A NEW OUTLOOK - December, 2016

A New

VOL. 4, NO. 12 DECEMBER 2016

OUTLOOK

A lifestyle publication for active older adults

Health & Wellness pg 4 Money & Business pg 6 Travel & Leisure pg 9 Technology pg 13 Human Interest pg 14 Picture This pg 16

A Birdseye view from a B-17 pg 3

Welcome to A New Outlook!

PUBLISHER: Howard Wedgle EDITOR: Maita Lester DESKTOP PUBLISHING: Design2Pro Published monthly since March 2013.

A NEW OUTLOOK is available in print at locations in west Aurora and east Denver. Content in this publication is provided as generalized information only and should not replace professional or legal advice.

Readers are encouraged to contact our advertisers to learn more about their services or products.

Community businesses and organizations wanting to be included, or buy ad space in A NEW OUTLOOK should call Howard Wedgle at 303.750.3114, email howard@shaynamedia.com.

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURE ARTICLE Interview with Len Estrin HEALTH & WELLNESS Sleep deprivation can build up Cellphones and cancer? Keep talking!

Deadly creatures saving lives A healthy liver offers quality of life MONEY & BUSINESS A full scholarship – What to do with stashed cash in the 529 plan account?

Business Notes Investing: early beats often Shopping for a car online gets TRAVEL & LEISURE Finding life’s purpose in retirement Travelers think the new luggage is the best invention since the wheelie TRAVEL BAG. Hawaii tops destinations TECHNOLOGY A solar system adventure Is home tech just too much tech?

HUMAN INTEREST De-stress holidays with tips from Tidy Tutor Christmas Pudding Interview with Mayor Steve Hogan PICTURE THIS

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With the election behind us and a new President coming to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., having a new outlook is probably a good thing to have. What does the future hold? Being courageous in the unknown is always difficult, but we can learn from the men who fought in World War II. I recently interviewed Len Estrin, a volunteer at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum, in Denver, who was a ball turret gunner aboard a B-17 “Flying Fortress.” I met Len this past Mother’s Day weekend, when the Museum hosted a media day and gave us the opportunity to take a quick ride in a B-17.

At 91 years-young, I marveled at Len’s attention to details from his enlistment to the 18 missions he flew. In commemoration of the anniversary of the 75th year of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I thought it was appropriate to put a veteran of WWII on the cover.You can hear a piece of that conversation on the ColoradoGrandparent.com website.

Go to ‘Articles and Podcasts’.

Many others didn’t see combat, but were stationed at posts after the war. My Father was one of them.

We appreciate our readers and our advertisers.

We are a small business telling stories of local individuals and small business. When you shop at a small business, you’re supporting your neighbor. Please take a moment to read the ads in this publication as well as our sister platform, ColoradoGrandparent.com.

Thank you.

Howard M. Wedgle-Publisher howard@shaynamedia.com Maita Lester-Editor editor@shaynamedia.com

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A NEW OUTLOOK - December, 2016

FEATURE ARTICLE

Interview with Len Estrin

By Howard Wedgle

I

had the incredible honor of interviewing Len Estrin, who currently is a volunteer at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. Len was a ball turret gunner on a B-17 during World War II with the rank of Corporal/Staff Sergeant. At 91 years, his memory of locations and especially dates astounded me. Len, originally from Chicago, has been residing in the Denver area for the past three years. Too young to enlist when World War II started, he jumped at the chance, albeit before he turned 18, to join the aviation cadet program. With the backdrop of the museum, it was an appropriate place to speak with Len. The men and women who fought the Axis Powers and died during what was the most widespread and deadliest war in history, should be honored and respected, as all veterans should. The cover of this issue honors one such person.

Howard Wedgle: Can I start with when you got into the Army/Air Force?

