By Villa Vie’s own estimates, monthly fuel expenses on a per cabin basis were historically around $1,800 but have now surged to up to $8,000. It now must benevolently suspend operations because “passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution.” Company That Sold “Endless Cruises” Suspends Operations as Fuel Costs Spike, Kicks Residents Off Ship – https://futurism.com/future-society/endless-cruise-suddenly-ends
Passengers on the residential ship Villa Vie Odyssey were told to leave their ship with all their belongings today, according to one of its residents.They said CEO Kathy Villaba told guests in a post on an internal messaging board at 7 am that the company had been ‘unable to secure the fuel necessary to continue operations’.
Full disclosure – I’m not a fan of cruises and the thought of spending my retirement on a boat is nauseating.
I admit, this is one hell of a way to get screwed out of your life savings.
Update 10.30.26
First, we are indeed still in Cambodia: I’m less than a month finished from radiation therapy and still have very little energy. I’ve not had much rest while dealing with the press, helping other residents cope, doing updates to my press quotes page (which is doing a great job of reducing interview times), and more. I’m still exhausted and need to rest up, even for a short flight to Thailand. Cambodia Update – https://residentialcruising.com/cambodia-update/
Walking is the most preferred PA mode for older adults [4] and increasing daily step count may reduce the presence of frailty. Observational research finds a dose-response relationship with higher daily step counts associated with lower frailty prevalence [5]. This relationship persists even among those with very low step counts (less than 3,000 per day) suggesting any increase in step counts may reduce frailty presence. Step counts can be increased by walking for longer durations or walking faster for the same duration. Observed as the 6th vital sign, gait speed is a key frailty indicator, as slow gait speed is one of the most frequently observed and prevalent criteria of frailty [6]. Since gait speed predicts mortality, falls, loss of independence, and cognitive decline [7], and is an important clinical metric of overall health [8], interventions which improve capacity to ambulate faster and over longer distances (e.g., a greater volume of activity) may be particularly therapeutic for those with frailty…
This is the first study to demonstrate that HIW can reverse frailty in older adults with frailty. After 16 weeks, HIW participants had significantly higher odds of improving at least one SHARE-FI frailty category compared to CSW participants. Numerous prior studies have investigated physical activity, multicomponent training, resistance exercise, and nutrition3,9 to improve capacity and physical function, rather than directly modifying the frailty syndrome. In a systematic review of 26 PA intervention studies for frailty, only one study used an aerobic intervention, and this study did not measure frailty as a primary outcome. [25]. In studies that have used frailty as a primary outcome, minimal benefit has been found. Huang et. al, found a 0.02 reduction in frailty index after 26 weeks of training twice-weekly at 70% of heart rate reserve, which did not meet the 0.03 threshold for clinical meaningful change in frailty index scores [26,27]. The combination of aerobic and resistive aerobic activities in our approach may have provided sufficient neuromuscular stimulus by increasing frequency and intensity of activity, despite a shorter intervention duration, to drive improvements in frailty category. Our study advances evidence for the optimal dose of therapeutic interventions for the frailty and provides clear evidence on the substantial benefits of high-intensity walking to decrease and reverse frailty among those with existing frailty. Our approach, which incorporated some resistance elements into aerobic training, was distinct.
Citation: Danilovich M, Rubin DS, Conroy DE, Diaz L, Cheung Y, Corcos D, et al. (2026) A high intensity vs. casual speed walking intervention to reverse frailty among older adults: a cluster randomized controlled trial. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0357605
Another quiet Saturday and thoughts turn to retirement (again). Today I thought about retirement income streams and how life would look once I stopped working. We need to find someplace affordable.
In California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts, retirees often need between $1.5 million and $2.2 million to maintain their lifestyles, according to a 2026 study by GoBankingRates. By contrast, Oklahoma is the most affordable state, with $735,284 the baseline for a comfortable retirement. Mississippi and Arkansas follow closely, with targets remaining under $810,000. What Is the Magic Number to Retire Comfortably? – https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/magic-number-to-retire-comfortably
OK. Check that box off the list. My thoughts then turned towards what age would be a good age to retire. My former manager wanted me to stick around for five years. The last time I saw my current manager he told me a story of his grandfather working until he was 80. You hear stories of more people working into their later years and I wondered, at what age do people really retire?
For clinicians, these findings reinforce the importance of individualised decision making rather than a single preferred approach. For older adults who are tolerating statin therapy and wish to continue treatment, evidence from SAGA/SITE provides little reason to recommend routine discontinuation. Conversely, for patients who prioritise reducing medication burden, have limited life expectancy, have substantial polypharmacy, or whose goals of care have changed, discontinuation might be a reasonable option. Rather than supporting a default strategy, the trial broadens the evidence available for treatment decisions that reflect each patient’s individual clinical circumstances and preferences.2,3Statin discontinuation in older adults: changing the conversation, not the default – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(26)00072-3/fulltext
Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 1,591 U.S. adults ages 22–75, this research uncovers a five-year difference between when current retirees, on average, actually left the workforce (age 57) and when future retirees expect to retire (age 62), with half of those planning to retire anticipating they’ll need to delay even further. Future retirees are shifting away from traditional income sources like Social Security and pensions, planning instead to rely more heavily on personal savings and continued employment. Career interruptions remain a significant but underappreciated threat to retirement security, as half of U.S. adults have left the workforce for more than a year.
The entire study Bridging retirement expectation gaps New evidence and insights can be downloaded here:
You must be 18 or older and meet one of these requirements when you start GLP-1 therapy:
You have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more.
