Yes, I know about blood clots. At my age, it's not just diabetics. With mild diabetes, and excellent blood sugar numbers, it is indeed a small risk. After I turned 70, I started taking a few risks that I would have avoided a few decades back. I figure that if I croak now, it's not such a great loss.

Volcano predictions like meteorology are still a long way from exact sciences. Weren't those pictures of Kilauea erupting beautiful! It makes me want to go. My wife knows I don't like helicopters, so when the pictures came on she asked me if I would fly in a helicopter to see that and naturally I said yes. I was there right before the current eruption started and was sorry I missed it. I went back later and watched the lava flow through Kalapana. I was within 200 feet of hot lava flowing into the ocean, but I didn't feel threatened that far from the vent. I have toured the volcano observatory there and they have instruments that tell when an eruption is coming. Sometimes they know it days ahead of time and sometimes only hours. They may be surprised, but never caught off guard. The biggest danger in the park is tourists falling off cliffs.

Who in the world said, ". . having a beer is equivilent to juggling flaming chainsaws whilst blindfolded and standing in a bucket of petroleum. . .?" I thought it was funny, but I didn't say it.
Howard