Tuesday late afternoon while checking for any calls that may have come in

on our call display, I got a call from the Doctors office late Wednesday late afternoon. I couldn't get to call until Thursday morning. No doubt its news on my lab visit for Hyperthyroid, uh-oh. The waiting was bugging me. So when I called Thursday morning the receptionist said my Doctor was out on vacation and his sub wanted to go over some numbers with me in the office concerning the lab visit. Reception couldn't tell me much except my Hemoglobin A1c was too high. It doesn't suggest Hyperthyroid, one way or another. I have an appointment for this coming up Monday.

In regional matters, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is stepping down as Premier. He served for 9 years and was against Trudeau's imposing a carbon tax on his Province. He was always articulate and well spoken. It was his "Sask party" that helped to out 16 years of NDP rule, that devastated that Province. He was cut of the same cloth that brought us Ralph Kline. Maybe he's going to run for leadership of the PC party. That's be cool.

Otherwise for most of the week, I've been doing lodge memory work, reading and enjoying the summer. After beating Ottawa last night 27-20, the Esks are 7-0! This morning I have my ei reporting to do. Anne and I want to go to the rec centre. Well that's the plan. Its been 2 days but I've decided to take out salt from my diet. I think this is one of the leading cause to my weight gain. Diet cola has salt in it. Saturday I've got nothing going on. Sunday, lodge practice and another bbq? Oh well. Monday will be just 2 weeks away from me being a senior uggh. Anyway, that's all for now.

Still plugging away here

as its mostly overcast out there at about 18. Not much going on today. No football. So I'm taking it easy, working on a track in my daw, checking my email, reading, that type of thing. Anne's making us her traditional Sunday brunch later. I'm sitting here with my first coffee. Pretty basic stuff.

I've had the Alberta Health benefits contact details on my iPod Touch for quite awhile now. This last Spring, I've been waiting for our notice of assessment (what the feds send at tax time) which is a summary of combined taxable income. The noa is a accurate account of income filed each year by revenue Canada. I was waiting for that, and time off before I began to file for Adult health benefits, and a year to date printout of our bank statements. Last year when I did this I was working, and my only way to get this to the program was to fax my bank statements. The fax machine I was using at employabilities was brand new, and I don't think they were  comfortable working with it. Since I was getting insulin anyway from my pcn, I figured at the time I'd just wait until next Spring. No rush. Also, I didn't know prior to that I can access the program with bank statements year to date. The program is based on income and last year we certainly qualify. Now that I have time off, and rather then fax stuff to the program I can just drop it off in person to the reception counter. Once I have the location of course. My work schedule at the time prevented me from doing this. Next week I hope to have some full time hours for a few weeks anyway.

The other day on local news there was a story about the Valley line lrt. A "spokes person" from the program saying that they are on schedule. There's a lot of road closures due to preliminary work but they hope to have a work schedule posted within the next 4-6 weeks with a target date for 2020. Ahh, now the Sun is trying to come out. Boots seems to be enjoying himself. Anyway, that's all from me for now.

I woke up about half an hour ago with tingling feet and I

knew I needed to check my blood sugar. My number was 5. I usually like it to be about 7-8 in the morning. For most people blood sugar levels are held steady at 5.5. So I got up to fix a coffee. I had about 5 hours sleep overnight, and I listened to a bit of Coast 2 Coast before passing out.

Electronic cigarettes have been out for awhile now. I'm a non smoker. At the last market research job I was at, one of my co workers was a vapor (someone that uses e-cigarettes) On local CTV news yesterday, they followed up on a story I thought was just an urban legend: exploding e-cigs. Lithium ion batteries are at the centre of the issue. These things show no signs they are about to explode and explosions can happen when users try to “hack” their own vapourizer using mismatched components, or moding. I copied and pasted this excerpt from a CTV Health section. In January, Lethbridge, Alberta a teen made headlines when his family shared images of the second-degree burns he suffered from an e-cigarette explosion. He was left with a burned tongue, throat, and mouth. If he hadn’t been wearing glasses, he might have suffered eye damage as well. It seems there are no product standards for this industry and that might be the root of the problem.      

