Symptoms & Precautions of Swine Flu

Symptoms In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

· Fast breathing or trouble breathing
· Bluish or gray skin color
· Not drinking enough fluids
· Severe or persistent vomiting
· Not waking up or not interacting
· Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
· Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough


In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

· Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
· Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
· Sudden dizziness
· Confusion
· Severe or persistent vomiting
· Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough



Steps to Lessen the Spread of Flu in the Home

When providing care to a household member who is sick with influenza, the most important ways to protect yourself and others who are not sick are to:

· keep the sick person away from other people as much as possible (see “placement of the sick person”)
· remind the sick person to cover their coughs, and clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often, especially after coughing and/or sneezing.
· have everyone in the household clean their hands often, using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub

Placement of the sick person:

· Keep the sick person in a room separate from the common areas of the house. (For example, a spare bedroom with its own bathroom, if that’s possible.) Keep the sickroom door closed.
· Unless necessary for medical care, persons with the flu should not leave the home when they have a fever or during the time that they are most likely to spread their infection to others
· If persons with the flu need to leave the home (for example, for medical care), they should cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing and wear a loose-fitting (surgical) mask if available.
· Have the sick person wear a surgical mask if they need to be in a common area of the house near other persons.
· If possible, sick persons should use a separate bathroom. This bathroom should be cleaned daily with household disinfectant

Protect other persons in the home:

· The sick person should not have visitors other than caregivers. A phone call is safer than a visit.
· If possible, have only one adult in the home take care of the sick person.
· Avoid having pregnant women care for the sick person. (Pregnant women are at increased risk of influenza-related complications and immunity can be suppressed during pregnancy).
· All persons in the household should clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub frequently, including after every contact with the sick person or the person’s room or bathroom.
· Use paper towels for drying hands after hand washing or dedicate cloth towels to each person in the household. For example, have different colored towels for each person.
· If possible, consideration should be given to maintaining good ventilation in shared household areas (e.g., keeping windows open in restrooms, kitchen, bathroom, etc.).

If you are the caregiver:

· Avoid being face-to-face with the sick person. · When holding small children who are sick, place their chin on your shoulder so that they will not cough in your face. · Clean your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub after you touch the sick person or handle used tissues, or laundry. · Talk to your Doctor about taking antiviral medication to prevent the caregiver from getting the flu. · Monitor yourself and household members for flu symptoms and the local H1N1 Command Center if the symptoms occur.

Household Cleaning, Laundry, and Waste Disposal:

· Throw away tissues and other disposable items used by the sick person in the trash. Wash your hands after touching used tissues and similar waste. · Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label. · Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first. · Wash linens (such as bed sheets and towels) by using household laundry soap and tumble dry on a hot setting. Avoid “hugging” laundry prior to washing it to prevent contaminating yourself. Clean your hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub right after handling dirty laundry. · Eating utensils should be washed either in a dishwasher or by hand with water and soap.

The history of ashes

"In affectionate remembrance of English cricket which died at The Oval, 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances, RIP. NB The body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia."

Australia's first victory on English soil over the full strength of England, on August 29, 1882, inspired a young London journalist, Reginald Shirley Brooks, to write this mock "obituary''. It appeared in the Sporting Times.

Before England's defeat at The Oval, by seven runs, arrangements had already been made for the Hon. Ivo Bligh, afterwards Lord Darnley, to lead a team to Australia. Three weeks later they set out, now with the popular objective of recovering the Ashes. In the event, Australia won the first Test by nine wickets, but with England winning the next two it became generally accepted that they brought back the Ashes.

It was long believed that the real Ashes - a small urn thought to contain the ashes of a bail used in the third match - were presented to Bligh by a group of Melbourne women. In 1998, Lord Darnley's 82-year-old daughter-in-law said they were the remains of her mother-in-law's veil, not a bail. Other evidence suggests a ball. The certain origin of the Ashes, therefore, is the subject of some dispute.

After Lord Darnley's death in 1927, the urn was given to MCC by Lord Darnley's Australian-born widow, Florence. It can be seen in the cricket museum at Lord's, together with a red and gold velvet bag, made specially for it, and the scorecard of the 1882 match.

Best Websites of 2009

The hottest thing on the Internet is not social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter, but Flickr-the popular photo-sharing portal - and the proof is: it has topped TIME's list of the best 50 websites this year.

