Drinking Problem?!

Have you ever wondered where your state ranks when it comes to seniors who have a chronic or binge drinking problem?  Well wonder no more.  AARP has run the numbers and here are the states with the highest and lowest percentage of senior who abuse alcohol.

Highest percent
1. District of Columbia (12.0%)
1  Wisconsin (12.0 %)
3.  Alaska (10.1 %)
3.  Hawaii (10.1%)
5. Oregon (9.8%)
6. Florida (9.3%)
6. Montana (9.3%)
8.  California (8.8%)
9.  Massachusetts (8.7%)
9.  New Hampshire (8.7%)
9.  Louisiana (8.7%)
9.  Nevada (8.7%)

Lowest percent
1.  Utah (3.4%)
2. Oklahoma (3.5%)
3. West Virginia (3.6%)
3. Arkansas (3.6%)
5.  Tennessee (4.0%)
6.  Mississippi (4.1%)
7.  South Dakota (5.3%)
8.  Alabama (5.4%)
9.  Kentucky (5.5%)
10.  Missouri (5.6%)

Source: AARP Bulletin, January/February 2020, p. 44; United Health Foundation’s 2019 “America’s Health Rankings Senior Report.”

Commonly Misspelled and Confused – Letter V!

Here is a list of some of the more commonly misspelled/misused words (courtesy of the Internet Accuracy Project) beginning with the letter “V.”  Enjoy!

Commonly misspelled words

V – vacuum, valuable, vengeance, vicious, vigilant, village, villain, violence, visible.

Commonly Confused Words

There are no words beginning with the letter “V” that are commonly confused.

Source: Internet Accuracy Project’s commonly misspelled, confused and misused words is a helpful collection of some of the most commonly misspelled, confused and misused words.

The “Flavors” in Cabernet Sauvignon!

I ran across the most wonderful infographics the other day (courtesy of vinepair.com) that has visualized the most common “flavors” in the most popular wine varieties.  So, this will be a series of posts  (every two to three weeks I will provide the “flavors” of a different variety).  But for today, I will lead off with Cabernet Sauvignon (one of my favorite red varietals).  Enjoy!

Source: http://www.vinepair.com

Seniors and Volunteering!

Now that you’ve retired, are you looking for something to do?  A reason to get up in the morning?  Many seniors look to volunteering to fill this gap as they transition from working full-time to being off full-time.  Nationally, 28% of adults 65 or older have reported volunteering over the last 12 months.  Oklahoma is a little bit above this average (33%).  Here are the states with the highest and lowest percentage of senior volunteers over the last year.

Highest percentage
1.  Utah (44.6%)
2.  Minnesota (43.3%)
3.  North Dakota (38.7%)
4.  Maryland (38.2%)
5.  Wisconsin (37.1%)
6.  Iowa (36.9%)
7.  South Dakota (36.8%)
7.  Washington (36.8%)
9.  Oregon (36.5%)
10.  Alaska (35.0%)

Lowest Percentage
1.  Kentucky (18.9%)
2.  Georgia (19.7%)
3.  Mississippi (20.2%)
4.  Florida (20.3%)
5.  Hawaii (20.5%)
6.  New Jersey (21.9%)
7.  Louisiana (22.0%)
8.  New York (22.2%)
9.  California (23.3%)
10.  Nevada (24.1%)

Source: AARP Bulletin, May 2020, p. 46; and, “2019 Senior Report,” americashealthrankings.org.

Fun Fact Friday, Number 185!

The category for today’s trivial imponderable is “astronomy.”  Do you know . . . what English adjective is used when describing the planet Jupiter?

Jovian is the English adjective used for the planet Jupiter.

Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong, by Dr. Rod L. Evans.

Keep Calm and Carry On?!

“He had to be torn from his seat ere he was removed to prison, and as he sat next to Danton in the tumbrel which conveyed them to the guillotine, the calmness of the great leader failed to impress him.”
(Source: The Encyclopaedia Britannica: a Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Literature and General Information (9th ed.), Vol. 7, p. 131.)

calmness

\ bahr-ber-uhs \, adjective;

1.  without rough motion; still or nearly still.

2.  not windy or stormy.

3.  free from excitement or passion; tranquil.

noun

1.  freedom from motion or disturbance; stillness.

2.  Meteorology. wind speed of less than 1 mile per hour (0.447 m/sec).

SEE MORE

verb (used with object)

1.  to make calm.

 

Other words you may consider using (depending on your context/usage, of course):

• aplomb
• imperturbation
• sang-froid

Source: The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich. Definitions courtesy of http://www.dictionary.com

Artist Documentary: Joey Frisillo!

“The Art of Painting.”  Here is the next installment of the artist documentaries that were produced by students from the Jenks High School Documentary Film Class under the tutelage of their instructor, Clifton Raphael, in partnership with artists from both the Tulsa Artists Guild and Tulsa’s Alpha Rho Tau (a civic art association).  This posts features the artist Joey Frisillo.  Enjoy!

Source: https://youtu.be/Rw_8KdOSeas

Some Levity!

Happy Tuesday!  Here are some groaners.  Always remember that sometimes . . . you’ve just gotta laugh!

Mike: “Somebody stole the wheels off all the police cars!”
Spike: “The cops are working on it tirelessly.”

Q: What weighs more: a gallon of water, or a gallon of butane?
A: The water.  Butane is a lighter fluid.

Marriage Counselor: “So, what brings you two here today?”
Wife: “He takes everything literally, I can’t stand it.”
Husband: “My truck.”

Q: “What kind of writer never kills off their main character?”
A: “An autobiographer.”

Minnie: “They say you shouldn’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.”
Winnie: “I know.  But it’s been two weeks and I just keep getting hungrier.”

Darren: “A clown held the door for me today.”
Karen: “What a nice jester.”

Source: AARP Bulletin, November 2019, p. 46.

Show Me the Money!

On June 22nd, 1775, the first “paper money” was issued by the Continental Congress.  The notes were issued in the following denominations: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 dollars, 20 dollars, 30 dollars, and 35 dollars.  There were also fractional notes: two-thirds, one-half, one-third, and one-sixth.  Only twelve states were granted money and, since the notes had little of value to back them, they were not widely accepted.  Congress had to pass a resolution in 1776 making the refusal to accept them a treasonable act.

Some other famous “firsts” that occurred on June 22nd throughout history include:

• the first naval ship to surrender in peacetime (USS Chesapeake, 1807)
• the first machine for manufacturing pins (1832)
• the first grain elevator operated by steam (1843)
• the first osteopathic physician (Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, Macon MO, 1874)
• the first physician who was a Chinese woman (Dr. Mary Stone [Shih Mai-yu], 1896)
• the first woman fellow of the American College of Surgeons (Dr. Alice Gertrude Byrant and Dr. Florence West Duckering, 1914)
• the first beauty pageant to be shown on television (1939)
• the first national water skiing tournament (1939)
• the first jet airplane to transport mail (1946)
• the first multisatellite launching (1960)
• the first Coast Guard officers who were women who served aboard ships (1977)
• the first First Lady who was also a federal official (Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1993)

Source: Famous First Facts, by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell.

It’s Lightning Safety Awareness Week!

This particular annual event (always scheduled for the last full-week of June) was started in 2001 to raise awareness of this potential killer.  Since that time the number of annual deaths has dropped from about 50 deaths per year to about 30 deaths.  Below is a link that will take you to a variety of topics to help inform you about lightning and how to stay safe when lightning is around.

http://www.lightningsafetycouncil.org/LSC-LSAW.html