Octopus Overlords

I’m 40 years old, and I’m in braces. Like design student Amos Dudley, I disliked my teeth and wanted to get them fixed. Unlike Dudley, whose Internet-famous braces cost him $60 out of pocket to fabricate and took just 16 weeks from start to finish, I will have paid about 100 times as much to a credentialed orthodontist, and spent a year and a half in treatment.

But even though those numbers are tempting, experts say the DIY braces movement is a terrible idea.
...
But despite Buzzfeed’s initial headline claiming that the DIY braces were “safe,” orthodontists say otherwise. Stephen Belli, a board-certified orthodontist who has treated over 15,000 patients, cautions others about trying to replicate Dudley’s results. “I’d like to see an X-ray, because he’s probably caused some irreparable harm.” What kind of harm could this include? From the outside, his teeth look pretty good — good enough to get his success story shared across the Web.

Belli notes, “He moved these teeth in only 16 weeks. You can cause a lot of problems with that. If you move a tooth too fast, you can actually cause damage to the bone and gums. And if you don’t put the tooth in the right position, you could throw off your bite,” leading to additional damage and wear on the teeth.

Belli also says that quick, unsupervised movements of teeth like Dudley has done set the patient up for a high potential of relapse, where the tooth will move back into its previous position faster than it took to move it originally. With Dudley, this has already happened once, as he acknowledged to Buzzfeed that “he originally had braces in junior high, but neglected the upkeep,” leading to dissatisfaction with his teeth that kept him from smiling. Dudley is planning to follow up with nighttime retainers this time — also DIY'ed. But most who carry out their own orthodontic work will not have access to the expensive fabrication equipment available via Dudley's university, which he used to make cheap, custom-fit retainers to keep his newly straightened teeth in place.

While Dudley justified the risk he was taking as part of “stick[ing] it to the dental appliance industry,” he does note he denied his own “instict [sic] for self-preservation” and acknowledged that DIY orthodontics could go “horribly wrong.” (He also has a disclaimer on his blog, warning readers not to attempt “anything written here” and assuming no liability for actions taken by readers).

Archinerd wrote:

hitbyambulance wrote:i have a coworker who attempts to make jokes/puns/quips/references/etc. 95% of the time, they are bad. not in a 'groan at bad pun' bad, it's a 'pathetic/lame' bad. a 'i feel sorry for you that you even felt the need to say that' bad. -10% funny, sometimes used as a way to try to one-up someone who actually did say something funny or notable.

as of today, i have stopped pretending that i am slightly amused by these utterings. what i found out is that he tries even harder to evoke a reaction. you have to steadfastly ignore what he says until he finally shuffles off.

examples?

DIY Braces snipesnipsnipsnip

Daehawk wrote:

DIY Braces snipesnipsnipsnip

Sounds like someone is miffed that someone else saved money instead of paying them.

gbasden wrote:

Daehawk wrote:

DIY Braces snipesnipsnipsnip

Sounds like someone is miffed that someone else saved money instead of paying them.

I'm sure it's a fantastic idea. Right up there with do-it-yourself cosmetic surgery.

MonkeyFinger wrote:The Last of Us breakfast smoothie courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow. Yum. And only $200 for things like moon dust and zombie brain fungus.

LawBeefaroni wrote:Someone just sent me an email that ended with, "...and I will follow up with you shorty." I don't know whether they forgot the "l" or the comma.

dbt1949 wrote:I just saw where The Lone Ranger was on Syfy tonight.
Really Syfy? The Lone Ranger?

dbt1949 wrote: Really Syfy? The Lone Ranger?

LordMortis wrote:This is why And Justice For All was the harbinger of doom for Metallica and not Black. You could never have done something like this with Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning or Kill em All.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz1PtyYCrZQ

LordMortis wrote:For the Anti-me: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-d ... ton-2015-3

... when your 24 pack of Mac and Cheese Cups runs low, you can just One Touch Amazon Prime yourself another case...

