Azalin

my favorite metal band of all time: King Diamond The Eye

damn....good eyes. I'll have to watch closely next time I see it.

I believe Whacky Races was indeed Hanna-Barbera, while the Lenny/George/Mugsy were Warner Brothers.

you're right, you can't make people do it, and if I sounded like I believe people should actually be forced to be immunized, then I didn't mean to. I do support birddog's stand on taking preventive measures via inoculation, and despite my libertarian leanings, I see value in free flu shots for anyone who wants them.

I'm right there with you.

yep, and the characters from the old Warner Brothers cartoons were based on the characters Lennie and George from Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'. classic on all levels. I got a good, nostalgic laugh out of all the parents making a run on milk & breakfast cereal at the supermarket, then sitting as a group in front of the TV to watch Whacky Races in their pajamas while eating cereal with the boxes in front of them. just like we did.

I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to agree with both birddog and Tom at the same time before, but I have a difficult time seeing how anyone with even a modicum of sensibility could see it any other way. while I think it's good for people to be concerned with exactly what it is that they're getting when they receive a vaccination, there's a degree of associated paranoia that appears to be being spread by a handful of celebrities and 'professionals' of questionable pedigree. my parents' generation were at a much greater risk of contracting life-threatening or crippling maladies that my own generation never had to worry about, due completely to the introduction of vaccines that we, as a class, would line up outside the school nurse's office to receive. flu shots are different. I went for years without receiving one, and I would only catch the seasonal flu once every 3 or 4 years or so. I only began getting them last year, so I can't say one way or another if I'm getting any benefit or not. the flu shot I received last weekend protects against 5 different strains of influenza, so I feel pretty good about my chances of not coming down with it this year. as we get older, we develop other health concerns....some from our lifestyles, some from genetics. I'm not as indestructible as I used to be, so it only seemed like good sense to get a flu shot. my friends that have children get sick all the damn time. one of their kids brings the latest bug du jour home from school, and it gets passed to everyone else in the house. they sometimes catch the same bug twice in the same 'cycle', because school children are constantly passing it back & forth. I believe (but am not certain) that both the flu and the common cold can be passed while the carrier isn't showing any symptoms yet, which makes it even more easy to catch. I'm usually the last person to say that I support new government-funded programs and mandates, but having people line up for free flu shots sounds like a good idea and a good investment to me.

Mimsy!!!

I'm not disagreeing. again, I know jack **** about this, except for what I hear....and most of what I hear, I don't trust. probabilities and warped culture aside, you must admit that it's easy to see why people would be frightened at the chance, remote as that chance may be, that they might wind up with a 104 degree fever and bleeding to death out their @ss.

I've often heard that with most strains of the flu, a person can carry and spread the disease without actually suffering any of the symptoms. is this true?

nice pun, considering that the bubonic plague was spread via flea bites.

I would imagine that you're absolutely correct about that, but not having any kind of real knowledge of viral pathogens, like most people, I only know what I'm told. what we're being told is not consistent - first, the CDC says that the incubation period for Ebola is 21 days and you need to be in direct contact to catch it. then they say that the incubation period is actually closer to 45 days, and that 'direct contact' is defined as being within 3 feet of the patient. it's not surprising to me at all that people are frightened, especially when it's reported that another person has not only contracted the disease, but has also flown on a commercial airline. I have faith in our potential to control the spread of Ebola in general, but the supposed experts make it very difficult for me to have any faith in them specifically.

three schools in Belton, TX (not far from Waco) are also closed for similar reasons: http://kxan.com/2014/10/16/central-texas-schools-close-to-disinfect-as-ebola-precaution/

I received a flu shot last weekend, and I feel just fine. at 56, I'm starting to feel really bad when I catch a cold, let alone the flu. I'm glad that I quit smoking, because that lowered my immunity and made catching a flu even more miserable.

so we've been finding WMDs in Iraq for a decade, but they're not those WMDs.

this

I don't consider myself to be a paranoid on the subject, but under the circumstances I'd feel better if there was some kind of temporary restriction placed on comings and goings in places where the outbreaks are being treated.

from that article: 'I have heard media reports calling for people such as me who have been treating Ebola patients to be quarantined for 21 or even 42 days. These ideas are not based on the medical facts. People only need to be quarantined if they are showing symptoms and if you do not have a fever, there is no risk of you transmitting Ebola to someone.' if someone isn't showing symptoms, they can't transmit the disease - I get that part of it. what I'm having trouble understanding is that just because people aren't showing symptoms, there's no guarantee that the viral infection isn't just in it's incubation stage, with symptoms developing in the victim at a later time. isn't it just common sense to keep people with any kind of contact with Ebola patients away from others until we know that the incubation period is over?

I was thinking about that when I was getting my flu shot this past saturday.

she wouldn't have had any trouble at all, especially if she has that kind of control over the rest of her body.

how would it 'mutate and go airborne'? does that process require a catalyst and is this a common thing with viruses?

“I cannot imagine why, for 17 years, police didn’t visit his home, because they would’ve found him there,” Royal said. “It’s unbelievable.”