High overcast and chilly this finally-Friday morning here on California’s north coast — a short work week, but a long slog to get through it.
Although officially still spring, summer, for all real intentions is here and the ugly, swollen glands of 2014 continue unabated.

Not up here, however, as summer is spring and fall looped into the same pattern. We seemingly have the same weather just about year-round — sometimes it’s hard too tell a day in January from a day in July.
All in the whereabouts of you…

News surfing this morning appears the same as all this week — Eddie Snowden once had an e-mail; the National Spelling Bee ended up with co-winners for the first time in over half a century; yadda-yadda-yadda.

(Illustration: Pablo Picasso’s ‘The Two Saltimbanques‘ found here).

One big story this week is about fat — nearly a third of the world’s population are fat asses.
From Science Recorder:

According to a report from the University of Washington, worldwide rates of obesity in adults and children have increased at a startling rate over the past 33 years.
Globally, the number of overweight and obese people has risen from 857 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013.
…
Yet the rates vary extensively throughout the world, with over half of the world’s 671 million obese individuals living in just ten countries: USA (over 13 percent), China and India (15 percent combined), Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Over the last 33 years, the highest rises in obesity levels among women have been in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Honduras and Bahrain, and among men in New Zealand, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and USA.
In high-income countries, several of the top increases in adult obesity frequency have been in USA – where approximately one-third of the adult population is obese, Australia – where 28 percent of men and 30 percent of women are obese, and the UK – where approximately one-quarter of the adult population are obese.

Experts say obesity means having too much body fat, which is different from being overweight — muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water. And we Americans love our fast food, huh?

And one health-related story this week struck me as personal — as a single parent, i.e., a single dad, I not only raised my kids (four girls and a boy) all by myself, but also did household chores, an overbearing, sometimes tiresome/unsung chore. And I was conscientious about it, too, maybe to a fault, which now turns out is a good trait.
From CTV News:

A new study conducted by a group of psychologists at the University of British Columbia suggests that fathers who perform household chores, like cleaning dishes and doing laundry, are more likely to raise daughters who aspire to less-traditional female careers, such as becoming a CEO or lawyer.
And while a mother’s views on equality is a key factor in influencing children’s attitudes towards gender roles, researchers found that it was the father’s approach to household chores that was the strongest predictor of career ambitions.
“This suggests girls grow up with broader career goals in households where domestic duties are shared more equitably by parents,” said Alyssa Croft, lead author of the study and PhD candidate at UBC, in a statement.
“How fathers treat their domestic duties appears to play a unique gatekeeper role.”
Croft also found that when fathers endorsed gender equality but didn’t perform household chores, their daughters were more likely to envision themselves in stereotypical female jobs such as nursing, teaching, or becoming a stay-at-home-mom.
“Talking the talk about equality is important, but our findings suggest that it is crucial that dads walk the walk as well because their daughters are clearly watching,” said Croft.

None of the kids were enthusiastic about helping me with chores, either. In the end, however, all of them came out of this environment, out of this type home, with a powerful work ethic, which has been revealed in all the jobs they’ve encountered. Alas, none have reached CEO status, but that’s okay — they are like me, fuck that shit.
They could if they wanted: Yadda-yadda-yadda.

Another health-related item this week linked to myself again — I’m a skeptical, suspicious, ironic, and sarcastic asshole, and been that way nearly my whole life, which helps in most of life’s bullshit, but these wonderful traits might make me more-demented much sooner.
Via Medical News Today:

Cynical distrust is characterized by the belief that others are motivated by selfish interests.
Though it may appear to be merely a “glass is half empty” point of view, researchers say having this viewpoint increases chances of developing dementia.
The researchers, led by Anna-Malia Tolppanen, PhD, of the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, publish their findings in the journal Neurology.
They say that cynicism has been previously linked with other health problems, including heart disease, but this study is the first to examine the link between cynicism and dementia.
According to the American Academy of Neurology, dementia is not a specific disease, but rather a term for a range of symptoms caused by disorders that affect the brain.
Individuals with dementia have impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with daily life.
…
The study participants were asked to what degree they agreed with certain statements, including:
— “I think most people would lie to get ahead”
— “It is safer to trust nobody”
— “Most people will use somewhat unfair reasons to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it.”
…
In total, 622 participants completed two dementia tests, and the last one was conducted an average of 8 years after the start of the study.
During the study period, 46 people were diagnosed with dementia.
After adjusting for factors that could affect dementia risk — including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking — the team found that individuals with high levels of cynical distrust were three times more likely to develop dementia, compared with those with low levels.

Boy, my later years are going to be crazy!
And from lead researcher, Dr. Tolppanen: “These results add to the evidence that people’s view on life and personality may have an impact on their health. Understanding how a personality trait like cynicism affects risk for dementia might provide us with important insights on how to reduce risks for dementia.”

It’s not that I distrust other people, and it’s not a matter of them all being assholes, or something like that, but maybe comes from the sense found in the desperation of reality.
Fit as a fiddle?
Music does soothe the tortured soul — not from listening to The Cure all day.