Monday, January 29, 2018

it's Free!!! Free Stuff for College Students

Here are some freebies you can take advantage of as a college student:


  • Pocket points-Get points for not using your phone during lecture time. Earn enough points and use them for food at places like Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, and Panda Express. https://pocketpoints.com/


  • Free software: Check out Autodesk, Imagine, and OnTheHub for free software available to college students.
  • Anoka-Ramsey students can download Office 365 free. Ask someone in the Computer Lab how.
  • Consider volunteering at an event: You may get free admission and/or food as a thank-you.
  • Printing is available for free at the campus Computer Lab: it's on the lower level in T124.






  • Your public library offers some freebies: Would you like a free ticket or two to arts events (like a free dance lesson or a stage performance, for example)? Get a SmARTpass from one of the many metro-area libraries. The pass is free!! Do you need a place for your group to meet or a quiet place to study? You can use a conference room (ask a reference librarian to sign you up), check out music on CDs, (are you studying Berlioz, or do you want to hear the soundtrack from a movie??)  and take free classes at the library as well. Hennepin County Library: https://hclib.org/ and Anoka County Library: http://www.anokacounty.us/1758/Library


  • Project Gutenberg offers lots of books to download for free. Is there a book you need to read for class (or for fun)?? And rest assured: Books take up very minimal memory on a computer or e-reader. There are over 50,000 books here for free download:  http://www.gutenberg.org/


  • Would you like to have an online newspaper available every day, at least to get the headlines?? The Washington Post is free in digital form. https://www.washingtonpost.com/
  • College students get 6 months free of Amazon Prime: fast delivery for no charge. Be sure to cancel at the end of your free trial, though.
Do you know any other freebies available to college students?



Monday, January 22, 2018

It's Just The Flu

Imagine your world looks like this:
 
It's 100 years ago. There's an enemy lurking everywhere, one that can get to anybody. Any age, gender, social status, and ironically, can get to the young and healthy with no problem.
 
People stay home, fearful to go out in public. Banks, libraries, churches, schools, theaters--all closed to avoid this enemy. No one knows where it will strike next, only that it will strike.
 
Businesses are closed. Mail delivery stops. Streets are empty.
 
Hospitals are so over-filled that room is found in homes and large arenas to house the sick. Medical help is dwindling: Doctors and nurses are overwhelmed trying to care for the victims, while they are becoming victims, too, and in some cases, medical students are enlisted to help care for the sick. Funeral services become scarce. Demand for coffins is much higher than supply; in fact, sometimes people stole coffins to bury their dead.



There is virtually nothing that can be done for the victims except hope they can survive. There are no medical treatments.
 
The Year: 1918. The enemy: The Flu. Influenza. At the time some called it the "Grippe" or "Ague." Some had heard it was much worse in Spain, so they called it the Spanish Flu. In fact, it was no more prevalent there than anywhere else, and just as deadly everywhere.


The flu was, and is still, a disease of the respiratory system. It's a virus: there is no antidote as yet to every kind of flu, because it mutates into something else once people develop immunity. It tends to weaken your immune system which opens the door to pneumonia, bronchitis, and a host of other potentially deadly conditions. Even with the flu of 1918, eventually it mutated into something less deadly but was still able to make people very sick.

Magnified picture of a flu virus (there are many)
This flu that spread through the U.S., United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia during 1918 was referred to as a pandemic. 'Pandemic' means the same as 'Epidemic,' but Pandemic means it spread even further geographically and killed more than an epidemic. Whatever the term, the numbers are pretty shocking:
  • Between 20 million and 100 million people died of this flu
  • At least 25% of United States citizens contracted the flu
  • 675,000 Americans died, perhaps more, since record-keeping was not the best
  • There was a first wave in the spring of 1918 and then a second wave in the fall of 1918
  • Close to half of the Army and Navy came down with the flu. 
  • It's thought that the high death rate was due to pneumonia that followed the flu, and whether the pneumonia was bacterial or viral, there was no treatment for that, either.
How did it spread?

It was known that it spread in the air: coughs, sneezes, etc: people did sometimes wear masks when they went outside. It also spreads on surfaces: Someone touches a door knob, for example, and leaves flu germs on it...then another person uses that door knob and picks up the virus. These are the basic ways it spreads: Breath and surfaces. Other viruses can be spread by mosquitoes, saliva, or dirty needles. One of the best ways to stop the spread of flu is still washing your hands thoroughly and often.


The first flu vaccine wasn't developed until 1940. As time passed, the flu vaccine became more available to all and people were encouraged to get the vaccine. Every year, some strains of flu will still be unaffected by the vaccine developed for peak flu season. It does, however, make the flu less severe even if you do get it.



In 1918, travel to far-flung places had become much easier, largely travel by train, so people could take the flu with them and spread it that way. One of the prime ways it spread was in the military: all men were required to serve, and World War I wasn't over until November 1918. Thus, there were large encampments of men where flu could run rampant, and this also enabled it to spread to Europe when the men were taken there to fight. In fact, it's thought that more military personnel were killed by the flu than in battle. It is thought that the flu originated in America and was brought to France by soldiers.

