Your Helmet Won’t Stop A Speeding Car…

I grew up during as time when the wearing of bicycle helmets wasn’t really a thing. And how could it be? I couldn’t wear a helmet while wearing earphones to my walkman, now could I? This was long before the advent of earbuds but honestly, as long as I was wearing a ball cap to protect my scalp from the sun and I was home before dark, my parents never imposed the wearing of a bike helmet. These days? Depending on the community you live in, the requirement of a bike helmet may be law. But there isn’t a day where I don’t see multiple people cycling in heavy traffic areas without a helmet.

It is what it is. Some people are more apt to follow rules and best practices than others. But the curious thing is, what purpose does a bike helmet serve? If you’re a young child and you happen to topple sideways on your bike, a helmet may save your skull from cracking on the edge of a sidewalk; no question. But whether you’re a child or an adult, you’re helmet won’t save you from any significant incident, such as getting struck by a moving car. This makes one wonder why it’s considered so necessary on most cases. And this post is about all of those little “rules,” not just bicycle helmets.

The reason behind certain rules and regulations isn’t always clear. And more often than not, it can seem unnecessary and perhaps even excessive. Especially if you find yourself on the receiving end of a penalty in relation to any of it. One good example is last week, when I was issued a traffic ticket for performing an “illegal” turn. I won’t get into the specifics of the ticket, other than to say that I definitely performed the alleged action, and the section of legislation does render it unlawful. So I really can’t argue the traffic ticket. But I couldn’t help but feel that I had done nothing wrong or unsafe and that being issued a ticket because of it was rather ridiculous.

The point behind today’s particular rant, is that even though it seemed perfectly safe and acceptable to me, doesn’t mean that it would be to everyone. In most cases, an incident likely occurred that led to that action becoming unlawful. By that logic, it becomes important for people to observe those laws and abide by them. Not only for their own safety, but the safety of others. At the risk of opening my comments section up to a plethora of argumentative points of view, this concept applies to a lot of rules, regulations and laws that are being enacted in response to the current state of the world. Some of them may seem unfair or excessive, but they all have the aim to protect and safeguard the population as a whole.

Most people can’t discern the difference between their “rights” and doing “what’s right.” The two often don’t go hand-in-hand and don’t always apply to one another. And sometimes, we need to abide by certain rules in order for society to continue to function normally. This is the cost of living in a modern society where we live in mass gathering of populated towns and cities. I’m quite certain that if a vehicle clips me while I’m out cycling, my helmet likely won’t do a damn thing to save me. Just like wearing a face mask “may” do nothing for me or the people around me. But I acknowledge two things: the first is that I can still observe my rights as a person while abiding by the rules. The second is that it costs me nothing, which tends to make peoples’ theatrics over most of these issues more than a bit ridiculous. this is why you’ll always see me do both those things, so long as it’s required of me. Food for thought… ☯️

“One More Round…”

The title is an excerpt from Rocky V, where the main character, tired and beaten down by a younger opponent, stands up one more time and asks him for “one more round.” Widely panned by audiences and critics alike, I never really understood all the hate Rocky V received and in some cases, still receives. While I agree that it wasn’t the greatest out of the series of movies, it still had a reasonable storyline and some decent fight scenes. What struck the biggest chord for me in watching this movie, was how Rocky and his family basically came full circle; having gained riches through being a world boxing heavyweight champion to losing everything and moving back to the rough streets of Philadelphia where he got his beginnings. It’s an important life lesson and certainly one that wasn’t lost on me in my youth.

What’s even more extreme, is Rocky Balboa, a stand-alone movie released in 2006 that sees an aged Rocky living a life without his beloved Adrian and running a small bistro. Because of the rising unpopularity of the current reigning champ, an exhibition fight is set up between the champ and Rocky himself, bringing him out of retirement for one final foray in the ring. What’s a bit difficult in watching this movie is recognizing an aged Rocky, in his 60’s, going to town training like he did in the original Rocky movies. For old dogs like myself, it’s reminiscent of the old training montages you’d see in the original Rocky films; solid training music, working out, sweating, putting in a maximum effort to put on the best show for the crowd. It’s definitely motivational albeit a tad unrealistic. It reminds me of the recent fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Although the fight in Rocky Balboa showed significantly more substance and heart than the Tyson vs. Paul fight did.

The point to all of this and where I’m going with this post, is that much like the alpha lion stepping back from the pride so a new alpha can take the lead, there comes a time when one begins to realize that the fight is over. That the long hours of hard training and combining martial arts into one’s daily routines for maximum training and efficiency have started to pass. And eventually, one needs to recognize that there can’t always be “just one more fight.” Eventually, one needs to recognize that the last fight really was just that; the last. That’s probably the biggest and most difficult obstacle for a martial artist to face; realizing that one’s karate journey isn’t at an end but needs to significantly change to accommodate the needs of the practitioner. This recognition doesn’t come easily and is often only learned through hardship and injury.

My experience came rather painfully and roughly about three years ago. Granted, at the time, I weighed nearly 30 pounds more than I do now, and my gut definitely played a role in my speed and ability to execute techniques. I had joined a local karate dojo in the hopes of training in the dojo environment and connect with some like-minded practitioners. And with this particular dojo, I found just that. It’s without a doubt the only dojo that I found that managed to show as much interest in my style as I had in theirs. I was treated like a student as opposed to an invitee, and the instructors had as many questions for me as I had for them. It was almost symbiotic, from the karate standpoint, and I grew to enjoy training. But i did notice that it was difficult for me to keep up. Given that we were at the tail end of the COVID pandemic, it was also very difficult to breathe, since all the practitioners were required to wear face masks WHILE training. But I was getting a strong sweat going, working out and learning some new forms. I was in glory. Until I wasn’t.

I definitely started to notice that recovery time took a lot longer. I was tired and slept more during my down time and I started having difficulty finding the motivation to attend the dojo. I kept going, because I’ve been trained never to quit or give up. But I’d be lying if I said things got EASIER, the way they usually would or should. Rather, they started to get harder and more exhausting. As a result, I allowed my anger at the situation to fuel my motivation and keep pushing me harder. The penultimate event that changed my way of thinking came on a Sunday, of all things, on a day when we usually didn’t have classes. We had a weekend seminar, with several high-ranking instructors visiting the dojo to put on the seminar and provide instruction. Starting on the Saturday, it was a wonderful event. Everyone worked out hard, broke a solid sweat and enjoyed themselves. On the Sunday, we started the morning out with another workout and some instruction. Then, came the sparring…

As part of an instructional exercise, the lead instructor had two students face off within a ring. They would spar until the instructor either called one of them out, or one of the two managed to land a strike, which would eliminate the one who got struck. Then, a fresh opponent jumped in. In order to understand why this activity was a bit of an issue for someone like me, you need to understand my mindset. In my head, all the knowledge is still there. The techniques, training and muscle memory are all just as intact as the first year I trained in a dojo. As a result, and much like the aged dog growling in the corner, I’m often of the opinion that I can still respond and move just as fast as I used to. I would be proven quite wrong. I was called into the ring and sparred against my first opponent. Got him out. Second opponent, out. Third opponent? Fuckin’ out… I was on fire and became overconfident, feeling I still “had it” and couldn’t be topped. Then, one of my counterparts (in rank and experience) stepped into the ring next and everything went to shit.

