Scientifically it has been shown that playing games of certain types can sharpen your wit and intellect and even stave off some of the ailments associated with aging, such as forgefulness, senility and even help against Alzheimer’s.  Numerous studies have shown that people who played Chess, or other mentally sharpening game had lower incidents of such ailments later in life and that continuing to “use your brain” decreases its rate of decay.  Like the old proverb “use it or lose it” the same holds true with any muscle in the body, if your muscles are not used they will eventually atrophy and weaken.  The brain is another muscle in this way, if you don’t challenge it and keep your mental faculties stimulated and sharpened, it will start to deteriorate.

This is where gaming comes in, whether it be online gaming, internet gaming, board games, but make sure you play games that actually require you to calculate and think to solve them.  Simply playing solitaire does not stimulate enough neurons to really charge the brain cells I would imagine.  A game which has you have to think about multiple possible scenario’s, or solve a puzzle can help keep you mentally sharp.  I enjoy many mental games, role playing games which are centered on vast numbers, calculations for attack, damage, hit points, experience, skills, feats and require much involvement and thought I find are good constructive ways to stimulate my brain.  I also play chess, stratego, risk and other games whenever I get a chance.

Writing is found to be another way to stimulate your brain and prevent the same mental decline or at least help slow the rate at which it occurs, creating poetry, literature, reading does this to some effect but not as much as writing as writing you have to imagine and think of the words rather than just see them and repeat them.  Everyone can use mental wit sharpening and there is even cases of games specifically designed for this such as Brain Age for Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii.  Soduku I imagine is another game that helps stimulate as it requires you to figure out patterns and sequences of numbers which range in complexity.

Bottom line is that the brain is another muscle and need not be wasted when you can keep it stimulated so it will stay intact for years to come.

This is just one of my personal insights, and isn’t based solely on medical fact, if you read Science Daily and Medical Journals you will see there are studies that show that games and mental exercises help combat mental degeneration but they are just studies, there is no scientific proof, yet it would make sense when you think about it.

-Justin Germino

As I am in Las Vegas right now for the first time during New Years, I think back and reflect on all that has happened in 2008.

This has been a rough year for my household and I vow to never stop trying to model myself the following way:

I vow to be a better Father, I can always use more patience and understanding and modeling how I am and act is the best way for my sons to learn from their dad how to be a man.  I also vow to be a better husband, nobody is perfect and mistakes are made around the board.  I have my fair share and anyone who thinks they are perfect is someone who has gotten too complacent and content, never stop working to please your partner and being a better person for them.

Mainly I use 2009 as a turning point to grow and not repeat mistakes made in 2008 and previous years, to try to be a better person, continue to identify my strengths and weaknesses and try to improve on area’s that can be improved.  Most of all I strive for knowledge, understanding and the ability to make sense of it all and use what I learn effectively.

Happy New Year Everyone,

Justin Germino

I had only about $10 left on one of my gift cards and was doing research on what to buy or to find to utilize the last bit, when I stumbled across an article by Betterbudgeting.com that lists 63 gifts all under $10.  This made me think of all of the things one can get that have very little cost other than some time and effort which of course can be priceless in some scenario’s.

I am still on m quest to spend my last $10 of my giftcard to find something I can use, since this giftcard was awarded to me from my job, I decided to spend it on myself.  I just bought a replacement Turtle Beach HPA2 Microphone with some of it, since my 2 year old dunked the last microphone in my iced tea and shorted it out.

-Justin Germino

This post is dedicated to everyone who has ever had to struggle for anything in their lives and is continuing to struggle whether it be financially, socially or personally.  I have been through many struggles and challenges in my life so far and know that there is more around the corner each and every year.  Sometimes I do get depressed about what has happened and what may happen in the future, and sometimes I get stressed and depressed when in the middle of a difficult time.  When this occurs I always try to find some common ground to help even the odds, part of this comes in my always wanting to balance the odds.

