Want to live longer, men? Speak up.

Anybody who walks into a nursing home can see the imbalance. Most people's grandmothers outlive their grandfathers, and 85 percent of centenarians are women.

Eighty percent of Americans who have a serious drug addiction are men; more than 80 percent of drunk drivers are men; during young adulthood, the peak age for homicide, suicide and accidental death, three men die for every woman.

Women visit the doctor more often than men, and nearly twice as often for preventive care, according to a 2001 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And a survey done by Harris Interactive for the American Academy of Family Physicians. released in June 2007 showed that 78 percent of all married men who visited a doctor had been influenced to come in by their wives.

Men -- there's no need for this imbalance!

If only I'd had this when I worked in Needham!

Tired of having your food stolen by sticky-fingered coworkers or roommates?
Well, worry no more . . . Anti-Theft Lunch Bags are sandwich bags that have green splotches printed on both sides, making your freshly prepared lunch look spoiled.
Don't suffer the injustice of having your sandwich stolen again!
Protect your lunch with Anti-Theft Lunch Bags.

In praise of clunkers

This hits home for me.

I drive a (payment-free) 1996 (or '95, depending on whom you believe) Toyota Camry with 210,000 miles on it. It's not glamorous.
I, too, have parked down the street en route to fancy events, and I've cursed its old-car smell and tape-deck stereo millions of times.
But to be honest....it has no major mechanical or structural defects. I haven't had to get a new battery, brakes or timing belt in over five years.
I lost an antenna a while back, but this jalopy still finds a way to get (most) radio stations.

The e-break doesn't work as of late, but then again -- who cares if it rolls down a hill into a lake?

Putting it all in perspective

New York Times:
You Try to Live on 500K in This Town

• Private school: $32,000 a year per student.
• Mortgage: $96,000 a year.
• Co-op maintenance fee: $96,000 a year.
• Nanny: $45,000 a year.

We are already at $269,000, and we haven’t even gotten to taxes yet.

Five hundred thousand dollars — the amount President Obama wants to set as the top pay for banking executives whose firms accept government bailout money — seems like a lot, and it is a lot.

To many people in many places, it is a princely sum to live on.

But in the neighborhoods of New York City and its suburban enclaves where successful bankers live, half a million a year can go very fast.

This is ... amazing

Snow emergencies matter in Somerville, where storms bring a blizzard of tickets and tows.
Since 2007, the city has allowed residents to sign up for voice and e-mail alerts so they know when to move their cars for the plows.


But can you dance to it? Thanks to Cosmo Catalano, now you can.


He took an official snow-emergency announcement and set it to a techno beat.

Listen to a clip at the Globe's Web site.

North Shore Music Theatre fundraising makes progress

A "Save Our Theatre" campaign for North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly is making headway, allowing for fund-raising efforts to continue into April.


Theater officials have said $500,000 is needed in the short term and a total of $4 million by late spring for the theater to reopen for another season.

A benefit performance and auction event at Danversport Yacht Club Tuesday attracted 650 people and raised $45,000, bringing the total raised since December to more than $300,000.

More is expected from two fund-raisers in New York tomorrow and Tuesday.

The theater closed after its performance season ended Jan. 11. All 57 employees were laid off.

A volunteer committee of trustees, former employees, alumni, and parents has organizedfund-raising.

Officials said in December that the tough economy, lower-than-expected tickets sales and donations, and a 2005 fire contributed to the closure.
.

Nutty for nutella

The Italian chocolate and hazelnut spread has its devoted fans.

Do a Google search for "Nutella," the Italian hazelnut-chocolate spread that comes in a squat jar like peanut butter and is often found right next to it in grocery aisles, and you'll get about 5 million results.

Which is about twice what you get when you Google "chocolate chip cookies" -- and several times as many as the phrase "Valentine's Day chocolates."

You might want to remember that this weekend.

Because Nutella isn't just junk food with a European pedigree. It can be an obsession, a habit, even a cult.

If you think this is foodie hyperbole, you're just not among the initiated.

I'm a Porsche 911! What are you?

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. 

Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite, and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

.

Having recently discovered thick spaghetti.....

I know how satisfying and fun to eat it can be.

So I'm going to try this Sicilian Pesto with thick pasta:

Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box (a pound) thick spaghetti
  
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
  
• 2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes, divided
  
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1/4 cup walnuts*
  
• 1/4 cup pine nuts*
  
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
  
• 1 tsp. salt
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 pound cooked medium shrimp
  

PESTO SAUCE

Place basil, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, olive oil, Parmigiano cheese, walnuts, pine nuts, ricotta cheese, salt and pepper in blender or food processor; blend until creamy.

COOK Spaghetti according to package directions; adding cooked shrimp during last one minute of cook time. Drain and return to pot.

ADD pesto sauce to hot Spaghetti with shrimp; toss. Transfer to serving platter; sprinkle with remaining cherry tomatoes.

To use only one variety of nut, double to ½ cup.

* I make pesto all the time without nuts. If you're allergic, leave 'em out.

10-year-old Stump wins it!

We watched all of last night, from best in category to best in show.

Who couldn't root for Stump? After a brush with death followed by a long break from competition five years ago, he came back to win as a rare breed (a Sussex spaniel) and the oldest dog ever to win the cup.

Congrats to Stump!

See more photos on Boston.com.

Video of the Day: Giraffe birth

The best is when the baby can't figure out how to stand up and the mother just kicks him until he figures it out:

"Eat Sushi. Live Longer."

How much do Arlingtonians crave sushi?

At least five Japanese restaurants have opened their doors in Arlington in the last 18 months.

The newest is Tsunami, a long shoebox of a building in Arlington Center that still manages to hold its own among the new Asian spots.

Tsunami's mantra is not subtle: "Eat sushi. Live longer."

Tsunami Japanese Cuisine
669 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington
Telephone: 781-648-5888
http://www.arlingtonjapanesecuisine.com/
Open Sunday-Monday 5-10 p.m.,
Tuesday-Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

• Major credit cards accepted
  
• Wine and sake
  
• Handicapped accessible
  
• Takeout available
  

Video of the day: brush those chompers