One of the noticeable trends in this year's list, which was released this week, was on-demand video services, like YouTube, Vimeo and US services Hulu and Netflix.

However, the top two in the list were related to photographs, with California Coastline following Flickr at the second spot.

Third in the list was bookmark website Delicious, while community weblog Metafilter stood at the fourth place.

Popurls, the mashup of the web's most visited social news sites and portals, grabbed the fifth spot in the list.

Twitter ranked sixth and Facebook came 31st in the list, while YouTube and Hulu came at 12th and 14th place in the list.

TIME's list of 50 Best Websites of 2009 is:

1. Flickr

2. California Coastline

3. Delicious

4. Metafilter

5. popurls

6. Twitter

7. Skype

8. Boing Boing

9. Academic Earth

10. OpenTable

11. Google

12. YouTube

13. Wolfram|Alpha

14. Hulu

15. Vimeo

16. Fora TV

17. Craiglook

18. Shop Goodwill

19. Amazon

20. Kayak

21. Netflix

22. Etsy

23. PropertyShark.com

24. Redfin

25. Wikipedia

26. Internet Archive

27. Kiva

28. ConsumerSearch

29. Metacritic

30. Pollster

31. Facebook

32. Pandora and Last.fm

33. Musicovery

34. Spotify

35. Supercook

36. Yelp

37. Visuwords

38. CouchSurfing

39. BabyNameWizard.com's NameVoyager

40. Mint

41. TripIt

42. Aardvark

43. drop.io

44. Issuu

45. Photosynth

46. OMGPOP

47. WorldWideTelescope

48. Fonolo

49. Get High Now

50. Know Your Meme

Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009)

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. In office from November 1962 until his death, Kennedy served nine terms in the Senate. At the time of his death, he was the second most senior member of the Senate, and the third-longest-serving senator in U.S. history. Kennedy crossed party lines to reach legislative goals.Kennedy was respected and admired around the world He was best known as one of the most outspoken and effective Senate proponents of progressive causes and bills. For many years the most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, he was the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassinations, and the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.

Kennedy was a manager in his brother John's successful 1960 campaign for president. He then worked as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Kennedy entered the Senate in a 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by his brother John. He was seriously injured in an airplane crash in 1964 and suffered from lifelong back pain as a result. Kennedy was elected to his first six-year term in 1964 and was reelected seven more times.

The 1969 Chappaquiddick incident resulted in the death of passenger Mary Jo Kopechne and impaired his chances of becoming President of the United States; his involvement in the 1980 presidential election ended in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Kennedy was known for his oratorical power, his 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 Democratic National Convention rallying cry for American liberalism being among his best-known moments.

He became known as "The Lion of the Senate", through his long tenure and influence. More than 300 bills that Kennedy and his staff wrote were enacted into law. He was known for working with Republicans and finding compromises among Senators with disparate views. Kennedy played a major role in passing many important laws, including laws addressing immigration, cancer research, health insurance, apartheid, disability discrimination, AIDS care, civil rights, mental health benefits, children's health insurance, education and volunteering. In the 2000s, he led several unsuccessful immigration reform efforts. During decades in office, Kennedy's major legislative goal was enactment of universal health care, which he continued to work toward during the Obama administration.

In May 2008, Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor which limited his appearances in the Senate. He survived longer than doctors first predicted. He died on August 25, 2009, at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts

Afghanistan clinch low-scoring thriller in ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009/10

Afghanistan 107 (Mangal 41*) and 209 for 9 (Ali 56, Shenwari 25*, Hassan 1*, Schiferli 5-57) beat Netherlands 181 (de Grooth 54, Hassan 4-45, Nabi 4-52) and 132 (Borren 63, Ashraf 4-24, Zadran 4-28) by one wicket
Scorecard

The rise of Afghanistan's cricketing fortunes continues unabated. Four months after they qualified for ODI status in South Africa, they have won their maiden first-class match as an international country by stunning Netherlands, a side far more experienced, with a remarkably tense one-wicket win at Amstelveen.

The rain-affected match was so dominated by the ball that it was some surprise the match lasted as long as it did, but not even Edgar Schiferli's five-wicket haul was enough to prevent a gripping, successful run-chase by Afghanistan.