 
The only 'treatment' available was aspirin for pain and fever. It's interesting to note that Bayer, which had a patent to manufacture aspirin, had the patent expire right at the same time as the flu was at its peak. This led to other manufacturers making aspirin that may or may not have been of the same quality. However, of course, aspirin does not cure anything. The use of laudanum at the time (as a painkiller and cough remedy) was quite common, Laudanum is actually a highly addictive and disabling drug, opium.
                                              Wow: Alcohal, Marijuana, Chloroform, and Morphine. "Skillfully combined."

 
And so, even while people sought help from doctors and may have been admitted to hospitals, there was really nothing that could be done. There were no gloves worn while treating people, and the importance of hand-washing wasn't widely known. Injections of any kind were given with re-usable syringes which may or not have been properly sterilized. Bedding was re-used, and possibly with the neverending flow of patients, may or may not have been washed in hot water before re-use (and of course, there were no dryers).
                                                        This huge building was used as a hospital--A far cry from current hospitals.
There was no disposable anything. People who served as nurses really did not have any type of medical training beyond very basic skills. Treatment might include a mustard pack and dosing a patient with a mixture of eggs, whiskey, and milk. They could pat down a person with cool cloths, but beyond that, there wasn't much to be done. This source describes nurses in World War I.
There have been other flu epidemics, here are some just in the last 60 years:
  • In 1957-58, about 2 million people died of flu called Asian flu
  • In 1968-69, 1 million people died of flu called Hong Kong flu
  • In 2009-10, as many as 280,000 people died of flu named H1N1 flu

If you get the flu, the first and best thing you can do is stay home. Going in to work or school or out into public places can only spread it to others and make your recovery slower. Drink plenty of fluids, stay warm, take care of yourself. Get medical help if you need to.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Microblog: Minnesota Companies-Polaris Industries

Another large and successful business based in Minnesota is Polaris Industries:: The symbol of the North Star is their logo:
In 1945, a man and his friends living in Roseau, Minnesota, began a business fixing farm machinery, but they also came up with a vehicle that could get people out to their hunting shacks in the fierce winters of Northern Minnesota when their cars could not, hence the birth of the snowmobile. Here's a synopsis of their history, from their website:


The Polaris spirit can be traced back to co-founders Edgar Hetteen, his younger brother Allan and his close friend David Johnson. The hard-working trio started the forerunner of Polaris—Hetteen Hoist & Derrick—in 1945 in tiny Roseau, Minnesota. With World War II raging and metal scarce, their skill at repairing farm machinery quickly earned them loyal customers.But it was their tinkering with a better way to get to remote hunting shacks in deep snow that earned them a place in history: Our co-founders developed an early snowmobile in 1955. To prove the new vehicles weren’t just frivolous toys, Edgar and three friends embarked on a 1,200-mile journey across the Alaskan wilderness to demonstrate the vehicle’s durability. They lugged 900 pounds of provisions on toboggans and endured minus-40 degree temperatures to complete the journey in 12 days.


And now, Polaris Industries are a leading designer and manufacturer of snowmobiles, but also the Indian and Victory motorycles and ATVs as well. Their sales in 2015 were about $4.7 Billion, and Polaris employs about 8,000 people. Currently, their headquarters are in Medina, Minnesota, with manufacturing still in the Roseau location. It has manufacturing and distribution centers in 9 cities, in the U.S., one of which is in Alabama-not a lot of snow there!


As to careers with this company, Polaris needs people in these areas:
Engineering
Robot Programming
Data Analyst
Designers
Assemblers
Sales
Marketing
Financial
Human Resources
Legal
Web Design


For current employment opportunities, click on this link:  https://polaris.gr8people.com/index.gp?method=cappportal.showAuthPortalLandingPage

Monday, January 8, 2018

Sick

You're away at college, and you get sick. Really, really sick. Is it just a cold, or a bug, or is it the flu? What do you do??


1.  Assess the level of sickness. 
Do you feel like it's more than a cold?
Are you so tired you can hardly drag yourself out of bed?
How long has it been going on? More than a few days?
Can you keep food down? Water?
Does your throat hurt?


Can you feel swollen glands in your neck?
Is your neck stiff?
Do you have a headache?
Is there a cough? How does your chest feel?
Do you have any ongoing condition that's making it worse?
Has your roommate or someone you hang out with a lot been sick, too?
Is it your stomach that's not right? In what way?
Do you know if you're running a fever? Have there been chills and then sweating?
What else is going on that concerns you, including stress?
How are you sleeping? Sleeping more, less, having trouble sleeping?




2. Have you tried some home remedies?
Are you taking acetaminophen or ibuprofen for aches and fever?
Do you have anything to soothe your throat if you need it?
Are you eating a lighter diet if your stomach is upset?
Chicken soup is of some value: Warm salty liquid can soothe your symptoms sometimes.
Are you keeping warm?
Are you keeping hydrated?
Are you resting? This is hard to do while trying to keep on top of your studies.


