Tip: Plan Ahead

Okay, I said these were in no particular order but this has to be one of the most important tricks.

For one thing: kid-proof the place the night before so when they wake you up at some ungodly hour, everything’s ready to go and all the hazards are gone. Put the glass wear and any other dirty dishes in the kitchen. In the kitchen, put all the knives and scissors at the very back of the counters. Anything you don’t want them touching, put out of reach. Put a clamp on the closet so it can’t be opened, block off the entertainment center – that sort of thing. Yes ideally you want the child to follow instructions but the peace of mind knowing that for the most part they simply can’t harm themselves when you’re not looking is a great stress reduction. Have simple easy food options ready, things that don’t have to be eaten right away take some of the pressure off as well.

If you plan on going anywhere this is when the pre-planning has to go into overdrive. BEFORE getting the child ready or even telling them you’re going anywhere get the stuff you need for the outing packed in a backpack. You don’t know when needs will arise so essentials to include are: diapers and wipes, snack food, and toys or other entertainment. If you can get the kid to wear the backpack, that’s a bonus. For the first couple years use a stroller whenever it’s more convenient. The kid can’t run out into traffic if they’re in a stroller however several buses might pass you by if they are already full or have strollers already. The kid’s maturity as much as anything will decide when it’s time to park the stroller for good.

Mentally decide on a nap time, some observation of the kid can help. For example I found if my son went for his nap anytime after 3pm he woke up in a horrible mood. Give yourself some flexibility but not more than an hour is my advice. Be rigid. Don’t let the kid provide the reason for changing the schedule. And be ruthless. Being wishy-washy will only cause more problems down the line. Put the kid in their bed or crib for their nap, say something soothing and positive despite whatever they’re saying, get out and close the door. Go to another room. Close the door to that room. Watch some TV or something – do something that generates some sound and that lasts at least an hour. Unless the child is in distress (not simply protesting the nap) ignore them. Be patient, this could take a couple hours on occasion but be firm. If a couple of hours as passed and they haven’t napped let them out – they’ve wasted double the time they needed to nap anyways so by that point it’s not a win for them anyways. You win or the kid loses – don’t let the kid win. Be strong, it’s a disservice to the child not to rest and it’s far too early for them to be calling the shots. The obvious exception to this is if you’re going out – then you may need to skip the nap.

Tip: Don’t Make An Issue Out Of Nothing

You’re the bad guy for the nap you don’t need to be an authoritarian over other less critical things. If the kid wants to do something bizarre or unusual so long as it doesn’t put them or any property at risk just be Zen about the whole thing. Your kid wants to spin around in a chair only singing the first half dozen letters of the alphabet set to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while watching the same Thomas video for the 8th time while eating his third nutria grain bar in row while he smacks himself in the stomach? So what? Let ‘em. He’s just experimenting with his voice.

Tip: Decode Your Kid’s Language

I think a lot of the baby/toddler-parent frustration out there stems from not being able to effectively communicate. That’s just the way it is and you have to live with it but if you make an effort to understand your kid’s code that should cut down on the frustration. Just recently I decrypted his requests for “af-ter-burner!” to actually be “bob-the-builder!” Odd, I know – that one took WEEKS to work out. I want him to express himself and see his ideas and wants realized whenever it’s practical so he asks for something I can provide then why not?

On a nice day try letting them set the agenda for an outing. Don’t provide options (they’re just as often as not repeat the last or funniest sounding thing you say); just ask want they want to do. They may just say “outside” or they may be specific and say “park!” or “bicycle!”

Tip: Get Full Advantage Out Of Technology

There are potentially 5 ways my kid can watch a video he likes: HDTV, Computer, TV, Portable DVD Player, and PDA. Having his favorite videos in a couple digital formats can be great. The video he was watching while singing a song? Put it on in his room if it’s driving you mad. Can’t get him to follow you outside? Put his video on your PDA and he’ll literally let you lead him around by the nose if you’ve got the right video. You absolutely hate what he’s watching? Headphones!

Tip: Sell! Sell! Sell!

There’s something you want or need to do but your kid doesn’t see the point and doesn’t want to do it. If it’s not something that can be explained at that age then make a game of it. Need the kid to be quiet? Tell them “the dinosaurs are sleeping” and not to wake them. Need to go to the mall to buy stamps? Ask if he wants to go on an adventure in the car-car or on the bus. If you can put it in the right terms the once reluctant child might be more excited than you are.

