Octopus Overlords

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:08 am It's basically an at-home eye exam that gets you your eye prescription, after multiple tests, using their device and your smartphone.

And I am quite surprised that it works.

Interesting. I had read that optometrists are at the top of the list to be replaced by AI. Ophthalmologists are still safe, though.

What about an ornithologist?

Or orthodontists.

Right now, without glasses, I'd say my vision is about 15/20, as bad as 10/20 up close. When I need to read a fine print I sometimes ended up using my phone's camera to read it, and zoom in that way. It's perfectly fine for driving, but not "ideal".

I took my new glasses out on a job, and apparently they got too many guys in and I get to go home (logging only 1 hour worked) But hey, it's NYE, so ain't complaining. Then when I got home, I decided the frames are pinching my temples. I went to bend it slightly... and promptly broke my BRAND F***ING new glasses. F*** me.

Just got back on Zenni and ordered another pair, and this time, I'm going all out... Progressive with +1.0 readers, with an intermediate zone for computer work, but mostly distance viewing. And it's still less than $80. Probably cost me $200+ at a real optical.

I'll get a real optometrist appointment in 2020 and we'll see what my vision coverage covers.

Teaching parents about robot vacuum cleaners and Alexa devices is both challenging and entertaining. They're so polite to Alexa, making sure to say "thank you, Alexa"

[turns page of new book]

Chapter 7: Construct a Rectal Concealment

This is not the book I thought it was going to be.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 3:52 pm Teaching parents about robot vacuum cleaners and Alexa devices is both challenging and entertaining. They're so polite to Alexa, making sure to say "thank you, Alexa"

Let's hope your parents don't call 911 on their own robot vaccum like these folks.

Completely unrelated ****... I may have lost two packages. According to Amazon tracking, my new wallet has been delivered, along with my shoes. The THIRD item did show up, even though all three were supposed to appear together. ARGH!!!!! I thought it may have went to our landlord, but she has something ELSE that I hadn't found from last week. *sigh*

Theres so much I could post about how shitty this year has been with losing my wife. But there has been small good things too. This is when my wife was semi comatose from the stroke though and the 3rd is the date she passed on. Which would actually be the day of Thursday this week when 2019 started. There are some things that are so tough right now.

Maybe its stupid to others but we wont have our New Years midnight kiss this time. We always did that. Even when she was in the hospital for 2019 new years and was asleep I saw the ball dropped and kissed her so not to miss it. This will be a different year.

Also stupid but in my head is 2019 is the last year she was alive. Even though it was barely 2 hours into the 3rd day she was still here. The 2nd was a great day with her SO much better. I let my guard down and relaxed. So when this year goes away in a few hours so will the last year she was here.

Lastly the 3rd though its Friday this year is the day she passed. I think Thursday and Friday I will burn a candle for her. Im hoping once these dates are past and the year really starts that I can feel some better about it all. The warm weather that will come in a few months will help too. The dogs are doing well and give me something to care for and love and love back. They care for me in a way too. The rat is being a rat but so sweet. Not bit or nibbled me once. He is just a little kind soul living his life.

So a new year. Some things change but for the most part nothing does.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 3:23 pm Right now, without glasses, I'd say my vision is about 15/20, as bad as 10/20 up close. When I need to read a fine print I sometimes ended up using my phone's camera to read it, and zoom in that way. It's perfectly fine for driving, but not "ideal".

I took my new glasses out on a job, and apparently they got too many guys in and I get to go home (logging only 1 hour worked) But hey, it's NYE, so ain't complaining. Then when I got home, I decided the frames are pinching my temples. I went to bend it slightly... and promptly broke my BRAND F***ING new glasses. F*** me.

Just got back on Zenni and ordered another pair, and this time, I'm going all out... Progressive with +1.0 readers, with an intermediate zone for computer work, but mostly distance viewing. And it's still less than $80. Probably cost me $200+ at a real optical.

I'll get a real optometrist appointment in 2020 and we'll see what my vision coverage covers.

You can get decent quality computer glasses (3 separate magnification progressive) at Rite Aid for 36 bucks. Or, you can go to Readers.com and get them for even less.

Just left early from what was by any possible standard an excellent NYE party: a few good friends plus very creative friends of friends and artistic/academic friends of those; probably 45 people all told. Simply amazing food. Copious and interesting alcohol plus good weed on the back porch.

I just couldn't stay. My social anxiety (normally manageable and selective) seems to get worse at holidays, and it didn't help that everyone I met for the first time seemed to be genuinely impressive and accomplished in some important field, which is always intimidating. I knew that if I hung around I'd become more and more withdrawn while drinking too much. I don't do the weed.

