as seen on the radar at bouncingboomer.com
 

 connecting the dots while riding the cycles of change ; issue 1.2 :: 12/21/08 
Perspective,
Opinion & Humor		 Science
& Health		 Culture, Trends.
Lifestyle		 Economics, Employment, 
Business & Finance

Currently on the BBZ 
'Want2Read'
Book List


..we don’t just need a financial bailout; we need an ethical bailout..

Tom Friedman, NYT

With a headline guaranteed to make us click to read, Garrison Keillor wrote a piece this week called "Do not flush while seated.." 

What makes a great teacher?

Most Likely to Succeed
 In the current issue of The New Yorker online, Malcolm Gladwell (author of "Outliers") offers a provocative look at what makes a great teacher.
Click to read.

Some of us prefer the tried and true, and others search high and low for novelty. Use this link to learn more about why (SciAm)


 The Boomer
Med-i-Gap..
Too young to qualify for Medicare and rarely covered by employers, early retirees can face premiums they neither dreamed of nor planned for—often three or more times what they paid while they were working. And that’s for the healthy ones... Read "The Hidden Costs of Retiring Early" at Smartmoney.com

Science this week..

An image of Saturn's rings, one of many stunning photos on the Cassini Mission web site. (Click on image to vieww)

Elsewhere this week

The scientific guide to gift wrapping (New Scientist)

Who Had a Bigger Impact -- Darwin or Galileo? New Scientist ponders

Recommended Diet for Diabetics May Need Changing
Participants on the low-glycemic diet saw significant improvements in cholesterol with increases in HDL, the “good” cholesterol (NYT)

Earth's Original Ancestor Was 'LUCA'
 

Cry Me A River: The Psychology Of Crying
 

From 10 Things Hospital CEOs Won't Tell You
Health Price Haggling Patients stuck with high hospital bills are now hiring advocates to haggle with hospitals and sometimes getting big discounts. Visit billadvocates.com to check it out.

Boomer of the Week:
Survivor Bob

Scoring one for the "AARP Set," physics teacher Bob Crowley from NH outfoxed and outlasted the rest to become the oldest Survivor winner in 17 seasons, and proved so popular with the audience he won an added $100k at the end. "Future Survivor players will not be so quick to overlook the token middle-aged guy with the pocket-protector," they noted wryly over at film.com. More detail at cbs.com.

recipe flourless espresso cookies

 

Last Minute Gift  Holiday Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cookies
from Lulu and Phoebe on Open.Salon.com, this delicious-sounding recipe for flourless espresso cookies that look lovely for dunking.

What Will You Be Driving in 2015? Cars of the future are coming to look more and more like a second skin. According to concept designers at Nissan who previewed this lille number at the Paris Auto Show, you might be driving something like this all-electric "NuVu" by 2015. Details.


Is Dating Dying?
According to a report released this spring by Child Trends... there are now more high school seniors saying that they never date than seniors who say that they date frequently.  Read the rest at the NYT.

 

   Einstein Quote 
   of the Day       

The idea of achieving security through national armament is, at the present state of military technique, a disastrous illusion.


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    A 2nd Tsunami   
 of  Foreclosures?  

Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes had a sobering report last Sunday about the next big wave of foreclosures that could soon make the subprime mess look like a ripple. Click here to view.

Just in time for last minute shoppers? Speaking of things that are falling, from the NYT this week:
Retail Prices Fall
at Record Rate

... how much has our future been damaged by the magnetic pull of quick wealth, which for years has drawn many of our best and brightest young people into investment banking, at the expense of science, public service and just about everything else? Read Paul Krugman on "The Madoff Economy".

Also from the NYT

What Worked
for Japan
In an insightful analysis, the NYT looks at what it took for Japan to pull out of its own black hole economy in the 90s. The story sounds a whole lot like our own, with flow of money frozen due to fear on both sides. The antidote was something we haven't tried: In Japan’s case, economists and former bankers say, credit began to flow freely again only .. when regulators adopted a tough new policy of auditing banks and forcing weaker ones to raise new capital or accept a government takeover... the audits finally removed paralysis in credit markets by convincing bankers and investors that sudden failures were no longer a risk, and that the true extent of problems at banks and other companies was finally being revealed. Read the rest here.

Hot topics in Tech this week from Hubdub.com "the World's News Forecaster"


click on image to see full size

 

  

Click on image for details at Amazon.com

 currently reading

Recommended by an ecologist I met recently; halfway through I consider it an insightfully relevant thought experiment

next on my
nightstand

Hope to read soon

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America
Thomas L. Friedman
 

 

Boomer Consumer: Ten New Rules for Marketing to America"s Largest, Wealthiest and Most Influential Group
Matt Thornhill

 

On the Seen and Loved It List - Season One -
Mad Men

  

Most popular topics this week on Amazon.com

click on image to see full size

 


Still well worth a view, the entire Frontline program
"Can You Afford to Retire?" can be watched online.  Click here.