Swine Flu

Looks like the H1N1 virus is becoming more of a problem as more deaths are reported and even kids, as this article shows.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091027/national/flu_boy_diesboy_dies

Swine flu is becoming a giant problem and the media is making sure everyone knows about. This is to be taken seriously and immunizations are being used. It is quite horrifying to see that ordinary, perfectly healthy boys and girls can die from an untreated case of swine flu. It is equally so to know that is looks harmless and can even pass off as another disease and can kill within minutes. While it is a tragedy, as he was signed up for immunizations but was not considered a high risk group, it is true that the hospital staff did not know he had a case of swine flu. As well as Evan Frustagilio, another girl from Quebec also fell victim to the swine flu. Considering how young they are, dying is a horrible thing and apparently, strikes within minutes. According to the radio, after this incident families are queueing up to get immunizations and apparently will wait hours to get the valuable shots. It is possible that the media is blowing these things out of proportion but it is also possible that we need to be a lot more careful around public areas and to get the vaccine. The fact that a boy died has certainly alerted the attention of most, if not all the families in Toronto area. The father is mourning and he did know CPR, which is a crucial skill for emergencies and injuries. It soon may be a necessity for parents to know how to do CPR in case of situations such as the case with Evan. Swine flu started in Mexico, (first reported case) and that is where people were getting hit the hardest. I'm not sure about now, but the fact is that the virus, (which is DNA or RNA wrapped in protein) has migrated up through the U.S.A and into Canada. While the virus becomes more of a threat, people become more agitated, and the lines for the injections become longer and longer and longer, stretching into hours. Which is fine and all, but the ordinary flu kills plenty of people in non developed countries which do not have access to hospitals, clean drinking water, medical equipment, and so on. The swine flu started a while ago, but it is still a threat, and demand for the H1N1 vaccine has skyrocketed. It is a sad story to hear of someone, particularly in middle school, to have died and cannot be undone. It is also an example of how accidents can be made.(Evan not getting the vaccine, his family mistaking it for ordinary flu) It is strange how he died in the bathtub and was perfectly fine just minutes before and even seemed to be recovering. Getting the vaccine should be a priority for parents for their kids anthemselves. It's unfortunate that the swine flu the life of Paul Frustagilio's son and at a very young age as well.

One I Just Finished

I recently finished a video game, entirely on puzzles, of varying difficulty. And it's not brain age or anything like that. It's actually more of an adventure game, with a well developed plot line, mixing in its 100+ puzzles into the game. It is the game "Professor Layton and The Curious Village." I recently finished it, and I originally thought it would be pretty boring, but I'm glad I spent the time on it. The DS uses the touch screen in creative, fun ways, and is explicitly described in this review. http://www.gamespot.com/ds/puzzle/laytonkyoujunofushiginamachi/review.html

The graphics and music can get a bit boring, but the content and puzzles and interesting cut scenes make it a great game for any puzzle lover. Additionally, once you finish the game, there is additional content and harder puzzles for you to solve, as well as special features, like character profiles and secret content. The puzzles themselves can range from incredibly easy to excruciatingly difficult, advancing skills and logical thinking. I finished it in little over nine hours including cut scenes and dialogue. There are a variety of mini "side-quests" that you can complete, again by solving puzzles. As you can see, progression in the game relies entirely on the logical thinking, and common sense of the person playing the game. It is not a really long game that involves quick reflexes or strategy like other video games, but a thinking game which can take different amounts of time depending on the speed of the puzzles being solved. Some can take an hour to fully understand and then figure out. This game is absolutely amazing and although there is very little voice acting, each character has a completely different personality and a strong affinity for puzzles. Be warned, this puzzle is not for rigid thinkers, and only the best can solve it without checking the Internet for the more difficult ones. This is the kind of game for people with time and effort available. As I typed before in this post, the additional content involves nefariously hard puzzles that are much harder than the in-game puzzles that are given to you by the main character himself, the puzzle fanatic Professor Layton which are almost and nearly impossible, and take even longer than even the hardest puzzles in the main game. There are also secret links that are unlocked when you solve more puzzles, solve all of them and you'll get a gold star next to your profile. Finally, there is a link to the sequel of this game, because a secret code is given which will unlock new content in the original.This game is one of the better brain games I've played because it doesn't actually introduce the "brain" part of it in exercises but in puzzles often related the problems the characters have. Sometimes it is just thrown at your character for the fun of it but other times, it is introduced more seriously. I have no doubt at all that any puzzle lover will try this game, and get completely hooked, at least until the game ends with its longest cutscene. Level 5 Inc. has made a great game and it goes without saying, amazing puzzles. By the way, the cartoon at the top is the main character Professor Layton, who will solve(or fail) most of the puzzles.

Video Games

It's my second post, and I'm writing about something more interesting than last time; a video game I'm looking forward to getting this December. I'm getting Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the famous games for Wii. I also found this great review on it.http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/supersmashbros/review.html Since I haven't actually played the game, I can't relate my play throughs with the review, but by reading about it and watching videos, I can get a good idea of it. personally I think it looks like an amazing game, with character's from Nintendo's Mario series, along with Sonic and Zelda characters.(as well as certain unlockable characters) It can also be against up to four players, making it a good party game. It can also be played alone against computer players. I'm really looking forward to it, because of all the great reviews and clips on youtube I've seen. I hope it comes soon.

First Post

Hi everyone, it's my first week of blogging and I found something interesting on Yahoo.http://health.lifestyle.yahoo.ca/channel_health_news_details.asp?news_id=19428&news_channel_id=0&channel_id=0 It turns out children who eat more candy might have a chance to develop a more impulsive, reckless attitude. However, studies are not strong enough to stop eating candy completely. I personally think that candy is ok in moderation, not eating a bunch of it at once, which is not a good idea even without the "added violence." We eat a little too much candy and chocolate now, which is not healthy for us. The people who study the effects of (too much) candy suggest that overeating the stuff may lead to more time in jail, which is worse than the aggressiveness.(not to mention the toothache) Eat a little bit at a time and don't go crazy on it . Don't eat all of that candy.