How To Prevent Getting Swine Flu

I was hoping someone would make a lens just like this: How To Prevent Getting Swine Flu. Lensmaster Comfortdoc gives us the practical information that we need most. Check it out — and be careful out there.

Swine Flu Facts – Should You Be Worried?

As I mention on my lens about the swine flu, my research leads me to believe that folks aren't doing enough to protect themselves or to be prepared for a pandemic — even now, when the level is at Phase 5. That is very worrrisome, y'all.

I went to the grocery store for a quick moment earlier today. I don't know if it truly was just because of the hour of day or not, but the obvious lack of cars in the parking lot gave me an uneasy feeling. As I went through the door into a very unusually empty store, my first instinct was to hold my breath.

What are you doing to prepare? Do you know the symptoms? Do you have a plan of action? Food for at least two weeks? Do you, like some commentators are positing, not believe it will reach you? Do you really think, like some people on Twitter and other networking sites, that it'll be easy to just pop into an infected hospital with overworked staff to get treated? Will you want your children there?

Lensmaster Susan52 is right when she states the following on her lens, Swine Flu Facts - Should You Be Worried?:

Don't Panic! Educate yourself and take reasonable precautions to protect yourself and your family from swine flu, but remember that panic doesn't help anyone.

Visit this lens and learn more about what you should do now.

This is not about running around frantic and out of control, but about facing something head on. I hope you do. I hope you get ready, and stay ready.

Where does it lead us when we have the "it won't happen to me" mentality? We have a lot of deaths, a lot of clean up, and permanent scars not only in our children's memories, but in our own.

Potential Pandemic

You can't contract swine flu from eating pork. ...Your pets probably can't contract it. ...The WHO didn't raise the pandemic-possibility level today. That's great news! ...You know I don't usually promote my own lenses in this column. You also know there are some exceptions. Today, I feel it's important enough to tell you about a lens that I've put together that gives you the information and resources you need to keep yourself safe in case the swine flu does become a possibility for us. Among other things, learn where to click to to get minute-by-minute updated information, to see what your state is doing to protect you, and to get the Pandemic Flu Planning Checklist for Individuals and Families.

Personal Excellence

You've seen them, the self-help lenses that do nothing more than frustrate you. Today, I'd like to bring your attention to
66 Personal Excellence Tips from Lensmaster mukunda22. This one won't leave you empty. What starts you off on the right track is a short and simple statement telling you what you'll need in order to get the most out of the lens. "You will need your willingness to read the tips and the willingness to try something new." Do that, and you'll be filled to the brim.

Lensmaster monarch13 Interview

Squidoo Lens Reviews: What inspires you to make a new lens?


monarch13: Sometimes it is just a continuation of a previous idea or lens, or sometimes I'll look at unique keywords used to find an existing lens and explore that idea further. An example is The Sacred Tree of Life ~ The Legends and The Symbolism which was born out of Sentimental Collectibles and Gift Ideas when several readers searched for "Tree of Life".


Squidoo Lens Reviews: How many lenses do you have?


monarch13: 64 and counting! [With lag time in posting, monarch 13 has 75 published lenses, now!]


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What is your most popular lens?


monarch13: Top 50 Signs of Good Luck From Around The World


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What one sentence or one word describes your success?


monarch13: Persistence.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What should a newbie do first?


monarch13: Find successful inspiring Squidoo mentors, then watch and learn.. (here is a good start; 50 Inspiring Women Squidettes on Squidoo)


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Which of your lenses do you want to make sure the whole world knows about?


monarch13: The Parents Guide to Growing Healthy Kids


Michelle aka monarch13

A Baked Potato

Some folks, upon discovering Squidoo, think that they themselves have absolutely nothing to say that would interest others. Or, they think that they aren't creative enough. So they move on. Maybe this lens about a simple baked potato will show them that probably any topic that's on their mind has the potential to grow into something informative and useful for other people. Check out How To Make The Best Baked Potato With Yummy Toppings And Fillings! from Lensmaster flighty02.

10 things I want to do

Today's shout-out is a lens that not only mentions two of the exciting goings-on here at Squidoo — RocketMoms and Journal of the Traveling Squid — but it's personal, interesting, and well-written (my idea of what makes a great lens). With her 10 things I want to do let Lensmaster AJ2008 tell you what she dreams of experiencing in her next five years.

