Trunkles At Large

Scammers really piss me off!

2009-12-02T17:44:00.003+13:00

I got this today...

From Mr. Kone Karim

Dear Good Friend,
I am Mr. Kone Karim
an accountant working with one of the Commercial Bank here in Ivory Coast, I am contacting you on business of transferring the sum of Eight Million United States Dollar (US$8 million) into a safe foreign account and it must be very confidential.

I needs your help to come out to stand as the next of kin to late Mr. Burckhard, Erich, customer of our bank who died in plane crash on Monday 2ND September 1998 GMT 14:22 UK while they were flying from New York to Geneva.

Take note of my reason of contacting you, this fund is dormant and if it stays a little long the bank will block the fund. The depositor is now where to be found after all my investigation of the file through our bank server.

However i contacted you so that the proceeds of his account with our Bank can be paid transfer to your account and then you and I will share the money fifty fifty, I have all the formalities to legalize it on your name, Note that all the modalities of this transfer are RISK FREE, I want to make the following points clear for you so that you can have a better understanding of why we are contacting you.
1-As civil servants, we are not permitted to operate or own a foreign account while in office due to CIVIL SERVICE CODE OF CONDUCT.

2-A reliable foreign partner abroad is required for assistance to claim the fund as the case may be.

3-You will be forwarded as the next of kin to the late depositor of the fund.

Open bellow site for confirmation. http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9809/swissair.victims.list/index.html

Upon your response i will give you the next step to take for the transfer processing on your name.

Thank for your understanding, you can reach me here for more explanation
Regards
Mr. Kone Karim

And I've had enough of this crap, so here is my reply.

What your profession is and for whom you work I neither can nor will pass comment on. However, I do know that you are a con man and are trying to get innocent, trusting people to give you money because you are dirt. Dirt that dogs avoid urinating on because their piss is worth more than you. Maybe you'll get lucky and someone who has worked hard for many years and saved some money will trust you and you will get their life savings. You'd like that, wouldn't you. To make sure that someone who wants to HELP you ends up being conned by you would be good, wouldn't it? It would make you feel a big man wouldn't it? In fact you are scum, a dirty little low life. My address is shown below, Why don't you change your ways and then come to my home and apologise for being a fool. I wonder why I don't think you have the guts to do that.

I'd love ti read your comments on my reply.

Elation!

2008-12-09T08:00:00.000+13:00

About five years ago I started to get pain in my left calf. The cause being a blockage in my femoral artery just above the knee. I found I couldn't walk far without getting "the burn". About three years ago I started to get a similar problem in my right leg, but the blockage was in my iliac artery, so it effected my whole leg.

As I wrote earlier, Andrew Holden and the Radiology team at Auckland Hospital fixed my right leg in September. Since then a minor blockage was found in my left iliac artery. That got fixed six weeks ago.

Last Tuesday I spent two hours on the table again. My left femoral artery is now a beautiful clear pipe rather than a lump of sludge.

And, folks, that is hard for me to find words to describe. I haven't been able to walk properly for years but can now. To be frank, I've felt less than adequate; there was so much I couldn't do. Now I hope that there isn't much that I can't do. Ten years ago I thought nothing of playing two rounds of golf a day. That ability dwindled so that two trips to the dustbin hurt. Elated? You bet I am!

Again I thank Andrew Holden and the team at Auckland Hospital for what they've done for me. Not only is it very special to me, it is special in a global sense. Blockages of this nature in the arms and legs have been, at best, difficult to treat, there is simply to much movement soft tissue movement involved for a normal stent to work well. Bypass surgery and endarterectomy are the treatments of choice. That is changing and I have the priviledge of being part of that change. A flexible stent has been developed by Flexible Stenting Solutions that can be used in cases similar to mine and I am the eleventh person in the world to have one! Mr. Holden is conducting the first-in-man trial and I'm a part of it. The effect of this treatment for cases like mine will be mind-blowing for suffreers.

The results so far are superb; overwhelmingly so. My future has changed dramtically and boy am I looking forward to it. I said it to him in hospital and I'll say it again here, in public. Six months from now I'm going to play a round of golf with Andrew Holden. That's all 18 holes on a proper course. I'll not be trying to beat him, I just want him to see what a change he's made. I also want to buy him a damn good lunch 'cos he deserves it!

I'd also like to thank Louise and Cleo in the Radiology department who looked after me both before and after the procedure. You're stars, thank you!

I've be recanalised...

2008-09-18T16:08:00.004+12:00

...And you have no idea how wonderful that is!

Between 09:45 and 11:15 yesterday morning I found myself at the mercy of Mr. Andrew Holden, the Associate Professor of Radiology of The University of Auckland and, that dear reader, was an amazing experience. In that hour-and-a-half he placed a handful of stents (six I think) into my common iliac arteries and restored the blood flow to my right leg. As things were there was no discernible pulse in my right foot, my foot was permanently chilly, I had the pins-and-needles sensation so typical of diabetic neuropathy and walking any further than a few yards at a very sedate pace was out of the question. I can now feel the pulse in my foot, it is warm to the touch, the pins-and-needles have abated significantly and I would be very surprised if I can't walk as far as I damn well like!

The stents have opened up the artery around the large (~70mm long) stenosis in my right common iliac artery. I lay there and watched it happen folks. The arteriogram at the start of the procedure showed no blood at all going past the stenosis; it looked as if the artery simply didn't exist beyond the first few millimetres. He then placed the stents and more contrast agent was injected and I saw it. A clear pipe of the correct diameter. I had tears in my eyes.

What's more, he thinks that a new type of stent could be used on the similar blockage near my left knee and I'm going to see him in a month or so to set that up.

I guess the real reason of this post is to say to

Mr. Andrew Holden
The Radiology team on Level 5 of Auckland Hospital
The staff on Ward 41 of Auckland Hospital, particularly:
Jim Richardson;
Katherine;
Swarna;
Clotilda;
and all the others of you whose names I cannot remember.

THANK YOU!

You're stars, each and every one of you. You cared for me and about me.

WITH ALL OF MY HEART, THANK YOU!

p.s. I hope I wasn't that bad a patient.

Result!

2008-09-16T07:40:00.002+12:00

Getting my leg done is a result. I actually had another result. I got a Vodafone mobile last Friday with, for once, a good number attached to it - 021 274 6664 - which doesn't look like much at first glance but when viewed as

021 2SIMONH

it's pretty damn good!

My thanks to Paul Baylis of First Mobile in Mount Eden for arranging it. If you are looking for business mobile or landline solutions then Paul's the man to talk to.

No more Burning!

2008-09-16T07:08:00.004+12:00

For the last few years I've burnt, every waking hour of every day. Tomorrow I stop burning.

"What", I hear you cry, "is the idiot on about?" You've heard of athletes having "the burn" and you may well have had it yourself. I have "the burn" but not through strenuous exercise. Mine is caused by a blockage in my Right Common Iliac Artery. (The Grey's Anatomy bit: Big artery, the aorta, runs down the middle of your torso and splits into two smaller arteries, the common iliacs, which feed your groin and legs.) I have a blockage near the top of the right hand iliac such that the blood flow to my right leg is minimal. Just walking to the mailbox hurts. Getting wood from the wood shed bloody hurts. Walking to the corner shop is beyond contemplation!

No more though! YAY FOR ME!

At 1 o'clock this afternoon I go into Auckland Hospital for two days to have tandem stents put into the blockage. (More Grey's Anatomy: a stent is an expandable wire mesh tube. Stick the stent in the artery where the blockage is and blow up a balloon inside the stent. The stent expands and the artery expands with it, making it a pipe again.)

It's taken 5 years of pushing the Health Service to get it fixed. 5 YEARS! Ho hum.

I'm so looking forward to being able to walk again. To being able to play golf again. To converting some of the 5 or 6 kgs of excess weight I have into muscle! I used to have good legs and a butt that got admiring comments from ladies. I shall have them again! I was actually pretty fit, I used to play two rounds of golf a day regularly, I couldn't play two holes at the moment.

I will be fit again!

I'm also more than a bit trepidacious too. Which is daft, 'cos the procedure is done under a local anasthetic but it still frightens me. A lot more than I'm really prepared to admit.

The Banting Homestread

2008-08-25T08:01:00.004+12:00

As all you insulin dependent diabetics know, Sir Frederick Banting kept you on this earth. Without Sir Fred you and I would be dead by now. Without Sir Fred millions of others would have died before their time. Without Sir Fred billions in the future would die long before their time. Without Sir Fred, we would not have insulin.

RESTORE THE BANTING HOMESTEAD

The homestead where he was born and that gave him inspiration to do what he did is in disrepair and needs restoring. Please, visit the website and make a donation to help preserve a unique and, for diabetics, a very special place. My best friend, M, says she would like to visit the homestead and kiss the ground. I want be next to her!

Thank you, Sir Fred, for the gift of my life.

Professor Randy Pauch

2008-07-26T11:05:00.005+12:00

A couple of hours ago I found out that Professor Randy Pausch has died. If you haven't heard of him or his last lecture then please, find an hour and a quarter and watch it; it's on YouTube here.

Randy Pausch - Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Actually, no, don't find the time to watch it, give him the time. Go on, do it now, he is worthy of that time. Very worthy of it. To say that he is inspiring doesn't do him justice. He knows that he's on borrowed time and he's happy; he's having fun; he is full of life! His legacy is one I'm sure we can all learn from and the world is a better place for his having been here and a sadder place for his passing.

Of one thing I am sure, wherever you are now Professor, I bet you're having fun!

Enhanced Stimuli Alternative

2008-06-15T11:18:00.003+12:00

disorder noun 1 lack of order; confusion or disturbance. 2 unruly or riotous behaviour. 3 a disease or illness. disordered adj. (from Chambers dictionary)

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Attention Deficit Disorder. Both names are valid and both contain “disorder”. And I’d rather to like to change not only the name but how we see and handle it. So, I no longer have ADHD, I have…

Enhanced Stimuli Alternative or ESA

And I don’t suffer from it, it’s a gift I have that’s to be enjoyed and used!

Consider some of the people who have or had this gift

Wolgang Amadeus Mozart – I can’t stand his music but there’s no denying his genius.
Billy Connolly – Irreverent and at times rude but his observation of the human condition is second to none.
Robin Williams – Comedic genius of our day.
Alexander Graham Bell – Appropriate name for the inventor of the telephone.
Albert Einstein – The scientist’s scientist.
Vincent Van Gogh – Handy with a paint brush.
Jack Nicholson – He’s about As Good As It Gets as an actor.
Steven Spielberg – Close Encounters Of The ESA Kind?
George Bernard Shaw – The Importance Of Having ESA?

… and the list goes on, including many statesmen, inventors, scientists, authors, actors and so on. And yes, I know some of that list are guesses, damn shrewd ones though!

The point is that a significant proportion of humanity has ESA, significant enough that it isn’t a disorder but an alternative. We don’t consider red hair a disorder and yet there are twice as many people with ESA as there are with red hair!

Many students with ESA are expelled or suspended from school because they have ESA. I suggest that happens because the education system is set up to deal with the other 95% of students and simply doesn’t know how to educate those with ESA. Those with ESA are seen to be a problem. A lot of schools celebrate students with high intelligence; those who are gifted. It is high time the educators learnt to see ESA as a gift and deal with it accordingly, giving those with it the help an encouragement to excel, as they almost certainly will.

Why is it a gift? ESA minds are like blotting paper; we absorb knowledge. ESA minds are imaginative; from our dreams and imagination come ideas and inventions, we push the envelope way out of shape and, because of that, we come up with things others have never thought of. We are always “on the go”, we are stimulated by our surroundings rather than stagnant.

Take a few of the DSM-IV criteria:

Often gets up from seat when remaining in seat is expected.
Expected for what reason? Does it actually matter if we move around? If the observer was blind, they wouldn’t even notice that we weren’t sitting down. Yes, I know our voices would move around but does that make a difference?

Often has trouble organizing activities.
Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
Is often easily distracted.
Often forgetful in daily activities.
We aren’t the organizing type, we lose things because our minds are on more important things and we forget the hum-drum of daily life for the same reason. People have secretaries to do the organizing for them. Rather than chastise us, help us. Give us a little help with that sort of thing and, in return, we will give you the fruits of our thoughts, like the telephone and the electric light.

Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities.
You want us to do what you want, not what we want. Why do we have to? It’s your expectation governed by you. We think differently, please, just accept it. I seem to remember that those who thought differently were called heretics and suffered badly for it.

We don’t have a brain disorder, we have an enhanced brain. Be glad that we do, you couldn’t use the phone if we didn’t! Don’t knock us and tell us we’re weirdos, rather say “Wow! You have ESA, that’s cool, ‘cos I know that you could invent something wonderful.”.

We could even have our own slogan –

ESA – the minds that bring you stuff.

Seriously, try looking at us from another angle and see our strengths. You might just be surprised at what you see!

The First Post

2008-02-17T08:07:00.007+13:00

I've been a JAFA now for 13 days, a JAFA being "Just Another Flaming Aucklander". "Flaming" is commonly replaced by an alternative. No prizes for guessing which one.

My house is enormous, 165m² (1,775ft²) and lovely. It was built in 1928 and has 10 foot high ceilings. The doors are all 2' 9" wide rather than 2' 6", which is the norm these days. There's a window seat in the lounge. The view from the back of the house is superb, I can see One Tree Hill; which won't mean a thing to most people but if you are local to here you'll know what I mean.

Here's a few pictures... excuse the mess, they were taken the day after I moved in.

The view - One Tree Hill is in the far distance

From the window seat in the lounge through to the back of the dining room

Some of the kitchen showing the spare area behind it

The kitchen from the breakfast area

There is still an enormous amount of unpacking and sorting out to do so I'll post more when my feet touch the ground.

I miss Paraparaumu greatly but Auckland does have benefits, there is far more social life here.

The Last Post

2008-01-31T06:08:00.000+13:00

Well, last post from Paraparaumu anyway. The removal men are due to turn up at 7:30 this morning to start packing and on Monday next week I'll be in my new home in Papatoetoe in Auckland. I even have a picture or two for you...

69 Hillcrest Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland

The inside is stunning! All polished wood floors and well decorated. The pics above were taken by the landlord but I'll take some better ones once I'm there!

There will be a house warming party some time soon, to which you, dear readers, will be more than welcome. I'll let you know the date when I've got it worked out.

Yesterday was another last post, Mabel Inglis' funeral. Mabel reached the grand age of 100 last November. I had the honour of producing the reflections presentation for the funeral and of being a pall bearer. Thank you, Rosemary, for those honours.

Fare thee well Mabel, may your shadow never grow longer.

I have no idea when I'll get the chance to post again but I hope it will be soon. There'll be lots to tell you about my new home and Auckland, I'm sure of that!

To my friends here in Paraparaumu the Trunklator has this to say:

I'll be back!

It's now 6:30 in the morning and so I must sign off and get packing, literally. Wish me luck folks, I hate bloody moving!

JAFA in the making

2008-01-10T09:40:00.000+13:00

I've already mentioned this.

I'm moving.

To Auckland.

I am to become a JAFA. JAFA for those who aren't in the know is an acronym for Just Another Fu...Flaming Aucklander.

Auckland has the distinction of being the largest city in New Zealand. Somewhat over 1,000,000 souls live in the greater Auckland area, which is rather sad for New Zealand as a whole. Housing costs are high and the traffic is a nightmare. The problem as I see it is that the national infrastructure cannot support a city of that size, roughly a quarter of the population of the country live in Auckland and there simply isn't enough money in the pot to cure the problems.

However, I digress. As I said, I'm moving there because I have been offered a job that pays me considerably more than I earn now, roughly tripling my income. I know I'm silly, but I ain't daft! To decline that sort of income would be stupid in the extreme. A client of mine is going from completely manual to computerised and they've asked me to join them to handle the IT side of things and to take over from the Office Manager who is leaving in March.

