By Dr. Richard Chern, M.D. If you haven’t heard already there is a new weight loss medication available at a reasonable cost.  semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist which means it activates the GLP-1 receptor.  Still confused?  It doesn’t matter.  It has several important actions in the body. Semaglutide ultimately helps your body lose weight by improving the regulation of sugar levels and insulin levels in the body.  If this sounds like a medication for diabetes instead of weight loss then you would be correct.  This class of medications was developed to improve diabetes.  Astonishingly, in studies, many of my patients lost significant weight.  In fact, up to 30% of their body weight.  And, much of the weight stayed off after stopping the medication. This medication also slows the stomach.  Food stays in the stomach longer so you feel full longer.  And your stomach gets full faster so you eat less.  These medications help people lose significant weight and you lose weight without feeling hungry! Sounds like magic, right? I have been seeing patients for over 30 years.  I have seen so many weight loss drugs come on and go.  This is the first time I have ever been excited to tell people about a weight loss medication. So how is it possible this medication is available?  Well, this medication was initially Ozempic.  The FDA allows a new medication to have a patent, or monopoly, on the medication for many years.  They say this gives the company enough time... Read More

  By Victoria Ostrosky Remember that scene in The Hobbit where Bilbo Baggins, confused and upset with twelve dwarves who showed up on his doorstep, ate his food, messed up his house and invited him to be their ‘burglar’ on a quest to take back their homeland and treasure?  And Gandalf telling Bilbo that something new would do him good?  Bilbo ends up running out his door the next morning in pursuit of the dwarves and Gandalf who had left without him, shouting joyfully – “I’m going on an adventure!”  When Jon Lyons talks about his relationship with Jesus, he has the same joyful expression.  He says that God is always calling us to another adventure.  “God invites us every day to show up with opportunities to say ‘yes’.” Jon grew up in a Christian home and attended church in a small town.  As a teenager, he drifted away from his Christian roots, began partying and having inappropriate relationships.  For years, he was torn about how he was living.  When he was about 21, he found himself sitting in the back row of a church.  The preacher opened the Bible and began talking about Jesus and Jon’s heart came alive.  “God was gently calling me back.  He didn’t leave me or forsake me.” Jon’s journey back to Jesus took some time.  One night, God asked him to step into a deeper relationship.  Sobbing like a baby, Jon felt the beginnings of a changed life. On one of Jon’s adventures, he... Read More

  By Sean Dietrich It was our place. That’s what it was. I grew up in a little fishing village, nestled in the Florida Panhandle. This was long before the tattoo parlors, before the T-shirt shops, before Whole Foods and Bass Pro. Today our little town is not even a shadow of its former glory. On any given month, Destin is inundated with 8 million tourists wearing thong bikinis. And those are just the men. But once upon a time, we had Pepito’s. It was your quintessential Mexican dive restaurant. It was clean. The staff was friendly. They had ugly orange walls. The joint was always packed. They served good food. The chips were always hot. The salsa was fresh from an actual tin can. They had ice-cold Tecate. You could order a “King Burrito,” and you wouldn’t be hungry again for the next three or four presidential administrations. My first kiss happened outside Pepito’s. It was late. Her name was Teresa. She had red hair and she smelled like Head and Shoulders. Do people name their kids Teresa anymore? As a young man, all my friends went to Pepito’s because it was where you went. We spent entire evenings in those booths, discussing who we were going to grow up to become. For a few bucks, you could fill your belly on queso dip that would turn your bowels into stone. If you had enough cash left over, you could take in a movie across the street. Years later,... Read More

  By Kirk McCarley, “The voice mailbox is full and cannot accept any more messages.  Good-bye.” How does that response from someone else’s phone make you feel?  Admittedly for me there are several initial reactions:  denial, unworthiness, and rejection are a few that come to mind.  After a moment of reframing comes acceptance and a smile or chuckle to go along with, “well, that’s just the way they are.”   No big deal. Or is it? What is yours or my level of availability?  Are you so focused on the punch list of life and work that any interruption to your schedule and expectations represent a severe jolt to the psyche?  Conversely, are you so accessible that check marks are a rarity on your calendar?  Further might you notice that requests for valued work assignments have diminished in frequency?  Or that invitations for social events have waned?  Have you maybe thought you overheard, “you can’t always count on Susan?” Where is the ideal balance? First, is yours an “inviting” spirit?  Do you present yourself as warm and approachable or more distant and standoffish, not necessarily broken down along the lines of intro- or extraversion.  If you’ve had similar experiences as me it’s likely that your circles have included those of a quiet ilk.  Yet about them they may have possessed a certain indefinable something that permeated kindness and invitation.  On the other hand, there can be some that are loud and boisterous, the veritable life of the party.  When it... Read More