Brave News World

At Brave News World, Lensmaster Heather426 gives you information she thinks you should know regarding the filtered news that we Americans receive; she recommends a site where you can go to get the truth. Check it out; see what you think.

Team Challenge

Today is a shout-out for a lensmaster you simply must make sure to get to know. Lensmaster Drifter0658 is a born Squid (my highest form of flattery for a Squidooer). His trash-talking Willow And The Wonders: The Best Giant Greeter Team Ever lens is a fun place to start; it jumped to his No. 1 position right out of the gate!

Is Squidoo a Scam? An Honest Answer

Is Squidoo a Scam? An Honest Answer comes to us from a recent winner of Lens of the Day, Lensmaster Greekgeek. If you haven't read it yet, you don't want to miss it!

Lensmaster PattB Interview

Squidoo Lens Reviews: What makes you passionate about Squidoo.com?


PattB: I’m passionate about Squidoo because I find it to be the best place online to find information that is pre-filtered, by someone who has experience with the subject. (I usually search in Squidoo before I go to Google.) That in turn has inspired me to share things I care about, and Squidoo gives me great tools to do it. Because of the tools available I can make a much more interesting presentation than I could in just writing an article. But the real spice to Squidoo is the great community, who will give you support if you are doing a quality job or making a valiant effort, and will give you help if you need it. And once you get to know the other lensmasters, you begin to trust what they have to say, and they begin to trust you–which really helps you get more traffic to your lenses.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Is Squidoo perfect already or what could make it better?


PattB: Squidoo’s great development team is coming up with new tools all the time, making Squidoo more versatile and easier to use. A few improvements I’d like to see are:

1. A list of the fan clubs I’ve joined on my favorites page


2. The option to have a “follow me on Twitter” button in the side bar (without HTML)


3. A Wysiwyg interface- Whoa, wouldn’t that be nice!


4. Sales royalties kept separate from lens royalties on payday, and sales royalties detailed by item in the stats. Maybe this isn’t so important once you are making lots of sales, but for Newbies, it would be inspirational.
   

Squidoo Lens Reviews: What inspires you to make a new lens?


PattB: I’m inspired to make a new lens when ideas come together that include images and content of something I’m feeling connected to at the moment. Images are important because I like to make lenses that are visually appealing, not only because I think it gets the message across better, but because I know that those are the types of lenses that hold my attention the most.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: How many lenses do you have?


PattB: I’m a relative newbie, and have only 6 lenses up and running so far, but many more brewing.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What is your most popular lens?


PattB: My most popular lens is “Stress Reduction Simplified”, but I would like it to get a lot more traffic. It really does have a lot of good tips that can help people.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What one sentence or one word describes your success?


PattB: Patience


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What should a newbie do first?


Read lots of lenses. Search for things you are interested in and see what other people have done with their lenses. Go through the top 100 lenses to see what works. Or go through the top 10 or so in any category, especially Squidoo Tips–these will really make your lenses sing.
And join the conversation in the forum-introduce yourself, start reading posts, and making posts. You don’t need to know anything to participate, and the more you do, the more you’ll find what a great resource Squidoo is.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Which of your lenses do you want to make sure the whole world knows about?


PattB: I want to make sure the whole world knows about “Stress Reduction Simplified.” While some stress is a good thing as I explain in my lens “Stress Junkies Unite!”, there is way too much stress going around right now, and I built this lens to bring attention to the imperative of moderating stress levels, and to help people with some simple tools they can use to make their life better, and healthier, without a lot of investment in time or money.
I also would like the whole world to know about “Who Is Michael Masley?” because Michael is an unusually creative musician, and a very interesting character. The lens provides information about the documentary that is being made about him, “Art Officially Favored.” Michael is the musician whose very relaxing CD I have featured on “Stress Reduction Simplified.” It’s wonderful for Stress Reduction and taking your mind off things. One of my Yoga students had painful surgery and said listening to Michael’s music over and over is what got her through it.


Pat aka PattB

Caring For The Elderly--Their Point Of View

Lensmaster TerriLorah, gives us the interesting and engaging Caring for the Elderly from their point of view.

My Big Birthday Wish

Lensmaster Susannaduffy tells a personal story in My Big Birthday Wish. Her story has a great moral, too. I see it reminding us that life is way too short not to support each other and to love one another unconditionally.

