November 28, 2009

Sanofi Go Meals iPhone Ap

My quick review: I gave up.

Go Meals was too something to be useful. The serving size data was inconsistent. Oh and it has a huge restaurant fetish.

When I can't SWAG a number to bolus the kids, I want a fast reference. How many carbs are in a cup of Mac and Cheese? What my world needs is an easy to use food database. This isn't it.

My dear friends across the pond have a great word for this kind of thing: Rubbish.

When it opened, Go Meals wanted to put food on Today's Plate. First it wanted to know if I was cooking or eating out. Seriously it opened by asking if I would like to Restaurant. Apparently Restaurant is something to do.

You are not going anywhere until you pick either Add Food or Restaurant.

You have to pick one or the other. That is the design of the ap. I picked add food. It wanted to be sure that I didn't mean to restaurant 'cause Restaurant Foods was the second option on the add food menu. Before the food store.

You can Always choose Restaurant

Oh and just in case I needed a Restaurant and didn't know where one was, (just a half a mile from the railroad track?) I could hit the Go Meals' Restaurant button on the bottom navigation bar at any time. Like say I was in the food store and couldn't cope with the concept of cooking. Go Meals was ready to help.

I skipped over Restaurant and picked Grocery & Generic Foods. I typically use a blue box. It isn't generic but it is one you may have seen on TV. They have Mac & Cheese shelf space in every food store in the country. It wasn't listed.


I gave up on Mac. How about spaghetti and meatballs? I found that in the Generic Foods the serving size was per "svg."

I don't know how much a "svg." is but SRV to me is Stevie Ray Vaughan. So is that a Stevie Ray Vaughan of pasta by volume or weight?

How Many SVGs in SRV?

Other spaghetti and meatballs came in more traditional volume based servicing sizes. That is good but consistency on serving sizes would be a plus.



I gave up again! I decided to go to Restaurant. One with Golden Arches.

I looked up chicken "Selects" at Mickey D's. I couldn't find just the brand name strips in the ap. I could find a meal (3 pc) with.... With something. I am guessing fries and a Coke. Wonder what serving size fries and a Coke?

I am think way big because this is after all America and extra value means extra food. I know we bolus for a less than that what Go Meals said the carb count is when we do go to McD' for a chicken select meal.

(3pc) with... what?

I gave up yet again and tried to look up an everything bagel from back at the super market. I found pizza three cheese bagels.


I playing with this thing I did add all these foods to my "Plate." Once there, it wasn't real clear how to get them off. So I had Trader Joe's Mac, two types of spaghetti and meatballs, a value meal and pizza bagels. Probably also a partridge pear tree but the serving size of partridge was in SRVs.

I gave up on Go Meals.

In fairness, there are a number of positive comments on the iTunes Ap store.

YDMV.


Other links:

November 27, 2009

Amy’s Restaurant aka Alice on Insulin

Amy's Restaurant: 
A Parody
 for Fight It Friday. With the deepest apologies to Arlo Guthrie. This is for my friend and drinking buddy Chris. GO HERE and chip in a buck or five to help folks who need insulin and don't have insurance.

Oh and a you run across other Fight it Friday bits, how about posting a link to the in the comment section? Thanks.


Amy's Restaurant:

This song is called Amy’s Restaurant, and it's about Amy, and the restaurant, but Amy's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant, that's just the name of the post, and that's why I called the post Amy's Restaurant.

You can get anything you want at Amy's Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Amy's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Amy's Restaurant

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, that is two years ago on Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Amy at the restaurant, but Amy doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of room downstairs where the pews used to be. Havin' all that room, seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't have to take out their used strips for a long time.

We got up there, we found all the used strips in there, and we decided it'd be a friendly gesture for us to take the used strips down to the city dump. So we took the half a ton of used strips, put it in the back of a red VW microbus, took sharps and meters and implements of destruction and headed on toward the city dump.

Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off into the sunset looking for another place to put the used strips.

We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the cliff there was another pile of used strips. And we decided that one big pile is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we decided to throw our's down.