Len Estrin: Oh sure. On March 17, 1943, they opened enlistments to the aviation cadet program if you were finished with high school. Well, I was going to be 18 in a couple of weeks and I didn’t wait. I enlisted right away. I was going to college at that time and they told me they would wait until I finished my term in college and then they would call me up. On June 8th, 1943, I went into service. I was sent down to Sheppard Field (Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas) for basic training. They sent me to the University of Nebraska for three months.Why? I don’t know, but they did. Then I went to Santa Ana for primary training and I almost got through with primary training when it was April of 1944. I

was told they didn’t need pilots anymore, but they needed gunners and since I was small, I had a choice. I could be either a gunner, a gunner or a gunner. What did I want to be?

HW: So, you chose gunner.

LE: You need to remember, anyone who flew was a volunteer. You didn’t have to fly if you didn’t want to.They would find some other spot if you wanted to. I wanted to fly, so I volunteered to be a gunner. I went to gunnery school in Las Vegas which was a really booming town then with about 23,000 people. From there I went to Lincoln, Nebraska and was assigned to a crew. I met my pilot and the rest of my crew there. The crew then went to Sioux City, Iowa. We finally were given orders to fly to Europe and we were supposed to be there for the Battle of the Bulge, but we didn’t quite make it.

HW: Publisher’s Note: The Battle of the Bulge started December 16, 1944 and lasted until January 25, 1945.

HW: You landed where?

LE: We picked up a brand new B17 at a factory in Iowa and we were supposed to fly to New York, but they had terrible weather, so we flew to Bangor, Maine. We were stuck there for a whole week. They finally cleared us to fly and we got as far as Newfoundland. We had to land there.

We were stuck there for another week because of bad weather. We finally made it to Wales and I was transferred to the 384th bombing group. That’s when I started flying combat.

HW: When did you get into the ball turret for the first time?

LE: The first time was in Sioux City, Iowa.

HW: How did you feel?

LE: Small. Cramped. It was not very comfortable. It wasn’t to get in. Being small, I was able to slide pretty easily. I got

used to it. Of course, I had the best view of anybody. I had 360 degrees in horizontal and 120 degrees in vertical, so I could see quite a bit.

HW: That would make me nauseas.

LE: I always enjoyed flying-even in that position. That was no problem.

HW: How many missions did you fly?

LE: 18. Most of the them were nothing spectacular. However, the 7th mission stands out. It was supposed to be a short one. We were flying over the Rhine Valley (Germany) and we got hit by flack. We got damaged quite a bit. Our tail gunner got hit in the leg. We had almost 200 holes in the plane. We lost part of our hydraulics.

Part of our stabilizer was shot off. We had a good pilot. We managed to get back to the base okay.

HW: How many guys were on the plane?

LE: We had the pilot, the navigator, bombardier, flight engineer, a co-pilot of course, the radio operator, waist gunner, the tail gunner, the top turret gunner and me.

Publishers note: This interview was recorded on November 15, 2016. Part two of the interview can be found in the next edition of A New Outlook. An audio podcast can be found on ColoradoGrandparent.com. There are a number of volunteers at Wings Over The Rockies Air & Space Museum who are veterans.

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

A NEW OUTLOOK - December, 2016

Sleep deprivation can build up In the United States, sleep deprivation is now considered a public health epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that 50 to 70 million people are affected by disorders of sleep or wakefulness.

When a person gets less sleep than he or she needs, over time, that deprivation builds up and can cause serious problems.

The signs of sleep deprivation can range from mildly annoying to serious, affecting just one person, or the lives of many. Some of the signs that there’s a sleep issue going on include the following: 1. Lack of enjoyment in activities that one usually finds enjoyable.

2. Difficulty in communicating clearly.

3. Sleepiness during daily activities.

4. Slow reaction times.

5. Trouble with decision making.

6. Irritability and anger.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that adults, including the elderly, need between 7-8 hours of sleep, while teenagers

need approximately 9-10 hours of sleep each night. School-aged children require at least 10 hours to function at their peak. The amount of sleep that an individual requires can vary, however, depending on factors like age, activity level, and other health issues.

Over time, occasional bad sleep and continued poor sleep can build up, and affect life in some severe ways. These include: 1. Chronically sleep-deprived individuals are at risk of weight gain, which can lead to physical issues and unhappiness in general;

2. Hormone levels can be disrupted, particularly the stress hormone cortisol, and the appetite-regulating hormone, leptin.