Unique Fathers Day Gifts

From Lensmaster lakeerieartists is Fathers Day Gift Ideas—Unique Gifts for Him. You can tell by the title (and by the name of the lensmaster) that it's going to be more than a run-of-the-mill lens. Indeed, lakeerieartists has put together a mix of thoughtful ideas for making sure that dad doesn't get another tie this year. Well, unless you absolutely must get him one. She has a Zazzle collection of ties there as well.

Recycled Art Pieces, Step By Step

You'll enjoy it when Lensmaster BuffaloKid, husband of Lensmaster Ramkitten, takes you through his Recycled Art Pieces, Step By Step. You'll also love his other two lenses, How to Make a Wooden Canvas and Heavy Textures for Artwork. A big and hearty welcome to this outstanding new Squid!

Gregg Braden

Lensmaster JacquelineStone has created a resource for us to get to know the spiritual visionary, Gregg Braden, author of The God Code. Hear what he says about the year 2012 and much more!

Lensmaster seedplanter Interview

Squidoo Lens Reviews: What makes you passionate about Squidoo.com?


seedplanter: I love Squidoo for the same reasons I love nature photography. Each day is different, and holds the promise of discovery. It's like waking up to a picture-perfect morning while away on vacation, and heading out to explore a new area. Squidoo scratches my creative itch.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Is Squidoo perfect already or what could make it better?


seedplanter: Being a multi-tasker at heart (a love-hate relationship, this art of multi-tasking), I would like a way to Squidcast more than one lens at a time. Maybe some sort of form that shows a full list of my lenses, like the one for lensrolling. Simply check the lenses you want to squidcast and a form drops down with the selected lenses all ready to cast. (Maybe this is why I'm a lensmaster and not a programmer. It probably isn't as easy as I make it sound, hmmm?)


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What inspires you to make a new lens?


seedplanter: Dreams, conversations, interests, quotes, childhood, faith, hope for the future, and HUMOR. I don't think we can ever laugh enough, and if I can't learn to laugh at myself (such as my lens, "Help! I've Lost my Hippocampus!"), then I might as well crawl off into the woods and become a hermit.


Life in general keeps tossing new topics at me, and I never know what my next lens will be about. Hey, that's half the fun!


Squidoo Lens Reviews: How many lenses do you have?


seedplanter: I currently have 68 lenses, plus three WIP. [This interview has been waiting in line for a good two months; seedplanter has upped her lens count to 80 as of today. :)]


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What is your most popular lens?


seedplanter: At the top of the heap today is Where Were You in 1987? - a TwitterStorm that seems to have taken on a life of its own.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What one sentence or one word describes your success?


seedplanter: Persistence!


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What should a newbie do first?


seedplanter: Make a list of interests--topics that make your heart beat faster. Unless you're passionate about a topic, it'll come across like scrambled eggs warmed over. It's a good idea to read-read-READ what other lensmasters have learned through experience, too. Don't be afraid to ask questions.


Here's a lens I made when I'd been Squidooing for just a couple of days. I had stayed up really late one night to read articles from The Answer Deck, visit forums, and check out lenses of Giant Squids. I wanted to shorten the learning curve, and I took notes. Squidoo WHO? Learn from Successful Lensmasters grew out of that marathon.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Which of your lenses do you want to make sure the whole world knows about?


seedplanter: Quilt Story: Voices from the Great Depression


I have been wanting to tell this story for a long time, but kept putting it off because it was an emotional subject. Squidoo offered the perfect format, and I'm pleased with the results.


Bonnie aka seedplanter

Journey Of A Croatian Squid

Since I have not done a lens of my own that recommends Squidoo to newbies, I guess I'll have to do the next best thing -- send them to Lensmaster a_willow's lens, Journey of Little Croatian Squid. It tells the story of her Squid adventures. It's sweetly authentic. I see it taking potential newbies by their hands and gently convincing them that they, too, must be a Squid.

Yesterday And A Little Of Today

This blog is not quite a year old. I have always thought that technology-related problems would be the reason I missed posting at least once a day for six days a week. Well, yesterday was the day I missed posting -- not because of technology, but because of a migraine. My head has been aching for, well, today makes four days. Yesterday, it finally eased off enough to let me sleep. When I woke up, it was today! So, it's official; I've missed a day. :/


Over at the Cap'n's blog, he talks about how much he likes the new Squidoo home page and what he thinks would make it better. It got me to wanting to "see" how my own idea for changes would actually look. So, I did a screen grab and made my changes to the image of the Squidoo home page. To me, the home page is for newbies, so I changed the page to make it look less intimidating for them -- and more explanatory. They are minor changes, really, but helpful, I believe. You can check out the image if you are interested. If you do check it out, let me know what you think and what you would do differently. (NOTE: I LOVE the new home page; was just in a mood to see what some minor tweaks would look like.)

