Being a retired pro surfer sounds almost as fun…and as risky…as being a pro surfer
The notion of retirement is changing. The Great Recession has scrambled a great many nest-eggs, so many older folks who have left their full-time, long-time occupation—people who are nominally retired—are still working. They are picking up part-time gigs where they can, or starting new businesses, or going back to their...
Does Alaska hate old people?
We were saddened to hear that 50-year-old polar adventurer Lonnie Dupre has abandoned his attempt to be the first person to climb Denali, solo, in the dark frigid Alaskan winter. He’d used up quite a bit of food and fuel being pinned down in his 4×4 snow cave for a week,...
Doing well with less: older runners slower but just as efficient
When olds are active…really active…they are a special class. They don’t perform like younger athletes. They don’t recuperate like younger athletes. And they shouldn’t train like younger athletes. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t similarities. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (and summarized in yesterday’s New...
Saturday stew: December 10, 2011
Yes, we are debuting a new feature: an assortment, a stew, a bouillabaisse of delectable items that we’ve collected over the week . In another example of bad timing—or perhaps hesitancy—we’re launching it a day late. But we’ll do better later. Meanwhile, enjoy: Winter routes: In the summer, we’re inclined to...
The secret to a reasonable retirement: flee the country
As America ages—and it’s really aging—America’s newspapers and websites are churning out lists of great places to retire. Sadly, these survey stories are meaningless for a large proportion of older folks because (as reported a few weeks ago) a staggeringly high percentage of Americans have only a pittance set aside for retirement....
Mayo Clinic looking at what keeps you really alive
Over the past three years, the renowned Mayo Clinic has been building “one of the largest aging centers in the nation,” according to the Minneapolis StarTribune, with “48 geriatricians, 10 geriatric psychiatrists and research supported by 90 federal or private foundation grants.” And they’ve put all that money to good use,...
On alcohol, scientists still successfully confusing us
Anyone who drinks has probably decided either that the health benefits don’t exist or don’t matter. We’re pretty sure no one drinks because of the health benefits. No matter what you tell your spouse. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t interested in the news about alcohol and health, because we’re...
Health Watch
This is a shoulder season—too cold and too often icy for comfortable biking and too warm and rainy for snow sports (at least at our elevation)—so we are inside more than we like. This is a time to concentrate on health and fitness, building up resources that we can put...
More magical thinking about retirement
The seventh annual Retirement Survey from Wells Fargo, released last week from the company’s headquarters on top of its huge mountain of government money, is thought-provoking. But not in a good way. It is thought-provoking because it reveals so much recklessness, fecklessness, and denial. And those qualities make us stop...
Americans recalibrate retirement expectations, plan to spend more time hanging around doing nothing special
In this month’s least surprising research results, a new retirement readiness survey released by Ameriprise Financial finds that Americans are feeling less sanguine about what retirement is going to look like. The New Retirement Mindscape 2011 City Pulse index (which incidentally is also this month’s most excitingly titled study) looks...
Thanks, Echo Mountain, for the 12 years of free skiing
Skiing is expensive and we are cheap, so we invest a certain amount of time tracking discounts, deals and freebies accorded gray-bearded customers by ski resorts around the country. (We also notice when someone dramatically increases the prices on olds.) Thankfully, online ski magazine First Tracks!! has put together a...
Bamboozling booze guidance for old Brits
Health advice used to be like cheap ball caps: one size fit all. Over the years, it has become more discriminating, with guidance that differentiates between ages, genders, ethnicity and more. And in the decades ahead, we’ll be making even finer cuts. Your doctor will run a DNA scan...
