Flu Season

The weather has definitely shifted here. The thermometer on my alarm clock informed me it was a brisk 59 degrees Farenheight in my apartment this morning when I woke up. At school, the hallways and teacher's room are about the same, the classrooms are a bit warmer from the collected body heat of close to 40 students. But the changing weather is a bit of a shock to the system, and flu season has started. Kids are more boogery than usual, people are wearing their oh-so-fashionable surgical masks in public, and a week ago, Jamie actually lost her voice! Washing hands every 30 minutes and eating multiple mikans a day has become a daily routine. If only Japanese restrooms had soap in them (which I am sure is better at preventing the spread of germs than a piece of cottony paper with ear straps from the dollar store)!

It appears flu season has also started at home in the U.S. as well. How do I know? I read about it in the NYTimes. As usual, many interesting articles today including one about the dimming of the iconic Manhattan skyline due to improvements in lighting technology and rising energy costs. There was also one about Google, and how they have started tracking searches with keywords like "flu" and "muscle aches" and mapping them to see where the next potential influenza outbreak might occur. Probably not entirely what the creators had in mind back in the day, but postitive unintended consquences are a great thing in my opinion.

Read it while eating a mikan, and be sure to wash your hands when you're finished.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink