How to avoid swine flu H1N1, or any other, quick list

Just visited western Massachusetts, Amherst area. None of the stores (including Whole Foods) and doctors’ offices, medical centers, or retirement places that I saw had any hand sanitizer available for visitors. It doesn’t take much to provide a safe reminder about hand washing and sneezing. See also, Mr Purell goes to City Hall

• My 3 things everyone should know to prevent pandemic flu
• Masks — Types, Choosing (PPE)
• Disinfectants for camp, field, and household
• Song in Yup’ik to time handwashing
• Song to time hand washing for hygiene and disease prevention
• Kung-fu-choo Do it in your sleeve
• ==> Hands washing, sanitizers
• New employer business preparedness resource

2009-05-18
Another source of information about preparedness (in multiple languages), How the 1918 flu prepares for 21st Century, in a comic book

Sarah Palin content

revised 2009-07-03 A good summary of recent events of former Gov. Palin is Palin Resigns: Exit stage right

revised 2008-10-15 A good summary of Gov. Palin in Alaska is

• Sarah Palin, A View From Anchorage Listen Now [41 min 28 sec] add to playlist Fresh Air from WHYY, October 15, 2008 · Supporters and detractors alike can’t seem to get enough of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Anchorage Daily News columnist Michael Carey discusses the woman who promises to bring “a little bit of reality from Wasilla Main Street” to Washington, DC.

[additions]
Cama’i visitors.

Local results for ‘Palin’ using the search box. You may also use the site search tag in each post, Sarah+Palin.

WordPress.com doesn’t have the best internal search engine, but I’m usually good about using the tags correctly. If you want to know more about Alaska and Alaska Natives, including Eskimo people, especially Yup’ik people of the Yukon Kuskokwim Nushagak region, try using the categories in the sidebar or the site search tags at the bottom of each post.

The Nushagak River is in the Bristol Bay region (Dillingham is the hub. The link opens in a new window) from which Todd Palin’s family comes.

• Where is… Palin and bridge to Nowhere Alaska
• Where is… Wasilla (Gov. Sarah Palin’s residence)
• Most popular in 2007, 2008 YKWP (boring post)
• Electricity disaster declarations in Alaska
• Tsunami Awareness Week
• Bethel “town hall” meeting on AGIA
• Gov. Palin 2008 State of the State address
• Ask the Governor (maybe in Bethel)
• Briefs 4
• Mass disease pass, 2007
• Rhonda McBride appointed rural advisor to Gov. Palin
• E-mail the Governor

Our terrific state-wide public radio network is offering a reprise of their hour-long show about Governor Palin. Listen here, AK: Sarah Palin, Revisited

Related posts specific to Palin–

• http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/where-is-palin-and-bridge-to-nowhere-alaska/
• Todd Palin, Sarah Palin’s husband, and rural Alaska living
• http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/where-is-wasilla-gov-sarah-palins-residence/
• http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/sarah-palin-content/(This post)
• Where is… Sarah Palin foreign experience (Russia)

revised 2008-08-31 Because Gov. Palin has offered her credentials as commander of the National Guard, here is the category for related posts here– Eskimo Guard For those who have read several news stories quoting the Alaska Business Journal Monthly story, March 2007 (? looking for the original article), the end of 2006, on the Governor’s response to the Iraq surge, may be interested in this post, What impact will Iraq war call-up have from June 2006. State governors don’t usually have much involvement in US wars, and naturally would be more interested in state affairs. But this US war has called up our National Guardsmen.

revised 2008-09-04

“Alaska is on the map” is the recent slogan. Actually, Alaska has always been on the map. In fact, all over the map and maps. Click the category maps to find out where all we’ve been put now.

Other reasonable writings (i.e., respectful and insightful) –
Read Writing Raven on Sarah Palin and Alaska Native Issues

Mudflats on photos of Wasilla, church in Wasilla, global photogs and newsmedia in Wasilla, et al. Sarah Palin’s Preacher Problem. End Times Coming?