This could be my last Sunday shift for this project as next Sunday is Easter Sunday. I hope we have a long weekend. I could use one. I'm 10-6pm today and out the door by 9am. Then home for the night. There's an Oiler game on TV at 7:30pm. I'll be just getting in the door. The Av's are in town, then the Oilers are on the road for 3 games then home next Monday. Then they have 4 days off and play Calgary. Their last game at Rexall place April 6th as they entertain the Vancouver Canucks. Anyway, that's all for now.

Not a whole lot of things have been going on

over the past few days. I was down at Employabilities the other day and they couldn't do anything for me because I have a job, even though I don't have any work. 

Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of what is often referred to as 9/11. September 11 2001. Wow, hard to believe it was 14 years ago. I remember on the bus heading into work that morning when Xentel was on 115th and Jasper. Anne was working at the Legion and still had the car. I recall in the bus close to the window on my right side passing City TV. They have flat screen tv's embedded into the front of the building as they still occupy The Bay on the corner of 103rd and Jasper. I remember just half awake noticing a bunch of bystanders collecting around on the corner. When I got into the office the place was buzzing. I heard all kinds of things: airplanes were bombing cities all over the world, to something going on in New York City. Over the course of the day I gradually pieced everything together. I met Anne at the Legion that day and we were in shock. I wasn't even in my 50's then. Crazy. 


I took the above image from a colleagues Facebook page. How fitting as it sums up my life today.

With a bit of time on my hands I called the Provincial adult health benefit program prompted by a letter I received from Alberta monitoring for diabetes. They said that if I was turned down for Provincial benefits I'd need a letter from them stating that, to qualify for diabetes benefits. So I called them the other day and they said I didn't need to have income from last year, they could process it based upon this year to date. The threshold for a married couple with no children is $28K. No way did Anne and I make close to that this year. Monday I've got to get to my bank and get my statements year to date and Anne's got to get hers. I've got a name and a phone number. If we qualify, then I might be able to get my dental work done up. Actually it would make more sense for the first Q of 2016 because when my place of employment shuts down in August I'll be able to utilize that time off to get it done. But it depends on how long that process is.

This weekend for my CFL Proline picks, I picked Hamilton/Argo's (Argos to Win), Riders/Winnipeg (Bombers to win), Stamps/Esks, Stamps to win. On a $3 ticket, if all 3 are correct, I'd win $60. Last nights game at one point in the 1st Q it was tied at 7. At half time it was a Hamilton landslide. Argo penalties were killing them. The Argos mounted a bit of a come back in the 2nd have and tried a hail Marry to tie a 35-27 Hamilton lead but the receiver coverage was too much for the home time. So much for my ticket. Across the street there's supposed to be a Shoppers Drug Mart going in. They have a lottery booth in their stores (which means I could go across the street when it opens and still get another ticket for the 3 remaining games for today and Sunday.) Anyway, that's all for now.

Last night I was having a great

time with some open source video editing software. I finally got it to work where I can record my Cubase sessions. The main obstacle was how to get my audio into the software. I came across a YouTube video on how to do it using iTunes. The screen record is a bit out of sync but the quality is  getting there. I've got a ways to go before I can get a video on YouTube, with this software but I'm making some gains. 

For the rest of the weekend I'm watching some football and I'm looking forward to Monday's Labour Day Classic Esks at Calgary. Should be a good one. 

Day 2 off this Coversyl pill. Anne thinks that the recent swelling of my right foot (after over 10 years of being dietetic) isn't so much that but the side affects of this pill. It even says in the instructions that the pill could have some side affects. The swelling is mostly above the toes and the ankle of my right foot. Anyway, that's all for now.

At least if anything the

weather is nice, although we could use some rain. That's been the big story around here over the past few days and haze from forest fires. We really need a good steady rainfall. 

