Ending Overeating
April 9, 2010
I finally finished one of those books sitting next to my bed. “The End of Overeating” by David Kessler, MD.
Dr. Kessler,was the former head of the FDA before returning to the Bay Area for a short stint as head of the Medical Center at U.C. San Francisco. The fact that he’s currently the center of a long running legal battle over his firing, has nothing to do with the book, but it’s an interesting local note.
In his book, Dr. Kessler lays out his case that overeating has become an epidemic in the US, aided by food manufacturers who have figured out how to get Americans to buy more of their product.
Dr. Kessler maintains that by focusing on the addition of sugar, fat and salt, food producers have found a sure-fire way to tap the psychological impulses that create overeating. American consumers don’t have a chance unless they figure out a way to avoid prepared food at the grocery store and fast food everywhere else.
He lays out the physical, psychological and emotional basis for overeating as a disease and like others, notably Michael Pollan, he suggests that eating less processed food is the answer to beating the health issues which have already surfaced in this country and are starting to show up around the world.
The book is well written with logical arguments and consistent conclusions. Dr. Kessler, in his position at the FDA clearly had access to sources that might not talk to you and I so he’s able to lay out the industry’s side of the story, in disturbing detail.
My only criticism is that he puts most of the responsibility for solving the problem on individual Americans, asking them to develop strategies for avoiding the traps spread by the food industry.
Maybe Dr. Kessler knows first hand that the politicians are unwilling to face the issue, but it seems to me the fight against overeating has to start in Washington. Despite that, Dr. Kessler’s 250 pages add another voice pleading to fix the American food supply and it’s worth reading.
Real Estate Roulette
March 18, 2010
A huge percentage of Hawaii real estate owners were investors just flipping property. Like other vacation destinations such as Florida, Arizona or Las Vegas, Hawaii property values got clobbered over the last three years.
What sold for well over $1million in 2007 is now priced at $600,000 thanks to the large number of foreclosures and short sales. According to my friend in the business, the problem is that current buyers – and there are many people on the Big Island shopping for property – are trying to time the market.
Countless books on economic psychology explain why everyone hates to pay too much, but it’s starting to get a bit irrational. According to one agent people are coming with their minds made up. ‘They think that if they wait longer they can get a better deal, or that they can purchase via a short sale and really make a killing, but they don’t realize what it’s going to cost them.
As federal reserve programs holding down interest rates expire in a few months the cost of borrowing will increase, she pointed out. Plus a short sale often takes 9 months to complete and right up until the end the bank can change its mind. It may cost more to buy from an owner but loans are available and you’re getting a normal closing for a property at half price.
There is still a large number of foreclosed units, especially in the condo market she says, but the pressure to sell isn’t the same as a single family home, so many of the banks just hold on to the property and will wait for prices to increase.
Plus the homeowner trying to arrange a short sale does not have an easy time proving to the bank that the sale should be allowed and often the difference has to be made up by the seller. That doesn’t even include the tax folks who tend to count your ‘loss’ as a tax gain – especially since most of the properties are vacation homes, not primary residences.
So the good news is that there seems to be lots of potential buyers, the bad news is that they may be waiting for conditions that will never come. If I had any money, I’d invest and plan to sell in about three years when the bust cycle returns to boom.
The Joint is Jumpin’
March 15, 2010
For a variety of reasons many people see Hawaii as the ‘canary in the coal mine’ – a predictor of what’s to come for the nation’s economy.
So, I thought I’d check in with some friends there and see what the future may hold for the mainland. Hawaii has been hit hard by the bursting real estate bubble and the general retrenching of the US consumer.
Happily my friends, who deal with reality and not economic theory, are actually optimistic for the first time in many months.
First of all, this is whale season, the according to everyone the joint is jumpin’ – literally – so the tourists and residents are seeing a great show out in the water.
A friend who works at the airport in Kona told me, that tourist traffic is up. “The tourism bureau has been saying traffic was down 10% last year, but it was really closer to 30-40%,’ he says, “but now, there has been an increase, probably because the airlines have dropped the fares.” He admits it’s not back to what it was 3 years ago, but at least it’s headed in the right direction.
