Shave & Haircut

February 11, 2023

This morning, I shaved off my scruffy beard. Then, around 2 p.m. today, our barber came to our home to give my wife and me his-and-hers haircuts. I received my usual No. 2 Buzz Cut.

I consider myself to be a Bohemian, so getting myself "cleaned up" like this was a major challenge and a bit of a disappointment. While my beard and my longer hair both suit my personality quite well, being clean shaven with shorter hair does have merit. After all, the focus of a Bohemian is more internal than external: more within the soul than upon the chin.

Today Is ...

February 11, 2023

I will be eating one (or more) mini York Peppermint Patties today.

My Role Models

My role models these days are Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, Steven Crowder, Mark Dice, Bill Burr, and Donald J. Trump. (02.10.23)

What's Going On Today?

February 10, 2023

The Beatles On Sullivan

February 9, 2023

It's the 49th Anniversary of The Beatles' first live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles' first live performance on U.S. soil. The television rating was a record-setting 45.3, meaning that 45.3 percent of households with televisions were watching. That figure reflected a total of 23,240,000 American homes. The crime rate during their performance noticeably declined.

I was almost three years old on that day. Later that summer, I would experience the Beatles movie "A Hard Day's Night" in a movie theater, which is my earliest childhood memory. (I am sure that I watched their first appearance on the Sullivan show on TV, but I don't think that I remember it.)

https://youtu.be/hNhBMqR_t7c

R.I.P. Burt Bacharach

February 9, 2023

R.I.P. Burt Bacharach

When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, I had a Burt Bacharach/Hal David songbook, so I learned and played many of their songs on my piano.

What's Doin' Today?

February 9, 2023

My bagel preference is sesame. I haven't technically eaten a bagel with lox and cream cheese in quite a while. However, I have somewhat recently eaten a bagel with lox spread which is basically the same thing.

February 9, 2023

My favorite pizza topping is pickled capers. I also like to mix-match pepperoni, eggs (baked on top), artichoke hearts, fried eggplant, Gorgonzola cheese, and the occasion anchovy. I am partial to New York-style, but I also love St. Louis-style.

February 9, 2023

Today is the day to donate to your favorite charity. Mine is "Movember," which is an annual, month-long event when men around the world grow moustaches throughout the month of November to raise awareness of and to raise funds to combat cancers that afflict men (prostate, testicular, penile); men's suicide prevention; and men's overall physical and mental health. I have participated almost every year since it was founded in Australia in 2003. Of course, anyone can donate to Movember at any time during the year. To donate, click the DONATE button below. For more information, click this link: https://us.movember.com

Monitoring My Blood Sugar

February 8, 2023

PHOTO: My new blood glucose-monitoring system is working. The main photo shows the disk affixed to my right arm. The inset shows my blood-glucose level after my first scan at 3:12 p.m. today. I'm running a little high.

My wife and I returned home around 2 p.m. today from my endocrinologist's office to replace my sensor and my monitor that tests my blood-glucose levels. The sensor that I had installed yesterday at the office wasn't working with the app on my phone.

After about seven years, I finally had an appointment yesterday afternoon with an endocrinologist who is actually an associate with the endocrinologist I saw the last time. My primary doctor was prescribing my diabetes medication, but he deemed it beneficial for me to procure medication from an endocrinologist. I currently inject a long-acting insulin into my belly twice per day and take a blood glucose-reducing pill twice per day.

My new endocrinologist wants me to continue with these two prescriptions for another 14 days, as of yesterday. However, my next appointment is in 13 days because I couldn't get the monitoring system to work until today instead of yesterday. During this time, I was to be on a system called "FreeStyle Libre 2" that monitors my blood-glucose levels 24 hours per day using an app on my cell phone and a disk with a plastic needle affixed to my upper right arm. The disk is about the size of two stacked quarters. The levels were also to be linked to a computer program at my endocrinologist's office. This is so I do not have to alternately prick my fingers once every morning to get my fasting blood-glucose levels, and I can easily monitor throughout the day.

