Jay On The Go

  My best estimate is that I run north of 700 miles a year but despite the recommendations of companies trying to convince us to replace our shoes more often, I don't.  I have had an asics pair for over three years until last week I noticed that the cushion inside the wall had worn out and a piece of plastic insert was hurting me.  I went shopping at the DSW in Natick and bought a pair of running shoes from New Balance (model number M540SG1) for $55 and now I have used them for several days.  I like them.

Lorena has a girlfriend who works in the Dedham Legacy Place and has been telling her to check it out but it is quite a hike from Milford.  It was only today that we finally managed to motivate ourselves to do it since we had also recently checked out the Street At Chestnut Hill .  Well, we were surprised that the mall is open air and therefore, this is the perfect time to go.  At dinner time, it was in the 80s. Well, it is a usual low middle class mall but had a few good dining options like Aquitaine, Genki, and something called Wicked, which seemed like an attractive option for us, since they have artisan pizza.  If you go as a couple, try to sit in the bar area, which is more lively.  We ate the margarita pizza and I tried a beer from a Maine micro brewery. 

  For years we have bought basmati rice at Trader Joe's and while we have always picked the organic version, reports out of India (from where the rice is imported) say that the soil and water is highly contaminated with carcinogens like lead and arsenic (it is safe to assume that while the farmers may use organic fertilizers, it is doubtful if they will use filtered water).  So it maybe somewhat cleaner than the standard variety but I argued that it might be better to buy the Texmati rice (essentially American basmati grown in the US).  We picked the RiceSelect brand that cost about six bucks for 32 oz (more expensive than the imported one) but I must say that it is nothing like the basmati rice.  The grains stick and there is hardly any aroma.  Lorena now insists that we revert to the organic basmati grown in India.

Well, we heard so much about Shake Shack that we finally decided to check it out.  That also means that it was an opportunity to review the so-called The Street in the Chestnut Hill area, basically a renovated open air shopping plaza that is awesome during nice weather but I am a little skeptical during winter, particularly during the snowstorms.  Verdict on Shake Shack:   Oh sad for us (almost vegetarians), there is nothing but a mushroom burger.  We do eat fish and chicken occasionally, but then this is not the place.  So maybe one of these days when we are in a mood for some sugary treats, maybe we will stop by for frozen custard, but a meal appears unlikely.    So instead we ended up for coffee at Rosie's Bakery and Lorena was delighted to see that there is Pinkberry and Treat Cupcake Bar. New restaurants:   For those of us who like Aquitaine in South Boston but hated going there due to all the parking nightmares, well, now we know t...

I have been a dedicated frequent flier on American Airlines and even have two of their airline credit cards , but looks as if I may need to take my business elsewhere (not that there are many choices since all airlines have declared full scale war on passengers).  After annoying me with their unethical marketing practices , I have now been told that regardless of how early I book, when I want to use their reduced mileage awards, I will need to pay $25 per ticket (I cannot understand why the charge will be double if I also bring Lorena along because all they need to do is to plug in her AAdvantage # and all the information gets populated on screen).  I also fail to understand that with computerization of almost all types of bookings, why do I even have to call an agent to book only this type of rewards.  To me it is nothing but a technique to harass their customers.

Thankfully, I am not a dad, so I do not have to worry about receiving inappropriate gifts from my children for father's day, but the whole series of press releases from desperate plastic surgeons looking to drum up business seem to imply that all that the dad wants is a visit to the plastic surgeon for some age-reversal procedures .  Stephen Greenberg claims that he “has seen requests for procedures around Father’s Day go up close to 50 percent among men; the highest level than any other time of year.” Look, as I am getting older, I am aware of the visible signs of aging , and how that changes how people treat me, but the way I learned a long time ago that you do not want to give a gift a membership to the gym to your spouse (or for that matter anyone, unless this individual insists on receiving that gift), you do not want to gift anyone that reminds a man of his aging .  As it is most likely his falling level of Testosterone is already playing havoc on his self estee...

Yesterday, Lorena and I drove her family members to the Logan Airport, and after they had cleared security, and we were about to return home, but she wanted to use the ladies room.  So while she went on the lower floor, I just found a chair and watched people line up for security.  Nothing out of the ordinary until an Oriental family came: a middle aged man (well dressed in a suit with a good looking carryon), his wife who was smartly dressed, good looking, along with their two cute daughters, maybe around 5 or 6 (I am really terrible with estimating age, particularly that of kids, since I am kid-free). As the man was about to line up, he went to his wife, looked right into his eyes, gave her a sweet kiss on the lips, said something, waved his kids goodbye, and entered the line.  I think he waved a bit after entering the line, but what happened after that caught my attention.  Within a minute, tears started rolling down the eyes of the two girls.  Within a min...

