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posted by [personal profile] bugshaw at 03:39pm on 28/08/2007
Squee #1. Top marks to the Co-op, plus extra bonus marks for going beyond expectations. I think this is what people mean when they talk about making 110% effort.
I went in for some pitta bread, but they were having a 2 for 1 offer and had only one packet left in the shop. "Shame not to get the discount," I thought, "but I came here to buy one packet at the normal price so I'll go ahead and do that."
At the till, they remind me that there is this offer and that I could go and fetch another packet if I like. "No, this was the last one there," I say - "Well, do come back another time to collect your free pack," they say, and print me a special receipt valid for one packet of pitta bread :-) :-) :-)
I'm very cheap to please.

Squee #2. Surprise package from [livejournal.com profile] frandowdsofa, a set of postcards of some shiny metalwork pieces she'd mentioned at the Sheffield Gallery - including the not very shiny but made entirely out of cutlery Barking up the Right Tree :-) :-) :-) Thank you!

Squee #3. Interesting conversation at the Optician. I'd noticed a couple of dark spots on my vision for the last month, most noticeable when I wandered around in the dense white fog in Blind Light. Now, I don't catastrophise at all, but Simon thought "I don't want to worry you, but..." they can be an early sign of a detached retina. I went for a check, but they're just floaters.
One of the tests they do involves you reading some text printed on a card; below the paragraph about avenues of trees is a row of words
- accrue recover camera sauce commence -
or somesuch, which had no letters with ascenders or descenders. The optician hadn't noticed this before, and we had a chat about that and how the rest of the text on the card is written in a fairly old-fashioned style presumably so you can't skim it and have to pay attention to each single word. Eyes, Brains. Funny old things. Also discussed the use of AI in computer games, which really hadn't occurred to me before as a usage, as I still mostly play Spider Solitaire and Sudoku and other games which do not involve interplay between player and game characters and behaviour modification based on play.

morose remoras swarm on ocean waves
as sonorous macaroons murmur rancorous runes
we summon wereworms as venus wanes
venomous marrows cause awesome concern

Hmm, that doesn't look as odd as I'd have thought.

4. A Question About Sunglasses. "Do you wear prescription sunglasses?" asked the optician. I don't; partly because I'm cheap, partly because I don't want the fuss, partly because I like to see where I'm going instead of hiding behind a screen of dark glass.
Current thinking is that there is a strong correlation between UV exposure and macular degeneration, and they are recommending sunglasses as a protective measure, and handed me over to the "I can sell you spectacles" person as I left the eye test room. I averred, saying I'd rather wait till Spring.
Is it actually a good idea to have and wear sunglasses, or is this just upsell?
There are 22 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
 
posted by [identity profile] bibliogirl.livejournal.com at 03:42pm on 28/08/2007
The other thing that dark spots can be is micro-aneurysms, which are not necessarily anything to get too het up about, but are occasionally, if you're really lucky, a sign of diabetes. (Me? Bitter?) I would expect the optician to have found them if they were there to be found, but if you're wandering past the doctor's anytime soon and haven't had a diabetes check in the last few years, it might be worth a go...

This has been a Public Service Announcement.
 
posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 03:47pm on 28/08/2007
Thanks for the PSA. One of the benefits of moving house every couple of years is that you change doctor, and have a new patient checkup (including diabetes check) each time.
 
posted by [identity profile] bibliogirl.livejournal.com at 03:58pm on 28/08/2007
Hm, yes -- though, saying that, I'm not sure they actually _did_ do a check when we moved here. It having been almost five years ago, I don't honestly remember and it probably wouldn't have shown up any issue anyhow at that point...
 
posted by [identity profile] stephdairy.livejournal.com at 03:46pm on 28/08/2007
venomous marrows cause awesome concern

I'm not surprised. They'd concern me, too.

(S)
 
posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 03:50pm on 28/08/2007
marrows amuse me.
more marrows amuse me more.
 
posted by [identity profile] vicarage.livejournal.com at 04:02pm on 28/08/2007
A noise annoys an oyster, but a noisy noise annoys an oyster more.
 
posted by [identity profile] purplecthulhu.livejournal.com at 03:50pm on 28/08/2007
Is it just me, or is that sculpture quite distinctly Lovecraftian?

