Microlife and Micromort

Dr. J.E. was persuading me to get involved in his public health initiative in Northern Kentucky.  He knew the right "hook" when he mentioned Microlife - a way to measure public health impacts (risks and rewards).

A Microlife is 30 minutes off your life expectancy and is used to measure the chronic risk of unhealthy life styles - like smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity.  Governments use microlives (and micromorts - which is a one in a million chance of death) in determining policy decisions on treatments to prolong life or where to invest for public safety. 
The United Kingdom National Institute of Clinical Institute puts the value of a microlife at $2.72 (1.70 British Pounds).

This video helps explain how microlives impact our longevity:

So here are the examples in the video (and the web site details)

2 cigarettes = 1 microlife
5kg overweight (11 lbs) = 1 microlife (for each day overweight)
3 UK pints (60 fl oz) of strong beer = 1 microlife

So do the math - a pack a day of cigarettes (20); a six pack of beer (72 oz) on the weekends; and 20 lbs overweight  will cost you 4,346 microlives each year  or 13 weeks off of your life. 

But as G.B. said during my Vistage presentation on longevity - "When I really want that juicy high cholesterol steak dinner with a bottle of wine, knowing that I may be costing myself longevity time -  at least it's coming off the back end" 



PS - Now I can also do the overweight math -  each pound overweight costs $0.25 per day ( 1 divided by 11 times $2.72) or $91.25 for the year.        I think Anthem was overcharging me   :)      see Blog Jan. 6, 2010  Pound of Flesh = $?

Perfect Moments

Can you describe your "Perfect Moments"?   Immediately spouses will say their wedding day, or birth of a child or the obvious acceptable public affirmation and expected responses.  But ignore the expected, or  the most common - and think of the unexpected - the surprise moment.

Listening the the book "Chasing Daylight" by Eugene O'Kelly, he talks about his impending death and quest to remember his perfect moments with the objective of creating more of those at the end. In a previous chapter he discovered that "the present" (and living in it) was not automatically the prescription for a perfect moment.

So I began to wonder about perfect moments - maybe when you are "in the flow".  Can you create the moments (or create the environment that might spawn one) as O'Kelly postulates, or do they arrive randomly? 

The first challenge is describing exactly what a perfect moment is --  for you (and ignore the paradox that if a moment is perfect - there can be no other moment more perfect - hence only one perfect moment).  You can look back (although our memory half life is fuzzy and inaccurate) and inventory all the favorable moments - from good, better, best and moving toward perfect.  Are you tired yet?

And each future moment is a candidate for a perfect one. The paradox continues since we won't know the extent of our perfect moments until the very end.  Is chasing perfect moments futile?

Maybe that is the wisdom of growing older - each new moment is closer to the perfect one.

Wardrobe Investment

It's been 12 years since I have purchased a men's suit so I was out of practice.  As a Christmas gift, Susan and I decided to give Paul a business suit that he would need for interviewing this winter/spring.  Since my old suits would be too long for Paul, it wasn't worth altering those for his use. So I decided to join Paul in his quest for a men's suit.

Critical to my wardrobe success was the advice and counseling I received from my Dad in how to select and purchase a suit.  His experience was self taught from his retail job at Montgomery Ward and buying his own suits during his career journey as an industrial engineer at  Boeing Aircraft, Sperry Rand, General Electric, Addressograph/Mulitgraph, and Antenna Specialists.  Combining that parental advice with the book "Dress for Success" (by John T. Molloy), I was able to navigate the fashion landscape of conservative men's fashion for my own Consulting career at Accenture.

So it was off to Jos Bank and Men's Warehouse to look over the selection and current styles to help Paul navigate the world of Men's business attire.  We men are so lucky - nothing (other than the price) has really changed in 40 years in men's professional attire.  My advice to Paul was right out of the Dress for Success book - get a plain dark navy, charcoal grey, and black for your first three suits.  Boring yes - but very practical since the jackets can always double for a sport coat (which is great for packing light for travel). 

The specials are tempting - but one get two free (66% off); buy one and for additional $100 get another at equal value (30%-60% off).  Yet the average cost of a decent quality suit is $350 (on sale) with alterations.  A Hickey Freeman suit (the department store brand I remember best) at Nordstroms retails at about $1,500 and a Brooks Brothers suit retails at about  $1,100.

I don't remember the total number of suits I purchased in my 25 year career.  But my wardrobe had accumulated about 20 suits at the peak of my career.  I guess the suit life is about 10 years so a professional (without casual days) can expect to purchase about 40 suits during his career.  At today's price with inflation and quality growth (better suits for VP and up) the career cost of "uniforms" (suit only) is $25K - $35K.