Further evidence of an increase can been seen in the food business, where many businesses either went broke of cut back hours. Several stopped serving lunch, but one manager friend said they have decided to open up again for lunch starting April 1.
According toa property manager, the condo rental market seems to be picking up too. “We’re going to have our first full quarter in the black in over two years,” she said noting that occupancy percentages were almost 80% for the first three months of the year.
People are still waiting until the last minute to book vacations, but as the weather has gotten colder in the western US and Canada, booking have increased from, Colorado, Utah and Canada where snow-storm after snow-storm has left people looking for an escape.
Another rental agent pointed out that many visitors used to head for Mexico, but between the kidnappings and drug violence they figure “why chance it.” Plus as one agent noted, “they can keep their money in the US.”
In my next post I’ll tell you what my real estate friends are saying out in the middle of the Pacific. But until then, the next time you read a story about an economists making a prediction based on numbers and charts, suggest “On the other hand, here’s what the people on the ground have to say.”
End of an Era
March 6, 2010
In my heart I am a journalist, so it pains me to give up on a newspaper. But after more years then I can remember, I’ve decided that I can no longer tolerate the ‘new direction’ Rupert Murdoch has taken the Wall Street Journal.
I used to revel in the autonomy of the news pages-reporting news objectively while the editorial pages remained decidedly conservative. Unfortunately I fear their editorial bias has crept into the news pages and while they are just about the only print publication expanding their staff, I no longer have confidence in their editorial decisions.
It wasn’t any one article, just a long held view and the fact that my subscription renewal came and I’ve decided not to take them up on their special offer.
That the paper has changed direction from the business-focused publication that I wanted, to a more general-focus newspaper, was also a factor but I could have handled that, as long as the financial news I wanted was still there.
I’m sure Rupert will not be shedding any tears at my departure and he’ll point to the fact that his creation now has the largest national circulation in the US but he’ll have to suffer along without me. (that’s if you include web subscriptions)
I’ll make due with the Financial Times, New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle and my online visits to the Boston Globe, my Twitter feeds and various blogs.
Now if I can just make it until the 3G version of the iPad is available and I can carry everything with me, I’ll be in great shape.
Laughing at Yourself
February 25, 2010
It’s probably not good to make fun of your own profession. but I couldn’t help myself when I was introduced the Liza the Life Coach.
But then you really can’t take yourself too seriously these days. It’s too easy to get carried away with our self importance.
I coach because I really enjoy helping my clients achieve their goals and make decisions for the right reasons, but I have to admit when I listen to some of my colleagues or read some ads for coaches, I wonder what these people are thinking.
There are way too many people in the world who are afraid to stand back and take an honest look at what they’re saying or doing. And that goes for more than coaching.
By the way you can see Liza on TV in ads for candy bars. Have fun.
‘Weird’ Photography
February 18, 2010
Sometime in the next week you will notice that my website photo will change. It’s no big deal but hopefully I will stop hearing comments about my tie.
But, like everything else, there’s a lesson here.
To get the new photo I went to a local photographer. I just needed an image for the page but I never thought to ask about whether the photographer, Nan Phelps in Kensington, CA, used a digital camera.
She doesn’t . Nan uses a Mamiya C330 – a model I used as a photographer 30 years ago. What ensued was a lengthy conversation about whether she should switch, or at least offer customers a digital option.
“Photography is about the process,” she said, “I see it as art, and when I hear about other photographers spending hours digitally retouching photographs I cringe. I don’t mind being called weird, or old fashioned, I have a niche, I’m doing very well, and I meet many starving digital photographers, all stressing the need for a faster and faster turnaround. I just want to say stop.”
She was unmoved by my suggestions, insisting she didn’t care if the digital shutterbugs raced to the bottom offering lower prices.
“I don’t need to update my software or computer every 18 months, and I’m very proud of my work and don’t have to worry about whether an image I took with a digital camera might be one I want to enlarge but can’t.
It was a wonderful discussion and I have to admit she may have won me over. You can decide for yourself when the new portrait is posted, but just maybe, we’d all be a bit better off if we just slowed down.
