Angela Garrity Angela Garrity

Drink Coffee Like Your Life Depends on It, because a New Study Says it Does

Some say it is the fountain of youth and now we know exactly how many cups we need each day to live longer. All signs point to a daily need to keep that coffee pot going.

People aged 40 and participated in a study that found death was lowered by those who drank more than three cups of coffee per day. According to The Korea Herald, “Scientists tracked the patients’ daily coffee intake and death rate for an average of 9.1 years. Individuals already diagnosed with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer were not included in the study.”

The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The other good news that that the study found was that it didn’t matter what type of coffee was consumed, as instant, straight black and 3 in 1 (coffee, sugar and cream) all benefitted in more years added to their lives and had a reduced risk of death by cardiovascular disease than non-coffee drinkers.

The people who try to say that coffee and caffeine aren’t good for you, probably relish in decaf and likely won’t outlive you at this point. Drink up, buttercup. Your health and years on this planet may depend on it.

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Angela Garrity Angela Garrity

One Man, One Purpose

The vaping community was rippled with the shock of the news that the man who made us laugh and did so much for others was gone on February 3rd 2019. The man known as The Vaping Jackass quickly got the community involved and grew on you like a case of convention crud. You know before attending these events that you’re likely to get sick, but it doesn’t stop you from attending, being amongst friends, meeting new ones and interacting with brands in the industry.
 
The more I got to know Mike the more I realized how unique he was. January 11, 2018 was the day he smoked his last cigarette. This man had only been involved in vaping for a little over a year. Please keep that in mind the next time you don’t think you can make a difference because you haven’t “been around long enough”. This man made strides.

Even now, something as simple as flipping back through his social media pages, I find myself laughing at insane memes and funny videos he made. His ability to hijack Meatloaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love” video and spin it into vaping was classic Mike.

When ‘The Loaf’ is right in the middle of the highlight of explaining his emotions and reiterating the title upon the viewer three times and inject a quick “Stop Buying Vape Gear?” gets added and then proceeds in song “But I won’t do that” gets me in the comedy feels every single time. Because we all know it’s true, let’s be honest.

Then, you stumble upon and watch a video of him talking about vaping advocacy and getting involved in this fight. Hearing his voice echoing through my soul tears me apart. The man truly cared about this community, protecting this industry and being a silent hero for tons of families at Christmas because of his idea of raising money for Toys for Tots.

I met Mike because of a video that I noticed done by Tony B. of the Vapor Trail Channel. Tony called for the community to get involved and help families during Christmas. He was the brainchild behind The Toys for Tots Charity Raffle. Some of you may recall seeing this posted on the Vape News website. The post was entitled “The Season of Giving”.

“WE do this. WE help kids. WE give happiness”, says Mike.  Mike knew this was just his idea but also knew it was about the kids’ and their families.
Company owners donated willingly to Mike’s mission. Mike and the Admins of his charity worked effortlessly to gather and package winnings of this raffle. Participants who donated as little as $5 were offered a chance to win one of five prize backs that were valued at over $2000.00 each.

Word spread like wildfire about the 2018 charity raffle and within a few days there wasn’t enough space left on the image that was created naming the people and companies involved.

Mike and I spoke many times about the Toys for Tots Charity Raffle. His goal for 2018 was $10,000 and fell slightly short of what Mike wanted to do, coming in at $6,764.36. the last time we spoke, he was already making plans for 2019. He wanted to kick it off March 1st, 2019 and this years goal he wanted $50,000. No dream too small for Mike.

For those that wish to participate, please request to join the ‘Toys for Tots Charity Waffle’ group on Facebook. Mike would’ve gladly offered all of us who wanted to help a seat at the table.

In Mike’s last post within this Facebook group, he mentions that there were already 40 or so sponsors for 2019 and the 2019 drive hadn’t started at the time of that post. He said, “Thanks for sticking around and for choosing to do this again this year. There's a lot of things going on where your donations help and your continued support means the world to not only me, but to the hundreds of children we may help this year. Together, we are many, and we do much.”

It is still very hard to believe that Mike is not of this Earth anymore, but his spirit of spunk and generosity is shared. This has been the hardest piece I’ve ever written for Vape News because it comes straight from my heart and out to the community that both loved him, some were probably irritated by him and those who never met him. Mike Schneider meant something to each of us.

Our time with Mike was certainly not long enough but his legacy will live on through his spirit of giving and helping the families of underprivileged kids celebrate every season. For that, we are truly blessed to have Mike here with us – even if it was just for a short while on earth but forever in our spirit.

We will miss his crazy videos and funny memes, long discussions while he drove his rig across the states, his passion for this community and the great pictures he took of Roo and Whippy. I truly miss you, buddy and I know I am not the only one.

One of his last posts spoke to what really mattered to Mike. He wrote: “Humans need to stop worrying about little things that go wrong. Shit happens. We have complete control over very little in our lives. Acceptance of that = an inner peace that you likely never thought possible.”

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