When I am struggling financially I often will seek out blogs, charities and deliberately go read about the struggles of millions of people who are so much worse off then I am, this will make me sit back and as any kind of human being realize that I am being fickle in my complaints and should be more thankful I have all that I have as many others do not have as much as I.  For those of you who struggle to get Christmas gifts for your children, or to pay your mortgage, cars or are just out of a job, you can look at it this way.  Unemployment in the United States is considered wealth by some 3rd world countries where they literally starve to death their bellies distended from lack of food and nutrition.  People do come back from difficult times all it takes is hard work, patience and belief that you can work your way out of a rut.  Pull together with family and friends, and if you are one of the many losing your job in this economy then do your best to put yourself on Government retraining programs, Financial and Health assistance programs.  Sign up for everything you can and leverage it to help get you back on your feet.

For those of you who are struggling socially or personally due to self confidence issues or legitimate medical problems don’t despair, there is hope yet for everyone.  Medical issues do have treatments in most cases and all else can be overcome by sheer personality and force of will.  If you are shy or depressed due to being overweight for example, you may have tried to do anything including diets, working out and taking diet pills but instead of focusing on these things you should instead focus on being happy with who you are first.  One thing I have seen in this world is that people come in all shapes, sizes and colors and there is somebody for everyone.  For those who are afraid to put themselves out for the public viewing, you have only one life to live it is better to take a risk and take a chance, than to do nothing at all with it.  One example is if you are artistic, then explore and release your art so others may see.

Everyone remember that we all live on this world just one time and it is up to you to get the most out of your life, you can believe their is another life after this one or that there is an afterlife and even if there is that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make the most out of this one.  Life is too short to be beaten back and down, rise up and think about what you can do to improve your life or at least develop a better more positive way of thinking so that you aren’t suffering mentally.

These are just some of my insights and thoughts, I can only hope that they help inspire some of you.

-Justin Germino

So yesterday morning my wife and baby go to eat breakfast at IHOP before I have to start working for the day.  We sit down at a booth and start to order drinks and our usual breakfasts.  I do love IHOP pancakes and I always get the Sampler and split the scrambled eggs and hashbrowns with my little one.

A lone gentlement probably somewhere between 55 and 65 years of age sitting just behind us in a booth decides to engage us in conversation out of the blue.  The man first inquires about the toy Woody doll that my baby carries around, he claims he has seen that doll somewhere but couldn’t place it.  I informed him it was the Toy Story Woody Doll and that jogged his memory.

The man proceeded to say that the usually doesn’t talk to strangers but there is something about us that makes him feel old.  He said he had six kids the oldest being thirty five and the youngest being eleven years old.  He also apologizes for wasting our time and talking to us and said he would “shut up now”.

The odd fellow just kept engaging us in conversation throughout our entire meal however, at first it was polite and friendly questions.  When he asked my wife how old she was, I was a little disturbed, point blank asking a woman her age is not proper etiquette and can be downright rude.  I know he was doing it to illustrate that we were “babies” compared to him, but it was still rude.

When he found out that I was from New York the conversation turned weirder still.  He asked if I was an Italiano, not Italian clearly defining the stereotype difference.  I politely joked with him about it, and then he took a phone conversation with someone and once again I overheard him joking about if another family member was Italiano, then he told the person he was talking to on the phone that he met some nice people and one of them was a New Yorker, and also an Italiano.

I have been stereotyped before but was kind of odd, in the thirteen years I have been living in Arizona less and less people seemed to stereotype me as a New York Italian, but today was a throwback I guess.  He might as well called me a mobster and a greasy WOP.  Meanwhile my wife was shaking her head and kept giving me looks like “don’t encourage him”.  I told her that if my skin was dark he would have asked “Are you part black?”

I joked with her and said that if I told him I was 1/2 Jewish do you think it would help or hurt my case?  Seriously, whats up with the stereotyping.  Not all Italians from New York are Mafia wannabe’s who just talk trash and are up to no good scams… wait, hmmm so many are no wonder why there is this stereotype.

That is my funny story folks, the funny thing is these types of things happen to us all the time, weird strangers just talking to us out of the blue.  We had an old Native American woman in a shoe store, she was so ancient that her hands were like parched leather, she had a wise elder look about her.  When our first baby was only a few months old she had walked over and touched the baby’s foot and said some words in a dialect I can’t understand.  Smiling we can only assume she said some sort of shamanistic blessing to our baby, that is what we joke anyways.