If you are one of those people who simply cannot stop eating and never realize how much you have actually eaten , it ain't entirely your fault.  Naturally, you have gained a lot of weight due to this, but you are unable to stop.  What is going on?  Well, rather that try to go on yet another diet or feel miserable for lacking self control or just giving up altogether, have you tried to find out if you could actually be sad or depressed?  Scientists at the University of Wurzburg have found that when we are sad, we lose our ability to taste fat .  So while normal, happy people can sense that a dish is fatty and heavy , and they stop eating when they feel full, unhappy people do not have that capacity, and never realize how much they have eaten.  So stop feeling bad and work on your depression; the weight will take care of itself eventually.

We might debate endlessly whether walking or running is better for overall health , but scientists have found that as far as brain health is concerned, it is yoga that can do wonders.  We have all known that meditation can actually rewire the brain.  MRI scans of Tibetan monks have proven that their brains are fundamentally different from rotten people like Lindsay Lohan .  Still if your goal is losing weight , improving heart function , or building physical strength , then, yoga is not appropriate.

  Undergoing assisted reproductive therapy (ART) to have a child is controversial.  With overpopulation causing so many problems already and will largely be the main driver of collapse of human civilization, many of kid-free folks believe that while everyone should have fewer kids, those who are naturally unable to, should simply go on with their lives.  After all, there are so many things we cannot have, and we make peace with that. Argentina, a country that I fell in love with after spending a month there, is again setting a new standard for the world to look at: whether you are single, married, gay or straight, if you want one, you will be provided with fertility treatment .  Fertility rates there are on par with the US, where there is no national standard, but in states like Massachusetts, where I live, health insurance covers fertility treatments.

The headline screaming that half of Britons by 2020 will get cancer made me wonder if this applies to us here in America as well.  Well, like any prediction for the future, I am very skeptical and always like to look at the assumptions. The prediction is applicable only for Great Britain because it takes into consideration their demographics and epidemiological data. Like most of Europe and Japan, Britain has an aging society, and thanks to massive immigration we don't as much. Having said that, like Britain, we are seeing higher numbers for cancer, but every time someone tries to scare you that you are going to die from an illness, it is misleading: we will all die, most likely from an illness (the second of the only two causes of death is accident).  Since no one dies from old age, what is going to happen is that we might now die from cancer instead of, say, throat infection or gastroenteritis.  So go out there, eat healthy , be happy , and live well .  Don'...

I guess for Facebook addicts , it really does not matter because they don't seem to have a life outside of the social network, but for the rest of the sane planet, there is yet one more reason to divorce Facebook or never join it in the first place: the Facebook ads will look just like a post from your tween niece whining that she has to do her homework.  There will be a tiny 'sponsored' somewhere that you will not be able to see without magnifying the screen display.  I don't understand how it will improve the user experience when everyone I know has negative interest in interacting with someone pushing stuff that they don't want to buy.

When I saw this picture of how a woman managed to crash the wall of a home with her car, what impressed me even more was that the vehicle looks undamaged.  I used to own a Honda CRV at one time and while I am much happier with my Toyota RAV4 , I also liked the CRV.  Good car.

  I like Russell Brand in movies; he can be quite funny.  I have also heard that he is overall a good man.  When he chooses to he can dress very well as well, but from time to time, you see him and scratch you head.  Look at this photo of him and I have a hard time figuring out how did he put this outfit together and what was he thinking.

If you have been spooked by the news that the National Security Agency (NSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have been eavesdropping on your phone calls if you are a Verizon customer, remember that just because other phone companies have not been identified, it does not mean that they are not being tracked as well.  Actually, no evidence has come to light that the Muslims prefer Verizon Wireless for plotting their terrorist attacks.  You should work on the hypothesis that everything that you do online or on your phone or even snail mail is being tracked either by a corporation or the Feds.  In fact, direct marketing firms and your Internet service provider already knows a lot more about you than the Feds can ever find out.  So unless you are a terrorist -- in which I have nothing more to say to you -- there is no reason to worry, particularly if you are not breaking any laws .  I mean you might end up still getting caught for no reason but if y...

Lorena occasionally used to watch the Orange County and New York City versions and I have had some exposure to the content but looks like she got tired of them pretty quickly.  Bravo was using a formula for the series and everything started to look staged.  It was also clear that real housewives of wherever did not live like that and as much as these women were pretending to be wealthy (and some of them actually were) they were more than anything, desperate for attention.   So isn't it interesting that the versions for Canada, Greece, and Israel are actually based there but the one with French housewives is actually not based anywhere close to France.  Disappointing for us Francophiles , it is actually based, you guessed it, in Beverly Hills and that is why the name of the show is: “Les Vraies Housewives de Beverly Hills.”  For some strange reasons the only French word they used is "vraies" for "real" and I am sure that all of my French friends are offende...