There is a curates egg element to it. I like living here and have friends here who I shall miss dreadfully but I do need to look to the future and having a little money would be rather nice. I don't need a lot but to know that when the shit hits the fan I can deal with it has a lot going for it.

What I'd forgotten was the personal trauma of moving. I have to find somewhere to live and that isn't easy. I have two cats and rental properties that will allow pets are few and far between. I'm also down here, rather than up there, so viewing properties is awkward at best. Whilst I could select a place from a distance, most landlords actually want to meet the prospective tenant so I have to be there. I do go up to Auckland for a day or two at a time, but my time up there is limited and must be shared with work so there's some serious juggling happening.

I have to pack the house up here. I don't have a vast amount of stuff, but enough to make it more than a trivial task. Particularly when my trips to Auckland mean that I loose half a day on each side of the trip. Travel can be bloody tiring!

Whilst I have lived in Auckland before, I had few friends there and have lost contact with them now, so I'll be rather on my own when I get there. It'll be good to make new friends and have places to go and things to do. It's one of the down sides of living here, there is little in the way of entertainment locally. I decided some time ago to take up golf again. I bought some clubs and was all set to go to the driving range and start getting some sort of swing back. Bugger! The driving range closed down shortly after I got my clubs! The nearest one is an hour's drive away which, by the time you have added the petrol cost makes it impractical at best. At least there are plenty of ranges and courses in Auckland!

Anyway, by the end of the month, one way or another, I shall be JAFA.

Watch out Auckland, here I come!

Caption Time

2007-12-22T22:12:00.000+13:00

'M' over at Being 'M' caught this guy by the beach today and I'm sure he's saying something.

Over to you folks, captions in comments please.

Pets, Drugs and Rock and Roll

2007-12-21T08:27:00.000+13:00

A recent comment on an earlier post, Ritalin vs Rubifen ,prompts me to say a little about the symptoms of ADHD and the drugs used to ameliorate those symptoms. My comments are, of necessity, subjective but I have seen the medicated/unmedicated state of others with the problem

The symptoms -

My mind wanders. Not just occasionally but most of the time, to the extent that it is extremely difficult to concentrate on a task that is uninteresting or particularly difficult. Repetitive tasks are almost impossible. You remember the school punishment - One hundred lines "I must pay attention to teacher"? Well, for an ADHD sufferer that itsn't a punishment, it's a torture. For us, ten lines is a punishment, twenty is a severe punishment and anything over that is indescribable.

My mind will go off at a tangent. It doesn't matter how important the current situation is, it will go walk about. For example; I am in an important meeting trying to sell my services for lots of money and somebody walks past the window. My train of thought just derailed. Crashed and burned. I'm now thinking about how much I'm enjoying the book I'm reading or counting the number of cars going past per second. Annoying to say the least and I can't stop it happening.

Most people will engage brain before speaking. Not me! If I had a dollar for every time I've had my foot in my mouth I'd be a millionaire ten times over. Now think of the effects of those dropped bricks. How many people have I offended over the years? Did I want to offend them? Of course not, but I couldn't help myself when I did it.

Do people answering questions before you've finished asking them annoy you? They do me and I'm one of the worst culprits.

Do you have a "To Do" list? I do, sometimes. Do you prioritise that list? I do, sometimes. Do you complete the list? In the order of priority? I don't, ever!

We all daydream, to some extent. I daydream constantly only it isn't just A daydream, it's SEVERAL, simultaneously. Do you have a tune running round in your head? Some tunes just stick, don't they. Do you have half a dozen? I do (usually rock songs), and it's very annoying.

I guess we all fidget occasionally. I fidget a lot and I don't even know I'm doing it. I must have driven my teachers mad with my inability to sit still.

Those are just some of the symptoms of ADHD that I suffer from and have done all my life. However, I now take Dexamphetamine and every single one of them is significantly diminished. I don't even have a tune in my head at the moment. I managed to write this post too and, believe me, without Dexamphetamine or Methylphenidate, that just wouldn't have happened.

I'm not addicted to Dexamphetamine. I've been taking it for a year or so now. Some days I don't take any. Some days I take two, depending on what I'm doing. But I am not addicted to it. Nor was I addicted to Methylphenidate, which I took prior to Dexamphetamine.

The point of all this was Me's comment on the previous post.

Subsidies for an abuse addictive drug (Ritalin) don't make sense. Kids and adults need pets, not drugs.

To subsidise abuse of of Ritalin or any other drug would, of course, be madness. Personally, I am intolerant of drug abuse in any form and would not hesitate to inform the police of anyone who I found either abusing drugs or selling drugs illegally.

There is, to the best of my knowledge and experience, no evidence that either Methylphenidate or Dexamphetamine are addictive.

Pets (I have two much loved cats; my girls) and love and understanding are wonderful. We should all have them. For those of us who have ADHD and for whom medication is efficacious then we should have that medication available.

Meep! Meep!

2007-12-09T08:38:00.000+13:00

Poor old Wiley Coyote, didn't matter what he did, it failed. Luck was never on his side and sterces accidit was his motto.

Not all coyotes fail. Meet Charlie.

Charlie is the companion of Eli and Shreve. He lives with them in Wyoming and he's cute. Actually, no, cute doesn't cover it. Charlie is way past cute.

Take some time out and read all about him. Shreve is rather good with a camera, as you'll see on

The Daily Coyote

Dear lowlife

2007-12-02T21:41:00.000+13:00

There is a medal called the Victoria Cross. It is awarded "For Valour" and is the highest military honour awarded by the British Forces. There is a civilian equivalent, the George Cross.

The US equivalent would be the Medal of Honour.

At about 1 a.m. this morning, someone broke into Waioru museum and stole nine Victoria Crosses, two George Crosses and an Albert Medal.

This post is to the lowlife who stole them.

What for, arsehole? It's pieces of dirt like you that give the rest of us a bad name. I hope you are ok with being despised and reviled by everyone who has gone in harm's way. Did you even think that if it wasn't for people like those who received those medals, you could well be in a Nazi concentration camp now? It didn't cross your mind? I suppose that's not surprising for scum like you whose IQ wouldn't make room temperature.

Hand them back now please, with an apology, and the kicking you will most certainly get might not be that bad. Fail to hand them back pronto and you sure as hell ain't going to enjoy the results.

Pack up my troubles...

2007-11-22T14:21:00.000+13:00

cats, goods, chattels and other detritus and move my sorry butt to Auckland.

I have a job! I'll still be doing my Dr. Simon stuff on the side, but I have a permanent job to go to. Whilst I love my work, it isn't that secure and I do have to have the tiniest eye on the future. NZ$60,000 a year and a car goes a long way towards doing that.

The firm I'm going to work for have been all manual up until now, no computers at all. My task is to bring computers in and make them work sensibly for them. I'm looking forward to it immensely!

For the first time in my life I feel as if I've grown roots here in Paraparaumu, only to have to tear them up and say goodbye to all my friends round here and that will hurt, big time. There will be a lot of tears on my face when that happens in the new year. Hell, there are tears in my eyes now just thinking about it. I know I can come down here and visit,and vice-versa but it's a helluva long drive - at least 8 hours plus stopping time. I'll also have to live in a city and I'm not a city boy, they always seem so impersonal and rowdy. Constant car noise and the like doesn't make for a peaceful life. But then I will have easy access to galleries, theatres and other goodies that the countryside doesn't have.

There are two definite upsides though. Auckland has excellent support of both diabetes and ADHD!

Anyone fancy moving to Auckland with me? I'll be very lonely there and I'm really not looking forward to that. And if you already live there please say Hi? Some friendly faces will help me greatly.

Small, MEDIUM, Large

2007-11-11T12:14:00.000+13:00

I had an interesting and enjoyable experience last night. I went to see Kelvin Cruickshank (His website is here), a well known medium. There is a TV show here called Sensing Murder (Website here) that has three mediums investigating unsolved murders. I have to be honest, I haven't seen the show myself as I don't watch TV, but I'm reliably informed that it is excellent.

I was, quite frankly, amazed. There were about a hundred people in the room and he discussed some of what he does and talked to a number of people, giving them messages from family members and others who had died.

I have always been a skeptic regarding communication with spirits, I am much less of a skeptic now. When he was talking to people, he was getting things right. He would talk to someone and ask them if so-and-so had died. I would say that 9 times out of 10 he would be right. He would ask them if they'd died of this-that-or-the-other and again, the majority of the time he would be right. He would then tell them what he was being told to tell them (by the spirit), regarding people and things in their life and yet again, those people and events would be pertinent.

Yes, there were some inaccuracies. Yes, there was some spurious stuff. Yes there were names that didn't make sense to the audience member he was talking to. However, the vast majority were spot on. If he'd been hammering nails then his thumb got very few hits!

You might think that the people in the audience were plants; paid to be there. Not a chance. The cost of paying that many people would bankrupt him in a hour.

There was no evidence that I could detect of the Forer Effect being used. He wasn't making generalised statements that people could find a fit for. Statements like "I'm talking to your mother and she died of cancer." or "Your father played bowls." aren't general. Very specific and more often than not, right.

He wasn't doing the "Is there anyone who has lost someone called John?" trick (known as shotgunning), where there are bound to be a number in the audience. He would ask for a microphone to be given to "That lady/gentleman there.". He would then talk to them directly and give usually accurate information. He started talking to one lady about a young man's suicide. There was no one in her family that had committed suicide. He then said that the young man had hung himself. He was right! Not a family member, but the lady in question had discovered a young man who had hung himself in the bush. Kelvin then went on to discuss a number of things with another lady and her sister, who was also in the audience. Kelvin was talking to their mother. He had the feeling of an excess of jewelery about the mother. And yes, the mother did wear a lot of jewelery, much more than average.

That is just one example, the rest of the evening was just as startling.

Am I convinced? No, but I'm a lot less sceptical than I was!

One day I hope to meet Kelvin or one of his colleagues in person and see if he can get an answer to my question to the spirits. I'd like to hear one word to show we are on the right track. I then would like two words. I plead for those two words, they are desperately important to me. Give me those two words and I will be totally convinced. There will be one less skeptic in the world.

In the meantime....

Thank you Kelvin!

P.S. If someone happens to have recordings of Sensing Murder then I think I'd rather like to watch them.

Diabetic Denial

2007-11-05T14:25:00.000+13:00

I strongly suspect that the majority of diabetics who read diabetes related blogs and forums have their diabetes under control, or are working towards that goal. Unfortunately, there are a large number of diabetics out there who aren't under control simply because they have trouble coping with the fact that the have diabetes in the first place.

The husband of Wife of a Diabetic is a case in point. That saddens me, as I have been in the out of control place, and found that being in control was worth every second of the effort it took to get there.

So I decided to help, if I can. What I would like to do is visit every non-compliant diabetic and help them get past the problems. That ain't going to happen so, the next best thing is to provide a place where they can partake in a forum and, even more so, those around them can have a forum for discussion on the issues. Therefore...

now exists. If you know someone to whom this is even remotely relevant, please, point them at http://diabymous.drsimon.co.nz.

I hope it does some good!

Perhaps... maybe

2007-10-24T18:27:00.000+13:00

Is this the start of a cure for Type 1 diabetes? We can only hope it is.

Article on Stuff about pig cell transplants

And yes, it is only first steps but we have to learn to walk before we can run. :)

The Blogger's Choice Awards

2007-10-06T23:57:00.001+13:00

You have until October 19th to vote for your favourite blog. Go on, go and vote, the more recognition good blogs get, the better.

I was thinking of nominating myself for "Most Obnoxious Blogger" or "Worst Blog of All Time" but I decided not to. Someone who hates my blog can have the privilege!

The Diabetes OC Webring

2007-10-05T16:26:00.000+13:00

I'm feeling all privileged now. I've been included in the Diabetes OC Webring. You'll find the ring navigation in the sidebar. Please, go for a browse round the ring.

I think it's wonderful what the web has given us. Before it we had the support of our local diabetics, if any. We got such information as the medical profession deigned to give us which, from memory, was close to zero. We were, to a greater or lesser degree, on our own.

We can now get more information than we can possibly handle. We can talk, via forums and blogs, with a host of other diabetics all over the world. We can get support when we need it and, we can GIVE support when others need it. That, to me, is a source of joy.

Take, for instance, Wife of a Diabetic. She has an outlet for her frustration and sorrow and a means of getting input from others that she could never have had before the net.

TuDiabetes, DiabetesForums, Six Until M e and Diabetes Mine, along with many other blogs and forums, give us all a chance to improve our diabetes and to help others improve their diabetes. We get the chance to ask questions about our problems and issues and the chance to answer the questions of others. We have access to the same information as the medical profession itself. Whether we can interpret it correctly is another matter! To give some idea of the amount of information we now have at our fingertips just goggle at the number of results Google gives for diabetes; ~36,500,000. That's one heck of a lot of information!

The point is that the internet has changed the world. Not just for diabetics, but for everybody. I can read and look at information on just about anything I want (And rather a lot that I don't want!). We can be aware of developments and events shortly after they happen. We can publish, to a very broad audience, our own thoughts and ideas.

To

Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau

Sixteen years ago you started something wonderful, the World Wide Web.

Thank you!

Billions of us have a great deal to be grateful to you for.

What the crutch?

2007-09-22T10:31:00.001+12:00

It appears that crutches are considered an offensive weapon. Now, who would have thought that? Not me, that's for sure but the management of a night club in England seem to think so, as this article details.

I wonder what else would be considered an offensive weapon? Handbags? They're pretty effective. Glasses and bottles? Long recognised as a weapon of choice in nasty bar brawls. What other sharp things do people carry. I can't really think of any at the mome... AH! Yes, I can! All of us who are insulin dependent diabetics carry nice sharp needles and lancets and, of course, we would use those as offensive weapons at the first opportunity, wouldn't we?

Moi? Sarcastic? Damn right I am!

Here's a brief message for the management of the Hush Enigma Club in Newton Abbott, Devon.

Come down out of the trees and rejoin the human race.

Justice SEEN to be done.

2007-09-21T20:49:00.000+12:00

Those who read my blog will have noticed that I keep an eye open for injustice, particularly where it concerns those who are ill or disabled in some way.

This time it's the other way round; justice HAS been done.

48 year old Richard Paey suffers severe pain from the effects of a car accident, back surgery that went wrong and multiple sclerosis. Richard, like many others, took marijuana to ease his pain. And, of course, that is illegal in most of the world. Rather than turning a blind eye to his marijuana use, he got busted and sent to prison for 25 years (the minimum sentence). He's been in prison for the last 3 years.
Read the whole story here.

But, by now, he should be OUT of prison. The Governor and Cabinet of the State of Florida have given him a full pardon. Justice, seen to be done.

Govern Crist and the Cabinet - Well done!

Richard Paey - Congratulations! You should never have been in jail in the first place!

I very much hope that Richard can continue to use the medication he needs without police intervention. I fear that may not be the case.

Shoot Them!

2007-09-19T10:49:00.002+12:00

The first day of June, 1979 was a Curate's Egg day; good in parts.

I had been offered a job at a carpet store and was going for a look round the place. What's more, I had a hot date that evening. I lived with my grand-parents in Sunninghill in Berkshire and my (not very) trusty Triumph Bonneville had taken me to my new boss' house in Egham. We went on from there to Burnt Oak (North London) in his car. The sun was shining and all was right with the world.

I had £8-50 in the bank, damn all in my pocket and a hot date. I needed that £8-50! A couple of doors away from the carpet shop was a branch of my bank, so off I toddled. I gave a cheque to the teller and waited whilst they phoned my branch to clear the cheque. Yes, that's right, telephone; this was 1979, no desktop computers back then! The time was about ten to three in the afternoon and my day was still good.

