Like many septuagenarians, I sometimes worry that I’m sliding into dementia because my memory seems to be getting worse. I’m forgetting names, where I put my keys, and the titles of movies.

Not to worry, says Bruno Dubois, Director of the Institute of Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease (IMMA) at La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Paris. “It often happens in people 60 years and older that they complain that they lack memory. The information is always in the brain, it is the ‘processor’ that is lacking.”

What I’m experiencing he says, is “anosognosia.” (See today’s “Word to the Wise” below.) It’s temporary forgetfulness. Not Alzheimer’s. In fact, he says, if you are conscious of and concerned about forgetfulness, you almost assuredly do NOT have dementia.

If you have doubts, here’s a test I got from BJ, a fellow septuagenarian:

1. Find the C in the table below. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2. If you found the C, find the 6 in the table below. 

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

3. Now find the N in the table below. (A little more difficult!) 

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

If you found all three without a problem, you can cancel your visit to the neurologist. Your brain is in perfect shape!

We are in Rancho Santana this week. K takes me on a walk along the beach or through the woods each day.

There are creatures here that you don’t encounter in South Florida. Like this tarantula.

* Ketchup With Your History – How every ketchup but one became extinct. Read about it here.

* Hope for Curing Opioid Addiction – Early trials of a new procedure (the insertion of two electrodes into the brain) have shown it to be remarkably effective. Click here for details.

* Take Off That Covid Mask or Don’t Come In –  Retail theft has become such a problem in LA and other California cities that store owners are banning face masks. Click here to watch the video.

Do wine aerators really work? 

In this video from the Bonner Private Wine Partnership, Julien Miguel puts them to the test.

The 10 Best US Airlines 

From The Points Guy website…

“There are a lot of ways to measure an airline’s success. [These include] on-time performance, reliable scheduling, the affordability of airfares, excellent elite perks, and the scope of a frequent flyer program…. Every year, we… take a look at all of these factors (among others) to compare the major airlines. The goal is simple: Use objective data to identify just how well airlines are serving customers.”

Based on each airline’s performance over the previous year, here’s their list of the Best US Airlines of 2022: Delta, Southwest, United, American, Alaska, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant, and Spirit. Click here for details.

My take: Jet Blue is at the top of my list, tied with Southwest. Delta is okay. American is, at best, mediocre. And the rest are bad to terrible. But by far the best airline for going from coast to coast is Virgin, a British airline. (Go for Mint Class if you can.)

Speaking of economics… 

JS sent in two fun rap battles on two great debates.

* To watch “Top Down or Bottom Up Economics” (Keynes vs. Hayek), click here.

* To watch “March of History” (Marx vs. Mises), click here.

And for a slightly more favorable view of Keynes, click here.

World’s Most and Least Livable Cities

In the US, people are moving out of the major cities like New York, Chicago, and Baltimore. But in the world generally, the urban population continues to grow. In 2021, 51% of the world’s population lived in cities.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has released its latest list of the world’s most and least “livable” cities. In determining the rankings, the following weighting was given:

Healthcare (20%)

Culture & Environment (25%)

Stability (25%)

Education (10%)

Infrastructure (20%)

Canada had two cities in the top five and three in the top 10. Switzerland had one in the top five and another one in the top 10. No US cities scored in the top 10.

The top five: 

Vienna, Austria

Copenhagen, Denmark

Zurich, Switzerland

Calgary, Canada

Vancouver, Canada

The bottom five: 

Damascus, Syria

Lagos, Nigeria

Tripoli, Libya

Algiers, Algeria

Karachi, Pakistan

I’ve been to all five of the best-rated cities, and from what I experienced, their status at the top of this list doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been to three of the five worst-rated cities (those in Africa), and I found them all stark and scary, although Algiers has, at least, a redeeming African urban cultural scene.

Click here for details.

Sense or Sacrilege?

Often, if my glass of Cabernet is half empty and the bottle of wine I poured it from is completely empty, I open a different bottle and mix the two together in my glass. The object is to see if I like my own blend more or less than the wine in the bottles.

This often upsets those in my company. Particularly those that believe they know something about wine. Their reactions range from mild derision to visible outrage. The sort of reaction they’d get from me if I caught them mixing a fine, single-malt Scotch with Coke.

In response to their reaction, I usually say something like: “Hey! All wines are blends of one kind or another. This one in my glass just happens to be blended by me!”

Of course, as I remind you each time I post an issue, “Were it not for sciolism, I’d have no ideas to share.” So I was pleased last week to come across this little video lesson from the Bonner Private Wine Partnership about blending wines. Click here.

The True Cost of Going Electric 

In the July 5 issue, I linked to a video that explained the true cost to the global economy of electric vehicles – both in dollar terms and in terms of the use of natural resources. EVs, it turns out, are not nearly as eco-friendly as they’ve been portrayed to be.

To find out what the real price of buying an EV is to you individually, as the buyer, click here.