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President Barack Obama’s recent physical examination revealed that he is in generally good health -– and that he is still trying to quit smoking. His doctor’s advice: keep up his "smoking cessation efforts"; in other words, he should keep trying to kick the habit.

Stress is one of the reasons people give for not being able to quit smoking, says Susan Rausch, health educator at the Pat Walker Health Center and co-chair of the University of Arkansas’ FRESH campaign to promote the Tobacco Free Campus policy.

Your son or daughter comes home from school with questions about energy. How do you begin to explain such a vast concept?

Teaching kids about energy starts with conveying that there are many forms of energy around us and even inside us. Life as we know it would not exist without energy. Energy is so important that all food packages list Calories, an old energy unit. Energy is either stored or involved with motion.

Every mother loves her kids and every woman loves her black pants. It’s as simple as that. In fact, approximately 99.99% of the female population in the United States adores, and requires an ample supply of, black pants.

This is because only black pants are, at once, sophisticated, versatile, slenderizing and, well, basic. Also they hide most stains though, admittedly, are brutal when it comes to pet hair. So most self-respecting women fill their closet or, if they are so fortunate, closets, with numerous pairs of black pants which they have accumulated over the course of many years.

Hollywood movies and TV shows are almost never filmed in the real Hollywood, a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. Some studios used to be there, but many years ago most production companies moved to other parts of the greater "LA" area. This is why tourists who go to the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. rarely see anything interesting. But I do ...

By now, Americans are familiar with the stories of Canadians who would have died because of their government's health care rationing had they not been able to get care in the United States. Perhaps just as troubling, however, are the less dramatic but much more common instances of minor indignities, inequities and inconveniences imposed by the Canadian health care system.

A great deal of attention is being paid to the who, how, and when of being a Boomer. Who are Boomers, really? How will we change the concept of aging? When will the average Boomer choose to retire, if ever? But, what about the "where" part of the puzzle?

How long has it been since you've been out on a date, or even considered entering the dating scene again? Perhaps you've been eyeing those murky waters for a while, wondering how to start ... and maybe even wondering why you'd want to bother.

Elderly and seriously ill patients frequently rely on private long-term care or disability insurance to pay for their home care. More and more, however, these patients are being denied benefits as insurers rigorously scrutinize claims to determine the extent of coverage. Many patients turn to their caregivers to help deal with insurers or handle the paperwork, which is usually confusing and so filled with "legalese" it requires a lawyer to comprehend it.

An old joke is, "What kind of work are you out of?" Except maybe now it's not a joke. Another old line is, "What are you going to be when you grow up?" But I think, if you have the right attitude, that's still a good question.

One day soon (if it hasn't happened already) you'll wake up with a new goal: Find another way to have fun and make money.