At five to three the day started to go downhill. Hmmm... downhill doesn't quite cover it. Turned to total shit would be closer, but still doesn't really do it justice.

Three blokes came into the bank wanting to draw some money too, but their cheque bore a more than passing resemblance to a sawn-off shotgun. The bloody bank was being robbed!

It didn't sink in to begin with. They were wearing caricature masks, so was this a student prank? It just didn't register until I found myself looking down the barrels of the shotgun. You ever looked down the barrels of a loaded shotgun from six inches away? It concentrates the mind wonderfully, believe me on this one!

The robbers were telling the bank staff to do this and do that or "we shoot the customers". The staff were rather stunned and weren't that quick off the mark. No surprise really, this wasn't an everyday occurrence for them. However, one of the staff WAS on the ball. He had dropped out of sight as soon as the robbers came in and had pressed the alarm button which alerted the police directly. No siren at the bank though, so the robbers didn't know this. After a couple of minutes, the robbers worked out what had happened and panicked. They wanted out of Dodge, now!

There were two loud bangs and the robbers were out the door like a rocket.

The customers consisted of three middle-aged ladies, a very tall Australian man and me. The robbers didn't want anyone interfering with their get away. The ladies weren't a threat, but the Australian and I were a different matter; we could try to be heroes. So, to prevent heroics, they shot the Australian in the arse and blew the back off my right calf. No way either of us was doing anything!

I didn't even feel it. I just stood there wondering what was going to happen next. Ten seconds later my brain started to register that something hurt, something hurt big time! I looked down and... "OMG! WTF! Some c**t call an f**king ambulance!" I was hobbling round the bank, dripping blood and screaming blue murder.

I woke up to find my leg on an upturned waste paper back, and the three ladies comforting me. Shortly after that an ambulance turned up. They put me on a stretcher and rolled me out of the bank. "Not so fast", says I, "I want my £8-50!". Yeh, I know, dumb thing to worry about but I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time. I got my £8-50 though! The police had turned up by then too, believe it or not, they had gone to the wrong bank. A crowd had gathered outside and I gave them a royal wave as the ambulance men wheeled me out. As I said, my brain was not firing on all cylinders.

Off we went to Edgware Hospital. I had my trousers cut off me which upset me, I was wearing the only suit I had! The fact that the trousers were shredded didn't matter, my bloody suit was ruined. The police turned up wanting my name and other trivia. The cops wanted to tell my family what had happened. There was no way I wanted them turning up on my grand-parents doorstep telling them I'd been shot in a bank robbery, it would have given them heart attacks, so I told them they were NOT to do that under any circumstances and that I would phone them and tell them myself. Which I promptly did. "Hallo Nanny, just thought I'd let you know that I'm in hospital." "What? What's wrong?" "Um, I've been shot in a bank robbery." I'm sure you can imagine that it was a rather surreal conversation, but at least they knew I was ok and likely to die on them. The cops ignored my instructions and went round anyway. Bastards!

Early that evening I got visited by a reporter and photographer from the Daily Mail. I was big news, as you can see!

Would you buy a used car from this man?

I had an operation on my leg that evening and was doped up on pethidine. Pethidine is good stuff, no pain at all and you can float through the clouds.

Remember that hot date? She got stood up and was deeply pissed with me. On Saturday morning she saw the paper and started eating humble pie. Not just a slice of pie, but the whole damn thing. She lived in Bracknell, about 30 miles West of London. The hospital was about 10 miles North of London but that didn't deter her. She got the train into Waterloo, then the underground up to Edgware and came to visit me.

One of the curious things with the newspapers appeared in the Daily Express. They had a picture of me that and I have no idea how they got it. It was a school photo from when I was about 15. It didn't come from my grand-parents or anyone else in my family. Not the school either, the robbery was late on a Friday afternoon and how the hell would they even know what school I went to? It's still a mystery, I never found out where it came from.

Lovely picture. ain't it. Come on folks, gimme a break, I was 15!

Anyway, back to the main story. The Thursday after the robbery, I was scheduled to have the real operation to fix my leg. The surgeon told me that one of two things would happen, if pellets had gone into the bone then he'd have to chop me off at the knee and if they hadn't then he'd do a skin graft. Suffice to say I still have both legs. I spent three weeks with my leg in a Robert-Jones Bandage, with the gentle smell of necrosing flesh wafting about the room. Why they didn't remove the bandage and deal with the infection is beyond me, but they didn't and, when it was removed, there was every colour in the rainbow in there. The wound was an oval about 6"x4" and of the original graft, there was a bit the size of a postage stamp that had actually taken. Neither I nor my family were pleased. My grand-father arranged for me to change hospitals to one closer to home that also had a proper plastic surgery department so, after six weeks in Edgware, I was let out for a week before going in to Wexham Park Hospital near Slough.

My new boss agreed to take me home but I remembered that my Bonneville was at his house, so I asked him to take me back there instead. This was six weeks after the robbery and the bike hadn't been started in that time. It damn near killed me getting that bike running, but there was no way I was NOT riding it home!

The timing of my week out was perfect. My best freind, Dennis, was getting married on the Saturday and I could go to the wedding. I wanted to surprise him so didn't tell him I was out of hospital and, instead of going to the wedding I went to the reception, taking BJ girl with me. We arrived at a good moment. No one was dancing and Dennis and Hazel were sat at a table facing the door to the hall. I walked through the door (no crutches, no way I was NOT going to walk in normally) and their faces were a picture, they thought I was a ghost! The last they'd seen of me I was bed-ridden and not going to walk without sticks or crutches for the rest of my life. And I'd walked in without even a limp. Oh and yes, it did hurt like hell but it was worth it!

This is where we starting getting in to the upside of being shot. I'd been told that I would walk with crutches or sticks for the rest of my life, because of the sever equinus deformity I had. "Not so!", says I. I was determined that was not going to happen. The only means of correcting an equinus deformity at the time was by applying a back slab plaster to the calf and foot. This is an L-shaped plsater that goes behind the calf and under the foot, and is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot. So I came up with an alternative that actually stretched the achilles tendon and calf muscles and allowed exercise. I took a belt, a lenght of string and a screwdriver. I made a loop on each end of the string and put one loop round the belt and the other under my foot, like a stirrup. I wore the belt on as normal put my leg out straight. I used the screwdriver to make a something like a twist tie in the string. As I turned the screwdriver, the string got shorter and evenetually it was pulling my foot up hard. If I bent my knee the pressure was removed. Over time I increased the number of turns of the screwdriver and it worked! I still have an equinus deformity, but it's not a factor in normal life. Indeed, if you didn't tell you it was there, you'd never notice it. Whether the...er... appliance I devised has ever been used since I don't know. I hope it has. The orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists was amazed at the results and said he'd remember it for the future. If you, or someone you know, has an similar problem, then it might be worth trying.

Back to the main story again. I went into Wexham Park for another six weeks of skin grafts and that was, for the time being, that.

The only thing I couldn't do any more was rock-climbing, the only real sport I'd ever been really interested in and I was actually quite good at it. I did start Morris dancing though which, as you may know, is quite energetic. Have a hunt through YouTube if you aren't familiar with it.

We now get to where Diabetes enters the mixture. In 1986 I'd been found to have some glucose in my urine, indicating that I was somewhere in pre-diabetes. In July 1991 (I've actually worked the date out!) I found a bloody great ulcer in the skin graft on my leg. There was no feeling in that area, so I simply didn't notice it. A blood test or two later and... I'm a diabetic! I now know that I'm a type 1.5 (LADA), rather than a type 2, but LADA wasn't known about back then.

The robbery had a profund effect on my life and is, in part, the reason why I was such an out of control diabetic to begin with. I'd fought long and hard to beat the equinus deformity and won. Then diabetes sorta snuck up behind me. It felt like all my efforrt was worthless. Oh well, that's all behind me now.

I am immensely grateful to Rosemary, a friend and client. She went to the effort of getting the copies of the newspaper articles for me. Thank you Rosemary!

Time is money

2007-08-30T14:07:00.000+12:00

We've all heard the saying "Time is money" and it can often be true.

What I want to talk about though is the actually "The measurement of time is money" or "How to rip people off".

I'd rather like to get myself a new watch, this one.

It's made by Skagen, a US based company run by two Danes. Their design is superb. Very smooth and understated. Have a look at the range on the Skagen website.

At first glance you would think the prices are going to be high. Not so! Hunting round on the web I found the model I want available online for US$73-97, which is hardly expensive. At the current exchange rate that's NZ$106. Yes, I will have to pay to get it sent from the US, so call it NZ$130 to cover that.

I found there is a dealer for Skagen here in Wellington. Instead of the shipping cost I'll use about $20 worth of petrol to get there and back so there isn't much to choose between the US and getting it locally.

Or is there? The US have it in stock and even allowing for shipping I would have the watch within 7 to 10 days. Wellington haven't and it would be "late September" before they would even be putting the order in! Apparently they maybe able to "source one locally". "May" does not light my fire.

Hmm... online from the US is looking better.

There is another difference that makes buying online from the US a certainty.

Online from the US... NZ$106.

From my local dealer... NZ$220. Yes, that right, more than DOUBLE the price! The dealer in the US are making a profit so it's reasonable to assume they can buy for about US$50., which is about NZ$72. There is a sales tax here of 12.5%, so the local price of NZ$220 is actually NZ$195.

Please read the update.
So the dealer here appears to be making 170% profit. Now whilst I have no problem with making a profit; we all have to live, there's profit and profit. ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY percent mark up is extortion in my book.

*** UPDATE ***

I contacted the supplier in question about this and also gave them the opportunity to read this post and comment on it.

It appears that they are NOT making that level of profit and the price they sell at is the recommended retail price for New Zealand. They are forced to purchase from the main agent in Australia and the price is set by that agent. They tell me that the recommended retail price for this item in the US is US$100 which converts to NZ$143, which makes me wonder why the hell we in New Zealand should have such disparate recommended retail prices.

Economies of scale, as pointed out by the supplier, is an obvious issue but, well, why should there be economies of scale? The cost of manufacture of a good is fixed for the quantity manufactured. The shipping cost is variable but is a small proportion of the sale price on small, high value items. Why can retailers here NOT buy direct from the manufacturers, as I presume they do in the US and at the same price? I'm sure the same applies in other countries too.

My view of this may be rather odd but is it that unrealistic? Let us say I produce a widget and to service the world market in widgets I need to make 10,000 of them and the cost of manufacture is $100 each, including amortizing the development cost, etc. I fix a markup of , say, 40%, making the sale price to the retailer $140 plus whatever shipping cost there is. The retailer puts his mark up on that and that's it. Everyone pays pretty much the same price. I make the same, the retailer makes the same and the customer gets a decent price too. With the added bonus that the small guy gets as much of a chance as the big guy, totally fair, one constant price.

The whole thing seems to me to be grossly unfair on retailers and small businesses. The final customer has the choice of buying from where so ever they please. In this case, I'd be a fool to buy locally, the price difference is just to big. This saddens me greatly, I am a small business man myself and I would much rather support others like me.

I've just done a little investigation. I can buy an Intel Q6600 CPU retail in the USA for LESS than I pay wholesale here!

I think we are ALL being ripped-off, not only the consumers but the suppliers too!

I beg your forgiveness

2007-08-17T10:24:00.001+12:00

I've just realised that it is over a fortnight since I last posted anything.

[kneels]
Forgive me please, I know you were champing at the bit waiting for more drivel from me. I have sinned and shall eat humble pie, I shall not abandon you again. It was cruel and heartless of me. You need not wail and gnash your teeth again.
[/kneels]

[PMSL]
There are times when my ability to talk complete clap-trap is beyond belief!
[/PMSL]

Get your IP address

2007-08-17T10:14:00.000+12:00

Finding your external IP address can be a pain, particularly if your internet connection is through a router. There is, however, a quick and easy way of getting it. Dr. Simon (that's me folks) has put a little bit of PHP on his web site that will tell you your IP. Simply click on the link below and you should get a result something like this...

Your IP address is: 184.239.137.185

Easier than one of Baldrick's cunning plans.

Dr. Simon's remote IP address tool

The cat who knows

2007-07-29T09:25:00.000+12:00

I found this rather lovely but also rather sad story about a cat who knows when people are going to die.

Oscar lives at a hospice for those in the end stages of dementia. It appears that if Oscar visits someone then they have but a few hours left. This may sound rather far-fetched but I believe it.

My Great-Uncle Doug and Great-Aunt Em had two fox terriers - Jane and her son, Joe. Both dogs would occasionally come into the bedroom but nothing more than that. Great-Uncle Doug had cancer and was in the end stages of that terrible disease. One morning, Jane came into the bedroom, jumped onto the bed and licked Uncle Doug on the face. She jumped off the bed and left the bedroom. Uncle Doug died later that morning. Jane had never jumped on the bed before and she never went into the bedroom again. I am absolutely certain that Jane was saying goodbye.

"Joe", as he was on a Horniman's Tea Card in 1961. He was a star!

Thinking about Doug, Em and the dogs brings back happy memories of my (otherwise unhappy) childhood. They lived in a small village (Woodcote near Reading) in an extremely old cottage. Built in the 17th century and all wooden beams and low ceilings. Uncle Doug grew roses, for which he won silver medals and they kept geese. Kids - do not chase geese, they will chase back and scare the devil out of you! I was back over the gate like a rocket, angry geese close behind!

I used to visit Aunt Em regularly. We would walk for miles in Deans Wood and Fox Covert Wood. The dogs would chase rabbits and Aunt Em and I would pick wild raspberries. I'd play on the rockery in the garden, climbing mountains or having battles with tiny plastic soldiers made by Airfix. Whilst life at home was extremely unpleasant (Dog poo is nicer than my step-father was), the time I spent at Behoes Cottage was wonderful. It was fun, it was idyllic, it was what childhood was all about. Yes, I know I'm digressing, but it was important to me.

On a sadder note, when I was 18, Aunt Em phoned late one evening. Joe was a very elderly dog by then and he had been put down that morning. Aunt Em had spent the day in tears and was distraught. Unfortunately, I had no means of getting there that late at night and so it was the following morning that I caught the bus/train/bus combination needed to get to Woodcote. It turned out that Aunt Em had called the vet to come to the house to put Joe down, which he had done. Having put him to sleep, the vet had left his body on the toilet floor! How insensitive can you get? No wonder Aunt Em had been in a state the day before. I buried Joe for her. We were both in floods of tears as we said goodbye to an old and dear friend. It was the end of an era. Not long after that Aunt Em had a series of debilitating strokes; her right side was paralysed and she lost the ability to talk. She moved into a home and died a few years later. A sad end for a wonderful lady who made this little boy happy.

Thank you Aunt Em, you were a ray of sunshine. I still miss you.

Been there, got the T-shirt

2007-07-21T09:39:00.000+12:00

Whilst I've not been as bad as "Wife of a Diabetics" husband, I have been down the road he is traveling. For many years I ignored my diabetes. When I was on tablets, I took them if I remembered it, which is certainly less than half the time. I tested once in a blue moon, if that. I never bothered to go and see the endo. The only concession to dietary changes was that I started drink diet soda.

When I went on to insulin, I took it if I remembered it which wasn't that often. My A1c numbers where in double figures; when I bothered to have them done. I kept no records of what my numbers were doing.

Basically, I started to get neuropathy in my feet, my vision started to degenerate and I was having mood swings. Basically, I made no effort to control my diabetes and I was NOT a nice person to be with.

I don't think I was anywhere near as bad as her husband but if I was the face of diabetes then it would not look good.

