Blogosphere

DANGER: DETOUR. Today I'm wandering off track. I promise not to do it too often. I'm not going to talk about the Guardian much today. I want to talk about Blogs. For those of you who need a Guardian fix you can go read my capsule review of the whole system at the Diabetes Monitor that was posted on Tuesday.

I think there must be some sort of Genetic link between writing skill and T-1 diabetes. I spend as much time as I dare reading other blogs; and the diabetes blogs are some of the best written works I’ve ever encountered. I'm going to list a few of my favorites, ones that I try to drop in on everyday (thank God they don't all post every day or I'd never get any work done at all). To make matters worse/better it seems like nearly every day I discover a new one.

Most of my on-line "friends" are people I've never met. Many I've never corresponded with by email or never talked to on the telephone. But because of their writing skill, their open souls, and their willingness to share their lives with us; I feel tremendously close to them. This in not a intended to be a comprehensive list of the fabulous blogs, more a sampling. I trust no one will feel jilted if they are not included. (But if you're not, you might drop a comment. Maybe you fell through the cracks, or maybe I haven't discovered you yet!)

My first stop every day is to see my oldest cyber friend: Amy. Amy's site, Duabetesmine is the New York Times of diabetes blogs. Her site is packed full of information. She manages to keep her antenna in the wind better than any one I know. She "scoops" almost everyone with new info. Like me she's a LADA T-1; which means she was already an adult when Big D came to stay.

Next stop, and both delightfully personal blogs, are my TalkFest buds Keri and Allison. Kerri, a.k.a. Six has a fun, fun, fun blog called sixuntilme. She also writes great poetry. Allison is a new stop for me at Lemonade Life. She was originally involved in some youth thing...memory may fail me here but I think it was Teen Talk or some such. That being the case I didn't figure anything she was talking about would interest me. My loss. I just started reading her site last week. Wonderful. We also all owe a huge debt to Allison and Keri who have teamed up together and created a “ground zero” for diabetes blogs at Diabetes OC.

To top it off they are spearheading (along with TalkFest) the First Annual Diabetes OC Blog Choice Awards. This is a cool idea and I applaud it, however I'm frankly embarrassed by how many of my blogging buddies have been soliciting votes on their blogs. Hang your heads in shame, you all know who you are...and some of you have been more blatant than others. Double shame. If your readers think you deserve an award they'll nominate you. Don't beg. It's unbecoming. OK, sorry I'm at......Click.....206 so I'm a little grumpy. And yes, the girl did alarm about ten minutes ago; but too much insulin on board to take a correction, yet.

Back to my reading list. Of course I always check on my very good friend Gina at TalkFest. I talk to her on the board almost every day, but I also check out her blog to see what's really on her mind...She's at The Talkfest Blog.

My favorite new kid on the block is Melissa at How's the DB? She's had a rough ride, but writes with humor and compassion. I also have a week spot for girls who swear. I fell in love with her when I read her second post titled simply "Crap."

I drop in on Scott at Scott's Diabetes Jouranl, who was one of my early readers (Thanks, Scott!). He doesn't post enough--hint, hint--but is a good read. Another blog I discovered 'cause she discovered me first is Sandra at A Shot in the Dark. Read her "Shooting Down" post of Dec. 5th. Be prepared to laugh and cry within a 5 minute span. She is a ultra-powerful writer. She also provides me with a perspective different from my own. She's normal people. It is her 10-year-old son who is the diabetic. Every time you fellow diabetics think you have it too rough, I invite you to step into the shoes of a diabetic parent. I thank God every day that it is me who has the D, not my little Rio. I have no idea where these wonderful people draw the strength to cope day-to-day.

I also drop in on Dr. Bill at Diabetes Monitor his blog is at Diabetes.Blog. I've been a Monitor reader since I was Dxed. There is a ton and a half of good info there, but I especially like his Diabetes News section on his splash page at Diabetes Monitor where he has little snippets of diabetes news from various sources (although this part is not really a blog).

I might as well wrap up with the other non-blog haunts I hang out at too. I also visit Diabetes in Control each week. This site is really for Doc's and Pharmacists. That being the case there are times I only understand one word in ten that I read, but there is some really interesting stuff to be learned there. The folks at Diabetes Daily are also readers of mine, and their site looks really good, but I haven't dug into it a deeply as I need to--yet.

As I close I have to salute Mednosa.com. If you need to know anything, you can find it out there. They guy also writes soooooo well....Well, you can hardly pick up any printed Diabetes magazine without finding an article by him.

So thanks for the indulgence, I'll be back on the Guardian track tomorrow....
BG now at.....click.....209....time for a correction bolus.