Anyway, yesterday's new monitoring system was not working. I would scan the disk, but I just got error messages on my phone that it's not working, to try again in 10 minutes, or that I need to affix a new monitor to my arm. Two nurses, my wife, and I had difficulty setting it up in my endocrinologist's office yesterday afternoon. It seemed OK, but it wasn't working after the one-hour waiting period. The ability to scan started after my wife and I had returned home, but it just did not work after multiple tries.

So, this early afternoon, my wife and I went back to the office. I had the disk replaced on my upper right arm and was given a separate monitor that tracks my blood-glucose levels. I now have to scan the disk with the monitor every six hours instead of the app keeping a constant reading.

My eventual prescriptions will probably be the same long-acting insulin with the addition of a combination immediate-acting and fast-acting insulin, also to be injected into my belly, and maybe the discontinuation of the blood glucose-reducing pills. I used to take the two insulins without the pills when I was seeing my current primary doctor's associate. That seemed to work well for me, so I hope that I can get back to that. The pills make me nauseated.

FreeStyleLibre.us/TryItNow

Interesting Note: I have to be sure to keep my Vitamin C levels in my blood low because high levels interfere with the blood-glucose monitor and may produce incorrect readings.

Boy Scouts & Kites

Today (February 8, 2023) is National Boy Scouts Day. I was a Cub Scout when I was a young kid in the 1960s. My mom was even a den mother. Our pack (Pack 99, when I lived in Babylon, Long Island, New York) disbanded after a couple of years, and I never pursued the Boy Scouts. Also, in the 1940s, my father at age 13 was the youngest Eagle Scout in the United States.

My Unpopular Political Opinion: Girls are allowed to join the Boy Scouts, and girls/women are allowed to join boys'/men's sports teams, so trans-women (men) should be allowed to compete in women's sports. Please, no double standards. One standard is perfectly OK.

I have been a Men's Rights Activist since the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s. These days, I am mellow in this regard, but I still fight the good fight for men's rights and father's rights.

February 8, 2023

I used to occasionally fly kites at the beach when I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s. My preference was and still is the box kite.

Blood Monitor: Not Working

February 7, 2023

PHOTO: My new blood glucose-monitoring system isn't working.

After about seven years, I finally had an appointment this afternoon with an endocrinologist who is actually an associate with the endocrinologist I saw the last time. My primary doctor was prescribing my diabetes medication (an injection of a long-acting insulin in my belly twice per day and a blood glucose-reducing pill twice per day). My new endocrinologist wants me to continue with these two prescriptions for another 14 days. During that time, I was to be on a system called "FreeStyle Libre 2" that monitors my blood-glucose levels 24 hours per day using an app on my cell phone and a disk with a plastic needle affixed to my upper right arm. The disk is about the size of two stacked quarters. The levels are also linked to a computer program at my endocrinologist's office. This is so I do not have to alternately prick my fingers once every morning to get my fasting blood-glucose levels. Anyway, the new monitoring system is not working. I scan the disk, but I just get error messages on my phone that it's not working, to try again in 10 minutes, or that I need to affix a new monitor to my arm. Two nurses, my wife, and I had difficulty setting it up in my endocrinologist's office this afternoon. It is supposed to take one hour before it starts. The ability to scan started after my wife and I got home, but it just doesn't monitor my blood-glucose levels. I will call my endocrinologist's office in the morning for instructions on how to proceed. (My eventual prescriptions will probably be the same long-acting insulin with the addition of a combination immediate-acting and short-acting insulin, also to be injected into my belly, and maybe the discontinuation of the blood glucose-reducing pills. I used to take the two insulins without the pills, which seemed to work well for me.)

FreeStyleLibre.us/TryItNow

UPDATE (February 8, 2023): I'm going back to my endocrinologist's office around 1:30 p.m. today to get a new sensor applied to my right arm and a monitor to use it with instead of using the app on my phone.

