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App Review: Daybook

By Reviews, Technology, ThinkingNo Comments

One of the things I wanted to do in 2025 is to keep a diary. To record my memories, moods and triggers. I decided an App might be better than one of the hundred notebooks that I have. So I decided to try the app Daybook. I have to say, I am really rather impressed. Here are some screenshots:

Daybook has got an endless list of features, making it suitable for anyone. But here are the ones that I use and like:

  • Daily notification reminders, for which you choose the time.
  • Post Tags.
  • Attaching photos to posts.
  • Use both on the App on my phone and web browser.
  • Mood Check-In.
  • Security features: Pin lock, password and biometrics used to secure your data.
  • Calendar to see how often I’m making entries.
  • Data graphs to track my progress with mood, etc.

I love this app. I have been using it for a few months and more often or not I complete a daily diary and mood check-in. It has so much potential and so many different uses for different users.

To balance this here are the annoying or frustrating aspects of the App:

  • It would be great if I could write my To Do Lists on there and tick items off as I complete them. Instead I continue to use the Notes app to do this.
  • Tags not allowing capital letters and Android App defaultly wanting to put the first character in caps. Means you have to press the first letter twice, very annoying. I have been in touch with the developer about this and they assure me that the next version of the app will be fixed, but they did not give a timescale for this.
  • No ability to attach short videos to your posts.
  • No ability to add links into posts. Or save webpages.
  • The price is expensive at £3.49 per month for a premium subscription. This means I probably will switch to a cheaper app in the long term.
  • No mention of if diary entries are encrypted, I hope to goodness that they are.

Write soon,

Antony

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Monday 3 March 2025

6 Months In: Medtronic Pump Failure

By Health, Technology, ThinkingNo Comments

I’m still in shock.

After 6 months of using the Medtronic insulin pump and it having a massive positive impact on my health via its SmartGuard feature, it has broken. The pistol/motor stopped working.

I want to start this post by saying thank you to Medtronic who have been amazing at organising an immediate replacement. They answered my call in the early hours of Sunday morning and got a new pump out to me within 48 hours.

The Medtronic MiniMed insulin pump flashed an Error 37 and at one point an Error 38. Both of these according to Google are motor errors.

I had to switch back to multiple daily injections, but my blood sugars were instantly less well controlled. Giving me several incidents of hyperglycemia in the 48 hours and a lot less time in range. I didn’t realise how reliant I had become on the pump at keeping my blood sugars in normal range. I can only hope that this short period doesn’t affect my Hba1C test results going forward as this could impact on my ability to have surgery to fix the hole in the roof of my mouth.

It has made me super thankful for my pump and the alarms when things go wrong or might be going wrong. I’m hoping this pump doesn’t do the same thing in six months. I will keep you updated.

Do you have a Medtronic MiniMed pump? Ever had any problems with it? Where did you go for help and support around it? Let me know in the comments below.

Write soon,

Antony

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Tuesday 25 February 2025

Inequality: Making Society as a Whole Poorer

By ThinkingNo Comments

This is the definition of inequality according the Cambridge Dictionary:

Inequality is a global issue, but is particularly prevalent in the UK. The top 1% of the wealthy own more wealth than ever before.

There’s some data to suggest that even during COVID their wealth increased four fold. When I’m writing about wealthy people, I’m talking about people with assets or income worth multiple millions or billions of pounds.

As the wealthy become even more so, driven by greed, the poor and middle income earns get poorer. I mean how many more mansions, private jets and luxury yachts do wealthy people need?

The only way to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor in a capitalist society is to:

  • Make it impossible for wealthy people to hide their assets globally.
  • Tax the wealthy based on their assets and income.
  • Make sure there are no legislative loop holes that allows wealthy people to avoid their taxes.

The problem with reducing inequality, is that it can only be done by Governments. Governments both in the UK and internationally are run by the wealthy, seemingly for the wealthy.

Unchecked inequality inevitably leads to wealthy people owning everything and the poor owning nothing. Think of it as being like a game of Monopoly, eventually a few wealthy people horde all the money, at great cost to the everyone else who become poor.

So what can we do about it? Not much, unless we are in a position of power.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Saturday 11 January 2025

Comedian Miranda Hart Finds Love & Marries, Aged 51

By Love & Relationships, ThinkingNo Comments

Comedian Miranda Hart has recently revealed that she has found true love and married her partner at 51 years old. Miranda described her new husband as her best friend in a recent interview I saw.

Go Miranda! I couldn’t be happier for her.

Finding love is hard. It feels harder now, even though we have an abundance of Apps to help us to connect romantically with others.

I’ve been joking with people recently, saying that my insulin pump, which I have named Ivan is probably going to be the last man that I ever sleep with. But we all want love off a special someone don’t we?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why I am reluctant put myself out there. To date or to even think about getting into a relationship with anyone. I’ve had a couple of revelations about how I operate when dating or in a relationship with a man. I’ve realised that when I’m seeing someone, I expect the man to do one of two things:

  1. Leave me for someone else, usually so they can give it a go with an ex. OR
  2. To start to drink heavily, at best ignoring me, at worst becoming abusive in some way.

Let’s put it bluntly: I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Emotionally, I don’t feel I am enough to make someone happy. Which is ridiculous because I have a lot to offer someone special. I’m a nice guy, positive, occasionally funny and on some rare occasions can be magnificent.

But I know where this feeling of inadequacy comes from. It comes from my teenage years. In the relationships I had and saw around me.

In psychanalytic circles, there’s something about if you want something different from your relationships (not just romantic ones), then you need to change your dance. The first step to changing any thoughts, feelings or behaviours is to know what your dance is and where it comes from.

So I know my dance and where it comes from. To change it though, I would need to date someone again. I’ll be honest, I’d given up on this area of my life.

But Miranda’s story has made me feel that perhaps, just perhaps, there’s hope for me yet.

Miranda has a new book that has just been released, titled I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You, which is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Write soon,

Antony

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Sunday 13 October 2024
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