Earlier this week, a Kent teen was killed by an oncoming train on a railroad track. The evidence indicates that she did not hear the train because she was talking on her cell phone.

Any death is a sad occasion and the death of a child must be unbearable. Still, as judgmental as it may seem, there is a Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest element to this story.

I have a very nice smartphone (a new-to-me BlackBerry Curve 8300). While I am addicted to its ease of use, the ability to call, browse, email and manage my calendar any time, any place, I am not actually a heavy user.

It’s amazing to think that 15 years ago I did not have a cell phone; very few people did and they were almost suitcase-sized gadgets. It’s hard to recall a time when a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere left you truly stranded.

Nonetheless, I strongly believe that for such mobile devices, there is an appropriate time and place for their use. They have become so ubiquitous that users everywhere ignore rules of etiquette and common sense and become an irritant, or at worst, a danger to themselves and those around them.

Washington state has outlawed cell phone or text/email device use while driving. Some restaurants have declared cell-phone free zones. Movie theatres, doctors’ offices, classrooms, museums… all require cell phones to be silenced and not used in the facility. The sad thing is – why should we even need to ask for these concessions? Aren’t they basic courtesy and common sense?

So, don’t use your cell phone when you drive. Especially if you’re smoking or drinking coffee at the same time. (Corollary: don’t read the paper or a paperback while you are driving.) Don’t check your email at stoplights or type texts while you are walking down the street. Hang up and pay attention to the cashier at the grocery store. You on the ferry, the one that talks REALLY LOUD, I don’t want to overhear your conversation about why you broke up with your boyfriend.

It seems to me, that if we can’t get a grip on when it’s time to focus on the real world, and when it’s appropriate to conduct a cell phone conversation or texting/emailing session, we’re all in danger of being hit by an oncoming vehicle or an irritated bystander. It would be thinning the herd, so to speak.

Today the local paper carried an article about risks & side effects for a new class of medication.

Researchers are developing drugs to address addictions like smoking or compulsive eating. The current, innovative mode of attack seems to be blocking pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response to the addictive behavior.

Unsurprisingly, the rate of adverse effects & complications from these medications are high. Depression – rapid, serious, suicidal depression – seems to be a complaint, and appears to be related to the pleasure-center blocking function. Gee, anhedonia can cause depression? Who would have thought?

As a result, the drugs are not recommended for patients with depression or other mood-related mental health issues. Although I have no empirical evidence, it seems to me that the correlation of addictive behavior with mood disorder patients is much higher than with the general population. Depression, OCD, anxiety all seem to be natural partners with addiction. This would eliminate a huge percentage of the target market.

The thing that distressed me most about the article was the bias toward drug approval. These fairly catastrophic side effects were impacting initial or continued approval of the drugs in the US. The agenda seems to be that drug approval – we need more pills, big pharma needs more revenue – is far more important than safety or side effects.

Sad.

According to my girth, I should be a 90 foot redwood! ~ Erma Bombeck

Some recent not-so-great medical news in the extended family has served as a wake-up call for me.

I’m quite tall, big-boned and broad shouldered – the word statuesque seems a somewhat inadequate description. I also naturally tend to overweight, and compound the problem with bad eating habits and a very sedentary lifestyle.

A few years ago, I lost a lot of weight (about 85 lbs) by eating very low-carb and exercising like a madwoman. I made progress until I hurt myself by exercising over-zealously – then I ended up drifting back into my old, bad habits. I slowly gained 2/3 of what I’d lost back.

Well, after hearing about others’ medical risks, and taking a good long look in the mirror (scary!) I’m refocusing on getting healthy.

I’ve returned to a controlled carb (and controlled portion) eating plan – I’m taking sort of a South Beach diet approach, controlling carbs less-strictly and watching saturated fats, which I think is more sustainable in the long run than ultra low carb. I’ve started alternating walking and doing yoga as well. In the past month my jeans have gone from tight to pretty loose, which is encouraging. I have plenty of clothes in the next couple sizes down, unfortunately!

Last time I lost weight, I was pretty obsessed with counting carbs & calories, weigh-ins and inch loss. (Have I mentioned I’m slightly OCD?) This time around, I’m seeking that sustainable, balanced approach and avoiding scales & measuring tapes. My goal is just eating healthier and exercising more – and increased fitness level, gradual clothing size change and better medical test results should tell the tale.

I am such a foodie, I’m applying that approach to this eating plan as well; hopefully, no one will get bored. We will still tend to eat organic & fresh, rather than processed, and continue to avoid additives like MSG and sodium nitrite. (Tonight’s dinner: grilled halibut w/ herb butter, roasted red/yellow peppers, spinach & strawberry salad w/ balsamic vinaigrette)

This isn’t a diet blog – and won’t become one. How boring would that be? I just wanted to let folks know what is going on – this is pretty serious for me.

Some parts of the Seattle area got up to 5″ of snow last night – we’re fortunate that we only accumulated a half inch.

Pictures taken by Zach.

The smug husband has traveled to the other side of the mountains on business, driving the indefatigable Maggie the MINI. (And I’m back home again.)

The weather prognosticators are now telling us this:

Forecasters expect 1 to 2 feet of show through Saturday in the Cascade passes, where the snow level is expected at 1,000 feet.

So, if you happen to be talking to the weather gods this weekend, please remember him!

He is a cautious driver, and if it does get bad in the passes he’ll probably drive south and around through the Columbia Gorge. A 7-hour drive is better than a night spent sitting in his car waiting on avalanche control.

Update: the new picture, above, is from a Stevens Pass webcam at 11:30am Friday.

Update 2: he got home just fine at 8:30pm. The worst holdup was actually the 90-min wait for the Kingston ferry.