Last Thursday I came down with something which knocked me out of commission for three days.  I made it into work on Monday but only just barely.  At least three other people at work are sick as well, and I have friends in New York and California who I talk to – they were sick too.  It’s easy to see why John Barry’s study of the influenza pandemic and current fears of the bird flu and SARS are so much at the forefront of national concern.

Wash your hands often!

— Matt Ranlett