Small Talk: "I'll Take Non-Show Chat For $400, Alex."

[dcalley]

45 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

The progressives cost more and are a waste of time for me.

I'm convinced I'm going to hate them! 

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, dcalley said:

I'm pretty sure "difficult" is in my chart. 😂

So says Dr. Van Nostrand from the Hoffermanndale Clinic in Belgium!

5 minutes ago, dcalley said:

I'm convinced I'm going to hate them! 

I don't hate mine, they are just a waste of money since I never use them. Never have, never will. Can't imagine how anyone would want or like them.

ETA: Try some on at the eye doctor's before buying your own. They have all kinds of prescription glasses as samples, zillions of them. One has to match yours.

Edited October 19, 2021 by saber5055

[chessiegal]

I guess it all depends on how your brain is wired. I used progressive lenses no problem. After my right eye cataract surgery, I took out the right lens of my glasses, thinking that would be better. It wasn't! My brain hated it. It was telling me, hey, your right eye is perfect and has your back. Forget the left eye. 

[Browncoat]

I would be completely lost without my progressive lenses, but there was an adjustment period.  Going down stairs was interesting until I got used to things.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, dcalley said:

I am new to presbyopia, and this was the first thing my eye doctor tried with me. I did not like it. Neither eye was all that great for laptop-range or closer, and I was constantly distracted by one eye being blurry for distance. It was doable but not what I wanted. <-I feel like this will be the situation with all the various "solutions."

I do like my uncorrected extremely close-up vision and should probably just do glasses. Of course I have to wait until next year for insurance reasons. And progressive glasses worry me. I don't want to have to hold my head at funny angles to see. You have to shell out so much money for glasses you may hate and then be stuck with them.

I'm pretty sure "difficult" is in my chart. 😂

Good luck to those getting surgery!

Hah! “Difficult” is what they probably have for my middle name on my chart!

Decades ago I insisted on having lined trifocals in order to see near (reading) and intermediate distances (computer) clearly for work without having to wave my nose back and forth across the page/screen as progressive lenses require:

An added advantage is I only need one pair (plus prescription sunglasses for driving).

Back when progressive lenses were new (maybe early 1990s?), lined bifocals were much less expensive. I remember wanting to throw my first pair across the room, but this was long before cataract surgery, when I would have been legally blind for distance without corrective lenses. After a year, I no longer saw the line.

Contact lenses would have been better, but I’ve had a dry-eye problem for 45 years, which is still unresolved (but still working on it!).

Here are my 21st century, very expensive-frame and lenses trifocals:

Edited October 19, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I would be completely lost without my progressive lenses, but there was an adjustment period.  Going down stairs was interesting until I got used to things.

Oh yeah, that's fun every time I get a new set of glasses.

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

After a year, I no longer saw the line.

I never got used to the line, so progressives were better for me. My eyes aren't great, and cataract surgery is somewhere down the line. But I think I will probably miss being able to take my glasses off and see things close up.

[Mindthinkr]

On 10/18/2021 at 9:18 PM, saber5055 said:

Ouch to that second sentence. BIG ouch.

Best of luck to you @Mindthinkr. I hope all goes well. Check in with us when you get home and feel better. Well wishes to you. Crossing my good-luck fingers!

It’s just dental surgery and it had to be postponed due to infection; so it’s 10 days of an antibiotic then a recheck. I just wish it was over with. 

[saber5055]

Thanks for the update @Mindthinkr. I was going to post "Mindthinkr lives!" yesterday when I saw you online, but I've been reprimanded for being rude so did not. But I thought it!

@dcalley, I still suggest you have your eye doctor let you try on different glasses with your prescription to see how you like or don't like progressives before you fork out the cash for your own.

Edited October 20, 2021 by saber5055

[dcalley]

4 hours ago, saber5055 said:

 

@dcalley, I still suggest you have your eye doctor let you try on different glasses with your prescription to see how you like or don't like progressives before you fork out the cash for your own.

I will certainly try! Thank you for letting me know this is a possibility.

[saber5055]

25 minutes ago, dcalley said:

I will certainly try! Thank you for letting me know this is a possibility.

They did for me without me even asking, The "sample" was big and clunky but my vision was tested again wearing them, maybe because I hadn't had glasses for years.

I have a good friend who is an ophthalmologist. I will ask him if that was something he did in his practice.

[saber5055]

I heard back from my friend. Here is what he said when he practiced at an Eye Mart. He's since moved to another state and is working on getting licensed there.

"We didn’t make glasses for patients to try on per se but if patients were unhappy they could return them for a refund. Progressive lenses are expensive and not for everyone. If it’s a ‘high powered large group office they might be willing to make a sample pair. I wear progressives but for computer another lens might be better."

