Actual Care Might Be Nice

Sun., June 6, 1999

By Susan English susane@spokesman.com

Women 60 and older who visit physicians are 37 percent more likely to be given a prescription for tranquilizers and 33 percent more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than men 60 and older.

“We’re concerned the doctors give a woman a pill and send her home, where with a man they might give the case more thought and look for an underlying problem,” says Jeanne Reid, a researcher at Columbia University. (From April/May Ms.)

* Unloading on the hardware: At least frustrated workers aren’t waiting until they get home at night to vent. However, that said, it’s still inappropriate to beat up your PC.

A study by a network consulting firm in Massachusetts shows employees who are fed up with their bosses and deadlines are smashing their PCs in record numbers.

In the survey of 150 computer network administrators, 83 percent reported violent behavior — breaking keyboards, smashing monitors and kicking hard drives — by people in their office.

“People are not trained to deal with high frustration levels, and many companies aren’t doing a very good job of helping them,” says Boston psychologist Wilfred Calmas about the study results. (From May 17 Time Digital)

* Look at the odds: Men intent on meeting women should join an aerobics class. About 18 million women and four million men do aerobics. Do the numbers, pal. (From June Men’s Health)

* TVs do come with off buttons: Almost 70 percent of Americans blame the adult language and sexually explicit content on TV for moral decline in this country, according to a poll commissioned by Shell Oil Company.

We don’t suppose any of these 70 percent are the viewers clocking six or seven hours of TV viewing a day. Or could this be a situation in which a lot of people think they are not affected by what they see on TV, but that everyone else is?

* What will they think of next? The same technology that brought us silicon gel breast implants is now used in the Power Paw, a gel support (not implanted) to prevent and ease carpal tunnel syndrome.

Invented by a neurologist, it fits under the wrist, elbow or forearm and can be squeezed. Need your wrists cooled? Toss Power Paw in the fridge and it becomes a cold pack. The price tag is about $50 per pair of silicon Power Paws or $24.95 apiece; call (800) 335-PAWS for info. (From April/May Ms.)

* First, look in your pocket: The average man spends 15 hours every year hunting for lost keys. (From June Men’s Health)

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