Not just a ride, but pure CraZanity

Everyone knows that I'm quite the roller coaster fanatic. I can't think of one that I wouldn't get on at least once. But every once in awhile, a new ride comes along that isn't a coaster, but offers the same amount of thrill as one—and sometimes even more.

One of my favorite places to ride is Six Flags Magic Mountain here in Southern California. If you ever see me write something like "SFMM" in any posts, that's basically an abbreviation for the park. In spokenese, I simply call it "Magic Mountain."

Currently, the park has the world's biggest collection of roller coasters. No other park has nineteen coasters. Close, maybe, but nineteen is a record. (That includes a couple of kiddie coasters that my fat self can't squeeze into.) Rumors are that another one is due next year, but we won't know till the 2019 plans are announced later this summer. But it will be in the back of the park, going by what the 2018 park map indicates.

Meanwhile, this year's attraction is a record breaker called "CraZanity," the world's tallest pendulum ride. (I'm not a fan of the name, to be honest.) Up to forty riders will climb aboard and be swung to 170 feet above the ground, reaching speeds of more than 70 mph on the downswing. It's a three-minute ride cycle, so there's plenty of time to get...crazy.

It's no surprise that I've already "swung" on by to take this thing for a "spin." Once I got off, I took a video of an entire three-minute ride cycle. Watch the video:

Yes, crazy old me rode that thing. Only once, though. But I made if off of there in one piece and never even came close to losing my lunch. The ride is actually fairly comfortable to ride. There are some good positive and negative G forces, and some great views of the park from high up—very much welcome since the Sky Tower hasn't been open for so long. I'll definitely get on it again.

Today was media day, and tomorrow is the official opening. This park has taken thrills to new heights, quite literally. I look forward to seeing what SFMM does next.

He keeps writing about diabetes because there's so much to write

Most of us have heard plenty about the dreaded "F-word." A lot of people use it in one way or another. Some people use it rather sparingly only to express anger about something. Others use it or a form of it as an adjective, adverb, conjunction, interjection, noun, preposition, pronoun, and verb. Generally speaking, such a word is not used on Eric's Planet, though occasionally it has been known to slip out.

In my case, there's another word that gets a lot of mileage around here. Diabetes. "Oh no, not THAT word again!" [sound of three people slapping themselves upside their heads] "Is that all he ever talks about?!?!?" Yep, that's all I ever talk about.

"What do you want for dinner?" "Diabetes."

"Where do you want to go for your birthday?" "Wherever I can talk about diabetes."

"What do you want for Christmas?" "Information about diabetes and more test strips."

Yeah, those conversations took place. [laughs so hard his ears pop] The truth is that I talk about diabetes because I'm not only fighting it—and will for the rest of my life unless they find a cure—but talking about it might have the horrible consequence of educating people. Believe me, based off some of the stuff I've heard, there are a lot of people who do not understand what I need to do every. Day. Of. My. Life.

I'm not the only one. There are millions of us. We've been known to go to your house in the middle of the night and leave sugar under your pillow while you sleep.

All right, enough of the silly; let's get down to business. This particular post was inspired by what I'll call a hiccup in my blood sugar level last week. As I've told many people, a "normal" blood sugar reading is 80-120 mg/dl, that is, 80 to 120 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood. (I aim for 100 because it's right in the middle of the range.) Blood sugar levels can and do vary throughout the day even in healthy people, and there are many factors involved. I won't get into that here.

In my case, even with using insulin, my blood sugar levels were all over the place. At one point, my glucometer was not able to give me a reading, though it did give me a reason: my glucose level was over 600. That's a LOT higher than the 80-120 range I mentioned earlier. Other readings were in the 250-400 range, which is too high.

The area where I live is in the midst of a heat wave. Insulin is affected by heat. We diabetics know that insulin should be kept as cool as possible. A vial should be stored in the fridge until it's opened; then can be stored at room temperature after opening. Room temperature means, say 70°F. I abide by that and have been fine. Leaving it out in a closed up car on a hot day where it just might boil is neither a good, nor a smart idea. Out in the crazy heat, the effectiveness of the insulin can be compromised. I suspect that this may be what happened here. I opened a new vial and apparently that did the trick because I've been OK ever since.