Amazon this morning announced an expansion of its Dash Buttons product line – those Wi-Fi connected, push-button devices that let you buy products from its site with just a press. One year after the buttons went live, and apparently not the April Fool’s joke people once imagined, Amazon says it now has over 100 buttons available, and orders have increased by more than 75 percent in the last three months.

The expansion includes roughly 80 more brands joining the previous line-up, including several now in the food and drink space, as opposed to consumer packaged goods (CPG).
...
Still, those who own buttons appear to be active users – Amazon says that Dash Button orders occur, on average, more than once per minute.

Initially, the devices were used to re-order common household items, like paper towels, laundry detergent, toilet paper, trash bags, dog food, diapers, and more. But in the year since their debut, Dash Buttons have rolled out for a variety of products – including, as of today, those you wouldn’t think require the convenience of push-button ordering, like gum, or food and drink products like Red Bull and Slim Jim. (Coders, maybe?)

You can even push a button to re-order condoms, if you like.

Today, the online retailer says it has tripled the available brands available in the program, which is only available to Prime members. There are now over 100 buttons to choose from, including new brand additions such as Brawny, Charmin, Clorox, Doritos, Energizer, Gain, Honest Kids, L’Oreal Paris Revitalift, Lysol, Peet’s Coffee, Playtex, Purina, Red Bull, Seventh Generation, Slim Jim, Snuggle, Starbucks, Trojan, Vitamin Water, and others.
...

Isgrimnur wrote:

LordMortis wrote:For the Anti-me: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-d ... ton-2015-3

... when your 24 pack of Mac and Cheese Cups runs low, you can just One Touch Amazon Prime yourself another case...

Amazon Dash expands

Amazon this morning announced an expansion of its Dash Buttons product line – those Wi-Fi connected, push-button devices that let you buy products from its site with just a press. One year after the buttons went live, and apparently not the April Fool’s joke people once imagined, Amazon says it now has over 100 buttons available, and orders have increased by more than 75 percent in the last three months.

...

stessier wrote:You hang them where the product is - push the button and stuff arrives. No finding the phone, opening the app, or finding the right product.

Holman wrote:

stessier wrote:You hang them where the product is - push the button and stuff arrives. No finding the phone, opening the app, or finding the right product.

Right. But the whole point of apps is invisibility. Dangly plastic bits are like stringing wires instead of WiFi.

Amazon wrote:WHAT IS DASH BUTTON?
Amazon Dash Button is a Wi-Fi connected device that reorders your favorite product with the press of a button. Each Dash Button is paired with a product of your choice, which is selected during the set-up process. When you're running low, simply press Dash Button—ensuring you never run out of your essentials again.

SIMPLE TO SET UP AND USE
Dash Button is set up and managed through the Amazon App on your Android or iOS smartphone, and works in any location with a Wi-Fi connection. Once set-up is complete, a notification (if enabled) is sent to your smartphone every time an order is placed. Click here to make sure you have the latest version of the Amazon App.

ORDER PROTECTION
With this setting, Dash Button responds only to your first press until your order is delivered—regardless of how many times Dash Button is pressed. And you will receive an order notification (if enabled) for every order placed, allowing you to cancel an order before it ships.

$4.99 CREDIT AFTER FIRST PRESS
Buy Dash Button for $4.99, and receive a credit for $4.99 after your first press. See terms and conditions

EXCLUSIVELY FOR PRIME MEMBERS
Dash Button is available for Prime members only. Click here to learn more about Prime.

Hey, William. This is Jared with Fletcher. Honda just following up on your inquiry about the the new Civic wanted to see if we could get you in here this afternoon to test drive that vehicle if there's anything at all that I can do further to assist you please give me a call you can reach me at <redacted> very much. Hey, are you there? I guess she really just left just just about 5 minutes ago and she had to go well. I don't know the whole story. I just know that her daughter called and I think her grandson fell off of the some monkey bars or something that's gonna replaced and broke his femur and yeah, so I think she was her daughter call her to see if she could help her out and pick up somebody or do something for it. So I can come by everything's going are going pretty good. Good afternoon, Please Rhonda, This is Jerry. How can I help you?

Hey, William. This is Jared with Fletcher... This is Jerry. How can I help you?