What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0022

1051.  It’s not the place that makes the home;

1052.  Most people don't plan to fail.  They simply fail to plan;

1053.  Brooks Laich (of the Washington Capitals) and Tomas Fleischmann (of the Colorado Avalanche and formerly of the Washington Capitals) hang out at Public Bar too;

1054.  Jared Leto (the lead singer of “30 Seconds to Mars”) gives a whole new meaning to the words, “audience participation;”

1055.  Words of wisdom: Booty shorts don’t lie;

1056.  If you don't know what you want . . . if you don't know how to get it . . . if you don't know how to tell when you do get it . . . then your odds of success are very small;

1057.  You can't manage what you can't measure;

1058.  Lindsay Czarniak smiled at me when I waved to her (. . . probably);

1059.  Mike Isabella and “Spike” Mendelsohn (i.e., former contestants on “Top Chef”) “rock the red;”

1060.  Fifty percent of the brain is dedicated to vision.  How you look plays a large role in how you feel.  Both matter to your success at work and in your relationships.  It is not just vanity, it is about health.  To look and feel your best, you must first think about and optimize your brain;

1061.  Your brain is the command and control center of your body.  If you want a better body, the first place to always start is by having a better brain;

1062.  In a healthy brain, there is full, even, symmetrical activity, with the most intensity in the back of the brain, in an area called the cerebellum.  In troubled brains, you will see areas that are working too hard or areas that aren’t working hard enough;

1063.  Damage the brain, and you damage the mind and most everything else in your life, including your body;

1064.  Your brain is involved in everything you do, every decision you make, every bite of food you take, every cigarette you smoke, every worrisome thought you have, every workout you skip, every alcoholic beverage you drink, and more;

1065.  The decisions your brain makes can steal or add many years to your life;

1066.  When your brain works right, your body looks and feels better.  When your brain is troubled, you have trouble with how you look and feel;

1067.  Even though the brain represents only about 2 percent of your body’s weight, you brain uses about 25 percent of the calories you consume, 25 percent of the total blood flow in your body, and 20 percent of the oxygen you breathe;

1068.  It is estimated that the brain contains more than one hundred billion nerve cells, which is about the number of stars in the Milky Way.  Each nerve cell is connected to other nerve cells by thousands of individual connections between cells.  In fact, it is estimated that there are more connections in your brain than there are stars in the universe!  If you take a single piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand, it contains a hundred thousand nerve cells and a billion connections;

1069.  “Four Loko” and laser tag go hand in hand;

1070.  Studies show that people who drink every day have smaller brains than nondrinkers.  Excess drinking lowers activity in the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for judgment, forethought, and planning.  That’s why people make such stupid decisions when they have had a few too many;

1071.  Your body renews all the cells in your body every few months.  These new cells draw on all the foods you consume, so you literally are what you eat.  If you eat a junk-food diet, you will have a junk-food brain and a junk-food body;

1072.  Anything that decreases blood flow to an organ (including your brain), such as nicotine, too much caffeine, or a lack of exercise, prematurely ages it;

1073.  When you constantly feel stressed, your brain tells your body to secrete higher amounts of the stress hormone cortisol.  At elevated levels, cortisol increases your appetite and cravings for sugar, making you fat, bumps up your skin’s oil production, making you more prone to pimples, increases muscle tension and chronic pain, increases blood pressure, and raises your risk for many serious health conditions;

1074.  Getting less than six hours of sleep a night lowers overall brain function and causes your brain to release hormones that increase your appetite and cravings for high-sugar snacks like candy, cakes and cookies.  Skimping on shut-eye also prematurely ages your skin and leaves you with dark, puffy circles under your eyes;

1075.  Smoking constricts blood flow to the brain and all the organs in your body, including your skin.  Most people can tell if a person is a smoker because his skin looks older the he is;

1076.  Drinking too much caffeinated coffee, tea, sodas, or energy beverages restricts blood flow to the brain, dehydrates the brain, body, and skin, and fools the brain into thinking it does not need to sleep, which are all bad things for your brain and body;

1077.  Focusing on the things you don’t like lowers brain activity, causes your heart to beat faster, increases blood pressure, and negatively affects many systems n you body.  Negative thinking can also sabotage your efforts to lose weight, start an exercise program, or quit smoking;

1078.  Neuroscientists have shown that spending too much time texting and social networking leads to attention problems and may cause difficulties communicating face-to-face.  It also takes time away from physical activities, making you more prone to an uptick in your weight and a decrease in your general health;

1079.  When it comes to the brain, exercise acts like the fountain of youth.  It boosts blood flow, increases the brain’s use of oxygen, and improves your brain’s response to stress.  It is the single most important thing you can do to keep your brain healthy and is one of the best ways to change your shape and improve your mood, energy level, sexual performance, and overall health;

