@TheTheologiansCafe - 

More of a friendly suggestion.

Pandemic status is given to any disease with a pre-determined level of PREVALENCE,

NOT fatalities. This shit is roughly as harmful as seasonal influenza.

Go back to studying for the Bar and taking uncopyrighted photographs of celebrities.

@offensiveideologue - 

If you would take time to read my post rather than pick it apart, you would realize that it is part informational and part humor. And a pandemic is NOT just any disease with a pre-determined level of prevalence but any contagious disease with a pre-determined level of prevalence. For instance, cancer is globally prevalent among humans but it's not a pandemic. AIDS is. And I never once said that THIS or any other pandemic is related only to fatalities. In fact, I pointed out that there have been only 125 reported swine flu deaths reported (as of the reports I read yesterday). That should have cued you in to realizing that I wasn't raising any serious alarms but rather that people should take extra precautions. As I wrote just a few sentences earlier, part information and part humor.

I suppose it would be better to write, "the best way to stay healthy" than "the best way to stay alive." Still, I am guessing I made my point because the other couple of commenters didn't seem confused or worried about definitions but rather the common sense side of keeping healthy, which is usually half the battle of staying alive.

While the swine flu isn't anywhere nearly as lethal - yet - as past influenza pandemics, it is more deadly than the seasonal influenza, which usually kills one person for every thousand infections. According to the CDC report from this afternoon (12 June 2009), there are just under 18,000 reported infections but 45 confirmed deaths. That's one death for every 400 infections. Maybe you should read up on some of the information out there coming down from the CDC and WHO. If this is pandemic is anything like the Spanish Influenza of 1918 - 1920, then this is the mild introduction of the virus into the human community and next season will be drastically worse. I hope it isn't but the suggestions I added are based on what I've repeatedly seen for people to do in order to to keep healthy. Really, most of it is common sense. While pandemic refers to the highest level of geographic prevalence, historically, influenza pandemics have been more virulent than regular flu seasons so, unfortunately, a higher rate of fatality is to be expected. Heightened caution is a civic duty everyone has in this situation.

@destination_34s - 

Okay, LATHER, LATHER, LATHER. I'll make the corresponding change. Thanks!

@Czolya - 

I wasn't aware being an attempted hack of a lawyer made one fluent in the etiologies of disease.

WOW, MAYBE I CAN GET THE SAME SUPERHUMAN POWERS.

If you have to guess at your intent when writing, maybe you should step away from the keyboard.

And yes, caution is useful if you're trying to prevent deaths.

I realize that this planet is over-populated by a factor of seven and I hope for some serious die-off.

Virulence is a completely different concept from prevalence, which is also different from incidence.

Even IF you're not in fact pulling numbers out of your dick, seasonal influenza would have a mortality rate of .001%...

compared to H1N1's rate of what, supposedly 45 in 18,000...giving .0025% mortality rate.

Get the fuck out of here until you learn statistical significance.

Even if there WERE enough cases to establish true statistically significant alpha values (phi=.001),

you'd be hard-pressed to establish that this virus is even mildly worse in terms of contagiousness or virulence...

or even prevalence.

I re-iterate: go back to studying, sir.

@offensiveideologue - 

First off, since you like picking things apart, I'll go about responding in the same spirit. You wrote, "If you have to guess at your intent when writing, maybe you should step away from the keyboard." I don't have to guess at my intent when I'm writing. Maybe you do. Maybe you're not sure of yourself and so not sure of what you're trying to convey to people. That does seem to be a bit of a theme on your blog. You say you don't care about other bloggers' attention but then, in the same blog, ask them to respond to your ostensible apathy towards any attention by putting forth a challenge to them to ask you about nearly anything and you'll respond. But maybe I shouldn't make fun of your blatant confusion because maybe it isn't so obvious to you. Let's go back to your sentence, shall we: "If you have to guess at your intent when writing, maybe you should step away from the keyboard." From reading my response to your initial comment, I am going to say that the proper pronoun should be "I" in place of the first "you." Improper subject. Improper conveyance of an idea in your sentence. Congratulations. You just failed first grade grammar. But even if you did intend to write what you did in that sentence, based on your reading of my blog entry above, you didn't fail first grade grammar but you just failed first grade reading comprehension. Congratulations!

On to mathematics. 45/18,000 = 0.0025. But you must multiply it by 100 if you wish to get the percentage, which is 0.25%. 45 is 0.0025% of 1,800,000. You did give me that exact percentage! But it was wrong. 45 is 0.25% of 18,000. You wrote 0.0025%. Congratulations. You just failed first grade math.

I am not well versed in statistics but then again I never said I was or even gave any inference that I was. The same goes for etiology. However, if you're going to begin to attack me, I suggest a course in basic mathematics, basic reading comprehension, and, what the hell, basic argumentation. I assure you, being an asshole in initiating dialogue with another doesn't give you an upper hand in the art just like knowing what phi stand for in statistics doesn't necessarily make you any more knowledgeable in that area of study than someone who can go online and read what phi means in 15 seconds. Maybe you are a whiz at statistics. Maybe you are very intelligent. But I wouldn't know it from your comments.

Go ahead and comment all you want but I'm not going to reply until you leave something that reflects your intelligence (I'm hoping you do have some). Keep insulting me and I'll block you. I don't like censoring people but I don't like spam either and I delete such emails without much afterthought. Right now, I consider your comments just as worthless.

@destination_34s - 

The law library installed hand sanitizing gel dispensers in the main computer lab. They also did one just outside the bathroom on that floor. Great ideas for both of them. Some people don't wash their hands after using the toilet and those of us who do still have to open the door with our hand so a lot of our work at the faucet is ruined. I don't know how accurate the information is but I've read some articles that have stated computer keyboards are far far dirtier than toilet seats.

Keep telling them to wash their hands!!!

PS. My dad told me that the Primier of British Columbia (the province where I was born and raised) gave a public service announcement on how to cough (and I guess also sneeze) properly. Coughing (or sneezing) into the inside of the elbow or arm keeps hands from being contaminated.

@destination_34s - 

Good call. Or sneeze into a kleenex or napkin if that is possible.

I think a great idea would be to get celebrities and politicians to do public service announcements.

ryc: I guess I am, technically, to blame. Dammit all.

As a hospital employee, I have to agree with all of this.

@Drakonskyr - 

No worries. I thought you should know so maybe you can shed some light on this guy. I went through his blog and saw you had commented and wondered who he was. I thought the whole exchange was cute to say the least. It keeps me on my toes. I was hoping for some real cerebral exchange but it just ended up being verging on petty name calling.