Taking a cue from Kevin, M.D., here’s an “at-a-glance” roundup of my take on some news of the day:

Apparently I have been spreading a rumor that this blog has been in existence for four years. Actually, it dawned on me in the bathtub the other night that having launched in February 2005, last month would have marked the third anniversary of DiabetesMine.com. It just seems longer, I suppose, since I got the ‘betes four and a half years ago (yes, that one I’m sure of).

Back in the days of working full-time, this used to be my career motto: “Always be a troubleshooter.” That was the advice I gave all the newbies I met about any job they were taking on, whether at McDonald’s or on Wall St. Words to live by… little did I know.

I always find it fascinating to have a window into diabetes “from the other side” — i.e. what doctors and healthcare providers are doing and talking about. Something that caught my eye in the latest issue of the AADE’s journal, The Diabetes Educator: a new 10-step guide to teaching carbohydrate counting, called (oh so cleverly!) C-O-U-N-T C-A-R-B-S.

Today marks the 20th annual ADA national Diabetes Alert Day, a day set aside to spread the word about taking steps to prevent Type 2 diabetes. See this nice little article on all that, including risk factors and a quiz to help people identify early signs of metabolic syndrome.

Seven words to start off this post: My, oh my, what a tough choice (!)

When I asked if anyone had Seven Words of Wisdom specific to diabetes, ala Michael Pollan and the New York Times, I’m not sure I knew quite what to expect. Would you take it literally, offering instructions, or provide poetry? Or conjur up sarcasm? What I got was a little bit of everything. Thank you!

Hello Partners and Loved Ones of Us PWDs (People with Diabetes),

Welcome back to the Diabetic Partner Follies, a series of guest posts about the challenges of living beside someone affected by diabetes. This edition came to me in the form of a long, heartfelt email from a woman in one of the most difficult positions, I imagine — stuck between a rock and a hard place. Please read:

Sometimes you just don’t know what spikes your blood sugar. So you’ve been a “good diabetic” and gone low-carb and high protein all week long, and you’re STILL running over 180 too much of the time? Aaack!

Do you have any interest in telling the FDA what you really think about drug ads? Well, then I have a campaign for you: check out Prescription for Change. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is running this grassroots push to gather 50,000 signatures to dump on the FDA’s doorstep — calling for better reporting of drug side effects.

When you go in to your local Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS or the like, do you find racks of those colorful but flimsy little throw-away diabetes magazines staring at you? Do you ever pick them up and look through them? Well I just can’t help myself. And often times, they make me really mad.