fact: in 2007 over 36,000 people died from the flu and complications from the flu. over 200,000 were hospitalized. no major global panic. no state of emergency being declared.
fact: flu vaccines are always hit or miss. researchers try to guess the strain that will be prevalent. if they guess correct the vaccine works. if they don't...well it is not an exact science.
fact: it takes seven to ten days for tamiflu to work. it takes seven to ten days for the flu to run its course.
fact: in 2009 politicians and the media have determined the best course of action is to keep us sheeples in a constant state of fear over a flu outbreak.
before you buy into the hysteria please think about it. yes, be smart and do the same things you do during flu season. but do not lock yourself up in a sealed safe room and horde all the milk and bread.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
why i buy lottery tickets
you know a lot of people are against lotteries. they see them as a form of gambling or a total waste of money. they fear people will become addicted to buying the tickets. they claim that only the poor buy them (shades of 1984?). but not me.
when i buy a lottery ticket i am fully aware that the odds of my winning are small and the odds of my winning big are astronomically smaller! but the ticket costs me a buck. and it saves me the calories of a coke, a candy bar or a bag of chips (who says lotteries aren't healthy).
the reason i buy the tickets is simple...i'm buying a week or two of a fantasy. a week or two where i can daydream about what it would be like to have so much money that i never have to worry about money again. it is the daydream of free time, family time, education, time to work out, time to volunteer. it is the daydream of paying my bills without having to chose what not to pay. it is the daydream of my family being taken care of no matter what.
those dreams are worth the price of a $1 ticket for powerball or megamillions.
hope springs eternal and while my chances are not great the dreams are worth it.
now to go buy more tickets!
when i buy a lottery ticket i am fully aware that the odds of my winning are small and the odds of my winning big are astronomically smaller! but the ticket costs me a buck. and it saves me the calories of a coke, a candy bar or a bag of chips (who says lotteries aren't healthy).
the reason i buy the tickets is simple...i'm buying a week or two of a fantasy. a week or two where i can daydream about what it would be like to have so much money that i never have to worry about money again. it is the daydream of free time, family time, education, time to work out, time to volunteer. it is the daydream of paying my bills without having to chose what not to pay. it is the daydream of my family being taken care of no matter what.
those dreams are worth the price of a $1 ticket for powerball or megamillions.
hope springs eternal and while my chances are not great the dreams are worth it.
now to go buy more tickets!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Living Documents - Reality or BS?
I am not a fan of politically correct speech. I am even less of a fan of corporate doublespeak. Unfortunately in today's world the speech of both creep into every crevice of ours lives.
One of my least favorite words/phrase is "Living Document" (aka Dynamic Document). The technical definition of this term is:
So in the simplest terms a living document is a document that says what I say it says today. That means if I decide tomorrow that it means crackers and edit this post to say it means cracker that it means crackers.
Living documents are bullshit. Our Constitution (probably most often cited as a living document) is no such thing. Our founding fathers were educated men who knew and understood the law. They knew what they were writing when they wrote it. And the original text, when read with standard definitions and understanding states exactly what they wanted it to mean. There is no need for reinterpretations by our judicial system.
All men are created equal...yes they are. We do not need laws saying specific groups are equal. It's already there.
We have a right to bear arms...yep, that means we have the right to own guns.
free speech? no permit needed. no special free speech zones required.
get the picture.
the same theories apply to the corporate world. you know contracts are now living documents. that means they aren't worth the paper they are written on. misson statements look great and impressive but rarely say anything of true substance.
why can't we just say what we mean? why can't we believe that something written over 200 years ago is simple and straightforward?
One of my least favorite words/phrase is "Living Document" (aka Dynamic Document). The technical definition of this term is:
A living document or dynamic document is a document which may be continually edited and updated by either a limited or unrestricted group.
So in the simplest terms a living document is a document that says what I say it says today. That means if I decide tomorrow that it means crackers and edit this post to say it means cracker that it means crackers.
Living documents are bullshit. Our Constitution (probably most often cited as a living document) is no such thing. Our founding fathers were educated men who knew and understood the law. They knew what they were writing when they wrote it. And the original text, when read with standard definitions and understanding states exactly what they wanted it to mean. There is no need for reinterpretations by our judicial system.
All men are created equal...yes they are. We do not need laws saying specific groups are equal. It's already there.
We have a right to bear arms...yep, that means we have the right to own guns.
free speech? no permit needed. no special free speech zones required.
get the picture.
the same theories apply to the corporate world. you know contracts are now living documents. that means they aren't worth the paper they are written on. misson statements look great and impressive but rarely say anything of true substance.
why can't we just say what we mean? why can't we believe that something written over 200 years ago is simple and straightforward?
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Why YouTube is Not for the Criminally Stupid
Seven people were arrested for arson in Maine after posting video of their crime on YouTube.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090402/ap_on_hi_te/arson_youtube
Does anyone remember the Simpson's episode where the bully kids were doing the same thing? They stole several items and videotaped themselves driving down the street with them. In this day and age you would think that people would be more aware of what videotaping an action can do.
Dumbass criminals.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090402/ap_on_hi_te/arson_youtube
Does anyone remember the Simpson's episode where the bully kids were doing the same thing? They stole several items and videotaped themselves driving down the street with them. In this day and age you would think that people would be more aware of what videotaping an action can do.
Dumbass criminals.
Friday, March 27, 2009
But Michael Moore Did It! Why Are Dems Afraid of "HIllary: The Movie?"
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week over whether or not a new documentary about Hillary Clinton violated campaign laws. The argument for the documentary being an ad was that its distribution was financed by a conservative group.
