Octopus Overlords

I just found out that the actor that played Bennet in Commando (Vernon Wells) is the same actor that was Wez (crazy mohawk bird man) in Mad Max - The Road Warrior.

While not nearly as mind-blowing as finding out the actor playing Jame Gumb in Silence of the Lambs was the same actor playing Captain Stottlemeyer on Monk, but still pretty impressive...and totally random.

Daehawk wrote:Well that'll teach ya. This country must be played as a negative life experience then you'll do better.

And Im very sorry for your friend. that is a lot to climb out of. Can be done but will take a long time.

She's about fifty and makes about 35k. Plus her husband did a faceplant into drug abuse 3-4 years back.

Brian wrote:Roses are red
Apples are fruit
Kid Rock Subpoenaed To Produce Glass Dildo As Evidence
In Insane Clown Posse Lawsuit


(Yes, this happened in 2014 but I saw it on Imgur today so....)

Nuts, it's only a civil sopina.

Default wrote:Plus her husband did a faceplant into drug abuse 3-4 years back.

Shouldn't be her husband anymore. Drug users serve only the drug, not their friends and family. Give them an honest shot to change - once - and then move on. In a few years when he hits rock bottom, he may choose to get clean or wallow in it. Still his choice. No one should be dragged down with him.

When I went to bed I was just fine. Wake up today and my left butt cheek and hip are so sore they make me yelp out in pain on touch or movement. No bruise though. WTF happened in the night? Damn aliens.

You are channeling Default.

Grumble.

I've worn glasses since I was 17 (I'm 44 now.) My last pair was purchased about twelve years ago. I have needed new glasses for a while, but never had insurance that would cover them - just Medicare. I made due. A few years ago when I was dealing with cancer, I was given Medicaid as well, which does cover vision. Unfortunately, you can't get glasses during or immediately after chemo, as it affects your vision. I held off.

Right around the turn of the year I had my glasses driven over. Crunch. I had to fall back on my previous prescription/set, which is right around 17 years old. They give me a splitting headache, and I end up dizzy if I wear them for too long, and the threads are stripped such that the frame loosens and the lens pops out at least once a day.

Today I finally made it into the optometrist. I was actually excited.

Turns out that the variation of Medicaid I'm on only covers emergency medical vision, not exams or glasses.

Fuck.

Zenni optical

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tjg_marantz wrote:Zenni optical

Ok, I went and checked them out.

My jaded nature is making me cautious, though. I picked a pair of frames, threw in some random numbers for the prescription, and got back a price for frames, coatings, and clip-ons that was less than half of what the optometrist was charging for the cheapest frame in their shop without lenses. That steep of a discount triggers my too-good-to-be-true reflex.

If you have (or know someone that has) a Costco membership check to see if your local has a vision center as part of it. My exam was $60-ish and glasses were cheap.

I bought 3 pairs about 3 years ago. All fine. Same for brother in law. I just bought another two pairs for about 50 Canadian dollars just because I like to have new styles. Arrived a couple months ago, no problems. Luxotica is raping the buyers and no one bats an eyelash. I wish I could assuage your fears but you have to make your own decision. Just relaying personal experience.

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Blackhawk wrote:...what the optometrist was charging for the cheapest frame in their shop...

Optometrist frame pricing is about as outrageous as it gets. I could believe a 300% mark up, no problem. You probably don't have other local options, but around here my general brick-and-mortar procedure is to leave the shop with the prescription and go to the local Target Optical for picking out frames.

I saw an article on TV a while back talking about the markup on frames. One outrageous thing was most all frames are made by the same company.

I've been doing some reading. It does seem that the markup at retail is as high as it sounds. Thanks. This may put it within my reach. I'll have to cancel some plans to be able to afford the exam (which they said was $90), and I still won't but able to afford the glasses for a couple of months, but I'll be able to make progress on the problem, at least.

dbt1949 wrote:I saw an article on TV a while back talking about the markup on frames. One outrageous thing was most all frames are made by the same company.

Luxotica

Adam Ruins Everything - glasses are priced like clothing 3x to 20x markup for image and branding

How long after placing an order does it take to get glasses from Zenni?