-Justin Germino

I am not a psychologist, therapist or have taken any courses or training in such topics.  I can only post based on my experience and my point of view and opinions.  As a fairly intelligent person who has gone through personal insecurity and self image problems over the years I can speak to this subject since I have gone through these things myself.

If you find yourself the type of person who looks at yourself in the mirror and only see’s what is wrong and what you wish you could change about yourself, then this post is targeted at you.  I myself used to be that kind of person, perfectionism that was unattainable, can’t stand the way I look, loathed myself and hid behind various mental traps that kept me in that way of thinking.

I started to really turn my way of thinking on its head over the past few years and especially recently, instead of focusing on what was bad, or what I wished I could change, I forced and reminded myself to only point out what I thought was good or decent and ignore the rest.  Then I started thinking we should apply this attitude and way of thinking toward everything in life.

So with conscious effort at first and it comes easier once you make it a learned habit you start looking and pointing out only the things you like about anything, instead of nitpicking and only noticing the things you dislike and find unappealing.  These can be simple things from eating a meal in a restaurant, instead of complaining about what was bad, start by instead thinking about what you did like and ditch the rest unless you are a food critic.

If you see yourself in the mirror and are unhappy with something about yourself then point out something you like about yourself and forget about the rest.  The more confidence and positive attitude you have the more charisma you will display.  Charisma is not just how you look physically, it is how you come off and your aura that is picked up on by other people.  Confident optimistic people tend to draw people near them who want to hear what they have to say, whereas dark brooding and self defeating types tend to be isolated and lone.  Sarcastic types can become isolated as well unless their sarcasm is shared among who they are with.

Remember it takes conscious effort to reprogram how you think and you will slip up from time to time, but take my advice I am generally a happier person now deliberately noticing what is good and fine rather than constantly noticing what I don’t like.  I am also much more accepting of my own self and in turn I feel lighter, more confident and am happier as a result.

These are just some of my insights that I am sharing with you.

-Justin Germino

Again it would seem weekly an opportunity presents itself where I am faced with a choice to help someone or just walk by and turn the other cheek.  Yesterday I was walking my kids to the playground and noticed several teenagers in the play area in the grass.  There were pinning a smaller teenager to the ground with his hands pinned behind his back and the kid was laying on his face.

I immediately started walking over as I did not know if the kids were playing rough, or if they were being mean and harming the kids.  As I got closer the kids got up and I saw the smaller boy laughing and running around chasing them and they all went back to playing.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but had those kids been harming the other kids, I would not have walked away, I would have intervened and driven the kids off and made sure the smaller kid got home safely.  Too many times people walk by and ignore a fight among teens, kids or adults and do nothing about it.

I have seen my fair share of fights while in New York and the horrendious and vicious public school systems there, I have been on the receiving end of group fights where nobody intervenes.  There just is no acceptable way to allow such actions to be committed and turn the other way in my opinion.

I had my little boys with me and I would never want them to be treated that way if they were older, if they saw another kid being hurt I would be proud of my kid for trying to stand up and protect someone, I would not want to instill the “look the other way” attitude because it is wrong and if more people looked out for each other this would be a better place.

-Justin Germino

My in-laws who are a very big part of my life needed some assistance changing light bulbs in their vaulted ceiling.  Now my Father in law is very ill and on full time oxygen, and neither of them could climb a ladder.  I was more than willing and happy to assist, and they made me and their grandkids dinner for coming over to help them.  Such a simple task such as changing 3 light bulbs and they appreciated my effort so much.

These are good caring people and it made me think about this, do you take the little stuff for granted?  Take some extra time to notice people who do small things to assist and help you, determine if you are appreciating them enough and their efforts.  Go out of your way to do something to help someone, a stranger, a friend or anyone.  There isn’t enough kindess in this world and just doing a simple act every day or as often as possible goes a long way.

If everyone would try to do just one kind and helpful thing per day, we would see the whole face of the world change with this one thought and this one positive belief.  That instead of seeing what the world and people can do for you, what can you do to help other people?