One of my sincere resolutions for 2020 is to detach my anxieties from alcohol (i.e. to drink less), so this was the right thing to do. In the end, I wound up walking home about seven blocks, then taking the dog and going back to collect my wife and kids (who were having a genuinely good time but were by then ready to go). I think I made the right call.

Happy New Year, everyone!

FWIW, Daehawk, this year will be easier. It won't be the first time she wasn't there for ____. You won't always be thinking, "Last year, we ____." It'll get better.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:48 pm FWIW, Daehawk, this year will be easier. It won't be the first time she wasn't there for ____. You won't always be thinking, "Last year, we ____." It'll get better.

Sounds selfish but thats what Im hoping.

Happy New Year. I love you all.

Hope everyone has a good year and no heartaches.

Holman wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:51 pm it didn't help that everyone I met for the first time seemed to be genuinely impressive and accomplished in some important field, which is always intimidating.

Ha. As someone who works at home, alone and usually in my pajamas, I know what you mean. The most interesting things I have to talk about are my cats and my garden. Nothing I do matters to anybody but me, and all of my adventure stories are 20 years old.

I didn't get invited to any holiday parties of any kind this year, and that suits me fine. I'd rather spend time with my delightful new kitten.

Working at EMS dispatch tonight. Salute to everyone working tonight. Now could they please stop calling for a few minutes? No? Ok then.

Happy new year all. Heres to hoping for a better year for everyone.

About 2 weeks after D passed I weighed 185. I had lost 10 lbs since she was hospitalized. Now days I cant figure out why I keep gaining weight. Im about 200 or maybe more now. Then I remember because I eat a spoon full of mayo and or butter every trip to the kitchen. Then when I do eat stuff I eat until I cant breath. Fatty.

Also what is it with girls and those caterpillar eyebrows? Any female who thinks she is hot or tries to be trendy and in fashion seems to ALL have that same eyebrow. Its weird and its ugly. Stop it. I even saw them on the news showing a eyebrow transplant to get that look. Why do they all want to look the same and use a bad style to mimic to start with?

Or even worse, thick stenciled eyebrows. It looks ridiculous.

Think we're talking the same ones.

These... They all seem to have the same shaved off point and thick brows. Hate that trend.







That middle girl is Lucy Hale...this is how she went from pretty brows to ..well not pretty ones.

Yep, third one is what I was thinking about. I see someone from time to time who has stenciled in very precise triangular lines, which makes them look like a robot.

Amanda Palmer says hold up.

Default wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:49 pm You can get decent quality computer glasses (3 separate magnification progressive) at Rite Aid for 36 bucks. Or, you can go to Readers.com and get them for even less.

I actually bought one of those Foster Grant computer glasses. Didn't work for me. Intermediate doesn't help my astigmatism.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 2:51 am Thick we're talking the same ones.

These... They all seem to have the same shaved off point and thick brows. Hate that trend.

I'm going to need to see some elbow before I pass final judgment.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:26 am

Default wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:49 pm You can get decent quality computer glasses (3 separate magnification progressive) at Rite Aid for 36 bucks. Or, you can go to Readers.com and get them for even less.

I actually bought one of those Foster Grant computer glasses. Didn't work for me. Intermediate doesn't help my astigmatism.

I had laser surgery for that. Worth every penny.

If you have astigmatism, you have to go see a doctor and get a prescription. It's also the only way you can catch eye issues early. Anything else is just farting in the grass.

I’ve spent the past two weeks babysitting everyone else in my house who has been sick. Wife with a nasty ear infection. Daughter with a 102 degree fever. Wonder Twin A with a nasty stomach virus. Wonder Twin B with a horrible cough. Through all of that, I have somehow managed to avoid picking it up myself.

Until today, when they have all hit me at once. Right before I have to go back to work tomorrow, and am supposed to leave for my cruise on Monday.

Goddammitsomuch

Its ok..everyone will get sick on a cruise again anyways.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 3:23 pm Right now, without glasses, I'd say my vision is about 15/20, as bad as 10/20 up close. When I need to read a fine print I sometimes ended up using my phone's camera to read it, and zoom in that way. It's perfectly fine for driving, but not "ideal".

15/20 and 10/20 does not compute for visual acuity measurements.

Heres a neat story for the 1st day of 2020

Lets talk CBD. Ill start....it doesn't work! Waste of money. After hurting all year physically and mentally I figure I have nothing to lose by trying some. Wrong. Lost my money. Granted I got a good discount but still. Bought what online places rated best. Nothing. I dont suffer seizures so maybe thats all its really good for.

Didn't do a thing for pain. My back and my hands still ache and hurt like hell. Maybe worse.

Didn't help mood or de stress me. Im still messed up. Still not really able to game much. Still stressed and crap.

