FLU

FLU

I’ve heard it said that man is the king of the earth, the top of the food chain, the master of his own universe. Yet, if all that is true, then why are we so defenseless and susceptible to the tiniest of micro organisms? We can run but we can’t hide. In fact these virus are the most abundant form of biological life on earth.

Every one of us has had a cold or flu, and generally it amounts to a day or two of discomfort at best. A little rest, some fluids, a little “tussin” and we are usually good to go. Its common talk at schools and offices around the country to hear, “the flu is going around”, “I’ve got the bug” or “it’s flu season”. What scares me are the new strains that spread like wildfire and have ominous sounding names like the “swine flu”. I don’t want to have to walk around with a little paper mask on all day and a bottle of hand sanitizer at the ready.

The good news is our bodies have built up some natural defenses to the everyday garden variety virus. If we catch a slightly more resistant strain a quick trip to the doctor and a few antibiotics knocks that illness out of us in a few days. The bad news is that the actual virus can also build up a tolerance to the very medicines we use to combat them, making them ineffective.

From time to time these virus (Greek: toxin or poison) mutate into a new strain that proves to be very resilient to our medicines and antibiotics and that our bodies have no native, or built up immunity to. Scientist find it difficult to attack these new strains because they are constantly changing. At times young and old people along with those with weak immune systems are very susceptible.

There are three main types of flu or influenza virus.
Type A: Found in animals: Ducks, Chickens, Pigs, Whales, Humans
Type B: Found in Humans
Type C: Causes mild respiratory issues, not an epidemic
Since the dawn of time, or at least since Adam took some bad advice from Eve, mankind has had to live in fear of the virus.

With all of our knowledge and
medical advances we still cannot inoculate ourselves from an intrusion as innocuous as the common cold. (or Rhino virus) The best modern medical advice is to “let it run it course”.
Infectious disease has reared its ugly head thru out human history and on every continent. Communicable diseases have been known to spread thru populations like wildfire, leaving a trail of illness and death. Fear and ignorance have often lent a helping hand to a myriad of ills known by names like: Plague, Black Death, Typhus, Cholera, Bubonic Plague, Avian Flu, Small pox, HIV, or Measles.

When a infectious disease spreads rapidly across a state of region it is known as an epidemic. (from the Greek : epi or upon, and demos: people ). When a disease has worldwide potential, spreads across the sea and across continents its known as a pandemic ( from the Greek: pan all, and: demos‐ people )

Authorities treat any fast spreading disease with caution. With the aid of mass transit and airplanes, one infected person can spread to thousands in a short period of time. The problem is compounded when we allow visitors from third world countries to enter the United States without any medical screening.
Some virus can spread between species. A fact that most people don’t know (or don’t want to admit to themselves) is that even in the United States our ability to deal with large numbers of patients that need medical care and hospitalization at the same time is very limited.

So, it seems we have our hands full trying to come up with vaccines and cures for an age old human ailment. As doctors and scientist work to immunize us from these health issues, there are others who would weaponize this technology creating super strains that are biological engineered to kill humans.

It seems unlikely that we can ever eradicate the more virulent of these strains. After all it just takes one host to carry the disease and start the cycle all over again. It seems we have to learn to live(or die) with these microorganisms, just as humans have for thousands of years. It doesn’t look as if they are going away soon. Gott’a run, I’m heading down to the pharmacy to stock up on some Nyquil.. So, take a few aspirins and call me in the morning.

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com
P.I.B.

VIRUS

VIRUS

Wow…When I was a kid getting a flu or a virus meant a few days off of schools, some chicken soup, and some quality daytime television watching. What a difference a few years makes (ok,,I’m being generous here). Anyway in today’s jargon, if you catch a flu or Virus it’s usually something a lot more substantial like Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Hong Kong Flu, or even the dreaded computer virus.