Afghanistan are a country still at war, and are continually reliant on benevolence by charities and organisations such as MCC, who have helped provide equipment, training and pitches to schools in rural communities. They remain highly inexperienced, raw and rusty. But as their barnstorming performance in the World Cup Qualifiers earlier this year suggested, they are never to be underestimated.

The day commenced with Afghanistan requiring 168 runs to win, with eight wickets to spare, on a pitch that had troubled all the batsmen, but Ali and Nowroz Mangal set about the task well. They added 23 to the over-night total, before Mangal (19) was caught by Wesley Barresi having a go at a wide delivery from Mark Jonkman. The wicket brought Asghar Stanikzai to the crease, who began to build a further sturdy partnership with Ali, as Afghanistan began to take control.

The pair put on 49 for the fourth wicket, edging within a hundred of the target, before Schiferli - Man-of-the-Series in April's World Cup Qualifiers tournament - managed to find the edge of Ali's bat caught behind for a well earned 56.

Stanikzai soon followed - late onto a delivery from Seelaar which kept low and shot on to hit the base of his middle stump for 26. Mohammed Nabi didn't make much of an impact either, as he miscued a drive off Peter Borren, providing Schiferli with an easy catch, and departing for 9. By lunch, the match was hanging in the balance with Afghanistan needing a further 64 with four wickets remaining, having battled back into contention.

With prospects of an exciting afternoon ahead for the crowd at Amstelveen, the visitors restarted by adding a further 18 runs before they lost Raees Ahmadzai, an agriculturally-effective free-swinging batsman, for 26. He edged to Barresi in the slips, who took an outstanding catch to maintain the pressure on Afghanistan.

Netherlands tight bowling attack pinned down Mirwais Ashraf and Samiullah Shenwari, making runs very hard to come by, but they stuck in there, scoring in ones and twos.

With Afghanistan edging nearer their target, Netherlands found the breakthrough they were after, as Ashraf was finally removed by a diving catch by Mudassar Bukhari off Schiferli for 31. This left Shenwari and Shapoor Zadran with the nerve-racking task of scoring the remaining 10 runs, facing the aggressive bowling of a pumped-up Schiferli.

By this stage, even defensive strokes were being cheered by the Afghanistan contingent from the sidelines. And with only six runs required, Zadran (1) failed to offer a shot as Schiferli wrapped him on his back pad to claim his fifth wicket, leaving the match on a knife-edge.

But Shenwari threw his hands at a Bukhari delivery, the ball slashing over the slips for four as Afghanistan snatched an unlikely victory, their first in the Intercontinental Cup, and another significant achievement for a country so new to the international fold.

Ponting open to Clarke handling ODI, Twenty20 captaincy

Australian captain Ricky Ponting is open to the idea of handing deputy Michael Clarke the leadership responsibilities for the Twenty20 and one-day teams, and preserving himself for Test cricket.

Clarke, 28, has already captained Australia in 11 limited overs and two Twenty20 internationals while Ponting has been rested or injured. He was installed as Test vice-captain after the retirement of Adam Gilchrist, and led all Australian batsmen with 448 runs at 64.00 during the 2009 Ashes series.

Ponting assumed the one-day leadership in 2002 while Steve Waugh was still at the helm of the Test side. The pair shared the captaincy until Waugh's retirement from Test cricket in 2004. Ponting has been the first-choice captain of Australia's Test, ODI and Twenty20 sides ever since.

"If that's the way that I or others outside of what I'm thinking decide (is) the right way to go, there's absolutely no reason why that couldn't happen," Ponting said of splitting the captaincy with Clarke. "It has happened in the past with Australian teams. It is happening with other teams around the world right at the moment.

"Paul Collingwood is captain of the England Twenty20 team and Andrew Strauss is captain of the one-day and Test cricket teams. Those things are things that need to be thought long and hard about, but if it means that I'm going to be better off for Test matches and bigger series when they come around..."

Ponting returned to Sydney on Wednesday after becoming the first Australian captain since Billy Murdoch to twice surrender the Ashes in England. The defeat at Lord's ensured Australia the added ignominy of slipping to fourth place on the ICC Test rankings, having lost three of their past five series.

Australia's transitional issues have led to calls from certain sections of the local media for Ponting's axing as captain, however he has reaffirmed his desire to play on until the 2013 Ashes series.

