Bite-Sized Mini Posts

Blog updates will be sporadic over the next few days, as we have houseguests who will be sleeping in my office.

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In the Bad Health News department, I found out from this week's Newsweek that, like all neurotic introverts, I have Type-D personality, which makes me more susceptible to heart problems and stroke. Another study found that left-handers have double the risk of developing breast cancer before menopause. At least when I go for my first mammogram, I know to find a place that does digitial mammography; a large study shows that digital mammograms are more accurate than film mammograms for women under 50, premenopausal and perimenopausal women, and women with dense breasts. (If you look at the end of the original article in the New England Journal of Medicine, you'll see I'm one of the gazillion people thanked; in my former life I worked in protocol development at the organization that sponsored the study.)

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If that bad health news makes you tense, you can always pop some virtual bubble wrap to blow off steam.

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Now that it's fall, you can use those fresh apples to make the former Governor of West Virginia's apple crisp. If this recipe is any indication, the Honorable Gaston Caperton is one good cook.

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Finally, a freebie for you parents out there: the Department of Health and Human Services offers the Building Blocks for a Healthy Future Kit. Although I just ordered mine and don't know much about it, I'm excited to get the free CD and coloring book for Ben.

Photo by Chris Campbell on flickr.com.