesthetic trend inspiring us to buy in order to participate.

    How to be enough
    Our obsession with self-improvement is making us miserable. https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/24091379/how-to-be-enough-habituation-hedonic-treadmill-comparison

    How to be enough.

    How to have enough.

    Know when enough is enough.

    You’re welcome.

    A Lego Lesson in Perceived Value

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    We recently took a trip to Texas with a trunk load full of old Legos to a Lego store that buys and sells Legos. Our entire intent was to de-clutter and get rid of some old sets and extra pieces. We were ready to donate the stuff. Give it away to Goodwill or another charity.

    Well…

    A Goodwill in Pennsylvania just sold a rare 14-karat gold Lego piece for $18,101.

    Goodwill Listed This Rare Gold Lego Piece for $14.95. It Sold for $18,101 — https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-gold-lego-piece-found-at-goodwill-sells-for-18101-180983913

    Some Cognitive Skills Improve as We Get Older

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    When a psychology professor in Michigan looked through his data on interpersonal conflict a decade ago, he discovered something unexpected. The study, which examined differences across cultures and age groups, seemed to show Americans got wiser as they got older. Richard Nisbett was used to research showing poorer mental skills among elderly adults, but his work found they were better at recognizing multiple perspectives, encouraging compromise, and acknowledging the limits of their own knowledge.

    Perhaps, he reasoned, navigating conflict got better with age because it was such a specific, experience-based skill. Working memory, which stores short-term facts like newly learned names, may decline but, as people get older, they inevitably accrue more knowledge from having navigated similar situations throughout their lives. Now 82 years old, Nisbett recognizes the improvement in himself. “I’ve noticed situations to avoid, comments not to make, and the importance of apology,” he said.

    Presidential age debate obscures a simple fact: Some cognitive skills improve as we get older — https://www.statnews.com/2024/02/22/presidential-election-age-debate-some-cognitive-skills-improve-with-age/

    I was going to post this yesterday but I forgot.

    Cannabis and Arrhythmia Risk, Stroke and Race, Why Weight Loss Drugs Stop Working

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    Within 180 days, 42 medical cannabis users and 107 control participants developed arrhythmia, most commonly atrial fibrillation/flutter. Medical cannabis users had a slightly elevated risk for new-onset arrhythmia compared with nonusers (180-day absolute risk, 0.8% vs 0.4%). The 180-day risk ratio with cannabis use was 2.07 (95% CI, 1.34-2.80), and the 1-year risk ratio was 1.36 (95% CI, 1.00-1.73). Adults with cancer or cardiometabolic disease had the highest risk for arrhythmia with cannabis use (180-day absolute risk difference, 1.1% and 0.8%).

    Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain Tied to Arrhythmia Risk – Medscape – January 12, 2024 — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/medical-cannabis-chronic-pain-tied-arrhythmia-risk

    The overall incidence of stroke and ischemic stroke (IS) decreased among both White and Black people over the past two decades, results of an updated analysis of stroke trends in a representative US population showed.

    However, the study showed persistent racial disparities, with incident stroke rates 50%-80% higher in Black people than in their White counterparts. Incident stroke also occurred at an earlier age in Black patients than in White patients (mean age, 62 years vs 71 years, respectively).

    The findings were published online on January 10, 2024, in Neurology.

    New Data on Stroke Incidence Rates by Race – Medscape – January 12, 2024 — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/new-data-stroke-incidence-rates-race

    And my favorite Saturday morning medical update…

    But studies also have shown that once people stop taking these drugs — either by choice, because of shortage, or lack of access — they regain most, if not all, the weight they lost. Arguably more frustrating is the fact that those who continue on the drug eventually reach a plateau, at which point, the body seemingly stubbornly refuses to lose more weight. Essentially, it stabilizes at its set point, said Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, MBA, an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

    Every study of weight loss drugs done over the past 40 years or so shows a plateau, Stanford told Medscape Medical News. “If you look at the phentermine/topiramate studies, there’s a plateau. If you look at the bupropion/naltrexone studies, there’s a plateau. Or if we look at bariatric surgery, there’s a plateau. And it’s the same for the newer GLP-1 drugs.”

    The reason? “It really depends on where the body gets to,” Stanford said. “The body knows what it needs to do to maintain itself, and the brain knows where it’s supposed to be. And when you lose weight and reach what you feel is a lower set point, the body resists.”When the body goes below its set point, the hunger hormone ghrelin, which is housed in the brain, gets reactivated and gradually starts to reemerge, she explained. GLP-1, which is housed in the distal portion of the small intestine and in the colon, also starts to reemerge over time.

    Why Do GLP-1 Drugs Stop Working, and What to Do About It? – Medscape – January 12, 2024 — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/why-do-glp-1-drugs-stop-working-and-what-do-about-it

    That’s it for this Saturday. Time to go to the Y and read a book later.