[THE BOX REVEALED]

Thank you Alex! ;)

The box has cometh! So say unto thee!

 

What treasures lie in wait this cardboard monstrosity? Tales of their travel from afar will be reaveled on another episode of "No one really cares what you have to say!". Please stay tuned.

The Pale Horse of the Apocalypse is on it's way

Mexico flu sparks worldwide fear

Mexican authorities have taken drastic measures to contain a new strain of the swine flu virus that has killed 81 and prompted fears of a global pandemic.

People are being urged to stay at home and maintain strict personal hygiene. Many schools, public buildings, bars and restaurants have been closed.

Non-fatal cases have been confirmed in the US and are likely in New Zealand.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that at least some of the cases are a new strain of the virus.

SWINE FLU

Swine flu is a respiratory disease found in pigs

Human cases usually occur in those who have contact with pigs

Human-to-human transmission is rare and such cases are closely monitored

H1N1 is the same strain that causes seasonal flu outbreaks in humans, but the newly detected version contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds.

The respiratory virus - which infects pigs but only sporadically humans - is spread mainly through coughs and sneezes.

The WHO has warned the virus has the potential to become a pandemic.

Several countries in Asia and Latin America have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms.

Suspected outbreaks

Although all of the deaths so far have been in Mexico, the flu is spreading in the United States and suspected cases have been detected elsewhere:

Susan Watts, BBC Science editor The next few days and weeks will be crucial. One possibly hopeful sign is that of the eight cases in the US there has been only one hospitalisation, and no deaths. So it may turn out that there is some other kind of infection at work in Mexico, as well as the new flu virus.

• Eleven confirmed infections in the US
• In addition, eight suspected cases are being investigated at a New York City high school where about 200 students fell mildly ill with flu-like symptoms
• Ten New Zealand students are among a group which travelled to Mexico have tested positive for influenza A - making it "likely", though not definite, that they are infected with swine flu, said Health Minister Tony Ryall
• In France, a top health official told Le Parisien newspaper there were unconfirmed suspicions that two individuals who had just returned from Mexico may be carrying the virus
• In Israel, medics are testing a 26-year-old man who has been taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms after returning from a trip to Mexico
• But a UK hospital conducting tests for swine flu on a British Airways cabin crew member said the tests proved negative.

Mexico shutdown

The Mexican government, which has faced criticism for what some see as a slow reaction to this outbreak, is now taking an increasingly hard line to try to contain the virus, says the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Mexico City.

Public buildings have been closed and hundreds of public events suspended.

Schools in and around Mexico City have been closed until 6 May, and some 70% of bars and restaurants in the capital have been temporarily closed.

“ It's eerily quiet here in the capital. Lots of people with masks ”
BBC reader Dr Duncan Wood, Mexico City

People are being strongly urged to avoid shaking hands, and the US embassy has advised visitors to the country to keep at least six feet (1.8m) from other people.

Mexico's Health Secretary, Jose Cordova, said a total of 1,324 people had been admitted to hospital with suspected symptoms since 13 April and were being tested for the virus.

"In that same period, 81 deaths were recorded probably linked to the virus but only in 20 cases we have the laboratory tests to confirm it," he said.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has announced emergency measures to deal with the situation.

They include powers to isolate individuals suspected of having the virus without fear of legal repercussions.

'International concern'

In the US, seven people in California, two people in Texas, and two people in Kansas have been infected with the new strain.

In New York, city health commissioner Dr Thomas Frieden said preliminary tests conducted on the ailing students showed they were possible cases of swine flu.

Further tests will clarify if it was the same strain that was detected in the other three states.

Following a meeting of its emergency committee on Saturday, the WHO said the virus had the potential to become a pandemic but it was too early to say whether that would happen.

FLU PANDEMICS

1918: The Spanish flu pandemic remains the most devastating outbreak of modern times - infecting up to 40% of the world's population and killing more than 50m people, with young adults particularly badly affected

1957: Asian flu killed two million people. Caused by a human form of the virus, H2N2, combining with a mutated strain found in wild ducks. The elderly were particularly vulnerable

1968: An outbreak first detected in Hong Kong, and caused by a strain known as H3N2, killed up to one million people globally, with those over 65 most likely to die

WHO Director General Margaret Chan said recent events constituted "a public health emergency of international concern" and that countries needed to co-operate in heightening surveillance.

The WHO is advising all countries to be vigilant for seasonally unusual flu or pneumonia-like symptoms among their populations - particularly among young healthy adults, a characteristic of past pandemics.

Officials said most of those killed so far in Mexico were young adults - rather than more vulnerable children and the elderly.

There is currently no vaccine for the new strain but severe cases can be treated with antiviral medication.

It is unclear how effective currently available flu vaccines would be at offering protection against the new strain, as it is genetically distinct from other flu strains.

Are you in Mexico or the US? Do you know someone who has been affected by the outbreak? Tell us your experiences by filling in the form below.