Note the bold! I've been going to a huge clinic that specializes in eye surgery so the testing rooms have glasses that they can pop new lenses in to see if you can read the charts with that power. Because I work 24/7 on a computer, as my friend says, "another lens might be better." Progressives don't do anything for me as I work and read straight ahead, not down. I would not get them again. Obviously, everyone's mileage varies from mine!

[Driad]

If you need a librarian action figure, here it is!  With glasses and a cape!

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

If you need a librarian action figure, here it is!  With glasses and a cape!

OMG! LOL!
It's a realllly long story, but, yes, I think I do.

[ABay]

I only have the older version with Nancy in a navy skirt and jacket,

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

If you need a librarian action figure, here it is!  With glasses and a cape!

Oh my gosh, that is hysterical. But even more so is the Underpants In A Can. I need to go shopping!

[saber5055]

BOO! Happy Halloween Jeopardy lovers. Now that I'm in my spooky scary Halloween costume and no one knows who I am, I will post some spooky scary Halloween jokes. No one can blame me for them while I am The Unknown Poster in disguise!

What do you call a haunted chicken. A poultrygeist.
What do you call a cooked haunted chicken. Chicken Cordon Boo.
What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit. That’s a necktorine.
I was waiting in line to see my doctor, then my friend said he is a vampire. Is that true, doctor? Doctor: Necks please.
How do vampires start their letters. Tomb it may concern.
What does the skeleton chef say when he serves you a meal. Bone appetit!
Our school has two skeleton teachers. One is humerus and the other is very sternum.
How to fix a broken jack o’lantern ... use a pumpkin patch.
What’s a ghost’s favorite tv show? Sheet’s Creek.
What’s the first thing a ghost does when getting into a car? Buckle the sheet belt.
Stop buying plastic skeletons for Halloween, it’s terrible for the environment. Locally sourced all-natural skeletons are much more environmentally friendly.
What do you call a campfire at a nudist camp. That’s a wienie roast.
Did you hear the Chicago Bulls has signed a pumpkin to their team? He will play point gourd.
Why don’t mummies take time off? They don't want to unwind.
How do ghosts get into a locked room? They use a skeleton key.
A ghost walks into a bar. The bartender asks, would you like to see our food menu? The ghost says no, I’m only here for the boos.

All treats, no tricks!

[Driad]

Literature Clock.  Click on the link to get a literary passage containing the current time.

[Mindthinkr]

58 minutes ago, Driad said:

Literature Clock.  Click on the link to get a literary passage containing the current time.

Wow. It worked! 

[shapeshifter]

On 10/30/2021 at 8:34 PM, saber5055 said:

BOO! Happy Halloween Jeopardy lovers. Now that I'm in my spooky scary Halloween costume and no one knows who I am, I will post some spooky scary Halloween jokes. No one can blame me for them while I am The Unknown Poster in disguise!

What do you call a haunted chicken. A poultrygeist.
What do you call a cooked haunted chicken. Chicken Cordon Boo.
What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit. That’s a necktorine.
I was waiting in line to see my doctor, then my friend said he is a vampire. Is that true, doctor? Doctor: Necks please.
How do vampires start their letters. Tomb it may concern.
What does the skeleton chef say when he serves you a meal. Bone appetit!
Our school has two skeleton teachers. One is humerus and the other is very sternum.
How to fix a broken jack o’lantern ... use a pumpkin patch.
What’s a ghost’s favorite tv show? Sheet’s Creek.
What’s the first thing a ghost does when getting into a car? Buckle the sheet belt.
Stop buying plastic skeletons for Halloween, it’s terrible for the environment. Locally sourced all-natural skeletons are much more environmentally friendly.
What do you call a campfire at a nudist camp. That’s a wienie roast.
Did you hear the Chicago Bulls has signed a pumpkin to their team? He will play point gourd.
Why don’t mummies take time off? They don't want to unwind.
How do ghosts get into a locked room? They use a skeleton key.
A ghost walks into a bar. The bartender asks, would you like to see our food menu? The ghost says no, I’m only here for the boos.

All treats, no tricks!

I am not a fan of a lot of Halloween stuff, but these are right up my alley.

I'm imagining a mom getting into the car with her kid on Halloween--trick-or-treating or to school, etc.--and the kid is dressed as a ghost, so the mom says:

"What’s the first thing a ghost does when getting into a car? Buckle the sheet belt."

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Literature Clock.  Click on the link to get a literary passage containing the current time.

Eh, doesn't show up in any of my browsers. Sounds cool though.

