Gains and Losses

Well you win some and you lose some, and some times you win by losing!

This last Thursday I succeeded in losing my 'super hero socks' which is a win because now I can take showers again! (much to the relief of, well pretty much every body).

We also won by 'losing' the battery on our seven year old weed eater (it died). For about $15 more than a replacement battery we got a new weed eater (which is cutting better than the old one (even though the old one has the better replacement cord and the new one has the cheap line that came with it out of the box). The new one also came with a new, better charger that has auto shut off! This has really sped up doing some of the yard work.

I am also continuing to lose weight (which is a win unless you count the fact that I am too small for my relatively new suit coat and really need to think about buying new, smaller pants).

Of course sometimes when one person loses others lose too. Like when the person on the Tor book printing line 'lost' just over thirty pages of one of the books I ordered with birthday money... I lost too because I had to send it back and get a replacement (which delayed my reading the book).

Seriously, thirty pages! Take a look...

It jumped from page 6 to page 39...

Of course there are some just plain wins too. The other day as I was celebrating my 'lose' of my super hero socks I decided to get something silly for Lisa. I found some cheap 'taco plates' that made her laugh (win). And then this happened...

(also a win...). Of course Lisa had to try to 'out healthy' me, so this happened...

So, she's going to be around for a while longer (another win) (Note: she still has sour cream on there she just hides it better!)

One of the other things that I've tried to do is drink more water and less soda (hah! that might result in blood in my caffeine system, that can't be a good thing...). Of course I can't just have a bottle of water like a normal person (ok... I can...but I don't want to...) so this happened...

The chainmaille water bottle. Ok this is where it gets complicated kids... It's a new design I invented myself (win). It didn't work the way I planned (Lose!). But in the process of figuring out how to make the design more what I wanted I have an excuse to buy the rubber rings I've been wanting to play with (Win!!!). The mark 2 (in the works) will have a strap. The mark 3 (which happens when I get the rubber rings) will fit tighter to the bottle in ways I like better. The rubber rings will also go into a remake of my chainmaille belt (making it lighter and more colorful as well as stretchy).

Lisa really is working on her dissertation (win). She got out a statistics book and everything... of course the mere presence of the book rendered college students two doors down unconscious (actually also a win (when they're asleep they can't park like idiots...)).

Part one of my novella I'm working on is pretty ready to go. Part two is taking a lot of work at the moment but moving, but it' getting there. I have full confidence in my ability to sell books! (which results in royalties (super dollar sign win...!).

Well that's about all the wackiness for this week (WIN!!!!! (sniff sniff, yeah for you guys...I was having fun (Oh wait! I still bet to bug people on my other blog (WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Ok... actually I forgot one uber wacky thing I found this week...



That absolutely preposterous little tank is an FT 17... it is a tiny cramped two man number that can be taken out by an M2 heavy machine gun (I'd like to say 'lose' but keep in mind that it is the first modern style turreted tank... back in '17 nobody had ever built one before (heck mass produced cars were really, really new!) so it was really a win!). Compared to the British things that took an eight man crew and weren't much better armed or armored it was actually not bad.

Have a good week. Lisa should be writing next week and if not I'll be back in two...

Catching up

My second post this week... you'd think I'd shut up by now, but writers gotta write.

Ok, I said Lisa or I would be putting up a post about what's going on around here so that's what I'm doing...

Starting with Lisa's stuff. Lisa just finished teaching a live online class. Which she really enjoyed. She is also getting ready to propose her doctoral dissertation (lots of that going on next month. She is also going to be doing back to back conferences this fall (flying straight to one from the other). I think we're both grateful that she's just presenting and attending and not being in charge of them!

As for myself I am bouncing back from my 'vacation' at the local hospital. Yes, I'm dealing with diabetes. I am also amazing the local diabetes educator with my ability to handle and understand it (you'd think people would catch on when you tell them you have an MA and are a research guy, but no you have to educate the educator some times...)

For those who don't know there are two kinds of insulin long and short acting. Yesterday I made it through the whole day without needing the short acting, and most of the week I've only used it once a day as opposed to the three or four times a day I was needing it initially.

This whole adventure has also had an effect on my loosing inches if not pounds (Actually from max measured weight I am down over a hundred pounds...) a couple weeks before this whole mess we bought me some new pants as the old ones were getting too loose (in some cases ridiculously loose) unfortunately/fortunately with recent events including changes in diet the new pants are getting close to being as loose as the old pants. This is definitely a case where winning is more by definition than any clear cut line...