That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Manny. He said, "Kid, we found your name on a prescription at the bottom of a half a ton of used strips, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Manny, I cannot tell a lie, I put that prescription under those used strips."

After speaking to Manny for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down and pick up the used strips, and also had to go down and speak to him at the police officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with the sharps and meters and implements of destruction and headed on toward the police officer's station.

Now friends, there was only one or two things that Manny coulda done at the police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and we didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out and told us never to be see driving used strips around the vicinity again, which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's station there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we was both immediately arrested. Handcuffed.

And I said, "Manny, I don't think I can pick up the used strips with these handcuffs on."

He said, "Shut up, kid. Get in the back of the patrol car."

And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of Rocheville, Indiana, where this happened here, they got three stop signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars, being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to get in the online story about it. And they was using up all kinds of cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station. They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and they took twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach, the getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not to mention the aerial photography.

After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Manny said he was going to put us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your wallet and your iPhone." And I said, "Manny, I can understand you wanting my wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you want my iPhone for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any tweet suicide notes."

I said, "Manny, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"

Manny said he was making sure, and friends Manny was, cause he took out the toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll the toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Manny was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Amy (remember Amy? This’s a post about Amy), Amy came by and with a few nasty words about Tim on the side, bailed us out, and we went back to the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.

We walked in, sat down, Manny came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up, and Manny stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he sat down, we sat down. Manny looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog. And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry, 'cause Manny came to the realization that it was a typical case of American blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and the judge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And we was fined $50 and had to pick up the used strips in the snow, but thats not what I came to tell you about.

Came to talk about the betes.

They got a building down New York City, it's called the Diabetes Clinic, where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one day, and I walked in, I sat down, I got good and drunk the night before, so I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. `Cause I wanted to look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York, and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the Certified Diabetes Educator, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "CDE, I want to test. I mean, I wanna, I wanna test. Test. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth. Lick dead calloused finger. I mean test, Test, Test, TEST." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "Test, Test," and the CDE started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling, "Test, Test." And the Endo came over, pinned a medal on me, sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections, detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin' to me at the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there, and I walked up and said, "What do you want?" He said, "Kid, we only got one question. Have you ever been arrested?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Amy's Restaurant Massacre, with full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all the phenome... - and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, did you ever go to court?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on the back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I want you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!"

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's where they put you if your A1C may not be good enough to join the DOC after committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest father raper of them all, Tim, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly 'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay $50 and pick up the used strips." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?" And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand, and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing, father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of things, until the Endo came over, had some paper in his hand, held it up and said.

"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-know-details-of-the-carbs-time-of-the-carbs-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-carbs-I-want-to-know-attending-physicians-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked for forty-five minutes and nobody understood a single word that he said, but we had fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench. I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote it down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the pencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on the other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the following words:




("KID, HAVE YOU BOLUSED YOURSELF?")





I went over to the endo, said, "Endo, you got a lot a damn gall to ask me if I've nolused myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the DOC, lance women, kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints off to Washington."

And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'm singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into the endo wherever you are ,just walk in say "Endo, You can get anything you want, at Amy's restaurant.". And walk out. You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they're both Twitterers and they won't take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Amy's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Amy's Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Amy's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the guitar.

With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and sing it when it does. Here it comes.

You can get anything you want, at Amy's Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Amy's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Amy's Restaurant

That was horrible. If you want to find a cure and stuff you got to sing loud.

I've been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing it for another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.

So we'll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part harmony and feeling.

We're just waitin' for it to come around is what we're doing.

All right now.

You can get anything you want, at Amy's Restaurant
Excepting Amy You can get anything you want, at Amy's Restaurant Walk right in it's around the back Just a half a mile from the railroad track You can get anything you want, at Amy's Restaurant

Da da da da da da da dum
At Amy's Restaurant

November 24, 2009

FTNW: DexCom & Continua Boards

DexCom Appoints Nicholas Augustinos as Board Member.

