news for fellow winos

I've been a wine drinker for awhile now, and I have recently converted Jordan when we went to Oliver Winery on our minimoon. He prefers white wine, but I have always been a red wine drinker. So for me, this is good news!

Strange Product of the Day!

Ever been caught out on the golf course, too far away from the clubhouse to reach the facilities in time? Too lazy to drive all the way back in your fancy golf cart? Have no fear, UroClub is here! I wonder how the quality of the swing changes as it fills up.

I heart Coffee, and you should too

"(WebMD) The caffeine in three daily cups of coffee or tea may help older women preserve their memory, a new French study shows.

Researchers included Karen Ritchie, PhD, of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Montpellier, France.

Ritchie's team studied some 7,000 men and women aged 65 and older (average age: 74) in three French cities: Bordeaux, Dijon, and Montpellier.

When the study started, participants reported how many daily cups of tea and coffee they drank. They also noted all of their medications, since some drugs contain caffeine. Few drank colas or cocoa, which also contain caffeine.

Participants took several tests of their mental skills, including a memory test based on a list of words. They repeated those tests two years later and again four years after the study began.

Women who reported drinking at least three cups of coffee or tea per day at the study's start showed less of a drop in their test scores during the study, compared with women who reported consuming at most one daily cup of tea or coffee.

The biggest benefit was seen in the women's verbal memory.

It didn't matter if the women favored coffee or tea. That finding suggests that the caffeine was what mattered most, according to the researchers.

But caffeine didn't seem to affect women's risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The study may have been too short to show such a benefit, the researchers note.

What about men? The data show no caffeine benefits in men's test scores over the years. Women may be more sensitive to caffeine's effects, according to Ritchie and colleagues.

Caffeine consumption may merely be a marker of other health habits that
affect memory. Ritchie's team considered that possibility. The study's results didn't change.

Still, observational studies such as this one don't prove cause and effect. That is, the researchers didn't directly test caffeine to see whether it helps save women's memory."



Hitti, Miranda. "Caffeine May Help Women's Memory." 6 Aug 2007. CBS.com. 8 Aug 2007. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/06/health/webmd/main3139469.shtml?source=RSSattr=Health_3139469

Dick Cheney Assumes the Presidential Powers as Bush undergoes Colonoscopy

President George W. Bush transferred the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday just before being sedated for a routine screening to detect colon cancer.

With a signed letter to the leaders of the House and Senate, Bush temporarily transferred his authority at 7:16 a.m. (1116 GMT) to Cheney, who is at his home on the Chesapeake Bay in St. Michaels, Maryland, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Washington.

"The vice president is now serving as acting president," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

He said the temporary transfer of power will end when Bush transmits a second letter to the congressional leaders advising that he is resuming the powers of the presidency immediately.

Bush relinquished his authority by implementing Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment — approved in 1967 four years after President Kennedy was assassinated — has been used only twice before.

The first time was in July 1985 when President Ronald Reagan underwent surgery and turned over power to his vice president, Bush's father. The other time was when Bush relinquished his presidential powers to Cheney for more than two hours during a colon cancer scan on June 29, 2002.

Dr. Richard Tubb, the president's doctor, was supervising Bush's colonoscopy, which was being done at the Camp David presidential retreat. The colonoscopy was being performed by a team from the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland.

"Although no polyps were noted in the exam in 2002, age and history would suggest that there's a reasonable chance that polyps will be noted this time," White House press secretary Tony Snow said Friday. "If so, they'll be removed and evaluated microscopically."

Two polyps were discovered during similar examinations in 1998 and 1999, while Bush was governor of Texas. That made the 61-year-old president a prime candidate for regular examinations.

Snow, himself a cancer sufferer, said results would be available after 48 hours to 72 hours, if not sooner.

Snow had his colon removed in 2005 and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with colon cancer. On March 26, he underwent surgery to remove a growth in his abdominal area, and doctors determined that cancer had metastasized, or spread, to the liver.

For the general population, a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer is recommended every 10 years. But for people at higher risk, or if a colonoscopy detects precancerous polyps, follow-up colonoscopies often are scheduled in three- to five-year intervals.

Associated Press. "Dick Cheney Assumes Presidential Powers as Bush Undergoes Colonoscopy." 21 July 2007. FOXNews.com. 21 July 2007. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290263,00.html

Alzheimers by Kelly Cherry

I found this beautiful poem while Stumbling round the internet. The language and imagery in this poem took my breath away.

He stands at the door, a crazy old man
Back from the hospital, his mind rattling
like the suitcase, swinging from his hand,
That contains shaving cream, a piggy bank,
A book he sometimes pretends to read,
His clothes. On the brick wall beside him
Roses and columbine slug it out for space, claw the mortar.
The sun is shining, as it does late in the afternoon
in England, after rain.
Sun hardens the house, reifies it,
Strikes the iron grillwork like a smithy
and sparks fly off, burning in the bushes--
the rosebushes--
While the white wood trim defines solidity in space.
This is his house. He remembers it as his,
Remembers the walkway he built between the front room
and the garage, the rhododendron he planted in back,
the car he used to drive. He remembers himself,
A younger man, in a tweed hat, a man who loved
Music. There is no time for that now. No time for music,
The peculiar screeching of strings, the luxurious
Fiddling with emotion.
Other things have become more urgent.
Other matters are now of greater import, have more
Consequence, must be attended to. The first
Thing he must do, now that he is home, is decide who
This woman is, this old, white-haired woman
Standing here in the doorway,
Welcoming him in.

Cherry, Kelly. "Alzheimers." 1997 http://www.zarcrom.com/users/yeartorem/ADpoetry/KCAlzheimers.html.