Tuesday, December 4, 2012

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U.S. FLU SEASON STARTS EARLY, COULD BE BAD, CDC SAYS
Flu season is off to an early start, and health officials say that may mean it'll be a bad one, with a lot of cases, and a lot of deaths. The primary strain going around is one that tends to cause more severe illness, especially in the elderly. More than one in three of us have already gotten our flu shots, which may help slow it down, but a sudden jump in flu cases like this doesn't usually hit until after Christmas.
(Flu cases have jumped in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The last time a typical flu season started this early was the winter of 2003-04.)

TO STAY HEALTHY, STOP TOUCHING YOURSELF! 
The next top way experts say to keep healthy: stop touching yourself! Focus on NOT touching your face, your eyes, your mouth, with your hands. You do it more than you realize.
Get more ways to stay healthy, ways to feel less miserable when you get sick, and what kinds of flu shots are available on our Shots Etcetera Cold and Flu Guide at www.mix929.com

NATIONAL HAND WASHING AWARENESS WEEK
Remember that HANDWASHING is more important than EVER right now to keep from getting sick, or spreading the germs and making someone else sick! And pop that sanitizer into your purse before you leave the house, for when you can't wash up.

OVERWEIGHT WOMEN FIRST TO GO IN BUDGET CUTS
Medical reearch has found that chubby women are far more likely than skinny ones to lose their jobs, they're at greater risk of being a victim of crime, and of being broke. Psychiatrists (at the University of Connecticut) say it has to do with being discriminated against, low self-esteem... and the woman not standing up for herself. That means she doesn't fight for promotions or raises, and ends up first to be fired.
(And in a related story, researchers say stress and turmoil pushes an overweight person to eat even more to comfort themselves. It's a known fact that stress leads to obesity, but study authors say in their article in Preventative Medicine say overweight people suffer the most stress. It's just a vicious circle.)

SALVATION ARMY ISSUES URGENT PLEA FOR ANGEL ADOPTIONS
With only 6 days left, The Salvation Army Angel Tree has more than 4,000 angels left for adoption... needy children and elderly people here in our community... and they're issuing an urgent plea for you to step up and help a child or elderly person this Christmas. You can adopt an Angel by calling Mix 929 at 737-0929. You can adopt an angel online at mix929.com, at Cool Springs Galleria, Rivergate or the Mall at Green Hills, at Twice daily's, or you can just hit any Walmart this Saturday and there'll be a wish list there, to stuff the truck with toys and clothes for angels this year. Sunday's the deadline for all the angel gifts to be turned in. You can also help by adopting a Food Angel at Kroger.

METRO NASHVILLE BUYS 601 ACRES FOR GREENWAY
Stones River Greenway will soon be expanding.  According to "The Tennessean," Metro Nashville has bought 601 more acres of land on Stones River Road that will become part of the nearby greenway.  More places for you, and the family to have fun and get some exercise.  

TEXTING TURNS 20 YEARS OLD
And text messaging is 20 years old. The first-ever text message was sent December 3, 1992, by a software engineer, and said, "Merry Christmas." So Happy Birthday to text messaging, something most of us couldn't live without these days.

OFFICE HOLIDAY PARTIES ARE BACK THOUGH NOBODY WANTS THEM 
Here's another sign our economy is looking better... more businesses are having holiday parties this year! 9 in 10 companies surveyed say they'll throw some kind of holiday party this year. Mostly to boost morale. 9 in 10 employees, however, said they'd rather have cash, a raise, paid time off or grocery gift cards... than a party. (Wall Street Journal) 

STUDY FINDS CONCUSSIONS LEAD TO PERMANENT BRAIN INJURY 
This is something you need to know if you have kids playing sports. A new study out of Boston University School of Medicine shows repeated concussions have a permanent, damaging effect on the human brain... causing an Alzheimer's-like condition called CTE. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) The most damage was found in professional boxers, football and hockey players. (The study is published in the journal "Brain.")

ORIGINAL TENNESSEE CONSTITUTION ON DISPLAY IN NASHVILLE
Original handwritten versions of the state constitution will be on display in Nashville this week. Thursday through the 10th you can see the original at the Tennessee Supreme Court building on Seventh Avenue. After that, a reproduction will be on display there. 

SENATOR SAYS MEDICARE AND MEDICAID NEED OVERHAUL
Senator Charles Grassley is calling for an overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid to save the healthcare programs for the future and to curb the national debt.  The Iowa Republican spoke on the Senate floor yesterday, saying changes have to come as the federal government is projected to spend nearly 12-trillion on the two programs over the next decade.  ... or one quarter of the entire spending of the federal government over the next ten years.  

MAN MISTAKES BREATHALYZER FOR IPHONE.GOES TO JAIL
German police say they were pretty sure 41-year-old Bernhard Becker was drunk, but the clincher was when they handed him a breathalyzer machine and told him to blow into it so they could check his blood alcohol level. Mr Becker instead apparently thought it was his iphone, and tried to pull up the icon screen and call his lawyer. Cops said, "Ahhh... you can do that when you get back to the station..."

NATIONAL COOKIE DAY
And today is National Cookie day! I don't know what that means exactly, but I'm sure you'll find some way to celebrate!