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Daily Habits of happiness experts

Isn’t that what the Buzz is all about?  Wanting to feel happy?  Is there a healthy shortcut… cutting out the sex, drugs and rock ’n roll middleman?  “Experts” have some suggestions.  Here’s a snapshot.  Click here for the entire article in Time.  “The more you notice how happy or how grateful you are, the more it grows. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy many things that contribute mightily, such as exciting experiences. Spending money on others is also linked to happiness. Still, many of the most reliable ways to increase happiness levels are free, like meditating and practicing compassion, gratitude, and altruism.  Spending time with family outside of the house, and with friends in a non-professional setting, were big ones: the majority did both at least once a week, and many gathered socially three to four times a week. Pursuing hobbies, such as art, music, cooking, or reading, was also universally important.  Mental well-being has long been linked to sufficient sleep, and our respondents prioritized getting at least seven hours a night. Exercising or playing sports was another shared habit, with respondents saying they fit it in three to six times weekly.”

Seems like a lot of work.  Nap time.

  • Jet Cannon
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fighting back with fart spray

AARP reports that Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer, got mad at scammers and thieves.  Scammers often target seniors.  Now he is getting even in creative ways.  For example, “The smash-and-grab thieves who are breaking car windows and stealing from the vehicles.  Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it’s really bad.  I’ll be working potentially with some law enforcement.  There will be a very uncharitable amount of fart spray involved.”

Game on!

– Jet Cannon

Boom!

May 18, 1980.  With the power of a nuclear explosion, Mt. St. Helens erupted.

Tragically, fifty-seven people were killed; 200 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed.  Furthermore, per Wikipedia, geologists predict that future eruptions will be more destructive, since the configuration of the lava domes there require more pressure to erupt.  Despite this, Mount St Helens is a popular hiking spot, and it is climbed year-round.

We, on the other hand, commemorate this historic event with a pint glass from North Drinkware.

Says North Drinkware, The Mount St. Helens Pint is our handblown, 16 oz pint glass with USGS data of Mount St. Helens molded into the base of the glass. The details of this iconic erupted 8,366 ft peak come to life with your favorite drink in the glass.

Made in Portland, Oregon our glasses are lead-free and dishwasher safe. All glasses are handmade one-of-a-kind products that may have slight variation. Our commitment is to donate 1% of the sales of each glass to these select non-profits that are working to protect the mountains or improve the community surrounding each mountain featured in our glasses.

– Jet Cannon

580 Horsepower Buzz

Ford announced that their F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck is rated at up to 580 horsepower with the larger, optional battery. 580. That means an estimated 0 – 60 time of 4.5 seconds. That’s quick. In a truck. That looks like a truck (not like Tesla’s CyberTruck). And that explains the long waiting list to get one.

  • Jet Cannon
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They’re Not Good for you, they’re just Good

An article in New York magazine’s Grub Street by Emily Sundberg observed that twenty-somethings are suddenly on to martinis.  At least in New York.  She suggests a number of theories to explain the new trend.  We just think, well, where have you been?

We loved this paragraph:

“Martinis are also a move away from the whole natural-wine bonanza of a few years ago, a drink that offered some kind of higher moral imperative of being closer to the land and less processed or whatever. Martinis offer no such sanctimoniousness: “They’re not good for you, they’re just good,” posits chef and entrepreneur Jonah Reider. “A martini is judged on the execution: so impossibly ice cold it’s surprising its not solid, one elegant garnish, dangerously filled to the top of the most inconvenient un-ergonomic glass shape of all time — and preferably with leftover martini sitting in a spillover cup sitting on ice.””

Twenty-somethings…. welcome!

– Jet Cannon

 

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“Boomer” Buzz

When the United States wants to remind not-so-friendly neighbors not to be messin’, we’ll have “boomers” like the USS Nevada pop up from the depths and create a little Buzz. This one surfaced in Guam.

Packing a serious nuclear warhead punch, subs like these are usually hiding out deep in one of the oceans as a deterrent to attack on the US or our allies. Each sub carries 24 missiles, each with multiple independently targetable nuclear warheads…. possibly eight or more. Luckily, in the 6o or so years subs like these have been patrolling the depths, we haven’t had to use them. Thank you for your service!

  • Jet Cannon
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Best Places to live Now

AARP Magazine has a nice article on the best places to live post-pandemic. Our town did not make the list.