For example when it’s time to brush teeth at night I don’t tell him he has to or anything like that – I just tell him what I’m going to do and go do it. 95% of the time he joins in. And while brushing the teeth with me he doesn’t do the best job at first but the more he watches me do it the more he imitates and his brushing has gotten better over time even if at first it was completely ineffectual play time for him. There’s often a reason one path has least resistance.

Tip: Positive Reinforcement

It’s easy to remember to point out when kids do something wrong – anger or pain is often God’s little reminders to point out your children’s foibles but one must remember to praise good behaviour. How can you expect your son to be a good boy if he doesn’t know what that looks like? I’m also a firm believer that good manners like always saying please and thank you makes for better domestic harmony so you can set a good example. I, for example, always try to thank the person the made or bought dinner and as much as possible do so in front of the child so this seems a normal interaction. There’s nothing like being out at a store just waiting for your kid to create one sort of disaster or another only to have him say “hello”, “please”, “thank you”, and “goodbye” to everyone. It will also help score you some points if that disaster comes later.

Tip: Let Them Do Their Own Thing

Yes we all crave attention and affection but if your kid just wants to play by himself or watch a show don’t disturb them (unless of course it’s the dreaded nap time) – they’re your child not your amusement center or hug factory.

Conclusion

These tips often fit together to make for an easier time of things. Try not to take my suggestions as be trying to sound better than anyone else or anything – I certainly don’t claim any special knowledge or ability – for all I know I could have it all backwards. These are as much reminders to me as they are suggestions for others.

After 7 years of not seeing a dentist I finally got around to it today and the verdict was everything’s absolutely fine.

What a relief – it was a small worry in the back of my mind of the better part of a decade and now it’s gone. Last year it was my eyes, this year my mouth but so far I’m still in the clear.

No cavities.
Gums are fine (I knew my previous dentist was a quack for saying I needed a graft!).
Bones are fine.
No cancer.
No decay.

In fact, as mouths go, mine is in pretty good condition. In fact they kept remarking on how unremarkable my mouth was – as well as how boring a read my dental and medical histories are. I guess I’m pretty vanilla.

Now when I was a kid my family would spot me $5 for each dentist’s visit and for every problem that I could have prevented I would lose $1. So a cavity would cost me a dollar but overcrowding or wisdom teeth removal would not. Well by all accounts despite skipping about 14 dental visits and cleanings I do believe I scored 5 out of 5 – so where’s my fiver?

Actually it was a pretty good experience on the whole. I went to Dr. Bong Kwoo on Broadway and these guys were fantastic. Some of the best customer service I’ve received in ages. They put the folks at the Hyatt to shame. The receptionist took my coat, sat next to me to help me fill out the medical forms – I felt like I was back in Kindergarten with all the unnecessary handholding. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind in the slightest – they really go out of their way to make you feel at home. My last dentist’s office was cold and uninviting and full of curt people who didn’t seem to have time for anything including any serious questions about insurance. These guys at Dr. Kwoo’s make you feel like a king. Seriously, like there’s nothing more important than making sure things are as easy and comfortable for you as possible. The hygienist was kind and had a sense of humour and Dr. Kwoo himself was fantastic. It takes a lot to make bleeding gums funny.

You know, I stayed away from a dentist’s office for 7 years logically because I didn’t have insurance but emotionally I stayed away because of the guilt trips and the lectures and the general sense of disappointment that came from all my previous dentists whenever I walked in a day late or with less than perfect teeth. There was seriously no pleasing these people. But Dr. Kwoo’s staff – boy are the understanding. I spent much of the time just waiting for the lecture and it never came. When Dr. Kwoo casually mentioned how long it had been since I’d seen a dentist I tried to get out in front of it and own up to my bad choices. He just said “hey, everyone gets busy or has their reasons”. He just wanted to confirm that my information as correct, not criticize my choices. That moment alone was as much as a relief as finding out my mouth was completely healthy.

It was also quite the education. He explained everything before doing it and in such a way as to make sense to anyone. He used appropriate and comprehensible metaphors and had a sense of humour.

I learned about bone loss and how a # was ideal and a #5 was bad and then got to hear how each of my teeth came in between #1 and #4.