Shannyn Moore, also an Alaska woman, daughter of teachers, “Bitter-Proud”? (hard to read theme so use your own style sheet)

Andrew Halcro, Palin for VP: The S.W.O.T Analysis, who keeps up with bailouts of local dairies, “troopergate”, Governor’s gasline to be built by foreigners.

Good grief. I have overlooked the O’Folks off their Rocker much earlier post  over at –

• Gov Sarah Palin call-in KYUK (January 2008)
• Sarah Palin, the elderly, the disabled, older Americans and rural Alaska ( Sept 2, 2008)

This is a good summary, from Slate. The Sarah Palin FAQ Everything you ever wanted to know about the Republican vice presidential nominee. By Derek Thompson Posted Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, at 5:39 PM ET

2008-09-10 Michael Carey has consistently provided balanced and accurate information. Listen to him at NPR,

• Analysis: Finding The Real Palin In Her Convention Speech
  Sep-07-2008, Weekend Edition – Sunday…as his vice-presidential running mate, details of her career and family life have been scrutinized closely. Anchorage Daily News columnist Michael Carey has been following Palin since…

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Site Search Tags: Palin, Sarah+Palin, Bristol+Bay, Dillingham, Yup’ik, Nushagak, McCain+Palin, revised

Related library sites for the Unorganized Borough

The library based at Connotea is linked in the sidebar. The Twittered and Tumblred libraries are linked there as well. I’ll eventually get all the libraries linked together. In the meantime, here is the Google Books link–

• Books in Grassroots Science’s library

→← →← →← →← →← →← →← →← →←

• Newsclips for Grassroots Science

http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/svc/ClippingsRSS.aspx?uid=1434014&fid=11769270

• Newsclips for library, museum, knowledge systems

http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/svc/ClippingsRSS.aspx?uid=1434014&fid=30257972


• Grassroots Science Tumblr micro library
• Grassroots Science tweeted library

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Site Search Tags: library, Google+books, knowledgebase, TEK, IK, Connotea, Twitter, Tumblr, GoogleBooks

Bookshelf of Influenza Resources

Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard held a conference about reporting on pandemics. Excerpts from the conference were published on-line in the Spring 2007 Nieman Reports.

Maryn McKenna is currently writing about MRSA at her blog

Creating a Bookshelf of Valuable Resources List compiled by Maryn McKenna. http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100374 It helps to assemble a reference bookshelf,” McKenna says. “I have been writing about pandemic and avian flu since 1997, and here are some of the works I keep on my shelf.”

Avian Flu, A Pandemic & the Role of Journalists: Excerpts From a Conference From November 30 until December 2, 2006, discussion at the Nieman Foundation … “The Next Big Health Crisis — And How to Cover It” brought journalists together with scientists, public health officials, medical experts, academic researchers, law enforcement officers, public policy experts, and Homeland Security officials to talk about how best to prepare for the possible arrival of pandemic flu.

Previous posts about Maryn McKenna
MRSA blog
More historical resources (Brevig Mission)
Pandemic planners urged to tap grass roots

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Site Search Tags: McKenna, readings, history, epidemiology, books, influenza, pandemic, news+media, journalism, public+health, Harvard, Nieman

What Kind of Tech User Are You? Pew Quiz

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center. The Center is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts. So this quiz of theirs What Kind of Tech User Are You? is a useful bit of time to take out.

Doesn’t take long. Significance for the world is debatable but it does accumulate data for their studies.

You are an Media Mover If you are a Media Mover, you have a wide range of online and mobile habits, and you are bound to find or create an information nugget, such as a digital photo, and pass it on. These social exchanges are central to your use of information and communication technology. Cyberspace, as a path to personal productivity or an outlet for creativity, is less important to you.

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Site Search Tags: Pew, cyberspace, Internet, survey

Photos of Lower Yukon River spring flooding

Craig Spacek’s photostream usually has interesting photos from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

He’s just posted some of today’s river flooding in Emmonak.

2009-05-26 from Alaska PrideMay 2009 Eagle, Alaska Begins Recovery After Ice Jam Flood Takes Out 30 Homes, Contaminates The Well With E.Coli, And Spreads Diesel Pollution View all posts on the 2009 Interior Alaska floods HERE, in inverse chronological order. The most recent post will appear first.