3. Find help.
Most residential (you live on campus) colleges have some kind of medical help available for their students: A clinic or other medical facility near where your dorm is. If you don't know where it is, ask. If you have a Resident Advisor in your dorm, ask that person, or ask a professor. Alternately, go to the campus website and search "wellness" or "Campus Clinic". Keep looking and asking until you find it. The clinic will have nurse practitioners, RNs, and physicians to help you out.


Through your campus or possibly through your medical insurance, there might be an "Ask A Nurse" helpline where you can call and ask questions to see if you need to be seen by a medical professional. This could be really helpful, too.


4. Don't wait very long to be seen.
Get right in to see a medical professional if you're sick. Waiting is likely to make it worse. You may have never done this for yourself before, but never fear: All you have to do is call or stop by and make an appointment. They may even take walk-ins. Plus, if you're really sick, you'll miss classes, and this can be a big problem. Even if the medical professional you see decides it's viral and there's not much to be done besides wait it out, at least you'll know.


5. Depression is also an illness that needs attention. Sometimes, depression can cause other physical symptoms. You don't need to feel embarrassed to ask for help for depression.


And also remember a campus clinic can help with other issues like birth control, reproductive health, and testing for STDs. Any clinic will keep your visit confidential, no matter why you were seen. They can't share your information with anyone including your parents or guardians, unless you give them permission.


If you're well now, take some time to check with your medical insurance to see how coverage works when you're away from home. You can ask your parent or guardian to check for you, or check it out yourself. For example, Will you need to pay a co-pay at the time you're seen, or can it be billed to you or your guardian later? How much is that? This will be good to know before you get sick, but either way, be seen by a medical professional when you need to. The bill can be dealt with later.


Here's hoping for a healthy winter, and for knowing that help is available to you!!



Tuesday, January 2, 2018

The Anti Bucket List

It's not that hard to make up a Bucket List, things you'd like to do before you kick the bucket. What about an anti-bucket list?  It means: What are things you don't want to do, ever? Here are some of mine:


  • I have no desire to climb a mountain, in fact, I think people who do are crazy.
                                                                                                                   How is this fun????
  • Also, it would be just fine with me if I never flew in a 4-seater plane again.
  • As a sub-category, I plan to live happily without discovering zip lines, carnival rides, bungie jumping, sky-diving, or anything else involving being many feet above the ground. 
  • I intend to never eat an insect, in any form, even chocolate-coated.
  • I can be content to never go on safari, great photo ops or not


  • Nor do I have a burning desire to visit Siberia.
  • I am one of about five people on earth with no body piercings whatsoever, and I'm fine with that.
  • I'll never get a tattoo.
  • Cruise? No, thanks. A couple of thousand people stuck on one ship? No.
  • Or, take a ride in a submarine. Nope.
  • I'll never run for political office.
  • I'll never enjoy meetings.
  • And I'm never going to like ice-breaker activities.
  • Hitch-hiking, no.
  • I'll never be a smoker. Doesn't appeal to me a bit.
  • Drinking alcohol or taking drugs, nope. 
  • Las Vegas has about zero appeal to me. Pay for a plane to take me somewhere to waste money?
  • Swimming with sharks? Um, no.
  • Attend a high school reunion.
  • Run a marathon. Or, run a 3K. Or, just run. I don't run.


  • Become even remotely interested in sports, but especially football, basketball, soccer, cricket, volleyball, or boxing.
  • Become a slave to my phone.
  • Eat one of those 1000 year old eggs. Yech.
  • Get arrested or go to jail
  • Learn how to use Excel. I just can't think of much that's more boring than queries and formulas. Blech.
  • Learn how to play the bagpipes. It's a shame, I know.


Here's a good assessment of why 'traditional' bucket lists are basically stupid: https://zenhabits.net/anti-bucket/
 
What about some anti-bucket items that might make life a little better? I hope I never...
  • Contribute to someone's unhappiness
  • Avoid helping when I can help
  • Ignore those who are in need
  • Turn a blind eye to a problem
  • Become apathetic about justice
  • Turn cynical and give up on a frustrating world
  • Lose my sense of humor


  • Decide to do nothing at all rather than something 'small'
  • Forget how good I have it
  • Become unappreciative of my health, and forget to take care of myself
  • Stop learning
  • Stop sharing knowledge
  • Stop noticing the world and people around me
  • Dismiss nature: The perfection of a flower, the sun, the moon and stars and clouds, the busyness of animals and insects, their perfect instincts


  • Become less than kind and respectful as much as possible
  • Miss an opportunity to say I Love You to people that matter to me
  • Lose gratefulness for every little thing, because they are big things
  • Give up on anything, especially myself.
What would you put on an anti-bucket list?


Here's to 2018: Cheers!!
And let's get rid of the bucket.