My father had psoriasis. I don't know if its hereditary but I've had it all my life. Just recently as of a few years ago thanks to my diabetes, I acquired a rash about the hairline of my forehead related to psoriasis. It get really flaky and spread. I had to wear a hat. My Doctor gave me this sample stuff about a  year ago:

 
When I tried it the first time about a year ago it didn't work for me. The Doctor told me to use it like shampoo but its such a small bottle. I heard all the old wives tales and when I applied Vaseline that worked to a point. Then just last week, I thought maybe I'm using it wrong. Lets read the instructions. There's a novel concept right? According to the instructions, your supposed to shake the bottles contents and apply it on the tip of a finger and rub it into the affected area. My Doctor said every day. So, that's what I did and am still doing it, every day. Over the last weekend I noticed it working. No itching, nothing. The problem I've had for almost 2 yeas is now a memory. Its gone. I've got a few more bottles left and I need to see my Doctor before I go back to work. The product is by prescription only apparently.  

Not much is going on around here but just some odds n' ends: I'm just waiting to be called back into work. I was in the office about 2 weeks ago to get a update. I haven't had too much ambition to take on anything else right now. They said September but I'm not just going to jump on them the moment the calendar changes at midnight Tuesday. I've got some business to do Monday and Thursday is Lodge. Most likely I'll go in next Friday put in my availability see if there's a schedule posted get an update and go from there. I'll be looking if nothing develops from that update next week. I need something steady 2-3 days a week that isn't dependent on anything. The job I have now is great when I'm on pension but as it stacks up now, well at least its something.

So, tonight I'm watching the Argo's/Eskimo's game. Its military appreciation night at Commonwealth. Saturday its more football and Doctor Who. I'm hoping to get back into the stream of things. I enjoy the time off, to a point. The breaking point of that threshold is almost here. Anyway, that's all for now.

About the only exciting thing I did Tuesday was

to go get my blood test. I've had 5 days off and I'm eager to get back to work as soon as the new project is underway. When I'm on full pension and if my health dictates, I'm going to try and work the last week of the month and the rest of the week go to lodge, if I want. That's if Anne and I are still in business. The next 2 years are going to be hard on us.

Not that I would ever do it and I can't speak for anyone else but I'm sure lots of people cheat on their significant other. I think this happens more with people when the marry young in life as opposed to people that marry late. I've often thought about it when my wife and I are fighting but I don't think I could actually go through with it. I've had opportunity. Ashley Madison is a popular website that is just for people that want to cheat. Not that such a website surprises me. Most likely its like "dating sites." Women sign up for free men pay type thing. I'd say 80% of the sites customers are men the rest women. "The impact team" is a hacker group that broke into the site and stole a lot of personal information and threatened to publish it if the Canadian website isn't shut down. They claimed that the site told its customers that for a $20 fee customer profile would be deleted but apparently there was no such option in the first place. 

Some good news for me yesterday. Anne had a piece of  mail in her purse from Alberta Monitoring for health program has been extended until October 15 for those that don't qualify to get alternative health benefits. I'm going to ask more about this today and hopefully stock up on test strips while I can. I might even be able to get some insulin because I might not qualify for alternative plan benefits. Anne is leaving out of  here early for work. It will buy me some time. Anyway, that's all for now.

Anne made us a nice left over roast beef

sandwich with fries n gravy for dinner and a homemade yogurt fruit medley, yum. 

This is cool: Stephan Hawking and Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner are to work together with SETI to fund $100 million to search for not just radio waves but optical laser transmissions from other star systems. Its called Breakthrough Listen. They akin to a piano with just 88 keys now using billions of keys. Its a 10 year project and the first observations will begin early next year. Its the largest search for alien life ever. This will all be open to the public. Here's a link out of the Scientific American.

The Edmonton Oiler's finally announced today the last great act for Rexall place will be to hang Glen Sather's name up to the rafters alongside with that of Wayne Gretzky, announcer Rod Phillips, Mark Messier, Grant Fhur among others. That will be 10 banners now. Its about time for Slats. The Oiler's will be doing this in September. I hope to see Connor McDavid's name up there some day.