I know there would be less stress and that could only be good. Thanks Nan.
East Bay Coaches
February 4, 2010
I joined East Bay Coaches this week. If you’re looking for a specific type of coach this is the place to look.
The group is part of the San Francisco Bay Area coaching network with chapters in San Francisco, North Bay and Silicon Valley.
My next goal is to find groups which share my interest in gardening, roses, orchids and wine.
It does seem that joining these kind of groups, who actually meet face to face, is now a bit old fashioned. I guess the new question is, “who do you follow on Twitter.” Maybe that’s the new version of what are you reading. I only follow 20 folks on Twitter – everything from wine and cheese to technology and, of course, The Boston Red Sox.
I get enough posts to waste hours of what could be productive time. How do people follow hundreds of other people.
Poll Positions
February 1, 2010
When you work out of your home, you wind up answering a fair number of phone calls from people doing polls. Not that I have to, but I rather like trying to figure out the news story that will be written from the results.
Last week it was politics, this week was 3-D TV.
The political poll was being done by Quinnipiac University, which is a well respected small school in Western Connecticut, whose results usually get a lot of press during Presidential campaigns.
The general tenor was whether or not I approved of President Obama’s policies on everything from deficits to terrorism. Unfortunately my respect for the poll went out the window when I was given two choices on each question – approve- disapprove. The Republicans couldn’t have asked for a better survey, since, while I support Mr. Obama, I do have a few questions about some things.
There was very little likelihood The President was gonna come off looking good and I told the nice lady on the phone what I thought of the methodology. To my surprise she answered, “Yeah, a lot of people say that.”
Then she went on to thank me for even answering the questions, “Most of the people in California just hang up. I don’t know why but you are the first person form California who even took time to answer me, Thank you.”
No wonder the president has bad poll numbers, his supporters won’t even answer the poll. I can’t wait for the news release.
The second poll was two questions. When was the last time you went to the movies? Would seeing a movie in 3-D make it more or less likely that you would go to a movie even if it meant an additional cost?
Brought to us all by ‘Avatar.’ Now I will say that seeing ‘Bolt’ in 3-D was kind of fun, but would I base plans on it. Doubtful. And, since “Bolt’ was the last movie I saw in a theater I guess I’m not really the target audience.
I can’t wait for the poll on 3-D TV.
More bedside books
Last week when Apple’s new iPad was unveiled I made a reference to the collection of books on my bedside table. Several folks asked what I was reading, so I thought I’d provide the list. No, I’m not going to provide links so you can buy them, but send a comment and I’ll let you know how to download to your iPad.
Top of the pile is David Kessler’s “The End of Overeating.” I’m on a new diet so I need all the help I can get.
My wife gave me Julia Cameron’s “The Writing Diet.” which I glanced through enough to discover that writing is apparently the key to losing weight. Who knew?
Michael Pollan’s “Second Nature” is next. This is the only book Mr. Pollan has written that I have not read so I figured I should complete the rotation before I see him lecture next week at Saul’s Deli in Berkeley.
I got Dan Brown’s “Lost Symbol” a while ago, before I saw a bunch of reviews which trashed it. But I’ll start it and see if it holds my interest.
I find economic psychology and decision making fascinating so I have, “How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer and “The Economic Naturalist” by Robert Frank waiting for me to make a rational decision and read them. In the same vein there is also “Sway” by Ori and Ram Brafman.
And finally, I have Sue Grafton’s latest mystery “U is for Undertow,” waiting for me when I need total relaxation. I used to count on the late Robert Parker for this kind of change of pace, (since it was based in Lynnfield, MA, my hometown) but since I travel to Santa Barbara, where Ms Grafton’s protagonist Kinsey Millhone hangs out, I made a small adjustment.
What was the last book I finished? “Billionaire’s Vinegar” by Benjamin Wallace – the true story of deceit and forgery that has rocked the wine industry. A fellow oenophile gave it to me as a present.
At some point I’ll give you book reports, if I finish any of them. My money’s on Sue Grafton.