I finally feel a bit caught up from the last few days. It’s amazing how three days out of the normal routine can really throw things off.
Here we go…
Swine Flu?
Apparently the end of the world is here once again. This time it’s not the economy, it’s not terrorism, it’s swine flu. Everyone was worried about Bird Flu, but no… the pigs want to have their way with the world.
What most people don’t pay attention to – and this may be due to the fact that it’s not known outside of WHO all that much – but swine tend to be the major incubators of the new cases of flu in the world as pig easily have the ability to get multiple strains of the flu (bird/human) and then the genetic magic happens. New versions then emerge. Since humans and pig (farmers) live in close contact, the flu then easily spreads.
Yea, this may not be the end of the world. Just to put things in perspective, roughly 240,000 people die world wide from normal flu. Thus far there are 60 known deaths. Will that go up? Who knows…
A mash-up showing cases/suspected cases of the swine flu can be found here.
You a night owl?
I’m a night owl. I think that I’m sharper, I think I perform better, and I think I am more relaxed later in the evening. Actually, my peak time of operation is from 11PM to about 4AM. It’s just the time of the day that works for me.
Well…
Turns out that there is evidence that the night owls may have the advantage when it comes to focusing and performance. Cognitively, the people who are sharper in the evening may be more inclined to more focus than the “early bird” when it comes to every day tasks.
GM to pull the plug on Pontiac?
News stories are pointing to GM making some major announcements on Monday. One such announcement is the Pontiac brand, GM “fun” division, is going to get the ax while the company focuses on their core areas in order to complete the turn-around plan.
I have not researched the Pontiac manufacturing costs, nor have I taken steps to see if the division is profitable, but what I find interesting is they are killing off this brand while that had yearly sales of 267K units in 2008.
Why is that interesting to me?
The Pontiac sales numbers are higher than two core brands (Cadillac and Buick). Cadillac had sales of 161K and Buick had sales of 137K. Unless Pontiac is just leaking money, it would appear this brand has some value. I understand that the Cadillac and Buick brands are the “badge” brands, ones that are targeted to specific groups, but simply killing off Pontiac does not appear to make sense on the surface.
Bioshock, the movie, to be put on ice?
This is just a major pisser for me.
Rumors are abound that Bioshock, the movie after the highly successful PC game, is being put on hold due to financial/budgetary concerns. Universal says it is still committed to the project, but the move is going to remain in an extended period of pre-production.
I loved the game, one of the best I’ve ever played, and I was looking forward to a Gore Verbinski take on this fictional world.
*sigh*
Ok, I’m off!
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