Jet Cannon

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Shark Bait

Endorphins, Good Clean Fun /

Texas Monthly posted an article about Virtual Reality and possible benefits to seniors’ health.  Sali Fonda hasn’t been scuba diving in twenty years. She was seventy the last time. Now, at ninety, the former bodybuilder is about to jump into the deep again—this time into a cage that will protect her in the shark-filled sea.

In reality, there is no shark cage here, no sharks, either, and certainly no ocean. Fonda has virtual-reality goggles strapped to her head, and she’s sitting in a padded swivel chair inside an activity room at Atria at the Arboretum, a senior living apartment complex in northwest Austin. It’s there that she dives into an immersive experience—an underwater scene filmed in 360 degrees. Fonda moves her head up and down, left and right, the view changing with each turn. Schools of fish bobble above. Sharks glide all around. Fonda reaches a hand out toward one of the ocean predators. “Whoa,” says the nonagenarian with blondish white hair.

“That was fun!” Fonda says, laughing as she talks. “I was right there! I loved it!” Later, when some of the adrenaline has worn off, Fonda tells me, “When you’re ninety, your life is over. This is going to make life new again.”

MyndVR is one of just a few tech firms targeting the senior set with custom-made virtual experiences that range from skydiving to Broadway shows. The company believes that kind of content can provide more than entertainment; it can also serve as therapy—perhaps even FDA-approved therapy—for seniors in assisted living and memory care units.

Whether VR experiences actually benefit senior brains or not, facing down sharks and jumping out of virtual airplanes sounds like a nice, safe way to catch a Buzz.

– Jet Cannon

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Food for Happy Thoughts

Endorphins, Food and Drink /

Wellandgood.com recently gave us some tips on boosting serotonin and, therefore, our mood…with food!  We’ve edited the article to cooperate with our short attention span. 

“There are some snacks that can boost your body’s serotonin as well as foods that deplete serotonin. Serotonin—an important chemical neurotransmitter—helps regulate many functions in the brain and body, including mood, sleep, bone health, blood clotting, and memory formation.

Balanced serotonin levels help us regulate our emotions and steady our mood, which is why serotonin is often called a natural mood stabilizer.  So first, what foods aren’t so good?

The three key foods that deplete serotonin, according to a neuroscientist are:

1. Sugary snacks

2. Food with high levels of trans-fat

3. Highly-processed foods

Serotonin is produced from tryptophan, which is not naturally produced by our bodies. As such, you’ll want to ensure that your diet includes this essential amino acid—and luckily, many a delicious ingredient fits the bill. 

Some great foods that contain tryptophan are eggs, nuts, seeds, salmon, and cheese.

Besides food, regular exercise is also a great way to increase your serotonin levels, as well as making sure you get sunshine and light, especially first thing in the morning if possible. This can help regulate your circadian rhythm and further improve your mood. Learning new information and, more specifically, building happy memories also helps with serotonin levels.

Hanging out with your loved ones can achieve the same effect. When we engage with others in meaningful ways, our cortisol levels go down while the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine balance in our brains.

So the next time you’re feeling a little down, consider spiking your serotonin levels with a healthy snack—or a few hugs and a sun-soaked walk with a friend.”

– Jet Cannon

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What would reacher do?

Good Clean Fun /

“No. I’m a man with a rule. People leave me alone, I leave them alone. If they don’t, I don’t.”

A second season of Reacher starring Alan Ritchson has been confirmed! Much more believable than Tom Cruise as Reacher, Ritchson drops into town and takes care of the bad guys and then heads to the next town.

With so many Lee Child books from which to work, the new series could go on for a long time! We hope so.

What does this have to do with Baby Boomers catching a Buzz?  Nothing.

  • Jet Cannon

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Valentine’s Dud

Food and Drink /

Whenitsknotforever.com summed up Valentine’s Day efforts that didn’t hit the mark:

“If for some reason your V-day fell short of expectations, don’t fret, because you’re not alone. According to Forbes, “for a number of people, the commercially designated day of love can actually cause stress, anxiety, unhappiness and even depression.”

Perfect.

Here’s a possible cure for that day, or weekend, after.  The Chocolate Martini from Liquor.com.

Ingredients

  • Cocoa powder, to rim glass
  • 1 ounce chocolate liqueur (such as Godiva), plus more for rimming glass 
  • 1 ounce creme de cacao (such as Giffard)
  • 1 ounce vodka
  • 1/2 ounce half-and-half

Steps

  • Add a small amount of chocolate liqueur into a small rimmed plate. Add a small amount of cocoa powder to another plate. Dip the rim of an inverted cocktail glass into the liqueur, then into the cocoa powder. Set aside.
  • Add the chocolate liqueur, creme de cacao, vodka and half-and-half into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into the prepared glass.

It’s worth a try even if you have to drink it yourself.

– Jet Cannon

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Talkin’ ’bout My Generation

Music /

Huffpost reported this about the Super Bowl halftime show:

“Two generations are claiming the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show ― and some are getting just a touch testy over it.

The show featured instantly iconic performances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and 50 Cent.

But it was a tweet about the event by NBC News that may have inadvertently kicked off an intergenerational feud as the network declared: “Super Bowl Halftime Show taps into millennial nostalgia.”

Millennials cheered, while Gen Xers (as apathetically as possible, of course) stepped in to contest the claim. 

Each side has a solid argument.

All of the key performers except for Lamar are Gen Xers by age. But the bulk of the songs played were big hits during the formative years for many Millennials. 

That led to some (mostly) good-natured discussions and jokes over which generation was best represented by the performance.”

We’re guessing most Baby Boomers are very happy to sit on the sidelines of this debate. We did like the classic cars, though!