While engaged in a rather spirited exchange back and forth, I overconfidently threw a left-hand hook punch that should have landed. However, my opponent ducked, redirected the hook punch and responded with a very well-placed uppercut punch straight into the lift side of my rib cage. An explosion of lightning burst from behind my eyes and my left side seized from immediate pain. Mercifully, the match was called and I stepped out, since the technique landed against me. I managed to maintain my composure long enough to walk to the edge of the circle and kneel on the floor. Once my body rested downward, the pain became aggravated, since the weight of my body was now adding stress to the injury. I realized at that point that something was very, very wrong. A doctor’s visit and some x-rays later, and I had three fractured ribs. I was on pain killers for quite some time after that.

The experience taught me several important lessons for the future. Not least of which included that the time had come for me to start slowing down and recognizing that fighting someone the same way I did twenty years ago wasn’t likely. And that in any fighting art, overconfidence and vanity can get you injured, or worse. It took several weeks and many pain-filled sleepless nights for the ribs to mend and the muscle wall to heal. After that, I made the conscious decision to continue my training in the privacy of my home. Part realization, part embarrassment, my karate journey has been a solitary one, ever since. This doesn’t mean I won’t still train with others. It simply means that I’m not trying to pretend I’m still a 23-year old black belt who is still in his prime. And that’s the important key to all this. I’ll never stop training. Martial arts is a life-long journey. But the way I started that journey can’t be the same way it ends. I’m getting older. My body is changing. And some of the amazing things I could do with karate decades ago are not the same things I can do now. And we all get there. Realizing is just one important aspect of the journey. An important piece of the puzzle. Food for thought… ☯️

Weapons of Opportunity

My specific style of karate has never focused much on weapons. After all, karatedo means “way of the empty hand,” not “way of the weapon.” But there’s no argument, from my perspective, that learning and gaining proficiency with some form of weapon is not only important and a valuable addition to one’s overall self-defense toolkit but has the potential to be life-saving. Generally speaking and for the most part, martial arts will focus on manufactured weapons that either provide blunt impact or a cutting edge. Prominent examples would include kali sticks or Bo staffs for the former and swords, spears and knives for the latter. There would be no measurable way to start going through all of the weaponry associated with the various styles of martial arts in one post. I’m sure they number in the thousands and that’s likely a conservative estimate. Ever hear of a weapon called the manriki-gusari? I guarantee you’ve likely seen one in comic books, movies or martial arts shows and didn’t even know that’s what it was. My point is, there are tons of weapons out there that allow for comprehensive and formal training with specific weapons.

During my formative years in karate, I began to recognize the need to have some training in something else. These days, most martial artists I speak with tend to supplement themselves with the opposite of their home style. Practicing a striking art? Maybe take some grappling or throwing, like JiuJitsu or Judo. Already engage in one of those grappling arts? Maybe supplement with some striking art, or kick boxing. It allows one to become a well-rounded practitioner who is prepared for the eventualities of the fight falling to the ground or already being there and needing to strike the opponent to end the threat. And that last part is an important takeaway; end the threat. At the end of the day and for a genuine practitioner of the art, we’ll never be the ones to start the fight. But you’d better damn well believe that we’ll be the ones who will end it. And that becomes an important detail. So, what if you have multiple opponents and you know you’ll be overwhelmed? What do you do now? Roll over and just let it happen? Accept one’s fate? Yeah, screw that noise.

In such a scenario, I would find something, anything, that would allow me to gain a martial edge over the opposition. If I weren’t already in possession of a weapon, I would find a broom stick, a pocket knife, a broken tree branch… Anything that would allow me to even the playing field against multiple opponents OR an opponent who has a weapon themselves. Ever try to defend yourself bare-handed against an armed opponent? We train for it. It’s possible. But it’s also sketch as hell and there’s no guarantee you’ll be successful. If you’re lucky and manage to defend yourself, good for you. But all it would take is one lucky shot, whether with a stick or an edged weapon, for your opponent to put you down and then you’re completely at their mercy. Not a position I’d want to be in. I prefer to be prepared. And a big part of the preparation is ensuring you have some familiarity with a weapon.

Most of the techniques in martial arts is rooted muscle memory. The concept of practicing and drilling a technique into one’s mind so completely that it can be recalled and executed by the body without thought or hesitation. This is one of the many reasons why you’ll see karateka practicing the same technique dozens and even hundreds of times before moving on to something else. If someone attacks me on the fly, my body will instinctively react, block and strike. It’s been drilled into my very soul and over the years, I’ve never really been caught completely unaware as a result. Setting aside the possibility of unwanted hyper-vigilance, this is an important approach to whatever weapons you choose to train with. The idea isn’t to get caught in a scenario where you suddenly find your fate dependent on the use of a club or stick; rather, ensuring you have familiarity with the feel, reach and possibilities of any given weapon is what will make the difference.

In the dojo, we frequently trained with knives, practicing certain blocks in order to avoid getting cut. Outside of that, we never really focused on weapons to any extreme, much as I indicated in the opening paragraph of this post. There is one notable, unspoken weapon not opportunity that I’ve trained with independently over the decades; the BELT. No, that isn’t a typo. A belt makes an effective weapon, both for blocking and in some instances, striking. Let’s start with IN the dojo. Your belt, or obi (depending on your style), can be an effective tool for blocking and diverting your opponent. Usually made of thick, durable cotton-blend materials with deep stitching, using your belt to block an opponent’s incoming attack, followed by grappling and entangling the opponent’s limbs, the karate belt is an unspoken and unhandled hero of the unarmed. And this practice can be extended to many household items that have the same functionality. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had my sons come “play” while I’m doing dishes and grappled my sons’ wrists using the dish towel. All in good fun, of course but it keeps me in practice.

Outside the dojo, one’s everyday leather belt is even more effective. Usually containing a buckle or fastener made of a metallic compound, swinging the belt and having it strike with the metallic end is not only a significant deterrent to an oncoming opponent but is also an effective enough striking tool to possibly end the threat. Able to block and deflect attacks in the same way as your karate belt, you also have option to wrap the belt around your knuckle and wrists to help protect them during hands strikes. And let’s not forget the potential for whipping. As they used to say in the old days, nothing deters a threat like a good ol’ fashion “whoopin’.” It’s kind of like snapping a wet towel. You ever get struck by the crack of a whipping belt. That shit hurts like hell. There are some styles and schools out there that focus on training and practicing belt techniques and I consider it to be one of the most underused methods of self-defense.

All and all, while this post rather feels a bit like it’s all over the place, the important takeaway here is that there’s plenty of opportunity to increase your self-defense toolkit by indulging in methods that aren’t empty-handed. Protecting oneself and others is key, and it would be a shame if one were unable to do that because they were focused and limited on only one means and one style. Yes, one should dedicate themselves to one parent style as “their” style. I’ll be a practitioner of Uechi-Ryu until the day this life ends. But one must be open to exploring and expanding. True learning can never happen by limiting oneself. So, get out there and see what you can learn. Some skills are inherently transferable. I promise you that if you train in Kendo, Kenjutsu or Iaido, you’d be able to swing a club or a stick and defend yourself just as admirably, even if the club or stick doesn’t have a cutting edge. So branch out and learn. As the old saying goes, if you’re breathing, you should still be learning. Food for thought… ☯️

A Review: The Running Man (Spoilers)

Here we are again… I’m reviewing a film I recently had the pleasure of watching with my wife. While I don’t consider myself to be a film critic in the traditional sense, I tend to review certain films that have a connection to me in some way. Either a reboot or remake of something that triggers nostalgia, or that rewrites a story that has long sat as a classic… This brings me to today’s review, although I don’t know if I would classify the original as a “classic,” per se. But I certainly remember enjoying it when it came out. I’m talking about The Running Man. The original movie, which was released in 1987, is a dystopian action film that’s based on a book written by Stephen King. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it follows the story of a wrongfully-convicted police officer who gets convicted and is offered a chance at freedom by starring in a reality show where convicts are hunted by killers. The show in question is, of course, called “The Running Man.”

