Quotable and Notable

Good things come to those who initiate.
Suzanne RoAnne

If a problem can be solved with money, it's no longer a problem. It's an expense.

Harvey MacKay

In order to have a friend, be one.
Anonymous

The two greatest causes of suffering are not loving, and not doing what you want to do.
John Gray

Friends: Real and Imagined

Researchers from the National Opinion Research Center have found that people who watch a lot of television seem to be as psychologically content as people who have many friends. These disappointing findings stem from the fact that "the human brain evolved long before television came along, so subconsciously it recognises any face it sees regularly as a friend, even if it is on the screen," says Satoshi Kanazawa, Ph.D., author of the study. Does this explain why society remains in a stupor of overfed, undernourished, overweight, socially inept citizens? After all they are, indeed, getting their social and psychological strokes by tuning in to see their favorite "friends" each week.

As someone recently noted technology can certainly be an aid to human kind but if we are not careful it can greatly diminish of the quality of our lives. Technology distracts us from our own thought, daydreams, even our own imagination. When we fill in the time from the car to the elevator and the elevator to the office, or from lunch back to the office, with a beeper or cell phone, we interrupt the opportunity for people to marinate in their own imaginations.

True Happiness?

"Ten Keys to True Happiness" based on a study published in New Scientist include:

1.	Wealth	6.	Friendship
2.	Desire	7.	Marriage
3.	Intelligence	8.	Faith
4.	Genetics	9.	Charity
5.	Beauty	10.	Age

Social Isolation Growing in U.S.

"The number of people who say they have no one to confide in has risen." Washington Post staff journalist Shankar Vedantam recently wrote that "Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States."

"A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two."

"The comprehensive new study paints a sobering picture of an increasingly fragmented America, where intimate social ties -- once seen as an integral part of daily life and associated with a host of psychological and civic benefits -- are shrinking or nonexistent. In bad times, far more people appear to suffer alone."

Having Breathing Space is wonderful, but history has shown that social isolation is seldom beneficial

A Lessor Concept of Friendship

Today's students live in a hyper-accelerated communications culture and may actually have a diminished concept of friendship. This cheapening is typified by a type of cell phone banter that goes something like this: "Hey, what're you up to? ...I might catch up with you later."

The second phrase reveals quite a bit about the changing definition of friendship. The meaning translates to, "I'm not willing to commit my evening to you because I might end up with a better offer. However if I don't come up with anything else, I might be back in touch and you could become part of my evening."

How utterly dreadful.

Obesity Can Spread!

According to a recent New York Times article, "Obesity can spread from person to person, much like a virus, researchers are reporting today. When one person gains weight, close friends tend to gain weight, too."

Hmmm, does that mean staying thin requires only befriending thin people?

Mega-Realities of Life

The five mega-realities of life serve as a framework to understanding change and how we can adjust our thinking and activities to maintain some semblance of control.

Sitting right where you are, what you now know about population — the fact that the world gains more than a quarter million people per day enables you to safely predict the following:

1) Investing in real estate, more specifically a home, will continue to be a sound financial move almost independent of your economic station in life.

2) Adopting a somewhat contrarian mindset will prove to be advantageous. Attempting to head into the city or out of the city at the same time as everyone, or booking theater or restaurant reservations at the same time as everyone else will be problematic or increasingly so as time passes. Commutes in all directions will become more arduous. Hence, living closer to work, living closer to shopping and conveniences, telecommuting occasionally, and shopping online will only grow in attractiveness and utility.

3) Old friends become more valued friends. Anchors such as family, close business associates, former college roommates and those who have shared experiences with us become more important with the passing of time. This is not to downplay the role of new friends, for indeed they can become great friends and eventually even old friends!