1080.  Getting at least seven hours of sleep at night has been shown to help keep your brain functioning at optimal levels, keeps your appetite in check, and helps your skin look younger;

1081.  Learning how to counteract stress and calm your body helps your brain work better, puts you in a better mood, reduces high blood pressure and protects you from disease;

1082.  When you focus on what you love, your brain works better, you are more coordinated, and you feel better.  Write down five things you are grateful for every day.  In just three weeks you will notice a significant positive difference in your level of happiness;

1083.  Safe sex, and especially sex in a loving committed relationship, is good medicine for your brain and your body, helping you reduce stress, boost immunity, live longer, and more;

1084.  When your brain looks old, your body often does, too.  If you have decreased blood flow to your brain, odds are you have decreased blood flow to your skin, making it dull and wrinkled.  You also likely have decreased blood flow to your organs, making them less functional, and to your genitals, making sexual function and enjoyment much more difficult;

1085.  Carlo Gambino was the basis for “The Godfather;”

1086.  Strip searches are allowed only if you’re going to jail;

1087.  Just like fingerprints, people have unique footprints;

1088.  “America’s Most Wanted” is filmed in the basement of the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in D.C.;

1089.  Maintain a healthy blood sugar level by eating frequent smaller meals.  Self-control failures are more likely to occur when blood sugar is low.  Low blood sugar levels can make you feel hungry, irritable, or anxious–all of which make you more likely to make poor choices.  Many everyday behaviors can cause dips in blood sugar levels, including drinking alcohol, skipping meals, and consuming sugary snacks or beverages, which cause an initial spike in blood sugar then a crash about thirty minutes later;

1090.  Willpower is like a muscle.  The more you use it, the stronger it gets.  Practice saying no to the things that are not good for you, and over time, you will find it easier to do;

1091.  Emotional stresses and depression decrease willpower.  If you have unresolved emotional issues, it is essential to understand and work through them, otherwise they will hijack your brain.  Here are six tips to help get your emotions under control: 1.  Talk about what bothers you to someone close or a therapist.  Talking about issues can help get them out of your head.  2.  When you are upset, journal rather than eat, drink, or light up.  Studies show that writing down your bothersome thoughts and feelings can have a healing effect.  3.  Write down five things you are grateful for every day.  Our research suggests that focusing on gratitude helps to calm the deep limbic or emotional areas of the brain and enhances the judgment centers.  4.  Exercise.  It not only boosts prefrontal cortex activity, it also calms the limbic brain by boosting serotonin, the feel-good chemical.  5.  Correct the automatic negative thoughts.  You do not have to believe every thought that goes through your head.  Whenever you feel sad, mad, or nervous, write down the thoughts that are bothering you and talk back to them.  6.  Try the supplement SAMe to help calm this area of the brain and boost the prefrontal cortex;

1092.  In a study sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, people who were addicted to their cell phones or their computers lost ten IQ points over a year;

1093.  John Wall (of the Washington Wizards) looks a lot bigger in person;

1094.  Research from 2005 and 2006 indicates that fully one-third of adult men and more than 35 percent of adult women in the United States are obese.  About six million people are considered to have morbid obesity, which is defined as being at least 100 pounds overweight;

1095.  A review of several long-term studies on obesity and longevity found that the risk of death rises as weight increases above normal weights;

1096.  People who are obese or overweight have smaller brains than lean people, according to new research in the journal Human Brain Mapping.  Scientists used brain scans to determine the amount of brain tissue in ninety-four people over the age of seventy.  They found that obese individuals had 8 percent less brain tissue and their brains looked sixteen years older than the brains of people at normal weights.  Overweight people had 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appeared eight years older;

1097.  Studies show that a whopping 34 percent of children and teens are either currently overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, and more than 16 percent of kids two to nineteen are obese;

1098.  Fat produces the hormone leptin, which usually turns off your appetite.  Unfortunately, when people are overweight, the brain becomes desensitized to leptin, and it no longer has a positive effect on curbing hunger cravings.  Fat cells also produce the hormone adiponectin, which also helps to turn off appetite and increases fat burning.  As fat stores increase, adiponectin levels drop, and the process of burning fat as fuel actually becomes less efficient.  In addition, fat cells pump out immune-system chemicals called cytokines, which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and high blood sugar, diabetes, and low-level chronic inflammation;

1099.  One of the best exercises is walking fast.  Walk like you are late, with periodic one-minute bursts of high-intensity walking or running;

1100.  The Hard Times Café (HardTimes.com) in Clarendon has 34-ounce giant beers for $5.00 on Thursdays;