I just read that the World Health Organization is going to stop using the term “swine flu” to describe the recent virus that’s got everyone in a tizzy. Instead, they’ll call it by its official name, which is H1N1 Influenza A in the hopes that people will stop thinking that the flu is spread from eating pork products or whatever.

Yeah, good luck with that. The term swine flu has been used so often and is so much easier to say and remember that I doubt anyone outside the WHO is going to make a real effort to change.

I can see their point, though, especially with news that Egypt’s government has ordered all 300,000 pigs in the country to be slaughtered. Wow, misinformed much?

Thankfully, I haven’t heard of such drastic actions here in the States. Sure, Orlando vacations are probably a heck of a lot more popular than trips to Mexico right now, and surgical masks are flying off the shelves. But other than that, it seems like business as usual for the most part.

Did you see last week’s story about how MLB commissioner Bud Selig is encouraging a couple of teams to “revisit” ticket prices? Apparently, the commish is none too happy with the large number of empty seats at brand-new ballparks like Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, so he has reportedly asked both New York clubs to lower their prices.

This Sports Illustrated piece says that Selig is under the impression that both clubs will comply. However, the Yankees wouldn’t comment on ticket prices and the Mets said they aren’t changing anything because their sales are up 8 percent from a year ago.

I think Selig might be onto something here. New York Yankees tickets in the Legends Suite cost between $500-$2,625, which is absolutely insane for a regular season baseball game. I guess the team expects all the high-rollers to fill those seats, but they’ve been over half-empty for home games thus far.

The Mets only charge $175-$495 for the Delta Club, which I guess is their version of a high-roller section.

I go to several baseball games per year, and almost always get free tickets (either from promotions or from people who give away some of their season tix) so I can’t even begin to imagine paying that much to see a game. And I have to say I’m glad to see all these empty seats. I wouldn’t want to pay to support some of these outrageous pro salaries either!

Dear Barack Obama,

Is it really necessary for you to give so many nationally televised news conferences? I just read that you’ll be speaking tonight to mark your first 100 days in office. Hey, congratulations for making it that far, but does the entire country need to be subjected to an hour-long speech?

Sure, you’ll probably throw in a few words about swine flu to make your speech seem more timely and relevant, but that doesn’t mean it is. Why can’t you limit these addresses to the radio, the White House website, or even YouTube?

Not everyone cares about what you have to say, and frankly, the way you always thrust yourself front and center is off-putting. Give the media blitz a rest, please.

Thank you.

P.S. Kudos to the FOX network for choosing only to air the news conference on their cable channels!

I do a lot of work from home, and therefore have to have lots of office equipment on hand in order to facilitate communication and correspondence with others. So in addition to standard computer stuff, I’ve also got a fax machine, a scanner, and even a mini photocopier.

All of this equipment works just fine and saves me from having to run out to Kinko’s every time I need to make copies or send faxes, but it takes up so much space! I have a tiny makeshift office at home, where I sit at a computer hutch, not even a full desk. My fax machine, scanner, and copier are literally stacked one on top of the other, so whenever I want to use one of the machines, I have to go through a whole routine of disengaging it from the pile, untangling the cords, plugging it in, etc. What a headache!

That’s why I really want this Lexmark Multifunction Printer that I saw over at Buy.com when I was browsing the other day. This single machine can handle all of my printing, scanning, faxing, and copying needs, which would certainly be a welcome change from having to rotate through every piece of equipment I own. It comes with an incredibly wide range of features, including wireless access, one-touch PC-free copying in either color or black & white, copy reduction and enlargement capabilities, batch copying and faxing via a document feeder, 99 speed dials for faxing, junk fax blocking, flatbed scanner, direct scan-to-PDF capabilities, and a number of high-quality photo printing options. This is actually a heck of a lot more than all of my separate machines can do on their own, so I’ll be coming out ahead here!

I figured I’d have to pay several hundred dollars for a sophisticated piece of equipment like this Lexmark X6650 Multifunction Printer — and that would ordinarily be true. But it’s on sale right now at Buy.com for just $89.99! That’s pretty much unheard of for an all-in-one printer, especially from a well-known brand like Lexmark. I have to get on the ball and order this thing immediately!

Wow, you don’t see this kind of play very often in the major leagues! Jacoby Ellsbury, one of the fastest men in baseball, stole home against Andy Pettite and the New York Yankees last night.

Ellsbury was on third with the bases loaded, and Pettite opted to pitch from the windup instead of the stretch. He has a very slow delivery to home, and Ellsbury took advantage of it. It looked like he was halfway down the line on his leadoff, and then just brought it the rest of the way in, clearly beating Posada’s tag.

Even though I’m not a Red Sox fan at all, I still think this was a very cool play! Take a look:

Edit: MLB forced YouTube to remove the clip because of copyright infringement. Gimme a fuckin’ break, ya know?? This is just a single highlight, not an entire game or anything. How much money could MLB possibly lose from having this clip available on YouTube? Idiots.

As expected, the Detroit Lions made former Georgia QB Matthew Stafford the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The team and the young QB had already come to terms before the draft, with Stafford reportedly signing a massive contract worth up to $78 million — with a whopping $41.7 million in guaranteed money.

Yep, $41.7 million guaranteed for a guy who has never taken a single NFL snap in his career. That is just unreal, and is a big reason why fans end up paying out the nose for game tickets, concessions, and NFL-branded items.

Nothing against Stafford here, because if I were in his shoes, I’d want to get all the guaranteed money I could, too. But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell really has to do something to put limits on rookie contracts. There’s no way an unproven player should be making that much guaranteed money when many 10-year veterans fall well short of that mark.

Salaries are getting way out of hand, and it’s the fans who end up bearing at least part of the burden. Are you telling me a guy fresh out of college wouldn’t be absolutely ecstatic to make, say, $20 million guaranteed? That’s still a hell of a lot of money for the player, and is just half of what the team shelled out for Stafford.

Do the fans a favor and rein these salaries in!

Now that the weather’s getting better, I’ve been able to achieve my daily exercise goals more steadily than in the winter months. I still go to the gym just three times a week, but I’m making adjustments to my off days by walking or biking instead of using my car (when possible), and at a minimum, ensuring that I walk at least 10,000 steps per day.

I’ve already lost one pound in the last couple weeks, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but is actually 20 percent of my goal. So I’m sure that if I keep going at this rate, and maybe cut out some of the potato chips and other junk food I routinely eat, I’ll be able to lose another four pounds without having to use Apidexin or other weight loss supplements.

I’ve still got some time before beach season gets into full swing, so here’s hoping I can stick to the plan!