I received this in my email from the city of Houston:
Information on the Swine Flu
The City of Houston’s Health and Human Services Department continues to monitor very closely developments surrounding an outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico and cases reported elsewhere in the United States. We are working with federal and state health officials to ensure prompt detection and appropriate responses. There are no known cases in Southeast Texas at this time. Meanwhile, the best sources of information and advice on the Swine Flu and this occurrence include the following:
- The City of Houston website, which will provide information specific to Houston and the area as warranted: http://www.houstontx.gov/health/swineflu.html
- The state Health Department’s website providing information about Texas‘ situation and response: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/swineflu/default.shtm
- The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
- The World Health Organization website: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
News
BAYTOWN NOTES
Library receives computer for the visually impaired
– by the Houston Chronicle
Baytown’s Sterling Municipal Library has a new way to serve the visually impaired. The Friends of Sterling Library, a non-profit group that supports library services, recently purchased a special computer which allows blind and visually impaired patrons to access technology with greater ease. The new computer has an extra large 22 inch monitor, a Braille keyboard, and is loaded with special software called “JAWS.”
[snip]
News
A timeline of events in the swine flu outbreak
– by the Houston Chronicle
December 2005 to January 2009: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention receives reports of 12 cases of human infection with swine flu. Five of these 12 cases occurred in patients who had direct exposure to pigs and six reported being near pigs. Exposure in one case is unknown.
[snip]
April 28: The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. climbs to 51 in six states. The death toll, all in Mexico, was at 152; 20 are confirmed swine flu and the rest are suspected.
News
BNET has a great little post about the three things that happen when you work in an environment where everything is treated as a “Code Red emergency.” What they point to:
- All problems get treated as five-alarm fires, whether they’re truly urgent or not. This means when something really is mission-critical, it might not get the attention it deserves.
- Stress levels rise as staffers try to adjust to perpetual long hours and non-stop pressure.
- Burnout happens, productivity drops, and employee engagement disappears.
I agree, though I would have pulled the three items in #3 as individual items.
General
The Gates Foundation announced recently that they will spend $57 million on overseas libraries. Specifically, it will go to improve Internet access in libraries in Poland, Romania, and Vietnam.
Call me greedy, but I’d rather see the monies spent in the US. We still have a lot of libraries here that need improved Internet access, computers, and digital literacy programs.
(From the Houston Chronicle.)
News
Yes, I actually agree with something Seth Godin published on his blog. Go read his rant on PR vs. publicity, it makes sense.
A publicity firm will tell you stories of how they got a client ink. A PR firm will talk about storytelling and being remarkable and spreading the word.
Wow. I have tried to explain to people how media relations is just part of PR, not the end-all, be-all, but this does a better job. Thanks.
General
The LinkedIn blog has a post with 8 tips to improve your profile and make it more attractive for recruiters.
- Make your LinkedIn profile 100% complete
- Use a profile picture that you use on multiple sites
- Use the “Specialties” box to fill in keywords
- Update your LinkedIn “Status” regularly
- Make changes to your profile after every job change or promotion
- Include your web site and blog links
- Do not block incoming emails
- Increase your number of trusted connections!
I’m doing a few and need to start doing others.
General
Need some extra money? Maybe it’s time to consider starting a side business. thesimpledollar.com has a list of “50 Side Businesses You Can Start On Your Own” to get you started.
Finances
If you’re looking to use Twitter to create an income, or improve your online business sales, check out this post at Shoemoney. “How To Build (And Monetize) Twitter Content Channels” is full of great tips.
General
Kudos to Hobby Lobby for raising their minimum wage to $10 an hour. This increase will affect their nearly 9,200 full-time employees and cost them between $10-$15 million more a year.
Finances