A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.

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In addition to all this. I've recently started rereading The Stand by Stephen King.

El Rancho Mexican Restaurant has some damn good cheap eats

Across the street from my job. I can go there with my friend from work and buy one steak fajita plate for $8 and split it between the both of us or get our own combo platter $4-6 and leave feeling full. We always talk about their amazing selection of quickly prepared Mexican food for the awesome price. The staff is nice and welcoming too.



Here's some googled reviews:



http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=el+rancho+kansas+city&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&latlng=12627412046002226179





Right next door is KC Pita. Stay the hell away from that place. Unless you like giving away your money.

I find people who read magazines while taking a poo offensive

people who read magazines while taking a poo
Get on with your bowel movement already, weirdo. Last thing I need to hear while using the urinal is you flipping through the latest King magazine and or talking on your cell phone. COME ON!

Ticketmaster's service charge
What's even more offensive is the fee they charge for you to print out your own ticket. WTF! I am the one taking the hit on printer ink. One day I hope you fail like the newspaper!!

People advocating the legalization of marijuana
Look if you're not in some chronic pain(and no, that was not some dumb pun) tone your voice down. Whoever was part of that ridicules commercial that plugs the election of Barack Obama as some sort of motivation for the change on the law on pot, go away!

Look god dammit, I can explain

...you've obviously never been ice fishing before.



Well it's fucking exhilarating.

Soda goes the way of RETRO

 

New items at work. Pepsi and Mountain Dew THROWBACK. Made with real sugar cane. Had the Dew this morning. Eh, ...different.

Such a pleasent evening.

Ever listen to Otep? Give Jonestown Tea a listen. That's all I have to say about that.

Just got in from going out to Micro Center. They had a couple of demos going on showing off the new 3D monitor technology. Wasn't impressed until I saw Spore in 3D. Now that something I could get into. Sucks wearing the 3D glasses over my regular glasses though. Six eyes!! They also had the drum attachments for ROCKBAND2, but Maria explained to me they weren't compatible with the Guitar Hero game and the product was more of lame add-on to give the drum set a more authentic look. Lame. Guitar Hero is pure garbage. At the check out lane or impulse buy alley I picked up a bottle of Bawls Guarana Exxtra. I had the naive idea this shit would be as good as the regular olde Bawls. No! I can just imagine that vileness is what sterile urine tastes like. Stick with what you know!



Before that, I dragged Maria to Borders. Picked up Batman: The Long Halloween and Stephen King goes to the movies. I figured I'd get back into reading to help keep my mind off the fact there will be no more Battlestar Galactica episodes.







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More signs of the times. Pack-size conversions. Ice cream, cereal, chips and now the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. I remember in grade school being able to go aboard the vessel and look around and steal wienermobile whistles. What's this compact atrocity.

One day I'll get the signal,

swoop in, stop some random crime, then disappear into the night while driving....

The Batmobile from the 1960's serial television show. Why? Come on now, it's the hotdamn Batmobile.

Maria's case mods: Part 1 of ??

 
 
 
 

Maria finally got around to taking some photos(because I sure wasn't) of her modifications on our gaming consoles. First one up for bid is our XBOX360.

Nags Head in Cape Hatteras, NC is lovely all times of the year

I spent a couple of nights out here on a vacation to DC years ago. The beach at night, the sand, the ocean air, the terrible seafood.. ..."It's fucking exilirating."

another test

 
 
 
 

anotehr test

Resurrecting SEX_PUNK_FUCK_MACHINE

 


Maria has been deconstructing a couple of derilict pc's in the past days. Why? I can't get a straight answer. Anyways, she found my old F:\ drive that I thought was fried long ago and ressurected it via this external case for internal drives I have had lying around for years. I though I had lost precious pictures and videos. Even my tranny porn is intact. Praise the gods. Well anyways I've been using Picasa to mouse wheel myself down memory lane and I stumbled across this gem from a book I found in a thrift store. Ah, memories.

This is a test.

 

What's in the pipeline?

First let me menstruate. I have The Last Remnant on the PC. Okay, so I try it using the mouse and keyboard configuration, don't like it. So, I try my 360 controller on it. It has a problem with it being a wireless controller. No big deal. Last resort, others have been able to get their ps3 controller to work for the game via a driver download. I follow their advice and get fucked big time. The fucking thing corrupts my Windows beyond restoration point backup being
workable. I end up having to reinstall Vista. Luckily all my files where still there. Just had to reinstall a couple of programs. What the shit, SquareEnix releasing their games on Microsoft systems. STICK WITH THE MOTHERFUCKING PLAYSTATION!!!!!
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In the Pipeline.

Nine Inch Nails - May 27th [Starlight]


Rockfest 2009 - May 30th [Liberty Memorial]


Mayhem Festival - July 21st & 22nd [Sandstone, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater]


Mario - 1981-present