Sleep

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has received a federal research grant of $9.8 million to study insomnia in seniors - insomnia being defined as having trouble falling asleep and/or waking up during sleep.

I've been conducting my own research, and have determined the top three reasons for insomnia in seniors.

#3 Pain. Sometimes its shoulder pain, sometimes its leg cramps, sometimes (like last night) their big toe hurts. (I don't know what's up with that.)

#2 Worry. Seniors worry about stuff, including their kids, their 401(k), global warming and the federal deficit - including why the government is spending spending $9.8 million for an insomnia study.

#1 The number one reason why seniors wake up in the middle of the night - they have to pee.

I'll be contacting UPMC to get my share of the research grant.

Escapist Reading

Last night, I watched one of those recycled BBC murder mystery programs on PBS. It was set in the 1930's. The protagonist was super sleuth, Hercule Poirot.
And, I got to remembering ...
Flying helicopters in Viet Nam had a lot of interesting and challenging moments, but there was a lot of down time, when we just sat around waiting to be called out. It was impossible to go anywhere or get involved in any activity that couldn't be suspended on a moment's notice. So, I read.
I read the Tolkein "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and all of the James Bond novels that had been written to that point, but some of the most widely circulated paperbacks were the classic "whodunit's". I got hooked.
As per Wikipedia, whodunit or whodunnit (for "Who done it?") is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final pages of the book. The investigation is usually conducted by an eccentric amateur or semi-professional detective.
My favorite writers were Rex Stout, who created the fat man detective, Nero Wolfe, and the prolific Agatha Christie who's 80 some detective novels featured Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. I think I read them all.

My Take on Health Care Reform

On the day that health care reform legislation is passed, I got a statement from my Medicare Advantage insurance company detailing charges from a lab for some blood work my doctor ordered. The lab charged $587.00 for their services, my insurer's "Covered Benefit Amount" was $97.76. The message on the back of the statement confirms that I am "not respopnsible" for the difference of $489.03. I presume the lab is satisfied with the amount received.

If the lab had performed those same tests on my son, who is uninsured and cannot get health insurance, it would have sent him a bill for, and would have expected to be paid, $587.00.

Is there any question that something needed to be done? Is there any question that the health care system would have overwhelmed Medicare and Medicaid and employer funded health insurance in the near future? Is there any question that the medical provider/health insurance complex has proven unwilling or unable fix the system?

In the face of this, the Democrats have done what the Democrats do - devised a fix that expands the power of the Federal Government and costs a bunch of money that the government doesn't have have. And the Republicans have done what Republicans do - just say no on social issues and block any attempt to raise taxes.

We could have done so much better. The Democrats were begging for a bi-partisan bill. If the Republicans had simply taken a seat at the table, they could have demanded changes in how we deal with medical malpractice, on coverage for illegal aliens, on more acceptable language on abortion and they could have brought attention to any other issues they wanted addressed. And maybe, just maybe, working together, they could have figured out how to come up with the money to fund the reforms.

On balance, Im happy that something is being done to reform the health care system. I am not happy about how divided we are are as a nation and how unwilling we are to seek common ground.

My Disability

Its taken me many years to acknowlege that I have a disability. A mild one to be sure, but a disability nontheheless. I can't tell left from right. Oh, I'll get it eventually, but while most people seem to react, immediately and correctly, to a call to look, or turn or reach left or right, I have to pause and ask myself "now what hand do I write with?" Even then, I sometimes still get it wrong. Growing up, my Mom and Dad were forever telling me, after making the wrong move, "No, your other left (or right)."
I've attributed this flaw to my "handedness". Some things I do primarily with my left hand (writing, throwing, golfing); others I do primarily with my right (eating, bowling); still others I do equally well (or badly) with either hand (painting, using most hand tools). I thought "no wonder I get confused." Now I find that explanation may not hold up.
Last week one of my co-volunteers at the Washington Senior Center needed a ride home. Dorothy is 83 years old, a former school school superintendant and is sharp as can be. She got competely flustered giving me driving directions, and with my problems interpreting directions, its a wonder I ever got her home. She admitted she's had a lifelong problem distinguishing left from right. And, she's 100% right handed.
I wonder whether she and I qualify for any disability benefits?

Paul Samuelson is Dead

And I didn't even know he was still alive.
It was probably 1962 when I was assigned Samuelson's textbook for a college course on basic economics. Originally written in 1948, it was a classic - well written, understandable. It was unlike any other textbook I had used before or since. Reading Samuelson's obituary a few days ago (he was 92), I learned that his book, edited and updated by others of course, continues to be used.
So I got to wondering, how many other textbooks could I remember? I came up with three, all of them written by my professors who taught from their texts.
First there was a text in Pitt's MBA program on "Managerial Accounting", written by Rossell and Frazier. (I think my professor was Rossell, but it might have been Frazier.) Managerial Accounting was accounting for non-accountants. Since I was an undergraduate accounting major, it seemed pretty simplistic, and was an easy grade. But Rossell (or Frazier) was pleasant enough
Next was another MBA text on Macroeconomics written, and taught, by Dr. Bela Gold. I think Dr. Gold was Hungarian or Romanian. I don't know what was thicker, his textbook or his accent. I didn't understand anything during the whole class. He was pretty old (he taught seated behind a desk) and seemed pretty bored by teaching a bunch of snot nosed Americans. The rest of the faculty seemed to treat him with some reverence, so I think he had an academic reputation of some sort. However, he was a pretty bad teacher.
Finally there was a law school text called Legal Process and Procedure by Cornelius Murphy. Murphy's idea was that he could teach new law students about the subject by examining the development of a new theory of damages for "loss of consortium." The theory is that if a married person suffers injuries, the uninjured spouse has a right to recover for the loss of companionship, comfort, sex, etc., that the injured spouse is no longer able to provide. I don't know how much we learned about legal process and procedure, but Murphy created a bunch of lawyers who are experts on "loss of consortium." Murphy was widely despised and was later terminated for some unseemly conduct involving a female student.
Nine years of higher education. Four remembered textbooks, only one of which was memorable.
Thank you Paul Samuelson.

