Memoirs of a Spanish Flu Survivor

CNN posted a story today titled “1918 Flu Survivors Share Memories as Research Continues”, and in it, several survivors of the 1918 pandemic were interviewed.  These folks are medical curiosities not only for their age, but also for the fact that even after all this time, they still have some immunity to the Spanish flu in the form of B cells, which CNN states are immune cells that produce antibodies.

Paulano’s great uncle Oscar “O. D.” Hansen (born Aug 2, 1893, died June 19, 1987) was also a survivor of the 1918 flu pandemic.   During that time, he was in the Army, stationed at Fort Dodge, Iowa.  In his 1980 memoirs, he described his experiences:

Pill Box for H1N1 researchers, physicians, immunologists

“There was a tragic thing that happened at Camp Dodge in the fall of 1918. Well, throughout the country for that matter, in the terrible death rate from the flu.  There was very little evidence of the sickness in the camp prior to one certain day.  However, one day when the flu hit the camp it did so just like a wave or a storm.  The day that they announced the flu had hit the camp there was 35 or 40 people who were already sick when I [took the] sick call [data].  I became ill myself and had quite a siege while I was in the barracks, however, I did not go to the hospital because my fever never got over 101 degrees, and they only took those with high fever to the hospital because they were so crowded.  I had a friend from Lennox, (South Dakota) who happened to be in my company at the time, his name was Elmer Gedstad, and he spent several nights helping me with cold cloths on my head and neck.  Finally, I had some bleeding in my nose and mouth, and that seemed to relieve the situation and I started recovering again.  The main part of the siege was over.  I did get to town and had an examination by a civilian doctor who assured me that I had double pneumonia.  The death rate for several weeks, or at least two or three weeks, in Camp Dodge was said to be about  85 people per day, and curiously it seemed to be the big, strong, heavy people in camp where were most likely to succumb to this malady.”

World Wide concern over the H1N1, the Swine Flu

Somehow, O.D’s retelling of his experience makes the current situation seem little more real to me than all the media hype.  Let’s all hope that this history is not repeated.

Hot and Sour Beef Salad by Kathleen Daelemans

Make this FoodNetwork recipe for Hot and Sour Beef Salad by Kathleen Daelemans for a Quick, Tasty, Healthy meal.   Feel free to follow the recipe exactly as written, OR, you can follow the Paulano modfications.

Time:  20
Level: Easy
Serves: 4

Ingredients

* 1 1/4 pound flank steak or reserved cooked flank steak from broiled flank steak recipe *see note
* Coarse salt
* Cracked pepper
* 1/2 cup lime juice divided
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1/4 cup fish sauce  ( Paulano used 1/8 cup Soy Sauce)
* 2 teaspoons sugar  (Keep adding sugar ‘till you like the taste.)
* 1 teaspoon Vietnamese chili paste (Paulano wishes he had used more)
* 1/2 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro leaves
* 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
* 1 mango, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
* 1 large head butter lettuce, washed and spun dry  (Paulano used Iceberg)

The Hot and Sour Beef Salad is something to write home about

Directions

*Note: if using reserved cooked steak, there is no need to cook it again. Just slice it thinly and use.

Season flank steak with salt and pepper and 1/4 cup lime juice. Heat oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add flank steak and cook to medium rare, turning once, about 6 to 7 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board and let rest. (Paulano did 5 minutes per side)

In a large, non-reactive salad bowl, whisk together remaining lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chili paste and cilantro. Add cucumber, mango and lettuce leaves to dressing. Toss until combined. Divide among 4 serving dishes.

(Paulano says keep your lettuce fresh….  Do not Toss with dressing, and serve the dressing on the side instead)

Slice flank steak very thin and divide slices among the salads. Place over greens.

The Sour Lime Earrings will complement your naturally sweet disposition

——————-

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Drinkable Water is something we often take for granted

CNN just published a story (Bartender helps turn Wine into Water in Developing World) about Wine to Water, a non-profit focused on providing clean water to needy people around the world.

The organization is run by Doc Hendley, a bartender from North Carolina, who raises awareness and funds for his cause by hosting philanthropic wine parties.

Wine Tasting Events raise awareness of the World's need for drinkable water

According to data from the United Nations, at least one in six people in the world do not have access to safe and reliable water for drinking and hygiene.

Since 2004, Hendley has traveled to India, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems.