Their criteria:

  • Low-cost living
  • Nearby nature
  • High-grade health care
  • Sane traffic
  • Fast internet
  • Affordable housing
  • Clean air
  • Things to do
  • Safe neighborhoods

Their cities:

  • Cedar Falls, Iowa
  • Idaho Falls, Idaho
  • Jackson, Tennessee
  • Anderson, South Carolina
  • Fort Worth, Texas
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia
  • Lansing, Michigan
  • Provo, Utah
  • Sioux Falls, South Dakota

What does this have to do with catching a mellow Buzz? Nothing. But nice places to live are mellow and you can always add the Buzz later.

  • Jet Cannon
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boomer Paralympians

Paralympians compete in their 50’s and sometimes, in past Games, into their 70’s.  Among the 240-member Team USA per AARP, the incredibly impressive over-50 Paralympians include archers Lia Coryell (56) and Andre Shelby (52); cyclists Alicia Dana (52), Freddie De Los Santos (51), Aaron Keith (50), Monica Sereda (54), Jill Walsh (58) and Joe Berenyi (52); rower Russell Gernaat (55); table tennis player Michael Godfrey (57); shot put thrower Scot Severn (53); and wheelchair fencer Terry Hayes (63).

Go USA!

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Superiority in Numbers

There are approximately 70 million Baby Boomers living in the United States right now.  70 million!!  And some interesting things are emerging.

  • We are the most intelligent of all the generations
  • Our musical tastes are acknowledged to be more sophisticated than those of other generations
  • We make the best cocktails
  • Our exercise habits are second to none
  • If video gaming is added to the Olympics, Baby Boomers are expected to dominate despite advancing age.  We’re just very good at games
  • We travel more than other generations and are steadily chipping away at bucket lists
  • Our sexual skills are advanced and imaginative
  • We have mastered utilization of marijuana hybrids and CBD  to achieve a perfect Buzz while minimizing pain and facilitating deeper sleep
  • No other generation comes close to Baby Boomer BBQ skills

Now, none of the above is backed up by any facts or data.  But does it matter?  It feels good!  It feels right!  It must be true!

– Jet Cannon

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Olympic Medal Fitness

Jagger Eaton’s bronze medal in the street skateboarding event at the Tokyo Olympics inspired us to take up skateboarding again; learn new tricks, slide down steep rails, and do spin moves over concrete stairs.  What a great way to stay in shape!  Gym is closed.  Weather is good.  Enjoy the outdoors.  Perfect for Baby Boomers.  All except for the skateboard part.  

More appropriate for Boomers is walking or biking.  If there’s a park nearby, throw in some bench push-ups and rail pull-ups (beware of skateboarders sliding down the rail).  Stairs?  Take a few careful trips up and down.  Access to a pool?  Swimming engages the whole body and is low-impact.  Access to a body of water?  Kayaking or canoeing works the upper body.  

Fitness for Baby Boomers is perhaps more important than it is for the younger set.  That said, we need to select sports that make sense.   Save the BMX biking and skateboarding for those whose bones mend quickly.

Olympic couch-surfing is great for inspiration but remember to get out there and stay fit! 

– Jet Cannon 

Photo courtesy of Arizonasports.com

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Spinal Tap to Play Jazz/Folk Festival

That’s not true.  No word on a Spinal Tap tour.  But according to ultimateclassicrock.com, many bands are restless after Covid Cabin Fever.  Acts you may remember include the Stones, Alice Cooper, Def Leppard, Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, Motley Crue/Poison/Joan Jett, Chicago/Rick Springfield, Rod Stewart, Journey, Foreigner, Metallica, Cheap Trick, Pearl Jam, Bon Jovi, Green Day/Fall Out Boy/Weezer, Elton, Guns N. Roses (with Slash and Duff), Kiss, Ozzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ringo (with Steve Lukather and Gregg Rolie), Aerosmith, Black Crowes, Styx, Sammy Hagar/Whitesnake/Night Ranger, Grand Funk, ZZ Top and The Who to name a few.  Check the InterWeb for dates near you.  

– Jet Cannon

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Happy 420

 

Okay Baby Boomers.  If you only indulge in cannabis once a year, this is your day!!  Allegedly started by some highs school-age Boomers in San Rafael around 1971, 420 was code for smoking at their usual 4:20 PM time.  Or something like that.  Nowdays there’s a celebration on “Hippie Hill” in Golden Gate Park.

If cannabis is not your thing, then raise a toast to you fellow Boomers to show that you’re really hip.

-Jet Cannon

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