3. Weakened immunity to illness.

4.Decreased alertness and reaction time can lead to accidents, for individuals who are driving, or just going about their day. WebMD notes that getting just 1.5 hours less sleep than needed can lead to a 32 percent reduction in alertness.

5. Increased mortality risk for those adults who get less than six hours of sleep each night.

WebMD also reports that sleep is a bigger risk factor for early death than smoking or high blood pressure.

The bottom line is that getting enough sleep is important to living a healthy and productive life. Unplugging from an ever-connected society and reducing TV time can go a long way toward helping individuals get more sleep.

CELLPHONES AND CANCER? KEEP TALKING! For years, many have believed that there is in fact a link between cell phones and cancer. While currently, links between brain tumors and cellphones have not been established, new research suggests there might be a connecƟon.

Rats developed cancer aŌer being subjected to full-body radiaƟon of the type that cellphones emit. This is the finding by the NaƟonal Toxicology Project, or NTP, which was the lead agency in this two-year

study. AŌer being exposed to radiaƟon for nine hours a day for two years, about 3 percent of male rats developed cancerous tumors of the brain. No rats in the control [CONT. ON PAGE 5]

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December, 2016

DEADLY CREATURES SAVING LIVES The creatures that make us say ‘ick’ are on the cutting edge of today’s medical research, just as they were thousands of years ago.

Lizards, snakes, spiders, and scorpions–we run from them with good reason. Their venomous bites contain chemicals that can often kill.

But, could venom also heal?

The ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Greeks thought so (hence the medical symbol with a snake climbing a staff).Today’s scientists are experimenting with various venoms for clues to fighting cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, according to Christie Wilcox, author of Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry.

For example, a snake venom that causes a dramatic and deadly drop in blood pressure might be fine-tuned and tweaked to control blood pressure. That’s exactly what

happened with the drug Captopril, derived from a Brazilian viper. Another drug, Byetta, fights type-2 diabetes and is derived from the venom of a Gila monster. A molecule from the venom encourages insulin production in the presence of high blood sugar and lasts for hours in the blood. Snake and spider venom may one day be used to cure relentless pain from firing neurons. It turns out that snake and

[CELLPHONES CONT. FROM PAGE 4]

group (who received no radiaƟon) had tumors.

About one percent of female rats developed a brain cancer.

According to ScienƟfic American, researcher Christopher PoƟer, who launched these studies while he was at the NTP, the study definitely showed causaƟon between tumors and cellphones. Salvatore Insinga, a neurosurgeon at Northwell Health’s Neuroscience InsƟtute in Manhasset, NY, told CNN that the findings pointed to a need for more research. Insinga said there was not enough data to advise people to cut their cellphone use.

A second report is expected next year.

spider venom naturally shut down neurons. Venomous shrews have a compound in their venom that blocks an essential element that cancer cells need for growth and division. A trial is underway on this new drug now.

The future of many promising cures today appears to lie with what many ancient people may have known, or guessed, thousands of years ago.

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December, 2016

A healthy liver offers quality of life What weighs about three pounds, is shaped like a football, and although it is an essential part of daily life, doesn’t typically get much attention? If you guessed a healthy, functioning liver, you are right.

The liver is one of several organs within the body that works to clean toxins from inside. At any moment, it can have up to 10 percent of your blood inside as it filters the toxins out. Located on the right side of the body, the liver rests just under the ribcage. It is unique in that while it is one of the largest organs inside the body, it is the only part of you that can regenerate if damaged, or partially removed from the body.

Liver disease is a slow-to-show condition that can affect your body for years without any outward signs.

Noticeable symptoms of liver disease or damage include dark urine, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), and swelling in the belly.

Conditions that affect the liver include hepatitis. There are three forms of hepatitis, two of which have vaccines. Hepatitis A is typically spread through contact with fecal matter, while Hepatitis B is spread through contact with bodily fluids, and can be passed from mother to child during birth. Hepatitis C spreads through contact with the blood of an infected person. Up to 3.9 million people have Hepatitis C

and about 16,000 die unnecessarily each year as there is an effective vaccine available. Since many aren’t aware that have Hep C, doctors urge adults to get screened.