I really not sure how the whole computer virus thing works but I’ve heard from the experts that when you hook up a brand new computer to the internet you can “catch” a virus within the first few minutes. So, just to put this whole thing into prospective, if you simply click on that old internet icon on your computer and access the world wide web, your computer will be infected with malicious software. (I wonder if Al Gore ever thought this would happen to his internet) Surprisingly these intrusions into your computers files, memory, and hard drives are not a new occurrence. It seems that there has been malicious software out there since the first IBM computers linked together into networks, or accessed the internet.

Just like that, out of millions of possible users that are on the internet at that very moment, the minute I jump into the pool, even in the shallow end, I get attacked. Where the hell do these things come from ? Who would stand to gain by screwing with my new Dell laptop ? Must be a group of sick individuals for sure. I mean what does a hacker benefit from writing all that useless code just to crash the computer of a person he doesn’t even know. What’s the gratification? There are your garden variety viruses and other intrusions along with, Trojan horses, spyware, bots, phishing, spam, Malware, and Worms (along with hundreds of other insects and creations of the binary underworld)

Well, if that’s the case, and the digital black plague is just waiting for another unsuspecting new user to stick his proverbial xxx into the internet waters, how in the world do we protect ourselves? My last computer was totally ruined by this stuff. (ok, perhaps I inadvertently visited a few questionable sites) So, I go out and buy a brand new laptop with all the latest bells and whistles. I even bought the special heavy duty antivirus software and firewall that the guy at the computer place recommended.

So anyway, I get home and I’m excited about using my new computer. I can’t wait to get the latest updates on American Idol and the new radar pictures from the weather channel. This time I have taken every precaution to avoid catching a virus, I’ve created a sterile environment. So there I sit, new computer fired up, firewall installed and working, hands washed, condom on, Lysol ready, Nyquil on standby, and wearing a 2 micron surgical mask. Nothing can stop me now, I’m on my way to a perfect internet experience.

Three, two , one.. Hello world wide web, meet your newest visitor. So, I’m greeted by my Google search page and quickly type in “ Michelle Obama .. latest outfit”. Well, wouldn’t you know it my browser was diverted to some other web site selling florescent light bulbs. From there, my computer automatically brings up another random web site and then another. My hard drive begins a steady humming noise that quickly accelerates to warp speed and has my whole desk shaking from the vibrations. In a desperate attempt to regain control of my computer I try hitting the Escape key, followed by the old standby “Alt/Control/Delete combo without results. I also try clicking with my mouse to no avail, Not sure what to do and in a final act of disgust I press the power off button on my CPU. The hard drive only spins faster, almost in defiance of my command to shut off, I find myself wondering if this thing is possessed. ( I’d like to think I’m the king in my own house and I hate when one of my household appliances acts defiant with me. My vacuum and T.V. never give me problems like this) I finally yank the power cord out of the wall in a desperate attempt to turn the darn thing off. At this point, I’m not sure if I should call Dell support or an exorcist.

Of course you can down load or purchase any number of Anti-Virus software, and then pay on- going fees to make sure you always have the most up to date definitions. (makes me wonder if half the company is developing these poisonous viruses and the other half selling the rest of us the antidote. A quick look in the History and Quarantine section of your anti-virus software will reveal that they are worth the money. It’s not unusual to see the software block several improper entries in a short time span. It doesn’t even matter if you are using your computer or not, as long as you have cable internet service that stays on all the time.

There are also some free or shareware versions available for down load, but be careful. From time you time you will see a “Pop-Up ad” appear on your screen offering to speed up your computer and inoculate you from incoming viruses. The problem is that when you click on some of them, you are actually infecting your computer with a virus. (who hasn’t witness the shoot the moving monkey pop up)

As inconvenient as it may be, it seems like we will have to learn to deal with this newest intrusion into our lives. I guess in the end it’s just like flying by commercial carrier. You can still get to where you want to go, but it’s going to cost more and you’ll have to go thru security.

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.