Where Are These People Coming From?

June 3, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

“An influx of Texans and Californians. Texans and Californians moved to the Sooner State at historic rates in 2020 and 2021. Oklahoma saw a net gain of about 8,500 Californians and 7,300 Texans in those years. Other states showing increased interest are Colorado and Arizona.”

“Growing metro areas. Tulsa is growing fast, but Oklahoma City is one of the fastest-growing large cities in America. Oklahoma City recently climbed past Boston to become the nation’s 20th-largest city by population. In recent decades, OKC has spent millions of dollars to remake the city, adding new parks, a streetcar system, and a brand-new basketball arena.”

“Diverse and robust city economies. Many parts of Oklahoma rely heavily on the energy industry, but not all. Large areas like Tulsa also specialize in services industries, which have seen the most growth nationwide in the past decade. Tulsa’s economy also specializes in key sectors like transportation and warehousing, information technology, professional and business services, and health care.”

“Where are new Oklahoma residents coming from? The top states moving to Oklahoma are Texas (17.2%), California (15.6%), and Florida (6.4%).

Remember Oklahoma’s ‘brain drain’? Here’s what’s happened since it was declared plugged –Richard Mize The Oklahoman May 11, 2023

No link to the full article as it’s behind a paywall.

The next question is why are people moving to Oklahoma?

For the Fried Pies, of course – Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies named the best snack in Oklahoma https://www.oklahoman.com/story/lifestyle/food/2023/05/23/arbuckle-mountain-fried-pies-oklahoma-food-and-wine-best-snacks-us/70248275007/

Or could it be the cost of housing? Cheap Houses and Awe Inspiring Tornadoes

Take Your Vitamins

May 26, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

In the current study, more than 3,500 adults (mostly non-Hispanic white) over age 60 were randomly assigned to take a daily multivitamin supplement or placebo for three years. At the end of each year, participants performed a series of online cognitive assessments at home designed to test memory function of the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is affected by normal aging. The COSMOS-Web study is part of a large clinical trial led by Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard called the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS).

By the end of the first year, memory improved for people taking a daily multivitamin, compared with those taking a placebo. The researchers estimate the improvement, which was sustained over the three-year study period, was equivalent to about three years of age-related memory decline. The effect was more pronounced in participants with underlying cardiovascular disease.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Multivitamin improves memory in older adults, study finds.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230524181916.htm (accessed May 25, 2023).

Quotes for Today – 05.19.23

May 19, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”
Lawrence Pearsall Jacks, educator and Unitarian minister.

“I love playing, it’s just part of me now, and it was then, at 13. I had the dream to play drums, and I ended up being that person, and I’m still that person.
Ringo Starr – 82 years young

Like I said, I think (I am) Flunking Retirement

Elder Abuse

May 14, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Most of the time I just delete shit like this. Then, unsurprisingly I get another text.

What chat? Why do I feel like I’m being targeted?

HomeVestors, the self-proclaimed “largest homebuyer in the United States,” goes to great lengths to distinguish itself from the hedge funds and YouTube gurus that have taken over large swaths of the real estate investment market. The company says it helps homeowners out of jams — ugly houses and ugly situations — improving lives and communities by taking on properties no one else would buy. Part of that mission is a promise not to take advantage of anyone who doesn’t understand the true value of their home, even as franchisees pursue rock-bottom prices…HomeVestors cautions its franchisees never to take advantage of sellers who are unable to understand negotiations. But by the time he left that evening, Evans had a contract to buy the house for roughly two-thirds its value, signed in Casanova’s shaky script.
The Ugly Truth Behind “We Buy Ugly Houses” — https://www.propublica.org/article/ugly-truth-behind-we-buy-ugly-houses

Full disclosure – I have no clue who sent me these text messages and the source may not be HomeVestors.

Please read then share the entire article. You can’t be too safe nowadays.

The more I think about this form of elder abuse the angrier I get. Then again, maybe I did have a conversation about a different property.

This text message was for a property I don’t own.

(I am) Flunking Retirement

May 12, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / 3 Comments

Participants with the most positive views of aging were living, on average, 7.5 years longer than those with the most negative views. 90%: the percentage of centenarians who were functionally independent in their 90’s.

People who live long lives can teach us how to live healthy lives.
Flunking Retirement – https://ysph.yale.edu/about-school-of-public-health/communications-public-relations/publications/public-health-magazine/article/flunking-retirement/

The source article is an interview with two Yale alumni who are still working at the age of 82. Both are youngsters when compared to…Willie who just turned 90 and still working.

Diet Until Proven Otherwise

April 26, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Plant foods, high in fiber, can reduce the contact of potential carcinogens with cells lining the digestive tract. The fiber causes food to travel faster through a person’s digestive system. This also reduces intestinal cells’ contact with bile acids, which can promote cancer growth. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes also provide phytonutrients and antioxidants, which can help repair damaged cells and reduce cancer risk.
Why poor diets are contributing to a surge in colorectal cancer cases among young people — https://www.kevinmd.com/2023/04/why-poor-diets-are-contributing-to-a-surge-in-colorectal-cancer-cases-among-young-people.html

Life is short and science takes too long.

Change your diet. If you have any changes in your bowel habits, talk to your physician.

Take a Break – 04.19.23 (let’s do some brain remodeling)

April 19, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / 3 Comments

A study led by the UNIGE, HES-SO Geneva, and EPFL revealed that music practice and active listening could prevent working memory decline. Such activities promoted brain plasticity, they were associated with grey matter volume increase. Positive impacts have also been measured on working memory. This study was conducted among 132 healthy retirees from 62 to 78 years of age. One of the conditions for participation was that they had not taken any music lessons for more than six months in their lives…The participants were randomly assigned to two groups, regardless of their motivation to play an instrument. The second group had active listening lessons, which focused on instrument recognition and analysis of musical properties in a wide range of musical styles. The classes lasted one hour. Participants in both groups were required to do homework for half an hour a day.”

After six months, we found common effects for both interventions. Neuroimaging revealed an increase in grey matter in four brain regions involved in high-level cognitive functioning in all participants, including cerebellum areas involved in working memory. Their performance increased by 6% and this result was directly correlated to the plasticity of the cerebellum,” says Clara James, last author of the study, a privat-docent at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of UNIGE, and full professor at the Geneva School of Health Sciences
Université de Genève. “How music can prevent cognitive decline.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230417142520.htm (accessed April 18, 2023).

Journal Reference – Damien Marie, Cécile A.H. Müller, Eckart Altenmüller, Dimitri Van De Ville, Kristin Jünemann, Daniel S. Scholz, Tillmann H.C. Krüger, Florian Worschech, Matthias Kliegel, Christopher Sinke, Clara E. James. Music interventions in 132 healthy older adults enhance cerebellar grey matter and auditory working memory, despite general brain atrophy. Neuroimage: Reports, 2023; 3 (2): 100166 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2023.100166

I could feel my brain grey matter volume increasing when listening to this album.

People who think positively about aging are more likely to recover memory

April 18, 2023 / SupremeCmdr / 3 Comments

A new study has found that older persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a common type of memory loss, were 30% more likely to regain normal cognition if they had taken in positive beliefs about aging from their culture, compared to those who had taken in negative beliefs.
Yale School of Public Health. “People who think positively about aging are more likely to recover memory.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230412131116.htm (accessed April 18, 2023).

Journal Reference – Becca R. Levy, Martin D. Slade. Role of Positive Age Beliefs in Recovery From Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Older Persons. JAMA Network Open, 2023; 6 (4): e237707 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.7707

I cannot believe how wonderful the aging process is said no one ever.