Chemicals & Fettuccine

February 7, 2023

My interest in chemicals began with my chemistry set when I was a young kid in the 1960s. I studied chemistry in high school and also at university while studying pre-med subjects. My plan was to become a medical researcher or a bench chemist. I ultimately became a journalist.

However, I was able to use my knowledge of chemicals when I became an editor, writer, and eventual researcher for "Chemical Marketing Reporter," a weekly international magazine on the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry based in New York City. I worked there from 1992 to 1996. To brag a little, my articles were cited in U.S. govermental reports (EPA and USDA) and in a student's doctoral thesis.

While there, I sent a copy of our magazine to my former university chemistry teacher from the early 1980s to let him know that I was still interested in this subject and that chemistry was basically my profession life at that time. He wrote back, thanking me. He told me that a teacher usually doesn't know how far his influence on his students will go.

February 7, 2023

I sometimes like fettuccine alfredo, but, technically, it isn't Italian.

Today Is ...

February 6, 2023

Boiled Pork Chops

February 5, 2023

My wonderful wife made one of my favorite dinners: boiled (yes, boiled) pork chops. I enjoyed a couple of them with buttered green peas with Parmesan cheese. 

My paternal grandmother, whose parents were from Austria and Switzerland, often made this delicious dish when I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s. My father's sister has often made it.

What's Going On Today?

February 5, 2023

I first tasted Nutella in Austria in the early 1980s on a vacation to visit my many Austrian cousins and to go skiing in the Austrian Alps.

Wedding Anniversary Video

February 4, 2023

I created and uploaded another video onto my YouTube channel.

Our 17th Wedding Anniversary (Feb. 4, 2023)

Our 17th Wedding Anniversary, February 4, 2023

This afternoon, my wonderful wife and I, with my mother and her guy-friend, celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at our home. We enjoyed Sicilian pizza with extra cheese and half pepperoni. We then enjoyed a cassata cake, plus cannoli, éclairs, and  butter cookies.

(I have included photos of this afternoon's festivities.)

It first appeared to my wife and to me that the word "Anniversary" was spelled incorrectly on our cake, but upon further inspection, we discovered that it was absolutely spelled correctly.

Also, notice the Treble (G) Clefs on the éclairs. I play the piano and very little guitar, and my wife plays the trombone.

https://youtu.be/q-4ukvYjA1U

17th Wedding Anniversary

February 4, 2023

This afternoon, my wonderful wife and I, with my mother and her guy-friend, celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at our home. We enjoyed Sicilian pizza with extra cheese and half pepperoni. We then enjoyed a cassata cake, plus cannoli, éclairs, and Italian butter cookies.

It first appeared to my wife and to me that the word "Anniversary" was spelled incorrectly on our cake, but upon further inspection, we discovered that it was absolutely spelled correctly.

Also, notice the Treble (G) Clefs on the éclairs. I play the piano and very little guitar, and my wife plays the trombone.

My Wedding Vows

February 4, 2023 

Happy 17th Anniversary to my wonderful wife. Here are the self-penned wedding vows that I wrote (during coffee breaks at work) and then recited in front of dear friends and cherished family members in a quaint church in Delray Beach, Florida, on our wedding day on February 4, 2006. The last paragraph of my vows is the Hindu Wedding Prayer. All of these words still ring true but with more intensity today than on our wedding day.

The Other Lois & Peter

February 4, 2023

Happy 17th anniversary to my wonderful wife. Debbie and I wed on February 4, 2006. Here we are before the start of our wedding reception in Boynton Beach, Florida. We wed on the same day in a small church in nearby Delray Beach, Florida. We met for the first time for lunch at an Asian restaurant on November 10, 2000. I proposed marriage on a snowy mountaintop in western Austria on April 10, 2005.

Personal Trivia: I must admit that when the photographer snapped this photo, I was thinking that Debbie and I were much like Lois and Peter Griffin from the animated TV series "Family Guy" of which I was a huge fan at this time. So, my smile in this photo is my tribute to Peter's smile and also to the smirk that I often saw on the face of my father (1934-1997).

What's Doin' Today?

