Tony C. McCray Blog

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Tiger Woods on Track for Hero Debut

Tiger Woods will make his return to professional golf at the Hero World Open in his long-awaited return to golf in December.

Probably.

Considering he was supposed to make that same debut a week ago, forgive us for our skepticism.

The high-profile Hero World Open is an 18-player invitation-only. Already signed up to compete are the likes of Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jimmy Walker, Bubba Watson, and Jordan Spieth.

“I am excited to make my return at the Hero World Challenge at Albany and play in this terrific tournament,” Woods said in a statement released Tuesday. “This is our 18th year, and every year we put together a top field that showcases the best golfers from the previous season. Albany is an outstanding setting, and I can’t thank Hero MotoCorp enough for their support of the tournament and my foundation.”

Jason Day will not play the tournament because of back problems and Rory McIlroy will also sit out.

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Coetzee Early Leader at Turkish Open

South Africa’s George Coetzee wasn’t an official part of the Race to Dubai Top 60 but you’d never know it by the way he played the first round at the Turkish Open.

Coetzee was hot out of the gates, hitting the turn at 4-under and adding four more birdies between No. 10 and No. 16 before bogeying 17. Coetzee is ranked 160th in the world and finished 85th in the Race to Dubai standings this year.

“I’ve been missing a lot of cuts, I was really lucky to get into this event this week and I’m just trying to make the most of it,” he said.

“I’ve actually been playing better the last three or four weeks. The swing started to click a couple of weeks ago and I started shooting better scores and hitting better shots and it was just a question of putting everything together.

He’s a stroke ahead of Norway’s Thorbjorn Olesen (-6) who is ranked 92nd n the world and 38th in the Dubai standings. Olesen played a bogey-free round, and birdied four holes between No. 11 and No. 18.

The first round was a struggle for the Race to Dubai’s top 10. Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, who finished second in the regular season Race to Dubai, is tied for 21st at 2-under. Lee Westwood, ranked No. 10 in the Dubai standings, is tied for 30th.

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Aussie Pampling Hits Sizzling 60 at Shriners

Australian Rod Pampling fell just short of being the second man this year to shoot a sub-60 in a round, “settling” for a 60 at the first round of the Shriners Classic in Las Vegas.

The 47-year-old had seven birdies and a pair of eagles, but missed long putts on 17 and 18 that would have gotten him into the record books.

“The putt on 17 just fell short in the jaws, and on 18, I gave myself a bad read,” Pampling said. “I thought it was straight, but it just had that little left to right.

“I studied the hole a lot, and I looked at the book — all these new books have the slopes and everything in it. I was looking at it and making sure I was spot on. My eyes were telling me it was pretty straight. I hit it straight. It was on line when it started. It just had a little tail on it. I’m glad I gave it a chance. It didn’t come up short. I just picked a bad line.”

The dazzling round has him in the lead, but not by much. Several other players tore up the field as well. Americans John Huh and Brooks Koepka each shot 62 to sit two strokes back, with Billy Horschel firing a 64 to position himself four strokes back in fourth place.

Pampling shot a 6-under 29 on the front nine with four birdies and an eagle 2 on the par-4 No. 6. He was 11-under through 16 holes after eagling No. 16.

Huh was 3-under at the turn and 4-under through 12 before birdying five straight holes to shoot the back 9 with a 6-under 30.

The course was friendly to nearly every player. Eighty-three men were at least 1-stroke under par after 18 holes.

Pampling has bounced back between the PGA Tour and the Web.com tour the last few seasons. He has two PGA wins in his career, the most recent coming at Bay Hill in March of 2006.

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Wednesday, November 2, 2016

October 2016 Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Statistics Package with Charts

October 2016 REBGV Statistics Package Vancouver BC Mike Stewart Realtor from Mike Stewart

Home sale and listing activity dip below historical averages in October

Reduced home sale and listing activity are changing market dynamics in communities across Metro Vancouver*.

Residential property sales in the region totalled 2,233 in October 2016, a 38.8 per cent decrease from the 3,646 sales recorded in October 2015 and a 0.9 per cent decrease compared to September 2016 when 2,253 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 15 per cent below the 10-year October sales average.

“Changing market conditions compounded by a series of government interventions this year have put home buyers and sellers in a holding pattern,” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “Potential buyers and sellers are taking a wait-and-see approach to try and better understand what these changes mean for them.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,981 in October 2016. This represents a decrease of 3.5 per cent compared to the 4,126 units listed in October 2015 and a 17 per cent decrease compared to September 2016 when 4,799 properties were listed.

Last month’s new listing count was 9.5 per cent below the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 9,143, a 4.5 per cent decrease compared to October 2015 (9,569) and a 2.3 per cent decrease compared to September 2016 (9,354).

The sales-to-active listings ratio for October 2016 is 24.4 per cent. Generally, analysts say that downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

“While sales are down across the different property types, it’s the detached market that’s seen the largest reduction in home buyer demand in recent months,” Morrison said. “It’s important to work with your local REALTOR® to help you navigate today’s changing trends.”

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $919,300. This represents a 24.8 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 0.8 per cent decline compared to September 2016.

Sales of detached properties in October 2016 reached 652, a decrease of 54.6 per cent from the 1,437 detached sales recorded in October 2015. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,545,800. This represents a 28.9 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 1.4 per cent decrease compared to September 2016.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,178 in October 2016, a decrease of 23.7 per cent compared to the 1,543 sales in October 2015.The benchmark price of an apartment property is $512,300. This represents a 20.5 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 0.3 per cent increase compared to September 2016.

Attached property sales in October 2016 totalled 403, a decrease of 39.5 per cent compared to the 666 sales in October 2015. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $669,200. This represents a 25.7 per cent increase compared to October 2015 and a 1.1 per cent decrease compared to September 2016.