  30 Years After Giving Up After taking a 30-year hiatus from the music industry to pursue a “normal” career, Wes Herndon is back and ready to give a career in music another attempt. At 52 years old, Wes Herndon has a wealth of life experience to draw from, and his years away from the music industry has only strengthened his passion for playing guitar and songwriting. With a renewed sense of purpose and a fresh perspective… thanks in part to the pandemic shutdowns, Wes is eager to share his new music with fans around the world. Despite stepping away from the industry for a period of time, Wes has continued to write and perform occasionally, perfecting his sound and style. With a lifetime of ups and downs and a few laughs to draw from, his music is both raw and relatable, which resonates with fans of all ages. As he embarks on this new chapter of his career, Wes is both anxious and excited to connect with people and share musical moments with the world. He remarks, “Taking a second chance at music while being a ‘responsible’ adult is somewhat daunting, but if I’m being honest, I really can’t help it. It’s in my soul, and I have to get it out. I have been truly humbled and thankful that what I’m creating is being received as well as it has.” His newest release, “Nothing For Me” will be available for streaming on March 23rd, 2023. You can learn... Read More

  Listening to music while working out is an ideal boredom breaker, but did you know it can also boost your athletic performance and make your hard-earned hours in the gym even more effective?  Let’s look at a few of the benefits of music during exercise and how to build a motivational workout playlist to suit your session. The Benefits of Music with Exercise More Optimism: The largest (and possibly most rewarding) benefit of listening to music during exercise is that it promotes a positive attitude. In February 2020, a team of researchers published an article in Psychological Bulletin which reviewed different studies on music and exercise. They found that people who listened to music while exercising felt more positive no matter how intense the workout or their experience level. Push Harder: Listening to your playlist of workout motivation music has also been shown to reduce what gym-goers call “RPE” or “rate of perceived exertion” and discomfort. This is a scale from 1-10 which rates how difficult you found the exercise, and how many more repetitions you have left in yourself at the end. A study found that listening to your preferred music genre created improvements in maximum strength, endurance, and a reduced RPE rating. Exercise feels easier with music! In the Mood to Groove: The more rhythmic and groovy the music, the more we want to move, nod our heads, tap our feet, or break out into dance. A study in Brain Cognition found that “high groove” music activates... Read More

  By Maurice Stouse, Financial Advisor and Branch Manager Should investing be about fear or should it be about optimism? And which is the greater motivator of behavior and action? We have often heard that perception without any confirmation indeed becomes reality. Investors are bombarded almost daily with messages of fear. As a result some may give up hope at the worst possible time and change their course of action or their plan. We are reminded of the coach and his or her team sticking to their game plan even if they are down early on in the game. What if however it is not early in the game, rather its midway or towards the end? We think, once an investor reviews objective, risk tolerance and time frame, then they compare that with their current strategy and make changes as needed or wanted. Investors can become overly worried when one talking head after another speaks about capitulation and that things will go from bad to worse. We think it fair to point out that often the talking head may be the type of professional investor, a hedge fund manager for example, that often can profit in up and down markets and that it is the very volatility they speak to that creates opportunity (with extraordinary risk) for them. We believe that the individual investor should focus on the greater picture, the entire game, not just a particular slice of it. We look at the long-term returns and see that stocks... Read More

  By Chris Balzer, Pop quiz:  Which state has the highest summer relative humidity?  Was it Hawaii?  Florida?  Louisiana?  The answer, none of those, Alaska ranked number one last year in relative humidity.  Don’t be upset, Florida followed closely behind and ranked second.  I’m proud to be living in a State which always ranks high on rising temperatures and humidity compared to other States, GO FLORIDA!  There is great research, data and comparisons generated by NOAA and other agencies illustrating climate change, the fact is, just step outside and you know it’s warm.  Most describe our weather as HOT, BALMY, STICKY and even unbearable.  I like to describe our weather as tropical or sun filled.  With that said, I enjoy the feeling of cool bought air (air conditioning), ice in my drink and the Gulf when it’s not the temperature of warm bath water. So how can we keep more of our bought air in our homes?  The majority of wasted conditioned air is leaking through our attics.  Attics are the number one source of air loss, so what can we do?  It’s simple, rule your attic.  First, check the amount of insulation you currently have in the attic.  If you see joists, wood supports, running down the attic floor, you need insulation.  If you measure the thickness of insulation and it is less than 11.5”, you need insulation.  Adding insulation not only increases your comfort, it also puts less wear and tear on your HVAC equipment, saving you money. ... Read More

  The frightening fact is that most small companies that suffer a serious cyber-attack don’t survive. In fact, according to the US National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of small businesses that suffer a cyber-attack go out of business within 6 months. The cost of recovery and the damage to their reputation is just too great. If a criminal knew where you lived, and could easily steal your house keys, it wouldn’t take much for them to walk into your home and start helping themselves to your valuables. But imagine if you kept your keys in a safe that could only be accessed with an ever-changing security code. And the only way to get that code is through a secure phone app that needs your fingerprint or face to prove that it’s really you. Guess what…you’ve now used Multi-Factor Authentication, also known as MFA, which adds layers of security to keep your valuables safe. You’ll recognize the MFA process if you use online banking. It’s become the standard way to make it harder for criminals to access important data, like your financial or personal medical information. Most of us also now use MFA to log into many of our personal online accounts and social media apps. It’s simple enough to implement across all your business devices and we can have your business protected in no time. So, it’s surprising how little security local businesses are using to keep their data safe. That data often includes customers’ private personal information. If that... Read More

  Tuck your toes in the sand as you roast marshmallows over a crackling bonfire and revel in a spectacular Gulf sunset. Perfect for special occasions, like milestone birthdays and romantic proposals – or just because – beach bonfires are a quintessential PCB experience and one of our favorite unique   Read More