Since Anne is home,today is my best chance to go to the lab and get a couple of bank statements for our health benefits claim for the provincial government. Then home to check my messages to see if my place of employment called about the next upcoming project. If I don't hear from them by Wednesday, Thursday I'm activating my ei. Anyway, that's all for now.

Other then the wife's blow up earlier I had a nice day yesterday mostly

 

doing some family tree history. I need to do some of my own history. Especially my school years and when I had my back operation for scoliosis. I'm not sure if it was in late 1967 or early 1968. One thing is for certain, August 21st I was 16 years old in 1968 in a body cast, bed ridden recovering during those 8 months. That August was the invasion of Czechoslovakia. I recall eating birthday pizza with a neighbor friend of mine. My school transcripts would be the best indicator of when I had my back operation as they would show missing time in relation to the event.

I still haven't given up on my Kobo eBook reader pictured above yet. Its the Aura version but the os is clunky and awkward to use. The battery life on this device is amazing and takes ePub books with ease on a micro sd memory card. I bought it last November because Black Library releases some Horus Heresy stuff only in ebook format, kind of like how not all Xbox games are sold retail. What I like about the eBook format unlike reading from my iPod is that eBooks are better for reading outdoors then the iPod.

I called Long and McQuade earlier and yes they are getting the System m1 modular synth. Street price is $750. With 20% down its $50/month, which is doable. The m1 also fits in a Eurorack setup and has a lot of compatible rack mounted devices to go along with it. I can see this as my birthday present for myself next month.

I'm going to try and get some blood work done at the lab this week while I have some time off. I'm kind of worried about my cholesterol. Since I have very little sodium intake, my cholesterol levels should be low. I hope to find that out this week sometime. According to my Doctor, I haven't had blood work done in over 5 years. I'm kind of nervous about what will show up now. The lab has limited hours today or so Anne tells me, so my best bet is Tuesday. Anyway, that's all for now.

At least I'm sleeping a little better

over the last couple of nights. Saturday/Sunday night because I had that sleeping pill and this morning because I had that beer. Also, I backed off on the Coversyl because I feel it might have a side effect, which could be why my circulation in my lower right leg has been bothering me over the last week. Before I got married when this blog was just a hard copy diary in my own hand writing, (1997) I had a security guard job. It was then my sciatic nerve really acted up on me causing pain along my right side. I don't know how I was able to cope in doing that job. That was when I was in Amway at the time and I recall a trip down to Calgary. I felt every bump in the road there and back. I haven't felt body pain like that in a long time and that was way before the diagnosis of my diabetes was confirmed in 2004. So I'm also thinking this could be sciatic because I can feel it all along my right side but its not as severe as it was back in 1997.

Switching gears, I'm really enjoying this Horus Heresy series. "Mechanicum" is the 9th book in the series and the only one that I haven't read is "Decent of Angels" book #6. I just couldn't get into it. I can always come back to it. The book kind of strayed from the story line. Up next is "Tales of Heresy." Its a collection of 6 short stories.I hope to begin that one at the end of this month. 

The Metro LRT line is in testing mode. Posters on the Connect 2 Edmonton forum have uploaded some photos of cars on the track. Not that I'd use Metro much but it would take ridership pressure off the Capital line and make my commute more comfortable. I'll be able to find a seat easier on the way home at night and often Anne and I go out to the Ramada at Kingsway for brunch. It'll make it more convenient to get out to Kingsway mall.

Its a short work week this week because of Victoria day. July 1st falls on a Wednesday so our next long weekend wont be until August 3rd. Not that this was a long weekend because I was working Saturday. Two days off for me is a long weekend. As of this August I'll have 1 more year until I can apply for pension and as long as we keep things together here and I have my health, a year after that I'll be on full pension. Most likely I'll work 3-4 days a week. Anyway, that's all for now.

