Some of the swine flu panic comes down to something I rant about frequently: the public lack of understanding of risk and the even more fundamental lack of math.

And the inverse, being the anti-vaccination whackjobs. They have no fucking clue about herd immunity or the very horrific consequences of rubella, polio, et al.

Both things make me have rage blackouts.

Mypressi Twist

Cool! Totally a Wallpaper lifestyle gadget.

I don't know much about these two - is either a surprise?

Well, Kelly's been rumored to be gay since way back around the time of Witness. I'd say she's roughly as closeted as Jodie Foster.

And David Ogden Stiers doesn't surprise me at all. I'm sometimes surprised that Kelsey Grammar is straight though. (And has appalling taste in skanky girlfriends and wives.)

(I must say, my initial guess about the Mypressi Twist was that it would be a vibrator.)

(I must say, my initial guess about the Mypressi Twist was that it would be a vibrator.)

I'm sure that's one of the settings.

1. Espresso.

2. Cappucino.

3. Orgasm.

4. Coffeegasm

5. Coffeegasm/Orgasm

One distinction to make is that it is the press that is panicking (because it attracks audience/sells papers) not the CDC. The CDC recommended school closings when the flu appeared virulent, changed the recommendations when it turned out not to be. Both made sense. Schools that closed when the CDC suggested it were taking sensible precautions. Schools that close now are not.

The CDC recommended school closings when the flu appeared virulent, changed the recommendations when it turned out not to be.

What that says to me is that the CDC overreacted. I expect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to not overreact. I expect them to be able to do more than make a guess as to the "appearance" of a disease's virulence.

Schools that closed when the CDC suggested it were taking sensible precautions.

That's not actually true, since the swine flu was never as virulent as all the panicked reactions suggested. They were following the recommended precautions, but those precautions were not actually sensible.

I was happy when generic Prilosec became available.

That helped, but it's still more than my copay would be with a prescription. When Prilosec went OTC, Kaiser stopped prescribing any of the related drugs. I swear it would be half the cost if they eliminated the wasteful and difficult packaging.

My main fear is that if we have too many viruses that cried wolf, people won't take recommended precautions when something really nasty gets loose.

Swine flu annoys me. They closed a bunch of schools around here. And because of that, cancelled field trips too. So our student matinees were sold pretty good, are now playing to 1/4 houses or less. And some schools are not paying/wanting refunds despite our cancellation policy. Not helping our battered bottom line.

The swine flu has infected something like 0.0002% of the worlds population. And of those infections, only some are fatal. Not a high percentage. The total infected is about as many people as was in my high school. In grand scheme of things. Minor.

What that says to me is that the CDC overreacted.

I don't know if that's fair. For that kind of tactic to work, you pretty much have to start before it's obvious that it's necessary. When it turned out clearly not be necessary, they revised. It's erring on the side of caution, but it's not telling everyone to stay home and duct tape plastic around their windows.