At this writing, I see my 59th birthday just a few weeks away. Assuming that I reach the age of life expectancy for men here in the United States, that means I get to deal with this for about another 15 years. I've been at this insulin-shooting game since 2006. If I can continue keeping serious complications at bay, then I should be OK. As of now, I have none of the typical issues that many diabetics deal with. My vision is good; kidney function, great. Neuropathy? Don't know what it is. Heart is good, blood vessels leading to and from my brain, all clear. Etc., so on and so forth.

Being OK for the most part is a good thing, but I'd better not drop the ball. That could send many years of hard work straight to the cemetery.

Is there anyplace that's actually quiet anymore?

This is a post that I've been stewing on for quite some time. I wasn't sure just how to approach it. But after some thought and a little real life experience, I've been able to come up with something. Read, enjoy, throw something, laugh, cry—whatever bakes your pie.

I've explained this till I'm blue in the face, but I'm a quiet person. A really quiet person to be honest. Getting me to say much requires an act of Congress AND an act of God AND a cattle prod. I like my peace and quiet. Always have, always will.

Since I've been on Facebook, I know I've peeved a bit about music in restaurants and noise in the library. Chances are, I've been unfriended by a few people, but whatever. Some people will unfriend you because you spell your name funny or fart in the shower. Their loss, and good riddance.

However, regardless of how much we speak, how much we listen to music, how much traffic passes our house, there are times when some peace and quiet fit the bill. There was a time when you could go to the library and actually get some peace and quiet so you could get some studying done for an upcoming test. These days, our public libraries (the one where I live at least) seem to be eager to accommodate everyone, noisy or not. If people want to have conversations with their friends, that's fine, but the library could give them a room or space that muffles their conversation. Or put the internet computers into a room that shields users from noise.

These accommodations require space that the library may not have, of course, but that's all part of the initial design of the library itself. Our public library is eleven years old now. It's really a beautiful place—a two-story, Spanish styled building with lots of brick and tile. Sadly, the downstairs floor is bare tile and the sound of every footstep, tap, dropped coin, screaming baby, yelling parent, etc. bounces right off of it and echoes throughout the building. The quiet of the library is sort of lost in the translation. Making things as quiet as (I feel) they should be could be costly and may even deter people from going to the library. Nothing will change there anytime soon.

Moving on...

I've touched a bit about this on Facebook, too. Music. There's nothing bad about music unless it's a style or song that doesn't appeal to your own taste. (Don't start me on country music or hip-hop.) We all have different tastes in music, and pretty much anything else. My concern here is this: does music need to be constant? You can't go shopping, eat in a restaurant, stroll down a street, or even use a restroom (not kidding here) without there being music of some sort playing. If it's turned down to where it's in the background, then it's fine. But when you order your food and a written version of the conversation would require wearing out the exclamation point key, then there's a problem. I'm pretty strange (which everyone already knows), but I like to listen to my friends when they're speaking to me over a nice meal.

But I know people whose first question upon getting ready to have friends over, getting food ready or getting a campsite set up, is along the lines of "Where should we set up the music?" Would it really hurt to entertain ourselves with the beautiful voices of our friends and the sounds of them enjoying each other's company? If there should be a moment when no one is speaking, does there need to be something to fill in that void? I don't think so, but as I've said many times, I'm not like regular people.

I am not now nor ever have been a fan of camping. For me it's not about being out in the woods, at the beach, or high in the mountains. I do like those places, just not sleeping on the ground. Most people like to go there for the peace and quiet (that's my reason, too). But there are those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and head out as far as they can get, but can't seem to get in tune with nature unless they get their music going.

For those who actually enjoy the sounds and the peace and quiet of nature, music is honestly an intrusion. It's not necessary out there. In fact, it really isn't necessary in a restaurant, restroom, shop or store, and so forth. Unless you're in a club or some other venue where music is the main draw, kindly invest in a portable device and enjoy it yourself in the peace and chaos of your own earbuds or headphones. Let those of us who enjoy the sounds of nature, the city or country, the voices of our friends, or just plain peace and quiet be spared of your choice of entertainment. Because our love of peace and quiet is certainly not hurting you.