Schadenfreude

According to Factfinder, for "men and women aged 25 to 54, the number of men for each 100 women in 2000 was 99. Among older adults, the male-female ratio continued to fall rapidly, as women increasingly outnumbered men. For people 55 to 64, the male-female ratio was 92 to 100, but for those 85 and over, there were only 41 men for every 100 women."

Wow! Forty one men to 100 women for those over age 85? In 2003 "Life expectancy went up for men from 73.4 years to 74.4 and for women from 79.7 to 79.8" and death's associated with heart disease and stroke are decreasing (also good for men) so men are gaining (as are women but at a decreasing rate compared to men) but something still appears to be happening to males between 65 and their early eighties.  Could it be that "flexibility, resiliency and connections protect women against early death while men are more often wiped out by their own rigidity, aggression and denial of feelings as this article suggests?  This statement makes me angry to the point I want to punch the author and no I don't have rigidity issues or problems with aggression.  Just kidding around, I suppose men are generally less flexible and more aggressive but does this lead to such a great difference in life expectancy once you reach age 65?  I doubt it but still have no solid answers for this male-female ratio difference.  The unprovable answer to me is goals. Those without goals die sooner.          

So what are the non gender odds of death? The real culprits are still Heart Disease and Cancer. Odds of being Legally Executed is just 1 in 58,618 over your life span, seems much too likely but I'm probably safer living far away from Texas. 

So what can you do to extend your life?  Wear a safety belt? Live in a ranch style home to avoid using steps? Don't drive a motorcycle own a gun or smoke and live close to a hospital to avoid air ambulances and all the while don't take yourself so seriously and eat your green vegetables?   

 I've been alive for 504 months and in an other 504 months I'd be fast approaching 85 years old.  I wonder what the current ratio of 41 men to 100 women will be in 2048? I wonder if I'll be alive to observe it? The odds say no but ya gotta have a goal and for me it's observing the male-female ratio in 2048.      

The below info has been posted on Essenhaus' website.

"The Essen Haus is not going out of business!

There has been some recent confusion in the media that the Essen Haus and Come Back In in Madison is for sale and/or is going out of business. This is not true. The property the Essen Haus, Come Back In and other businesses are located on may possibly be redeveloped in the upcoming years. If any developments were to occur, the Essen Haus would be included in the redesign. We welcome and thank you for your great patronage and continued business!"

I guess my lifetime membership might actually mean lifetime!

Unaware that I was limiting comments to two weeks from my original posting date, I forced all comments beyond 2 weeks to email. Since then I have changed my settings but to no avail, I still could not post comments on "closed" postings.

Here was a response received from Mike Hanes via email regarding my 4/11/05 Walmart blog:

I too enjoy a good deal as your example of getting an oil change for 14 dollars points out. I am also in agreement with you that if we are to hold Walmart responsible for healthcare coverage than we might also need
to hold the small business community to the same responsibility. Efficiency and strong negotiating skills are certainly things that a company ought to not be punished for. There are some things that make Wal-mart a business for concern. The cut-throat capitalism that they practice has lead them to expand from household/auto/Garden/Cosmetics/ect to selling groceries. This upgrade to a "super Walmart" Has led to the denegration of the surrounding environment as the old smaller walmarts are discarded and left empty (still owned by Walmart, wouldn't want competition). When walmart leaves in comes crime and societal problems (i.e. Walmart creates slums through expansionism)

Walmart along with every other big box vendor eventually hurts the consumer as a whole. We like cheap prices because our money goes further in comparision to what we're used to. But this in turn drives wages down so that there become fewer and fewer people who are making as much as was the norm before. What I have seen is that this in turn separates communities further in socio-economic status. People that have the cash will pay more for good service and unique product creating a niche for smaller enterprising vendors. In turn those that can't pay up are relegated to Wal-Mart. This in turn increases the already existing societal divisions that create tension within a community. The affluent shop in one place the less affluent in another. Is this a new thing? I would say that it has always been around but not on such a large scale.