I may be off by a day but this last order I placed on a Wednesday or Thursday and got them the Tuesday. I live in Regina and they came from Calgary. Not sure where their warehouse are but it was quick enough. If you know you're prescription you can just enter the numbers and save yourself a trip to the optometrist. But an up to date check is preferable of course.

Thanks. I don't have my prescription, and my last eye exam was in... I'm going to guess 2005. The pair I'm wearing is from 2000 or 2001.

I've ordered from both Goggles4U and Zenni. They are okay if you need very plain pairs. But when you tried to add on the various options the prices add up quickly. But even the expensive options are much cheaper than opticals or optometrists (even Target optometry).

A pretty plain pair can be as low as $20-40, esp. those with plain plastic frame. The metal frames I want are like $40 w/ prescription. I only added like 1-2 addons and they're up to $50. If you get bifocals and other stuff they can go up to 100+. Mine takes about a week or two, that I recall.

EDIT: Found the receipts from Zenni, dated late 2015.

Frame $10, Photochromatic Lens $20, Oleophobic coating $15. Add shipping and it's just under $49.

I ordered a set of bifocals for my mom

Frame $16, Bifocals $17, Standard coating $5, sunglasses clip on $4, shipping $5, total $47

I just got a discount code for Goggles4U "G4UFREE" which basically gets you a single vision $7 frame glasses for FREE. Not sure what the catch is, but wouldn't hurt to check it out.

I'm a huge Zenni fan. Over the years I've ordered pairs for me, my wife, and one sons. Seven or eight pairs and the only problem was the pair I tried as an experiment. With my eye doctor's approval I just added +1 to my prescriptions in an attempt to make cheap reading glasses - turns out I never had them with me so I never got much use from them.

As someone who recently got his vision checked for the first time and is now a wearer of glasses, you have my sympathies. I didn't realize that a very minor astigmatism I was unaware of was causing my eyes to freak out and tire rapidly when I drove - I just assumed driving longer than 30 minutes or getting on the highway made me sleepy and needed to be avoided. It was so bad that I'd struggle to keep my eyes on the road, to a point of being hazardous. Glasses fixed it instantly.

I work for an Optometrist's office (doctor exams, frames, lenses, contacts) and I think our product markup is 250% from what we spend to what we charge, and the frames can be pretty costly from the vendor. I think the most expensive glasses we've sold come in around $1,000.

I've never heard of Zenni before, but if they don't have a retail storefront and are light on staff, it can save a lot of overhead to keep pricing low - but that pricing really trips the "too good to be true" flags... but if it's working for other people, it warrants a good look.

Blackhawk wrote:Thanks. I don't have my prescription, and my last eye exam was in... I'm going to guess 2005. The pair I'm wearing is from 2000 or 2001.

Man. Just thinking about this gives me a headache. And then, I imagine you sitting at you painting desk and working.. It must be frustrating as hell.

Paingod wrote:As someone who recently got his vision checked for the first time and is now a wearer of glasses, you have my sympathies. I didn't realize that a very minor astigmatism I was unaware of was causing my eyes to freak out and tire rapidly when I drove - I just assumed driving longer than 30 minutes or getting on the highway made me sleepy and needed to be avoided. It was so bad that I'd struggle to keep my eyes on the road, to a point of being hazardous. Glasses fixed it instantly.

...

I need to get an eye exam. I've been drowsy going home for the last couple months, starting about halfway into my commute.

6 or 7 years ago, when I needed glasses, I just went to one of those America's Best places, where you get 2 pairs of glasses for $70. They weren't fancy frames but I didn't care that much. I've gotten LASIK since then, so I don't wear glasses any more, but I still need to get an eye exam...haven't had one in several years.

Isgrimnur wrote:

Paingod wrote:As someone who recently got his vision checked for the first time and is now a wearer of glasses, you have my sympathies. I didn't realize that a very minor astigmatism I was unaware of was causing my eyes to freak out and tire rapidly when I drove - I just assumed driving longer than 30 minutes or getting on the highway made me sleepy and needed to be avoided. It was so bad that I'd struggle to keep my eyes on the road, to a point of being hazardous. Glasses fixed it instantly.

...

I need to get an eye exam. I've been drowsy going home for the last couple months, starting about halfway into my commute.