I have also apparently started a fashion trend (I know, I know, in what reality, but there it is...). When you are dealing with diabetes you need a kit to keep your stuff together and so...

Being the person I am I headed to the surplus store! Current style utility pouch in black; it fits everything I need, can be attached to just about anything, and has attachment points where I can attach other things  to it (like my new cell phone case which was originally a grenade pouch...). Apparently using this kind of case was a new thought to several people, including the diabetes educator I talked to today, but it was well received.

Ok, one more thing and then we'll leave the "D" word behind... A week or two ago I was morning the demise of the film camera. Mostly because film canisters were such nice little storage containers. Meet the test strip container...

It's like the film canister, but a little smaller and with a lid that's attached so it's a lot less likely to get lost. Small parts storage is becoming easier again!

Also in shop news... Check this out...

Both of these have exactly the same number of rings. They are the same basic ring pattern and expanded at the same rate. The difference is in the one the right I put each expansion ring on the previous expansion ring. In the one on the left I put the new expansion ring on the ring next to the expansion ring. Small changes in what you do and how you do them can result in significant effects in the eventual form of what you're doing. This doesn't just go for rings or any other craft item, it counts for thoughts and words too. So there is a neat shop item and an object lesson in one swell foop.

Yes, this is where I'd write about what I'm writing, but I'd rather be writing than writing about writing (got that?). But there is one other slightly insane project that's creeping in this week. It is one that I could use some comments/advice on... (Ok, sorry the "D" word is coming back for a minute) One thing I noticed in the last week or two and had confirmed officially to day is that there is no such thing as an actual diabetes support group here in town... so what does the slightly insane guy do? Start thinking about starting one (or at least causing one to be started). This is a condition that has real effects on people and there loved ones, so I think having some sort of group could be valuable. Unfortunately 1) my mind is kind of reeling about what the group should look like (what kind of activities, where and when to meet, who to get involved) and 2) I've never put something like this together before... So I'm asking anyone out there who has experience with diabetes (their own or a family members) what kind of things would you want in a support group? I am also asking for advice from anyone whose ever built a group of some sort (doesn't have to be a support group... could be a club, a council, an association, what ever). If I'm really crazy enough to do this thing is there any advice you can give on things to do, avoid, watch out for, etc. Comments are happily accepted here, or you could email me at psknewone @ yahoo.com (yes, if I set up the group it needs it's own email, but I haven't gotten there yet!). I appreciate any suggestions and advice.

Yes, this post has mostly been about my stuff, but Lisa is doing good stuff too (and she can add something more to talk about more of her stuff if she wants to!). I think this is about it for today. Maybe next time I can write about rocks, or buttons, or something else that doesn't make my brain hurt... see you soon.

Memorial Day

Ideally Lisa is putting up another post that's an update on us. If not I will put it up tomorrow. Today I have other fish to fry...

Today is Memorial Day, that would be a day to remember those who served their country. Specifically it was put in place to remember those who died in war, but I think it is a good courtesy remember all those who've served and died in combat or not... (no I am not forgetting the living... that would be Veterans Day (and every other day of the year if you actually have any idea what our military family goes through...)).

In our (Lisa and my) family this count includes three grandfathers (I'm not aware of one of my grandfathers serving, but he has his own stories), a wide range of uncles, and a variety of cousins. These are real people who really put it on the line for our country, for our freedom, for us. We owe them a debt and  a great deal of respect. We are a country of the free because of the brave.

By all means take your day and enjoy the freedom that we have been blessed with, but take some time to remember the cost. Remember those who loved us and our country enough to pay the ultimate price. They did what they did for us.

I'm having a hard time expressing everything I feel about our military and those who've served (and I'm a writer, so I'd expect myself to do a better than average job!!!). I think I am going to end with a video that speaks to what I'm feeling. The music is by the band Sabaton. The video by GhostDog780430 (who really gets the history). I think this video speaks to all of our Veterans, all those who have served, but it is specifically about the Korean war vets. By the way, if you are related to the Westover family in any way pay attention: This was Popsie's war.



Bonus points if you can figure out how to apply what is being said in the song to your own life. Double extra bonus points if you can tie what's in the song to having served your country and having served a mission!

Well that's it for now. Lisa or I should be doing another post in the next day or so, so until then remember and do good!