He told me about this very Spock device, designed and built right here in BC, that lets them see at the cellular level and it does nothing but shine a blue light at you and cause some very slight warmth. It was a somewhat surreal moment, having someone look through something the size of a cell phone to see your mouth at the cellular level in real time to screen for cancer. Now I have some idea what it must be like to visit sickbay on the Enterprise. I also learned that 25% of all cancers of the mouth happen to people in absolutely no risk group and can have no visible indications or symptoms until it’s already in advanced stages.

He was able to tell without any diagnostic assistance that I have more minerals in my system than the average person and explained how that results in faster plaque buildup than average and how only a dentist can effectively remove it and that was my one problem area, a lot of build up, and he was able to take care of all that with one vigorous cleaning.

He mentioned a couple cosmetic things I could do such as adjusting my bite and whitening my teeth but it wasn’t so much a sales pitch as making sure I knew what my options were so I could make informed decisions and I was the one who mentioned whitening first.

I initially booked an appointment with them based on a flyer for a $69.95 promotional price for the first cleaning, x-rays, and cancer screening and frankly I had pretty much planned to take advantage of the discount and then move over to the same place I sent my family for subsequent cleanings. I didn’t feel guilty about my insidious plan because I had my doubts about a dentist who also offers Botox but I have to say that depending on the final details of my insurance coverage I may just stick with Dr. Kwoo even if it means a bit more out-of-pocket. Having finally found a dentist I actually like, who behaves like a professional on the cutting edge of technological innovation, would be well worth it if insurance makes it affordable.

Why did it take until the Wii for this to become a reality? I think there are at least 2 solid reasons for this.

First, the Wii is the first Nintendo console to have a native widescreen resolution and for 4 players or indeed even 2 to play on the same level simultaneously without constantly squeezing the other person off or constantly bumping into each other you really need widescreen.

Second, the Wii was the first Nintendo console to truly go online and sales of old games via Virtual Console must have shown Nintendo, at last, that there is still a market for these kinds of games. Mega Man 9, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and Dr. Mario on WiiWare, I think, really helped open the doors New Super Mario Bros Wii walked through. And of course New Super Mario Bros on DS selling so well was a direct predecessor to this game. Wikipedia had this to say regarding the success of New Super Mario Bros on the DS…

“New Super Mario Bros. received several honors, including Game of the Month awards from Game Informer and Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Editors’ Choice Awards from IGN and GameSpot. In Japan, the game broke the record for the best-selling debut for a Nintendo DS game. Overall, the game has sold 18.45 million copies worldwide and is the second best-selling game for the DS, and the fourth best-selling non-bundled video game of all time.”

But I think the appeal of classic gaming had to be discovered before even that game was made. Frankly I’m elated at the whole thing. Just because graphics and hardware advances made other more complicated game types possible it did nothing to negate the appeal and fun of the games we had already loved. And these two most recent Mario games make use of expanded capabilities to bring new things to the franchise without completely reinventing the wheel.

If you think about it, you can almost see the natural progression. For example zooming out when characters are far apart from each other was something that began with the Super Smash Bros line of games.

Okay, enough about broad trends in the industry, back to the actual game at hand.

Of the game, Tycho at Penny Arcade had this to say…

“New Super Mario Brothers Wii is marriage poison.

I wouldn’t play this game with any person you want to see again. In its multiplayer interpretation, which I suggest be referred to as “Divorce Mode,” choreographing your platform jumps in a way that does not interfere with another person’s basic game interactions can be quite difficult - particularly in portions where player movement itself can kill teammates while you progress the level, or when the natural scroll of the camera can kill those who lag behind. One of these two things is almost always happening, though.  So hm. 

That is to say nothing of the proper distribution of power-ups, which is a process fraught with concentrated danger.”

I suppose he has a point if the person you’re playing with both sucks and has a fragile ego. But there’s one aspect of this new game Tycho may overlooking, perhaps for comic value. If you press ‘A’ you are encased in a bubble that protects you and carries you through the level (and solid objects) so long as someone else is still alive in your team. Effective use of this can be quite the useful tool. One person can take a very dangerous risk while someone else waits in relative safety and the second it goes south press ‘A’ and you’re saved without losing a life. In my house we call this “bubbling-up” – the imperative version conjugation being “bubble up!” or “bubble up God damn it!” if you’re willing to pay a $0.25 surcharge on your foul language. This also allows you to recognize various players’ strengths. For example my fiancée is very good at ghost houses and boss battles while my strengths lay in standard levels and castles. So in a ghost house I’m much more inclined to bubble up and let her carry my sorry ass through to the well-hidden exit. In a castle I get us to the boss, she takes care of him. So the peculiarities of this game don’t have to be a source of conflict but rather a challenge to work together and acknowledge everyone’s relative skills. And if lagging very far behind or getting hit with a shell a teammate threw didn’t hurt you then the game would just be insanely easy.