Didn't feel anything at all. Might as well have ate a banana. I expected that for the most part but I was hoping I could at least tell somehow I had taken it.

I got gummies that are 21 mg CBD each. One is supposed to work. Take another if not. I have tried 5 or 6 and maybe 7 and NOTHING.

It 'may' have helped my insomnia a little. But for the price its not worth it at all....and Im still not sure it helped or its a fluke or in my mind. So I dont see the draw of CBD unless you suffer seizures. Too bad THC is not allowed here. Oh well. Never again.

Also today was exactly 1 year to the day since me and my wife last got to talk. It was our last day together. Such a normal day. Laughter and joy and what we thought was more future together. One reason to try the CBD was to help through this time of year...Christmas and these days when our life ended. And I got bumpkis help from it. Shoulda used the money to pay someone to knock me out for a couple weeks.

Last year I got a liquid version, figured I could control the doses better.
I didn't find it helped much better, altho the arthritis in my wrist went away and hasn't returned.
The wrist was pretty bad for quite a few years.
I don't know if it helped or was some kind of coincidence.
I haven't tried another bottle.

Wife swears by CBD for her back pain, and opioid abuse is somewhat lower in states that have legal cannabis, so it's obviously helping a lot of people. Sorry you're not one of them. It seems to work better as a muscle relaxant than an anti-inflammatory -- I haven't found it to be any relief for arthritis, and I don't think it does much for severe, acute pain. But I smoke whole bud, so I'm getting all of the cannabinols at various concentrations.

Wife says that the CBD she gets from licensed dispensaries is better than anything sold OTC because purity and dosage are strictly controlled. In fact, the tincture at one dispensary works better than that from the other.

Reading online it looks like I chose poorly. I got gummy edibles in 21mg each and its pure isolate. What online shows I need is full spectrum oil tincture in at least 1500mg. Too bad its so costly. I should go by a local shop and talk to them and see what they have here. Theres a few shops in town. Maybe I can try again sometime when bills are paid.

Pls move CBD to its own thread.

Everyone is trying the new snake oil of CBD, the new “essential oil cures everything” scam thats less scary than cannabis. Maybe it helps some people but you really don’t know what you’re getting. Its unregulated and unstudied. The odds are much better in states where there are dispensaries, but there is little scientific evidence on dosage and proper uses, let alone effective cultivation and processing. Even the local cannabis attorney is skeptical, except for the profit opportunities.

I got mine at Amazon.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:45 pm Pls move CBD to its own thread.

Yes, this. Is there one? Too busy to look now...

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 11:32 pm I need is full spectrum oil tincture in at least 1500mg.

Yep, you are on to something. Again, I'm just to busy right now to post further but I agree a CBD thread may be beneficial.

Ive hit upon a VERY tasty cheap tomato mac & cheese dish.

I get a lot of dry macaroni and cans of meat flavored tomato sauce from the food bank each month, So Ive been testing different add ins to perk it up. Now I have a great and simple one. First I cook up the pasta until its super tender...maybe 20 minutes. Then heat the can of sauce....its like a cheap spaghetti sauce. Then I put them together and stir it up. Theres not a lot of sauce in it this way...more like pasta with some sauce clinging to it.

From here I make it by the bowl so if you want the entire giant bowl of it made you'll have to guess at the next two amounts. Anyways by the bowl I fill my bowl up with this mac and sauce then add a big old spoon of mayo to it and stir up. Next I toss in a handful of shredded cheese...Ive found Mexican 3 cheese blend the best but I bet cheddar would be good too. Anyways stir it up and make sure it stays nice and hot. Eat.....I LOVE the taste of it. When I want it a little spicy I shake in a good amount of Tabasco and its even better.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:41 am Ive hit upon a VERY tasty cheap tomato mac & cheese dish.

I get a lot of dry macaroni and cans of meat flavored tomato sauce from the food bank each month, So Ive been testing different add ins to perk it up. Now I have a great and simple one. First I cook up the pasta until its super tender...maybe 20 minutes. Then heat the can of sauce....its like a cheap spaghetti sauce. Then I put them together and stir it up. Theres not a lot of sauce in it this way...more like pasta with some sauce clinging to it.

From here I make it by the bowl so if you want the entire giant bowl of it made you'll have to guess at the next two amounts. Anyways by the bowl I fill my bowl up with this mac and sauce then add a big old spoon of mayo to it and stir up. Next I toss in a handful of shredded cheese...Ive found Mexican 3 cheese blend the best but I bet cheddar would be good too. Anyways stir it up and make sure it stays nice and hot. Eat.....I LOVE the taste of it. When I want it a little spicy I shake in a good amount of Tabasco and its even better.

The mayo seems unnecessary. Otherwise, cheesy beefaroni!