"Having a pretty bitter and sour taste in my mouth at the end of that Test match, I'd love to be able to go back and give it one more crack," he said. "I've got to worry about the next 12 or 18 months and see if all that hunger or commitment is still there. It's probably higher right now than ever before. Who knows, 2013 might be something achievable."

"I still think I've got a lot to offer the team, as a batsman and as a captain and as a leader. If it ends up getting to the point where I'm not the captain, my hunger and determination to keep playing this game are as good as ever.

"If that's with a 'c' next to my name, all well and good. If it's not, I still think I have a lot to offer, particularly a lot of younger guys who are around our set-up at the moment."

Dravid returns to one-day squad

Rahul Dravid has, as expected, made a return to India's ODI plans with his inclusion in the squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy next month. Dravid replaces Rohit Sharma, who managed 15 runs in three ODI innings in the West Indies and 43 runs in three innings against major opposition in the World Twenty20. The selectors didn't risk taking Virender Sehwag, who is yet to fully recover from his shoulder injury, to the Champions Trophy. He was not expected to make it to the Sri Lanka tri-series anyway.

Dravid last played an ODI for India in October 2007, but his form in the second IPL season in South Africa - where the Champions Trophy will be held - and the vulnerability of India's younger middle-order batsmen in the recent World Twenty20 prompted the selectors to fall back on his experience and technique.

Sachin Tendulkar, who had opted out of the West Indies ODIs, makes a comeback. Suresh Raina, who was out because of a hairline fracture of the thumb, also returns. Amit Mishra breaks into the ODI squad, replacing Pragyan Ojha as the back-up spinner to Harbhajan Singh, on the back of his impressive showings in the IPL and the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia.

Dinesh Karthik, who came in for the West Indies ODIs as replacement for Sehwag, and Abhishek Nayar, who edged out Ravindra Jadeja, have retained their places.

Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of selectors, said it was the "best possible Indian team". "It's a very balanced team and we are confident they would go on to win the Champions Trophy in South Africa," Srikkanth said.

India one-day squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, and Abhishek Nayar

Four new venues announced for IPL's third season

Four new venues have been introduced for the third edition of the IPL, which will run from March 12 to April 25 next year. The 60-game tournament will feature a third-place playoff between the losing semi-finalists as a qualifier for the Champions League and could also see the induction of ICL players. The IPL governing council, which met in Mumbai on Tuesday, has also decided to include two new teams from the fourth edition in 2011.

Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Dharamsala are the new venues, hosting some games of the Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, respectively. Hyderabad will stage the opening fixture between defending champions Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders, while both semi-finals will be held in Bangalore. The venue of the final hasn't been fixed but the season will end five days before the World Twenty20 opens in West Indies.

Today's decisions brought good news for the former ICL players, though their participation is subject to the BCCI's formal approval. They will now join the gravy train, though their payout could be considerably less than many of their peers. They will be valued in two categories; Indian domestic players will be paid Rs 8-20 lakh ($18,000-45,000) while foreign players will be made available through auction, depending on their demand.

Key dates

December 15, 2009: Transfer window for IPL 3 opens

January 5, 2010: Transfer window for IPL 3 closes

March 12, 2010: IPL 3's opening fixture between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad

April 25, 2010: IPL 3 final to be played at a yet-to-be-decided venue

January 2010: Auctions for the two new franchises to be included in the fourth season of the IPL

Summer 2010: Player auctions for IPL 4





The IPL will also make use of the services of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) for the third season. The BCCI had agreed to draft in ACSU for the upcoming Champions League in October as well, at the ICC board's annual conference in London last month.

Another development for the new season was the reduction in the 'strategic timeout' from seven-and-a-half minutes to five. The timeout - which will be mandatory for both sides - will be split into two breaks of equal length with the bowling team opting for it between overs 6-10, and the batting team allowed to choose between overs 11-16.

At his press conference following the meeting, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi also outlined plans for Season 4 onwards. Two franchises will be added to the league, through an auction to be held next January, and the tournament will expand from 60 games to 94. The player auction for the fourth season, with a new salary cap, will be held in the summer of 2010 to allow squads to integrate. The 'icon player' concept will be done away with but there will be no change in the number of international players - ten in the squad and four on the field.

The second season was held in South Africa in April-May this year after the Indian government declined to provide security because the tournament overlapped with general elections in the country.