And all that having been said, this kind of situation is still damn funny:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/11/20/

I think this game has the strong potential to be the “it gift” this year – revitalizing the Wii against stiff competition from the PS3. So buy it for yourself, buy it for someone you love, buy it for your boss and watch it ruin his marriage – whatever it takes to get Nintendo to continue making games for people like me who thought between the years of 2001 and 2006 that video games had left them behind. The Wii, and more specifically this game, really is for everyone.

It’s generally fantastic, although there are some moments such as trying to make light of the deaths as a result of MKULTRA that were a little awkward to watch if you know the history.

Also what happens at the military base at the end is far too slapstick for my tastes and part of me can’t help but wonder if something like that actually happened rather than being the result of artistic creative license. Further research however reveals that Kevin Spacey and Robert Patrick’s characters are completely fictional so I am inclined to believe that was just low-brow humour or lazy writing. Either way that particular plot point was a disappointment but in my mind there few sins a handful of Jedi jokes won’t correct.

The acting is very good considering the ludicrous nature of the subject matter.

Overall I think they tried to tell a very funny and unusual historical tale but wrapped it in an incomplete framing story that seemed to lack a fulfilling conclusion to the narrative.

That said it’s still a lot of good fun that’s well worth the time and money although perhaps not worth owning.

Let me say, straight off, that this is NOT just a film for fans of Ricky Gervais. Yes he wrote it. Yes he directed it. Yes he starred in it. Okay, I’m not helping make my point here. The point is if you’re expecting something as dry as Extras don’t worry – this film actually has a very broad appeal – probably much broader than its given credit for. It’s actually incredibly smart but in a very accessible manner. It gives you something to think about and a lot to laugh about.

For me the journey to see this film was a long one. For months an ad for the film prominently displaying Rob Lowe (whom I enjoy) has been staring me in the face on my daily commute. A big poster right across from me on the skytrain platform right where I wait for the perfect doors to make my trip as easy and efficient as possible. Every day I found myself thinking “I want to see that. I bet I’d really enjoy that. Probably won’t happen”. Well it wasn’t until I found myself bored in Tukwila on a fall minibreak that I came across a mobile movie times website on my PDA that brought the nearby showing to my attention.

In fact our experience was probably rather unique. We were the only ones in the theatre until about 5 or 10 minutes before the film was to start when two other people entered. They actually got up and left before the film had even reached the midpoint. They whispered something to the usher on their way out and never returned. They’re obviously fools but it meant my friend and I could be as obnoxious as we wanted since we had the place to ourselves but other than pointing out gazillions of awesome cameos we were really quiet because the film was just that engrossing.

I actually figured out a way this story could be plausible. Sodium Pentothal makes you tell the truth, right? Well what if this parallel earth’s entire freshwater supply had naturally occurring Sodium Pentothal in it? Then let’s say that Ricky Gervais’ character has a genetic anomaly (or evolutionary mutation if you will) that prevents him from absorbing the Sodium Pentothal into his system. Boom, there you go. Entire movie plausible – that’s your suspension of disbelief on a silver platter, now go enjoy the film.

(Spoiler Alert! And sorry for the lack of warning in my District 9 review. My bad.)

One thing I found slightly disappointing or at least counter intuitive is that he ends up with Jennifer Garner’s character. The fact is she’s a cow. He should have found someone with a soul rather than essentially train her to fake it. Very disappointing but I suppose if she’s the female lead it wouldn’t do very well to dump her two-thirds of the way through the film to find someone better like say, I don’t know I think Renee Zellweger or someone could have played a better partner for him. But I digress.

So in conclusion, see this film. If for no other reason than I guarantee you will see a cameo from at least one actor you enjoy. That is, of course, assuming you have any taste.

The acting is first-rate, there are no questions there. Damon and Bakula are fantastic. Joel McHale makes a wonderful transition from his frequent comedic appearances on Countdown to the big screen – I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. And if you, like me, remember him from Almost Live! well, then you score some major points in my books.

