A Little Advice

If you receive an e-mail from a woman you don't know with the word "pics" in the subject line, delete it. I doubt they are family vacation photos.

Fatness, Fitness, and Friends

The perennial debate over nature versus nurture has a new venue: your waistline. According to a news report today:

"Your friends may be more important than your genes in determining whether you gain weight, according to a new study billed as the first to demonstrate that obesity tends to spread through social networks.

"The study, which followed a group of Americans for more than three decades, found that a person's chances of becoming obese increase dramatically after a close friend or relative fattens up. The same thing happens when someone close slims down.

"The authors of the paper speculate the reason is 'the spread of norms from people to people. People change their minds about what constitutes an acceptable body mass index' as their close friends gain or lose weight, said co-author Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School."

No doubt we are social beings, taking our cues from those around us, though of course our genetics still must be accounted for. The good news is that we have more influence than we think. Let's use it wisely.

Some Diversion

Sports used to be a diversion. But now we have a steroid-enhanced Barry Bonds about to break Hank Aaron's home run record; the NBA reeling from revelations that one of its referees was connected to gambling and the mob; and one of the NFL's most prominent stars facing federal charges of arranging dog fights.

I guess I'll turn to the political pages for some rest and relaxation....

Name Him, Claim Him

Want to make a friend? Learn someone's name ... and use it.

The Extra Step

So an NBA ref is suspected of ties to organized crime? That's nothing. I want to know who authorized giving the stars an extra step when going to the basket.

Out on Bonds

Wake me when Barry Bonds's steroid-induced march to overtake Hank Aaron's place in the baseball record book is over. As marvelous a hitter as Bonds is, his accomplishments will always be tainted in my book.

Bad Times

Yesterday the U.S. military announced the capture of the top thug running al Qaeda in Iraq (not that Iraq has anything to do with 9/11, of course). This military breakthrough (or, at a minimum, good news) receives scant attention in today's New York Times, which can't stop blathering on about failure in Iraq and the need for a troop withdrawal. I guess all the news that doesn't fit the editors' preconceived narrative won't get printed.

Memo to Writers

Your writing a piece that makes you feel better places me under no obligation to print it.

Iraq Impatience

For all those clamoring for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq, I'll go along. That is, as soon as we pull our soldiers out of Bosnia. And Germany. The fact is, these things take time. If it can take decades to complete the mission in Europe, why can't we wait a few more years in Iraq? Is it because we don't believe Iraqis are worth it, or because we think they are incapable? Either way, it sounds suspiciously like ... racism.

Doing Violence to Common Sense

The northern Chicago suburb of Waukegan wants its police to begin the deportation process for any illegal aliens convicted of violent crimes. Today thousands of people are expected to protest in downtown Waukegan. This raises the question: Who wouldn't want to get rid of violent illegals?

Right Blame

Being right doesn't mean you are blameless.

Memo to Other Drivers

I am under no obligation to speed for you.

Words and Wisdom

When words are many, sin is not absent. But he who builds a relationship is wise.

Courage

Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the determination to do something in spite of fear.

Mismade in China

Responding to a recent string of press reports about tainted toothpaste and dog food made in China, a health food company says it will begin marketing itself as "China free." China is also the source of much of the lead-based paint on children's toys, despite all the research showing how deadly this combination is. Since the Chinese government apparemtly cares so little for human (and animal) life and won't willingly do the right thing, I'm glad the market is stepping in. I'd like to see a national boycott of goods made in China until conditions and standards improve. If it worked in South Africa, why not there?

Experience Life

Today, take time to experience life. There's a sunset coming that will never come again, someone who needs your help or word of encouragement, a job only you can do, a diaper only you can change. Remember, life is not some time in the indeterminate future. As George Allen used to say, "The future is now."

Lowering the Union Jack

It turns out that it is illegal for people in the United Kingdom to fly the Union Jack. Such a law would be unthinkable in America, where many citizens proudly display Old Glory (and not just on Independence Day) as a symbol of what is best about this country: her freedom, her strength, her ideal that all people are created equal. But in the U.K., presumably for fear of offending the sensibilities of Muslims in their midst, the powers that be have made it a crime to do the same.

What can we say about a country that lacks the self-confidence and healthy patriotism to engage in such a small act of national pride on its own soil? Does such a state even have a future? Is it possible that the Islamization of a once-proud nation has already begun?

Good Health

Good physical health requires a combination of strength and flexibility. So does good psychological health.

Grass

"Don't Walk on the Grass" signs should be illegal. If you don't want people to walk on it, don't plant it. What else is grass for?

Imagination

Today's fashions often leave little to the imagination. Clashing with America's obesity epidemic, we now have another reason to tell the arbiters of fashion: Please, leave a little to the imagination.