When I see a new Super WalMart while I like cheap prices and convenience I am concerned that those prices have outweighed the costs that are taken in by a community be it how it changes the social dynamics on how
we interact as a community, the environmental toll of building a wal-mart and then moving a mile up the road to create a Super Walmart, The death of unique mom and pop shop, Crime, competition can only be
found in large corporations.

To me this goes against the main thread in American Capitalism which is Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Are our lives better? (Maybe if we measure it in buying power but are there other things that make
life better than the power to be a consumer) Are we a better and happier society because of such big box corporations because WalMart is not the only one out there? Has our liberty or freedoms been increased? (Is
there room in the market for the average individual to jump in and be competitive?) Just a few questions to think about when you get your 14 dollar oil change.


-Sincerely Mike Hanes

Original Blog:

Municipal Socialism and Super Wal-Mart
Walmart is attemping to move into the suburbs of Madison WI but town after town continue to pass licensing reviews for retailers exceeding so many square feet aimed squarely at keeping Super Wal-Marts out of our communities.

Personally I like that I can get an oil change for $13 at the Super Wal-Marts. And since I am mainly a purchaser of goods (not a seller of goods) I see no harm in advancing the goals of a very efficient company. Critics point to the local businesses which will not be able to compete and the low wages and limited health care offered at Wal- Mart. Now I worked for a family run business and many do not offer a living wage and often cannot afford to offer health insurance. Is this a double standard? Hold the large company to certain standards that the small company does not need to meet. Some cities per the Economist are even requiring that Wal Mart provide a "municipal determined" level of health care to it's workers. Big gov't has moved from Wash DC to the cities.

The marketplace is the best place to determine prices and when Wal-Mart cannot hire or keep the good employees they want to keep is when their wages and benefits will increase.

Is it really a bad thing to have a company that is very very good at negotiations in order to bring the best prices to the consumer? I would argue that capitalism needs these kinds of efficiency inequities between firms to grow and prosper. For-profit firms must strive to become more efficient than their competition, however the rules should be the same for all involved. Winners and losers are biproducts of an efficient and healthy capitalistic society.

Red Robin Gift Certificates go on sale at 7AM. The total cost is $28.50 ($25 + $3.50 for shipping) for a $50 gift certificate at Dine Madison. You'll want to visit this website at 6:55 and refresh your screen every 20 seconds or so as these will sell out in a few minutes. Have your credit card available as you only have a few minutes to complete your order.

For those who like to save money, eat out often and don't want the time challenge of logging in at 7AM, there is another website called Madison Discounts where you can save 60% or more and includes places like Olive Garden and Casa de Lara. Pay close attention to the Terms of Certificate area prior to purchasing. Larado's West for example is only good for dinner's on Sun-Tues. Shipping info is here and if you buy 5 or more you can get an extra certificate free by typing MadisonCoupons after your last name when you order. See details here.

I usually coordinate my order around the availability of Olive Garden certificates however these are often "out of stock". I've had luck checking for availability on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Purchase limits of Olive Garden is set to one every 90 days. If you want to be notified on this certificate's availability send me an email or respond to this blog.

Lately a $10 certificate for Boston's Gourmet Pizza has been on sale for $1.50 a great deal however on Monday's and Tuesday's some have additional savings and you can even save more, look the for the red 'Special' underneath the restaurant name.

For those who live near Janesville Wisconsin, this week you can purchase a $50 gift certificate for $25 from Dine Madison at Fuddruckers. There is a shipping cost of $3.50 so the final total is a savings of $21.50 on a purchase of $50. 100 Gift Certificates go on sale at 7AM on Thursday 5/19/05 and if it's like Red Robin in Monona WI they will sell out in the first couple of minutes. You'll have 4-5 minutes to complete your transaction so have your credit card ready. Here's the specifics on how it works.