Fortunate Son

I don't remember exactly when I became aware of my connection with Paul Martha. It was probably when I was a awkward, nerdy high schooler at St. Thomas in Braddock and he was a star athlete at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. My mother pointed out to me that we had a shared history. One of my mom's childhood friends had married above her station and was living in what was, by our standards, a rather upscale community, and was a neighbor of the Martha family. She had a son, Bobby, who was about my age. According to my Mom, Bobby, Paul and I played together as toddlers. Life intervened, as it always does. I saw Bobby from time to time, but I don't have any recollection of Paul.
Paul was everything I was not. He was tall, good looking and a natural athlete. He came from (again by my meager standards) a privileged background and even had a "normal" sounding last name. He went on to become an All-American football player at Pitt, was a high draft choice of the Steelers, and had a successful career in the NFL. If I missed any of his press clippings, my Mom was sure to point them out to me. Meanwhile, I toiled in obscurity at a non-descript Midwest university and went off to fight in an unpopular Asian War.
One doesn't become an NFL star because they're tall, good looking and a natural athlete. I'm sure he worked hard along the way. He was also apparently pretty smart, both academically and career-wise. While playing for the Steelers, he attended law school at night. When his playing career was over, he got a job with the most prestigious law firm in Pittsburgh and began doing legal work for the DeBartolo family in Youngstown. He was the DeBartolo's top lieutenant overseeing their sports empire which included the four time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and the then two time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. He was on TV a lot during this period. He always seemed very poised, very professional, very impressive.
I too went to law school at night. No prestigious law firms came calling. I did have a long lasting career as in-house counsel to a diversified industrial company that verged on bankruptcy for a number of years before selling out to overseas interests. I wasn't on TV, and if I had been, I'm sure I would not have come across anywhere near as well.
Was I jealous? I don't think so. But you have to play the cards you get. I got a couple of pair - not too bad - but I always thought Paul got a full house. Now I'm not so sure.
With one divorce (after 35 years of marriage) and a second one in the works, three stays in alcohol rehabilitation facilities, time in jail for violating a protection from abuse order, Paul's getting the kind of press clippings no one wants. There's a good possibility that his troubles relate to brain damage from concussions he suffered as a football player.
Maybe he wasn't such a fortunate son after all.

NPR

At some point early in my commuting career, I discovered National Public Radio, known to its legions of listeners as NPR. Unlike local radio with its repetitive traffic reports ("congested everywhere") and juvenile attempts at humor (with way too jovial co-hosts laughing at each other) interspersed with an occasional record, NPR's "Morning Edition" on the way to work, and "All Things Considered" on the way home, had national and international news headlines and brief, well-researched feature stories. That said, NPR has some quirky and even annoying features, that my wife never fails to point out to me.

• You don't have to have an unusual name to work at NPR, but it seems to help. A few examples:

Titra Paprikash - she spoke with what seemed to be an East Asian accent. I found it interesting when NPR sent her to Louisiana to report on shrimp fishing issues. I'm sure she bonded with her interview subjects.

Sylvia Poggioli - I got the impression she was based in Italy and she got all of the Eastern Medditerranean assignments from Greece to Turkey to Azerbaijan and to the never to be forgotten Ngorno Karabakh.

Don Gonyea - when I first heard Don, he was reporting on issues related to the auto industry. He was probably based in Detriot because his "beat" expanded to include Michigan politics, then other Midwest issues. He now seems to be based in Washington covering national issues.

Michelle Norris - this doesn't look like an unusual name, except its pronounced "Me Shell." In a profile, she said she took this on-air job because the powers at NPR didn't ask her to alter her "smokey" African-American delivery. Until that profile, I didn't know she was smokey or African-American.

• If you're reporting from the field, you gotta have sound effects! Because it's radio, listeners can't tell whether the reporter is sitting in the studio or actually out in the field - thus the sound. If the report is from Iraq, lets hear the sound of boots crunching on the desert floor; if its from a port, let's hear the sea gulls and the waves lapping against the pier.

• If you're based overseas, you've got to use the local pronunciation. The afore mentioned Sylvia Puggiolli would spill out names of people and places that had me scratching my head. Even worse were the reporters based in France and the Far East.

There is a hint of pretentiousness in the news/semi news programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered (eg., "Arts" corresdondent Susan Stamberg never encountered an art or artist that she didn't gush over.) The pretentiousness comes out in full in some other NPR offerings. There's the food show (can you imagine a food show on the radio) humbly called "The Spendid Table" hosted by the three named, Lynn Rosetto Casper, " Piano Jazz", hosted by Marian McPartland, who sounds old enough to have changed Fats Waller's diapers and who speaks like someone from an old Noel Coward movie. The one that really jangles my nerves is not technically "NPR" but from something American Public Radio. "Market Place" is broadcast on my local NPR station and is hosted by Kai Rizdall (an NPR appropriate name if I ever heard one.) Every evening, Kai gives the financial headlines, then promises to give the details of movements in the stock market when "we do the numbers." I'm not sure what he does to the numbers, but based on recent market performances he'd better stop.

NPR is always fund raising from its listeners (OK, its only twice a year), but it seems like the bulk of their funding comes from corporations and foundations. When NPR acknowleges the support, they read a brief touchy-feely tag line that's related to the supporter's "mission." My current favorite tag line is from the Charles D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, which says it's "committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world." To which I say, "Me too!"