Download the complete stats package by clicking here.

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Low levels of HDL (the “good” cholesterol) appear connected to many health risks, not just heart disease

Most everyone these days is aware that a high level of cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease. For years, the thinking has been that there is “bad” cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and “good” cholesterol (HDL cholesterol). Studies of populations (epidemiological research) have clearly demonstrated a strong association between low levels of LDL cholesterol and a lower risk of developing heart disease. LDL cholesterol reduction with drugs such as statins has been demonstrated to reduce cardiovascular risk. Thus, both the epidemiology and the randomized clinical trials support LDL cholesterol’s role as a risk factor for heart disease — and that by lowering LDL we can lower the chances of heart attack and stroke.

With respect to HDL cholesterol, the epidemiology supports an association between high levels of HDL cholesterol and lower cardiovascular risk. However, unlike the LDL cholesterol story, recent clinical trials of drugs that specifically raise HDL cholesterol have not been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes. Why is there this disconnect? That has been a pressing question among cardiovascular researchers.

A paper that was just published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology sheds some light on the answer. In total, 631,762 people were studied. The authors found that low HDL cholesterol levels were associated with a number of factors that affect health, including low incomes, unhealthy lifestyles, higher triglycerides levels, other cardiac risk factors, and medical problems. Thus, the association between low HDL cholesterol and worse cardiovascular outcomes could be due to these other factors and not the low HDL cholesterol itself.

This study found that lower HDL cholesterol levels were associated with a higher risk of death from cardiovascular causes, as prior studies have shown. However, there was also a higher risk of death from cancer and other causes compared with those having average levels of HDL cholesterol. That finding makes it seem as though low HDL cholesterol isn’t just predicting cardiovascular death — which might make sense if it is really causing heart disease — but it is also predicting cancer deaths and other causes of death. And there is not a good biological explanation for why a low HDL cholesterol level should do that. The conclusion the authors reach is that low HDL cholesterol isn’t really causing any of these problems such as heart disease or cancer, but rather the underlying cause of the low HDL cholesterol, such as an unhealthy lifestyle, is the real driver of worse outcomes.

What does all this mean practically? Well, first of all, more research on the relationship between low HDL cholesterol and heart disease is still needed. There are some large clinical trials of HDL cholesterol raising drugs that are ongoing, so these studies may provide even greater insight into whether raising low HDL cholesterol protects cardiovascular health. In the meantime, it probably means that it is unlikely to be useful to take medications solely for the purpose of raising low HDL cholesterol levels. And if you have a low HDL cholesterol level, this study reinforces that exercise and a heart healthy diet are the way to go and might decrease some of the health risks seen in people with low HDL cholesterol levels.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

New Resources to Help Providers Maintain Access to Protected Health Information

As electronic health record (EHR) adoption becomes widespread, and providers increasingly embrace the patient engagement opportunities of digital health, EHR customers look to EHR vendors to ensure that health information is available where and when it is needed. And yet we know from our experience that many providers continue to face challenges when they seek […]

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Why experts recommend newborns sleep in their parents’ room for the first year

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If there’s anything parents of newborns are, it’s sleep-deprived. So getting the news that experts recommend that newborns sleep in the same room as their parents for the first 6-12 months was not exactly great news to those parents who are awakened by every snort and whimper. It also didn’t feel like great news to those couples that like a little, well, privacy from time to time.

But here’s the thing: keeping your baby in your room can cut the risk of sudden death by 50%, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Every year, about 3,500 babies die of sudden unexplained infant death (SUID). Some die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), some die from accidental strangulation or suffocation, and some die for reasons we never figure out. While there is much we don’t know about these deaths, we do know that putting babies on their backs rather than their tummies to sleep makes a difference (some babies don’t lift their heads even when they can and should), as does keeping the crib as bare as possible (to prevent suffocation and strangulation). And the studies show that when babies sleep in the same room as their parents, it makes a difference too.

We don’t know exactly why it makes a difference, but certainly it is good when parents can see and hear their babies and respond to them. While technology can help parents be aware of their baby in another room, it’s not the same as having them within arm’s reach. Because the risk of sudden death is highest in the first 6 months, the AAP strongly recommends keeping the baby in the parents’ room for at least that long but says that doing it for a full year is even better.

The AAP makes a distinction between “room-sharing” and “bed-sharing,” saying that they recommend the former and not the latter. Bed-sharing can clearly make nighttime breastfeeding easier — and actually, the AAP says that if there’s a chance you are going to fall asleep while feeding your baby, you’re safer doing it in bed than in an armchair or on a sofa. But there are real risks to sharing a bed with your newborn. Every year babies suffocate in pillows or bedding, fall out of bed, or get smothered when a parent rolls over on them. It’s rare, but it happens. Many families use a “co-sleeper” that attaches to the bed; while they can be a nice way to bed-share without bed-sharing, they can be risky if not attached properly and if babies are left unattended in them. The safest choice is a bassinet or crib in the room with the parents.

Now, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. There’s more to parenting than any one recommendation, and so very many factors affect the health of children from birth onward. Parents who just cannot sleep with their baby nearby may simply not be able to pull this off. And while parents can be intimate other places besides the bedroom, if relationships are starting to really suffer that’s not good for babies either. As with everything in parenting and life, balance and common sense are key. But if parents can manage, it’s worth doing something that can make a real difference.

Six months to a year can feel like an eternity, but it’s not. Before you know it, children are grown, doing things like dating and asking for car keys. Not only does that bring a whole new kind of sleep deprivation, it may leave you wistful for the days when they were close to you all the time.

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