February 4, 2023

 I occasionally wear a brown Roots (brand) cap partially made of hemp that I purchased on a vacation with my wife to visit her friends and family members in Ontario.

Today Is ...

February 3, 2023

I do like carrot cake.

February 3, 2023

When I was a kid in the 1960s and early 1970s, I chewed lots of Bazooka bubble gum.

Sugar

February 2, 2023, Throwback Thursday

Musical Memory (from those foggy 1990s): I find it slightly humorous that I have diabetes, and one of my favorite rock bands is Sugar. Do NOT confuse Sugar with The Sugar Cubes, whose lead singer was Björk. Bob Mould was the lead singer / guitarist of Sugar; he also headed the band Hüsker Dü, named after the board game. I was first introduced to Sugar in 1992 by a co-worker upon the release of the group's first album (CD) "Copper Blue." I immediately fell in love with the sound of this alternative rock band, especially the song "Fortune Teller" (link below). Later in the 1990s, I attended a solo performance by Bob Mould at Roseland, the old dance hall in New York City. There were no seats, so everybody just stood there and rocked (moshed?), or just sat on the floor. He played old and new songs, including "Fortune Teller." I was in my mid-30s, surrounded by teenagers and other fans in their early 20s. It was a great concert, an absolute blast, but those in attendance made me feel ancient. I just leaned myself against a wall in the back of the room, watching the "kids" having fun and letting the music permeate my soul.

https://youtu.be/37W5OuZaODA

NO MA'AM

February 2, 2023, Throwback Thursday

On Halloween (October 31) in 2018, my wife and I visited my mother at her home. We brought her six Halloween cupcakes, two bags of ghost-shaped marshmallows, and three small bags of candy corn.

Here I am in my mom's living room. As a last-minute Halloween costume, I put on my NO MA'AM T-shirt that I purchased in the mid-1990s. I am Al Bundy from the popular TV sitcom series "Married ... with Children" (11 seasons, 259 episodes, 1987-1997). The fictitious group to which Al and his friends belong stands for the National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood, which is printed on the back of my T-shirt. As you can see, NO MA'AM and the organization's logo are printed on the front of my T-shirt. Also shown in this composite photo I created are the front and back of the T-shirt and Al Bundy wearing the shirt on an episode of the show.

I have been a Men's Rights Activist since the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s. During the 1990s, I was a card-carrying, dues-paying member of the National Organization for Men, a REAL advocacy group for men. During that time, I was also the president and only member of the Elmwood Park, New Jersey, Chapter of the Order of the Manly Men, a fictitious, humorous group. You just send a bit of money to a novelty company, and you receive a T-shirt, a coffee mug, and a certificate establishing you as the president of the chapter of the town where you live. That was just a joke (for laughs), but the National Organization for Men was 100-percent REAL.

What's Going On Today?

February 2, 2023

I do like Heavenly Hash, especially the ice cream flavor.

February 2, 2023

I do like Tater Tots, typically dipped in mayonnaise or tartar sauce, which is how I eat french fries.

Dates In February

February 1, 2023

February is filled with highs and lows for my wife and me:

4th - our wedding anniversary

4th - my wife's sister's birthday

13th - my father's sister's birthday

14th - my father's mother's birthday

14th - anniversary of my dad's death

14th - anniversary of my wife's grandfather's death

16th - anniversary of my wife's mother's death

25th - my good friend Bryan's birthday

25th - George Harrison's birthday

26th - my birthday

27th - Rainhard Fendrich's birthday

What's Doin' Today?

February 1, 2023

Get Up Day is about getting up after being knocked down. I was leveled three times last year; I am somewhat "back up" now; and I am expecting to be mostly "back up," meaning mostly recovered after one year, hopefully by June 2023.

I survived seven-hour-long, quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in March 2022, plus TWO reconstructive chest surgeries about a week apart in May 2022.

February 1, 2023

I mostly prefer dark chocolate.

February 1, 2023

I have a foggy memory of eating Baked Alaska once when I was a kid in the 1960s or 1970s.