Odd lots and bolt ends from the past week:

  • As pointed out in an earlier post, research demonstrates that “exercising with an interactive computer game improves brain function among the elderly.” Now comes news that you might not need the exercise part of that: a study by North Carolina State University found that older adults saw their cognitive functioning improve by playing the online role-playing fantasy game “World of Warcraft.” This sets up a conundrum. Are willing to pretend you are a druid warlock in the land of Azeroth if it improves your brain power? Does crisp thinking matter that much to you? Maybe it’s a time trade-off. How many hours of better deductive reasoning are needed to justify the hours of sub-catatonic game playing? The world needs an algorithm here.
  • Everyone seems to believe that older people are staying stronger longer, and that faith is validated by the results posted in various competitions. The records just won’t stick…even in what seem to be fringe events (over 80 pole vaulting, for example). As the Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune points out, people in their upper 50s are beating high school times. In part, it comes from an overall improvement in seniors’ health; in part, it comes from elite athletes who have refused to go to seed when their careers ended. (“Willie Gault, a wide receiver with the Chicago Bears back in the 1980s, has rewritten the sprint records for several age groups.”) Some seniors even have sponsors. “We have what we call soft records and hard records in masters track,” explained journalist Ken Stone, who maintains a website devoted to the subject, “and even the hard records keep falling. It’s across the board. I see it in the throws, the runs, the jumps.”
  • We are reluctant to recommend travel destinations and tour operators we haven’t tried, but this story makes the Baja Peninsula seem pretty alluring. Nothing all that challenging here, just a rewarding day of kayaking, snorkeling, hiking. Mentions of beer and fish tacos and whale watching. As a vacation, sounds good. As reading matter at the end of February, perfect.
  • And while we’re passing along random travel articles, look at this.  Going hut-to-mountain inn-to-hut in the Alps. Glaciers and no need for bear spray. Cheap. Fun. Good company and plenty of exercise. And when you’ve had enough exercise, “an extensive system of ski lifts, cog railways, post buses and other means of conveyance to supplement your two feet or to give you a lift if you’re feeling pooped.”

Image of Terenas Menethil II from WarCraft Universe by Blizzard Entertainment via Wikimedia Commons