The CNN story has some really great videos of Hendley as he talks about his work, digs a well in the field, and gives presentations to Cambodian school children.   Hendley’s efforts greatly reduce villagers suffering from water-bourne illnesses, including giardia, and dysentary. To date, Hendley has brought drinkable water to 25,000 individuals.

As Hendley speaks, he emphasizes not only the health benefits to his work, but also the local economic benefits too.  The drilling rigs he helps build,  install, and put into operation are all done with local materials, local vendors, and local workers. The emphasis on self-sufficiency is also big plus when maintenance isssues occur.  The villagers have the tools at hand and the proper “ownership” mentality to address the problems themselves.

River water in developing countries is not suitable for drinking

Wine to Water, is a fairly small operation, and according to their latest posted 990 report on guidestar.org, the non-profit operation had a modest revenue of about $140 thousand.   The Wine to Water website does not say how many total wells were dug with this money, and this should be more transparent.  But worst case, even if it was just One Well, I would be willing to bet that not a single government agency in the US could dig a well overseas for $140K.  Therein lies the beauty of this

Wine to Water makes giving easy on PayPal

non-profit, and most non-profits in general.  Nothing works as well as a single driven person with a vision.

Paulano has donated a modest gift to Wine to Water, and I encourage readers of this post to do the same.

Keep your meds in a Big Bang Pill Box when the mysteries of the Universe give you a headache.

CNN published a story today titled “Exploding star is oldest object seen in universe”. A scientist named Edo Berger , currently at Harvard, detected a huge increase of gamma rays coming from deep space.  Further investigation by Berger confirmed that the gamma rays were coming from an exploded star, about 13 billion light years away.

Put in another way, this star exploded 13 billion years ago, and because of its great distance from us, we here on Earth are just finding out about it now.

As far as we know, the Universe is only 13.6 billion years old, so Berger’s observations are of an event that occurred when the universe, or even time as we know it, was only 600 million years old.  His observation broke the previous “earliest observed event record” by 200 million years.

Hot Atomic Decoration adds clean energy to your Tree.

Some aspects of the CNN story were confusing. In one part of the story they seemed to say that the gamma rays from the explosion and the light produced by the explosion were going to reach Earth at separate times.  Even to a lay person like Paulano, this did not seem right.  Later in the story, CNN stated that there was never a time when Berger detected visible light, and alluded to that being significant, but never said why.   And finally, the CNN story did not identify specifically what it was in Berger’s observations made that allowed him to determine the age of what he was looking at.

What is CNN talking about? Question other sources to find out.

—-

I looked around, and found two things (which I presume are reliable) to help clarify.  First was a blog by “The Planetologist”, which quoted the CNN article with regard gamma rays and light arriving at two separate times.

“Telescopes around the world swiveled to focus on the explosion, soon picking up infrared radiation, which travels more slowly than gamma rays. Berger waited for the visible light which he expected to come next.“

“The Planetologist” then had the following response:

“In brief, all electromagnetic radiation (which includes light) always travels at the local velocity of light at all times and everywhere. What that article tried to say was that the first bright flash that happens during a massive supernova is brightest in the gamma ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The gamma blast reaches a catastrophic peak of searing [thermal] intensity, then proceeds to cool through the gamma and X-ray bands, then passes through a temperature range where visible light shines, then finally dims to emit infrared light for a long, long time.“

Need the Math on your Calculation Checked? Ask a Mathematian.

—

As CNN stated, Berger never experienced the visible light phase.  The Planetologist conjectured that the dimming of visible light is something that simply occurs over distances in space.

So, taken by itself, Berger’s inability to observe visible light is simply a clue that suggests this event occurred very far way from Earth, but Berger probably already knew that.  My guess is that this part of the story was fairly unremarkable despite CNN suggestions to the contrary.

—

There is an absense of visible light inside this Business Card Holder.

With regard to my third issue about CNN failing to say what it was in Berger’s observations that allowed him to detemine age, I had to go to MSNBC, which had an implied explanation in their story “Space Explosion is farthest thing ever seen“.  According to the article, the ongoing expansion of the universe stretches all visible light into longer infrared wavelengths.  Apparently, the stretching is consistant enough so that it can be used as an age marker:  The longer the wavelengths of light, the further away and the older the celestial event is.

And based on the measurements that were made on wavelengths of this super-stretched infrared light coming from GRB 090423, Berger was apparently able to pinpoint an age of 13 Billion light years. Sounds good to me.

