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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist
Guest Blogger

If you’ll be traveling to Miami this fall, be sure to take time to visit the Miami Art Museum.

Exhibits with dazzling lights, including a huge, brilliant orange sun of florescent lights, fascinating modern art, and optical illusions are a delightfully entertaining and thought provoking.

One of the most moving installations is about Alzheimer’s disease. Elizabeth Cerejido, former Frost Art Museum curator, documents her mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s in Absence Series with 13 color photographs and a video assembled in a small white room. Some of the photos are simply white lettering on a black background listing items her mother frequently misplaces: a pillbox, umbrella, and address book. Others show notes on the stove, air conditioner, and other places telling her mother not to touch them.

Most riveting is the video of Cerejidoi’s mother rocking, rocking, and rocking in a rocking chair, a habit she developed as her health declined.

The installation called to mind all of the blogs I’ve read lately on Baby Boomer concerns about Alzheimer’s disease.

Other exhibits at the Miami Art Museum are:

Shadows, Disappearances, and Illusions. Using light, perspective, and erasure, the artworks in this exhibit short-circuit the connection between the eye and the brain. They make people question what they’re seeing and make them aware of their role as viewers. Artists include Joseph Cornell, Magdalena Fernandez, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Mark Handforth, Oscar Muñoz, Maria Martinez-Cañas, Regina Silveira, and Lorna Simpson. Specially commissioned installations from Miami artists Tom Scicluna, Matt Schreiber, and Wendy Wischer are part of the exihibit. Until September 21, 2008.

Sean Duffy. Los Angeles-based artist Sean Duffy has created an installation inspired by California pop culture of the 1960s – complete with a zebra-striped Toyota Land Cruiser sporting logos reminiscent of the era’s “custom car” culture and a soundtrack coming from fire-engine red gas cans. Until October 12, 2008.

Selections from the Permanent Collection. The installation combines old favorites from the collection, such as Frank Stella’s Chodorów II and Morris Louis’ Beth Shin with more recent acquisitions, such as Kehinde Wiley’s Regard the Class Struggle as a Main Link in the Chain and Emilio Perez’ In the Middle of Something. Until November 2, 2008.

For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist
Guest Blogger

In their recent post on Boomer Consumer: The Blog, Matt Thornhill and John Martin excitedly reported on reasearch being conducted on a synthetic chemical that improves the physical stamina of laboratory mice on a treadmill by 44 percent over mice not taking the medication. The discovery is leading to speculation that  an “exercise pill” might be created for humans so that they won’t need to exercise to be physically fit.

Thornhill and Martin gushed:

The revelation is particularly pertinent to boomers who have reached an age in which their physical fitness is experiencing a steady, seemingly inexorable slide. Although many boomers have incorporated exercise into their lifestyles more passionately than previous generations have, that commitment requires a tremendous effort. Who wouldn’t like to spend less time on the treadmill and more time playing Sudoku or snoozing in the hammock?

They go on to describe the success of Viagra, and report that scientists are researching chemical compounds that can halt the effects of aging on memory and mental processing speeds.

“Although it’s a long journey from a chemical that works on mice in a lab to a drug safe for humans, it may be only a matter of time before ‘exercise pills’ become a reality,” Thornhill and Martin said in their post.

Then they end their post with this pie-in-the-sky comment about prescription drugs: “How long before there’s a pill to effortlessly perfect every human frailty?”

Thornhill and Martin head up the Boomer Project, which educates marketers on how to communicate with boomers. They are authors of “Boomer Consumer: Ten New Rules for Marketing to America’s Largest, Wealthiest, and Most Influential Group.”

Prescription drugs have side effects

About two million serious adverse reactions to prescription drugs occur a year including 100,000 deaths, according to Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group. These tragedies are one of the five leading causes of death in the United States.