I keep wondering about Continua and the diabetes world. More to wonder about:

From the News Wire -
Source: DexCom, Inc.
On 4:11 pm EST, Monday November 23, 2009

DexCom, Inc. today announced the appointment of Nicholas Augustinos as a member of DexCom’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Augustinos is the Senior Director of the Global Healthcare Solutions business unit at Cisco Systems, Inc., where he leads Cisco’s efforts to develop connected healthcare solutions. Prior to Cisco, Mr. Augustinos was a Partner and Senior Strategic Consulting Expert, Global Health Services, for Computer Sciences Corporation. Previously, Mr. Augustinos served as Vice President of the Care Data Exchange group with CareScience, as Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Healtheon/WebMD, and as Vice President of Administration with CliniShare. “Nick brings more than twenty years of broad-based experience and thought leadership in healthcare. As healthcare delivery and technology evolves and improves, Nick’s vision and experience will help drive DexCom’s future innovations,” said Terry Gregg, President and Chief Executive Officer of DexCom.

Mr. Augustinos also sits on the Board of Directors of Continua Alliance, a non-profit, open industry coalition of healthcare and technology companies collaborating to improve the quality of personal healthcare. The Alliance was founded by Cisco, Intel, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Kaiser Permanente, among others.

November 23, 2009

FTNW: Sanofi-Aventis iPhone ap GoMeals

Update: I got a copy from iTunes. Played with it a little. I will share thoughts later.

From the News Wire

In one of the latest forays by the pharmaceuticals industry into mobile technology platforms for chronic disease management, Sanofi-Aventis has launched the iPhone application GoMeals, designed to help diabetics make the healthiest food choices.

The food-tracking tool powered by CalorieKing can provide the nutritional content of many foodstuffs sold in grocery stores, or for the meals and snacks offered on restaurant menus. Similar to the weight loss application LoseIt that tracks food intake, physical activity and provides nutritional data for many foods, CalorieKing's database contains information on over 25,000 foods and over 200 menus for US restaurants.


more at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/lab-launches-an-iphone-app-to-track-and-manage-diabetes-1826526.html

What's a Buck?

Value Menu. A buck.
iTune song. A buck.
Coffee. A buck.
Coke. A buck.

Insulin Priceless but on Friday - one day one buck.

Black Friday: Help my friend Chris* help someone who needs a hand. Click the banner.


*Yes there is some truth to the rumor he and I managed to get thrown out of a hotel bar and take 20 people and a fictitious stalker with us. But honestly we were all way better off in one of the ladies' hotel rooms anyway. Sadly there may be pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back explaining how each one was to be used as evidence against us, but that is another story.

Of Mice and Men: Bombay Version

In mice; an implantable glucose bio-sensor develped by the Indian Institute of Technology.

http://www.topnews.in/smart-biosensor-rule-out-pricks-diabetics-2239066

Once injected, the bio-sensor would help monitor blood sugar levels for up to six months using an external hand-held device.

“India is poised to become the diabetes capital of the world. Developing a sensor that is non-invasive is the need of the hour,” said Professor Rohit Srivastava, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT-B.

Most blood sugar monitoring methods involve pricking the fingertip to draw blood. IIT-B’s bio-sensor, called a smart tattoo, appears as just a dot in the skin when injected. Using near-infrared waves — which have shorter wavelengths like those used by the television remote control — emitted by the hand-held device, the patient can get his blood sugar count.

“The bio-sensor with a dye-attached glucose receptor will attract the glucose present in the fluid, send signals to the device and record the count,” said Srivastava adding that the device would work for any demographic region and for any type of diabetes.

A four-year effort, the research has reached the animal trial stage and the biosensors are being currently tested on mice.

November 21, 2009

Scott on Insulin

Someone who writes brilliantly (a phrase that here means Scot Strumello) has a new post on inhaled v oral insulin v what the world really needs.

It is sad he posted it on a Saturday night. I feel responsible. Make me feel better and go read it so his use of quality weekend time is not in vane:

http://sstrumello.blogspot.com/2009/11/business-of-diabetes-generex-vs.html

FTNW: Roche Buletooth Pump / Meter

Roche has an upgraded pump / meter combo on sale in Europe. That is good their pump needed some smarts.

