OT: Spectacles

• - and 0, all in a row.

Prove it ;-) Mikek

I thought about that after I posted the above. It's really dumb because the OD has the IPD right on the dial in front of him and it's a much better number than what the optician measures.

That's how I did it, too, but I ordered the gauge from Zenni anyway. The gauge is kinda cute. Basically you look through a slot in a piece of plastic that has the fiducial marks top and bottom. Just look in a mirror and line up the eyeballs. A camera would make it even easier.

I've never bothered with the difference.

Really weird. I would certainly be wanting to find out why. I don't really need the glasses to drive (passed the test without them) but I can't see the dash without the variable focal length lenses. Wearing the glasses for distance improves my vision (corrects the astigmatism) enough that it's worth wearing them anyway.

The wonders of capitalism! Mikek

Sounds like a good reason to take the business to someone else and tell her why. "I don't do business with crooks."

It works for me, maybe because I'm nearsighted, and being close to the mirror is comfortable. I've used several methods, and all come out 68 or 69 mm. I thought the mirror thing was easiest.

I don't know how much error would matter. I get the impression that a couple of mm is no big deal.

I use my Mantis for close work! It has an IPD adjust knob that's fun to play with.

I have a lot of astigmatism in my right eye, which is one reason that I had a retinal detatchment, now fixed. One chronic problem that I've had with optometrists is that they try to fully correct the astigmatism, and that works great when I'm looking at the eye charts with my head immobilized by their machinery. Then I buy the glasses and everything goes to hell when I actually move my head. GOOD optometrists do the minimal astig correction to get pretty good vision.

My homebrew prescription is spherical on that eye, no astig correction, and that's comfortable and works fine. People see with both eyes and only one needs to be really sharp to read street signs and such.

Yes, they are a ripoff but there can be a bit more work in them than fitting eyeglasses.

Don't forget the Obamacare tax on hearing aids.

None of that explains presbyopia.

nt why this happens biochemically, and how to prevent it, even reverse it o nce its started. The villain (one villain) is glycation of proteins in the body via blood sugars. That's a major part of the glycation-oxidation-deterioration process of aging.

atomic scale, this would be like obliterating key features of the protein, like throwing a thick woolly blanket over a distinctive piece of furniture and s oftening its shape. (Besides this cloaking, we have cross-linking.) This cl oaking has several consequences.

of molecules, your body depends on recognition of specific surfaces by horm ones, messengers (like excess glucose in blood), enzyme systems (like the energy system in mitochondria), and the immune system antibody templates. All of t hese biological addresses depend on distinctive features exposed by the proteins (mostly hydrophobic), and cloaked by blood sugar reactions. (mostly hydrophilic) It is like injecting noise into a system dependent on address recognition.

ne system can't recognize rogue cancer cells, and you get cancer. The immune c an't tell who you are anymore, and you get various forms of arthritis. The elect ron transport enzymes in the mitochondria can't hand-shake with each other to create ATP, so your energy goes way down, like the voltage in a house goes to

2. > >

lled by a high SNR address bus anymore, the insulin system allows your bloo d sugar to rise more, causing runaway amplification of noise. Blinded immun e police fire randomly at the body's cells. Rogue enzymes attack the struct ure of the body and dump free radicals (a noise partner of energy reactions ) into the blood stream. Your retina/lens gets glycated, and your vision de teriorates. You are doing what any piece of biological tissue does without functioning protective systems: spoiling and dying.

to stopthe glycation blow-up described above. I myself am constantly learni ng this area of systemic medicine, and earning about the benfotiamine, a low cost s upplement which stops glycation, is a welcome piece of knowing. It also sho ws signs of reversing glycation, as measured signs go down. Will using this B-vitamin derivative drop 20 years off your age in various ways? I'd guess yes, but the turnover time of proteins means it may take a year to happen, as SN R gradually comes back.

matters, but you are the one who is in charge of your health, not your do ctor. Blood sugar control has a lot more than is presented here, but the benfotia mine is a good way to start. I myself learn a number of things about preventive medicine every day. I don't take benfotiamine, but I will now. I also wante d to apply the electronics narrative to systemic medicine - concepts like n oise, SNR, entropy, signally systems, pattern recognition, feedback, addres sing - all seem the best systems way to describe what is going on in aging and disease .

Not specifically. But the the general message - that your body degrades wit h age - fits with the specific problem that the lens in your eye gets stiff er as you get older, limiting your capacity to vary the focal point of the eye.

Krw isn't good at seeing implications.

And you need to sign up for a course in remedial humor.

own

prescription.

starting

seems to

for my

to

$300, or

bundle.

What is the matter with you;? Do you not understand your 'murcan obligation to support the fashion industry? Maybe we need to turn you in to Sen. McCarthy.

?;-)

any

vision,

too. I

my own

prescription.

expiration. I

to

starting

seems to

glasses for my

incentive to

charge $300, or

bundle.

protection is active.

say they

when

Well at least in part. The nice hearing aids have micropower DSP doing the equalization and *_very_* custom fitted in ear pieces. Plus custom coefficients for the DSP. And they design new chips every few years for a low volume product, gotta pay for the mask sets somehow.

But yes it is ridiculous.