My issue creeped up on me slowly starting a couple years ago. It was tolerable, but odd. I couldn't figure out why I'd get drowsy. I assumed it was something like road hypnosis. It's continued to get worse to the point where after a certain amount of driving, I'm constantly shaking my head, slapping my face, and shifting positions to stay focused on the road. My brain was all too happy to drift and I'd find myself mentally grasping at the road like it was an oiled noodle. Several months ago, it was bad enough that at the end of an hour long drive, I was struggling to remain in control of the car by the time I got home.

I sure as hell didn't want to admit anything was wrong and tried changing what I ate, how I slept, etc. I never - ever - associated it with my eyes. The only reason I got an eye exam was because it was free at work. They found a tiny astigmatism and corrected it with glasses. Now I can drive all day without feeling like the road is slipping away from me. I used to hate driving after loving it for years. I'm back to loving it. Also, I don't feel anywhere near as tired after a long day in front of my computer screen. Win/win.

So I certainly wear them to work, at work, and going home... but still pretty much put them down in the evenings and weekends (unless I'm driving).

I get eye exams every two years, and each time my eyes are a little worse.

Holman wrote:I get eye exams every two years, and each time my eyes are a little worse.

They say (around here) that 40 is a magical age where eyes start to go and never come back. I'm 39 and just got my first pair of glasses.

I've still got 20/20 near and 20/15 distant vision - but that tiny defect screws with my focal point and strains the eye. I only hope I end up like my grandfather, with perfect vision at 80. I just hope I don't get the crippling dementia he had at 85.

Within the last couple years, Mom would up with part of her iris permanently paralyzed.

I'm 48, and my eyes have been getting weaker since about 8th grade.

For nearsighted folks, they say things actually get a little better--meaning your eyes actually improve--later in life.

I was near-sighted. Then I got lasik. Then around 40, my eyes started getting worse again.

My biggest issue is nighttime driving. As you get older, your eyes "harden"; they become less flexible. So they can't adjust as easily to changing light conditions. In dark settings, it takes my eyes a lot longer now to focus. And going from light to dark leaves me practically blind initially.

I'd always heard that if you are near-sighted, as you grow older, your eyes will eventually begin to go the other way. So your sight will get better and better, and then start becoming more and more far-sighted.

My eyes change less now than my earlier years. I don't know if for better or worse. The thing with olde age is cataracts. Having that taking care of made a major difference in my wife's ability to see. Indeed she used to be far sighted but now doesn't need glasses at all.

TheMix wrote: I'd always heard that if you are near-sighted, as you grow older, your eyes will eventually begin to go the other way. So your sight will get better and better, and then start becoming more and more far-sighted.

My prescription has actually gotten progressively weaker since I turned 50 or so. While my unaided vision isn't noticeably better, it is at least getting measurably better. I've worn glasses since I was 7.

Smoove_B wrote:I just found out that the actor that played Bennet in Commando (Vernon Wells) is the same actor that was Wez (crazy mohawk bird man) in Mad Max - The Road Warrior.

When you wrote this I immediately pictured the Commandos character with his eyes big and crazy and then I thought about the Mad Max character with his eyes big and crazy and I was like "of course. It all makes sense now".

I went looking for pictures of those iconic looks and lo and behold, someone combined them into a single pic for me. Here it is hotlinked.

Mohawk biker is one of my favorite characters ever.

Everyone probably knows this, but I still love that Road Warrior's Gyro Captain was Peter Jackson's Mouth of Sauron.

He's also the airplane pilot in Thunderdome, but he's not the gyro captain.

killbot737 wrote:He's also the airplane pilot in Thunderdome, but he's not the gyro captain.

Bruce Spence played the Gyro Captain in The Road Warrior as well as Jedediah (the pilot) in Beyond Thunderdome.

I recently learned that Shane Black, director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (one of my favorites), Iron Man 3, and writer of the first two Lethal Weapon movies played Hawkins in the original Predator. He's also directing the upcoming Predator reboot.

The more you know...

I see Gyro Captain again and again and now I want shawarma on pita with onions and tzatziki and side of fries upgraded to chili cheese fries. Bastards.