Top 3 Ways to Prepare for the Bird Flu

Talk of the bird flu seems to be heating up lately; there’s even a whole blog dedicated to H5N1. After reflecting on the media blitz, I found myself wondering what, if anything, citizens can do to prepare for the bird flu. What follows is a list of the top suggestions that seem to be circulating.

1. Dietitians recommend a combination of herbs and spices, including ginger, onion, garlic, and horseradish, that are powerfully antiviral. A new product containing those ingredients that is specifically marketed for use against the avian flu can be found here.

2. The United States government has released a list of ways to “hold your own against colds and the flu.”

3. Christian Scientists recommend praying for safety from the coming pandemic.

Honestly, given the complete lack of practical advice, I can only conclude we might have a rather large problem on our hands.

Its a Bird…Its a Plane…Its a Car?

According to researchers at MIT, our world may soon look a little bit more like “The Jetsons”. Terrafuiga, a startup created by a group of MIT graduates, aims to produce the worlds first production flying car by the end of the decade. The car will fly at an altitude of around 12,000 feet, get almost 30 miles to the gallon, and will carry two people along with their luggage up to 500 miles. The wings will even fold up when not in use to allow tight parking and urban driving. If you want one of these, you better start saving up, as one will cost you a whopping $148,000. For more information check out this News.com article or click here to view mock-up photos of the car.

Mazda Jumps Onto Hydrogen Bandwagon!

Mazda plans to begin leasing a dual engine vehicle. The car can be switched to run on hydrogen or gasoline at the push of a button. I’m getting one…hardcore! Well, if I lived in Japan. Hopefully it will come here soon. Article is here: CNN.com

Downloaders Play with Their Food

Wired News reports that the United Nations new game, Food Force, has quickly become one of the most popular downloads on the internet.  The game, which unlike most new games features no violence, centers around the operations of the emergency food program.  Certainly an interesting follow up to the likes of Live 8 and One.org. 

Another Poor Defense?

LifeHacker.com reports the Microsoft has released yet another piece of software, dubbed Windows Defender to help defend windows against spyware.  The new piece of software replaces Microsoft’s “Anti-Spyware” program.  Whether the new version will actually succeed in plugging the seemingly unending stream of Windows XP security holes remains to be seen.  For those seeking actual security, this writer recommends a combination of the free virus-scan program avast! and the free, open-source internet browser Firefox.  If you haven’t switched over yet, it’s not too late save your PC, and your pocketbook, with a few full-featured tools.  I recommend checking out Wikipedia’s list of open-source software for free programs that use less system resources and have more features than what M$ and the like are releasing.

Shell Hydrogen?

Shell Oil Group created the branch organization, Shell Hydrogen, in 1999 to realize its wish to “play a leading role and champion the realisation of a hydrogen-based economy.” Shell Hydrogen’s goal is to bring hydrogen into the retail and consumer markets as a common fuel. The company predicts a “global hydrogen economy as a new [energy infrastructure] in which hydrogen represents an important component of the portfolio of energy sources and fuels, and as a realistic alternative to the world’s present wide-scale use of hydrocarbon fuels.” Shell Hydrogen has partnered with General Motors Fuel Cell Vehicles in order to make these ideas a reality. Shell hopes to build a “Hydrogen Highway” between Washington D.C. and New York within the next decade, dotting the route between the two cities with hydrogen fueling stations, that hopefully, consumers will use once hydrogen vehicles are commercially available. Already, a Shell Hydrogen Fueling Station exists in the River Terrace area of Washington D.C. GM has supplied numerous hydrogen-run vehicles to the government and organizations located in the area. Other motor vehicle companies have built hydrogen fuel vehicles that also use the station as their main fueling point. It has recently been announced that a small town, Greenburgh, in Westchester County in New York will be receiving a Shell Hydrogen Fueling Station by this summer. GM will donate 5 hydrogen fuel vehicles to the town’s local government. Within the next five years, hydrogen stations will be popping up throughout the country, awaiting the day that the first consumer fuel cell vehicle rolls off the assembly line…

The US really needs a good castration…

After the somewhate humorous, somewhat pathetic news that Vice President Dick Cheney shot a man in the face, the New York Times reports quite a bit of strain in the Whitehouse; such a strain is certainly expected, given the fact that the man Cheney shot suffered a heart attack on Tuesday.  The liberal (and one of my favorite’s) blog ThinkProgress.org has a rather extensive ongoing discussion about the events.  What I think many of us would like to know is, if the man does happen to die, will Cheney find himself on trial for manslaughter?  And even if he is found guilty, will such a ruling actually matter?  Surely, President Bush will exercise his power and pardon Cheney anyway.  What this country really needs is a good castration; I, for one, have had quite enough of Dick.

Stealing Music is Still the Answer

Cartoon courtesy of The Daily (University of Washington)

I don’t think Shawn Fanning had any idea of the battle he was about to begin the day he released the first version of Napster

8 years later, the war is more violent than ever. On one side you have millions of Americans who have found a way to steal and get away with it without any social or moral repercussions. And on the other side you have the RIAA vigorously preaching the sins of copyright infringement to a body of people who just don’t care. Its like watching a substitute teacher hopelessly trying to calm down a classroom of unruly students.

But is it fair to put all of the blame on the people? For the first time, we have found a way to move and manipulate our music far more than we ever have been able to before. Not only is your music stored on your computer, but it can be put on an MP3 player, burned to a CD, and even streamed through a wireless connection to your stereo. No longer are you tied to listening to the preset order of tracks on a CD. You can now match and make your own mix of music however you would like. People steal music not only because it is free, but because it is versatile.

It took a while, but the record industry is beginning to understand. Companies like Apple and Real now sell music online per track. You can move this music to an MP3 player, burn it to a CD, and mix it they way you want it. But its not enough. For one thing, if you buy a song from iTunes, you can only put it on 5 computers. While this seems like a lot, when I buy my 6th computer 20 years down the road, I’m still going to want my music. Also, if you buy a song from iTunes, it will only work on and iPod. If you buy a song anywhere else, it won’t work on an iPod. Does this mean I’m going to have to buy iPods for the rest of my life just so that I can listen to my music?

As long as the internet exists, people will continue to steal music. But until the music companies can get it right, why shouldn’t they?

And So it Continues: The Spread of H5N1 Influenza

Here’s a follow-up on the quickly spreading H5N1 strain of influenza, “Bird Flu.” Europe is showing new fear for the impending pandemic. A full-blown flu pandemic has the potential to kill a significant portion of the world’s population. Once human-to-human transmission occurs, and if it’s out of the watchful eye of nations that are monitoring the spread of H5N1, the disease will rapidly spread through developing nations and into the Western world.

WalMart: Big Box Extraordinaire!

The Anti-WalMart coalition is mounting. Small-town citizens, ex-employees, pro-small businessmen, and thousands of other groups are joining together to expose and attack the retail giant of the world. It takes runaway capitalism to spark the creation of this kind of chain superstore. WalMart is a big-box virus that moves into unsuspecting communities and sucks them dry, until the only occupied structure left standing in the town is that corregated steel box brandished with Mr. Sam Walton’s down-home and catchy title. WalMarts have recently exploded onto the Chinese Market and have single-handedly begun the shut-down of Beijing’s world famous street markets. The quaint downtowns that once defined America are slowly disappearing to make way for acres and acres of black-top and that oh so familiar yellow smiley face. WalMart is a virus; if it is not treated soon, it will surely take over our way of life.