The original boasted the kind of cheesy, pre-1990’s action that one would expect to see, and is slightly different from the kind of action film that’s Schwarzenegger would star in, with the likes of Commando, Predator and Raw Deal, all of which came out around the same time. But the action was sound and the kill scenes quite prominent. Although my memory is a touch hazy (considering I was 9 years old at the time and haven’t watched the film since then), I remember enjoying it and thinking it was a good movie. I remember how, at the time, my father told me I couldn’t watch it because it was too violent and not suited for my age. But once everyone was asleep and my father was alone in the living room, I may or may not have gotten up to watch with him on the a simple promise of “don’t tell your mother.” Ah, the 80’s… How I miss you…

But moving on to the modern, remade version. Released in 2025 and just recently on streaming platforms, I had the pleasure of watching this remake with my wife last weekend. Much like the original, the movie’s protagonist is named Ben Richards. No big change there. The premise still includes Ben being on a show called The Running Man and hunted by vicious and merciless hunters. This version stars Glen Powell as the main character, who appears to have significant anger issues (call back to yesterday’s post), which often gets him in trouble. Unemployed and despondent, he “volunteers” to be on The Running Man in order to win the prize money to help save his daughter, who is ill and requires treatment. The differences between the two versions is that Ben is able to travel essentially anywhere on the globe to escape, where the original was contained within the television show’s arena. The original involved convicts being hunted by killers, where the remake sees down on their luck citizens volunteering and being hunted by what has effectively become the country’s federal militant law enforcement.

The film provides some solid action scenes, some comic relief and a solid story line. I especially enjoyed seeing Michael Cera playing something other than an awkward, nerdy teenager who doesn’t get the girl. Although, being the grown anarchist still living with his mom may not be much better. But it was funny nonetheless. Throughout the film, various tactics are used by the protagonist that I don’t seeing in the previous version, such as hiding out in bunkers, using disguises and alternate identities and some cunning and planning. It’s a clear attempt at trying to modernize the concept for an age where people dissect and analyze every detail of a movie, instead of just watching it and enjoying the ride. Which is fine. Although I did indicate spoilers in this post, I won’t ruin the ending for anyone planning on watching the film but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Since I usually spend a fair bit of my time binge-watching series, a good action movie is a welcome change every once in a while. If you’re looking for some mindless action and gratuitous violence mixed in, The Running Man may just be a good weekend watch for you. ☯️

Letting The Hate Flow Through You…

Okay, maybe “hate” is a bit of s strong word but I couldn’t help to have a small play on words from Star Wars. But the focus of today’s post is negative emotion, more specifically, anger. We all get angry sometimes. The best example of anger in action is in toddlers. Think about it, when a toddler doesn’t get what they want or can’t vocalize what they need, they tend to let their internal anger grow and bubble up to the surface. As adults, we tend to identify these emotional outbursts as “tantrums” and usually do our best to stop them from occurring. Sometimes, punitive discipline, such as being relegated to one’s room or having a favorite toy away, is used as a means of not only stopping these angry outbursts but to also prevent future outbursts from happening. But is that the right approach? Just to be clear, folks, this post isn’t an attempt at telling folks how they should parent their child. In fact, with the exception of this particular example, the post will be about anger in general and not focused on children. It’s just an extremely good example.

I need to confess that I’ve probably re-written this post about three times, followed by deleting the content and starting from scratch. Why? Because anger, and really, most emotion in general, has always been a bit of a difficult concept to me. As a child, I was usually timid, withdrawn and never really displayed huge outbursts of visible emotion. During my formative years, I was what most Trekkies would consider to be a proverbial Vulcan, perhaps experiencing the emotions inside but keeping them internalized so that all you see is the creepy, unsettling calm of a young child showing you nothing that you could gauge. As I got older, I was victim of bullying all throughout my school career. While this has a measurable effect on anyone it would happen to, for me, it had the effect of encouraging my martial arts training and to begin using some of my emotion as a valuable tool for growth. Some of the after effects surrounding anger didn’t work out for me so well. By the time I had graduated high school and made my way through college, anger started to become a very real part of my reality. And I externalized it likely far more than I probably should have.

It wouldn’t be until I reached the young stage of adulthood that I would begin to embrace martial arts, not only as a fighting art and means of self-defense, but as a focusing tool to allow me to channel and move my anger in a constructive way, instead of constantly losing my shit over the smallest things. Soon after, I began studying Zen Buddhist concepts, immersing myself in meditation, breathing exercises and finding ways to center myself. You would be amazed at how simple, deep-breathing exercises and clearing one’s mind can help focus and eliminate the anger in your heart. But the combination of both the martial arts and Buddhist concepts have allowed me to work through the past couple of decades in rather stressful and dangerous circles, all the while keeping my cool and controlling my anger. It doesn’t mean I don’t experience that anger; I’ve simply found a way to channel it. I often quip that I’m not calm because I study Buddhism; I study Buddhism to ensure I maintain that calm. To the average person, there likely doesn’t appear to be a difference. To the one working through, the difference is palpable.

So, what is anger? hell, what is emotion in general? Well, on the not-so-physical front, there’s a reason why people refer to emotions as “feelings.” Because it’s something you often end up feeling. Or your emotion elicits some physiological reaction in the body. If you’re sad, you’ll begin to weep. If you’re attracted to someone and begin to develop amorous feelings, your pulse and heart rate increases, you may sweat a bit and if this happens when you’re unfortunately in your teenage years, you may experience some embarrassing visible effects, which usually happen to you right around the time the teacher calls you up to the board to solve a math problem. Such is life. But because of this, and the physiological reaction they cause, most people throughout the ages have believed that emotion comes from the heart. My 11-year old son wisely commented to his mother recently that according to him, the heart only pumps blood. It doesn’t house feelings such as love. Smart kid. I may get to retire early yet…

So, where do emotions like anger actually come from, if not the actual heart? Well, that’s a complicated question and bearing in mind that I’m not a doctor, proceed at your own risk and take what I’m writing with grain of salt. For the most part, emotion stems from a number of systems within the body working together. Starting with the amygdala, which processes everything and tells your brain what emotion you should be feeling, this is coupled with the systems in the body that release key hormones and cause the physiological responses one feels. Then, your body generally pairs that with memory to connect the feeling with the thought, which elicits whatever response you may have. Some of that is primal and genetic and can’t be avoided, such as freezing in place when one hears a hissing snake. Evolution has given us certain genetic memories of when we should feel fear. There’s a whole mess of other moving parts mixed in there but as I said, I’m not a doctor and I certainly don’t understand some of it.

I found an interesting article in Psychology Today, which was posted in September of 2024, that says “(Charles) Darwin assumed a universality of emotional expressions – that they are expressed the same way across cultures and many species. He proposed that emotions are evolutionary adaptations that have helped humans and animals survive and reproduce, and argued that certain emotional expressions are linked to particular physiological responses and behaviors. Influenced by Darwin’s assumptions about emotional expression, in the second half of the twentieth century a theory developed that postulated that there are several basic hardwired emotions arising from deep, ancient, subcortical parts of the brain and that these basic emotions are universally expressed by all humans and shared by many animal species.”