This film also has some great cameos, so, enjoy that.

It’s just…it’s hard to describe. It’s based on a true story so it’s rather limited it what it could do from a plot perspective so if the  ending  leaves you a little unfulfilled, disappointed, or confused well, that’s life.

It’s one of those movies you see once and you’re good. So call it a rental I guess.

Let’s have a status report.

1) Never buy parkay margarine again
Done.

2) See a dentist
Just booked an appointment today for next week, this was the last thing on the list really. It’s been hanging over my head for both months and years – months as a resolution, years as a general responsibility.

Now I have plenty of excuses, most of which hover around having no dental insurance for years, then having an unknown status of coverage due to the crappy communication of a former union at a former workplace. Then recently I got on Mindi’s plan but I waited a bit because we were unclear on when exactly the dental kicked in. But since I made the resolution to see a dentist last December the only remaining excuses were finding a dentist, figuring out the cost (as this insurance reimburses after the fact), and scheduling. The first two remaining roadblocks were removed at the insistence and assistance of my staff, which just left scheduling. November was the perfect time as my scheduling is reasonably flexible but here it is halfway through the month and I was still putting it off.

To be clear I don’t fear the dentist – I fear the dentist’s bill (that’s bill, not drill). And my last dentist became some sort of marketing madman near the end, constantly trying to sell me things I didn’t need so I also fear the sales pitch. But after all this time I suppose I am also afraid they’ll find something or give me a lecture. But as much as I feel ashamed for leaving it for so long I do feel proud at finally biting the bullet (pardon the pun) and getting this thing scheduled. It’s overcoming all that inertia that’s often the hardest part. Plus I found a great deal, essentially half off plus cancer and gum disease screening so at least one way or another I’ll know my dental status. And they guarantee the visit will not last more than 90 minutes so if they start in to a sales pitch and I’ll just watch the clock and go to a happy place in my head until the clock runs out.

3) Save money
This is relative but always a good idea and goal. So it really depends on how you look at it. If you want to go with pure numbers I’m about $2,100 down from this time last year however when you consider that since then I have bought a new HDTV, blu-ray player, car (and repairs and maintenance), and engagement ring not to mention gone on 2 minibreaks and an awesome vacation which I essentially paid for 2 people I’d say that’s pretty good. Frankly looking back I have absolutely no idea how I did it. So if you consider the value of the things purchased…heck, forget everything else but the car and I still come out ahead so let’s call this one complete.

4) Help my girlfriend get a newer car
Well I ended up not so much “helping” as “buying” the car but either way call that a win

5) Have a kickass vacation
Have you seen the videos? Mission freaking accomplished.

As for resolutions for the coming year? Well it’s way too early to speculate with any degree of confidence although I think it’s a safe bet #1 and #3 will make appearances. #5 will probably be modified slightly to “have a kickass 30th birthday vacation (possibly in London)”. I’ve had and completely 2 medical resolutions in the last two years (optometrist last year, dentist this year) so I think perhaps I’ll give that a break maybe have something about general physical fitness, doing something special for the kid, or maybe just have one that reads “survive 2010” as work has already gotten a little crazy and is likely only to get worse between now and my birthday.

How did you do on your resolutions?

This is just a fantastic film. It’s action, it’s science fiction (and I mean the kind of thought-provoking science fiction that would make Asimov and Roddenberry proud), it’s drama – it has a lot to offer much of which doesn’t always fall into our predetermined categories.

For example the main character is not at all what you’d expect. He seems a most unlikely hero, or villain for that matter, and frankly when we first met him I didn’t think he WAS the main character. He just seemed so inconsequential. I thought he was just someone who would accidentally set a chain of events into motion prior to the real protagonist showing up. But he doesn’t even fit into the stereotypes of an antihero or a reluctant hero. He starts off so seemingly innocent and naïve and before anything noteworthy happens you slowly start to see a slightly darker side of things like acceptable racism but it’s still in this soft innocent coating that the juxtaposition is a little surprising and intriguing and that’s when it hits you that this is a person. A 3 dimensional character that, to paraphrase Whitman, at times contradicts himself as he contains multitudes – as many people do. We’re used to seeing characters that have very few actual characteristics and if any of these change at all they tend to come in broad sweeping strokes that pivot on a central plot point – usually coming to realize they must do the right thing or some such. Wikus is much more complicated than that but that complication isn’t a burden to the viewer at all – if anything it makes the experience more human.