If it wasn't for the cutlery the words squamous and rugose would be coming to mind...
 
posted by [identity profile] major-clanger.livejournal.com at 04:27pm on 28/08/2007
Yes, my first thought was of the Great Race of Yith - one of which made a memorable appearance on Futurama in a morning suit.
 
posted by [identity profile] frandowdsofa.livejournal.com at 05:45pm on 28/08/2007
The panel of buttons on the front at about child height are real buttons that Do Stuff. The heads move and make noises. I love it, and it's on the way into town from my office, so I play with it at least once a week.
 
posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 06:44pm on 28/08/2007
Coo!
 
posted by [identity profile] vicarage.livejournal.com at 03:54pm on 28/08/2007
To be perverse I don't like it when supermarkets fuss like that, with reminders you can go back across the shop to get things or printing special vouchers, as its all too much faff (Americans don't know the word faff, just the actions...) . I hardly ever use discount coupons either, and sigh when the person in front of me brings out a handful together with their chequebook. I do buy most food on a whim though, scanning for offers on the shelves. It does companies no good with their regular $3.50 pizzas at 4 for $10 offers though, as while I'm hooked, I only buy when discounted.
 
posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 04:02pm on 28/08/2007
The reminders and coupons are better than the palaver in clothing stores, where you get offered a credit card with your new trousers. "Are you sure you don't want to get a discount of 15% on your purchases today?" "It only takes a minute to apply..."
 
posted by [identity profile] cobrabay.livejournal.com at 03:59pm on 28/08/2007
> Is it actually a good idea to have and wear sunglasses, or is this just upsell?

I've heard 2 views on this, one that it a bad idea, and if you do you risk going blind, and two, that it is a good idea, and if you don't you risk going blind. Personally I never cross my doorstep without my sunglasses and a brolly to hand (surprising the numbers of days I end up using both). However, I'm a great believer in good quality sunglasses. Most fashionable brands are rubbish and over-priced, and cheap ones really are bad for you. I go for ones that are aiming to sell into a sports market, such as my current faves Sundog. Not an issue however if you are getting prescription lenses.
 
posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 04:03pm on 28/08/2007
I could experiment and have one lens darkened.

I'd get spectacles which had colourless UV protection.
 
posted by [identity profile] bibliofile.livejournal.com at 08:25am on 01/09/2007
Yeah, the problem with the cheap ones is that they' don't necessarily filter out any UV, while encouraging your pupils to open further.

Me, I wear sunglasses a lot because I tire quickly of squinting. It's especially helpful when driving, too.
 
posted by [identity profile] marcushill.livejournal.com at 04:07pm on 28/08/2007
One of the reasons I wear contact lenses is so I can get sunglasses for a fiver. I always leave a pair in the car, driving into the sun[rise,set] is positively painful without them.
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
posted by [personal profile] redbird at 04:50pm on 28/08/2007
I like my sunglasses, but mine aren't prescription, they're big plastic things that cost about $15 and slip over the regular glasses. (I wear them because I seem to be quite sensitive to bright light.)
 
posted by [identity profile] hilarityallen.livejournal.com at 05:07pm on 28/08/2007
I wear sunglasses (prescription variety) mostly because I find that the decreased glare decreases headaches. I found that I wore sunglasses slightly less when I wore ordinary glasses, as they did a certain amount of UV filtering (don't know if this applies to contact lenses or plastic glasses).
 
posted by [identity profile] saare-snowqueen.livejournal.com at 07:41pm on 28/08/2007
I've worn photo-sensitive glasses for about 20 years now. They don't cost that much more and you only have to buy one pair. I find it painful to be in bright sunlight without them. We have some brilliant sun on snow days here so need as much in the winter as summer. They don't work so well if you drive a car - but as my chief form of transport is a bicycle.
 
posted by [identity profile] mkillingworth.livejournal.com at 08:53pm on 28/08/2007
I opted for the Reactions lenses on my free pair last time I got glasses. They have improved since the last time I had them umpty mumble years ago, so they go back to regular very quickly when you leave the sunlight. I can see how wearing sunglasses indoors or in low light could cause some vision problems later on, but I think sunglasses outside is probably a good thing. I have noticed that I don't tend to get sun-induced headaches like I used to.
dalmeny: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] dalmeny at 10:00pm on 28/08/2007
Ah, well, for doing fieldwork in Australia sunglasses are considered to be a routine part of safety equipment in order to minimise UV damage to your eyes (indeed, buying a pair is sometimes tax deductible).

Prescription sunglasses could be upsell. Like others above, I buy cheap sunnies to wear with contact lenses instead.
 
posted by [identity profile] bugshaw.livejournal.com at 10:16pm on 28/08/2007
I decided against contacts, as my vision is good up to about computer screen distance. I'm always taking my glasses off between attending a lecture and typing it up.

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