Some of this makes a lot of sense. After all, people across the world who speak different languages and live in different cultures all feel the same happiness, the same anger, the same sadness… Emotion is almost a universal language. This is why people know what a smile is, even from infancy, and use it to express happiness. But some of Darwin’s thoughts focus on the fact that emotions are hard-wired as a result of evolution. If you have ten minutes for a constructive read, click on the hyperlink above and work through the article. It has some great insights into different emotional models. I’m slowly working my way off topic here and going down a bit of a rabbit hole, since my initial intention had been to discuss anger. But it’s difficult to look at a singular emotion without recognizing some o the generalized processes that occur in all of them. So here we are. And we should get back on topic. Before I get angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry… (see what I did there).

This raises the very basic question of, is anger a bad thing? The easy, high-level answer is no. All emotion one feels is not only perfectly normal and part of who you are as a human being, but experiencing them and expressing them is not only healthy, it’s necessary. The key point is HOW you express them. That’s what can make the difference between acknowledging that the asshole in the next lane didn’t MEAN to cut you off and you should get on with your day, or following them aggressively, while honking your horn and nearly causing a collision, just so they can see you flip them off at the next red light. And no, I’m not necessarily speaking from experience. But I have had a lot of experience. And I’ve existed in various states of anger and how I’ve dealt with it. In my teens and early 20’s, I didn’t experience or feel much anger. I’m always reminded of a time when I was out to coffee with a friend. He had always had a bit of an anger issue, and we were sitting at a corner table that had windows around it. Three youngsters stood outside one of these windows and began smoking. They were laughing and occasionally looking inside at us. My friend felt they were laughing at us and felt it was his obligation to step outside and teach them respect. I felt nothing.

Not feeling anger is not necessarily a good thing. In certain circumstances, it can signal that a person is suppressing or repressing them, perhaps as a result of an earlier trauma in life or because you were raised to believe anger was bad and would be punished. That being said, those feelings often surface as something else, such as anxiety or depression. During my younger years, I never looked at myself deeply enough to understand any of that but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the importance of anger. Most people don’t take the opportunity to realize that anger can signal some very important things, like knowing that a personal boundary or belief has been crossed, that something is unfair to you or requires you to step up, emotionally. Anger is also important to help one with self-reflection; looking deep within themselves to potentially understand the source of this anger and why it was triggered. Last but not least, anger can be an incredible motivator. I’ve channeled my anger into workouts, karate sessions and as a tool to properly assert myself and re-examine situations I find myself in.

So, in closing, the important key aspect to note is to acknowledge that anger isn’t inherently a bad thing. Like most emotions on the spectrum, it’s how you process and deal with it that will make the difference. If you allow your anger to control you and drive your decisions, you can find yourself in compromising and even dangerous situations before you know it. But if you can learn to understand your anger and channel it appropriately, it can serve as an important tool that not only teaches you a few things along the way but can also be a powerful motivator for the adversity of life. The important thing is to find what works for you. Meditation and karate has been absolute life changers for me. But that may not work for someone else. After all, we’re all different people. So, the next time you get a craving for your favorite salt & vinegar chips and some wretched bastard ahead of you grabs the last bag, don’t grab them and put them through a window in rage. Instead, stop, take a deep breath and look within yourself. Don’t try to suppress your anger. Simply channel it and learn from it. You’ll be all the better for it. Food for thought… ☯️

Step Into Healthier Feet…

If you haven’t guessed, I enjoy my pun-based titles. Most posts I write will have some play on words relating to the content. Half the fun is in doing so. But anyway, yesterday I wrote on the importance of proper oral hygiene and how it relates to Diabetes. I’ve said it before and I can easily repeat now, Type-1 Diabetes has this nasty habit of affecting just about every aspect of the human body. From possible vision problems to compromised organs, it’s no wonder that people living with Type-1 Diabetes run into so many issues and complications. Tack on the fact that fluctuating blood sugars will often sap one’s energy and will, and you have an easy recipe for disaster where it relates to one’s health. And your feet are no exception. Proper foot health is a very real concern t=for someone living with Type-1 Diabetes. And today, we’re going to explore those problems. Walk with me… (see what I did there?)

Your feet are an important part of your body. Seems like a pretty obvious statement, right? After all, isn’t EVERY part of your body important? Well, that’s a matter of opinion… Just ask your tonsils or your appendix. But I digress… Your feet are essentially your means of locomotion, allowing you to walk, run, stand and if you happen to study the martial arts like me, kick, block and defend yourself. The loss of one’s feet would present fairly specific challenges that would make all around daily life a serious challenge. This is why it always makes me so sad when I hear that someone’s Type-1 Diabetes has gotten bad enough that they had to have their foot and/or feet amputated. In fact, it’s a Diabetic aspect that I’ve often seen referenced in comedy circles, right up there with quoting Wilfred Brimley. But all jokes, or attempted jokes aside, what are the issues that lead to this outcome? And what can someone with type-1 Diabetes do to properly prevent them?

According to an article posted by the Cleveland Clinic, “People with diabetes are at an increased risk of foot conditions and complications if they have diabetes-related neuropathy and/or poor circulation. Diabetes-related neuropathy happens when you experience nerve damage due to persistently high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). It most commonly affects your feet.” One of the reasons that these aspects tend to affect the feet, is also because it’s an extremity, where blood circulation will already be at its lowest. For this reason, neuropathy will set in much easier than in other areas of the body. The article goes on to indicate that these issues can be caused and snowball due to a number of different aspects, including sores or blisters that go unnoticed and are allowed to become infected. Since folks with Type-1 Diabetes have a weaker immune system, they’re at a higher risk of infection.

And the damage caused to the feet’s blood vessels can make the healing process take far longer. This increases the risk of the infection spreading into other areas of the body, leading to gangrene, which can lead to the amputation that seems to be the trademark of an uncontrolled Diabetic. Some of the prevailing conditions that can lead to foot complications include but are not limited to:

  • Cuts, ulcers, burns and blisters that don’t heal.
  • Dry, cracked skin.
  • Corns and calluses.
  • Fungal infections or ingrown toenails.
  • Hammertoes and bunions.

It can be pretty difficult for someone, especially if one is not a health care professional, to notice and identify some of the issues with one’s feet. But some of the symptoms that one should be on the look out for may include persistent sores, calluses or or blisters, bleeding without injury, infected skin or pus, foul smell, persistent aching or pain in the feet and/or ankles, swelling or skin discoloration. If you start to notice any of these issues, you may wish to consult your doctor or medical professional. Consistent symptoms may be an indicator of an issue that will require medical attention.

So, it’s fair enough o say that folks with Diabetes have this complication, but what causes it? Typically, foot issues are caused by neuropathy or poor circulation. Lessened circulation will also contribute to the difficulty in healing wounds on the feet. Uncontrolled blood sugars, like in every other scenario, take the driver’s seat in how healthy your feet will be, since consistently high blood sugars will cause nerve damage in the legs and feet, leading to consistent aching and pain, even when there’s nothing visible to be seen. Like with everything else medically-related in life, every person is different and symptoms may persist in different ways for each person. What’s important is to ensure you’re taking proper steps to care for your feet to avoid these issues.

