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February 2004
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A really busy year

Jim Guest
As readers of Consumer Reports , you get advice in every issue. What few people know is that as head of Consumers Union, I get advice from the staff--the entire staff, every day. They left me a list last month as a reminder to fill in my new calendar with some of that advice from the pages of past issues. Here’s what I’ve written in so far:

• This month I’m trying hard to eat some chocolate (OK, I don’t have to try that hard), because a Harvard University study found that participants who ate sweets lived, on average, almost a year longer that those who didn’t.

• In March I’ll switch cell-phone carriers and keep my old number, since regulations finally allow it.

• In April I’ll clean my dehumidifier. (Then in September I’ll clean my humidifier.)

• In July I’ll be sure to take my scheduled vacation, because I’ll be 32 percent less likely to die from coronary disease if I do. But before I go, I’ll check my health- and auto-insurance policies; the Transportation Department Web site for the performance of each airline; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site for cruise-ship health histories; and the State Department’s current list of travel warnings. (I wonder if the government knows of a good hotel. …)

• In September, if I use a chainsaw to help my brother-in-law cut firewood, I’ll wear hearing protection, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, nonslip gloves, goggles, a hard hat with a face screen, protective chaps, and work boots with a steel-reinforced toe area.

• In October I’ll check my car battery and decide which brand and model to buy when this one gives out.

• In November I’ll make copies of all my financial and legal documents and give a set to my family and a set to my lawyer.

• Every week I’ll be sure to consume 14 to 21 servings of meat, beans, nuts, or eggs; 35 to 63 servings of fruits and vegetables; 14 to 21 servings of low-fat or nonfat dairy products; 56 glasses of water; and 42 to 77 servings of grain.

• Twice a week I’ll take my omega-3 fatty-acid pill, because I can’t guarantee that I’ll eat fish with all that “good fat” in it.

• Once a year I’ll check my credit report.

• Twice a year I’ll change my car’s wiper blades.

• Twice a year I’ll rotate the tires.

Good advice, and really, folks, I’ll do my best to fit it all in. I’ve even left a few dates open, which is fortunate since I see some telltale interoffice memos in my mail box--advance notice of the good advice in upcoming issues of the magazine. And if it’s in Consumer Reports, we know we can trust it.

Now, about that chocolate; didn’t I see some study …
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Jim Guest
President