Fortunately I got past all that. My A1c is consistently in the sixes (and I want to see the fives). I don't have many lows at all, and those I do have aren't major ones. My diet is somewhat better than it was. Yes, I still eat High GI foods with a high GL too. I also take enough insulin to deal with those foods and a meter reading above 10(180) is not that common and dealt with immediately. The neuropathy in my feet has improved dramatically. My vision is fairly stable and I don't have the foul mood swings that I used to.

As a partner, the old me sucked - major league sucked. The new me doesn't suck. The new me is worth having around (Well, I think I am.).

All I'm trying to say is, I've been a bad diabetic and a good one. I wouldn't wish a bad diabetic on anyone.

Diabetic spouses

2007-07-19T01:42:00.000+12:00

You all know that I'm a diabetic. It's my problem, I have to deal with it. What is sometimes rather less obvious is that diabetes effects the people around us too. Our families and partners have an important role to play in our lives. They may even be responsible for saving it. Those who love us get a pretty thin time of it as well. This is exacerbated if our diabetes is out of control.

There is a lady who writes about her experiences as the wife of a type 2 diabetic who is obviously wildly out of control. Her husband is having a bad time of it and will have a worse one. That lady is there for him through thick and thin. She loves him, stands by him and deals with it. She, and the other spouses in a similar position, deserve our support and admiration. Her blog is her way of venting her spleen. It's her outlet. Her husband won't talk about the problems and the poor lass has to have some outlet. Her blog provides that.

However, it seems that some diabetics can't see her role and the enormous contribution and sacrifice she is making for her husband. Rather than being supportive, she gets nasty anonymous comments.

Come on folks, diabetes is a large part of this lady's life. It doesn't have to be. She could walk away from her husband and leave him to it. She chooses not to. I think we should appreciate that and be supportive and positive.

Please, read what this lady has to say and be supportive. If you can't be supportive then leave her in peace. To be negative devalues her efforts. She is giving a large part of her life to her diabetic husband.

Personally, I think she deserves a medal, not approbation.

Interview

2007-07-19T01:29:00.002+12:00

I have been inteviewed by C-Dell over at Views Of The Silent Majority. I enjoyed the experience. It made me think about why I am here and what I am doing here. Thank you C-Dell. Here are my responses.

C-Dell > As an Englishman who now lives in New Zealand you have gained greater understanding of the world, and it's many cultures. What to you think of the United States influence on the world's political Landscape?

Simon > I have a feeling my answer will upset people. Frankly, I think US influence causes more trouble than it cures. Washington is very egocentric. The rest of the world has to do what the US says or get beaten down, if not physically then by trade sanctions and similar tactics. Whilst I accept that the US must look out for its own interests, they do appear to be rather selfish.

C-Dell > As a fifty-one year old man what are the main events in your view that lead to the current political climate?

Simon > I think you have to go back to September 1923, when the British Mandate In Palestine came into effect. That started the ball rolling for creation of Israel and that pissed off the (mostly Muslim) Arab population The fracas in the Middle East has been going on ever since, culminating in 9/11 and the other atrocities since then. Please, don't think that I blame Judaism or Islam, it was the League of Nations that generated the mandate and the British who implemented it. The Arabs were, quite reasonably, upset. If someone turned up on your land and decided to kick you out then you'd be a bit miffed too, wouldn't you? Events in the Middle East have changed the lives of everyone. I don't condone terrorism. I am quite sure that Mohamed and Jesus would be appalled and disgusted by the actions done in their name.

The other enormous event was the Second World War. It changed the face of the world.

C-Dell > What is the most important issue to you as of now?

Simon > I have a couple, but they are in different spheres.

Health - the vast profits made by the drug companies. They have a captive market, If you need the drug or appliance then you have to have it or loose quality of life, or loose life itself. The drug companies are very well aware of this and milk us for every cent they can.

World Politics - Creating harmony. Why can't we all live together in peace? It isn't so very difficult and for the future of mankind I believe it is essential. We will wipe ourselves out otherwise.

C-Dell > If you could relive any moment in your life which one would it be, and why to experience it again or change it?

Simon > Over the course of my life I have made a great many mistakes but, on the whole, I don't think I want to change any of them. If I changed them, then I wouldn't be who I am now. Whilst I still have (and always will have) many flaws, I am me and happy with where and what I am now. I have a past that has taught me much and from that, my future will, I hope, be better.

There is, however, one experience I would like to relive. As a child aged 10 or 11 I was taken to the film studios where the Thunderbirds puppet series was made. I spent the day watching them make the programmes. I as given a "real" Thunderbirds uniform, a "real" Thunderbirds model, lots of still pictures and all sorts of other goodies. My mother told me all this when I was in my early twenties because I don't remember it. Not a bit of it. It's is totally excised from my memory. Which, given that I must have been the envy of every other young boy in England, surprises me.

C-Dell > What do you gain from blogging?

Simon > There is an area of Hyde Park in London called Speakers Corner. You turn up there with your wooden box. Stand on it and start talking. People sill stop and listen or pass by. If those that stopped didn't like what they heard, they could heckle and employ rotten eggs and soft tomatoes as missiles, if the speaker was a complete nutter. My blog is much the same, but without the missiles! It gives me a vehicle to say what I think. I can let off steam. I can also, perhaps, make others think. I don't want them to change to my way of thinking, but if I can help open their eyes and get them thinking too then I'd be pleased.

I also have a creative side to me, and writing is an outlet for that. Perhaps, one day, I will write a best-selling book. I might also become Prime Minister. Ew! What an awful thought.

Do YOU want to be interviewed?

Interview rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you ask them five questions and so on.

The Performa debacle yet again

2007-07-17T12:47:00.000+12:00

Not only did Roche tell the NZSSD about the problem with the Performa meter, they told Diabetes NZ too, either on or before 27th June.

I STILL have not received a letter from Roche regarding this.

Even more surprising, neither my pharmacy or two of the other local pharmacies have heard anything either! They have been told about the 11% bias due to plasma readings, but nothing more than that.

I have spoken to Roche about this. If you have a Performa meter, please call the Accu-chek help line on 0800 80 22 99. They will send you Advantage strips to replace your current stock of Performa strips. You then send the performa strips to their freepost address.

Why Roche have not simply told all the pharmacies to dispense Advantage strips instead of Performa strips if requested is beyond me.

I am disgusted with Roche's handling of this matter. It is public knowledge that they have been aware of this for some weeks now, to have apparently done nothing about it beggars belief.

*** UPDATE ***

I have just received a letter from Roche, dated 12th July. The letter is clear and explains the ins and outs of what's happening.

Whilst the time taken to get this letter to patients is unconscionable, at least it has now arrived.

I would be interested to see the results of Roche's investigation into their quality control but I rather suspect that wont be published. :)

Performa Redux

2007-07-12T23:19:00.000+12:00

It appears that Roche don't want their users to know about the exceptionally high readings the Performa meter has been giving. Roche knew about the problem on or before June 26th. That is a matter of public record, the NZSSD announcement was made on their website on that day.

I mentioned in my post on July 5th that I had received no letter from Roche advising me properly of the problem with the meter and the need for calibration. I have still received no letter, nor has anyone else I know.

It is quite possible for someone not to know about this problem and take an overdose of insulin simply because their meter is giving them inaccurate results. That could have lethal results!

I also mentioned that I know how long it takes to print and mail such a letter - around 24 hours. A week has passed and I've seen or heard nothing.

This feels as if Roche are still being reckless. Perhaps a class action should be brought against them. There are a number of people whose lives may well be at risk.

So, do any of my readers know of a good class action lawyer? If you do, please e-mail me.

Come, learn with us

2007-07-09T22:43:00.000+12:00

There seems to be an "Us and Them" side to diabetes. "Us" being those of us who suffer from it and "Them" being the medical profession in general. What seems to happen is that the medicos tell us what to do but rarely explain why we should do it, and resent us having our own ideas and thoughts.

Which is why I am proud of diabetesrd. Diabetesrd is a dietician and certified diabetes educator who has recently joined diabetes forums. Not (as one might expect) to tell us what to do, but to learn from us!

Thank you diabetesrd. You are a breath of fresh air and I hope that all your colleagues make the effort to join diabetes forums or a similar community for the same reason - to learn from us.

Diabetesrd, you are a shining star. THANK YOU!

Performa Update

2007-07-07T09:45:00.000+12:00

Roche have at long last issued a statement (in PDF format) regarding the Perfoma meter.

In it they say that the Performa has shown a "...consistent positive bias..." over and above the 10 - 15% expected increase caused by the change from whole blood glucose measuring to plasma measurements. Roche are expecting to change the calibration by some 6 - 10%.

I would suggest that this is wildly inaccurate. Side by side testing of the Performa and Advantage has given Performa readings as high as 50% above the Advantage. Whilst the testing I (and others) have done was not under laboratory conditions, it was done carefully. Each duplicate test was done from the same drop of blood so it can be expected to provide comparable results.

Whilst I am very pleased that Roche are dealing with the problem, I am still worried by the inconsistency the Performa has shown. A consistent bias is fine, I can adjust my insulin regime accordingly and live with it. Inconsistency is damn near impossible to cope with.

What worries me even more is that this product was distributed without adequate quality control being performed. Hypoglycaemia is potentially lethal. To provide people with a tool that may contribute to their death or the death of another implies recklessness. How are we, the users of these tools supposed to trust them if we have proved that not only the tools are untrustworthy, but the company that provides them are not to be trusted either?

I think Roche have to go a long way to prove that they can be trusted and I shall watch their efforts with interest.

Accu-Chek Performa Meter

2007-07-05T11:33:00.001+12:00

I have one of these little gems. A gem which, sad to say, I don't trust. Along with a number of other people I have noticed some wildly odd readings. My other meter is an Accu-Chek Advantage which has provided good performance for the last few years.

I've done some comparative testing with the two meters. Tests performed at the same time from the same drop of blood. I expected to receive results from the Performa that were around 11% higher than the Advantage as the Performa measure plasma glucose levels rather than whole blood levels. What I actually got were readings between 20 and 50% higher and very inconsistent.

This is a known problem. Have a look at this post from the New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes. That was posted on the 26th June, 9 days ago. Now have a quick look at the Accu-Chek site. I could find no mention of the problem at the time of writing. I haven't received a letter from Roche(Accu-Chek) either, which makes my eyebrows raise somewhat.

Insulin dependent diabetics rely on their meters to provide them with information that could save their lives! For example, if I test my blood glucose and the meter says 5.0(90) then I am happy and nicely in the safe range. If that figure is, say 30% high (not unusual for the Performa) then I am right at the bottom of the OK range and may well be heading for hypoglycaemia without knowing it. I am certainly not safe to drive!

Now, part of my business is to print and send letters in bulk, so I am very well aware of how long it takes to do this. If I had the paper, envelopes and approved text of the letter right now, some of the letters would be in today's post, and the balance in tomorrow's post. And it would have cost them about NZ$4,000 - not a large expense for a Roche, given the importance of that letter. Those of us here in New Zealand who are part of the D-world on the net are aware of the problem, but there are plenty out there who won't be aware of it and that frightens me. I dread hearing the news that some poor soul has died or ended up in a coma.

Ashamed To Be Human

2007-07-04T21:10:00.000+12:00

I've just read this on FoxNews.com. I've copied most of it here for your... disgust? Shame? Horror? My vocabulary doesn't contain words that do justice to how I feel about this.

WICHITA, Kan. — As stabbing victim LaShanda Calloway lay dying on the floor of a convenience store, five shoppers, including one who stopped to take a picture of her with a cell phone, stepped over the woman, police said.
The June 23 situation, captured on the store's surveillance video, got scant news coverage until a columnist for The Wichita Eagle disclosed the existence of the video and its contents Tuesday. Police have refused to release the video, saying it is part of their investigation.
"It was tragic to watch," police spokesman Gordon Bassham said Tuesday. "The fact that people were more interested in taking a picture with a cell phone and shopping for snacks rather than helping this innocent young woman is, frankly, revolting." The woman was stabbed during an altercation that was not part of a robbery, Bassham said. It took about two minutes for someone to call 911, he said.
Calloway, 27, died later at a hospital. Two suspects have been arrested. A 19-year-old woman was charged with first-degree murder. Another suspect who turned himself in had not been charged as of Tuesday, the Sedgwick County prosecutor's office said.

I know where I would like to stick that cell phone. Sideways, and as far up there as I can stick it!

Some years ago I visited Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. I spent two hours there, with tears streaming down my face. I left feeling ashamed to be human. To think that my fellow man could do such things on such a vast scale was beyond my comprehension. I would have hoped that the enormity of the holocaust would have taught the rest of us to be better people. As the awful tale of LaShanda shows, it has not. It has topped up my level of shame and disgust though. Can someone please tell me what happened to the "milk of human kindness"?

If you haven't been to a concentration camp please, make a point of going. It is not pleasant but it will change your life.

Does this train stop...

2007-06-29T23:18:00.000+12:00

... in the middle of nowhere?

A mind boggling event has occurred on an Amtrak train. It appears that 65 year old Roosevelt Sims was having a hypoglycaemic attack on a train. To the train staff it looked as if he was drunk, so they kicked him off the train. Yes, you read that right. It was 10 o'clock at night, the nearest road was two miles away and they were 8,000 feet above sea level and...

THEY KICKED HIM OFF THE TRAIN!

When the police turned up to look for him he ran off, leaving his luggage AND medication behind. He has not been heard of since. Quite frankly, I suspect he is dead by now. I hope the Amtrak employees who kicked him off the train realise that they were probably sending someone to their death, regardless of any medical condition. I also hope that the police charge them appropriately - culpable homicide.

Have a read of the article here.

Did you notice the poll? When I looked there were 13,173 (93%) people who said they were wrong to kick him off the train and only 774 who thought they were right. I'm one of those 93%. I'm disgusted that events like this can happen.

Even if he was drunk, who would kick someone off a train in the middle of the back of beyond at 10 o'clock at night? The whole thing beggars belief.

***UPDATE***

He's been found alive! Dehydrated and disoriented but alive. He's a lucky man.

I've been tagged

2007-06-25T08:53:00.000+12:00

I've been tagged by Poacher Morris!

How to play.Once you have been tagged, write a blog with 10 weird, random things, facts or habits about yourself. At the end choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you chose them. Leave them the comment 'You're It' and to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you.

So, 10 weird random bits. Oh help!

I want a motorcycle again.
My voice sounds very like Terry Pratchett's.
I got shot in a bank robbery in 1979. And no, I wasn't the robber!
I've learnt how to poach eggs properly.
I find it almost impossible to give a simple answer to questions, much to the annoyance of others.
My home was a car. Briefly and a long time ago, I'm glad to say.
I love Marmite, but only the original English one. The look-a-likes I dislike intensely.
I don't know who my father is and I never shall.
My singing is so bad it upsets other people. Which makes me sad, because I like singing.
The tenth thing is also rather sad. I can only think of one person to tag. :(

Diabetic Lifestyle

2007-06-24T13:37:00.000+12:00

I'm wondering just how much lifestyle effects diabetes, particularly for those of us who don't quite fit into the "Average Joe/Jane" mould.

I live a rather unusual life. I live alone and work for myself. I don't have a fixed wake up time or, for that matter, a fixed anything time. Meal times are very variable, breakfast and lunch are also optional meals, in that I forget lunch frequently and if I wake up with a very high BG then breakfast will be skipped. I have ADHD and take dexamphetamine for it. "Dex" seems to have a reducing effect on appetite, which ain't going to help. From that lot I deduce that my rather variable BG and unprepossessing HBA1c are a result of my somewhat unusual lifestyle.

