What’s With the Blue Circle Picture on Facebook?

Some of us have changed our Facebook profile photos to a blue circle today. So what's the deal? Well, my friend The Painman tipped me off. It's World Diabetes Day. The blue circle is to bring attention to the disease and in my case it has certainly worked.

Diabetes runs in my family and has killed off several members. It was also responsible for killing my comedian friend Captain Rowdy.  Still, even with all these people around me kickin' it, I don't entirely understand it.

So, we're learning this together. From what I understand, Diabetes is caused by your body not producing enough (or sometimes not responding to) insulin.

Insulin regulates your blood sugar. If your blood sugar is not regulated, it can result in some really bad things. ranging from a stroke to blindness. That's about as simple as I can make the explanation. If you'd like, you can find out more information about the disease from the American Diabetes Association's website.

So how do you know if you have diabetes? Some of the symptoms include frequent urination, tingling in your hands and feet, being thirsty all the time, blurred vision and more.  The International Diabetes Federations has more info about the warning signs and symptoms of diabetes.

I've personally seen two great men have their body parts whittled away as a result of diabetes. We had another succumb to a heart attack in his sleep (and he was very young). In short, diabetes is nothing to fool with.

So how about rockin' the blue circle on your Facebook profile today?