—

As a side note, Paulano is currently reading a great book called “A Short History of Nearly Everything“.   In it, author Bill Bryson breifly discusses stars that go supernova, and whether there are any nearby stars, including our own sun, that could go supernova and cause “issues” (aka catastrophic destruction) here on Earth.

In short, the answer is yes.  I guess that’s the bad news.

Celebrate New Beginnings with your Big Bang design Flask.

The good news is that our own sun is good for another few billion years at least, and there are only a handful of other stars that are even close enough to be a concern to us.  In addition, should any of those go supernova, the light from the blast and and the destructive radiation from the blast would reach us in the same instant, so, well, you know….  just make sure to drink that Brandy you have been saving for a special occasion sooner rather than later.

If you are a scientist, know a scientist, like science, or know someone who does, check out Kyle Designs for some really cool science themed gifts. She has Gifts for Physicists, Astronomers, Mathematicians, Engineers, Biologists, Chemists, Scientific Reasearchers, Cosmologists, Geneticists, Programmer/Analysts, Theorists, and gifts for people involved in many fields of medicine.  Are you looking for a gift for your college grad who majored in a Science?  Kyle has graduation gifts for them too.  This year, don’t go for the ordinary T-shirt with Pi on it.  Get something functional, handsome, and unusual for your science lovers instead, at Kyle Design.

Wild Mustang Business Card Case

Rather often, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has a surplus of wild horses (and burros) on its hands.

To reduce size of its herds, the BLM holds a series of Wild Horse Adoption Events just like the one they held last Sunday at the Livermore Rodeo Grounds at Robertson Park.

Prospective buyers at the Adoption Events first participate in a silent auction, and bid for the stock they like.  After the silent auction is concluded, the leftover horses (and burros) are sold on a first-come first-served basis, for $125 each.

Kyle Design has gift items for Cowboys, Ranchers, Horse lovers, and Wild Horse Adopters

Just so you know…Only Qualified buyers are welcome.  Simply showing up with $125 dollars doesn’t mean that get a new wild pony.   You do actually have to have the means and the facilities to care for your new adopted pet.  In fact, be warned that the BLM sends people out to your home during the first year to check on you and the horse.

But if you are a qualified buyer, this could be a neat way for you and your family to get your 4-H on.

Nationwide, the upcoming adoption events for the rest of 2009 are here:  Upcoming BLM Wild Horse Adoption Events.

The Luckiest Mustangs compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover

Some of the luckiest Wild Horses auctioned at these events are selected to compete in an Extreme Mustang Makeover:  Dedicated Horse Trainers each have 100 days to get their wild mustang ready to compete in a series of events.  At the conclusion of the event, the trained Mustangs are auctioned off… at a price I’m sure is higher than $125.

Paulano is sad to report that due to the economy, adoptions this year are way down – about 50 percent . My understanding is that horses that aren’t bid on will go on to the next Adoption event.  After 5 events, if the horse is still not sold,  the horse either goes to a horse santuary like the one in the Black Hills of South Dakota, or someplace else much, much less desirable.

Dispense Vitamins to your new Horse or Burro with this cool Pet Med pill box

At this recent Livermore Adoption Event, only 10 out of 40 horses found new owners.   The good news is that all 6 of the Burros up for adoption in Livermore found homes and had something to hee-haw about.

So please, if you have the space, welcome a new horse or burro into your family.

Kyle Design has gift items for Cowboys, Cowgirls, Horse Lovers, Ranchers, Wranglers, Riders, Rodeo Queens, Rodeo Clowns, and Adoptive Parents of Mustangs, Burros and Wild Horses.  Check out the money clips, earrings, flasks, christmas ornaments, nightlights and more.

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Solar Power Magnet Clip is so hot

The April 23rd, 2009 edition of the Livermore Independent has an article about the newly installed 18,000 sqaure foot array of solar cells on the rooftop of the Livermore Cinema.

The installation is expected to provide about 190,000 Kilowatt Hours of electrical energy to the Theater per year.  This is comparable to the amount of energy needed to supply the yearly needs of 18 average households.

Electrical Savings make Every Day seem like Christmas

The cells were designed and manufactured by Solyndra Corp of Fremont.  Their cells are unusual in a several ways:  1) They are cylindrical in shape  2) They are mounted on racks above a reflective surface and 3) The are mounted with enough space between each cell to allow wind and sunlight to pass through.

The cylindrical shape maximizes the capture of the sunlight above throughout the entire day.  And the spaces between the cells not only minimize the possiblity damage from the wind, but they also allow sunlight to reflect from the rooftop back to the underside of the cell.  Very efficient.