The other side of the coin are people who live "average" lives. I'm thinking here of John/Jane Doe. They get up at the same time 5 days a week to get to work/get kids to school on time. They have a lunch break at noon (or one or whenever it is). They get the 5:15 train home from work. Watch the 6 o'clock news. Etc, etc, etc/ Their lives are very ordered and, more importantly from a diabetes point of view, their meal times are fairly fixed.

What I don't know is whether there is any correlation between lifestyle and HBA1c, number of hypoglycaemic events and so on. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has any thoughts regarding this. Would a change in my lifestyle to a more ordered one improve my HBA1c? Of course, I may not want to change my lifestyle but it's certainly something to think about.

Perhaps there's a research project there for someone. :)

A new meme

2007-06-23T12:37:00.000+12:00

Having done a couple of memes created by others I thought I would create one. Please feel free to pinch it. :) I'll look forward to reading your comments and your memes too.

*** An observation ***

It's just been pointed out to me that this a rather personal meme. Which is, of course, true.

Aren't all memes personal? They ask questions that you, the author, want to answer. Whilst the elements may be entirely trivial, they are of relevance to you. They are a means of conveying not only your thoughts but of gleaning the thoughts of others. Memes are a mechanism for dispersing and acquiring knowledge. Like most of the memes in the blogosphere it is frivolous and a bit of fun but who cares? There's no harm in having a giggle is there?

The meme

Do you wear glasses and if so, what for?
Yes, I have two pairs, one for semi-distance, one for close up and I wear both for detail work.
Have you read and enjoyed Terry Pratchett?
Yes and immensely! His books are hilarious and superbly written.
Married?
Seperated. I don't even have a girlfriend.
Do you have a lover?
No, more's the pity. :(
Which came first, the chicken or the banana?
Neither, the tape measure got there long before the others.
Music you loose yourself in?
Bach organ music, loud and in private.
Whisky - neat, with water or what?
Neat and preferably Laphroaig. To add anything to fine Scotch Whisky is an abomination!
Do you have diabetes?
Yes, I have type 1 diabetes.
If you do have diabetes, does it rule you or you rule it?
I rule it! To let it rule you is to have surrendered your life.
Do you use and understand TXT speak?
Vaguely understand some of it but I choose to ignore most messages that use it. I don't use it myself either, I hate it.
Does age matter?
Not one iota. It's the age in your heart that counts, not the age of your body. And I'm about 30!
Pipe smoke or cigar smoke?
Pipe smoke smells nice whilst cigar smoke repulses me.
Car(s) you have?
A 1988 Mercedes Benz 260E with a big dent in the front passenger door. THe gate post jumped out at me. *blush*
A 1992 Nissan Maxima that is a mess.
Car(s) you want?
A 1964 Jaguar 'S' Type. 2.4 litre engine, Manual overdrive gearbox, British Racing Green, Doeskin hide, disc wheels and the registration plate FPB312B. It was my Grand-fathers car and I loved it.
Geek or nerd?
A bit of both I think. More geek than nerd though.
Half full or half emoty?
Full to the brim with love, warmth, passion, compassion and fun!
What position do you sleep in?
On my side, facing the outside of the bed.
Does your chewing gum loose its flavour on the bedpost overnight?
Dunno, I don't chew gum.
TicTac flavour?
All are nice but plain peppermint does it for me>
Good at computer games?
Some of them, yes, but most of the modern ones are too complex to be enjoyable.
Tidy or slob?
Both to some extent. I try to keep tidy but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I do have a slob limit though. SOmething along the lines of "Eek! Tidy up needed NOW!".
You may travel in time and "delete" three people. Who?
Adolf Hitler
Jesus of Nazareth. not for what he did, but for the atrocities commited in his name.
Mohammed, for exactly the same reason as Jesus.
You may travel in time and prevent the death of three people. Who?
My mother, she did not deserve Alzheimer's Disease.
David Penhaligon, a politician worth his salt. Did I really say that?
The Roman Emperor Claudius. He was, I think, a good man.
Do you "people watch"?
Hell yes! And "people listen" too. People never cease to interest me.
What one thing would you change about humanity?
Man's inumanity to man. It makes me ashamed to be human.
Is sex fun?
Hell yes! Fun and very, very enjoyable.
Have you been to a concentration camp?
Yes, Bergen-Belsen, and what I saw there left me tears.
How many books do you have by your bed?
Two, Under the Mountain - Maurice Gee and The Brightonomicon - Robert Rankin
Is your handwriting legible?
Barely! I tend to use capitals, not that they're much better.
Should politicians be in government?
No, they are too self-serving and, in my opinion, care little for the country.

Well, there it is, one meme. Enjoy. :)

I'm famous!

2007-06-23T01:40:00.000+12:00

Well, not really, but I searched for my blog on technorati and it is actually there! I've even added a profile just to be part of it all.

My flabber has never been so gasted before. I feel like I'm now part of the world. I am complete. I also talk complete crap most of the time but you knew that anyway, didn't you?

Being curious to see if it would have any effect, I've added a spurious label to this post I wonder if I'll gets more hits. I'll report the results.

The next meme...

2007-06-21T13:39:00.000+12:00

...which I stole from Em, who stole it from Kerri who stole it....

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
Simon
Trunkles
Bloody nuisance

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
To be honest, none. I'm not a physically attractive person, well, I don't think so.

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
See the last question. :)

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
English and Romanian are the only two I know of.

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
SNAKES!
Diabetic Coma
My stupidity

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
Diabetes Supplies
Food
Money

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
Socks
Jeans
T-Shirt

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICALS:
Musicals and favourite are mutually exclusive terms for me.

THREE OF YOUR [current] FAVOURITE SONGS:
Non inparticular that are current. I look at what I have and see something that takes my fancy at the time.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
Love.
Passion
Friendship

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS THAT YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE:
Nature in all her glory
Girls. I'm a bloke, deal with it. :)
A smile

THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE HOBBIES:
Computers
Reading
Music

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
Eat! I haven't had breakfast yet, let alone lunch!
Feel loved
Be healthy

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING:
Um - I'm not considering any.

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
Russia
Patagonia
England

THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
Richard, Cameron and Timothy and they are equal

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
Live!
See the world become a nicer place
See Naples

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BLOKE:
I hope I'm not stereotypical at all. Having said that, blokes like sex, and I like sex, so I guess I am on that score. Comments please if you think I am in other ways.

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
I cry at sad things. I don't bottle up my emotions
Other girl stereotypes for me in your comments please.

THREE CELEB CRUSHES:
Helen Hunt
Julia Roberts
Eleanor Bron

Ritalin Vs Rubifen Redux

2007-06-21T09:03:00.000+12:00

I made reference to the recent funding changes for Metyhlphenidate here. However it seems that Rubifen, the newly funded generic brand of the drug is not as unpleasant as it seems. According to The New Zealand Health Minister, Pete Hodgson, fewer than 20 of the 6,000 children in New Zealand who take Methylphenidate have been adversely effected by the change. This information was supplied in answer to a parliamentary answer by Dr. Jonathan Coleman, the Member of Parliament for Northcote. The news article detailing it can be found here - article

I have just called Dr. Coleman's parliamentary office and asked if he might do a small favour for me. I asked that when he sees Pete Hodgson next to say "Simon Hart says you are a liar".

I now say that publicly on here.

Peter Hodgson, Minister of Health for New Zealand, you are a liar.

Having said that, I hope that he has not lied intentionally. If he has I will expect to see his resignation within the day. What I suspect is that he asked Pharmac for the appropriate data and that they have been "economical with the truth". If that is the case then I expect to see the resignation of Richard Waddel, the Chairman of Pharmac, within the day.

Whoever is culpable for this blatant mis-information should resign and be prevented from holding a similar position of authority in the future.

***UPDATE****

I have just read the Hansard transcript of Dr. Coleman's question and Mr. Hodgson answer.

Mr Hodgson states "...centre for adverse reactions monitoring, which is based in Dunedin. It advises that of the more than 6,000 children currently on this drug, fewer than 20 have reported any effects.". Which begs the question; from where does that centre get its data? I'm inclined to think that, whilst many patients may have reported that it doesn't agree with them, would that be considered a reaction severe enough to warrant reporting? It is interesting to note that there is not, at the time of writing, any reference on the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring website to Methylphenidate, Ritalin or Rubifen. I did note that "For severe and life threatening reactions CARM records warning or danger alerts for medicines..." Define severe please!

So, Mr Hodgson your lie is unintentional and the surce of your information is not Pharmac. However, Mr. Hodgson, you have been given grossly inaccurate data, I woul strongly advise you to make further enquiries and dig out the truth in this matter. As in, don't just ask the centre for adverse reactions monitoring for information, ask the people who deal with this on a day to day basis, for example, the medical practitioners who treat ADHD and the ADHD organisations. I'm certain that you will get a significantly different picture that will reflect the reality of the situation. To give some idea of that reality, I know of three children and an adult(me!) who have found that Rubifen does not have the same effect as Ritalin.

Mr Hodgson, if you cannot find it in your heart to fully subsidise Ritalin, at least subsidise it to the same monetary value as Rubifen. Please, remember that unsubsidised drugs are often beyond people's financial reach. This is particularly true of drugs used to treat disabilities and, Mr Hodgson, ADHD is a disability that effects not only the sufferer but those around them, particularly their family. You mention 6,000 patients taking Methylphenidate. How many of those are children who will have their schooling and personal development seriously disrupted and, thus, have significant problems throughout their adulthood? Significant problems that may make them dependent on benefits or prison inmates, both of which are expensive drains on state funds. You may well be saving money for the health budget today, but at a significant long term cost to the state, to say nothing of the cost in personal terms to the sufferer.

Look to the future of New Zealand, Mr. Hodgson, not just to today!

To taser is to help?

2007-06-18T18:50:00.000+12:00

It appears that the police are, yet again, presuming that diabetics are really criminals.

In a nutshell, the girlfriend of a diabetic called 911 because he was having some sort of seizure (I'm guessing a hypo) and needed help. In a nutshell, the police turned up, broke the door down and tasered the poor guy when he was lying in bed helpless!

Read the whole article here.

According to the police's own investigation, the officers "... were within our departmental policies" to act as they did. Dunno about anyone else, but I reckon the Waxahachie police policies need immediate and thorough review.

I also think that the victims in this incident have a right to a VERY public apology and, quite frankly, a damn good case for suing the ass off the local police department.

It appalls me and frightens me that some poor sap will end up getting shot and killed because they didn't comply with a police officer's request. Not because they wouldn't comply, but because they COULDN'T comply.

Every single one of us insulin dependent diabetics knows what a hypo is like. I'd like to think that if I am having a hypo at home that I'd get sympathetic help from the emergency services, NOT tasered!

The Joys of Dawn Phenomenon

2007-06-16T19:42:00.000+12:00

My fasting BG at 8:29 this morning was10.8(194). Bugger thinks I. Oh well, a bit of NovoRapid will deal to it. Oh and a Macaroon biscuit (8.75g carb) to stop the dawn phenomenon from continuing.

So I took 10 units of Novorapid.

At 10:03 I was FIFTEEN POINT SIX(281). WTF??? How the hell did I get there!

So I took another 10 units of NovoRapid.

At 11:22, I had dropped to 11.6, a whole 4 points. This is getting ridiculous thinks I.

So I took yet another 10 units of NovoRapid.

Success! An hour later I was done to 6.9(124).

Ah, but, that ain't the end of it.

At 13:46 I was down to 3.6(65) and feeling shitty. So I ate a few jelly snakes for a quick hit. By 14:48 I was back up to 10.4(187). Three more units of NovoRapid got me back into the safe zone eventually.

THIRTY FOUR UNITS OF NOVORAPID to deal with a carb intake of 8.75g. Why is diabetes so damn unpredictable? There are days when it's all so easy and no trouble at all and then others where you haven't got a bloody clue what's going or where you are going to end up.

So, for all you non-diabetics reading this, diabetes is a pain in the arse! If, however, you are diabetic, then you already know this and don't need me to tell you. :)

P.S. Chocolate Macaroons may only have a carb content of 8.75g but they are still totally evil! And rather yummy too. Ain't life a bitch.

Beyond Appalling

2007-06-15T23:46:00.000+12:00

There are no certainties with medicine. Shit does happen. People do die. Such is the nature of medicine and, unfortunately, life.

There are, however, some incidents that leave me appalled and disgusted. That the incident reported in this article could occur beggars belief. If the story is true, and I'm inclined to believe that it is, then every single person involved shares culpability.

THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!

Telecommunications Investment

2007-06-13T08:36:00.000+12:00

There is an article on stuff.co.nz highlighting New Zealand's broadband access. In essence, it says that our poor broadband bandwidth is fast leaving us behind when compared to the rest of the world.

That got me wondering why our broadband and other telecommunications services are comparatively expensive for the poor performance and service we get. The answer appears to be profit. Not, as you would think, a lack of it, but an excess that isn't being used to invest in our own infrastructure..

A few figures for you that I gleaned from Telecom's 2006 Annual Report and Statistics New Zealand's on census data.

Telecom's Operating Revenue - NZ$ 5,755 million
Telecom's Operating Expense - NZ$ 3,558 million
Telecom's Gross Profit - NZ$ 2,167 million

New Zealand Total population ~4,050,000
New Zealand Households - ~1,500,000

From that we can see that Telecom make an annual profit of ~NZ$ 535 for every single person who lives in New Zealand and ~NZ$ 1,444 of annual profit for every single household in New Zealand.

I have no idea what it would cost to lay fibre optic to every single household in New Zealand but I'm damn sure it wouldn't be anywhere near fourteen hundred bucks!

What that says to me is that Telecom are making an enormous profit which they are keeping for themselves and their shareholders.

Now they do have to make a profit, and a good one. They have a duty to do so on behalf of their investors, a lot of whom are New Zealanders. However they are the national telecommunications provider and, as such, have a duty to provide good services to New Zealand.

And that, dear reader, they simply aren't doing!

I had a look at a UK service provider. Demon Internet (who have been around for years) offer a basic home ADSL product for £29-99 a month which is roughly NZ$60-00. The Demon service has a downstream speed of up to 8Mb and an upstream speed of up to 448Kb. My Telecom Xtra ADSL connection has the same downstream speed but an upstream speed of only 128Kb and it costs the same! I pay NZ$59-95 a month for my connection. However, that upstream speed limit is not the really big difference. I have a data cap of 10GB a month, Demon's product has no cap, as much data as you like!

I think it is high time Telecom New Zealand started investing some of their enormous profits in OUR infrastructure. And, in particular, investing in the whole country, NOT just the major conurbations. New Zealand has a large rural population and the service provided to them is awful. I even investigated the cost of DSL equipment. The DLSAM (the box in the telephone exchange) costs ~NZ$140 for each connection. There is other equipment needed but nothing spectacular but to be fair lets double it and round it up to NZ$300 per connection. But, those were the prices in 2003, I bet they are a damn sight less now!

So, they you go Kiwis, for Telecom to put broadband into every single house in New Zealand would cost about NZ$450 million, less than a third of a years profit!

Hey, Telescum, get ya fucking act together!

Diabetes Support and Crossed Fingers

2007-06-12T09:48:00.000+12:00

The more diabetes support groups we have the better A new forum for discussion has been created by Manny Hernandez - Tu Diabetes - don't dither and procrastinate. click and join now please.

Please - cross fingers, toes, eyes and anything else you have two of, provided it would be pain free. I've just returned from an attack by a phlebotomist. A lovely lady who is a type 2 herself and has enough common sense to keep jelly beans available for insulin dependents who have been fasting before she does her Dracula impression.

I hate having bloods taken. I stick a needle in myself between 5 and 10 times a day and that doesn't worry me but, when the phlebotomist approaches the world changes. That ain't a needle, it's meat cleaver! They never really hurt much, although today's did sting a little, but they get to me every time. I can't watch it being done either - my tum does back flips if I do.

