The Human Imprint

Obama declares H1N1 (swine) flu a national emergency

Today President Barack Obama has declared the current H1N1 flu outbreak a national emergency. This means that officials can now have more leeway in addressing the emergency. BBC News reported that last week US officials stated that swine flu activity was widespread in 46 states and that more that 1,000 deaths have been linked to the virus.

The Guardian reports today that in Britain the number of people dying after suffering from H1N1 flu had risen from 106 last week to 122 – 93 in England, 15 in Scotland, eight in Northern Ireland and six in Wales.The number of cases of swine flu in England almost doubled this week to 53,000. The vaccination programmes have still to get underway in both countries.

E. Coli O157 in Surrey: recent press release

Although this story has gone very quiet in the media now the figures of cases attributed to this outbreak continue to grow. The latest press release (October 14th) from the Health Protection Agency puts the number of cases at 93. Two children still remain in hospital receiving treatment and their condition is described as 'stable.'

The "s" of effective management

There are so many "s" words:

• Setting objectives
• Supporting others
• Stress management
• Schedules
• Standards
• Style
• Systems
• Strengths
• Stakeholders
• Systematic

The "r"s of effective management

What "r" words spring to mind?

• Respect
• Reviewing
• Risk management
• Reporting
• Reflecting
• Resource management
• Researching
• Requiring
• Regulating
• Rationalising

The "p"s of effective management

What "p" words sum up effective management?

• Planning
• Policies
• Process
• Procedure
• Presenting information
• Prioritising
• Performing
• Problem solving
• People skills
• Playing down politics
• Practice makes perfect

The "O"s of effective management

The "o"s of effective management are:

• Objectives
• Opportunities
• Organisation
• Outcomes
• Obtaining feedback

Word count

I can't believe it as a statistic but since I started writing this blog I have written over 140,000 words and over 800 posts ... quite amazing.

UN warns over swine flu in birds

BBC News has reported on the discovery of  the H1N1 virus on a turkey farm in Chile last week. This is a concerning because viruses when they cross the species barrier can remix (recombination or reassortment) and mutate. There have been previous instances of the H1N1 virus passing from people to pigs in Canada, Argentina and Australia, but this is believed to be the first case with birds.  Two poultry farms are affected near the seaport of Valparaiso. The article states that: "Chilean authorities have established a temporary quarantine and have decided to allow the infected birds to recover rather than culling them".   Follow the link to find out more.

Blowing in the wind

I first sang the song "Blowing in the wind" when I learned to play the guitar when I was fourteen. I heard Bob Dylan sing the words again on the radio last week. The words have gained so much more meaning and poignancy in the intervening thirty years and are as truthful now as when they were written.

How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove fly, before she sleeps in the sand?
And how many times must a cannon ball fly, before they're forever banned?

How many years can a mountain exist, before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist, before they're allowed to be free?
And how many times can a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesn't see?

How many times must a man look up, before he sees the sky?
And how many ears must one man have, before he can hear people cry ?
And how many deaths will it take till we know, that too many people have died?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.

400th anniversary of Galileo telescope

Four hundred years ago today Galileo demonstrated his first telescope - August 25, 1609. Here are some quotes from the man that are worthy of thought:

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.

I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.

Where the senses fail us, reason must step in.

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.