My Return on Wardrobe Investment (ROWI) was worth paying alittle more for the correct suit.  Always remember:

"Dress is an index of your contents"  John Kaspar Lavater

Holiday Hope

Today, it took four of us (Jenna, Paul, Ellen and I) three hours to dismantle the Holiday decorations.  It is a tradition take down everything the weekend after the New Year and "table" the Christmas feeling for eleven months.  With the house back to normal, Susan will be happy tomorrow as the kids leave for school and the routine begins again.  The cats, nervous throughout the dismantling bustle, appeared after we returned from our Dairy Queen treat for all our hard work.

The Christmas storage closet hit capacity this year since Jenna had procured and decorated yet another tree (the fourth in the house).  So much of the overflow went to the unfinished basement until I can determine a suitable storage location. 

This year may be the first year that our job was 100% complete.  Growing up, I told the girls that there is always one "crafty" decoration that hides from us during the flurry of putting away everything  It's always been a side contest in the family to be the one to discover the elusive decoration months after this weekend.

The reindeer antlers on Susan's car and the wreath that Jenna secretly attached to my front bumper are gone.  The dog's Christmas suits and LED flashing collars are put away.  The outside wreath and lights are missing from the bushes and house.  Most of the snow has now melted away. As decorator queen Jenna said, it's sad to see the house suddenly look barren - inside and out.

But one hidden decoration remains - persistently extending its Holiday hope.

Middle Tax Riddle

Once again a tax law has added more complexity to the Middle Class tax.  As the details emerge, the wage earners will only discover the details first when they compare their paycheck in 2012 to 2013 and finally when they submit their 2013 1040 to the IRS.

This tax law claiming to not increase taxes on 99% of the populace, is false advertising (more political spin).  Ignoring the expiration of the temporary stimulus of 2% payroll tax holiday, the phase out of exemptions and cap on deductions at certain income levels, the press (and politicians) focused on the marginal rate brackets to make their case of no tax increase on the middle class.

Defining the middle class is a statistical and demographic challenge in itself.  Attempting to use one measure (Adjusted Gross Income) to define the middle class ignores family size, number of income earners, cost of living locations, pre AGI deductions, age and upward income growth potential, work autonomy and stability, parental background and responsibility, marital status, assets, liabilities and net worth and the list goes on and on.

Regardless - progressive taxes require definition of brackets and rates.  So let's review (and name) the new brackets:

Tax Bracket	Single	Married Filing Jointly	Head of Household
10% Bracket	$0 – $8,950	$0 – $17,900	$0 – $12,900
15% Bracket	$8,950 – $36,250	$17,900 – $72,500	$12,750 – $48,600
25% Bracket	$36,250 – $87,850	$72,500 – $146,400	$48,600 – $125,450
28% Bracket	$87,850 – $183,250	$146,400 – $223,050	$125,450 – $203,150
33% Bracket	$183,250 – $400,000	$223,050 – $450,000	$203,150 – $400,000
39.6% Bracket	$400,000+	$450,000+	$400,000+

10% - Lower Class
15% - Upper Lower Class
25% - Lower Middle Class
28% - Upper Middle Class  (note - these two classes are the argument)
33% - Lower Upper Class   (note - these two classes are the argument)
39.6% - Upper Class

The rules are now in place.  The classes are defined.  Let the games begin.

Power of Belief

It was the first call to R.M. of the new year.  A chance for us to plan the traditional visit during the Superbowl and tee up the early discussions about sports, politics, stock market predictions, philosophy, and history.  The call ended with a preliminary discussion about the Military and Power.

R.M. had the last word about power with the following riddle (taken from the HBO season 2 of "The Game of Thrones").

"Three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each great man bids the sellsword kill the other two. Who lives, who dies? Power resides where men believe it resides. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall and a very small man can cast a very large shadow."


Something to ponder.

Happy New Morning

I slept through this new year - an exception since the Murray family was available to be up with Ellen.  Instead, I went to bed about 30 minutes after Jenna's 10:45pm curfew (who needed to get up this morning at 6am to get to work).  I was up with Jenna to fix some breakfast, take her to work, and then relax in a quiet household to await the first sunrise of 2013.

It could be a good sign that the first business of the year (2:07am) was a compromise by the Senate on taxes - awaiting the House's reaction later this morning.  Maybe they can cool down and relax with the rising of the 2013 sun also and find a way to accept the compromise.

Last night, at dinner, I asked each of the girls what their single goal for 2013 would be.  Not a New Years resolution - just a simple hope for the year. 

Jenna - To graduate with a 3.5 or better.
Ellen - To study harder

Having goals is a critical part of happiness.  Having a new year (a new morning) is a welcome demarcation of a "fresh slate" to improve on those goals.   Maybe our politicians are thinking this also.