Filed under: Travel, World Events
After living in Texas for several years, moving to Omaha was definitely a big change for myself and the family. This year is the first white Christmas we had and I will definitely say that it is one which we will never forget. The shear amount of snow we have gotten over the last few days has been staggering. When I first met the locals here and they spoke about winter not being very bad, it calmed my nerves a bit. Winters are supposed to be light in this region, but now I’m seeing a different picture. Some of our friends around town have reported that they now have six foot snow drifts blocking the entrance of their home and the city had to close down the interstate since snow plows couldn’t keep up with the amount of snow that was piling up. Fortunately the snow has stopped and the roads are clearing up. Now we’re all looking forward to warmer weather and counting down the days until spring.
Filed under: Travel, World Events
I’m sure that all of you have seen this on the news in one form or another. This reminds me of the fear which passed through Asia when SARS and the Avian Flu spread. This time, it looks like this flu is more aggressive than other forms which have existed previously. One of the emails I received had the following statistics:
As of 18:00 GMT, 29 April 2009, nine countries have officially reported 148 cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 91 laboratory confirmed human cases, with one death. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection including seven deaths.
There are a couple of recommenations going around to prevent the spread of the flu.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Throw tissue in the trash after use.
Wash your hands often with warm soap and water frequently
Use alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective. Most stores sell little bottles of these which you can carry around and then refull later
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Get enough rest to keep your immune system healthy
Avoid crowded places if possible
Eat healthy meals and exercise
Use some common sense when it comes to going to work when you’re feeling under the weather. Either call in work from home, or in extreme cases, call in sick for the day. There’s no use in infecting your coworkers and I’m sure they won’t appreciate receiving the flu either. If you must go into the office, wear a mask. Coworkers, make sure you have disinfectant sprays and wipes at the ready.
Filed under: Photography, Travel
This weekend, the Wienerdog races took place in Buda, TX. This was the first time for me to visit, however it was a heck of a lot of fun watching these dogs run their hearts out to reach their owners. There were some memorable events such as one dog trying to run another dog into the fence.
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Filed under: Technical Support, Travel
Looks like my trip to Helsinki, Finland is finally coming to a close. This is my third trip to this city this year, but I have to say its is amazing how much a city can change over a couple months. Earlier this year when I came here, the sun was setting at around midnight. Now it is dark even after I get back from the office. It looks like everyone here is bundling down for the winter. Last weekend, I went down to the pier and there was only one street stand, snugged between two trucks. Nevertheless, one more day here and then it’s finally back to the U.S. I’m looking forward to heading back, but not looking forward to the long flight back.
Filed under: Technology, Travel
Several weeks ago, I traveled to Asia to assist on a customer issue. I was one of the fortunate ones who did not get stopped mid-way to for any secondary searches, however for countless others the situation isn’t as pleasant. The US Department of Homeland security seems to think that searching through the data on a laptop, cell phone, iPod or Blackberry is equivalent to searching a briefcase. In some cases, all of the contact information was copied out or the electronic device was confiscated. Due to the type of work I do, I have customer files and other sensitive documents on my laptop which wouldn’t be of any interest to homeland security, but nevertheless I do not want them to fall into the wrong hands. This article has definitely made me rethink what I should store on my laptop when traveling internationally.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/06/AR2008020604763.html
Posted on December 27th, 2009 by Andy Yiu
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