[Clanstarling]

I've been meaning to say - whoever it was who suggested Vionics shoes - thank you! The pair I bought are great, and I'm going to be getting another pair. Even the mister is thinking about it (and he's been with his brand WAY longer than I had with my previous brand - in both cases we're talking decades).

So if you have stock in the company, you're welcome.

[Prevailing Wind]

5 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

I've been meaning to say - whoever it was who suggested Vionics shoes - thank you! The pair I bought are great, and I'm going to be getting another pair. Even the mister is thinking about it (and he's been with his brand WAY longer than I had with my previous brand - in both cases we're talking decades).

So if you have stock in the company, you're welcome.

That was me and unfortunately, I don't have stock in the company. I just love the shoes. It was my SIL that suggested them to me. So we should all thank Carmen.

Happy that you're happy with them.

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

  38 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Mine would walk down the entire staircase, but they were pretty steep stairs and were uncarpeted at that time.  Maybe that made the difference?

A 7 year old friend of mine and I managed to get ours to go down a whole flight of interior stairs in the Willard Hotel in D.C. - Steep and uncarpeted.

[proserpina65]

7 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

A 7 year old friend of mine and I managed to get ours to go down a whole flight of interior stairs in the Willard Hotel in D.C. - Steep and uncarpeted.

That is impressive!

[PBnJay]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

A 7 year old friend of mine and I managed to get ours to go down a whole flight of interior stairs in the Willard Hotel in D.C. - Steep and uncarpeted.

Was this just last year? (I'll show myself out.)

[ams1001]

Coming from the season 38 thread...

25 minutes ago, Good Queen Jane said:

You all are making me feel really old. Back when I was in college, the doors at the women's dorm (no coed dorms back then) were locked at 10 on weekdays and midnight on weekends.  You had to ring for the night RA to let you in. Your parents were then notified of the infraction. The men's dorm had no such restrictions. That resulted in what was known as the Mush Rush, when couples gathered in front of the dorm for their farewell canoodling before the women stampeded through the door before it was locked. 

lol, I can't imagine my college having called my parents because I got back to my dorm after ten or midnight (and I wasn't even 18 yet when I started college). They had "dances" every weekend at the student center that ended at 1am. I didn't have any evening classes (I don't even remember if they had them but if so I didn't take any) but I did work at my campus job until 10pm two days a week for a couple years. (We did have two coed dorms but I didn't live in one. My dorm was nicknamed "The Nunnery"...I was highly amused when I learned some time after I graduated that they were converting the one all-male dorm to coed (because boys are gross and they lost the privilege) so they had to also convert one of the three all-female dorms and they chose The Nunnery. [I went to a small school that was approximately 65% women.])

The only way we'd get in trouble for coming in late was if we made enough noise to disturb, then the RA would say something; I assume there was some kind of disciplinary system for people who were repeatedly disruptive, but we never had issues like that in my dorm other than the occasional drunk people being loud in the hall. 

1 minute ago, 853fisher said:

When I was in college in the early 2010s, although we were in a rural city where many locals didn't lock their doors, you couldn't access dorms at any time without a key card.

I was in college in the mid-90s; I think the year after I graduated they started locking the side doors all the time and if you didn't have a key there was an intercom system installed so you could call the person you were visiting, or else go through the main door where the RA was on duty.

Edited November 9, 2021 by ams1001

[chessiegal]

I was in undergrad from 1968-1972 (yes, I'm old!). My sophomore year I came down with mono, bad enough I was falling asleep in class. My mom came to take me home around supper time. We had bed check at the dorm sometime after 11. I forgot to check out, I was really sick. My mom got a call from a Dean at the school about 2-3 am to tell her I was missing. My mom was furious! She said - you knew she was missing 3 hours ago, and you wait to call me now? So it all got sorted out, mom took the blame for not signing me out. But yes, the school called.

[Grundoon59]

I was undergrad from 1977-81.  Almost exclusively single sex dorms but no bed checks and we could come and go generally as we pleased.  I do remember outer doors being locked after a certain hour at night but anyone could come through during the day.  For my freshman year at William and Mary, I lived in one of the dorms nearest to the Colonial Williamsburg tourist areas and once in a while, we got a lost CW visitor wandering through.

The only time I remember the dorms being locked down 24/7 was the weekend that the Grateful Dead was playing William and Mary Hall and the powers that be suddenly freaked out at the idea of many Deadheads on campus (and there were tons - there was quite a contact high to be had).  Due to oddly bad planning on someone's part, it was the same weekend that the incoming freshman class and their parents were scheduled on campus - a very weird juxtaposition. 

