Is bird flu making a comeback?

by Josh Lew on

Three chickens in Hong Kong recently tested positive for the bird flu. The sick birds were found on a farm with 60,000 chickens. Actually, the infected birds only tested positive for the H5 virus. Further tests are needed to discern if the deadly N1 strain is present.

Officials are acting quickly. The 60,000 feathered farm residents were destroyed, along with 20,000 others in the area. This will, one hopes, prevent the spread of H5 to other birds in the territory. As a precaution, authorities have imposed a 21-day ban on poultry imports. All farms surrounding the one with the infected birds are considered part of the area.

As scary as it might be to hear that the dreaded virus is still lurking, it is equally encouraging to see a swift response by authorities. Despite the fact that H5N1 hasn’t been in the news lately, health officials, at least in Honkers, have not become complacent.

Playing for Change

by Brenda Yun on

Abha mentioned this about a month ago, but I thought it would be worth reiterating. “Playing for Change” is an inspiring and transformational movement that began in 2001 and continues to generate buzz from its documentary and its memorable music. Here is another fantastic global video that features musicians from around the world — all contributing to the song by Bob Marley, “One Love.”

“Playing for Change,” the documentary, is available at all major video rental stores. The foundation, which aims to bring communities and the world together through music, is currently raising money to fund the opening of the Ntonga Music School in South Africa come spring of 2009.You can check out an earthy and heartfelt version of Tracy Chapman’s “Talking about a Revolution” here. Donations are accepted through PayPal via this site, or purchase hip PFC apparel here.

Watching this “One Love” video and listening to the other great music collaborations that continue to come together through the ongoing efforts of this foundation is inspiring. The music revolution that is Playing for Change is one of those uplifting things we can take part in to make this a world a better place.

Extraordinary wildlife video: Buffaloes unite to fight lions and save baby

by Abha Malpani on

Browsing through YouTube last night (taking advantage of it before it gets blocked here in Dubai, just like Flickr is), I came across this astounding video that some lucky travelers at Kruger National Park in South Africa were eye witnesses to. It has been viewed over 39 million times and has almost 43,000 comments.

They have managed to get live footage of a baby water buffalo being caught by a group of 6 lions, and then of over a 100 buffaloes being summoned to come save the baby and fight off the lions. Amazing. It’s a wonderful demonstration of how “animal-families” stick together to help each other survive in the wilderness. It’s about 8 1/2 minutes long, but well worth the watch. From the 4:40 mark onwards, it’s gold. You will find yourself cheering for the buffaloes as they make the lion kings look like scared and meek deers. There is an attack scene of a few seconds, but it’s not gory, so don’t worry about seeing anything hard on the eyes. A must, must watch.

Daily deal – Creative Zen 2GB MP3/video player for $48.99

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is a perfect stocking stuffer. The Creative Zen media player features music and video playback on a 2.5″ color screen.

The device also has a built in FM radio with 32 presets, a voice recorder, a clock/alarm and it can even synchronize your contacts and appointments from Microsoft Outlook!

The player usually retails for around $70, but if you don’t mind receiving a refurbished unit, then you can pick on up directly from Creative for just $48.99.

A 4GB and 8GB version are also on the site, but are currently out of stock. One other piece of fine print; the 2GB is only available in pink!

The device comes with a USB cable and a pair of headphones. The warranty on refurbished products from Creative is 90 days. If you don’t want pink, or you’d prefer a brand new (non-refurbished) player, then head on over to Amazon, where you’ll find the player for $69.99. Shipping at Creative.com on orders under $75 is about $9.

Unmanned drone to finally crack down on wild US/Canada border

by Mike Barish on

While much attention is paid to the border between the United States and Mexico, our neighbors to the north have yet to encounter the scrutiny that they deserve. No prison-like fences or vigilante minutemen have stood in the way of people sneaking back and forth between the United States and Canada. Well, the U.S. government has decided that these shenanigans have gone on for long enough. According to Wired and the New York Times, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will use an unmanned drone aircraft to patrol a stretch of the border between the two North American allies.

The Predator B aircraft will operate out of Grand Forks (ND) Air Force Base and will be the first of its kind on the northern border. Three similar drones currently patrol the border with Mexico. Residents of North Dakota and “a slim part of Minnesota” can now sleep easy knowing that a remote-controlled airplane is buzzing overhead and keeping maple syrup, hockey and the word “eh” where they belong.

Surely a great deal of research went into the decision to have the $10 million unmanned aircraft patrol just a 300 mile stretch of the 5,525 mile long border with our ally, right? Well, John Stanton, executive director of the Customs and Border Protection service’s national air security operations was asked if he expected the drone to uncover a rash of drug smuggling, illegal immigration or terrorism. His response: “We hope to actually use this aircraft to measure that. You don’t know what you don’t know.” Neat!

But at least these drones are foolproof. Well, about that. The drone was supposed to arrive in North Dakota last Thursday. Because of maintenance issues, it arrived on Saturday. And a similar drone on the southern border crashed in 2006 outside of Nogales, Arizona. No one was killed, but it did narrowly miss hitting a house. The cause of the accident was found to be human error.

Well, it may sound like a boondoggle, but I am certainly relieved that someone will be keeping an eye on those hosers. We’re still recovering from the Celine Dion invasion of the 1990s. There’s just no telling what they could sneak in next. Pray that it isn’t curling.