Carrying the Olympic Torch… with Diabetes!

Living with diabetes can be a lot to deal with every day, and some of us have joked that navigating our daily D-routines can sometimes feel like an Olympic sport in itself!  The Diabetes Olympics, one might say.

Of course, most of us don’t really have any insight into both living with diabetesand being a part of the actual Olympics. But some fellow PWDs can claim that, and not just the elite athletes striving for medals and record-breaking wins at the world championship level…

This year, at least two dozen fellow D-Community members are carrying the symbolic Olympic Torch as it makes its way to London for the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics, between July 27 and August 12!

As you may know, the Olympic Torch Relay is a ritual tradition in which the “sacred flame” marking the Olympic Games is carried by foot to the host country, transferred from one torchbearer to another. This year’s relay was a 70-day journey to the UK, where 8,000 individuals are transporting the torch through 1,018 villages, cities and towns toward London after its arrival from Greece on May 18. A search of the Torchbearer online profiles shows that 20 teens and adult PWDs are carrying the torch at some point, as well as four others with a personal or professional connection to diabetes.

Health Insurance Exchanges

Health insurance exchanges. That place on the internet where magic happens. Citizens and business owners can view, compare and purchase government designed and priced health insurance plans . . .  all with the click of a mouse.

But it appears some of the states are lagging behind in establishing this new insurance flea market. According to NCSL, only 12 states have established "The Exchange."

Health Insurance Exchanges are, for most states, new entities that will function as a marketplace for buyers of health insurance, giving them choices for health coverage. They will offer a variety of certified health plans and provide information and educational services to help consumers understand their options. The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) gives states the option to establish one or more state or regional exchanges, partner with the federal government to run the exchange, or to merge with other state exchanges. If a state chooses not to create an exchange, the federal government will set up the exchange(s) in the state. 

That last line is the key.

Why spend state money (that they don't have) if the government will do it for them?

Kind of like owning a business . . .

Life on a giant cruise ship, dealing with canceled flights, an alternate route to Machu Picchu — these are all subjects that attracted Web readers in 2011. As with last year’s version, this year’s list is topped by our annual Where to Go roundup. Other popular articles included spring weekend getaways, a different way to look at Paris and an essay on why we travel in unsettling times.

1. The 41 Places to Go in 2011
From the beaches of Mexico to the wilds of Kurdistan, the places on this year’s list take you to the end of the world and back.

2. Practical Traveler: 11 Tricks to Cutting Travel Costs in 2011
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
In a year of higher prices, there are still plenty of ways to find bargains if you know where to look.

3. A City on the Sea
By TONI SCHLESINGER
On the world’s largest cruise ship, with four pools, 22 restaurants and an ice-skating rink, the ocean can feel like an afterthought.

4. Practical Traveler: How to Fight Back When Your Flight Is Canceled
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
Flights get canceled. Passengers get bumped. But there are steps you can take to minimize the damage.

5. 10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride
By GISELA WILLIAMS
From new offerings by marquee chefs to more modest openings in out-of-the-way spots, here are 10 restaurants around the globe to keep an eye on in 2011.

6. Lost Cities, Found Anew
By MARK ADAMS
Join the crowds and take the easy way up Machu Picchu. Or follow the trail of early explorers and see a handful of rarely seen Incan masterpieces.

7. Practical Traveler: Plane Tickets — Buy Early or Wait?
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
When airfares rise, should you buy now or wait and take your chances? It depends on when and where you’re going, fare-watchers say.

8. 14 Easy Weekend Getaways
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
From New York to Portland, Ore. (and cities in between), quick trips that can have you poolside — or cliff diving — in half a day.

09. A Paris Farewell
By AMY M. THOMAS
Guidebooks divide Paris into the Left Bank and the Right Bank. But living there revealed a city split along a new axis: the edgy east and the refined west.

10. Why We Travel
By PAUL THEROUX
As the traveler’s map is redrawn, parts in unsettling and tragic ways, voices might whisper, “Stay home.” Don’t. There are opportunities to be had.