Fatty liver disease, alcoholic cirrhosis, and alcoholic hepatitis are three conditions that alcohol abuse can bring on, all of which cause damage to the liver. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 31,000 people died in 2014 from alcohol-induced cirrhosis, a 37 percent increase from 2002. In fact, alcohol abuse led to 2,000 more deaths than opioids in 2014.

There are steps that you can take to prevent these conditions and other damage to your liver. The American Liver Foundation suggests you maintain a healthy weight and diet, use alcohol responsibly, avoid the use of illicit drugs and avoid contact with needles. The organization urges people to get Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccines.There is no vaccination for Hepatitis C.

A full scholarship – What to do with stashed cash in the 529 plan account?

If your child gets a full scholarship, there’s bound to be a celebraon in the family. But, what happens to the 529 plan you’ve created and aggressively funded?

You have a couple of op ons.

The first thing to know, as financial planning expert Peter Dunn wrote in USA Today in April 2016,

es not covered by the scholarship, like supplies, or, in some cases, housing. Not all full scholarships cover the same thing. Some cover tui on only, some scholarships include room and board.

You can save that funding for the poten al that your child con-

MONEY & BUSINESS you can make withdrawals without the 10 percent penalty for non-qualified withdrawals–your child’s full scholarship creates that excep on.

The money in your child’s 529 plan can be used for expens-

[CONT. ON PAGE 7]

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BUSINESS NOTES Meijer changes plus-size racks Women’s plus-size clothing is now racked with all women’s clothing at Meijer. The plus-size market is a highlight as the sales have increased in that area. Meijer says all women shoppers from size XS to 3X will all shop in the same place.

Sonic enters new breakfast item Sonic’s former menu item ‘pancake on a stick’ will be back on menus soon. The item features a sausage wrapped in a pancake and stuck on a stick. Pancake on a stick was created in 2002, but dropped off the menu in later years (best guess? lack of sales). However, it is making a comeback in the spring of 2017, possibly following the fast food industry’s all-day breakfast trend, according to BusinessInsider.com.

ers have responded to the trend.

According to the Consumerist, the number of new purses introduced by Nordstrom dropped 23 percent, Bloomingdales 3 percent, and Barneys had 41 percent fewer new lines in the third quarter of this year compared to 2015.

Holiday spending According to a consumer survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) planned holiday spending per person is about $935.58. That includes food, decorations, gifts, and cards. The president and CEO of the NRF, Matthew Shay, notes that advertising spots that would normally be full of holiday ads were full of election ads. Consumers were expected to put off buying until the election is over. More than Luxury handbags dip half of people polled by the surDemand for luxury handbags vey plan to spend an average of is way down and luxury retail- $140 on themselves.

[PURPOSE CONT. FROM PAGE 6]

nues his or her educa on– graduate school is expensive too. Or, you could change the beneficiary of the plan, and save for a sibling’s educa on, or that of a future grandchild.

If you don’t have another child, Dunn suggests that you withdraw money from the 529 plan account and use it for your re rement. You’ll have to pay taxes on the interest that the money accrued while in the 529 account, but there’s no withdrawal penalty, so why not?

December, 2016

INVESTING: EARLY BEATS OFTEN Take three typical investors: • Investor A invests $1,200 a year for 10 years beginning at age 18.Then he does nothing for the next 39 years.

• Investor B invests $1,200 a year for 27 years starting at age 40.

• Investor C invests $1,200 a year for 49 years.

Who has the most money assuming a 6 percent return?

Clearly, Investor C has the most.

C put in $58,800 and ends up with $368,035. But what of A and B? A put in $12,000 and ends up with $184,793. B still comes in last. B put in $32,400 and ends up with $85,896.

The moral from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance? Early (investor A) beats often.