I could pontificate on the themes or the message, go on a rant about KBR/Halliburton (although why try when Keith Olbermann does it so well?) but that’s all for the individual to determine for themselves. It’s a great movie that makes you think but there are enough shades of gray that it doesn’t really force any ideology or conclusions on you. You can easily just enjoy it as a piece of entertainment.

It’s not a perfect movie, I could have done with him getting his hands on some alien weaponry a whole lot sooner and kicking ass for a bit longer but all things considered it’s a pretty minor criticism.

The aliens were easy to identify with because many of their faces, particularly that of the primary alien character, were actually rather reminiscent of Bumblebee from the recent Transformers movies.

I think they did an excellent job of setting up for a potential sequel. I mean, they moved them from District 9 to District 10 by the end after all so the title of the sequel is pre-made, logical, and easy for audiences to follow. And the time frame for the ship to return closely matches a film production schedule.

Oh, did I just ruin it for you? Don’t worry, it’s painfully obvious and you’ll still get to discover and debate which character is what part of humanity.

But on the off chance that I have accidentally ruined the film for you let me tell you the ending is unsatisfying. Not No Country For Old Men unsatisfying but it takes an unfortunate religious turn at the end. Frankly I find this to be poor writing – anyone can answer a question with “god did it” (which this film doesn’t, fear not) but it takes talent to come up with real-world solutions and explanations and meaning.

It’s an enjoyable film and visually intriguing and well worth watching so long as you keep your expectations in check – they sadly didn’t cover what I found to be the most interesting aspect of the story (how we got here and where we’re going afterwards) very well for my tastes but don’t let that stop you from seeing it.

I’m not saying people should panic over swine flu and I agree it’s been over-reported and often not put in proper perspective but I also think if you don’t want the vaccine that’s fine, don’t get it (I haven’t) but by the same token as the media has put too much fear into people over the swine flu the fringe has put too much fear into people over the vaccine. Don’t panic and do what your doctor tells you, that’s my advice but I’m not going to force that opinion on people. And I’m not going to imply that people doing otherwise are uneducated - my doctor’s plenty educated and that’s good enough for me. If I didn’t trust him with my family’s health, well, I’d get a new doctor.

To be completely honest I haven’t decided if I’m going to get the shot or not (I think I was exposed in spring and am already immune anyways, about 75% chance of that being the case) - I’ll probably just get the shot at work. But as someone not in an at-risk group I’ll happily wait my turn. I took my son to get his shot and fully support anyone I know in an at-risk group getting theirs ASAP. But so long as hockey teams and wall street CEOs are pushing pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems out of their way to get it as someone not in an at-risk group I’m proud of waiting. Plus it gives me a bit more time to see if there are any complications which as far as I can tell (and I watch the news pretty carefully) there haven’t been any. Since April, 23 people have died of swine flu (or related complications) in BC, thus far I think the vaccine is still at zero.

My friend recently mentioned the top 5 reasons for not getting the swine flu shot that people have told him…here they are with my responses…

5. “I’ve never had the flu and never had the vaccine so I don’t need it”
That’s faulty logic but their choice.

4. “Last time I had the flu shot I got sick(er)”
Vaccine is dead, can’t replicate itself, last time they probably had the flu before the shot but the shot didn’t make it worse. I used to think this before I read up from multiple medical sources on what the shot actually is. Now I know better.

3. “It’s the media making this a big deal”
Fair enough. If they’re not in an at-risk group and just don’t want to expend the time I respect that and if the shot wasn’t coming to my workplace I might even be with them on this one.

2. “I am not convinced of the vaccine, they produced it too fast”
Fair enough, their choice. I prefer to accept the assessment of my doctor as he would know better how to evaluate it.

1. “It’s a government conspiracy”
They’re insane, what does government possibly stand to gain? Thus far it’s actually been a PR nightmare. U.S. and Canadian governments widely criticized for poor delivery and other planning. For those that truly believe this, Darwin may be calling. The sad part is if they do get swine flu it will feed right into their delusions and claim the government somehow gave it to them because they knew too much! Call Mulder and Scully! Sigh.

Speaking of news, apparently Swine Flu has plateaued recently…
http://www.news1130.com/more.jsp?content=20091112_173355_8980