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- Chase Whitley from Ranburne, Alabama looks likely to start for the New York Yankees tonight. Way to go, man!
- My optometrist took my blood pressure last week. Is that a thing now? Yeah, and by the way, the whole bifocals thing is imminent. The prescription that restores 20/20 for me at 15 feet totally destroys my close vision. I can’t even set my damned watches anymore. Thanks, age. Thanks a ton. I’m holding a finger up. Can you guess which one?
- As we were waiting for a meeting to begin, a (significantly younger) colleague of mine identified as a Bruce Willis fan. I asked her if she’d ever seen Moonlighting. She said no. Well, now she’s going to. I think Moonlighting is important for any real understanding of Willis, at least partially because of what a jarring thing it is when you consider that his breakthrough was Die Hard. Fast-forwarding to now, it’d be about like you reading that Steve Carell was going to star in an action blockbuster this summer. Right? She’s sharp, by the way. I’m looking forward to hearing her impressions of the series. Was Moonlighting the first really cool show?
- Domino’s is putting pizza toppings right over the top of its chicken nuggets now. Bon appétit, fat ass.
- I don’t care if you want to go faster than me. I don’t care if you want to go slower than me. But when you’re that person who is gonna pass me no matter what, then sometimes I have fun with you with incremental acceleration. I had a woman to most of 70 mph on County Line (speed limit 50) last week for no reason other than her knee-jerk reaction.
- Audi is making the most attractive mass-market cars in the world right now, but I wonder whether they’re getting needlessly complex on their lighting clusters. I can’t ever tell what the hell’s going to happen on the taillights/brake lights/turn signals anymore.
- I tiptoed into podcasts for my commute this week. Never been a fan, but never really given them a sustained shot, either. Tried my old favorite Larry Miller. He was OK. The Cracked podcast was pretty lame, though. I’ll give it another chance before I fire it.
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BoWilliams.com
Hi Bo : It has become common practice for optometrists to measure your blood pressure to detect hypertension.Signs of hypertension may also be seen when the inside of the eye is examined (Hypertensive Retinopathy). The detection, referral, and co-management of hypertension by optometrists is important in providing primary health care.
And Bo, You have reached an “honorable” time in your life. Presbyopia (which literally means “a seasoned aging eye”) is an age-related eye condition that makes it more difficult to see very close. When you were younger, the lens in your eye is soft and flexible, and the lens of the eye changes its shape easily, allowing you to focus on objects both close and far away. After the age of 40, the lens becomes more rigid. Because the lens can’t change shape as easily as it once did, it is more difficult to read at close range. A Progressive Lens Prescription (no line bifocal) is the happy alternative for a Progressive Technical Writer 🙂
The passing no matter what driver reminded me that Jeff got rid of a tailgater by turning on the windshield washer.
Honorable my butt. Bifocals suck. Want to see your dashboard while driving? Tilt your head up. Want to look at items on a supermarket shelf? Tilt your head up, or stand as far away as possible. I’ve considered ditching my lenses and just using reading glasses, but it’s too much of a pain in meetings.
Fred, thank you for the firsthand info from the frontlines! I appreciate that it’s a blessing for me to begin having this problem because it means I’ve lived a good bit of time. Alas, so far I’m mostly with Cheryl. It used to be an omnipresent source of small pleasure for me to enjoy detail on whatever watch dial I was wearing. Now it’s a real challenge to even set them properly, if I’ve already put my contacts in.
Miria, it occurred to me that it could be read as if I was being a “no you’re not gonna pass me” person. That’s not the case. I’m talking about someone who’s not happy with how quickly you’re getting up to speed after a turn (or whatever), even though it would have all been fine in another ten or twelve seconds. There’s the defiant whip-out, followed by the acceleration past you to show that the whip-out was justified (no matter what your ultimate speed).
I love driving aggressively and competitively on a closed circuit or on a suitably isolated stretch. It’s exhausting and dangerous to drive that way in congestion.
Cheryl : A new corneal surgery for the correction of presbyopia, known as IntraCor (Bausch + Lomb Technolas), has shown promising results outside the United States. The IntraCor procedure uses a femtosecond laser to create precisely placed gas bubbles, which then reshape the interior of the cornea without penetrating the outer surface. This means less chance of infection, inflammation or other complications.
Researchers so far report significant improvement in near vision, as long as ample light is provided for tasks such as reading fine print. The technology is approved in Europe for presbyopia correction in people with farsightedness.
Just a positive thought as age seem to creep up 🙂 Dr. Fred
Strictly practically, the most attractive solution for me may be going back to glasses (from contacts) and just lifting them for close work.
You may have noticed I’m not a particularly vain fellow. 🙂
I may consider surgery to correct my nearsightedness and just carry reading glasses. I have trouble with contacts, but maybe I just haven’t tried the right kind.
I asked about laser surgery several years ago and he basically said just that—that I’d only be free of reading glasses for a few years. I didn’t see any sense in parting with the money if it didn’t mean I’d be free of lenses.