If you’ve picked up a newspaper, turned on the t.v., or browsed the ‘net at any point in the past week, then the odds are that you’ve read or heard something about the “Swine Flu“. Now, amid the myriad of stores, headlines such as “Many hundreds’ of kids may have swine flu“. For you parents, if that’s not enough to make you want to lock your kids in the basement and seal the doors, what is?

The truth of the matter is that the media has been bubbling for a pandemic for a few years now. First it was SARS, then the avian flu, then the possibility of TB or polio or some other threat to public health emerging. So why the sudden panic and attention to this outbreak? Foremost, I believe, it’s because the epicenter (Mexico) is close to home. Secondly, there is a LOT of travel in and out of Mexico by US citizens. And third, there have been a high number of deaths relative to the virus in Mexico.

So is it time to panic? Time to batten the hatches and bar the doors? Personally, I don’t think so. Much is still very unknown about this strain of the flu, and it IS unrelated to the “annual” strain that has usually made its rounds by now. However, thus far the information being provided by public health officials seems to indicate that for the most part, the symptoms and course are much like any other bout with the flu.

So why ARE people fretting so much over this? Aside from the constant reminders that the virus is “mutating” (that alone conjures some scary imagery), I think the deaths in Mexico are what have people rattled. And the media is constantly telling us that “no-one knows why” so many people there are so heavily impacted. If I had to guess, I think it has more to do with a high number of people, living in close quarters, with lower overall nutrition and a general lack of good public health. That has allowed the virus to go from being “just another strain” to being something much more threatening.

Certainly everyone should stay tuned, and follow the guidelines for good health and common courtesy (cover your mouth, wash your hands, etc.). It’s possible this could get really bad, or it’s just AS possible that a lot of people could just end up with the flu. I’m sure it will have a bigger impact on those with weakened immune systems, though, so everyone should pay attention to their bodies and seek help if they think they’ve come down with something.

In fact, I hear someone coughing now. I think I’m turning him in… =)

After working in the yard most of Saturday, Emily and I decided to watch a movie that evening. I was at Lowes trying to decide which stones would make a better edging for a miniature “garden”, and Emily was taking care of the kids and other errands, so she picked it up. Her movie of choice was “7 Pounds“, featuring Will Smith. This was a movie which we knew little about, but both wanted to see based upon previews we had seen.

At first I thought this was going to be a movie about how much weight I gained over the Easter holiday, but I was wrong. Instead, it was a very “deep” movie about a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people, perhaps at the expense of his own. The movie is NOT an “action” movie or a love story, per se, but really about a man’s struggle with the actions of his past. In reflecting on it, I highly recommend it as it will make you think about certain things, even if it was not “critically acclaimed”. It’s maybe a tiny bit slow in some parts, but Smith is awesome as usual. This may be one of his better acting jobs, in fact. The title reportedly refers to  Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice, in which a debtor must pay a pound of flesh.

I’ve never been the most mechanically inclined person. Sure, with my grandpa looking over my shoulder and “instructing” me on what to do, I did some things back in the days on the farm. But I haven’t done much on the farm in several years, and any “skills” I had are rustier than that car they unburied in Oklahoma. So naturally, when I bought my truck with the proclamation that I intended to work on it myself as much as possible, I raised a few eyebrows.

Well, to anyone who doubted me, this post is to let you know that while I’ll probably never be mistaken as the prodigy of the Car-Talk brothers, I have made progress! With some late-night study sessions and a very helpful message board, I completed a complete tune-up last Thursday and Saturday! This included:

* replacement of old mechanical “points” ignition with Pertronix Ignitor II electronic ignition
* replacement of old ignition coil with Pertronix Flamethrower II 45,000v coil (low resistance)
* splicing and running new wire from ignition to coil to bypass stock ballast resistor wire
* gapping and installing new platinum spark plugs
* replacement of old spark plug wires with new Pertronix Flamethrower “stock look” wires
* replacement of distributer cap and rotor
* oil change

Let me tell you… after all of this, the truck fired right up and runs like a top!! No doubt, I learned some lessons. I still have some learning to do, and still need to get a grease gun and other tools to do this more effectively, but I did it all myself, in the confines of my own garage! A far cry from when I got the ‘ol truck in 2007 and paid a dude $50 to replace my spark plugs!

After all, one man’s molehill is another man’s mountain! =)

Ok… it’s been a while since my last update on my “25 in 90″ plan. What happened, you wonder?? Well… mostly it has to do with the fact that I have a fractured foot! Remember my previous posts about my left foot hurting… well, I finally gave in to the prodding from Emily and T-bone and went to an orthopedic surgeon. My self-diagnosis of “turf toe” was MUCH closer than anything the podiatrist had thrown out, but that wasn’t quite it. Following x-rays and an MRI, it was revealed instead that I have a fractured tibial sesamoid bone in my foot!

So there is my primary problem. I can’t exactly run on a broken foot. In fact, I can’t do much of anything. With my doctor’s blessing, I CAN still ride horses, and have been as much as possible. But it’s been cold and rainy a lot, too. Can’t ride my bike because it’s hard to get the special shoes on. I can still lift weights, and have been doing that, too… but even that is hard to get motivated to do when you barely feel like walking.

So that’s my sob story, and I’m sticking to it. My weight over the past weeks has fluctuated between 223 and 228. I still hold out hope that I can right the ship and at least lose 10-15lbs by the end of May, but it’s going to take some work and the ability to exercise. Right now, I’m hobbling around in a “boot cast” that comes up to my knee and gives me the all the mobility of a telephone pole. I have to wear it for 6 weeks, and it’s been 3. But I also haven’t been “faithful” to always wearing it, and therefore my foot is still sore. I need to do better on that, because I do NOT want to have surgery on my foot.

So it’s an uphill battle… I could probably slash my caloric intake and see some progress, so maybe I’ll get right on that… on Monday. =)

Happy Easter!