Musings of a Canadian

Well now.

I’m sitting back, chilling on IRC, and someone says that Bin Laden has been killed.  I start hitting the usual news sources (The Toronto Star, CBC, CNN (on TV)).  All had preliminary reports that the White House would be announcing that Bin Laden was dead, and that more information would becoming from US President Barack Obama.

Pres. Obama said that he gave the order to go after Bin Laden in a targeted operation after receiving additional information.  This is great news for the world.  The leader of al Qaeda is dead.  But what is going to happen next?  I suspect several things will occur.

• There will now be a push to get Canadian troops out of the Middle East.
• People will want proof that Bin Laden is dead.
• And of course, someone will want to pick up where Bin Laden left off.

I agree with 2 of those things.  155 Canadian soldiers lost is 155 too many.  We need to get our men and women home.  The sooner the better.  But at the same time, we need to make sure that al Qaeda is dismantled to the max.

News stations are playing footage from that faithful day back in 2001 that the United States was attacked.  We can’t forget what caused the deaths of 3,000 people, including 24 Canadians.  The job to prevent further attacks is long from over.  But this is a huge step in that direction.

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From my good friend Stephen Young…

For the second time in as many months in the same area of Whitby, a dog was attacked and killed by coyotes.

The second incident happened on April 22, around 9 p.m., when Durham Regional Police were called to a home in the Thickson Road and Burns Street area. The complainant reported his small dog, described as a maltese-poodle cross, was attacked in the unfenced yard. The owner witnessed the incident and was able to retrieve the deceased dog from a nearby hydro easement property, where the coyotes were last seen running towards.  The dog owner wasn’t physically hurt.
In March, a dog was snatched by coyotes in the Dundas Street and Nichol Avenue area.
For more information on coyotes, call the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) office at 905-713-7400, or your local animal services office.

The MNR website gives a number of safety tips regarding coyotes:

1. Do not approach them. They’re usually wary of humans, but they’re wild and should not be approached.
2. Do not feed them. It makes them less fearful of humans and habituates them to food provided by people. Plus, they may return to the area for more.
3. If you encounter a coyote, don’t turn your back on it or run from it. Back away from it while remaining calm. It’s a good idea to use whistles and personal alarm devices to frighten them if they do approach or pose a threat.
4. Secure garbage by properly storing it and maintaining garbage containers. Place trash bins inside an enclosed structure to prevent small rodents.
5. Put garbage at the curb the morning of the pickup, rather than the night before.
6. Use enclosed compost bins rather than exposed piles (NOTE:  coyotes are especially attracted to dog and cat waste, meat, milk and eggs).
7. Keep bird feeders from overflowing as coyotes like fruit, nuts and seeds. Keep pet food indoors.
8. Close off crawl spaces under porches, decks and sheds. Coyotes can use these areas to raise their young.

If you feel a coyote is posing an immediate threat or a danger to public safety, call 911

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As of Sunday, it will be one month since I have had the diagnosis as being diabetic from my GP. Over this time I’ve noticed somethings about my body, and how it responds. These will be random, and in no particular order

• Testing on my thumb isn’t too bad.
• My middle finger bleeds and bleeds and bleeds with the lancet on the 2nd out of 5 depths.  I get nothing on the lowest, with the same amount of pain
• My pinky finger stops bleeding nearly instantly
• Apple juice is the most evil thing in the world.
• Starting out, it is so damn confusing.  What should I eat?  What should I NOT eat?
• Metformin works amazingly well.  11.0mmol/L because I forgot to take it.  Pop the 500mg pill, 3 hours later, I’m at 5.0mmol/L

That’s about all I got for now.  A few short ideas that were in my head.

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Today, while driving across Hwy 401 into work this morning, my car gave notification that my windshield washer fluid was low. No worries. I was running early. I pulled off a few interchanges before the DVP so I could stop at a gas station to grab the fluid. After purchasing, I continue on my way into work, and do my 8.5 hours tethered to a desk (that is one for another day).

Before heading home, I decide that I should fill up that windshield washer fluid reservoir. I pop the hood, fill the reservoir with the 4L of fluid I bought (less what spilled due to the lack of funnel). I go to close the hood, the “safety latch” (for lack of better terms) catches, but the main latch does not. I try slamming the hood harder, no go. I go pull on the release for the hood and it is dead. No resistance until I get to it’s end of range of motion. Try it one more time, and it looks like all is good. I start driving from my work, all appears fine. Until I get to Morningside Rd & Hwy 401. I notice this “bouncing” effect on the hood. CRAP! The hood didn’t close fully. Was it just too cold for anything to be moving properly at work? Lets try it again! I eventually pull off at Brock Rd, and into a plaza where try closing the hood securely. Still won’t go, and the release feels the same as before.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. It also happened while I was on vacation to Ottawa, ON. In July. Where cold would not be an issue.