You have a BMI between 30-34.99 and have at least one of these conditions: Diastolic heart failure (also called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) Uncontrolled high blood pressure (also called hypertension) Chronic kidney disease at stage 3a or higher Prediabetes A previous heart attack (also called myocardial infarction) or stroke Blocked arteries in your legs or arms (also called peripheral artery disease) with symptoms
You have a BMI between 27-29.99 and have at least one of these conditions: Prediabetes A previous heart attack (also called myocardial infarction) or stroke Blocked arteries in your legs or arms (also called peripheral artery disease) with symptoms
Yes, I loved writing the click bait title to this post.
This is another post in the never ending series of random thoughts on retirement. For the curious, here’s a link to my previous posts full of random thoughts (brain droppings): https://lifeunderwriter.net/tag/retirement/.
I am writing this on Father’s Day, the fourth day of a four day weekend and I’m ready to go back to work. It’s tough being an Old Guy who is old enough to be retired but isn’t retired and still working. Some days I wonder why I’m not retired. I guess this is all part of my living a longer healthier life strategy.
Social connection, prosociality, spirituality, optimism, and work—growing evidence suggests these five factors can play an important role in improving the well-being of people and communities…Work is one of the most important—and neglected—social determinants of health, according to Lisa Berkman, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School and director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. “Work drives income, social ties, and the opportunity for meaningful participation in society,” she said. “As such, it also shapes both our cognitive and physical health in many different ways.” The importance of connections: Ways to live a longer, healthier life – https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/the-importance-of-connections-ways-to-live-a-longer-healthier-life/
The optimism factor is interesting.
“The findings are remarkably consistent,” she said. “Across different racial and ethnic populations, we have seen that people who are more optimistic are more likely to age in good health and less likely to suffer from chronic diseases, physical illness, or cognitive impairments in old age. Optimists are also more likely to live exceptionally longer lives, beyond age 85 or more.”
Aging Redefined: Cognitive and Physical Improvement with Positive Age Beliefs
Background/Objectives: A widespread assumption exists among scientists, health care providers, and the public that later life is a time of inevitable and universal cognitive and physical decline. This assumption is likely due to considering older persons who improve to be exceptions, and the reliance on aging-health measures that do not allow for improvement. In contrast, we utilized a measure that allowed for an upward trajectory to occur. Our objective was to examine whether a meaningful number of older persons improve with this measure and, if so, to examine whether a promising modifiable culture-based variable, positive age beliefs, contributes to this improvement. Methods: Individuals 65 years and older, who participated in a nationally representative longitudinal study, had their physical health assessed by walking speed and their cognitive health assessed by a global performance measure. We calculated the percentage of the sample that showed improvement in each domain from baseline to the last measurement up to 12 years later. We also examined whether a positive-age-belief measure predicted this improvement in regression models. Results: It was found that 45.15% of persons improved in cognitive and/or physical function over this period, and positive age beliefs predicted these two types of improvement, both with and without adjusting for relevant covariates. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the need to instill or magnify the positivity of age beliefs and to redefine aging so that it includes the possibility of improvement.
In sociology this phenomenon is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Yes dear reader, yet another post in the never ending series of random thoughts on retirement. For the curious, here’s a link to some previous posts https://lifeunderwriter.net/tag/retirement/. I am an Old Guy who is old enough to be retired but isn’t retired and still working. After many mornings spent in deep contemplation and many posts where I think out loud I’ve finally accepted my fate and come to a deeper understanding of why I do what I do.
I’ve spent a lifetime working in risk management. Finally, the light bulb came on.
I am actively managing my longevity risk. It’s what I do. I manage risks.
The majority of our friends are retired. I’m always asked when I’m going to retire. My answer was always “Don’t know”. I subsequently modified my response to “Two to four years”. This has been my answer for the past two years. But now when someone asks when I will retire, my answer will be:
I am managing my longevity risk. I am managing future inflation risk.
Imagine you retire at 65, feeling confident. You’ve budgeted $80,000 a year to live comfortably — travel, dining out, covering healthcare, the works.
Fast-forward 25 years.
At age 85, you’re still spending about $80,000 a year … but that no longer buys what it used to.
That nice dinner out that cost $100 now costs about $210
A $5,000 annual vacation is now closer to $10,500
Groceries that ran $10,000 a year are now over $21,000
In other words, your $80,000 lifestyle now costs roughly $168,000 to maintain.
Ghilarducci is spot on with her assessment. My plan on working longer wasn’t really a plan so much as it was a set of assumptions. Everything had to go as “planned” or forget about working longer. The two major variables were continued good health and finding an employer that values older workers.
I got lucky. My illusion is working (pun intended).
About 20 years ago, neuropathologists began to report an inconvenient finding in the autopsied brains of people with dementia: Most have evidence of more than one disease. Studies since have shown the brains of up to half of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease also have a key feature of Parkinson’s disease—deposits of the protein alpha synuclein. At the same time, up to half of Parkinson’s patients who develop dementia have elevated levels of beta amyloid and tau proteins, hallmarks of Alzheimer’s. Most dementia patients have multiple brain diseases – https://www.science.org/content/article/most-dementia-patients-have-multiple-brain-diseases-how-should-they-be-treated
Conclusions and Relevance Adults 75 years of age or older with adenoma at prior colonoscopy were more likely to experience subsequent CRC and CRC death compared with those without adenoma, but cumulative risks were low and were far exceeded by competing risks for non-CRC death. Older adults may consider deprioritizing surveillance colonoscopy relative to other health concerns. Colorectal Cancer and Mortality Risk Among Older Adults With vs Without Adenoma on Prior Colonoscopy – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2847311
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