What can you do to prevent some of these issues? Well, the preventative steps will seem somewhat obvious but you’d be surprised at how many people seem to overlook them. First and foremost, control your damn blood sugars! That should be obvious for a variety of important reasons, not only foot health. But least of all, you should be checking your feet on a daily basis. Since Diabetics may have lessened sensation in the feet, wounds and blisters may not always be felt. I sit down to put on socks and shoes every morning, and perform a cursory check of both feet to ensure I don’t have wounds that I may have incurred that I wasn’t aware of. You want to ensure that your footwear and socks fit properly, not too tightly, and are in good condition and clean. The clean part relates to your socks, which some people have a propensity for re-wearing socks for more than a day. This is a bad idea, given the potential bacteria you may be introducing into cuts or sores from extended wearing of socks. Change ‘em up on a daily basis and make sure they aren’t too tight, limiting an already limited blood flow.

Make sure your shoes fit well, are comfortable and don’t exert pressure or tightness against any areas of your feet. The insoles of your shoes should be in good condition and prevent rubbing against your feet to cause blisters. Wash your feet daily. I mean, you should be doing that regardless but keeping your feet clean and properly moisturized are important steps to maintaining proper foot health. Consistent exercise to help maintain blood flow can also be important. You should avoid ripping off calluses or corns yourself, or walking around bare-footed (as much as I love doing this). All it takes is one step on your kid’s LEGO block to cause a wound that will trigger a negative chain of foot-related events that you won’t want to deal with. Last but not least, trim your toenails properly and make sure there are no sharp edges or ingrown nails.

Diabetes Canada has a great checklist that covers a lot of this. You can access it here. A lot of what’s described above should be things that you’re doing regardless. Proper exercise, controlling blood sugars and daily cleaning and washing being among the most prominent. So, while it may seem tedious to be doing so much to maintain proper foot health, it’s really just an inclusion to what you should already be doing to stay healthy. Type-1 Diabetes is a life-long condition; one that will eventually do me in, I’m sure. But I have no intention of making it easy or going down without a fight. This is why it’s so important to maintain these bodily systems and ensure your feet are there to carry you around for the foreseeable future. Food for thought… ☯️

Put A Smile Into Your Health…

This feels like one of those posts where I should clarify that I’m not a doctor or health professional, and I base the content of my posts on personal experience and my own, independent research that I find online. So, read at your own leisure but take it for grain of salt until you can consult your own healthcare professional. There it is. Now, on with the post… For most of our lives, we’ve been told to brush our teeth. This seems like a pretty common and obvious hygiene practice, and is societally expected among other things like wearing deodorant and showering. But in the busy hustle of life, brushing one’s teeth can be one of the most easily overlooked hygiene practices, even in the western world. In looking up information for this post, which was triggered by my wife and children attending scheduled dental visits, it was difficult to find anything definitive on the origins of brushing one’s teeth. The one common theme among the varying sources I read, is that the practice is actually several thousands of years old, with people using “chew sticks,” which are twigs or branches taken from certain trees. These wooden pieces would fray once snapped, making a small, makeshift brush.

Prior to that, ancient humans ate a diet mostly consisting of plants and fruits, and this high-fiber diet would promote proper oral hygiene, eliminating the need to brush. But things have changed since then, which probably explains why I ALWAYS get that one strand of meat stuck in that same spot, every time I eat a strip loin. Bloody hell… But I digress… It wouldn’t be until the early decades of the twentieth century that the modern day toothbrush would make an appearance and daily brushing became not only the norm but the expected societal standard to make sure your breath won’t stop a clock. But some of the practices and the understanding we have behind proper oral hygiene has changed over recent decades. As a child, I was essentially told to brush my teeth three times a day; after each meal but certainly upon waking and before bed. Sometimes, because snacking is a must, brushing a fourth time happened. As a child, I had no dental issues but yet I always had the dental hygienist bitching at me to brush more or floss better. The constant nagging made it so that I developed a sincere dislike for the dentist’s office as a child.

When I was younger, the premise was simple. If you don’t brush your teeth, you’ll get cavities and lose your teeth. Full stop. That was the concern. Your breath will smell bad and your teeth will fall out. If you want to successfully eat independently for years to come, make sure you keep brushing and flossing. Pretty simple premise and makes a lot of sense. On the surface. But research over the past couple decades have peeled back the onion, or the proverbial gum line if you will, and have shown that there is a lot more inherent risk to poor oral hygiene than simply losing one’s teeth. Not only have connections been made to things like gum disease and periodontitis, but since the gums have connections to your circulatory system, there are also implications for heart and organ health, Diabetes complications and allowing increased bacterial strains entering the bloodstream and infecting you in various ways. Imagine getting a heart attack or having a stroke because you didn’t brush your teeth?

According to an article posted by the Mayo Clinic, “Like other areas of the body, the mouth is full of germs. Those germs are mostly harmless. But the mouth is the entry to the digestive tract. […] The mouth also is the entry to the organs that allow breathing, called the respiratory tracts. So sometimes germs in the mouth can lead to disease throughout the body.” SO, the bottom line is that your mouth is an open, easy access for germs and bacteria to access other areas and systems within your body. The article goes on to say, “Most often the body’s defenses and good oral care keep germs under control. Good oral care includes daily brushing and flossing. Without good oral hygiene, germs can reach levels that might lead to infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease.” This means that poor oral hygiene or not brushing your teeth enough can contribute to far, far more serious issues than simply just your teeth falling out.

What does this mean for me and my fellow Type-1 Diabetics? Well, the reality is that as a Diabetic, my body’s immune system is basically there but not doing its job, making my body’s immune system far more susceptible to infections and less capable of fighting them effectively. This means that if some of the nasty that percolates in the ol’ mouth makes its way into my system, the results can be far more dire than for the average joe. This makes proper oral hygiene and teeth brushing all the more important for me. The article does describe issues for Diabetics, as follows, “Diabetes makes the body less able to fight infection. So diabetes can put the gums at risk. Gum disease seems to happen more often and be more serious in people who have diabetes. Research shows that people who have gum disease have a harder time controlling their blood sugar levels. Regular dental care can improve diabetes control.”

Imagine your blood sugars being off because you don’t brush your teeth enough? This can be a real possibility. Although I’ve always done my best to try and stay consistent with brushing my teeth, I don’t always have time to run floss and there are busy days at work where I can admit that I don’t get to brushing for an actual day. I’ve been wondering if, over the past couple of years, this may have contributed to my bronchitis and pneumonia issues that I’ve faced, since the Mayo Clinic’s article does explain that some germs can make their way into the lungs and contribute to pneumonia and other respiratory issues. So, this may be a possibility. I can guarantee that I’ve upped my game in this area. It’s a bit difficult to rationalize losing weight, exercising, eating well and monitoring/controlling my blood sugars with a fine tooth comb to help combat the symptoms of my condition, yet something as simple as consistent oral hygiene gets ignored.

So, what is consistent oral hygiene, and how much should you be doing? The prevailing thought these days is that you should be brushing your teeth a minimum of twice a day. This is done for about two minutes each session, using a soft-bristled toothbrush to prevent irritating and damaging your gum line. During my son’s most recent dental visit, it was recommended that if you can only brush your teeth once during the day, it should be right before bed. This makes sense, as it ensures that you’re not allowing food remnants and bacteria to sit and do as they will all night while sleeping. Flossing daily, using floss or a “water flosser” is important, as there will always be food remnants between teeth that won’t be removed by brushing. I, myself, have a water pick, which is interesting and a different means of flossing one’s teeth. It apparently has the benefit of getting at more areas and cleaning between the teeth better than traditional floss, IF you can get the hang of it. While I stick to traditional floss, when I take the extra time to use the water flosser, I usually end up making a mess more than anything else.