Anyway, it's all done now, I just have to wait for the results. Will my A1c be in the magical fives? I doubt it. I hope it won't be far off but my numbers have been a bit topsy-turvy recently (Bloody dawn phenomenon!) so it wouldn't surprise me if I got mid sixes. Which ain't bad but needs improvement. I do have high hopes for my cholesterol numbers though. I've been taking my medication regularly and I dearly want to see good results from it.

One of the things I do is build and supply new computers. A client of mine has decided to buy a new machine and checked out what Dell had to offer. He worked out what he wanted and got a quote from them, which he forwarded to me so I could try to match or better it. Dell's price for the machine in question is NZ$2089-00 plus taxes. Well,I will match the price but can't beat it. The cost, to me, of the components to build a system with identical specification is NZ$1859-00 plus taxes AND plus the delivery charges of around NZ$45. That gives me a gross profit of NZ$185-00. It will take me a day's work to build and configure the machine and I have to give a three year warranty to match Dell's warranty. If a part of the machine needs replacement under warranty then my profit will almost certainly become a loss.

My tiny rant here is, if a manufacturer can supply a component to X for a particular price, why can't I, as an OEM buy it for the same price? I know that X is buying them in vast quantities but the manufacturer is making them in vast quantities too. If the manufacturer is happy with the margin he makes from a big customer, why isn't he happy with the same margin from a small one? It seems unfair to me. I'm trying to make a living. I don't want to make vast profits, just a decent living but, as you can see, my chance to do that is small. I know I provide better support than any of the big manufacturers as part of the deal but, from the customers point of view, the actual cash being spent is usually the prime criterion.

Anyone any ideas on how I can make a reasonable profit AND have customers buy from me?

The meme that's going around

2007-06-09T17:26:00.000+12:00

Everyone else seems to be doing this thing so I thought I would too, just to conform. Be one of the majority as it were.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? I haven't looked in the mirror. If I had I would have thought "FIGJAM!". Which, for those who are unfamiliar with the term means "Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me".

2. How much cash do you have on you? $21-70. One $20 note, a $1 coin, two 20 cent pieces and three 10 cent pieces.

3. What's a word that rhymes with DOOR? Floor, poor, moor, sore, paw, law, maw, adore and probably many more.

4. Favourite planet? Tralfamador (See question 3). Easy to get to - third left after Betelgeuse and then disappear up your own backside.

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? I delete the list and there aren't any in it, so I have no idea. It was probably the Queen when she wanted my advice on buying a new computer.

6. What is your favourite ring tone on your phone? The Pink Panther theme is the current one. Thinking about it, I might just try and find another one soon.

7. What shirt are you wearing? Black T-shirt that I got free from an ex-employer.

8. Do you label yourself? Not very often, the glue on labels these days is crap and they keep falling off.

9. Name the brand of the shoes you're currently wearing: Sheepskin slippers from a place that makes them near Taihape. Very warm!

10. Bright or Dark Room? I prefer bright for most things.

11. Why is there always a missing question? Because no one has the guts to ask who you want to shag.

12. What does your watch look like? Stainless steel Lorus analogue on a stainless strap. Very ordinary.

13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Assisting in the installation of Windoze on a friend's son's computer.

14. What did your last text message you received on your cell phone say? "Argh. K." in response to telling KB that I was at the vet.

15. Where is your nearest 7-11? Probably in Germany, that's where '4711' Eau-de-Cologne comes from, isn't it? AH! You mean a corner shop. Well it ain't a 7-11 and it's crap but it's just over a mile away. I prefer to go to Woolworths, with is a tiny bit furthar and is open 7 to 11 or somethign like that. It's cheaper too!

16. What's a word that you say a lot? Yep, "what" is a word I say a lot. Why do I think I misunderstood that question? For those who really want to know - bugger is high on the list.

17. Who told you he/she loved you last? Either my best friend or her son.

18. Last furry thing you touched? The adorable Mischief.

19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days? Three dexamphetamine (legally I might add!), 6 Lipitor, 3 Cartia and a whole heap of insulin.

20. How many rolls of film do you need developed? None - I use a digital camera.

21. Favourite age you have been so far? I think 50 and onwards. I'm enjoying life now!

22. Your worst enemy? I was always my own worst enemy. That's changed now. Time and diabetes share first place I think.

23. What is your current desktop picture? For some strange reason I don't have one at the moment.

24. What was the last thing you said to someone? cheerio or something like that, at the end of a phone call about some lost keys.

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly, what would it be? Gimme the money! It would enable me to do so much that I can't do now, and it would give me security for the rest of my life.

26. Do you like someone? Oh yes, for certain!

27. The last song you listened to? "Fields of Gold" by Sting. A wonderful song.

28. What time of day were you born? About 4:30 in the afternoon I think. My Mother died in 1998 so I can't check. Not that I would have been able too even then - she had Alzheimers.

29. What's your favourite number? 4'/3½d. That's Four-and-threepence-hal'penny for those who haven't a clue what I'm on about.

30. Where did you live in 1987? Bedlam House, Wragby Road, East Barkwith, Lincolnshire.

31. Are you jealous of anyone? I can't think of anyone I'm jealous of. Envious, yes but jealous, no.

32. Is anyone jealous of you? I'd be incredibly surprised if they were!

33. Where were you when 9/11 happened? I have absolutely no idea. Same applies with when JFK was assassinated and Princess Di died. I can tell you were I was at 5 to 3 in the afternoon of Friday, 1st June, 1979 - getting shot in a bank robbery. Not a good day.

34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? I can't even remember the last time I used one, let alone when one ripped me off!

35. Do you consider yourself kind? I hope I'm kind. I try to be and I would never want to be considered cruel. Perhaps friends might like to comment on that.

36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? Right shoulder I expect and it would be a Greek Key design or something similar. Not that I'll ever get one - the idea of that much pain does not appeal!

37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? French, Danish, German, Russian, Japanese and Chinese. The one I would REALLY like to be fluent in is domestic pussy cat. Oh boy could those cats tell some stories.

38. Would you move for the person you loved? Not only would but have - three times so far and I would do so again.

39. Are you touchy-feely? Very.

40. What's your life motto? I don't think I have one.

41. Name three things you have on you at all times: My wallet, my ciggies & lighter and my diabetes kit.

42. What's your favourite town/city? I don't really have a favourite. They all have their good and bad points.

43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? A lip balm stick in the chemist. Which I ought to unwrap and put in my pocket too.

44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? I haven't got a clue! Certainly many years ago. I hate writing letters, I never know what to say, and my hand-writing is appalling too, so it's something I've always avoided.

45. Can you change the oil on a car? No, but I can change the oil IN a car. And do most of the other things that might need to be done.

46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? That she was going to make toasted sandwiches for tea.

47. How far back do you know your ancestry? To my great-grand parents on my mother's side. As I don't even know who my father is...

48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy? Black chino like trousers and a rather nice black and white shirt. It was for a wedding.

49. Does anything hurt on your body right now? My guts have been playing up for a few days. They're quiet at the moment but I don't think it's gone away.

50. Have you ever been burned by love? Yes.

51. Do you have a crush on any bloggers? A crush, no. A lot of feelings for, you betcha!

52. Where would you like to live? In a place where I am happy. As I'm fairly happy at the moment, here is pretty good.

Guns are not dangerous

2007-06-08T08:35:00.001+12:00

You read the title and no you are wondering if I'm totally daft.I don't think I am and here's my reasoning.

A gun, in and of itself, is no more dangerous than a hammer. It is simply a few pieces of metal and wood. The same stuff as an axe or carving knife is made of, but of which can spoil your day, if they are in the wring hands. And that is my point; it isn't the gun that's dangerous, it's the idiot holding it that's the dangerous one.

Whilst I do advocate gun control, I advocate sensible gun control. I'll give you a couple of cases that illustrate bad control, both from England.

A local councillor, married with kids, pillar of society sort of bloke, visited a target shooting club and enjoyed it. He decided to take up the sport. After a while he applied for a licence, It was turned down. He was flabbergasted, he had not one single conviction against him!
English licence applications are vetted by the police Special Branch, who do not have to give any reason why the application was declined. The President of the club was an ex-cop (of sorts) and knew people in special branch. He called in a minor favour to get the reason. It turns out that when he was a teenager he and some pals were playing soccer with an old tin can in the street. Some old lady called the police, who turned up and cautioned the boys. Because of that, no gun licence. Hardly a reason is it? How many kids haven't done similar things.

Michael Ryan, who was responsible for The Hungerford Massacre. A sensible investigation by the police of Ryan's background would, I am sure, have prevented the issue of a licence and saved many lives. Thomas Hamilton, who committed The Dunblane Massacre actually had police complaints against him but retained his licence.

So, kicking a tin can around as a kid means you can't get a gun licence, but being something of a nutcase is ok. Something wrong there.

I bet you're now thinking that I'm a bitter nutcase who can't get a gun licence. Not so, I could get one if I wanted to but I choose not to.

Thinking that I don't know what it's like to be on the wrong end of a gun? Wrong again. In 1979 I was shot in a bank robbery and spent three months in hospital.

I'm just intelligent enough to work out that the gun is not to blame, it's the person holding it that's dangerous.

Justice gets it right - twice!

2007-06-08T08:15:00.000+12:00

We recently had the wonderful news that the charges against Doug Burns had been dropped.

It seems that New Zealand justice has done the right thing too.

Last July one Ricky Beckham went into a shop to rob it - using a metre(39") long machete as a weapon. Mr. Beckham is surely high on the list for a Darwin Award. Mr Becham decided to rob a GUN shop. I don't know about you but one place that is probably unwise to rob is a gun shop, especially when you are armed with a machete. Not surprisingly, Mr. Beckham received a .45 in the belly, which slowed him down somewhat. It didn't kill him though, just took him out of the game. The shop owner (who was also the shooter) then administered first-aid.

The police busted the robber, as they should. They also busted the owner, Greg Carvell, for shooting him. Duh@the cops. The guy was protecting other customers, his property and HIMSELF! He didn't kill the robber, just stopped him. So why the hell was he busted?

Well, the courts think he shouldn't be busted too. The charges have been dropped and rightly so. If you can't protect yourself and innocent others from idiots like Beckham then we might as welll all lie down and tell the crims to help themselves.

Justice and common sense has prevailed.

Read the article here (link to stuff.co.nz).

The Extremes of Political Correctness

2007-06-06T09:08:00.000+12:00

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I'm not PC. I cope, to some extent, with PC in others, usually with exasperation or sniggers or a WTF comment. However, sometimes PC can go too far.

There is a 6 year old lad in Staffordshire, England. He's into pirates and it's his birthday. So Dad gets a Jolly Roger flag (Skull & Crossbones) to run up the flagpole for his son's pirate themed party. Sounds like a good idea to me - all the kids dressed as pirates , the flag and other pirate themed stuff. SHould be a good laugh if you ask me.

"Not so" says the local council! According to them the flag is "unneighbourly" and Dad has to apply for planning permission so the council can "assess the impact on the area".

Read the whole article here - Daily Mail Article

My WTF level has gone through the roof. It's a kid's party for fucks sake! The term asinine comes to mind, but I don't really think that covers how ludicrous this is. Unneighbourly? I wouldn't mind betting that a lot of the people who live nearby have kids who'll be dressing up as pirates to go to the damn party! And I'd be flabbergasted if anyone else (except the killjoy who complained) would object. What is there to object to? It's a kid's party!

Unfortunately, the whining killjoy that complained isn't named in the article, so the best I can really do is this.

Dear Whining Killjoy.

You have fucked up a kids birthday party by your petty action. I hope you are proud of the fact that you are keeping the reputation of us English as being "whinging Poms" alive and well.

Do the following:

Immediately tell the council you withdraw your objection.
Go to the shops and buy a shit load of sweets and the like.
Go to this kid's home, give him the sweets and apologise for being a bitch.
Lastly, crawl back under your rock and DON'T COME OUT AGAIN!

Regards,

Simon.

Drunk Driving

2007-06-02T09:32:00.000+12:00

I recently read about a man in Albuquerque (think it was there) who has just been busted for his TWENTY-EIGHTH drink driving offence. And that got me wondering where the justice system is going wrong. You see, I take a very dim view of pissed-up motoring, it has a tendency to kill people and that sucks.

I'm wondering if harsher penalties would be appropriate and also changing the charge to something different. But what charge? Bear with me and I will explain. Everyone who drives a car knows that drink driving is a no-no. So, if you have been drinking and get behind the wheel then you know that what you are about to do is likely to kill someone; your actions are premeditated. (Worked out where I'm going yet?) If you commit a premeditated act that is likely to kill someone then you are committing attempted murder. I'm sure any legal eagles will find holes in that argument but hey, what happened to the spirit of the law?

To charge with attempted murder is, perhaps, excessive but the punishment should, I feel, reflect the gravity of the offence. Having said that, a little leeway might be a good thing. A damn good kicking before the door gets really slammed. Perhaps a punishment regime something like this...

In New Zealand the blood alcohol limit is 80mg of alcohol per decilitre of blood, over that and your busted. Perhaps lowering this to, say, 75 would be a good move. But that becomes the level at which you get the kicking, not the door slam. Between 75 and 85 (see, slight increase there) you get a hefty fine, $500 comes to mind and no, you DON'T get to pay it off at $1 a week. You have 30 days to pay or your vehicle gets sold. Did I forget to mention that your vehicle got impounded when you were busted? Oh dear, silly me. Anyway, once you've paid the fine you get your vehicle back, if it goes past 30 days, you don't. You got a damn good kicking and your status has changed slightly, 'cos you don't get a second chance. Anything over 75 mg/dl now gets the door slammed.

The door slam. Your vehicle is forfeit. I don't care what it is, it's gone. It gets sold and the proceeds go towards paying for the newspaper adverts that show your name, address and picture telling everyone that you are an asshole. You were driving a new Ferrari? Bummer. It isn't your vehicle? Then the owner might like a quiet word with you before they sue your ass off! It's your wife's/girlfriends car? Guess who ain't getting laid for a very long time! You also loose your driving licence. Sliding scale of time I think: 6 months for the first 5 points over the limit, a year for the next 5 points and permanently for anything over that. No special needs licences for work or whatever - you lost it, period.

Get busted a second time and you loose your car and your licence, period.

Get busted a third time and you are really in the poo. Thick smelly brown stuff, right up to your neck, 'cos you are heading for PMITA jail for 1 year for each point over the limit you were. Not only were you pissed but you seem determined to kill someone and that ain't the way to do things.

Remember I mentioned attempted murder earlier. If you are driving and kill someone and you are over the lower limit then you have an automatic conviction for murder. PMITA jail for a life sentence. No appeals, 'cos there ain't one. You were over the limit and that's that.

So folks, there you are, my way of getting drunk drivers off the road. Will it ever happen? Not on your life! The idea of actually doing something to keep pissed up motorists off the road would have the politicos up in arms, it would mean they were seen to actually deal with a problem, and we can't have that, can we?

And no, I haven't lost a friend or family member to a drunk driver, it's just something I feel strongly about.

Miscarriage of Justice

2007-05-30T00:04:00.000+12:00

Doug Burns is the reigning Mr. Universe.

Doug Burns is a type 1 diabetic.

Doug Burns is also in the midst of a serious miscarriage of justice!

In a nutshell, Mr. Burns had a hypoglycaemic episode in a theatre. The security staff thought he was drunk and kicked him out. They also called the cops, who arrived on the scene and attempted to subdue Mr. Burns who resisted and was busted. Read the full story here.

When it was found out that he was in a hypo you would think that would be an end to the matter, but no, he has been busted and the case is going to court!