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December, 2016

SHOPPING FOR A CAR ONLINE GETS EASIER You can get just about anything online: housewares, food, and even cars. There are now companies that take advantage of internet technologies to allow you to inspect a vehicle online, to secure money back guarantees, even deliver your new-to-you vehicle to your door. Popular options include Vroom.com, Carvana, TrueCar and Beepi.

Vroom (Vroom.com) is a car buying site that allows users to purchase cars in just a few steps. Choose a car, review coverages and pay. Delivery of your vehicle is scheduled once they receive your payment. Vroom

offers a 90-day/6,000 mile warranty that covers all of a vehicle’s mechanical parts. The company also offers 24-hours roadside assistance, Inside-Out Guard for protection of paint, interior fabrics, and the windshield. You can even get a warranty booster and extend the manufacturer’s warranty for up to five years.

Vroom handles titling and registration of your new vehicle. Vroom owns the vehicles they are trying to sell and reconditions the vehicles before selling.

Carvana (Carvana.com) allows you to shop from your desk. This company offers only Carvana certified vehicles, and allows people to see the vehicles they are interested

in — inside and out — so they know a vehicle’s imperfections. Once you buy, you’ll have the option to fly in and pick up your car, or have it delivered. Upon delivery, you have seven days to return the car and get your money back. If you keep the car, you’ll have a 100-day/4,189 mile guarantee.

Beepi (Beepi.com) allows one to search by vehicle make, body type, year, and a wide range of other options. Beepi delivers your chosen vehicle and gives a full-service warranty as well as a 10-day money back guarantee.

TrueCar lets you shop used cars in your immediate area, showing you market price compared to dealer’s price.

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A NEW OUTLOOK - December, 2016

TRAVEL AND LEISURE

FINDING LIFE’S PURPOSE IN RETIREMENT

By Deborah Rohan The human mind and spirit are fickle things. Just when you think you have what you want, what you want often morphs and you find yourself still searching.

Why is that? Maybe it’s because you never took the time to find out what you do want.That journey often begins with finding your purpose.

If you haven’t yet found your true purpose in life, you may continue to search to fill those yearning parts of your soul even well into retirement. Many find the answer in service, in giving something unique and valuable back to the world. Yet choosing where to volunteer or devote your time and talent can also be daunting. After all, there is so much to fix in our modern world, it is easy to get overwhelmed with options and miss the one area that truly feeds your soul.

Here’s a simple yet profoundly powerful exercise to help you uncover your life’s purpose. It doesn’t matter if your career is coming to an end soon or is already in the rearview mirror; there are still many, many ways to live

out your purpose. Many people never discover this until they have the [CONT. ON PAGE 10]

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[PURPOSE CONT. FROM PAGE 9]

time to stop, rest, and consider the course their lives have taken.

Life Purpose Exercise: Grab a sheet of paper and a pen to record your answers. Forget the computer or laptop for now: this answer comes more easily when your hand is moving in sync with your inner thoughts and emotions.

1.

List two or three of your unique personal qualities. It may be humor and generosity; resourcefulness and joy; enthusiasm and diligence; empathy and adventurousness. You may be so close to your qualities you can’t easily see them; if so, ask someone you know well to name your two best qualities that make you uniquely “you”. This is no time to be humble, either. “State it as it truly is.”

2.

Next, list one or two ways you enjoy expressing those qualities when interacting with others, such as: teach and support; inspire and guide; entertain and enlighten.

[CONT. ON PAGE 11]

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[PURPOSE CONT. FROM PAGE 10]

3.

Assume the world is perfect for a moment.

What would that look like to you? How is everyone interacting? What does the earth look like?

How does it feel to be alive? Now write a statement, in present tense, that describes the world as you see it and feel it. And remember, it should be a fun place to be!

4.

Finally, combine your three answers into a single statement to begin to craft your life purpose.

I’ll share my purpose statement so you’ll have an example to follow: “My purpose is use my empathy and creativity to inspire and educate others to shape a world that is safe, inclusive, sustainable and joy-filled for all sentient beings.”

With your purpose in mind, you’ll have your own mission statement to measure your life activities and decisions against. If you are deciding whether to pursue a new venture, you’ll know it has to mesh with your purpose in order to fulfill you and guide you toward the activity that aligns with you.