[Mindthinkr]

I guess I went to a liberal school. No rules, coed dorms, no curfew, and you learned to be responsible in many ways fast. This was the early 70’s so ahead of it’s time. 

[shapeshifter]

1970-71 I was in an all-female dorm on the south campus of UIUC. 
After waiting for my Army-drafted bf for 22 months of training and Vietnam (I wrote daily letters) we broke up a couple of weeks before he was supposed to return, due to a Romeo and Juliet situation more than anything, which I dealt with at barely age 17 by binge drinking Wednesday through Sunday nights for 2 months. 
I know I didn't get back to the dorm until after the college bars closed (at 1am?), but I honestly have no memory of how I got back in.

[Browncoat]

7 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

I was undergrad from 1977-81.  Almost exclusively single sex dorms but no bed checks and we could come and go generally as we pleased.  I do remember outer doors being locked after a certain hour at night but anyone could come through during the day.  For my freshman year at William and Mary, I lived in one of the dorms nearest to the Colonial Williamsburg tourist areas and once in a while, we got a lost CW visitor wandering through.

The only time I remember the dorms being locked down 24/7 was the weekend that the Grateful Dead was playing William and Mary Hall and the powers that be suddenly freaked out at the idea of many Deadheads on campus (and there were tons - there was quite a contact high to be had).  Due to oddly bad planning on someone's part, it was the same weekend that the incoming freshman class and their parents were scheduled on campus - a very weird juxtaposition. 

It was the same in 82-86 when I was there.  We barely locked our rooms, much less the whole building.  I was on New Campus, though, so we didn't get the tourists.

[Clanstarling]

I didn't stay in dorms during college. But for this story (my inexperience notwithstanding) I think the key element is that it was a Russian college (was it not?) So things might be just a tad different there.

[Grundoon59]

Quote

19 hours ago, Browncoat said:

It was the same in 82-86 when I was there.  We barely locked our rooms, much less the whole building.  I was on New Campus, though, so we didn't get the tourists.

 

@Browncoat - oh, we just missed each other.  I was always old campus - Barrett, Dawson then two years in Jefferson.  My favorite tourist on campus memory was in the Wren Building during spring finals in I think my junior year.  For some reason, we were taking an American Lit final on the second floor instead of the usual third when a tour group made a wrong turn and suddenly we were on display - it did break some tension.  

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, Grundoon59 said:

@Browncoat - oh, we just missed each other.  I was always old campus - Barrett, Dawson then two years in Jefferson.  My favorite tourist on campus memory was in the Wren Building during spring finals in I think my junior year.  For some reason, we were taking an American Lit final on the second floor instead of the usual third when a tour group made a wrong turn and suddenly we were on display - it did break some tension.  

I was in Dupont Freshman year -- the year Jefferson burned -- and then in a special interest house across Jamestown Road from Jefferson for the rest of my stay.  But mostly I was in Millington and Rogers, neither of which exist any more!  For that matter, the house I lived in doesn't exist, either.  My favorite tourist on campus memory is one when I was studying in the Sunken Gardens, and this group of Chinese men wandered up and wanted to take my photo -- with them in the shot, of course.  They were only speaking Chinese, but with pantomime, I understood what they were after, and I said OK.  One actually put his arm around me for the shot (it was harmless), and all the while, they were chatting with each other in Chinese and laughing.  As they walked away, though, one said, in English, loud enough for me to hear, "Just wait until your wife sees that photo!"  I fell over laughing.

[Grundoon59]

@Browncoat - I lived in the basement and on the 3rd floor of Jefferson.  The parental Grundoons visited the Burg during their spring vacation (I was in grad school and couldn't join in) soon after the fire.   Mother Grundoon got very distraught looking through what would have been "my" window on the third floor and seeing straight through to the sky and it took Father Grundoon plus several passing W&M staff and students to calm her down and assure her everyone got out safely.  Her pictures looked scary as heck to me - I mean we had fire drills but I wouldn't have wanted to try to remember all the rules while evacuating in a real life situation.

I recall the Sunken Garden so fondly - a great place to hang out, study and enjoy life.  I have a very clear memory of crossing back through it from the old post office which I think was in the first floor of Old Dominion with the envelope giving me my grad school test scores.  I didn't want to open in at my dorm in case they were horrible so Sunken Garden to the rescue.  I ran back to the dorm to call my parents on the hall pay phone to let them know I was applying to grad school. 

[Browncoat]

7 minutes ago, Grundoon59 said:

Mother Grundoon got very distraught looking through what would have been "my" window on the third floor and seeing straight through to the sky and it took Father Grundoon plus several passing W&M staff and students to calm her down and assure her everyone got out safely.  Her pictures looked scary as heck to me - I mean we had fire drills but I wouldn't have wanted to try to remember all the rules while evacuating in a real life situation.