Everyone of us who has had a hypo knows that our brains don't work rationally in that state. The medical profession are well aware of this too. So why the hell has he been arraigned before a court? If he had epilepsy and had hit an officer during a grand mal would he be appearing before a court? One would hope not, but, given what is happening to Mr. Burns, it wouldn't surprise me in the least!

I can only hope that the case is dismissed and that the police/DA are given a good rap over the knuckles by the judge for crass stupidity. The police and DA should also give Mr. Burns a very public apology.

If, however, Mr. Burns is found guilty then a SERIOUS miscarriage of justice will have occurred. I also worry for the rest of us who suffer from diseases that screw with our brains. Are we all going to get busted because we are ill?

***UPDATE***

In Bernard's comment to this post he mentions Amy Tenderich's suggestion to call the District Attorneys involved in the case. Amy's site, Diabetes Mine, has the details. Please call those numbers and leave appropriate messages.

I would add another number to call, the Office of the Attorney General - 202-353-1555. The Department of Justice's mission statement says "To enforce the law ... and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans." and, unless I'm missing something here, "fair" is definitely not happening to Mr. Burns!

*** FURTHER UPDATE ***

As reported by Amy T...

CASE DISMISSED!

Blood glucose measurements

2007-05-24T10:24:00.000+12:00

In some of my posts you will see numbers followed by another number in brackets and I thought a little explanation of what they are might save confusion. Well controlled diabetics - read no further, you know all this. Everyone else - read on!

Blood glucose is measured in two different ways, as either Millions of MOLecules of glucose per Litre (mmol/L) or Milligrams per Decilitre (mg/dl) of blood. Most countries use mmol/L, the USA use mg/dl. To convert mmol/L to mg/dl multiply by 18. Here in New Zealand we use mmol/L so I post readings like that with the mg/dl value in the brackets.

There is an additional number you will see diabetics discussing, HBA1c (often shortened to A1c). During the life (about 4 months) of haemoglobin, glucose molecules will combine with haemoglobin molecules. How much glucose combines is dependent on how much you have in you. The important bit is that once it has combined, it stays combined. The amount of this glycosylated haemoglobin is measurable. Non-diabetics will have between 4 and 6% of their haemoglobin glycosylated (that can vary, but not by much), diabetics are (usually) somewhat higher than that. Measurement of HBA1c gives an excellent indication of how well controlled a diabetic has been over a significant (weeks) period of time.

The closer us diabetics can get to the normal range, the better. My average is in the sixes, but I'm aiming for the fives, and I WILL get there!

It saddens and frightens me that many health professionals and organizations seem to think that an HBA1c in the sevens or even eights is nothing to worry about and completely acceptable. I am sure that they are not giving their patients good advice. The higher your HBA1c, the higher your risk of complications. That's a cumulative effect too. High blood glucose causes damage, persistent high blood glucose causes damage to the damage and so on.

So, there you have it, an explanation of what the numbers mean. If you aren't diabetic then your knowledge has been increased, if you are diabetic...

AIM FOR THE FIVES!

Diabetes Forums and the love of life

2007-05-24T09:57:00.000+12:00

If you are a diabetic and haven't looked at Diabetes Forums then please, take a few minutes and have a peruse. It's an ideal place to ask questions, give answers and generally be a part of. The others on there are just like us, they are diabetics. They are there and are wearing the T-shirt - 24/7.

One of the regulars on there is in hospital right now. She hit 42.6 (767) despite having NINETY units of NovoRapid. Fortunately she got to hospital before DKA (wiki on Diabetic Ketoacidosis) got her. I've never been that high and I've certainly never taken that much NovoRapid. Having said that, Tuesday was a bitch. My waking test was 13.7(247) and it took forty units of NovoRapid to get back into the normal range.

There are days when diabetes confuses the hell out of me. There are days when it scares me badly. There are days when I scream "Why me?". There are days when it makes me laugh. There are days when it exasperates me.

But, every single day of every single week of the rest of my life I will have diabetes and if I don't cope with it then my life is going to suck, big time. I'll either have horrible complications in my (shortened) old age or die if I miss a hypo and don't get found. So, guess what, I do cope with it and I do control it. And, not surprisingly, I'm going to continue coping and cotrolling because...

I LOVE LIFE!

Restaurant Review - Flamin' Poms, Paraparaumu Beach

2007-05-20T18:04:00.000+12:00

Flamin’ Poms

Marine Parade
Paraparaumu Beach

04 298 1500

The name suggests “English people that are a nuisance” or “apples on fire”. Unfortunately, the former description is the more accurate.

We entered and stood there, twiddling our thumbs until we eventually had our table pointed out to us. Showing us to our table simply didn’t happen.

The menu is short and after very little thought I decided to try Toad-in-the-Hole, a quintessentially English dish consisting of, for those who don’t know, Sausages baked in batter. We were warned that there was a 25 minute wait for this dish, which at least shows that it was cooked to order. My dinner companion is mostly vegetarian and selected Vegetable Filo Wraps, one of the pair of vegetarian options. Given the short menu, it was a pleasant surprise to find two vegetarian options on there. We ordered a “Basket of Chips” as a side order.

Our dishes appeared, reasonably well presented. Filo Wraps had a salad arranged on the plate and Toad-in-the-Hole came with peas, mashed potato and onion gravy. The mashed potato was good, smooth and with an excellent flavour. The chips were good - properly cooked, crisp and golden. The rest of the meal was lack lustre. The sausages were, at best, uninteresting and the batter acceptable but a little on the stodgy side. The Filo Wraps were, according to my dinner companion, “tasteless” and appeared to have nothing but potato and broccoli in them. The onion gravy had, I fear, an element of “packet mix” about it.

The place itself is brown. Brown from the floor to the ceiling. There is little in the way of décor and the chairs we had were uncomfortable. The English are not noted for flamboyance and the interior of “Flamin’ Poms” proves that. I should be noted that I’m English myself, so can speak with some authority on the matter.

To blame the waiting staff for the poor level of service would be invidious, I am quite sure they have had no training whatsoever and so the management must bear the brunt. The management would do well to invest in some good training. The staff were pleasant people and would, I am sure, be excellent at their job, if they were trained.

Desert was considered but only for a fleeting moment. My companion had noticed deserts going to other tables looked rather sad and the waitress who was going to bring us the desert menu failed to do so. She had, however, reached across my partner to pick up her napkin and had used the napkin to clean the table, which is not how to wait on tables. Our experience so far suggested we should go elsewhere for desert and we did just that.

Menu (1.5 / 5)
Service (1 / 5)
Food (2 / 5)
Atmosphere (1 / 5)
Overall (5.5 / 20)

Since when does dawn last until lunchhtime?

2007-05-19T14:17:00.000+12:00

For some time now I've been battling with Dawn Phenomenom, one of the pains in the arse for diabetics generally. Some time around dawn your liver will try to give you a little boost of glucose to set you up for the day. If you aren't a diabetic then this is no problem, you just wake up at a reasonable blood glucose level, or maybe a fraction high, but nothing your body can't cope with and actually quite like. If, however, you are an insulin dependent diabetic, your liver will keep pumping the glucose out because there is no insulin to tell it to stop. So you can end up going ridiculously high. This is what's been happening to me more and more of recent weeks and, folks, it's bugging me, SERIOUSLY bugging me.

I've been uping my Lantus (basal insulin) a little and still it doesn't make a difference. Yesterday evening I had a bit of a binge on chocolate and fruit gum type things. Well, no surprise, they shot me up. But I had a couple of good hits of NovoRapid (quick insulin) to deal with it. I went to bed at 00:45 and I was 14.1 (254) but I still had a fair bit of NR in me to bring me down.

At 03:15 I woke up with cramp in my right leg which took me a while to get rid of. I tested at 10.8 (195). Still high, but not ludicrously so. There wouldn't have been much NR left by then, but I would have expected what was in there to get me down into the nines (~165).

Since I woke up this morning I've had the following numbers.

07:47 - 16.6 (299)
09:52 - 18.4 (331)
10:20 - 19.7 (355)
10:39 - 16.6 (299)
11:44 - 12.4 (233)
13:09 - 7.3 (131)

During that time I have had one slice of toast (~16.5g carb) with a little spread and yeast extract. I've had my normal AM basal of 18u Lantus and Somewhere over FORTY units of NR.

This is geting me down big time.

When not to do the laundry

2007-05-17T12:08:00.000+12:00

There's no getting away from it, I'm a a softy. I'll just have to carry the clothes around in my arms.

The delightful lass in the basket is Mischief, one of my pair of darling puddy tats.

Euthanasia

2007-05-11T16:57:00.000+12:00

I am in favour of Euthanasia for those that want it. Unfortunately, it is illegal throughout most of the world. I would like to see that change. I can understand that it is not easy to legislate appropriately so I looked at the issues against euthanasia and came up with this list of solutions for the main ones.

Medical Ethics - A doctor has taken the Hippocratic Oath in some form or other. In principle, that oath says that a physician may not do anything that may harm life. I would suggest that euthanasia might actually improve life, albeit in the short term. Which would you rather have, a few days in which to say goodbye to friends and family, happy in the knowledge that your pain and suffering will be over soon, or, potentially, many years of that pain and suffering, pain and suffering that is likely to effect the lives of many others. By assisting in euthanasia a physician may have given the best treatment available. However, some physicians may feel unable to assist in euthanasia. So I suggest that if euthanasia is legalised then all physicians should add a smaller addition to their personal registration that says whether they will or will not assist in euthanasia. The physician then has the choice to opt in or out as fits their own standpoint.
Moral acceptability - For some people, euthanasia is tantamount to murder or suicide. That is, of course, their own opinion and they are completely entitled to it.
Religion - Many people with religious beliefs say that human life belongs to their god, and so we have not got the right to end it. Again, this is their personal opinion and they are entitled to it.
Can it be done? - Are you, as the patient, competent to make the decision under the circumstances. You may be under the influence of a variety of drugs and be suffering. Your metal state may not be competent to make a reasoned decision.
Is it needed? - Is the suffering temporary or is it genuinely terminal or incurable?
The needs of others - Family and friends may not want their loved one to die. I can understand that totally, I would not wish those that I love to die. But then, do I want them to suffer? Of course not. To me, accepting, and supporting their decision to die may be the biggest expression of my love for them that there could be. My only wish would be to be there when they go, to hold their hand so they know that I love them. And yes, I will cry uncontrollably. Yes, I will grieve and mourn for them. I will also be happy, knowing that they are no longer suffering, that they are at peace. I would rather my abiding memories of them were of happy times, not of pain and suffering.
Coercion - Medical care costs money and there are those who would try to get people to accept euthanasia simply to ease that financial burden. This is, of course, abominable and easily preventable, as you will see.

The solution to each of the last six is simple. You, the individual, opt in or out before it become of importance. Your doctor or some similar reasonable authority, maybe even a separate "Euthanasia Register" kept by government, keeps a record of your decision, and on what grounds you opt out, if you do opt out, regarding euthanasia. You opt in or out as you desire. If your beliefs say "no" then you opt out. The whole point being that is a decision for you, the individual, to decide, not others.

If you have opted out then euthanasia cannot happen, unless decided on by what one might call the "Euthanasia Tribunal", who will make a decision appropriately. If you have opted out then there would have to be very compelling reasons for the tribunal to approve the euthanasia.

The Euthanasia Tribunal is a group of competent people who will look at each case and make an appropriate decision. Those that sit on it MUST have opted in to euthanasia in general and be seen to be impartial. The tribunal hears evidence from those for and against euthanasia in this specific case, not in general. You reason for opting out would also be observed, so, for example, if you opt out for religious reasons, then the clergy can speak against. Take, for example, the following. A man and his family are deeply religious. His spouse is not, but her family is. The spouse is in a situation where euthanasia is possibly appropriate, but has not registered her desired option and is not in a competent state to make the decision. The tribunal is not allowed to hear one word against it from anyone who has opted out for a moral or religious reason, on the principle that their opinion would reflect their morals or religion, rather than the patient's. I would suggest that the tribunal consist of a judge and several physicians, at least two of which should be experts in the particular condition the patient has. The tribunal has the power to say yes or no to euthanasia. It also has the power to examine the cost of continuing treatment. If that cost is beyond what the person or their immediate family can afford, then the cost of that care, what ever it is, will be born by the state. This would negate the coercion factor.

So, there it is, my solution to the euthanasia issue. We all opt in or out. Physicians and the others who may be involved in the decision path opt in or out. If the individual has opted in then only others who have opted in may be part of the decision path.

I'm quite sure that there are plenty of holes in what I've said and there must, of course, be process in place to ensure that abuse does NOT occur. I hope you will agree though, that it gives the individual, whose body it is, to make the decision appropriate to them rather than having the opinions of others foisted upon them.

My regstration details? I'll opt in please, it's what I want for me and my body.

Fuel efficient?

2007-05-09T23:06:00.000+12:00

I'm a curious sort of bloke. In my quest for meaningless knowledge I looked up how much fuel a jumbo jet uses. A Boeing 747-400 uses 16.1 litres of fuel per kilometre, which feels like a shitload of gas! Particularly when you find out that a Ford Mondeo with a 2 litre engine uses only 8 litres per 100 kilometres it travels.

Being inquisitive I looked at these figures a little further. Simple arithmetic gives us 0.058824 kilometres per litre for the 747 and 12.5 kilometres per litre for the Mondeo.

Let's now factor in the weight. A Mondeo, with 4 people in it and a bit of stuff in the boot weighs roughly two tonnes, maximum takeoff weight for a 747-400 is 396.89 tonnes.

The Mondeo is, therefore, travelling roughly 25 kilometres per litre per tonne. The jumbo is travelling 23.35 kilometres per litre per tonne, so it isn't actually that much worse once you have taken the weight into account.

There is, however, one enormous factor that isn't shown above. The jumbo is traveling at best part of TEN TIMES the speed of the Mondeo but using only a fraction more fuel per tonne to do it.

Which makes me think that the jumbo jet is,actually very fuel efficient, when compared to a fairly standard saloon car. And I bet driving a jumbo is way more fun than a Mondeo!

Funny Felines

2007-05-06T13:30:00.000+12:00

Cats are remarkably photogenic. Add a few words and they can be hilarious.

The "lol catz" are a perfect example of this. 58 pages of them so far and I had to look at them all.

Ritalin vs Rubifen

2007-05-05T16:05:00.000+12:00

On a similar note to the last post...

A common drug prescribed for ADD sufferers is Methylphenidate Hydrochloride, commonly known as Ritalin. There are a number of different manufacturers of this and it comes in several forms; standard, slow release and extended release. In New Zealand the government subsidised slow release formulation was "Ritalin SR". However, "Rubifen SR" is cheaper, so the Ministry of Health have decided that you can no longer get Ritalin SR on subsidy, only Rubifen SR. I can understand their reasoning, why waste money. What they didn't consider is the subtle differences between the two formulations. I had been taking Ritalin but had to change to Rubifen and Rubifen does NOT agree with me. Conversations with others (including a practitioner who specialises in ADD) suggests that the same applies with a large number of patients.

Whilst it makes sense for there to be a restriction on the subsidy provided, why is it removed completely? Subsidy on Rubifen SR is NZ$10-95 for 30 tablets, leaving the patient just NZ$3 to pay. Subsidy on Ritalin is ZERO. The patient has to pay the lot and that is beyond the reach of most people.

Hey, Ministry of Health, don't cut all the subsidy, just reduce it to the same level as you would be paying anyway. Give us a chance to make a choice that we are more likely to find affordable.

Not just for "Ritalin" but for other drugs too. The Lantus in my last post for example. If you aren't on Lantus then you are probably taking, Protaphane or something similar. You might be able to afford Lantus if it had a partial subsidy but no such luck. The government won't give you a cent towards it.