High Voltage Business Card Holder for the Solar Energy Professional

All too often, the decision for a business or individual to GO SOLAR is undermined by the fact that the system does not pay for itself quickly enough with energy savings.

With that fact in mind, there is another aspect about this installation that is interesting.  Livermore Cinema did not buy the system.  They leased it instead.

The option to lease frees people from the huge upfront costs of going SOLAR and seems to be a great way to get people to take the solar plunge.   According to the article, the system saves the Livermore Cinema 45% on its monthly electric bill.  That, along with rebates and

Solar Energy will Save Big Bucks

incentives outweighs the cost of the lease.  So the installation is a win for the theater in the very first month.  Huzzah!

Over the course of the next 25 years, the installation at the Theater will reduce the need to generate 3,400 metric tons of green house gases from conventional power plants.  My movie popcorn is starting to taste better already.

Kyle Design is a Livermore-based business too, providing high quality unique personalized gifts online.  Kyle has a wide variety of items with eco-friendly themes and images, including business card holders, decorative switch plates, wall plates, night lights, money clips and bookmarks.

Head on up to Contra Costa County For a High Time

You are invited!

What:  Street Party in Contra Costa County

When:  May 4th, 2009

According to an April 22, 2009 story in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Misdemeanors such as assaults, thefts and burglaries will no longer be prosecuted in Contra Costa County because of budget cuts, the county’s top prosecutor said Tuesday.  District Attorney Robert Kochly also said that beginning May 4, his office will no longer prosecute felony drug cases involving smaller amounts of narcotics.

That means anyone caught with less than a gram of methamphetamine or cocaine, less than 0.5 grams of heroin and fewer than five pills of ecstasy, OxyContin or Vicodin won’t be charged. People who are suspected of misdemeanor drug crimes, break minor traffic laws, shoplift,

Legal tomes and controlled substances alike will go Up In Smoke with this handy lighter

trespass or commit misdemeanor vandalism will also be in the clear. Those crimes won’t be prosecuted, either.  …

“Don’t even bother submitting the cases”, Kochly said Monday in a memo to the Contra Costa County Police Chiefs Association …”

Yipes!

Plane from Amsterdam full of partiers bound for Contra Costa County

Paulano is not much of a partier, so I will respectfully send my regrets to Mr. Kochly, and steer clear of Contra Costa County for a while.  I may also offer the observation that his party may get a little out of hand, given that his guest list includes speeders, red light runners, burglars, trespassers, litterers, street brawlers, and everyone who’s ever wanted to party like they were in Amsterdam, but didn’t want to pay the air fare.

Drunk Drivers beware: DUI cases will still be prosecuted!

The good news is that the Contra Costa party will have SOME limits.   The Chronicle went on to say that wife beaters, drunk drivers, sex criminals, those who commit assault with a deadly weapon are still NOT welcome at the party.    Well, OK then.  Party on.

If you are trekking to Contra Costa County, you may need some supplies.   Kyle Designs Flasks, cigarette lighters, cigarette cases,  pill boxes, condom cases, ipod cases, and any number of personalized, engraved or mongrammed has gifts for your party host or hostess.

Impress the Food Network producers with a cool Kyle Design Card Case

Last summer, my family and I stumbled upon the last couple of episodes of “The Next Food Network Star” on the Food Network Channel.   Not only did we become fans of the show, we became fans of the Food Network as well.   The channel is a constant source of cool cooking tips and ideas.

Give these cool Business Card Holders a taste test!

As it turned out, Aaron McCargo Jr. won the 2008 “Next Star” title, despite some very talented competition.   He now stars in his own show called “Big Daddy’s House”.  Previous winners have been Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, Guy Fieri, and Amy Finley.

If you check his FoodNetwork page online, you will find 75 or more of his best recipes.   We’ve tried 6 or 7 of them, and have liked them all, but our favorite is McCargo’s spicy lettuce wraps.   Follow the recipe closely, but for added flavor, double the quantities on the five-spice, cayenne, salt and pepper, so you have lots of the spice mix to rub into your chicken.   Also, if you have time, make your own szechuan sauce with this recipe.

What's Cookin'? Check out the Kyle Design. Get all your gift shopping done before Dinner.

Mmmm, mmm, good.

The New Season of the Next Food Network Star starts on June 7, 2009.  Tune in and root for your favorite aspiring TV Chef.