How will you know if you are on track, whether it’s volunteering or starting a new business, whether it’s accepting an invitation, or making any life decision? Ask yourself if you feel joy. Joy is our own built-in GPS that tells us if we are living life according to our purpose. It doesn’t mean it’s easy, it means it’s right for you.

And your grandchildren? Not only will they learn from and model your lead, they’ll be your greatest supporters.

December, 2016

Deborah Rohan is the author of “One Person Acted and Everything Changed: 10 Inspiring Accounts of World Changers”. She is the founder of One Person Acted, a social enterprise in Denver that guides individuals to discover how they can live their purpose fully, and in so doing, make the world better for all of us. Deborah’s book can be purchased at/through: www.tatterecover.com, barnesandnoble.com, onepersonacted.com, amazon.com, booksamillion.com. Also available at Tattered Cover locations and Barnes & Noble stores.

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December, 2016

Travelers think the new luggage is the best invention since the wheelie Your phone is smart, but how much can it help if your bags are lost? Soon it will play a pivotal role.

Luggage manufacturers are beginning to release hightech bags that can be controlled via smartphone apps.

Fortune has surveyed the products and provides this information: • Bluesmart is selling bags equipped with a Bluetooth-enabled lock, GPS tracking, a built-in scale and a USB port for charging a device.

• Samsonite has a new line of GenTrakR suitcases with built-in LugLoc technology, which allows owner to track their bags.

• Andiamo will soon introduce a smart carry-on bag with a Wi-Fi hotspot, battery charger and built-in scale.

• Trunkster is selling bags with tracking system, scale and two USB ports.

• Delsey will introduce its Pluggage line of smart suitcases next year.

• Rimowa, a German luggage maker, is developing a smart suitcase line with permanently embedded electronic bag tags.

All of this means that if you’re any kind of techie, your bags will never be lost for long.

TRAVEL BAG Hawaii tops destinations People looking for sand, sun, and palms have been headed to Hawaii this year. Island tourism hit new highs every month for the last 19 months. In August alone, 780,000 visitors set a new record, 3.1 percent higher than the same month the previous year, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Preserving Hawaii’s natural resources and culture have been the keys to the success, the authority said.

FACEBOOK ADS DROP TRIP LURES If you’ve been scouting websites for trip planning or ideas, you’ll magically be seeing the destinations featured in your Facebook

atlasobscura.com/articles/9-amazing-thingsdisguised-as-boringthings and Instagram news feeds. Facebook has rolled out new dynamic ads for travel. Agencies and hotels are using beautiful carousel ads to tickle your fancy in Facebook.

TRAVEL SNIP For experienced travelers, sometimes it is not what you see but what you don’t. Atlas Obscura, the website for all things, well, obscure, revealed nine places, so easily overlooked, that hid mystery pleasures: A speakeasy hidden behind a drink machine; a fabulous men’s clothing store secreted in an average bodega; a laundry mat with a hidden saloon. Read more:

MORE SITKA STOPS In 2017, Holland America and Celebrity will make more cruise ship calls in Southeast Alaska’s Sitka community. Sitka is located on Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean.

The town has a mild climate with an average temperature of about 45 degrees. The town stays about 60 degrees in the summer but at least five days a year it reaches70 degrees. No more than 10 days are colder than freezing. The town faces the Gulf of Alaska and has a large fishing industry. Cruise Critic ranked Sitka as the second most popular destination after Glacier Bay.

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December, 2016

TECHNOLOGY

A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT COSMIC JOURNEY:

A SOLAR SYSTEM ADVENTURE

By Howard Wedgle The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has just finished upgrading the systems of the Gates Planetarium to bring the visitor a more immersive theatre experience. This upgrade is twice as sharp. On September 26th, I sat down with Dan Neafus, Gates Planetarium Operations Manager. His job is to make sure that you and I walk away from such an experience with wonderment.