Public Citizen recommends that consumers not take a prescription drug unless it has been on the market for seven years; an exception is breakthrough drugs. The consumer group makes this recommendation because many new drugs are “cousins” of drugs already on the market, and often their side effects aren’t well known.

In their enthusiastic envisioning of anti-aging drugs, Thornhill and Martin left out information about recent failures of the pharmaceutical industry. Some include:

• Vioxx, used to treat the symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, acute pain, and painful menstrual cycles was pulled from the market in 2004. An estimated 84 million people worldwide used Vioxx, and it was one of the most frequently prescribed drugs in the United States, according to the Web site Lawyerseek.com. Vioxx was the largest drug recall in history at the time.

• America has the highest rate of mental illness in the world, according to Stephen Bezruchka, M.D., author of “Is America Driving You Crazy?” The number of Americans suffering from mental illness has nearly doubled since 1987, when Prozac was introduced. Bezruchka believes our drug-based system of care is fueling this epidemic; the drugs used to treat depression and mental illness cause problems when used long term.

• Other prescription drugs recalled or withdrawm from the market include: Rezulin, used to treat type 2 diabetes; Fen-Phen, a diet drug; and PPA, an ingredient used in some appetite suppressants and cough medicine.

What can boomer consumers do

Boomer consumers need to be informed about the prescription drugs they take. Ask your health care providers and pharmacist about side effects and drug interactions. Do research on the Internet about any prescription drugs you are taking or plan to take.

In addition to Public Citizen mentioned above, The People’s Pharmacy is a good source of information on prescription drugs.

Read books about the pharmaceutical industry. A recent book by Melody Petersen offers new, chilling information about the increased dependence of Americans on prescription drugs. It’s called “Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves Into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs.”

A recent series of articles I wrote for my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, called What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs, also provides useful information. The articles are:

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: The Problem

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: What You Take and What You Spend

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: How to Buy Prescription Drugs

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: How to Avoid Ineffective and Dangerous Drugs

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: Prescription Drug Reform

What Boomers Need to Know About Prescription Drugs: How to File Reports About Adverse Drug Reactions

For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

by Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Guest Blogger

Consumer Reports has a great article in its September 2008 issue on “Seven Online Blunders: These Common Mistakes Can Ruin Your Computer or Invite Identity Theft.”

The seven blunders are:

• Assuming your security software is protecting you.
• Accessing an account through an e-mail link.
• Using single passwords for all online accounts.,
• Downloading free software.
• Thinking your Mac shields you from all risks.
• Clicking on a pop-up ad that says your PC is insecure.
• Shopping online the same way you do in stores.

See the article for details and tips on how to shop online safely.

For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist
Guest Blogger

It’s important for boomer consumers to know whether the products they and their family members use daily are safe.

Last week, we had good news, bad news, and still worse news about toxic chemicals in everyday items consumers buy and that workers are exposed to in the workplace.

Good news

The House and Senate passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The legislation bans lead from children’s toys and improves the regulation of chemicals posing possible health problems for children who play with and chew on toys. It also strengthens the regulatory processes for the products the Consumer Product Commission oversees and increases resources and funding for the commission.

The act represents the biggest overhaul of the commission since it was established in 1973.

President Bush is expected to sign the bill, according to an Associated Press article.

The photo to the right shows one of the millions of toys that was recalled by the commission in the last few years.

The bad

Six laundry products and air fresheners tested in a University of Washington study gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. However, the chemicals weren’t listed on the labels.

Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs, said the number and the potential toxicity of the chemicals that were discovered surprised her.

Chemicals included acetone, the active ingredient in paint thinner and nail-polish remover; limonene, a molecule with a citrus scent; as well as acetaldehyde, chloromethane, and 1,4-dioxane, according to a University of Washington report on Steinemann’s study.

“Nearly 100 volatile organic compounds were emitted from these six products, and none were listed on any product label. Plus, five of the six products emitted one or more carcinogenic ‘hazardous air pollutants,’ which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to have no safe exposure level,” Steinemann said.