From The New Wire on the other side of the pond:
http://www.accu-chek.co.uk/gb/products/insulinpumps/combo.html

System Features and Benefits

  • Two-way Bluetooth® wireless technology between the two devices - with the ACCU-CHEK® Aviva Combo meter, you have full remote control over pump functionality and can deliver a bolus in a fast and discreet way and have full visibility on pump status and activity – right in the palm of your hand. No need to access the pump.
  • Bolus calculator on the ACCU-CHEK® Aviva Combo meter - Quick, easy and discreet bolus delivery with assistance from a fully customizable bolus calculator

Ark Series: Index

I wrote a series of post in reaction to a church service that hit home. Well three services. They were a series and so is what I wrote. The series spoke to me and various stages of my life with the kids’ diabetes.

This is a index page those post and other Zen like YDMV posts:

Ark 1: Floods

My story as an old guy with a beard, a double diabetes deluge on a boat.

Ark 2: Floating

I learned while adrift that floating is hard.

Ark 3: Arc

Finding new territory.


Bad things happen to good people.

Bad things happen to good people. It isn’t God’s will that they happen but part of God’s providence. There is a distinction there that is small but significant.

Empathy

November 20, 2009

Ark 1: Floods

My story as an old guy with a beard, a double diabetes deluge
on a boat.



I know the rule of polite society that says I’m not supposed to talk about religion. I’m not all that polite.

I think religion is about life and doing good. My religion is about my life. Hopefully it helps me do the right thing.

Writing helps me sort through and find what I really think. This essay is a reaction to a church service that hit home. Well three services. They were a series and so is this. The series spoke to me and various stages of my life with the kids’ diabetes.

Since living with the variations of diabetes is the point of YDMV I figured I would share my thoughts. It has been a couple of years since I have sprung philosophy on y’all. Now, like then, you may not recognize me as the author. Now, like then, I hope it is a pleasant surprise.

Before I go into the series here’s my basic philosophy: Good stories are allegorical. Same goes Bible stories. I can find a message about my live in them someplace, if I look. For example, I don’t have to be Thomas Aquinas to figure out that Jesus told stories that meant more than just their face value. The whole tiny grain of mustard seed growing to large branches isn’t about growing herbs. It is about a little truth growing to be important in life.

Stories are like that. More than meets they eye. I try to see the whole. I am not real good at it but I try. Sometimes I find something to see.


Which brings me to the Ark series. It came in three parts:
  • Floods
  • Floating
  • Covenant
It is a story that featured Noah and a flood. That was about where the expected ended.

So we got a flood. A big flood. A life changing killer flood.

Floods. There is the spring flood, the 100 year flood and the ever popular 500 year flood. Everyone faces floods in life. I think everyone reading YDMV knows floods. Not the water type, the life altering, spiritual challenge, break your heart flood.

Feel free to raise your hand if you think you know what I am going on about.

The guy who gave the talks, Chuck, said that we all get all the floods. We are all busy making plans and Bam! We get hit with a flood. Mine was less a diabetes diagnosis or two per se and more our school’s reaction to them.

Feel free to raise your hand if y’all know that school and diabetes flood too.

Now the floods aren’t there to punish us or specifically be trials (see my previous musings linked above). Here was an interesting part Chuck brought up that I never thought about, the floods are there to help wash away stuff. Stuff that is in my head and heart. In the bible story these things are playing the parts of “The giants, heroes of renown.” In short that part of myself I put up on a on a plinth. My own rigidity, selfishness and maybe even my own home grown doctrine about how I make value of stuff in myself.

What I understood him to be saying was a flood is a change that happens and in it we loose some bad stuff and maybe gain some good stuff. While god may work it out for the best in the long run, it doesn’t seem like there is anything worthwhile going on as the water rises. Not that there is a whole lot of alternative - it is on the boat or in the water.