Some 6 or 8 months ago

I've been having trouble swallowing food. Its technical word is dysphagia. I can eat pasta and some foods but I need to wash it down with a drink. I can swallow liquids ok. I'm going in for a "swallow test" soon although nothing has been set up yet. First thing I need is a blood test and I'm going in for one of those before my next Doctor's visit June 4th Lodge day night.

This weekend is mothers day weekend and Anne is going to try and get her flowers out on the balcony. Its a tradition around here every mothers day. We were considering going out but next weekend is the May long weekend.So that's probably our best chance for that.

Last night at lodge was really special. We had 4 of our members receive 50 year jewels and a 25 year pin. Our Senior Warden brought 5 guests along to the festive board. Drinks were free. I tried a "Alley cat" and took one home with me for Saturday night. I had a great time. I'm in the office today from 4-9:30pm and Saturday from (I hope) 10-6pm. Anyway, that's all for now.

Lots of people are talking about the price of

oil. Oil prices can make or break a Nation's economy. Just look at what its doing to Russia as their currency is devalued. Sanctions over Putin's missadventure in the Ukraine have something to do with it a well. Oil prices sank to a low of about $43/barrel earlier in March and for the longest time has been floating around $47-$50. Oil prices are having an affect on our local economy as well. Yesterday the price of oil reached a land mark high lately of $53! At the moment oil is at $53.98 and its going to go up and down like that for God knows how long. 

Some sad news recently out of Hollywood. James Best better known as the actor that played Rosco P. Coltrane (Dukes of Hazzard) passed away. Best had roles in dozens of TV shows. I always thought James Best and Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) made the Dukes better then it was. Roscoe kept on calling people in the show dipstick. The Dukes of Hazzard ran for 7 seasons and was one of the highest rated shows 2nd behind Dallas. Best passed away Sunday from complications of pneumonia.

I left out of here feeling better then I have had in over a few days now. We're not sure what's going in across the street when whatever it is that's being built. I was a bit early and I had a wait at the bus stop on the for half an hour reading my book and went to the office. Work went along ok and I had a couple of coughing episodes. I'll be able to work the week out. Its going to be a struggle but I'll be ok. Anyway, that's all for now.

Now that I have more or less

caught my breath and caught up on my sleep, I'm planning what to do next. Moving forward from what happened last week.

At the moment I can't do much until I get that roe and apparently they have 10 days to get it to me. The job lead Monday said give him a couple of days either for him to call me and or for me to follow up. If I get a call today, I'll go in today and start tonight or even Friday, since I have my pcn appointment to get my insulin tomorrow at 3pm and lodge tomorrow night. Or if he calls me tomorrow when I come home I can go in Friday. Hopefully I can work Friday/Saturday.

Weather wise we're holding -10/-16. We're getting warmer. The number after the / is always the wind chill. Sunday we turn the clocks ahead for daylight savings time. Spring is a few weeks away but we're getting there. 

As for today, I'm home doing a job search, seeing what's out there and getting some more leads. I also need to get my last 22 weeks on paper and for ei so when I get my roe I can present both to them and a job search. Anyway, that's all for now.

Poor Oilers cant win a game worth trying

but neither did the Leafs until the Oiler's showed up last night. I don't know what's wrong with this team. We got 3 first round draft picks. I think before the trade deadline, the Oiler's are going to move 2 of those first round players. One to Winnipeg and the other Toronto. Right now the Oiler's are playing junior hockey.

By this time next weekend (Family day) we should have much warmer weather. Looking at the calendar another 5 more Sunday's and its Daylight savings time.

Lately my right knee and calf area have been causing me some discomfort. Its like I'm walking with a limp. Could be just the weather. Maybe its gout for all I know but most likely its arthritis more then anything. 

After not being able to sleep during the past 24 hours, I'm about ready for bed after a bit of reading and a bit of Coast. I have a full day today (I hope) They let us out at 5pm instead of 6 last night. So I'm out at 11am into the office for noon-8pm. Then I get Monday off. Anyway, that's all for now.

