iPhone price drops

In San Francisco today, Steve Jobs introduced new models of iPods - Yay! To me, they look cool and I can't wait to head up to my nearest Apple store to check them out.

In a surprise move at the end of his presentation, Jobs also announced a $200 price drop in the iPhone. So, there is no more excuse for you out there on the fence thinking about getting this nifty device. Now, there is some considerable whining out there in some areas of Apple nation. There's this post: "Apple screwed you: So now what?"

Some people out there who stood in line in late June for this thing are talking about how to get refunds. "The early adopter tax" one person is calling it. All I have to say is this: Stop the whining!

Just admit that you had an urge to get the hottest piece of tech out there and told yourself you had to have it. I bought mine about a month ago and I don't think Apple screwed me with the price. If I thought it was too expensive then, I just wouldn't have bought the thing. Gimme a break!

Dr. A Live Tomorrow!

I'm happy to announce that I've been able to work out in my schedule the time for the next Dr. A show. It will be Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 4pm Eastern Time.

I was pleasantly surprised how many people listened live and listened on the archives. Thanks so much for your support of the show. (image credit)

The official/unofficial title of this week's show is "The Doctor Anonymous Challenge." Hmmm.... What could that be? I'm not going to explain it at all before the show on Thursday.

The possibilities are endless and I'll let all of you speculate on what it could be. What I can tell you is that I think it will be fun and a unique way for you to participate in the show.

So, write it in your calendar, or put the date and time in your PDA. Me? It's already in my trusty iPhone so that I don't forget.

What? You haven't checked out the first show yet? (Thanks SeaSpray for the review!) Well, just check out this link or simply hit the play button in my sidebar below the BlogTalkRadio button. And, enjoy! See you tomorrow.....

TV linked to ADD?

You're probably aware of the links that have been made between television (image credit) and a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and diabetes. Now, there is new data stating that children who watch 2-3 hours of TV a day - early in life - may lead to attention problems later in life. (Reuters)

The link was established by a long-term study of the habits and behaviors of more than 1,000 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973.

The children aged 5 to 11 watched an average of 2.05 hours of weekday television. From age 13 to 15, time spent in front of the tube rose to an average of 3.1 hours a day.

"Those who watched more than two hours, and particularly those who watched more than three hours, of television per day during childhood had above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence," Carl Landhuis of the University of Otago in Dunedin wrote in his report, published in the journal Pediatrics.

Personally, I find this study interesting because I was born around the time frame in which this study was done. Can I draw any conclusions to my own life or the lives of my peers growing up? Hmmmmmm.....

Now, I do admit that I probably watched the same amount of television at the study participants (does video game playing count in that number?). Here is one of the theories reviewed in the article for this association.

One was that the rapid scene changes common to many TV programs may overstimulate the developing brain of a young child, and could make reality seem boring by comparison.

"Hence, children who watch a lot of television may become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks, such as school work," [Landhuis] wrote.

It was also possible that TV viewing may supplant other activities that promote concentration, such as reading, games, sports and play, [Landhuis] said. The lack of participation inherent in TV watching might also condition children when it comes to other activities.

The study was not proof that TV viewing causes attention problems, Landhuis said, because it may be that children prone to attention problems may be drawn to watching television.

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is so multifactorial, it's very difficult to pin one thing down as THE cause. However, I do admit that sometimes I "become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks." Maybe I should watch less television and, say, blog more. What you do think?

Flu Shots: Kudos to Sanofi Pasteur

As many of you know who regularly read this blog, my pulse rises a little bit when talking about flu shots. (image credit) I admit that I directed much of this frustration at the companies who produce the flu shots. Check out my posts - Flu Shot Rant and Flu Shot Rant: Part Deux.

Someone in my office mentioned flu shots last week. As my almost started another rant right there in the office, my staff told me that we just received our first partial shipment of flu shots from Sanofi Pasteur. Hmmmm.... That's interesting.

As I did some investigating on this, I found this news story from the AP and I also found a press release from about three weeks ago.

Swiftwater, PA. - Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis SA, has started shipping the first of about 50 million doses of flu vaccine it expects to produce this season.

The first doses are being shipped to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the Vaccines For Children program and to private doctors and other health care providers.

Sanofi Pasteur makes about half the worldwide supply of influenza vaccine and more than 40 percent of the U.S. supply, the company said in a statement.

The distribution, sent to providers in partial shipments, is scheduled to continue through the end of October. Influenza rates typically peak in February, according to CDC data.

So, I'm going to give credit where credit is due. Of course, there was very little press at the time. News is only made when the flu shots are late as they have been the past few years. However, congratulations to Sanofi Pasteur for being ahead of the curve this year.

Here are the big questions that my office is now asking: When should we announce to our patients that we have some flu shots? What date should be pick to give out the flu shots? What happens when our patients find out when we have some flu shots?

As stated by the Centers for Disease Control, an influenza season may extend as far as the late spring. So, theoretically, someone could get the flu shot too early and not be protected for a possible late influenza epidemic.

Of course, when our office begins giving the flu shot will be determined by market forces. This means that when some of the supermarkets and other retailers start giving out their shots, that's definitely when our office will be getting the phone calls.

But, getting back to my point, I'm glad that we received a partial supply in August. If your office ordered flu shots this year, have you received a partial shipment yet?

Parents blamed for pre-school stress

In many communities across the United States, the first day of school is usually the day after the Labor Day weekend. (image credit) As (some) parents rejoice and (some) kids dread the start of another school year, there is new research data being released stating that parents cause kids more stress when starting school.

Before all the parents who read my blog start to throw things at me, I'm just reporting a news story here (smile). This study is from the UK and courtesy of icWales. The study looked at kids who are starting school for the first time.

Scientists measured the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in children two weeks after they had started primary school and then again six months later. They also took cortisol measurements three to six months before the children started school to provide baseline levels for comparison.

The researchers said they were surprised to find that, far from providing a baseline, children’s cortisol levels were already high several months before the start of the school term.

High rates of the hormone can even make children more susceptible to colds and other minor illnesses.

Dr Julie Turner-Cobb, from Bath University, who led the research, said, “This suggests that stress levels in anticipation of starting school begin to rise much earlier than we expected.”

Dr Turner-Cobb said it was unclear why pre-school children would become anxious so far in advance, but suggested that parents were getting stressed about their children starting school and were passing those fears onto their children.

The article goes on to talk about how things were easier when they had an older sibling who already went through the "starting school" process. The article also talks about how the first day of school can also be tough on parents.

Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make some of these assumptions. But, I thought the cortisol data was interesting. Any thoughts out there on the stress level of kids and parents when it comes to the first day of school?

Dr. A with My Three Shrinks

My Three Shrinks from the Shrink Rap blog (say that fast three times) just posted their latest podcast. And, I'm happy to say that I was honored for them to ask me to be on their podcast. We have been working for weeks to try to match up our schedules and it finally happened.

From the "computer geeky" aspect, it was really cool. We used skype to conduct the interview, which I've never done before. And, just FYI, they are about 300 miles away and the connection was so clear that it sounded like they were just in the room next door.

From a professional point of view, it was quite exciting to actually talk and interact with the people that I've only had one-way electronic communication with in the past. At one point in the podcast, Roy encourages me to interject myself into the conversation because I may not get a word in during a spirited part of the conversation.

I know that I had a lot of fun being on their show, and I hope that another opportunity comes up in the future to do that again. I hope you enjoy the podcast. Here is My Three Shrinks #32.