Squidoo Rockstars!

If you'd like to spread the word about a Squidoo Rockstar, I've made a new Twttrstrm for doing just that. Drop by and give a shout-out for a lensmaster who has made your day or inspired you, or is otherwise deserving of some recognition.

Lensmaster AdrienneJenkins has made a new TwttrStrm, too. It's Giant Squids! Congratulations to the Class of March 2009. Did You Make Giant Squid?

Natural Egg Coloring

Today, surfing for lenses about decorating Easter eggs, this one stood out: Natural Egg Coloring by Lensmaster hlkljgk. Short and sweet; looks good; helpful information. :)

New York Weekend

Not only does A Weekend City Break In New York give us a glimpse into a trip that just about anyone would enjoy, it also gives us an example of what can be done with a lens. Cowritten by debnet and poddys, it's one of my favorite lenses, and this feature is my contribution (small though it may be) to getting the word out about it. :)

Lensmaster The_Homeopath Interview

Squidoo Lens Reviews: What makes you passionate about Squidoo.com?


The_Homeopath: Squidoo is a wonderful outlet for all of my varied interests. Blogs and websites are really limited in the sense that readers are only interested in a single topic. With Squidoo, I have the freedom to write about pretty much anything. Unlike many lensmasters, I also keep all of my lenses under one account rather than different usernames for different topics. I don't know if it's the most advantageous way to go about it, but it works for me and I do get the impression that people can see from viewing my profile that I'm passionate about different kinds of things and not shy about exposing them.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Is Squidoo perfect already or what could make it better?


The_Homeopath: That is a very difficult question to answer. I do think that Squidoo is pretty darn perfect the way it is and I'm very impressed with the way HQ goes about continuing to seek ways of improving the platform for useability. I do sometimes wish I had a magic wand to wave to get rid of some of the crappier/spammier type lenses. The problem is that Squidoo is so perfect, everyone wants a piece of the calamari and not all of them for the most savory reasons.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What inspires you to make a new lens?


The_Homeopath: At the moment, it's just whatever strikes my fancy. It also has a bit to do with timing - my newest lens is Olivia. This book series has always been a favorite of my kiddos and I and I had previously featured Mr. Falconer's work on my Fun Kids Books lens. After several years, Olivia is finally making the jump to starring in an animated television series, so it just seemed logical that she should get her very own lens.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: How many lenses do you have?


The_Homeopath: 148 published lenses and 11 WIP.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What is your most popular lens?


The_Homeopath: It really varies. Depending on the phase of the moon and barametric pressure I think, but I have about 5 or 6 lenses in the Family category that are always at the top (the top of my lens collection, that is).


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What one sentence or one word describes your success?


The_Homeopath: My motto: "Just keep swimming"!


Squidoo Lens Reviews: What should a newbie do first?


The_Homeopath: Read as much of the forum as possible.


Squidoo Lens Reviews: Which of your lenses do you want to make sure the whole world knows about?


The_Homeopath: Food Allergy Testing Because it really can change people's lives and save them a lot of pain and illness. Most people never realize that what they eat may be making them sick and it's so easy to go and get tested.


Christina aka The_Homeopath

International Friendship Month Winner II

The International Friendship Month lens contest has two first-place winners in the category of Going To Be A Giant One Day. A big congratulations to KarenKay and Spook! As a contest prize, each lensmaster receives permanent links from here to their current top five lenses. Today, Spook...

An Interesting Life? Fighting Deafness My Time as Golf Captain How it Happened. Ian Douglas Smith

Congratulations Spook! Winning Lens: A little help from my friends

International Friendship Month Winner

The International Friendship Month lens contest has two first-place winners in the category of Going To Be A Giant One Day. A big congratulations to KarenKay and Spook! As a contest prize, each lensmaster receives permanent links from here to their current top five lenses. Today, KarenKay...

Friends who helped me laugh again Teamwork is the key to your success! The Twitterfool Ode to Paul Harvey Helping Women Create ABUNDANCE!

Congratulations KarenKay! Winning lens: Friends who helped me laugh again

The top five links from Spook coming up tomorrow...

Irene Maria's Story

Lensmaster Irenemaria tells her story in her new lensography entitled Irene Marias Story.