  • Jet Cannon

Photo: CNN

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Walk to Rock

Fitness /

US News reports that physical activity helps keep the aging brain sharp, according to the latest of many studies showing a link between exercise and brain health.

This study included 90 adults, ages 50-74, who wore devices to measure their levels of physical activity and completed thinking tests at home.

The participants did better on the tests on days when they were more active, and worse on days when they got less exercise, according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

A neurologist recently told us about the importance of mental exercise to help keep the brain sharp. “The brain is like a muscle. Use it or lose it.” And these studies remind us that physical exercise can help with brain function as well.

Ready, march!!

  • Jet Cannon
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Raise your glass!

Food and Drink /

The U.S. Treasury department is investigating the $250 billion annual U.S. alcohol market and outlined reforms it said could boost competition and save consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year.  Go Uncle Sam!

Like disappearing pubs in England, many smaller breweries in the U.S. either went out of business or were swallowed up by giant corporations.  The craft brewing revolution offset that but even those successful ones get bought up resulting in higher prices and often fewer choices.

New merger and acquisition scrutiny, different tax rates and lifting regulatory burdens to new entrants in the wine, beer and spirits market would make the market fairer for new brewers and cheaper for consumers.

Per Reuters, the two largest brewers selling beer in the United States – Anheuser Busch InBev and Molson Coors – account for 65% of U.S. beer revenues.

“American consumers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and workers should not have to suffer under the thumb of a highly concentrated beer industry,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter. “Enforcement and regulatory authorities should have the courage to learn and the fortitude necessary to enforce the law and protect competition.”

We raise our glass!

– Jet Cannon

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Ye Olde Fighting Cocks

1 Comment / Food and Drink /

We’re quoting from CNN:

“An English pub that claims to be the oldest in Britain is closing due to financial problems worsened by the pandemic. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, just north of London, has been in business since 793 AD, according to its website. Now it has closed its doors “after a sustained period of extremely challenging trading conditions,” according to a statement from landlord Christo Tofalli, posted on the pub’s Facebook page on Friday.

Britain’s pub industry was struggling even before the pandemic, as people ditched drinking in pubs for bars, restaurants and their homes. 

Between 2008 and 2018, more than 11,000 pubs closed their doors, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, reducing the total number by almost a quarter.

The main structure of Ye Olde Fighting Cocks was built in the 11th century and was originally used as a pigeon house, according to the local tourist board. The pub took its name from the cock fights that were held there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Oliver Cromwell reportedly slept one night at the inn during the English Civil War.Ye Olde Fighting Cocks used to be recognized as the oldest pub in England by Guinness World Records, but the record title is now inactive, a spokeswoman for Guinness told CNN.

Record holder or not, this may not the pub’s final chapter.A spokesperson for Mitchells & Butlers, the brewery that owns the premises, said it was working to reopen it.”

We hope so. It’s a shame that the pub culture has faded. We need more places where locals can go to their local and everybody knows their name.

  • Jet Cannon

Photo: Wikipedia

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Big Gin

Food and Drink /

After a Dry January, we went to a steak house and asked for the gin martini that customers were excited about.  The waitress produced a Big Gin martini.  It was refreshingly flavorful without seeming like it was trying too hard.  Their web site says the flavor comes from a blend of Nine Magical Botanicals.  “Big Gin unites a blend of nine botanicals from all over the world to be distilled in the Pacific Northwest. Our 100-gallon copper pot stills bring new-fashioned flavors to life.”

  • Juniper – Pine flavored with a pinch of sprite
  • Cassia – A little sweeter than cinnamon
  • Coriander – Spicy and citrusy, nutty when crashed
  • Bitter Orange Peel – Bright and zesty
  • Grains of Paradise – Peppery and aromatic
  • Angelica – Earthy and medicinal
  • Cardamom – Sweet – spicy and resinous
  • Orris – Floral, earthy and woody
  • Tasmanian Pepperberry – Sweet, followed by a short-lasting heat

If you like gin, let’s just say they’ve really nailed it.

– Jet Cannon

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This Won’t Hurt a bit

Endorphins /

It was a boring Dry January and then, due to some medical concerns, we cut out weed and caffeine.  So nothing left to catch a Buzz with except some exercise endorphins.  But finally, we got that long awaited doctor’s appointment. 

Doctor: I have some bad news and some very bad news.

Us: Well, might as well give me the bad news first.

Doctor: The lab called with your test results. They said you have 24 hours to live.

Us: 24 HOURS! That’s terrible!! WHAT could be WORSE? What’s the very bad news?

Doctor: I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday.

– Jet Cannon

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endorphin Buzz

Endorphins, Fitness /

With Dry January coming to an end, some Buzzed Boomers may be carrying on dry for a bit longer.  To experience that mellow Buzz without alcohol, generating endorphins via exercise is one option.  Exercise also helps with those New Year’s health and weigh-loss resolutions.

According to healthline.com, moderate exercise works just fine for generating endorphins; around 30 minutes after concluding.  That’s good news for Buzzed Boomers who need to be careful about over-exerting.  Moderate means you can still talk but might be short of breath.  And you might sweat a bit.

Covid-permitting, a small study found that group exercise was better at creating those endorphins that working out solo.

– Jet Cannon

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Weed

Cannabis /

The Grand Cannabis State

The New York Post reports that Arizona customers had purchased more than $1.23 billion worth of cannabis products since voters approved a referendum to legalize the drug for adult use in November of 2020. More than $196 million had been collected in taxes, according to Arizona’s Department of Revenue.  Most of the new revenue was allocated to community colleges and county health departments.

The sales eclipsed the first year of adult-use sales in more populous Washington state, where we’re from, but we are not giving up!  

– Jet Cannon

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