Our weather is much more

pleasant  then the +28- +29's we've been struggling with last week. At least its good for sleeping. We're getting temperatures of +18, +20. Next week, +21's and +23's that sort of thing. I like Summer weather to be +18-+24 anywhere in there works for me. 

I called Anne on my 6:45pm break at work last night to check our mail. She said it's good news bad news. Uh-oh. Good news is Anne's sister Donna sent me a card and a nice surprise. Since Donna is out of the country I sent her a instant message thanking her. We'll face time her on Sunday. The bad news is I got turned down because of my 2013 income. It said combined income was cause of rejection but the income was not supposed to be combined. It was just for mine only. I knew something was up when I filled out the form a few months ago. My pcn worker said for me to call her within days of receiving any news. The letter said I have a 30 day appeal window but my pcn worker wont be back until September 2nd, which is on a Tuesday. I called my Doctor and set up a follow up appointment for next Monday. The appeal date window is from the time dated on the letter and 30 days from that date. Which should be September 23rd. If we're looking at just business days. The Alberta Government has all my financial information from the form.

Hearing the news about the benefits package letdown was a shock to the system and I could never recover after that job performance wise. Usually I can get 6-10 "sales" in a 5.5 hour shift but all I could muster was 3 by the end of the night. I feel like I'm fodder there anyway. There's two other telemarketers that work with me. One is their computer/software guy and he shows up maybe 3 days/week. Then there's a lady about my age and 3 others on salary that kind of do the same thing but they actually close the customer in the store and 'convert' them to members. I just send out brochures by email. By this time next week if I haven't got a member (something beyond my control) then I'm pretty much gone. The phone room has about 20 stations but only 2 are occupied by telemarketers like myself. So all these brochures I'm sending out to "qualified people" (no old people) if they don't come into the store, that's not on me. That's on the salary people. I must have sent out since I began about 200 packages since I began and only a small portion of those came into the store. They get a visitors pass with the brochure. Or package. Where I work, they've been around since 1971 and here in Edmonton for the last 15 years. We have no competition. If nobody is doing any renovations or projects then we cant turn them into members. I get no members and I'm out of a job. I knew that going in but the job is easy to do. I just hope I can keep it moving forward into September. 

Last night Anne made us some really nice baby back ribs for supper. A bit of a birthday dinner since my 62nd birthday is tomorrow. I had a good sleep over night and now I got to get ready to get out of here.

Anyway I'm about to have my bath a bite to eat and head out of here for my 12:30pm commute to Northgate and catch the #137 to 178th and 107th Ave. it's a long trip. Anyway, that's about all for now.

The new job seems to be

running along ok. Its basic telemarketing but I'm not selling anything. It's easy enough to do and the hours are decent enough.

Sometime this month I'm supposed to know, one way or another, if I'm going to get on this extended medical benefits plan. It's from the Alberta Government and is similar to a company health care plan. It's different then Alberta Health care. It's set up for emergency situations and was strongly recommended in writing by my Doctor. My local PCN feels that there's no reason why I shouldn't be accepted. It even covers my wife as well. My PCN says I should get a card in the mail very soon. Maybe next week sometime. it's mostly to cover my diabetic needs but the plan covers beyond what Alberta Health care would cover. The plan covers my diabetic supplies, vision/optical, and most important right now, dental and dentures. If I get the card this week next time I see my Doctor (Monday) I'm going to ask about my dental and what we can do to get my teeth done. Pending of course when (and if) I get the card in the mail. I might some time off in the hospital until my gums heal but I'd do this about mid September. I'm sure my job will accommodate me. Getting my teeth done has been on my mind for sometime now.

Yesterday I went to Audrey's and picked up my Warhammer 40k book. "There is only war." It's a Warhammer anthology of 42 short stories published last year. I hope it sells well enough to bring out a 2nd volume sometime this year or next. 

Also on my commute I read a bit at Campus waiting for the #4 bus and then I had a bit of a wait at wem. ETS had this grey low floor bus. It's an electrical bus. Not a hybrid and apparently its wifi enabled and looks really cool. I'm going to try and see if the fellow I'm meeting with after coffee can drop me off at wem so I can get a photo and try out the new bus. This bus apparently is the only one of it's kind in all the 900+ buses in ETS's fleet of bus.   