If any of the images on this post pique your interest, be sure to go to Kyle Designs online.   Kyle offers high quality, affordable functional gifts and home decorating items.   All designs are original and available on the kyledesigns.com website only.  The chef, cook or caterer in your life is sure to love them.

Get the gift just right. Use Kyle's Cooking Theme images to create the perfect Double Design Business Card Case

Kyle offers engraving and monogrammed items too.  Perfect for culinary school graduates.

Bikes equipped with an electric motor are green alternatives to cars

If you don’t know already, tomorrow will be the 40th annual Earth Day.   Hoo-ahh!

Easy to Install, Fun to Ride

Earth Day is a good time for us each to do a quick self evaluation, to see what changes we can each make to be a little greener.

Not quite yet a candidate for eco-Martyrdom, but not a total eco-jerk either, Paulano has been seen riding around Livermore lately on his new electric bike.   By cutting down on car trips and using the electric bike instead, I’m making headway towards being leaner and greener.  A little bit anyway.

Zap your Bike into a new Eco-friendly Commuter Vehicle

Originally, Paulano was supposed to build an electric cupcake car for his daughter, Parker.  (Don’t ask)  The e-bike idea was conceived as an intermediate step once Paulano realized that he didn’t know much about batteries, or electric motors either.

The plan was to cut my teeth on the electric bike, and then move up to the cupcake car.

Ultimately, my e-bike quest ended with the successful installation of an Ampedbikes.com kit on a 2009 Electra Townie Original 1 Women’s Frame.   With no pedaling at all, I can maintain 20 mph, and get 13.5 miles per charge… more than enough to get me around town.   If I make the effort to pedal, I go a little faster, and I can easily double my range per charge.

My daughter rides the Electric Bike all the time too.  After all, the bike was supposed to be for her.  Remember?  At 90 pounds, she gets well over 20 miles for each battery charge with no pedaling.

By the way, the re-charge time on my 36V 10 AH Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery takes 4 1/2 hours.

And that whole cupcake car idea???   … virtually forgotten… Thank God.

Cupcake Pillbox? Yes. Cupcake Car? Not so much...

As long as I am discussing E-Bikes, I should mention that I highly recommend the product, price and service I got from Ampedbikes.com. I also can not say enough good things about the entire product line of retro-sleek Electra bikes.  Check them out. And in case you are wondering, those are both unpaid, unsolicited Paulano endorsments.

All things considered, I wish now that I had gone with the Townie Original 7, Men’s Frame.   The seven speeds would lend added versatility, and the Mens’ frame would give added strength.  Live and learn.  But still, the Women’s Townie One frame fits my

Riding a bike to work is good for business

daughter better, so it was a great choice too.   Ultimately, it is entirely likely that this e-bike will elimate or at least delay the need for another car in the family.

Happy Earth Day.

Many of the images in this blog post can be purchased at Kyle Designs. Kyle has gift items for the eco-friendly person in your life.   She offers over 300 original, unusual designs, in dozens of colors on Hundreds of Items that you use every day, from wall switch plates to business card holders.   She offers engraving and Monogramming too.

Giving blood is a really simple act that will save lives.   To help out, just click on this link to the American Red Cross Website, enter your zip code, and make an appointment for a time and location that is convenient for you.

I’m actually pretty new to the whole blood giving thing.

I gave blood last week at the Pleasanton Blood Center in Pleasanton, California.  It was only the second time in my life that I had given.  My usual excuse for not giving in the past was that it would tire me out.  Let’s not go overboard beating up Paulano for his lame excuse.  He’s seen the light.

Did it tire me out?  No

Does it hurt?  No.

Does it take a lot of time?  No.

Actually, the whole experience is pretty interesting.  And by definition, the people you meet in the Donation Center are givers, not takers, so the atmosphere has a positive, cheery, pay it forward, good karma feel to it.

One thing that surprised me was that the extensive screening process did not ask any questions about alcohol use.  As I sat in the chair with a needle in my arm, I asked my attendant about this.  Technically, she said, I could actually be drunk and still donate.   They would just filter the blood.  However, she went out of her way to advise against this.  Paulano agrees.  So take a rain check on that holiday beer, and give blood today.

If you are looking for a way to say thanks to a blood donor, a red cross volunteer, a phlebotomist, geneticist, hemotologist, pathologist, nurse, doctor, physician, or physician’s assistant, check out Kyle Designs.  She has gifts for nearly everyone, including many medical and science related professions.