None of us got a choice. Our families got type 1. We were all overwhelmed. Bring on the flood. Yet somehow, before hand we built a boat. Apparently god called us to build it in the back yard. I am not so sure I knew I got the call.

What is an Ark? A vestal to hold us and what were bringing aboard. As in an emotional life boat. Chuck’s message was the Ark was faith and that faith is the ability to see with the eye of love. OK I’ll take that on faith and I’ll loop back later.

So what is in the boat?

Noah is in the boat. The heroes we built up - not in the boat.

Noah is some unselfish part of ourself, some part that somehow walks with god. Even in the deluge that part gets on a boat. So do a lot of animals. Clean and unclean and we all go floating.

And it keeps raining. Forty day and forty nights. I’m getting a flood and it keeps coming. Folks I am here to say diagnosis is only the first day of rain. It is overwhelming. You get into your life boat with the best and worst of life. It keeps raining. Every day. The water keeps rising.

It isn’t a pleasure cruise.

Nobody tell us how long we are gonna be floating. Hell it just keeps raining.


Nobody knows how long the dazed and confused feelings at diagnosis are going to last. It rains for forty days and nights - the water rises for a month and a half! It just keeps coming. (And those jack asses at training are talking about a Honeymoon! - WTF!) There are clean and unclean animals in the boat with us, hope, kindness, fear, guilt.

There is no land to be a landmark. It is all under the water. We have no clue where we are.

Adrift.

One Window.

Surrounded by the best and worst animals of life and it’s mate. Oh and we better get to work doing stuff. We are in a place we have never been before and doesn’t matter if it came from love or fear the stalls need to be mucked out 'casue we are knee deep in it.

In our case we gave shots and poked steel shards in our kids’ arms and fingers and try to pretend it was all OK. We smiled and that smile was a big lie to keeps the kids alive. Bad and good and it's mate.

Is this sounding familiar to anyone yet?

In my case the flood was not just a child or two being diagnosed with diabetes. The deluge was being set adrift when our church school administration turned those kids out rather than even considering trying to follow best care practices. Noah got on a boat while a lot of what I thought I valued drowned.

I am not sure who Noah was. That is, what part in me was Noah. He may have been that part that cared as much about the next T1 kid as my own. I know that as I cried and cursed my sister, the single strongest supporter my wife and I had in our floods, kept telling us that we weren’t just going through this for just our kids. That we were in it for all the T1 kids who will sadly but without question follow. I would like to think that but I am not sure. I am OK with not being sure.

I know I went for a long rudderless ride and how I saw the future a few years ago isn’t where we are. And now in retrospect maybe that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As for the Ark, well that is real tough because I wasn’t particularly looking out with love a lot as my personal floods kept pouring in day after day. Somewhere in the time the kids were kicked out the first time, I was unemployed and home with them, inventing stupid meter tricks to keep them entertained, I became aware of the online diabetes community. That was something I could look at with love.

I met many of those folks last summer. Looking back I can see how ridiculously important they are to me. But that is getting ahead. This essay is about staying above rising water.

This is about personal floods. We have had’m. Don’t recommend’m. In point of fact everybody get them and that what the Ark story is about.

For some of us the flood is a T1 diagnosis (or two.) We think diagnosis is the flood but it is just the first day and the sky is dark grey and keeps raining. We are adrift with the best and the worst, hope, kindness, fear, guilt. At 34 days into a forty day flood the boat stinks, we are sea sick, there is no sign the rain will stop and humidity does nothing for the smell.

Noah is in some part of us. Some part part walks with god even when there is a flood and walking is not an option. If nothing else I find comfort in the idea that the story doesn’t end in the flood on day 34.

Next up: Floating or what you learn alone and adrift.

The Ark series that inspired this is partially available on line at http://vimeo.com/6708135 Partially in that all talking is there sadly the music of the services isn’t. Each service featured amazing music, rock for the most part but the music is most notable for a hauntingly beautifully version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow that brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. The full service is with tunes available on a DVD. They don't have an online store but you can email and he can get you a disk.