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Site Search Tags: Emmonak, erosion, Yukon+River, flooding, preparedness, photos

March of the Follicles

The 2009 World Beard and Moustache Championships were held in Anchorage this past week. Friday at 4 PM was the parade downtown.

Lots of redheads. such as Jack Passion

Not enough kilts, however. Don’t know if this is a UTILIKILTS : http://www.utilikilts.com/ but the collar is the antipodean possum (not the Virginia o’possum)–

See

• World Beard and Moustache Championships and results http://akbeardclub.com/resultsworldbear.html
• Bearded & Tschorn: USA dominates World Beard and Moustache Championships

The LATimes had more coverage of the poster contest than the Anchorage papers or the Chamber of Commerce. The program had one poster as the cover, but not that tonsorial totem pole

Just a reminder that some things should never be shaved–

Dogs at beard contests shouldn’t be shaved

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Site Search Tags: parade, beard, moustache, hair, parade, Anchorage, Alaska

Robert Fortuine M.D. 1934 to 2009

The author of an excellent book towards understanding Alaska,
Chills and Fever: Health and Disease in the Early History of Alaska. 1989. Publisher: University of Alaska Press. ISBN: 0912006587 has died, Dr. Robert Fortuine. I know his book but had no idea of his extensive life. Fortunately, his biography can be read at the Anchorage Daily News

Dr Fortuine was named Alaska Historian of the Year in 1990 for his book “Chills and Fever: Health and Disease in the Early History of Alaska” and again in 2005 for his book “Must We All Die? Alaska’s Enduring Struggle with Tuberculosis.” He was also a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America, a founding member of the American Society for Circumpolar Health, and a co-founder of the Amundsen Educational Center in Soldotna (a Christian vocational school for Alaska Natives).

Field assignments in the Indian Health Service included successive postings as medical officer and medical officer in charge at the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation at Belcourt, N.D. (1961-63), then as service unit director at Kanakanak in Alaska (1963-64), Bethel (1964-67), on the Navajo Reservation at Fort Defiance, Ariz. (1970-71) and finally as director of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage (1971-77). From 1977-1980, he was detailed to the U.S. State Department as international health attache, the liaison officer between the U.S. government and the World Health Organization … Until his retirement from the Public Health Service in 1987, he worked as a family physician and emergency room physician at the Alaska Native Medical Center, then spent another 12 years as a volunteer operating a weekly skin clinic at the hospital…. Since 1989, Dr. Fortuine taught first-year medical students at the University of Alaska Anchorage as part of the WWAMI Program of the University of Washington.

Another related post–
Anchorage Museum to open tuberculosis exhibit

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Site Search Tags: Fortuine, TB, history, Alaska, epidemics, epidemiology, medical, IHS, PHS, ANMC

Talk of Alaska about swine flu APRN.org

Steve Heimel yesterday discussed on APRN.org Talk of Alaska: Holding Off Swine Flu, with Dr. Jay Butler, State Epidemiologist, Department of Health and Social Services.

http://media.aprn.org/2009/toa-20090505.mp3 Swine Flu Talk of Alaska

Their blog comments are handled by Disqus which means it is nearly impossible to participate (my browser re-draws into one pixel wide; log-ins never work; comments don’t appear) so I will post my comment here and hope it trackbacks over there.

Preparedness comes in many forms, including (or especially) accurate information for the public to decide their risk. I think creating a false sense of security about infectious diseases or flooding and erosion is worse than the emergency condition itself.

My 3 things everyone should know to prevent bird flu (pandemic flu) are * Katrina was no Girl Scout (be prepared);
* learn the words and tune to Happy Birthday (wash hands while singing two rounds of Happy Birthday or Good Morning to You, properly, in English or Yup’ik); and
* practice safe sex (which implies that one has enough respect for self and other not to abuse alcohol and drugs, too. The result is fewer chronic illnesses like untreated depression, chlamydia, TB, and hepatitis which weakens one’s immune system.) More at How to avoid swine flu H1N1, or any other, quick list, from http://ykalaska.wordpress.com/

Always ask yourself and your experts– does it make sense?
Does mass dispensing exercise prove disaster readiness
Mass disease pass, 2007

Why didn’t they they do this 3 years ago– public’s health

Alaska Airlines said it was removing pillows and blankets from all of its 114 planes, and would disinfect and sanitize all of its planes during overnight maintenance.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/02/flu-wallops-mexican-tourism/

Now we won’t have any pillows for lumbar support to overcome the cramped seating and they’ll probably turn the heat too high to compensate for no blankets.