If it wasn’t for the financing that is on the vehicle, I’d be starting to look at replacing the damn thing. When I bought it, I had issues with the headliner seperating from the roof.

Stupid cars

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Recently I’ve been diagnosed as being diabetic. There seems to be some sort of hurdle to try and get treatment for the condition. A timeline to see what has been going on…

6 Jan 2011 – Seen by doctor for MTO (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario) medical so I can start working to getting my AZ license (drive 18-wheelers). During this basic medical, I am asked to provide a urine sample. They have some sort of chemistry dipstick that they stick in there, and it comes back positive for sugar in the urine. He promptly sends me off for blood work.

12 Jan 2011 – I get the call saying the blood work is back. Fasting glucose is 8.5, 2hr post meal is 10.something. HbA1C is also high, no number given. Diagnosis: Diabetes. No type is mentioned. Next steps is for me to locate a full time General Practitioner (GP), and he is referring me to the local diabetes clinic, I should hear back in a week.

18 Jan 2011 – Locate GP that is accepting new patients, and apointment set up for 20 Jan

19 Jan 2011 – Still no call from the diabetes clinic. I contact the office of the diagnosing physician; they will follow up with the clinic. Also have them fax over copy of reports to GP.

20 Jan 2011 – Meet new GP. Review medical history, all the standard stuff for new physician relationship. He reviews reports from the diagnosing physician, and still sends me on for blood work and urine sample. Next steps will be taken from there.

Trough all of this, no one has stated what I need to be doing, beyond changing eating habits. No one has offered prescription for a glucose meter, test strips, anything to monitor whats going on with this condition.

Should I go out and purchase a meter myself at this point and start testing, at least in the AM? (My benefits company doesn’t cover meters themselves, but will cover test strips, lancets, etc, but need prescription from a doctor, and must be fulfilled by pharmacist) I am looking to get the Bayer Contour USB. I know one local pharmacy has it.

Am I wrong to feel this frustration? Anything else I should be doing?

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Wow. Never again will that happen.

At time of writing, I am in Quebec City, PQ, and I’ve just gotten back to my hotel room from seeing Apocalyptica and Rammstein.

As you read what I have to say, please keep in mind that I also just spent time out in Alberta. Calgary to be exact. I decided to head out to Banff from where I was staying, and check it out. I felt more at peace… more at home, than I do in my own home in Oshawa. I was invited to join a friend here in Quebec for this concert that I thought would be interesting. I was so incredibly wrong. I guess though that this is because of my country music up bringing.

To me, both bands were nothing but noise. Apocalyptica was worse. To me, it sounded like people screwing around with chellos, trying to sound metal. But no. They just made noise. Rammstein sounded like some dude grunting into a microphone, with absolutly nothing sounding intelegable.

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Last night I flew from Toronto Pearson Int’l Airport, to Calgary. This is part of the summer vacation that I have planned, in hopes to get away from it all for a while.

The plan is to be out here for the week, until 15 July, then fly back to Toronto to start a road trip to Quebec City and back.

I decided to take this trip when I got my statement from my Employee Share Accumulation Plan (ESAP) from work. Said I had like $1000. I contacted friends out here in Calgary with this awesome plan of coming out here for a week, then we all jump the same flight back to Toronto to do whatever. The opposite order was also a possibilty.

The flight in was pretty uneventful. Airline coffee is kinda blah. But its free. Take off was a rush. There was no line up and wait. We stopped just briefly at the edge of the runway, most likely to get permission to take off. We then started moving slowly, made the 90 degree turn on to Runway 06L for the east bound departure, only to turn north, and eventually west. It is a weird feeling being on the inside of that 20 degree banked turn. It almost feels like the pilots have stood the plane up on its wings for the turn.

Flying out of Toronto, I never realized how beautiful the city was. I was disappointed though that I didn’t get to see the Northern Lights from above, or at level with them. Maybe I’ll have to take this trip in the winter and see what happens.

Landing was quite the experiance. I never really felt the deceleration of the plane until we planted on the runway. Oh boy do those Boeing 737-800s ever shudder when the breaks are applied and reverse thrust is applied. Scarriest thing I’ve felt in a long long long while.

For those that care, I will be posting occasional updates on twitter. I can be found there at www.twitter.com/tony_imboden. Here is looking to a good time.

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