The Burning Questions

  Just days ago, the world was alerted that Mexico was attempting to contain an outbreak of the swine flu.  Then we were warned that the strain was a new one capable of being transmitted from person to person and that it was rapidly spreading.  Yesterday, there was news of a 5.6 magnitude earthquake.  What’s next?

Is Mexico undergoing a natural restructuring?  This seems to be the case as they have been hit by two disasters just days apart.  The spread of the swine flu may be aggravated by the fact that people who were resigned to staying indoors to avoid contagion were forced to flee buildings, escaping to the streets of Chilpancingo.  The earthquake, not less than a respectable ground shaker, brought people together at a time when it was best to stay to themselves.  Will this increase the number of flu related deaths from the estimated 140 plus that have already been tallied?  Let us hope not.  In such a situation, though, people who were wearing masks to go out into public had not enough time to think to grab them.

This is such a disaster for their country at an already difficult time.  We can only hope the bad news turns to good, and soon.

  So far there are more than 80 people are suspected to have died from the swine flu in Mexico .  There have been 20 cases reported to date in the United States, with the most recent case reported being a nine year-old boy from Lorain County, Ohio who recently returned from Mexico, the source of the outbreak.  World officials are saying that we are “well prepared” for this outbreak of the deadly virus.  Officials in Mexico and elsewhere are handing out surgical masks in an effort to help individuals protect themselves and others from contracting the swine flu, a strain of influenza attributed to contact with pigs.  Places that are reporting cases of this bug are getting priority shipments of the available drugs such as Tamiflu to combat the ailment, but their effectiveness is still under scrutiny.

So I guess The Burning Question is:  How many people will die from the Swine Flu?  No one here on planet Earth knows the answer to that question as of yet.  There have been limited numbers of deaths linked to this virus in the past, but this strain’s resilience is still unknown.  There have been a number of outbreaks of influenza virus that have graduated to plague proportions in the past, killing millions.  Could we be on the verge of another pandemic?  Possibly so.

There are a number of things one can do to avoid contraction of such a horrible illness, though.  Washing hands is the number one thing.  The second is to avoid congregating in public places.  Using public restrooms is probably not a good idea either.  If one must go into a place where people gather, wearing a surgical mask will lower the odds of contagion. Finally, DON’T travel to a place where a known outbreak or pandemic exists.  These things will help to keep one safe from pandemic, but in this world there are no guarantees that anyone is safe from sickness or disease.  That’s just how it goes.

  The Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights was born yesterday.  A “key panel” gave the go ahead with the legislation from the House of Representatives.  Today, President Obama met with 13 of the greedy card issuers to let them in on a little secret.  He isn’t going to let them abuse the American public the way they have been allowed in the past.  Since 2006, and even before that,  card holders have been at the mercy of the card companies and their ridiculous rates, fees, and penalties.  January of 2006 set the benchmark for the greed that has consumed the industry.

The  top executives whined that they would be negatively affected by any action from the Obama administration.  Of course they would be negatively affected!  They will lose a portion of their “tiny” profits they get from taking advantage of the “Average Joe”in any way they can.  There is no reason for these companies to be able to write their own ticket as they have in the past.  I said a few days ago in a post that mysteriously disappeared (comments similar to the response at HatedNation’s Page yesterday morning 12:29am)  that we needed to make a stand on this subject and the line in the sand has been drawn.  I just have to say that it’s about time we have a President that will stand against the corporate “fatcats” and take our nation back from the greedy, money-lusting criminals that have taken hold of it!

  Millions of people have invested thousands of dollars on the purchase of a computer only to find out when they get it home, they will have to spend more money soon.  This can be very frustrating.  Not only is the unit outdated quickly, but the software on it is usually only fully functional within the trial period after the purchase.

A while back, I found this out the hard way.  I sent of to one of the companies that mail you your new dream machine with the promise of ease of use and maintenance only to find out after six months, the upgraded software on it would be downgraded, or even pretty much useless, unless I sent these software manufacturers more money.  I had already spent a small fortune on this thing and refused to spend more.  Needless to say, before long most of the software was useless and not long after that the computer was also.  It ended up with so much wrong with it that it has only been used to type resumes or play games for the past few years.  It’s hard drive was full of junk and I couldn’t even get online without it crashing.  I was obviously new to the internet game and had no idea that there was a way to fix these problems without spending the big bucks on the updated software.  I couldn’t get on the internet to do so if I tried.