I think it is time for the government to look again at how the drug subsidies work, with a view to giving the patient partial subsidy where appropriate.

Warning about diabetes epidemic

2007-05-05T15:11:00.000+12:00

Please read this article that appeared today on NZCity. If you read it you will notice that a similar warning was given in 2001 but the government ignored it. Diabetes (and other chronic disease) groups might as well tilt at windmills; governments have no real interest in the future, their sole interest is for the rest of their tenure in power. If they spend a fortune on prevention then they have been seen to spend money with no result and are, therefore, wasting it. If it ain't gonna buy you votes, don't bother to do it.

Moi? Cynical? Yep, very. I'm realistic too. Money is a large part of the problem. There is a form of Insulin called Glargine (trade name Lantus) which provides an excellent basal insulin. An enormous proportion of insulin dependent diabetics would benefit from it in both the long and short term. In the short term it helps prevent hypoglycaemic events, particularly at night (which can be life threatening). In the long term it helps prevent a myriad of diabetic complications, such as blindness, limb amputation and other such nasties.

You would think that anyone who would benefit from Lantus would be able to get it through the normal government subsidised channels. Not so. It is only subsidised if you are a type 1 diabetic and have had hypoglycaemic attacks that have required intervention by another person. If you are a type 2 then tough, it doesn't matter how much you would benefit from it, you shat out. If You are lucky enough to have caught all your hypos and dealt with them on your own then tough, you shat out. The fact that you might not catch your next hypo and die as a result is irrelevant. Oh yes, you can get unsibsidised Lantus if you don't fit the criteria, but it is rather expensive to buy and out of the reach of Joe Average.

Any politicians care to answer this...

Which is more important, the nations health both now and in the future or money and you getting voted back into office at the next elections?

Ah, sorry, lets try again. Any politicians care to answer that HONESTLY?

Yorkshire Pudding & Toad-in-the-Hole

2007-05-04T00:11:00.000+12:00

Having mentioned Yorkshire pud, I thought I should put my recipe for it on here, along with Toad-in-the-Hole. Not only is it extremely simple to make, it is delicious. Enjoy!

Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients

3oz (75gm) plain flour
3 fl oz (756mls) milk
2 fl oz (50 mls) water
A large egg
Salt
A little freshly ground black pepper

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F (220°C)

Put the flour, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to get a little air into it and make a well in the centre. Break the egg into a jug, beat it a little and pour it into the well in the flour. Now, using the balloon whisk, beat the egg and then slowly combine some of the flour into the egg until you have a thick goo. Now add a little of the milk/water mixture. Whisk that with the goo until it's on the runny side. Incorporate more flour until you are back at the thick goo stage. Repeat this until all the flour has been combined. Add the rest of the milk/water, whisking as you go.

Make sure the cooking pan or tray is really hot and then grease it, with beef dripping if you want to be traditional or a little oil. Put the mixture in the tray/pan and put it in the top of the oven until golden brown, which should be 25 to 30 minutes.

There is a school of thought that says that the mixture should be allowed to stand for an hour or so before it goes in the oven. No reason why you shouldn't but I've never noticed any benefit from it.

Do NOT use self-raising flour, you will have a minor disaster.

Toad-in-the-Hole

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F (220°C)

Gently bring to the boil some sausages and simmer them for 7-10 minutes. Well grease a smooth bottom roasting pan and get it nice and hot in the oven. Pour the Yorkshire pudding mixture into the pan and stick it in the oven for about 2 minutes. Arrange the sausages in the batter and put it back in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes - until the batter is golden.

Packets of food mix

2007-05-04T00:03:00.000+12:00

I am astounded at some of the things you can buy in packets. Mixes to make pancakes/Yorkshire Pudding are, perhaps, the must ludicrous of these. Both of these are, essentially, the same mixture.

Flour
Eggs
Milk
Water
Seasoning

I've been trying to work out what the packet could actually contain, other than the flour and seasoning. Does anyone know what else is in there? I don't particularly want to be seen picking up a pack in the supermarket, I'd be embarrassed.

The point is that nothing is gained from using the packet mix, except profit for the manufacturer. You may save 5 minutes in the preparation time, but that's about the limit of it.

The same can be said for Bolognese sauce in a jar/tin. Making it from scratch is easy and, I'm certain, cheaper than buying a pre-prepared mix. I have a suspicion that the home-made would be nicer. It might take a little longer to make but hey, you also know what's gone into it. Or more importantly, what's NOT gone into it, i.e. preservatives, colourings, flavourings, additive-this, additive-that, etc.

If you really want to spend money on stuff for the kitchen, then get a set of GOOD kitchen knives, the means to keep them sharp (which you will do, won't you!) and a recipe book or two.

Some things are so beautiful

2007-05-03T20:48:00.000+12:00

From where I live I am fortunate enough to see some truly awesome sunsets. Tonight was one of them and my camera was to hand.

Evil stalks the earth...

2007-05-03T20:40:00.000+12:00

and her name is...

All you diabetics will understand this one.

It's there and it won't go away.

2007-05-02T14:37:00.001+12:00

Some time ago I wrote this for use elsewhere. I have decided that I should share it with the outside world. It tells of my diabetes and the struggle I had accepting it and will, I hope, give others who are making a similar downward journey a little support. I know where you are folks. It ain't fun, it ain't good, but it ain't going away either. Please, for your sake and for the ones you love and who love you, accept your diabetes and get as in control as you can. It is worth the effort; I've seen the effects it can have if it isn't kept in check and, believe me on this one, they are very unpleasant.

Here it is...

It was five minutes to three in the afternoon on Friday the first of June, 1979, and I had no cash. I did, however, have £8-50 in the bank and a hot date! So I wandered in to the bank, wrote out a cheque, and waited. Whilst I waited, three other gentlemen came into the bank to withdraw some money. Their cheque book was slightly unusual; it bore more than passing resemblance to a sawn-off shotgun! To cut a long story short, the trigger got pulled and a large part of my right calf got turned into mince. Just between you and me, dear reader, getting shot is NOT fun! One hot date straight out the window! I spent three months in hospital, whilst the doctors did skin grafts and such like.

When I left hospital I was told that I would spend the rest of my life on crutches or sticks. “NOT SO!” says I. I worked on my disability, determined that it would not hamper me and I succeeded. Ultimately, the only thing I had to give up was rock-climbing, which put just a bit too much strain on my leg. Other than that, you’d hardly know it was there.

The point was that I fought it. I fought like hell, and I won! Going through that process changed my life. I found inner strength. I felt empowered. I found I could go into a bank again without a cold sweat and abject terror. I got self-respect, something I’d never had. I got respect from other people too, which was something I wasn’t used to. Just so you know, I had a rotten childhood for the most part.

Seven years later, in 1986, I went for a job interview. Part of that interview was a medical, complete with a dipstick in a urine sample. Brown. The damn thing changed colour and turned brown! (Uristix turn brown in the presence of glucose.) Lo and behold, I’m a diabetic, or pre-diabetic to be precise.

I was devastated. I’d put all that effort into fighting for my health and along came diabetes, sneaking up behind me and whispering “Got you!” I was 30 at the time… less than half way through my life - and stuffed, at least that was how I saw it. I think I pretty much gave up. Like building your dream home and then they decide to build a highway, right through the middle of it and knock the place down. How big a kick in the teeth can you get?

My diabetes slowly developed from there. But I refused to believe that I had diabetes, life couldn’t do that to me. I stuck my head in the sand. I was NOT going to let it be there! It was irrelevant. Forget it, it doesn’t matter, just continue life and die early. I decided I’d rather have a short life with a good quality, than a long and boring one. I didn’t expect to see sixty.

Eventually I ended up on insulin, as is to be expected. STILL I didn’t really want to know. I injected when I could be bothered to. I tested occasionally, getting double figures for most of the time. My A1c was in double figures too. Although I didn’t realise it, I was on a slippery slope to a VERY unpleasant end.

Just over a year ago, my life changed significantly. I found my inner strength again. I found my self-respect. I had cause to make an effort and I made that effort!

My A1c in 2000 was in double figures, in October 2005 it was 9.7. It’s now consistently in the sixes. My cholesterol levels are improving and I’m a lot healthier than I was two years ago. Yes, I do have some problems; a little neuropathy in the feet and my eyesight could be better. I have a blockage in my iliac artery that needs an operation to fix, but I’ll survive it. The point is that I’m doing my best to make sure those problems don’t get any worse.

My reason for writing this is for all the diabetics out there who have the same attitude I did – “I don’t have diabetes” or “If I ignore it, it will go away” or “It’s only diabetes, it doesn’t matter”. Well, it doesn’t work that way, not in the end. All you end up doing is making a total mess of your body and you WILL go through hell before you die. You will hurt the people you love and who love you but, most of all, you will hurt yourself! You HAVE got diabetes. It will NOT go away. Deal with it and deal with it now. Learn everything you can about it. (Teach your family and friends about it, the view that “Diabetics mustn’t eat sugar” is all to common. Diabetics know that glucose is the fuel our bodies run on and if, we run out of it, we die! It’d be a good thing if everyone else knew that!) Modify your life to accommodate it, which can be done; I’m living proof of it! Call it a marriage if you will. You are married to your diabetes and there ain’t no divorce! Look after your diabetes and life can be good. But, whatever else you do, don’t deny it, ‘cos it ain’t going away!

The “how” is quite simple. It’s your diabetes and you own it, rather than the diabetes owning you. You have to manage it. Adjust your diet. Keep a close eye on your BG levels (and test regularly!). If they are too high, get them lower, by diet or meds or whatever works for you. Learn about DM. Learn about your meds. Monitor what effect they have. Talk to others with DM and learn from them. Get a GOOD endocrinologist on your side. Your doctors and nurses are part of your team and if they aren’t good, change them, or educate them so that they can not only help you, but be a real help to others. One important point to remember, going from poorly managed diabetes to well managed doesn’t happen overnight. It does take time and you will have times when things go pear-shaped. Don’t despair, work through them and they will come right soon enough.

Health Education

2007-05-02T13:33:00.000+12:00

I have type 1.5 (LADA) (wikipedia on diabetes) Diabetes.

There are some people who will read that statement and know exactly what I mean by it. However, a lot of people will instantly think that I can't eat sugar and am (or was) obese and that caused my diabetes. Wrong on both counts! And that is the point of this post.

From what I can see, health education is missing from the usual schooling of children. We need to educate; to give our children a little knowledge about the many diseases that they may have the misfortune to come across in life. I'm thinking of diabetes, Celiac, MS, arthritis, cancer, depression, Alzheimer's and the like. I'm quite sure that a majority of kids leave school knowing nothing about any of those except, perhaps, the name. And frankly, that stinks! Not only do they need to know about them for their own well-being, they need to know because they will, almost certainly, come into contact with other people who suffer.

I wouldn't want to see a fearful form of education, just enough knowledge that people are aware of these diseases and what it involves.

For those who had the wrong instant thoughts above. If you don't have glucose in your blood stream, then you are dead. Glucose is, in effect, gasoline for humans, and if you run out of gas, the engine (in this case YOU) stops running. And there is more than one form of diabetes. The one I suffer from has nothing to do with being obese, it's an auto-immune thing.

Educationalists the world over, please, add health education to your curricula.

For a good view of how diabetes effects people's lives, read Six until me.

The Profit Motive

2007-05-01T12:29:00.000+12:00

In the early nineties I saw an x-ray machine that provided real-time x-rays of angiograms. Attached to this machine was a tape drive for archiving the x-rays. It looked familiar to me. I was fortunate enough to be able to examine this tape drive internally and it was indeed familiar! It was a totally standard drive that was available off the shelf for about £2,000.

The only differences I could see were the colour and labelling. I might add that I looked very carefully at the internals.

This branded and painted box cost a princely £15,000!

So, my question to the ethical medical equipment manufacturers is...

Why the extra £13,000?

There are now Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems for diabetics. The cost of one of these here in New Zealand is ~NZ$9,000. The system consists of a small receiver and a transmitter that attaches to your skin. There is also a sensor that you insert through your skin. The sensors cost ~$75 each and last for 3 or 4 days. The receiver is about the size of a mobile phone. It has a small LCD screen and a few buttons on it. I don't know what is inside the box, but I can't imagine it would be more complex than a mobile phone. The transmitter is certainly miniature but again, I doubt if it's anything more than a Bluetooth device. What I'm having trouble with is why $9,000? At that price, very few diabetics could afford to buy one. At $1,000 each I could see them selling like hot cakes!

One interesting point about that price. In Australia they are AU$10,000 each (~NZ$11,500). Why, you may ask, is the price so much higher in Australia. The answer is very simple. In Australia, supply of these systems is subsidised by the government. Is it just me, or is someone profiteering? (I'd like to thank the NZ importer for that bit of prcing information.)

So, my question to the ethical medical manufacturers

Why the extra £8,000?

Now don't get me wrong here. I know that a very great deal of ground breaking work went in to creating CGMS and I fully understand the need to recoup that cost and to make a profit. But why price the thing outside the range of the vast majority of potential buyers? Which would be better, to sell one at $9,000 or twenty at $1,000? I doubt if they actually cost more than $500 each to make and whilst there is a marketing cost, etc. that would be amortized over a large number of machines and so be a small proportion of the overhead.

So, please, if you make medical equipment or ethical drugs, have a thought for the poor souls that have to or want to buy your products. Make a profit by all means, but a reasonable one. Or, in other words...

STOP RIPPING US OFF!

Sir Terry Pratchett

2007-04-28T12:35:00.000+12:00

Many of you will have read and enjoyed tremedously the work of Mr Terry Pratchett (And if you haven't read his books, please go and do so - right now!). In 1998 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to literature. That award was, of course, richly deserved. Other people feel he is worth more than that, and have started a petition to the British Prime Minister to ensure that PTerry becomes SIR Terry Pratchett.

If, like me, you think that PTerry should be knighted, please go http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Pratchett/ and sign the petition. The only proviso is that you have to be British to sign the petition.

In a just world, he would be Sir Terry Pratchett, Duke of Gerrards Cross, but I suspect the Patrician (Tony Blair) might be perturbed by this. I'm quite sure that PTerry could do a much better job of running the country than any of the cretins in Westminster!

Man's inhumanity to man

2007-04-25T14:59:00.000+12:00

Whilst on the subject of war...

Some years ago I visited the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. What I saw there changed my life. Some 50,000 people lost there lives in that small portion of hell. I spent two hours there. Tears streamed down my face for those two hours. I left there feeling very ashamed to be human. To think that my fellow man could be so inhuman appalled and disgusted me. We consider ourselves civilised but at Bergen-Belsen I saw that humans can be worse than any other animal.

It is my dearest wish that man never commits such atrocities again. I fear that wish will never be fulfilled, it is still happening today, in many parts of the world and I'm sure it will continue to happen. Why can we not live in peace with each other?

ANZAC Day

2007-04-25T14:49:00.000+12:00

Between the 1914-18 war and the 1939-45 war, millions of innocent people lost their lives. We now remember them and the sacrifice they made with commeration days such as today, ANZAC Day.

We are all entitled to free speech, it is a right that should never be taken away. We are also entitled to respect and those that lost their lives fighting for freedom deserve a special dose of respect,. If it wasn't for them a lot of us would be living under dictatorial regimes of an exceptionally unpleasant nature.

So please, somebody, tell me why there were shits demonstrating and burning flags at today's commeration services? Those little turds wouldn't even be able to demonstrate if those poor buggers hadn't wlked into harm's way on their behalf. Whilst I'm not a proponent of violence, I wouldn't blame the widows, widowers and children of those who died if they quietly took the demonstrators down a back alley and beat the FUCK out of them. I would also hope that the police would look the other way.