Be sure to replace your toothbrush ever three to four months. This is, I’m certain, the one aspect people seem to overlook the most. While you should replace your toothbrush as soon as it begins to become worn or the bristles start to flare out away from the center of the brush, most people will usually hold on to a brush for far longer than they should. Keep in mind that this bad boy is being ground into the area of the mouth containing food particles and bacteria, and there’s no easy and effective way to clean one’s toothbrush. Oh sure, there are UV trays that apparently disinfect and clean toothbrushes. I don’t know how effective these are or if they actually work, but it’s likely more cost effective to just splurge on a two-dollar toothbrush every few months than paying for some gimmicky device to clean it. Avoiding things that stain your teeth, like red wine and/or tobacco products is recommended. Even though we all dislike being in the magic chair and trying to answer questions with someone’s fingers and dental tools in one’s mouth, yearly dental visits at minimum should be considered, since dental professionals will have the tools and ability to clean areas that you may not get access to, from home.

They also have the ability to help with the removal of dental plaque and provide fluoride and other treatments to help with overall oral health. Don’t forget that dentists are medical professionals and will have the ability to assess and treat potential dental conditions or gum disease, which, based on what I described above, becomes critically important. Not only to preventing all the nasty stuff like heart conditions and stroke that the article describes, but also to help with proper Diabetes and blood sugar control. And given that I’ve caught pneumonia and bronchitis for the past two years that have seen me hacking and on meds for a couple of months a shot, I’ll be paying significantly deeper attention to my proper oral hygiene. All other things aside, I plan on sticking around for decades to come. I’d like to do it with my teeth intact. Nothing sucks more than trying to eat a steak through a straw. Food for thought… ☯️

A Review of Tron: Ares (Significant Spoilers)

It’s not a big secret that not everyone is a fan of sequels. Reboots have even greater hate. This stems from people’s nostalgia. When something is considered a classic and develops a cult following, it’s pretty hard to convince them that it could have done better. Take Star Trek as a prime example. The original Star Trek series only ran for three seasons and wasn’t considered all that great when it first came out. But it returned with a vengeance in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I still remember the public backlash and opinions when, in 1987, they released Star Trek: The Next Generation to television. People felt it was an insult to the original and couldn’t reproduce the magic and wonder of TOS. But time would prove them wrong. And that happens more often than one thinks. But this brings us to the focus of today’s post: Tron.

Tron is a sci-fi/fantasy movie released in 1982. It starred Jeff Bridges in a pretty unique scenario where his character, Kevin Flynn, is a programmer who accidentally gets teleported inside of a supercomputer’s mainframe, named “the Grid.” Once inside, Flynn needs to interact and work with anthropomorphic computer programs to find a way to escape. It was considered ahead of its time, since it was one of the very first movies of its kind to use the early versions of CGI. Being a huge fan of David Warner, seeing his early portrayal of Ed Dillinger, the antagonist who also portrays the “Master Control” program within the grid. The 1980’s were a period of cinema where people could still be awed by the wonders on the screen and enjoyed film for its face value, instead of dissecting and picking apart inaccuracies and details. Needless to say, I loved it then and I frequently watch it these days as a return to my childhood. memories are important.

Nearly three decades later, Disney released Tron:Legacy, a sequel that sees the original film’s protagonist gone, and the focus is on his son, Sam Flynn. In much the same fashion, Sam gets sucked into the computer environment and faces the challenge of the grid. He faces off against CLU, a “Codified Likeness Unit” that looks just like Flynn. While escaping the gaming grid, Sam is helped by a program named Quora, who brings him to the real Flynn, portrayed in his original role by Jeff Bridges. With an energetic soundtrack by Daft Punk, the sequel provided an excellent bridge to the next generation to the world of the grid, and provided a touching story of reconnecting with one’s estranged father and finally understanding that we most often find one’s destiny on the road we least thought to travel. Following in the footsteps of his father, Sam escapes the bird but brings Quora with him into the real world, paving the way for a potential expanded cinematic universe that maybe would never come.

I felt it was a fantastic movie and it even prompted me to purchase and binge-play Tron: Evolution on Xbox 360, which released in 2010 much the same as the Tron: Legacy. I quite enjoyed the sequel, even though it only garnered semi-warm feelings among critics and audiences. I figured that besides nostalgic rewatches and binging the video games, I would be limited in exploring the grid any further. So, imagine my surprise when just last year, I read about the release of a new cinematic chapter in the story of the grid. Tron: Ares. While it didn’t take quite as long since its predecessor to reach us, I didn’t know much about the plot and didn’t partake of previews, even once they became available. Despite knowing it was coming, it flew under the radar until it hit my Disney+ account and was featured in my “Newly Added” menu. Sounded to me like a good choice for a Friday night movie watch, which we did last night.

In reading online reviews and from what I found, people seemed to dislike Tron: Ares even more than Tron: Legacy. In an almost Star Wars-esque style, this sequel sees the previous film’s main protagonist, Sam Flynn, absent from the film and Encom has a new CEO, who is seeking to complete her deceased sister’s work by bringing permanence to laser-produced grid structures into the real world. She hopes to do this in order to aid world hunger and cure disease. While she pursues altruistic goals, her main rival, Dillinger Technologies, chaired by the grandson of the original film’s Ed Dillinger, has produced the most complex and comprehensive security program ever written: Ares. Using the projector lasers we’ve seen since the original film, the security program is brought into the real world in order to help seize the “Permanence Code” from the Encom CEO. These programs can only survive in the real world for roughly 29 minutes.

Somehow, Ares begins to gain self-awareness and recognizes that his only chance to survive permanently is with the help of the Encom CEO. This causes him to change loyalties and get expulsed from the Dillinger grid, which means his next de-resolution would be his last. The film features many of the previous films’ aspects, including light cycles, flyers and the Recognizer, which is a recognized vehicle in all three films. Unlike the previous films, there’s a healthy back and forth between the real world and the grid, for both programs and for humans. The film’s main antagonist, Julian Dillinger, even escapes arrest at the end of the movie by transferring into his grid. There’s plenty of action, a great soundtrack and you haven’t quite lived until you’ve seen a light cycles slice and real-world car neatly in half. There’s a brief appearance by Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn, who helps Ares find the Permanence Code and gets him. Back to the real world, and an ever-so-brief Easter egg involving Quora.

All in all, I don’t understand the negative reviews this film has gotten but then again, I live and die on my nostalgia and appreciate the film for its connection to my past, likely more than for the film’s content itself. That being said, it’s a fun ride, and certainly worth the slightly less than 2-hour run time. As long as you’re not one of these pretentious micro-analyzing folks who pick apart every detail of a film, and just enjoy the film at its face, it’s a great film and definitely worth the watch. I would highly recommend watching the first two films, if you never have. Some insight into the original story and the background will certainly make it easier to understand the storyline. In the meantime and since there are definite aspects that speak to a potential follow-up, here’s hoping I don’t have to wait another 15 years for the next installment. ☯️

Proper Etiquette, Or False Entitlement?