Prior to when my colleague was living at Westmount my drive home colleague and I would take the Yellowhead and run down 50th. I mentioned to her if she would be able to pull into the Wendy's drive through on my way home as it was on the way. Then I realized as we were heading towards the Canadian tire store off 129th to Fort Road, we were not anywhere near Wendy's. I almost said to cancel because my meeting ride this afternoon can always go to "Harvey's" on 170th there. She said it was no problem. So as we went over the Manning overpass it was just off in the right side lane by Pet Smart (Sparky) and a few minutes South on 50th. I got a Double Baconator and biggie fries for my lunch and watched Smackdown. That way Anne didn't have too cook anything.

I'm out here at 8:30am. One of my colleagues from my lodge said he'd be able to pick me up this morning and said he'd be out here at 8:30am. I emailed him and called so he doesn't swing by here thinking he's going to pick me up. I called him before Anne got in and left a message for him not to pick me up as I wouldn't be attending. I feel bad I can't make it but I need the hours as well. I am however going to meet with the fellow running the meeting after. If there's no snags. He's got the address to where I work and he said he could meet with me after 1:30pm for coffee today and to give me the details as to what happened. Also, if that electric bus is there I can get off at 95th ave/156th street and snap a photo of Sandy lane. I've been wanting to do that since last Octobers fire. Anyway, that's about all for now.

My plan was to go to

Long and McQuade this afternoon but I'm not that ambitious and it's my last day off. I'll go on a Saturday afternoon, maybe on the 26th. I really want to open a account and get the Juno Di or the Yamaha mx. Not sure which one yet. 

Last night Anne went to Walmart East of us here on 137 and picked me up a new glucometer. The battery died on my last one. However the old test strips wont work with the new reader. We just picked 2 boxes. Each box is $100 but Alberta Monitoring covers my test strips, up to a point. That point is almost over, which is why we need to get the rest of the paper work my health benefits. These benefits will cover everything.

We're in for another heat wave. At the moment it's 2:30am as I write this and it's +19 out there. It's supposed to get up to +30 today and pretty much the same all week. K-days begins next weekend. The summer is just flying by. Anyway, that's all for now.

Looks like we are in for another

warm day here today and it's supposed to be warm like this all week. I like the warm weather, I just don't like all the noise from magpie birds out here to contractors working on a Sunday and screaming kids that go along with it. I miss the quietness of the West end.

Yesterday while waiting for my bus home at Clareview I had to take this shot of these two cherry trees or whatever they're called next to the green one. This was taken about 3pm yesterday. They're' all over the City this time of year:

Last night as I was about ready to settle in for the news I heard the name Tommy Ramone mentioned by the news anchor just before the broadcast. Uh-oh. Stuff like this is usually near the end of the news as filler and I didn't want to wait half an hour to confirm what I already had a hint of. I went to my iPad and learned the news the fast way: Tommy Ramone dead at 65. Talk a about a shock to the system. This brought back a flood of memories. Tommy Ramone was last of the original members of the punk rock band "The Ramones" that passed away Friday. First it was Joey Ramone that passed away of lymphatic cancer at the age of 49 in 2001. Dee-Dee Ramone died of a drug over dose in 2002 at the age of 50. Then Johnny Ramone, died of prostrate cancer at the age of 55 in 2004. While the band never gained commercial success and I never had a chance to see any of their shows or buy any of their albums, I was always aware of them. Their first self titled album only recently after 38 years went gold. They came here in Edmonton June 1983. Hearing about the death of Tommy Ramone last night was sad to say the least. I always knew he was getting up there in age. He was struggling with Bile Duct cancer and in the end he lost that battle. While I was vaguely aware of the emerging punk rock scene in the mid 1970's it was off my consciousness for the most part until while living in Calgary in January 1976-77. I recall looking for new music in a Calgary record store in the Spring of 1977. I think I was on my way out of the "Under the stairs basement suite" situation  in this Calgary home I was renting from my boss. I was doing telemarketing at that time. I recall getting my last pay cheque and shortly after that I was about to move into this transit hotel situation not far from the Cecile hotel. I stayed there before after I lost my job with Best Cleaners. I didn't have a plan after I lost the telemarketing job but I recall how I needed to get some new music. I found myself looking around in the record bins at a record store in downtown Calgary. I found The Clash and The Sex Pistols records. I saw the Ramones album and knew nothing about them at the time nor did I knew anything about The Clash or Sex Pistols. I had enough cash for 2 albums and I bought these two as a trial and the Ramones didn't look like a punk band. I remember buying the records "Lets hear what punk rock sounds like" type thing. I got home as there was nobody in the house at the time and I played the music on a low volume setting and was immediately impressed. Both albums were keepers. I wasn't into music like I am now in the 80's and 90's. When the Internet came along with Napster I renewed my interest with punk rock because it was so accessible and free. I tried Napster before it went under then Audio Galaxy and they went the way of Napster, then YouTube. I remember sometime in maybe 2003 getting off the train at Clareview after work seeing this woman with a Ramones jacket and paying it no attention at the time. Because of the Internet, I rekindled my interest in punk rock. It was unsettling to say the least to hear the death of Tommy Ramone's passing. These guys were about the same age as me and most of them died of cancer. It makes me even more aware of my struggle with diabetes having all these people die around me and last night hearing Tommy Ramone.

Ok, switching gears here Anne's out at the truck getting a few things and then we'll have our Sunday brunch. After that Anne is going to Walmart and she's going to pick me up a replacement gluclometer for my blood sugar tests then she's on the iPad face time her sister, while I'm struggling with this old laptop trying to make a beat. 

Tomorrow on my day off I'm going to cancel my Doctor's appointment as he's concerned about my blood pressure. It's been a little high as of late. I haven't been taking these blood pressure pills he gave me because my wife is on the same ones and she said they are causing her problems. So I'm reluctant to take them. I'm going to call and cancel the appointment and rebook for after my pcn next week. Tomorrow I want to go and get my go mic at LM. I'm going to call first to see if they're open first. Anyway, that's all for now.  

About 5am this morning was when I finally climbed

into bed after finishing the last few pages of "Galaxy in Flames."

Last night when I came home before getting off the bus, I could feel my blood sugar dropping. I get lightheaded. If I had eaten those sandwiches at break, I might have been fine. My glucometer readings dropped from 13.4 about 7pm to 5.8 at 9:30pm. My pharmacist wanted me to go from 24 units to a dosage of 28. Normally a vial of insulin can last me about a week dialing up to 18 dosage. Now with up to 28 dosage it's going to be interesting to see how much a vial will last at 28. The pharmacist was also suggesting yesterday that we increase the dosage even further to up to 30 or even 40! 

Looks like there's no work available for this weekend. This current project is about to wind down. We have a new project coming up within the next couple of weeks or sooner and I don't know if its days or evenings. 

My commute is overcast out there with a bit of showers here and there. At least I have a rain gear poncho. Anyway, that's about all for now.  

About 3pm today

I'm paying a visit to the lab to get some blood work done. After that (hopefully) that's it for medical stuff for awhile.

Saturday the people of Kitimat BC in a non binding plebiscite, voted against the northern Gateway pipeline. As much as I'm in favour of the project, I didn't like the route over the mountains and then through narrow waterways. There are other routes to get the oil to Asian markets, like Prince Rupert or even southern BC. The project is not dead in the water. We could also move our oil by rail to Prince Rupert as well. Lots of options.

I left a message on a employment agencies voice mail that helps people with discabilities find meaningful work. Hopefully I'll get a call this week. I like my job just that the money's no good. If I could get a permanent part time day job, I could live with that. After my lab visit this afternoon, it's off into work for my 5-9. Anyway, that's all for now.