Swine Flu SWINEdle

Yea, I know I misspelled swindle, it was intentional, just like the profiteering off the " swine flu epidemic or pandemic or whatever". Whenever someone dies from this terrible disease it always makes the news but never in connection with a number that brings things into perspective, the population of the U.S. Here the Census bureau tells us that this number is approximitly 308 million.

"Estimates from April – October 17, 2009:

• CDC estimated that between 14 million and 34 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range was about 22 million people infected with 2009 H1N1.
• CDC estimated that between about 63,000 and 153,000 2009 H1N1-related hospitalizations occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range was about 98,000 H1N1-related hospitalizations.
• CDC estimated that between about 2,500 and 6,000 2009 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April and October 17, 2009. The mid-level in this range was about 3,900 2009 H1N1-related deaths."

The information above is from the Center for Disease Control.

I read a book about the 1918 flu epidemic   The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history. That book detailed the real horror that our country went through, and I'm not trying to diminish the fact that there has been loss of life, it's just that on the scale of things, this has been overblown. Another book, The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time (P.S.) that I also read, is a real eye opener and helps put things into perspective. Sad to say, this feels more about scaring the hell out of us and making money than about whats best for our country. Maybe by reading this article you'll begin to see the point. I quote:

"The one thing that was up last year was earnings for makers of H1N1 vaccines. CSL Limited saw its profits rise 63% above 2008 levels by June 2009, while GlaxoSmithKline enjoyed a 30% jump by the third quarter. Roche, maker of the preventive Tamiflu, enjoyed a twelve fold leap in profits from the second quarter of 2008 to the same period in 2009."

Let's be honest here folks. If you read this post or click on links, I stand to profit. This is how the Web works and most people know this. I am providing information to you and a slightly informed opinion as a service and I do not claim to be an expert or to know it all. However, I also know when something doesn't smell right and this stinks. It's about profiting off of basic fears and using a shell game to hide the truth.

In closing, how come you can find out the population of our great country with a click or two, but try as I might I can't find out how much money that's been made so far? Show us the numbers! Show us the money!

Cable bill went up again!

Okay, I'm a little pissed right now. I just went to TV Fool and it showed that i should be able to receive digital T.V. broadcasts OTA(over the air) using a indoor antenna. Our cable bill just went up again($25.77 to $32.85 - basic) and one of the only reasons we have it for football games. We don't watch TV that much because your are a slave to their schedule. Besides, it's not right to pay for cable to subject us to infomercials we don't want to watch! So i'm going to find a good indoor TV antenna and probably a amplifier and cut the cable!

Wildcats of Wildwood: update

After helping Al today, I went down to Wildwood and even though it was so cold it was sunny and the cats were out. They really are cute and cuddly and they make really good subjects to photograph.

 

  

  

  

The rest are here.I see that all of the cats pictured have perfect ears, so that means that irresponsible people are still dumping cats.

Helping Al Porter AKA Sheriff Killroy

I took some pictures for Al today by the old Army tank today. I think they could have out better, but it was freezing out so, what the heck. Those pictures are here.

Wubi - Ubuntu Installer

I'm going to install Ubuntu on Box3(my third computer, expendable) using Wubi! Be right back.

1. Started Firefox at 6:40
   
2. Clicked on Wubi 
3. Clicked on download now
4. Started download at 6:52
5. Ended download at 7:32
   
6. Double click on wubi.exe (where ever you downloaded it to)
   
7. You get a box with options. Select a size on your hard drive for the install. I had 26 GB free space. Wubi suggested 14 GB. I gave it 8 GB.
8. Then enter a password and click install.
9. My firewall (Comodo) asked for permission to continue. I granted it, but Wubi aborted.
10. double clicked on wubi.exe again. 
11. And now wubi say's to uninstall click here. I uninstalled.
12. Windows Security popped up. I chose unblock.
13. Asked to reboot and I rebooted
14. After rebooting, you have 2 choices. I chose Ubuntu
15. At 7:38 I chose to let the computer sit. It's at a text screen that looks like DOS but isn't.
16. It was locked up. I did a hardware reset(turned off the switch at the back of the computer) and restarted.
    
17. Again I chose Ubuntu and it went further and I walked away. (sometimes the best thing)


18. This a hoot! it's installing!


19. The Ubuntu system restarted at the end of the installation.


20. I was able to boot into the Ubuntu system no problem.


21. After using Ubuntu, I rebooted and went right back to Windows XP
    

120 Hertz - It's the refresh rate, stupid!

I didn't know the answer to this today, hence the title to this post.

Walmart and other stores are advertising T.V.'s with a 1080p 120 Hz. LCD
something like this below:

• 55" Class LCD HDTV (54.64" diagonal viewing area)
• 1080p
  
• Full High Definition 1920 x 1080 Native Resolution
• 120Hz Smooth Motion technology

for a "normal" T.V., 60 Hz. (Hertz) is the refresh rate. Here, the higher number is better, but not necessary. On a computer monitor(CRT), 75 Hz. is more desirable if you notice "flickering". This usually occurs during action such as game play. If you have a decent LCD you probably don't notice this effect. If you have the money, go ahead, blow it! Just remember, the source of what you're watching matters to, so results may vary and often do.

Busy, busy, busy

1. Installed Google voice on my blackberry .
2. Fixed "playing with ice and food coloring", Dan told me the link for the rest of the pictures didn't work.
3. To fix the above, I had to create the gallery on Pikshures in order to have a place to link to.
4. Helped Sheriff Killroy (Al Porter) by creating a MySpace page (for musicians) for him. It's located here.
5. Looked for and found Grumpy's Cafe. This place is right around the corner from La Bodega in Tremont. It's our next place targeted to check out food wise.