One thing for sure is that Neafus wants the visitor to talk about the show they have just seen. Using the digital technology in the planetarium allows the viewer a different view of our own Sun, our Earth and the planets in our solar system.

For years, humans have been fasci-

nated with the incredible and beautiful visualizations of our solar system.

“What we have now in our planetarium”, says Neafus is “state-of-the-art”..

The planetarium gives a sense of how far things are and how big things are, but it’s much easier to grasp the magnitude inside a planetarium.

The show, Cosmic Journey: A Solar System Adventure was produced by Neafus. With a team of five people, including an animator, writers and a director, this “independent film” is licensed to other planetariums around the world. The 125-seat Gates Planetarium features a 180 degree dome, has multiple showings throughout the day. Twelve HP workstations were used to create a sensation of other worldly travel in real time. The updated array of Dell computers sends vid-

eo to eight high resolution projectors in the planetarium. What these systems allow the team to do is to create motion, just as if a pilot is really flying a spaceship. This has been very popular with family crowds. This show is now on its 4th version due to its popularity.

Now that digital has been added, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science has broader capabilities for storytelling. Cosmic Journey: A Solar System Adventure shows four times a day: 10:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m., & 2:45 p.m.

If you are looking for things to do in the Denver metro area, add Cosmic Journey to your list. Check dmns. org or calendar on coloradograndparent.com for show times for Cosmic Journey and other shows at the Gates Planetarium.

IS HOME TECH JUST TOO MUCH TECH? People are still alive today that remember living without electricity.

That was when a flip of a switch was the highest tech thing you could do.

Today, smart-home systems can control the lighting, entertainment systems, the garage door, the front door and even control the temperature in the swimming pool. But the technology is young.

While switches rarely fail, smart-home systems can’t say the same.

One owner of a smart-home system told the Wall Street Journal, he has a switch, a regular electric switch, to override his hard-wired “smartie-pants” home. He has problems about five times a year with the system. Some

system owners complain the systems actually complicate things. They break. They don’t talk to each other. One new gadget makes another gadget irrelevant. No wonder people are selective about what they install. At the California Institute for Energy and Environment, experts conclude that the key to smart-home success is reducing the number of steps it takes to get something done.

But smart systems also have to talk to each other. If you like the iPhone then you might install Apple’s HomeKit. Google’s Nest system works with other Nest things.

According to Gartner, a research firm, some smart devices will go the way of Betamax when a system standard finds public acceptance. Then all devices will work to that standard.

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December, 2016

HUMAN INTEREST

De-stress holidays with tips from Tidy Tutor Do holidays mean family plenty of shopping, rushing home from work, with one-day to get it all together? Thought so, and these alone can cause stress. √ According to Kathy Roberts of TidyTutor.com, you can do four things that will significantly destress your holiday in the days leading up to the big events. √ Do it now. Maybe you can slack off later, but in the days leading up to December 24 and 25, try to do the li le things immediately.

Li le pickups and put away tasks.

Start to do it early. Pay a en on to laundry and dishes.

Laundry. Load in the washer at

night. Morning to the dryer. Night fold and put away. You must put away. If you don’t the cat is going to sleep on them, and the family is going to rifle through them.

Dishes. Keep them done. Always in the dishwashers or dish drainer before bed. Use one cup and don’t grab a new one for the second cup of tea. √ Clear out the house early in the month for cleaning, cooking and company. Put everything out of your schedule for cleaning and pickup except the living room and bathroom. Get boxes and put every knick-knack, end table thing, clu er from the entrance way, bo les and jars from the bathroom into boxes.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Dating back to the 14th century, Christmas pudding is part of the traditional British Christmas meal.The dish, which has evolved considerably in the last few hundred years, has never managed to get much traction in the U.S. Perhaps it is because the word ‘pudding’ implies to Americans a creamy dish, rather than this delicious dough-like dessert. Here is one of the hundreds of variations on Christmas pudding.

1/2 cup self-rising flour; 1/2 cup raisins; 1/2 cup dried or candied figs, chopped small; 1/2 cup dried or candied dates, chopped small; 1/2 cup bread crumbs; 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed; 1/2 cup shredded suet; 1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped; 1/2 teaspoon allspice; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg; 2 eggs; Juice of one lemon; Rind of one lemon; 4 tablespoons dark rum; 1 cup milk.