The ugly

The White House is working to get federal agencies to weaken the regulation of hazardous substances in the last days of the Bush administration. Scientists who usually have input into regulatory processes are complaining.

The agencies involved are the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Labor, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, according to an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, “Agencies Asked to Ease Safety Rules.”

Efforts include:

• A plan to alter the way the cancer-causing risk of asbestos is measured.

• Plans for how workers are protected from chemical hazards go directly to the White House Office of Management and Budget, bypassing scientists.

• The firing of John Howard, the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

• Regulations to protect workers from lung cancer and other serious disorders delayed.

• Little action on the regulation of hazardous substances used by manufacturers of consumer products in everyday items used by consumers.

For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist
Guest Blogger

As a consumer journalist and blogger, I’ve written about how to organize clutter a number of times.

Why?

As an avid researcher, I save more articles than I enjoy filing. As a result, the articles stack up.

However, over the years, I’ve made progress. Every time I write about clutter, I learn new tips.

Recently I met Rita Rosenkranz, one of the authors of the book “Put Your House on a Diet: Declutter Your Home and Reclaim Your Life,” at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference. I decided to write about what Rosenkranz and her co-authors Ed Morrow and Sheree Bykofsky had to say to help boomers with their cultter. See my post, “Is Your Household Too Fat and Bursting at the Seams With Clutter? These Clutter Tips Help Put Your House On a Diet,” on my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

Here are the best ideas I’ve learned from writing about clutter over the years:

My friend, the planner. My daughter suggested I use a planner because I was having problems keeping track information from phone calls. It works. With the details of your life written in a planner, you’re better organized.

Instant sorting. When the mail comes, I decide right away what to do with it. If it’s a meeting, I write the date, time, and phone number in my planner. I recycle the meeting notice. Then I don’t have to worry about getting it filed. Bills to be paid go in a special file. Junk mail and most catalogs are immediately recycled. The few catalogs I keep go in a file.

Nix on garage sales. I seldom buy anything at garage sales these days. More stuff makes the clutter problem worse.

Photo opportunities. I’ve purchased archival sleeves of various sizes for my photos and have assembled more than four-dozen photo notebooks. With supplies on hand, I’m able to organize photos as I get them.

Kitchen fun. My kitchen now gets prompt attention. I work on it throughout the day, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher as I go along.

Less helps. I subscribe to fewer magazines and keep the remaining ones a shorter period of time. I keep fewer manila envelopes and cardboard boxes for items I’ll be mailing.

Knickknacks absent. When I moved into my new home, I didn’t unpack my knickknacks. I don’t miss them. Dusting is much easier now.

Clothes therapy. I’m sorting my clothes and giving away those I don’t wear anymore.

Books, books, books. I’ve cleared out a space for new books in my bookshelf. That way new books don’t stack up on my dining room table, on my desk, and in the living room, waiting to be read.

My biggest breakthrough with clutter is realizing that I must work on it often, at least several times a week. It takes constant vigil to keep things organized.

Clutter is a hot topic these days. Clutter adds to stress to people’s lives, the experts say. They’ve got books for you.

Check local bookstores and libraries for topics such as:

• “Clutter’s Last Stand: It’s Time to De-junk Your Life” by Don Aslett.

• “Organizing From the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Organizing Your Home, Your Office, and Your Life” by Julie Morgenstern.

• “1001 Timely Tips for Clutter Control: Knowing What to Keep, When to Toss, and How to Store Your Stuff” by Frank W. Cawood.

You can also hire a professional organizer to come to your home and help you. The National Association of Professional Organizers offers listings of professional organizers throughout the United States.

Or check the yellow pages of phone books under Organizing. Hourly rates range from $35 to $80 for help in the home. Some firms charge an initial assessment fee.

People who have chronic problems with clutter can contact Messies Anonymous for ideas and resources.

For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.