Example, the other day I saw an elderly lady in a Walmart parking lot fighting to lift an empty shopping cart out of a pothole, sixteen people walked right past her.  I walked over to her and grabbed the cart and lifted out and moved it to flatter even surface for her.  How can people just ignore someone who obviously needs some assistance?

Mull on that today, I know everyday I will never pass the opportunity to do the following simple acts:

-Justin Germino

Sometimes it just takes time to heal from some fights and emotional damage that can occur in any relationship.  Even the best of relationships can have an occasional argument, or after being together for years your partner may make a choice or a decision that seems selfish and harms the relationship, but if they are truly sorry and regret and come back into the relationship as a result the relationship may be salvaged.

The main thing you have to acknowledge is there is no quick fix, you cannot magically undo emotional hurt and damage.  You must give it some time and reinforce each others feelings with empathy, respect, and open honest communication.  Some fights and arguments heal within a few days, others can take weeks or months to fully recover.  I have been told this advice and think it is quite sound:

“Listen to your heart and not always your mind”

Remember that human beings are fragile creatures and prone to error and mistakes, we are all human and all deserve a second chance as long as we learn and grow.  You need to be able to learn to trust each other and express each others open and honest feelings without putting blame or judging anyone.  Do your best to make your partner feel less like a target even if they are the cause of some of your feelings.

In time if both of you think you can recover from the previous fight or strain on the relationship then you both likely will, but this can only happen if both parties can see recovery and still find something good in one another to build as a foundation for rebuilding.  Try creating a list with each other of all the things you like about each other, never create a list of things you dislike or wish were different.  Try to be optimistic and positive, and if both of you are still angered or have your tempers set off, then just put a little distance between yourselves in separate rooms for a few hours or a day.  Avoid going and spending time with your friends or buddies and waiting for your partner to cool down, this will only aggravate the situation as when one or both people are emotionally hurt, the other party should not be seeking to have fun while things cool down.  Use this as a time to reflect and see if there are things you could do to be more understanding, forgiving or if you were the one who caused the issue, reflect on the what, why and do you feel like you have learned something and want to continue the relationship and rebuild.

Just some pieces of advice that I have been trying to follow and seem to be helping in my own relationship, I hope this advice helps you a little.

-Justin Germino

My wife and I have never been big on “Black Friday” shopping, and have always heard horror stories about what its like to get up at 3am to go to the store and get the “best deals” on the one day only sales.  We just weren’t those type of people, we are fairly comfortable and didn’t mind paying an extra few bucks to not have to do the rush and mob thing.

That being said this was tight year and when Walmart showed they had Power Wheels Jeep’s for $88 one day only at their Casa Grande store starting at 5am, we decided we would get one for each of our boys.  We got up at 4am this morning after barely sleeping, and waded down to the Walmart parking lot only to be astounded by it being almost completely packed.

We fought the herd and once inside the store there was a hundred people in line to the garden area where by the time they opened the doors each and every jeep was picked and scavenged by the first fifty people in line.  We stood no chance at all at getting one unless we had been there at like 2:30am instead of arriving exactly at 5 when the sale started.

We tried to navigate the aisled to see some other deals but fighting a crowd of vicious deal hungry people became too much to bear, after the second person was deliberately bashing her shopping cart and then backhandingly apologizing after we abandoned our cart and fled the store to save our sanity.

Here is my observation and it would seem true, the rudest, meanest and most greedy people seem to be the ones that do this type of mad rush.  They are impossibly vicious and try to save every last buck not because they are desperate or need the extra money but because that is they type of miser and scrooge that they are.

Desperate people who save every buck to at least have a Christmas do not have that intolerance, rude and “I am better than you” attitude that is only found with people who are doing well for themselves but still go the extra mile to save the extra five to ten dollars.

In summary, I shall never again bother to get up early for a Black Friday sale to save an extra twenty to thirty dollars over a few items.  It just isn’t worth the inconvenience and with online shopping easier than ever before I barely will do any local shopping at all anymore.  It isn’t the stores that are the problem, its the people and their rude, obnoxious and intolerable behavior.

-Justin Germino