It was pretty terrifying, but not only did all the people get out safely, they even got the pet fish out.  No lives of any kind were lost in the fire.  And, in true W&M fashion, the residents were glad it happened near the beginning of the semester so they didn't lose much in the way of class notes.  Who cares about your clothes!  Save the notebooks!

[zoey1996]

Quote

@Clanstarling I've been skiing once in my life - and it was a terrible, yet funny, experience. But if I got it, I figured one of the contestants would. But nope.

I've been once, as well! And I knew the answer was skiing. Like you, terrible, yet funny. I was having so much trouble skiing down, they had me ride the ski lift down the mountain! Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 1983 or thereabouts. The last day of the trip, I spent in town, shopping, having lunch, etc. It was the best day!

[Clanstarling]

6 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

I've been once, as well! And I knew the answer was skiing. Like you, terrible, yet funny. I was having so much trouble skiing down, they had me ride the ski lift down the mountain! Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 1983 or thereabouts. The last day of the trip, I spent in town, shopping, having lunch, etc. It was the best day!

My brother was older and supposedly teaching me to ski (I was 12, he was 20) We went to a tallish hill in our German neighborhood. He saw some cute girls and decided to chat them up.  I got bored and decided I'd go home, so I started going down hill. Then as I was skiing down, I realized I didn't know how to stop. I decided falling would do the trick. It did, and I never put on skis ever again. He just couldn't help himself when it came to the ladies. Had been through at least 8 wives by the time he passed (I lost track).

[dcalley]

On 11/9/2021 at 11:03 AM, ams1001 said:

My dorm was nicknamed "The Nunnery"

When I was at W&M, the female freshman dorm was called the "virgin vault." Charming. 🙄

[Browncoat]

2 hours ago, dcalley said:

When I was at W&M, the female freshman dorm was called the "virgin vault." Charming. 🙄

When were you there, @dcalley?  Was the dorm you reference Barrett?  I never heard it called that, but the residents were referred to as "Barrett Babes".

[dcalley]

The '90s, and you got it!

[Grundoon59]

@Dcalley - hello from another Barrett dweller although my room on the first floor (late 70s) apparently got swallowed by a renovation of the lounge next door for computer/more lounge space - it wasn't a bad place to stay and had a great back porch.  Not really surprised by the nicknames although I was unaware of them. 

[Driad]

Dog show broadcast -- always great to see the dogs, but the narrators need better patter.  The histories and traits of the breeds are interesting, but they seemed to run out of information, and said "the very recognizable [name of breed]" far too often.

[zoey1996]

I watched a few minutes of the dog show while getting ready to go have dinner at a restaurant. Some gorgeous canines there!

[illdoc]

For those who might be interested...the dog show will be rerun on Saturday at 8/7C on NBC.

[zoey1996]

On 11/26/2021 at 1:11 PM, illdoc said:

For those who might be interested...the dog show will be rerun on Saturday at 8/7C on NBC.

Enjoyed it!

[zoey1996]

 My Custer connection: In 1868, Sarah White was captured by Cheyenne renegades. About a month later, Anna Brewster Morgan was captured by Sioux, and traded to the Cheyenne who was holding White. Morgan is my distant cousin. In the spring of 1869, Custer “negotiated” the release of the two women. Both seemed to have suffered during their period of capture.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9796727/amanda-belle-morgan

Morgan gave birth to a boy a few months after her return. He died around two years later, shortly after she gave birth to her daughter. Morgan’s life was not a happy one for several reasons.

The TV movie, Stolen Women: Captured Hearts, was a highly fictional tale of Anna & Sarah’s lives in captivity.

I’ve been reading a book by Elizabeth Custer, Boots and Saddles, which had references to the Little Big Horn Battle, with the year.

Edited December 5, 2021 by zoey1996

[Prevailing Wind]

One of my favorite Dennis Quaid movies, in spite of its predictability, is Enemy Mine. Lou Gossett, Jr. being pregnant is a gem of a story line.

[Clanstarling]

18 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

One of my favorite Dennis Quaid movies, in spite of its predictability, is Enemy Mine. Lou Gossett, Jr. being pregnant is a gem of a story line.

I'd forgotten that one. I loved it too.

[Grundoon59]

One of my favorite movies (which also happens to be a Dennis Quaid movie) is Breaking Away.  All the young men in it were good and the entire Grundoon family watched it many times and threw out random quotes from it that very few other people got (but we all laughed).