At risk is our freedom of speech and our freedom of opinion. The film is extremely critical of Clinton. It looks into many of her claims of experience. It questions her involvement in document events involving her husband. In other words the picture it paints ain't so pretty. It is this fact that has liberals and dems up in arms.
Of course these same liberals and dems were all for Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, a documentary (barely) that was exremely critical of former President George W. Bush. In their eyes criticizing the opposition is fair but criticizing one of their own violates the law.
Unfortunately a panel of Federal Judges did agree with them which is why this case is now before the Supreme Court.
People wake up. This is your world that is changing. It may seem like a small thing but most things start small. It is the easiest way to take something away from someone with their ever-loving consent. Do not support this. Whether the film is critical of Bush or Clinton we have a right to decide whether to see it or not.
At risk is our freedom of speech and our freedom of opinion. The film is extremely critical of Clinton. It looks into many of her claims of experience. It questions her involvement in document events involving her husband. In other words the picture it paints ain't so pretty. It is this fact that has liberals and dems up in arms.
Of course these same liberals and dems were all for Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, a documentary (barely) that was exremely critical of former President George W. Bush. In their eyes criticizing the opposition is fair but criticizing one of their own violates the law.
Unfortunately a panel of Federal Judges did agree with them which is why this case is now before the Supreme Court.
People wake up. This is your world that is changing. It may seem like a small thing but most things start small. It is the easiest way to take something away from someone with their ever-loving consent. Do not support this. Whether the film is critical of Bush or Clinton we have a right to decide whether to see it or not.
Monday, March 23, 2009
out of the darkness
daylight savings time has returned. it has taken me a little time to readjust to it but i'm getting there. the best part is the extra daylight at the end of the day. i don't think most people realize the effect of the darkness of winter on their moods. for me it is horrible. once the days begin getting shorter the dread begins building. and when time falls back it is even worse. instant darkness. and the days grow shorter and shorter until the solstice. my body feels the solstice. it knows when the longest day of darkness occurs. after that the darkness (and my winter blues) slowly begin to recede.
so the past couple of weeks have been spent absorbing as much of this extra light as i can. i love it.
so the past couple of weeks have been spent absorbing as much of this extra light as i can. i love it.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
HP Mini - A Non-Technical Review for the Non-Technical User
For the past week I have been using a HP Mini -basically a netbook. A netbook is a laptop notebook that is about the size of a large Day Planner - only thinner and lighter. Generally netbooks do not come with a cd/dvd drive of any kind. They do have multiple USB ports. This model is no different. There are two USB ports and a serial port. There's another area for hookup but it doesn't open when pushed and I just haven't been in the mood to mess with it. It's probably hookups for media (ie flash cards).
The hard drive is sufficently large (102 gigs) and the installed memory is 2 gigs. The system has built in Wi-Fi (love it). The OS is Vista.
The system can be a little slow loading at start up but if you put it into sleep or hibernate it loads very quickly.
Productivity includes a trial version of MS Office. I opted to install Open Office instead. It's free (they do ask for a donation and will be getting one) and will open MS Office docs. The catch is sending Open Office docs to others. You have to make certain you save it in the right format for others to be able to open.
I also opted not to use Outlook or IE and installed Thunderbird and Firefox. I am quite happy with both of these. They are similar enough to MS products to make using them very easy.
The biggest adjustments with the Mini are the keyboard and the screen. The keys are actually spaced perfectly for my hands...except for the space bar. I'm used to have a lot of space for my thumbs at the space bar and the confined thumb space takes some getting used to.
The screen is small and if you have bad vision you will need to use the accessibility options in order to increase the size of objects on the screen. Even with good vision the screen can be challenging if you are tired.
The whole system fits easily within a normal woman's purse but I'd still recommend getting a carrier of some sort. It also heats up a lot on the side with the power button so I purchased a cooling pad (would recommend you do the same).
I'm not going into specs any more than I have. Unless youare really into computers the specs will basically mean nothing to you but I will post the link to the HP site at the bottom of this review. My review is basically for people looking for a "laptop" that is easy to use and convenient to carry and this is it.
Overall I'm loving this HP Mini better than my old laptop.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/mini/
The hard drive is sufficently large (102 gigs) and the installed memory is 2 gigs. The system has built in Wi-Fi (love it). The OS is Vista.
The system can be a little slow loading at start up but if you put it into sleep or hibernate it loads very quickly.
Productivity includes a trial version of MS Office. I opted to install Open Office instead. It's free (they do ask for a donation and will be getting one) and will open MS Office docs. The catch is sending Open Office docs to others. You have to make certain you save it in the right format for others to be able to open.
I also opted not to use Outlook or IE and installed Thunderbird and Firefox. I am quite happy with both of these. They are similar enough to MS products to make using them very easy.
The biggest adjustments with the Mini are the keyboard and the screen. The keys are actually spaced perfectly for my hands...except for the space bar. I'm used to have a lot of space for my thumbs at the space bar and the confined thumb space takes some getting used to.
The screen is small and if you have bad vision you will need to use the accessibility options in order to increase the size of objects on the screen. Even with good vision the screen can be challenging if you are tired.
The whole system fits easily within a normal woman's purse but I'd still recommend getting a carrier of some sort. It also heats up a lot on the side with the power button so I purchased a cooling pad (would recommend you do the same).
I'm not going into specs any more than I have. Unless youare really into computers the specs will basically mean nothing to you but I will post the link to the HP site at the bottom of this review. My review is basically for people looking for a "laptop" that is easy to use and convenient to carry and this is it.
Overall I'm loving this HP Mini better than my old laptop.
http://www.shopping.hp.com/mini/
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