Monthly Archives: October 2014

Opinion

Is email dead?

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Email is no longer useful. I get dozens of emails a day but almost none are even opened or noticed at all. Most are commercial updates and social media updates. I almost never get a personal communication.

Just clicked the email icon on the iPhone and 53 messages downloaded, I scanned them and there was a reminder about an appointment with our kitchen remodel contractor and a reminder to make an appointment at the eye doctor. The rest will never get read or even looked at. And I’ll just ask my wife to remind me about the appointment with the contractor and I may or may not make an eye appointment.

I really think I could just ignore the email and never miss anything important ever again.

Current Events, Opinion

Ebola Concerns

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With all the news about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa it is hard not to be concerned. But how worried should we be?

The virus is highly infectious, as little a 10 virus particles are needed to infect a host. However, the virus is not easily transmitted. It does not survive on surfaces very long, unlike the common cold and flu viruses. Ebola is not particularly a respiratory ailment, so it is unclear if it is spread by coughing, but the general feeling is that it isn’t.

Ebola is mostly transmitted to the patient’s caregiver. Even in Africa where the disease is having its biggest impact, children that are not caring for the patient are not often infected. So unless you are in direct contact with an infected individual you really should not be too concerned with getting sick and dying.

So why is there so much hysteria around this virus in North America? Mostly because the news media is in the business of selling eyeballs to advertisers. They need to keep people on the edge and addicted to the news reports so they sensationalize the situation.

There are easily a dozen things that are more worthy of our worry than the spread of ebola, but that is another post.

Stay safe.