It’s a clam, quiet Saturday morning. After waking up and getting dressed, you decide it might be nice to bring your child to a local coffee shop for a breakfast pastry of a muffin. You take the opportunity to avail yourself of your favorite breakfast sandwich and a dark roast coffee, intent on watching the world around you as your 6-year old enjoys a rare outing combined with a treat. You walk into the popular coffee chain and as one could expect, the place is what the kids would call “jumpin’.” Just about every table is occupied with at least one person. You begin to consider that maybe you’ll have to take your treats to go, when you spot one remaining table with no occupants. It happens to be a 5-seater with plush chairs and a round table. Your kid excitedly runs to the table and takes a seat. you take the one next to him. You settle in and begin to relax, letting the hot caffeine course through your system. Your kid does some people watching, and stares out the window at the sunny scenery of the world.

Just about then, a group of four loud, laughing individuals come walking in to the coffee shop. They appear to be happy in their entourage, smiling and seemingly enjoying their own company and environment. They order from the coffee shop staff with an almost intentional detachment., essentially ignoring the human beings serving them coffee outside of mumbling their drink order. As they receive their drinks, they scan the room for a place to sit. Their eyes fall on you and your child and they begin to walk over. You feel your sense of relaxation shatter and already know what’s coming. As they approach, the first one speaks, “Excuse me… Would mind freeing up the table? You and your kid are taking up the only space we can sit…” You casually remind this person that there are several 4-seater tables with only one occupant that they could ask, or wait until one of them departs but this is a rare weekend outing for you and your child and you won’t be moving until you’re both done. The group become indignant and begin raising their voices and making a scene, claiming you need to move for them and have no right to take up the space when they need it. You sigh heavily and look to your child, who watches you, wondering what your reaction will be…

It raises an important question, and one that you should ask yourself: What would you do in this situation? Would you cede your table to this loud, rude group? Or would you stand firm on the basis that as a paying customer, you have just as much right to the table, since you got there first? It’s a much more common occurrence than you might think. The world seems to have evolved to a place where people carry an undeserved sense of entitlement and expectations from others, instead of recognizing that the world does not revolve around them. They lack the understanding that respect, especially as it relates to strangers in the surrounding world, if very much earned from both sides. And the moment you step out of the door, the outside world owes you nothing. But people don’t seem to understand that. Modern society seems to think they can simply demand and expect, and the world will kowtow to their demands.

I’ve seen this in dozens of stories and posts where people expect others to give up certain seats on airline flights and pitch a fit when the occupants don’t comply. It’s right up there, with expressions like “the customer is always right” and “do you know who I am?” It can make it difficult to navigate the world unmolested or without being harassed, or even enjoy the word, as it sits. The scenario in the coffee shop is just one of many things that society throws at the reasonable people when all they’re trying to do is relax and enjoy their environment. Those entitled people don’t acknowledge the world around them and when they do, they only do so when they need something from them. It reminds me of a situation I ran into at the grocery store a short time ago. I was walking through the grocery store, picking up a couple of items before going home.

As I was making my way through the far back corner of the supermarket to start heading towards the front, a lady was walking along, idly thumbing on her cell phone. She appeared to have what I assumed were two sons with her; one about six or seven years old and one in his late teens. The teen son was pushing the cart. The first problem came as the lady casually cut in front of me to walk past, nearly colliding with me. I cleared my throat but she never noticed. Then, in a display of oblivious ignorance, the older son parked his cart diagonally across the aisle, effectively blocking anyone’s ability to walk through. Then, he sat there, waiting for his mother who had gone down the adjacent aisle. I coughed once. He didn’t move. Then, I said, “Excuse me?” The boy turned and saw me and said, “Oh, my bad, man…” and stepped away from the cart.

I felt my patience waning as I saw the scene play out and considered that I may be on film, perhaps for some reality show, that I wasn’t aware of. After all, how can rational people be that oblivious, right? I said, “Could you move your cart? You’re blocking the aisle, no one can get through.” The boy grabbed the cart and pulled it away. I barely got ten felt away when I was approached from behind by the mother, who had now hung up her phone and was acting as though I had just punched a puppy. Her puppy. “How dare you speak to my son that way…?” I almost laughed at her anger. I hadn’t raised my voice, I hadn’t been rude and all I did was ask him to move his cart so that people, myself included, could get through. Despite explaining this to her, she was acting like I had kicked her kid into the gutter and spat on him. She was indignant at the fact that I had the audacity to speak up or try to get by. This is also a common occurrence that I often see within the world.

Folks, life is short. Your time on this world is fleeting. And light knows that there’s enough suffering in the world. It’s important to remember not to intentionally cause more. The world owes you nothing. And the important thing is the energy you put out into the world is what will eventually come back to you. So, if all you do is live with an inflated sense of entitlement and you think the world owes you a living, you may be in for a rude awakening. No one owes you a damn thing. And respect is earned. So, if this is you, and you can relate to the scenarios outlined in this post, put your phone down, keep your eyes up and pay attention to the world around you. And focus on putting good out into the world. Important food for thought… ☯️

That’s A Wrap, 2025!

So, my last post was something fairly festive. I had just discovered that my treatments for Diabetic Macular Edema has improved significantly. When I started the whole “eye injection journey,” I was getting them to 4-week intervals. Over the course of the past ten years, in conjunction with exercise, weight loss and continued blood sugar management, my most recent appointment on December 19th was a 14-week interval. This time around, my doctor advised that my eyes were clear and pushed me up to a 16-week interval. On this next appointment, he will be re-assessing my eyes based on the interval, to decide whether I can come off the injections or whether 16 weeks may have been too much. For someone who’s been getting needles jabbed into his eyes over the past decade, this was a big deal. It gave me some augury of thought that 2026 may be a pivotal point where things will turn around. However, and as I’ve often said, life rarely cares about one’s plans.

About an hour AFTER my last post, I checked out of my hotel and made my way to my vehicle. Because of the inclement weather, I had taken our SUV, which is our usual family vehicle. I was parked in an unfamiliar area of the hotel’s parkade, and my driver’s side was flush against a concrete pillar. As I was backing out, I had my eyes aimed towards the passenger side in order to avoid the other parked cars. I cut my wheels too early and the front driver’s side corner of my vehicle “kissed” the concrete pillar. Under normal circumstances, it likely would have caused some dents, scraped some paint and maybe cracked a few parts. But given that it was -35 degrees Celsius and colder than the devil’s balls, the fiberglass fender shattered like a cheap chandelier. The front driver’s side bumper, fender and headlight were damaged. Upon initial inspection, everything was solidly fastened in place and I felt confident that the vehicle could be driven safely. I took the road towards Regina. Here’s a pic of the vehicle…

The big problem with modern vehicle is simply this; even if this potentially looks like it could be remedied by fastening everything back together, the reality is much worse. Repairs to get the vehicle back to how it was will likely cost thousands of dollars. Merry fuckin’ Christmas to me… Perfect. I travelled back to Regina, in extremes storm conditions, no less, and stopped at the appropriate dealership. They confirmed my fears, as well as the potential cost. I left the vehicle with them. Repairs are still outstanding. Then, and shortly after getting back home, I came down with a brutal cold that had me on my ass for the duration of Christmas and a few more days after that. Once I started to feel better, the element in our oven gave out and no longer works. The stove tops still function but the oven doesn’t, which means we can’t bake anything or cook anything large-scale. Not ideal for a household of four people. So, there’s that.

