H1N1

It's hard to really try and comprehend the situation I find myself in. I'm travelling in Puebla, Mexico. It's about 3-4 hours away from Mexico City, where people have been wearing masks since we arrived. Upon arrival, curiousity ran through all of us as we wondered why people were wearing surgical masks. A cab driver told us that it was simply a precation for people in the food serving industry, but as soon found out, we were in the middle of an influenza outbreak and people were dying.

To be honest, I still haven't come to terms with it. To my credit, I've at least had an interest in deadly flu outbreaks for a long time. It'll probably do me some good. I've read about how certain towns survived the deadly 1908? American influenza outbreak with hardly any cases of infection. One of the keys is to contantly wash your hands and be mindful of what you touch, including yourself. It sounds simple enough but there are some people that just can't control themselves, let alone their complusive actions.

Anyway, we've travelled to a few cities since the outbreak began. We knew the risks but did so anyway -- in public transportation. I really wanted to grab a mask early on but the naivity kept me from doing so. Unfortunately, masks are now sold out nearly everywhere and I worry about our commute to the airport.

It really is funny. You'd think that in the face of an influenza flu outbreak that people would grow up and start taking precautions. Not the case with me, and not the case with most people in this city, Chipilo. I'm glad that it hasn't had much of a negative affect on our vacation but I realize the responsibility I have to myself, my family and my country to come home healthy. I think that's the most important thing I'm going to get out of this ordeal.

The Current Flow

Lately, I haven't been writing or keeping track of certain aspects of my life as much as I had planned to. I'm currently maintaining two personal blogs that haven't been kept up to date. I, also, haven't joined a gym like I had wanted to due to budgeting constraints.

I have, at least, made good use of my new Sony Reader. I've picked up Bram Stokers Dracula. Cool read, although its not without it's dry spells. And I've confirmed what I've known all along; I'm a lousy reader. Jokes aside, I have actually kept up with the reader as I propositioned myself and it's currently stocked with enough manga to keep me busy for months. So, of all the things I've wanted to keep up with, it's mostly been with the Reader.

Later this month, I'll be going to Mexico with the love of my life, and our D90. I hope to actually have some pictures to post on my Picasa page. I'll keep Flickr professional so it'll remain empty unless we do some sightseeing.

Masamune Shirow - Ghost in the Shell

A cybernetic future with humans and robots coexisting is a concept that will inevitably be realized. Masamune Shirow is one of Japan's leading manga writers that forgo the concept and strive to make it a reality in the minds and imagination of fans of the concept. His two main works are Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell and I'm looking to squelch my interest in Shirow's work.

To those interested, you can find his books on Amazon, links below:
Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1
Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1.5
Ghost in the Shell, Volume 2

I'll share my thoughts and interpretations as I read more of Shirow's work.

Wii Modification Woes

MadWorld came in today, but I can't play it because it requires what lots of newly released games require, an update. Having had modified my Wii's firmware, I understand that upgrading the Wii's firmware can cause irreversible damage to it. I'm also aware that it could do nothing, but I'm taking any risks. I'll just have to wait patiently with the other WiiBrew chumps until the new firmware (3.5) has been fully tested and stamped with WiiBrew's seal of approval. Until then, GAH! :(

Buying the Sony PRS-700BC

So, contrary to one of my last posts, the SonyCard promotion for $200 off a single $349+ purchase does not apply to anything outside SonyStyle.com or Sony stores. Even though their wording was a bit vague, I'm not upset, since these things happen with offers that are too good to be true.

If you've read my last post, you would know that I was robbed recently. I won't do into details about the incident since you can read about it here, but I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings. I was reading manga with my PSP with it's picture viewer. It allows you to quickly zoom and pane images; a great feature not without it's flaws. Constant zooming and panning is an arduous task. But enough of that, the point is I wanted to read on the go, that's why I was carrying my PSP in the first place. So with the SonyCard plan not working out as anticipated, I've decided to get an e-reader.

If anyone reading this has an e-reader, whether it be Sony, Amazon or Panasonic brand, please share your experiences with them. I'm interested on hearing what you all think of it even though I've already committed myself to Sony.

Robbed on the CTA

The other night, I was robbed on the CTA Green Line train just as it was leaving the Laramie stop. I was naively using my PSP very openly while I had 3 black dudes hovered around me. The train had plenty of open seats so this should have flagged me to be more careful, but black kids are always on their feet roaming from cart to cart that I didn't anything of it. Given I had seen that one had taken notice of my PSP but I could not imagine they would actually snatch it from my hands. When it happened, the kid ran off and I immediately sprung up to pursue him but stopped before stepping foot on the platform when I noticed the stop we were at and remembered I was carrying a laptop worth much more than the PSP. It wasn't worth the risk if the other two boys we're anticipating me to give chase.

When I got to the Harlem stop, I drove to the CPD on Madison near Central. There, I only became more dissappointed at the lack of effort the officer that helped put into filling out the report. When he read it back to me, it read very well but it took nearly an hour during which I had to endure his demeanor. I wish I had walked up to the female officer instead, she seemed to actually want to work.

I drove to the train station after my report to get some more information. When I arrived, a young girl was in the CTA help booth, red eyed. She had also been robbed by someone fitting the same description I had given. I left feeling substantially worse about my well being while riding the train.

Fortunely for me, I hardly use my PSP. I'll miss it because I love electronics and because it was a gift from my girlfriend but aside form those reasons of many others. (Although, reading comics on it was pretty nice) What anyone reading this should take from my story is that if whatever you are carrying can't be securely fastened to your body, you shouldn't be bring it with you on the train. And as for filling out police reports, all you're doing as adding yourself as a statistic that Mayor Daley might eventually get around to seeing. Don't expect to get any feeling of comfort by doing so, on the contrary, I feel even more powerless than ever. And be more aware of your surroundings. The Green Line Laramie stop has no cameras so it's the ideal location to pull off a robbery.

Be aware and be safe you guys.

***update***

I received a follow-up call from the CPD this afternoon. It seems they take CTA crimes seriously and like to learn from every report. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to provide many additional details but I'd like to take back what I said about feeling helpless. They were looking for details like which cart I was in, where the robber ran and if he was violent. It's part of a constant effort of being up-to-date with criminal behaviors to better serve the public. So now, a full 24 hours after the whole ordeal, I feel that by simply having filed a police report, CPD police are a little bit more aware of growing crime on the CTA trains. I hope to see more undercover officers riding the trains.

For Lack of Better Goals...

...I'll be learning to do a cartwheel with one hand. Took me a few months to learn a regular cartwheel but with the help of youtube and after hours at the office, I should be able to achieve this minor victory.

Oh, now while I'm on the topic of health and fitness, I may be joining a gym soon. Sony has a promotion going on until tomorrow where new members get 45 days to spend $350 on a single receipt. Considering XSport's 1 year membership costs $520 minus the $200, you're looking at $21 a month. That's a steal for a wildly popular gym that's open 24/7. Sorry to the people that would have liked to get on this deal but couldn't because of the timing of my post but keep in mind that this has been going on a lot lately with Sony. So, chances are they'll have another one just in time for summer, although probably not $200. That's $50 more than they were offering around Christmas.