I received the following in an email. Seems like good advice:
Dr. Goyal reported that virus H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tract and proliferates only there. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*
5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
Obama takes 10-point lead on McCain
AP presidential poll: All even in the homestretch
Really makes you wonder, can they be that far off or are they just trying to create some excitement for what has become a huge media spectacle. I think that on election night each side should have a troupe of scantily clad congressional pages cheerleading from the sidelines and a halftime show culminating in a spectacular fireworks display of exploding talking heads.
The world financial markets are down sharply again today. And who can blame them when the leaders entrusted with guiding our country through these times seem so far out of touch with reality.
It would seem to me that a prudent person who discovered that their house was on fire would prioritize their actions and FOCUS on only the most important items. Such as insuring that you and your family are safely outside, that the fire department has been called, etc. Only AFTER the crisis has passed would you worry about, perhaps, replacing that old couch, or taking the family out for a nice dinner, or figuring out all the other ways you could spend your money on trivial pursuits.
Our leaders, it seems, have got it backwards. They have been told by their most high level advisers, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke, that we are “days away from a complete financial meltdown. What do they do when faced with this knowledge? They get on their highest horses and proclaim that they will ride to our rescue with a bailout bill. Then they spend their time wheeling and dealing to see how much pork they can roast up before anyone notices.
So as a result, we have a “financial bailout bill” that includes some choice pork dishes on the menu such as the following:
Credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.
Sec. 101. Extension of alternative minimum tax relief for nonrefundable personalcredits.
Sec. 102. Extension of increased alternative minimum tax exemption amount.
Sec. 105. Energy credit for geothermal heat pump systems.
Sec. 111. Expansion and modification of advanced coal project investment credit.
Sec. 113. Temporary increase in coal excise tax; funding of Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
Sec. 115. Tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration.
Sec. 201. Deduction for State and local sales taxes.
Sec. 202. Deduction of qualified tuition and related expenses.
Sec. 203. Deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers.
Sec. 204. Additional standard deduction for real property taxes for nonitemizers.
Sec. 205. Tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes.
Sec. 304. Extension of look-thru rule for related controlled foreign corporations.
Sec. 305. Extension of 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements and qualified restaurant improvements; 15-year straight-line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space.
Sec. 307. Basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions of property.
Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.
Sec. 310. Extension of mine rescue team training credit.
Sec. 311. Extension of election to expense advanced mine safety equipment.
Sec. 312. Deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.
Sec. 314. Indian employment credit.
Sec. 315. Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations.
Sec. 316. Railroad track maintenance.
Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.
Sec. 318. Expensing of environmental remediation costs.
Sec. 319. Extension of work opportunity tax credit for Hurricane Katrina employees.
Sec. 320. Extension of increased rehabilitation credit for structures in the Gulf Opportunity Zone.
Sec. 321. Enhanced deduction for qualified computer contributions.
Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.
Sec. 323. Enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory.
Sec. 324. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of book inventory.
Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds.
Sec. 401. Permanent authority for undercover operations. (as related to tax provisions)
Sec. 402. Permanent authority for disclosure of information relating to terrorist activities. (as related to tax provisions)
Sec. 405. Increase and extension of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax.
Sec. 501. $8,500 income threshold used to calculate refundable portion of child tax credit.
Sec. 502. Provisions related to film and television productions.
Sec. 503 Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children.
Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation.
Sec. 505. Certain farming business machinery and equipment treated as 5-year property.
Sec. 506. Modification of penalty on understatement of taxpayer’s liability by tax return preparer.
Sec. 601. Secure rural schools and community self-determination program.
Sec. 602. Transfer to abandoned mine reclamation fund.
Sec. 702. Temporary tax relief for areas damaged by 2008 Midwestern severe storms, tornados, and flooding.
Sec. 704. Temporary tax-exempt bond financing and low-income housing tax relief for areas.
Sec. 709. Waiver of certain mortgage revenue bond requirements following federally declared disasters.
Sec. 710. Special depreciation allowance for qualified disaster property.
Sec. 711. Increased expensing for qualified disaster assistance property.
Subtitle B-Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
Sure does make me feel good knowing our leaders really know how to put out a fire!
Tags: Politics
Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke have been before the congress for the past week pleading for an unprecedented economic bailout of the US Economic system. They have stated that we are “Days from economic meltdown”. The congress has been meeting for days to put a plan together; a plan that will end up costing far more than the 700 billion that has been requested. In other words, far more than the $9,210.53 per family of four that has been requested. This crisis is so severe, so catastrophic, that it has become necessary to force a solution through without discussion that will cost your family and my family and my brothers family and every other family $9,210.53!!!
