SANDS OF TIME

Time keeps on slippin' ......

What a minute: How — or more correctly, when — did this happen?

Today is July 1, meaning that half of the year is already over. Seems we'd just gotten used to writing “;2009”; on our checks and memos.

It's been an eventful half-year, and with the new fiscal year starting today comes a host of increased prices: for gasoline, city buses, zoo admission, vehicle and property taxes, and Waikiki parking meters, to name a few. And state furloughs are looming.

Ah well. Try to stay positive. And maybe 2010 will be better.

TALL TALES

Check it out before you hit 'forward'

For those itchy-fingered e-mailers who can't resist forwarding every outlandish tale they hear on the Internet, a plea: Check out snopes.com. The Web site's rumor detectives have heard it all, checked it out and debunked most of it. That photographic evidence of a jet breaking up in flight? Screen shots from “;Lost.”; If knowledge is power, then false information is a brain drain. Snopes.com, with its dedication to research and reason, is a site to bookmark.

STAY POSITIVE

Teens' perceived risk high

U.S. adolescents overestimate their risk for dying prematurely, and a new analysis shows that this mistaken belief contributes to dangerous behavior — fueling a vicious cycle of fatalism and risk-taking.

Given that the perceived risk for untimely death is a powerful marker for involvement in health-jeopardizing behaviors, such as drug use and unsafe sex, adolescents should be screened about their perceptions, said the study, published in the journal Pediatrics.

A question about perceived risk for death could be incorporated into a discussion of future school, work, and career plans and goals. The answers could give caring adults the chance to intervene before kids act on their negative thinking and actually shorten their lives.