The Swine Flu - some essential facts

According to wikipedia, "Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu and pig flu) is an infection of a host animal by any one of several specific types of swine influenza virus . In 2009 the media labeled as "swine flu" caused by 2009's new strain of swine-origin A/H1N1 pandemic virus just as it had earlier dubbed as "avian flu" flu caused by the recent Asian-linage HPAI (High Pathogenic Avian Influenza) H5N1 strain that is still endemic in many wild bird species in several countries."

So now we know what it is,let's analyze what are the symptoms that we should be aware of if in case we are unfortunate enough to contract the virus.

Symptoms
The symptoms of swine flu are very similar to the common flu that occurs in humans. The symptoms are mostly fever, cold, cough, runny nose, body aches, diarrhea, vomiting, headache etc. In swine flu the symptoms might be more severe like breathlessness, very high grade fever, loss of appetite and fluid intake, listlessness etc. The important fact is to prevent the spread of this infection. Since it spreads through fomites i.e. through air, infected articles like tissue, paper, pen etc, the preventive measures are very important.

The swine flu virus is resistant to the antiviral medications amantadine (Symmetrel) and rimantadine (Flumadine), but is sensitive to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu.

Preventive Measures
As the saying goes "Prevention is better than cure". So the measures that can be taken to prevent spread of this particular swine flu are –

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. You can also use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• Stay home from work or school if you are sick.
• Consult a doctor immediately when in doubt about your symptoms.

Important thing to remember is that people with swine flu are likely contagious for one day before and up to seven days after they began to get sick with swine flu symptoms.

Stay safe.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

One of the more anticipated films of this summer, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE can be summed up in one word - boring. This movie wasn't even an hour long before I found my eyelids starting to droop. Millions of dollars, a built-in audience, merchandising galore and the best they can do is this?

Adapting the mammoth, latter Harry Potter books was always going to be a challenge. What to keep? What to eject? Until now, the movies have made fairly intelligent choices, sacrificing non-essential subplots and background detail; losing only the kind of elements that people who'd read the books would be sad to see them cut.

All that’s changed. Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves seem to have come over deliberately obscure with their choices this time, devoting huge portions of the film to subplots about Harry and his chums’ teenage romances, while treating the plot with apparent disinterest – an unfortunate necessity to be dealt with in as few lines as possible.

Strange, really, since there are many other angles the film could have taken. This could be Voldemort’s film: the book details his origins in a series of flashbacks, which here are reduced to two (arguably three – one’s revisited). It could have Dumbledore’s film (considering his fate), but the relationship between Harry and his mentor remains as underdeveloped as ever, cordial and distant when it should be poignant and charming.

Not that Half Blood Prince is a disaster, just a disappointment. There’s much to enjoy. This is the wittiest film so far, with plenty of genuinely funny moments. The opening scenes of the Death Eaters wreaking havoc in the real world are simply stunning (so much so, you wonder if that’s where all the budget went and why the climax is so dull), and the film has the most exciting Quidditch scenes yet. Jim Broadbent is superb as new Hogwarts teacher Slughorn, a bumbling has-been who at one point delivers a confession of such touching sincerity that it’s the unexpected highlight of the film. And, at last, Alan Rickman’s wonderfully adopted Snape gets more than a cameo appearance for the first time since film one, and he makes the most of every glacially-delivered line(maybe they could've taken care of his hair properly, greasy and oily remember!?). Even the romance stick is well-handled, to be fair... there’s just too much of it.

In the end,the plot is left rattling around and forced to agree with Hermione’s line in the last scene that it’s all been "a waste of time".Quite why Yates and Kloves decided to move the series so far away from its fantasy adventure heartland is puzzling. Then again, maybe our Twilight generation will lap it up. Snape does look a bit like a vampire...

The Most anxiously awaited Web page of my life

Anna University

Results for B.E/B.Tech./B.Arch./MBA/MCA/B.Sc./PT B.E - May / June 2009

Degree & Branch: B.E. Computer Science and Engineering

Register No		71205104001		Name		ANANDRAJ S
Subject		Internal		External		Result
CS1020		14		50		P
CS1022		10		48		P
CS1451		30		144		P
IT1252		14		41		P
IT1402		11		39		P
MA1256		14		36		P

Top 5 reasons to explain why Jackson was the best

1) Billie Jean. Pop’s most thrilling bassline. You can’t think of it without your shoulders starting to jerk.

2) The Moonwalk. Slow down the footage as much as you like, it’s still impossible for a mere mortal to work out how he did it, let alone to replicate it.

3) I Want You Back. Pure pop joy from the Jackson Five. Jackson was 11 years old on its release. Let’s say that again: 11 years old.

4) The Thriller video. Yes yes, everybody always says it’s the best pop video ever. Well, they’re right. And the music doesn’t really start till about half way through. People watch it for the masks and the dancing.

5) Earth Song. Oh I know the words are ridiculous (”WHAT ABOUT ELEPHANTS?”), but that chorus… Never has one man been able to express so much with a mere wail.

But there are endless other reasons…