Just few months ago I picked up a used laptop very cheap and decided to give the internet another try.  Before long I was having similar problems as before and because I’m financially challenged, I was about to give up on the internet again.  I had tried many of the free softwares that people had told me about and still had no luck and was getting tired of the rat-race again.  Then I got some good advice and it paid off.  I was told to try a certain freeware before I gave up.  I figured what the heck.   I entered the softwares name into yahoo and I found a site that offered the free download, so I clicked on it figuring the outcome another disappointment.  Boy was I wrong!  This site was full of freeware and shareware-that worked!  My computer and efforts for a writing career were save within hours!  The downloads were as fast as I had ever experienced and I was ecstatic to be able to repair both computers within 24 hours!

In answer to the question above:  No.  It doesn’t cost a thing!  I will not recommend any software in particular, but there is enough choices available that one can pick and choose to their liking.  The site is http://www.filehippo.com/ .  Enjoy!

Pirates are on the attack.  In recent past, they have even managed to take an American ship.  What do these goons think they are doing?  The trend to take merchant ships and cargo vessels is one that must be dealt with before the “fad” becomes a daily reality.

Pirates are getting more and more bold.  They recently absconded the first American ship to succumb to pirates since the 1800’s.  They usually demand ransom for the vessels and the prisoners they take with them.  The nautical thieves are gaining the financial means to grow as a group.  If the world doesn’t begin to take notice and action, they will own the civilian high seas.  If you have ideas how to deal with these criminals, leave a comment.  I will gladly notify the necessary channels of any ideas that I believe will work.

Does anyone know if our President goes mushroom hunting?  I would like to think so.  All dressed up in his suit and tie, rummaging through the forest!  He’d probably have to have the Secret Service interview each and every fungus to make sure they are what they appear to be and not some impostor dressed up as a morel.  He’d probably use his powers of persuasion to talk them right out of their hiding spots before bagging them up and taking them home to Michelle.  I would invite him to go with me, even show him a couple of my secret spots.  Would you?  I would like to know.  Leave me a comment to let me know what you think! 

Springtime is the time when the bugs wake up and begin looking for food and alternative shelter.  Often it seems as though one may have gotten rid of one type of pest, only to be invaded by another in no time at all.  Of course, one can go to the store and buy all kinds of pesticides to fight this battle.  However, there are other ways to stop the bugs!  One is to make sure the ground level of your home is clean.  Ants and other pests generally come inside looking for food.  Wipe everything down with a bleach-based cleaner.  Bleach will repel nearly anything!  Now get yourself some mothballs from the closet and spread them around the perimeter of the outside of your home.  This will create a barrier that many of those little nuisances can not pass.  If you have spiders visiting, hedge-apples are supposed to work for a barrier-they don’t like them according to several people I have discussed these issues with.  Just place a few of them around the outside of your home and the spiders are supposed to go running!  One more tip for success in your battle is to find the place where your pests are entering.  Once you have done this, you can spray that area with some of the bleach-based cleaner and seal it up.  Most pests can not stand the chlorine and will at least look for a new way.  If you have bees or wasps trying to nest, simply spray a shot of the bleach-based cleaner into the area where they are congregating!  Just remember: Bleach is poisonous and can stain or remove color from nearly anything. 

This is the question posed to me by others in my circle.  I believe, no.  Our President has simply taken a direct approach to action.  People have been taken aback and even upset by his attitude toward money and our economy.  He hasn’t lost his mind, he is simply powering through a situation that could bog down his presidential effectiveness over the long haul.  Be patient everyone…Our newest leader is a realist.  He knows that what he has inherited will not go away easily.  These things sometimes have to be “nipped in the bud” or they will grow and fester into a problem that is beyond repair.  Barack has simply given himself time to repair our ailing economy.  He has given Americans the time to take a breath and realize that we all have to pitch in.  We can no longer sit back and take our privilege for granted.  We must act.

Just arrived at Today.com and am thrilled to be writing for this site.  I have some springtime issues, also others to catch up on.  If you have a good question, leave it in the comments page and I will do my best to come up with a good answer.