The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says 2/3 of people with diabetes "miss some or all critically important exams."Only a third of the 16.5 million Americans who reported that they had diabetes had all three exams done that are considered critical for managing their disease and preventing complications in 2007," the agency says.The federal agency studied how often people with diabetes had a health provider ctheck their blood sugar, eyes and feet.Significantly, insured adults 18 to 64 "were twice as likely as adults who were uninsured to have all three ...

Just a quick post for today. It's been a quiet, but beautiful day. I'll take this weather for mid-November, any day. Gotta love it. This morning I ran down to the Y, lifted (it'd been 10 days) and swam for an hour and then ran home. My legs were tired after 16 miles yesterday. I'm not sure what my legs have in them for tomorrow. We'll see. It's only 7 weeks until my next marathon --- Zoom!Yah!Yah! and I'll need to get in a couple of 20-milers between now and then.I, and the River Runners, got a mention by Tom O'Leary in the Byron Team R.E.D. blog!! Whoo hoo! They're a fun group.I had lunch with Mike ...

G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company, took a few minutes to speak with me today (Friday November 20, 2009), despite about 100 Minnesota biotech entrepreneurs who each probably would have loved the same opportunity (and many got it).   [Steve Burrill (at the podium) speaks to about 100 biotech entrepreneurs in Golden Valley, Minnesota.  Please click to enlarge.  Copyright.]Burrill is the venture capitalist funding the $1 billion Elk Run biotech project in Pine Island, Minnesota.  I asked him if he's worried about a recent wrinkle in the ...

The National Institutes of Health is studying whether counseling in addition to rapid HIV testing results in better patient outcomes for those who test negative than rapid HIV testing alone.  A $12.3 million grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act "will provide the scientific evidence needed to guide decisions on the benefit of prevention counseling for those who test negative.""This year, randomized multi-center controlled trials will enroll 5,000 patients at high risk for HIV infection in nine sexually transmitted disease clinics in the ...

Read the review in the Post-Bulletin.

Free rent and a $675,000 payment from the taxpayers is not good enough for poor little rich man Zygi Wilf. From the St.Paul Pioneer Press:The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission unanimously passed a proposal today to offer the Minnesota Vikings cost reductions if the team agrees to a two-year lease extension through the 2013 season. The commission would not collect rent from the Vikings and would give back $675,000 if the team agrees not to sell the team without the commission's consent or move the team outside of Minnesota. Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf had sent a scathing ...

I fished below the Red Wing Dam for a story for next week's outdoors column. About a dozen boats, everyone catching fish, but mostly little sauger. I got a 19-inch walleye and Wayne Odell of Rochester, who I was with, caught a fish of a lifetime. You'll have to read about it next week, but the fish had a really long snout.Also, Hooch Hanson of Rochester (he's the guy with the wild mustache at Gander Mountain) said he caught a 29-inch and four-pound walleye on the back channel early. But that was all, as if that wasn't enough. He fished with a Sonar below the dam after that and caught a lot of fish, just like ...

I came across this on the Web today. It's a neat site with all kinds of walleye-fishing terms defined.Take a look: http://www.walleyestrike.com/glossary-of-walleye-fishing-terms-and-slang/

Jacky Dong is extending the reach of his Chinese food beyond Rochester with a planned opening of a third restaurant. Dong, who with his family owns Hunan Garden and Kingdom Buffet in Rochester, is gearing up to open New Hunan...

Sure there is shopping to do; ingredients to purchase and fresh flowers to order.  There is also a sorely-needed house cleaning to take care of.  However, I was speaking more about thinking WHY we should be thankful or grateful.   For me, when times are hard, it is almost easier to be grateful.What do you think?  Please share.  What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?