Bring back the antimacassar!

I always assumed pillows and blankets were disinfected regularly on planes (but nevertheless was queasy that it didn’t occur). Whole Foods doesn’t provide hand gel near the food counters or exits– a precaution to not so much to prevent illness but to remind patrons to practice safe sneezing. On the other hand, the Johnny Appleseed Trail of North Central Massachusetts, Visitor Center http://www.appleseed.org/ wipes down the doorknobs and door handles every hour as routine (they get lots of visitors per hour on the highways).

2009-05-05 I found out yesterday that Northwest/Delta airlines does have antimacassars and free pillows and blankets for lumbar support. Food is still extra.

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Site Search Tags: Alaska+Airlines, preparedness, PPE, public+health, business, Whole+Foods, health+centers

Where are… crime maps?

The City of Anchorage uses a publicly accessible crime map, Crime Map http://crimemap.muni.org/ which can be quite useful to people moving into the city from rural areas and looking for places to live and work. Like any map, it is only as good as the information or data put into the map. As with the preparedness plans, what-me-worry-we-have-plan, it is up to all of us to ask if maps make sense.

This discussion from the LATimes, Highest crime rate in L.A.? No, just an LAPD map glitch, about their questioning is a good example. It is important to note that “the experts” have to include us, the folks who live and use such information. The mapmakers or government or “them/they” only know what they know. I have found we’re essential to our own lives and can’t pass that responsibility on to others, i.e., public involvement works.

• Getting Results from Your Experts
• Pandemic planners urged to tap grass roots
• Don’t ignore grassroots scientists SciDev.Net
• Let’s wait to be told (They know best) 2

One reason the errors were not caught earlier may be that the LAPD site retains crimes for only six months and allows viewers to see only a seven-day period at a time. The presentation makes some trends, such as the large accumulation of crimes mapped at Civic Center, more difficult to spot. The mistakes spread on the Internet, often compounding the distortion.

EveryBlock, an enterprise that specializes in pulling together local data from many sources, has been praised as a model for the future of journalism, but unlike traditional publications, the site takes no responsibility for the accuracy of its aggregated data. …

But the newfound ease provided by online services can create a false sense of confidence in the computer’s matching ability. Behind the scenes, an algorithm tries to translate unruly street addresses, often drawn from handwritten forms, into the precision of decimal degrees. …

• mapping errors could affect policy decisions.
• Small changes in how an address is typed — for instance, “68th St.” instead of “W. 68th St.” — can put the point in the wrong neighborhood or even the wrong city. Adding or removing the name of the city or a ZIP Code can lead to differing results. Because of the way they break up the parts of an address, Google and Yahoo sometimes return different locations for addresses typed exactly the same way.
• Mistakes could have the effect of masking real crime spikes as well as creating false ones.

I’m forwarding a copy of the LATimes article to the Anchorage Police Dept. as some of the same factors are in the Anchorage map (e.g., only a few days are available).

2009-04-07T03:49 Lt. Parker of APD writes back (thank you) that all their

police data entry systems have the required address field. Many like ours use the police department headquarters as a default for crimes not associated with a specific location. It sure looks like lots of crime is taking place at the police department on those crime maps though! I can assure you that it is only a computer glitch.

From these maps below, when would you suspect (hypothesize) people receive their monthly checks?

Anchorage map of April 1, 2009 reported crimes

Anchorage daily crimes reported 2 April 2009

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Site Search Tags: public+involvement, maps, Anchorage, GIGO, sciencing, crime, GIS, LATimes, planning, preparedness, muni.org, experts, stake+holders, analytical+anthropology, CBPR, CBR, community+involvement, Google, Yahoo, police