A fellow Pigger (thanks, Jen!) alerted me to a news story with “Swine Flu” in the headline.

It’s related to pigs and appears to have potential to be major news, so we’ll keep an eye on it. If people get mad at pigs, they could get mad at New Pig. But maybe not if we help give out useful information.

Here’s a quick summary boiled down from reporting at MSNBC and USA Today :

• A flu outbreak in Mexico has left 60 dead and 900 sick
• This led to schools being closed in Mexico City today
• It’s being called a new strain of swine flu with elements of bird flu and human flu
• Swine flu gives pigs symptoms similar to human flu and is rarely fatal to pigs
• Swine flu normally spreads to a human only through direct contact with an infected pig
• Swine flu doesn’t spread through eating pork that’s properly cooked
• The flu in Mexico is different from swine flu in that it’s spreading human-to-human via coughing, sneezing and direct contact
• Health officials see some connection to a new strain of flu that infected seven people in California and Texas as of yesterday
• Each of these seven people has recovered
• The symptoms were typical for flu: Fever, coughing, sneezing, difficulty breathing, red eyes, lack of appetite, runny nose
• The treatment is also typical for flu: Antiviral drugs
• Regular flu vaccine appears to provide some protection
• The World Health Organization (WHO) in Switzerland is monitoring developments in the U.S., Canada and Mexico
• If WHO confirms the international spread of a new strain of flu, it will raise the alert level and put more resources into controlling the outbreak

Our sympathy goes out to everyone affected by these events.

A nice little thing happened on a business trip that I just took, and it’s largely due to the PIG® logo.

Dan Silver and I were visiting New Pig customers, mainly learning about their use of  PIG® Lite-Dri® Loose Absorbent and other loose absorbents. We were in Louisville, Kentucky, and we had a little free time before our next hop to Cincinnati.

We headed over to Churchill Downs, the track where the Kentucky Derby is run, just in hopes of getting to see the track.

We asked an employee at the gate about that, and he said there were tours, but we didn’t have time. We went inside the building anyway, sort of hoping for some dumb luck.

We ended up asking two other employees if there was a way to see the track besides taking a tour. The one lady checked about a balcony in the off-track betting area, but she found out that off-track betting wasn’t open.

The other lady’s gaze was kind of fixed on my chest. I get that a lot. Okay, not really. She pointed to the PIG® logo on my shirt and asked about it. Piggers have seen that kind of curiosity countless times. I saw an opportunity.

“If I tell you about the logo,” I said, “would you help us get a look at the track?” A workplace-related exchange, right?

The next thing you know, the lady who noticed the logo said something about going off to take a break, and the other lady shooed us after her. She took us right up to the track, close enough to touch it, and Dan got the pictures below. To say the least, Churchill Downs is really something.  Next Saturday, the Kentucky Derby will be run there for the 135th time in front of about 150,000 people, and we got to see it on a quick stopover.

That, ladies and gentleman, is PIG® power (and Louisville hospitality).

See the entire collection here. Powerful photos.

Below is a detail from one shot related to that major topic of The Pig Blog, leak and spill control … and details from two more of the stunning images.

I took this online quiz: “What car suits your personality?” I went through all these questions and …

It lied!

But you’ll have a better experience with our new online Spill Containment Selection Guide.

If you store productions liquids (oils, coolants, solvents or many other possibilities) and you’re looking for a way to prepare for leaks or spills, you’ll sail right through the selection process with this guide. You’ll answer a subset of questions about:

• The type of liquid you’re storing
• The type of container you’re using
• Complying with EPA’s secondary containment regulation
• The type of containment sump you prefer
• Covering the containment unit

… and click-bang-boom, your choices will be narrowed. It really is an excellent addition to newpig.com–a big help for anyone looking at spill containment solutions such as pallets, decks and IBC units.

Take a look at our  Containment Comparison Guide, too.  It lets you see and compare a wide a array of our spill containment solutions at a glance.

With these guides, we’ve tried to make your selection process as easy as possible. So please keep them in mind if you store production liquids.

And me–well, maybe I’ll take that car quiz again now …

I want to wish a Happy Administrative Professionals Day to all of the Admin Pros at New Pig!

I’d also like to see a post from one of New Pig’s Human Resources Professionals—or an HR person at another company!—on this question:

Is an Administrative Professional allowed to occasionally scratch a mascot such as myself behind the ears?

This happens with the occasional dog in the workplace …

Image © iofoto – Fotolia.com

… so what are the guidelines for the hog in the workplace?

To be clear, I don’t seek out ear-scratchings. I’m a pro, too. I just want to know the ground rules.

As to any past ear-scratchings that may have happened at New Pig: No comment.

Seen at the bottom of an email signature. True, simple and universal!

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It takes an hour to hold a safety meeting.

It takes a week to plan a good safety program.

It takes a month to put that program into operation.

It takes a year to win a safety award.

It takes a lifetime to make a safe worker.

BUT  it takes only a second to destroy it all—
with one accident.

Take time now to work safe and
help your fellow employees be safe.

Hat image © Orlando Florin Rosu – Fotolia.com
Man image © Forgiss – Fotolia.com

Click here for hard hats for workplace protection or for meditation

Edgar Mueller is a talented artist who makes amazing 3-D murals on the streets of cities around the world.

Watch this YouTube video of his work:

It truly is amazing, isn’t it?

One problem, though …  How long do you think Edgar will be able to paint these amazing murals if he continues to bend over like that?

Ergonomically speaking, Edgar is putting undue stress and tension on regions of his back that likely will turn into an injury.

Check out UCLA’s ergonomic page. On it you will find numerous tips, exercises and preventions that will help save you and your company a lot of aches and pains.

… because it looks just like my baby picture.

It watches me wherever I go …

I should never have told her about Hamazon.

For the past decade, the United States has averaged about 1,000 highway work zone fatalities.

That number really hit me when I read that the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) urges an effort to cut that number in half within two years, particularly as it appears that stimulus-funded projects will increase.

Because while a goal of saving 500 lives is wonderful … you can also look at this as a goal of “only” 500 deaths.

This is not to take anything away from the AGC goal. Shooting for zero deaths would sound great but be completely unrealistic, based on the trend.

It’s just chilling to think of that many dying on the job—in a good year. No, in a stupendous and record-breaking year.

Maybe knowing the numbers will make us more alert and careful when we next see the traffic vests.

To quote the CEO of AGC:  “It shouldn’t cost a life to rebuild a road or repair a bridge.”

Image © Stephen Jacoby – Fotolia.com

EPA takes first step toward new regulation of greenhouse gases.

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Quick introduction to safety knives, written by an expert from this company.

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Quick overview of confined space training.