Newmark's Door

Yet another benefit of marriage

"Single men and those in unsuccessful marriages were 64 per cent more likely to have a stroke than men in successful marriages."

(Yeah, yeah causality is in question. But they seem to have addressed it.)

"Richard Feynman on doubt, uncertainty and religion"

Agree or disagree, like him or loathe him, the man had interesting things to say.

One young American still wants to serve in the Marines

Jordan Blashek, Princeton '09, turned down a chance to go to med school and he joined the Marines, beginning at OCS at Quantico, for at least four years. He explains why.

Link via John Hawkins's Linkiest.

Comments on being married from the world's longest-married couple

Married 85 years and answering questions on Twitter:

Q: What is your fondest memory of your 85-year marriage?

A: Our legacy: 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild.

(Link via Mediaite.)

Two funny cartoons

"I think you've been misinformed".

"iPhone or Droid".

"Toddler economicus"

Abstract for "Toddler economicus: childhood habit cessation in a Beckerian Model of pacifier use" by F. G. Mixon, Jr., T. D. Poussan, and T. G. Green, Applied Economics, 41(6), 2009:

As a test of elements of Gary Becker's model of habitual behaviours, the present study examines another potential example of a habit pacifier use - within the youngest segment of the population, infants and toddlers. To explore the facets of a child's pacifier habit, we make use of an extensive questionnaire on the effectiveness of several proposed methods for stopping a child's pacifier consumption. Results indicate that children's pacifier use approaches the habit/addiction threshold, and it is best alleviated with abrupt cessation, or 'cold turkey.' Interestingly, our empirical finding that 'cold turkey' dominates or is superior to other methods of getting children to stop relying on pacifier use ( e. g. limiting time of use, altering the pacifier's tip, etc.) has two implications. First, it supports the Beckerian notion that a child's pacifier habit approaches the habit/addiction threshold, as stated above. Second, it contradicts suggestions from many in the health profession to seek methods other than 'cold turkey' to stop a child's pacifier use.

I don't know about in general, but my wife imposed "cold turkey" on my older daughter's pacifier use and it worked out just fine.

Philadelphia couple celebrates their 80th wedding anniversary

That's a long time. But apparently they're still a few years short of the record.

". . . and tchotchke shelves next to the window"

83-year-old grandmother, with help from her grandson, becomes a Net "superstar".

She heard from a woman named Betty who wrote that she was making Bubbe’s sweet and sour meatballs and “Jelly Jammies’’ that week. “I never had the privilege of being in the kitchen with my own Bubbe,’’ Betty wrote. “Watching you brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. . . . I would like to adopt you as my own Bubbe.’’

Another woman threatened to adopt Bubbe, gushing: “I absolutely love you, Bubbe.’’ (“You certainly can adopt me,’’ Bubbe replied.)

The world is pretty strange

Oscar the cat, angel of death.

The scientist in Dr. David Dosa was skeptical when first told that Oscar, an aloof cat kept by a nursing home, regularly predicted patients' deaths by snuggling alongside them in their final hours.

Dosa's doubts eroded after he and his colleagues tallied about 50 correct calls made by Oscar over five years, a process he explains in a book released this week, "Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat." (Hyperion, $23.99)

Kieron Williamson "paints like an old master". He's all of seven years old.

New York City--Park Slope!--on less than $30,000 a year

And she saved about $6,000, too. A proud dad outlines how she did it (Wall Street Journal, 1/21).