?-)

CTRL+SHIFT +/- to rotate left/right, CTRL+1 or 2 for different page views (PDF reader).

Combinations of CTRL and/or SHIFT with arrow keys and HOME, END, PGUP and PGDN for navigating text boxes. CTRL+left/right skips words (select with SHIFT); CTRL+up/down skips paragraphs (usually). CTRL+BKSP backspaces whole words. Play around; see which fields they do and do not work in (notably, CTRL+BKSP rarely works in ASCII fields like filenames or Notepad -- it prints a control character instead).

Also, the archaic (ca. MS-DOS) SHIFT+DEL (cut), SHIFT+INS (paste) and CTRL+INS (copy) usually still work, for a right-handed alternative.

Windows: CTRL+SHIFT+ESC = Task Manager ALT+[SHIFT+]ESC = switch windows silently (ALT+[SHIFT+]TAB without the popup) (also, Windows+TAB in Win7 for a layered view) CTRL+ESC = Start menu

If you ever wondered how the hell you're supposed to use the Start menu without a mouse, this has worked since '95: Focus on Start button. Easiest way, CTRL+ESC to bring up menu, tap ALT to close it. Button stays focused. Navigate with [SHIFT+]TAB and arrows to get to the various areas, and also the desktop (the quickest way there besides Windows+D being CTRL+ESC, ALT, SHIFT+TAB). Activate programs from your desktop without minimizing windows! Amaze your friends!...

Tim

Who needs the Start Menu? Why waste time sifting through menus? Why risk time lost picking the wrong menu item?

Hotkeyz by Skynergy is free. Easy to set up. Activate any program instantly with your selection of keys. I suggest using Shift+Ctrl+AnyKey to avoid conflict with other programs. Easy access to keystroke menu to view current definitions. Enable and disable any hotkey with a mouse click. My most useful Windows program. Highest recommendation. Works on XP and Win7. I don't use Win8 so I have no idea if it works there. Download version 2.8.3, and donate $20 to the author if you like it. Available all over the web. Here's one place:

You can also use Win+AnyKey to select programs. I didn't know that. There is no Win key on my keyboards!

Do you realise that one of the more important tests an optician does is to test the pressure in the eyeball as a preventative measure against blindness. If you are skipping that step you could lose your sight!

It strikes me as a bit odd that in this marvellous US "Health" system of yours that you can't even get reliable eye tests or glasses!

SNIP

Not specifically. But the the general message - that your body degrades with age - fits with the specific problem that the lens in your eye gets stiffer as you get older, limiting your capacity to vary the focal point of the eye.

Krw isn't good at seeing implications.

-- Bill Sloman, Sydney

Bill, You and I have training in biochemistry, but for most people, the systemic cause of the problem goes right over their heads. And the idea that you can easily reverse the disease goes un-noticed. People seem more comfortable "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." For me, this has been, and continues to be, a lesson in the cause of human suffering. It is reminiscent of what a famous Tibetan Lama said to me, "People cannot get free because they cannot see space." In other words, people are like fish in a tank, who cannot see the tank.

People just can't fathom the idea that they can reverse aging through fairly simple steps. Doctors certainly don't know this, and the knowledge among scientists is far from complete. In atherosclerosis, it is called "plaque regression." It works in that area, and is proven scientifically. The reversal of glycation damage, which looks promising as well, can reverse eye damage and much else.

This is arguably the most exciting scientific breakthrough of all time, period. If science gives you food, clothing, and shelter, it can give you a few more decades of life before senescence sets in. But what is the value of a pain-free, high quality life?

jb

ith age - fits with the specific problem that the lens in your eye gets sti ffer as you get older, limiting your capacity to vary the focal point of th e eye.

c cause of the problem goes right over their heads.

As I seem to have told you before, I don't have any training in biochemistr y. I've read quite a bit about it, but strictly out of interest.

ple seem more comfortable "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." For me, this has been, and continues to be, a lesson in the cause of human s uffering. It is reminiscent of what a famous Tibetan Lama said to me, "Peo ple cannot get free because they cannot see space." In other words, people are like fish in a tank, who cannot see the tank.

I suspect that most people share my opinion, which is that any claim that y ou can "easily reverse" any disease is usually followed by a request for a substantial payment for reversing mechanism. Your posting hasn't yet pointe d to a place where we can buy this miracle cure, but experience suggests th at it exists.

rly simple steps.

Nobody has any difficulty in fathoming the idea. Most people are aware that pretty much everybody who presents this kind of idea is interested in maki ng money out of it.

They know that it's unlikely to be true. It's not as implausible as a perpe tual motion machine, but it is mostly peddled by much the same kind of peop le. Some of them may be self-deluded, but the problem is that the idea is v ery attractive and the motivation to believe is equally high.

osis, it is called "plaque regression." It works in that area, and is pro ven scientifically. The reversal of glycation damage, which looks promisin g as well, can reverse eye damage and much else.

"Proven scientifically" means based on papers published in peer-reviewed jo urnals. Cite a few.

eriod.

It's more likely to be one more over-hyped misconception.

ore

n-free, high quality life?

About $50,00 per year. Search on "Quality-adjusted-years-of-life".