Swine flu PSAs from 1976

From the Center for Disease Control:

In 1976, 2 recruits at Fort Dix, New Jersey, had an influenza-like illness. Isolates of virus taken from them included a strain similar to the virus believed at the time to be the cause of the 1918 pandemic, commonly known as "swine flu." Studies at Fort Dix suggested that >200 soldiers had been infected and that person-to-person transmission had occurred. This led to the public health decision to mass-vaccinate the American public against the virus, but subsequent vaccine shortages and a link between the swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome caused the cancellation of the program. Watch the 1976 public service announcements below on YouTube:

1976 swine flu PSAs

Google's new SketchUp 3D design software may help autistic kids develop life skills

Google has developed software to help autistic children develop life skills. Although no two autistic children are the same, they all exhibit general obsessive-compulsive behaviors and language deficiencies. At the same time, however, these children often exhibit extraordinary computer gaming skills.

Google's Project Spectrum has created Google SketchUp 3D modeling software to give people with autism the opportunity to express their creativity and develop a life skill. It is not a traditional video game as we think of such games, but is a creative tool for the child to design 3D environments.

"The idea for Project Spectrum originated when we began getting phone calls and emails from users telling us about how much kids on the autism spectrum were enjoying SketchUp," Google tells educators. "As the calls kept coming in, we learned that people with autism tend to be visually and spatially gifted — that, in fact, they think in pictures. When people with these gifts get their hands on powerful, easy-to-use 3D design software like SketchUp, sparks tend to fly."

The link for more information and a free download is http://sketchup.google.com/spectrum.html

My Favorite Twitter Apps

Twitter, for those of you who may not know or care, is basically microblogging -- that is, the writing of short, 140-character editorials, advertisements, announcements, jokes, expressions, and so forth. If you can think it, you can twitter it. Your audience is called your “followers,” and they receive all of your published work, called your “tweets.” Then you also follow others and receive their tweets.

There are countless uses for Twitter. The most common use is brand marketing -- that is, getting your product, service or message to as many followers as possible. Media organizations like CNN and scientific organizations like NASA also use Twitter to have interactive, real time discussions with their followers, who can be both members of their own organizations and the general public. Then there are those of us, like myself, who use Twitter for a variety of reasons, with “just for fun” being at the top of the list. I don’t play video games so Twitter is one of the things I do for entertainment. I am in the process of using this web page to post things for Twitter, including maybe trying to sell stuff now stored in the garage.

Professional marketers, public relations pros and educators may have their favorite Twitter apps to keep track of their usage statistics, but novices like myself like to keep things simple. Here is a list of my favorite Twitter apps:

Tweetdeck - This Twitter follow interface is customizable into columns. Mine are All Friends, National News, Regional News, Local News, Bloggers, Family, Replies, DMs, and Facebook. You can automatically shorten urls and send updates right from Tweetdeck.

Tweetchat - This is a great way to participate in #hashtag chats. You can customize the app to feature the chat leaders and block the griefers. You can also change the refresh speed and pause the feed. This is the best chat app I have found. Try the beta.

Twitterberry - This Blackberry mobile app will keep you twittering on the go. Follow the public timeline, all friends, replies, DMs, and your timeline. You send updates from a separate screen, which gives you a handy live character count. No search capability though.

Ubertwitter - This app, now in beta, has a location feature, search, retweet, and it is customizable in a number of ways, including type and icon size. You can click on the tweet and get user info and find out who is tweeting in your geographic area. I just downloaded this app and so far so good.

Mr. Tweet
- Just follow Mr. Tweet and get personalized follow recommendations and useful Twitter stats. Not really an app, but I use it like one.

Widgets - Display your timeline on other social networking sites like myspace and blogspot. Choose from flash or text displays.

Date Nut Overnight Cookies

Mix:
1c shortening
1/2c sugar
1/2c brown sugar
2 eggs

Stir in:
2&3/4c flour
1/2t soda
1t salt
2 or 3t cinnamon
1/2c chopped nuts
1/2c dates

Wash hands, then mix ingredients thoroughly by hand and mold into smooth, long roll. Wrap and refrigerate overnight, then cut into thin slices. Bake in oven on ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 min. at 400-degrees. Makes approx. 6 dozen.

Cheney Cries "Witch-hunt!"

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is an angry man. Why, you ask? Well, Cheney was one of the chief promoters of the Iraq occupation and the policy of torturing “enemy combatants.” He is angry because President Obama may allow the creation of a “truth commission” -- headed by a special law prosecutor -- to determine if federal laws were broken and what punishment, if any, should be handed down. Cheney angrily refers to this process as a political “witch-hunt.” Cheney is attempting to turn the process from an independent, nonpartisan criminal investigation into an act of political retribution by Democrats against Republicans. He is attempting to ward off or stall any possible investigation of himself and others in the Bush administration. I can almost hear the paper shredders now, but the big question is this: Will the mass media buy into his stunt or call him out on it?