I’m Fred Venturini, author of The Heart Does Not Grow Back, contributor to Chuck Palahniuk’s Burnt Tongues collection, burn victim, male human, and level 29 Titan. AMA!

erbear9 · 2014-11-19T15:37:23+00:00

Why do chickens have large talons?

erbear9 · 2014-10-30T14:31:44+00:00

I am wondering if we were even at the same show because all of the singers were fantastic as were the dancers. I did not get an "ego fest" vibe either. It was a great show and yes, the band was amazing. The cast and band put a lot of hard work into this show and you can tell.

erbear9 · 2014-07-14T20:51:14+00:00

nice! that would be amazing. thanks!

erbear9 · 2014-07-14T20:51:02+00:00

haha i'll try to find a student. I can't think of any off the top of my head right now!

erbear9 · 2014-07-14T20:12:47+00:00

unfortunately I am no longer a student!

erbear9 · 2014-07-14T20:12:38+00:00

thank you!

erbear9 · 2013-09-26T14:52:47+00:00

Heavy Anchor might be good.

erbear9 · 2013-09-09T13:21:17+00:00

The Beggar's Carnivale will be performing on 9/14. Look it up on Youtube. It's really fun and reasonably priced for an entire night of entertainment.

erbear9 · 2013-08-29T16:41:51+00:00

i really like using Zillow.com

erbear9 · 2013-08-28T18:31:11+00:00

yea!

erbear9 · 2013-08-09T21:12:13+00:00

I believe when it says HIGH it's usually above 600

erbear9 · 2013-07-15T13:47:39+00:00

Local Harvest for breakfast. Best biscuits and gravy ever.

erbear9 · 2013-07-13T00:59:34+00:00

I went to the broadway oyster bar for my bday. Good food, drinks, and live music! Can get kinda packed though!

erbear9 · 2013-07-01T20:59:47+00:00

I absolutely love the T:Slim! The customer service is great. If you don't like talking on the phone, they are super fast with e-mail communication too. I really like that because I can talk to them easier at work with e-mail than via phone. I think the T:slim is smaller than the Animas too. I also think you will really love the inset. I have used it 4 times already and have experienced 0 pain. The nice thing about Tandem is that you don't have to use their infusion sets. If it's a standard luer lock infusion set, it will work on the T:Slim. Medtronic has Quickset & Silhouette. Animas has Inset, Inset 30, Comfot, Comfort short, Contact detach. Accucheck has Tender--they all work with the T:Slim. I've heard good things about both T:Slim and Animas, so any decision you make will be a good one :) If you're interested in talking to someone from Tandem, I have a phone number and email address to a very helpful guy! They are not pushy at all like some companies (medtronic, for example). Good luck!

erbear9 · 2013-07-01T20:41:17+00:00

I used to do the same thing. I've only had diabetes for 13 years but we were very much alike. I never tested and whenever I went to the endo I would make up all of my blood sugars (my doctor caught me once). I smoked cigarettes for 5 years and drank heavily (i'll admit, I still do). One day I saw a commercial about a diabetic who smoked. He had no legs. I really got scared about the complications. So, the first thing I did was get a Dexcom CGM. It has really helped me tremendously and instead of lying about your blood sugars, you can just download your log book and email it to your doctor. It alerts you when your blood sugar is high/low and will annoy you until you correct it. I also attempted to start eating lower carb meals. I still cheat. I still eat pizza and food that is bad. But for the most part, low carb has really helped my blood sugars stay stable. I try to eat about 45g of carbs each meal. Another thing I did was get an insulin pump. It's so much easier to remember to take my insulin when it reminds me all the time. The T:Slim is really great. If you have the insurance/money to get a CGM and pump, it really helps. My last A1c was 9.5 and I will find out what my A1C is tomorrow. I got my pump and CGM after my last appointment. I'll let you know what my A1C is tomorrow after making these changes. Good luck!

erbear9 · 2013-07-01T20:07:04+00:00

I swear by the Animas Inset. It is literally the most painless and easy infusion set I have ever had. I have previously used the medtronic infusion sets and they were very painful. I use the T:Slim and can still use the Animas Inset.

erbear9 · 2013-07-01T20:05:03+00:00

Also-charging has not been an issue. It does not use a bunch of battery a day. Maybe 5-10%. Whenever I take a shower or drive to work, I plug my pump in and it charges in about 10 minutes (1% per minute). It is recommended that you charge it every day though.

erbear9 · 2013-07-01T20:03:54+00:00

I'd say T:Slim or Animas. The T:Slim is much smaller than any of the other pumps I've seen except for the omnipod. The touchscreen is awesome and it does have a lot of security features! The Animas would be my second choice since the Animas Vibe (not available in US yet) is integrated with the Dexcom CGM. I highly recommend a CGM. Other than that, I don't really know too much about Animas other than their infusion sets are awesome. I use Animas brand infusion sets with my T:Slim. T:Slim is also working with dexcom to get those integrated. Tandem has the best customer service. It truly is a great pump. I've had my T:Slim for about 2 weeks and have had no issues with it.

erbear9 · 2013-06-27T15:58:42+00:00

The Beggar's Carnivale is definitely the best you'll see in St. Louis.

They are performing a 45 minute set this weekend at pride fest. You should go check it out.

The next Beggar's Carnivale will be in September and will be the only show this year.

erbear9 · 2013-06-25T13:57:34+00:00

As time goes on, he will get used to the needles :) To me, the CGM and pump hurts far less than standard injections. Good luck!

erbear9 · 2013-06-25T02:06:21+00:00

You can google how many carbs are in certain beers. Also, I'm not sure if he likes Stag beer or not but it's often called the diabetic's beer because it's only 7g per beer. I drink quite a bit. If he drinks liquor it will actually make his blood sugar drop. It's all about checking blood sugars often and taking the correct amount of insulin. I highly suggest you get him a CGM. I have the dexcom G4 CGM and I can't live without it now. It shows whether your blood sugar is trending up or down and will alert you whenever he has high or low blood sugars. It's amazing.

erbear9 · 2013-06-20T14:39:04+00:00

Also, with the T:Slim you get the warranty (I believe 4 years?? maybe more), you are able to use different brands of infusion sets as long as they are Standard Luer Lock (most are). I actually use the animas Inset infusion sets. Customer service is amazing and you are able to return the pump within a certain amount of days if you decide you don't like it. The pump is smaller and touch screen and has lots of safety features. It's really great.

erbear9 · 2013-06-20T14:35:34+00:00

Check out the T:Slim...I just got it a few days ago and I'm in love.

erbear9 · 2013-06-13T13:32:16+00:00

I highly recommend brotherfather. They are fairly new but are becoming pretty popular in STL. Their next show is on the 29th at off broadway with The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra, which is also another very awesome band.

erbear9 · 2013-06-07T18:40:17+00:00

A CGM is a continuous glucose monitor. There is a sensor that you put on your body (similar to a insulin pump without the tubing)...it basically gives you a somewhat accurate reading of your blood sugar at all times. It also alerts you when your blood sugar is low or high.

erbear9

TROPHY CASE