Reading about hypoglycemia

I’ve suspected for a while now that I have hypoglycemia, a condition where the body has trouble regulating the amount of sugar in the blood. I’ve experienced most of the symptoms for as long as I can remember, but I just thought my body was just being troublesome. I won’t bore you with a lengthy explanation of how frustrating a condition like hypoglycemia can be; a quick perusal of the symptoms should give you a rough idea.

My wife and I already eat fairly healthy. We limit our intake of fatty foods, sweets, caffeine, and alcohol. We choose whole wheat breads whenever we have the option. We avoid fried foods. We try to work vegetables and fruits into our diet. We eat red meat only on rare occasions.

Still, symptoms of hypoglycemia persist in my daily life. In an effort to educate myself about the condition and create a dietary plan of action, I checked out the following four books from my local library:

I’ve only started reading Hypoglycemia: The Other Sugar Disease, but it’s been an educational read so far. I can’t vouch for the other three books yet, but I’ll try to post short summaries of each book as I read more of them.

I always thought I would just have to learn with my body’s quirks; I thought everyone got irritable and had trouble focusing or remembering if they didn’t eat often enough. Reading about hypoglycemia has been a welcome relief. Now I know that making changes to my diet can at least help reduce the severity of the symptoms. I didn’t intend for this post to be a long essay on my experiences with symptoms of hypoglycemia, so I’ll move on to the next topic.

There’s a lot of information on hypoglycemia out there–some of it conflicting–so I hope to figure out what works for me, personally, and maybe help others experiencing the same symptoms.

Customize your DS Lite or DSi with a cell phone charm or phone strap

While reading about Capcom’s upcoming Amaterasu phone strap, it struck me that most DS Lite and DSi owners in the US and Europe are probably unaware that the two small holes in the back of the DS near the cartridge slot can be used to attach cell phone charms or phone straps.

Click the thumbnail below for a full-sized photo of the back of an Onyx DS Lite with the two holes used for attaching cell phone charms and phone straps circled in red.

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Click below for a full-sized photo of my an Onyx DS Lite with maneki neko (fortune cat) cell phone charm attached:

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Very few brick and mortar stores in America sell cell phone charms or phone straps. I recommend the following stores for purchasing cell phone accessories online:

Strapya World specializes in cell phone accessories and has an extensive selection of cell phone charms and phone straps, including items based on popular anime and video game franchises like Hello Kitty, Final Fantasy, Death Note, My Neighbor Totoro, Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Sgt. Keroro.

Here are five example cell phone straps from Play-Asia:

  1. Gurren Lagann Mini Gurren Team Strap Figure: Simon with drill
  2. Gurren Lagann Mini Gurren Team Strap Figure: Simon on Gurren
  3. Gurren Lagann Mini Gurren Team Strap Figure: Little Gurren Brigade
  4. Gurren Lagann Mini Gurren Team Strap Figure: Kamina
  5. Gurren Lagann Mini Gurren Team Strap Figure: Yoko

For instructions on attaching a cell phone charm or strap to your DS Lite or DSi, click past the break.

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Flyers for Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts available online

UPDATE: Flyers have been updated to reflect the new address of the Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts Forums.

I’ve just finished uploading two flyers for the Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts.

The first flyer leaves plenty of room for artists to draw and create their own custom flyers:

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The second flyer features the dango daikazoku (Big Dango Family) from the Clannad anime series.

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I recommend using a bright highlighter to highlight important event information (i.e. “The Library Center” under “WHERE” and “Sept.14” and “Nov. 9” under “WHEN”).

For instructions on how to print the flyer from your computer, click past the break.

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Springfield Gamers Forum and Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts forums returned to original sites

phpBB3now staff have removed the Springfield Gamers Forum and Springfield Anime Enthusiasts forums without notice or explanation. For the time being, the freeforums.org forums for both groups have been re-opened until new forums without advertisements can be established:

Those looking for free forum hosting without advertising should not create a forum through phpBB3now. Your may be removed without warning and without reason.

Stay tuned to this site for further news.

UPDATE: It looks like there’s no such thing as free hosting without advertisements. Both forums are staying put for the time being.

UPDATE #2: It turns out that only forums using non-standard domain names disappeared. The Springfield Gamers Forum is still available at spfd.phpbb3now.com. Unfortunately, the new Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts Forum was lost.

Video: Okami (Wii) invulnerable enemy glitch

I encountered the following glitch while playing Okami earlier today:

I just defeated 99 enemies during the 10 rounds of the Ryoshima Coast Devil Gate and now the final Black Imp will not take any damage or attack me.

I have used several different types of attacks, including different equipment, Celestial Brush attacks, and damage scrolls. Nothing inflicts any damage on the enemy.

This is a pretty serious and annoying glitch as I just spent the last 15-20 minutes fighting enemies with the purpose of clearing this Devil Gate Trial. What’s even more frustrating is that I didn’t save immediately before the Trial. (I couldn’t imagine encountering a glitch like this.)

Source: Ryoshima Coast Devil Gate Trial glitch: Final Black Imp invulnerable in round 10

Click past the break for video footage of the glitch.

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Reminder: Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts program starts Sept. 14

The first meeting of the Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Central at The Library Center (4653 South Campbell, Springfield, Missouri 65810) in Meeting Room B.

The group is open to everyone 18 and over. (Those under 18 should check out the library’s Anime Otaku Club program for grades 6-12.) We welcome all adults interested in anime and manga, whether they’ve never watched an episode or read a chapter or they’ve been enthusiasts for many years.

For more information, stay tuned to this web site, join the Springfield Anime Enthusiasts Facebook Group, or visit the Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts Forums.