With a 20-7 record the White Sox are offically the best team in baseball. Something I never thought I'd say, sorry Blogarula. Did anyone count their Spring losses? They had 18 losses in 31 games. What a turnaround! Now I'd normally recommend a trip to Chicago to see the White Sox play but the last time I was there I heard explosions and thought someone was being shot. Turned out to be statium fireworks.

"All that I really know is that I really don't know". Some famous philosopher once said these words at Essenhaus' Stein Night and it appears these words of wisdom are true again as it relates to global warming or at least measurements involving how much light is reflected vs absorbed by Earth.

"The bottom line, according to a group of experts not involved in any of these studies: Scientists don't know much about how sunlight interacts with our planet, and until they understand it, they can't accurately predict any possible effects of human activity on climate change."

Of course if you own ocean frontage or plan to be buried in New Orleans you may want to prepare for the rising oceans . Of course I won't be here in 2100 but it looks like Wisconsin should be 4 degree's warmer. Cool!

An Assoc Press article says that Jeff Gannon had visited the White House 196 times over two years. Does that seem a little excessive? For a President who likes 'lobbing softballs' it's clear that he found a playmate.

I'd like to know who made the decision to give a man with an alias and limited if not no professional (Talon is a news organization if you consider MoveOn.org one as well) journalistic experience access to the West Wing of the White House on a regular basis and during a time of war. Gannon was also given special access to documents or information in those documents, that exposed a clandestine CIA operative. Seems like special treatment in exchange for the routine of lobbing softballs to the Prez.

Now I wouldn't expect the often too tolerant Dems to do much here, but where are the value based Repubs with their ever present national security concerns? Their silence is astonishing. Can you imagine a Dem president with a gay prostitute given special access to the White House and documents in exchange for softball questions ? Oh my gosh. The Repubs would be holding ethic investigations, opening a special prosecution to investigate security breaches, federal grand jury investigations, talks of leadership failure of the President, impeachment rumors, and conclusions by the Fox talking heads that liberalism is the root of all that is evil. Why isn't there a consistent outrage by the Repubs when Bush is President?

Walmart is attemping to move into the suburbs of Madison WI but town after town continue to pass licensing reviews for retailers exceeding so many square feet aimed squarely at keeping Super Wal-Marts out of our communities.

Personally I like that I can get an oil change for $13 at the Super Wal-Marts. And since I am mainly a purchaser of goods (not a seller of goods) I see no harm in advancing the goals of a very efficient company. Critics point to the local businesses which will not be able to compete and the low wages and limited health care offered at Wal- Mart. Now I worked for a family run business and many do not offer a living wage and often cannot afford to offer health insurance. Is this a double standard? Hold the large company to certain standards that the small company does not need to meet. Some cities per the Economist are even requiring that Wal Mart provide a "municipal determined" level of health care to it's workers. Big gov't has moved from Wash DC to the cities.

The marketplace is the best place to determine prices and when Wal-Mart cannot hire or keep the good employees they want to keep is when their wages and benefits will increase.

Is it really a bad thing to have a company that is very very good at negotiations in order to bring the best prices to the consumer? I would argue that capitalism needs these kinds of efficiency inequities between firms to grow and prosper. For-profit firms must strive to become more efficient than their competition, however the rules should be the same for all involved. Winners and losers are biproducts of an efficient and healthy capitalistic society.

The less animals eat the longer they live, could it be possible for humans to extent their lives by reducing caloric intake? The Economist says a soon to be published Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism Marc Hellerstein suggests this very fact. Suggesting that restricting calories reduces cell division and thus increases life's longevity. Now that researchers have found a way to measure cell division via water. Not just any water but heavy water. Heavy water contains an extra neutron so while it behaves the same chemically as normal water, the mice fed a diet with heavy water can have the amount of DNA measured by extracting the DNA and weighing it. And by inference they can identify how much cell division had occurred. A reduction of just 5% of calories can result in significant gains in longevity. But restrictive caloric intake should occur with regular fasting. Turns out many animals tend to binge and starve on regular cycles. Sounds biblical.