Mark them so you know what is there. Hide the boxes un l Christmas is over. When the guests have le , give yourself 15 minutes to toss or restore the stuff you removed.

You might try this at the me you put up your Christmas tree since you will end up with empty boxes.

But in any case, you could use produce boxes from the grocery store for this. √ Create a present wrapping sta on early. Gather all the things you need: Scissors, paper, tags, bags, tape and ribbon. Start a list on paper of each present, who it goes to, what it costs and where you hid it. Have an envelope ready for receipts. Then wrap as you go.

3. Grease the pudding basin.

4. In another large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and fruit. Mix well. Add eggs, lemon juice, and rind, rum and milk then mix well.

5. Place the mixture in the pudding basin and layer a piece of wax paper or parchment paper over the pudding mixture.

6. Next, cover the pudding basin with aluminum foil and tie around the edge tightly to keep any water from getting inside.

7. Carefully set the pudding basin on the trivet inside the stock pot. Fill the stock pot with water up to the edge of the pudding basin. Bring stock pot to a boil, covered. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about five hours.

8. The steaming is part of the fun.Your house will be filled with lovely Christmas aromas. No scented candles needed.

9. Remove the basin from the stock pot at the end of the cooking time and allow it to cool, after which it can be stored for a couple of days, wrapped in the refrigerator.

Steam or microwave to reheat before you turn out the pudding for serving.

1. Choose a deep, round ceramic or glass mixing bowl for the pudding basin. This bowl will be steamed in the cooking process.

2. Now choose a larger, deep pot. A stock pot will do. Put You can serve it with a sprig of holly to be completely a trivet into the stock pot.This stock pot will be used to boil the pudding basin, and the basin will be placed on the trivet. authentic. Or you can add a sweet custard drizzle.

15 HUMAN INTEREST

A NEW OUTLOOK -

December, 2016

Interview with Mayor Steve Hogan Publisher’s Note: This is a continuation of an interview Howard Wedgle had with Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan. Part 1 of the interview appeared in the September 2016 issue.

Howard Wedgle: What calls do you personally take from employers?

Mayor Hogan: We are constantly looking for new job sectors and new employers to help diversify the economy. For example, we just sited a new Amazon distribution center. We also just closed on a land deal with Chase for a large regional call center. The whole area along I-70 from basically Airport Blvd. east to Powhatan Road, is the major distribution center for the whole east side of the metropolitan area and it’s growing. The area just south of DIA is starting to open up.There are a whole host of names that everybody would

recognize that are negotiating with those property owners to come in and when the deals come together, we announce them.

HW: How much involvement does the city take to make those deals happen?

MH: If there any incentives (that require the city to be involved in) we are an active participant. In terms of existing development, we are about 58% built out.

HW: What are you most proud of?

MH: I think there are a couple of things: First is helping to bring about is an awareness that we are not a suburb anymore, but a city. Aurora has a long and proud history of being focused on neighborhoods. Even when I first moved here, people spoke about the neighborhood they were from, not the city they were from. We now have more than 100,000 peo-

ple who don’t leave the city to go to work. We’re a population of 375,000. If you look at the census bureau numbers, we are now the 54th largest city in the country.

This leads into the type of city that we are. The diversity of this community.We know that we have students in our public schools from more than 130 different countries.

We know that they go home and speak more than 140 different languages. One of the things that we have done here to help deal with that is creating and staffing an office of international initiatives, so we can help work hand in hand with schools, and with the businesses, and with the other parts of the community that interact with each other. This isn’t a suburb anymore. Helping our city government and our population to come to that realization is one of the best things I can do.

Reach seniors and boomers in Aurora and east Denver.

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OU T OUTLOOK SEPTEMBER 2016

A lifestyle publication for active older adults

Contact Howard Wedgle at 303-750-4114 Or howard@shaynamedia.com

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A NEW OUTLOOK -

December, 2016