And then, to add icing on the cake and because I was feeling better, I brought my sons to an indoor play park with obstacles and trampolines. During a heated obstacle course race with my oldest, I bounced too hard on one of the trampolines and got thrown sideways. I landed with my left kidney against a wooden base on one of the obstacles. At the time, the wind got knocked out of me and I had assumed the pain would pass after a bit. But the following day, the ache in my back remained. Over the course of the past few days, it’s not only remained but deepened. Obviously, I don’t believe anything is broken and I don’t need medical attention. But it was certainly a wake-up call to show that I’m no spring chicken and can’t heal quite as quickly as I used to. Hopefully, after a few hot baths and some time, it’ll heal up but it’s making it quite hard to do everyday chores and even bend down to tie my shoes.

2025 has been a whirlwind of chaos. My father made it through a coma in May as a result of pulmonary issues. My mother no longer recognizes me and is now living in the same care home as my father. My last two trips home have been a negative roller-coaster and dealing with the aspects of later adult life that we all get to, eventually. But the last month has just been a few added thorns in the black roses of my life. Luckily, my children are in good health and my home life is good. As I step into 2026, I’m hoping for happier things, better things. ☯️

Making Type-1 Diabetes my B%&ch…

Anyone who’s read a number of my blog posts will know that it’s pretty clear that Type-1 Diabetes carries a number of complications that can make a person’s life a living hell. The routine stuff, for the most part, has become so routine for me over the past four and half decades that I’m ABLE to call it routine. But there’s no arguing that T1D basically affects absolutely EVERYTHING in one’s life and has an influence on everything I do, from working, sleeping, eating and even my relationships. More on that last one some other time, but the bottom line is that with the exception of organ failure or amputation, I’ve seen it all, done it all and have suffered through it all. By virtue of this, Diabetes has yet to throw something at me that I haven’t met head on and overcome. This was a solemn promise I made to myself in my early teens, when I realized I would need to take my own health in hand in order to live into adulthood.

About ten years ago, a slightly different kind of Diabetic complication landed on my plate. As a matter of routine, I had a yearly ophthalmologist appointment to clear my eyes. This was generally done at the request of the Force, to ensure my vision was clear. I had a particular doctor that I had been seeing for almost five years at this point, so I was a bit surprised when I was met with his partner in the eye clinic, instead. He explained that some patient files had been passed to him as my previous doctor was moving on to different projects. Okay, fair enough. I’ve never been a big fan of changing doctors or even changing meds, when it’s happened. In my experience, doing so almost always results in “rocking the boat,” and basically fucking up the nice, healthy balance I maintain in my life. But it would turn out that this one change would not only lead to the identification of this complication but would lead to its treatment.

During this exam, I was asked if I had noticed my vision blurring. Being a police officer in the field with Diabetes made this a difficult question to answer, given that shift work, fatigue and fluctuating blood sugars would all affect my vision. But as it turned out, I had developed a condition known as Diabetic Macular Edema. For those of you who haven’t read my previous posts, Diabetic Macular Edema is a condition where fluid begins building up behind the back of the eye, around the macula, which is what controls how your vision focuses. When this fluids builds up, it causes swelling at the back of the eye that can lead to all sorts of vision and eyesight complications. The link to a HealthLine post above will provide further context, but this condition usually occurs as the result of poorly controlled or high blood sugars, something that I had in abundance before I took my health in hand. There are a few treatments, including but not limited to laser treatments for the retinopathy aspect (which I’ve had) and injectable medications that teat the swelling, which was what was needed next.

I’m not gonna lie here, folks… I’m usually pretty good at acting like a tough guy, shuffling off scary stuff and ignoring pain. And up to that point, I have had needles in just about every area of my body. Except my fucking eyes! For what was probably the first time in my life, I was frightened of what would come next. Based on the doctor’s explanation, I needed these injections to maintain my eyesight. But I couldn’t ignore the thought of a needle sliding into a part of my body that wasn’t meant to be pierced. I mean, conceptually, NO part of the human body is “meant” to be pierced… But getting a needle in the eyes is something that up to that point, I had only seen in horror movies. One can see how this might have fed my anxiety. Setting my fears aside, I made the appointment, booked the time off work and booked my very first hotel room in the city, since my wife and I had just recently had our first child and she couldn’t join me. I would need to stay in the city overnight since I would be effectively blind, as it relates to operating a vehicle, especially after dark.

That first appointment came with a slew of stress and anxiety, which did nothing to help some of the pre-procedure tests I needed. Did you know that heart rate and stress affects your eye pressure? I sure found out. My vision was a touch below normal, even with normal blood sugars and my prescription glasses on, which prompted further confirmation that I needed this treatment. Once I was in the chair for the injections, the doctor walked me through the steps and proceeded to put eye clamps in to keep my eyesight open. Ever seen the movie “Clockwork Orange?” That messed up scene where they clamp his eyesight open and force him to watch stuff? Picture that, but without the psychological torture. The worst part is that you’re awake, your eyes can move and in fact, you NEED to move them in order to look in a specific direction to allow the doctor to inject into the white part of your eyes. All that build-up and anxiety for it all to be over in about thirty seconds. Reminds me of my teens (if you know, you know). But all jokes aside, it was painful, no question.

What followed was a blur (literally) of booking the next appointment and stumbling my way back across a public park to my hotel. I stretched out on the bed with all the lights closed and tried to nap intermittently as the freezing drops wore off and the full extent of the pain kicked in. For hours after, I could see shapes, colors and general outlines, allowing me to make my way down to the quaint, Irish pub located on the ground floor. I spent my evening there, nursing my pain with the only type of “painkiller” I had available. This had been the routine for the past decade. Now, it’s become such a routine that the sting is almost imperceptible. If it weren’t; for the loss of vision keeping me from driving, I wouldn’t even need to stay in the city afterwards. But in the beginning, i had to get the injections every four weeks and in most cases, some of the swelling had returned by that fourth week. Over time, with better controlled blood sugars (I had recently started pumping therapy around this time), consistent exercise and keeping a firm grip on the reins of my health, those periods began to stretch. Every five weeks, then six, seven and so on. With every new, longer interval, I felt a small twinge of personal victory.

My last appointment was a 14-week interval. It took a long time to get me to that point and it was the longest I’ve gone without getting the injections. Given some recent headaches and blurriness, I fully expected to go in to my appointment with the announcement that some swelling had returned and we needed to claw me back to 13 weeks. But lo and behold, my scans were completely clean. No swelling at all. My doctor opted to push me all the way to 16 weeks, which is the longest interval possible on this medication. If I can make it to 16 weeks without any swelling returning, we’ll be re-assessing my treatment and deciding if I’ll stay at 16 weeks indefinitely, or if I’ll come off the injections entirely, with scheduled follow-ups to ensure the swelling doesn’t return. Needless to say and right before the holidays, this makes for one of the best Christmas gifts I could imagine getting.

The bottom line and despite that this is good news, the point of today’s post is to illustrate that when one takes heir own health in hand, in tandem with properly trained medical practitioners, they can make a significant difference in the maintenance of one’s health and the potential outcome of certain treatments. While I fully admit that there are things that simply can’t be healed or treated, there’s a lot that can and it’s important to give yourself and your body the best fighting chance to be in good health and live a happy life. For myself, and as much as I’ve been enjoying my little Irish pub, I’ll certainly look forward to a break from traveling and being away from home overnight. And, you know, getting fuckin’ needles in my eyes… Food for thought… ☯️