Now I would like to do my civic duty. And if this is what it will take to prevent the disintegration of society as we know it, then so be it. But an article I read on Salon.com has my blood boiling.
This is a crisis boys! OK, so you want to take my !@#$%^& money. We are on the brink of disaster. So why the hell are you cluttering up this bill and this discussion with the following provisions?
- Sec. 105. Energy credit for geothermal heat pump systems.
- Sec. 111. Expansion and modification of advanced coal project investment credit.
- Sec. 113. Temporary increase in coal excise tax; funding of Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
- Sec. 115. Tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration.
- Sec. 205. Credit for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.
- Sec. 405. Increase and extension of Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax.
- Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.
- Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.
- Sec. 501. $8,500 income threshold used to calculate refundable portion of child tax credit.
- Sec. 503 Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children.
And that’s just a sample.
I say, let’s find out who did this and hold them accountable. Why, as the country was on the brink of disaster, as you were spending my hard earned money to bail out fat cats who had made bad business decisions did you decide to add insult to injury and corrupt this important legislative discussion with your own pet issues. You thought you could get away with sliding in your own pet projects that would never see the light of day any other way. You may think you are clever, but you are the most vile and revolting leech on this society that I can imagine. Please crawl into a nearby hole and die.
I don’t know enough about the process to know if there is any way to put a name to each of these atrocities, but if it were possible it would be worth shouting this from every corner of this country.
Tags: Politics
If you would like to hear a great audio version of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, check out the following (audio link at end of page)
Enjoy.
Tags: Books
According to the following USA Today article, every man woman and child in the US is responsible for $194,078 of unfunded government debt.
At that level, if we started paying it off today, and each household paid $2583 per month for the next seventy five years, we would get this paid off. Sweeeeeeet. If we wanted it paid off sooner, we would need to pay more each month. Don’t want to pay so much….it will take longer.
By the way, this all assumes that we don’t add any more to the debt. Fat chance!!
Taxpayers on the hook for $59 trillion
Updated 5/29/2007 8:33
trillion loss last year — far more than the official $248 billion
deficit — when corporate-style accounting standards are used, a USA
TODAY analysis shows.
Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion
in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to
$516,348 for every U.S. household. By comparison, U.S. households owe
an average of $112,043 for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and all
other debt combined.
This hidden debt is the amount taxpayers would have to pay immediately
to cover government’s financial obligations. Like a mortgage, it will
cost more to repay the debt over time. Every U.S. household would have
to pay about $31,000 a year to do so in 75 years.
Tags: Politics
- Homeschooling / parenting blog
- A tree grows from a seed. A tree is much more massive. The “stuff” comes from the air! Basically, the tree absorbs carbon. WOW.
- The doubling function, exponential functions, and the implications for anything that inexorably increases each year by some percentage. Energy consumption, population growth, economic growth, costs… also – what’s a billion?
- Spectacular or interesting photos from flickr
This is a Review from Amazon.com
Regarding: The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set, (please note that this review concerns only the new publications)
The Chronicles of Narnia are perfect books. They are wonderful for children and adults, and can be read again and again. C. S. Lewis was a brilliant author and theologian, and was competent in what he was doing. I have been reading these books since I was young enough to pick up a book, and I was horrified when I found out they were reprinting them in chronological order! Why have the publishers decided to tamper with the order? reading these books in chronological order spoils all of the surprise and magic out of the first visit to Narnia (in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe), because we already know what’s going on. You’re not supposed to know about the lightpole or who the professor is yet! Things don’t always need to be put in chronological order.
If you’re going to read them, please read them in the correct order:
1) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,
2) Prince Caspian,
3)The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
4) The Silver Chair,
5) The Horse and His Boy,
6) The Magician’s Nephew,
7) The Last Battle
Although I haven’t read the books yet, It makes sense to me to read them in the order the author intended.
Tags: Books, Kids Stuff
Here’s a list of sites where you can find free, online books of interest to children.
-
Baldwin Project (classic children’s literature, 1880-1922) -
Bibli’s Bookshelf (designed with developmental disabilities in mind) -
Children’s Books Online: The Rosetta Project -
Children’s Literature Web Guide (at Calgary) -
Children’s Series Books Available Online (index at umkc.edu) -
Digitized Juvenile Literature Collection (at Florida State) -
Hockliffe Project (hundreds of early British children’s books) -
International Children’s Digital Library (requires special Java-based software to access books) -
Nineteenth-Century American Children and What They Read (edited by Pat Pflieger)
Tags: Books, Kids Stuff, Parenting
big asteroid impact
Tags: Damn Interesting